EXCLUSIVE: Good news! Warren Beatty is finally moving forward with his untitled “Howard Hughes” movie. What we do know is that a production office is in full swing at New Regency, the company making the film with Beatty. New Regency is newly hot these days with the arrival of Brad Pitt’s production company, and a major credit for “12 Years a Slave.” They’ve also got the next Cameron Crowe film, and Ben Affleck’s “Gone Girl.”
I put quotes around Howard Hughes’s name because it’s unclear whether the title character, to be played by Beatty, is still the infamously reclusive billionaire movie producer/aviator/raconteur/enigma. I’ve heard that Beatty, who’s written the screenplay himself, may have abandoned the idea of using Hughes, and decided to create his own character rather than deal with Hughes’s biographical baggage. That much remains in the air.
Right now the imdb calls the Beatty film “The Rules Don’t Apply.” There’s also a cast list that includes everyone from Jack Nicholson to Alec Baldwin. But sources say that “nothing on the imdb” is correct. The movie supposedly recounts a romance Hughes had with a young actress in his later years. Ironically, Beatty himself is now a few years older than Hughes was when he died at age 71. Of course, Beatty looks ten times younger than Hughes did even then.
Beatty is maybe the smartest guy in Hollywood, with a sharp eye and excellent taste. He’s an Oscar winner for “Reds,” and has on his resume many great films from “Shampoo” to “Bugsy” to “Heaven Can Wait” and “Dick Tracy” and “Bulworth.” Some other projects, like “Love Affair” and “Town and Country” did not fare as well. But a new Warren Beatty film is reason for excitement. And we need a little buzz in this, the worst month for movies ever it seems!
