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Top Story
This year's Oscar race is heating up in the Best Foreign-Language Film category, as 51 countries have entered films into contention, according to Reuters.
France's Amelie is a clear front-runner, but many new countries--never before in consideration--are on the ballot, including films from Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Uruguay.
Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will begin the screening process of all 51 films on Nov. 28, weeding the number of entrants down to just five in consideration for an Oscar. The Academy Award nominations will be announced on Feb. 12, 2002 and the ceremony will be held March 24 in Hollywood.
In Court
Florio Fiorini, the Italian business tycoon who took over MGM studios in 1990, has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and fraud regarding the corporate transaction, admitting that he falsified his financial records to sweeten the deal. His sentencing will include 41 months in prison, a $100,000 fine and banishment from the U.S. for at least 10 years.
In General
Jeff Probst, best known as the host of the three Survivor installments, was honored on Monday by the American Cinematheque film organization for his directorial movie debut, Finder's Fee, starring James Earl Jones and Robert Forster. The organization named Probst as one of the "Ten Directors to Watch" for the psychological thriller about two men feuding in a New York apartment over a winning lottery ticket.
They've worked together on two pictures before--Out of Sight and the upcoming Ocean's Eleven--and it appears that actor George Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh will team up yet again for the film Solaris, a sci-fi drama about astronauts on the brink of insanity. Shooting is planned to commence in April 2002, according to Variety.
NBC has announced that they've approved production of a new sitcom titled Leap of Faith, which follows two 30-somethings coping with the ups and downs of marriage. The series is expected to debut as a mid-season replacement in March of 2002.
In other NBC-related news, former SNL star Adam Sandler will return to the network--this time as a producer. Sandler will serve as executive producer of a new, as-of-yet-untitled sitcom starring his SNL pals Norm MacDonald and Jon Lovitz. NBC will reveal the series' debut date at a later time, according to People.
Variety reports that actor/comedian Martin Lawrence is expected to sign a $20 million contract for the lead role in the upcoming film The Bomb, an urban comedy about a man's obsession with a beautiful woman. Warner Bros. execs are still searching for an appropriate director.
ArtistDirect Records, the new label founded by Interscope exec Ted Field, has signed with BMG Records in a distribution deal that will fund ArtistDirect and provide licensing of the label worldwide, according to Variety.