Films now going into production: ...

Films now going into production: Angel Town (Ellendale Place). Shooting in L.A. Olivier Gruner stars as a French martial arts expert who assists an L.A. family tired of constantly being badgered by the neighborhood gang. Producers Sunil R. Shah and Eric Karson. Director Karson. Screenwriter S. Warren. Winter release.

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (Allarts). Shooting in Great Britain. A violent, erotic story starring Helen Mirren (the wife) which is set during 10 days at a smart British restaurant where everything is edible, though not necessarily nourishing. Producers Kees Kasander and Denis Wigman. Director/screenwriter Peter Greenaway. Also stars Michael Gambon and Richard Bohringer.

Dad (Amblin). Shooting in L.A. “Family Ties” creator Gary David Goldberg writes/produces and directs this drama with Jack Lemmon cast in the title role. Based on the William Wharton novel, Lemmon struggles to take care of his elderly father when mom dies of a heart attack. Distributor Universal. Winter release.

Defenseless (G.F.N.). Shooting in L.A. Barbara Hershey stars as an attorney whose lover/client is found murdered. She decides to represent the accused killer--who also happens to be a former college buddy and the wife of deceased. Executive producer Taylor Hackford and Stuart Benjamin. Producer Renee Missell. Director Martin Campbell. Screenwriter James Hicks. Also stars Mary Beth Hurt, Sam Shepard, J. T. Walsh and Sheree North. Distributor New Visions. Late ’89 release.

The Handmaid’s Tale (Handmaid’s Tale). Shooting in North Carolina. Natasha Richardson, Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway topline the Volker Schlondorff directed, Harold Pinter adaptation of the Margaret Atwood novel. It’s the story of an Orwellian America in which pollution has made reproduction problematical, thus women of child-bearing age have been turned into brood mares, or “handmaids,” for older men. Executive producer Wolfgang Glattes. Producer Daniel Wilson. Also stars Aidan Quinn and Elizabeth McGovern. Distributor Cinecom. Late ’89 release.

-- Compiled by David Pecchia