Keanu A-Z News Reports
Friday, March 08, 2002
Keanu Reeves in Motorcycle Racing Pic?
[Coming Soon 08/03/2002]
'A.S.K.' alerted us that the April issue of MotorCyclist Magazine includes news on an upcoming Motorcycle film.
THINK DAYS OF THUNDER - BUT WITH MOTORCYCLES. Motorcycle roadracing is primed to hit the national spotlight in March 2003 when the movie "14K" hits theaters nationwide. The story of a street racer who takes it to the track, the movie's budget is a whopping $48 milion, so hopefully it won't be a clut title that goes direct to video. As of January the crew is in preproduction but the script is complete. We hope this movie is as good as "Stroker Ace." So far American Suzuki has agreed to offer full support, with other vendors such as Arai, Honda, Kawasaki, Dunlop, and Spyke leathers rumored to sign on, also. The really big news, however, is that Keanu Reeves may star in the movie - can we get a "whoa?" For more info check out the Web site at www.14kthemovie.com.
The site above has quite a bit of information already on "14K," so be sure to take a look. The casting of Keanu is, of course, not confirmed as of this moment. He may next star in "Billy Jack" after completing "The Matrix" sequels.
Wednesday, March 06, 2002
Keanu Reeves on the Set!
[ET Online 06/03/2002]
The Matrix ' sequels are underway, and ET has your sneak peek into the world of 'The Matrix 2,' otherwise known as ' The Matrix Reloaded '!
After boning up on their martial arts and high-wire training, KEANU REEVES, LAURENCE FISHBURNE, CARRIE-ANNE MOSS and bad guy HUGO WEAVING are back and hard at work in Sydney, Australia filming back-to-back sequels to the box office smash.
"The sequel carves a continuation of [my character] Neo's journey and his quest to find out the truth," Keanu reveals to ET. "It's more about the conflict with the machines and the humans."
And this time around, the stunts and special effects in 'Reloaded' are even more spectacular than the first go-around!
"We are trying to do some crazy things out here," offers Keanu. "The kung-fu sequences are more sophisticated and more challenging than the first film. Some of the wire work [allows me to] do back flips and cartwheels all in one shot."
"It's pushed me to my limits. Before it was like, 'Can you do two kicks?' and now it's like, 'Can you do three kicks, but with a jumping backspin hook-kick?' So it's like you have learned to walk -- now can you fly."
Although co-directors ANDY and LARRY WACHOWSKI are keeping all of 'Reloaded''s storyline tightly under wraps, we can tell you that ' Malena ' star, MONICA BELLUCCI, and WILL SMITH's significant other, JADA PINKETT-SMITH, have trained hard and joined the athletic cast for the next adventure. Monica's character remains a mystery for the moment, but Jada will play Niobe, the love interest of Morpheus, Laurence Fishburne's character in the movie.
"These sequels are going to blast the original off the screen, and that's exactly what the fans want," says Jada.
After shooting some preliminary scenes in San Francisco and some test footage stateside, the Aussie portion of Warner Bros.' 'Reloaded' started filming last year on September 24 at 20th Century Fox's Sydney studios.
Filming of the two sequels is expected to wrap in Sydney this August, and 'The Matrix Reloaded' is due for release summer 2003. 'The Matrix 3,' tentatively titled ' The Matrix Revolutions ,' is due November 2003. The original 'The Matrix' and a special behind-the-scenes documentary, ' The Matrix Revisited ,' are both currently available on VHS and DVD.
Watch ET tonight for the latest behind-the-scenes news on this too-cool sequel!
Tuesday, March 05, 2002
'Billy Jack' on way back Reeves revved for next role
[Variety 05/03/2002]
 | After he completes a pair of sequels to futuristic hit "The Matrix," Keanu Reeves is looking to go retro, in the form of "Billy Jack."
Jersey Films and 3 Arts are in discussions with Tom Laughlin to mount a remake of "Billy Jack," the 1971 counterculture hit, with Reeves in the starring role. |
Laughlin wrote and directed the original and toplined as the title character, a tough, spiritual Vietnam veteran who's half-Native American. Billy Jack challenged the establishment and championed a group of runaway teens as well as the environment in an Arizona town. A man of few words, he was quick with fists and feet.
Jersey Films partners Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher will produce the film with Erwin Stoff, Reeves' manager at 3 Arts Entertainment. Laughlin also will play a critical role in the production.
The project is expected to be shopped to studios shortly.
The film rights are controlled by Laughlin, who over the years has received numerous remake overtures for a film whose cost-to-gross ratio made it wildly profitable.
It is the first project Reeves has targeted as a potential star vehicle since he immersed himself in the yearlong shoot of "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions," the back-to-back sequels to the hit Warner Bros./Village Roadshow Pictures film. Brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski are directing from their scripts in Australia for producer Joel Silver.
Keanu Reeves May Jack Into 'Billy' After Disconnecting from 'The Matrix'
[Zap2it.com 05/03/2002]
HOLLYWOOD - After performing wire-fu in the future world of "The Matrix" and its upcoming sequels, Keanu Reeves could practice a little kung fu in the past via a remake of "Billy Jack," Variety reports.
"Billy Jack" writer, director and star Tom Laughlin is negotiating with Danny DeVito's production company Jersey Films and Reeves' management firm 3 Arts to get his 1971 counterculture smash remade.
The original centered on a half-Native American, half-white ex-Green Beret in touch with both his spiritual and butt-kicking sides who protects a peace-loving liberal arts school and the environment in an Arizona town from the conservative establishment. The silent type, he exacts justice with his martial arts skills.
Laughlin, who owns the rights to the movie, will play a key role in the production, which will likely be shopped around to studios in the near future. Since the original was extraordinarily profitable thanks to its low production cost and high box office gross, he has received quite a few remake offers in the past.
"Billy Jack" marks the first picture that Reeves has seriously considered as a follow-up to "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions," with which he has been busy on with a yearlong, back-to-back shoot.
YOU DON'T KNOW JACK
[CHUD 05/03/2002]
After completing work on The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, currently scheduled to be released in theaters in May and November of 2003 respectively, actor Keanu Reeves might just go retro.
The actor is currently in talks to star in a remake of the 1971 action western Billy Jack as the title character.
Danny DeVito's Jersey Films, along with 3 Arts Productions, who manage Reeves, are currently in negotiations with Tom Laughlin, the writer/director/star of the original film to grab the rights for a remake. Should he agree to let them have the rights, he would also take a role of some importance in the production. Laughlin has received numerous and profitable offers to remake the film in the past, but he never got hooked.
The project is expected to be open to studios soon for distribution rights.
The original Billy Jack told the story of an ex-Green Beret, who fought in Vietnam and whose heritage was half-Native American who fights the bad guys to save some wild horses from being senselessly destroyed and also helps a school of runaways. It played heavily on themes of the late 1960s (i.e., peace not war, fighting the system, etc.)
Two sequels followed the original film: 1974's The Trial of Billy Jack and 1977's Billy Jack Goes to Washington.
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3-5-02
By Andrew Molinaro
Contributing sources: Variety
REEL DEALS
[Entertainment Weekly 05/03/2002]
All the kung fu skills Keanu Reeves has learned making the ''Matrix'' trilogy should come in handy if he signs a deal to star in a remake of ''Billy Jack.'' Tom Laughlin, who created the 1970s countercultural action hero and controls the rights, is in talks with Reeves and producer Danny DeVito about the project. It would shoot after Reeves finishes the back-to-back productions of ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions.''.
Keanu Looks to Resurrect Movie Hero
[People 05/03/2002]
For Keanu Reeves, it will be back from the future. Currently completing "The Matrix Revolutions" and "The Matrix Reloaded," two sequels to his 1999 hit "The Matrix," the leading man, 37, is looking to bring back the '70s counterculture hero of the "Billy Jack" movies, reports Variety. In the original, actor Tom Laughlin starred as Billy, a half-Native American ex-Green Beret karate expert who saved wild horses from being slaughtered for dog food and runaway teens from troubled pasts. In between, he talked spiritualism. Sort of an early independent film (that was released by a major studio, which admittedly didn't know how to market it), "Billy Jack" was a major hit of 1971, and was followed by two sequels that were increasingly less successful (1974's "The Trail of Billy Jack" and 1977's "Billy Jack Goes to Washington"). Early on, critics noted that Laughlin didn't look even remotely half-Native American. In later years, Billy Jack became yet another '70s relic, similar to Earth Shoes and Pet Rocks. Still, Reeves is said to be discussing the resurrection of Billy Jack with Danny DeVito's production company, Jersey Films, with an eye toward shopping the project at various studios. Laughlin, still kicking at age 70, is expected to play a crucial role in the production, says Variety. He still controls the film rights, and over the years has reportedly turned down several requests to remake his brainchild.
Monday, March 04, 2002
TBS, TNT nab rights to film four-pack
[Yahoo! News 04/03/2002]
NEW YORK (Variety) - Cable siblings TBS and TNT have nabbed the TV rights to ensemble comedy "Rat Race," John Travolta's "Domestic Disturbance," Ben Stiller's "Zoolander" and Keanu Reeves' "Hardball."
The networks' Turner Broadcasting parent will pony up about $26 million for a five-year license term to the four Paramount Pictures titles, which comes to about 14% of the four's total domestic gross.
That's a bounteous license fee in such a soft market for movies. In exchange, Par has agreed to let Turner carve out a window on "Rat Race" and "Zoolander" within the five-year term for Comedy Central, and to place some primetime runs of each of the four on Turner sister net the WB. (Turner parent AOL Time Warner is half-owner of Comedy Central.)
Paramount deal strengthens the perception that the WB has begun to move away from its previous position of not including movies in its programming strategy. The WB joined with Turner to snare the rights to all three "Lord of the Rings" movies from corporate sibling New Line, which will cost the networks about $160 million in license fees.
And Comedy Central won't have to wait until the fourth year of a five-year contract to get "Rat Race" and "Zoolander": Turner plans to open a two-year window for the network right in the middle of the contract, after which the movies will return for further plays on TBS and TNT.
Spokespeople for Paramount and Turner confirmed the movie deal without commenting on the terms.
These kinds of shared windows among multiple networks have become the norm as movie companies seek to keep their prices high at a time when the broadcast networks are buying fewer theatricals because their movie ratings keep diminishing.
By the time the movies get to the network window -- about 33 months after their debut in the multiplexes -- each title has journeyed on a videocassette and DVD odyssey in the video store, after which it wends its way to pay-per-view and pay TV. Broadcasters say all of these pre-network windows erode viewer interest in the movies almost three years later.
But, unlike broadcasters, cable networks can schedule multiple runs of the pics in the first few weeks of their availability, generating a blitzkrieg of publicity to make viewers aware that they can still catch one of the movies even if they miss the first cable showing.
Reuters/Variety
Keanu to remake 'Billy Jack'
[JAM! Movies 04/03/2002]
Keanu Reeves will follow up his dual sequels to the futuristic martial arts epic "The Matrix" by taking on the bare-footed butt-kicker "Billy Jack," Variety reports.
Jersey Films is in discussions with creator/star Tom Laughlin to remake the original 1971 "Billy Jack," a wildly profitable counter-culture hit about a peaceful half-native Vietnam vet forced to take vengeance on those who prey on the meek.
His trademarks were a penchant for philosophizing ("Whatever makes you upset in someone else also exists in you ...") and a slow-burning anger that began with Billy Jack methodically removing his boots before unleashing a barrage of kicks and punches on his enemies.
Laughlin -- who starred in, directed, produced and independently distributed many of his films -- has all along controlled the rights to "Billy Jack" and the movie's sequels, Variety said.
The official "Billy Jack" website (www.billyjack.com) reports that Laughlin recently underwent throat cancer surgery, and is recovering.
The site also offers the complete library of the films on DVD, including the biker-themed "Born Losers" (1967), "Billy Jack" (1971), "The Trial Of Billy Jack" (1974), and the long-delayed "Billy Jack Goes To Washington" (1977). (More on Keanu Reeves)
Sunday, March 03, 2002
"Billy Jack" on way back with Keanu
[Yahoo! News 04/03/2002]
NEW YORK (Variety) - After he completes a pair of sequels to the futuristic hit "The Matrix," Keanu Reeves is looking to go retro, in the form of "Billy Jack."
Tom Laughlin, who wrote, directed and starred in the original 1971 counterculture hit, is in talks with Danny DeVito's Jersey Films and Reeves' management firm 3 Arts to mount a remake of the film.
A tough, spiritual Vietnam veteran who's half-Native American, Billy Jack challenged the establishment and championed a group of runaway teens as well as the environment in an Arizona town. A man of few words, he was quick with fists and feet.
The project is expected to be shopped to studios shortly, and Laughlin also will play a critical role in the production. The film rights are controlled by Laughlin, who over the years has received numerous remake overtures for a film whose cost-to-gross ratio made it wildly profitable.
It is the first project Reeves has targeted as a potential star vehicle since he immersed himself in the yearlong shoot of "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions," the back-to-back sequels to the hit 1999 film.
Reuters/Variety
Where to see the stars in Sydney
[Daily Telegraph 03/03/2002]
YOU may think no-one could miss Keanu Reeves in a crowd but the Matrix star doesn't need special effects to disguise himself in Sydney. "Who hasn't met Keanu?" sniffed one city restaurateur.
The film hunk has become such a fixture in Sydney, his regular forays into clubs, restaurants and bars, rarely even rate a mention.
Sydney socialite Rick Walton didn't even initially notice it was Reeves when the movie star sat down next to him at the Tatler restaurant in Darlinghurst.
"He pulled up a chair next to me," confirmed Walton, "and he seemed like a really down-to-earth guy."
Walton is no stranger to celebrities – after squiring Texan bombshell Jerry Hall around Sydney after she split with Mick Jagger. But you don't need to date a supermodel to meet international models, musicians or movie stars in Sydney.
NO BODYGUARDS
MATRIX co-star Carrie-Anne Moss can be found shopping at Paddington Markets or in Oxford or Crown streets on the weekend.
"She often does a quick shop on her way to fight training for the movie," confided top shoe designer Justine Pratten.
The first time Moss, who shops without minders or bodyguards, went to the markets, she was even mistaken for someone else.
"Aren't you the girl from the Special K ad," hollered one stallholder.
Embarrassment notwithstanding, Moss snapped up a pair of flat cream crystal thongs, pink and white kitten heels and mule cork wedges from Pratten.
But top of every star's shopping list is Collette Dinnigan – and most celebrities bypass the store and head to her Surry Hills studio.
The designer won't confirm she is making Sarah Michelle Gellar's wedding dress but how else to explain the amount of time the Buffy star spent in her studio last year?
Gellar and many other foreign beauties also shop at Belinda, the smart designer store in Paddington, although owner Belinda Seper never comments on her clients.
OCEAN VIEWS
BONDI Beach remains the easiest place in Sydney to spot a star and you will find famous faces in the cafes, restaurants or on the sand in this cool pop star precinct.
Britney Spears frolicked there with her bodyguards in September, while actor Natalie Portman made it her second home during filming of Star Wars Episode Two.
Claire Danes, Terence Stamp, Harvey Keitel, Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne are also Bondi fans – and can be seen eating at Hugos and Jackies or sipping coffee at Gusto or Brown Sugar.
When Julia Roberts and Benjamin Bratt were here two years ago they also joined the Bondi push – eating at the Bondi Tratt and Hugos.
Jerry Hall sipped champagne at Pier restaurant, while Jodie Kidd whooped it up at CityLive at Fox Studios after she finished sashaying down the catwalk.
Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and almost every international guest makes at least one pitstop at Tatler. Owner Davis Davis never comments on who gets in to Tatler but Reeves and Fishburne drop in there almost every week because of its exclusivity.
The Matrix duo also regularly drink at Justin Hemme's private club, Hemmesphere – the last time Reeves was in he was drinking a mixed berry cocktail.
When Jamiroquai was in Sydney in January, he spent all his downtime in Hemmesphere telling friends it was a "cracking place".
