New ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne Has No Problem Finding Projects

Paramount has optioned William J. Forstchen's eight-part, time-traveling sci-fi action series "The Lost Regiment" for C/W Prods., the studio-based shingle of Tom Cruise and production partner Paula Wagner.

The first installment in the series, "Rally Cry," told of a Civil War regiment swept in a time warp to a futuristic world where humans are slaughtered like cattle. It was published in 1990. The last volume in the series, "Men of War," appeared in 1999.

The studio has an option on all eight books, but Wagner said C/W is still considering how the project will be developed. She described it as "a character-based action-adventure about an ordinary man who ultimately struggles to save humanity."

The books, which have gone straight to paperback, have a dedicated following among sci-fi fans. But they were largely unknown to creative execs in Hollywood until the Cruise/Wagner acquisition.

That's characteristic of some sci-fi, said Jim Minz, an editor at Forge Books, which is releasing Forstchen's latest novel, "We Look Like Men of War," a historical novel about an African-American regiment in the Civil War.

"Sci fi often doesn't register on people's radar until the movie happens," said Minz. A history professor at Montreat College in North Carolina, Forstchen is a prolific writer, but he's never optioned a book to Hollywood.

Acme Entertainment, which brokered his deal, is in talks to develop some of his books as video games. "We saw him as a really talented guy who has properties that cross all media," said Acme's Kevin Cleary and Josh Morris.

	A Band of Brothers William R. Forstch...

	Men of War William R. Forstch...

	Down to the Sea William R. Forstch...

	End Run Christopher Stashe...

	Battle Hymn R. William Forstch...

	Rally Cry William R. Forstch...

	Never Sound Retreat William R. Forstch...

	The Union Forever William R. Forstch...

	Magic the Gathering William R. Forstch...

Ewan McGregor Comes Down With Love For Zellweger

Ewan McGregor will join Renee Zellweger in "Down With Love," a comedy that pays homage to the Doris Day-Rock Hudson capers such as "Pillow Talk" and "Lover Come Back."

Filming begins in mid-May with Peyton Reed ("Bring It On") directing. The Fox picture is the first project for producers Dan Jinks and Dan Cohen since their Academy Award-winning debut film, "American Beauty." For the follow-up, they chose the twisted romantic comedy written by Eve Ahlert and Dennis Drake.

It so closely follows those sweet romance films that they've actually built in scenes that take place in cars, just so audiences can see the process shots of a fake background passing behind them. The film is set in New York during the '60s.

McGregor will play the role of Catcher Block, who's described as man's man, ladies' man, man about town. He is currently in theaters with "Black Hawk Down."

Michael Bay cranks up "Chainsaw" remake

"Pearl Harbor" director Michael Bay's new low-budget production company is developing a remake of the horror cult classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

The film is set for a spring start. The director of the original 1974 film, Tobe Hooper, is writing a draft with his original co-writer, Kim Henkel, but no final decision has been made on the writer or director of the remake.

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" told the gory tale of five 20-somethings who fall into the clutches of a monstrous clan of Texas cannibals and find themselves being whittled away by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface. The film spawned three feature sequels, at least two behind-the-scenes documentaries and a Teutonic copycat, "The German Chainsaw Massacre."

Bay formed his Platinum Dunes banner last November, and has a first-look deal with music mogul Ted Field's Radar Pictures, which will fully finance the remake. For now, Bay has shot a three-minute promo reel, which foreign sales agent Good Machine Intl. will use as a sales tool at the upcoming American Film Market in Santa Monica.

Cineville has acquired Alphawave

Indie production and distribution shingle Cineville has acquired the rights to screenwriter Christopher Okum's spec "Alphawave."

The picture, which will be directed by Cineville principal Carl Colpaert, is an offbeat comedy about a misfit teen, subjected to the misguidance of adult authority figures, who finds salvation and love in an emotionally troubled young woman. Shooting is scheduled to start this fall.

"We are thrilled to be working with Chris on this inspired project.," said Colpaert. "It's full of irony, reminiscent of the old Hal Ashby comedies, and Chris' ideas are incredibly insightful and timely." Colpaert's directing credits include "Delusion," "The Crew," and "Drowning on Dry Land."

Will Smith signs acting, production pact with Sony

Actor Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment banner has signed a three-year, first-look deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment, which released his current film "Ali."

The arrangement calls for Smith to star in and/or produce features for the studio, which will also release his summer sequel "Men In Black 2." Overbrook, which Smith runs with partner James Lassiter, previously held a deal with Universal Pictures.

"Ali," released on Christmas Day, has grossed a disappointing $58 million to date in North America.

In a statement, Smith and Lassiter said, "Home is a place where you feel completely comfortable, and you get unconditional support, and (Sony-owned) Columbia Pictures has been that place to us for many years."

Responded Columbia Pictures president Amy Pascal, "We don't want to just make films starring Will Smith. We want to be in the Will Smith business and with this deal, we are committing to an artist and a producer who share our commercial and creative taste."

Joseph Fiennes To Play Martin Luther

UK actor Joseph Fiennes has signed up to play religious reformer Martin Luther in a $10m feature film biopic to be directed by Eric Till.

Luther, the story of a simple monk challenging the political and religious leadership of his time will also feature Peter Ustinov, Bruno Ganz, Mathieu Carriere, Uwe Ochsenknecht, August Diehl, Jochen Horst and Benjamin Sadler. It begins shooting in February at original historical locations in Brandenburg, central Germany, Bavaria, Italy and the Czech Republic.

The project reunites Canadian-born director Till with the Berlin-based NFP Neue Filmproduktion. They previously worked together two years ago on Bonhoeffer – Agent Of Grace about the Second World War resistance figure and priest Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Luther is being produced by NFP in association with the US partner Aid Association for Lutherans, and the ARD network’s Degeto Film, with additional financing from the Federal German Film Board (FFA), Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung MDM and Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

"With this film, we are making our leap to the big screen", said executive producer Alexander Thies. "Our aim is to produce important historical stories for an international market with a focus on North America."

New ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne Has No Problem Finding Projects

In ABC's first major development moves under new entertainment president Susan Lyne, the network has picked up seven drama pilots and four comedy pilots, a list that includes projects from such notable writers and producers as Larry Gelbart, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, Tom Shadyac, John Ridley and Marc Platt.

Development has become a priority for ABC brass this season as the network's ratings hit the skids with the decline of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and most of the network's established comedies.

Even though Lyne came on board very late in the development cycle, she said she had no problem finding projects worthy of pilot orders.

"The issue was not trying to find things that we wanted to make; it was trying to narrow down the choices based on what we really thought we could schedule and launch," she said.

In a sign of the vertically integrated times in primetime, nine of the 11 projects come from ABC's sibling studio Touchstone Television, one hails from Studios USA, and the other is from 20th Century Fox TV and Industry Entertainment.

The Touchstone-heavy slate raised eyebrows around town, with rival networks suggesting that ABC would do well to cast a wide net at a time when the network desperately needs new hits. But in fact, Touchstone has been on a roll, particularly in comedy with ABC's "My Wife & Kids" and "According to Jim" and NBC's "Scrubs."

"It's a long process between now and May" when the new shows will be selected, Touchstone president Stephen McPherson said. "We're just thrilled to have all these opportunities. Development is always a tricky game -- a lot of it is betting on the right people."

In sifting through the development projects she inherited from former ABC Entertainment co-chairman Stu Bloomberg, who exited the network earlier this month, Lyne said she didn't even look at the name of the producing studio when reading the scripts.

"I was looking for the pilots that to me seemed to have the best chance of taking off," Lyne said. "Touchstone has had a great development year, so they do end up with the lion's share of our drama development, but for all the right reasons."

In the drama arena, writer-producer Gelbart, of "M*A*S*H" fame, has penned and will executive produce an untitled soap pilot for Touchstone TV that centers on a sprawling family.

ABC had previously ordered the drama pilots "That Was Then," about a man who goes back in time to high school; DreamWorks TV/Touchstone's Rod Lurie project; Spyglass/Touchstone's "Miracles"; and an untitled John Ridley project from Touchstone. The network also is poised to give a cast-contingent pilot order to an untitled Touchstone drama project about a big-city mayor from writer/executive producer Charles Randolph, pending deals with co-producers Brad Grey TV and Miramax TV.

While it is unlikely that the network will order more dramas, ABC will order at least as many comedies, Lyne said, adding that she is looking for "family comedies with a very distinct voice." ABC greenlit Touchstone TV projects from Ridley ("Three Kings"), David Litt ("The King of Queens"), Jay Scherick and David Ronn ("I Spy") and Tracy Gamble ("Home Improvement").

Ridley's untitled comedy project is an interracial love story, which he wrote and will executive produce with Wass and Stein, while the Scherick and Ronn comedy, which the two wrote and will executive produce with Rodrigue, centers on three couples in their 30s. Scherick and Ronn also have another private detective comedy starring Danny Comden in contention for the fall.

Litt wrote and will executive produce with Wass and Stein "Regular Joe," a family comedy about a happy "empty nester" and his wife whose life changes when their daughter returns home with a baby.

"8 Simple Rules," based on W. Bruce Cameron's book "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," centers on a protective dad raising his teenage daughters. Gamble wrote the script and will executive produce with Flody Suarez and Shadyac.

Also in contention for the fall are Brad Grey TV/Touchstone's comedy "Dexter Prep" and Jersey TV/Touchstone's "Funkhausers," which were initially developed for midseason.

LEGAL; Dirty doings charged on 'Planet'

An extra who worked on the set of "Planet of the Apes" is suing Fox Entertainment Group and Entertainment Partner Service Group Inc., charging the companies with fraud and deceit, battery, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and unlawful business practice.

The suit was filed by Jeffrey Clark in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday on behalf of all the extras who participated in the special-effects dust scenes on the set of the picture.

The suit alleges that the extras were not supplied with respiratory protection masks and were exposed to hazardous materials for extended periods of time while filming dust storm scenes. The allegedly hazardous material was described in the suit as Fuller's Earth, also known as pyrolite. The suit alleges that pyrolite contains a carcinogen, crystalline silica, which was kicked up into the air by at least 10 wind machines, and subsequently inhaled by the extras.

"Defendants knew or should have known that the product they used can cause silicosis, which is very similar in effect to asbestosis and can take literally years to appear in individuals who have been exposed," the suit alleges. The suit continues: "Defendants' conduct has caused plaintiffs physical injuries in the form of irritation, both acute and chronic, to the lungs and respiratory system and the introduction of a carcinogen into the lungs, which may have already caused or has the potential to cause prospectively lung cancer in the said plaintiffs."

Plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages and an injunction that each of the plaintiffs that meet the criteria of the class of extras be identified and provided with medical care and respiratory monitoring.

According to the suit, the scenes in question took place at the site of Trona Pinnacles in California between Jan. 28-March 23, 2001.

A Fox spokeswoman had not yet seen the suit and declined comment. No representative of Entertainment Partner Service Group could be reached for comment. Clark is being represented in the case by Neal Fialkow.

BFI appoints London Film Festival boss

The British Film Institute has appointed Adrian Wootton, formerly the director of the Regus London Film Festival, as its new deputy director.

Wootton will be responsible for overseeing the management of the BFI's educational and cultural operations. The new post will also provide artistic direction for the BFI's key departments of Collections, Education and Exhibition.

Wootton was previously head of BFI Exhibition, which includes the National Film Theatre and provides support for regional cinemas across the UK. He descrubed the appointment as "a fantastic opportunity to be given the responsibility for leading the cultural operations of the Institute, to strengthen and develop our activities for the general public and our partners throughout the UK and around the world."

Wootton has been director of the Regus London Film Festival for the last five years and will now become executive director. His deputy Sandra Hebron will take up the newly-created post of acting artistic director of the RLFF.

Wootton still has plans for the festival. "I'd love to see the festival's international status grow and for it to become even more meaningful for Londoners. I want it to have the infrastructure and the facilities to help that growth be sustained in a very real way."

Miramax Films Has Taken A Minority Share In Stewart Till's Signpost Films

Miramax Films has taken a minority share in Stewart Till's Signpost Films as part of a deal to handle US distribution for the would-be studio.

Miramax will have the first option on US rights to Signpost titles and has agreed to release a minimum number of films. The Weinsteins' powerhouse is understood to have a stake in Signpost of just under 10%, although it is to pay for the holding over a period of time out of the pre-agreed amounts it stumps up for Signpost films rather than hand over any cash up front.

MGM was also circling Signpost, but appears to have hesitated over Christmas as it emerged that the studio might be sold. Signpost has a production deal with Charles Roven’s Atlas Entertainment, which has a first-look deal with MGM that will continue for the time being. Canada's CDP, which is Signpost's main backer, has a small stake in MGM.

"In the US our strategy has always been to put our product through an existing distributor," said Till. "After discussions with several studios, I could not be more delighted that we have come to this agreement with Miramax. Its reputation for aggressive, creative and effective distribution is second to none."

Till plans to distribute his own films in major international territories, setting up distribution on a territory-by-territory basis. Sales to the remaining international territories will be handled in-house.

The former PolyGram Filmed Entertainment international chief aims to make four to six films in its first year, expanding its output to up to forty films in the first five years with an estimated production and distribution spend of over $2 billion. The venture is encompass to films ranging from big budget event movies to lower budget niche-driven fare.

"We anticipate great things from Signpost," said Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of Miramax.