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Elston Gunn's WEEKLY RECAP

Father Geek here with Elston and another WEEKLY RECAP for all of you who may have missed out on some of the Tinseltown News during the past work-week. Its got some length to it so I'm out-of-here, and here's Elston Gunn and this week's...

WEEKLY RECAP...

TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

CASTING

* Lil' Kim will star in the indie urban Western GUNS AND ROSES for writer/director Jean Claude LaMarre (HIGHER ED). Bobby Brown, LisaRaye, Monica Calhoun, Marie Matiko and Louis Mandylor. Set in the 1800s, the period action film combines elements of classic spaghetti Westerns with the gritty world of hip-hop. It centers on five female outlaws who are fighting to avenge the murder of one of their own.

* Emmy Rossum (SONGCATCHER) joins the casts of MYSTIC RIVER for Warner Bros. and DAY AFTER TOMORROW for 20th Century Fox.

* Catherine Bell ("J.A.G.") joins Jim Carrey, Jennifer Aniston and Morgan Freeman in Universal's comedy BRUCE ALMIGHTY for director Tom Shadyac.

* Jason Ritter (SWIMFAN) has replaced Brad Renfro and will star opposite Monica Keena in FREDDY VS. JASON. Renfro's exit from the project was attributed to creative differences.

* Newcomer Sara Foster ("Going to California," "ET on MTV") and Gary Sinise join Owen Wilson and Morgan Freeman in THE BIG BOUNCE, based on the novel by Elmore Leonard, for director George Armitage (GROSSE POINTE BLANK). Shooting begins Oct. 28 in Hawaii.

* Natalie Portman will star in the drama LARGE'S ARK for Jersey Films and director Zach Braff ("Scrubs" lead actor) who wrote the script and will co-star in the drama as well. Shooting will begin in spring.

* Melanie Lynskey joins the cast of SHATTERED GLASS, currently in production.

* Nutsa Kukhianidze (upcoming THE GOOD THIEF) will star opposite Jeremy Irons in MATHILDE, an indie pic to shoot this autumn in Montenegro for Italian filmmaker Nina Mimica. It's about a journalist assigned to a determined young Croatian girl who will tell the story of how a general was murdered during the Serbian War.

* Lorraine Bracco and David Paymer have been added to the cast of MAX AND GRACE, starring David Krumholz and Natasha Lyonne, about a pair of suicidal lovers who wed in their psych ward and then break out to seek new ways to die.

* Lindsay Duncan will join Diane Lane and Sandra Oh in the Disney romantic comedy UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN, based on Frances Mayes' bestseller, for writer/director Audrey Wells.

* Kari Wuhrer (EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS) joins Ron Livingston, George Wendt, Daniel Baldwin and Chris McKenna in thriller KING OF THE ANTS, directed by Stuart Gordon. Charles Higson wrote the script based on his own novel.

DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS

* Charles Herman-Wurmfeld (KISSING JESSICA STEIN) will direct Reese Witherspoon in MGM's LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE & BLONDE. The project sees Witherspoon's character head to Washington D.C.

* Robert Schenkkan (THE KENTUCKY CYCLE) is in talks to adapt Paulette Jiles's Civil War novel ENEMY WOMEN for Fox 2000. It's about a Missouri Ozarks woman who, after being sent to a Union prison for her Rebel sympathies, falls in love with a Union officer who helps her escape before being sent to fight in Alabama. Determined to return to her home, she travels 200 miles on foot through hostile territory in hopes of being reunited.

* New Line Cinema is in final talks to reteam hip-hop stars Method Man and Redman for the urban comedy GHETTO, INC. for Davis Entertainment. Sheck Bugge wrote the script about three best friends who decide to form a rap label as their ticket out of the 'hood.

* Norman Jewison will produce and direct Michael Caine in THE STATEMENT for Sony Pictures Classics from an adaptation by Ronald Harwood (THE PIANIST) of Brian Moore's novel. The project is a political thriller about a man who once served as a Nazi executioner but now lives an anonymous life sheltered by right-wing elements within the Catholic Church. When a new investigation is launched, he becomes the target of hit men and police investigators.

* Victoria Lakeman will direct the action comedy CAPTAIN JUSTICE from her own script for Roger Corman. It's about a young boy whose dreams collide with real-life adventures when a criminal poses as the boy's favorite comicbook hero. Shooting begins next spring. Corman is also planning to use his retired comic label, Cosmic Comics, to publish a CAPTAIN JUSTICE comic book in tandem with the film's release.

* Burr Steers (IGBY GOES DOWN) is set to adapt and direct LIGHTNING ON THE SUN from the late Robert Bingham novel for Catch 23 Entertainment. Bingham used his two-year tour of duty as a reporter at the Cambodian News to inform his tale a journalist who becomes an unwitting courier of heroin.

* Dean Parisot (GALAXY QUEST) will direct Bruce Willis in ME AGAIN, a thriller with comic overtones, for Intermedia Films. It's about a man who wakes up one day next to a dead body, unable to remember who he is. He learns that he is pitted against another man, and only one of them is good, the other evil. He hopes he's the good one, but is hardly sure.

* Myriad Pictures has purchased the thriller GENIUNE ARTICLE, by screenwriter Eric Harlacher, which is described as a modern TO CATCH A THIEF. Production is expected to begin early next year.

MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS

* Fox is considering a film version of "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar."

* The teen comedy SLAP HER, SHE'S FRENCH has been moved to a Nov. 8 release from Sept. 20.

* Kelly Osbourne has dropped out of playing the musically inclined best friend in FREAKY FRIDAY, starring Annette Bening and Lindsay Lohan, due to personal reasons. She will be replaced in the part by Christina Vidal.

* Without a male lead, Darren Aronofsky's sci-fi time-travel tale THE FOUNTAIN has officially been postponed by Warner Bros. after Brad Pitt left the project.

* New Line grabbed A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, the first book in the Paradox Graphic Mystery line of books published by Paradox Press/DC Comics. The book was written by John Wagner and illustrated by Vince Locke, and centers on an ordinary family's life after the father receives unwanted national attention for a seemingly vigilante self-defense killing at his diner, and his previously unknown past is dredged up.

GUNN SHOTS

(NOT from the trades)

* Location Network announces the launch of the first online scouting resource. Designed by location managers, this site bridges traditional location scouting with the advantages of the high-speed Internet. The company offers a full service resource where users can make detailed location requests. Specific locations to match requests are quickly delivered on a Digital Desktop, an image management system created specifically for this medium. Users can then view images, send out locations to the production team, and print them in a matter of moments.

* FOLLOW THE ROADKILL. They dare you. Check it out at If You Can Stand The Stench.

* DIRECTOR'S CUT is based on a Chas Balun novella about a horror director who's pursued by the demons of his past, culminating in a blood-soaked screening of his most infamous film. DIRECTOR'S CUT will be adapted by David Parker (HOUSE OF THE DEAD) and Daniel Schweiger (FREE ENTERPRISE). Stuart Gordon (RE-ANIMATOR) is producing. Also, check out the new trailer for DATE OR DISASTER at www.dateordisaster.com. This is a satire of reality dating shows directed by Rick Elfman (FORBIDDEN ZONE, MODERN VAMPIRES), and stars Robert Maschio (SCRUBS) as a manipulative host who goes on a mis-matched date with truly disasterous results.

* On Tuesday Sept. 24, the World Premiere Screening of the 35mm short film DOGS: The Longest Running Musical In Off-Off Broadway History, will take place at The Walt Disney Studio Frank G. Wells Bldg. 1st Floor Theater. Festivities begin at 7:30pm. You must RSVP with the names of all attending in order to gain entry to the studio. Call 818-569-3077 or send an email to info@gothamcityfilms.com Visit our website for more info: Its Right Here

* Find out why Robert McKee's Story Seminar has been taken by over 40,000 students worldwide, including many of today's top screenwriters and directors such as Akiva Goldsman, Peter Jackson, Joel Schumacher, Andrew Stanton, Marc Klein, Zak Penn and many others. For information or to request a free brochure, please call: 1-888-676-2533 Or visit http://www.McKeeStory.com

* You are cordially invited to the world premiere of GEEKS:The Movie. Please go to And Just Click to gain admission.

* Key West IndieFest is coming. For entry forms and info, visit Them Here

* Creative Screenwriting, the #1 Screenwriting Publication, is proud to present the 2002 Screenwriting Expo, the largest screenwriting conference and trade show ever held. Attending the Expo on Nov. 16th and 17th (held at the L.A. Convention Center) will put you in contact with the screenwriting world's top talent, faculty, and production companies. For complete information or to order today please visit our website at www.screenwritingexpo.com or call (323) 957-1405.

* See the animated short SHIT PARTY and other projects at Their Site . It's about a guy who's forced to try and take a dump at a New Year's party when a couple of hors d'oeuvres attempt a fight to the death in his belly.

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Reader Talkback

3 cheers for Elston
by jrocket
Sep 17th, 2002
07:25:36 PM
"Set in the 1800s, the period action film combines elements of c
by ThePoleOfJustice
Sep 17th, 2002
07:47:16 PM
Robert McKee
by beartrap
Sep 17th, 2002
08:05:59 PM
Where they get these ideas...
by CASE
Sep 17th, 2002
08:09:11 PM
Western + Hip Hop = Westhop!
by Wydok
Sep 17th, 2002
09:18:07 PM
Indie urban western...
by Christopher3
Sep 17th, 2002
09:43:11 PM
Hip hop western? Why not?
by spenworks
Sep 17th, 2002
09:43:46 PM
Greaser's Palace
by spenworks
Sep 17th, 2002
09:45:51 PM
genre mixing
by spenworks
Sep 17th, 2002
09:47:43 PM
kari wuhrer & stuart gordon on the same proje
by Monkeybrains
Sep 17th, 2002
10:10:54 PM
The hip-hop western's been done. At least twice.
by SleazyG.
Sep 17th, 2002
10:19:37 PM
its a bird, its a plane, its...w fuckin b
by DarkWingDragon
Sep 17th, 2002
10:23:23 PM
IM ROGER AVERY!!
by dumbkidd
Sep 17th, 2002
11:16:30 PM
why hasn't this site recognized the fact that theres been ma
by Robs
Sep 18th, 2002
12:02:16 AM
Elvin, that movie you speak of with Piper Perabo is "Lost & Deli
by Lenny Nero
Sep 18th, 2002
12:30:59 AM
King Krypton
by KingKrypton
Sep 18th, 2002
01:36:35 AM
King Krypton's Whenever He Feels Like It Recap
by KingKrypton
Sep 18th, 2002
01:37:28 AM
By the way...
by KingKrypton
Sep 18th, 2002
01:45:45 AM
Holy monkeys, Krypton! That's some major rant.
by Lenny Nero
Sep 18th, 2002
02:49:44 AM
Quite possibly the funniest TB post I've ever read
by Fuckles
Sep 18th, 2002
04:03:28 AM
The hell with the Superman news...
by RawShark
Sep 18th, 2002
06:24:43 AM
How can Freddy and Jason fight? What, does Jason take a nap?
by DouglasAH
Sep 18th, 2002
08:28:09 AM
what was left out of the recap
by durhay
Sep 18th, 2002
09:23:25 AM
Renfro, "Freddy vs. Jason" and creative differences?
by ProzacMorris
Sep 18th, 2002
10:02:10 AM
???
by SilentBob X
Sep 18th, 2002
11:08:54 AM
Uh, the "gritty" world of hip-hop and western?
by WeedyMcSmokey
Sep 18th, 2002
11:35:48 AM
Captain America....
by JadedOne
Sep 18th, 2002
02:59:57 PM
another new flick
by joe_buck
Sep 18th, 2002
04:45:26 PM
Miami Mofo and Jaded One
by KingKrypton
Sep 18th, 2002
08:16:42 PM
damn. i was really hoping this would give me a place to discuss
by a goonie
Sep 19th, 2002
12:56:52 AM
RE: Galaxy Quest sequel
by JAGUART
Sep 19th, 2002
01:16:56 AM
Remake This!
by Margot_Tenenbaum
Sep 19th, 2002
05:38:34 AM
Lil' Kim in assless chaps?????
by GaryBuseyTeeth
Sep 19th, 2002
03:30:58 PM
Faith Hill in blue spandex!
by Wydok
Sep 19th, 2002
11:23:15 PM
Man, I'm amazed at how well the "Faith Hill as Captain Ameri
by KingKrypton
Sep 20th, 2002
12:41:38 AM

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