Daily Dose of George Clooney!
The Good German
Attanasio's 2 scripts for WB to net $3.4 mil
April 19
By Zorianna Kit
LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Paul Attanasio is in negotiations to receive about $3.4 million upfront to write for Warner Bros. an adaptation of author Joseph Kanon's upcoming novel "The Good German" for producers Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney and a new "Superman" script for producer Jon Peters.
The pacts being finalized call for Attanasio to earn in the neighborhood of $1.7 million for each project upfront against possible bonuses and back end participation. It is not clear which script he will tackle first.
"German," which will be published by Henry Holt Publishing next month, follows an American reporter on assignment to cover the final Allied summit meeting of World War II. But the reporter is using the assignment as an excuse to get into Germany to search for a lost love. While there, things take a turn when a body washes ashore, and the reporter gets entangled in a murder mystery that involves political forces dividing Berlin.
Warner Bros. senior vp production Lionel Wigram is overseeing "German," which the studio picked up in a pre-emptive bid for mid- against high-six figures (HR 2/15). Soderbergh and Clooney will produce the project through their Warner Bros.-based Section Eight production company.
George Clooney wants Kate Winslet for his co-star
Mar. 30,2001
Kate Winslet is wanted by George Clooney to co-star with him in the new World War Two thriller The Good German.
Clooney is collaborating with Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh on the adventure set in Berlin.
The two are currently working on the re-make of Ocean's 11 in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
According to associates they are agreed that the 25-year-old actress would be perfect to play Clooney's romantic interest in the movie.
An insider told Ananova: "The role they have in mind is perfect for an English rose figure and she fits in the bill in every way .
"George saw her in Titanic and then in Hideous Kinky and thought,
'There is nobody else'. Soderbergh agrees."
February 21, 2001
Joseph Kanon's yet-to-be-published novel, "The Good German," has already been bought by Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney's Warner Bros.-based Section Eight for a feature film adaptation. The book will be published late in 2001 by Henry Holt. Set against the backdrop of post-World War II Berlin, "The Good German" is a romantic thriller in which a journalist returns to search for the woman he left behind and finds himself drawn into a murder mystery. Section Eight bought the book as a vehicle for Clooney to star in.

Kanon's first book, "Los Alamos," is being developed with Nicholas Hytner as director and Laurence Dworet doing adaptation.
Section Eight is in production on "Ocean's Eleven," a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack classic directed by Soderbergh and starring Clooney. In April, Section Eight is scheduled to begin filming Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia," starring Al Pacino.
Latest Hollywood script deals The Good German
February 15
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney's Warner Bros.-based Section Eight has pounced on the film rights to the upcoming novel ``The Good German,'' a large-canvas historical romance that will be developed with an eye toward a starring role for Clooney.
The book was penned by Joseph Kanon and will be published by Henry Holt later this year.
Set in post-World War II Berlin, ``German'' is a romantic thriller in which a journalist returns to search for the woman he left behind and finds himself drawn into a murder mystery.
Kanon's first book, ``Los Alamos,'' is currently being developed by New York indie producer Good Machine in conjunction with Renaissance Pictures, with Nicholas Hytner (''The Crucible'') attached to direct.
Section Eight is working on three movies in advance of possible writers' and actors' strikes this summer. Two are Warners titles -- ``Ocean's Eleven,'' directed by Soderbergh and currently in production, and Christopher Nolan's ``Insomnia,'' starring Al Pacino, which is slated to begin in April.
In conjunction with Propaganda Films, Section Eight is also producing the indie ``Welcome to Collinwood,'' which starts production April 9.
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Screenwriter Gigi Levangie Grazer (``Stepmom'') has sold her first novel, ``Rescue Me,'' to Fox Searchlight. Carl Franklin (''Devil in a Blue Dress'') will direct, but no screenwriter is attached.
Grazer (wife of Imagine Entertainment co-chairman Brian Grazer) has also inked a deal to write a segment of HBO's next ``If These Walls Could Talk'' sequel.
``Rescue Me'' is set in and around Hollywood in the mid-1980s. It recounts a woman's attempts to break into the business and set her romantic life in order while working for a sleazy talk show and looking after the son of her junkie brother.
The book reached second place on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list. Grazer is currently writing a second book, ``Man Eater,'' which is not yet under contract.