Miscellaneous ItemsDAILY VARIETY / REUTERS March 4, 2001
Chilled ``Instinct 2'' nears point By Michael FlemingNEW YORK (Variety) - Sometime this week, Hollywood finds out if icepick-wielding sociopath Catherine Trammel will be back in business this spring.
The long-awaited sequel to 1991's ``Basic Instinct,'' about a villainess (Sharon Stone) who preys on men, will either fall apart or come together within these seven days, with Stone starring opposite former ``Law & Order'' cop Benjamin Bratt, sources said. The sequel has survived much turbulence to get this far.
``Basic Instinct 2'' seemed near flatlining when director David Cronenberg dropped out, but re-emerged with more commercial potential when ``Die Hard'' helmer John McTiernan stepped in.
Much tougher has been the search to find a leading man to play a hotshot young Gotham analyst with an on-the-rocks-marriage who treats the murderess. Sensing his vulnerability, she sucks him into her fatal web. ``Thirteen Days'' star Bruce Greenwood seemed a good bet until he instead opted for the David Twohy-directed Dimension drama ``Below.''
McTiernan, financier Intermedia, producers Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna and MGM all sparked to Bratt, who, while most famous as the longtime boyfriend of Julia Roberts, has begun to develop a feature profile of his own. Most recently seen in ``Miss Congeniality'' and ``Traffic,'' he has at least one other major offer on the table before a possible Hollywood strike this summer.
Though a bit young to be playing a distinguished analyst, 37-year-old Bratt's got the hunk factor going for the inevitably steamy love scenes. Stone, who met with Bratt on Friday, has been asked to approve her co-star, and that decision is expected this week. (Stone turns 43 on Saturday.)
All parties have made efforts to get the picture going for Intermedia's bottom-line $70 million price tag. That includes Stone, who's believed to have forgone at least $2 million of her $14 million payday to pay McTiernan's $7 million salary.
Enthusiasm has seemed high, particularly after the success of another sequel, ``Hannibal,'' which, like ``Basic Instinct 2,'' has what's considered a strong script, a big-name director and a high-profile villain back in the fold. ``Hannibal'' has grossed $143 million for MGM.
But if agreement isn't reached on Bratt, it's possible the sequel will be scrapped and McTiernan will instead make the Henry Bean/Leora Barish script as ``Risk Addiction,'' with an all-new cast rumored to include his ``Thomas Crown Affair'' star Pierce Brosnan. In that case, litigious instincts might take over. None of the parties involved would comment about the backstage drama.
DAILY VARIETY / YAHOO Thursday March 8 9:38 PM ET
Sharon Stone reportedly lacks ``Instinct'' for Benjamin Bratt LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - He's good enough for Julia Roberts, but former ``Law & Order'' detective Benjamin Bratt may not pass muster with Sharon Stone.
Bratt is currently under consideration to star in a ``Basic Instinct 2'' opposite Stone, who is attached to reprise her role as Catherine Trammel, the icepick-wielding author and murder suspect with a penchant for going pantiless.
Daily Variety columnist Michael Flemming reported this week that the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, as well as the project's director, financiers and producers all have thrown their support to Bratt for the male lead. But Stone, who has the final say over her leading man, had yet to give her approval, a source close to the production told Reuters.
Stone, who turns 43 on Saturday, met Bratt, 37, last Saturday, and was given until 5 p.m. Wednesday to accept the actor because he had other offers waiting, according to Fleming. While the reported deadline has come and gone without Stone saying yes, she didn't say no, either, and the source said, ``Benjamin Bratt is not entirely out of consideration.''
MGM declined comment on the situation.
As Catherine Trammel's latest love interest/prey, Bratt would play a high-powered New York shrink with a faltering marriage who starts off counseling Trammel, then becomes entwined in her sociopathic snare.
The actor, whose screen credits include ``Miss Congeniality'' and ``Traffic,'' is perhaps best known as detective Reynaldo Curtis on the NBC series ``Law & Order.'' He left the show in 1999 and his romance with Roberts has been widely publicized.
Any major motion picture that is not ready to go into production very soon risks being shelved because of the possibility of a strike by Hollywood screenwriters and actors this summer.
DAILY VARIETY / YAHOO Sunday March 11 11:46 PM ET
Gaghan's ``Abandon'' is set to pack Bratt
By Michael Fleming and Cathy Dunkley
The future of ``Basic Instinct 2'' is unclear. It had also been expected to begin production by April so that it could be concluded before a possible actors' strike July 1. It's believed that McTiernan, MGM, financier Intermedia and producers Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna pushed hard for Bratt. Several other names, such as Vincent Perez, have circulated, and it's possible that they'll regroup and take a run at Pierce Brosnan, who became unexpectedly available after his expected film, ''A Sound of Thunder,'' went back to the shop for script rewrites.
Brosnan worked well with McTiernan in the sexy thriller ``The Thomas Crown Affair'' and though he turned down ``Basic 2'' when David Cronenberg was its director, it's believed he'd be more receptive now that McTiernan is at the helm. A key consideration is cost: Intermedia is financing the entire film and has insisted on a $70 million price tag. Brosnan could push that up to $78 million, but he's been a charm for MGM. In fact, counting ``Thomas Crown'' and the Bond films, he's been in the middle of just about every hit the studio has had in which a cannibal wasn't the central character.
Variety / Reuters 3/11/01
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