Well, shucks, what a week... eh? Whether you HATE The Phantom Menace or love it (like me) it sure has been exciting eh? I'm thinking of writing up a detailed journal like piece on what happened in my line, and about the entire STAR WARS experience. Let me know if you want it, as... It'll mean writing for days. Anyways.... here's Elston...
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CASTING
* Gillian Anderson will star in THE HOUSE OF MIRTH based on the Edith Wharton novel for director Terence Davies (DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES). Anderson will play Lily Bart, a beautiful socialite in late 19th century New York who must decide to find either a wealthy husband or follow the course of true love. Dan Aykroyd, Eric Stoltz, Laura Linney, Anthony LaPaglia and Jodhi May will also star.
* Liv Tyler (ARMAGEDDON) has signed to play a temptress who wreaks havoc on the lives of several men in a single night (including Michael Douglas) in ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL'S for USA Films and director Harold Zwart.
* Willem Dafoe and Armand Assante are in talks to star in MY REAL NAME IS LISA written/directed by John Leekly ("Miami Vice").
* Nick Nolte and Emily Watson (with Matt Dillon in talks) will star in Alan Rudolph's detective pic TRIXIE for Pandora Films about a security guard (Watson) who becomes involved in a blackmail situation involving a sentor (Nolte).
* Vera Farmiga (RETURN TO PARADISE) joins 15 MINUTES opposite Edward Burns and Robert De Niro.
* Jamie Foxx is set to star in BAIT for Castle Rock to be directed by Stephen Surjik (WAYNE'S WORLD 2). The action comedy follows a two-bit ex con who is being used as bait by the Feds to lure a master thief who knows where a multi-million dollar cache of gold is kept.
* Alfred Molina (BOOGIE NIGHTS) will join James Van Der Beek and Dylan McDermott in TEXAS RANGERS for Dimension Films and director Steve Miner (H20, upcoming LAKE PLACID).
* George Clooney will star in THE PERFECT STORM for Warner Bros. and director Wolfgang Petersen (AIR FORCE ONE) based on a Sebastian Junger novel and adapted by William B. Witliff about the true story of a ship caught in one of the century's worst storms. The studio is in talks with Ben Affleck to join.
* Billy Ray Cyrus will play ex-CIA gun runner Jack Reynolds in the indie flick RADICAL JACK written/directed by James Bradley (TWO 11). Dedee Pfeiffer (FALLING DOWN) is playing his love interest.
* Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are in talks to star in WAKING UP IN RENO for Miramax about two white trash couples who head west to a monster truck rally. James Gray (LITTLE ODESSA) will direct.
* Al Pacino may star in CITY BY THE SEA about a cop whose father was a kidnapper and murderer. Michael Caton Jones (ROB ROY) may direct.
* Richard Gere is in talks to play a gynecologist in Robert Altman's next flick DR T. AND THE WOMEN.
* Kate Berckinsale (THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO) is in talks to star in Merchant Ivory's THE GOLDEN BOWL with Nick Nolte, Uma Thurman and Anjelica Huston about a widower and his daughter living in Europe with the daughter's husband found having an affair.
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* Gus Van Sant has expressed interest in directing a film based on the biography AT HOUSE WITH THE MARQUIS DE SADE by Francine Du Plessix Gray for Barry Diller's USA Films. Writer/director Philip Kaufman will soon begin production on a separate Sade biopic QUILLS with Geoffrey Rush and Kate Winslet starring.
* Peter Berg (VERY BAD THINGS) will direct the romantic comedy SAY IT ISN'T SO for 20th Century Fox and producers Peter and Bobby Farrelly about a guy who falls in love with a girl he later mistakenly believes is his sister.
* David and Scott Hillenbrand are going ahead with their thriller PINATA starring Nicholas Brandon, Nate Richert, Garrett Wang and Jaime Pressly.
* Frankie Tan will direct Jackie Chan's next Asian film tenatively titled THE GIANT.
* Chen Kaige (THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN) will direct ROSE for Miramax. Ted Tally (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) wrote the script, adapting the novel by Martin Cruz Smith about a detective searching for a young minister in England.
* Nicolas Roeg (THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH) will direct the Martin Amis novel NIGHT TRAIN, a female detective story.
* Forest Whitaker is attached to direct THE FALCONER based on the Elaine McCarthy novel about the relationship between a Cynthia Cidre (THE MAMBO KINGS) will adapt.
* Robin Swicord and Nick Kazan wrote LA LOTERIA which Columbia picked up about an LA housekeeper for the family of a Hollywood director, who wins the lottery. Swicord is also writing I DREAM OF JEANNIE for Columbia.
* Chris and Paul Weitz (ANTZ, AMERICAN PIE) will write THE NUTTY PROFESSOR 2 for Imagine Entertainment.
* Bruce Beresford will direct BARNES about James Michener and Dr. Albert C. Barnes for Merv Griffin Entertainment and Paramount Classics.
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* Roger Corman will produce the $20m OUR MAN HO written by Alan Trustman about Ho Chi Minh as a pro-American spy for the office of Strategic Services until the U.S. betrayed him in 1945.
* The RUSH HOUR sequel is expected to shoot this fall in Hong Kong among other locations. Brett Ratner will return to direct the Jeff Nathanson (SPEED 2) script.
* Brian Dennehy and Betsy Davis will produce RYAN'S RULES based on Elmore Leonard's novel SWAG. Dennehy adapted and plans to direct the pic which has a planned Nov. start. The story finds a used car salesman and an occasional car thief trying to reach the high life through armed robbery.
* Warner Bros., Luc Besson and Mark Canton are developing a feature based on Amy Ephron's upcoming novel THE WHITE ROSE about a female revolutionary imprisoned in Havana at the turn of the century.
* New Line bought BILLITH by Michael Peck and Craig Borten for Chris Kattan to star about a musician who disguises himself as a woman to audition for Lillith Fair. The studio also picked up the rights to Tom Perotta's (ELECTION) next novel WISHBONES about a New Jersey rock band made up of 30 year old men clinging to adolescence.
* Director Lee David Zlotoff (THE SPITFIRE GRILL) has pulled out of HERE ON EARTH due to creative differences. Mark Piznarski ("The '60s") is in talks to to take over. Lelee Sobieski is attached to star.
REMAKE OF THE WEEK: Director John McTiernan (DIE HARD) is in talks to develop a remake of the 1975 skate action flick ROLLERBALL for United Artists. (McTiernan is also in talks with UA to develop the QUILLER mystery book series into a film(s). Those books were written by Elleston Trevor under the name Adam Hall.)
DEALS STEMMED FROM CANNES
* Lucky Gold is adapting FLANAGAN'S RUN, CHEROKEE ROSE and an English language remake of HOUSE OF ANGELS for Miramax.
* Theater director Stephen Daldry (AN INSPECTOR CALLS) will make his feature directorial debut with DANCER about a miner's son who dreams of becoming an international ballet star for BBC Films. That company also signed John Maybury (LOVE IS THE DEVIL) to direct the Greek tragedy MEDEA, with Tilda Swinton (ORLANDO) attached to star. Also, Thaddeus O'Sullivan (ORDINARY DECENT CRIMINAL) will direct THE ECHOING GROVE, a love story set in the 30s while Alex Garland (THE BEACH) will adapt his own THE TESSERACT.
* Ben Elton (BLACKADDER) will write and direct the seriocomedy MAYBE BABY for Fine Line Features about a couple's struggle to conceive a child.
* Pacifica Entertainment is developing 12 pictures including THE VENETIAN'S WIFE, WIDOW'S WALK, CHASING THE DRAGON (starring Wesley Snipes) and TRUE BLUE.
* Brad Anderson (NEXT STOP WONDERLAND) will make the thriller THE SEVENTH VICTIM for RKO Radio Pictures about a young woman who searches for her sister through the dark world of the Manhattan fashion industry.
* Larry Wislon (BEETLEJUICE) is writing a script for Universal based on Terry Pratchett's comic fantasy MORT.
* Jeremy Irons will star as Giacomo Puccini in Irvin Kershner's upcoming CECILIA.
* Artisan Entertainment has acquired U.S. rights to John Waters' CECIL B. DEMENTED about a group of filmmakers who kidnap a star to make their picture.
* Alliance Pictures is developing 3 projects including John Maybury (LOVE IS THE DEVIL) directing MARLOWE about Christopher Marlowe and his relationship with Shakespeare; Jake Scott's DISTURBIA about a secret league; and PSYCHOVILLE by Sara Sugarman (MAD COWS).
* Philip Kaufman will direct JOHNNY STOMPANATO about the relationship between the gangster and Lana Turner.
* Marc Caro (DELICATESSEN) will direct SNARK, a sci-fi adventure story distantly inspired by Lewis Caroll's poem "The Hunting of the Snark."
* John Leguizamo is attached to produce and star in both PINERO and ESQUIVEL, the former about the poet, the latter, the musician. He'll soon start R'XMAS for Abel Ferrara, SHAFT for John Singleton and DUMBSTRUCK for Mike Nichols.
The longest recap ever, I do believe. Cannes generates so much activity. I'll keep my musings a bit shorter than usual. There are a lot of detective movies in development: TRIXIE, ROSE and NIGHT TRAIN. Good genre to revive. *** A lot of new directors are getting work from Cannes. Yet, we civilians still need to see their first flicks. *** ROLLERBALL? Whaddya think? *** 2 Marquis de Sade pics? Two flicks per theme are common nowadays. *** THE PERFECT STORM finally got its lead. Clooney will do it when he's finished with the Coens flick. *** I like the Gillian Anderson/19th century mix. Interesting. *** John Leguizamo sounds like the busiest man in movies. *** BILLITH sounds perfect for Chris Kattan. Hope it all falls into place.
I saw the midnight showing of THE PHANTOM MENACE on Wednesday morning and I really dug the whole experience as opposed to JUST the film. It was fun to see people THAT responsive and excited about a film. Hope that adrenalin and energy carries over to AUSTIN POWERS 2, EYES WIDE SHUT, MYSTERY MEN and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. Also, last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting composer/performer Randy Newman (THE NATURAL, TOY STORY, PLEASANTVILLE). He said he was working on TOY STORY 2 this year and that Woody gets sold. A really nice guy who puts on a killer show and cranks out great scores. Very cool indeed.
Until next week...
Elston Gunn
elstongunn@hotmail.com
