CHRISTOPHER MELONI, who quit his 12-year gig as Det. Stabler, co-star of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU, is expected to have “an unspecified major role” in Man of Steel, the Warner Bros. Superman blockbuster that will film in Naperville and Plano in August.
He’ll join A-listers Russell Crowe (who is said to have chunked up quite a bit), Kevin Costner, Diane Lane as Supermans parents, Henry Cavill as Superman and Amy Adams as Lois Lane, along with Michael Shannon and Julia Ormond.
So what would be Meloni’s “major role?” He could be Superman’s boss at the Daily Planet or another villain or …
IT’S NO SURPRISE that thousands of people turned out in response to the for the four Man of Steel casting calls for paid extras over the past two weeks, at Plano High School, DePaul’s Naperville campus and another mob for the last call Saturday at the Chicago Academy for the Arts on Saturday.
PATIENT CREW MEMBERS who worked on Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon and are willing to see it after it opens midnight June 29, will be rewarded with a special screening just for them July 2 at an AMC theatre.
The blockbuster that filmed in Chicago last summer – the movie culminates with skyscrapers toppling over Michigan Avenue — opens in IMAX 3D theatres the day before.
Transformers 3 is director Michael Bay’s first 3D film – which executive producer Steven Spielberg called “the best 3D I’ve ever seen.” That praise alone should have 3D sci fi fans lined up around the block.
EMMYTINIS and TV Tequila Smash are two of the specially-designed cocktails that’ll be served along with Latino-themed appetizers at the NATAS’ Summer Social Event July 13 at the Cantina, 46 E. Superior St. Just $10 for a complimentary drink and appetizers.
A SIGN OF RECOGNITION for Cicero native actor Joe Mantegna was the honorary street sign named in his honored in a stretch on Austin Ave. at 25th St. And deservedly so.
Since the early ‘80s, after Mantegna departed from Chicago’s theatre scene as a favorite (and still is) of playwright David Mamet, Mantegna has acted in 93 movies; his latest was the voice of Grem in Cars 2 and in 48 TV series, currently in Criminal Minds.
HOLLYWOOD INSIDER KARLA RAE FULLER, PhD, who teaches screenwriting, script analysis and film history at Columbia College, shares her invaluable insight on script structure at the Sunday, July 13 meeting of the Chicago Screenwriters Network at the Lincoln Restaurant. Previously, Fuller was director of film evaluation for Vestron(Dirty Dancing) and script reader for many movie production companies.
ELEPHANT FILM WORKS, the Chicago-L.A. production/post company run by brothers Kipp & KC Norman, who together direct, edit, animate and create graphics, is now being repped by Valerie Gobos.
Elephant’s latest spot was for Dean Hospital via the Hiebing Group of Madison, Wisc. Recently for Allstate direct, Elephant produced The Lines, an eight webisode series promoting safe driving habits among the series’ target audience of teens and young adults.
ALSO: Robin Pickett & Associate signed Emmy-winning yU+co. a design company specializing in film title sequences, with offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, for Midwest representation.
REEL MICHIGAN: An Investigation Discovery true crime show, Stolen Voices, Buried Secrets, where the murder is told first person by the victim himself (like Bones?) will shoot an episode in Galien and Stevensville June 27-July 1. This episode tells the story of teacher and mother Lisa Fein, who was brutally murdered in her home in 2000.
VENDORS REPORT a verrry slooow June. Virtually no commercial location shoots by either local or bi-coastal production companies. Some quiet editorial houses say they are awaiting an avalanche of business in July. Still. If you or your company aren’t busy, what do you think is causing this apparent dry spell (or not). Use BackTalk to express your opinions.
