Though she's committed to two other sci-fi projects and Own's "Queen Sugar" drama series, "Selma" helmer Ava DuVernay has taken on another gig - she's set to direct "The Battle Of Versailles" for HBO Films.
DuVernay and Michael Starrbury will co-write the film based on fashion journalist Robin Givhan's 2015 non-fiction novel which deals with the 1973 Palace of Versailles fashion show which served as a fundraiser for the restoration of King Louis Xiv's palace.
The show pitted the top five French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Marc Bohan of Christian Dior) against five then-unknown Americans (Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Halston, Stephen Burrows and Anne Klein, who brought along her then-assistant Donna Karan) in front of an audience of the world's social elite.
The French did a big-budget, two-hour extravaganza featuring elaborate set pieces and a live orchestra. The Americans a 35-minute show...
DuVernay and Michael Starrbury will co-write the film based on fashion journalist Robin Givhan's 2015 non-fiction novel which deals with the 1973 Palace of Versailles fashion show which served as a fundraiser for the restoration of King Louis Xiv's palace.
The show pitted the top five French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Marc Bohan of Christian Dior) against five then-unknown Americans (Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Halston, Stephen Burrows and Anne Klein, who brought along her then-assistant Donna Karan) in front of an audience of the world's social elite.
The French did a big-budget, two-hour extravaganza featuring elaborate set pieces and a live orchestra. The Americans a 35-minute show...
- 3/21/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Kim Cattrall is heading to the rink, signing on to play a former ice skating phenom in the Walt Disney Co.'s Ice Princess. The project, directed by Tim Fywell, is Cattrall's first following her Golden Globe-winning run on HBO's Sex and the City. Cattrall is taking on a role that is quite the opposite of the sexy siren Samantha she played on Sex and the City by portraying an ice skating instructor who at one time had a chance to make the Olympics but now is helping Michelle Trachtenberg's character fulfill her skating dreams. Juliana Cannarozzo, Trevor Blumas and Hayden Panettiere round out the cast. Bridget Johnson is producing the project. Writers on the project include Hadley Davis and Leslie Dixon, the latter of whom penned the most recent version. Karen Glass and Kristin Burr are overseeing the project at the studio. Cattrall is repped by ICM and by attorney Kevin Yorn. Her feature credits include Crossroads and 15 Minutes, opposite Robert De Niro and Ed Burns. Nominated for four Emmys for her performance on Sex, Cattrall took home the Globe in 2003.
Newcomer Trevor Blumas is lacing up his ice skates to star opposite Michelle Trachtenberg in Ice Princess for the Walt Disney Co. Shooting is scheduled to begin next week with Tim Fywell at the helm. Ice Princess, described as Flashdance meets Bring It On, follows a brainy ugly duckling (Trachtenberg) who realizes her dream of becoming a champion figure skater with the help of a disgraced coach and the boy (Blumas) who drives the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine. Bridget Johnson is producing the project. Hadley Davis penned the most recent draft of the screenplay. At the studio, the project is being overseen by Karen Glass and Kristin Burr. Blumas appeared on the TV series Due South and Earth: Final Conflict. He is repped by the Gersh Agency and Miles Levy of James/Levy/Jacobson.
The Walt Disney Co. has adopted J.T. Saladin's pitch Orphan's Club for Jane Startz and studio-based Beacon Entertainment to produce. The project revolves around an underground network of kids orphaned after the first World War, which produced more than 80 million orphans. The aim of the secret international organization is to prevent all future wars and, in turn, the creation of more orphans. The club follows highly structured rules outlined in the Orphan's Club Handbook. At the studio, the project is being shepherded by senior vp development and production Karen Glass along with director of development and production Karen Glass. Startz will produce along with Beacon topper Armyan Bernstein. Saladin is repped by the Gersh Agency. Startz, who recently pacted with Disney, filmmaker Lawrence Blume and author Judy Blume to develop and produce films based on Judy Blume books, produced the upcoming Ella Enchanted for director Tommy O'Haver and Miramax Films. Bernstein and his Beacon produced the upcoming Ladder 49 for Disney and are shepherding the romantic comedy A Lot Like Love, to star Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet.
- 3/30/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Walt Disney Co. has tapped Dead Like Me's Callum Blue to star opposite Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries 2. Caroline Goodall, Sean O'Bryan and Joel McCrary also have signed to reprise their roles in the sequel to the 2001 hit. Blue will play an English suitor who is set up to marry the young princess in the film, which also stars Julie Andrews and is being directed by Garry Marshall. Goodall will return in the role of Hathaway's mother, O'Bryan will be back as Hathaway's teacher, and McCrary returns as Prime Minister Motaz. Newcomer Chris Pine has also joined the cast in a supporting role. The project is being produced by Debra Martin Chase and is being overseen for the studio by Disney production exec Karen Glass. In addition to starring on the Showtime series Dead Like Me, Blue has appeared in the BBC television series As If and the CBS telefilm In Love and War. Blue is repped by WMA, Untitled Entertainment and PFD in London. Goodall and O'Bryan are both repped by Paradigm Talent and Literary. Goodall is also managed by Seven Summits Pictures and Management. McCrary is repped by Stone Manners.
- 12/11/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Red-hot comedy writing duo Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant have been tapped by the Walt Disney Co. to pen the redo of Herbie the Love Bug in a deal that comes close to the seven-figure mark, sources said. Robert Simonds is producing. The project has been in development at the studio for years, with various versions penned by such scribes as writing team Blake Snyder and Colby Carr as well as David Berenbaum. It is understood that the studio is scrapping all previous incarnations of the project to pick up the Lennon and Garant take, which puts Herbie in the world of NASCAR. Simonds will produce, with Tracey Trench -- production topper at the Robert Simonds Co. -- likely taking an executive producer credit. At the studio, it's being overseen by Nina Jacobson and Karen Glass. Simonds worked with the duo on Taxi, which they wrote and he is producing for 20th Century Fox. That project, lensing in Los Angeles, stars Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon for director Tim Story.
- 10/24/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Walt Disney Co. has picked up an untitled romantic thriller pitch from Tuck Everlasting producer Jane Startz and writer Katherine Reback. The script will center on a pampered New York socialite whose husband mysteriously disappears, leaving her and her young daughter destitute. The socialite must then not only learn to survive on her own, but when her life and the life of her daughter are threatened, she is forced to rely on her wits and draw on her dormant strengths to solve the mystery and save the lives of her child and herself. Startz will produce along with Jane Startz Prods. vp Gillian Mackenzie. Disney production execs Karen Glass and Jill Morris will oversee for the studio. Startz, whose production credits include such films as Tuck, The Mighty and The Indian in the Cupboard, is in production on Ella Enchanted, which stars Anne Hathaway and is slated for an August release. Reback, repped by WMA and Armstrong Hirsch Jackoway, wrote the Columbia Pictures comedy Fools Rush In.
- 4/17/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Walt Disney Co. has picked up the adventure pitch Trouble in Paradise from Santa Clause 2 writer-producers Ed Decter and John J. Strauss, with newcomer Elizabeth Garcia attached to script the film. Described as a junior Romancing the Stone, Paradise centers on an extremely organized 16-year-old girl with a plan for everything. The girl goes to Cancun with her mother on spring break to visit her treasure-hunter dad, but when her parents are kidnapped, she must find a missing treasure in order to save them. Decter and Strauss, who signed a first-look deal with Disney in the wake of their Santa Clause 2 success, have several projects in development at the studio, including the comedy The Jane Plan and Alpha Male, which will be produced in association with Jordan Kerner and to be directed by Decter. Disney production executives Karen Glass and Doug Short are overseeing Paradise for the studio. Decter and Strauss are repped by BWCS. Garcia is repped by Foundation Management and WMA.
- 4/11/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The writing team of J. David Stem and David Weiss have booked back-to-back scripting jobs for the Robert Simonds Co. and Kelsey Grammer's Grammnet Prods. First up, the duo will pen an untitled comedy for Simonds and the Walt Disney Co. The live-action project is described as a deconstruction of the world of fairies and sprites. Simonds will produce, with Robert Simonds Co. production topper Tracey Trench handling executive producer chores. At the studio, the project is being shepherded by Karen Glass and Jill Morris. For Grammer's Paramount-based outfit, Stem and Weiss just finalized a blind script deal that the company is prepping to take to networks this week. The logline of the comedic project is being tightly guarded.
- 10/28/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Walt Disney Co. is tuning up an untitled musical project and turning to Britney Spears' choreographer, dance guru Wade Robson, to ensure that the film has all the right moves. The 20-year-old Robson will make his directing debut on the film, which will be written by playwright Eydie Faye. In a unique twist, Faye is a former dance student of Robson's, who was giving lessons at age 11. The project is described as a musical drama that centers on a young man whose music and dance dreams are far apart but come together through the course of the movie. There is no producer attached to the project at this time, but it is being overseen at the studio by Disney production execs Karen Glass and Kristin Burr.
- 10/10/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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