Father Geek here posting Elston's review of the past Hollywood week for those of you who may have missed a few items. Its a little shorter than is usual because the ol' tinseltown work week was cut short itself by the 4th holiday. Anyway, here's Mr. Gunn (No, not Jim Brown) and...
The WEEKLY RECAP...
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
* Fox 2000 has purchased the Danish film KLATRETOSEN (CATCH THAT GIRL) to
remake as an English-language pic for Mad Chance to produce. The heist
family film was directed project by Hans Fabian Wullenweber.
* Artisan Entertainment has grabbed the thriller script THE LOST from
writers Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie about a psychiatrist who is asked to
re-evaluate a patient he diagnosed years ago as having a multiple
personality disorder only to learn that there are other forces at work.
David S. Goyer will produce.
* Martin Henderson and Jamie Pressly will join Ice Cube in Warner Bros.
Pictures' TORQUE for director Joseph Kahn. It's about a lifelong biker who
finds himself framed for the murder of a man, who happens to be the brother
of the leader of one of the most powerful and feared biker gangs in the
country. Jay Hernandez, Matt Schulze and Adam Scott also star.
* Ed Harris and Giovanni Ribisi have joined the ensemble pic MASKED &
ANONYMOUS, starring Bob Dylan, for Intermedia Films and Spitfire Pictures.
Shooting wraps July 17.
* Walt Disney Co. has snapped up the feature film rights to the novel SWEET
HUSH by Deborah Smith. It's about the widowed female head of an Appalachian
apple-growing empire who is pitted against the White House when her son
comes home from Harvard after having secretly married the president's
daughter.
* Intermedia Films bought Howard M. Gould's comedy pitch about sexual
harassment in academia. Mirage Enterprises banner will produce with Chuck
Weinstock.
* Marlon Wayans will star in the martial-arts parody KUNG FU THEATER for
DreamWorks about a comic book artist who, parked in front of his TV, finds
himself magically transported into a martial arts film. Music video veteran
Nick Quested will make his feature directing debut on the project.
* David Zucker is in talks to direct Rob Schneider in HARV THE BARBARIAN for
DreamWorks Pictures, Winchester Films and Wind Dancer Films. Production
begins Oct. 1 from a script by Carmen Finestra and Jack Handey. It's
described as a Monty Python-esque tale of a simple barbarian who finds
himself on a voyage of self-discovery.
* Felicia Henderson (Showtime's "Soul Food") will write, direct and produce
PAPA WAS for Fox Searchlight. Boris Kodjoe will star. The story centers
two men in their 20s and how their lifelong friendship begins to deteriorate
when one of them, who works as a high-priced gigolo, falls in love for the
first time.
* Donald Sutherland is in talks and Seth Green is set to join the cast of
Paramount Pictures' THE ITALIAN JOB for director F. Gary Gray and DeLine
Pictures. Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron, Franky G. and Mos
Def also star.
* Laurence Fishburne is in final negotiations to star opposite Clint
Eastwood in MYSTIC RIVER playing the partner of a cop investigating a murder
that links three old friends. Eastwood produces and directs from an
adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel by Brian Helgeland.
* Producer Casey Silver will produce an untitled dark comedy from
writer/helmer Austin Chick (XX/XY). It's about a recently fired online exec
who takes revenge on his ex-boss.
* Fox 2000 picked up the rights to the Danish teen-adventure flick CATCH
THAT GIRL about a girl and two boys forced to pull a bank heist in order to
save the girl's father.
* Dylan Baker (CHANGING LANES, upcoming THE ROAD TO PERDITION) joins the
cast of Chris Rock's HEAD OF STATE for DreamWorks. Rock, Bernie Mac, Tamala
Jones and Lynn Whitfield star.
* Charlotte Church will make her acting debut in the musical comedy I'LL BE
THERE for Morgan Creek Prods. and director Craig Ferguson. Shooting begins
this week for a March release. It's about a former '80s pop star whose
downward spiral stops when he finds out he has a teenage daughter who was
the result of a weekend love affair. Jemma Redgrave, Ralph Brown, Ian
McNeice, Stephan Noonan, Joss Ackland and Imelda Staunton round out the
cast. Ferguson co-wrote the screenplay with Phillip McGrade.
* David Siegel and Scott McGehee (THE DEEP END) will direct CRISIS IN THE
HOT ZONE for 20th Century Fox, based on the book by Richard Preston. It's
set in 1989 and centers on the real-life outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus
in a Washington animal test lab and the subsequent efforts of a secret
government force to contain it. Eric Jandresen wrote the screenplay.
* Spencer Breslin (DISNEY'S THE KID) will star opposite Mike Myers and
Dakota Fanning in Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures' DR. SEUSS' THE CAT
IN THE HAT. Production begins in the fall with Bo Welch directing. Alec
Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer wrote the script.
* Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Alex Burns, Geoffrey Arend, Michael Goldstrom, Angela
Goethals and Ginnifer Goodwin, Kurt Fuller, Josh Pais and Joseph Siravo will
star in PORN N' CHICKEN, based on the true story of an underground club that
gathers weekly to eat fried chicken and watch porn. Shooting begins this
summer in New York.
GUNN SHOTS
(NOT from the trades)
* Kino International has acquired North American distribution rights to
AYURVEDA: THE ART OF BEING, a documentary on the history, practice and
success of a medical system based "on the integration of the body, mind,
senses and spirit." The film premieres July 17th at the Cinema Village in
New York, and it will expand nationally thereafter.
* Charlotte Lewis and Jon Jacobs will star in HEY DJ about a Miami DJ who
gets involved with three women at once. Migel Delgado is directing from a
script by James Ricardo.
* The folks at Bloodshot Pictures are unraveling a mystery on July 27.
Visit Their Cool Site for more information
on Noirdance.
* Award winning commercial director Robert B. Martin Jr.'s mockumentary HIP,
EDGY, SEXY, COOL and Dave West's comedic short PUDDLEJUMPER will top off
DancesWithFilms' first night. The festival will run July 12th-18th, at
Laemmles's Santa Monica 4-Plex.
* Visit The Film Journal , an an online film publication
dedicated to the discussion and promotion of world and independent cinema,
for an alternative to your everyday film writing.
* National Geographic invites visitors on board K-19 to experience its
dramatic adventure and discover the legacy of K-19 and other periled
submarines online at This Location. Check it out July
19.
* Http://www.7mpictures.com is a web site that posts new short films,
commercials, and movie trailers weekly. Check back every week to see the
cool and innovative films from 7M Pictures.
* For information on the HD EXPO, an event hosting the latest in HD tools
ranging from production to post production, visit Their Site.
* Visit This Site for a re-designed, all-new portal to the
StewdioMedia Family of web sites, including Stew's new sci-fi movie
franchise THE NEXT RACE and the hot new comic book series THE CHANNELERS!
* Http://www.10p.TV today unveiled the soundtrack to the upcoming animation
short, SHIT HAPPENS, which is slated for release in August. The flick is a
bizarre tale of Geeks, Girls and Guns, and features comic artwork by Nigel
Lowry (THE JOCK) and a soundtrack written by ex Bennett front man Jason
Applin.
Until next week...
Elston Gunn
elston gunn@hotmail.com
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