^BC-ENTERTAINMENT
^Reuters/Variety Entertainment Summary
Damon Nabs ``Pretty'' Role
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Matt Damon will pocket a career-best haul of more than $5 million to star in ``All the Pretty Horses,'' to be directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Leonardo DiCaprio had been in talks for the starring role, but when it appeared the ``Titanic'' star was going to delay his decision, the producers went to Damon, who is reportedly a fan of the Cormac McCarthy novel on which the film is based. Damon takes on the role of a Texan who rides into Mexico in 1949 and falls for the daughter of a wealthy ranch owner. When the father has the cowboy thrown into prison, the resilient lad exacts justice and becomes a man by the time he returns to Texas.
DiCaprio Sued Over ``Plum'' Role
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - ``Titanic'' star Leonardo DiCaprio is being sued over a film he hopes his fans will never see. Independent producer David Stutman, who made a still-unreleased ultra-low-budget film called ``Don's Plum,'' is suing DiCaprio and actor Tobey Maguire (``The Ice Storm,''), claiming the two are blocking his ability to market and release the picture. The film is about a group of friends who gather at a diner as part of a regular ritual of coffee drinking, smoking and conversation about everything from drugs to masturbation. The film, which was partially improvised, was shot during six days in 1995 and 1996.
``Titanic'' Makers Apologize
LONDON (Reuters) - The makers of the Hollywood blockbuster ``Titanic'' marked the 86th anniversary of the night the mighty ship sank by apologizing to a Scottish town for turning its hero into a villain. Scott Neeson, vice-president of 20th Century Fox, went to Dalbeattie to deliver a personal apology to the 80-year-old nephew of William Murdoch, first officer of the Titanic. The Oscar-winning movie showed Murdoch taking a bribe, shooting a third-class passenger who tried to fight his way into a lifeboat and then turning his gun on himself. But he is described by historians as having done his utmost to save passengers as the liner sank after hitting an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912.
Fonda Cites Ga. Problems
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Actress Jane Fonda says her adopted home state of Georgia is in some ways like a developing country, with the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the United States and children starving to death in some areas. Fonda addressed a roundtable at the United Nations about her work with the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention. The wife of media tycoon Ted Turner cited poverty and low high school graduation rates as reasons for some of the problems.
Midler Eyes Show Biz Project
NEW YORK (Variety) - Bette Midler and All GirlProds. partner Bonnie Bruckheimer have made a deal to develop ``Show Business Kills'' as a starring vehicle for Midler at Fox 2000. The film is an adaptation of a darkly comic noveby Iris Rainer Dart, who wrote ``Beaches.'' W.D. Richter is adapting the novel, which will be produced by Bruckheimer. Midler will play a woman who endeavors to conquer Hollywood, mainly to get back at her former college roommates, all of whom have achieved varying degrees of success within the entertainment business.
'Boys R Us' Set
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Gillian Armstrong, the Australian director of such films as ``My Brilliant Career'' and ``Little Women,'' is set to start work on ``Boys R Us'' in the late summer or early fall. Described as ``The First Wives Club'' meets ``The Full Monty,'' the 20th Century Fox picture tells the story of two female friends who open a brothel catering to women on a summer island resort. It was written by Julie Talen, whose other credits include the script ``A Simple Lesbian Wedding'' (now titled ``A Simple Wedding''), which is set up at Columbia Pictures. Armstrong last directed Fox Searchlight's ``Oscar and Lucinda'' starring Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett.
Keying Up For Piano Story
NEW YORK (Variety) - New Line Cinema and producer Cary Woods have joined forces to turn the life of ghetto-born piano prodigy DeWitt White into an inner-city version of ``Shine.'' Woods Entertainment and New Line beat out other suitors for the life story of White, a bonafide classical piano genius killed selling crack at age 17. New Line is looking for an A-list filmmaker to bring White's story to life.
Lavin Takes on ``Bloom''
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Linda Lavin will depart her role of Mrs. Van Daan in ``The Diary of Anne Frank'' April 29 to wing to Hollywood for the pilot of NBC's ``Conrad Bloom'' for two weeks, not returning to Broadway until July. Variety's Army Archerd says Lavin, who sold her Malibu house -- and bought four homes in Wilmington, N.C. -- will commute between her New York apartment, the hoped-for series in L.A. and her North Carolina home. In the new series, she plays Conrad's mother. This would be her third series following ''Alice'' and ``Room for 2''.
ABC Yanks ``Push''
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - ABC has yanked the midseason drama ``Push'' after the show fell to the network's lowest rating on record in the Monday 8-9 p.m. timeslot. ``Push'' revolved around the lives and loves of college athletes in ruthless pursuit of Olympic gold. With ``Push'' off the schedule, ABC has now pulled every new drama it launched this season. The network had high hopes for the Columbia TriStar series, and sources at ABC say it may be relaunched this summer, a view echoed by an advisory on the network's ABC.com website.
Joffe's ``Lover'' Joins Cannes
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - The ranks of Hollywood studio pictures in the Cannes Film Festival have been bolstered by the addition of ``Goodbye, Lover,'' a comic thriller directed by Roland Joffe (``The Killing Fields''). The movie about an insurance fraud scheme will be screened as part of the official ompetition. It stars Patricia Arquette, Dermot Mulroney, Ellen DeGeneres, Mary-Louise Parker and Don Johnson. Warner Bros. is scheduled to release it domestically in September.
^REUTERS