'Below' belts 'Basic 2'
'Thirteen Day's' thesp chooses subs over thriller
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Greenwood, who's coming off an acclaimed turn as JFK in "Thirteen Days," had been expected to play a psychiatrist alongside Sharon Stone's sociopathic murderess in "Basic Instinct 2," a film produced by C-2 partners Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna, financed by Intermedia and distributed by MGM.
Serious talks had been under way with Greenwood and "Die Hard" helmer John McTiernan, and deals seemed near last week. But the film's financier, Intermedia partners Guy East, Nigel Sinclair and Moritz Borman, were concerned about the pic's rising cost.
N.Y. state of mind
A budget done when David Cronenberg was directing grew more expensive under McTiernan thanks to his fee and because the director wanted to shoot in New York. The producers hoped to replicate the film's Gotham setting cut rate in Canada. But McTiernan apparently liked the atmosphere of the San Francisco-set original and wanted to make sure the sequel matched its quality.
Making matters worse, plans to solve these problems in Hollywood meetings last week were delayed because McTiernan was snowbound in Canada until Thursday evening.
With no decision in place Saturday night on a film expected to start shooting early March, Greenwood accepted the lead in Dimension's "Below," fearing he'd otherwise be faced with no pre-strike opportunity to capitalize on his "Thirteen Days" momentum.
Fest then fitting
Greenwood committed and then headed off to the Berlin Film Festival, where the Cuban Missile Crisis drama will preem on Tuesday. He heads to London the following day for "Below" wardrobe fittings. He will play the skipper of a sub sent to rescue three survivors from a British hospital ship sunk by Nazis. During a cat and mouse chase with a German destroyer, it becomes clear that the sub is haunted.
"Below" was scripted by Darren Aronofsky and Lucas Sussman; Aronofsky is producing with Eric Watson.
Greenwood will then move on in June for his third teaming with director Atom Egoyan in "Ararat," playing missionary-physicist Clarence Asher in a drama to shoot in Canada in June. Greenwood will then seek to play a romantic lead, which he hoped to accomplish with "Basic Instinct 2."
It's unclear whether Greenwood's sub duty will definitively torpedo a pre-strike start for "Basic Instinct 2," which is being made from what's considered to be a strong script by Henry Bean and Leora Barish.
