Welcome to the weekend and Elston Gunn's WEEKLY RECAP, Father Geek here with the latest on what happened out in tinseltown last week that you may have missed. Got that coffee and donuts close at hand? Well get it together because nothing goes with the week's review better that a steaming cup of java and a package of your favorite munchies.
The big news last week seems to be the disappearance of all those Spidey outfits from the set. What a useless item to steal, what can you do with them... except get caught! Spiderman publicity sure got a boost from this... like they really needed it. The cops just caught a thief selling a rare ($100,000) signed 500 year old manuscript in NY, he had stole the item 20 years ago from the University of Texas. He waited 20 years to sell it and was caught instantly. Cops in Europe just caught a thief with a Renoir painting. Same thing... the idiot waited 15 years to sell it, but was caught the instant he did. Stuff like these costumes will always be HOT, and I don't mean popular, no matter how much time passes. Oh, you can collect chump change for it, but never a big payoff, that's strickly Hollywood. Ol' Father Geek here delt pop culture collectibles from 1969 to 98 and I tell you I can't begin to remember the number of successful "Stings" setup by us dealers around the country to catch thiefs of uber rare comics, posters, books, original art, props, costumes, etc... The bigtime collectors know this too, so only a fool would buy such an item. It WILL keep Spidey's name in the papers for awhile though...
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CASTING
Stuff like these costumes will always be HOT, and I don't mean popular, no matter how much time passes. Oh, you can collect chump change for it, but never a big payoff, that's strickly Hollywood. Ol' Father Geek here delt pop culture collectibles from 1969 to 98 and I tell you I can't begin to remember the number of successful "Stings" setup by us dealers around the country to catch thiefs of uber rare comics, posters, books, original art, props, costumes, etc... The bigtime collectors know this too, so only a fool would buy such an item. It WILL keep Spidey's name in the papers for awhile though...
TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CASTING
CASTING
* Dolly Parton is set and Randy Quaid is in talks to join Dave Sheridan in Disney's FRANK MCKLUSKY, C.I. for director Arlene Sanford (A VERY BRADY SEQUEL). It's about an overzealous insurance claims investigator who tries to uncover a conspiracy.
* Graham Greene joins Disney's WINTERDANCE, starring James Coburn and Cuba Gooding Jr., for director Brian Levant. It's about a father and son reunion amidst a huge dogsled race.
* Molly Shannon is in final talks to join THE GUEST, starring Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid, Carmen Electra and David Koechner. David Zucker directs the comedy for Dimension Films.
* Patricia Arquette will star opposite Billy Bob Thornton in the thriller BEHIND THE SUN for writer/director Robby Henson (PHARAOH'S ARMY) and Propaganda Films/Lions Gate. The story centers around a small town dealing with the death of a transsexual.
* James Coburn will star in AMERICAN GUN, a mystery/thriller about a WWII vet who searches for the killer of an unsolved crime. He uses the serial number on the gun to trace it's 20-year history across the country from the factory that manufactured it to the hand that belongs to the murderer. Alan Jacobs directs the pic. Virginia Madsen, Barbara Bain and Alexandra Holden also star.
* Ashley Judd will play the title role in CATWOMAN, a Warner Bros. film based on the DC Comics character.
* Jeremy Northam is in talks to star in the thriller THE COMPANY MAN for director Vincenzo Natali and Pandora Films. Brian King scripted the story of a man who realizes he's inadvertently working as a corporate spy. He soon finds out that he is a part of a much bigger game, and that a mysterious woman can save his life.
* Cuba Gooding Jr. and Horatio Sanz are in talks to star in the buddy comedy BOAT TRIP for MPCA, International West Pictures and writer/director Mort Nathan. It's about two straight men who look for love on a Caribbean cruise only to discover they're on a gay cruise.
* Natasha Lyonne will have a cameo role in SCARY MOVIE 2 for director Keenan Ivory Wayans and Dimension Films. The project wraps this month and is scheduled to open in July.
* Scott Glenn and Tom Berenger join Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke in TRAINING DAY for director Antoine Fuqua.
* Brendan Fehr ("Roswell") will star in Lions Gate's period murder mystery A WILDERNESS STATION, based on a short story by Alice Munro. Anne Wheeler directs.
* Valarie Rae Miller ("Dark Angel") will join Ice Cube in New Line's ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS for director Kevin Bray.
* Christopher Walken will play the lead human in Disney's THE COUNTRY BEARS, also starring Daryl Mitchell and Deidrich Bader as well as the voices of Haley Joel Osment and Charles Dutton. It's about a banker who is trying to tear down the Country Bear Hall, where the musical act the Country Bears got started. Said Bears will be animatronic. Peter Hastings will direct.
* Elijah Wood will play Edward Burns' brother in ASH WEDNESDAY for IFC Productions. Burns is directing from his own script in New York.
* Bruce Greenwood and Linda Fiorentino will star in the indie pic SPOILS for co-writer/director Nick Meyer and Corsan Films. It's about the theft of the German crown jewels at the end of World War II.
* Bill Duke (EXIT WOUNDS), Robinne Lee (HAV PLENTY), Eric Roberts and Colm Feore join NATIONAL SECURITY, starring Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn. Dennis Dugan directs the pic about a white cop who is booted off the force after being falsely accused of beating a black man. The two ultimately find themselves joining forces to stop the people who are trying to kill them while uncovering a smuggling operation.
* Gabrielle Union joins the ensemble pic WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD as well as ABANDON, starring Katie Holmes.
* Gerard Depardieu and his son, Guillaume, will star in HONOR THY FATHER for writer/director Jacob Berger. The project centers on a complicated father and son relationship.
* Michael Michele ("ER") will star opposite Kurt Russell, Scott Speedman and Ving Rhames in the cop drama THE PLAGUE SEASON for director Ron Shelton.
* Stockard Channing is in final talks to play a journalist in LIFE, OR SOMETHING LIKE IT, starring Angelina Jolie. Stephen Herek directs.
* Patrick Fugit (ALMOST FAMOUS) joins Peter Kosminsky's WHITE OLEANDER, based on the novel by Janet Fitch.
* Eric Stoltz and Anthony LaPaglia will star in HAPPY HOUR about the friendship between a writer, his biggest fan and the woman who falls for him. Mike Bencivenga will direct from a script he co-wrote with Richard Levine.
* French actress Fanny Ardant will play the title role in CALLAS FOREVER for director Franco Zeffirelli. The film is about the last month of the life of legendary opera star Maria Callas. Jeremy Irons will also star.
* Erika Christensen will star in the thriller SWIMFAN85 for director John Polson about a new girl who becomes obsesses with the high school championship swimmer. Jesse Bradford (BRING IT ON) and Shiri Appleby ("Roswell") are in talks to join the cast.
* Christopher Plummer, Brent Carver, Charles Aznavour, Bruce Greenwood, Arsinee Khanjian and David Alpay will star in Atom Egoyan's film ARARAT for Serendipity Point Films and Alliance Atlantis. The project is about the making of a historical epic about the Armenian holocaust and how it changes the life of a young man hired as a driver on the production.
DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS
* Darren Aronofsky is scripting and will direct an untitled sci-fi epic for Brad Pitt to star. Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow are producing the project, the plot of which is being kept a secret.
* Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont (CAN'T HARDLY WAIT, JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS) will rewrite and direct a remake of the 1964 romantic comedy SEND ME NO FLOWERS. It's about a hypochondriac who searches for a new mate for his wife because he thinks he's dying.
* Wayne Wang is co-writing and expected to direct ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY, based on the memoir by author/humorist David Sedaris. The book centers on Sedaris growing up in an eccentric family in North Carolina, and later his living in New York and France.
* Director Agnieszka Holland is heading to Poland for two projects: JULIA RETURNS HOME, starring Nastassja Kinski and Lothaire Blueteau, and HANEMANN, based on the novel by Stefan Chwin. The first project centers on a woman who goes to a healer to help her sick child. The second project, set in post-war Gdansk, may have Jeremy Irons attached to star.
Check out my script report at ScreenwritersUtopia.com
including news bits about Robert Rodat, Steve Zaillian and a pitch entitled
SUPER BUTT FREAK.
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS
* Author Clive Barker has sold his novel THE DAMNATION GAME to Phoenix Pictures for a film he will produce under his Seraphim Films banner. It's about a convicted gambler/thief who gains early release from prison at the behest of a wealthy industrialist. As a trade, the ex-con agrees to serve as his bodyguard, which becomes increasingly difficult once he discovers that someone is coming to kill his employer to settle an old debt.
* Miramax is expected to start shooting the musical CHICAGO, with a new script by Bill Condon (GODS AND MONSTERS), once they find two actresses to play the leads. Rob Marshall (ABC's "Annie") is set to direct for producers Marty Richards and Harvey Weinstein.
* Jennifer Lopez has dropped out of the Francis Ford Coppola-produced Frida Kahlo project for director Luis Valdez, and is instead in talks to star in Tony Scott's upcoming thriller TAKING LIVES, where she would play an FBI agent on the trail of a killer who murders strangers and takes their identities.
* Crusader Entertainment has recently acquired the life rights to the story of music legend Ray Charles for a feature entitled UNCHAIN MY HEART: THE RAY CHARLES STORY. The project will touch on his childhood in the segregated South in the 1930s where he went blind from glaucoma at age 7. He learned to read/write music using Braille. The feature will also cover his civil rights activism, struggle with heroin addiction and his battles with record labels. Jimmy White will write the screenplay. The producers are hoping for a fall start.
* Fox Searchlight is in talks to pick up in turnaround from Fine Line Features PIMP, a feature based on the street hustler Robert "Iceberg Slim" Beck. Bill Duke is still attached to direct Ice Cube in the picture. Rob Weiss and Bruce Rubenstein penned the latest draft.
* Jerry Bruckheimer Films has optioned the movie rights to THE BUREAU AND THE MOLE, an upcoming book by David Vise about the true espionage case recently uncovered at the FBI.
* Arnold Entertainment grabbed the feature rights to Philip Carlo's true-life crime book THE NIGHT STALKER: THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF NOTORIOUS SERIAL MURDERER RICHARD RAMIREZ.
* Fox Searchlight has given the greenlight to the untitled project for which Denzel Washington will make his directorial debut. It's an autobiographical tale by an aspiring screenwriter with a violent temper who once worked as a security guard for Sony.
