October and Jersey Shore pact for 2 pix

'Valentine,' 'Midnight' slated

By DAN COX

Burying the hatchet after their recent fallout, Jersey Shore and October Films announced two greenlit features Wednesday that Jersey will produce and October will distribute and market.

"Eve's Bayou" helmer Kasi Lemmons will direct and Samuel L. Jackson will star in "The Caveman's Valentine" for Jersey Shore.

The edgy New York-based arthouse division of Jersey Films will also produce "Midnight," a remake of the 1939 Mitchell Leeson film starring Claudette Colbert and scripted by Billy Wilder, for October and Universal.

The announcement comes just a few months after the much ballyhooed joint production deal between Jersey Shore and October was abandoned over disagreements about its structure.

Jersey Shore was upset over October's refusal to greenlight any of the five features the company brought in for development and production. October, meanwhile, was frustrated by Jersey Shore's demand for put pictures.

For several months, it didn't look as though Jersey Shore -- which is run by Jonathan Weisgal in New York and Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher in L.A. -- and October -- which is run by co-presidents Bingham Ray, Scott Greenstein and John Schmidt -- would ever jointly put together a feature.

In statements, execs for both companies explained the new rapprochement.

"The communication with both companies has been ongoing over the last few months, and I am thrilled that this has resulted in Jersey and October having significant projects to move forward on," said October partner Greenstein.

Jersey Shore's Weisgal added, "We always felt that once we agreed on a project, October and Universal would be our first choices and we are excited that it has come to fruition."

"Caveman's Valentine" will be scripted by George Dawes Green, based on Green's Edgar Award-winning mystery.

Pic is a gothic thriller about the Caveman, who is a trained musician driven crazy by his talent. He is now homeless and living in a cave in Central Park, where he finds a murder victim.

Screenwriter Scott Frank brought the project to Jersey Shore. Frank will get producing credit with DeVito, Shamberg and Sher. Exec producers are Jackson, Julie Silverman Yorn and Eli Selden, who are Jackson's managers at Michael Ovitz's Artists Management Group.

Weisgal will co-exec produce along with Lemmons' manager Stephanie Davis.

Lemmons is repped by Frank Wuliger of the Gersh Agency. Jackson's reps are Toni Howard and Jim Wiatt at ICM.

"Midnight," which is owned by Universal, was initiated by Gail Lyon, prexy of production at Jersey Films.