Barrymore surrenders to 'Dorothy'; Garland glut
The film's being written by Tracy Fraim and Art Elder Brown, who scripted the Barrymore starrer "Best Men" for New Line. Barrymore and her Flower Films partner Nancy Juvonen will produce with Robert Kosberg and Chuck Roven.
"It's not a remake and not a sequel but a new twist on a classic story, where Drew is going to play a distant version of Dorothy," said Kosberg, who hatched the idea and brought it to Barrymore and Juvonen after setting up "Born to Shop" with them at Fox 2000.
"I'm not going back to the Emerald City and it's not Judy Garland of 1939; my character is more a metaphor for the original," Barrymore said. "It's smart and it stands on its own, whether you saw the original or not."
The story deals with a woman once again being tempted and tormented by an evil witch. Kosberg, Barrymore and Juvonen pitched the project to WB production prexys Lorenzo DiBonaventura and Billy Gerber. Courtenay Valenti will steer it. The writers were repped by agent Emile Gladstone, with Doug Draizin managing Brown. Barrymore is repped by William Morris' Brian Gersh and attorney Steve Warren.
JUDY, JUDY, JUDY: Aside from Barrymore's plan to play the Judy Garland-originated role of Dorothy, there's a horserace on a trio of biopics in the works about the "Oz" star. Last week, "Cinderella" producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced a four-hour miniseries for ABC based on the upcoming Lorna Luft book "Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir."
There are also two high-profile feature projects about Garland in the offing, one of which also has familial ties. Illusion Entertainment and Lindsay Law's Fox Searchlight are developing "Rainbow's End," a Garland biopic based on the Coyne Steven Sanders book. Producers Dan Halsted and Oliver Stone have aligned with Garland's ex-husband and manager Sid Luft, who'll help shepherd the project as executive producer. The film's envisioned as an edgy "All That Jazz"-style look at the later years of Garland's life, with John Maas ("The Devil and Daniel Webster") writing the script. They'll be looking for a director shortly.
At the same time, Dish hears that Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese have quietly been working on a Garland biopic that Scorsese might direct for DreamWorks. The script's being written by John Logan, who wrote the acclaimed but unproduced "RKO 281," the film about Orson Welles' battle with William Randolph Hearst to make "Citizen Kane."
MADONNA READS: After a Golden Globe-winning title portrayal in "Evita," Madonna may finally be close to committing to her next project. This time, she's not singing. Madonna did a reading last week of the lead female role in "The Red Door," an indie film that tells the story of a brother and sister who, raised by an abusive father, grow apart. They're forced to confront their demons and reconcile when he's near death from AIDS. Mattia Karel ("Cadillac Dreams") is directing, Alan Safron produces, and the hope is to be in production by summer.
FORSTERING A COMEBACK: Robert Forster, whose career was pulled out of deep freeze by "Jackie Brown" director Quentin Tarantino, continues his career thaw. Forster is in talks with Dimension Films to join Jamie Lee Curtis in "H2O," the next installment of "Halloween," being prepped for the 20th anniversary of the original. The film will be directed by Steve Miner from a Robert Zappia script that was drawn from a story by "Scream" scribe Kevin Williamson.
Forster, who was so tired of rejection that he nearly retired before the fateful Tarantino call, doesn't have an agent so his deals are being made by lawyer Karl Austen and manager Alan Somers. They're talking two-pic Dimension for Forster, whose portrayal of the world-weary bail bondsman in "Jackie Brown" is generating lots of positive buzz. Forster has also just signed to star in British writer-director Paul Chart's indie film "Great Sex," alongside Fairuza Balk and Amanda Plummer.
DISHINGS: Here's a budding trend Dish hopes won't take hold. Both the Paramount/Warner Bros. drama "Payback" and New Line's "American History X" feature "curb sandwich" scenes. It's not something you'd order from a menu. It's a fairly grotesque procedure in which a person's open mouth is placed face down on a concrete curb, and the back of the head gets stomped on. Mel Gibson and Edward Norton deliver them, and dental damage is considerable in both cases.
... Ken Howard, of the hoops show "White Shadow," is rebounding with a starring role as Val Kilmer's father in MGM's "At First Sight." Bruce Davison ("Longtime Companion," "Willard") is signing to play the surgeon who restores Kilmer's sight. ... Jersey Films got slighted in last week's story about Danny DeVito directing "Barthe." Jersey produces with Wendy Finerman, and Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg are exec producers.
