Harry here with yet another fact filled film update from our man with the index cards, Elston Gunn. This one seems a bit small, but that's cause twas a slow week news wise with the major ink being dedicated to how BLAIR WITCH made as much as it has. Hopefully we'll be getting some exciting news this coming week, but for now... Here's Elston....
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CASTING
* Jeffrey Wright (BASQUIAT) replaces John Leguizamo, who had schedule
conflicts with MOULIN ROUGE, as the villain Peoples Hernandez in John
Singleton's remake of SHAFT. Christian Bale joins the flick as well.
* Sean Penn and Sarah Polley are in final talks to star in THE WEIGHT OF
WATER for director Kathryn Bigelow and based on Anita Shreve's novel about
two couples traveling to Scandinavia where one of them is investigating a
century-old murder.
* Brendan Fraser joins Jennifer Lopez in THE WEDDING PLANNER about a wedding
planner who finds Mr. Right, but he is engaged to one of her customers.
Adam Shankman will direct the pic late this fall for Destination Films.
* Catherine Sutherland and Musetta Vander grabbed parts in THE CELL for New
Line and starring Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn and Vincent D'Onofrio.
* Leo Rossi joins ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL'S with Liv Tyler.
* Jenny McCarthy is now among the cast of Dimension's SCREAM IF YOU KNOW
WHAT I DID LAST HALLOWEEN.
* Amy Poehler joins Rob Schneider in DEUCE for Touchstone Pictures.
* Melissa George joins SUGAR AND SPICE for producer Wendy Finerman and
director Francine McDougall.
* Jimmy Fallon ("SNL") will play a band manager in Cameron Crowe's untitled
rock'n'roll pic.
* Peter Weller, Roy Scheider and Gordon Currie are set to star in the indie
action thriller FALLING THROUGH about passport counterfeiting at an American
Embassy in Paris.
* Paul Walker (SHE'S ALL THAT) is in talks to join SQUELCH with Leelee
Sobieski and Steve Zahn to be directed by John Dahl.
* Lili Taylor may star in an untitled Welsh comedy for director Phillippa
Cousins about a beauty queen who reappears in a village where she was
thought to be murdered.
* Chris Rock will voice the title character OSMOSIS JONES for Warner Bros.
about a streetwise blood cell. David Hyde Pierce and producer Joel Silver
will lend their voices as well while Brandy is in talks to voice the female
lead.
* Ethan Hawke may star in ANGELS for director Chris Eyre (SMOKE SIGNALS) and
Platform Entertainment about an ex-con who joins a desperate single mother
on a cross country road trip. Dens Johnson adapted his own novel.
* Joshua Leonard (THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT) is in final talks to star in the
indie feature IN THE WEEDS with Molly Ringwald, Eric Bogosian and J.P. Pitoc
for writer/director Michael Rauch about a group of waiters and the events
that take place during their shift at a SoHo bistro. Leonard will then go
from WEEDS to NAVY DIVER with Robert DeNiro and Cuba Gooding Jr.
* Michael Rapaport, Holt McCallany and Aunjanue Ellis all join NAVY DIVER as
well.
* Uma Thurman is attached to star in THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY for
writer/director Christopher Hampton based on the 1913 Edith Wharton novel.
* Blues musician Chris Thomas King will be making his feature film debut in
OH BROTHER WHERE ART THOU for the Coen brothers. He'll play a Delta blues
musician. King will also record an album of songs from the film and new
ones inspired by the movie, though it will be separate from the soundtrack.
* Dash Mihok and Josh Hopkins have been cast in THE PERFECT STORM.
* Ashley Johnson, Rick Johnson, Mare Winningham, Michael Papajohn, Zachary
Ty Bryant and Meat Loaf star in RUSTIN about a girl who's kicked out of her
home by her religious mother and ends up on the doorstep of her estranged
father in the small town of Rustin.
* Helen Hunt is attached to star in the adventure film FROM ALICE TO OCEAN,
which USA films is in talks to make based on the true story of Robyn
Davidson, who crossed the Australian outback with three camels and a dog to
sort out her life.
* Johnny Depp will star with Christina Ricci in WWII pic THE MAN WHO CRIED
for Sally Potter and Working Title Films. Cate Blanchett and John Turturro
are in talks to join the pic which starts shooting next month.
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* The Bubble Factory picked up Josh Stolberg's spec script BAD NOUGAT, a
dark and desperate romantic comedy in the vein of ABOUT LAST NIGHT....
* Joe Johnston (JUMANJI) will direct JURASSIC PARK 3 for Universal and
Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. Spielberg came up with a story
which is being scripted by Craig Rosenberg. The studio hopes for an early
2000 start.
* Jerry Zucker is in final talks to direct RAT RACE, an ensemble road comedy
where the winner of a race gets $2 million. Paramount hopes to start
shooting late this year.
* MGM picked up the spec script MARRIED AND SINGLE by Jennifer Robinson
where a married woman and a single woman trade places for a week.
* Brad Christian will write the adaptation and may direct NEEDLES based on
William Deverell's 1979 novel where a drug using prosecutor is assigned to
indict his dealer.
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* Producer Scott Rudin will turn Michael Cunningham's novel THE HOURS into a
feature. The story is about three characters in different eras related only
by a parallel in their personal lives--all linked, somehow, to Virginia
Woolf's MRS. DALLOWAY.
* Artisan Entertainment and the creators of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT will
meet to discuss possible BLAIR WITCH sequels and/or prequels.
* Imagine's Brian Grazer and Ron Howard will produce BAY OF PIGS, an epic
war drama written by Shane Salerno about the invasion of Cuba in 1961.
Howard may also direct with Todd Hallowell (APOLLO 13) producing as well.
* Director Stephen Surjik exited the project BAIT due to creative
differences with the film's star Jamie Foxx. Shooting is still expected to
begin in Sept., but no new director has been chosen.
* Warner Bros. will develop the story of William Weatherford, who led the
Creek Nation into battle against Gen. Andrew Jackson's troops in the War of
1812, into a flick to star Matthew McConaughey. Clint McCowan is scripting.
It feels like recap lite this week. I blame the heat. BAY OF PIGS
sounds cool, OSMOSIS JONES grabbing Chris Rock is a plus and Joe Johnston to
direct JURASSIC PARK 3 is sure to spark a little conversation. OH BROTHER
WHERE ART THOU is getting pretty interesting...can't wait to here more. IN
THE WEEDS and NAVY DIVER are deep into casting...both films share the common
denominator of BLAIR WITCH's Joshua Leonard. Speaking of BLAIR WITCH, what
do you think about sequels and prequels?
Until next week...
Elston Gunn
elstongunn@hotmail.com
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