Nicolas Cage's Superhero Saga 'Ghost Rider' on Hold

Looks like Nicolas Cage's Marvel Comic superhero saga, "Ghost Rider" is dematerializing before our very eyes.
 
"It was supposed to come out this summer, but it's not coming out," says Sam Elliott, who costars in the film shot last year with Cage, Wes Bentley and Eva Mendes. "Sony took such a beating around the box office, they decided to hold it, and it's coming out on President's Day of '07," he says.
 
February is not usually the time of year studios choose to release such action-genre films, so that doesn't bode well for "Ghost Rider" turning into a franchise for Cage. However, says Elliott, "I hope it does well. I happened to like Nicolas a lot. I think he's great at what he does, and once again, he's incredible in this thing." In the film, Elliott plays "a guy named Caretaker who takes care of the cemetery. Ghost Rider comes there seeking solace and safety, and I provide him with information." Should the box office warrant a "Ghost Rider" sequel, he says, "I'll certainly be there if they call me."
 
Meanwhile, Elliott plays a more down-to-earth hero in the TNT original movie, "Avenger" debuting April 6. "It was all shot in an amazing part of the world in and around Capetown, South Africa, and they got it all on film, that's the nice part," says Elliott. He plays a small-town lawyer/former Vietnam Special Forces operative who hires himself out to those seeking to avenge the violent murders of loved ones in the edge-of-your-seat film based on Frederick Forsyth's bestselling novel. Now the actor, who's married to Katharine Ross, says he'll be staying put for awhile. "My wife's about to get a knee replacement, so I'm going to be holding hands with her for a few months."
 
FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT:

Scott Weinger's reemergence as an actor on "What I Like About You" came as a surprise -- to him. Remembered by countless "Full House" fans as D.J.'s (Candace Cameron) boyfriend Steve in the vintage sitcom, which is still rerunning on the Disney Channel, Weinger had become a successful writer in intervening years. He notes, "When I decided to transition into writing for TV, I found out right away it's a full-time job -- not the kind of thing you can dabble in -- that required abandoning all my other pursuits. I even let my theatrical representation go."
 
He'd been writing for "What I Like About You" for more than a year when exec producer Caryn Lucas suggested he take on the role of Rubin -- initially, for just one episode, then another and more. "It became a funny situation with me being in the writing room, then running back to the stage," he says.
 
Now Weinger's planning to maintain both sides of his career. "I learned a lot about acting by becoming a writer," he says. Among the things he's learned? Scott says that after sitting in on numerous casting sessions, "I'm no longer going to be that guy who feels compelled to shake hands with everyone in the room when he comes in. If someone comes in and they're cool and they nail it, they get the part, rather than being the guy who comes in tries to chat it up with everyone. That used to be me."
 
READY TO MOVE:

"Veronica Mars" actor Enrico Colantoni is confident in the show's future when UPN merges with the WB. 'I think we're their [UPN's] only drama that is beloved by the critics and that people actually watch, so I'm expecting them to move us to the new network," he says. "It will be a truer test of how well we do because we will be with shows like 'Gilmore Girls' -- better quality shows. I don't think we'll know, though, until we're on the new network to see where the cream rises."
 
THE INSIDE TRACK:

The high-octane soul/salsa Latin jazz band Cintron reached back to the 60s and 70s to cover such classic tunes as "Suavecito," "All Day Music" and "Since I Fell For You" for its latest album, "Back In the Day." However, vocalist Rocco DePersia says they reached even further back for the very special tune, "Where Do We Go >From Here." "My father wrote that for my mother back in 1950," says DePersia, one of the cofounders of the New Jersey-based 15-man group with legendary jazz percussionist Edgardo Cintron. "My dad didn't know we were going to put it on the album, and we did it like doo-wop style." DePersia says when his parents first heard the tune, "My mother got all affected … I made sure I got an extra helping of pasta that night." The album -- an irresistibly infectious mix of R & B, jazz, Caribbean rhythms and old-school doo-wop vocals -- also features the original Soul Survivors (Charlie and Rich Ingui) singing on Cintron's cover of their late 60s' hit, "Expressway to Your Heart."