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Report
Filed: May 1, 2001
 Scene
One: Take One...........Greetings,
I hope everyone is enjoying Spring!. Let's take some time out
now to catch up on the latest news from Hollywood........…..
And
Now On With The Show...............Will Brendan
Fraser go ape again? The Walt Disney Co. is hoping to swing
ahead with plans for a sequel to the 1997 blockbuster "George
of the Jungle," which grossed more than $105 million at the domestic
box-office. When he did the original, Fraser wasn't locked in
for a sequel. In order to convince him to don the loincloth again,
Disney is preparing to send Fraser the script, written by TV/film
scribe Jordan Moffet ("Whispers," "Barney Miller"), along with
a sizable offer. Now that he's a bona fide movie star, Fraser's
asking price - established for another sequel, "The Mummy Returns"
-has hit $12.5 million plus gross participation. Disney is not
known for its big paydays, but sources said the studio wants Fraser
enough not to monkey around.......................
Singer Joey Ramone, the punk rock icon
whose signature yelp melded with the Ramones' three-chord thrash
to launch an explosion of bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols,
died Sunday. He was 49. Ramone, the gangly lead singer with the
leather jacket, tinted glasses and permanently torn jeans, was
hospitalized in March 2001 with lymphoma. His death was confirmed
Sunday by Arturo Vega, the Ramone's longtime cover artist. Formed
in 1974 - the Ramones came out of Queens. Joey became the lead
singer only after his drumming proved too rudimentary to keep
up with his bandmates' riffs. "They changed the world of music.
They rescued rock 'n' roll from pretentiousness and unnecessary
adornments," said Vega. Despite their influence and critical acclaim,
the Ramones never cracked the Top 40..........................
Michael Ritchie, who directed such wide-ranging films as "The
Candidate" and "The Bad New Bears," died Monday of complications
from prostate cancer. He was 62. Ritchie staged the premiere production
of Arthur Kopit's "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet
and I'm Feeling So Sad" while he was at Harvard and broke into
television as an assistant producer on "Omnibus," an intellectual
series of the 1950s. His early television work included "Profiles
in Courage," "Dr. Kildare," "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and "The
Big Valley"..................................
Sarah Michelle Gellar could now be called Buffy, the bachelor
slayer. The actress is engaged to wed fellow teen-cinema icon
Freddie Prinze Jr., his publicist Matt Labov said Tuesday. No
date was set for the wedding. Gellar, the star of the WB's "Buffy,
the Vampire Slayer" TV show, announced the engagement Saturday
night at a party celebrating her 24th birthday, according to "Entertainment
Tonight." Gellar's publicist could not be reached for comment
and her agent declined comment.
The couple met on the set of the 1997 teen slasher flick, "I Know
What You Did Last Summer." They have dated for nearly a year and
are currently filming a live-action movie based on the "Scooby
Doo" cartoon series. In the movie, Prinze, 25, plays brawny, mystery-solver
Fred, while Gellar portrays leggy sleuth Daphne.........................
Guitarist Eddie Van Halen, co-founder of the rock band that
bears his name, has confirmed he has cancer and said he is
beating the disease. In a note posted on the official Van Halen
Web site, the 44-year-old rocker apologized for his earlier silence
on the issue, calling it "a very unique and private matter to
deal with." "I was examined by three oncologists and three head
and neck surgeons at Cedars Sinai (Medical Center in Los Angeles)
just before spring break and I was told that I'm healthier than
ever and beating cancer," Van Halen said in the note posted Thursday.
"Although it's hard to say when, there's a good chance I will
be cancer-free in the near future." Hospital spokeswoman Grace
Cheng said that Van Halen is under of the care of ear, nose and
throat surgeon Dr. Martin Hopp, but declined to identify the type
of cancer for which he is receiving treatment.
The admission ends a year of speculation about Van Halen's health.
In May 2000, he underwent preventive treatment for tongue cancer
at a Houston medical center. A hospital spokeswoman denied at
the time the musician had the disease. Van Halen, 44, has been
a longtime smoker. Van Halen who has a son, Wolfgang, with wife
Valerie Bertinelli, co-founded the band in 1974 with his older
brother, Alex, on drums, bass player Michael Anthony and singer
David Lee Roth. "You can whip this champ," Roth said, in comments
posted on his official Web site. Roth left the group in the mid-1980s
and was replaced by Sammy Hagar, who left the band in 1996. Van
Halen's 1978 debut album sold more than 10 million copies in the
United States. Other hit albums included "1984," "5150" and "OU812"..................
Jennifer Lopez is in negotiations to star in and produce
for Warner Bros. a remake of the 1955 Doris Day-James Cagney musical
romance "Love Me or Leave Me." Robert De Niro is in talks to also
star and produce. Howard Gould is in negotiations to write the
screenplay, which will be based loosely on the original MGM film.
The updated version will be a romantic story and love triangle
set in the musical world and will not be based, as was the original
film, on the true story of 1930s torch singer Ruth Etting. There
is no start date yet, and both actors are expected take on another
film project before "Love Me"............................
Scene
One: Take Two......got a who, what and where question?
Do you have a bet with someone and need an answer to settle it?
Can't remember the name of that song that's driving you crazy?
Send your questions to me using this
form ...and
That's A WRAP!
Tim
Neeley is a Los Angeles based reporter syndicated across the
nation with his weekly radio entertainment report. Tim's in-depth
reports cover developments in film, music, literature, television
and theater.
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