Father Geek here with Elston Gunn's WEEKLY RECAP for this weekend. It's a little thin this week due to the tragic events of earlier this week. We here at AICN want to express that we DON'T think movie news is more important than the horrible breaking news that is dominating our nation's media this week. However, we ARE an entertainment news site, and we feel that we should attempt to forge ahead with that, as mundane as it is compared to the terror of Tuesday. People need to be able to escape the headlines from time to time, to visit old friends like AICN inorder to help keep a bit of sanity in an insane time.With that in mind here's Elston and his Weekly Recap...
Hope you all are well. Harry, loved your KILL BILL review. I'm jealous.
Anyway, thanks for giving us something to read during breaks from the news.
WEEKLY RECAP
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CASTING
* James Woods will star in INDECENT EXPOSURE, an adaptation of David
McClintock's book of the same name. It's an account of the David Begelman
check-forging scandal that shook Columbia Pictures during the late 1970s.
Documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield (KURT AND COURTNEY) is directing the
project.
* Blair Underwood, Mary McCormack and David Duchovny are near deals to join
Julia Roberts and Catherine Keener in Steven Soderbergh's HOW TO SURVIVE A
HOTEL ROOM FIRE. for Miramax Films. The project will shoot in Los Angeles
for three weeks in November on digital video and film.
* Sam Rockwell and Nicole Kidman will join George Clooney, who is also
directing, in CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND for Miramax Films. Shooting
begins this month from a script written by Charlie Kaufman (BEING JOHN
MALKOVICH, upcoming HUMAN NATURE) wrote the adaptation, based on the book by
Chuck Barris.
* Christian Slater, Amanda Peet, Patricia Arquette and Thomas Jane are
attached to star in the suburban couple-swapping comedy RAIN FALLS for
writer/director Marlene King. Production begins in late October in Los
Angeles or Austin, Texas.
* Mark Harmon, Eric Christian Olsen, Jeremy Sumpter, Guiseppe Andrews and
Stacy Edwards will star in the surfing comedy LOCAL BOYS for director Ron
Moler (THE RUNNER). It's about a legendary surfer who takes a youngster
under his wing while getting involved with his single mom. At the same
time, the boy's older brother fights a hard-core surf gang attempting to
take over his turf.
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* Norman Jewison will direct the suspense thriller THE STATEMENT, based on
late author Brian Moore's novel about a fugitive in hiding for over 40
years, secretly sheltered by both the Vatican and the French government
until his cover is blown.
* Miramax Films has purchased THE FIRST BASTARD, written by Marc Wilmore and
Jeff Bushell. The script is described as a broad character-driven comedy
set in the White House.
* Celebrity photographer Dewey Nicks (upcoming SLACKERS) will direct RODEO
QUEEN for Madonna's Maverick Entertainment and 20th Century Fox. It's based
on a Texas Monthly article about four young women who compete for the title
of Rodeo Queen of Llano, Texas.
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* Stephen Hegyes and Shawn Williamson have formed Brightlight Pictures, a
production company in hoping to develop projects with directors from
Vancouver. Bruce Sweeney's (LAST WEDDING director) next project, AMERICAN
VENUS, is on the company's slate. The drama centers on a group of
struggling actresses in Vancouver. The shingle will also produce Mina
Shum's next pic, GOLDEN ORCHID SOCIETY, a period piece set in China.
* Paramount is developing YOU ONLY DIE TWICE, the novel by former Miami
crime reporter Edna Buchanan. The story centers on a crime reporter who
finds a woman who has washed ashore and who has apparently been murdered
twice. The woman's husband sits on death row for her murder, and the
reporter tries to investigate what the woman has been doing the decade since
faking her death, and who actually committed the crime.
* The Coen Bros./Brad Pitt project TO THE WHITE SEA has fallen through due
to budget problems.
GUNN SHOTS
* Jeff Macht wants you to check out his THE POSSIBILITIES OF LIVING and see
what you think. Read it here: http://homepage.mac.com/jeffmacht/index.html.
Joshua Meeter's "The Award Showdown," a claymation film dedicated to Steven
Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams, and Harrison Ford. For more info
about the film visit the link to the section on his website:
http://64.177.230.133/awardshow.htm.
* Online Alpha informed that Powys Media, an L.A. based
publishing company has acquired the publishing rights to SPACE: 1999 and
are going to release a series of original novels based on the series.
The first of these will be released before the end of the year.
http://www.powysmedia.com .
* See the "Angry Naked Pat" cartoon at http://www.campchaos.com along with
the site's many other animated stories. For more on Angry Naked Pat, visit
http://www.angrynakedpat.com.
CORRECTION: Last week it was reported in Reuters that Oliver Stone was in
talks to make a movie about the 1984 chemical gas leak disaster in India
which killed over 22,000 people, based on French author Dominique Lapierre's
book IT WAS FIVE PAST MIDNIGHT IN BHOPAL. Official word from his office
says that Stone is not attached to the project in any way.
Special-Interest NON-Movie Information...
I realize movie news is the last thing on anybody's minds right now, but I
thought I would go ahead and assemble a recap of the news prior to the
tragedy. Don't know what else to say really. Found this site which said it
all to me: http://www.sodamnhip.com/
The Red Cross hotline for blood donations is (800) GIVE LIFE. The agency has
asked people willing to donate blood first to call and schedule an
appointment.
To donate money to Red Cross relief efforts call (800) HELP NOW. The Red
Cross also accepts donations online. Go to http://redcross.org/, or click on
the Web link at right.
To donate directly to the American Red Cross (news - web sites) in Greater
New York, visit http://www.nyredcross.org/donate/index.htm, or call
1-877-REDCROSS (1-877-733-2767).
The Salvation Army will accept financial contributions through (800) SAL
ARMY.
Until next week. we mourn. Take care.
Elston Gunn
Elstongunn@hotmail.colm
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