Leona Helmsley: Last News

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterA juicy new documentary about the life and public battles of late real estate mogul Leona Helmsley is currently in production, Variety has learned exclusively.  The film will contain never-before-heard tapes of Helmsley and her archrival Donald Trump, as well as “smoking gun” evidence that will question the tax evasion case brought on her by Rudy Giuliani in 1988.Helmsley was an icon of the “greed is good” era, an owner of luxury hotels and condominiums who left behind a $5 billion estate (which famously included a $12 million trust fund for her dog, a Maltese). Branded the “Queen of Mean” by the New York tabloids for her acid tongue and regal air, she was a bitter rival of Trump — who once called her “a disgrace to the industry and a disgrace to humanity in general.” Of Trump, Helmsley once reportedly said: “I wouldn’t trust him if his tongue was notarized.” Trump notoriously tried to snatch the crown jewel of Helmsley’s property portfolio, the Empire State building.Indie studio Gunpowder & Sky has boarded the project from Filmbank’s Keith Robert Patterson (HBO’s “All About Ann”), who will direct and produce.

EXCLUSIVE: Disney‘s Snow White, which has been dragged through the tabloids like she was Leona Helmsley, is seeing Thursday previews tonight of $3.5M per our sources. Note, these numbers don’t come from Disney. Showtimes began at 2PM.

Joan Benedict Steiger, who was part of the original stock company for Candid Camera and later became the wife of actor Rod Steiger, died June 24 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke. She was 96.

Charles “Chuck” Fries, whose career as a television and film producer included a long list of classic shows, series and films, died Wednesday, his family announced. He was 92. No cause of death was given.