Magic Chat Draws Stars

Mel Gibson was among the celebrities who attended the recent pilot taping of "The Magic Hour" -- the late night talk show starring NBA basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson. The show's syndicator, Twentieth TV, is targeting the show for a launch early next year, with tentative plans to begin pitching "The Magic Hour" (working title) to stations in the fall. Variety reports Fox is eyeing the show as a candidate for its next go at the late night market.

Is Arsenio Returning to Fox?

Fox Broadcasting is in talks with Arsenio Hall to star in a new sitcom for Thursday nights on the network next fall. Sources tell Variety that Fox was one of the main bidders to snag Hall last season, but ABC paid him handsomely to star in a short-lived midseason sitcom produced by DreamWorks. If Fox signs Hall, DreamWorks may co-produce the sitcom with writers from another studio, perhaps 20th Century Fox.

The Bull's Book to Big Screen

The book Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano wrote with author Peter Maas may be given a second life on the big screen. Variety's Dish reports a feature version of "Underboss" is being considered by Fox 2000. But Gravano reportedly won't have any creative involvement in the project. Sources say director Stephen Frears and screenwriter Donald Westlake are considering joining together on the project. They teamed on an earlier film, "The Grifters."

O'Connor's Labor

Variety's Army Archerd says actor Carroll O'Connor is putting the finishing touches on his new play, "A Certain Labor Day." He'll reportedly co-star with George C. Scott in the world premiere Sept. 11 at the Arts District Theater in Dallas. O'Connor will celebrate his 73rd birthday on Aug. 2. On Friday a Los Angeles jury found the actor did not slander a man he claims was partly responsible for his son's suicide because he supplied the younger O'Connor, Hugh, with drugs.

Hunt Heads Behind the Camera

Bonnie Hunt, who has co-starred in such films as "Jerry Maguire" and "Jumanji," has agreed to take a turn behind the camera. Variety says Hunt has agreed to direct "Distance Calls," an MGM film about a man who falls in love with the woman who received his late wife's heart. Though it's her first time behind the camera in a feature film, Hunt created and starred in TV's "The Bonnie Hunt Show."

Follett's 'Twin' to TV

Kelly McGillis, Larry Hagman and Jason Gedrick have been cast in a CBS miniseries based on the Ken Follett genetic-cloning thriller "The Third Twin." Variety reports that production on the four-hour movie has begun in Toronto. Other players in the miniseries include veteran actors Marion Ross, Hal Holbrook, Ralph Waite and Regina Taylor. The drama finds McGillis playing a brilliant young biologist who's on a quest to tell the truth about government-sponsored experiments in genetic manipulation.

Kirstie Alley Back on NBC

Kirstie Alley returns to NBC this fall in the sitcom "Veronica's Closet" and USA Today says the network is giving the show its most coveted time slot. It will run between the hit shows "Seinfeld" and "ER." In "Veronica's Closet," Alley will play a romance expert who runs a lingerie catalogue business. Her character's personal life unravels when she decides to dump her cheating husband. Kathy Najimy of "Sister Act" and Wallace Langham of "The Larry Sanders Show" co-star with Alley.

Michael Douglas Set to Kill

Michael Douglas has agreed to star in a film that is loosely based on the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock thriller, "Dial M for Murder." The new film, a Warner Bros. project called "A Perfect Murder," is slated to go before the cameras in October with "The Fugitive" helmer Andy Davis directing. "Dial M for Murder," which starred Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings, told the story of a husband who plots his wife's murder, only to have the plan go horribly awry.

'Fargo' Fiction

It seems that no one in Minnesota has ever heard about the supposedly true story on which Ethan and Joel Coen based their Academy Award winning film, "Fargo." It's the story of a kidnapping, multiple-homicide mystery that's solved by a small-town police chief. The reason no one has heard of the story is simple. "I don't think it's true," says William H. Macy, who earned an Oscar nomination for his turn as the car salesman in the film. Macy says the Coen brothers made it up -- for laughs. He says the clue is in the crawl at the beginning of the film. It reads in part: "Some names have been changed to protect the innocent, others have been left the same to make sure the guilty suffer."

Return of 'Love Jones'?

If you missed "Love Jones" when it hit the big screen in March, New Line Cinema is giving moviegoers a second chance. The studio is re-releasing the picture on August 8 on several hundred screens nationwide. The urban romantic comedy, which stars Larenz Tate and Nia Long, grossed about $12 million in its first showing. But its soundtrack has sold more than 570,000 copies. New Line is hoping the film, which won the Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, will provide an alternative to the heavy action summer fare.

< Back > < Contents >  < Home >