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Shortcut to Happiness
(based on the short story "The Devil & Daniel Webster"
by Stephen Vincent Benét and "Scratch" a play written
by Archibald MacLeish)

UPDATED NOVEMBER 2, 2001

From My Love Hewitt Websites

THE DEVIL HAS A BACKER!

Family Room Entertainment Corporation (FRE) is an independent motion picture entertainment production, finance and distribution company headquartered in Los Angeles, California and founded by Randall Emmett and George Furla.  FRE has announced it has engaged the services of Madison & Wall Worldwide, Inc., a nationally recognized, strategic financial communications firm, to generate broad market awareness of the Company among individual investors, institutions, analysts, retail stockbrokers, media sources and other investment professionals.

Family Room Entertainment is involved in "The Devil and Daniel Webster" - just to name a few productions under the FRE banner. Also FRE has boasted an access to over $250 million in project financing for desirable projects through partnerships with global production, financing and distribution companies through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Emmett/Furla Film Productions Corporation.

Story: Copyright Control. All Rights Reserved.
'Devil' Image: © 2001 Devil Productions LLC. All Rights Reserved.
'FRE' Image: FRE Corp. All Rights Reserved.

UPDATED AUGUST 25, 2001

From The Hollywood Reporter

BEDEVILED

by Stephen Galloway

On May 22, some readers of the trade press were surprised to discover that Alec Baldwin, the veteran actor seen in such pictures as "The Hunt for Red October" and "Pearl Harbor," had filed suit against the producer of the new independent movie Baldwin directed and stars in, "The Devil and Daniel Webster." The film, ironically, tells the tale of a desperate storyteller who is dragged into court to defend himself against a litigious demon seeking his soul.

According to reports, Baldwin alleged that David Glasser, CEO of Cutting Edge Entertainment, failed to pay him and crew members. As a result, with shooting wrapped, he was refusing to edit the picture until the finances were put in order.

The friction between the two sides erupted into a full-scale battle, with a lawsuit filed by Baldwin June 1 in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that the nonpayments had seriously jeopardized Baldwin's reputation and that he had to give up more than $5 million in other potential earnings to make the film.

According to the lawsuit, "Cutting Edge fraudulently induced (the) plaintiffs to enter into (an) operating agreement, knowing that they did not have the financial ability to finish the picture or to obtain all of the necessary financing pursuant to the operating agreement."

Glasser disputed many of Baldwin's allegations, and, finally - after shuttling back and forth between Cutting Edge and Baldwin's reps at the William Morris Agency - the two sides agreed to continue working together. On June 27, Baldwin returned to the cutting room and began editing the film.

"Devil" was Baldwin's dream project for seven years, ever since he and his El Dorado Pictures producing partner Jon Cornick started developing the remake of the 1941 RKO film "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (a.k.a. "All That Money Can Buy") for Castle Rock Entertainment.

Castle Rock eventually put the movie into turnaround. When the project landed at Cutting Edge, insiders say, Baldwin immersed himself in it, wooing friend Anthony Hopkins - whom he'd worked with on the gritty 1997 drama "The Edge" -to star in the film for a below-market fee, which is reported to be $6 million, far less than the $15 million he'd recently earned for "Hannibal." Sources say that shooting went smoothly and came in under budget, and all those interviewed agree that everyone involved was pleased with the way the film turned out.

So why did the dream project turn sour? How did one of Hollywood's best actors find himself in a legal battle with one of its more enterprising young producers?

The answer might lie in the clash between studio values and indie practices, between the expectations of one group used to dealing with the deep-pocketed majors and another used to the cut-and-thrust, hit-and-run style of the indie arena. It might also lie in the conflict between a well-known star and a small company risking almost everything it had on its most expensive project.

Unlike studio pictures - which are generally funded by one source or, in these days of increasing co-productions, by two at most - indie movies are often cobbled together by funding from a variety of places. Production companies either team with foreign sales outfits or have their own in-house sales units that raise money by selling the rights to a movie to territories around the world.

Ideally, these rights are sold before a movie is shot. Independent film companies can get bank loans to fund their films based on the strength of presales, which can generate from thousands of dollars to millions, depending on the territories and the movie in question. Boasting such stars as Baldwin and Hopkins, "Devil" could be a prime offering at the major film markets such as MIFED, Cannes and the American Film Market.

Indie companies also raise money by selling the domestic rights to their films, usually to a studio or to an independent distributor such as Artisan or Miramax.

It's this domestic deal that often fuels foreign sales. In fact, in an increasingly cost-conscious environment, many see a domestic deal as essential to generating big foreign deals, although having such high-caliber stars as Baldwin and Hopkins would certainly relieve some of that pressure.

In this case, no domestic deal has been put in place to date, which might have complicated financing right from the start.

"We're waiting for the proper cut to go out," Glasser explains, when asked why a domestic deal has not been made. "We have a first-look deal with Universal, but we've had several blind offers in the $6 million to $7 million range for domestic rights, and we turned them down." He adds that Universal is waiting to see Baldwin's cut of the promo trailer, which is due in late August or early September and that no domestic deal will be considered until then. "We're betting that the film is worth more than [what] we have been offered - in the $7 million to $8 million range," says Glasser, whose gamble has the support of his backers. "We think this is a commercial title and expect that it will warrant a 1,000- to 1,500-screen release with appropriate backing in P&A, so we're looking for those things in any offer we consider."

Cutting Edge screened a rough trailer - cut without Baldwin's input - at Cannes this year to quell any industry doubts about "Devil," and reports from the scenes were positive. But while the film has been sold to several European distributors - including TOT Media in Spain and Groupo Minerva in Italy - it has yet to be sold in such key territories as Japan and England, as the asking price could jump depending on who picks up the U.S. domestic rights.

Uncovering the truth behind what really happened in a "he said, she said" type conflict such as the one that plagues "Devil" is certainly difficult. Given the refusal of Baldwin and his associates to cooperate with this story makes it that much harder. Neither Baldwin nor Cornick returned calls placed to their offices. Baldwin's agent, Lee Stollman, declined to comment, and Baldwin's publicist said the actor-director was not available for interview.

However, through off-the-record interviews with several participants and through details in Baldwin's lawsuit, it is possible to piece many elements together.

According to Glasser, he and Cutting Edge became involved with "Devil" through a meeting Glasser had with Cornick several years after Baldwin started developing the film. The two were discussing "Waterproof," a Roland Joffé-produced movie that Cutting Edge had distributed and that Cornick was also involved in.

At the time, Cutting Edge was new to this upper-crust Hollywood realm. Glasser founded the company in 1993 after entering the business as a child actor then switching gears to become an independent producer. Initially, Cutting Edge did direct-to-video product; then in 1997, it began its move into the theatrical field.

Cutting Edge previously financed or released some 20 titles per year, including "In the Shadows," starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Caan; and "Dog," with Elizabeth Hurley. In addition, they had made films with two of Baldwin's brothers: Stephen on the actioner "Cutaway," and William on the drama "One Eyed King." But Glasser wanted to propel the company upward with high-profile films and bigger names. To that end, "Devil" seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

"Jon (Cornick) brought us the script," Glasser recalls, "and we met with Alec, and he was just passionate to do this movie." Cutting Edge agreed to make the film with a $13 million budget.

According to Glasser, at first, Baldwin had no plans to direct. "We spent about a year and a half taking the project to the next level," Glasser recalls. "We met with several directors. But most of them wanted the script changed in some way - either making it more of a thriller or adding more action."

During this time, "it became totally evident that Alec was the person to direct," Glasser explains. "He knew every scene, every shot."

In early 1999, Baldwin agreed to direct, given certain provisions that would only benefit the film, which included having a lengthy production schedule. Glasser agreed. According to Baldwin's lawsuit, he was to be paid $750,000 for his directing services, with additional payments for his producing and acting services.

He and his team then started looking for their lead actress.

Based on the 1941 film and the 1937 short story by Stephen Vincent Benet, "Devil" tells the story of a down-and-out writer (Baldwin) who offers his soul to Old Nick in exchange for fame and fortune but then hires a brilliant attorney (Hopkins) to plead his case when the contract comes due. The modern-day version would offer a twist: Satan would be played by a comely young woman, while the original featured crusty Walter Huston as the diabolic dealmaker.

"The actress had to be special," Glasser says. "She's playing the devil. This is not like 'Devil's Advocate,' with all the weird special effects. This is a combination of drama and comedy."

Finding the actress proved difficult as many young stars were tied to other projects. Rachael Leigh Cook was approached, but she decided not to take the part. Eventually, Baldwin met with Jennifer Love Hewitt and was impressed with her take on the role. A deal was put in place.

Hopkins had long been thought of to play the barrister Daniel Webster, but at first this seemed impossible because of the scheduling conflict with "Hannibal." When finding the right actress took longer than expected, "Devil" was delayed, and Hopkins again became available. A deal was negotiated through Hopkins' agent, Rick Nicita of Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Signing Hopkins, however, meant an escalation in the film's budget: from $13 million to $18 million. And here, the first rift between Baldwin and Glasser appeared, with Baldwin insisting on shooting in New York instead of Toronto as initially planned. Glasser conceded, upping the budget to more than $20 million.

"That was the turning point for us," Glasser says, while conceding that the New York locations ultimately added a great deal to the film. "When we got to $18 million, and he said $20 million, I could see this would just keep going. I sat down at William Morris with Lee Stollman, then with (agent) Manny Nunez at CAA - he was representing Hopkins (along with Nicita) - and I said, 'Look, $20 million, that is it! Any more than that, and we are going to put ourselves in the danger zone.'"

And in the end, that's just what happened.

Costs started to climb. "By the time I rolled into the second week of preproduction, we were around $23.5 million," Glasser says.

Glasser worked closely with his completion-bond company, WorldWide Completion Company, and with the indie-finance mavens at the Lewis Horwitz Organization (LHO) to raise the rest of the money. LHO's Horwitz confirms the details of the ensuing roller-coaster ride.

What followed was a frenzied scramble that had the bankers and producers working around the clock to raise the extra funds.

In December 2000, with preproduction well under way, Glasser flew back to Los Angeles at Christmas to work the phones and raise funds.

"We had to keep increasing the budget," Glasser explains, his voice rising with the drama. "I hadn't seen my wife and kids for six weeks. But I flew home to increase financing by another $4 million in the middle of the Christmas holidays because I couldn't put any more cash in the picture - my company already had $5 million of its own money in the film."

Miraculously, Glasser and his colleagues found the money. Everything was set for shooting to begin. And then, just days before Cutting Edge could close the deal for its first loan to start filming, it was hit with a near-devastating blow.

Glasser learned there was an issue about who actually owned the rights to certain territories - the kind of problem that can stop a movie in its tracks. Baldwin had made a deal with another sales company before Cutting Edge came aboard "Devil," so this company still had contractual claims to the rights of certain prime territories.

"No bank in the world, and no bond company, will close a loan in those circumstances," Glasser notes. "So here I am, with 65 employees on my payroll, actors flying in, sets being built! I'm not a studio. Where's the money going to come from? Some we had to cashflow ourselves, with a partner, (Michael Greyson, CEO of) Axis Entertainment. They stepped in with bridge financing during the preproduction phase - and I'm locked in an office, like a war room. We had attorneys working round the clock. We had ten people in a room." Glasser's task was to carefully extract "Devil" from these old contracts, using the argument that the new expanded project was not the one the original company had made their deal with.

Meanwhile, Hopkins was waiting to be paid. He and Hewitt were expecting their salaries to be put into an escrow account six weeks before shooting - but there was no sign of the money.

Sources close to Hopkins confirm that they started to become anxious when the money didn't arrive, but because of the actor's friendship with Baldwin, they chose to hang in nonetheless. By this time, Glasser's personal stake in the film had risen to $6 million, as he was still funding the picture, while Baldwin was location scouting.

"But I couldn't reach out to my bank because there was no clean chain of title," Glasser explains. Shooting was scheduled to start Jan. 15, 2001, but things were getting perilous.

"Here's Hopkins coming off 'Hannibal' with every offer in town, and he still does not have his money escrowed," Glasser says with a sigh. "The agents were starting to get concerned. But we assured them we would come through. Things got really tense in January, two weeks from production. David Hutkin (lead banker at LHO) was literally sleeping in the office, working to get this done."

On Jan. 7, one week from shooting, Glasser adds, "financing still hadn't closed. Hopkins' people were getting very nervous. Meanwhile, Cutting Edge and Axis are floating every dime of production 50-50. If the loan hadn't closed, I'd have been out close to $7 million at this point. Come Thursday that week, I was on a plane back to New York, and I got a phone call that Anthony (Hopkins) was looking at other projects."

Near panic, Glasser landed in New York on Jan. 11 at 4 p.m. and proceeded to his hotel room, which by then had turned into a veritable battle zone of accountants and production personnel. "There were two weeks of work to do in 72 hours," he says.

The following day, he was told that Hopkins was moving on. And then, to great gasps of relief, a day later, on Saturday morning, Glasser and Hutkin closed the paperwork for the rights - and with them, the loan.

"At 10 p.m. on Saturday night, LHO's David Hutkin drove the escrow checks to SAG, Hopkins' and Hewitt's people. We were financed about nine hours outside the day of production," Glasser recalls.

Shooting was under way one week behind schedule, and, according to sources, went smoothly, with a budget now twice its initial size, $27.6 million, with new financing from Miracle Entertainment, Americana Financial and Vavand Holdings, among others.

Initial presales of $16.5 million from just a few territories indicated to Glasser that he had a major hit, and subsequent sales have boosted that tally to $19 million.

Baldwin - despite having to deal with the frenzied pursuit of the press following his split with wife, actress Kim Basinger - still managed to bring the film in on time. According to his lawsuit, it wrapped at $700,000 below budget.

"The dailies were looking great, the production was on schedule," Glasser gushes. "By week two, the bond company came out, and they were completely satisfied."

Glasser marvels at Baldwin's ability to successfully deliver the hardest part of the film - a 40-page courtroom sequence that he had to act in and direct.

"They were very heavy scenes, and Alec pulled them off," Glasser attests. "He can be brilliant."

Baldwin, however, was extremely unhappy about what he claimed were nonpayments to him and others. In late May, he told a trade journalist that he had not been paid for the final four weeks of shooting on the film. "The financing appeared to have fallen through, and they just stopped paying people," he said at the time.

In his lawsuit, Baldwin said that he was owed $550,000 when production wrapped, but this has since been paid, though only after Baldwin hired attorney Martin Singer. Still, he said, his anxiety was not allayed. Glasser does not dispute that there were financial problems, but says he asked for tolerance.

"I was looking at the global picture," he explains. "I said, 'We have a vision here together. Let's be patient.'"

According to Glasser, at that late stage, "we basically had one investor fall out - a small piece of money. We told everybody, we'll pay (in the investor's place)." It was, Glasser says, "a minute piece of financing - far under $1 million." But he acknowledges that several people were not paid when they should have been.

Today, almost three months after the "Devil" legal rift began, Glasser says everyone has been paid, an agreement between Cutting Edge and Baldwin has been reached, and Baldwin's lawsuit has been canceled. Baldwin returned to the editing room at the end of June. Glasser is now waiting for Baldwin's 10-minute presentation reel in order to begin domestic dealmaking. The finished film could be ready by November.

While it might seem odd, Horwitz, for one, sees the "Devil" dilemma as par for the course in the indie business. "In a sizable number of independent productions," he notes, "the producer does the best he can with somewhat less than the amount of money he would like to have to produce the film." He adds, "The film looks really good. Alec did a great job."

But for both Glasser and Baldwin, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" has been a bruising experience. Now both must wait to see whether the negative publicity engendered by their legal dispute will damage their film or whether the quality of the product - which almost everyone believes in - will shine through.

Story: © 2002 The Hollywood Reporter. All Rights Reserved.

"Goddam".....Click My Love for the Big Ones.....

UPDATED JUNE 2001

From GQ Magazine-UK

THE DEVIL AND MISS HEWITT

Story by Toby Young  

Photos by Sam Jarrett  

She's charmed America's TV audiences, outwitted serial killers and stolen Alec Baldwin's soul.  Is no one immune to this impish charm of Jennifer Love Hewitt?

When I arrive at the WWF theme restaurant in New York's Time Square, Jennifer Love Hewitt is sitting at the bar chatting to four tourists from Atlanta.  She's been there for only five minutes but already she's on first-name terms with all of them.

"So let me get this straight," she says.  "Maggie, you're married to Denny; and Becky, you and Blake are going out, but you're not married.  Is that right?"

"You got it," says Blake.

"Well why the hell not?" she asks, fixing Blake with a stern look.

"Never got around to asking, I guess" says Blake sheepishly.

"Well now's your chance," Jennifer replies, winking at Becky.  "Take her to the Empire State Building this afternoon, go up to the observation platform, get down on one knee and pop the goddam question."

For a second, Blake looks stunned.  'Am I really being lectured by Jennifer Love Hewitt?'  Then he breaks into a broad grin.

"I just might do that," he chuckles.

By the time we get up to go to our table, Maggie, Denny, Becky and Blake are glowing with pleasure.  Meeting Love Hewitt has clearly been the highlight of their trip.  Who knows, maybe Blake and Becky will hop in a cab after lunch and head for the Empire State Building.  At least they'll have a good story to tell at the wedding.

Just before we leave, Jennifer calls over the barman.  "Could I pick up their tab?" she whispers, in dictating her new friends.  "Whatever they have, stick it on my bill, OK?"

At first, I can't work out why she wanted to meet in the WWF Cafe.  We'd originally arranged to have lunch at Shun Lee, an expensive Chinese restaurant on the Upper West Side, but at the last minute she'd changed her mind.  Gradually, thought the penny drops.  The fact of the matter is she just interacting with her fans.  At Shun lee, social etiquette would have prevented the restaurant's patrons from approaching her, but no such qualms inhibit our fellow diners at the WWF Cafe.  Within minutes of our sitting down, two people have asked for her autograph.

"I guess I shouldn't enjoy this so much, but I can't help myself," she giggles, signing a menu.

If the exercise is designed to impress me, it works.  I'd heard of Jennifer Love Hewitt, obviously, but I have no idea just how famous she is in her native land.  In the UK she's best known for her role as Julie James in I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, and for being the girl in the Neutrogena ads, but to Americans she is---and probably always will be---Sarah Reeves in PARTY OF FIVE,  a prime time TV series that ran from 1994-2000.

Ten of millions of Americans watched Love Hewitt grown up in their living room, blossoming from a gawky adolescent into the self assured prom queen she is today.  In a recent magazine poll, she came joint-first with Brad Pitt in a response to the question:  "If you had one condom left, what celebrity you want to use it with?"

Howard Stern, the infamous New York Shock Jock, has devoted hours of Jennifer's breasts and, now that I'm less than three feet away from them, it's not hard to see why.  In addition to being seriously perky, they're 100% natural.  At one point during her world wide tour to promote I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER she wore a T-shirt that said: "Silicone Free".

It's funny that that's what people focus on," she laughs.  Actually, it's not that funny because throughout the film she appears in flimsier and flimsier tops.  Indeed, the principal source of the suspense in I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER is not whether his rusty hook, but whether, in the course of fighting him off, her breasts will pop out.  The fact that they don't may well account for why the sequel was a disappointment at the box office.

"I think the imagination can do much sexier things," she says, by way of explanation.  "It's much sexier to allude to what's under the tight T-shirt than to show it, don't you think?"

She thrusts out her chest and looks at me expectantly.  It takes a super human effort of will to stop my eyes wandering in a southerly direction.  So, er, is nudity a total no-no then?"

"I don't like the word, 'never', but I don't see it in my future," she sighs.  "I can't et up on the screen and do something I really don't believe in because it shows.  I wouldn't be comfortable with it."

Perhaps she feels that to do a nude scene would be too much of a shock to the American media, which appears to have pigeonholed her as a "good" girl.  People Magazine voted her one of the ten worst dressed stars in 2000, largely because of her penchant for "inappropriate" figure-hugging outfits.  "When she wears skimpy clothes, I just want to throw a blanket over her and yell.  'No, you can't look at her!'" Mia Tyler (sister of Liv) was quoted as saying.

Still, male fans of Love Hewitt's shouldn't abandon hope.  In her latest movie, which she is making at this moment with, among others, Anthony Hopkins, she';s been cast as Beelzebub in a boob tube.  It's a remake of a 1941 film called THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER, in which the Prince (or in this case, "Princess")of Darkness persuades a struggling author to sell his soul in return for making his book a best seller.  Alec Baldwin, who plays the part of the author, is also the director and if anyone can persuade Love Hewitt to take her clothes off, he can.

Whatever's happening in her private life, Jennifer Love Hewitt has a reputation for being a consummate professional, someone who gives "no percent" to whatever project she's working on. 

Her first date, appropriately enough, was with Fed Savage, star of THE WONDER YEARS when she was 14 years-old.  "We went to a comedy club, then we went to a restaurant, then he drove me home then hugged me, and that was it," she says, sounding a little disappointed.  According to her, the reason he never called again is because when he came to pick her up her brother's Vietnamese pot-bellied pig  ran into the room and scared the shit out of him.  "it really freaked him out" she laughs.

Her big break came when she got the part of Sarah on PARTY OF FIVE, a coup she attributes to the fact that, in spite of her showbiz lifestyle, she was just a normal teenager at heart.  "The character talked like I did," she recalls.  "I turned up for the audition and all the other girls looked much older and were really dolled-up.  I was just a 16 year-old.  I mean, I was  dolled-up in my own way, but nothing like the other girls."

Initially, she was cast in only nine episodes, but the produced soon realized she had the makings of a star."  As the episodes started to air, the chemistry between Scott Wolf (Love Hewitt's co-star) and I got a strong response, so they asked me to stay for another season and then, when it got picked up, I was just part of the show," she says.

In the late 1990s it all came good for Jennifer.  After the unexpected success of I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER in 1997, she emerged in the front rank of a new wave of movie stars, all of whom had got their start on TV.  There success coincided with a "youthquake" whereby tens of millions of teenagers who'd been born in the 1980s started filling America's multiplexes and demanding some popcorn of their own.  This new generation, sometimes referred to as a "Generation Y", wasn't interesting in the brooding, "edgy" actors who had appealed to their older brothers and sisters; they wanted bright, bubble gum stars.  "Attitude", the holy grail of thew early 1990s, was over.  Sweetness was the new thing.  Jennifer Love Hewitt, with her wide-eyed, kittenish charm, seemed to fit the bill.

At the end of out lunch, I've become so afond of Jennifer---of "Love", as she's known to her friends---I don't want to say goodbye.  As a long shot, I ask her if she wants to go ice skating in Central Park.

"I can't," she says wistfully, "I had to sign this form when I started making THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER saying I couldn't do any physical activities in case I broke a bone or something."  

That rules out hot monkey sex, then.  How about this: would she be prepared to accompany me to Barney's, New York's pre-eminent department store, to help me pick out a new suit?  To my astonishment, she says yes.  I'm going to be spending the afternoon with her!

As we were leaving the WWF Cafe, she asks me whether I have a girlfriend and, reluctantly, I tell her I'm getting married on July 21.  This snipper of conversation is overheard by one of the waiters and when Jennifer disappears to retrieve her coat her sidles up to me.

"You're getting married?" he asks.  By the look of astonishment on his face it's clear he thinks Love Hewitt is my intended.

"That's right, " I say nonchalantly.

"Congratulations!" he replies, pumping my arm.As far as he's concerned, I've won the lottery.

When we arrived at Barney's, there's a murmur of excitement.  I can sense people doing double takes around me---Oh My God!  It's Jennifer Love Hewitt!---and I hope they're making the same mistake the waiter did.  On our way to the men's floor, Jennifer insists on stopping to look at a couple of dresses and I overhear two camp shop assistants talking about her.  One says in a hushed tone: "Jennifer Love Hewitt!"

"Where?" asks the other.

"Right over there!" he replies.  Then, having taken a deep breath, he announces that he's going to go and help her.  He prances over and within seconds he's clapping his hands and roaring with laughter as she turns on the charm.

I select a $1,000 suit and disappear into the changing rooms.I emerge a few minutes later almost unable to walk, the trousers were so tight.

"Take the jacket off and let's have a look," she says, giving me the once over.  I must look anxious because she asks me what the matter is.  "I'm afraid these trouser make my bum look big," I confess.

"You do not have a big butt," she protests.  "I, on the other hand, have a big butt."

For the record, this is a flat out lie: it's as perky as her breasts, but about half the size.  Seeing her there, leading a pack of shop assistants around like a mother hen with her chicks, I suddenly realize why Alec Baldwin has cast her as the Devil.

There's something impish and mischievous about her and she has wicked glint in her eye like a naughty schoolgirl who knows she can get away with anything.  She's clearly enjoying herself enormously, a starlet in her power zone, relishing the effect she's having on everyone around her.

This is Jennifer Love Hewitt's moment; she's arrived in the spotlight and she has no intention of stepping out of it any time soon.

Images & Story: © 2001 GQ Magazine - United Kingdon. All Rights Reserved.

Hopkins has a devil of a duel with Love Hewitt.....

UPDATED JUNE 20, 2001

From USA Today

HEWITT vs. HOPKINS

by Susan Wloszczyna

Hannibal vs. a leggy Lucifer? Sounds delicious.

Anthony Hopkins raises hell once more as the man-eating Dr. Lecter in Hannibal, the long-awaited sequel to 1991's The Silence of the Lambs that arrives February 9, 2001. But he's currently lurking in Manhattan, facing off with she-demon Jennifer Love Hewitt in a contemporary film version of Stephen Vincent Benet's The Devil and Daniel Webster.

Alec Baldwin, in his directing debut, plays a writer who sells his soul for fame and fortune, and Hopkins defends him in court against Hewitt. "It's a good fantasy, a morality story," Hopkins says. Asked whether there are similarities between the film and last fall's Bedazzled with Elizabeth Hurley as a bodacious Beelzebub, the actor draws a blank before responding, "Oh, she's the one who's Hugh Grant's ex."

Hopkins met Baldwin when they did the 1997 wilderness thriller The Edge, and they became fast friends. Says Hopkins about his pal's prowess behind the camera: "He is a wonderful director. Such a nice guy. He's terrific and very focused."

Considering that Baldwin is undergoing a very public split with actress wife Kim Basinger, it's amazing he can keep his mind on his job at all. But his co-star says, "It's painful, but he sticks to it. I've never worked with a director who works so fast. He's on his feet all day. I don't think he realizes how talented he is."

As for Baldwin's reported temper-control problems, Hopkins hasn't seen it . "The cast and crew love working with him. I'd do anything for him."

Story: © 2001 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Glasser & Baldwin together to finish "Devil".....

UPDATED JUNE 12, 2001

From Reuters

ALEC BALDWIN RETURNS!

As Dish readers might recall, Baldwin and Glasser were at odds over a cash shortage, which Glasser attributed to an investor falling out. Baldwin walked from the picture and filed a lawsuit that would have taken his name off the film as its director. The lawsuits have been dropped and compromises were reached that sent Baldwin back to the cutting room.

Clearly, there's still no love lost between Baldwin and Glasser, but the compromise seems to serve the solitary fact that combatants agreed upon during the dispute, that ``Devil'' was a good film and one worth seeing through. Also, it clearly was to everyone's advantage to present the best possible film so that the parties still owed money could cash in those IOUs once a distribution deal was made, something that should not be hard considering the cast of Baldwin, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Story: © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Image: Copyright Control. All rights reserved.

The Producer and director of "THE DEVIL & DANIEL WEBSTER" wants name off film.....

UPDATED JUNE 12, 2001

From Zap2it.com/Tribune Media Services

ALEC BALDWIN LEGAL WOES CONTINUE

Sir Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin on location in New York City for "The Devil & Daniel Webster" (2001).

David Glasser, the producer of the Alec Baldwin directed The Devil and Daniel Webster has in the past insisted that the actor would return to the project to edit his directorial debut.

However, the situation has gone further downhill to the point where it's likely that their next meeting will take place in a courtroom rather than in an editing room.

Baldwin has stated that he wants his name removed from the film and has filed suit against Cutting Edge entertainment and producer Glasser.

"We gave Alec exactly what his lawyers asked for, and he went and filed a lawsuit, which basically comes down to an $850,000 bonus he was due only if he delivered the picture on time and on budget,'' Glasser said.

"Why, if he was so concerned about vendors getting paid, did he make sure he was paid in full, first? I deferred my fee to pay the vendors. I have a parachute I could pull because Alec breached his contract, but I've seen a cut and it's a good movie. I hang in on a movie that goes from $13 million to a $28 million budget and he can't roll with the punches when an investor pulls out?''

Baldwin countered Glasser's comments by claiming that $750,000 of the $850,000 he is suing for are funds that were always due he and his partner which they deferred. He also said that the budget ballooned due to the fact that Glasser agreed to a $6 million pay day for Anthony Hopkins who worked just a few weeks on the film.

"We're suing for millions of dollars because they completely defrauded us, told us they had the money to finish the film when they knew before they started they didn't have it. They hoped they could raise it and when they couldn't, they thought we wouldn't notice. Every time we put out one fire, he'd start another. He's a contractual pyromaniac.''

Story: © 2001 Zap2it.com/ Tribune Media Services. All Rights Reserved.
Image: © 2001 Devil Productions LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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