Thanks to KD-MAD

Rock was scheduled at one point to film an episode of ?Will & Grace? this past week for May sweeps. Due to scheduling and having to promote ?Be Cool? it fell through. There were reports this past week about Rock playing the lead role in a ?Silver Surfer? movie. His reps met with Avi Arad (owner of Marvel Comics) recently and both sides were strong on the idea. There probably won?t be any serious talks regarding that movie until the end of this year or early 2006. However, the negotiations for Rock to play the lead role in ?Gridiron Gang? which has been talked about for months, officially were finalized this past week. Sony is behind it, and Sony is also behind the potential ?King Kamehameha? movie he?s been wanting to do literally since he broke into the movie business. ?Gridiron Gang? is like a cross between ?Stand and Deliver,? ?Remember the Titans? and ?Coach Carter,? about kids locked up in a prison camp and a football coach teaches them the game and turns all of their live around. …………..

He?s working a lot with producer Neil Moritz, who is one of Hollywood?s current most powerful producers (?Gridiron Gang,? ?King Kamehameha? and ?Johnny Bravo? are movies Moritz will produce and Rock will play the leads in). He got two more movies offers this past week, one a comedy/action that he would co-star with Kevin James and the other still confidential.

The buzz off his performance in ?Be Cool? has led to him getting several comedy offers. There are negotiations for him and Loretta Lynn to sing a duet of ?You Ain?t Woman Enough to Take My Man,? on Letterman. He has appearances in the next weeks on Letterman, Conan O?Brien, Regis & Kelly, Jon Stewart, 106 and Park, Good Morning America and TRL. He goes to England on 3/5 with the entire cast of Be Cool leading to a London premiere on 3/7. I was at the Sacramento premiere they did for the movie, hosted by Governor Schwarzenegger. The movie is good and the role is not the biggest for notoriety of his career, but probably the biggest for respect in the industry. He?s in a cast of real heavyweights stars (Travolta, Uma Thurman, and Vince Vaughn) and he more than holds his own, steals several scenes and answers any questions about him about being a serious actor. Everyone knows he?s got charisma to burn, but what you have to hand to him is he didn?t rest on his look and natural charisma, but worked his ass off as far as studying acting, because it really showed here. The movie pretty well establishes him as a bona fide acting star as opposed to former wrestler who went Hollywood. The movie is based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, and the role of Elliott Wilhelm was written six or seven years ago specifically with him in mind. The book character was 6?5, 270-pound (while he?s much smaller now, he was about 270 when the book was written) half-Samoan whose calling card was his unique ability to raise his eyebrow.

Elmore told Rock he wrote the character for him when he learned Rock was interested in becoming an actor. He said his portrayal of gay character is something he?s hoping the gay community doesn?t object to, saying from the reaction he?s heard, he?s only heard positive. ?I was lucky in my life because I had a lot of positive gay influences and my mentor for many years was a strong, steadfast, truthful gay man (Patterson), who, by the way, I?ve seen him kick a lot of people?s asses,? he said in an article in the Halifax Daily News. He also said the song he sung was his suggestion, saying it was because he loved the movie ?Coal Miner?s Daughter.? The New York Daily News ran a brief gossip mention of Rock?s contract expiring, with Rock quoted as saying, ?I wish it would have gone down a little bit differently, and that part I am sad about.? My impression is if his wrestling career is over, he at least would have liked the big farewell as opposed to a contract expiring and being forgotten. With WWE unable to defend its decision, and hell, I can?t come up with a defense either, they told the paper that it was all a mistake. ?Somebody dropped the ball, and everybody, including Vince, has apologized to the Rock.? A company spokesperson said Vince plans to fix the situation at the earliest opportunity.

Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter 02/28/2005