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Dan Owen reviews

DAN'S   MOVIE   DIGEST

I s s u e   # 2 6

1 7   J a n u a r y   2 0 0 3

Movie News
US & UK Top cinema listings
Trailers
In the Pipeline

** MOVIE NEWS **

THE HITCH-HIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY

Late-author Douglas Adams' wife, Jane Belson, was interviewed on 'BBC Radio 2' recently and asked about the oft-delayed movie version of "The Hitch-hiker's Guide To The Galaxy".

Belson said that Karey Kirkpatrick ("Chicken Run") had been working on a script with her husband and that producers had read it, liked it, and have greenlit the project!

AMERICAN WEDDING

This frankly crap title for "American Pie 3" has been changed to "Piece Of Pie". Hmm, why not "American Pie 3: The Third Slice"? Just a thought.

INDIANA JONES 4

George Lucas said at the annual New York Film Critics Awards dinner that he expects "Indiana Jones 4" to start shooting sometime this year! For a 2004 release?

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GARFIELD

Some casting rumours have emerged for the CGI adaptation of the feline comic-strip character.

Pet-owner Jon could be played by Chris Kattan (Saturday Night Live), Ryan Stiles (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) or Jason Lee (Dogma). Personally I'd go for Stiles - mainly on looks, but Kattan or Lee just don't fit.

Garfield himself could be voiced by either John Goodman (Coyote Ugly) or George Wendt (Cheers). Has to be Goodman, doesn't it? He'd be perfect.

SUPERMAN

A working title for Brett Ratner's "Superman" remake, due in 2004, is now thought to be "Superman: The Flight".

Screen tests are apparently ongoing, with three main contenders so far identified: Ashton Kutcher ("Just Married"), Kip Pardue ("Rules Of Attraction") and Barry Watson ("7th Heaven)

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GHOST IN THE SHELL 2

A sequel to anime classic "Ghost In The Shell" is being made, entitled Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence. The original film dealt with the ideas of sentient machines and was a major influence for "The Matrix". For more (sadly sparse) details, go here.

HARRY POTTER 3

'Entertainment Weekly' spoke with Michael Gambon's agent about the rumour he will replace Richard Harris as Professor Dumbeldore in the next Harry Potter movie. The reply was: "They've offered, and he wants to do it."

In related news, 'The Hollywood Reporter' talked with the next installment's direct, Alfonso Cuaron, about what fans can expect in the third film. He said: "I don't know if 'dark' is the word for it because there's a great deal of humour [in the third tale]."

"I would say that rather than going into darker territory, it goes into more emotional territory. Because the characters are a little bit more grown up, the experience is completely different. In the first two books, the fear was outside, like a boogie man. But here, the fear comes from inside. When you're 13, you stop believing in the boogie man and start dealing with the monsters inside."

DVDfever Dom adds: Fans of the series will be pleased to know that the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is released this summer and can be pre-ordered from Amazon. Click on these links for the Children's Edition and Adult Edition.

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KNIGHT RIDER

In bizarre news, it seems that ex-"Neighbours" hunk Dan Paris (who played Drew) is in talks to star as Michael Knight in a movie-version of the classic 80's series Knight Rider.

THE ITALIAN JOB

'Empire Online' recently talked to Jason Statham (The Transporter) about his role as Handsome Tom in the remake of "The Italian Job", due out this summer.

Statham: "It's such an old classic; it would be silly to try to make a direct copy. There are a lot of new characters in it � the only characters that remain the same from the original are Charlie Croker which Mark Whalberg plays and Bridger played by Donald Sutherland."

"It's a big, big movie, very grand and very expensive, with some brilliant car chases. The way we steal the gold is ingenious!"

The remake also stars Ed Norton, Mark Whalberg, Charlize Theron and Seth Green.

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THE LAST SAMURAI

The 'BBC' has reported that Tom Cruise's martial-arts movie The Last Samurai has hit a problem. Parts of New Zealand's native Maori community have said that sacred sites have been desecrated during the movie's filming, whilst others claim that the filmmakers should pay for use of images of their sacred mountain, Mount Taranaki.

Taranaki was selected because of its strong resemblance to Japan's Mount Fujiyama. However, Jane Gilbert from 'Film NZ' said that 'Warner Brothers' had done everything they could to prevent Maoris being offended, saying "I think the people that are promoting this are taking advantage of the situation... and I don't see why this should have any impact on international productions coming to New Zealand."

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LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN

An image has been released that shows one of "The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen"'s mode of transport. (see right)

XENA - WARRIOR PRINCESS

Lucy Lawless was interviewed on New Zealand radio station '91ZM' according to 'TheFlikSpot' and indicated that a movie based on the "Xena: Warrior Princess" TV series is being worked on. A $50-60 million budget is hoped, with the film being produced by 'Universal'.

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LORD OF THE RINGS - THE RETURN OF THE KING

'Cinescaqe' interviewed Andy Serkis (Gollum) about his role in the final film. Serkis said that "if I didn't know it was going to be in the third [film] I would be upset. You actually see me onscreen, which was going to be in this film, transforming into Gollum once he kills Deagol."

"You see this whole kind of descent into madness. You see him physically becoming more and more decrepit. [The] last stage is becoming the CG Gollum. Peter and Fran told me that wasn't going to be in this film. They thought it would play much better into the next one."

In related news, 2003 Calendar images have been released to promote Christmas 2003's final "Lord Of The Rings" movie. (see right)

STAR TREK XI

Brent Spiner (Data) was interviewed by 'BBC Radio Swindon' recently and confirmed that there will be a "Star Trek XI", and he will star.

Spiner: "'Nemesis' was supposed to be our maiden voyage, but who can leave such a great franchise that easily. We're all going to do another one, only this time they're going to mix it up a bit - possibly giving Data a commanding role to play; and bringing in some of the folks from enterprise and some of the other great spin offs."

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THUNDERBIRDS

'Working Title' - the company behind Notting Hill and Bridget Jones' Diary, has given the movie-version of Thunderbirds a �50 million budget. This makes the Jonathan Frakes directed venture their biggest film yet.

The movie begins lensing at Pinewood this March with 'Framestore' handling the special-effects - previously having worked on the TV series Walking with Dinosaurs and the James Bond franchise.

'Working Title' co-founder Tim Bevan said: "We started work five years ago on this ['Thunderbirds' project] but we could never quite get the script right, and in retrospect, thank God we didn't."

"The special effects and their cost in particular have moved on so much since then - you can see it between the first and second Harry Potter films. Getting the Thunderbirds craft right is as important as getting the casting right."

"Thunderbirds 1, 2, 3 and 4 are the heroes of the piece in many ways. We have been faithful in the new designs to Gerry Anderson's original concepts in the way that the new Volkswagen Beetle or the new Mini are to their old ones."

US TOP 10 (CINEMA)

1. Just Married ($17.5m)

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ($14.7m)

3. Catch Me If You Can ($14.6m)

4. Two Weeks Notice ($6.8m)

5. About Schmidt ($6.4m)

6. Chicago ($5.6m)

7. Maid in Manhattan ($5.1m)

8. Gangs of New York ($4.8m)

9. Antwone Fisher ($3.7m)

10. The Wild Thornberrys Movie ($2.8m)

UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (�3.7m)

2. Gangs of New York (�2.6m)

3. The Tuxedo (�1.08m)

4. Star Trek: Nemesis (�0.80m)

5. Die Another Day (�0.64m)

6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (�0.62m)

7. Sweet Home Alabama (�0.52m)

8. City of God (Cidade de Deus) (�0.27m)

9. The Good Girl (�0.11m)

10. The Quiet American (�0.08m)

TRAILERS

Daredevil - Theatrical Trailer #2

What's it about?
Matt Murdock is a blind lawyer who becomes a superhero after being exposed to radioactive material that gives him "extra-sensory perception". He becomes the acrobatic 'Daredevil', catching villains at night and sending them to jail in court by day...

Will it be good?
Oh Yes. Everyone involved seems enamoured with the film, as you'd expect, but the trailers look great and some comic-book fans lucky enough to have seen the film are very happy. The director and Ben Affleck are big comic-book fans and are said to be very happy with the adaptation.

Will it be a success?
Of course. The only snag is that "Daredevil" isn't a superhero the general public is very aware of, so don't expect a box-office taking to rival "Spider-Man"! This film will do strong business based mainly on the appeal of Ben Affleck and the marketing hype...