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dick clark productions to be Acquired in $140 Million Transaction

dick clark productions, inc. (NASDAQ: DCPI) today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which a group of investors led by Mosaic Media Group, Inc., Capital Communications CDPQ Inc. (which does business as CDP Capital Communications), and Jules Haimovitz, a senior television executive, will acquire all of the outstanding shares of dick clark productions. The agreement provides that stockholders other than Dick Clark will receive $14.50 per share in cash. Mr. Clark will receive $12.50 per share in cash for a portion of his shares. Henry Winterstern, co-founder and managing partner of CDP Capital Entertainment, will also invest in the acquiring entity. (Read Full Story…..)

Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin made a lucrative deal on "Chuckers

After rewriting "Snow Dogs," screenwriters Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin are negotiating to write the sequel to that sleeper Disney hit and have made a lucrative deal on "Chuckers," a fish-out-of-water film they've set with Universal and Casey Silver Prods.

The story centers on Lezlie Hiner, a prominent and wealthy Philadelphian who became the unlikely organizer of a polo squad made up of inner-city kids who battled upper-crust adversaries to make it all the way to the Interscholastic National Championships. The scribes' deal could be worth seven figures if the film is produced.

Gibson and Halprin, who shared screen credit on "Snow Dogs" with earlier writers Tommy Swerdlow and Michael Goldberg, did the rewrite that got the picture greenlit and are now in discussions to script the sequel to the $33 million film, which has grossed $62 million. They are also completing for Sony and Neal Moritz "The Greek Girls' Guide to War," a comedy about warring sororities.

"Code for Zero" for Columbia

Author-screenwriter Ryne Douglas Pearson has made a deal to adapt the Ken Follett novel "Code for Zero" for Columbia and Red Wagon's Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher, while at the same time closing a mid-six-figure deal with producer Scott Rudin to write an original film script.

The novel's a drama set in January, 1958: America's best hope in the space race-the Explorer I satellite-sits on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. And when a man wakes that morning only to discover his memory erased and his life in danger, the only way he can reclaim his own identity-and find those responsible-is to remember the terrible secret that they forced him to forget. A secret that could destroy the Explorer I-and America's future.

Pearson originally got noticed in Hollywood by selling screen rights to his own novels, "Simple Simon" (which was adapted into the Imagine film "Mercury Rising") and "Top 10," which was bought for $1 million by producer Mark Canton.

His recent surge in screenwriting activity resulted from his dramatic script "Knowing," a star vehicle being put together by Escape Artists and Sony. The film concerns the premature discovery of a time capsule compiled by a student who predicted numerous cataclysmic events and sees another one coming.

Ken Follett first thrilled readers with the classic suspense novel Eye of the Needle. In the next twenty years he topped bestseller lists again and again with his unique blend of powerful storytelling, well-drawn characters, and authentic detail in such books as The Third Twin and the worldwide bestseller

Edward Burns In Confidence For Lions Gate's

Edward Burns is in negotiations to topline Lions Gate Films' suspense drama "Confidence" for director James Foley. The project begins shooting at the beginning of April is expected to wrap by the end of May.

Written by Doug Jung, "Confidence" is about master con man Jake Vig, who swindles a few thousand dollars from an unsuspecting victim who turns out to be an accountant for a major crime kingpin. Unable to return the money, Jake and his crew offer to pull off a big con to repay their debt. Even though the con looks to be going awry, the con men prove to be one step ahead.

Ignite Entertainment will produce the project, which Lions Gate picked up in turnaround from Fine Line Features last year.

Burns is repped by WMA, Artists Management Group and attorneys Karl Austen and Barry Hirsch. He next stars opposite Angelina Jolie in 20th Century Fox/Regency Enterprises' "Life, or Something Like It." He is in postproduction on the indie feature "Ash Wednesday," which he directed, wrote, produced and stars in alongside a cast that includes Elijah Wood, Oliver Platt and Rosario Dawson.

Meg Ryan To Star In An Erotic Thriller

Meg Ryan, famed for her string of romantic comedies, is in negotiations to star in an erotic thriller to be directed by Jane Campion ("The Piano").

"In the Cut," budgeted at about $12 million, tells the story of a New York writing teacher who lives to take chances by night. When her neighborhood is rocked by a series of brutal murders, she becomes sexually involved with a detective on the case. Shooting is scheduled to start in New York in July.

Campion wrote the script with Susanna Moore, on whose novel the film is based. Sony's Screen Gems will distribute domestically.

Nicole Kidman, who at one time was eyeing the project to star in after she optioned the book out of her own pocket in 1996 and funded its initial development, will now take an executive producing credit on the picture.

Ryan most recently starred in Miramax's romantic comedy "Kate & Leopold," which picked up an Oscar nod on Tuesday for original song. She also will star in Paramount Pictures' "Against the Ropes," a biopic about female boxing manager Jackie Kallen, which is slated to go into production in mid-November.

Ashley Judd to star in 'Blackout'

Ashley Judd is in negotiations to star in Paramount Pictures and Intertainment AG's "Blackout" for Kopelson Entertainment to produce, sources have confirmed. The project is aimed to go into production in the summer.

The project will reunite Judd with Paramount, for whom the actress has starred in such films as "Double Jeopardy" and "Kiss the Girls."

Written by Sarah Throp, the project's story line has been closely guarded and is described only as a female-driven gritty thriller.

Kopelson senior vp production Sherryl Clark brought the script to the company. Oscar-winning producers and Kopelson toppers Arnold and Anne Kopelson will produce with Barry Baeres and Linne Radmin. Stephen Brown and Robyn Meisinger will executive produce.

Paramount and Intertainment -- which has a production financing agreement with Kopelson -- jointly plunked down $1 million to acquire the spec last week in a pre-emptive bid (HR 2/8).

Judd, repped by WMA, next stars in 20th Century Fox/New Regency Pictures' "High Crimes," Warner Bros.' "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" and Miramax Films' "Frida."

Crime Wave for Singer Jensen Entertainment

Newly established Singer Jensen Entertainment has bought the pitch "Crime Wave," a comic thriller by Pierce Gardner ("Lost Souls") and former MGM veep Kim Zubick, about a picture-perfect town turned upside down by its first crime wave. The deal was worth mid-six against seven figures.

Singer and Jensen also bought the pitch "The Wrong Target" from writer-director Matthew Ross, about a single father's attempt to rescue his kidnapped son. The man must go it alone, because authorities don't want the kidnappers to realize they missed the actual target, the son of a prominent man.

Also, SJE has tapped Dan Teebor VP production. Teebor, who joins Singer Jensen from Marc Platt Prods., hit the ground running by bringing in the project in a low-six against mid-six figure deal.

Teebor was actively involved in developing such Platt projects as "Legally Blonde," "Natural Man" and "The Diary of Anne Frank," which Alfred Uhry is scripting.

Producer Joe Singer linked up with financier Janet Jensen to form the new company, which will finance its own development and overhead and then set up projects for production at studios. They began the venture by optioning rights to the Nicholas Sparks novel "A Bend in the Road" as well as the comic book "Mephisto," the latter to be scripted by Michael Browning.

"Dan is the smartest executive with material I've met, and writers truly love working with him," Singer said. "In addition to extremely strong writer relationships, agents really trust him. We look forward to taking advantage of his talent and relationships."

Fighting Temptations For Cuba Gooding Jr

Hot off the surprise hit "Snow Dogs," Cuba Gooding Jr. is negotiating to star in the Paramount Pictures comedy "Fighting Temptations."

The story follows a young hip-hop artist from L.A. who returns to his Southern hometown to attend the funeral of an aunt. While there, he learns he's in for a large inheritance that will come his way only if he starts a gospel choir and makes peace with his roots.

Gooding won an Oscar for his supporting role in "Jerry Maguire" and is expected to begin negotiations to reprise his role in "Snow Dogs 2," a sequel to the Disney film that is coming together quickly. "Snow Dogs," which cost $33 million to make, has grossed more than $60 million at the box office after four weekends of release.

Michael Cuesta to direct "The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint"

Michael Cuesta, whose debut film "L.I.E." is up for six Independent Spirit Awards, has been hired to direct "The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint," which is being produced by R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe.

The United Artists project concerns a half-Apache youth who gets run over by a mail truck and, after hospitalization, finds a new life in a Mormon foster family. It is based on a Brady Udall novel that Cuesta will adapt with his brother, Gerald.

After a strong career as a commercials director and photographer, Cuesta teamed with his brother and Stephen Ryder to write "L.I.E.," a film that was a favorite at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, despite its bleak subject matter.

"L.I.E." concerns a troubled young Long Islander who robs houses and who finds an unlikely father figure in an unrepentant pedophile (Brian Cox). It is up for best picture, director and first screenplay prizes at the Spirit Awards, the arthouse world's equivalent of the Oscars which will be handed out in Santa Monica on March 23.

Stipe is producing "Edgar Mint" with his Single Cell Pictures partner Sandy Stern. Their banner is best known for producing "Being John Malkovich."

Will Joseph "McG" McGinty be the director who can finally make "Superman" fly?

Joseph "McG" McGinty the "Charlie's Angels" director has closed a deal to shoot the next installment of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Superman" franchise, with "Felicity" and "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams on board to write the script.

WB production chief Lorenzo di Bonaventura has long vowed to revive the "Superman" saga as part of the studio's push to capitalize on its DC Comics characters. Not only does "Superman" represent yet another potentially lucrative franchise, but the studio has already sunk millions into the project and has yet to see a dime in return.

Between 1996-98, Warners was dead set on getting the "Superman" franchise out of the phone booth and into the air, spending millions on scripts by Kevin Smith, Dan Gilroy and Bill Wisher.

But with the budget spiraling toward $140 million and a script that still wasn't quite right, di Bonaventura pulled the plug on pre-production for "Superman Lives" in April 1998.

While the move reflected fiscal prudence for a studio that had been walloped by ill-conceived films with bloated budgets, some damage had already been done. "Superman Lives" helmer Tim Burton and its star, Nicolas Cage, both had pay-or-play deals -- meaning they get paid even if the project goes ahead without them -- and neither is involved with the McG/Abrams incarnation of "Superman"; the new team plans to start from scratch conceptually.

Jon Peters, whose latest effort was Sony's very expensive "Ali," will produce the mega-budget picture.

"Superman" will likely be McG's next film after "Charlie's Angels 2: Halo," which will begin production this spring. That film is a summer tentpole for Columbia Pictures, which has scheduled a June 20, 2003 release.

McG is also executive producing the Fox TV action series "Fast Lane" with co-creator John McNamara. McG will shoot the pilot. He had also been attached to direct the Navy thriller "Dreadnaught" at Columbia, but that picture is taking on water after the events of Sept. 11 made it undesirable to make movies about exploding jetliners.

"Cromwell And Fairfax," Went Into "Hiatus" On Monday

"Cromwell and Fairfax," a British period drama starring Tim Roth, Dougray Scott and Rupert Everett, was forced to suspend production this week because of money woes. The $21 million production, which started principal photography on Jan. 20, officially went into "hiatus" on Monday. But filming will resume on Friday following intense negotiations with several potential backers, executive producer Bradley Adams told the media.

The failure of the producers to secure a U.S. distribution deal prior to the shoot meant that they were unable to close their bank deal and could not continue funding production.

Fox Searchlight is in negotiations to bale out the project by signing up for North American rights, although a number of other financing options are also being explored by producer Natural Nylon Entertainment and sales company IAC Films.

The picture, directed by Michael Barker, is a 17th century political drama set against the backdrop of England's civil war. Scott is also a producer on the project.

"I have to say that Dougray Scott and Tim Roth have been fabulously supportive throughout this, and so have all the people working on the movie," said Adams. "It's not an ideal situation, but we will get through it."

The crisis has been exacerbated by the serious illness of IAC chief executive Guy Collins, who collapsed and was rushed to hospital a few days ago for a life-saving operation. He is now recovering.

Early footage of "Cromwell and Fairfax" has been screened privately to U.S. and international distributors attending the Berlin Film Festival. One U.S. executive described it to the media as "terrific."

Such stumbles seem to be becoming increasingly common in U.K. film production, as the move toward bigger budgets has coincided with a worsening of the climate for indie financing.

Half a dozen projects were halted during pre-production last year. Even Robert Altman's multi-Oscar-nominated "Gosford Park" teetered on the brink of financial collapse until it secured its U.S. pre-sale and bank financing several weeks into shooting.

Natural Nylon and IAC had originally been hoping that Fine Line Features would take North American rights to "Cromwell and Fairfax." But Fine Line president Mark Ordesky told the media that the company never entered any negotiations for the project and formally passed in early December.

Nonetheless, and despite the evidence to the contrary, the producers persisted in the belief right up to the start of shooting that Fine Line would be persuaded to come aboard, thus making all the other financing fall into place. They proved to be mistaken.

Jennifer Lopez What's old is new again

What's old is new again as albums of remixes, greatest hits and live recordings debut in the top 10. Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez made the biggest splash with "J to tha L-O! The Remixes" bowing at No. 1.

Crooner Barry Manilow's hits collection "Ultimate Manilow" (Arista) debuts at No. 3 on 113,375 units sold, while Sade's "Lovers Live," recorded while she was on tour supporting her Grammy-nominated album "Lovers Rock" (Epic), debuts at No. 10 on 66,250 units scanned.

"J to Tha L-O!" (Epic) sold 156,050 units in its first week of release, pushing country superstar Alan Jackson's Arista Nashville release "Drive" down to No. 2. "Drive," which spent three straight weeks at No. 1, added 149,775 units, according to SoundScan figures obtained from industry sources for the week ending Feb. 10.

Creed's smash hit "Weathered" (Wind-up/BMG) falls two spots to No. 4 on 109,725 copies added, while alt-rock group Linkin Park's multiplatinum "Hybrid Theory" (Warner Bros.) slips two spots to No. 5 on 95,050 units scanned.

Def Jam artist Ludacris' "Word of Mouf" falls two spots to No. 6, adding 92,525 units, while Nickelback's "Silver Side Up" (Island Def Jam/Roadrunner) lands at No. 7 on 88,175 copies sold.

Ja Rule's "Pain Is Love" (Def Jam) moves down two notches to No. 8 on 70,050 units sold, while Pink's "Missundaztood" (Arista) holds strong at No. 9, adding 66,450 copies.

Lisa Wilson has joined newly formed Splendid Pictures

Veteran sales executive Lisa Wilson has joined newly formed Splendid Pictures as its president of distribution, heading up sales at the company which was created on the merger of Splendid Medien and Cutting Edge Entertainment. Wilson comes from Franchise Pictures where she was president of international distribution.

Wilson has spent over 30 years in the international distribution business working at companies including World Film Services, ITC Entertainment, her own buyers’ representative outfit Film Liaison International, Scotti Brothers Pictures, Nova Entertainment, Vision International and Nu Image. She left Nu Image to head up distribution at Phoenician Entertainment and upon Phoenician’s amalgamation with Franchise Pictures, she assumed the title of president of international distribution at Franchise, working on the sales of everything from The Whole Nine Yards, 3000 Miles To Graceland, The Art Of War, The Pledge, Angel Eyes and Battlefield Earth to smaller titles such as Green Dragon, Animal Factory and The Third Miracle.

Splendid, which plans to produce feature and TV projects including two $40m pictures a year, has a slate including The Courier, to be directed by Jan de Bont; Dolan’s Cadillac, a thriller based on a Stephen King short story with Stacey Title directing; Bounty Killer, written and to be directed by Jonathan Hensleigh and to be produced by Gale Anne Hurd; and the Tony Kaye helmed Redliners.