› NBC Zeroes in on Goldberg Telepic - April 24 2001 (Hollywood Reporter)
NBC has greenlighted "Ground Zero," a telefilm from industry veteran Leonard Goldberg to star Katherine Heigl (The WB Network's "Roswell") and Kerr Smith (the WB's "Dawson's Creek").
Based on James Mills' bestselling book "The Seventh Power," the thriller centers on two brilliant college students (Heigl and Smith) who build a nuclear device to illustrate the need for a change in national priorities but are betrayed by a fellow student.
When the bomb ends up in the hands of a terrorist, the two students have to work together with the government in a race against time to prevent the destruction of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tom Vaughan wrote the script of "Ground Zero," which was developed before NBC decided to scale back its long-form programming this year.
The movie, scheduled to air in the fall, co-stars J. August Richards (WB's "Angel") and Jeff Roop ("The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo").
Eric Laneuville ("Pandora's Clock") will direct the thriller, set to begin production this week in Vancouver.
Goldberg is executive producing "Ground Zero," with his daughter Amanda Goldberg ("Charlie's Angels") serving as producer. His company Panda Prods. is producing in association with NBC Studios.
One of Hollywood's most respected film and television producers, Leonard Goldberg's credits include the features "War Games," "Double Jeopardy" and "Charlie's Angels." On the small screen, he partnered with Aaron Spelling to produce a string of hit series, including "Charlie's Angels," "Starsky and Hutch" and "Fantasy Island."
He also was head of programming at ABC and president of 20th Century Fox, where he oversaw production of such features as "Big," "Die Hard" and "Wall Street."
Heigl's feature resume includes starring roles in "Bride of Chucky," "Valentine" "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory" and "My Father the Hero." She is reppcd by Writers and Artists and manager Shelley Browning.
Smith, who was recently seen in the feature "Final Destination," next stars in the indic "The Forsaken" which opens this weekend. He is repped by WMA and manager Vincent Cirrincione.