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Dan Owen reviews

DAN'S   MOVIE   DIGEST

I s s u e   # 4 7

1 3   J u n e   2 0 0 3

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** MOVIE NEWS **

THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS

With Reloaded doing big business around the world, attention is turning to the final chapter in the sci-fi spectacular - The Matrix Revolutions.

Producer Joel Silver commented, saying: "Reloaded and Revolutions could be one film. But I think they work best as two sittings. It's quite a lot to absorb. Revolutions is all-out war between the humans and the machines and will, by all accounts, blow your fucking minds. We have a 14 minute, $40 million battle sequence that is the most complicated sequence ever put on film."

Special-effect wiz John Gaeta said: "Reloaded, no problem; even though it was incredibly difficult, there was a lot of buffer time built in. Revolutions, on the other hand is aggressive because it's quite grand. Revolutions is much more epic. More creature-based, and much more about machines and bio-mechanical places. It's an awesome category to work in as a lot of us are big fans of Alien. It's a completely different train to anything we've done before."

Executive producer Dan Cracchiolo concurs, adding: "You know Revolutions is the real thing, right? Revolutions is the pay off. Reloaded is just a tease..."

And Keanu Reeves, himself, said: "The first is about birth. The second about life. The third about death. I don't know though. Maybe it should be called The Matrix Resurrection."

A glossy teaser one-sheet poster for Revolutions has also now been released (see right).

BACK TO THE FUTURE 4

After the success of the Back To The Future DVD box-sets around the world, 'Universal' are apparently keen to begin a new Back To The Future sequel. 'Hotdog' magazine states that Steven Spielberg (who has a strong say in whether a new movie is made) has already suggested some ideas - particularly regarding a different cast and an animated movie.

However, co-writer Bob Gale later denied these rumours to 'BTTF.com'.

BEETLEJUICE II

Shock-jock Howard Stern has commented that he may have a role in the proposed Beetlejuice sequel if it ever gets made.

CAPTAIN SCARLET

The 'BBC' reports that Gerry Anderson is definitely developing a remake of his Captain Scarlett TV series, now rendered as computer animation instead of puppets.

The project is set to be finished in 2005, with Anderson commenting: "The puppets could not walk, their hands were sculpted and they could not move their fingers so they could not pick anything up. And I think things were so difficult that when we hung them up at night I felt like saying 'serves you right, you stay there now in the dark'."

"It is now possible to recreate them exactly as they were in the original series but they will now behave just like human beings. They will have expressions, the mouths operate in the same way as we speak, they will be able to run, hop, skip and jump - you know the whole thing will come to life."

DIE HARD 4

Bruce Willis spoke to 'USA Today' about Die Hard 4, saying: "I always said the genre had kind of run out of gas and had to reinvent itself. I think that's the goal 'Fox' has also."

"Maybe too much time has gone by since the last one. We'll see. If the first Die Hard were an analogue version of an action movie, the kind of action movies that are being made right now are all digital. So, Die Hard 4 would have to be brought up to the modern age."

The fourth movie in the Die Hard franchise begins shooting next year.

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ELEKTRA

'Marvel' executive Avi Arad was interviewed by 'Comic Book Resouces' recently and updated fans on the status of some 'Marvel' movies.

The Elektra spin-off will start shooting next April and Ghost Rider will begin production at the end of 2003. Arad also confirmed that Jake Gyllenhaall (Donnie Darko) was approached as a possible replacement for Tobey Maguire should Maguire be physically unable to return for Spider-Man 2.

"He [Gyllenhaal] was talked to in case Tobey [Maguire] couldn't do it, so it was a true concern. It's an action movie. It's not a walk-and-talk and he's a young man who has a life in front of him and, God forbid, he would have gotten further injuries. So it was really out of good will and it got blown up".

GARFIELD

The 'Indy Star' had some interesting details on the Garfield movie adaptation recently. The movie is tentatively set for a June 2004 release date, using a screenplay worked on by Garfield creator Jim Davis (who also supervised to CGI rendering of Garfield himself).

Creator Davis also makes a cameo appearance in the movie as a drunken conventioneer. Bill Murray is indeed confirmed to voice Garfield, with Breckin Meter (Rat Race) and Jennifer Love Hewitt (The Tuxedo) in the human roles.

Kim Campbell, a spokeswoman for 'Paws Inc.' (the creative and business complex of the Garfield empire), said she couldn't reveal much about the film, but that Garfield and Odie "really look like real animals more than like the cartoon character you're used to seeing in the strip. With computer-generated imagery, these animals really look alive. These are cartoony, but they're more realistic. The cat has fur."

The plot has Garfield's owner Jon (Meyer) takes in the hapless idiot dog Odie, turning Garfield's world upside down. Garfield and Odie become enemies, but when an evil dog trainer (played by Stephen Tobolowsky) kidnaps Odie, Garfield feels guilty and attempts a rescue.

INDIANA JONES 4

An anonymous contributor has reported that Indiana Jones 4 is set to begin production this August. The anonymous source has previously scooped the release dates of the Indiana Jones 4 script announcement and the DVD announcement.

KILL BILL

Lucy Liu has commented on Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, in which she stars, saying: "It's so violent. People will leave the movie theatre or get sick in the movie theatre. But there's so much violence that it becomes not numbing, but almost comedic."

"There's a scene where there's so much violence that the colour of the film goes into black and white, so that the blood looks like oil. It's cinematic, it's art. You can take it to a different level, and show what violence is, in such a heightened manner that you don't think of it as violence anymore, you think of it as a language. If you go to Kill Bill, you know there's going to be violence - that's your option."

LEGALLY BLONDE 3

Reese Witherspoon's airhead creation Elle Woods is likely to return in another sequel, this time set in England.

THE LIFE AQUATIC

'Hollywood Reporter' reports that writer-director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums) is developing a new project called The Life Aquatic.

Interestingly, his new film will reunite much of the Tenenbaum cast members Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Anjelica Huston. The project will also star Jeff Goldblum, Peter Stormare, Bud Cort and possibly Wally Wolodarsky.

The Life Aquatic written by Anderson and Noah Baumbach, and concerns an oceanographer called Steve Zissou and his crew's misadventures in underwater exploration.

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THUNDERBIRDS

The first picture of the cast for director Jonathan Frakes' Thunderbirds movie have been released (see right).

RESIDENT EVIL II

'E! Online' reported that Milla Jovovich has signed up for a second dose of zombie ass-kicking in Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Jovovich's boyfriend (and director of the first movie) Paul W.S Anderson has written this sequel but will not direct.

STAR WARS EPISODE III

'TheForce.Net' reports on some Episode III developments. Returning characters include: Padm�, Chewbacca, Dooku, Nute Gunray, Rune Haako, Obi-Wan, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Sly Moore, Barriss Offee, Bail Organa, Palpatine, Anakin, Shaak Ti, Luminara Undulia, Mace, Orn Free Taa and Yoda.

Yaddle, Depa Billaba, Oppo Rancisis, Even Piell, and Yarael Poof will not be returning in Episode III.

Also, a picture of Chewbacca is causing a stir behind-the-scenes. In the image he's seen holding a staff while swinging from a vine...

SUPERMAN

'The Z Review' state that director McG (Charlie's Angels 2) has said he is "this close" to directing the new Superman movie.

Speaking to the 'BBC' he confirmed he's still in talks with 'Warner Brothers' about the project, but will make a final decision "in the next couple of weeks. The cards are on the table. It's a big commitment, and we just want to make sure we're all on the right page.

So who will McG cast as Superman? "I have three choices for the role, but I can't share them yet. [They're] not necessarily [household names]. I feel like we're living in a time where a big movie like that, you've got to service the movie first. The movie is the star when it's a character like that, and it's important to get the right character."

'Zap2It' later revealed that actor Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor) turned down the offer the role four times! "It just wasn't the kind of movie that I wanted to do."

"They offered me the role while I was shooting Hollywood Homicide. I said no. They offered it to me again, I said no. They offered it to me again, I said no. They offered it to me again, I said no."

"I just didn't want to play Superman and I've turned down all of the other superhero movies too. I talked with [originally signed director] Brett [Ratner] and I really thought that he had great ideas for the film."

"When people pursue you with that amount of vigour, I take it seriously. So, I had to think about it, but no, I don't ever want to do it and that's just why I ended up not doing it because it's just not what I wanted to do."

A recent issue of 'Esquire' included a description of a fight between Brett Ratner and producer Jon Peters about the movie. "The two ended up in a shouting match. Ratner warned [Peters] to stay away. Peters later claimed that Ratner threatened him with an armed bodyguard, to which Ratner shot back: 'I don't need a guard to pull a gun on someone'".

The fight was over the budget. Superman had an expected greenlight budget of $180 million, but Ratner insisted on a $225 million budget - not even counting the massive marketing.

Ashton Kutcher, Jude Law, Brendan Frasier, Paul Walker, Matthew Bomer and Josh Hartnett were all then approached to star.