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HOLLYWOOD REPORT
Singelton with Janet Jackson
"Higher Learning" Like
"Boyz N the Hood" before it,
John Singleton's "Poetic Justice"
provoked controversy within
the exhibition community after
Cineplex Odeon initially refused
to screen the film at a
major L.A. multiplex where
gunplay had erupted during
"Hood's" opening weekend.
"Justice" still managed to open
as the number one film in the
U.S. against stiff summer competition,
though its boxoffice fell
off precipitously (by about 57
percent) in its second week, and
the film did a fast fade after that.
Rumors are flying about
Singleton's next project, with
industry insiders betting he'll
bypass the action-thriller "Burnout"
in
favor of "Higher Learning,"
a script Singleton wrote as
a student at U.S.C. about a
group of street punks who manage
to make it out of the 'hood
in order to attend college. No
casting details were available at
press time. (Columbia)
"Significant Other" Substance
abuse is the topic of this
Buena Vista drama starring
Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan as
a couple who seem to have it
all—until their idyllic world is
shattered by Ryan's alcohol addiction.
The inside word is that
Disney will try to rush this one
through post-production to capitalize
on the commercial fallout
from Ryan's "Sleepless in
Seattle;" "Significant Other" is
currently slated for a January,
1994 release. Directed by Luis
Mandoki ("White Palace") from
a screenplay by Ron Bass, Al
Franken and Susan Shilliday.
(Buena Vista)
"Forrest Gump" Though best
known for his Spielberg-produced
blockbusters "Roger
Rabbit" and the three "Back to
the Future" features, director
Robert Zemeckis has a satirist's
heart, as both his first
film (the
acerbic "Used Cars") and his
latest (the blackly comic "Death
Becomes Her") amply proved.
With "Forrest Gump,"
Zemeckis climbs back in the
satiric saddle directing Tom
Hanks (the summer smash
"Sleepless in Seattle") as a man
with an idiot-level I.Q. who
uses his positive outlook on life
to succeed in one career after
another. Robin Wright ("Toys")
stars as Hanks' love interest in
this farcical flick, which began
principal photography last August.
(Paramount)
"A Summer Story" Here's a
unique idea for a sequel: take an
only marginally successful title
which succeeded mainly as a
video cassette, recast it entirely,
and presto! You've got a new
movie! Charles Grodin ("Beethoven")
and Macaulay's
brother Kiernan ("Nowhere to
Run") star in this follow-up to
1 983's "A Christmas Story," reprising
roles originated by
Darren McGavin and Peter
Billingsley as an apoplectic father
and his apple-cheeked son.
Co-scriptor Jean Shephard
again narrates a la TV's "The
Wonder Years," which is appropriate,
since both "Stories" are
drawn from Shepard's autobiographical
book "In God We
Trust, All Others Pay Cash."
Original director Bob Clark is
back for seconds; you don't
have to be a psychic to predict
a summer '94 release l^or this
one. (MGM)
"The Muppet Treasure Island."
Buena Vista recently took
the rare step of taking out
splashy, two page, four color
ads to announce the commencement
of development on
the next Muppet Movie, entitled
"The Muppet Treasure Island."
"Treasure Island" is no longer
under copyright and can therefore
be filmed by anyone with
the money to do so; the Buena
Vista ad buy was probably
Disney's way of claiming dibs
on the property, though the latest
word was that director John
McTiernan ("Die Hard") is still
actively developing his own live
action version. (Buena Vista)
"Quiz Show" Director Robert
Redford follows up the
breakthrough success of his tender
art-house smash "A River
Runs Through It" with this
drama about the "payola" scandals
which rocked the world of
television game shows in the
1950s. John Turlurro ("Barton
Fink"), Rob Morrow and David
Paymer co-star; scripted by Paul
Attanasio. "Quiz Show" is yet
another example of the speed
with which Buena Vista mounts
projects in order to beat out rival
films mired in the glacial development
process at other studios.
Barry Levinson and Mark Johnson
have reportedly been developing
a "payola" project for
years and cried foul when this
film was announced; their own
project is now, at least for the
time being, effectively
neutralized.
(Buena Vista)
"The Neverending Story III"
Despite the lackluster performance
of "The Neverending
Story II," Cinevox has announced
yet another sequel to
the effects-laden kiddie epics,
lason James Richter ("Free
Willy") plays Bastian, an enchanted
child who brings several
of his friends from the
fantasy world of Fantasia to the
human world after evil creatures
known as "the Nasties"
steal his magical Neverending
Storybook. Peter Macdonald
("Mo' Money") directs from a
script by Jeff Lieberman. With
"NE-IV" already in development,
this begins to look like a
neverending story indeed. (Distribution
pending)
"Naked Gun III:
The Final
Insult" The ZAZ boys are at
again. Executive producers jerry
Zucker and Jim Abrahams join
forces with producer David
Zucker to round up the usual
suspects for another installment
in
the pratfalling escapades of
Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen).
Priscilla Presley, George
Kennedy and O.j. Simpson reprise
their roles from the preceeding
"Naked Gun" features
as Drebin's girlfriend,
it
superior
officer and running gag respectively.
Screenplay by ZAZ associate
Pat Proft, with writer Peter
Segal making his directing
debut. Since Abrahams' "Hot
Shots" sequel is considered a
disappointing summer sequel,
"Naked Gun III" will test
whether audiences are getting
tired of this particular approach
to movie comedy. (Paramount)
"The Browning Version"
Britisher Mike Figgis
("Internal
Robert Redford
Affairs") directs Albert Finney
("Rich in Love"), Greta Scacchi
("The Player") and Matthew
Modine ("Equinox") in this
screen adaptation of the acclaimed
play by Terence
Rattigan. Finney stars as an austere
classics professor at an influential
boys public school
whose disillusionment with his
career and marriage drives his
wife (Scacchi) into the arms of a
visiting American science
teacher (Modine). Screenplay
adaptation by Ronald Harwood.
(Paramount)
Etcetera: Caroline Thompson,
whose screenwriting credits
include "Edward
Scissorhands," makes her writing-directing
debut on a new
version of Anna Sewell's classic
novel "Black Beauty." Warner
Bros, will distribute. ..Four renowned
female directors will
present their individual portrayals
of uninhibited erotica in
"Erotique," a Group 1 omnibus
feature showcasing directors
Lizzie Borden, Clara Law, Ana
Maria Magalhaes and Monika
Treut..."Lawnmower Man" Jeff
Fahey stars in "Temptation" as
an ex-con on the trail of a double-crossing
partner. .."Beverly
Hills Cop 3" (see March Hoiiywood
Reports) is finally in production,
with Eddie Murphy
under John Landis' direction.
Word is, it's another "Die Hard"
terrorism variant, set in an
amusement park. .And the Hollywood
fascination with serial
killers touched off by Hannibal
Lector is about to extend behind
the former Iron Curtain: "Red
Ripper" unites writer Dan
O'Bannon ("Alien") and director
Todd Holland on a film
about a real-life Russian serial
murderer, who killed during the
communist era. "Silence of the
Lambskis," anyone?
8 Boxoffice