LEONARDO DiCaprio is always rumored about to do any and everything. So don't be surprised at the whisper that he'll star in "Hughes, the Secret Life," which is the Charles Higham biography of the late Howard Hughes. And evidently Michael Mann is set to direct such a production. What would DiCaprio play, the kid who parks Howard's Bugatti - surely not the tall, dark, surly Hughes himself! But never mind. Speaking of author Higham, who has scanned the lives of everyone from the Duchess of Windsor to Kate Hepburn to Orson Welles, there will be a stage adaptation of his book "Martinis Before Breakfast" about Marlene Dietrich. Greta Thyssen portrays the legendary diva in the drama, which opens at the Theatre Studio on April 25 and is directed by A.M. Raychel.

Reuters/Variety - 01.03. 2001
Thursday March 1
Producer sues over Hughes picture
By Janet Shprintz

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Producer Charles Evans Jr., the nephew of Hollywood veteran Robert Evans, has filed a lawsuit claiming he was ousted him from his own project, a motion picture based on the life of Howard Hughes.

His complaint, filed Wednesday in L.A. Superior Court, targets movie studio New Line Cinema, management firm Artists Management Group (AMG) and director Michael Mann.

The suit says Evans had been developing a film project based on the life of Hughes since 1993. In 1997, Evans began discussions with Kevin Spacey about serving as a director. Spacey also agreed to assist Evans in finding financing.

Shortly thereafter, Evans and Spacey met with production company New Regency, which agreed to assist in the development of the project. Spacey agreed to direct and Jack Fincher (father of ``Seven'' director David) was hired to draft a screenplay.

In 1998, Evans attempted to convince Leonardo DiCaprio to play the part of Hughes, according to the lawsuit. Following discussions with DiCaprio and AMG principal Rick Yorn, who represents the actor, Evans was informed that DiCaprio would never make the project with a director he hadn't selected.

Evans finally decided to terminate Spacey, and Yorn advised him DiCaprio was in. Yorn then told Evans DiCaprio wanted Michael Mann (''The Insider'') as the director and further discussions ensued. John Logan (''Gladiator'') was hired by Mann to do a screenplay.

After many months of believing Mann and DiCaprio were planning to do the Hughes film at New Regency with him, Evans learned last March that Mann had made a deal with New Line to do a Hughes project.

The complaint alleges fraud, breach of implied contract and intentional interference with economic advantage.

New Line declined to comment and AMG could not be reached for comment.

The Litigation Tracker
by Denise Levin

The story behind the bringing of Howard Hughes's life story to the big screen appears to involve almost as much intrigue as the life of the industrialist, aviator and film producer himself. It's got claims of Leonardo DiCaprio ousting Kevin Spacey, a thieving Michael Mann and, of course, a lawsuit.

Producer Charles Evans Jr. and his Acappella Pictures sued New Line Cinema, Artists Management Group and director Mann Wednesday, claiming they took the project he had nurtured and put his heart into for years and left him in the dust.

''No one has worked harder to bring the story of Howard Hughes to the screen in contemporary Hollywood than Evans,'' Hughes chronicler Pat H. Broeske, who co-wrote the book on which Evans's project is in part based, said when informed of the suit. ''It is a passion of Charlie Evans.'' (Evans is the nephew of legendary producer and former Paramount chief Robert Evans.)

Evans claims he came up with the idea to use the young, pre-recluse life of Hughes for a film in 1993. He spent countless hours learning about Hughes's life and times, becoming an expert in the events and accomplishments that made Hughes famous, his lawsuit states. Besides research, Evans gave the project legs by hiring a writer, with whom he worked closely on five drafts of the screenplay, the suit adds. In 1996, Acappella obtained an option to acquire all rights to the book Howard Hughes: The Untold Story, written by Broeske and Peter Harry Brown. Broeske confirmed this, adding that Evans recently picked up the lapsed option.

Giving the project even more oomph, Evans hired Spacey to direct the film and together they secured financing from New Regency. New Regency at first agreed to pay Acappella a $15,000 development fee and $400,000 in fixed compensation, but the development fee was later raised to $25,000. In addition, New Regency hired writer Jack Fincher to draft a screenplay based on the Broeske/Brown book.

Evans then set out to convince heartthrob actor DiCaprio to play the lead, and had various discussions with DiCaprio's manager at AMG, Rick Yorn. ''As a result of these discussions, Yorn, acting on behalf of AMG, informed Evans that DiCaprio would never join the project as long as any director (i.e., Spacey), not selected by DiCaprio, was attached,'' the suit states.

Forced to choose between DiCaprio and Spacey, Evans, ''after many sleepless nights,'' terminated Spacey in November 1998. Yorn then told Evans that DiCaprio was committed to the project, according to the suit. DiCaprio chose Mann, based on his impressive resume, which includes The Insider, Heat and the upcoming Ali, and the project appeared to be moving forward. Yorn told Evans not to do anything else, and Yorn and Mann periodically kept Evans apprised of developments, such as the hiring of screenwriter John Logan, whose credits include Any Given Sunday, and who worked on the Oscar-nominated screenplay for Gladiator. In addition, over the course of about a year, Yorn repeatedly promised to keep Evans in the loop and assured him that he would not be cut out, the suit states.

In March 2000, however, Evans discovered that Mann and DiCaprio had made deals with New Line for the Howard Hughes project. Evans was told by Yorn to make his own deal, but New Line told Evans's attorney it was not interested in him for the project, the suit alleges. Despite claims by Yorn and Mann, moreover, the suit maintains that DiCaprio was never firmly committed to the project, and Mann had never intended to move ahead with Evans, but instead intended from the beginning to cut him out.

Evans's attorney contacted Mann's attorney, and was allegedly told: ''Mann did not believe that he had engaged in any wrongdoing and that Evans and Acappella did not possess any viable legal claims,'' the suit says.