"Frailty" "U-571" "The Hulk" "Mexicali" 
"Frailty"
By Charles Lyons, Dana Harris
Lions Gate Films Prods., the feature film unit of Lions Gate Entertainment, will fully finance Bill Paxton's $20 million-plus directorial debut "Frailty," to star Paxton and Matthew McConaughey.
Atlantic Streamline had originally intended to finance the film, but since the company was only willing to handle foreign rights, not domestic, the deal never materialized and Lions Gate stepped in. Lions Gate will handle both domestic and international rights.
Marking Lions Gate's largest investment to date in an inhouse production, pic signals the company's expansion.
"Frailty" was written by Brent Hanley and will be produced in association with David Kirschner, Paxton's American Entertainment and David Blocker.
Thirty-five-day shoot begins Wednesday (October 18, 2000) in L.A.
Bill Paxton has just signed on to star in the WWII film "U-571". It's about a group of men who go on a search to recover an Enigma machine, which the Third Reich used to encrypt/decrypt its communications, from a German U-boat (U-571) during World War II. The film is being directed by Jonathan Mostow and stars Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, David Keith and Jake Weber. Jon Bon Jovi is in final negotiations to join the cast. Dino and Martha DeLaurentiis are producing the pic, which begins production this month in Rome and Malta.
Getting sea legs in Italy By David Rooney
ROME - Capping off a year in which U.S. productions have made a sweeping return to Italian lensing, Universal’s big-ticket "U-571" will start shooting Monday at Cinecitta in Rome, with Dino and Martha De Laurentiis producing.
"My last encounter with the press in this studio was for ‘War and Peace’ in 1954," said Dino De Laurentiis at a news conference Tuesday to launch production of the World War II suspense thriller. "I have to say I’m pleased to be still standing here in the breach with a film as complex and complicated as ‘U-571.’ "
Directed by Jonathan Mostow ("Breakdown" and HBO’s miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon"), the film was scripted by Mostow, Sam Montgomery and former U.S. Navy sonarman David Ayer. The cast is headed by Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, Jake Weber and David Keith.
Targeted for release either in December or early 2000, the pic will shoot for eight weeks in the Rome studios and a further eight weeks in open-sea locations off the island of Malta. The $90 million feature is the biggest production to take up residence on the Cinecitta backlot since U’s "Daylight" in 1995, which was exec produced by Raffaella De Laurentiis.
Touching on incidents that occurred during WWII, "U-571" concerns an attempt by American soldiers to board a German U-Boat and take possession of an Enigma coding device.
"My ambition is simply to create a story that can appeal to modern audiences and give them a taste really of what World War II submarining was like, as well as some appreciation of the strategic issues that dominated the Battle of the Atlantic, all in the context of a big, entertaining Hollywood movie," said Mostow.
The production estimates an investment in Cinecitta of around $3.5 million, excluding crew costs. Construction has been completed on the backlot’s largest soundstage, Studio 5 - the favored stomping ground of Federico Fellini throughout his career - of a 210-foot German U-Boat replica replete with engine rooms, sleeping quarters, working machinery and Nazi paraphernalia.
James Cameron seems to have dropped the Spider-man project and is now rumoured to be working on "The Planet of the Apes". The film will most likely be starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bill Paxton's name hasn't been mentioned but considering that Bill has been in 4 of Cameron's movies it's a definite possibility that he will show up in this one as well.
Rumour has it that Bill Paxton might be the newest addition to "The Hulk". Other names that's been mentioned are Steve Buscemi, Jeff Daniels and Johnny Depp.
Bill Paxton is hoping Ron Howard will direct him after "Sea Wolf" in the romantic period piece "Golden Gate", according to Michael Flemming's column in Variety. Audrey Wells is penning the script about a man who joins the team of engineers and workers who built San Fransisco's Golden Gate bridge.
Bill has signed on to a new film called Vertical Limit. Here's the lowdown. A young mountain climber, played by Chris O'Donnell, retires from the sport and becomes estranged from his sister after they are involved in the tragic death of their father in a climbing accident. Three years later, when his sister and other members of her summit team become trapped on K2, the second highest mountain in the world, he must go back into action and mount an extraordinary rescue effort in a race against time to save them. Shooting begins in New Zealand in the Queenstown and Mt. Cook areas on August 2nd. The production will continue to film there right through until December. Several of the best mountain climbers from around the world who have summited the earth's highest peaks serve as consultants and crew members on the film. Along with Bill, the movie stars Chris O'Donnell, Nicholas Lea and Robin Tunney. The release date is set for summer of 2000 so it looks to be another big budget film for Bill.
Destination Films acquired the spec "Mexicali" for what sources said was mid-six against high-six figures from scribes Christian Gutegast and Paul Scheuring, with Bill Paxton to star and produce the action drama. The script tells the story of a retired stuntman who travels with his wife to the west coast of Mexico. While sailing, they witness a murder, committed by drug cartel. The cartel then comes after him with his only hope for being an escape across the border to the U.S. The rest of story details the efforts of the stuntman, who becomes separated from his wife, to evade the traffickers and return safely to the United States. If the film is made, the writers could end up with a sum in the high-six-figure range.
The project may start right after Paxton finishes up his work on "Vertical Limit" which began shooting for Columbia Pictures in New Zealand on Aug. 2.
Bill Paxton, Chris O'Donnell and Scott Glenn are in Australia, going through rigorous training for the big-screen adaptation of the bestselling mountain-climbing saga "Vertical Limit". Which begins production in New Zealand next month. Oddly enough, director Marty Campbell didn't know until the cast was set that Glenn not only does mountain climbing in real life, he's even a trained ice climber. He's also a motorcycle racer and skydiving enthusiast, an "adrenaline junkie," as he puts it. |
