Father Geek is sorry for the lateness of last week's Recap, it was not due to Elston, but to the San Francisco trip Harry and I took. For some reason our lap top would not download our EMail at the hotel, and that combined with a 24 hour flight delay (United) had the Recap appearing on Monday instead of Friday. Sorry Elston, you are never late sending in your report, we'll try to do better on our end.
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CASTING
* Helena Bonham Carter will star opposite Steve Martin in Artisan Entertainment's NOVOCAINE for writer/director David Atkins. Kevin Bacon may also join the pic about a dentist who is seduced into prescribing drugs to a sexy patient.
* Bill Murray is attached to star in an untitled pitch by Howard Franklin (ANTI-TRUST) for Columbia Pictures. Nicolas Cage's Saturn Films will produce the story of an unemployed man who sets out to find the secret of a popular game show.
* Richard Harris and Lynn Redgrave are in talks to star in MY KINGDOM about a lethal fight over power and control after a tragic event in the life of a patriarch. Don Boyd will direct from a script he co-wrote with Nick Davies.
* Bette Midler and Delta Burke join WHAT WOMEN WANT.
* Greg Germann ("Ally McBeal") joins Chris Rock in I WAS MADE TO LOVE HER.
* Alex Rocco will play Jennifer Lopez's father in THE WEDDING PLANNER.
* Michael Shamus Wiles (MAGNOLIA) will play Mark Wahlberg's father in METAL GOD.
* Elaine Cassidy joins Cillian Murphy in DISCO PIGS about two teens on a rampage. Kirsten Sheridan will direct the adaptation of the Enda Walsh play.
* Heather Graham will star in WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY for Miramax. It's a remake of 1996 French feature CHACUN CHERCHE SON CHAT. Brad Anderson (NEXT STOP WONDERLAND) will direct the story of a woman's journey to find her cat and the interesting characters she meets along the way.
* Geena Davis may have committed to a sequel to STUART LITTLE. Bruce Joel Rubin (GHOST, DEEP IMPACT) will script.
* Kevin Costner may be the one to replace Harrison Ford in Steven Soderbergh's TRAFFIC.
* Sean "Puffy" Combs will star in the indie comedy MADE for Artisan Entertainment and writer/director Jon Favreau (SWINGERS) who is also starring with Vince Vaughn. The story follows two friends and aspiring boxers who get caught up in a money-laundering scheme. Combs will play the leader of a NY group who awaits some money.
* Ben Affleck is in talks to join PEARL HARBOR for Disney, director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
* Robin Wright Penn may join Bruce Willis in M. Night Shyamalan's UNBREAKABLE.
* Rowan Atkinson (BEAN) will star in the action comedy TOUCH OF WEEVEL for Working Title Films about a British diplomat whom British agents wrongly believes is their greatest spy. Robert Wade and Neal Purvis scripted.
* Eric Roberts joins the indie film MERCY STREETS.
* Stephen Dorff, Fay Masterson and John Cleese will star in QUANTUM PROJECT about two "electron-crossed lovers." Eugenio Zanetti will direct the David Aaron Cohen-penned project.
* Peter Sarsgaard (BOY'S DON'T CRY) will star in Wayne Wang's erotic movie THE CENTER OF THE WORLD for Artisan Entertainment.
* Shannon Elizabeth and Jerry O'Connell are in talks to co-star in TOMCATS for writer/director Gregory Poirier about six friends who agree to ante up, with the last guy to tie the knot receiving the jackpot.
* Anjelina Jolie is in final talks to play Lara Croft in TOMB RAIDER for Paramount Pictures and director Simon West based on the popular video game.
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* Steve Carr (NEXT FRIDAY) will direct HOE DOWN by Doug Krintzman for Columbia Pictures about a has-been rap star who ends up in a small, country town where he has to sing local music. Both he and the townspeople learn to appreciate each other's music.
* Artisan Entertainment picked up two projects: LADIES NIGHT by Maisha Yearwood about a bachelorette party attended by the bride-to-be's former lovers & THE MANIFESTANT by Eric Heisserer about a man who sees that we all live side by side with wizards and shape-shifters.
* Denzel Washington will director THE ANTWONE FISHER STORY for Fox Searchlight about an angry sailor who is close to getting kicked out of the Navy for fighting. He eventually turns his life around as he searches for his family that has abandoned him. He still plans on starring in TRAINING DAY as a corrupt cop who shows the ropes to a rookie who might be played by Ben Affleck or Will Smith.
* MGM may pick up THREE MILES DOWN by Nick Falacci and Chery Heuton for Andrew Davis to direct about the Jennifer Project where in the late 1960s the U.S. government with the help of Howard Hughes nabbed a sunken Russian submarine to learn the secrets of their spy and nuclear technology.
* Billy Wirth will direct the indie pic MACARTHUR PARK starring Lori Petty and Julie Delpy.
* Richard Hatem (UNDER SIEGE 2) will adapt the Nelson DeMille novel PLUM ISLAND about a New York cop who looks for the lost treasure of Captain Kidd while investigating a murder.
* Ellen Rapoport's CLOSURE was bought by Summit Entertainment about a lawyer who, after her fiance breaks up with her, wants to confront every guy who has ever dumped her.
* Brad Silberling will direct a fictional feature based on the Oscar-nominated documentary ON THE ROPES which Ann Peacock is scripting.
* Ignite Entertainment bought the corporate thriller THE INSIDE MAN by Sheldon Turner about a young Wall St. man who is framed by his mentor for the death of a firm's leader. (This is not the same THE INSIDE MAN Michael Mann is developing).
* Tim McCanlies (THE IRON GIANT) will adapt Bruce Coville's JEREMY THATCHER, DRAGON HATCHER for Itsy Bitsy Entertainment.
* Donald Petrie (MY FAVORITE MARTIAN) is in talks to direct Sandra Bullock in the comedy MISS CONGENIALITY where Bullock will play an FBI agent undercover in a beauty pageant.
* Jesse Vaughn will direct JUWANNA MANN for Warner Bros. and Morgan Creek Prods. The comedy follows a basketball player who is kicked out of the NBA, but he disguises himself as a woman and plays for the WNBA.
* Susan Miller will write THE LAST THING WE EVER DO for Disney about a couple who dislike each other but are forced to raise the daughter of their best friends after they're killed.
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* Martin Lawrence has dropped out of Warner Bros.' SEE SPOT RUN due to creative differences, but David Arquette may take his place.
* Disney owns the rights to the TV comedy "The Greatest American Hero" and plans to turn it into a live-action feature. Abby Kahn and Marc Silverstein (NEVER BEEN KISSED) will script.
* THE INHERITED CHATEAU by Jesse Peretz, starring Paul Rudd, Silvie Testud, Didien Flamand, Donal Logue and Roman Malco has wrapped principal digital photography.
* Miramax grabbed the rights to A CONSPIRACY OF PAPER by David Liss. It's a mystery thriller set in the 18th century in London against the stock exchange.
* Warner Bros. picked up the film rights to the novel JUST FRIENDS by Robyn Sisman where a guy and a girl who are best friends decide to movie in together platonically and the situations that follow. David Heyman will produce.
* F. Gary Gray has left the director chair of 20th Century Fox/New Regency's Chris Tucker film BLACK KNIGHT due to creative differences.
* SHANGHAI NOON will be released May 26 instead of July 26, while POKEMON THE MOVIE 2000 will be released July 21.
GUNN SHOTS (not from the trades)
* Correction on one of last weeks GUNN SHOTS: Indeed Nick Searcy ("Seven Days") did have a part in Joel Schumacher's TIGERLAND, he played Capt. Sanders.
* Stax Flixburg has reviewed the script for WHAT WOMEN WANT at his site FLIXBURG, USA.
* Sources say Adam Sandler's LITTLE NICKY is supposed to be one of the greatest comedies ever made. That's quite a bold statement, but I'm just telling you what I've been told.
I think the biggest news of the week is Anjelina Jolie signing on to play Lara Croft in TOMB RAIDER. Fans can take a deep breath now that the guessing is over and the project seems to be making progress. I'm wondering if Ben Affleck does PEARL HARBOR, will he still do CINDERELLA MAN for director Billy Bob Thornton? I thought PEARL HARBOR is supposed to be a long shoot. It's good to see Steve Martin and Bill Murray attached to some projects. Anyone read NOVOCAINE? I'm very curious about that one. Will TRAFFIC be a shot in the arm for Kevin Costner? We'll see. THREE MILES DOWN sounds like an interesting project as does A CONSPIRACY OF PAPER, but nothing compares to the fact they are bringing THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO to the screen. I knew it was coming sooner or later. Hope they keep the charm the show had.
Happy Dentist's Day (Mar. 6)... and let Mardi Gras begin.
Elston Gunn
elstongunn@hotmail.com
