Plummer bites into 'Dracula'

Lussier to helm Craven-produced pic

By CHARLES LYONS

Christopher Plummer is jumping from "The Insider" to Dracula. He has closed a deal to star as Abraham Van Helsing in "Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000" for Dimension Films.

Film will go before cameras later this year.

Pic will be produced by W.K. Border and Joel Soisson of Neo Art and Logic Prods. along with Wes Craven and Marianne Maddalena of Craven/Maddalena films.

Patrick Lussier, editor of Craven's "Scream" trilogy, "Music of the Heart" and "Halloween H20," will helm.

Andrew Rona, senior veep of production and development, and Louis Spiegler, director of production and development, will oversee the project for Dimension; Craven/Maddalena's Rene Garcia is overseeing for the shingle.

Penned by Soisson ("Phantoms"), "Dracula 2000" is a modern retelling of the Bram Stoker classic. Plummer will play a London antique dealer who must travel to America to find his daughter Mary and save her from his longtime nemesis, Dracula, the definitive prince of darkness.

Plummer was recently nominated for the best supporting actor for his portrayal of Mike Wallace in "The Insider."

Andrew Gumpert, Miramax senior veep of business and legal affairs, and attorney Michael Linowes of Loeb and Loeb negotiated on behalf of the film company.

ICM's Andrea Eastman and Lou Pitt of the Pitt Group negotiated on behalf of Plummer.