32 Candles
The eighties have officially come back to haunt us. We thought that it would be a spankin’ good time, but we were wrong. Apparently, the fabulous 1984 film Sixteen Candles is back. Yes, they are making a sequel. The new movie will update the lives of Sam Baker, Farmer Ted, Long Duk Dong, and the rest of the gang sixteen years later. “Our goal is to pay homage to as many of the original characters as possible,” David A. Newman, one of the writers chosen to pen the update, tells Variety. “Who wouldn’t want to write this?” There is no word yet on whether the original cast will go for it. Let’s look at the possibilities. Molly Ringwald is out because her stint as the eighties teen queen ruined the rest of her career, Anthony Michael Hall is not quite the tiny geek he once was, and the guy who played Jake Ryan (does anyone know his name?) isn’t an actor anymore. Although maybe this will make you feel better about people attempting to ruin the excellence that is Sixteen Candles. Buffy Shutt and Kathy Jones are set to produce the project, the same women who also produced Blue Crush. Then again, maybe not.
Imagine Broadway
John Lennon is coming to Broadway. Yoko Ono has just given the go-ahead on a new stage musical that will use such Lennon songs as “Imagine,” “Give Peace a Chance,” “Instant Karma” and “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” to tell the story of the ’60s and ’70s. The musical will be about how Lennon’s music defined the time and how the time defined his music. Don Scardino will cowrite, coproduce and direct the musical with Eric Overmeyer as the show’s second writer and Edgar Lansbury as coproducer. The as-yet untitled venture, referred to for now as The Lennon Project, will draw from a catalogue of about 200 Lennon songs from the post-Beatles years. Twelve actors will take on the challenge of portraying the multiple moods and personalities that made Lennon who he was. The show is set to hit Broadway in the 2004-05 season.
Tiger Troubles
On October 3rd, Roy (of Seigfried and Roy) was attacked by Montecore, one of the famed white tigers that perform with the duo at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas. Roy was critically injured when something provoked the tiger during a show. Both Seigfried and Roy say that the tiger was not trying to hurt Roy, he was actually attempting to help him when he fell onstage. It is not clear whether this is the case; however, even when Roy was bleeding backstage, he pleaded the tiger not be harmed and said in the ambulance: “Montecore is a great cat. Make sure no harm comes to Montecore.” Montecore spent several days in quarantine after the attack so that it could be confirmed that he does not have rabies. Last Tuesday, the 600 pound tiger headed back to the Secret Garden, his home in the Mirage Hotel. Roy has made great improvements, however, he has suffered major blood loss, a stroke, and has had three surgeries. He remains in critical condition. Seigfried & Roy has been cancelled.
Martin in the Pink
Steve Martin has been engaging in talks with MGM about possibly reprising the role of Inspector Jacques Clouseau (he would be replacing the late Peter Sellers) in a remake of the 1964 film The Birth of the Pink Panther. Martin is reportedly nervous about taking the role because one must have a certain Je ne sais quoi in order to portray the bumbling character. He is close to making a decision, and he hopes that he could add his own imprint to the character if he does in fact take the role.
Archived article by Amanda Hodes