Joan Cusack has joined the cast of two Paramount Pictures projects, the comedy "School of Rock" and black comedy "The Stepford Wives," both produced by Scott Rudin. "Rock," which begins shooting this week, is directed by Richard Linklater and centers on down-and-out rocker Dewey Finn (Jack Black), who has been fired from his band and is deep in debt. In order to pay his rent, Dewey poses as his substitute-teacher roommate (Mike White) and begins teaching a fifth-grade class. Hoping to win prize money offered at a local band contest, Dewey decides to form a rock band with the kids in the class. Cusack will play Principal Mullins. The project reteams her with Black, whom she starred with in "High Fidelity." Cusack will then segue into a June start for "Stepford," which Frank Oz is directing with Nicole Kidman toplining. The project, a remake of the 1975 thriller, is about a woman (Kidman) who moves into a neighborhood where a group of husbands have transformed their wives into robots designed to cater to them. Cusack will play Bobbie Markowitz, a hostile, sarcastic, cranky woman who is out of shape and enjoys drinking but ends up being transformed into a robot. White wrote the script to "Rock," while Paul Rudnick wrote "Stepford," which is based on Ira Levin's novel of the same name. Donald De Line is also producing "Stepford," with Keri Selig executive producing. Cusack, repped by UTA, next stars in NBC's "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" and Warner Bros. Pictures' "Looney Tunes: The Movie."