Steve McQueen May Be In Driver’s Seat for Oscar

0

Steve McQueen’s son is aiming to win an Oscar, something even his late father never managed, by making a documentary movie about his dad.

Chad McQueen, 54, executive produced the acclaimed new film “Steve McQueen: The Man and Le Mans,” playing this week at North Hollywood’s Laemmle NoHo 7 for an Academy Award-qualifying run ahead of its DVD and video-on-demand release next month.

“If it makes money, I will reap from that, but this is really about showing my dad as he was,” said McQueen, who lives in Malibu. “I get approached with a lot of ideas to do with him but this one interested me as it was about the making of his passion project, 1971 car-race movie ‘Le Mans,’ of which I was on the set as a kid.”

Steve McQueen passed away 35 years ago but still resonates today as the epitome of cool and his “Le Mans” movie, which flopped when first released, has since become a cult classic with racing fans.

“When we were putting the behind-the-scenes documentary together, it gave me goosebumps to hear recordings of dad and see footage of him I’d never encountered before,” added Chad McQueen, who shared his father’s love of motorsports and competed as a racer for years until injury forced him to quit. In 2010, he founded his own company, McQueen Racing, which creates limited-edition high-performance motorcycles.

The younger McQueen has appeared on screen as well, most notably in the first two “Karate Kid” films, but said his son, Steven McQueen, is the true acting talent in the family now. Steven McQueen stars in NBC series “Chicago Fire” and also had a stint on CW’s “The Vampire Diaries.”

“I’m so proud of him and, as they say, talent skips a generation,” said Chad McQueen.

Simmons Soars

Entertainment entrepreneur and business magnate Russell Simmons, who relocated to Los Angeles from New York a year ago, is enjoying more success with his new Culver City company All Def Digital.

The firm is developing five TV shows for HBO under an exclusive development deal, including drama series “Code of Conduct” that Simmons is executive producing.

All Def’s president, Sanjay Sharma, previously served as an executive vice president of strategy and business development at West Hollywood online media firm Machinima Inc.

All Def also has multiple films in development including a biopic at Universal Pictures based on Simmons’ co-founding of hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings. Universal will hope it can be as successful as the studio’s recent hit, “Straight Outta Compton,” about the formation of Compton rap group N.W.A, which grossed $161 million in the United States.

All Def also has its own record label, JV, as part of Universal Music Group. And its digital channel, which features content aimed at urban millennials, just passed 1 million subscribers on YouTube.

“I’m so excited by what our team at All Def has accomplished,” said Simmons in a statement. “We’re just getting started.”

Last year, All Def raised a $5 million Series A financing round led by downtown L.A. venture capital firm Greycroft Partners.

Saban Humbled

Media mogul Haim Saban managed to raise $34.5 million in just one night with a charity gala for one of his favorite causes, the Israel Defense Forces, smashing the previous record.

The Beach Boys and David Foster were among the performers at the Nov. 5 Beverly Hilton event, a star-studded affair attended by celebrities such as Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Banderas and Gene Simmons.

“I am truly humbled by the funds raised,” said billionaire Saban, who chaired the gala for the ninth time. “The overwhelming support from the Los Angeles community continues to amaze me.”

Short Takes

Gregg Lacy and John McGuire, the wizards who created spectacular lighting effects for concerts by Kanye West and Daft Punk, have helped design this year’s bigger, better and brighter L.A. Zoo Lights, a holiday light show that returns to the Los Angeles Zoo on Nov. 27 and will runs through Jan. 3. Attracting more than 175,000 people when it debuted last year, zoo chiefs are adding even more show-biz spectacle this time round in the hope of establishing the attraction as the city’s newest seasonal tradition, while boosting ticket sales in the process. … Some of Hollywood’s most popular TV shows, such as “The Big Bang Theory,” “Supergirl” and “Homeland,” are set to expand their international audience now that CBS Studios International has struck a deal with China’s PPTV video-streaming service for exclusive rights to stream various CBS and Showtime series in that country.

Staff reporter Sandro Monetti can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext 226.

No posts to display