In Hollywood, the only thing bigger than Show Business is the No-Show Business. Think of all the high-profile, A-list projects that Tinseltown announces proudly and loudly — only to have them languish for years, lost in the entertainment equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle. We take an inventory of Hollywood's unchecked To Do list.
PROJECT The remake of '50s game show What's My Line? — which was
to have been Miramax's first foray into TV
STATUS
Hoping to
entice Miramax regulars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon to
slum it on the small screen, the indie studio announced in 1996
it would help relaunch the classic Q&A show. (For those of you
born after the poodle-skirt era, the series featured a panel of
celebrities trying to guess the occupation of a mystery guest.)
CBS committed to six episodes for its fall 1999 schedule, but
according to Miramax TV president Billy Campbell, the deal
crumbled because the network decided the show was too costly and
ambitious. (CBS has no comment.) Miramax has since scaled
back — it plans to tape the show instead of airing it live from
New York — and is now shopping a new version to networks and
syndicators. The pilot's celeb guests include ... Al Franken and
Betty White. Yes, they know Betty White didn't win an Oscar for
Shakespeare in Love, but Miramax still swears Paltrow and her
ilk might cooperate down the road.
PROGNOSIS Could be big — if
they added Regis and a few lifelines.
PROJECT The Janis Joplin biopics
STATUS
The drug-addled singer's
life was so ripe with Behind the Music turmoil, no fewer than
three companies have been trying for years to bring her story to
the big screen. Redeemable Features' (Kiss Me, Guido) $15-20
million version — which has Lili Taylor on board — is stalled for
lack of funding. Lakeshore Entertainment's (The Next Best Thing)
$30-40 million effort — which once had Melissa Etheridge
attached, and now may star Brittany Murphy (Clueless) — is
suspended as producers search for a director. But a $5 million
indie looks to beat them both to the punch. ''It's the battle of
the giants — and they can keep doing that,'' says producer Joel L.
Freedman (Brainstorm), whose version will star relative unknown
Laura Theodore.
PROGNOSIS With the indie a go, the biggies will
have to try more than just a little bit harder.
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