HOLLYWOOD REPORT Jack Lemmon "Dad" Gary David Goldberg, the creative force behind TV's "Family Ties," makes his feature directorial debut with this bittersweet comedy about an estranged father and son who reconcile during the last year of the father's life. Two-time Oscar-winner Jack Lemmon plays the title role, with Ted Danson playing his son (Danson replaced James Caan shortly after production began). Also in the cast are Olympia Dukakis ("Moonstruck"), Kathy Baker ("Jacknife") and Kevin Spacey. Goldberg, whose classy TV pedigree makes one suspect that he could be the next James L. Brooks, wrote the script, based on the novel by William Wharton, A Universal release this fall. "Stella" Bette Midler, the best thing to happen to Walt Disney Pictures since Daisy Duck, stars in this remake of "Stella Dallas," the 1937 tearjerker starring the terrific Barbara Stanvin/ck. It concerns a woman who sacrifices everything — and we mean eveiything — in favor of the well-being of her daughter. John Goodman ("Rosanne") co-stars, with John Erman directing in Toronto. A Buena Vista release. "Bird on a Wire" The 60's once again provide the back story for this comedy-drama that stars Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn. Gibson plays a man who got caught up in a derailed drug deal back in his flower power days, and who has paid the price ever since because he decided to tum state's evidence against his former partner (played by David Carradine). John Badham ("Stakeout") directs. A Universal release. "Heart Condition" Two great contemporary actors — Hob Hoskins and Denzel Washington — team up in this comedy which brushes perhaps a tad too close to the body-switching genre. Hoskins plays a gruff cop whose ( hief adversary is an inflexible lawyer (Washington), When both men are felled by accidents (Washington fatally), Hoskins inherits the lawyer's heart (and ghost), and then must solve the lawyer's murder. James Parriott writes and directs. A New Line release in the fall. "The Fourth War" Director John Frankenheimer, whose career was revitalized by the re-release of "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Dead-Bang," is at the helm of this $14 million action drama which is being shot in Calgary, Alberta. The film stars Roy Scheider (who starred for Frankenheimer in "52 Pickup") and Jurgen Prochnow ("Das Boot"), and it tells the tale of a tense border confrontation between an American Vietnam combat hero and a Soviet officer. The two men fall into a personal campaign to outwit the other, but their rivalry nearly leads to global war, Tim Reid, who starred in TV's "Frank's Place" as well as working with Frankenheimer on "Dead-Bang," also stars. "Opportunity Knocks" "Saturday Night Live's" Dana Carvey makes his major big screen debut in this comedy about mistaken identity to be directed by "Mystic Pizza's" Donald Petrie. The script is being written by Mitch Catlin and Nat Bernstein. A Universal release. "Harlem Nights" Looking for new ground to conquer — and possessed with an absolute power that allows him to do anything he darned well pleases — Eddie Murphy turns writer-director with this drama that pairs him with Richard Pryor, the comic who provided the template for Murphy's success. Set in Harlem of 1938, the film is about an upcoming mover and shaker on the nightclub scene (Murphy) who is aided by an old veteran (Pryor). A Paramount release. "Eddie and the Cruisers H: Eddie Lives" The 1983 film about the mysterious death of a 1 950s rock star has spawned a sequel, this time focusing on the rocker himself and not on the surviving members of his band. Michael Pare returns as Eddie, with Jean-Claude Lord directing. The original "Eddie and the Cruisers" only made SI. 8 million in rentals, but Scotti Bros., the film's producer, cites an extremely high recognition factor with movie audiences, and also points to the success of the original's popular soundtrack album. A Scotti Bros, release. "The Freshman" Now that he has officially come out of retirement, Marlon Brando suddenly can't be stopped. In this, his third consecutive role in the past nine months or so, he returns to familiar ground as an aging mobster who passes on his knowledge to an eager student, played by Matthew Broderick. Andrew Bergman ("So Fine") writes and directs for Tri-Star. "The Pit and the Pendulum" Charles Band, who sold his Empire Pictures in order to return to independent film production, is responsible for this latest interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe's infamous short story. The cast will include Peter O'Toole, Billy Dee Williams and Sherilyn Fenton ("Two Moon Junction"), and it will be directed in London and Italy by Stuart Gordon ("Re-Animator," "From Beyond"). Distribution rights are pending. "Coupe De Ville Set in the 1950s, this is a comedy about three estranged brothers who join forces to drive a 1954 Cadillac Coupe De Ville convertible from Michigan to Florida at the request of their father, unaware that this is the father's attempt to reconcile the brothers. The cast includes Patrick Dempsey ("Lover Boy"), Arye Gross ("The Couch Trip""), Daniel Stem ("Leviathan") and Annabeth Gish ("Mystic Pizza"), and it will be directed by Joe Roth. A Universal release. Alec Baldwin "The Hunt for Red October" Alec Baldwin, who came from nowhere to seemingly co-star in half the films released last year ("Beetlejuice," "Talk Radio," "Working Girl") takes the lead in this adaptation of Tom Clancy's hugely popular espionage novel. Baldwin plays a CIA agent who tries to assist the defecting crew of a Soviet missile-firing submarine, while the angry Russians back home try to blow it up. James Earl Jones co-stars as Baldwin's superior. John McTieman ("Die Hard") directs. A Paramount release. "Where the Heart Is" The story of King Lear gets an updating in this comedydrama about an industrialist who decides that the greatest gift that he can give to his children is to cut them off from his considerable wealth. Dabney Coleman stars as the power baron, and Uma Thurman ("Dangerous Liaisons") and Anthony Michael Hall (who co-started with Thurman in "Johnny B. Good") play the kids who are forced to fend for themselves. John Boorman ("Deliverance," "The Emerald Forest") directs from a script that he wrote with his daughter. A Buena Vista release. "Ford Fairlane" Yet another car-inspired title. This one stars Andrew Dice Clay, the standup comedian who is the latest comic trying to prove that the boundaries of bad taste and outrage may never quite be extended to their fullest (his potshots at women and minorities are particulariy vile). He plays a hip detective who is trying to solve a murder in L.A.'s music community. A 20th Centur\' Fox release. 4 BOXOFFICE
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