Deaths
Actress Jane Greer, who co-starred with Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas in 1947’s classic Out of the Past, died Friday of complications from cancer, according to Associated Press reports. She was 76.
Greer, a native of Washington, D.C., was born Sept. 9, 1924 and grew up in Florida. She was a onetime beauty contestant who caught the eye of Hollywood after appearing in Life magazine.
“I always wanted to be an actress, and suddenly I knew that learning to control my facial muscles was one of the best assets I could have as a performer,” Greer once said in an interview.
Greer is survived by her twin brother; sons Alex, Lawrence and Steve; and two grandchildren. Her common-law husband, acting coach Frank London, died in January.
A private memorial service will be help Sept. 9 on what would have been Greer‘s 77th birthday.
In General
Contrary to U.S. media reports that Cuba may not allow some of its stars to travel to the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, the city of Havana said Friday that it would allow artists to travel to the ceremony taking place in Los Angeles on Sept. 11. Rebecca Viera, vice-president for the state-run Music Institute in Havana, told Reuters that “Cuba never put obstacles to stop nominated artists on the island from participating in the Latin Grammys.” Cuban nominees include salsa star Isaac Delgado, jazz pianist Chucho Valdes and singers Omara Portuondo and Celina Gonzalez.
The Latin Recording Academy has announced the 17 honorees to inaugurate the newly launched Latin Grammy Hall of Fame. Among the recordings inducted are: Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Garota de Ipanema (The Girl From Ipanema),” Carlos Santana‘s 1970 remake of the Tito Puente classic “Oye Como Va,” Don Azpiazu’s version of “El Manisero (The Peanut Vendor),” João Gilberto’s album Chega da Saudade, Javier Solís’ 1960 version of the classic love song, “Sabor a Mí,” and the original 1948 version of Concierto de Aranjuez.
Baretta star Robert Blake put his 4,909-square-foot Los Angeles home on the market on Thursday for $1.09 million. The actor intends to move closer to his adult daughter in the San Fernando Valley, Blake’s attorney, Harland Braun, told The L.A. Daily News.
Beatles fans will be able to stay at the Hard Day’s Night Hotel after it opens in Liverpool, England, in 2003. Each of the hotel’s 120 rooms will feature a mural based on a member, song, or place associated with the group. The hotel will occupy a restored downtown building near the site of the Cavern Club, where the Fab Four played some of their earliest shows.
Movie News
Sony Pictures Entertainment has pulled an R-rated trailer for its upcoming comedy Not Another Teen Movie from the Sony.com Web site fearing underage kids could view it. The ad reportedly featured profanity and partial nudity, said Jack Valenti, President of the Motion Picture Association of America. Sony officials plan to produce a sanitized version of the ad for the site. Not Another Teen Movie is scheduled for release in December.
Director Joe Camp wants to cast all 26 canine roles from an animal shelter for the newest Benji movie. “It’s got to be a dog that’s very confident in himself and works and wants to do this,” he told the AP on Sunday. Camp‘s original Oscar-nominated Benji debuted in 1974 and earned $40 million in theaters. His latest, Benji Returns–The Promise of Christmas, is set for the 2002 holiday season.
Eon Productions denied that it has been looking for Pierce Brosnan‘s replacement for the role of James Bond in an upcoming movie, the AP reported Friday. A report in the British press said Scottish actor Gerard Butler had been promised the role whenever Brosnan gave it up. The title of the next film, due to start filming early next year, has not been announced.
Speaking of Bond, Famke Janssen, who got her big break in the 1995 Bond flick Golden Eye, will take the female lead in I Spy opposite Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson, Reuters reported. Janssen can currently be seen in Jon Favreau‘s Made, and co-starred in last year’s X-Men. I Spy begins shooting in mid-September in Budapest.
Karen Kramer, widow of director Stanley Kramer, is upset about the comparisons being made between Jerry Zucker‘s recent Rat Race and her late husband’s 1963 comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World,” People magazine reports. “The truth is that Mr. Zucker tried to build a better mousetrap and failed–exploiting a brilliant classic that was the daddy of its kind to create an inferior, unauthorized imitation,” she told the Los Angeles Times last week.
Video/DVD News
Since the sequel to Matrix, Matrix Reloaded, won’t be released until May 2003, Warner Bros. will introduce a 2½ hour documentary on the movie and its sequels this fall and also plans to produce anime episodes of the stories, Reuters reports. The Matrix Revisited will debut on DVD and VHS Nov. 20 and will include interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and sneak peaks at Reloaded and a third Matrix film now in pre-production.
The video game-based movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider will be released on video Nov. 13. The rental-priced VHS will include a 25-minute Digging into Tomb Raider bonus feature, Reuters reports. Other upcoming special edition DVD/ VHS releases include Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Oct. 23), featuring 90 minutes of extra material and audio commentaries by directors Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones; Warner Bros. five-film Dirty Harry collection and a three-film “Rat Pack” collection (Nov. 23).
