DreamWorks is prepping Hell Bent, an effects comedy about a tobacco executive whose primary responsibility is selling cigarettes to kids. When his disgusted wife pushes him out of his window to his death, hell is the next stop and he, of course, fits right in. You all have read Rough Cut Daily’s Pact With The Devil. Well, here’s your chance. What show business people — star, executive or job title — do you think are one window push away from running the city that never extinguishes? E-mail me your candidates and the reasons. The best entrant will win their very own slot on The Hot Button.
The Jackal may have been number one at the box office this week, but the road was as twisted off-screen as on. You may remember the controversy over the original title, “The Day of the Jackal,” which was meant by Universal to make the new version seem like a remake of the 1973 classic directed by Fred Zinnemann. Fred objected strenuously after reading the screenplay by Kevin JarrŽ. At the time, producer Jim Jacks defended the changes in the screenplay as part of the artistic genius of JarrŽ, the writer of Tombstone and Glory. “Why the IRA character?” I asked. “Kevin’s Irish,” was Jack’s response. “Why a Richard Gere-type rather than the frumpy government guy?” “Kevin thought The Jackal was so charismatic that we needed someone equally as charismatic.” Cut to the release of the movie. Universal settles with Zinnemann, who sadly passes away before the movie is done. It’s called The Jackal. And as far as Kevin JarrŽ? His name is nowhere near the credits, displaced by Chuck Pfarrer, the genius who brought us Hard Target, Barb Wire and Navy S.E.A.L.S. Fickle business, huh?
Sony chief John Calley is prepping the studios first Bond movie for 1999. MGM is suing. Which company is going to get the Goldfinger? Who knows? Sony’s already snuck around MGM and snagged the prize. Now MGM has Sony in the war room, threatening its life. Soon, Sony will be hung over a tank of sharks, hog-tied to Sharon Stone in a string bikini. That watch you’re wearing had better be more than a standard issue Rolex, Mr. Calley.
Anything on that movie mind of yours? E-mail me your thoughts.