Leelee Sobieski and Donald Faison are starring in The Optimist, an indie feature directed by Marius Balchunas and being produced by Scott Sturgeon of 2Loop Films. Optimist centers on a family of Russian immigrants whose home is taken over by two local car thieves (Faison, Shane West). Sobieski plays a daughter who wants out of her home and falls for West. Rade Serbedzija plays Sobieski's father, a Russian-Jewish clarinetist. The two also played father-daughter in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.
- 5/16/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
New Line Cinema has picked up Scott Sturgeon and Marius Balchunas romantic comedy script Taming Ben Taylor. Kevin Costner is attached to the project, which centers on a powerful and beautiful businesswoman who tries to convince a stubborn and difficult man (Costner) to sell his land to a country club. Sturgeon and Balchunas penned the screenplay along with Amy Lasser. New Line Cinema is interested in Diane Lane to star opposite Costner as the businesswoman, though she does not yet have an official offer, the studio said. The project is currently out to directors. Producing the project are Sturgeon and Balchunas through their 2 Loop Films along with Gianni Nunnari. Costner and his producing partner Jim Wilson will also serve in a producer capacity, sources said. At the studio, the project is being shepherded by senior vp production Stokely Chafin and production executive George Waud. Sturgeon and Balchunas are repped by ICM and attorney P.J. Shapiro. Costner is repped by CAA. He recently finished shooting The Upside of Anger.
At least he's not playing a postman. Variety reports that Kevin Costner is considering romantic comedy Taming Ben Taylor as his next film, possibly opposite Michelle Pfeiffer. Based on a 1980s Italian comedy and scripted by Scott Sturgeon and Amy Lasser, the comedy centers around a vineyard owner (Costner) looking for love, who falls under the spell of a real estate agent bent on getting him to sell his property so that a golf course can be built. The project has yet to find a home, but Costner's Tig Productions is looking for both a director and a studio.
- 8/4/2003
- IMDbPro News
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