Well once again Elston Gunn has come through like a champ, keeping track of the comings and goings of Hollywood. I'll be writing up a report on CASTAWAY pretty soon (for now I'll only say, it could be the best thing HANKS has ever done.), but enough from me... here's ELSTON...
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER VIA REUTERS
CASTING
* Robert Patrick joins DETOX with Sly Stallone and is near a deal to play Matt Damon's father in ALL THE PRETTY HORSES directed by Billy Bob Thornton.
* Mark Johnson ("L.A. Doctors") joins DreamWorks' GALAXY QUEST directed by Harold Ramis and scheduled for a Christmas release.
* Anne Heche will play a NYPD detective in BRUTAL PATTERN for producers Mike Farrell and Marvin Minoff (both PATCH ADAMS).
* Jackie Chan will star in SHANGHAI NOON about a Chinese man who travels to the Wild West to rescue a kidnapped princess. He teams up with a train robber and they both take on a Chinese traitor and his corrupt boss. Tony Dey will direct.
* Frances McDormand joins Michael Douglas in WONDER BOYS.
* Denis Leary will star in the comedy BASKETCASE about a basketball fan who is chosen to take a million-dollar shot at a game. The Farrelly Brothers are producing.
* Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett and Julia Stiles will star in the indie flick O, a modern-day adaptation of OTHELLO. Production begins on March 1 in Charleston, SC.
* Nathan Lane joins LOVE'S LABOURS LOST.
* John Travolta will star as mafia-involved lounge singer Jimmy Roselli in STANDING ROOM ONLY with Gus Van Sant directing for Touchstone. Shooting begins March 15. After ROSELLI, Travolta will star in BATTLEFIELD EARTH directed by Roger Christian (2nd unit director of STAR WARS: EPISODE ONE), then on to THE SHIPPING NEWS (pending on Ron Bass' rewrite) or the action flick COMMON GROUND.
* Sandra Bullock is near a deal to play a columnist forced into rehab in the comedy-drama 28 DAYS for Columbia Pictures. Betty Thomas (DR DOLITTLE) is directing.
* William Hurt and Jennifer Tilly will star in the black-humored action thriller DO NOT DISTURB, written/directed by Dutch filmmaker Dick Maas. The story centers on a family in Amsterdam whose mute daughter witnesses a murder.
* Woody Allen will star as a basketball analyst in the comedy LOUD AND CLEAR for DreamWorks. Chris Rock may join as well.
* Helen Hunt will film a small role in the Tom Hanks pic CASTAWAY for director Robert Zemeckis and Fox/DreamWorks.
* Alessandro Nivola (FACE-OFF) joins LOVE'S LABOURS LOST.
* Mark Curry ("Hangin With Mr. Cooper") will star in the indie pic A MAN IS MOSTLY WATER. Bill Pullman, Mark Rydell, D.B. Sweeney and writer/director Fred Parnes also star.
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* John Frankenheimer will direct REINDEER GAMES for Dimension Films about an ex-con who is tricked into robbing a casino. The script was written by Ehren Kruger (upcoming ARLINGTON ROAD). Shooting begins in March in Canada.
* James Signorelli ("Saturday Night Live" commercial spoof director) is in talks to direct I KNOW WHAT YOU SCREAMED LAST FRIDAY 13TH PART TWO--THE FINAL CHAPTER A.K.A. SCAREPLANE for Rhino Films. The spoof is described as "the Farrelly brothers on acid making fun of teen horror movies."
* Jodie Foster will direct FLORA PLUM for October Films about a circus "freak" in the 30s who takes pity on a poor waif and tries to make her a star, falling in love with her in the process.
* Joe Dante (SMALL SOLDIERS) will direct THE SIXTH DAY about a helicopter pilot who's discovered he's been replaced by a clone.
* James Cox will direct New Line's A LEONARD COHEN AFTERWORLD written by Scott Rosenberg (CON AIR, BEAUTIFUL GIRLS) about two 19-year old girls on the weekend of Kurt Cobain's death escaping to Las Vegas then Seattle coming to terms with life, death and being an outsider in 90s America.
* Peter Care (R.E.M. video director) is in talks to direct Danny DeVito in STRETCH ARMSTRONG for Disney based on the once-popular toy. Shooting may begin in August.
HARRY NOTE: UGH, is it just me folks or does Danny DeVito look utterly nothing like the Stretch Armstrong you and I know and love?
* Steve Miner (H20) will direct GHOSTING for Dimension Films.
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* Gore Verbinski (MOUSE HUNT) will not direct MISSION TO MARS but is still attached to HOW GEORGIE RADBOURN SAVED BASEBALL for DreamWorks, THE SKY IS FALLING for New Line and a project based on William Monahan's novel THE LIGHTHOUSE for Warner Bros. Disney is interested in Sam Raimi or Frank Marshall to take over MISSION TO MARS.
* October Films has acquired the rights to the romantic comedy US, THEM & ME from writer/director Maria Maggenti (THE INCREDIBLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF TWO GIRLS IN LOVE) about a novelist who gets involved with her professor and his girlfriend.
* DOUG'S 1ST MOVIE, a film based on the ABC animated series "Doug," will be released in theaters instead of straight-to-video on March 26.
* Miramax will produce the animated musical THE ADVENTURES OF TOM THUMB AND THUMBELINA with Hyperion Studios. Willard Carroll (PLAYING BY HEART) wrote the script based on the Hans Christian Andersen tale. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Elijah Wood will voice the title characters.
Just look at the casting. I knew it would take a couple of weeks after the holidays for things to start rolling. There are a lot of directors getting involved with cool projects too. REINDEER GAMES is my pick of the week. Frankenheimer said it was one of the best scripts he had ever read. And at Dimension? This film spells "cool" already--so does LOUD AND CLEAR, STRETCH ARMSTRONG, and, of course, CASTAWAY. *** MISSION TO MARS already has hit some bumps, but Verbinski seems attached to other intriguing stories. *** Travolta a lounge singer? It can easily be seen. I just didn't realize BATTLEFIELD EARTH was taking off so quickly. *** SHANGHAI NOON and I KNOW WHAT YOU SCREAMED... both sound like projects we've seen (RUSH HOUR) or will soon see (SCREAM IF YOU KNOW WHAT I DID LAST HALLOWEEN).
The rest speaks for itself. There's just so much this week. Now, it's your turn to comment.
Thank you all for your emails. Hope I've been of some help. Until next week...
Elston Gunn
elstongunn@hotmail.com
