39.QUICK TAKES
FREDDY VS. JASON DIRECTOR: NO EXPERIENCE DESIRED: Chinese director
Ronny Yu got the directing job for FREDDY VS. JASON because he wasn't familiar
with either franchise. Yu said hew had a similar experience when he did
the CHILD'S PLAY sequel, BRIDE OF CHUCKY. "When I did CHUCKY, I didn't
know anything about CHILD'S PLAY," Yu said. "That's exactly what the producers
from CHUCKY and the producers from FREDDY VS. JASON want. They want a fresh
angle, a director with a different style." . . . DON'T LOOK UP, AMERICAN
STYLE. American producers have bought the rights to the Japanese horror
film, DON'T LOOK UP. The original movie's directed by Hideo Nakata. Nakata
also directed the Japanese film THE RING, a supernatural terror tale that
served as the basis for DreamWorks' English-language remake. DON'T LOOK
UP centers on a film director and his crew who lose their sanity when the
spirit of a slain actress from another era haunts their set. . . . THE
VOICE OF DARTH RETURNS. James Earl Jones said that he has signed to become
the voice of Darth Vader again for STAR WARS: EPISODE III. The next - and
final - prequel will tell about Anakin Skywalker's transition to the dark
figure that we know and loathe. Jones said that George Lucas told him:
"When Anakin goes bionic - that will be in the last five minutes of EPISODE
III - they will hear you." . . . GETTING A LOT FOR YOUR SIX MILLION DOLLARS.
Producers have been announcing a movie-version of THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR
MAN since the 80's. The title haunts Internet sites and lists of coming
films as frequently as Elvis-sightings. Dimension Films has decided to
keep that ball in play. They've named Trevor Sands to write the screenplay
for its new version of THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. The film will be based
on Martin Caidin's Cyborg novels, which were the basis for the Universal
Television series THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN in the 1970s. . . . BARBIE
GOES BOND. There's a new Bond girl for 007 - she's six inches tall and
made of plastic. The makers of Barbie are bringing out a special Bond Girl
Barbie in a limited-edition 007 gift set, along with her friend Ken as
Mr. Bond. Mattel Inc is releasing the $75 set to celebrate the 40th anniversary
of DR. NO. Mattel marketing vice president Jamie Cygielman says, "The James
Bond 007 Ken doll and Barbie doll gift set pay tribute to the many memorable
James Bond films and their famous characters over the past 40 years." Ken
is dressed in 007's trademark tuxedo and carries a briefcase while Barbie
is wearing a golden lace gown and red shawl with a cell phone strapped
to her thigh. . . . SURRENDER DOROTHY. That provocative titles is almost
all we know of producer Robert Kosberg intended sequel film to THE WIZARD
OF OZ. We also know that Drew Barrymore is attached to star and that Warner
Brothers is making it. As news filters in, I'll let you know. . . . JOHN
WOO'S PAYCHECK. John Woo is in negotiations to direct PAYCHECK. The project
is aimed to go into production in February. It's based on a short story
by Philip K. Dick. It's a futuristic story of a man who has part of his
memory erased and begins to find clues to his whereabouts for the past
two years. . . . THE PHANTOM REVISITED. With the current superhero boom
there's an attempt underway to produce an updated film version of Lee Falk's
classic comic-strip hero The Phantom. Steven De Souza will write the script.
It will have nothing to do with the 1996 Paramount movie (good idea). The
new film will reinvent the character to be closer to films such as SPIDER-MAN
and THE MATRIX. . . . PRODUCERS HOPE ASH CAN. Work continues on the development
of a feature film based on Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti's ASH. The comic
tells the story of a Chicago fire-fighter who, after being trapped in a
mysterious blaze, finds he can transform into fire-wielding warrior. With
the popularity of fire fighters and super heroes at all time highs, it's
no wonder Hollywood's interest in this project is piqued. . . . TERRY GILLIAM
AND THE BROTHERS GRIMM. Terry Gilliam is looking to astonish us again,
this time on his mythical take on the lives of the Brothers Grimm. The
movie will center on writers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, called Jake and Will
in this version. While traveling from village to village pretending to
protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures, they encounter a real sorceress
with terrifying powers and are put to the test. The movie's scheduled to
go into production this spring. . . . JUST KEEP REPEATING "IT'S ONLY A
MOVIE. IT'S ONLY A MOVIE." A 47-year-old California woman named Diana Louisa
Napolis is really angry at Stephen Spielberg, and his wife, Kate Capshaw.
She wrote them a 13-page letter accusing the Spielbergs of being members
of a "satanic cult" who gathered in their basement to spy on Napolis' meetings
with aliens. She's passed out fliers at movie premiers with the same message.
Spielberg expressed concern "for his "safety and security and for the safety
and security of my family, and others around me," as he got a restraining
order against her. Spielberg added that, "to state the obvious, I am not
involved with any form of manipulating Ms. Napolis' mind or body through
remote technology or otherwise." . . . SCOOBY 3!?! Warner Brothers has
hired writers Dan Foreman and Paul Foley to write a third installment of
its SCOOBY-DOO film franchise. A second installment is already slated for
release in 2004. The first SCOOBY-DOO grossed $265 million worldwide. SCOOBY
producers Chuck Roven and Richard Suckle will also produce the third SCOOBY
movie. Foreman and Foley also wrote a script for a proposed live-action
film based on THE JETSONS. . . . BAG OF BONES. Peter Care (THE DANGEROUS
LIVES OF ALTAR BOYS) has closed a deal to develop and direct MGM's film
based on Stephen King's 1995 novel, BAG OF BONES. The deal will see Care
directing from an adaptation by David Velos. The movie tells the story
of Mike Noonan, a novelist who is helped by the spirit of his dead wife
to exorcise the spirit of a murder victim who has killed several children
and now has her eyes on an innocent 3-year-old. Bruce Willis and Arnold
Rifkin's Cheyenne Enterprises is producing, and Care's wife, Lorraine,
is co-producing.
40.COMIC BOOKS TAKE OVER HOLLYWOOD
Perhaps it had to happen. Studio executives aren't
widely known for their literary skills. They might be able to navigate
a financial report or a newspaper story, but it takes a certain amount
of skill to read a movie script and see the movie in your head. Coupling
their lack of talent with the drive to find big-action movies with lots
of explosions, comic books appear to have ascended to the top of Hollywood's
food chain.
Take a look at the shows either currently on
TV or headed for it. They include AQUAMAN ANIMATED, ASTROBOY, BIRDS OF
PREY, BLADE TV SHOW, FANTASTIC FOUR ANIMATED, JEREMIAH, JUSTICE LEAGUE,
MUTANT-X, NIGHT THRASHER, SMALLVILLE, SPIDER-MAN ANIMATED, STARMAN, TEEN-TITANS
and X-MEN EVOLUTION
Comic-inspired movies, in various stages of production,
include 100 BULLETS, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, ANT MAN, BARBARELLA, BATMAN
YEAR ONE, BATMAN BEYOND ANIMATED FEATURE 2, BLADE 3, BULLETPROOF MONK,
CABLE, CAPTAIN AMERICA, CAPTAIN JUSTICE, CAPTAIN RIGHTFUL, THE CARNIVAL
OF THE IMMORTALS, CASPER, CATWOMAN, CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN, CIVILIAN
JUSTICE, THE CLEANER, COMIC BOOK VILLAINS, DAREDEVIL, DEADMAN, DEATH: THE
HIGH COST OF LIVING, FLASH GORDON, FROM HELL, GHOSTRIDER, HELLBOY, THE
HULK, THE INVISIBLES, IRON FIST, IRON MAN, ISIS, JADE, JETCAT, JIMMY CORRIGAN:
THE SMARTEST KID ON EARTH, JINX, JUDGE DREDD: DREDD RECKONING, JUDGE DREDD:
POSSESSION, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, MAJOR DAMAGE, MORT THE
DEAD TEENAGER, PREACHER, RISING STARS, RONIN, RUPERT THE BEAR, SANDMAN,
S.M.A.S.HEROES, SAINT SINNER, SAM SLADE: ROBO-HUNTER, SGT. ROCK, THE SUB-MARINER,
SUPERMAN, SWAMP THING, TALES FROM THE CRYPT: REVELATION, V IS FOR VENDETTA,
VAMPIRELLA, THE WONDER TWINS, WONDER WOMAN and X-2.
Entertainment Weekly published their annual "Power
101" in a recent issue. Comic book connections ran throughout the list
(the people on the list were depicted with super-hero charactatures). This
year's list marks the debut of Marvel Studios big-wig Avi Arad. Arad ranks
48 on the executive list. The magazine credits him with a string of hit
movies this year (BLADE II and SPIDER-MAN) and a powerhouse slate for next
year (DAREDEVIL, X-MEN 2 and THE HULK).
There's little doubt that comic book movies rule
Hollywood. The question is, is that a bad thing? As a comic book fan myself
I've enjoyed many of the high budget skillfully executed comic book films
I've seen. BUT, as I consider the list of my favorite films they were made
with carefully nuanced characters and subtle story-lines. These are the
sorts of things that comic books are apt to miss.
I think that comics make a rousing side dish
in movie fare. There's a problem, though, when they become the appetizer,
entree and dessert. Until a generation of movie executives appears that
actually knows something about film, comic books will continue to rule.
41.CHI-CHIAN COMES TO THE SCREEN
Plucky comic book heroine Chi-Chian is taking
her mission - to save 31st century Manhattan from giant insects, secret
police and samurai robots - to the big screen. Independent production company
Lonetree Entertainment has acquired the exclusive film, television, publishing
and game rights to the comic book and animated series from its creator,
New York artist and animator Voltaire. Lonetree producers Tony Eldridge
and Michele Barbara are on board to develop the project as a live-action
feature film. Voltaire first brought Chi-Chian to life as a stop-motion
character in a 10-second station ID for the Sci-Fi Channel. He went on
to create a series of episodes starring the character for the channel's
Web site. It is unclear whether actress Bai Ling, who voiced Chi-Chian
in the series, will be involved with the feature adaptation.
42.TAMPERING WITH JULES VERNE
The cinematic fields of battle are strewn with
the corpses of movies that tried to re-imagine classics. Does anyone remember
THE WIZ? What about the (gulp) CASABLANCA re-make, BARB WIRE? Directors
seem to be plagued with a terrible forgetfulness. The American public can
get very mean when they find an lovely old classic has been "re-imagined."
Director Frank Coraci has thrown caution to the
wind and announced that his upcoming film version of Jules Verne's AROUND
THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS will elaborate on the sci-fi themes and gadgetry in
Verne's original story. "The movie does take place at the turn of the century,
and I decided instead of just making Phileas Fogg an Englishman that's
very wealthy, in this version he's an inventor," Coraci explained. "That
was inspired by the idea that Jules Verne was way ahead of his time, and
so our Phileas Fogg is a man way ahead of his time, living in a Victorian
era when people didn't want to accept big change. They were very stodgy
and trying to hold onto their old ways, and the bet [to travel the world
in 80 days] stems out of him trying to prove to them that the world is
a much more progressive place and that anything is possible. In that sense,
I think it's the modern-day version of a Jules Verne theme. Think ahead.
Think progressive."
Coraci will also include an appearance by a character
from another Jules Verne story, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea's Captain
Nemo. Phileas and Passepartout will encounter Nemo, allowing Coraci to
construct Nemo's submarine Nautilus. "We thought it would be fun to do
that, and we've created this amazing version of what we think the Nautilus
looked like. Of course, a lot of it is going to be special effects, because
we're going to create this 300-foot sub. We looked at every possible design,
because there are so many Nautiluses, and we created this one that moves
sort of like an animal. So it sort of slinks like an eel or a snake. We've
created this bizarre organic version of it, so a lot of that is going to
be done with special effects."
Jackie Chan will play Passepartout. The character's
been changed, making him a martial arts Robin Hood fleeing the law.
The role of Phileas has not yet been cast. Production is set to
begin in January 2003, with an eye to a Christmas 2003 release.
43.TWOHY LOOKS AHEAD TO THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK
Director and writer David Twohy recently spoke
about his proposed film trilogy that spins off PITCH BLACK. He said that
the first sequel in the CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK series will greatly expand
the universe seen in the original film. "It takes that [Vin Diesel's] Riddick
character and follows him through multiple universes, multiple worlds,
as he meets multiple adversaries," he said. "There's a lot of theology
running through it. Not just mythology, like maybe you get out of STAR
WARS or LORD OF THE RINGS, but theology as well. Even though I'm not a
religious guy, I'm very interested in religion anyway and why people turn
to it."
Twohy said that the title of the first sequel
film will be the same as the title of the new series as a whole, to establish
continuity, yet create an identity apart from the original. "Right now
we're saying the series is called CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK. We're referring
to it as C1, C2 and C3. I'm plotting all three films as we preproduce this
first film. And we're in active preproduction. I've got a production designer
on it. I've got a whole art department of conceptual artists. The script
is in. We are being funded by Universal. It's a big deal."
44.DENNIS QUAID CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW
Dennis Quaid, who will play a climatologist in
Roland Emmerich's TOMORROW, said that he'll make it up as he goes along
when he begins filming in a November. "As far as any preparation for it
and stuff like that, there's no big active preparation for that, because
the movie is the star of the movie," Quaid said.
Quaid's character will have to stop a sudden
global warming and a new ice age in New York, which will lead to the sorts
of catastrophic special effects of Emmerich's other big hits, he said.
"I loved INDEPENDENCE DAY myself, because of just that ride," Quaid said.
"It's not my usual taste, but I did love that ride, and this is just going
to be a big action end-of-the-world movie."
TOMORROW will also star Jake Gyllenhaal as Quaid's
son. Look for it next summer.
45.THE FLEXIBLE ORIGINS OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR
Writer Doug Petrie (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER)
announced that he's drafting a script for a proposed FANTASTIC FOUR movie
that will alter the origin mythology of the Marvel Comics superheroes and
their chief villain. "The change to the origin story, which came from the
earlier drafts and I adopted, is that Doom was like the fifth Beatle,"
Petrie said. "He was on the spaceship with them, and in my version he saw
this particle wave coming. They didn't want to say cosmic rays, because
they felt it sounded fake, but in fact cosmic rays are real. I wanted to
do A PERFECT STORM in space, where a giant wave is coming towards them,
and Victor blasts off in the escape pod, saving his own skin. He crash-lands
[on] Earth and becomes Doom, because his face is lost in the re-entry process,
which is horrible and violent, while the four of them get bombarded by
these mysterious rays and become the Fantastic Four."
The origin scenes will be told in flashbacks.
The proposed film's opening is "a giant action sequence, where everyone
in New York City is watching the Fantastic Four kick the crap out of a
giant monster on Fifth Avenue," Petrie said.
46.PASSING POTTER'S TORCH
Chris Columbus, director of the first two Harry
Potter movies, said that he is passing the director's torch to Alfonso
Cuarón for the third film, but won't abandon the franchise
and its young trio of leads. "I'm certainly going to be around," Columbus
said. "I'm not going anywhere."
Columbus explained that he'll be working as producer
for HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN. "I will be on the set. I
will make sure the transition is going very smoothly. So I will be there
for them. I met with each of [the stars] individually when I made the decision
[not to direct AZKABAN]. They were the first people I talked to, aside
from my own family. I said, 'Look, guys, I'm not going to be doing the
third [film].' I explained to them the reasons why. They were very kind
about it and said they were going to miss me, but they understood. And
I guaranteed them at that time that I would be there for them. I said I
will be on the set, and I said, 'If there are any problems, if anything
makes you uncomfortable, I will be there for you guys.' So they know I'm
still going to be there. I won't be the guy directing their performances,
but I will be there. That was a commitment I had made to them earlier on,
and I felt compelled to say it [again]. That's why I'm staying in London
for another year."
Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón jokingly
referred to the raw sexuality of his most recent film, the Spanish-language
art-house hit Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN. He said it could rub off on Harry, Hermione
and Ron during their next adventures at Hogwarts. "Sex in HARRY POTTER?"
Cuarón teased. "It's going to be steamy . . . magical. We'll have
digital effects, too!"
Cuarón has directed films where his cast
remains fully clad. He directed GREAT EXPECTATIONS and A LITTLE PRINCESS.
He said that he and J.K. Rowling are getting along well. "[She is] super
cool, a great creative ally," he said. "I think we have a great connection
creatively. I feel very good about it." Cuarón has been spending
time in London meeting with Rowling and Chris Columbus.
47.IAN McKELLEN TALKS ABOUT THE HOBBIT
Ian McKellen recently told fans on his official
Web site that he might consider appearing in a movie version of J.R.R.
Tolkien's THE HOBBIT. In response to a fan question, McKellen wrote, "I
recently asked about the film rights to THE HOBBIT, which seem to be somewhat
controlled by Peter Jackson, as far as I can tell. I hope that's the case,
because obviously he should have first refusal at translating the novel
into a movie. I should be intrigued to return to Middle-earth, even though
it involved putting on Gandalf's nose, which is even more distinctive than
my own. . . . I thought it might be possible to make a really long
screen version, probably for television, with every episode of the book
covered week by week in a multitude of episodes. Ian Holm - who was proud
to look so young as well as so old as Bilbo in THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
- even he might think the young Bilbo of THE HOBBIT was unlikely casting
for an actor of his age."
48.TOM CRUISE AND THE LAST SAMURAI
In keeping with our September meeting's Samurai
theme, here's some news about new high-profile American Samurai film. Principal
photography's underway for THE LAST SAMURAI, starring Tom Cruise.
The movie's filming in Japan, New Zealand and the United States.
THE LAST SAMURAI is a sweeping epic set in Japan
during the 1870's. It takes place during Emperor Meiji's reforms that abolished
the Samurai. Tom Cruise stars as Capt. Nathan Algren, a respected American
military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country’s first
army in the art of modern warfare. As the Emperor attempts to eradicate
the ancient Imperial Samurai warriors in preparation for more Westernized
and trade-friendly government policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly
impressed and influenced by his encounters with the Samurai, which places
him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only
his own sense of honor to guide him.
The film is directed by Edward Zwick, written
by John Logan and Edward Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz. The cast includes
Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly and Tony Goldwyn.
49.DUCK DODGERS FLIES AGAIN!
Writer/producer Larry Doyle said that Warner
Brothers is producing a series of new Looney Tunes theatrical shorts, including
one featuring the character of Duck Dodgers, to build anticipation for
its upcoming live-action/animated sequel film LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION.
Duck Dodgers will appear in a short called Attack of the Drones, which
will spoof many recent SF films.
"You never do a direct spoof of anything, because
it always looks too derivative, but there are things in there that you'll
recognize from MEN IN BLACK and from STAR WARS and from STAR TREK and from
THE MATRIX," Doyle said in an interview. "So there's all sorts of different
things. It's an overall sci-fi spoof."
The plot, however, does involve clones. "Daffy
creates an army of robots based on himself to fight something, but the
short isn't really about the fight, which ends very quickly," Doyle said.
"It's about letting the robots loose after they've been victorious." Warners
has not announced a release date for the Looney Tunes shorts.
50.LOONEY VISIONS OF THE 50'S BEST ALIENS
Joe Dante, the director of the upcoming live-action/animated
sequel film LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION, said that the film will include
cameos of creatures from famous 1950s SF movies. Giving a tour of one set,
Dante said, "This is Area 52, the place so secret that they invented Area
51 to cover it up. This is where [the government] takes all the aliens,
and we figured if they're all really aliens from the '50s, let's really
get aliens from the '50s. So we recruited a bunch of characters from my
youth, which was long ago, and we have the MAN FROM PLANET X, who's made
a return since his first picture in 1951. Also making his first reappearance
since 1951 is ROBOT MONSTER. And THE THING WITHOUT A FACE is here and another
one is [an alien from] THIS ISLAND EARTH."
The original Robby the Robot from FORBIDDEN PLANET
and a Triffid from THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS will also be seen in the Area
52 set. Production designer Bill Brzeski said in an interview that these
references are intended for the film's older audience. "I don't think a
lot of kids are going to get any of it," Brzeski said. "But those are the
layers you have to bring to a movie to make it really good, and I think
it's fun. Joe was very specific in what he wanted and how he wanted to
use these B-movie things. Our challenge was how to make them not look [bad].
When they made these movies, they were doing the best they could. They
wouldn't fit to our standards nowadays, so what we had to do was take the
joke and move it to the 2002 visual standard of moviemaking. That was our
challenge. We went back and looked at a lot of these movies, and they really
don't look good. They're really badly done compared to our standards today.
We kept the [creatures]' silhouette and shape, but we brought them up to
our modern technology. I think they look great now. They're really cute,
and they're funny."
LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION is currently in
production. Look for it November, 2003.
51.MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN APPEARS ON THE SCREEN
The rights have just been acquired for the classic
comic strip, MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN. Two companies will co-finance and co-produce
a live-action MANDRAKE movie. They've hired Josh Oppenheimer and Tom Donnelly
(A SOUND OF THUNDER) to adapt the strip for the screen.
Created by Lee Falk (who also created The Phantom)
in 1934, the long-running comic strip is now syndicated in more than 200
newspapers on six continents. The strip follows Mandrake on various adventures
as he uses his powers of hypnotism and illusion to combat crime. He's often
joined by his partner, Lothar, and his girlfriend, Princess Narda. The
exact adventure that the first installment will center on is being tightly
guarded, but producer Ashok Armitraj said that the project will follow
the magician from the United States to Europe to South America in a "big-canvas
adventure story."
52.MICHELLE YEOH IS THE MASKED CRUSADER
Michelle Yeoh is donning her actress-producer
hat for a stint as a female Robin Hood with a new film, THE MASKED CRUSADER.
It will be directed by cinematographer-turned-director Jingle Ma. The $10
million film will be produced by Yeoh and partner Thomas Chung.
Principal photography is expected to start in
January in Hong Kong, China and Japan. THE MASKED CRUSADER is based on
the legendary Wong Ngung, who fought for justice for the underdog and was
a popular subject of black-and-white films of the 1960s, with many of the
top actresses of the time portraying her. This version, set in the year
2009, will be the first time a modern-day film has been made about her.
Michelle Yeoh observed, "We've had a lot of superheroes
but they've usually been guys. What happened to all the women?" It looks
like she's about to answer her own question.
53.2003: YEAR OF THE MATRICES
Joel Silver, producer of the next two MATRIX
movies, says that the cliffhanger between the first and second parts of
the next installments is so compelling that people will be desperate to
see the next film. "I think we won't even have to advertise the third film,
we'll just tell people the date, and they'll come," Silver said. "The story
is so fantastic."
Silver says THE MATRIX RELOADED is set for release
next May 15, and the third part, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS will be out in
October. "You're not going to want to wait for the next movie, so we want
to release them as close as we can together," says Silver. "The cliffhanger
is so substantial you will want to see it soon, and we're aware of that."
Originally the films were supposed to be spread
out over two years, the first screened in 2002 and the third installment
in 2003. But, the special effects needed on both movies delayed the project
until 2003.
Directors Larry and Andy Wachowski originally
conceived the movies starring Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne
Moss, as one, and filmed them together in Australia. When seeing the nearly-completed
projects, they realized that they couldn't wait a year between releases
of the films.
"The boys (the Wachowski's) wanted to release
both of them in the same summer, but we won't have them both ready," Silver
explains. "So, we'll have one in May and the next a few months later."
They would release the films closer together,
but the effects team may not be ready for the third part until later in
the year.
Silver says that fall of 2003 will be a good
year because another Warner Bros. franchise won't be scheduled. "There
won't be a HARRY POTTER that season, so it's a good time for our movie
to come out," Silver says, smiling.
54.2003: YEAR OF THE WOLF - BITTEN
Angelina Jolie is attached to the new Warner
Bros. project BITTEN, about a female werewolf, based on the novel by Kelly
Armstrong. Alexander Stuart (THE WAR ZONE, UNDER THE SKIN) will adapt the
book.
Jolie will play Elena Michaels, the only female
werewolf on the planet. She wasn't born that way. She was bitten and made
a werewolf when she was an adult. A little over a year ago she separated
herself from her pack in order to establish herself in the human world
and to have as close to a “normal” lifestyle as possible. Living in Toronto,
she has a job as a journalist, a very nice boyfriend, and what looks to
be a stable future. She may not be very comfortable living in the city
and fighting her werewolf urges, but she's finally getting what she wants.
Then Jeremy, her alpha, calls and summons her
back to the pack compound. It seems that there's trouble in the area, things
happening that could expose the pack for what it is, and Jeremy needs some
of Elena's expertise. But going is trouble for Elena who will have to confront
her werewolf family again, including sexy, arrogant, overbearing Clayton,
who brings up their history whenever she returns, attempting once again
to turn the past into the present.
No director or production date has been announced
for BITTEN. They're looking for a release sometime next year.
55.2003: YEAR OF THE WOLF - CURSED
Following their success with the SCREAM franchise,
director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson are hoping to touch
gold again with another horror cycle, CURSED, for Dimension Films. The
story will be a Los Angeles-based modern twist on the werewolf genre. It
already been set for release on Aug. 8 2003.
"Kevin wrote a fun, scary and surprise-filled
script just like the original SCREAM,” Dimension co-chairman Bob Weinstein
says in a statement. "The only person I could think of to direct it was
Wes Craven and I couldn't be more excited to team them up again for what
I think is another crowd-pleasing thrill ride."
The inspiration for CURSED appears to have originated
from Weinstein's love of the genre. "We'd talked about genres like ghost
movies, serial killer films and when I said I always loved werewolf movies,
Kevin said, 'We'll have something for you soon,'" says Weinstein. "He pitched
me the story at lunch, and I was hooked almost from when he told me the
title. Like SCREAM this is a movie that will be scary first, and then a
lot of fun. The new twist element here is special effects, because we're
determined to show audiences something they've not seen before."
The three SCREAM movies grossed over $290 million,
making it the highest grossing horror franchise of all time. Before starting
this new project Craven will continue work on his adaptation of the Japanese
ghost movie PULSE about a group of friends who wake up one morning to discover
that people are slowly disappearing around them.
56.DISNEY AND SPIRITED AWAY
New York Daily News film critic Jack Mathews
has chided Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook for rolling out Hayao
Miyazaki's animated SPIRITED AWAY "as if it were some experimental gruel
from Cremoria." Noting that the film received nearly unanimous rave reviews
when it was released, Mathews asks in an "open letter" to Cook, "Why didn't
you treat it like any other Disney animated feature, with a wide release
and a big-bucks ad campaign?"
Instead, Mathews noted, the film, which opened
in 26 theaters on Sept. 20, is now showing on only 151. He concludes: "I
hate to say it, Dick, but you had a tap-in putt here and you blew it."
57.KILLING A JEDI
You're a writer. In fact, not just any writer
- you're George Lucas's writer! You're looking ahead to EPISODE III. You're
planning the demise of the Jedi. How do you handle the most visible of
the doomed Jedi - Mace Windu? Is he bested in battle, slips on a bar of
soap left in the shower, gets devoured by Ewoks, strangled with JarJar's
tongue? How?
Samuel L. Jackson explained how, during a lunch
meeting with George Lucas recently, he tried to find out details of his
character's impending demise. "We were just talking about stuff," Jackson
said. "And then [Lucas] finally said, 'Okay, so you know you've got to
die. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to kill you yet, because
I guess you're the most important guy that's going to die. In the other
ones, Obi Wan is still there and Yoda's still alive and Darth is still
there.' So I become the most important character that can die. I guess
it's got to be pretty dynamic. So he's working that out."
You'll get to find out what Lucas finally decided
to do with Mace Windu in May, 2005.
58.NICOLE KIDMAN BECOMES ONE OF THE STEPFORD WIVES
Nicole Kidman has signed on to star in a remake
of the 1975 film, THE STEPFORD WIVES. Frank Oz will be directing. Paul
Rudnick is writing the adaptation of Ira Levin’s novel.
The original was directed by Bryan Forbes and
starred Paula Prentiss and Katherine Ross. It centered on a newly married
couple that moved to a small town where all the wives are perfect homemakers
and seemingly live only to please their husbands. When the new "wife" discovers
that the women in the town are actually cyborgs she desperately tries to
stop her husband from replacing her as well.
This new is being written as a dark comedy, retaining
the story’s macabre tone. Kidman will play Ross’ role of the newcomer to
the strange New England town. Special effects will be used to convey the
changes in the women.
59.SUB-MARINER AND PRIME HAVE UNIVERSAL APPEAL
Marvel Studios announced a deal with Universal
Pictures to produce film versions of its Sub-Mariner and Prime comic books.
The deal comes on the heels of the first Marvel-Universal collaboration,
THE HULK, will which be released nationwide in June.
"With the masterful job currently being done
on THE HULK, Universal Pictures has proven to us that it has the vision
and creativity to bring our superheroes to the screen in grand fashion,"
Avi Arad, Marvel's CEO, said. "Sub-Mariner and Prime are two characters
that have incredible stories. Sub-Mariner will be an epic underwater tale
of majestic fantasy. Prime is a complete departure from the standard superhero
story. With this film we are developing what we think will be Marvel's
first superhero action-comedy."
ROAD TO PERDITION writer David Self will write
the Sub-Mariner screenplay, with Arad and Kevin Misher set to produce the
film and Kevin Feige, Stan Lee and Self on board as executive producers.
Don Calame and Chris Conroy will write Prime with Arad and Chuck Gordon
producing, and Feige, Lee and Scott Rosenberg serving as executive producers.
60.PICARD VS. NOSFERATU
STAR TREK's resident makeup artist, Michael Westmore,
said that the Viceroy, the STAR TREK: NEMESIS character portrayed by Ron
Perlman, was specifically designed to resemble Nosferatu. "That's exactly
what [director] Stuart Baird wanted," Westmore said. "Stuart handed me
a picture of Nosferatu and said, 'I need an alien that looks like this.'"
Westmore created some sketches for Baird, "and
then we went to town on it," he said. "We designed the head and then the
ears. That was neat, because Stuart said, 'I want to be able to see through
the ears.' So I made the ears out of clear gelatin. If there's any backlight
behind them, you can see through the ears. Then we painted veins on the
back of the ears. So if there's any light showing through, you can see
veining through the ears. I think the Viceroy is a pretty fearsome character,
and Stuart seemed pleased with what he saw. We were also lucky in that
we were dealing with Ron, who's done makeup roles so much. He just kind
of sat down and enjoyed it, even though this was probably one of the most
extensive makeup processes he's had to go through since [the TV series]
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST."
61.PATRICK STEWART SAYS THE FATE OF THE FRANCHISE
IS IN THE HANDS OF THE FANS
Patrick Stewart said that he's "open" to reprising
his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in future STAR TREK: TNG features,
but that the fate of the big-screen franchise depends on TREK fandom supporting
the upcoming STAR TREK: NEMESIS . "The fans continually ask the question,
'Is this the last movie? Please don't tell us it is. Let there be another
movie,'" Stewart said. "So I say to them, 'We've done our part now in all
of this. Everyone from Rick Berman to the cast, the writer and the director
has played their part. But now it's up to the fans.'"
Stewart admitted that the studio's December 13
opening puts the movie in the middle of some heavy traffic. "We are opening
in the toughest of times. We are surrounded by mega-movies. We are a mega-movie,
too, in the great scheme of things, but [NEMESIS faces competition from]
HARRY POTTER and James Bond and THE LORD OF THE RINGS and SOLARIS. November-December
is crazy. So we have, I don't know, five to seven days to make our impact.
You know how it is with movies these days. Unless you're a low-budget independent
movie that can sit around in a couple of cinemas in New York and Los Angeles
for several weeks, if you don't do [big box office] in that first weekend
you're dead. I would love to see NEMESIS hit a home run that weekend, to
use a current image. That, more than anything, is what would promise a
further episode of THE NEXT GENERATION."
62.THE MAN FROM PLANET X
Remember David Duchovny? He was that guy who
couldn't get away from his old show, THE X-FILES, fast enough. Perhaps
it's because the golden movie career that he expected never got started.
Maybe he's just late on a boat payment. Suddenly he's "Mr. X-FILES."
David Duchovny recently said that he's ready
to jump back into THE X-FILES, reprising the role of Fox Mulder in a second
feature film. "I think we're all kind of excited to go back and have a
reunion, even though we haven't been apart for that long," Duchovny said.
The first X-FILES film was a 1998 box-office
success. No word has come down yet on when the second feature film will
get off the ground.
63.BRYAN SINGER TALKS X2
Bryan Singer, director of the X-MEN sequel, X2,
said that the film will give more screen time to each character, as well
as to new characters such as Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) and Iceman (Shawn
Ashmore). "I solved that," Singer explained. "It'll be a longer movie.
And that way, everyone will get the same amount of time. Oddly enough,
with all the characters and a bit of splintering that happens in terms
of locations where people end up and how they come apart [and] come together,
it's . . . very evenly spaced, so to speak. . . . I think that certain
characters that weren't utilized as much in the last film will emerge a
great deal more in this film, and then the new characters. Every character
serves the story at any given time, so I have no tally in my head. Sometimes
certain characters that have more lines have less screen time, and vice
versa."
Singer said that he's a little more free in the
sequel to tell a story, though he understands that audiences will expect
more. "It's kind of necessary, because I think people are going to see
a sequel, and they don't want to simply see a continuation of exactly what
they've seen before. They want to see an evolution. So you want to improve
upon it, make it better. The benefit here is not to be saddled with introducing
a new universe to an audience that may not be familiar with it. Introducing
12 new characters. The characters are already introduced, so it's a great
opportunity to now have fun with them. And the few new characters that
are going to be introduced in this film, one can do with less exposition
and have more fun with. So it's actually a lot easier. The pressure is,
you know, you want to make it bigger. More spectacular. Fortunately, we
have a little more time, a couple more dollars, and everybody knows what
they're doing a little better."
X2 is still in production in Vancouver. It's
slated for a May 2003 release.
64.IMAGINATIVE CINEMA FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER 1: I SPY, starring Eddie Murphy as Kelly
Robinson and Owen Wilson as Alexander Scott, comes out today.
In the TV series the cover identities had Scott as tennis-pro and
Robinson was his trainer. This time around Scott is a full-time secret
agent. He recruits boxing champion Kelly Robinson to help him recover a
missing jet. The TV show had a sense of ultra-hip coolness about it. This
movie just goes for the laughs. The director is Betty Thomas (PRIVATE PARTS,
DR. DOLITTLE, THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE). The screenwriters are Marianne and
Cormac Wibberley (HOTEL BLUE, THE 6th DAY)
NOVEMBER 6: FEMME FATALE is Brain DePalma's first
film since he stumbled around with MISSION TO MARS.
This is a film noir thriller about a woman (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)
trying to straighten out her life, even as her past as a con-woman comes
back to haunt her. Antonio Banderas plays a member of the Paparazzi, including
scenes shot at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. One potentially good thing
about the film - it was both written and directed by DePalma. Those are
usually better films. Among the titles where he's done double duty there's
SISTERS, PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, DRESSED TO KILL, BLOW OUT and BODY DOUBLE.
But that rule doesn't always hold. He wrote and directed SNAKE EYES.
NOVEMBER 15: HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
is, of course, the second HARRY POTTER movie. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe)
has to live through the nearly fatal favors of Dobby the house elf, make
it around the gigantic ego of Professor Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh),
watch out for the angry Whomping Willow, discover the mysteries behind
former Hogwarts Head Boy Tom Riddle, make it past Aragog the Spider (voiced
by Julian Glover) and brave the dangers of the dreaded Chamber of Secrets.
As before the movie's got a sterling support cast, including John Cleese
as Nearly Headless Nick, Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, the late Richard Harris
as Professor Dumbledore, Gemma Jones as Madam Pomfrey, Alan Rickman as
Snape and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. The director (Chris Columbus)
and writer (Steven Kloves) of HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, returned
for this movie.
HALF PAST DEAD is being described as "DIE HARD
set in a prison." This is the story of a criminal mastermind (Morris Chestnut)
who has a plan to infiltrate a high-tech super-prison to persuade a man
on death row to tell him where he hid $200 million in gold from a heist
the FBI was never able to solve. What he doesn't know is that the feds
have an agent (Steven Seagal) planted undercover to try to stop him. The
director and writer is Don Michael Paul (making his feature debut - he's
previously directed various TV episodes).
NOVEMBER 22 DIE ANOTHER DAY is Pierce Brosnan's
fourth James Bond film (reports are he'll do one more and then retire from
the role). Not a lot is known about the plot. We know the action begins
and ends in Korea. We know he's finding an evil megalomaniac named Gustav
Graves (Toby Stephens) and his ruthless assistant Zao (Rick Yune). And,
of course he has a much anticipated roll in the hay with Jinx (Halle Barry).
The director is Lee Tamahori (ONCE WERE WARRIORS, MULHOLLAND FALLS, ALONG
CAME A SPIDER). The screenwriters are Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (the
writing team of THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH).
DIE ANOTHER DAY was originally to feature the
first return female character in a leading role in the series: Chinese
agent Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh). Rumors suggest that her character made a
return in earlier drafts of the screenplay, but sometime before filming
it was determined that she would not be returning due to scheduling conflicts.
It is believed that the role of Halle Berry's character, Jinx, was made
considerably larger to fill the gap left by the absence of Yeoh.
Pierce Brosnan has hinted that the latest James
Bond adventure shows the dark side of the super spy. Brosnan says, "This
time you see a much more desperate character in Bond. You see this renegade,
a man completely out of his environment. He's in a situation that you've
never seen Bond in before - so vulnerable and broken, as it were, because
he's captured and tortured in the beginning of the film. The film has everything
everyone loves about Bond, but much more so. I think they've thrown everything
but the kitchen sink at it, but in a good way."
NOVEMBER 27: SOLARIS is based upon the novel of
the same title by Stanislaw Lem. It was previously adapted to film in 1972
as a Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. Upon arrival at the space
station orbiting an ocean world called Solaris, a psychologist (George
Clooney) discovers that the commander of an expedition to the planet has
died mysteriously. Other strange events soon start happening as well, such
as the appearance of old acquaintances of the crew, including some, like
the psychiatrist's wife, who are dead. The movie's director and writer,
Steven Soderbergh (TRAFFIC, OUT OF SIGHT, OCEAN'S 11), described this film
as "a combination of 2001 and LAST TANGO IN PARIS." The movie's executive
producer is the king of the world himself, James Cameron.
TREASURE PLANET is Disney's combination of traditional
animation with CGI characters and backgrounds. This is the tale of a young
boy, Jim Hawkins, who is caught up in the search for the buried space treasure
of Captain Flint. He and some adults chart a ship to search for the treasure,
but on the ship of Long John Silver, one of Flint's pirates . . . and he
wants the treasure too. Vocal talent includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Jim
Hawkins), Brian Murray (Long John Silver), David Hyde Pierce, Martin Short,
Emma Thompson among others. None of them will have to sing a note. Continuing
Disney's move away from animated musicals, the characters in this movie
won't be singing. However, there will be music, including a song by John
Rzeznik, lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls. The directors are Ron Clements
and John Musker (codirectors of ALADDIN, HERCULES, THE LITTLE MERMAID,
THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE). The screenwriters Sam Levine and Alex Mann
(very loosely basing their story on the novel, Treasure Island, by Robert
Louis Stevenson, which Disney previously adapted in a 1950 live-action
film).
This film will have the distinction of being
the first to open in wide release, and in IMAX theaters on the same date.
Disney is hoping to capitalize on the film's "big' sci-fi scope. |
