Father Geek here bringing you another edition of our weekly recap column by Mssr. Gunn with all the confirmed news out of Filmland, soooo sit back and relax, and prepare to scroll thru the week that was out in studio city. Its all below in...
THE WEEKLY RECAP...
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CASTING
* Karl Yune (ANACONDAS: THE HUNT FOR THE BLOOD ORCHID) is joining the cast
of MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, also starring Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li and
Ken Watanabe. Yune will play Koichi, the love interest to Geisha Hatsumomo,
Gong's character. Rob Marshall is directing from a screenplay by Ron Bass,
Akiva Goldsman and Robin Swicord.
* Paul Sorvino is set to star in and direct the indie drama RITES OF WINTER
about the relationship between two Greek immigrant brothers living in
Florida and the emotional impact of the 1974 Turkish invasion of the Greek
island of Cyprus on their lives.
* George Lopez, Cayden Boyd (DODGEBALL, MYSTIC RIVER), Taylor Dooley and
Taylor Lautner will star in Robert Rodriguez's upcoming Miramax/Dimension
action pic THE ADVENTURES OF SHARK BOY & LAVA GIRL. It's about a boy whose
imaginary superhero friends come to life and join him on adventures. The
project is scheduled for release in June 2005.
* Robert Redford is attached to star in and potentially direct THE BRUTUS
COMPLEX, a political thriller by Ari Rubin, for Radar Pictures.
* Sean Penn is starring in and producing IN SEARCH OF CAPTAIN ZERO, an
adaptation by Michael Bacall of Allan C. Weisbecker's surf memoir, for
director Stacy Peralta, Quiksilver and Radar.
* Nicole Kidman is interested in playing a woman emotionally torn between
her husband and her lover in DIRT MUSIC, based on the Tim Winton novel, for
director Phillip Noyce.
* Eric Bana will star in LUCKY YOU to be directed by Curtis Hanson for
Warner Bros. Pictures. Production is expected to begin in Las Vegas early
next year on the drama, which is set in the world of high-stakes
professional poker. Pic is based on an original screenplay by Eric Roth,
with additional writing by Hanson.
* Rosamund Pike will star in Universal Pictures' upcoming video game
adaptation DOOM. Pike will play Samantha, a scientist, opposite Karl Urban,
who will play John Grimm, the leader of a special ops team at the center of
the action-adventure pic. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is also set to take a
leading role. Andrzej Bartkowiak will direct from a script by Dave Callaham.
* Jeremy Renner is in negotiations to star in Niki Caro's CLASS ACTION
opposite Charlize Theron.
* Olympia Dukakis, Lainie Kazan and Mary Stuart Masterson will star in
INTERVENTION for Pompeian Pictures. Masterson's mother, Carlin Gylnn, will
star, while her father, Peter Masterson, directs. Her brother, Peter
Masterson Jr., is director of photography. Dukakis' daughter, Christina
Zorich, is also in the cast. Based on a true story, the pic centers on a
group of eight friends in the New York theater community who confront a
well-known avant-garde playwright about his excessive drinking. Gotham
playwright Jo Ann Tedesco wrote the script. Mario Macaluso, David Margulies,
Hazelle Goodman, Robert Walden and Gary Swanson will also star.
* Adrien Brody will star in TRUTH, JUSTICE AND THE AMERICAN WAY for Focus
Features and director Allen Coulter. Written by Paul Bernbaum, it's a story
about the man who portrayed TV's Superman, George Reeves. Bernbaum's script
details the investigation into Reeves' mysterious 1959 death in Hollywood,
as well as the actor's complex relationship with the iconic role that
propelled him to stardom. Brody will play the lead detective on the case.
* Milla Jovovich will star opposite Billy Bob Thornton in FADE OUT for
writer/director Michael Cristofer. Shooting starts May 15 in Halifax, Nova
Scotia. It follows the story of a screenwriter with a history of mental
illness who suspects his wife of infidelity only to find her missing. When
he begins to write a script about his suspicions of her whereabouts, he
loses the ability to tell the difference between reality and the plot of the
project he's working on.
* Nick Lachey is joining the cast of THE HARD EASY for director Ari Ryan.
Henry Thomas, David Boreanaz, Vera Farmiga, Bruce Dern and Peter Weller also
star. The story follows two groups of thieves who, unbeknownst to each
other, attempt to rob the same jewelry store.
* Usher will star in an untitled drama being scripted by Jonathan Prince
("American Dreams") for Dimension Films. Though it doesn't yet have a title,
the film sounds has been described as an R&B version of 8 MILE. Usher will
play a kid from the streets who finds himself through his music.
* Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento and Robert Joy
will star in THE LAND OF THE DEAD for writer/director George A. Romero. The
story takes place in a world overrun by zombies where the survivors live in
a walled city. While the zombies are evolving, certain factions seek to
overthrow the city.
* Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson are set to star in THE EXORCISM OF
ANNELIESE MICHEL, a drama inspired by true events that will be directed by
Scott Derrickson for Screen Gems. Derrickson wrote the script with Paul
Boardman. It's about an attorney who defends a Catholic priest who has been
charged with the negligent homicide of a 19-year-old girl whose exorcism he
presided over. The case reawakens faith in the lawyer. Shooting begins in
November in Vancouver.
* Ann-Margret will join Dennis Hopper in MEM-O-RE for 3210 Films and
director Bennett Davlin. It's a psychological thriller that involves a
medical researcher who taps into the genetically stored memories of a
killer.
* Sophie Traub has nabbed a lead role in Miramax and L. Driver Prods.'
DALTRY CALHOUN, starring Johnny Knoxville, Juliette Lewis, Elizabeth Banks,
David Koechner and Kick Gurry. Project marks the feature directorial debut
of Katrina Holden Bronson, who also penned the script.
* Jerry Ferrara (HBO's "Entourage") joins the cast of NAILED RIGHT IN,
starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Alec Baldwin and Scott Caan. Michael Corrente
(OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE) is directing from a script by Terrence Winter ("The
Sopranos").
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* DreamWorks has picked up the comedy spec POWER TRIP from writer Adam
Sztykiel. Michael Gruber is producing. The story revolves around an
executive who travels with his tyrannical boss on a one-day business trip
that turns into a three-day transportation nightmare.
* Pete Hewitt (GARFIELD) will direct Tim Allen in ZOOM'S ACADEMY, a
Revolution Studios comedy about an out-of-shape former superhero called back
into action to save the world. Scripted by Adam Rifkin and rewritten by
Jordan Roberts, film is based on the Jason Lethcoe graphic novel ZOOM'S
ACADEMY FOR THE SUPER GIFTED.
* Ali Russell will write THE 10TH MUSE, based on the female superhero
character created by Darren Davis about a modern-day daughter of the Greek
God Zeus. Russell will write and produce along with Weaver and Davis'
manager Daniel Alter.
* David Zucker, Craig Mazin and Robert Weiss (SCARY MOVIE 3) will work on
SUPERHERO!, a lampoon of superhero films, for Dimension Films. Mazin will
script, Zucker will direct and Weiss is producing. All three brainstorm the
jokes that go into the films.
* Stephen J. Rivele and Wesley Wittkamper are adapting the book THE PLUMBER
by Rivele and Joe Salerno about the true story of a blue-collar plumber who
risks his life and loved ones to take down the Philadelphia mob.
* Radar Pictures is planning a remake of the 1967 Audrey Hepburn classic
WAIT UNTIL DARK to be written by Attica Locke at Warner Bros.
* Jim Rygiel will direct the upcoming indie feature BUNYAN AND BABE for
Exodus Film Group. Based on the legendary figure of Paul Bunyan, the project
is a live-action family adventure following Bunyan's attempts -- with the
help of a couple of kids -- to rescue his ox from the evil clutches of a
demented circus owner. The film will feature the voice of Eddie Griffin as
the CGI-animated Babe the Blue Ox.
* Michael Moore is gearing up for his next documentary SICKO, which Miramax
is preparing to finance and distribute. The documentary targets the American
healthcare system.
* Vinton Studios has acquired the film rights to Neil Gaiman's CORALINE for
Henry Selick to adapt and direct into an animated film. Pandemonium Films
will co-produce with Vinton Studios. It's the story of a young girl who
discovers an alternate version of her life after walking through a secret
door in her new home. When her counterfeit parents try to keep her forever,
Coraline reveals her heroic qualities.
* Gavin O'Connor will direct Jude Law in DEXTERITY for Paramount Pictures.
Law also is producing the film with his production partner Tom Sternberg and
Greg O'Connor of Solaris. The project is adapted from the book by Douglas
Bauer and revolves around two employees from a factory town in New York.
Karen Croner adapted the book.
* Alan Ball has optioned TOWELHEAD, a provocative debut novel by Alicia
Erian to be published in April. Ball will write the script and hopes to make
his feature directing debut on the film. Set during the Gulf War, the book
is a coming-of-age story of a 13-year-old Arab-American girl who must
navigate a sexual obsession with a bigoted Army reservist under the
oppressive eye of her Lebanese father.
* Columbia Pictures is in negotiations to option the upcoming novel LAST ONE
IN, by journalist Nicholas Kulish, for Michael De Luca. Stephen J. Rivele
and Christopher Wilkinson will adapt the book for the bigscreen. It's the
story of a mediocre male gossip columnist who is mistakenly sent to Iraq to
cover the war as an embedded reporter. At first he tries to get himself sent
home, but after he bonds with the soldiers and shares their experiences, he
emerges as a heroic war correspondent.
* Media 8 Entertainment is co-producing, financing and distributing the
feature film REAPER, which Circle of Confusion will co-produce. Production
is slated to begin in February. It's the story of Virgil, a private
investigator recruited to work for the beautiful and mysterious Delia.
Virgil gradually finds himself immersed in a surreal underworld where the
boundaries of life and death as well as right and wrong are blurred. Pic was
developed and written by Gary Whitta, a comicbook writer, novelist and
videogame writer.
* Scott Frank is set to make his directorial debut on DreamWorks' THE
LOOKOUT from his own script about a former high school hockey star, disabled
in a car accident, who outwits a group of criminals who plan to rob the
small-town bank where he works as a janitor.
* MGM is picking up the comedy spec THE HIGH ROLLERS from scribe Billiam
Coronel for Chip Diggins to produce. The laffer revolves around the
adventures of two guys visiting Las Vegas who are mistaken for high rollers.
* John Brancato and Michael Ferriss have completed a draft of a TERMINATOR 4
script that was developed under the supervision of T3 director Jonathan
Mostow. Shooting is expected to begin in 2005. It is unclear whether or not
Arnold Schwarzenegger will be involved.
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* Samuel Goldwyn Films has set up an English-language remake of the French
thriller HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT at 20th Century Fox. Audrey Tautou and
Samuel Le Bihan starred in the original.
* Rhino Films has teamed with Mother Jones magazine and Alligator Planet to
create Rhino Animated Features, which is designed to produce a series of
"agit-docs" for theatrical release. The first film will be MOTHER SEES RED,
which will examine America's current culture wars.
* Warner Bros. has moved the release of Oliver Stone's ALEXANDER from Nov. 5
to Nov. 24. Columbia has moved next year's release date of DEUCE BIGALOW:
EUROPEAN GIGOLO from April 8 to Aug. 12. Fox has moved helmer FLIGHT OF THE
PHOENIX to Dec. 22 and Universal moved CINDERELLA MAN from March 18 to June
3.
* Paramount Pictures, on behalf of Christine Peters' CFP Prods., has
optioned worldwide film rights to Midway Games' new property FEAR & RESPECT,
which John Singleton is developing as a video game. The urban-action
adventure game is set in South Central Los Angeles and will be available
late 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
GUNN SHOTS
(NOT from the trades)
* IN THE FACE OF EVIL: REAGAN'S WAR IN WORD AND DEED, an intriguing look at
Reagan's victory over Communism within the context of mankind's continual
fight against evil, including the current war against Islamic Fascism. The
film is based on Peter Schweizer's acclaimed best-seller REAGAN'S WAR: THE
EPIC STORY OF HIS FORTY YEAR STRUGGLE AND FINAL TRIUMPH OVER COMMUNISM. The
feature-length independent film will be opening in theaters in selected
markets October 1, 2004. Visit the official film website at
http://www.inthefaceofevil.com for more information about the movie and to
view the trailer, plus downloadable banners and posters.
* Travesty Productions is pleased to announce the World Television Premiere
of the epic documentary SEKKING SALVATION tonight at 10 pm on Vision TV.
Seeking Salvation ON DVD VHS DOWNLOAD AT WWW.SEEKINGSALVATION.CA Experience
the history, music and pasision of the Black SChurch!
* CAMP XRAY: GHOSTS OF GUANTANAMO has it's World Premiere on Saturday,
September 25, 2004. Check out: http://www.campxray.co.uk
* An encore screening Steve Balderson's FIRECRACKER, starring Karen Black,
Mike Patton, Susan Traylor will take place Friday, Oct. 8, 10pm. Go to
http://www.dikenga.com for more info.
* Palm Pictures' music themed film DIG! opens October 1 at LA Nuart and NY
Sunshine Theatres - One Week Only.
Until next week...
Elston Gunn
elstongunn@hotmail.com
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