Solaris  Has Optioned Film Rights For 'TV: A Novel'

"Tumbleweeds" producer and director Gavin and Greg O'Connor, via their Solaris production shingle, have optioned film rights for "TV: A Novel," the first novel by former sports writer Brian Brown.

"TV," published by Crown Publishers last year, follows the advent of television and its grandest hours through the life of Caesar Fortunato, a directorial maven in television sports and inventor of the instant replay. But his dissolute lifestyle finally catches up with him when his network is bought out by a media giant and his new boss refuses to tolerate his antics.

"We love this novel because it's bold and brash and has an unforgettable character," said Gotham-based Greg O'Connor. "It's the kind of material we like. It's got guts."

A former sports writer for the New York Times and San Diego Union Tribune, the Emmy-winning Brown has worked as a writer, producer and director of television, involved in the Olympics, Super Bowls, Wimbledon, the Masters, World Series, NBA playoffs and World Cup. He is currently the coordinating producer of Bob Costas' HBO program "On the Record. Brown conceived and wrote the opening film for NBC's first night of coverage of the 2002 Winter Games.

Solaris has several projects in the works, including "Pride & Glory." The saga about a family of New York City cops, is set for a fall start with Hugh Jackman, Ed Harris and Anthony LaPaglia to star.

Ed Harris to join Cuba Gooding Jr in 'Radio' for Revolution

Ed Harris is in negotiations to join Cuba Gooding Jr. in Revolution Studios' "Radio" for director Mike Tollin. The project will go into production in the fall.

"Radio," based on a 1996 Sports Illustrated article by Gary Smith, tells the true-life story of a white football coach in a small South Carolina town who befriends a mentally challenged black man (Gooding) who can barely read or write. Under the coach's mentoring, their relationship helps transform the social dynamics of the team and the school.

Tollin and his partner, Brian Robbins, will produce through their Tollin/Robbins Prods. Mike Rich ("The Rookie") wrote the screenplay.

Harris, repped by CAA and his manager Neil Koenigsberg, is shooting Miramax Films/Lakeshore Entertainment's "The Human Stain," opposite Nicole Kidman and Anthony Hopkins.

He most recently appeared onscreen in the Oscar-winning feature "A Beautiful Mind" and next stars in Paramount Pictures' "The Hours" and Miramax's "Buffalo Soldiers." Multihyphenate Harris directed, produced and starred in 2000's Sony Pictures Classics feature "Pollock," which earned him his third Oscar nomination.

Herobear & The Kid To Be An Animated Feature For Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures is in final negotiations to option Astonish Comics' property "Herobear & the Kid" to be produced as an animated feature for Chuck Gordon's Daybreak Prods. and Adrian Askarieh's Prime Universe Prods.

Created by animator Mike Kunkel, the comic book series is about a little boy named Tyler who inherits a stuffed polar teddy bear from his dead grandfather. The bear comes to life as a superhero and the duo embark on adventures together. Their adventures touch on such childhood themes as new schools, bullies, love and imagination.

Kunkel is attached to direct the project and will co-write the script with Jeph Loeb. Loeb will executive produce the material, which is being overseen at the studio by production president Mary Parent and vp production Dylan Clark.

This is the first collaboration between Gordon and Askarieh, who admit to being huge fans of the property.

"We see this as a major animated franchise for Universal with the appeal level of 'Monsters, Inc.' and 'Toy Story,' " Gordon said. "Mike Kunkel has created a classic. It's a family movie for everyone, and Universal is the perfect place to brand this."

Added Askarieh: "I am very excited to be in working with Chuck Gordon, whose movies I have loved for years. To have 'Herobear' at Universal ... just makes it that much better. The studio has the perfect executive team for this and they have been fantastic supporters of the project. They also have the best marketing team out there, and we feel this comic can be leveraged and promoted through a variety of the studio's properties."

"Herobear" debuted in December of 1999. This year, the property is nominated for the prestigious Eisner Award for best comic book, to be handed out at the ComicCon convention in July.

Kunkel and Loeb are both repped by Artists Management Group. An animator, Kunkel has worked on such features as Disney's "Tarzan" and "Hercules." Loeb most recently was a producer on "Buffy: The Animated Series." Gordon and Askarieh were repped in the deal by attorney Stuart Rosenthal.

20th Century Fox And Regency Enterprises In A Live-Action Dog Musical

20th Century Fox and Regency Enterprises have jointly paid mid-six against high six figures to option an untitled pitch, described as a live-action dog musical, that Daniel Bernstein will write with Jonathan Treisman producing.

Described as being in the vein of "Cats & Dogs," the pitch is a "West Side Story" tale set in the canine world of purebreds vs. mongrels. Bernstein also will write the musical lyrics for the film.

The pitch is based on a story treatment titled "When Bogey met Garbo," by Joseph Lawson, which Treisman optioned and enlisted Bernstein to come aboard. Bernstein came up with the original pitch for the project, and the duo took it out to studios.

The project reunites Bernstein with Regency, for whom he did a production polish on the script "First Daughter." At Regency, senior vp production Kara Francis is overseeing, and at Fox, TCF vp production Vanessa Morrison is shepherding for the studio.

"This film leaves 'Lady and the Tramp' in dust," Bernstein said. "It packs the emotional punch of 'West Side Story,' yet children will be able to relate to it. I recently adopted a baby girl and have started to think about kids' films. This story fits the mold not only because it's so entertaining, but it has a moral to it, which I love."

 The project marks the third time Bernstein and Treisman have collaborated. Last year, Miramax picked up Bernstein's pitch "Johnny on the Spot," based on the Edward Sorel children's book of the same name with Treisman producing. Bernstein also wrote "The Good Life," based on the Steven Dietz children's play "The Still Life With Iris" which Treisman is producing with Tapestry Pictures.

"It's so exciting to be working with Daniel for the third time," Treisman said. "We've had a great run and I look forward to developing more projects with him."

Bernstein, repped by ICM's Brian Sher and Principato-Young Management, recently set up Revolution Studios' "The Billionaire Fugitive," a Vanity Fair article by Ned Zeman which he is co-writing with Zeman.

Additionally, Bernstein and Zeman collaborated on "Emperor Zehnder" for producer Adam Schroeder which has Stephen Frears and Richard Gere attached to direct and star, respectively.

Treisman, repped by attorney Michael Schenkman, first came to prominence when he set up Catherine Ryan Hyde's novel "Pay It Forward" at Bel-Air Entertainment, which Warner Bros. released in 2000.

Charts: 'Scorpion King' Tops Box Office

"The Scorpion King" ruled the box office for a second straight weekend with $17.6 million, but its reign is about to end with the arrival of another hero that's part man, part bug.

One of the most hotly awaited comic-book adaptations ever, "Spider-Man" opens next weekend and is expected to put an early spin on the summer blockbuster season.

"This is one of the most anticipated movies of the year," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "It's a total summer movie. It's exactly what people want in summer."

"Scorpion King" distributor Universal wisely chose to slip its action flick into the lineup two weeks ahead of "Spider-Man." Starring pro wrestler The Rock in a spinoff of "The Mummy" franchise, "The Scorpion King" debuted with $36.1 million last weekend, a record for a film opening in April.

The movie has taken in $60.8 million in its first 10 days.

"We gave ourselves two full weeks with a lot of visibility and no real competition out there," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "It turns out to have been a very successful strategy."

The thriller "Changing Lanes" held the No. 2 spot for the second straight weekend with $9 million, pushing its 17-day total to $44.6 million. This weekend's main new films had weak debuts.

The romantic comedy "Life or Something Like It," starring Angelina Jolie as a shallow TV journalist coping with a street soothsayer's prediction that she's about to die, opened in third place with $6.65 million.

"Jason X," a sci-fi update of the "Friday the 13th" horror franchise, premiered at No. 4 with $6.5 million.

Playing in 2,606 theaters, "Life or Something Like It" averaged an anemic $2,552 a cinema, compared with $5,103 in 3,449 theaters for "The Scorpion King." "Jason X" averaged $3,461 in 1,878 theaters.

Box-office receipts for slasher films tend to tumble steeply after opening weekend because the hardcore horror crowd already has come and gone. "Life or Something Like It" might hold up better because its largely female audience gave it good grades and competition is scarce for movies about women, said Rick Myerson, general sales manager for 20th Century Fox, which distributed the film.

The overall box-office rose for the 11th straight weekend. The top 12 movies grossed $69.8 million, up 27 percent from the same weekend last year.

Domestic movie revenues are running 15 to 16 percent ahead of the pace last year, when Hollywood had a record annual total of $8.4 billion.

In limited release, Val Kilmer's thriller "The Salton Sea" opened strongly, grossing $175,000 at 15 theaters for a healthy $11,667 average. Kilmer plays a jazz trumpeter on Los Angeles' mean streets seeking revenge for his wife's murder.

The documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys," a film-festival hit about the birth of extreme skateboarding in the 1970s, debuted in 20 theaters with $111,170 for a $5,559 average.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Scorpion King," $17.6 million.
2. "Changing Lanes," $9 million.
3. "Life or Something Like It," $6.65 million.
   
4. "Jason X," $6.5 million.
   
5. "Murder by Numbers," $6.3 million.
   
6. "The Rookie," $5.4 million.
   
7. "Ice Age," $4.6 million.
   
8. "Panic Room," $4.2 million.
   
9. "High Crimes," $3 million.
   
10. "The Sweetest Thing," $2.9 million.

Industry: Europe movie industry wants more aid

Representatives of the European movie industry at the weekend appealed for support from the European Union so that it could compete more easily against the growing impact of Hollywood on its home turf.

"We appeal to the responsible political leaders of the European Union and the national governments and parliaments of the enlarged Europe to give to the film industry legal and structural standards to compete fairly within the internal market of the Union," they said in a statement after meeting in the Polish capital.

"We appeal for a cinema directive that would enable the constant growth of European and national cinema regardless of political and economic influences, a directive that would contribute to sustaining cultural diversity," they added.

The meeting was addressed by Catherine Lalumiere, vice-president of the European Parliament, and Max Messner of the European Investment Bank.

Polish producer and director Jacek Bromski said that the proportion of European movies shown on EU cinema screens had dropped in 2000 to its lowest level yet recorded of 22 per cent, against 74 per cent for American movies.

Legal: Tarsem Singh And Warner Bros. In Dueling Lawsuits

A dispute between Tarsem Singh, the video director who made his feature film debut with "The Cell," and Warner Bros., over the proposed motion picture "Constantine," a potential starring vehicle for Nicolas Cage based on the DC-Vertigo comic book, "Hellblazer," has resulted in dueling lawsuits filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Tarsem, who was brought on board to develop the picture in January 2001, left the project a year later after the director and studio reached an impasse over the script and budget.

On Feb. 1, Warner Bros. filed a complaint against Tarsem and his Oedipus Productions requesting the court order arbitration of the dispute and, in the alternative, seeking damages. Warners contended that Tarsem failed to live up to the terms of a Sept. 6, 2001, loan-out agreement for his directing services and was in breach of contract for telling the studio in January that he was abandoning the picture.

In a cross-complaint filed Friday, Tarsem, who was to have been paid $25,000 to develop the project and $2 million to direct it, claimed that the studio "baited (him) with false promises, usurped his creative rights (rights guaranteed under the DGA Agreement), and then, in an ultimate irony, sued him for millions for allegedly failing to do exactly that which they prevented him from doing."

The Tarsem complaint alleges that studio executives issued a "secret mandate" to keep him from meeting alone with the writer. Writers on the project have included Kevin Brodbin, Mark Bomback and Frank Cappello. It also alleges that the studio ignored his script changes, presented him with a final screenplay that would have cost more than $100 million and "which could not be performed at a cost the studio was willing to accept," and was actively seeking a new director.

According to Tarsem's complaint, the director never signed the Sept. 6, 2001, draft contract and, at most, only an oral contract to supervise development of the script existed between the parties.

"It's a case of some significance," said Tarsem's attorney Michael E. Weinstein of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman Machtinger & Kinsella. "In our view, no contract ever existed. They are suing a director who helped them develop the script for allegedly refusing to direct the movie when, in fact, they were looking at other directors all along."

A Warners spokesperson, citing the studio's policy of not commenting on ongoing litigation, declined comment.

Music: Reporting Kylie Minogue Losing Voice

Just two days after kicking off her sell out Fever Tour of the UK, pop star Kylie Minogue is reportedly losing her voice.

The diminutive Australian singer is suffering from an infection that has left her hoarse and put her four million pound concert tour in jeopardy, according to media reports.

Following her opening night performance at the Cardiff International Arena on Friday, Minogue told the News of the World that she "really struggled out there".

"It's been really bad and yes, I'm losing my voice," she was quoted as saying in the Sunday newspaper.

Minogue, 33, was advised by doctors not to sing at dress rehearsals and has been receiving care from a nutritionist and a special voice coach, the Sunday Mirror reported.

She told the newspaper she was worried about letting fans down and did not want to cancel any shows but was concerned about risking permanent damage to her voice.

"I am doing all I can to save my voice and put on the best show possible," it quoted her as saying.

Minogue, whose sexpot image and infectious pop songs have made her Britain's top pop darling, is capitalising on her current popularity with a 25-date extravaganza.

The seven-act show features a series of costume changes in which fans get to see the woman lauded for the perfect posterior writhe in a corset and strut the stage in a space-age micro skirt and thigh-high boots.