Father Geek here with Elston and his latest report from LaLa Land. Yep, its that time again. Time for AICN's regular weeky update on all the stuff coming out of Tinseltown you just may have missed during the course of your busy work week. So get all comfortable, grab a munchie and your fave relaxing drink and prepare (like a good lil' scout) to dig in to the Hollywood week that was...
THE WEEKLY RECAP...
TAKING FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CASTING
* Samaire Armstrong ("The O.C.," "Entourage") joins Lindsay Lohan in an
untitled project at Regency Enterprises for director Donald Petrie. In the
film, Armstrong will play the best friend of Lohan's character, who is the
luckiest lady around until she meets the unluckiest man. Armstrong's
character is a struggling songwriter whose songwriting comes into play later
in the film.
* OutKast's Andre 3000, Tyrese and Garrett Hedlund (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS)
join Mark Wahlberg in Paramount Pictures and Lorenzo Di Bonaventura's
untitled drama, formerly known as FOUR BROTHERS, for director John
Singleton. David Elliot and Paul Lovett wrote the script about four brothers
who seek to avenge their mother's death.
* John Travolta and James Gandolfini will star in LONELY HEARTS, a drama
written and to be directed by Todd Robinson for Millennium Films. Production
will begin in March in Jacksonville, Fla. It's based on the true story of
two homicide detectives who captured and convicted Martha Beck and Raymond
Martinez Fernandez, the "Lonely Hearts Killers" of the 1940s who found their
victims through the personals.
* Natalie Portman is in final talks to star in V IS FOR VENDETTA, based on
the Alan Moore graphic novel, for Warner Bros., the Wachowski brothers,
producer Joel Silver and director James McTeigue (Wachowski's longtime first
assistant director). The screenplay was adpated by the Wachowski brothers,
who'll produce with Silver. The action-heavy story takes place in an
alternate future in which Germany wins WWII and Great Britain becomes a
fascist state. A terrorist freedom fighter known only as "V" begins a
violent guerrilla campaign to destroy those who've succumbed to
totalitarianism, and recruits a young woman he's rescued -- or possibly
kidnapped -- from the secret police to join him.
* Clifton Collins Jr., Cuba Gooding Jr. and Judy Reyes are getting DIRTY for
writer/director Chris Fisher, Deviant Film and Silver Nitrate. Tory Kittles
(TIGERLAND), Wyclef Jean and Wood Harris ("The Wire") round out the cast.
It's about gangbangers who are now dirty LAPD cops trying to cover their
tracks in a precinct scandal. Reyes is an Internal Affairs officer.
* David Morrissey will star opposite Sharon Stone in MGM's BASIC INSTINCT 2:
RISK ADDICTION. Production begins in March in London. The sequel follows
Catherine Tramell from San Francisco to London, where she again finds
herself in trouble with the law. Dr. Andrew Glass, a criminal psychiatrist,
is appointed by Scotland Yard to evaluate her.
* Kate Bosworth is in talks to play Lois Land and Kevin Spacey is set to
play Lex Luthor in Bryan Singer's SUPERMAN movie for Warner Bros. Pictures.
The comic book movie would reunite the two actors, who currently appear in
Spacey's BEYOND THE SEA. Brandon Routh plays the title role.
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* Volker Schlondorff (THE TIN DRUM) will direct WHO IS ANNA WALENTYNOWCZ
for FFF Bayern It's the biography of an illiterate woman in postwar Gdansk
who helped establish Poland's Solidarity union. Pic stars mother-daughter
German thesps Katharina Thalbach and Anna Thalbach.
* David Gordon Green will write a coming-of-age film about motocross racing
champion James "Bubba" Stewart for Paramount and director Sam Jones (I AM
TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART). Michael London will produce with C/W partners
Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner. Taught by his father to ride before he could
walk, Stewart was winning titles by the time he was 7, and at 16 became the
first African-American to win a major motorsports title. He has so dominated
the 125cc division that he's been known to lay down his bike during a race
to let competitors catch up. The film's core will be the relationship
between the phenom and his father, James Stewart Sr., a local racer who
molded his son to achieve dreams he was denied. The son's sudden success has
strained their relationship.
* Gregor Jordan (BUFFALO SOLDIERS, NED KELLY) will rewrite and direct the
adaptation of John Christopher's THE TRIPODS TRILOGY for Walt Disney's
Touchstone Pictures. In the books, Tripods have conquered Earth and enslaved
the human race by implanting a mind-controlling device in the heads of
everyone over 15. The books tell the story of a boy and two of his friends
who race to overthrow the Tripods before they must undergo the capping
ritual.
* Twentieth Century Fox has optioned ORPHAN'S DAWN, a spec script by Josh
Friedman. The futuristic sci-fi film will be produced by Davis
Entertainment. Story takes place on a city-sized starship, which has been
floating in space for a century, its inhabitants seeking a planet on which
to settle after their own world was rendered uninhabitable. Time is running
out, and a struggle for control breaks out. Script has been crafted to lead
to multiple installments if the first one works.
* Dennis Dugan is in negotiations to direct Rob Schneider and David Spade in
the baseball comedy BENCH WARMERS for Happy Madison and Revolution Studios.
Story centers on three men who were poor at sports when they were kids but
try to make up for it by forming a three-man team that challenges
nine-player youth baseball teams. Script, from an idea by Adam Sandler, is
by Allen Covert (EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS) and Nick Swardson (MALIBU'S MOST
WANTED). Production is expected to begin in April.
* Revolution has purchased the baseball-themed drama TO WALLY WARD from Nash
Entertainment. Angelo Pizzo (RUDY, HOOSIERS) is writing the script from
Nash's original story. Story concerns a down-and-out baseball fan who comes
across a ball autographed by the 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers and inscribed "To
Wally Ward." The fan, determined to return the historic ball to its original
owner, goes through a journey of self-discovery on his hunt for the
mysterious Ward.
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* Veteran Italian producer Gianni Nunnari and his Hollywood Gang Prods. have
optioned the feature rights to Paulo Coelho's international bestseller
ELEVEN MINUTES. It revolves around a young girl from a Brazilian village who
comes to the conclusion that it's impossible to own anybody except possibly
by touching their soul during a sexual encounter -- the average duration of
which is 11 minutes.
CORRECTION
* STORM ON THE HORIZON is about the battle for Khafji, a TOWN that was
captured by the Iraqis in Jan 1991 and the Marines who were trapped inside
the town for several days. A female US Army soldier a'la Jessica Lynch was
captured during the battle, but no US Marines.
GUNN SHOTS
(NOT taken from the trades)
* The Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, will launch its 2005 slate
with the world premiere of RINGERS: LORD OF THE FANS on its opening Friday
night (January 21, 2005). The producers also announce the final addition to
their remarkable project, the voice of Dominic Monaghan will be heard as the
film's Narrator, relaying the dynamic story of J.R.R. Tolkien's pop-culture
legacy. http://www.lordofthefans.net
* You can find all the archived films from Wo&Co, plus new material (daily)
at http://www.woandco.net Speaking of new material, Ben Folsom's just
released a new movie shot entirely in Japanese called YUME (DREAM).
* A little late but there is a Christmas short by Oris Bracken at
http://www.room322.com
* Telluride IndieFest 2005 is pleased to announce their first "Call For
Entries" for the year. The dates for the Year 2005 event are: August 31 -
September 4 For more, visit http://tellurideindiefest.com
* DEADROOM has been accepted into the 2005 South By Southwest Film Festival.
Visit www.deadroommovie.com for more.
* Adam Hackbarth has decided to write the upcoming beach house horror film
POOLCYDE. He is weighing the option of selling the project or producing it
himself. Hackbarth is also the writer of the March 1st DVD release THE
POSSESSED (Creative Light Worldwide/Razor Digital Entertainment).
* ROOM will be at the Sundance Film Festival this year, screening in the
Frontier section of the Sundance Film Festival. ROOM follows Julia Barker,
a working class American woman experiencing a mid-life crisis, as she steps
outside of her traditional role as mother and breadwinner for a chance of
self-discovery.
http://postsnet.com/r.html?c=412744&r=412171&t=400015444&l=1&d=85761214&u=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2eimdb%2ecom%2ftitle%2ftt0417096%2f&g=0&f=-1
* Ernesto De La O shot a short film called SUPERHEROES: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
a mockumentary that explores our favorite Superheroes after their lives
fighting crime. Follow self-proclaimed international documentary
revolutionary film maker Robbie Francios as he hunts down Superman, Batman,
Wonder Woman and Spiderman for exclusive interviews and insights on what our
Superheroes are up to now that they are forced to survive in the real world.
Check it out at http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2659393
* LOVE, LUDLOW will be at the Sundance Film Festival this year, screening in
the American Spectrum section of the Sundance Film Festival. LOVE, LUDLOW
is the story of Myra, a hard-working temp from Queens, who, after years of
self-imposed celibacy, accepted a date with Reggie, a dashing young
executive in the office where she currently works. Her brother, Ludlow, is
not amused. We would like to know the details of your coverage of this
year's festival so that we can provide you with any relevant materials from
this quirky and fun romantic comedy. Visit http://www.loveludlow.com for
more.
Until next week...
Elston Gunn
elstongunn@hotmail.com
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