Fight Club game, Return of the 2 Disc Fight Club DVD

Just announced: Fight Club the game. Based on the film starring EN and Brad Pitt, the Fight Club game will be released in late 2004 for PS2 and Xbox featuring 3D brawling- there have already been some screenshots posted. Read the IGN article: The First Rule of Fight Club and visit the Fight Club game official site.[Thanks to Rubber John for the info!]. Visit my Fight Club Page

More Fight Club news: the Fight Club 2 Disc DVD set has returned to shelves. Back in Aug 2002, Fox discontinued the 2 Disc DVD set, chucking the disc with all the additional features, in favor of a cheaper, single disc version with just the movie and commentaries. But now it's back. I found it by accident when going through Amazon.com and, sure that there must be some kind of mistake, I checked the Fox Store. It's definitely available. Fight Club 2 Disc DVD

Lethem on EN, More Dirty Work

U.K.'s The Guardian has an interview with author Jonathan Lethem. Straight outta Brooklyn

Lethem has also been courted by Hollywood. Ed Norton is making a film of Motherless Brooklyn: 'He optioned it before it came out,' he says. 'Which means it has been in the air since the summer of 1999. I think Ed Norton's a great choice and it would be a very interesting thing to see come together. But I don't want to be involved. I don't want to write screenplays. I want to take their money in good faith and go off and do something else.'

EN recent spoke about his plans for Motherless Brooklyn in the October issue of British GQ.

The Sundance Film Festival Film Guide has been posted on the Sundance official site and includes a more detailed summary of Dirty Work, the documentary that EN is executive producing. Although EN was mentioned in the Variety Sundance announcement, his name is absent in the guide credits. Dirty Work

Dirty Work, High Line

The lineup for the 2004 Sundance Film Festival was announced this week. According to Variety (12/2/03), EN is the executive producer of a documentary that will be screened in the American Spectrum program of the festival. From the Variety article "Sundance goes up close and personal":

"Dirty Work," directed by David Sampliner, a docu about three men with disagreeable jobs: a septic tank pumper, a bull semen collector and an embalmer. Exec produced by Edward Norton.

Another tip from a Variety article (12/1/03), Edward Norton, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Amanda Peet and Glenn Close will host the Friends of the High Line fund-raiser on December 10th. However, there is currently no info on this event at the Friends of the High Line official site

One empty seat in "Santa's Sleigh"?

I'm not one to disagree with a 280-pound wrestler. However, my source was unaware of Santa's Sleigh much less EN's possible cameo in the project. I think we'll have to wait a little longer until EN's next film project.

Santa's Sleigh, EN's next film appearance?

WWE.com (World Wrestling Entertainment) posted an interview with wrestler Goldberg where he talks about his upcoming film project Santa's Sleigh which will start shooting late January. Goldberg describes the project as “like a Freddy Krueger, ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ kind of thing, but a little slapstick." Also from Goldberg, “What better setting for a 280-pound Jewish guy to play Santa Claus and to be able to go around killing everybody? It’s going to be cool. I can’t wait.” Where does EN come in? Well, Red Dragon director Brett Ratner is backing the film. Goldberg said, "It’s getting a lot of buzz in Hollywood, and he’s called in a lot of favors in Hollywood." And stated in the interview: "Edward Norton may be among those making a cameo ; a final list is being completed now." [flatbroke's note: doesn't look like EN has been contacted about the role: see above 11/21/03]Goldberg comments on Looney Tunes, another movie

Declare Yourself

This morning TV producer Norman Lear launched Declare Yourself, a nonprofit and nonpartisan campaign that will use entertainment, education and the Internet to inspire Americans ages 18 to 29 to register and vote. EN is listed as one of the friends of the project. The Declare Yourself website contains a QuickTime clip of EN, Kathy Bates, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas, Mel Gibson, Ming-Na, Whoopi Goldberg, Graham Greene, Winona Ryder, Kevin Spacey, and Renée Zellweger reading the Declaration of Independence (Morgan Freeman narrates the segment). In the ABC special: Independence Day 2001 the same group (with the exception of Graham Greene) perfomed the Declaration live on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Visit Declare Yourself or read more about the announcement USA Today: Norman Lear launches voter drive aimed at young people

Global Kids, Solar Neighbors, Adios former web host

Global Kids, the only nonprofit in New York City specifically dedicated to educating students in underserved communities about public policy and international affairs, will honor EN and Debra Lee, President of Black Entertainment Television, for their leadership, social responsibility, and commitments to youth and the promotion of intercultural understanding. Tickets to the event are $200 with the proceeds going to Global Kids programs. The benefit will be held November 19 at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Read the press release or go to the Global Kids official website. EN has stated, "If we've learned nothing else in the last few years, we've certainly learned that a lack of understanding between people and cultures of the world can have terrible consequences. Today's children will be tomorrow's leaders and Global Kids understands the critical importance of fostering engagement with people beyond our borders and making our kids true citizens of the world. We should all support and applaud their work."

Last Wednesday (Nov 5), EN was honored by Environmental Media Association for his solar energy program. Zap2It: Norton Awarded for His Philanthropic Efforts. Solar Neighbors, the agreement he made with BP Solar, is that for every celebrity he gets to buy a solar power system for his or her home, BP Solar donate one to a low-income household. Enterprise Quarterly has an article on how the Solar Neighbors program will be making a difference to families in South Central L.A. I've just transcribed the November In Style article where EN talks about how he got the idea.

I'm chucking my old web hosting provider. I'm hoping this will be a relatively smooth transition since I've been using my new host on my smaller websites for two years without incident. However, currently all of the audio and video files are unavailable. Plus since everything has been newly uploaded, all of the "last modified" dates will be Nov 8 or later. If I've added content any of the pages recently, it will be reflected in the Website Updates

The Nitpicker, In Style

EN will participate in a benefit performance of songs from a new musical called The Nitpicker put on by the Hourglass Group one night only Thursday, Dec 4 at Sin-e in Manhattan. For more info or to order tickets, visit the Hourglass Group official site or call 212-439-8122. Tickets are $20 in advance/$25 at the door and seating is limited. Playbill story: Ed Norton to Star in Reading of New McBride Musical The Nitpicker, Dec. 4

November's In Style magazine includes an article on EN and his work with solar energy [Thanks to Stacey for the info!].

Online Shootout, More info on Class 5

The Sunday Morning Shootout debut with EN is available online at Yahoo! Movies (under Today's Features). It's the whole episode, not just a clip and it may not be around for more than a few days.

The Sunday Morning Shootout official site also features an up-to-date bio of EN that includes more on Class 5 Films (his new production company) as well as info on his charitable interests. It also mentions that he is in the process of producing five films including Motherless Brooklyn, The Painted Veil (supposed to start shooting earlier this year in Southeast Asia, but that never took place reportedly due to the SARS epidemic), and A Soldier of the Great War (announced in March 1999 - no updates until now). Fear Itself was not mentioned in the bio (by name, at least - it would be one of the remaining two films), which is odd since at one time it had seemed to be the project furthest along (last August- director attached, casting imminent). Here's more info on Class 5 and his upcoming projects from EN's AMC bio

He produced and directed the film Keeping the Faith and is currently producing five other films including adaptations of Mark Helprin's A Soldier of the Great War, Somerset Maughm's The Painted Veil and Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn for which he is currently writing the screenplay.

Norton also recently created Class 5 Films in partnership with his brother Jim Norton, writer Stuart Blumberg and producer Bill Migliore. Class 5's feature division will produce films through a first look deal with Universal Pictures and the documentary division will produce nature and science films. Class 5's first documentary production is a film for the Outdoor Life Network, The Great Rivers Expedition, about an historic whitewater adventure that took place in China last winter. Class 5 is also collaborating with the Sea Studios Foundation on their multi-million dollar series about earth system sciences for National Geographic, The Living Machine, which Norton will host and narrate.

EN and Blumberg form production company, a Fifties take on Brooklyn

Variety (10/10/03) reports that EN and Stuart Blumberg have formed a production company called Class 5 Films and have signed a three-year, first-look deal with Universal Pictures. The two were Yale classmates and worked together on Keeping the Faith. Also mentioned in the article is their collaboration in working on Motherless Brooklyn. Interestingly enough, absent from the article is any reference to Fear Itself, another project which they also have been working on together. Norton, Blumberg usher in Class V

If you missed EN's appearance on Sunday Morning Shootout it reairs on AMC a few times during the week. Check your local lisitings or go to the AMC website. If you did see it, you would have noticed that none of the topics mentioned in the press release were actually discussed on the show (editing or maybe those were the prep questions?). I'll try to get an audio clip of EN's appearance up soon.

EN discussed Motherless Brooklyn in the British GQ article

Far from a straightforward adaptation, he's abandoned he contemporary setting of Motherless Brooklyn to place his screenplay in Fifties New York, in particular drawing on a real life character from that era, an unelected city planner called Robert Moses. "What he did in terms of the physical infrastructure of the city," explains Norton, "like ramming the highways through the old neighbourhoods, was kind of a watershed in the history of New York. If you look at a map of the city in 1870, all the activity was on the periphery. And Moses played a singular role in sealing the city off from its waterfront. Only now, especially on the West Side, is it beginning to reclaim that connection with the waterfront, with the Hudson River Park and hopefully the High Line."

More info on Sunday Morning Shootout

A press release includes more about EN's upcoming appearance on the debut of Sunday Morning Shootout. The discussion topics will include: "Is a good education a plus or a hindrance to an acting career? Are the 70s really the new 'golden age' of filmmaking? Why did Norton try to back out of The Italian Job?" EN agreed to do The Italian Job under threat of litigation with Paramount. Also the discussion of the 70s films may lead EN into talking about Fear Itself, his plan to remake Straw Dogs. Sunday Morning Shootout (with EN) will air Sunday, October 12 at 11 AM (double check your local listings) on AMC. Business Wire: Edward Norton Guest Stars on Debut Episode of AMC Weekly Series

Celebrity Charades

EN, along with Heather Graham, Ethan Hawke, Kristen Johnston, Bebe Neuwirth, Annabella Sciorra, Amanda Peet, Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, and Amy Sedaris will be playing charades at the LAByrinth Theatre Company benefit tonight at the Daryl Roth Theatre in downtown Manhattan. LAB artistic director Philip Seymour Hoffman and EN worked together in 25th Hour. Playbill news: Neuwirth, Graham, Hawke Join "Celebrity Charades" LAByrinth Theatre Company Benefit or check out the LAByrinth Theatre Company website

Sunday Morning Shootout, A charitable glance

Variety.com reports that EN was the "surprise celeb guest" at the sneak preview of AMC's Sunday Morning Shootout, a chat show about the film industry hosted by producer Peter Guber and Daily Variety's Peter Bart. The event was held last Thursday night (Sept 18) at Grand Central Station. Sunday Morning Shootout will start airing Oct 12. AMC official site

Updates on some of the charities with which EN is involved:

Friends of the High Line- Just announced on Sept 24th, NYC's Department of City Planning presented plans to transform the High Line, an abandoned elevated rail structure, into a park and "make it the centerpiece for new commercial and residential developments along the western edge of Chelsea."

Yale Fellowships - I found out more on the grants that Yale alum EN has endowed through the Yale Center for International and Area Studies. The grants are for $2,000 to $5,000 and are given to "undergraduate students whose work focuses on the countries of the Middle East or the Central Asia countries of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan." The actual name of the grant is the "Elizabeth Winstead Rouse Fund for Peace Fellowships" (named after EN's grandmother) though the application requests that in any publication or public presentation it should be acknowledged as "The Edward Norton Fellowship". Yale Center for International and Area Studies. [Both EN and his grandmother received Common Ground Awards in 2000 from Search for Common Ground, organization dedicated to conflict resolution. Read Edward Norton, Grandma Rouse: The Gems of Columbia].

Solar Energy- EN and the Environmental Media Association will "identify celebrities to purchase solar panels for their homes and bp solar will donate a system to low-income homes that Enterprise Foundation identifies." EN will be honored by the EMA for this idea to promote the solar energy utilization. I haven't found this info yet on the Enterprise Foundation website but it is up at the Environmental Media Association website

A Political Detour?

Anytime I'm offline for any long length of time, I'm always afraid I'm missing something big. When the power came back on Sat morning after an 36 hour break due to Hurricane Isabel, I found the following: apparently EN is interested in putting acting on the back burner and running for political office.

"There are a couple of things underway that I'd like to see through, but I can definitely see myself stopping for a year or two. I don't really want to get the end of my life and acting to have been the only thing that I did. And it won't.

"Without having lost any interest in my work as an actor or someone who makes films, I do feel a shifting balance. I have started to feel almost an equal degree of personal drive to engage in things outside work.

"And without over-inflating any one person's ability to have an impact, you can't just sit around and do nothing."

"We have some of the most regressive leadership that this country has had since the Depression, and in the last year or two I've had an increasing sense that we've reached a moment when people in the United States are either going to step up and get a little more proactive and loud about defining in which direction the conversation is going to go in this country, or we're going to have shut up and stop complaining."

I don't know the setting or the details behind these comments [Flatbroke's note: the comments are excerpts from EN's British GQ Oct 2003 interview. Apparently these news organizations didn't think it was important to give the source] - they haven't been picked up by the major media. I found the bare minimum (just the quotes) where the identical article ("Norton Gets Political") has been distributed among three different TV channel websites WOKR-TV in NY, WXXA in NY, WTEV in FL.

Environmental Media Awards

Edward Norton is this year's honoree at the Environmental Media Awards for "his innovative work to promote the use of solar energy." The 13th Annual Environmental Media Awards will be held in Los Angeles on November 5, 2003. A quick comment- I don't want to take anything away from EN or the Environmental Media Awards or in any way detract from the importance of his or their efforts. To be completely honest, this is actually the first I've heard of his solar energy promotional work and I comb the newswires daily for new mentions of EN.

October's GQ magazine (British edition featuring Heidi Klum on the cover) includes EN for being their International Man Of The Year (I don't have any more details on it).

A Fear Itself related item: The Hollywood Reporter (9/11/03) announced that John Polson is "poised" to direct Hide & Seek starring Robert De Niro. In Aug 2002, Polson was hired to direct Fear Itself. No info on the project has come out since then. The Hide & Seek announcement included the statement that Polson is attached to Fear Itself. I guess you can read between the lines that Fear Itself is still in the works however, since Hide & Seek is supposed to start filming in October, it is not on the front burner.

British GQ's Men Of The Year Awards

Last night, EN was awarded International Man Of The Year at British GQ's Men Of The Year Awards held at the Royal Opera House in London. More info on the event - GQ Daily News and Glasgow's Evening Times