Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.

Boy, oh, boy, it's Chat Room day here at AICN. Steve Dallas is one of our chatters, as is Jed The Hutt. And now we've got news ABOUT one of our chatters, a writer/director named Patrick Read Johnson. You might remember SPACED INVADERS, a film he's proud of. Or DRAGONHEART, a film he's not. You may have heard his commentary on the just released BABY'S DAY OUT DVD, which is getting better reviews than the film itself. Or you may have read comments here on this site about a film Pat's been trying to make for a while now, 5-25-77, a nakedly autobiographical comic coming of age set on that day that looms so large in the collective memory of an entire generation of film geeks, the release date of the original STAR WARS.

Patrick comes into our chat room on a fairly regular basis, and is quite open about what he's up to. Sort of. He's been teasing me about the secret identity of his lead actor, and saying how he couldn't possibly tell, and it's obviously been delighting him to no end to have a secret.

Well, let's see if I know your secret, Patrick. Here's an e-mail I got a little earlier today:

Hi Harry,

I have long been a fan and loyal reader of AICN, but I have never had any news of note to contribute. That is, maybe until now.

Back in '99, I read a report on AICN about a project tentatively titled 5-25-77 by a guy named Patrick Read Johnson. It caught my eye, because the story is set in and around my home town, and I saw Star Wars in the same theatre on opening night.

I forwarded the info to a friend who works for the local daily newspaper, and he has been keeping an eye on the story. He e-mailed me today with the following info. I personally consider this an unconfirmed report, but from a reliable source. I don't know if you can do anything with it, but I thought I would pass it on. Anyways, FWIW...

Keep up the good work,

Artie Fufkin

---

Here's who he's trying to lineup: Carrie Fisher as the mother (she already has verbally agreed, it's not like she's been doing anything else of late); Joe Pantoliano (he's Guido the killer pimp in Risky Business and also been in Memento, The Fugitive and U.S. Marshalls) as the father; Christopher Lloyd as the manager of the Genesee Theater; Frankie Munoz from Malcolm in the Middle as the kid.

Supposedly, it's a go, he's already got several million in upfront money for producers to begin negotiating with actors, scouting locations, etc. He wants to premiere it at the refurbished Genesee Theatre (which is featured in the plot of the movie). The state gave Waukegan $20 million to put the theater back together.

Hmmm... how accurate does the casting sound? Well, considering Patrick was in the chat room the other night telling everyone how delighted he was to have just finished directing Joe Pantoliano as his father, I'd say it sounds pretty accurate.

So... Frankie Muniz as your lead, eh, Patrick? Mr. BIG FAT LIAR/MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE himself, eh? Sounds like a strong commercial choice, and a nice role for Muniz to take his next step towards adulthood with. And that would certainly explain why you've been so gleeful about your big secret. I guess time will tell...

"Moriarty" out.