The Name Game

There’s no guessing about the IDs of the main characters in “Wired,” the bleak tale of John Belushi’s druggy death, to shoot in mid-May under director Larry Peerce. Belushi, wife Judy, buddy Dan Aykroyd, “companion” Cathy Smith and reporter Bob Woodward (who wrote the best-seller on which the film’s based) will all be clearly portrayed. But producers Ed Feldman and Charles Meeker are fictionalizing just about everybody else involved in the sordid tale.

If you know the facts, you’ll recognize that personal manager Arnie Fromson--whom one source dubbed “a big man with a big presence”--is a ringer for Belushi’s real-life manager, Bernie Brillstein. And how could we not recognize director John Landis--whoops, we mean Jay Davis--who’s described as being emotional, bearded and the director of “Animal House.”

Other fictionalizations you may be able to connect to actual people: Glenda Warner, a regular on “Saturday Night Live”; Stan Josephs, the creator of “Saturday Night Live,” who admired Belushi’s talent but worried for his health; Paul Forrest, Belushi’s personal trainer; David Brower, a studio exec who insists to Woodward that Belushi’s deal with the studio didn’t include “per diem” money for drugs.

Woodward--now an editor at the Washington Post--probably will like his depiction. One source tells us that casting info on the film says--in capital letters--that “HIS INTELLIGENCE AND DRIVE MAKE HIM A CHARISMATIC CHARACTER.”