At Home with the Range
Okay, pardners: Break out your cowboy
boots and Johnny Cash records for your shot to star in That's How
I Got to Memphis, screenwriter Topper Lilien's directorial debut.
A musical romance about two country singers, one a white man, the
other an African-American woman, Memphis will feature a
soundtrack by executive producer Quincy Jones. The female lead
will be cast with an unknown, says Holly Sorensen, senior VP of
Production at Shooting Gallery, who adds that the male star's
singing voice won't be dubbed. ''The number of guys age 35 to 45
who can sing is very [limited],'' she says. ''We're calling agents
and asking 'Can Matthew McConaughey sing?''' Other possibilities:
Kurt Russell, who has played Elvis; Dennis Quaid, who has played
Jerry Lee Lewis; and Treat Williams. Memphis will begin shooting
later this year, once Lilien finishes work on Pearl Harbor.
English Patience
He may have overstayed his welcome at the
podium, but Spanish director Pedro Almodovar apparently didn't
say his fill in English when he accepted his Oscar for All About
My Mother: He recently began writing his first script in his
second language. Almodovar, who is simultaneously working on
another Spanish project, has yet to decide which will be his next
film, but Mother star Penelope Cruz has told him to count her in
for either, once she finishes filming Captain Corelli's Mandolin with Nicolas Cage, and the Spanish-language Without News From Godthis fall.
Two to Tango
On May 11, indie titans Artisan and Miramax
announced their first collaboration, a sequel to 1987's
$63-million- grossing Dirty Dancing. ''Harvey Weinstein and I had
lunch [over] the largest sushi platter I've seen in my life,''
says Artisan co-CEO Amir Malin. ''Harvey starts to pig out and
asks, 'Whatever happened to Dirty Dancing?''' A 10-minute
negotiating session followed, during which the execs agreed to
split costs, with Artisan providing the rights, domestic
distribution, and half the financing, and Miramax offering
talent connections and overseas distribution. The film will be
set in South Beach and the companies are eyeing Ricky Martin and
Natalie Portman or Jennifer Lopez to star.
— Daniel Fierman
Furthermore
We hear that director Milos Forman is considering
following Man on the Moon with another tale of bizarre American
celebrity, The Monica Lewinsky Story. His agent says this is the
first he's heard of it.
Add your comment
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.