MOVIES - March 14, 1996

Sly Lands Role: In an unusual pairing, the arty Miramax Films has signed on action superstar Sylvester Stallone to star in “Copland,” a “Serpico”-type police drama about a hearing-impaired sheriff forced to decide between protecting the police and upholding the law. Written by James Mangold (“Heavy”), the $10-million picture is due to start shooting this summer for a possible Christmas release. “This is either a dramatic change of direction or coming full circle,” said Stallone, alluding to the character-driven, ensemble filmmaking he embarked on with “Rocky” 20 years ago. “I’m going for ‘the word’ rather than pyrotechnics. And I didn’t want to be a one-man show the rest of my life.” The deal was cut a week after Stallone signed with William Morris’ Arnold Rifkin. The star will get scale upfront against significant backend participation. Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein observed: “With this budget, we won’t have to homogenize the movie. If it grosses even $10 million domestic, plus TV and foreign, we’ll be happy. If it becomes a ‘Pulp Fiction,’ it’ll be a bonanza.”

Clooney vs. Arnold: After weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiating, Arnold Schwarzenegger has worked out his schedule and will appear as the archvillain Mr. Freeze in the Warner Bros. film “Batman and Robin.” Schwarzenegger will do battle against a new Caped Crusader, George Clooney, who is replacing Val Kilmer. Warner executives clashed with Kilmer representatives after Kilmer announced he would make “The Saint” for Paramount Pictures, even though it might set up a scheduling conflict for the next Batman movie. Warners then turned to Clooney, who stars in the NBC hospital drama “ER,” signing him to a three-picture deal worth as much as $28 million.

Inspiration Honored: The first $25,000 prizes sponsored by philanthropist Sir John Templeton Jr. for religiously inspiring movies and TV were presented Wednesday night at the Universal Hilton to Gramercy Pictures’ “Dead Man Walking” and to “The Hunt” episode of CBS’ series “Christy.” The winners were selected by Movieguide’s Christian Film and Television Commission. Among other films cited for their “morally redemptive” qualities were “Braveheart” and “Toy Story.”