Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Larry Bishop and Quentin Tarantino have set an end-of-April production start for "Hellride," Bishop's modern-day take on those 1960s motorcycle flicks he used to turn out for B-movie masters American International Pictures. It's the project Tarantino inspired Bishop to begin some five and a half years ago, when he told Larry, "It is your destiny to write, direct and star in a movie,'" and said he would help produce it.

"I knew then, as long as I stayed alive I'd make it happen. Very few people could do that. I knew he'd never go off his word. I devoted all my time to it," says Bishop.

It all started when Bishop, son of the late comedian and Rat Packer Joey Bishop, got a call out of the blue one night from an actress friend who was out on a date with Tarantino. She said, "Quentin is your biggest fan. He loves the motorcycle movies you did." And then Tarantino got on the phone and asked Larry if he'd like to come over "and see a mint print of 'The Savage Seven' — a movie I did in 1967! He said, 'I own all your movies.'"

The next night was like something out of a movie. Bishop went to Tarantino's house and was escorted to the filmmaker's 100-seat theater, where posters and other memorabilia from such vintage Bishop features as "Wild in the Streets" were displayed in the lobby. To Bishop's further amazement, Tarantino also showed a string of trailers he had assembled of Bishop's flicks.

He subsequently put Bishop into his "Kill Bill: Vol. 2."

Tarantino celebrates zombie pics and slasher pics — hey, the man knows what he likes — in his "Grindhouse" feature due for release next month with Fergie, Rose McGowan and Bruce Willis among the star-heavy cast. Bishop, meanwhile, is in the midst of preproduction, getting his cast and crew in place for "Hellride," including talking deal with Michael Madsen, for whom he wrote a starring role.

HER OTHER HAT: "In Case of Emergency" regular Lori Loughlin says she's itching to do more producing and has her project all lined up. "I pitched a book to Touchstone, they liked it, optioned the book, and we're on our way," says Loughlin, who was a producer on her former "Summerland" series.

"I have this idea on how to tie a cooking show into a TV series. I see that cooking shows are so popular. It's based on culinary therapy." She adds, "I think it can be really clever. There's a whole marketing idea behind it. I can just see it all." Loughlin isn't considering being on-screen talent for the project at the moment. "I would just produce it as of right now."

MUSICALLY SPEAKING: It now looks like a mid-October release date for Warner Bros. "August Rush" — the unusual Jonathan Rhys Meyers-Keri Russell-Robin Williams-Freddie Highmore film with fantasy elements that was once expected this past February. Consider the more prestigious debut date an in-house endorsement of the film. "It's a rock musical about a child prodigy," says Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik, who supplied a tune for the soundtrack. "It's very ambitious, and I think a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised." With Showtime's "The Tudors" series coming up with Rhys Meyers as a sexy Henry VIII, this is quite a big year for the actor.

LESS IS MORE: Jason Gedrick, who turned in an impressive performance as a thug-turned-nightclub kingpin in A&E's recent "Kings of South Beach," says he'd love to get back into the series game. The former "Murder One" and "Boomtown" star declares, "I'm an actor who really loves to work." He also says he feels that he's hit a deeper level of ability in his craft in the last year or so. "There's a certain Zen-like realization actors make, when you turn a corner and stop trying so hard. It's like the old John Wooden adage — be quick but don't hurry. Work harder, but try less. When you try too hard, the acting looks less authentic. There's a certain ease that comes when you're not forcing things."

Jason adds that "Working with Garry Marshall, seeing how he directs a play, is a good example of that. I did 'Wrong Turn at Lungfish' with him and Hector Elizondo, and found Garry very unpretentious about the way he works. Maybe through some sort of symbiosis that kind of rubbed off on me."

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2006 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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