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Kray Ballet
Following in the tradition of British rockers such as Sting, Roger
Daltrey, David Bowie, and Phil Collins, Gary and Martin Kemp — better known as the pop group Spandau Ballet — are pursuing
big-screen careers. The brothers star in The Krays, a movie based on
the true story of the twins known as the Kings of Crime, who ruled
London's underworld in the 1960s. A violent drama, the film has been
a box-office smash in Britain since it opened last month. It's
scheduled for release in the U.S. this fall.
Kleptomoviemania
These days it looks like a supporting cast of lawyers has become
an essential part of any movie crew. Witness: New Yorker Harold
Steinberg recently filed a suit claiming that Warren Beatty, Walt
Disney Studios, and Disney Studios Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg
stole his idea to develop a film from the Dick Tracy comic strip.
According to the plaintiff, he presented the musical-story concept to
both Beatty and Katzenberg in 1980, but they showed no interest.
Meanwhile, Sylvester Stallone is facing a plagiarism lawsuit from
ex-boxer Joey Barnum, who claims the Italian Stallion pilfered his
idea for the plot of the upcoming Rocky V. Barnum, who is friendly
with Stallone's sister and brother, based the idea on an incident
from his career. While working as a cornerman in the '40s, Barnum
came out of retirement to fight a boxer who had broken training
rules. The defendants in each case had no comment.
RED PLANET'S NEWSPAPER
The award for best product plug disguised as a sight gag goes to
USA Today for its newspaper vending machine on the planet Mars in
Total Recall.
HYPE THE POSE
How bad does Disney want Dick Tracy to become a megahit? Bad
enough to run a television ad featuring ''Vogue,'' the hit tune by
Madonna, playing over clips from the movie. Viewers are left
with the distinct impression that the lively dance-beat number is
featured in the movie. It's not. When asked whether they thought the
ad might confuse consumers, a Disney spokesperson commented that
''Disney m mketing executives refuse to comment, as is their policy on
anything to do with advertising and marketing.''
ROBODUDS
The talents of special effects wizard Rob Bottin, whose Mars
mutants liven up Total Recall, are also on display in the
upcoming RoboCop 2. As the crime-stopping cyborg, actor Peter Weller
dons a new set of fiberglass threads (left). Lighter and easier to
put on than the original suit (above), its 25 pieces magnetically
clip together like a jigsaw puzzle. ''We call it his GQ suit says
David Pawlik, head of the four-person Robo costume team.
