Project: Veda Land, a nearly $1 billion New Age theme park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, headed by longhaired magician Doug Henning and former Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Status:In 1987, this metaphysical pair announced plans for a spiritual wonderland that would include a levitating building, a 120-seat Magic Flying Carpet, and a restaurant with robotic waiters. But according to Niagara Falls mayor Wayne Thomson, Henning and the yogi were unable to conjure up the cash. "We're a little disillusioned," says Thomson, who adds that Veda Land's 700 acres remain empty. "They've been scurrying all over trying to get major investors. Prognosis: Maybe in their next lives.
Project: Director Stanley Kubrick's return to moviemaking. Status: Kubrick is supposed to start shooting the Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman erotic thriller Eyes Wide Shut this summer. But the mercurial auteur's last flick, Full Metal Jacket, was nine years ago, and since then he's been nearly impossible to pin down on any one project — both his World War II drama Aryan Papers and the sci-fi epic AI ("artificial intelligence") have been languishing in development. However, Warner Bros. promises AI, which was scheduled to begin shooting in 1994, is in the final stages of set design and effects development and is on deck after Eyes. Prognosis: ETA on Kubrick's return—how about 2001?
Project: BookNet, a 24-hour cable channel devoted to author interviews, book sales, and all things literary. Status:Conceived in 1993 by Ragtime author E.L. Doctorow, this Nickelodeon for novelists has yet to uplift the airwaves. Among other things, the folks at BookNet blame the lack of space on the cable dial for the delay. But now, with Congress possibly auctioning off a bunch of new bandwidths, BookNet plans to launch in October '96. "We're on the fast track now," says BookNet president Burt Pines. Prognosis: Bound to happen.
Project: Whitney Houston's Cinderella, an adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein made-for-TV musical. Status: This CBS venture, which Houston's publicist says she wants to do as a present for her 2-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina, is supposedly slated to begin filming by the end of '96. Movie-of-the-week scribe Robert Freedman (In the Best of Families) has finished the modernized script. "Cinderella will not be a victim as she was in the old tale," says producer Neil Meron. "She won't be admired by the prince just because she's good-looking. She's evolved." Meron says Cinderella will have to wait until "Whitney's schedule is free—probably after she shoots The Preacher's Wife." (Director Penny Marshall's remake of the 1947 angel drama The Bishop's Wife, costarring Denzel Washington, is currently shooting.) Prognosis: Just waiting for Houston to exhale.
