Got a new fella on the block that wants to do a weekly round-up of 'The Trades'. Well, I'll see what you think of the idea. I think you'll be pleased. This is basically out of HOLLYWOOD REPORTER and VARIETY. I try to stay away from re-reporting what they have said first, but I think as a weekly roundup, well, that's kinda cool. Anyway, this new fella's called Diggety Dawg! The Dawg who gets it Hot off the presses. (well technically after the new has sat for a while, kinda like that 7-11 hot dog on the back of the carousel)
Week of February 15-20 1998
The Corrupter
Byron Mann, who played the double-dealing Asian executive in Richard Gere's "Red Corner," has signed to co-star in "The Corrupter" for New Line Cinema. Mann will star along with Hong Kong sensation Chow Yun-Fat, who is currently out in "The Replacement Killers," and Mark Wahlberg, last seen in New Line's "Boogie Nights." The movie is about a Chinese cop in Chinatown who has gone crooked in order to pay a debt to a Triad gang. When he fights to keep his young white partner from following his corrupt path, he finds that the partner is investigating him for the department. Mann will play Bobby Vu, the gang leader. Pic is slated to start shooting Feb. 23 in Toronto under James Foley, and wrap May 22.
G0
"Swingers" director Doug Liman has received the green light to start shooting "Go," a gritty comedy starring Christina Ricci (The Ice Storm) and "Dawson's Creek" star Katie Holmes. TriStar Pictures nabbed rights to the project over fervent interest from such studios as Paramount, Miramax, DreamWorks, Live Entertainment and Polygram. Plans are to shoot the picture in March and April for a release later this year or early 1999. The picture, written by John August, is about the misadventures of a check-out girl, a British drug pusher and two aspiring actors whose paths cross in L.A. and then move on to Las Vegas.
The Oval Island
Sally Kirkland is set to do her best Marilyn Monroe impersonation in an indie film about a castaway who discovers the screen siren living on a desert island with John F. Kennedy. "The Oval Island" is slated to start production this week in Santa Barbara, and co-stars Michael Murphy ("Salvador" "Manhattan") as the late president. Kai Lennox ("Boogie Nights") will play the young drifter. Screenwriter Cyrus Nowrasteh ("Devil's Advocate") makes his directorial debut on the project, working from a script he co-wrote with James Trivers.
Sonny Liston Project
Warner Bros. is developing a movie about the life and mysterious suicide of boxer Sonny Liston. The film will cover Liston's problems with the law and involvement with organized crime, as well as his success in the ring, including bouts with such boxing greats as Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali during the 1950s and 1960s. Director John Herzfeld (HBO's Don King: Only in America) said the picture would also shed new light on Liston's 1970 suicide in 1970, which he said remains unexplained.
Rugrats 2
The "Rugrats" writing team of David N. Weiss and J. David Stem have signed a mid- six-figure deal to pen the as-yet-untitled follow-up, according to sources. Paramount executives are hot on the box office prospects for the first "Rugrats" feature, which is set for a Nov. 25 release. Their optimism is based in part on the popularity of the Nickelodeon cable series, which consistently ranks among the most highly rated basic cable shows. The show, which offers a toddler's view of the world, has won a faithful following among both kids and parents. The picture will get a boost from several retailers including Burger King, which last September signed a $30 million cross-promotion deal for both the series and the movie. Kraft Foods also is reportedly readying a multiple brand tie-in push. Mattel, which has a long-term licensing agreement with Nickelodeon, will launch a series of toys based on the film.
Renegade Blade
The 21-year-old son of Steven Seagal is following in his father's footsteps by starring in a martial arts movie called "Renegade Blade." The project marks the first feature for Kentaro Seagal, whose showbiz experience to date has been as a Tommy Hilfiger clothing model. Seagal junior, a third degree black belt, will play a mysterious stranger educated in the ways of the samurai warrior. His character is enlisted to defend a commune of peaceful hippies against their maniacal, estranged leader."Renegade Blade" will be directed by Steve Jankowski and produced by John Shepphird. Jankowski and Shepphird co-wrote the story. Shooting is slated to begin in late spring.
Southern Cross
Actor Esai Morales will star in the indie film "Southern Cross," which begins an expected eight-week shoot in Chile this week. He plays a young musician who inherits millions when his estranged father disappears in a mining accident. Chilean actress Valentina Vargas (The Name of the Rose) co-stars.
Crazy in Alabama
Antonio Banderas will make his feature directing debut in late April on "Crazy in Alabama," which will star his wife, Melanie Griffith. Based on the 1993 Putnam novel by Mark Childress, the film is about an orphan named Peejoe who is raised by his eccentric aunt, who will be played by Griffith. It is set in the 1960s at the height of racial tensions in Alabama.The budget for the TriStar project is about $15 million.
Casting News
-Kenneth Branagh has joined the cast of "The Wild Wild West". He will play the main villain Dr Arliss Loveless.will play opposite Will Smith and Kevin Kline in the Warner Bros. project, which is set for an April 22 start. Barry Sonnenfeld is directing from a script by Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman. Smith and Kline will portray special government agents James West and Artemus Gordon, who are assigned to foil Loveless' scheme to assassinate President U.S. Grant and take control of the country with a huge weapons- transport dubbed the Tarantula.
-Aidan Quinn has joined the cast of the supernatural comedy "Practical Magic," which stars Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing. The Warner Bros. project is about an extended family of women who descend from a long line of witches. The younger members of the family use their magical powers to solve their romantic woes.
-Rob Reiner is set to play the head of a television network in "Ed TV" for director Ron Howard. The Universal Pictures feature is slated to start shooting March 30, with a cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Ellen DeGeneres, Elizabeth Hurley, Jenna Elfman and Sally Kirkland. Reiner will play Dr. Whitaker, the head of a 24-hour cable network where an executive (DeGeneres) has convinced a video store clerk (McConaughey) to allow the channel to shoot his every movement, 24 hours a day.The project is a remake of the French-Canadian film "Louis 19: Le Roi des Ondes."
