News for 10/28/2004


Rhames Signs Deal for 'Kojak' Series


NEW YORK - "Who loves ya, baby?" Ving Rhames does.

Rhames has signed with USA Network to a weekly series of "Kojak," debuting in March, Bonnie Hammer, president of USA Network and the Sci Fi Channel, said Tuesday. Filming begins in Toronto in January.

Production wrapped in August on a two-hour original movie, which will now serve as the premiere episode for the nine-week original series, the network said.

Telly Savalas starred as the stylish, crome-dome Lt. Theo Kojak in the police drama, which aired from 1973-78.

"`Kojak' is a perfect USA series," Hammer said in a statement. "The main character is a true American original, a crime-solver with an incredible mix of charm, street smarts and uncanny intuition. And in the hands of the great Ving Rhames, this is definitely not your father's `Kojak.'"

Rhames, 43, is best known for his role as Marsellus Wallace in the 1994 film "Pulp Fiction." He also is to appear in "Mission: Impossible III" and as Sonny Liston in "Night Train," both slated for release next year.



News for 10/25/2004


Weekend Boxoffice

Movie-Goers Hold 'Grudge' Against Affleck

By DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer


LOS ANGELES (AP) - Movie-goers hold no grudges against Sarah Michelle Gellar, but they apparently have a beef with Ben Affleck. Gellar's fright flick "The Grudge" got a jump on Halloween with a $40 million opening weekend to debut at No. 1, while Affleck delivered a holiday turkey with "Surviving Christmas," his critically drubbed comedy that came in No. 7 with just $4.5 million.

The animated "Shark Tale," the top movie for three straight weekends, slipped to second place with $14.3 million, lifting its total to $136.9 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"The Grudge," a remake of a Japanese horror hit, stars Gellar as an American student in Tokyo terrorized by a raging spirit lingering in a house with a violent history.

Debuting in 3,245 theaters, "The Grudge" averaged a healthy $12,327 per cinema.

The movie marks the English-language debut for director Takashi Shimizu, who also made the Japanese original. "The Grudge" was produced by the horror outfit created by "Spider-Man" filmmaker Sam Raimi, who got his start with the cult fright flick "The Evil Dead."

Audiences this time of year are in the mood for scary movies, but the big debut for "The Grudge" indicates it grabbed more than the usual Halloween crowd, said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony, which released the movie.

"I would say that when you do $40 million, it's got to be more than" the Halloween influence, Bruer said. "You have Sam Raimi, who's got incredible knowledge of this genre. We had tremendous marketing, and Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was out there pounding the pavement, fighting for this film."

"Surviving Christmas" did barely better than Affleck's notorious 2003 bomb "Gigli," which had a $3.8 million opening weekend.

The movie stars Affleck as a lonely guy who hires a pretend family for the holidays. Critics trashed the movie, whose release was delayed a year to avoid bumping up against Affleck's thriller "Paycheck" during the 2003 holiday season.

Executives at DreamWorks, which released "Surviving Christmas," were unavailable for comment Sunday, a spokeswoman said.

Along with terrible reviews, "Surviving Christmas" may have been hurt by its October release date, unusually early for a yuletide movie.

"It is a little early, but people would accept Christmas in October if it had been a really good movie," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

After three weeks in limited release, critical favorite "I (Heart) Huckabees" expanded nationwide and broke into the top 10 with $3 million.

Another darling of critics, the road-trip comedy "Sideways," had a stellar debut in four New York City and Los Angeles theaters, grossing $208,293 to average $52,073. Directed by Alexander Payne ("About Schmidt"), "Sideways" stars Paul Giamatti as a loser in love on a bachelor spree at California wineries with a buddy who's about to marry.

"The Machinist," starring Christian Bale as a man coming unhinged after a year without sleep, also opened strongly in limited release with $64,000 in three New York City and Los Angeles theaters, averaging $21,333.

1. "The Grudge," $40 million.
2. "Shark Tale," $14.3 million.
3. "Shall We Dance?", $8.6 million.
4. "Friday Night Lights," $7 million.
5. "Team America: World Police," $6.6 million.
6. "Ladder 49," $5.4 million.
7. "Surviving Christmas," $4.5 million.
8. "Taxi," $4.25 million.
9. "The Forgotten," $3.4 million.
10. "I (Heart) Huckabees," $3 million.



Honeymooners Casting

Big-screen remake adds names.


USA Today reports that a quintet of actors have filled out the leading roles in Paramount's big-screen version of the TV classic The Honeymooners. Gabrielle Union (Bad Boys II) plays Alice, wife to bus driver Ralph Kramden (Cedric the Entertainer), while Regina Hall (Scary Movie) co-stars as Trixie, wife of Ralph's buddy Ed Norton (Mike Epps).

Also joining the cast are "Eric Stoltz as a villain trying to steal a house Alice wins and John Leguizamo as a guru. Broadway actress Carol Woods (Sweet and Lowdown) plays Alice's disapproving mother."

The pic is currently filming in Ireland under the direction of John Schultz with Deep River producing. "When you think of black remakes set in Brooklyn, you think: Ireland," joked Union.

Union advised USA Today that the story has been updated. "Obviously a lot of things had to change," she told the paper. "Although (Ralph) still sends my (behind) 'to the moon' quite a few times."

The Honeymooners opens in 2005.



LL Cool J is Making Holiday Plans

Source: The Hollywood Reporter


LL Cool J (S.W.A.T.) will star in the comedy remake of Last Holiday, playing an ex-con who has a secret crush on the main character played by Queen Latifah, says The Hollywood Reporter. Wayne Wang (Maid in Manhattan) is directing the film.

The original 1950 British movie starred Alec Guinness as a poor clerk who, with only a few months to live, decides to take one last holiday, during which he's mistaken for an eccentric aristocrat.

In Paramount Pictures' new version, Queen Latifah will play a shy clerk who goes on a European vacation after she learns that she is terminally ill.



Willis & Freeman Aboard Lucky Slevin

Source: Variety


Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman are in talks to join the cast of Lucky Slevin for director Paul McGuigan and FilmEngine, reports Variety.

The film is set in the world of black and Jewish gangsters and the cast includes Josh Hartnett, Lucy Liu and Ben Kingsley.

The story concerns a man who's confused with the friend whose apartment he is staying in and forced by a gangland boss to assassinate his archenemy's son.

Jason Smilovic wrote the screenplay and production is expected to begin in December in Montreal.



Actor Cheadle to Receive Gotham Award


NEW YORK (AP) - Don Cheadle and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" will be honored with Gotham Awards from the Independent Film Project.

On Dec. 1, Cheadle will receive the Gotham Actor Award for his body of work, while "Eternal Sunshine" will be honored with the organization's inaugural Celebrate New York Tribute.

"Don was such an obvious choice," IFP/New York President Michelle Byrd told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "He's someone who very seamlessly goes between smaller independent productions to larger commercial movies. He's a consummate actor's actor."

Cheadle's screen credits include "Swordfish," "Traffic," the TV movie "The Rat Pack" and "Boogie Nights."

Byrd told the AP the 13-year-old Gotham Awards are undergoing a makeover. The ceremony, previously coupled with the IFP Market convention in September, has been moved to December in an effort to reinvent the awards and create pre-awards season buzz. Three honors, including the Celebrate New York Tribute, have been added.

"A lot of production companies have a hard time making films, let alone films in New York," said Byrd about "Eternal Sunshine." "This is a film produced completely in New York and distributed by a company based here in New York."

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as a couple who undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship sours.

After Cheadle picks up his award at Pier Sixty at the Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, the 39-year-old actor will be all over the big screen. His upcoming films include "Ocean's Twelve," "Hotel Rwanda" and "Crash."



More Cast for Sam Mendes' Jarhead

Source: The Hollywood Reporter


Jamie Foxx and Lucas Black are joining Jake Gyllenhaal in the Sam Mendes-directed Jarhead at Universal Pictures.

The drama is based on Anthony Swofford's Persian Gulf War memoir. Drawing on his own experiences as a Marine grunt in Vietnam, Broyles wrote a script that studio and producers felt captured Swofford's voice and vivid descriptions of war.

Gyllenhaal is set to star as Swofford. Also cast are Laz Alonso (Eyes), Brian Geraghty (Art School Confidential), Jacob Vargas (Traffic) and Evan Jones (8 Mile).

The film will start production in early December, with shooting to take place in Los Angeles and El Centro, Calif., the latter doubling for Saudi Arabia. The actors are expected to undergo boot camp training in November.

Jarhead is targeted for a September 30, 2005 release date.



News for 10/19/2004


Preacher in a Star Turn on Film Draws the Faithful

By JULIE SALAMON


It was a perfect Hollywood moment, except that it took place at a Pentecostal revival meeting. Or maybe that's exactly where Hollywood is headed.

Reuben Cannon, a movie producer, had optioned "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," an inspirational book by T. D. Jakes, a preacher. The producer knew that to make a profitable movie he needed what's known in Hollywood as a "bankable element," usually a movie star - and he didn't have that. Then he saw Bishop Jakes in action in 2002, leading a conference in Houston dealing with issues of sexual abuse. The three-day event was attended by 50,000 to 80,000 women each day, broadcast to thousands more by live satellite feeds. As he watched this master of the mega-ministry, Mr. Cannon realized all he needed was to cast the minister as himself.

"If you define a star by popularity and recognizability, Bishop Jakes is a star," Mr. Cannon said.

Not Mel Gibson, perhaps, but star enough to attract surprising numbers to "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," the movie Mr. Cannon has produced with Bishop Jakes in a leading role. Using the same kind of church-based marketing strategy that worked for "The Passion of the Christ," this independent feature, made for less than $2 million and shown so far in only 408 theaters, has taken in more than $5 million since opening two weeks ago to strong reviews.

No question that religion has a powerful hold on the cultural consciousness these days. But these two films, while sold by a similar strategy, offer very different visions of Christianity. "The Passion of the Christ," an interpretation of the Gospels - however gritty, however controversial - was still a Bible story. "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," the story of a woman raped as a girl by her mother's boyfriend and the subsequent effects on her life, is a contemporary morality play told with old-fashioned Hollywood realism. (Bishop Jakes, cast to type, plays a minister.) It is also an African-American production with African-American actors, and invokes faith therapeutically, taking more of a practical, Oprah-like approach. (Indeed, Oprah Winfrey is among the film's investors; so are Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., Cedric the Entertainer and Danny Glover.)

For Bishop Jakes, a large man who dresses theatrically - in bright, melon-colored suits, for example - movies are a logical place to deal with matters of faith. "As baby boomers evolve and our roles change, what we want to see and our children want to see is evolving as well," he said in an interview. "We are seeing people break out of the box and not let a business meeting in Hollywood determine who we are and what we want to see." The film's distributor, Magnolia Pictures, has a similarly outside-the-studios point of view, though its independence generally hasn't been manifested in the religious arena. The company distributed "Capturing the Friedmans," Andrew Jarecki's documentary about a Long Island family wracked by accusations of child molestation, and "Control Room," Jehane Noujaim's documentary about Al Jazeera's coverage of the 2003 Iraqi invasion.

"When I saw the film, to be honest, I did not know who Bishop Jakes was," said Eamonn Bowles, president of Magnolia Pictures. He learned of Bishop Jakes after reading positive notices of the movie from the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February. "When I did a little research I realized how wide his influence was, which is kind of staggering, and that made me more interested in the film," Mr. Bowles said.

Bishop Jakes is a phenomenon, a minister but also a businessman, novelist and playwright who values and pursues spiritual and commercial success. "In my own life, while I am a minister, I am not willing to put a period at the end of the sentence and say that's the only thing I'm going to be," he said. "I grew up in five generations of entrepreneurs, and I think you can be involved in business without compromising your religious principles." In fact, he added, "I think historically the ministers who were portrayed as charlatans may have had only one revenue stream. You don't have to fleece the church to be successful."

His base church, the Potter's House in Dallas, has 28,000 members, and he also preaches on a weekly broadcast carried on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, Black Entertainment Television and Daystar Television Network. He runs nonprofit organizations that operate large national conferences - like the one where his star potential was discovered by Mr. Cannon - as well as a variety of social services programs. On the for-profit side, he has a theater production company and a music label, gives motivational speeches at business conferences and is the author of 27 books whose sales have reached 7 million copies. One of those books was "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," which has sold 3 million copies since it was first published in 1993, then adapted into a play, and now the movie.

Mr. Jakes, who has been a fierce advocate of the church's responsibility to deal with hard social problems like sexual abuse, takes a broad view of what faith includes. "I don't think the church should be a spiritual club for elitists who wear this badge of piety," he said. So he offers cruises (with five-star dining) featuring religious and business topics, as well as entertainment provided by Christian comedians. His spiritual conferences are leavened with circus acts.

Initially, "Woman, Thou Art Loosed" was marketed to Bishop Jakes's immediate constituency: churchgoers more likely to attend Sunday-morning services than to go to the movies on Saturday nights. The minister went on the road over the summer, screening the movie for fellow pastors to generate word of mouth. He showed the movie to advocacy groups for abused women and to the Congressional Black Caucus.

Hollywood viewed it as a novelty that Mr. Gibson marketed his film through churches. But Bishop Jakes noted that canvassing churches for support has a long tradition in the African-American community.

"The Gospel-play industry always invites the ministers out, giving them tickets to the play," he said, referring to touring productions of religious plays aimed at black audiences. "We've always marketed like that because we've not had the money to do it any other way."

That's changed now, at least for "Woman, Thou Art Loosed." With the film's early success, and hoping to lure non-churchgoers, Magnolia Pictures plans to open the film in 200 additional theaters this week.

As for Bishop Jakes, even though he enjoyed his movie experience, he isn't about to give up his day job, he said, laughing. "I'm not getting ready to load up the truck and move to Beverly Hills.''



Weekend Boxoffice


'Shark Tale' Remains Big Fish

By DAVID GERMAIN
The Associated Press


LOS ANGELES - "Shark Tale" again proved a strong swimmer at the box office, taking in $22 million to finish No. 1 for the third weekend in a row.

With $12.2 million, "Friday Night Lights" came in No. 2 for the second-straight weekend, while the new wide releases followed - "Team America: World Police" in third with $12.1 million and "Shall We Dance?" in fourth with $11.8 million.

The top 20 movies at North American theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. and Nielsen EDI Inc.:

1. "Shark Tale," DreamWorks, $22,005,952, 3,948 locations, $5,574 average, $118,724,863, three weeks.

2. "Friday Night Lights," Universal, $12,216,880, 2,764 locations, $4,420 average, $37,819,455, two weeks.

3. "Team America: World Police," Paramount, $12,120,358, 2,539 locations, $4,774 average, $12,120,358, one week.

4. "Shall We Dance?", Miramax, $11,783,467, 1,772 locations, $6,650 average, $11,783,467, one week.

5. "Ladder 49," Disney, $8,503,420, 3,255 locations, $2,612 average, $53,747,377, three weeks.

6. "Taxi," Fox, $7,891,169, 3,001 locations, $2,630 average, $23,891,719, two weeks.

7. "The Forgotten," Sony, $6,007,726, 2,768 locations, $2,170 average, $57,160,305, four weeks.

8. "Raise Your Voice," New Line, $2,757,809, 2,521 locations, $1,094 average, $7,902,305, two weeks.

9. "The Motorcycle Diaries," Focus Features, $1,756,157, 250 locations, $7,025 average, $5,748,162, four weeks.

10. "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," Paramount, $1,218,417, 1,208 locations, $1,009 average, $35,899,489, five weeks.

11. "Shaun of the Dead," Focus Features, $1,109,997, 672 locations, $1,652 average, $11,269,702, four weeks.

12. "I (Heart) Huckabees," Fox Searchlight, $914,880, 65 locations, $14,075 average, $2,600,993, three weeks.

13. "Napoleon Dynamite," Fox Searchlight, $883,817, 619 locations, $1,428 average, $40,371,730, 19 weeks.

14. "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," Magnolia, $691,448, 434 locations, $1,593 average, $5,099,502, three weeks.

15. "Resident Evil: Apocalypse," Sony Screen Gems, $673,272, 787 locations, $855 average, $50,138,512, six weeks.

16. "Cellular," New Line, $574,385, 741 locations, $775 average, $30,653,555, six weeks.

17. "Garden State," Fox Searchlight, $452,519, 301 locations, $1,503 average, $25,242,957, 12 weeks.

18. "What the $ ! Do We Know?!", Samuel Goldwyn, $368,134, 132 locations, $2,789 average, $6,103,766, N/A.

19. "The Bourne Supremacy," Universal, $353,005, 346 locations, $1,020 average, $174,363,530, 13 weeks.

20. "Hero," Miramax, $352,984, 395 locations, $894 average, $52,807,621, eight weeks.



Fox gives 'Bernie' a break

Josef Adalian, Michael Schneider, Variety Staff


"Bernie Mac" is taking a break, while NBC appears ready to say "aloha" to "Hawaii" for the November sweeps and put "LAX" in a new Wednesday terminal.

Regency TV and Fox decided to temporarily halt production on "Bernie Mac" after the star's hectic schedule left him exhausted, the net said.

Mac spent much of the summer simultaneously shooting the features "Ocean's 12" and "Guess Who," while also doing press for the release of "Mr. 3000," before immediately heading back to the set of "Bernie Mac."

According to Fox, Mac got wiped out from that schedule -- which has "already resulted in production delays."

With several episodes partially done -- and the show falling further behind schedule -- net and studio decided it made more sense to give Mac a four-week break before resuming production.

As a result, "Bernie Mac" won't return to the schedule, as originally planned, on Wednesday, Nov. 3. (Net aired four new episodes in September that had already been produced before the summer.)

Fox said it would announce its November plans for the "Bernie Mac" slot shortly.

"Bernie should be fully recovered in a matter of weeks, production will then resume, and the series will return to the schedule," the net said in a statement.

Fox and Regency strongly dismissed any speculation that the show was being put on hiatus for any other reason.

Meanwhile, as part of a pre-sweeps rejiggering, the Peacock has announced plans to move Heather Locklear starrer "LAX" to Wednesdays at 8 p.m. beginning Oct. 27, replacing the low-rated "Hawaii." Latter actioner will remain in production at least until its 13-episode order is complete; no word yet on a back nine, though that seems a long shot given the skein's ratings.

After a fast start, "LAX" has also slipped in the ratings, losing a big chunk of its "Las Vegas" lead-in. NBC brass probably are hoping the skein might be able to find its aud in the 8 p.m. Wednesday slot, where expectations are a bit lower.

Given the star power in "LAX"--Locklear, Blair Underwood and exec producers the Russo brothers --Peacock may want to give "LAX" as much of a shot as possible.

Meanwhile, NBC will replace "LAX" Mondays at 10 p.m. with "The $25 Million Hoax," a new reality skein in which a fake lottery winner has to convince her friends and family that she's won a huge cash prize (Daily Variety, Oct. 15).

"The $25 Million Hoax" will air on three consecutive Mondays -- Nov. 8, Nov. 15 and Nov. 22. Former "Tonight Show" sidekick Ed McMahon, also a sweepstakes spokesman for some years, will star in the show along with "Weakest Link" daytime host George Gray.

NBC this week rolls out a new reality gun, "The Biggest Loser," which network brass hope can pump up ratings in the 8 p.m. Tuesday slot. There'd been speculation that buzz-worthy drama "Medium" might air in November, but that now seems likely to hold off until December or January at the earliest.



Farrell, Foxx Enticed to "Vice"

By Charlie Amter


Dust off the pastel pink blazers and white tees, kids, Miami Vice is coming out of mothballs.

Two years after sealing a deal to resurrect the style-defining 1980s small-screen hit, Universal Pictures is ready to redefine the Vice squad, eyeing Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx to step into the loafers of original tube stars Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas, according to Daily Variety.

Michael Mann, who executive produced the small-screen version, remains in fold as the film's likely director, writer and producer. Show creator Anthony Yarkovich is also on board as a producer.

But consider the movie Miami Vice remixed. In addition to recasting Johnson and Thomas' roles, Mann is completely reconfiguring the vibe so don't expect the flick to bear much resemblance to the show, other than being a cop drama set in South Beach.

No official word beyond the Variety report, but the suddenly red-hot Foxx recently told the Latino Review that he planned to star as Ricardo Tubbs in the new Vice. Foxx is coming off star-making turns in Mann's Collateral opposite Tom Cruise and the soon-to-be-seen, Oscar-buzzing Ray Charles biopic, Ray. Farrell, a veteran of another TV-to-movie project, S.W.A.T., will next be on screen channeling Alexander the Great in Oliver Stone's Alexander, due Nov. 24.

Nor is there information on who'll be playing Edward James Olmos' Emmy-winning role of Lieutenant Castillo or key secondary parts like Switek, Zito, Gina and Trudy, but we're pulling for Elvis the alligator to make a cameo.

NBC Universal also has a DVD collection of the series in the works for next year. Variety reports that NBC might also bring the revamped Vice back to the small screen.

Launched by former Peacock mastermind Brandon Tartikoff, who proposed the idea of "MTV Cops," Miami Vice ran on NBC from 1984 to '89, and for better or worse, inspired fashion trends nationwide and paved the way for both Johnson and Thomas' ill-fated music careers.

The crisp dialogue, cool cinematography, star sex appeal and chart-topping soundtrack landed the show on the cover of Time magazine with the headline "Miami Vice: Hot Cops, Cool Show." The series eventually lost its cool once "special" guest stars like Phil Collins started showing up and the shark-jumping was in full effect.

Aside from oddball casting choices like Glenn Frey, James Brown, G. Gordon Liddy, Frank Zappa and Ted Nugent in various guest roles, several soon-to-be stars passed through Vice, including Julia Roberts, Chris Rock, Laurence Fishburne and Wesley Snipes.



'Idol' Vet Gray Has 'Bombay Dreams'


LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Singer Tamyra Gray, a finalist on the first season of "American Idol," is ready to take different stage when she makes her Broadway debut in the New York cast of the musical "Bombay Dreams."

Beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 9 and appearing for 12 weeks, will play Priya, one of the musical's lead roles. Based on an idea by Shekhar Kapur and Andrew Lloyd Webber and written by A R Rahman (music), Don Black (lyrics) and Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan (book), "Bombay Dreams" tells the story of a Bombay tour guide named Akaash who dreams of becoming a Bollywood star and Priya, the filmmaker who tries to help him reach his goal.

"I have been an admirer of Tamyra Gray from the start and am thrilled she's joined the Broadway Company of Bombay Dreams," Rahman says. "She's going to be wonderful."

In addition to her time as a contestant on "Idol" and repeated return visits to the show, Gray has made guest starring appearances on episodes of FOX's "Boston Public" and "Tru Calling." He debut solo album "The Dream" was finally released earlier this summer after multiple delays and has earned only tepid sales.

"Bombay Dreams" opened Stateside in April after extensive retinkering from its original British production. The expensive show is playing at the Broadway Theatre.



Hounsou Gets Stranded on 'Island'


LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Djimon Hounsou is hopping over to "The Island." The actor has signed on to star alongside Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson in the Michael Bay-directed sci-fi project, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The project centers on a "harvested being" (McGregor) who must escape the seemingly perfect facility where he's being held. The only person (Johansson) he can trust is also pregnant with the child of her "sponsor." Hounsou will play the utopian community's head of security. Steve Buscemi will also appear in the film.

"The Legend of Zorro" writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will pen the screenplay, from a spec script by Caspian Tredwell-Owen.

Bay is scheduled to begin shooting in late October.

Hounsou, 40, last starred in "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life," "Biker Boyz" and "In America," for which he earned a best supporting Oscar nomination. He next stars opposite Keanu Reeves in "Constantine," which is scheduled for release in February.



Foxx to Enter 'Executioner's Game'


LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - After playing a cabbie who shuttles around a hitman in "Collateral," Jamie Foxx may be the out for blood the next time around.

The 36-year-old actor is attached to star in the action drama "The Executioner's Game" for Sony Pictures, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Based on the upcoming novel by Gary Hardwick, to be released by HarperCollins in January, the project centers on an operative of a secret government agency who must hunt down and then kill his former mentor, who has gone rogue.

Hardwick will adapt his book, but isn't attached to direct, even though he wrote and directed his last two films, "Deliver Us from Eva" and "The Brothers."

Foxx has recently enjoyed success playing opposite Tom Cruise in "Collateral." He next stars as the late musician Ray Charles in "Ray," which is scheduled for release on Friday, Oct. 29.



News for 10/10/2004


Weekend Boxoffice


'Shark Tale' Nets Second No. 1 Weekend

By DAVID GERMAIN

AP Movie Writer


LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Shark Tale" remained the big fish at the box office, with the animated comedy taking in $31.7 million to hold the No. 1 spot for a second straight weekend.

Billy Bob Thornton's "Friday Night Lights," based on the real-life fervor for high school football in small-town Odessa, Texas, debuted in second place with $20.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Another holdover, the firefighting drama "Ladder 49," came in third with $13.3 million, while the Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon action comedy "Taxi" had a so-so opening weekend of $12.05 million to place fourth.

The weekend's other new wide release, Hilary Duff's teen tale "Raise Your Voice," debuted at a weak No. 6 with $4.6 million.

Expanding to wider release after two weeks in a limited run, "The Motorcycle Diaries" broke into the top 10, grossing $1.4 million for ninth place. The film chronicles a road trip taken by the young Ernesto "Che" Guevara and a pal across South America.

The overall box office was virtually unchanged compared to the same weekend last year, with the top 12 movies taking in $98.3 million.

With the family audience almost to itself, "Shark Tale" held up especially well, its haul down just 33 percent from opening weekend. The movie lifted its 10-day total to $87.7 million.

"Ladder 49," starring John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix, also had a solid hold, its gross down 40 percent from its first weekend to raise its total to $42.2 million.

Based on H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger's 1990 best seller, "Friday Night Lights" stars Thornton as Permian High School football coach Gary Gaines as he steers his team toward a championship run.

The movie had been aimed largely at young males, but it captured a fairly wide audience, with 54 percent of viewers older than 25 and women making up 44 percent of the crowds, according to distributor Universal Studios.

"I think it's the fact that it's a true story, and the fact that is has a lot of heart, which bodes well even for females," said Nikki Rocco, Universal head of distribution. "I loved it because it really delves into the feeling of what it's like to be so committed to something."

Among the new movies, "Friday Night Lights" earned high marks from critics, while reviewers generally trashed "Taxi" and "Raise Your Voice."

"You can really attribute the gross on `Friday Night Lights' to the strong reviews," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "It's a football movie and has appeal to a lot of high schoolers at this time of year, but much of the audience for a movie like that decides to see a movie based on reviews."

In limited release, Billy Crudup and Claire Danes' Restoration-era theater drama "Stage Beauty" did solid business, opening with $39,000 in three theaters.

The techno-thriller "Primer," the top dramatic prize winner at last winter's Sundance Film Festival, also debuted in three theaters and pulled in $30,360.

1. "Shark Tale," $31.7 million.
2. "Friday Night Lights," $20.6 million.
3. "Ladder 49," $13.3 million.
4. "Taxi," $12.05 million.
5. "The Forgotten," $7.5 million.
6. "Raise Your Voice," $4.6 million.
7. "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," $2.3 million.
8. "Shaun of the Dead," $1.6 million.
9. "The Motorcycle Diaries," $1.4 million.
10. "Resident Evil: Apocalypse," $1.25 million.



News for 10/4/2004


Weekend Boxoffice

'Shark Tale' Hooks Moviegoers With $49.1M

By DAVID GERMAIN
The Associated Press


LOS ANGELES - The animated fish story "Shark Tale" swamped the competition, opening as the top weekend movie with $49.1 million and potentially breaking the record for best October debut. John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix's firefighting adventure "Ladder 49" premiered in second place with $22.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The new flicks bumped the previous weekend's top movie, "The Forgotten," to third place with $12 million, raising its 10-day total to $38.3 million.

"Woman, Thou Art Loosed," starring Kimberly Elise as a woman traumatized by childhood sexual abuse who lands on Death Row, opened at No. 6 with $2.5 million. Adapted from the book by Texas church leader T.D. Jakes, the movie opened in narrower release of 408 theaters, about a tenth of the number for "Shark Tale."

"I (Heart) Huckabees," an ensemble comedy from David O. Russell ("Three Kings"), had a spectacular debut in limited release, taking in $300,062 in four New York City and Los Angeles theaters. The movie averaged a whopping $75,016, compared with $12,226 in 4,016 cinemas for "Shark Tale."

"Huckabees," whose cast includes Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jason Schwartzman, Naomi Watts, Jude Law and Mark Wahlberg, gradually expands to nationwide release through October.

"Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry," a documentary from George Butler ("Pumping Iron"), opened weakly with $303,000 in 160 theaters for a $1,894 average. The movie chronicles the Democratic presidential candidate's Vietnam service and his subsequent stand against the war.

"Shark Tale" and "Ladder 49" lifted Hollywood out of its box-office doldrums. The top 12 movies took in $104.4 million, up 30 percent from the same weekend last year, the first increase after four straight weekends of declining revenue.

"The box-office has been flatlining for the last month. September was absolutely abysmal," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "So 'Shark Tale' and to a lesser extent 'Ladder 49' really jump-started the marketplace."

If numbers hold when final figures are released Monday, "Shark Tale" would set a record among October debuts, topping the $48.1 million opening of last year's "Scary Movie 3."

"Shark Tale" overcame so-so reviews, with some critics calling it a retread of the "Shrek" movies and the fish tale "Finding Nemo."

But after a long drought for children's movies, families flooded theaters for "Shark Tale." Adding to the luster was the movie's A-list voice cast, including Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renee Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Martin Scorsese and Jack Black.

While "Shark Tale" did not approach the $70.3 million debut of last year's "Finding Nemo," it was distributor DreamWorks' second-best opening ever behind the $108 million premiere of "Shrek 2."

1. "Shark Tale," $49.1 million.
2. "Ladder 49," $22.8 million.
3. "The Forgotten," $12 million.
4. "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," $3.4 million.
5. "Mr. 3000," $2.6 million.
6. "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," $2.5 million.
7. "Shaun of the Dead," $2.4 million.
8. "Resident Evil: Apocalypse," $2.3 million.
9. "First Daughter," $2.15 million.
10. "Cellular," $2 million.



News for 10/2/2004


Actress Kim Fields Urges Aid for Caribbean


NEW YORK (AP) - Actress Kim Fields, who recently learned that she has roots in the Caribbean, is enlisting other celebrities to help the region recover from the hurricanes.

Fields is producing public service announcements for television and radio in which actors such as Blair Underwood ask viewers to support an aid campaign sponsored by the Caribbean Tourism Organization and its Web site, www.onecaribbean.org.

Fields, who starred in the TV shows "The Facts of Life" and "Living Single," also plans to organize a series of concerts to benefit those islands hit hardest by the storms.

"The Caribbean is a favorite vacation spot for many people, myself included," Underwood, whose latest show is NBC's "LAX," says in one of the ads. "Recent hurricanes have disrupted many Caribbean countries." He then asks viewers to "give generously" to the relief effort.

Fields announced the aid campaign at a news conference Wednesday in New York where she showed the ad featuring Underwood.

She added that "after prodding my 90-something-year-old grandmother, I recently discovered that my great-grandparents are from Jamaica." She also said she's vacationed and worked in the Caribbean "and enjoyed myself immensely."

Fields said other celebrities who have pledged to help out include actors Flex Alexander ("One on One"), Duane Martin ("All of Us") and Tisha Campbell-Martin ("My Wife and Kids"), and singers Anthony Hamilton and India.Arie.

The majority of Caribbean islands were untouched by the hurricanes, but the storms caused extensive damage on a handful of islands. Haiti, Grand Cayman, Grenada, Grand Bahama, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Turks & Caicos islands and Cuba were the hardest hit.



News for 9/30/2004


Diggs Tries Small Screen in UPN Drama

By BRIDGET BYRNE
For The Associated Press


LOS ANGELES (AP) - Taye Diggs says he used to be an "ugly duckling." "No one believes it, but I was kind of very thin, very insecure, big glasses," says the now buff star of UPN's new drama "Kevin Hill."

Diggs says his transformation into the proverbial swan was a slow process that started when he went to a performing arts high school.

"There, it was great because it didn't matter what you looked like, how much money you had, how good you were at sports. If you had (acting) talent you were considered," he said, "so that's where I got a little confidence going."

Later, after earning a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Syracuse University, Diggs got eye surgery that allowed him to dump the specs and hit the gym to sculpt his body.

The results have made him a heartthrob in movies such as "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "The Best Man" and "Brown Sugar." Women swoon over him, but he insists on pointing out his appearance still has flaws.

"I didn't think I was a short person, until after `Stella.' But then lots of women who approached me would say `Oh, my God, you're so short, you looked so much bigger in the movies,'" Diggs sighs.

Nobody's likely to complain about that when the 5-foot-9-inch actor hits the small screen in "Kevin Hill," which premieres 9 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

"A lot of people had been looking to lure Taye to television. He's such a great looking guy and very charismatic actor," says executive producer Nancy Cotton.

Diggs, 32, plays flashy bachelor lawyer Kevin Hill, whose lifestyle takes a sharp turn for the more complicated when he inherits Sarah, an orphaned 10-month-old.

Being a parent changes not just his private life and personal values, but also his work schedule, as he downscales from a big corporation to a small legal firm staffed by women.

Although the show's baby bit seems familiar, series creator Jorge Reyes insists he was inspired by the experience of a male cousin who was left to rear a child alone, as well as his own stint working at a women's magazine.

The lead character was not specifically conceived as being black; Reyes says he wanted to write a script that was "diverse, but colorblind." Only minuscule changes were made after Diggs was cast.

"What we all wanted to do, and what Taye then wanted to do, was to make a show that was multicultural, but not about racial differences," says Cotton.

An hour drama with a black lead is a rare thing on network television, but Diggs says he tries not to think of that as added pressure. His main reason for signing on was simply that "Kevin Hill" appealed to him.

"It's a character with many layers and layers. There's a reason why Kevin always has to appear to be ultrasharp," he says. "He's obviously compensating for something ... The baby is going to slowly tear him apart. He won't be able to hold it together and that will force him to shed that skin and look inside himself."

Jon Seda plays lawyer Dame Ruiz, Hill's best friend, and Patrick Breen is George Weiss, a gay nanny. Michael Michele is Jessie Grey, the single-mom boss of the feminist law firm, which is staffed by Nicolette Raye (Christina Hendricks) and Veronica Carter (Kate Levering). Five babies alternate playing Sarah.

Diggs says he's isn't worried about playing a womanizer. "I'm a red-blooded male ... I'm looking forward to experimenting with Kevin's lifestyle," jokes the actor, who's married to Idina Menzel (Tony winner as the young witch Elphaba in "Wicked").

The couple met about eight years ago when they starred together in "Rent." Their relationship developed gradually while he played Benny, the villainous landlord, and "she was the lesbian, and her character hated my character!"



Preacher Jakes' Film Tackles Sex Abuse

By BOBBY ROSS JR.
Associated Press Writer


DALLAS (AP) - Bishop T.D. Jakes isn't easily intimidated. He is, after all, a best-selling author of 29 books, a Grammy-winning gospel singer, a nationally renowned preacher and the subject of a 2001 Time magazine cover story that asked: "Is This Man The Next Billy Graham?"

Yet here he is, the 6-foot-2, 260-pound pastor with the famously recognizable shaved head, standing in his empty 8,000-seat seat sanctuary and talking about the daunting nature of his latest role _ acting in his new movie, "Woman, Thou Art Loosed."

"I won't give up my day job," jokes Jakes, the 47-year-old founding minister of The Potter's House, a 30,000-member megachurch in Dallas. His sermons are broadcast nationally on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and Black Entertainment Television.

Lately, Jakes has balanced his pulpit duties with advance screenings across the country to promote his new movie, "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," which deals with child molestation.

"It's really difficult," he says, "because by it being an independent film, so much of the groundswell is dependent on us going out and working it up. That, plus all the duties I have, has got me stretched pretty thin right now."

How well does Jakes expect the screen adaptation of his book and play to do at the box office?

"I'm not an expert with movies, and ignorance is bliss," says Jakes. He does know enough about promotion, however, to have an appearance scheduled on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" for Oct. 1, the day the film opens.

The film is a collaboration between Jakes' for-profit T.D. Jakes Enterprises and Reuben Cannon, a Hollywood producer ("Love Don't Cost a Thing," "Get on the Bus") and veteran casting director ("Johnson Family Vacation," the TV sitcom "My Wife and Kids").

It stars Kimberly Elise, recently seen opposite Denzel Washington in "The Manchurian Candidate," as Michelle Jordan, a victim of childhood abuse who becomes a criminal and winds up on Death Row. The fictional story intersperses graphic scenes of sexual abuse, drug use and domestic violence with Jakes preaching a Los Angeles revival and ministering to the condemned prisoner.

It has already drawn comparisons to Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" because of its R rating and the way Jakes has marketed it _ showing it to dozens of pastors and encouraging churches to rent out theaters.

"I'm not offended by that comparison at all, and I think it is R-rated for similar reasons," says Jakes, although he's quick to point out his low-budget film lacked Gibson's deep pockets. "Many places that I've gone and talked about it, they said it was R for real. We did keep it real."

Dr. Diane Langberg, executive board chairwoman for the American Association of Christian Counselors, says Jakes' film clearly and powerfully demonstrates the reality of childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence.

"I think that human beings, certainly the church at large, just sort of instinctively want to minimize the reality of such things," says Langberg, a clinical psychologist in Philadelphia. "They're ugly, they're frightening, and we don't want to believe such things go in homes and in families. I think we have to be startled out of apathy."

Jakes describes Jordan, the main character, as a composite of the many abuse victims he has counseled over 28 years. He feels that the film offers not just a harsh dose of reality, but a healthy supply of hope.

"It's not just divine forgiveness, which is a part of the message," Jakes says. "But also, it deals with the struggle that we have to forgive people who have done things to us and how you're never really free until you forgive people who have mishandled you."

While "Woman, Thou Art Loosed" features poor, black characters, the problem of sexual abuse transcends socio-economic and racial boundaries, Jakes says. It's important to him, he says, that the film reach a wide, diverse audience _ not just church people.

It's unlikely, though, that Jakes' film can create the kind of secular buzz generated by Gibson's "Passion," which combined a Hollywood superstar taking on a religious cause with widespread public attention due to accusations of anti-Semitism.

"This is a different phenomenon," says William Blizek, editor of the Journal of Religion and Film at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. "It may be a very good and important movie. But generally speaking, people are not likely to go to movies that they find depressing."

Jakes says his film has "a range of emotions in it _ from being sometimes funny to sometimes very, very serious."

He kidded his co-star about leaving his set to shoot "The Manchurian Candidate," but he says the roles speak to Elise's talent and versatility.

"To get to work with her was amazing because the woman can manifest emotions at will, go into character in a second," Jakes says. "You know, I was a little intimidated. But I had a great time doing it."



News for 9/25/2004


Leslie Uggams, A 'Golden' Sub

She Replaces Ailing Carroll in Play

By Peter Marks


Washington Post Staff Writer


Leslie Uggams has some nerve. That's "some," as in lots of. Just 24 hours after Diahann Carroll was forced to bow out of "On Golden Pond" with a back problem, Uggams agreed to step into Carroll's role opposite James Earl Jones in the highly anticipated revival at the Kennedy Center.

And that's not the half of it. Uggams, who went into rehearsal yesterday, has less than one week to get Ethel Thayer, the big-hearted wife and mother of Ernest Thompson's family drama, into her bloodstream. Performances are scheduled to start Tuesday, and the show's producer insists there will be no delays.

Injured stars are nothing new, and often, when a performer of Carroll's renown withdraws this close to an opening, the production is postponed or even canceled. For example, after Tommy Tune broke his foot in 1995 during the tour of the Broadway-bound musical "Busker Alley," the show was never heard from again. At other times, injuries have been incorporated into a portrayal, as was the case with the late Danny Kaye, who played his leading role in the musical "Two by Two" in a wheelchair after tearing a ligament.

There have even been times when chorus members and understudies have vaulted to fame after a star's mishap or illness -- witness Shirley MacLaine's abrupt ascension in "The Pajama Game." The "On Golden Pond" incident seems just as exceptional: A well-known actress is willing to cook up something like a polished star turn in the time it takes to drive cross-country.

"It was devastating not to continue with Diahann," said Jeffrey Finn, the play's producer. "Unfortunately, Diahann has a herniated disk that became worse during the rehearsals to the point where she wasn't able to walk. Then it got to the point where her doctors were saying, 'Diahann, the most important thing is your health.' "

Carroll, 69, was rehearsing with Jones and other cast members in New York. Over the weekend, according to two people associated with the production, she began to experience great pain, and by Monday she became convinced that she would have to return to her home in Los Angeles to recuperate. Finn said that upon learning of Carroll's decision, he consulted Jones and the play's director, Leonard Foglia, and started an immediate search for an actress to take over the role.

No thought was given to canceling the production, which is to run from Tuesday until Oct. 17 in the Eisenhower Theater. The feeling, according to some involved in the show, was that Jones provided star power enough, and as a final backup, the production could have elevated Carroll's understudy, Petronia Paley.

Ticket sales have been robust, with more than 60 percent sold already, said Tiki Davies, director of the Kennedy Center's press office.

A postponement was not an option either, because the Eisenhower is tightly booked; the Washington Ballet performs there three days after "On Golden Pond" closes.

The prospects for the production after Washington -- it is also scheduled to play Wilmington, Del., and Finn says his eventual plan is Broadway -- are no doubt enhanced with a second "name." Several well-known actresses were talked about before Finn made a personal appeal to Uggams, who agreed Tuesday and was in the rehearsal room the next day.

Uggams, 61, won a Tony Award in 1968 for her performance in "Hallelujah, Baby!," a musical that is being revived this season at Arena Stage. Though she's sung in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, Uggams has been seen ever more frequently of late in stage dramas, from regional presentations of "Master Class" to the Broadway production of "King Hedley IV," for which she received a Tony nomination.

The play in which she will now appear, about recrimination and reconciliation in the lives of a retired couple and their resentful daughter, had a modest run on Broadway in 1978 and 1979, but found much broader success as a 1981 movie with Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda. Hepburn and the elder Fonda won Oscars for their portrayals.

Some relieved hands in the new "Pond" think Uggams deserves an award just for showing up.

"She's digging in with the enthusiasm you'd expect of her," Finn said yesterday. "We're all rallying around her."