According to the Twitter account of Warren Zide, the "American Pie" movie franchise producer, he "might be" shooting a film in Minnesota with the working title "Klondike Jack."
Zide was at Thursday's Minnesota Film and TV Board 30th anniversary party, where he took a photo with some of my friends at Roepke Public Relations, which organized the soiree held on the Olson Rooftop of the Ford Center. The guest star of the party, actor John Carroll Lynch, who has extensive movie credits although he tickled me on ABC's "Body of Proof," called in sick because he had an emergency appendectomy.
Tina O, the interior designer-turned-comedian-turned-clothing designer who left Minnesota for California circa 2007 with her husband, Brad Hillstrom, first told me about the "Klondike Jack" movie at the party.
"I just got a film OK'd, called 'Klondike Jack,' that's being produced by Warren Zide and my husband's company up in the Iron Range, and we just announced it tonight. Zide [is] the producer who did 'American Pie' and 'Final Destination.' We're going to help out the economy in Minnesota. Not just a part of it; we've decided as of today we're going to shoot the whole thing [here]." She said they'd start soon.
"If you're nice to me, I will tell you who's starring in it next week," Tina O said as she sashayed away. (See next item.)
I tried to double-check what Tina O was telling me with Warren Zide, who appears to have a Twitter account although it's not used much. I was not optimistic about hearing from @Warrenzide seeing as his last tweet was April 27, but I asked what Zide could tell me about "Klondike Jack," the movie he was allegedly shooting in Minnesota.
The tweet from @Warrenzide, which is not a verified Twitter account, read: "It's a comedy that I might be shooting in minn."
Minnesotans can't pay the bills off a "might;" looking forward to the "might be" becoming "will."
Gibson and Minnesota
Mel Gibson still has fans in Minnesota.
Given how chummy Tina and Brad Hillstrom were with Gibson last fall, I speculated in Thursday's column that Tina O might bring Mel to the film board celebration. "About 10 Mel Gibson fans took up positions outside the Ford Center at 4:30 p.m. for the event that started at 5:30 p.m.," according to Olson veep of marketing Nicole Nye, a member of the film board's board. (He didn't show.)
In September, Gibson toured the Twin Cities with his friends the Hillstroms. Tina O has told friends tidbits that would suggest that friendship endures. Her Twitter account further suggests that she's struck up a friendship with Jane Fonda, too.
Neither Fonda nor Gibson need the work, but Mel needs a good movie to rehab his image. If this is a good one, I could see him coming to Minnesota to shoot it. I mean, Tina O talked him into going to the Mall of America with his young daughter.
If this movie gets made, I expect to see lots of local faces plus Tina's. After all, not long after moving to LA, Tina O wheedled her way into a petticoat-raising appearance on NBC's 2007 "Victoria Beckham: Coming to America" series. Tina O is clearly chasing stardom, based on her IMBD.com page, which lists her as having more athletic skills than many Olympic athletes do. If you saw the video of my time with Tina O at the film board party, you'd know she maintains a flair for the dramatic.
Prince behaves
No reports of Prince throwing a guitar or other boorish rock star behavior at the star-studded Chicago wedding reception of filmmaker George Lucas and businesswoman Mellody Hobson.
"It was fun," said Hobson, a CBS contributor, who was at work Monday making an appearance on "CBS This Morning."
I assume these adults with lots of assets, who married a couple of weeks ago in California, had a pre-nup?
C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com and seen on Fox 9's "Buzz." E-mailers, please state a subject; "Hello" does not count. Attachments are not opened.
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