Cool News
Elston Gunn's WEEKLY RECAP
Father Geek here with Elston Gunn's Weekly Recap of all that movieland news you may have missed during the last week, but first there is this sad bit that came directly to ol' Father Geek here in Austin at the Geek Headquarters Compound from Uncapie...
Legendary singer and composer, Peggy Lee, passed away in her Bel Air home
Monday night the 21st, at the age of 81. The silky-voiced, platinum-haired star's
career spanned over fifty years giving us songs from Disney's "Lady And the
Tramp," "Pete Kelly's Blues," "Johnny Guitar," "Midnight Serenade" and "My
Man Godfrey."
Her life was marked with sorrow. At the age of four, her mother
died and her father, a handyman and part-time railroad station agent,
abandoned her. She was then raised by a stepmother, who physically and
emotionally abused her. Miss Lee left home at an early age, learning to
depend on herself developing her singing ability on radio programs and worked
as a waitress in Hollywood when bandleader, Benny Goodman, heard her voice.
Working with Goodman's band, gave her the chance she needed and with the hit
song, "Why Don't You Do Right?", it took her to the top of the charts. Miss
Lee later married the band's guitarist, Dave Barbour, but the marriage
dissolved after eight years. Three consequent marriages to actors, Brad
Dexter, Dewey Martin and Jack Del Rio, also were brief.
Miss Lee also
appeared on "The Andy Williams Show" as a regular in the sixties. In "Pete
Kelly's Blues," directed by and starring, Jack Webb, her work as the
hard-drinking singer, "Rose Hopkins," earned her an Academy Award nomination
for best actress in 1955.
Disney fans knew her work from "Lady And the Tramp"
where, not only did she sing the songs, but was the voice of, "Peg,"
"Darling" and of course, the Siamese cats, "Si and Am." In the eighties, Miss
Lee sued Disney for not giving her owed residuals from the film, which she
won hands down.
In 1982, Miss Lee tried Broadway with an ill-fated,
autobiographical-musical story about her life, immortalizing her step mother
in an appropriate titled song, "One Beating A Day." Her song writing and
singing talent extended to the great Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, earning
her several Grammy Awards for her work. Two classic hits were "Fever" and "Is
That All There Is?", a torchy, sad song about life. Miss Lee had diabetes and
had suffered a stroke three years ago, but was in good spirits, focusing on
her work. A great singer. A great composer. A great woman. She was one of a
kind.
UncapieWEEKLY RECAP...
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CASTING
* Desmond Harrington (RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS) joins Julianna Margulies,
Ron Eldard and Isaiah Washington in the thriller GHOST SHIP for director
Steve Beck (THIRTEEN GHOSTS) and Dark Castle. Production begins Thursday in
Queensland, Australia for an Oct. 25 release.
* Roman Polanski will star in a feature project, based on Aleksander
Fredro's play THE REVENGE, for Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda. Shooting
begins Feb. 8.
* Daryl Hannah will play an assassin in KILL BILL for writer/director
Quentin Tarantino and Miramax. Uma Thurman, Warren Beatty and Lucy Liu also
star. Hannah will also join Jon Favreau, Kelsey Grammer, Rachel Leigh Cook
in the Steve Anderson-directed THE BIG EMPTY and Lili Taylor and Mary
Steenburgen in John Sayles' CASA DE LOS BABYS.
* Jason Isaacs (THE PATRIOT, BLACK HAWK DOWN) is in talks to play Capt. Hook
in Revolution Studios' live-action feature PETER PAN for director P.J.
Hogan. Production begins late summer for a Christmas 2003 release.
* Ryan Phillippe is in final talks to join Liam Neeson and Billy Crawford in
John Frankenheimer's untitled prequel to THE EXORCIST for Morgan Creek
Prods. Production begins in the spring. The film tells the story of Father
Merrin and his first encounter with the devil while doing missionary work in
post-World War II Africa.
* Adam Sandler is in negotiations with Miramax Films to star in SOLOMON
GRUNDY for director Danny Boyle. The comedy centers on the whirlwind
experiences of a man who lives a full, complete life in one week's time.
Robert Nelson Jacobs penned the script.
* Kathryn Morris (MINORITY REPORT) is set to join Christian Slater, Gerry
Butler, Patricia Velazquez, LL Cool J and Val Kilmer in Dimension Films'
MINDHUNTERS for director Renny Harlin and Intermedia Films.
* Bruce Willis will star in ME AGAIN, a thriller about a man who loses his
memory and tries to figure out whether he's a hitman or the hitman's target.
Stephen Moffat wrote the original screenplay.
* Al Pacino will have a cameo role in Martin Brest's GIGLI, starring Ben
Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. It's about a hit man who kidnaps the mentally
challenged brother of the attorney general to stop the prosecution of a mob
boss.
* Frank John Hughes ("Band of Brothers") joins Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio
and Christopher Walken in CATCH ME IF YOU CAN for director Steven Spielberg and
DreamWorks.
* Tom Cruise will star in the WWII pic GHOST SOLDIERS, based on the
bestseller by Hampton Sides, for director Steven Spielberg and
Universal/DreamWorks. The project centers on the survivors of the Bataan
Death March, who remained in a Japanese prison camp for three years until
freed by Allied forces. Josh Friedman (CHAIN REACTION) wrote the first
draft of the script.
* Olivia Williams joins Tim Roth, Dougray Scott and Rupert Everett in
CROMWELL AND FAIRFAX, Mike Barker's English indie Civil War drama.
* Jennifer Love Hewitt will star in and co-produce the romantic comedy MY
ROMANCE for Fox 2000. It's about a disenchanted artist who has sworn off
romance. When rumors link her with a millionaire playboy, she plays along
and finds love in the process.
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* Julian Fellowes (GOSFORD PARK) will adapt PURE DEAD MAGIC, based on the
British children's book by Debi Gliori, for Universal Studios. The story is
a comedy about a Scottish family, the last clan in a long line of witches
living in their bewitched family castle in Scotland. When their father is
kidnapped by an inheritance-seeking half brother, his children must use
witchcraft, computer technology and help from some magical pet beasts to
rescue him. Fellowes will also adapt Anthony Trollope's EUSTACE DIAMONDS
for director Sharon Maguire (BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY) as well as Kate
O'Riordan's THE ANGEL IN THE HOUSE and P.G. Wodehouse's PICCADILLY JIM.
* Joe Johnston (OCTOBER SKY, JURASSIC PARK III) is in final talks to direct
the horse racing pic HIDALGO for Disney Co. Shooting starts this summer for
a summer 2003 release. John Fusco (YOUNG GUNS) wrote the script based on
the true story of a Pony Express courier who travels throughout the world
with his mustang to compete against Arabian thoroughbreds in a dangerous
race.
* Victor Salva (POWDER, JEEPERS CREEPERS) will soon film American Zoetrope's
LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL: JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 for a 2003 release. The
Creeper returns to terrorize a bus full of high school basketball players,
cheerleaders and related characters.
* New Line has optioned the spec BEST SHOT, by Jim Piddock and Margaret
Oberman, about a tough cop gets paired on a case with a colleague who may be
the most neurotic man alive. It's being described as LETHAL WEAPON meets
WHAT ABOUT BOB?
* Bill Duke (SISTER ACT 2, HOODLUM) will direct BLACKTIME, WHITENOISE for
Fathom Motion Picture Co. Production begins this summer. It's about four
friends of various racial backgrounds who break into a house and
accidentally shoot the owner. While making their getaway, they are somehow
transported to 1968, where they face a totally different racial climate.
* John Rice and Joe Batteer (WINDTALKERS) will adapt SECRET SANCTION, a
novel by Brian Haig, son of former Secretary of State Alexander Haig.
Intermedia Films has optioned the novel, the first of six installments of a
series for Warner Books, and has Nicolas Cage attached to star in and
produce the project.
* Jay Wolpert (THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO) will write a modern film version
of THE SWORD IN THE STONE, based on the novel by T.H. White. The Disney
project chronicles the early life of King Arthur as a boy before he becomes
king.
* Noah Laracy and Charlie Sullivan will write the comedy script THREE DAY
WEEKEND for Catch 23 Entertainment. It's about a conservative small-town
sheriff who tries to maintain order amid the chaos that ensues when the
residents find out the world will end in three days.
* Stephen Daldry (BILLY ELLIOT) is developing a feature project based on
Jonathan Franzen's controversial National Book Award winner THE CORRECTIONS.
The book portrays three generations of a deeply dysfunctional Midwestern
family who get together for a final Christmas at the family home.
* Jonathan Frakes is attached to direct and produce ILLUSION for Disney
about a master illusionist who after staging the death of a tycoon, is
turned into a desperate fugitive in a world where nothing and no one are as
they appear to be. Brent Bell and Matt Peterman will pen the script.
* Michael Ian Black will direct the comedy THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY from
his own script about a guy who marries a complete stranger after he
accidentally kills his girlfriend in a surprise marriage proposal. Magellan
Filmed Entertainment optioned the rights to the script.
* Martin Scorsese is gearing up to direct Leonardo DiCaprio in a Howard
Hughes biopic written by John Logan (GLADIATOR). Production on the pic,
which is on the hunt for financing, would start in the fall with DiCaprio
and Michael Mann serving as producers. The movie will focus on the
formative Hughes years, when he was an aviator and movie mogul, and will end
in the early 1950s.MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* DreamWorks Pictures has grabbed the Ricky Blitt's pitch BREAKUPS ARE THEIR
BUSINES, based on Los Angeles Times staff writer Mark Magnier's recent
article of the same name. The article is about Japan's wakaresaseya,
relationship termination specialists, that make tens of millions of dollars
sabotaging/destroying relationships; sometimes using entrapment, deceit and
blackmail to satisfy their clients' needs.
* Steven Spielberg has reportedly decided not to direct the Columbia
Pictures project MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, based on the novel by Arthur Golden,
but he is still attached to produce the project.
* Deep River Prods. and Bona Fide Prods. have optioned Bill Roorbach's debut
novel THE SMALLEST COLOR about a U.S. Olympic ski coach struggling with the
legacy of the 1960s and the long-kept secret that his brother, a underground
radical, thought to be hiding from the FBI, died years ago.
* Bodega Films will release Jean-Luc Godard's adaptation of KING LEAR in
French theaters in April 15 years after it was made. The pic was written by
and starring Godard and Norman Mailer, and also features Woody Allen,
Burgess Meredith, Peter Sellars, Leos Carax, Molly Ringwald and Julie Delpy.
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+ Expand All
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Una! =)
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a response in convenient blurb form: is the polanski movie about a film director who fucks a little girl and then flees the country? "how about a prequel? everybody loves prequels!"--Homer Simpson. Unless Danny Boyle is making the mythical PORNO, I aint gonna see it. Spielberg can make as many WWII films as he wants, but he doesnt have the ability to top The Thin Red Line. Godard's Lear is interesting, but by no means brilliant. Why the hell doesnt the State just reunite?
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Must have been a slight mess up for Mr. Gunn. I believe the actual title is Catch Me if You Can, which should be a sweet, sweet movie. And it's got Walken.
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One of the best concert DVDs ever
was released earlier this week and you guys didn't even mention it on this site. Nine Inch Nails: And All That Could HAve Been, this is a fantasic DVD that was done on DV and really gives you the feeling of being at the show, and its full of hidden features. This is one of the best DVDs that I have purchased, you guys need to check it out. Check out the trailor here:
http://www.andallthatcouldhavebeen.com/
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TAKEN FROM ACTUAL POLICE FILES...I'm not a cop. I just impersonate one to shake people down for cash and drugs. Lately, I've been spending a lot of time around the Rampart station in L.A. with my accompli--best friend Eriglione. We eat Krispy Kremes and talk shop with the other cops. The other day, we were debating which was better: the old fashioned sap or the collapsable metal baton when the Captain's voice roared from his office: "Maverik! Eriglione! Get your worthless asses in here!" The Captain is this big, fat insane black guy who screams a lot. When we got in his office, this bald, mean looking white guy was sitting in a chair. Eriglione turned up the collar of his leather jacket and I stuck a wooden match between my teeth. "DO YOU TWO COWBOYS KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE! YOUR LITTLE SHENANIGANS JUST DESTROYED ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND MANHOURS ON THE DELGADO CASE!" "A hundred thousand. Captain, you're exadurating!" "SHUT YOUR PIE HOLES! IF YOU WANT TO SAVE YOUR BADGES YOU'LL COOPERATE WITH CAPTAIN FENSTER HERE AND YOU WON"T SAY ANOTHER GODDAM WORD!" It turned out that Captain Fenster (the mean looking bald white guy) was part of a special unit that deals with celebrity crimes. He needed us to pose as convicts to scare straight a recent arrestee. "Names Winona Ryder. Some sort of movie star. You ever see any of her movies?" "Yeah," Eriglione said, "she was Wednesday in THE ADDAMS FAMILY." "You're one up on me. This Ryder chick shoplifted a bunch of stuff from a department store. We want to make sure she never tries anything like that again. I don't get these new actresses. Now, that Angie Dickinson, that was a woman." I could see we were going to get along well with Captain Fenster. "Okay, Captain, we do this, we want to run a big case for you. Maybe Christian Slater or George Michael..." "Yeah, or one of those DIFFERENT STROKES kids." "We'll see. Here she is!" He unlocked the cell. We went in, scratching in our orange jumpsuits which hadn't been properly deloused. Ryder was in a fetal position on the bunk. Eriglione ran over and dumped her out and screamed, "FROM NOW ON THIS IS MY BUNK! GOT IT!" She blubbered something. I got in her face. "ARE YOU THE CHICK IN ALL THOSE CHICK FLICKS I HATE?" She nodded. "Cool," I said, pulling a script out of my pants. "Here's a screenplay my wife wrote called ANXIETY DEBS that would be great for you to star in and produce. Okay, I wrote it, every bad boy has a soft side. There's a great part for you. Read it, read it..."
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Walken: "You see, I'm....not....a Quaker."
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Jan 28, 2002 1:49:14 AM CST
"Blacktime, Whitenoize" sounds horrible ! And how many Spielberg
by silenceoffreedom
Man, I love reading this weekly updates, theres always at least 2 ridiculous premises.
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Jan 28, 2002 1:53:25 AM CST
Sleazy moron, what was the "Creepy sexual subtext" of Jeepers Cr
by silenceoffreedom
Leave the fuckin' guy alone, he's paid his dues and just wants to make movies. I mean, I respect your opinion, it's just retarded.
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Well maybe senor Spielbergo has gone to the well once to often as far as WW2 films go...but still it could be good. Empire of the Sun was magnificent, Schindler's List elevated his status, and Saving Private Ryan kicked the shit out of me (except for some corny flag-waving). So why not do another WW2 movie? Those 3 were relatively successful. No one would complain if Scorsese did another mafia picture would they? But I am pleased at Spielberg's attempts at sc-fi again. A.I was great as far as I'm concerned. And Minority Report will probably bee good too. As far as "The Thin Red Line" goes while I place that film higher than any of Spielberg's WW2 movies, I wouldn't consider it a war movie in the traditional sense. It was more
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I loved "Billy Elliot" and think he will do a great job turning this magnificent novel into a film. There are definately roles in it for Steve Buscemi, Billy Crudup and Allyson Hannigan.
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Ghost Soldiers is a pretty damned fine book, and I was thinking it would make a terrific movie-provided some of the coolest detail is left intact to the final screenplay. For example, when the more modern airplanes started buzzing over the Japaness consentration camp-the reactions of the Allied POW believed that they were similar to "Buck Rodgers" equipment. The fact the men were out contact with civilization for so long, many of the militaries advancement were beyond their comprehension. I wonder, if the time structure of the book would remain the same-or would it be too confusing for the audience. The first Chapter is the begining of the Army attempt to put together a rescue efffort late in the war-the seconcond chapter was about how the POW were captured by Japan early in the war. It alternates between the chapters-until timeline catches up in the last few chapters, when the Rangers make it to the POW camp. Hillarity ensues-ha ha ha ha ha..No actuall, there are some geniune comedic moments that you would swear was made up. And some shocking irony of war that happened as well. I don't want to ruin it for anyone cause its a great read, and may make a good movie.
Mike Lukash -
Jan 28, 2002 4:06:09 AM CST
Reading the title GHOST SOLDIERS instantly makes me think of tha
by cash bailey
And why do they want to ruin this potentially-cool EXORCIST movie with that mush-mouthed, cross-eyed pretty boy.
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Jan 28, 2002 4:06:10 AM CST
Reading the title GHOST SOLDIERS instantly makes me think of tha
by cash bailey
And why do they want to ruin this potentially-cool EXORCIST movie with that mush-mouthed, cross-eyed pretty boy.
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KLEENEX WADS - A gruff veteran cop gets teamed with another gruff veteran cop to catch a notorious killer. They get along fabulously. BIG CHIEF TUMBLING DICE - A group of racial diverse friends in the Midwest break into a casino and actually shoot the owner, then are mystically magically wistfully wascally transported back in time to the French - Indian wars. In other news, Steven Schpeilburg is still attached to mammaries of a geisha.
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Indeed, the title should be CATCH ME IF YOU CAN as opposed to BAND OF BROTHERS. I totally goofed. Thanks, bottlerocket, for catching it.
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Steven Spielberg should just make a film called World War 2, a collection of all the aspects of WOrld War 2, and you can include the ones he all ready made. He could make films about the Germans, the Japanese, the battles in Africa, America, Austrailia, and also do films about how others reacted to the war, like the countries in South America, or Asia(besides Japan). He could release one every Christmas. How about it Steven?(I am being serious, none of my usual sarcasm mmm kay.)Woody Allen in King Lear...WTF? I guess Julianna Marguiles and Ron Eldard are still together since they are making Ghost Ship together. Hee's hoping it's better than either of Dark Castle's other two films. Daryl Hannah's making a comeback...watch out! And Adam Sandler is going to play the albino villain from the Justice Society of AMerica Comics, or Batman Comics. Really? Cool.(that's sarcasm, though the film does sound interesting with MR. Trainspotting directing).
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Jan 28, 2002 10:16:01 AM CST
Enema Bag Jones ! Have you seen Dave Foley's "The Wrong Guy"
by silenceoffreedom
Possibly the funniest movie ever made, but it only was released in Canada, so not many people have had the honour.
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Ford will be dead by the time he gets around to it.
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We were lucky enough to get it on video here in Australia. Best line: "You wanna know how many men it took to kill Kennedy? None. Kennedy's head just did that. I call it the 'No Bullet' theory." Absolute classic movie.
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...therefore we must worship him, because nothing matters but movies. Not right and wrong. Not good and evil. Not the rights of the innocent. Not justice. Just the movies that these extradinary human beings grace us with. You can't talk about things like ethics or morality or standing for what is right when compared with the almighty movies. (NOTE FOR THE IDIOTS OUT THERE: I'm being sarcastic as hell).
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I've been looking for somewhere to vent. I shoulda come here first. I watched Jeepers Creepers last week and I have never been more repelled by a movie. You want to know the creepy sexual subtext? How about a movie about an unstoppable monster who tortures teens to death and then mutilates and licks their corpses? Bad enough, but then have it written and directed by a convicted pedophile. Yes, a convicted pedophile, now reformed and ready to become a productive and harmless member of society, WROTE a movie about an invincible monster who kills kids, and ends it with the monster winning. Great. The only time in my entire life that I ever questioned freedom of speech. The thing that really gets me is that not only did FFC put his name on a masturbation movie for serial killers and child rapists, but he put it on a completely inept masturbation movie for serial killers and child rapists. Unforgivable.
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I'm hoping for minor cultural icon status myself. But remember, my friends, Buzz Maverik is never the voice of reason (so few of us who refer to ourselves in the third person ever have anything to do with reason). I'm a lynch mob leading kind of guy myself.
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Jan 29, 2002 8:11:26 PM CST
I'm not gonna do a rebuttle till someone else backs up my ca
by silenceoffreedom
Two of the other best parts are where he goes to get a drink of water from the water blasting machine and when he super-glues the picket fence back together. Second best line is when the girl rubs his eye with a dirty rag and apologizes and he goes "No, it's my fault. It's these damn eyes ! They're too susceptive too dirty, oily rags."
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Jan 30, 2002 9:19:21 AM CST
What a frightening world we live in when Sleazy and Buzz are con
by huneybee
Someone hold me, I'm scared. ;)____I'm with ya guys, just saving the majority of my disgust of Salva for the inevitable battles as JC specific articles appear. I didn't and do not plan to watch JC, but had several in-depth discussions with people who did. What I heard was sickening enough without actually subjecting myself to the movie.____I'll see you guys at the party...don't drink all the booze before I get there!!____Bee
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