Robert De Niro has reportedly dropped out of a movie project
about a severely neurotic therapist in order to do a sequel
to "Analyze This," in which he played a mob boss given to
fits of high anxiety. Daily Variety reports the two-time
Oscar-winning actor has canceled plans to produce and star
in "Scared Guys," as a therapist who also happens to be an
obsessive-compulsive agoraphobic who hasn't left his apart-
ment in six years. He gets around that problem by giving
therapy over the Internet, but he falls in love with a
patient -- who turns out to be a police dispatcher working
right across the street from his home.
The project is being directed by Dean Parisot, best known
for the 1999 Tim Allen-Sigourney Weaver sci-fi comedy
"Galaxy Quest." De Niro is expected to start filming in
February on "Analyze That," the sequel to his 1999 comedy
with Billy Crystal as the psychiatrist who helps De Niro's
mob boss deal with his melancholy. Crystal is reportedly
still in talks to join the new project. Variety reports
De Niro will collect close to $20 million for the movie
-- his best payday ever. De Niro has long been one of
the most respected actors in Hollywood, but he didn't
start collecting super-sized fees until he connected
with comedies such as "Analyze This" and "Meet the
Parents." 
Verne Troyer, aka "Mini-Me" is out of Austin Powers 3,
which starts filming in November. The role is being recast
and so far, no details are out as to why. GREASE 3??
Olivia Newton-John -- currently promoting her new greatest
hits CD -- says she would take part in a proposed sequel
to "Grease," but only if everyone from the original cast,
including John Travolta, comes along for the ride. The subject came up last month when ABC-TV announced a deal with
Paramount Network Television to produce a musical update
of the 1978 feature in which Newton-John starred with
Travolta, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway and Didi Conn. The new project, which is expected to air sometime in 2002, will be set in 1979 - 20 years after cool guy Danny Zuko (Travolta) and foreign exchange student Sandy Olsen (Newton-John) found love at Rydell High. But Newton-John told UPI she would only participate on one condition. "I would be interested if John (Travolta) does it," she said. "It would have to be everyone or it wouldn't be worthwhile." 
ROBERT REDFORD is in the rare position of being able to make only the films he believes in. He told me his new movie, "The Last Castle," piqued his interest early on, when the filmmaker said the movie was about the clash between natural and appointed leaders. Now, Robert said, another of the film's themes is taking on greater importance: the humane vs. the inhumane. He sees the film as a celebration of the power of the humane - as opposed to using cruelty to control people. It's a theme, he said, that runs throughout time -- and one that's especially pertinent today.
DreamWorks recalling all posters for its upcoming drama The Last Castle because it features an image of an upside-down flag--a symbol of distress. The studio fears the image will frighten an already jittery public. SUMMER OF 2001 BOX OFFICE
The folks who produced "Pearl Harbor" were likely disappointed that a funny looking green ogre named "Shrek" stole some of its box office thunder in the race for movie supremacy in the summer of 2001. USA Today, in a major look back at the just-completed summer box office season, says that "Shrek," the computer-animated comedy from DreamWorks PDI division, was such a force in the market that one pundit says it went through like a "Shrekking ball." Two sequels released during the summer -- "The Mummy Returns" and "Rush Hour 2" -- both did very well. Many sequels don't. The studio that did the
best was Universal. In addition to "Mummy" and "American Pie 2," it brought back the Jurassic Park franchise with No. 3 in the series and had one of the season's biggest surprises, "The Fast and The Furious." And Another NEW Movie for Leo:
Steven Spielberg is expected to direct Leonardo DiCaprio in
the new movie "Catch Me If You Can", according to E! Online.
E! says the trade papers are reporting that Spielberg is
arranging his schedule to be able to work on the project.
DiCaprio is slated to play the youngest man ever to be put
on the FBI's Most Wanted List. The film is based on Frank
Abagnale's autobiography, "Catch Me If You Can: The Amazing
True Story of the Most Extraordinary Liar in the History of
Fun and Profit."
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO is back in action this coming holiday season when he enlists in MARTIN SCORSESE's 'Gangs of New York.'
Based upon the non-fiction book by HERBERT ASBURY, 'Gangs of New York' follows the bloody gang wars between Italian and Irish immigrants and the beginnings of organized crime in mid-1800s' New York City. The story centers around two rival gangs, the Dead Rabbits and the Native Americans. When the leader of the Dead Rabbits is murdered, his son, Amsterdam (DiCaprio), seeks revenge on Bill "The Butcher" (DANIEL DAY-LEWIS), the man held responsible.
Also starring CAMERON DIAZ, LIAM NEESON, JOHN C. REILLY and HENRY THOMAS.
courtesy of ET.com
UPDATE: 10/09/01
Gangs of New York, has been postponed until next year in the light of current events. In a statement released
Sunday, Scorsese and Miramax Filsm co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said they were opting to err on the side of sensitivity. Our decision to postpone the film's release is based on its setting in down-town Manhattan during the Civil War in the midst of the 1860's draft riots -- one of the most difficult and challenging times in American history. "In light of the ever-changing current events, we have chosen to err on the side of sensitivity and postpone the wide release of the film until 2002."
(Web site: miramax.com) |
