"Men in Black 2" will play beat the clock
By Michael Fleming


   NEW YORK (Variety) - Despite the prospect of a Screen Actors Guild (news - web sites) strike starting June 30, Columbia Pictures and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment are making plans to start production on "Men in Black 2" on June 4.

   The plan calls for stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones to don the Ray-Bans again for director Barry Sonnenfeld for as many shooting days as possible.

   The studio is setting a course of action similar to the one that Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures are taking with their back-to-back sequels for "The Matrix." That film's Oakland shoot has been structured by directors Larry and Andy Wachowski to facilitate a potential shutdown.

   Like them, the Columbia and Amblin plan involves prioritizing and shooting the scenes that will need special effects work. If a strike occurs, that footage can be worked on the by f/x crews who will be unaffected by either a writers or actors walkout.

   Smith will be finished starring for Michael Mann in "Ali" by then, and Jones will have wrapped "The Hunted" for director William Friedkin and Lakeshore/Paramount. Sonnenfeld has finished shooting his latest film, the ensemble comedy "Big Trouble" for Disney.