Confessions of a FILM FOX

FILM FOX

Hi all—glad to see you’ve tuned in once again to the latest word on your fave raves. And this month’s hottest item concerns the Ramones and their forthcoming (Roger Cormandirected) flick, Rock ’n’ Roll High School. Not only did the New Yawk flip tops finish their big screen debut on time (a rather lengthy five week production schedule, by Corman’s standards), but in addition had the good taste to invite CREEM rockcrit and Ramones look-alike Billy Altman along for the ride. You can see our man Bill in some of the backstage and crowd scenes ’round about April, when the film is due to open at the finetDrive-Ins in your area. The first person to correctly quote Billy’s only line wins a lifetime gate pass to Altmanville (see this month’s Mail section). Some of the other faces appearing in this 1979 Corman epic include Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard and P. J. Soles ...

And you thought 1978 was the year for rock ’n’ roll movies? Wait’ll you get a load of what’s in store for this year: The Runaways have been signed to star in their first major motion pic, We’re All Crazy Now!, brought to you by the wild and wooly folks at Z Productions. No word yet when this one’s due—maybe they’re waiting for a record contract to facilitate the soundtrack? . .. Dolly Parton is being courted by James Caan to star in his upcoming flick, The Cowboy and the Dandy, a screenplay inspired by Bobby Goldsboro’s tune of the same name. Doncha think she’d be better in a paraphrased version of another Goldsboro song, “Watching Dolly Grow”?... Richard Pryor is scheduled to star in a Hollywood version of the life of famed bluesman Charlie “Bird” Parker Only problem at the moment is that the original screenplay didn’t meet expectations and was scrapped. Therefore, a new screenwriter has been named, though everyone’s keeping mum about who exactly it is . ..

Even though we’re still waiting to see the Who’s The Kids Are Alright on these shores, PeteTownshend and the boys are busy with their next project, Quadrophenia, and have, in fact, already wrapped up principal photography for the flick .. . Hank Grant reports that producer Dan Blatt was so knocked out by Bianca Jagger’s performance as a hooker in his last movie, The Ringer, that he is seriously considering hiring Mrs. J for the lead in his next project, The Moe Berg Story. What does her husband Mick think of it all? Not much, especially since the dark lady has (again) put the divorce wheels in motion and is still very steady with the Queen’s cousin, John Bowes-Lyon .. . Speaking of dark ladies, Cherilyn Sarkisian Bono Allman is trying to wipe the slate clean by having her name legally changed to simply Cher .. .

The long-standing fued between Rod Stewart and Ehon John (outlined in last month’s Elton interview) seems to be over since old Reg sent Rod a one carat diamond ear stud for Christmas. Rod was speechless on that occasion, but did find his voice long enough to file suit against the New Musical Express for libel after the mag dubbed him a “nancy boy” recently. Could the folks at NME have been referring to Alana Hamilton’s statement in a French newspaper that she and Rod have been trying unsuccessfully for a couple months to have un bebe? Mebbe .. . Mrs. Maria Pruezel, mother of the late Freddie Prinze, has threatened to sue the producers of a TV movie based on Prinze’s life if they insist on continuing the project. According to Rona, Mom feels they’re all just trying to cash in on the tragedy and feels especially hostile toward the casting of Tony Orlando in the title role. “He’s a hypocrite,” she stated, “and wouldn’t even answer Freddie’s phone calls when he really needed him.” Thankfully, things are running more smoothly on the set of Universal’s Coal Miner’s Daughter, based on the life of C&W star Loretta Lynn. Lead role was awarded to Sissy Spacek, who had just finished working on a film called Heart Beat, the story of Jack Kerouac and his strange ways. .. While we’re on the subject of the bizarre, the next installment in the progressively weirder Elvis Presley library is the release of a book called Elvis Presley Speaks by psychic researcher Hans Holzer. The key to this one is the word “speaks”, as the tale is being touted as an authenticated conversation with big EP from the “other side.” Sounds like atypical phone call from Frank Zappa .. . ’Til next month, keep those canines flossed!