drugs Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Drug abuse is a terrible thing, kids. It land you in jail, ruin your reputation and turn you from a busy character actor into an uninsurable pariah. Case in point: Crazy Tom Sizemore just got fired from pre-production on a flick called The I Scream Man -- and if you can't hold on to a job in a movie with that sort of title, then you're definitely living life a little too hard. I know his drug problems are entirely of his own creation, but I really do feel for the guy. He went from working with Michael Mann, Oliver Stone and Steven Spielberg -- to a public dismissal on The I Scream Man. Ouch.

According to STYD.com, Mr. Sizemore was fired from the upcoming horror flick and replaced by sometimes co-worker Michael Madsen. The reason for his dismissal? Another visit from the "drugs and jail time" fairy. It might sound like I'm cruelly mocking the guy, but the truth is I feel really rotten for Mr. Sizemore. Here's hoping he can right the ship, toss that monkey off his back and mount a small comeback of sorts. In the meantime, J.T. Mollner's The I Scream Man will go into production this summer with Madsen, Dee Wallace, Haylie Duff, Fred Ward, Judd Nelson and the entertainingly bizarre Crispin Glover as ... The Ice Cream Man. (Yes, it's a horror movie.)

Thank God for Hollywood -- if it wasn't for them, then how else would a drug kingpin-turned-convicted felon sell his life rights for, I imagine, a nice chunk of change? Mandalay Integrated Media Entertainment (or MIME) has picked up the rights to the life story of Kevin Pappas, a "reformed underworld crime figure' who, at one point, was nabbed by law enforcement for his role in one of the world's biggest drug seizures. I guess everyone deserves a second chance; the guy did spend more than a decade in prison in which he was offered a chance at freedom in exchange for his participation in a sting operation out to nab his own biological father. That right there is enough to build a fascinating screenplay around.

Variety tells us Passion for Power (working title) will follow Pappas' love affair with the world of drug trafficking, racketeering and money laundering. At some point he actually weds a former Miss Hawaii and winds up "participating as a covert operative while using the government's own rules against itself to negotiate his ultimate freedom." I'm not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds pretty cool. Apparently, Pappas has been approached on multiple occasions from people looking to snatch up his life rights. However, he was holding out because he wanted a project that focused more on the redemptive aspects of his life. Essentially, he wanted to be portrayed as a good drug kingpin, instead of the wicked drug kingpin of the west. We assume former Miss Hawaii will play Dorothy, and the government will act as The Wizard. And all of it coming soon to a theater new you.

Tooling around online, Cinematical came across an interesting bit of casting news -- the kind that leads you to do a double take. Superman himself, Brandon Routh, has signed on for a role in Buddy Giovinazzo's Life is Hot in Cracktown; a film that has already lined up ten thesps to play an assortment of characters whose lives intertwine in a crack-infested community. Heck, Lara Flynn Boyle is playing a crack whore! Does it get any better than that? Of course, this raises the all-too-important question of the day: Will Superman put down the car and, instead, pick up a crack pipe?

The news of his casting has conveniently slipped past IMDb, and I haven't noticed it in any of the trades. However, it's listed as one of Routh's upcoming films on his website, and I was able to track down the following quote from Routh on a message board: "I'm currently filming a small role in Life is Hot in Cracktown, based on Buddy Giovinazzo's novel by the same name. This role allowed me the opportunity to stretch and play against type, while not carrying an entire film on my shoulders as such an extreme character." Since everyone in the film is either playing a prostitute, a drug dealer or your friendly alcoholic wife-beating neighbor, I think it's pretty safe to say Routh will not be flying in to save the day -- as in, he won't be playing Crackman or anything like that. I just wonder why we haven't heard anything about this? Could it be that folks are afraid this character could somehow taint Routh's image as the Man of Steel?

Lindsay Lohan, according to a report from Softpedia, "tried once marijuana." Apparently from Yoda she received it. "Try once marijuana and very high shall you be." Anyway, she swears she'll never do drugs again, and she sure as heck ain't touchin' cocaine, which her father used and abused along with alcohol. He is currently serving time for assault and drunk driving. Lindsay apparently hated marijuana. My guess is that she didn't inhale properly. You can't just try something once and quit, Lindsay. Seriously, what kind of message does that send to the kids, giving up like that? 

Oliver Stone was arrested at a drug and alcohol checkpoint whilst driving through Beverly Hills last night. The two-time Oscar winner posted $15,000 bond and was released this morning. Stone was one of nine drivers arrested at checkpoints in Los Angeles last night, as part of a citywide Memorial Day weekend DUI crackdown. Reuters didn't have details on what he was on, how much of it they found in his car, or how he tried to weasel out of it, so if anyone wants to slip some gossip under the door, we'd appreciate it.