Films going into production: THE BEAST...

Films going into production: THE BEAST OF WAR (A&M; Films). Shooting in Israel. Wartime drama (title is tentative) using the backdrop of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and described as “Das Boot” in a tank. Executive producers Gil Friesen and Dale Pollock. Producer John Fiedler. Director Kevin Reynolds. Screenwriter William Mastrosimone. Stars Steven Bauer, George Dzunzda and Jason Patrick. Distributor Columbia. Release date undetermined.

BETHUNE: THE LONG MARCH (Filmline). Shooting in China, Canada and Spain. Historic saga of the Canadian activist-surgeon who created battlefield surgery during the Spanish Civil War and became a Chinese hero of the 1948 Revolution. Producers Pieter Kroonenburg and Nicolas Clermont. Directed by Phil Borsos. Screenwriter Ted Allan. Stars Donald Sutherland, Helen Shaver, Jane Birkin and James Pex. Distributor and release undetermined.

BILOXI BLUES (Raster). Shooting in Arkansas. Matthew Broderick re-creates his Tony-winning role in the second of Neil Simon’s autobiographical stage trilogy, here focusing on a young Jewish man’s experiences in boot camp during World War II. Producer Ray Stark. Director Mike Nichols. Screenplay Simon. Also stars Christopher Walken and Casey Siemaszko. Distributor Universal. Release date undetermined.

DOMINICK AND EUGENE (Farrell/Minoff Productions). Shooting in Pittsburgh. Tom Hulce and Ray Liotta are paternal orphaned twins whose strong bond is threatened in adulthood. Producers Marvin Minoff and Mike Farrell. Director Robert Young. Screenwriters Danny Porfirio, Corey Blechman and Alvin Sargent. Also stars Jamie Lee Curtis. Distributor Orion. Release date undetermined.

DYING FOR LOVE (Michael Levy/MGM). Shooting in New York City and Long Island. A romantic triangle that turns into a murder-mystery set against the backdrop of the rich idle class. Producer Michael Levy. Director Bob Swaim. Screenplay Dick Wolf. Stars Rob Lowe, Meg Tilly and Kim Cattrall. Distributor MGM/UA. Release date undetermined.

FRANTIC (Warner Bros). Shooting in Paris. Suspense thriller. Producers Thom Mount and Tim Hampton. Director Roman Polanski. Screenplay by Gerard Brach and Polanski. Stars Harrison Ford, Betty Buckley and Emmanuelle Seigner. Distributor Warner Brothers. Release date undetermined.

SWITCHING CHANNELS (Martin Ransohoff/Nelson Entertainment). Shooting in Toronto and Chicago. The classic newspaper yarn “His Girl Friday” (itself a romantic variation of “The Front Page”) gets updated and transferred to a TV newsroom. Producer Martin Ransohoff. Director Ted Kotcheff. Screenplay Jonathan Reynolds, based on the play and movie by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Stars Kathleen Turner, Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve. Distributor Columbia. Release date undetermined.

THROW MOMMA FROM A TRAIN (Orion). Shooting in L.A. A modern-day comedy of confusion, love and murder. Executive producer Arni Schmidt. Producer Larry Brezner. Director Danny DeVito. Screenplay Stu Silver. Stars DeVito and Billy Crystal. Distributor Orion. Christmas release.

TUCKER (Lucasfilm). Shooting in San Francisco and Marin and Sonoma counties. Jeff Bridges stars as the real-life inventor of a non-gasoline-driven automobile in 1946. Executive producer George Lucas. Producers Fred Roos and Fred Fuchs. Director Francis Coppola. Screenplay Arnold Schulman. Also stars Joan Allen, Martin Landau, Frederic Forrest and Dean Stockwell. Distributor and release date undetermined.