Weekend, 6-7 May 2000

NEWS BY THE NUMBERS

10. Whatever Happened To Steve Reeves?: Well, Dr. Frank N. Furter, he's dead. He died Wednesday at 74 years of age. No word on whether his final words were out of sync. For my part, I hope they were.

9. Not Taking The Short End Money: The Contender sold to DreamWorks this week and it marks a remarkable step up by Rod Lurie, from film critic to tiny budget director (Deterrence) to a major studio release of his second movie. And word is that there is a very real sense that this movie about the first woman nominated to be Vice President while the nominating President was still in office, could win Joan Allen an Academy Award and may also garner a nomination for Gary Oldman, who plays a Senator opposing the nomination. Lurie is a friend of mine and of this column and it seems that congratulations are due all around. The film should open in late September.

8. Run Tom Run: People waiting for the next film from Tom Tykwer have been sated for the moment by Wintersleepers, which was actually made and released in Germany before Lola. But now, Twyker will make his English-language debut with Heaven, based on the last work of Polish directing icon Krzysztof Kieslowski. The trades report that Cate Blanchett will take the lead role. (Let's hope that Julianne Moore's schedule is actually booked when this one shoots.)

7. Here It Comes: The Grinch is coming to the Internet all by himself. He premieres only on the official studio site for the movie, www.mean-one.com on May 10. The movie opens November 17.

6. In A Family Way: Looks like Terry Gilliam's The Man who Killed Don Quixote is finally getting fully of the ground. Johnny Depp will star, but that's not the curious part for me. Joining him are Jean Rochefort and Vanessa Paradis, whose fame, in this country at least, has come from appearing in films from the great French director Patrice Leconte. Rochefort starred in both The Hairdresser's Husband and Ridicule, and Paradis stars in the July release, The Girl on the Bridge. I love all three films madly. Of course, Paradis has another connection. She is the mother of Johnny Depp's child.

5. 99 Bottles Of Beer On The WallÉ: What signs can you find that you are spending too much time obsessing on movies? Well, a company called WorthGuide actually counted the number of times movies have been traded by Web auction and published the list for people who have similar issues with OCD. "According to the resource, Lost in Space was traded 1,063 times, The Matrix went through 1,001 online transactions and American Pie was swapped 967 times." They HAVE to be kidding. Next thing, they'll be counting the number of beatings geeks get from schoolyard bullies based on preference of fantasy role-playing game. "D&D players were beaten once a week, while Pokemon traders were beaten 3 to 4 times a day and often pelted with large rocks."

"Britain wants Hollywood-size movies, and is next-episode Star Wars already getting boring?