Boxoffice-June.1997

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HOLLYWOOD
UPDATES
Walt Disney Studios and Pixar Animation
Studios have agreed to jointly produce five
movies over the next 10 years. The two
conripanies first teamed on the smash hit "Toy
Story," which brought computer animation
to the next level with its strikingly detailed
3-D appearance. Disney and Pixar will be
equal partners on the fiv.e pictures and related
products, including home videos, merchandise
and interactive media products. A
feature called "Bugs" will be the first picture
under the deal, due out Christmas 1998.
Al Pacino and his production company,
Chal Prods., have signed a first-look deal
with Castle Rock Entertainment. Pacino
starred in Castle Rock's "City Hall" and will
the company's upcoming remake of
star in
"The Cincinnati Kid."
Oscar-winning writer Michael Blake
("Dances With Wolves") and his partner,
writer/director/producer William Morgan,
have announced the formation of a new
independent film company. Last Stand Pictures,
which will output three to five films a
project for the company will
year. The first
be an adaptation of the Douglas C. Jones
novel "Winding Stair," a courtroom thriller
set on an Indian reservation in the 1 890s.
Blake will script the adaptation.
"Scream" scripter Kevin Williamson has
pacted with Miramax to write two sequels to
the satiric horror film (which has grossed
more than $86 million to date) for Dimension,
Miramax's horror genre banner. The
film will reunite stars Neve Campbell and
Liev Schreiber and director Wes Craven.
Craven signed on as part of his new threefilm
deal with Miramax and Dimension. Williamson
will also write a treatment for the
next "Halloween" slasher flick, due for an
October 1 998 release.
Filmmaker Spike Lee ("Get On the Bus")
has signed a three-year, first-look deal with
Columbia Pictures. Under the deal, Lee will
write, direct and produce films for the studio.
He'll also be setting up an office on
Columbia'sCulverCity, Calif, lot, in addition
to his offices in New York, which house his
production company, 40 Acres and a Mule
Fllmworks.
Scripter Zak Penn, who helped develop
the story for the upcoming animated comedy
"Ants" for DreamWorks, has signed an exclusive
two-year, first-look deal with the studio.
DreamWorks is currently developing his
script "Fish Out of Water," another animated
feature. Penn has also penned "Last Action
Hero" and "P.C.U."
Disney-based Jerry Bruckheimer Films
has made a deal with Mike Sager, a writer for
CQ, The Washington Post, and Rolling
Stone, among other publications. Bruckheimer
and Disney's Touchstone recently optioned
Sager's "The Martyrdom of Veronica
Guerin," an article he wrote for GQ about an
Irish journalist killed last summer. Under the
deal, Bruckheimer will get first look at Sager's
articles, and he'll suggest ideas to the scribe.
"The Adventures of Pinocchio" helmer
Steve Barron has signed a two-year, firstlook
deal with Jim Henson Productions to
develop family-oriented feature film and
television projects. Barron's other credits include
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and
"The Coneheads"; he also produced "While
You Were Sleeping" and "The Specialist."
Under a new alliance between Merchant
Ivory Prods, and Capitol Films, the team of
writer-director James Ivory and producer
Ismail Merchant will make films to be co-financed
by the two companies. The first project
under the deal will be the drama "A
Soldier's Daughter Never Cries," which will
star Nick Nolle (who starred in Merchant
Ivory's "Jefferson in Paris"). Merchant Ivory's
most recent production was "Surviving Picasso."
Their alliance with the Walt Disney
Co., forged in 1992, will end with the upcoming
Bruce Beresford ("Paradise Road")-
helmed "The Playmaker."
Phoenix Pictures has entered an agreement
with Pioneer LDC, the entertainment
division of the Japanese company Pioneer
Electronic Corp., giving Pioneer exclusive
distribution rights in Japan to nine of
Phoenix's films over the next 15 years. Under
a deal Phoenix made with Sony in 1995,
Sony distributes ail Phoenix films worldwide
except for Japan. The first film under the
Phoenix/Pioneer pact will be "Amy Foster,"
based on Joseph Conrad's classic romance
novel, followed by Oliver Stone's Sean Penn
starrer "U-Turn."
Actor/writer/director Ben Stiller ("The
Cable Guy") has signed an exclusive twoyear,
first-look deal to write, direct and produce
films for Fox 2000. Stiller made his
directing debut with 1994's "Reality Bites,"
and he recently starred in the well-received
"Flirting With Disaster." He's currently
scripting for Warner Bros, an adaptation of
the Budd Schulberg novel "What Makes
Sammy Run," which he may also star in and
direct.
Paramount Pictures and Polygram Filmed
Entertainment are negotiating a three-year
co-financing deal for 10 to 12 big-budget
films. Under the terms of the agreement,
whichever company originates a project will
get domestic distribution rights, with the
other taking foreign rights. Paramount and
Polygram have teamed before on the Holly
Hunter comedy "Home for the Holidays";
the recent horror thriller "The Relic"; and the
upcoming Christian Slater starrer "The Flood,"
with Paramount distributing domestically
and Polygram internationally.
DreamWorks will be opening an office in
New York to handle East Coast distribution
and marketing. The studio has signed a 10-
year lease with Hiro Real Estate Co. for the
22nd floor of 650 Madison Ave. The new
office will house a staff of 1 0.
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