Steve Zaillian

The ingredients all seemed to be there for Oscar-winning director-screenwriter Steve Zaillian. He had a cast of heavy hitters -- Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Anthony Hopkins for starters -- and a classic story in Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "All the King's Men." But when Zaillian's version of Warren's 1946 story of political corruption and personal betrayal hit the nation's movie screens Sept. 22, it played to mostly empty theaters, drawing only $3.

After picketing for a week, Writers Guild of America members had reason to look forward to Saturday night: A free "American Gangster" screening at the WGA's theater, followed by what promised to be a lively conversation with the film's Oscar-winning screenwriter, Steven Zaillian. But rather than hear from Zaillian at the film's conclusion, the more than 400 WGA members were told that he was skipping the Beverly Hills question-and-answer segment because of the strike.

To crack the uncrackable book . . . . To tame the untamable tome . . . . As a screenwriter, Steve Zaillian seems to rather casually approach and conquer quests that others find downright quixotic. His reputation has been built on a series of big-screen adaptations of difficult nonfiction books, including Oliver Sacks' "Awakenings" and Robert Lindsay's "The Falcon and the Snowman."

The ingredients all seemed to be there for Oscar-winning director-screenwriter Steve Zaillian. He had a cast of heavy hitters -- Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Anthony Hopkins for starters -- and a classic story in Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "All the King's Men." But when Zaillian's version of Warren's 1946 story of political corruption and personal betrayal hit the nation's movie screens Sept. 22, it played to mostly empty theaters, drawing only $3.

The elusiveness of truth is an idea woven throughout the movie "A Civil Action," which chronicles the real-life legal battle waged by eight Boston-area families against two corporations they held responsible for their children's deaths. Robert Duvall, who plays a lawyer for one of the accused companies, insists that truth can only be found "at the bottom of a bottomless pit."

After picketing for a week, Writers Guild of America members had reason to look forward to Saturday night: A free "American Gangster" screening at the WGA's theater, followed by what promised to be a lively conversation with the film's Oscar-winning screenwriter, Steven Zaillian. But rather than hear from Zaillian at the film's conclusion, the more than 400 WGA members were told that he was skipping the Beverly Hills question-and-answer segment because of the strike.

"Hannibal" producers Dino and Martha De Laurentiis have hired "Silence of the Lambs" screenwriter Ted Tally ("All the Pretty Horses") to script a new film adaptation of Thomas Harris' "Red Dragon," the book that introduced Dr. Hannibal Lecter. "Red Dragon" was already made into the critically acclaimed (though little seen) 1986 film "Manhunter," directed by Michael Mann with actor Brian Cox as Lecter.

Though they share little screen time, Dr. Hannibal Lecter is never far from Clarice Starling. She feels him with her always--challenging her confidence, distracting her from the tasks she's been assigned. Lecter's shadow extends across the Atlantic from Florence, where the refined, cannibalistic menace now resides, having developed a love of Dante and a craving for Italian.

Sony's Columbia Pictures has shelved a planned December release of its highly anticipated remake of "All the King's Men," removing one of the studio's potential Oscar contenders. The release will likely be delayed about a year, said Michael Medavoy, chairman of Phoenix Films, which is producing the remake of the movie based on Robert Penn Warren's 1946 classic roman a clef about Louisiana politician Huey Long.

THE third time turned out to be the charm for "American Gangster." The thriller had fallen apart twice at Universal before production eventually began last year. When it was last canceled in 2005 because of cost concerns, Oscar-winning producer Brian Grazer ("A Beautiful Mind") says, he had to "gather the energy" to revive the project. "It was so much harder than anything I have tried to do in my professional life," he says of the film.

"Hannibal" producers Dino and Martha De Laurentiis have hired "Silence of the Lambs" screenwriter Ted Tally ("All the Pretty Horses") to script a new film adaptation of Thomas Harris' "Red Dragon," the book that introduced Dr. Hannibal Lecter. "Red Dragon" was already made into the critically acclaimed (though little seen) 1986 film "Manhunter," directed by Michael Mann with actor Brian Cox as Lecter.

Though they share little screen time, Dr. Hannibal Lecter is never far from Clarice Starling. She feels him with her always--challenging her confidence, distracting her from the tasks she's been assigned. Lecter's shadow extends across the Atlantic from Florence, where the refined, cannibalistic menace now resides, having developed a love of Dante and a craving for Italian.

The elusiveness of truth is an idea woven throughout the movie "A Civil Action," which chronicles the real-life legal battle waged by eight Boston-area families against two corporations they held responsible for their children's deaths. Robert Duvall, who plays a lawyer for one of the accused companies, insists that truth can only be found "at the bottom of a bottomless pit."

To crack the uncrackable book . . . . To tame the untamable tome . . . . As a screenwriter, Steve Zaillian seems to rather casually approach and conquer quests that others find downright quixotic. His reputation has been built on a series of big-screen adaptations of difficult nonfiction books, including Oliver Sacks' "Awakenings" and Robert Lindsay's "The Falcon and the Snowman."

Documentarian Jon Blair ("Anne Frank Remembered"); "Schindler's List" producer Branko Lustig, a Holocaust survivor; and "Schindler's" screenwriter Steve Zaillian will discuss the depiction of the Holocaust in films on Sunday at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Joining the three Academy Award winners at the mini-symposium, at 3663 Wilshire Blvd. at 2 p.m., will be directors Paul Mazursky ("Enemies, a Love Story"), Agnieszka Holland ("Europa Europa") and Pierre Sauvage ("Weapons of the Spirit").

IT was surprising to read that Steve Zaillian, the writer and director of "All the King's Men," was shocked that his movie took a giant flop at the box office ["A 'King'-Sized Collapse," by Scott Martelle, Oct. 3]. Frankly, I can give him a few reasons: no character development; a superficial, confusing story line; and the unforgettable miscasting of Sean Penn as Gov. Willie Stark. JACK WOLF Westwood THE reason I did not go see "All the King's Men" is simple: Why spend $10 to see a remake of a movie that already won the Academy Award for best picture?