Lakeshore Entertainment in Underworld horror

Lakeshore Entertainment will turn the Danny McBride script "Underworld" into a horror film that will mark the directorial debut of f/x wiz turned video director Len Wiseman.

"Underworld" is best described as "Romeo and Juliet" if the Capulets were vampires and the Montagues were werewolves.

Both McBride and Wiseman are vets of hard-knock Hollywood. The scribe is a musician turned stunt coordinator who, after reading scripts to break down the action sequences, auditioned to write "Total Recall 2." He didn't get the job but got signed by Intl. Creative Management. The agency teamed him with Wiseman, a graphic artist who designed props for the Centropolis pics "Independence Day" and "Godzilla" and moved on to direct videos for En Vogue, Megadeth and Rufus Wainwright.

McBride and Wiseman hatched "Underworld" and found that studios were willing to pay big bucks for it, but only if Wiseman wasn't its director.

Many aspiring first-timers step aside because they need the money, but the duo and their dealmakers kept reminding themselves how Frank Darabont resisted a Rob Reiner Tom Cruise package and wouldn't sell "Shawshank Redemption" unless he made it his directing debut, or how "Piranha 2" helmer James Cameron signed over his half of "Terminator" rights to producing partner Gale Anne Hurd for $1, with the promise the picture wouldn't be made unless he directed it. McBride and Wiseman sat on the script for 18 months waiting for the same chance.

"It was hard, sitting in those meetings where they dangled this carrot of big money if I got the boot, but Danny and I realized this was the shot we waited so long for," said Wiseman.

Loyalty aside, McBride could tell by the way suitors suggested changes to their script that the movie would bear little resemblance to their vision if Wiseman wasn't at its helm. Wiseman helped his cause using his f/x background to build models of his werewolves and vampires, complemented by graphic storyboards of each scene. These helped hook Lakeshore.

"Len's video reel was stylish and showed he knows what he wants to do with the camera," said Lakeshore president Gary Lucchesi. "We took Mark Pellington ("The Mothman Prophecies") from videos, and we've made three terrific films with him. And when you meet Len and see his vision of this provocative and original world, you could imagine a young James Cameron sitting there pitching his idea for 'Terminator."'

How to Deal For New Line

New Line Cinema has acquired "How to Deal" and will produce the youthful romancer with Ted Field's Radar Pictures.

An offer is out to pop singer Mandy Moore ("A Walk to Remember") for the lead role as a teenager who, surrounded by examples of love gone wrong, decides it doesn't exist. Of course, she is proven wrong.

No director is attached yet, but the producers hope to begin shooting this summer.

Two young-adult novels by Sarah Dessen, "Someone Like You" and "That Summer," provided the genesis for "How to Deal." A first-draft screenplay was penned by Heidi Ferrer, with a second draft by Neena Beber (MTV's "Daria").

The Storm Returns In A 7 Figure Deal With DreamWorks

In deal worth nearly $1 million against nearly $2 million, DreamWorks has picked up the pitch "The Storm Returns" from Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who will write, direct and produce the material.

The duo, best known for writing the feature "Rounders," made their directorial and producing debut on "Knockaround Guys," a New Line Cinema feature due out in the fall.

"Storm" is set in St. Louis in the wake of the Gulf War. It follows a group of recently discharged soldiers who have become warriors without a war and enlist in a battle to clear a vicious drug gang out of a housing project.

DreamWorks production president Michael De Luca, who worked with the duo on "Knockaround Guys," is overseeing "Storm."

"We've remained close to Mike since he left New Line and have hung out with him continuously," Koppelman said in an interview. "When he took us out to dinner in New York recently, he asked us what we'd ideally like to do."

"So we told him about 'Storm,' and he loved it immediately," said Levien, who describes the project as being about "heroism and honor in the face of anarchy and greed."

Koppelman and Levien are repped by Endeavor and attorney Karl Austen. They most recently sold the spec script "First Family" to Warner Bros.-based Bel-Air Entertainment. They also rewrote Universal Pictures' "Heart of a Soldier" and New Regency's "Runaway Jury."

"Guys," which Lawrence Bender also produced, stars John Malkovich, Dennis Hopper, Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper, Seth Green and Andrew Davoli.

Robert Luketic To Direct DreamWorks Date School

"Legally Blonde" helmer Robert Luketic will direct the DreamWorks comedy "Date School." Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld's Red Hour Films are producing the project with Beau Flynn and his Firm Films.

"Date" marks the second project Luketic is developing for the studio. Last month, the studio optioned 27 books in the Matt Helm action series to develop into a feature film franchise, with Luketic signed to direct the first movie, "Death of an Ordinary Citizen".

"Date" centers on the proprietor of a Learning Annex-type dating school who falls for a skeptical student. Abby Cohn and Mark Silverstein wrote the original script and are rewriting the material, which Luketic is overseeing. DreamWorks executive Adam Goodman is overseeing for the studio.

Luketic, repped by CAA and Mosaic Media Group's Paul Nelson, also is developing 20th Century Fox's romantic comedy feature "Boys-R-Us" for 1492 Pictures and a remake of the 1973 ABC telefilm "The Girl Most Likely To ..." for Universal Pictures and his "Blonde" producer Marc Platt.

"Schnozz," a British cartoon canine romp

"Shrek" producer John H. Williams will develop a computer-animated feature based on "Schnozz," a British cartoon canine romp.

The picture concerns a crossbreed mutt and the coterie of rejected animals he meets as he attempts to follow in the footsteps of his famous police dog father. "Schnozz" was created by U.K. illustrator and character designer Gary Chapman and written by Jordan Katz.

The project marks one of the first to be developed by Williams' Vanguard Animation after it recently secured a $100 million indie production fund. Williams just produced the Jackie Chan picture "The Tuxedo" at DreamWorks.

Chapman designed the characters and story for "Junk," an animated musical in development at Warner Bros., and he designed the characters for Vanguard's upcoming production "Valiant," a parody of "Top Gun" portraying carrier pigeons serving in WWII Europe. Katz's credits include "Assault on Norway," a WWII thriller set up at DreamWorks.

Jennifer Lopez Named ShoWest 2002 Female Star of the Year

Jennifer Lopez, who will next star in Michael Apted's "Enough" for Columbia Pictures, will be honored as the ShoWest 2002 Female Star of the Year, it was announced today by Robert Sunshine, Chairman of Sunshine Group Worldwide (SGW), which operates the event.

Lopez will be on stage in Las Vegas, March 7th, to personally receive her award in front of the more than 2,500 delegates of the annual convention of theater owners at the ShoWest 2002 Gala Award Banquet, sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company.

"Jennifer Lopez has so many of the qualities associated with classic Hollywood stars," said Sunshine. "With her record-breaking hits last year and her upcoming films, this looks to be a seminal year in what is an already remarkable career."

In "Enough," Lopez stars as Slim, a working-class waitress who finds her life transformed when she marries wealthy contractor Mitch (Billy Campbell). She settles into an idyllic suburban life and seems to have everything she wants: loving husband, beautiful home, and Gracie, an adorable 5-year-old daughter. Her dream is shattered when she discovers her husband is anything but perfect. His abusive behavior forces her to go on the run, eluding an increasingly obsessive husband and his lethal henchmen. When, despite Slim's efforts to make a new life, Mitch finds her and threatens her again, she puts Gracie in safe keeping, toughens herself mentally and physically and sets out to prove to Mitch she's had "Enough."

Later this year, Lopez stars in two films from Columbia Pictures that are produced by Revolution Studios. In the romantic comedy "Chambermaid," Lopez stars as an independent, single mother living in the Bronx who falls in love with the handsome, debonair heir to an American political dynasty while working as a maid at a first-class Manhattan hotel. Next up, she stars in Martin Brest's "Gigli," about a hit man (Ben Affleck) who kidnaps a district attorney's younger brother from a state home. As they hide out in a small apartment, the kidnapper hooks up with a female partner (Lopez) who could be a hit woman.

In 2001, Lopez starred in the box-office hit "The Wedding Planner" opposite Matthew McConaughey and in Luis Mandoki's "Angel Eyes" with Jim Caviezel. That year she made history by being the first female to ever have the #1 movie ("The Wedding Planner") and #1 album (her sophomore release, "J.Lo") in the same week.

In the summer of 2000, Lopez starred in New Line Cinema's psychological thriller "The Cell," which opened at #1 and went on to gross more than $60 million domestically.

The 2001 ShoWest Female Star of the Year was Sandra Bullock. Among the previous winners of the award are Demi Moore, Michelle Pfeiffer, Whoopi Goldberg and Annette Bening.

ShoWest 2002 will be held at Bally's and Paris Hotels in Las Vegas, March 4th through March 7th. Also confirmed to receive Awards at the Gala Awards Banquet are Steven Spielberg, Will Smith, Nicole Kidman, Ron Howard and Naomi Watts. Celebrating its 28th year, ShoWest is the world's largest motion picture industry convention, of which DLP Cinema, a Texas Instruments company, is the Official Corporate Sponsor. Each year, ShoWest attracts delegates from more than 45 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. ShoWest is managed by Sunshine Group Worldwide, operators of ShowEast, Cinema Expo and CineAsia. The group also publishes Film Journal International and is a division of VNU Expositions

Tony Rodriguez Promoted to Vice President, Sales Operations, for Paramount Pictures

Tony Rodriguez has been promoted to Vice President of Sales Operations for the Motion Picture Group of Paramount Pictures, it was announced by Wayne Lewellen, President of Distribution for the Motion Picture Group.

With this promotion, Mr. Rodriguez will be responsible for handling all financial budgeting and day to day sales operations for the Distribution group, in addition to cash collections from theaters such as American Multi Cinema and General Cinema. He will continue to report to Steve Rapaport, Executive Vice President, Sales Operations.

"Tony's 34 years of experience has given him an enormous amount of knowledge that is essential within our Sales Operations department," said Mr. Lewellen. "I am thrilled that Tony has become such a valued member of our team, and am pleased to recognize him and his contributions with this promotion." Mr. Rapaport added, "I have worked with Tony for 32 years and he has constantly proven to be a major asset to the organization. I am happy to continue our business relationship."

Mr. Rodriguez was promoted from Executive Director of Sales Operations, a position he held since 1986.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administrations from St. Peters College in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc., one of the world's largest entertainment and media companies, and a leader in the production, promotion, and distribution of entertainment, news, sports, and music.

For further information, please contact: Nancy Kirkpatrick, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Publicity of Paramount Pictures, +1-323-956-5824.

One month after firing him, Alliance Atlantis has contracted former international sales head Mark Horowtiz to finish the job of selling Double Down, the Neil Jordan-directed remake of Bob Le Flambeur, starring Nick Nolte.

Ted Riley, President, Distribution for Alliance Atlantis' newly formed Entertainment Group told ScreenDaily, "The contract negotiation is in the process of being done now. Mark was working on [Double Down] very closely and he has the contacts and the smarts to see it through."

AAC, which laid off 80 employees this January, is scaling back its production aspirations, particularly higher budget pictures like Double Down. Veteran AAC executive Charlotte Mickie, who was reassigned to head up sales for the company in the wake of the cut-backs, will be handling other prestige projects that will have a more specialised, art-house skew to them.

Said Riley, "We have fifteen to eighteen movies being released in the next few months. There's a lot of significant films for Charlotte to be working on."

Double Down has yet to find a US distributor, a thorny issue for a film with a budget of $30m. Other major territories outstanding are Germany, Japan, and France, where there are issues to be ironed out with Canal Plus which holds some of the underlying rights to Jean-Pierre Melville's original film. An international coproduction of France, the UK and Ireland, the film was fully financed by AAC, which is handling distribution in Canada and the UK and Ireland

The film has been sold to Filmes d'Elysee for Benelux, Prooptiki for Greece, Mindform for Iceland, RAI for Italy, Ecofilmes for Portugal, Egmont/Nordisk for Scandinavia, Aquimia for Spain, Italia Films for the Middle East, Shaw Renters for Singapore, Imagine for Brazil, Warner/Nu Metro for South Africa and Revoluntionary for Eastern Europe.

Catch 23 to Develop "Blackjack" to Star Michael Jai White

First Project for Catch 23's Alter Ego Entertainment, the Recently Launched Urban Division Headed by Darryl Taja

Catch 23 Entertainment Inc. has acquired the film rights to writer Alex Simmon's acclaimed graphic novel series "Blackjack" from Beverly Hills-based Platinum Studios, and has entered into a co-production agreement with Platinum for the development of a feature film based on the material. "Blackjack" is the first acquisition for C23's new urban entertainment division headed by Senior Vice President Darryl Taja, recently christened Catch 23's Alter Ego Entertainment. Michael Jai White ("Exit Wounds;" "Universal Soldier: The Return;" "Spawn;" John Woo's upcoming "Honor Among Thieves") is in preliminary negotiations to star. The announcements were made today by Jeremy Barber, President of Catch 23 Entertainment.

"'Blackjack' represents the exact kind of crossover material I hoped to develop at Catch 23's Alter Ego," said Taja.

Alex Simmon's comic book series "Blackjack," which debuted in 1996, follows the exploits of independent African-American soldier of fortune Arron Day -- a man called "Blackjack" -- as he roams the globe in search of a life of adventure and danger, from mysterious lost treasures to the schemes of power-mad dictators in a world on the brink of war. Blackjack is thrust into the middle of political warfare in China in order to protect the life of an important Chinese dignitary and lives in a milieu of looming world hostilities, cultural renaissance, and brutal assassins.

Marc Danon, Catch 23's Vice President of Production and Acquisitions, who brought "Blackjack" to Taja's attention, will develop the project with Taja.

Catch 23's Alter Ego Entertainment is aggressively ramping up its development slate, under the direction of Darryl Taja, Senior Vice President of Catch 23 Management, who continues to operate in a dual role as both talent manager and production executive. C23's Alter Ego will focus primarily on developing projects for the urban-crossover market, but will seek out a wide variety of genre-specific material. In addition to "Blackjack," Taja and Danon are currently developing the family-comedy "Mr. Momma," described as an African-American Mr. Mom, with screenwriters Joe Forristal and Dirk Wittenborn. In addition to his responsibilities with C23's Alter Ego, Darryl Taja is also producing the action-comedy "Indiana Jackson" for Disney, and recently produced the urban-comedy "Higher Ed," to be released by the Urban World label of Columbia at Sony, and the comedy "Go For Broke," to be distributed through New Line this year.

"I am very pleased with the aggressive growth of our new label under Taja's direction and I am gratified by Taja and Danon's collaboration," said Barber.

About Platinum Studios

Headquartered in Beverly Hills, Platinum Studios is Hollywood's premier company for comic book to film adaptation. Platinum Studios was established in 1997 by Chairman and CEO Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, following a successful, high-profile career in the comic book industry as the founder and head of Malibu Comics. As principal of Malibu Comics, Rosenberg gained an industry-wide reputation for translating comic titles into feature film blockbusters when he developed "Men in Black" for Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment. Platinum Studios' comic book-to-feature productions include "Nathan Never," a futuristic buddy/action film based on the popular Italian comic book, with DreamWorks SKG; "Ghosting," with Miramax/Dimension Films, and "Mal Chance," a blend of Hong Kong action and romantic comedy, with Miramax.

About Catch 23 Entertainment

With offices in Los Angeles and London, Catch 23 Entertainment is a film production and management company formed by financier Robert B. Sturm in 2000, which has since then secured a domestic distribution deal with Universal Pictures. Pre-production is imminent on the Reese Witherspoon starrer based on Marc Klein's adaptation of short stories from best-seller "Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing," among other projects. Catch 23 Entertainment's first feature film release, the psychological thriller "One Hour Photo," starring Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Gary Cole and Eriq La Salle, won critical acclaim at its world premiere at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. "One Hour Photo," written and directed by acclaimed video director Mark Romanek, will be released theatrically by Fox Searchlight this year.

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