Daldry Does Working Title After Hours Stephen Daldry has renewed his recently expired first-look agreement with Working Title for a three-year, two-picture minimum contract. But 'this year's Sam Mendes' will follow Billy Elliot and the forthcoming Royal Court stage production of Caryl Chruchill's Far Away, with Paramount’s adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning Michael Cunningham’s novel The Hours. With script by adapter of the Mendes/Kidman 'theatrical viagra' The Blue Room David Hare, the film is produced by Robert Fox and the Midas-like Scott Rudin. Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore are set to star, with Moore taking over a role originally earmarked for Gwyneth Paltrow. The novel pays homage to Virginia Woolf, and tells of three women from different periods in the 20th century. In one story is Woolf herself, writing her novel "Mrs. Dalloway" in 1923, as she recovers from depression; in another is a pregnant Los Angeles housewife in 1949, reading the book as she prepares for her husband's birthday party; the third is a young woman in 1990s New York, planning a farewell party for an AIDS-afflicted former lover who called her "Mrs. Dalloway." Daldry is understood to be keen to shoot the film before the actor strikes next year. After completion, his next two films will be for Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner's Working Title, which is bankrolled by Universal Pictures and StudioCanal. Daldry had previously told Netribution that his next project would be a working class remake of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang set in a remote fishing village in the North of England, although all sources indicate this has been put on hold. Ray Winstone had been suggested as a possible replacement for Dick Van Dyke's Caractacus Potts, with Vinnie Jones touted as the evil Child Catcher. The famous car was to be replaced by a converted coal truck, with a new score from the Scunthorpe Colliery Brass Band.
Kidman Knee-ded on Set After what was beginning to look like The Curse of Christopher Eccleston, shooting has resumed on one of his two projects that were halted due to on set injuries. Nicole Kidman has returned to the Spanish shoot of Alejandro Amenabar’s thriller The Others after nearly a month off to treat a recurring knee injury. A week after filming stalled on The Others the cast and crew of Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which also stars Eccleston, were sent home when lead actor Jean Rochefort suffered a debilitating double disk hernia. Still unclear whether Quixote will pull back together in time for completion in 2001, the long gestating Gilliam/Tony Grisoni project risks never seeing the light of day. Gilliam's next project, The Man Who Didn't Shoot Don Quixote, is eagerly awaited.
The Pathe To Promotion All change at UK franchise arm Pathe Distribution. As The Sales Company's Alison Thompson clears her desk to join Pathe as head of international sales, Ian George has been promoted from marketing and publicity to deputy managing director. Meanwhile UK sales director Alastair Craig is leaving the company to join EVA Entertainment, Pearson Television’s animated unit, as director of sales. Craig is being replaced by Neil Marshall, formerly director of exhibitor relations at film magazine In2Film.
Outlaw Upton Dredds Fine Line Following 1995's damp squib Judge Dredd, Brit comic-book 2000AD is to return to the screens with Andrew Upton's retelling of super warrior Outlaw. The US$10m-15m project, scripted by Lloyd Foneville, is expected to start shooting early next year after New Line subsidiary Fine Line picked up film, TV and game rights from UK software developer Rebellion. Rebellion bought the rights to 2000AD in July and have formed 2000AD Entertainment with media lawyer Andrew Curtis to exploit the sci-fi fantasy comic. Outlaw follows a criminal captured by a weapons design company and turned into the ultimate fighting machine.
Marlowe makes Depp in the Right Direction Brit-pack outfit Natural Nylon's Marlowe project has signed Johnny Depp and Jude Law to play Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare respectively. The manage-a-trois film, which holds more than a passing resemblance to Shakespeare in Love looks at the oft contested question of authorship in Shakespeare's plays. Marlowe falls in love with Audrey, whose husband Walsingham has fallen in love with Marlowe. Declared a heretic and forced to leave the country, Marlowe leaves his unpublished plays in the hands of struggling actor Shakespeare. The $20m project, to be directed by Love is The Devil's John Maybury, is financed by Canada's Alliance Atlantis and its UK joint venture with Germany's Kinowelt Momentum pictures.
The Force Can be With You No doubt short of ideas, LucasFilm has teamed up with AtomFilms to create the Star Wars Film Network where filmmakers can present 'spoofs, documentaries and suggested prequels'. Most of Atom's most successful shorts are film spoofs, with the recent atomic -hit George Lucas In Love entering the Amazon top-ten video sales. To help production, Lucasfilm is making available for download a library of official sound effects. Atom has promised that fan filmmakers whose shorts are shown will receive royalty payments based on advertising and sponsorship revenues.
But Not With Shepperton (again) George Lucas has confirmed that Star Wars Episode III will be shot again in Australia. Despite returning to Shepperton to complete filming of Epsiode II, in a full page advertisement in Daily VarietyLucas and producer Rick McCallum thanked the crew and staff at Fox Studios Australia for making the production "an easy and fun shoot", finishing, "We look forward to seeing you all for Episode III."
Hollywood's Charlie Problem 2nd Biggest Ever Sony - which has had a generally disappointing year at the box office - saw Charlie's Angels scoop the second biggest US opening for a non-summer debut with US$40.1m for last weekend. The film opens in the UK on Meanwhile Artisan's Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 plummeted 62 percent from its opening weekend to $5 million, winding up in fifth place.
Monty's Broadway Grin The musical version of The Full Monty has become the hottest ticket on Broadway. Producer Lindsay Law told the New York Post that "the lesson is not to duplicate every scene in the movie, especially the ones that work wonderfully, because you have different tools in a movie to tell your story than you do in a musical." The musical is selling out well in advance, and is expected to transfer to London at some point in the next year, though UK response to the film's Americanisation is unlikely to be favourable. Reports appeared in The Sun last week of plans to translate Billy Elliot for the stage.
Cronenberg's Baser Instinct Following our reports last week about Basic Instinct 2 and Cronenberg's Spider project, Daily Variety confirmed this week that Cronenberg is in advance negotiations to direct the sequel. The film, of unknown storyline, will star Sharon Stone and is being produced by C-2's Mario Kassar and Andy Vanja Intermedia's Guy East, Nigel Sinclair and Moritz Borman will serve as executive producers. MGM will release the sequel in North America, with Intermedia and C-2 handling international sales, marketing and distribution.
This week... Cinemas Admit record Year >>> Euro adds to UK's film woes >>> Britfilm Investment Sinks 10% in 2001 >>> (Stewart) Till We Meet Again >>> Jean-Marie's Mess >>> Snow White & The 7 Sequels >>> Brian Cox in Good Spirit >>> And also... >>>
Daldry Does Working Title After Hours