Man, these weeks just fly by. Elston has sent the crew at Geek World Headquarters yet another of his WEEKLY RECAP columns, and Father Geek is once again posting it for all you readers who may have missed some scoops during the week, or those who may just want to refresh their memories at week's end. After all this was the week we learned Neil Jordan would be giving us Lucreza Borgia and the rest of her high placed disfunctional family, that Paul Verhoeven would be bringing the wicked Rasputin to life and then death, that Jon Voight would be in braces and wheelchair as the most powerful man of his day... FDR, and that with luck Juliette Binoche would maybe show us something of the assumption of a virgin. Now, on to Elston's review...
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CASTING
CASTING
* Juliette Binoche (THE ENGLISH PATIENT) is in talks to star in the Miramax film THE ASSUMPTION OF A VIRGIN for director Walter Salles (CENTRAL STATION) and producer Anthony Minghella.
* Bill Bellamy, Morris Chestnut, D.L. Hughley and Shemar Moore will star in THE BROTHAZ for director Gary Hardwick (TRIPPIN scribe) about three black professionals who deal with the upcoming marriage of a close friend and reformed playboy.
* Dominique Swain (LOLITA) will star in both indie flicks: the thriller DEAD ON WATER and the romantic drama BRIAR PATCH--the latter will shoot in July in North Carolia while DEAD will shoot in Brazil in August.
* Gregory Smith (SMALL SOLDIERS, THE PATRIOT) will play Jim Younger in JESSE JAMES.
* Matt Schulze (BLADE, BOYS AND GIRLS) will co-star in the indie pic RED LINE.
* George Clooney is in talks to star in Fox 2000's THE UNFAITHUL (based on the French film LA FEMME INFIDELE) for director Adrian Lyne about an affair that leads to murder. Shooting is planned for the fall before Clooney does OCEAN'S ELEVEN.
* Milla Jovavich and Adrien Brody will star in DUMMY for writer/director Greg Pritikin about best friends, one a ventriloquist whose dummy "embodies his inner doubts" and the other an aspiring singer who discovers Yiddish music.
* Reese Witherspoon is in final talks to star in MGM's LEGALLY BLONDE with Robert Luketic directing this fall. The story follows a girl who is dumped by her boyfriend when he goes to law school. To prove she's not a dumb blonde, she enrolls in law school and later finds herself representing a murder suspect in Beverly Hills. Karen Lutz and Kirsten Smith (10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU) scripted.
* Greg Kinnear is negotiating to star opposite Ashley Judd in ANIMAL HUSBANDRY based on the novel by Laura Zigman for director Tony Goldwyn (A WALK ON THE MOON) and Fox 2000.
* Mira Sorvino is in early talks to star in the indie drama WISEGIRLS by John Meadows about waitresses trying to survive in a restaurant owned by the mafia. Demian Lichtenstein (3000 MILES TO GRACELAND) may direct.
* Gene Hackman is in talks to star in BEHIND ENEMY LINES for 20th Century Fox and director John Moore. Hackman will play a Marine who must fight for survival along with a young Navy pilot after being shot down in hostile territory.
* Jennifer Esposito (SUMMER OF SAM) will star in BACKFLASH BLUES with Robert Patrick and Melissa Joan Hart as well as DRACULA 2000 with Christopher Plummer and Justine Waddell.
* James King (PEARL HARBOR) will star in the Destination Films flick SLACKERS.
* Alan Alda joined WHAT WOMEN WANT as Mel Gibson's boss.
* Dwayne Johnson (WWF's The Rock) is in talks to star in a prequel to THE MUMMY playing his Scorpion King character to be showcased in the sequel. Johnson is also being eyed for a sci-fi project to be written/directed by Glen Morgan and James Wong (FINAL DESTINATION, "X-Files").
* Josh Hartnett (PEARL HARBOR) is in talks to star in 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS for Universal/Miramax and director Michael Lehmann (HUDSON HAWK) about a guy who vows to stay celibate for Lent after his girlfriend breaks up with him. During this time, he meets the girl of his dreams. Rob Perez scripted.
* Jon Voight will play FDR in PEARL HARBOR for director Michael Bay.
* Liev Schreiber and Jeanne Tripplehorn will star in the indie pic DIAL 9 FOR LOVE about a married couple who separate because the husband was a cheater. While trying to understand his lust for women and his desire to save his marriage, he gets a call from a woman who accidentally dials the wrong number. The two form a relationship over the phone and he tells her his troubles--not knowing she is actually his wife. Kees Van Oostrum (DRIVE ME CRAZY) will direct the Peter Alkoff and Larry Brand script.
* Mark Webber (SNOW DAY) Heather Matarazzo, Selma Blair and Emmanuelle Chriqui will star in Todd Solondz's upcoming untitled New Line pic about fitting in at high school and college. Shooting begins at the end of July.
* Kip Pardue (upcoming REMEMBER THE TITANS) joined THE GLASS HOUSE.
* Erik Palladino ("ER," U-571) will star in the indie film FINDER'S FEE.
* Peter Falk will have a supporting role in Jon Favreau's MADE for Artisan Entertainment.
* Piper Perabo, Jessica Pare, and Mischa Barton will star in LOST AND DELIRIOUS, a gay-themed story of three women's cult of love and sexuality, for director Lea Pool (SET ME FREE/EMPORTE-MOI). It's based on the novel THE WIVES OF BATH by Susan Swan.
* Martin Lawrence is developing PETEY GREENE'S WASHINGTON for Mutual Film Co. and Pelagius Entertainment based on the true story of an ex-con who used his humor to get out of poverty and addiction, later becoming a 1960s Washington D.C. talkshow figure.
* Henry Thomas will star in three indie pics which will all shoot this summer: THE QUICKIE (about a musician in danger), BRIAR PATCH (about a thief who imprisons his unhappy wife) and DEAD ON WATER (a thriller about three Americans on a boat trip near Rio).
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* Jonathan Frakes (STAR TREK: INSURRECTION) will direct the comedy CLOCKSTOPPERS for Paramount/Nickelodeon about a group of kids who discover a way to stop time.
* Chen Kaige (FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE) will direct the English-language erotic thriller KILLING ME SOFTLY starring Heather Graham about a research scientist who chooses a mysterious, dangerous mountaineer over her nice boyfriend.
* Neil Jordan (THE END OF THE AFFAIR) will write and direct LUCREZIA for DreamWorks about the powerful Borgia family of Renaissance Italy.
* Paul Verhoeven (STARSHIP TROOPERS) will direct RASPUTIN next year. The project will be shot in eastern Europe.
* Scott Hicks (SHINE, SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS) will direct HEARTS OF ATLANTIS for Castle Rock Entertainment which William Goldman adapted from a Stephen King novella. Anthony Hopkins is in talks to star in the film about an 11-year old boy whose life is changed when a man with a strange past comes to live in his home.
* Actor Michael Goorjian (SLC PUNK) will direct his script BEATRICE about a man who escapes a mental institution and is ready to end his life until he meets a childhood friend. Michelle Williams will star.
* Mel Brooks' Brooksfilms picked up the spec SUNRISE AT HASTINGS by Dan Witt about the relationship between William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold, the Earl of Wessex, and their fight to create a unified England in 1066.
* Anna Hamilton Phelan (MASK) will write a script based on THE TRUTH ABOUT THE LIES a manuscript by Rich Farrell about his life. He was diagnosed with cerebal palsy as a boy, but was still able to play high school football as a result of his father pushing him toward playing for Notre Dame. He and his mother were terrorized by a bully and it became a town secret. Farrell later fell into drug abuse and made a suicide pact with two friends. They overdosed and died, but he survived. He started to rebuild his life and now teaches at the University of Massachusetts. * Christian Darren sold the pitch BAIT (based on Kenneth Abel's novel) to Alcon Prods. It follows an ex-cop who fights his way through police corruption, the mob and big city government.
* Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio have written (and Michael Kalesniko has rewritten) the comedy BUBBLE BOY for Disney about a young man who has lived his whole life in his bubble room. When he finds out his childhood love is going to marry someone else, he makes a portable bubble and travels across the country to try and stop the marriage and wed him instead.
* Alex Proyas is attached to develop and direct the supernatural suspense film ENOCH'S PORTAL based on the upcoming A.W. Hill novel about a guy who is hired to save a mogul's wife from a European cult who has built a dangerous device using 14th century science.
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* DreamWorks has moved THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE's release date from Aug. 4 to Nov. 3. AUTUMN IN NEW YORK, COYOTE UGLY and THE HOLLOW MAN will now open on Aug. 4 (same slot as last year's THE SIXTH SENSE).
* Paramount is moving Nora Ephron's NUMBERS--starring John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow--to Oct. 27 from July 14 for more postproduction time.
