• Audrey Wells Under The Tuscan Sun For Miramax
• MGM Picked Up Turnaround Sweet Swinger
• Revolution, Disney, Columbia Hooking Up For 'Peter Pan'
• Milla Jovovich To Co-Star In Russian/American Mob Film
• Universal Calls Off Carrey/Kidman Comedy
• Joe Roth's Revolution Revved Up For Second Year
• Sundance, Two More Acquisitions
• Buying Blizzard Socks Sundance
• Settlement Proposed In Suit Over Fake Film Critic
• Six Pilots Vie For Space On Tight NBC Drama Sked
• Music Industry Pins Hope On Eminem, Net
• Sundance 2002. 120-odd films, none had a must-see aura
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Address Wells Under the Tuscan Sun For Miramax

Miramax Films has enlisted Audrey Wells to adapt and direct ``Under the Tuscan Sun,'' based on the best-selling novel by Frances Mayes.

Wells has penned studio pictures including ``Disney's The Kid,'' ``George of the Jungle'' and ``The Truth About Cats and Dogs.'' She made her directorial debut two years ago with ``Guinevere,'' distributed by Miramax.

As adapted by Wells, ``Under the Tuscan Sun'' is a romantic comedy about a single American lawyer in her 30s who gives up everything she's worked for and moves to Italy in search of a more romantic and satisfying life.

``The book is an international bestseller for good reason: It resonates with humor and hope,'' said Wells. ``What's more, it offers up the chance to create an unforgettable screen heroine, which of course I'm very excited about.''

Book Description Now in paperback, the #1 San Francisco Chronicle bestseller that is an enchanting and lyrical look at the life, the traditions, and the cuisine of Tuscany, in the spirit of Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence.

Frances Mayes entered a wondrous new world when she began restoring an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. There were unexpected treasures at every turn: faded frescos beneath the whitewash in her dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrown brambles in the garden, and, in the nearby hill towns, vibrant markets and delightful people. In Under the Tuscan Sun, she brings the lyrical voice of a poet, the eye of a seasoned traveler, and the discerning palate of a cook and food writer to invite readers to explore the pleasures of Italian life and to feast at her table

 About the Author Frances Mayes lives in Cortona, Italy and San Francisco, where she teaches creative writing at San Francisco State University. A widely published poet as well as a prolific food and travel writer, she has written for the New York Times, House Beautiful, and Food and Wine.

MGM picked up Turnaround Sweet Swinger

MGM has picked up the comedy script "Sweet Swinger" in turnaround from Fox 2000.

Produced by Davis Entertainment and Dylan Sellers Prods., the project is about a penniless professional golfer who needs to repay a debt incurred while trying to hustle a Mafioso. Desperate to earn some cash, he poses as a woman and joins the ladies professional golf tour and ends up winning the big tournament and falling in love with the leading player.

Dana Olsen ("Inspector Gadget," "George of the Jungle") wrote the original draft, which was picked up by Fox 2000 as a spec about six years ago.

Over the years, the script was rewritten by "Top Gun" scribes Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. and "The Family Man" scribes David Diamond and David Weissman.

John Davis and Dylan Sellers are producing the project. Davis most recently produced 20th Century Fox's "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Dr. Dolittle 2." He also is developing a live-action/CGI feature of the "Garfield" comic strip for Fox. Warner Bros.-based Sellers has produced the Warners features "Valentine" and "The Replacements."

Revolution, Disney, Columbia Hooking Up For 'Peter Pan'

Revolution Studios is in early negotiations to bring a live-action version of "Peter Pan" to the big screen in a co-production with the Walt Disney Co. and Sony's Columbia Pictures.

The deal would involve a three-way split among Revolution, Disney and Sony. Terms being discussed call for Disney to take domestic distribution rights and home video as well as the rights for the United Kingdom and Australia; Revolution would handle TV rights through its existing output deals with Fox TV and Encore; Sony would distribute the film internationally, except for Japan and Germany, where Revolution has its own distribution deals.

The project would mark the first time that Roth, the former Disney chairman-turned-Revolution founder, has teamed with his former colleagues in Burbank since leaving that studio two years ago. It would also be the first Revolution project not to be distributed through Sony domestically.

Columbia -- whose chairman Amy Pascal is a longtime supporter of the project -- has been developing the live-action version of the classic tale with studio-based Red Wagon Prods., headed by Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher. Helmer P.J. Hogan came aboard the project in August.

On Jan. 11, several actors tested for the lead role of Hook. Among them were Jason Isaacs ("The Patriot") and Rupert Everett, who previously worked with Hogan on "My Best Friend's Wedding." Michael Goldenberg wrote the most recent draft of the script.

If negotiations are successfully completed, the plan calls for filming the movie in late summer in Australia with an eye toward a Christmas 2003 release.

Milla Jovovich to co-star in Russian/American Mob film

Milla Jovovich is co-starring with Russian actor Vladimir Mashkov in the new thriller Red America. The movie is set against the backdrop of feuding gangs in New York and Moscow. It will be director Pavel Chukrai's first working project outside of Russia.

The story focuses on an innocent young Russian, played by Mashkov, who arrives in Manhattan on business. He is soon lured into a love affair and illicit business dealings by the Mob.

An insider on the production told Eiol: "There has been very little interaction between film makers in Russia and America for obvious commercial and financial reasons.

"But if films can come in at a reasonable budget and a price by which they can be easily shown inside Russia, this is a way forward. "The Russians have a lot of good charismatic actors. Accents aren't so much of a problem any longer."

Universal calls off Carrey/Kidman comedy

Universal has abruptly halted the untitled comedy that was to star Jim Carrey and Nicole Kidman and begin production in March.

Carrey was to play a widower who begins dating, only to find himself haunted by his deceased wife (Kidman). Universal had expected to release writer/director Gary Ross' film as its big Christmas offering.

No specific reason was given for shelving the film, though it appears that a deciding factor was Kidman's busy schedule. She's shooting the Lars von Trier film ``Dogville,'' followed immediately by the Robert Benton-directed ``The Human Stain'' with Anthony Hopkins.

The Universal project came together with much fanfare, as both actors sparked to Ross' script, and it is considered very possible that they will come back together in the fall to make the picture happen. For now, Carrey is pursuing other projects for the spring.

Joe Roth's Revolution revved up for second year

In a week of anniversaries for his young company, Revolution Studios principal Joe Roth is counting his winnings, shrugging off so-so reviews for his debut slate and looking forward to a more varied and compelling 2002.

``We made money on all five films we put out,'' said Roth, who started the company with the goal of creating a nimble film operation that had a small slate and little overhead or bureaucracy. ``We had a decent start that ended with an extraordinary movie. And the slate going forward will be better.''

That ``extraordinary movie,'' the harrowing war picture ''Black Hawk Down'' goes into wide release Friday after two promising weeks of limited release ($725,000 in 16 crammed-full theaters last week).

The picture's expansion takes place a year to the week after production started on Revolution's first film and two years after Roth left the chairmanship of the Walt Disney Studios.

Until ``Black Hawk Down,'' critics had cringed at Revolution's offerings: ``Tomcats,'' ``The One,'' ``The Animal'' and the Roth-helmed ``America's Sweethearts.'' The latter two were among the biggest hits for partner-investor Sony, and Roth says all four made money not just for Revolution, but for most of its output partners (Sony, Fox, Starz Encore, Germany's Senator Films, Japan's Toho-Towa and Pony Canyon).

``We always wish the movies were better,'' Roth said. ``But we started from scratch. We had no sequels, no remakes, no properties to start with. I left Disney two years ago this week, and it took me nine months to get the financing together. But ... I think we're ending up with the top two Sony films for the year'' (actually, Nos. 1 and 3).

And 2002 will be better, Roth said: This year, the company releases eight films (plus ``Black Hawk Down'') that are more a product of Revolution's own development process; its deals with Julia Roberts, Adam Sandler and Bruce Willis; and the fruits of Roth's quick dealmaking (he snapped up Nicole Kidman horror starrer ``The Forgotten,'' after reading it over a weekend) and rapport with talent.

Revolution's Sandler deal in particular has been good. This year alone, he is appearing in a still-untitled comedy directed by Paul Thomas Anderson this fall; producing and starring with Jack Nicholson in ``Anger Management'' (though it won't be released until 2003); and producing children's movie ``Master of Disguise,'' starring Dana Carvey and due in May.

Roberts' Shoelace Prods. is choosing among three projects to shoot this summer for a holiday release. Most likely to go is drama ``Mona Lisa Smile.'' It's dueling for Roberts' attention with thriller ``Perfect Stranger'' and a third project tentatively titled ``Butterfly.''

And Willis' Cheyenne Prods. is about to begin production of a still-untitled action film (for release in '03)Roth said the company will roll out eight pictures annually the next three years. The goal is to create a company known for edgy but mainstream fare.

In the meantime, buoyed by a six-year, 36-picture deal that makes it difficult for him to lose money, Roth said he is focusing on building a company that might actually live up to its name.

Sundance, Two more acquisitions

Two more acquisitions were closed in Park City yesterday in arguably the busiest Sundance on record for deals. New distributor THINKFilm, which yesterday completed its acquisition of Gus Van Sant's Gerry, has now taken North American rights on out-of-competition selection Love In The Time Of Money, while Chris Blackwell's Palm Pictures picked up North American rights to Julio Medem's hit Spanish film Sex And Lucia (Sex Y Lucia) which is in the world cinema section.

Meanwhile United Artists was close to picking up Rebecca Miller's well-received Personal Velocity starring Parker Posey, Kyra Sedgwick and Fairuza Balk.

Love In The Time Of Money was out of competition because it is executive produced by Robert Redford and Michael Nozik through their South Fork Pictures banner. Written and directed by theatre director Peter Mattei, it is a multi-story ensemble piece about nine people looking for love in New York. Among the cast are Steve Buscemi, Rosario Dawson, Michael Imperioli, Carol Kane, Adrian Grenier and Jill Hennessy.

It is the fourth digital video film produced by Jason Kliot and Joana Vicente's Blow Up Pictures to find US distribution - out of four - after Chuck And Buck, Series 7 - The Contenders and Lovely And Amazing. Kliot and Vicente produce 35mm films through their other company Open City Films.

"There has been a lot of interest in the film but Mark Urman [US distribution chief of THINKFilm] saw the film early on and made it very clear that he wanted to distribute the film and he won out because he was the most passionate," said Kliot. "He sees huge potential in the film and there are so many ways to market it."

The deal was negotiated by Urman with Bart Walker of ICM and entertainment lawyer Andrew Hurwitz.

The Palm deal on Sex Y Lucia was negotiated by Blackwell and David Koh, head of acquisitions and production for Palm Pictures, and Sunmin Park of Maxmedia and Fernando Bovaira of Sogepaq.

Sex Y Lucia, which is nominated for 12 Goya nominations, is the story of a young waitress who takes a vacation on a secluded Mediterranean island after losing her long-time boyfriend and there begins to recall the dark corners of the relationship. The film stars Paz Vega and Tristan Ulloa and was shot with the new CineAlta HDCAM 24P camera.

"We are very proud and excited to work with Julio Medem, who is one of the world's most innovative filmmakers," says Koh. "Medem is a master of complex and sensual storytelling."

Buying Blizzard Socks Sundance

A confluence of factors has made this year's 20th annual Sundance Film Festival, winding down Sunday, one of the most active markets in memory for specialty pictures.

Distributors so far have committed $17 million to 13 pictures, while at least a dozen films are still in play.

The brisk buying pace continued at Sundance yesterday as Fine Line Features made its first buy of the festival, taking North American rights to competition title Cherish, while new distributor THINKFilm took North American rights to Gus Van Sant's experimental film Gerry which premiered here at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday. Both deals were closed by Rena Ronson and Cassian Elwes of WMA Independent.

At the same time, Lions Gate Films acquired worldwide rights to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's Intacto, the well-received Spanish thriller that has been screening in the World Cinema sidebar this week in Park City.

Cherish - directed by Finn Taylor (Dream With The Fishes) - is a comic thriller about a love-starved animator who is wrongly accused of running over a cop and incarcerated in the electronic bracelet programme for two years. It stars Robin Tunney in the lead role alongside Tim Blake Nelson, Nora Dunn, Liz Phair, Lindsay Crouse and Jason Priestley.

The deal was worth $1m and sources say that Fine Line is eyeing a summer release. Included in the deal is the soundtrack which includes a host of 80s classics from the likes of Soft Cell, Hall & Oates and David Cassidy.

The THINKFilm deal, which was under $1m, was closed with the company's US distribution head Mark Urman, who said that he plans to release Gerry in the autumn.

"I want to give us the luxury of time to prepare people for the experience," he said yesterday. "Some people will get lost in it and some people will tell it to get lost."

Gerry, which was shot last summer in Argentina and Death Valley in the US, stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck as two friends who stray off the path on a wilderness trail and get lost in the desert. With takes lasting up to ten minutes and minimal, improvised dialogue, the film divided audiences at Sundance where it was listed both as a premiere and in the Frontier section.

"I think that it behoves us - and this is one of the most exciting things about the film - to do everything in the spirit of the film, ie nothing normal," said Urman. "The challenge and the fun of it is to ask what do you always do when you release a film and do the opposite."

Urman said that other festival slots are possible so long as the film is screened in the spirit of the film. "People are looking for alternate entertainment experiences," he said. "By the time I get through with it, there'll be a surprising number of people who will invite Gerry home."

Elwes and Ronson arranged the financing for the film - budgeted between $5m and $7m - at Cannes last year, selling Germany, Italy and France to Elie Samaha and Tarak Ben Ammar's Dante Entertainment, Spanish rights to Lauren Film and the rest of the world to Film Four International.

Settlement Proposed In Suit Over Fake Film Critic

Two moviegoers suing Sony Pictures Entertainment for promoting its films with ecstatic review blurbs attributed to a fictional critic have offered to settle the case for $4.5 million, their lawyer said Thursday.

The class-action suit accusing Sony of deceptive business practices and false advertising was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last June after Newsweek magazine exposed the obliging but bogus critic, David Manning, as a fabrication.

The two plaintiffs, Omar Rezec of Los Angeles and Ann Belknap of suburban Sierra Madre, claimed they were duped into seeing the medieval drama ``A Knight's Tale'' by glowing appraisals of the film attributed to Manning.

The Manning blurbs were featured prominently in ads for that film and three others released by Sony-owned Columbia Pictures -- ``Hollow Man,'' ``Vertical Limit'' and ``The Animal.''

One such ad for ``A Knight's Tale'' referred to the film's leading man, Heath Ledger, as ``this year's HOTTEST NEW STAR!'' Another characterized ``Hollow Man'' as ``Stupendous.''

Shortly after the hoax came to light, Columbia formally rebuked and suspended ad executives without pay for their roles in inventing Manning, who was falsely billed as a reviewer for the Ridgefield Press in Connecticut. A week later, the studio admitted that two of its employees posed as fans in a television testimonial for another one of its movies.

Under a settlement offer filed in court last week by Rezec and Belknap, Sony would establish a $4.5 million fund to reimburse film-goers who believe they were misled into seeing any of the four movies touted by the Manning blurbs.

``The goal was to give people their money back,'' said Norman Blumenthal, one of the plaintiff's attorneys. ``We're taking the the hard-line position that we won't settle the case until the people who were deceived by their false advertising are paid. The bottom line is you can't cheat to compete.''

He said the two sides have been engaged in settlement negotiations for the past 30 days. A spokesman for Sony declined to comment, as did a lawyer for the studio, Robert Schwartz.

The plaintiffs have suggested that about $500,000 of the $4.5 million sum would be used to take out ads in two national publications, such as Parade magazine or USA Today, to notify the public of a settlement.

Those who responded to the ads and ``verify by declaration under oath that they were, in any way, influenced by the purported quotes of the fictional 'David Manning' to see the films they paid admission to see'' could then make a claim seeking reimbursement for the ticket price, the filing said.

Soon after the David Manning ruse was exposed, studio marketing executives issued a statement saying that new ``checks and balances'' had been put in place to ``ensure the accuracy of quotes contained in future advertising campaigns.''

Sony Pictures Entertainment is the film studio group of Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp..

Six pilots vie for space on tight NBC drama sked

Los Angeles cops, drug kingpins, war correspondents and a young King Arthur vehicle are among the highlights of NBC's drama pilot pickups for the 2002-03 season.

The peacock has greenlighted six full drama pilots and ordered additional scripts on three other drama projects. The peacock also gave a pilot nod to a comedy project from Paramount Network TV and Kelsey Grammer's Grammnet Prods. The project, penned by Mark Reisman and executive produced by Grammer, features actor Elon Gold and centers on the relationship between a man and his father-in-law.

On the drama front, there will be stiff competition among the peacock's pilots for slots on the fall schedule. This season's freshman dramas "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and "Crossing Jordan" have already secured second-season renewals, leaving the network with little room for new hours in the fall.

"We may only put on one or two new dramas next season -- our needs are so limited," NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker said. "We have some really strong, quality shots here. We're in business with some of the best writers in town."

Writer Graham Yost has two projects on the peacock's slate: the Los Angeles-based cop show "Boomtown," from NBC Studios, and "Arthur," a look at the famed king's early years before his fateful encounter with the sword in the stone. Yost is executive producing "Arthur" with Remi Aubuchon, who will write the pilot for NBC Studios.

Emmy-winning writer David Mills, who wrote the book that inspired NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street," has a pilot for Spelling Television, "Kingpin," about a drug lord and his Mexico-based trafficking operation.

NBC Studios is fielding "War Stories," a project from writer Peter Noah about a foreign correspondent and his relationship with a female photojournalist. The project has been developed for Jeff Goldblum; if Goldblum signs on, 20th Century Fox TV will become a co-producer of the pilot with NBC Studios.

Studios USA landed two peacock pilots, both co-productions with NBC Studios. "Mister Sterling" hails from former "West Wing" writer Lawrence O'Donnell and centers on an idealistic, naive guy in his early 30s who winds up becoming a U.S. senator.

"Miss American Pie," from writer Jonathan Prince, is a period drama that traces the evolution of a family from Camelot to Watergate using vintage footage from "American Bandstand." "Bandstand" host-producer Dick Clark is also an executive producer.

Studios USA also landed two additional script orders for "The Doctors Bloom," a drama from writers Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin revolving around a family of physicians.

NBC Studios was granted two additional script orders for "Ms. Miami," a Miami-based drama about a Latina cop, from writer Michael Duggan, and "Future Tense," a reality-bending action drama from writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach. Separately, sources said the WB Network gave a pickup to a Spelling Television drama "Brats" from writer Winnifred Hervey. The project, developed as part of a three-for-one put pilot commitment Spelling had with the WB, centers on a military family.

Music industry pins hope on Eminem, Net

Can badboy rapper Eminem succeed where Mariah Carey spectacularly failed last year -- score a hit record to revive the down-and-out music industry?

That is the burning question on the lips of music business honchos converging on Midem, the industry's annual get-together on the French Riviera this weekend.

Executives will be praying for fortune to smile on a line-up of superstar releases including Eminem, Christina Aguilera and the King, Elvis Presley, to resuscitate an industry reeling from 2001, the worst year on record.

Depending on their success, the $40 billion global music industry could shrink another three percent this year as consumers divert spending in a sagging economy, rattling the world's dominant five -- Universal, Sony Music, EMI, Warner Music and BMG.

"The music industry needs to re-invent itself. By 2005, we will be looking at a very different music industry than today," said Helen Snell, media analyst at Dutch bank ABN Amro.

Aside from frantic cost cutting and management overhauls, many are betting on the much-maligned Internet as a saviour even as they continue the fight against illicit online music.

Music executives hope nascent online sales will help drive the next wave of growth, as CDs did in the early 1990s, replacing cassette and vinyl music collections.

However, executives concede it could be years before online sales to take off. Merrill Lynch forecasts that total sales will remain at low-single digit growth before rising in 2005 to around 6.5 per cent when noticeable online revenues kick in.

"The task in 2002 is to clear some space so the legitimate online services can begin to operate," said Jay Berman, CEO of the music industry's trade body, the IFPI. However, he was unsure whether they would have any real impact this year.

Labels Fight Back: The major music labels have a new weapon in their arsenal this year: their own online music services MusicNet and Pressplay. But the buzz at Midem's digital music sister conference MidemNet will be on how they are progressing.

Reaction has been muted so far. Since the launch last month, music fans have aired complaints on Internet message boards, griping that MusicNet and Pressplay have features and a playlist that can't rival the illicit sites.

"I don't expect to see any significant uptake in the subscription services out there right now unless we see a dramatic change in what they are offering. As consumer propositions, they are far from appealing," said Snell.

Former industry nemesis Napster, now backed by BMG, will be reintroduced in coming weeks as a legitimate, pay service. Major retailers are also planning music download ventures.

While the industry has mixed feelings about the expected impact, the normally upbeat research firm Jupiter Media Metrix issued a reduced projection that online music sales will hit $5.5 billion by 2006, $700 million below an earlier estimate.

Wrestling The Piracy Beast: Illicit copying continues to wreak havoc in the industry even though Napster, the pirates' favourite trading post, was temporarily closed last year.

The IFPI put a value of $4.2 billion on pirated music in 2001, largely in the form of illicitly-copied or "burned" CDs and online piracy. The ratio of CDs sold to the number of CDs burned hit an all-time high of one-to-one last year.

"I'm convinced in my own mind that more people listened to music in 2001 than ever before. We just didn't get paid for it," said the IFPI's Berman. "We are beginning to address this (piracy) issue. We will do better in 2002 than 2001."

The gloom is compounded by the fact that music is competing with many forms of entertainment today.

Overall, global music sales tumbled an estimated 10 percent last year due mainly to an abysmal performance in the world's two biggest markets -- the United States and Japan.

With global economies still sluggish and regulators making it clear that further mergers among the top five will not be tolerated, music labels have been slashing costs to squeeze every last penny out of their businesses.

"The industry needs a long-term fix. But some big hits would help in the meantime," concluded one analyst.