Penelope Cruz, Jessica Lange and Luke Wilson are 'Masked & Anonymous

Penelope Cruz, Jessica Lange and Luke Wilson will star opposite Bob Dylan in "Masked & Anonymous," with Jeff Bridges also in negotiations to join the cast.

The Intermedia Films project marks the feature directorial debut of "Seinfeld" writer-producer Larry Charles.

Written by Rene Fontaine and Sergy Petrov and based on Enrique Morales' unpublished short story "Los Vientos del Destino," "Masked & Anonymous" tells the story of a singer (Dylan) who has fallen from grace and is forced to return to the stage for a final benefit concert. The film is slated to go into production this July in Los Angeles.

'The Day After Tomorrow' for Universal, Fox, Paramount Or….?

Universal, Fox and Paramount are the frontrunners in the ferocious bidding battle for "The Day After Tomorrow," a spec script for a big-budget, high-concept sci-fi film in which the world is ravaged by global warming

The picture will be directed by Roland Emmerich, who nearly destroyed the world once already, with aliens in "Independence Day." Emmerich hatched the idea, and wrote the script with Jeffrey Nachmanoff, a director whose credits include "Hollywood Palms" and "The Big Gig." The story revolves around an abrupt climate change that has dramatic consequences for the world.

Other studios were still reading the script late Wednesday and may join those studios in the lightning round, but it appears likely that Emmerich will have a greenlight for a fall start. The bidding battle comes on the heels of a spec script frenzy for "Hawaii Five-O," which, like "Day After Tomorrow," was sold with a ticking clock.

It recalls a time when studios battled into the night on spec scripts, with the winner paying millions of dollars to scribes like Shane Black and Joe Eszterhas for edgy, sexy actioners that could be put into the pipeline quickly. The positive reception given both "Day" and "Five-O" may portend a renaissance for showy material sales.

Then again, Hollywood continues loading up on derivative sequels and remakes. Executives may be pouncing on the first inspired high concept spec to come along in some time, perhaps to show the world that studios have not run out of original ideas after all.

For Emmerich, "The Day After Tomorrow" spec script auction is also reminiscent of another that was supervised by the same agent, Creative Artists Agency's Michael Wimer, and that resulted in one of the most lucrative spec deals of all time.

Back in February 1995, Wimer came to market with "Independence Day," a sci-fi spectacle with an irresistible marketing hook that promised the world would end on July 4, the weekend the movie would open. Studios were asked to guarantee a greenlight and start pre-production immediately so Emmerich and then-partner Dean Devlin could hatch a cutting-edge alien invasion that nearly destroys the world and have it in theaters 17 months later. Fox beat out four other studios by agreeing to pay-or-play fees of $7.5 million to the filmmakers and a $40 million below-the-line budget. That number swelled, but the auction proved to be a great bargain for Fox, as "Independence Day" was one of the biggest grossing films ever, with $900 million worldwide.

Brett Ratner In Early Negotiations

Brett Ratner ("Rush Hour 2") is in early negotiations to direct "Paycheck," a futuristic tale of a man who has part of his memory erased.

Scribe Dean Georgaris adapted the Paramount Pictures project from a short story by Philip K. Dick

In "Paycheck," the protaganist must seek clues to his whereabouts for the past two years and use the information to uncover a government secret.

Before its development at Paramount, Dick's short story was set up at Disney via Roger Birnbaum's now-defunct Caravan Pictures. Ratner is preparing to wrap the "Silence of the Lambs" prequel "Red Dragon" for Universal.

'A Gentleman’s Game' For First Look

First Look Media has acquired worldwide rights to A Gentleman’s Game, a drama set in the world of golf and featuring Gary Sinise, Philip Baker Hall, Dylan Baker and Mason Gamble. The film is directed by J Mills Goodloe, who co-wrote the screenplay with Tom Coyne, on whose novel it is based. Producer is Kimberly Braswell.

The film is a coming-of-age story about a 13 year-old golfing prodigy struggling to understand himself, his family and his talent while coming to grips with what it means to be pure in golf and in life.

First Look’s international sales division Overseas Filmgroup will be handling the film at Cannes under First Look co-chairman Robbie Little and Overseas sales chiefs Brian O’Shea and Liz Mackiewicz. The deal for the film was negotiated by Peter Lawson of First Look and Tim Connors of APG.

"Mills Goodloe does a great job in using golf as a metaphor for the hard lessons a boy learns on his way to becoming a man," said Robbie Little in a statement. "The game of golf is at its highest peak as a worldwide professional sport, which should make A Gentleman's Game a film that audiences all over the world can appreciate."

Overseas’ busy Cannes slate includes Bruce Beresford’s "Evelyn" starring and produced by Pierce Brosnan, Edoardo Ponti’s "Between Strangers" starring Ponti’s mother Sophia Loren, Mira Sorvino and Gerard Depardieu, Agnieszka Holland’s "Julie Walking Home" and John Boorman’s upcoming "Knight’s Castle"

Steven Dworman, Makes Film Musical Based on His Messy Divorce

Go ahead. Laugh at Steven Dworman's messy divorce. He wants you to. Dworman, who runs an infomercial and advertising business, turned the story of his marriage's breakup into a cathartic comedy called "Divorce, the Musical."

The novice filmmaker bankrolled, wrote, directed and starred in the $1.5-million, 86-minute movie. And now he has rented a Santa Monica theater--five blocks from his ex-wife's home--and blanketed the Westside with fliers and signs on the sides of buses to entice people to see it. To the surprise of some, more than 3,000 have bought tickets in the last two weeks--some returning to see it more than once.

Now after selling half his infomercial and advertising consulting business to finance "Divorce, the Musical," Dworman -- a fledgling filmmaker who weathered the hospitalization of his teenage star, the walkout of his crew mid-way through production, and a malfunctioning camera that created a line through many of the shots which he hired a special effects company to fix frame-by-frame -- hopes he will break even. And maybe even win a distribution deal.

And possibly a contract to produce and direct another film, with a much bigger budget, on somebody else's dime, he said.

"This certainly wasn't a revenge story. That was the farthest thing from my mind," Dworman, 46 "My goal since I was 7 was to be able to make a film. It's something I wanted to do my entire life. This was probably the most painful thing I've ever gone through. I felt with one out of two families going through something like this ... it needed to be talked about in a way that was entertaining."

Although Dworman graduated from University of California Los Angeles film school he said he never pursued a career in filmmaking -- opting instead to work as a trade journalist writing newsletters and ad supplements on the infomercial and advertising businesses -- until his second wife left him. And a good friend died three years ago of cancer.

"That was my wake-up call. I decided to jump off the cliff not knowing how far down the ground was," he said.

CAST OF 60

The $1.5 million, 86-minute musical film features a cast of 60, including 20 children, with original music by Alan O'Day, who sang the '70s hit song "Undercover Angel," and a score by former Ray Charles guitarist Don Peake. The daughter is played by actress Anneliese van der Pol.

Among the many musical numbers is a Busby Berkeley-style scene in which dancers resemble human sperms and eggs.

The movie, which runs through Thursday and has received mixed reviews, closely parallel's Dworman's life in that it chronicles a man's bitter divorce and subsequent effort to win the affection of his 14-year-old daughter, whose mind, he believes, has been poisoned against him by the ex-wife.

The film's lead character, a television infomercial producer, thinks he can accomplish this by heeding a shrink's advice to produce a musical about divorce that will showcase his daughter's acting and singing talent.

He hires a burned-out '70s musician to create original music, and a pack of kids to perform rock musical numbers. The pivotal song in the film, sung by the daughter character, is titled "Open Your Heart," said Dworman, who wrote the lyrics.

"I think that's the hardest thing when you're going through this terrible battle, is to keep your heart open," he said.

Only Dworman's movie, like many others, has a happy ending that does not necessarily mimic real life. The character finds a Russian girlfriend who steers him toward a new, lucrative business. They marry. And they have another daughter.

None of those things have happened in real life, said Dworman, who doesn't think his ex or his daughter will go to see his film.

As for his daughter, who is now 17: "Right now we're still not talking," he said. "The main issue is she's still angry over the visitation and custody battles (Dworman said he gave up fighting for custody) and she took issue with my ex-wife being portrayed as having the face of a lizard." "I explained to her that was the way that the father saw her because he was angry at her," Dworman said.

Television: Clinton Discussing Own TV Talk Show

(Reuters) - Former President Bill Clinton has met with NBC executives in Los Angeles to discuss hosting his own talk show, according to several television sources, The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday.

Although the talks are only preliminary, one source said Clinton's interest was serious and said he was demanding a fee of $50 million a year and had aspirations "of becoming the next Oprah Winfrey," the paper said.

NBC officials would not comment on Wednesday, and Clinton's office in New York did not respond to an inquiry about the prospective talk show.

Television industry sources say chances are slim that Clinton would commit to such a plan once he understands the demands of the job, the Times said. The 55-year-old former president has told some Hollywood executives who have asked about a potential TV career that the rumors are untrue.

Television executives doubted that Clinton would sign up for a demanding regimen of daily tapings for 39 weeks that such a show would require.

There is no precedent for such a TV deal with a former president, the paper said, although Richard Nixon stirred controversy in 1975 when talk show host David Frost paid him $600,000 for a series of interviews.

The Times said there was also speculation in TV circles this week that Clinton was meeting with CBS. But Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS Television, said his company has had no meeting with the former president and called the idea of a Clinton talk show ridiculous.

Clinton has been making a handsome living since leaving the White House from speeches that pay $125,000 to $300,000 apiece. That is on top of his $12 million book deal.

Music: Kenny Chesney Rules Pop, Country Charts

Kenny Chesney's new album debuted at No. 1 simultaneously on the Billboard pop and country album charts, a spokesman for his label said.

"No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" sold more than 235,000 copies in its first week of release. That established milestones for him, BNA Records and the RCA Label Group-Nashville.

This is also the first time that a label group has achieved two No. 1 pop album chart debuts in the same year, an RCA Label Group-Nashville executive said.

"I'm a lucky guy," he said, thanking his fans, and crediting the team at his label for making his dreams come true.

The summer amphitheater leg of the "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" Tour kicks off next week in Birmingham, Ala.

Before his latest release, the Luttrell, Tenn., native had scored back-to-back double platinum records with "Everywhere We Go" and "Greatest Hits." His top songs include "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy," "I Lost It," "Fall in Love," "How Forever Feels" and "Don't Happen Twice."

Finance: Macquarie Nine Film And Television Investment Fund Receives Tax Product Ruling

The Macquarie Nine Film and Television Investment Fund has received a favourable product ruling from the Australian Taxation Office (Product Ruling PR 2002/51).

The Ruling confirms investors in the Fund will receive a 100% tax deduction for their subscription amount, spread over three years, under Divisions 10B & 10BA of the Income Tax Assessment Act.

The ruling is unique because:

For the first time it covers not just a single product but a portfolio of film and television products.
It combines both 10B and 10BA provisions, incorporating both the guaranteed income provisions and the financing provisions into one package.
The product ruling also covers taxation implications for investors who wish to finance their investment using a loan facility to be provided by Macquarie Bank to approved investors.

The Macquarie Nine Film and Television Investment Fund offers investors an opportunity to invest in a commercially selected portfolio of Australian film and television productions.

The Fund is seeking to raise a maximum of $62.5 million, with a minimum of $20 million. The minimum investment to participate in the fund is $5,275 and it intends to capitalise on the universal growth of filmed entertainment, where global box office has grown at an average of 6.2 per cent per annum from 1995 to 2000.

The Fund is supported by Nine Films and Television Pty Limited, a subsidiary of the Nine Network, which is offering a unique guaranteed minimum income to investors equal to 50% of their subscription amount. In Australia and New Zealand, Hoyts will distribute the films and the Nine Network will broadcast the projects.

Macquarie is offering the option of a full recourse loan facility to approved investors for up to 100% of their application amount. The loan will have a term of five years and the interest rate will be fixed for the term at 8.9% per annum.

The Macquarie Nine Film and Television Investment Fund offers investors access to a 100 per cent tax deduction spread over three years, under divisions 10B and 10BA of the Income Tax Assessment Act.

The Fund will invest half of the funds raised in Australian films and the other half to be invested in a number of television series. The projects have been chosen on their commercial potential as well as the experience and track record of the producers involved. The projects vary in genre and budget level but all have been selected for their potential to generate returns for investors.