Architects from a major Chicago firm are close to tying up financing for a floating casino/celebrity drug-and-alcohol treatment center to be anchored off Navy Pier. . . . Rock stars Madonna and Prince have been offered major roles in a pilot for a TV sitcom loosely based on Henry David Thoreau`s
”Walden.” . . . Elizabeth Taylor and ”Dynasty” designer Nolan Miller are working on a ”matronly” wardrobe for her introduction into the series as Joan Collins` mother. . . . You can fool some of the people some of the time, except on April 1.
THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE . . .
New York Gov. Mario Cuomo recently won a presidential straw poll among Iowa Democratic activists. The poll gave 73 percent to Cuomo, against 15 percent to Gary Hart (D., Colo.) and 8 percent to Sen. Ted Kennedy (D., Mass.). And in a Capitol Hill poll of Democratic congressional staffers, Cuomo edged out Hart 39 percent to 25 percent as the party`s most likely nominee. But in a poll commissioned by the governor`s political adviser, David Garth, Mario came in third–behind Kennedy, with 30 percent, and Hart, with 27 percent.
— Former UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick is getting encouragement for a 1988 Republican presidential run from Big Apple pollster Arthur Finkelstein, who reportedly says that he can deliver Sen. Jesse Helms (R., N.C.) and other ”New Right” political heavies. Among Jeane`s pals are former White House political director Lyn Nofziger, political analyst George Will and New York lawyer and wheeler-dealer Roy Cohn. P.S. Jeane is about to sign a $1 million book deal and a $250,000 lecture circuit contract, insiders say.
SMALL SCREEN SCENE . . .
The story of Gary Dotson, who has spent six years in jail on a rape charge that his accuser now says is false, may wind up as a TV movie. INC. hears that attorneys for Dotson and Cathleen Webb, who now denies that she was raped, have been contacted by Ellis A. Cohen, who produced the recent ”First Steps” TV movie in Chicago. . . . Crusty Channel 5 reporter Al Lerner plays a crusty old reporter in ”Tabloid,” a May 5 play-for-TV that stars and was cowritten by crusty old Jim Belushi. . . . Sometimes you`re hot, sometimes you`re not: Eric Stoltz, who won wave reviews for his performance as a deformed boy in ”Mask,” was replaced in an episode of Steven Spielberg`s TV anthology after 32 days of shooting.
HOLLYWOOD KIDS . . .
Hollywood Wives. Hollywood Husbands. Can Hollywood Kids be far behind?
You can bet your Gucci key ring it`s gearing up. Producers Loree Rodkin and Bill Gerber are developing ”Beverly Hills High School,” a movie based on the real-life school where kids drive Rolls-Royces and Aston Martins. (And that`s only on days when Daddy needs the chauffeur and Mum`s off to her astro exercise class.) ”BHHS is a true Hollywood phenomenon,” Rodkin says. ”It has a planetarium and a complete video department where you can make an entire movie.” And if you thought the avalanche of teeny-bop movies was slowing, dream on. ”I`m getting dozens of scripts about teenagers,” Rodkin says.
”They`re making people in their 20s obsolete.” . . . Dave Reynolds of the
”All You Can Eat and the Temple of Dooom” comedy group will make his feature film debut as a high school jock in ”Date Night,” which begins shooting in Chicago next month. His girlfriend will be played by Nan Davis, who`ll just be finishing her role in ”Welcome Home, Bobby.”
HOLLYWOOD KIDS, PART 2 . . .
John (”Breakfast Club”) Hughes is looking for a 16- to 18-year-old boy with ”high energy and comic timing” to costar as Molly Ringwald`s romantic interest in ”Pretty in Pink,” Hughes` next teen flick. If that`s you, show up between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. April 8 in the Sheraton Plaza Hotel, 160 E. Huron St. Just follow the thousands of other boys to the Yorkshire Room. . . . Because of legal restrictions on the amount of time an infant can ”work,” the Geddes Agency is looking for black twins, 6 to 9 months old, to share a role in ”Date Night.” Send a snapshot of your stars of tomorrow–don`t bring the babies or the pictures–to 188 W. Randolph St., 2400, Chicago, Ill. 60601.
INC.LINGS . . .
Illinois Senate President Phil Rock (D., Oak Park) has ”adopted” 57 kids who were members of the Illinois Youth Council, abolished last year by the legislature in a cost-cutting move. The students, from high school sophomores to college seniors, will continue to act as advisers to the legislature on ”children`s issues,” and Rock will pay them with funds from the Senate president`s office . . . . Tickets go on sale Sunday for May 27-28 shows by John Denver in the Holiday Star Theater. . . . World middleweight boxing champ Marvelous Marvin Hagler, preparing to defend his title, broke training to film an appearance in a rock video for Van Zant`s ”I`m a Fighter” single.
