<i> Films now going into production: </i>

LAMBADA! The Forbidden Dance (Sawmill). Shooting in L.A. Miss USA of 1985 Laura Herring, Jeff James and Richard Lynch star in this sultry tale which uses this erotic and grinding dance from Brazil as a backdrop. A young Brazilian girl, in the States to protect the rain forests of her native land, introduces this peculiar dance to new-found American friends. Executive producer Menahem Golan. Producer Richard L. Albert. Director Greydon Clark. Screenwriters Roy Langsdon and John Platt. Distributor 21st Century. Spring release.

Lambada: The Movie (Cannon). Shooting in L.A. A Beverly Hills schoolteacher hangs out after hours in an East L.A. warehouse where he dazzles the locals with his Lambada moves while also adding to their knowledge of academics. When his double life is discovered, both his job and reputation are tarnished. Producer Peter Shepard. Director Joel Silberg. Screenwriters Sheldon Renan and Silberg. Stars William Marquez, Rita Bland and J. W. Fails.

The Object of Beauty (Avenue/BBC). Shooting in London. John Malkovich and “sex, lies and videotape’s” Andie MacDowell star in this story of a commodities wheeler-dealer. Things get tense when they suddenly find themselves in a swank London hotel--flat broke. Executive producer Cary Brokaw. Producer Jon S. Denny. Director/screenwriter Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Also stars Joss Ackland, Elizabeth Perkins, Peter Riegert and Rudi Davies. Distributor Avenue. Fall release.

Pacific Heights (Morgan Creek). Shooting in San Francisco. Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine play a San Francisco couple who rent out a unit to a seemingly pleasant Michael Keaton. Not too long after this, their “model” tenant begins to terrorize them, both psychologically and physically. Producers Scott Rudin and Bill Sackheim. Screenwriter Daniel Pyne. Distributor Fox. Winter release.

Untitled Gene Wilder Project (Paramount). Shooting in New York. Wilder, Farrah Fawcett, Christine Lahti and Mary Stuart Masterson star in this one from director Leonard Nimoy. New York Times Executive Editor Max Frankel’s son, David, co-scripts this comedic tale of newspapers, neuroses and New Yorkers. Producers Jordan Kerner and Jon Avnet. Screenwriters Norman Steinberg and Frankel.