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Weekly Recap - Coverage of the week that was!!!
Alrighty folks, Elston Gunn has delivered yet another wonderful recap of what has been going on in the world of Variety and Hollywood Reporter. Tons of tasty tidbits of castings and deals. For me, the most excitingly weird is... HOME BREW sequel to STANGE BREW... Ya just gotta love it! Right?
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER VIA REUTERS
CASTING
* Molly Shannon ("SNL") is in final talks to play Betty Lou Who opposite
the Grinch Jim Carrey in Ron Howard's HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS for
Universal and Imagine Entertainment.
* Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis will star in HOME BREW, the sequel to the
1983 beer comedy STRANGE BREW. Paul Flaherty (CLIFFORD) is attached to
direct the film which starts July 12 in Toronto for Thomas' Maple Palm
Prods.
* Lauren Bacall and Harvey Keitel will star in writer/director Antonio
Alloy's PRESENCE OF MIND, an adaptation of Henry James' ghost story THE
TURN OF THE SCREW. Shooting begins this week in Spain.
* Courtney Cox and David Arquette will star in indie flick THE SHRINK IS
IN for directory Richard Benjamin. The story centers on a woman
pretends to be a psychiatrist. She falls in love with a patient who
also has identity problems. Shooting begins April 19 in L.A. and will
wrap in time for the two to begin SCREAM 3 in June.
* Robert Le Page, Charles Berling and Jessica Pare join 15 MOMENTS for
director Denys Arand.
* Nicole Kidman is in final talks to play a Russian mail-order bride in
BIRTHDAY GIRL which will shoot in Australia at the end of May. Ben
Chaplin co-starts. Jez Butterworth (MOJO) directs for Miramax.
* Ed Harris will direct, co-produce and star in POLLACK about abstract
painter Jackson Pollack. Marcia Gay Holden (MEET JOE BLACK) will
co-star. Shooting begins April 19.
* Devon Sawa and Ali Larter (VARSITY BLUES) will star in FLIGHT 180 for
New Line and director James Wong ("The X-Files"). A 17-year old forsees
a plane crash and convinces some people not to miss the flight. When
those spared begin dying, the boy and his love interest try to solve the
mystery murders before it's their turn to die.
* Vince Gallo joins Jennifer Tilly, Daryl Hannah and Bruce Greenwood in
CORD, a thriller which follows a couple who kidnap an pregnant woman
hoping to steal and raise her child. Sidney Furie directs the film
which began shooting this month in Canada.
* Steve Zahn will star in SHINING NEW ENEMIES, a comedy heist movie not
unlike FARGO or RAISING ARIZONA. Shooting begins in June with members
of Sweden's Traktor directing.
* George Clooney is in final talks to produce and star as Moe Berg, a
baseball player who was recruited by the CIA in the 30s in the thriller
THE CATHCER WAS A SPY base based on the 1994 novel by Nicholas Dawidoff.
* Selma Blair (CRUEL INTENTIONS) joins DOWN TO YOU for Miramax. She
will play a MIT graduate turned porn star.
* Jonathan Pryce will star in SUICIDE CLUB for Roger Corman's
Concorde/New Horizons. It's about a 19th Century suicidal man who
belongs to a club where once a month names are drawn to choose people to
kill and be killed. He falls in love with a member who is picked to
die--he is chosen to do the deed.
* Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman are near deals to join Tim Allen in
GALAXY QUEST.
* Kate Hudson will play a groupie and Billy Crudup a rock 'n' roller in
Cameron Crowe's untitled DreamWorks comedy. Frances McDormand is in
talks to play the mother of a young journalist who travels with the
band. Shooting is expected to begin in May.
* Lucy Liu ("Ally McBeal") and Robert Wagner join Ron Shelton's (TIN
CUP) PLAY IT TO THE BONE with Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson.
* Willem Dafoe joins John Malkovich in SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE for
director Elias Merhige (BEGOTTEN). Dafoe will play Max Shreck, who
portrayed the vampire in NOSFERATU.
* Cameron Diaz is in serious talks to join Drew Barrymore in CHARLIE'S
ANGELS.
HARRY NOTE: Oh man... Diaz and Barrymore? Wow... this could rival BAD GIRLS!!! (sarcasm)
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* Dominique Lett's pitch THE EIGHTH DWARF was sold to Warner Bros. The
story has Snow White as an alcoholic, the Queen loves plastic surgery
and the dwarfs are Black Panther midgets. It's described as THE
PRINCESS BRIDE with SOUTH PARK humor. Mark Canton will produce.
* Steve Carpenter (IT HAD TO BE YOU writer) will direct SOUL SURVIVOR, a
teen horror flick to shoot in July.
* Music video director Samuel Bayer is in talks to direct MONSTER'S BALL
aobut a prison guard working on death row.
* Michael Mann will direct THE INSIDE MAN starring Leonardo DiCaprio
about a Gotham police union driver who turns in his corrupt father.
* Director Kevin Reynolds (WATERWORLD) and producer Lawnrence Bender
will collaborate on THE MEXICAN about a mob bagman who is sent to MEXICO
to retrieve a cursed antique pistol.
* Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi will write the script for a
feature based on the rags-to-riches tragic life of Italian financier
Michele Sindona for Disney. (The two are also currently working on the
Dean Martin biopic DINO) Harry and Mary Jane Ufland will produce with
Scorsese possibly directing.
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* MGM and Sony have settled out of court that ends the fight over James
Bond rights. Sony has promised not to make any more Bond movies. MGM
even gets the rights to the 1967 Bond spoof CASINO ROYALE with Peter
Sellers.
* The Farrelly brothers will produce their first animated feature with
FRISCO PIGEON MAMBO about a rat, a pigeon and a squirrel who drink,
smoke and hit on technicians at an alcohol/tobacco research lab. A
group of animal rights activists send the animals to the streets where
they have to fight for survival.
* Dimension Films has picked up the rights to comic book writer Neil
Gaiman's STARDUST, a fairy tale for grown ups.
* Daniel Sladek and Chris Taaffe will produce a biopic based on the life
of Zionist movement founder Theodore Herzl.
REMAKE NEWS OF THE WEEK: Will Smith and his Overbrook Entertainment
will produce another remake of the 1942 horror flick CAT PEOPLE about a
breed of people who change into animals durings rages of jealousy and
must kill before turning human again. The new version will be set in
New York in the 90s.
HARRY NOTE: 10 to 1, all the subtlety, nuance and creepiness of the original will be squeezed out of this version.
The recap is back to its full size this week and there wasn't any
activity on Good Friday. There's a good bit of stuff I'm excited about.
Molly Shannon in a big role as Betty Lou Who. Good for her. I like
her. Can't wait. *** HOME BREW. Ah, yes...a sequel worth waiting
for, eh. Take off you hosers who speak out against this one. Just hope
it doesn't turn out like BLUES BROTHERS 2000. *** FLIGHT 180, SUICIDE
CLUB and THE EIGHTH DWARF have very intriguing plots. *** Ed Harris
had to wait a long time to do this Jackson Pollack pic. Look forward to
it. *** The Michael Mann INSIDE MAN bit was very small. Anyone got
any info on this one? *** How about the pitch for THE EIGHTH DWARF.
Love it. *** Good to see the Cameron Crowe pic take form. *** George
Clooney and Steve Zahn continue to take on some great sounding parts.
*** So what is Scorsese officially doing after BRINGING OUT THE DEAD?
GANGS OF NEW YORK, DINO or this Sindona pic? *** Farrelly brothers and
animation. Very cool. FRISCO PIGEON MAMBO is a funny concept.
Happy Easter. Eat lots o' candy and keep those emails a-comin'.
Elston Gunn
elstongunn@hotmail.com
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That George Clooney one sounds good. I know. I'm boring, but that's all I've got to say. And where's the info on the Scooby Doo movie??? I haven't seen any yet on this site. Ack well, i'm sure you'll catch up Harry.
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Hey, how many of you hosers are gonna be taking off to the Great White North to see Home Brew, eh? Well you'll have to get in line because I'm gonna be first. And on a Star Wars note, "Luke, I'm your father, eh. Come over to the Dark Side of the Force, you Knob." Perfect timing for this one!! Don't forget the jelly donuts and hockey sticks. I'll be the one in the parka and "Canada" stocking hat. Beauty, eh?
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Wow, I can't believe it. Strange Brew is one of my all-time favorite comedies. I wonder if they'll be doing another send-up of a Shakespearean work (the first was a take-off on Hamlet). Obviously, we don't know much about this project yet, so I don't know if we've got good news here or bad. I think it could definitely be done well and funny. Take off, eh!!!!!!!!!
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Sorry to disagree with you Harry, but the 8th Dwarf sounds like a supremely stupid movie. It sounds like it's going to try to exploit the success of Ever After and the Fractured Fairytales that came out a couple years ago. Unless I hear anything better about it, I hope this movie gets buried before it can spawn more of its ilk. -Loki
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After watching "HEAT" and "MANHUNTER" again last night, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But isn't this the same project that DeNiro and DiCaprio were trying to get Martin Scorsese interested in a few months back? I sure do hope Mann could dig up Tom Signorelli and Robert Prosky for this one. That would be cool.
"Why don't you join a labor union?"
"I am wearing it!" -
I also like Molly Shannon. She was very nice and funny when i met her a few weeks ago. I think a live action "Grinch" movie will be great fun. Ron Howard apparently had a new vision for the project after screening Lucas' Phantom Menace with other Lucas friends. Jim Carrey will make a spot on Grinch. One last thing, Lane- when you eat that sugar and ram your head into the wall, don't wear a helmet and run REAL, REAL FAST!!
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CAT PEOPLE was already remade once, in 1982, with Nastassia Kinski and Malcolm McDowell. This rancid piece of turd had absolutely NONE of the chills which made the original 1942 Jacques Tourneur classic so memorable. While the original SUGGESTED horror, CAT PEOPLE '82 SHOWED the gore in all its glory. We don't really need another remake, do we? With a rap soundtrack, I suppose? Oh well. On a brighter note, I really hope that Martin Scorsese chooses to make DINO next. A big-screen biopic of Dean Martin directed by Scorsese and written by Nicholas Pileggi will certainly make an interesting project. The cast list is a dream, but I seriously doubt that everyone in mind will appear in the film (maybe one or two): Tom Hanks as Dean Martin, John Travolta as Frank Sinatra, Jim Carrey as Jerry Lewis, Wesley Snipes as Sammy Davis Jr., Hugh Grant as Peter Lawford, Adam Sandler as Joey Bishop... like I said, maybe one or two ...
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Why oh why is WIll Smith going to be in yet another remake of the Cat People? Does he want to lose his fans and his box office streak or something? You know, I kind of like Selma Blair. The role sounds interesting, but I doubt whoevers making that movie has Paul Thomas Anderson's talent.
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JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!! You have something to say about everything, you big fuck? SHUT THE HELL UP!!!
Every fucking Talk Back I fucking read has got your dumb ass prattling on about some stupid bullshit no one gives a FUCK about but you! You're not funny, you're not interesting, you're just another asshole who would be right at home driving a fucking cab! No one likes you or your dumb fucking opinions. SHUT THE HELL UP!!! -
How about a vote to ban LaneMyers?
You have a poll for everything else, why don't we vote on the most hated Talk Back dickhead and the guy who gets the most votes gets banned? I like this idea and I read your site every day. The only detriment to it that I can see is this fucking prick treating the Talk Back like he fucking owns it. BAN LANEMYERS! BAN LANEMYERS! BAN LANEMYERS! BAN LANEMYERS!! BAN LANEMYERS!!! -
A minor quibble with the otherwise stellar update:
Ol' Opie doesn't come across as the kind of monomaniac who'd alter a kid-lit classic for no dramatic or cinematic reason, so I'm betting that Mollie Shannon's role in the Grinch movie will be CINDY Lou Who, not "Betty Lou".
On a side note, I wonder which role *Clint* Howard will draw as his obligatory cameo in the Grinch pic. I'd guess the Mean One's beleaguered mutt, Max, except he'll probably be CGI and/or a real canine. Maybe Clint'll show up slinging Who-hash in some greasy spoon...
BTW (and finally), how 'bout those EdTV ads that featured Clint and his hairplugs so prominently? The Hollywood machine has finally figured out that Clint pulls in the crowds! -
This is Talkback, the point of it is for the readers to be able to voice their opinions on the news, and it's one of the coolest things about the site. I don't find anything about Lane's posts offensive or annoying, in fact I enjoy most of them whether I disagree or not.
-Cy -
I was watching the Mask the other day on FOX and saw how fine Cameron Diaz used to be. She had ALL the curves a women should have and now she is just a unhealthy looking stick. She must have lost 20 pounds from the Mask till Something About Mary. The whole heroin shiek,Alley Mcbeal look does absolutely nothing for me. Also anything new on Michael Mann is great. In my opinion Heat is the greatest crime drama of the 90's and without a doubt the greatest bank robbery scene ever. Counting the days until Dogma. Later
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and for the record, i believe she had padding for 'the mask.' but even without the wonderbra thingy, she looked SO much better. She was PLAUSIBLE, not some goddamn famine victim.
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Molly Shannon's role in Grinch Who Stole Christmas is Cindy Lou Who's mother, so that would explain the "Betty" thing. I like the aspect of exploring the psyche of the Grinch and I think Carrey is perfect for the part. Later
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Folks, you'll just have to take my word that a Scorcese-driven movie about Michele Sindona would be positively Bad-ass! Money, religion, guns, mafioso, international conspiracy cluster-fuck happenings, and all kinds of crazy shit all wrapped into one...a dream film, and Scorcese is absolutely perfect for it! Damn, this project just shot straight to the very top of my list of most anticipated films. This one's gonna fuckin rule the world of filmdom!!!
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that novel kicks ass, and the opera made from it rocks (well, i suppose it doesn't actually rock perse, but its freaky and fun) anyway, kick ass for harvey and all that... fucking cool book...
who's gonna play the nanny???? -
Gotta agree with Samuel J up there- a Scorsese bio on Sindona would make Godfather 3 look like Married to the Mob. The book to check out is In God's Name by David Yallop. Doubt Scorsese would stick too closely to THAT theory but anything he does with the material is going to be so unbeeffinglievably fantastic. Dino can go rot. I want the Shark!
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