Father Geek here with our man Gunn and another of his insightful columns that looks back into the near past to bring you up-to-date on ALL that Tinseltown entertainment news that for whatever reason you may have missed out on during the last work-week. Lots of coolness, annnnnnd some not-so-cool awaits you as you take a leisurely scroll down thru the week that was in Elston Gunn's WEEKLY RECAP...
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CASTING
* Tobey Maguire will star in and executive produce Universal Pictures'
SEABISCUIT, based on the nonfiction book by Laura Hillenbrand, for
writer/director Gary Ross (PLEASANTVILLE). Production begins Oct. 15 in Los
Angeles. It's the true story of the legendary 1930s racing horse who, with
the collaboration of his jockey, trainer and owners, was able to beat the
odds and win horse racing honors.
* Molly Shannon is in talks to star in the MGM/Jim Henson Pictures
live-action/CGI family comedy GOOD BOY about an alien dog coming to Earth to
investigate reports that fellow dogs have abandoned their mission to take
over the planet. Production begins Aug. 26 in Vancouver with John Hoffman
at the helm.
* Brad Renfro and Robert Englund will star in FREDDY VS. JASON for New Line
Cinema and director Ronny Yu (BRIDE OF CHUCKY). Shooting begins Sept. 9 in
Vancouver.
* Laura Elena Harring and Dougray Scott will star in the indie suspense
thriller THE POET for British director Paul Hills. Shooting begins Aug. 17
in Munich. The story follows an international assassin who misses his
target and accidentally kills the wrong man. He then attempts to learn more
about the life of his innocent victim only to meet and fall in love with the
man's sister.
* Eva Mendes is in talks to star as as female undercover agent in
Universal's THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS 2 for director John Singleton and
Original Films. Shooting begins in the fall in Miami. Paul Walker and
Tyrese also star.
* Ben Stiller is in talks to star in Universal Pictures/Jersey Films'
untitled romantic comedy for writer/director John Hamburg. The project is
about an anal-retentive risk-averse man who analyzes risk for a living. His
life is turned upside down when he gets involved in a risky romance.
* Kid Rock joins the urban biker pic BIKER BOYZ for DreamWorks and director
Reggie Rock Bythewood. Lisa Bonet, Djimon Hounsou, Salli Richardson, Larenz
Tate, Terence Howard, Melissa De Sousa, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Rick
Gonzalez, Dante and Dion Basco, Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, Orlando
Jones, Brendan Fehr and Meagan Good also star.
* Seann William Scott, Jason Biggs, Eugene Levy and Alyson Hannigan will
reprise their roles in AMERICAN PIE 3 with Jesse Dylan in talks to direct.
Adam Herz wrote the script.
* Demi Moore will take a small role in CHARLIE'S ANGELS 2: HALO as a
"fallen" angel working for the bad guys. Shooting is underway for a June
2003 release.
* Joel Edgerton (upcoming NED KELLY) is getting ready to play a fictional
concert promoter for Frank Sinatra in THE NIGHT WE CALLED IT A DAY about
Sinatra's '74 Australian tour when the crooner insulted female journalists
and was prevented by the trade unions from leaving the country until he
apologized. Paul Goldman will direct from a script by Michael Thomas and
Peter Clifton.
* Halle Berry is in talks to star in the action-thriller THE GUIDE for
Paramount Pictures and producer Mark Gordon. She would play a Seneca Indian
who has the expert gift of helping desperate people escape their negative
situations by erasing their past and providing them with a brand-new
identity.
* Bill Paxton is in negotiations to star in Fox Searchlight's BROKEN
LIZARD'S CLUB DREAD, starring Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve
Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske (all of Broken Lizard and SUPER
TROOPERS). Brittany Daniel and Jordan Ladd are also in talks to join. The
story is set on a Jimmy Buffett wannabe's booze-soaked island resort, where
a machete-wielding killer is loose.
* Rosario Dawson and Hank Azaria are in final talks to join the ensemble
cast of SHATTERED GLASS for Lions Gate. Hayden Christensen, Peter
Sarsgaard, Steve Zahn, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Chloe Sevigny star.
* Connie Nielsen has been added to the cast of THE GREAT RAID for Miramax
Films and director John Dahl. She'll play an American nurse who is one of
the leaders of an underground movement in the Philippines.
* Jim Caviezel is in talks with Mel Gibson to play Jesus Christ in PASSION,
a feature that would explore the life of Christ. While Gibson would produce
the project, he's undecided as to whether he'd direct it.
* Jeffrey Wright will play Long John Silver in TREASURE ISLAND, a
contemporary adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, for director
Steve Miner (LAKE PLACID, HALLOWEEN: H20).
* Djimon Hounsou joins Angelina Jolie in TOMB RAIDER 2.
* Jenna Elfman will star opposite Brendan Fraser in LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN
ACTION for director Joe Dante and Warner Bros.
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* Susannah Grant (ERIN BROCKOVICH) will adapt Jennifer Weiner's upcoming
comedic novel IN HER SHOES for Fox 2000 and Scott Free Prods. It's about
sibling rivalry after an irresponsible party girl moves in with her
ambitious attorney sister.
* Rupert Wainwright (STIGMATA) is set to direct THE OUTER LIMITS for MGM,
based on the the 1960s anthology series. Gerald Di Pego (PHENOMENON) and
sons Justin and Zachary have written the script.
* Terry Gilliam is in talks to direct Warner Bros. Pictures' adaptation of
Rafael Sabatini's literary classic SCARAMOUCHE. The story is set during the
French Revolution and follows a swashbuckling man who seeks to avenge a
death caused by an evil aristocrat. Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle adapted the
project. The book has been made into a feature in 1923 and again in 1952.
This version is not a remake, but will go back to the original source
material.
* Todd Graff will direct CAMP for IFC Prods., Jersey Films and Killer Films
in association with John Wells Prods. It's a musical comedy set at a summer
camp for young performers and centers on Bert Hanley, a burnt-out,
once-successful Broadway songwriter who has reached a career low. At the
camp, Hanley ultimately finds hope in an offbeat group of aspiring young
actors, singers and dancers who chase dreams, agents and one another. The
movie will feature production numbers to songs by Stephen Sondheim, the
Rolling Stones and Victoria Williams as well as original songs by composer
Michael Gore and lyricist Lynne Ahrens.
* Chuck Russell and Frank Darabont will work with Castle Rock Entertainment
on an adaptation of CrossGeneration Comics' WAY OF THE RAT, a martial arts
action-adventure to be developed through Dark Woods Prods. Russell is
planning to write and direct the feature. Meanwhile, Russell also has
optioned and is developing through his own Russell Prods. the CrossGen title
SCION, a medieval fantasy adventure with a sci-fi twist.
* Rob Cohen (XXX) is in early talks to direct the Columbia Pictures
historical epic KING KAMEHAMEHA with the Rock aboard to star. Greg Poirier
is writing the script about the king, who conquered the tribal-ruled
Hawaiian islands in the 1700s, made himself king and became a trading
partner with the British and other nations that had been exploiting the
primitive tribes.
* Senator Intl. has snapped up FIRST SNOW by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby with
Fergus set to direct. Shooting begins in October. The plot is described as
reminiscent of MEMENTO in its quirkiness.
* Zack Snyder will direct the comic book adaptation MAGE, based on the Matt
Wagner comic, for Spyglass Entertainment. Production begins in spring.
* Peter Chelsom (SERENDIPITY) will direct the Miramax remake of the 1996
Japanese romantic comedy SHALL WE DANCE? It's about a staid working man who
takes a ballroom dancing class in an effort to impress a beautiful dance
teacher. In the end, the dancing helps him save his marriage.
* New Zealand filmmaker Christine Jeffs (RAIN) is in talks to direct Gwyneth
Paltrow in BITTER FAME, about the tragic life of Sylvia Plath, for Focus
Features.
* John McTiernan is in talks to direct Intermedia Films' crime drama
BOOSTER, based on Eugene Izzi's novel of the same name, for Gran Via Prods.
Sheldon Turner penned the adaptation about a former thief who comes out of
retirement to take part in the biggest and most dangerous heist of his life.
Ed Solomon wrote the most recent draft of the script.
* Deep River Prods. purchased the comedy pitch DON'T SEND HELP from Geoff
Rodkey and Al Franken. The plot is said to revolve around the relationship
between several supermodels and one geeky guy.
* MGM and State Street Pictures are moving forward with a sequel to the
upcoming urban comedy BARBERSHOP with Don D. Scott writing the script. Tim
Story is in talks to return as director.
* Jim Fall will direcdt Disney's CIAO LIZZIE!, the bigscreen adaptation of
the TV series "Lizzie McGuire." Shooting begins Oct. 14 with Hilary Duff
starring. The pic follows Lizzie graduating junior high and taking off to
Rome for a summer vacation.
* Phoenix Pictures grabbed Holly Brix's horror-thriller script MILE ZERO
about a young woman's efforts to clear her father's name in a string of
gruesome murders at a remote Alaskan oil facility.
* Paramount Pictures and producer Scott Rudin have tapped Richard Price to
script an original idea that is designed to reteam director Jonathan Demme
with Jodie Foster. It's described as a thriller that occurs in a modern
urban setting.
* Linda Fiorentino is getting ready to direct ONE EYED JACKS AND SUICIDE
KINGS, based on a play by Colin Patrick Lynch who's also written the
screenplay, about six twentysomething boyhood friends who confront their
futures when they get together for a weekly poker game.
* Writing pair Tom Firestone and Martin Meunier have sold the pitch ANTONIUS
to Disney's feature animation division. It's the story of a leopard in
ancient Egypt who becomes a freedom fighter.
* Ron Friedman and Steve Bencich will develop David Weisner's best-selling
children's book THE THREE PIGS for Disney mixing the classic story with a
twist, as one by one the pigs are blown out of the fairy tale and set off on
individual adventures attempting to get back into their story.
* Doug Wright (QUILLS) will adapt David L. Robbins' mystery-thriller
SCORCHED EARTH for Warner Bros. Pictures. When a child born of an
interracial marriage dies moments after delivery, the body is buried in an
all-white cemetery. After deacons disinter the casket and move it to a
black Baptist church cemetery, an arsonist burns the white church to the
ground. The black husband is blamed, and when the body of the sheriff's
teen daughter is discovered in the ruins, he is charged with murder.
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* Stan Winston Prods. has secured the feature rights to the sci-fi action
shooter video game AREA 51.
* Mindfire Entertainment has teamed with Sega to turn the CRAZY TAXI arcade
driving game into a feature film. Production is expected to begin early
next year.
* Peri Gilpin has dropped out of THE CAT IN THE HAT due to scheduling
conflicts. She would've played the mom of the kids who get visited by the
stovetop-hatted cat.
Until probably two weeks from now...
Elston Gunn
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