Harry here to introduce another of Elston Gunn's wonderful MEDIA RECAPS, it's quite a service for all of those out there that can't comb the trades all week long, and it puts all the confirmed news on one page and one page alone... so here we go....
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER VIA REUTERS
ELSTON NOTE: I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday. Due to travelling and time constraints I am just bulleting the tidbits this week without the usual format. Only the major stuff made it here, so if I missed anything, please bring it up in the talk back. Thanks. On to the recap...
* Ron Underwood (CITY SLICKERS and upcoming MIGHTY JOE YOUNG) will direct Eddie Murphy in the futuristic comedy PLUTO NASH for Castle Rock.
HARRY NOTE: Anything you guys hear on the above film, let me know. Underwood is one of the guys we need to pay attention to. He can kick your ass when you least suspect it.
* Steven Speilberg delays production of MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA due to the film's total shooting script ("the bible") not being completed. Some reports suggest Speilberg may wait an entire year before shooting despite a near complete cast.
* Natasha Lyonne (SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS) will star in the black comedy BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER about a 17-year-old who is sent to a "rehab camp" when her parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian. Clea Duvall (upcoming THE FACULTY) co-stars.
* Lisa Krueger (upcoming COMMITTED) will write and direct DON'T I KNOW YOU for Paramount. The flick is about two women who find more than they expected when sifting through their pasts.
* Jan De Bont will produce and likely direct FOOD for Fox. The film is a holiday tale about inanimate objects coming to life, mixed with live action a la WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? It is told from the view point of the food for Christmas dinner.
HARRY NOTE: I must learn everything in the world about the above film. Being a lifelong lover of food, the chance of food acting and fighting for it's life in a Christmas Comedy... well... it just sounds like something I'd sit down for because I'm just that bad of a masochist.
* Miramax will produce a biopic on jazz trumpeter Chet Baker with Leo DiCaprio attached to star.
* In other jazz news, Ira Trattner and Isidore Rosmarin ("60 Minutes") will produce a feature based on the life of sax legend Stan Getz.
* Jamie Kennedy joins THREE KINGS.
HARRY NOTE: I hope his part is bigger than that waste of his talent in ENEMY OF THE STATE!!!
* Comedian Artie Lange joins MYSTERY MEN, LOST AND FOUND, THE FOURTH FLOOR and THE BACHELOR.
* Sandra Goldbacher (THE GOVERNESS) will direct THE DEVIL'S CHIMNEY based on Anne Landsman's novel.
* Judd Nelson joins LIGHT IT UP.
* Paramount and Lorne Michaels will next turn Tim Meadows's "Saturday Night Live" character "The Ladies Man" into a feature.
HARRY NOTE: OH DEAR GOD, NOT ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE FLICK!!!!! OOOOH THE HUMANITY!!!!
Some cool stuff this week despite the holiday. *** DeBont never tires. *** Speilberg has a new schedule? *** Natasha Lyonne is picking some cool-sounding projects. (CONFESSIONS OF A TRICKBABY is currently shooting...KISS pic DETROIT ROCK CITY has reportedly wrapped...Pics anyone? Trailer info? Hm?) *** PLUTO NASH is taking effect. *** I'm personally glad some jazz movies are being made. It is alive and well...and under-represented in some respects. *** "The Ladies Man" flick makes me chuckle. Who is surprised..really? *** You Artie Lange fans seem to be in for a treat, eh? Not 1, 2, or even 3, but 4 flicks on his plate.
See you in December.
Elston Gunn
elstongunn@hotmail.com
