SHORT TAKES / MOVIES : ‘Terms’ Sequel: A MacLaine Showcase

In the 1983 hit “Terms of Endearment,” actress Shirley MacLaine as Aurora Greenway had audiences in tears as she coped with the death of her strong-willed daughter, Emma, played by Debra Winger. For her rich performance, the actress was awarded her first Oscar.

In Paramount Pictures’ “The Evening Star,” based on Larry McMurtry’s novel of the same name, currently in the planning stages, Aurora is back and feistier than ever.

Rare is the sequel in Hollywood that doesn’t revolve around exploding cars and blood and guts galore--and stranger still revolves almost entirely around a middle-age feminine perspective. But according to sources close to the “Terms” sequel, which is being penned by screenwriter Robert Harling (“Steel Magnolias”), that’s exactly what “The Evening Star” will be. The film is being constructed as a showcase for MacLaine as the character of Aurora experiences more of life’s disappointments, tragedies and joys, and ages to 75.

“We couldn’t do this film if Shirley wasn’t involved,” says one source. “Without her involvement, there wouldn’t be a sequel. She is the project.”

But what of James L. Brooks, the director-writer of the first film that went on to capture five Academy Awards, including best picture and best director? According to sources, his interest in the project will depend on the finished script and “where he is with his life.” Others say the chances of him directing the sequel are “doubtful.”

Jack Nicholson, who played Aurora’s astronaut suitor, Garret Breedlove, will probably be back in a cameo role “during a pinnacle third act of development.” But Winger won’t, “even through the magic of flashback,” a source said.

“The Evening Star” was published earlier this year; Paramount closed the deal on the book in July. The delay in firming up MacLaine’s involvement in the project happened, one source says, because the studio wanted the star to sign for two films at the same time--”The Evening Star” and “Guarding Tess,” a film about a former First Lady and her relationship with Secret Service agent Nicholas Cage. (The film, in which MacLaine says she will play a steely First Lady who is a cross between “Mamie Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth,” has since relocated to TriStar.)

Some industry sources, who clearly admit they “fell for” the comic-drama tone in the film version of “Terms of Endearment,” wondered if McMurtry’s novel of “The Evening Star” would make as successful a film as its predecessor. The novel is darker than the original and a large part of the book deals with the travails of Emma’s grown sons--Tommy, a drug dealer who is in prison for shooting a rival drug dealer, and Teddy, a survivor of several suicide attempts who marries fellow mental patient Jane. The latter two work alternating shifts at a 7-Eleven.

It is doubtful, say sources, that these bleak subplots will end up in the film version of “The Evening Star.” Harling and others involved in the project have decided to concentrate on Aurora’s relationships with her housekeeper Rosie, Patsy (Emma’s friend) and Melanie, Emma’s daughter.

As for MacLaine, she admits tackling the most celebrated role of her career again is “a bit frightening, I must admit. But I find the challenge fascinating. Aurora is fascinating. Bob (Harling) and I are having lunches and talking her through. Her voice is coming back to me after 10 years, so that’s a good sign.”

Will there be a “Terms III?” Probably not. According to a source close to the follow-up film, a pinnacle plot point centers around MacLaine’s character facing her own mortality.