valentine's day
Hollywood Reporter: 12 may 2009
New Line celebrates 'Valentine's Day'
Garry Marshall to direct all-star cast in romantic comedy
By Borys Kit
New Line is putting together an all-star cast for its latest romantic comedy, "Valentine's Day," to be directed by Garry Marshall. The screenplay was written by Katherine Fugate.
Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Shirley MacLaine, Bradley Cooper and Ashton Kutcher are in final negotiations to star in the movie, which has five slightly interconnecting stories playing out during a Valentine's Day in Los Angeles.
A scorecard may be needed to keep track of the story lines:
-- Roberts is an army officer on leave from Iraq on a flight to L.A. Cooper, on the same flight, is a gay man whose lover is a closeted football player.
-- Kutcher is an owner of a flower shop who proposes to his girlfriend (Alba), only to realize he is in love with his close friend, played by Garner, who discovers her boyfriend is married.
-- MacLaine plays Roberts' mother, a happy retiree who reveals to her husband a long-ago affair.
-- Hathaway is an assistant working at the biggest talent agency in town and dating a mailroom assistant; Biel is a publicist unlucky in love (is there any other kind?) who has no date on Valentine's Day.
Major roles still to be cast are the gay football player, MacLaine's husband, the mailroom worker, a talent agent and a young boy looking to give his crush some flowers.
Mike Karz is producing along with Wayne Rice.
Sam Brown and Michael Disco are overseeing for the studio.
New Line had success with its recent ensemble romance "He's Just Not That Into You," but "Valentine" is more ambitious in scope and cast. The project, which could be compared to "Love, Actually," has already upped the budget from its initial $25 million to the mid-$30 million-dollar range, though New Line would not comment on the dealmaking or the budget.
Variety: 23 may 2005
New Line's heart is in it
By DAVE MCNARY
New Line has fallen for Katherine Fugate's untitled romantic comedy, preemptively buying her pitch about intertwined Valentine's Day stories and setting it up with Mike Karz and Wayne Rice. L.A.-set story involves several couples whose lives intersect on Feb. 14.
New Line project is the second for Fugate, who's penned the upcoming Jennifer Aniston comedy "The Senator's Wife," with Karz and Rice producing along with Plan B. Fugate's credits include Paramount's "The Prince and Me."
New Line execs Mark Kauffman, Matt Moore and Luke Ryan will oversee the project.
New Line-based Karz is developing two other projects for the mini-major -- Chuck Klosterman's "Killing Yourself to Live: 85% a True Story" and "Honeymoon With Harry," with "Million Dollar Baby" scribe Paul Haggis attached to write and direct.
Rice is a producer on New Regency's casino drama "Chasing the Whale." He's exec producing CBS' unscripted comedy project starring Jon Lovitz and is developing an FX pilot with Gary Randall and Peter O'Fallon.
