From Hollywood Reporter, July 1, 1999:
Bill Paxton and Nicholas Lea are climbing onto Columbia Pictures' THE
VERTICAL LIMIT. Chris
O'Donnell also stars in the thriller, which is directed by Martin Campbell.
Paxton is in final
negotiations to portray a mountain-climbing billionaire whose inexperience
collides with his
arrogance while climbing treacherous K2. Lea (best known as THE X-FILES'
villain Alex Krycek)
will play Tom, the leader of Paxton's group, which becomes trapped and must
be rescued by
O'Donnell. The film, which also stars Robin Tunney and Scott Glenn, is
scheduled to begin
production in New Zealand on Aug. 2.
Thanks to NickLea.com
News from the set of "The Vertical Limit!" Thanks go to Ria for
this info.
Time mag should have spoken to thesp Scott Glenn and The Vertical Limit
troupe for its cover
story, "Why We Take Risks." The Limit company is filming on a
glacier, 12,000 feet high on New
Zealand's Mount Cook, doubling for K2, the world's second highest mountain.
Cook is nicknamed
"the savage mountain." The film sites are reached only by
helicopter — and then the actors climb to
the action! For tense, closeup scenes, a refrigerated soundstage has been
built on the outskirts of
Queenstown. Director Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, The Mask of Zorro) is
leading his band of
hearty souls on this expeditionlike movie in which the actors literally
are becoming "ice climbers."
Glenn, who lives on a ranch in Idaho, admits, "I've seen tons of snow
in the winter — but nothing
like this!" The actors arrived a month early to learn to ice climb.
"We started on walls, then with
clips, and on to the ice. It was a pleasant surprise," Glenn admits.
"I've fallen in love with it." He
says some of the ice walls he has climbed are as high as a 10story
building. "While I do enjoy
skydiving and jumping out of planes, this puts your heart in your mouth.
It's like doing pullups
100 feet up in the air." Glenn says director Campbell, who had Antonio
Banderas and Anthony
Hopkins learn swordplay, which they exhibited so effectively in Mask of
Zorro, ditto trained the
thesps on The Vertical Limit. World champion mountain climbers Barry
Blanchard, Guy Corter, Troy
Kirwar and Kim Logan led the climb. And Glenn admits, "They literally
have my life in their hands."
Other cast members involved in climbs include Chris O'Donnell, Robin Tunney,
Bill Paxton, and
Isabello Scorupco (GoldenEye). Have there been any close calls, I asked
Glenn. "Nothing I could
talk about," he laughed. But producer Lloyd Phillips, there on the
location, assured me, "We have
the strongest safety protocol you could put on a film." Incidentally
Scott Glenn's indie banner is named "Adrenalin Unlimited."
--"Just For Variety" by Army Archerd ©Daily Variety, Thursday,
September 9, 1999.
VERTICAL LIMIT - Thanks to Bill Paxton's Trailer and The Unofficial Bill
Paxton Homepage for this news. Thanks Matt and Kris!
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 (The X-Files) and Robin Tunney (End of
Days). Director Martin
Cambell has directed the Mask of Zorro and Goldeneye and screenwriter Robert
King penned Red
Corner. The release date is set for summer of 2000 so it looks to be another
big budget film for
Bill.
MEXICALI - Thanks to Bill Paxton's Trailer for this news.
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Bill Paxton is attached to produce and star in ``Mexicali,''
a spec script sold Friday to Destination Films for an initial mid-six-figure sum. The
script, written by Paul
Scheuring and Christian Gudegast (``Skeleton Coast''), tells the story of a
retired stuntman who
travels with his wife to the west coast of Mexico. While sailing, they
witness a murder, ostensibly
committed by members of a drug cartel. 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 U.S. If the
film is made, the writers could end up with a sum in the high-six-figure
range.
Bill is said to have started his own production company called American
Entertainment Company. Thanks to Maude for this heads up!
Rumour has it that Bill Paxton might be the newest addition to The Hulk.
Other namesthat's been mentioned are Steve Buscemi, Jeff Daniels and Johnny Depp.
Mar. 23, 1999: Mighty Joe Young is out on video today.
Feb. 14, 1999: Mighty Joe Young coming to video on March 23, 1999! Yippee!
Jan. 24, 1999: Well, the 1999 Golden Globe Awards have come and gone. Bill didn't win (what a surprise) for his role in "A Bright Shining Lie", but handled it with dignity. Oh well, next year, I guess.
Jan. 9, 1999: Bill is hosting Saturday Night Live on NBC for the first time ever. I wonder if he'll show his "Fishheads" video. You think?
Jan. 9, 1999: 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. (info from Variety Online).
Courtesy of The Unofficial Bill Paxton Home Page.
Dec. 20, 1998: Bill Paxton has been nominated for the 1999 Golden Globe Award for his role in "A Bright Shining Lie". His good friend Billy Bob Thornton has also been nominated for his role in "A Simple Plan." Is anyone else wondering why Bill wasn't nominated for the same?
Dec. 17, 1998: Bill made an appearance on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, and so did his dad! Check out our review!
Dec. 15, 1998: Bill made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Check out our review!
Dec. 11, 1998: Bill has just signed a production deal with Disney. The first film he will approach them with is called "Gettysburgville", a film about sibling rivalry.
Courtesy of The Unofficial Bill Paxton Home Page.
Dec. 11, 1998: The reports of Ron Howard and Bill Paxton teaming up again are true. Bill has sold the rights to the film "Golden Gate" to Imagine Entertainment (Ron Howards production company). The film, written by Audrey Wells, is a romantic comedy revolving around a man (Bill Paxton) who is working on the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. No word on when they are filming or who will direct.
Courtesy of The Unofficial Bill Paxton Home Page.
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