DeVito does double duty; Love troubles
The start date will depend upon landing DeVito's co-star and the schedule of "Man on the Moon," the Andy Kaufman biopic that Milos Forman will direct at Universal. DeVito's Jersey Films is producing that film, and he's committed to star as his "Taxi" pal's manager, George Shapiro. The short list to play Kaufman in the U pic has been narrowed to Jim Carrey, Nicolas Cage, Edward Norton and John Cusack, sources said.
So while "Barthe" is firm as DeVito's next directing assignment, it will either start production before or immediately after DeVito finishes his acting work in "Moon," which is slated for a summer start.
"Barthe" was originally scripted by Barton Randall, and DeVito has brought in his "War of the Roses" scribe Michael Leeson. It's the whimsical story of an alien from a far-off planet who comes to Earth trying to find his true love, who fled thinking he'd deceived her. "It's a beautiful story, the idea that love conquers all," said DeVito.
"I play the only cynic in the movie, a reporter who works for a tabloid magazine, and my forte is writing about extraordinary things," said DeVito. Reminded that he'd just played a sleazemongering reporter in "L.A. Confidential," DeVito said his journo portrayals are markedly different.
"This guy's not a scandal monger like Sid was in 'L.A. Confidential,' " DeVito assured. "Here, I write about the boy who glows in the dark, Bigfoot, an incredible 220-year-old sage, the wolf boy of Borneo. He's a guy who once believed in extraordinary things, who loses that and maybe has it restored when he least expects it. And as far as journalism, you guys have been so nice to me, I'm only happy to return the favor."
It's DeVito's first directing effort since his adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Matilda," which grossed over $100 million worldwide and won awards in several children's festivals.
COURTING CONTROVERSY: There was bad news and good news for documentarian Nick Broomfield. The bad news: His documentary "Kurt and Courtney" has been placed on ice by the Sundance Film Festival for fear of a lawsuit over music rights infringement. The good news: Broomfield's film might well have a new ending.
The British-born Broomfield, best known for the docu "Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam," worked three years on a film that evolved from a biopic of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain into an overall look at his life with wife Courtney Love, the Hole lead singer who became an actress after her husband committed suicide.
Broomfield said Love has fought him every step of the way, and chalked up the latest development to her efforts. Sundance is-sued a statement claiming the unresolved music rights made it impossible for the fest to show the film and not get sued. And Love spokeswoman Pat Kingsley said Broomfield didn't tie up the necessary music rights and would certainly have gotten the festival -- and himself -- in hot water.
At issue was a performance in the movie of the Nirvana song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and the Hole tune "Doll Parts," which Broomfield said he got rights to from the BBC, which broadcast the tunes on "Top of the Pops." Though he insisted the fest was in no danger, Broomfield said he offered to cut the two songs to preserve the film's premiere, to no avail.
"The Sundance statement that they were liable is incorrect, because they were covered by the errors and omissions policy by my insurance carrier, which was prepared to extend coverage to them when they first got a letter of legal action from EMI," Broomfield said.
Commenting on his disappointment about the festival's decision, the filmmaker added, "I'm not 100% surprised, because the subtext of the film is how hard it is to make a film about entertainment personalities because of issues of control. In Courtney's case, that has been extreme. With the money and influence of managers and publicists, it's hard to do an objective piece that tells the truth.
"I believe I have made an accurate and truthful piece of investigative journalism that, for some reason, Courtney Love does not want to be seen."
Broomfield is somewhat philosophical about the setback. "This is agonizing, but it will become part of the film and will make a better ending. And I'll be doing a bit more skiing than I'd anticipated."
TITANIC ISSUES: "Titanic's" $300 million worldwide gross so far might be the tip of the iceberg of its total, since it just opened foreign and has serious potential to accumulate Oscar hardware. Now that the film appears a lock to not only recoup but make money, the big question is whether Fox and/or Paramount will move to reinstate the backend of the film's director, James Cameron.
Cameron proved in the past he makes better films than deals when he sold "Terminator" for $1 to producer Gale Anne Hurd for a guarantee he'd direct. When the "Titanic" budget began to soar toward double its original $100 million tab, Cameron kept a small salary advance but waived not only the rest of his upfront fee, but his entire gross participation. He did it to show Fox's Peter Chernin that the exec wasn't the only guy with his neck stretched on the block.
Chernin and Fox stood behind Cameron when many studios wouldn't have, and the studio's faith might pay off in the corporate coffers. And Paramount, which landed domestic rights for $65 million, stands an even better chance of making money. But unless his backend is restored, Cameron will have spent three years working for peanuts to make what may end up being one of the biggest hits ever. Nobody was commenting on finances, but Dish is prepared to spearhead a Compensate Cameron campaign.
And "Titanic's" proving to be lucrative on the book racks as well as the theater. The HarperCollins companion book "James Cameron's Titanic" will hit No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list this weekend. It's nearly unheard of for these kinds of books to even reach bestseller status.
