Reuters report on "Traffic"

Posted by benish from ppp-3.ts-4-bay.hck.idt.net on February 24, 2000 at 08:54:46:

Just thought that I would post this report that I saw this morning.
Maybe Indy 4 will be next. Well, we can dream, can't we?

Thursday February 24 2:15 AM ET

Ford Bolts From 'Traffic' Film

By Claude Brodesser and Paul F. Duke

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Talks to place Harrison Ford in ''Traffic,'' Stephen Soderbergh's ensemble movie on the drug trade, have collapsed.

Ford has opted instead to do an action film, one that longtime agent Pat McQueeny says has yet to be determined.

So what will become of ``Traffic?'' Sources familiar with the Fox Searchlight project said that they remained committed to begin shooting, with or without Ford, on April 2.

But a spokeswoman for the studio disagreed, distancing Searchlight from that schedule. The spokeswoman said that April 2 was never a hard-and-fast start date, and likewise cautioned that talks for Catherine Zeta-Jones to star remain unfinished and that casting could change again.

With a screenplay by Steve Gaghan, ``Traffic'' looks at all levels of the drug trade.

Ford had been courted to play a judge who inherits the position of U.S. drug enforcement czar at a time when the country escalates its effort to curtail Mexican border traffic. The czar's hardline stance is sorely tested when his own teenage daughter becomes addicted to crack cocaine and heroin.

Producer Laura Bickford declined to comment on the negotiations, and producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz could not be reached for comment. As the first greenlit picture under Searchlight president Peter Rice, ``Traffic'' represents a major departure for the indie division of Fox best known as the producer and distributor of 1997's ``The Full Monty''

Rice, in an interview with Daily Variety on Feb. 16, called the film ``a provocative, well-crafted script from a great filmmaker,'' and ``the kind of films we want to make.''

Although budgeting isn't finalized, sources have placed ''Traffic'' in the $30 million-to-$40 million range.

Follow Ups:

Hey, this is great. First, Spielberg drops out of Harry Potter, and now Harrison from Traffic. I hope they're making room for a certain collaboration...(nim) bud-arc 11:20:11 2/24/2000 (4)
- Hey! Bud-arc is back! Good to see you! graml 14:44:33 2/24/2000 (3)
  - Good to see you too, graml! bud-arc 20:20:39 2/25/2000 (0)
  - Re: Hey! Bud-arc is back! Good to see you! Fedora Frenzy 15:26:18 2/25/2000 (1)
    - INDY 4! INDY 4! INDY 4! (nm) graml 16:25:20 2/25/2000 (0)

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: Just thought that I would post this report that I saw this morning.
: Maybe Indy 4 will be next. Well, we can dream, can't we?

: 
: Thursday February 24 2:15 AM ET

:  Ford Bolts From 'Traffic' Film

:  By Claude Brodesser and Paul F. Duke

:  HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Talks to place Harrison Ford in ''Traffic,'' Stephen Soderbergh's ensemble movie on the drug trade, have collapsed.

:  Ford has opted instead to do an action film, one that longtime agent Pat McQueeny says has yet to be determined.

:  So what will become of ``Traffic?'' Sources familiar with the Fox Searchlight project said that they remained committed to begin shooting, with or without Ford, on April 2.

:  But a spokeswoman for the studio disagreed, distancing Searchlight from that schedule. The spokeswoman said that April 2 was never a hard-and-fast start date, and likewise cautioned that talks for Catherine Zeta-Jones to star remain unfinished and that casting could change again.

:  With a screenplay by Steve Gaghan, ``Traffic'' looks at all levels of the drug trade.

:  Ford had been courted to play a judge who inherits the position of U.S. drug enforcement czar at a time when the country escalates its effort to curtail Mexican border traffic. The czar's hardline stance is sorely tested when his own teenage daughter becomes addicted to crack cocaine and heroin.

:  Producer Laura Bickford declined to comment on the negotiations, and producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz could not be reached for comment. As the first greenlit picture under Searchlight president Peter Rice, ``Traffic'' represents a major departure for the indie division of Fox best known as the producer and distributor of 1997's ``The Full Monty''

:  Rice, in an interview with Daily Variety on Feb. 16, called the film ``a provocative, well-crafted script from a great filmmaker,'' and ``the kind of films we want to make.''

:  Although budgeting isn't finalized, sources have placed ''Traffic'' in the $30 million-to-$40 million range.

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