** MOVIE NEWS **
RESIDENT EVIL - APOCALYPSE
The look of villain Nemesis looks to have been retained, if this
behind-the-scenes photograph is to be believed. (see right)
BLADE - TRINITY
The Hollywood Reporter indicates Jessica Biel will play the daughter of
Whistler (Kris Kristofferson).
The Hollywood Reporter indicates Aussie actor Dominic Purcell (TV's
"John Doe") will play the villain in the next "Blade" flick. Shooting
begins this month in Vancouver.
BOND 21
Rumours surrounding Keira Knightley's possible casting as Bond Girl for
Bond 21 have proven unfounded.
CATWOMAN
Lambert Wilson (The Matrix Reloaded's Merovingian) confirmed his
involvement with the Catwoman movie to 'Canal Plus TV'. He will play
Sharon Stone's husband.
CONSTANTINE
Screenwriter Warren Ellis sent out a mass e-mail describing a boozy
night-out with actress Tilda Swinton - who has been cast as the angel
Gabriel in Constantine, based on the Hellblazer graphic novels.
Ellis commented: "...we had an hour of discussing the character, the
book, the selection of Keanu Reeves (which is actually a big part of her
interest. I've always said that Reeves is a better actor than anyone
gives him credit for -- watch him carefully, and you'll see him
deliberately creating a space for other actors to work in), and the
possibilities in the role in relationship to America today."
"She said something I found fascinating: in an America where a President
again invokes the term Evil in public statements, there's the potential
to say something very interesting in a major-studio film about Biblical
good and evil."
"To present the angel Gabriel as a figure of horror; there's space to
say something that in the mainstream of American culture is certainly
subversive. She characterised Reeves as an intelligent, spiritual man,
and thinks there might be the possibility, with Reeves there, to do
something challenging."
Djimon Hounsou, Shia LaBeouf and Gavin Rossdale have also joined the
cast as the following characters respectively - occult club owner Papa
Midnite, sidekick Chaz and nemesis Balthazar.
BIG FISH
'The Hollywood Reporter' indicates that director Tim Burton's movie Big
Fish is being delayed for two months to allow for a stronger advertising
campaign. The film will now have a limited release alongside the final
Lord Of The Rings movie on 18 December, then open widely on 23 January
2004.
The poster for the movie has also been released (see right)
CRUSADES
'IGN Filmforc'e reports that Australian actor Joel Edgerton (Ned Kelly)
is a leading contender for one of two major roles in Ridley Scott's
upcoming Crusades - most likely King Baldwin IV.
Ridley Scott confirmed at a press conference that "I'm doing Crusades
next... I've been on this idea of The Crusades for almost twenty years,
you know. So I've been developing it for the last nineteen months,
really, with another writer. I've been through two evolutions before.
Never got there because I felt the subject has to be dealt in such a
delicate fashion... It's one giant misunderstanding."
CURSED
'Sci-Fi Wire' talked with director Wes Craven about his much-troubled
werewolf movie Cursed. The production will resume filming in November
after being shut down eleven weeks into filming due to script problems.
Craven talked about the problem and seemed frustrated: "The studio
wasn't happy with the third act, which we were about to start shooting.
It's just been a matter of trying to get it done, so it's been a very
long arduous process, and frankly I'm just sick of the process and want
to go out and do something I can feel really good about".
"We started with me being offered to do a remake of a Japanese film
called Pulse. The usual translation was sometimes called Circuit. It's
by [Kiyoshi] Kurasawa. Five weeks before shooting, Dimension pulled the
plug on it. And then for one reason or another, they made us an offer
that we kind of had to accept to do this film Cursed."
THE EXORCIST - THE BEGINNING
In stunning news, Morgan Creek Productions have fired director Paul
Schrader from The Exorcist prequel! Apparently the celebrated director
was delivering a movie "without any of the bloody violence the backers
had wanted".
Schrader has finished filming the movie, but his initial edit has
apparently emphasised the psychology of the material and not the fear
and score.
Co-writer Caleb Carr commented, saying: "The problem with Paul's cut of
the movie is it does not deliver the psychological fear we were looking
for... It does have some good dramatic elements which can be rearranged
with some good shooting into a very good movie".
Schrader's replacement will oversee refilming and editing to sculpt the
movie into the type of Exorcist movie the investors expected.
'Horror Express' spoke with Caleb Carr as well, who said: "I can confirm
that Paul Schrader's connection with the film has been concluded, by
mutual agreement. More details than that, I do not know. As for my
reaction and the future of the film, I am heartened by the departure of
a director who had apparently taken on the project not because he loved
it, but for a paycheck and as a way to get [by his own public statement]
'back' into the mainstream of commercial films [his previous solid lock
on commercialism apparently having been that landmark of popular
culture, Cat People]."
"Mr. Schrader has left us with a good amount of useable material which,
when cut in with necessary re-shoots, should make up a fine film; but in
the future, I'd hope that he would have more respect for the work of
others than to treat it as a tool with which to gain his private,
unconnected, pragmatic goals."
FANTASTIC FOUR
The promotional poster for The Fantastic Four movie has apparently been
found on Ebay.com (see right).
THE FLY
'Fox Searchlight' has made a deal to remake The Fly, with newcomer Todd
Lincoln writing the script and directing.
Lincoln is an admirer of the 1958 original and David Cronenberg's 1986
remake, but swears he won't just regurgitate a well-worn plot: "I'm one
of those comic book sci-fi fans who read the remake announcements and
groan. This is certainly inspired by the original but it's a total
re-imagining."
So what can we expect to be different? Lincoln questions:
"Why, in both films, did the fly never fly..?"
INDEPENDENCE DAY II
Writer-producer Dean Devlin has revealed that he has written a script
for a second Independence Day, which the studio loved. However he and
director Roland Emmerich don't feel it's as good as the original and
have no serious plans to get it made.
Devlin also revealed their aborted plans for StarGate sequels, which
would have linked the Mayan Pyramids with the Egyptian Pyramids and
eventually have connected every human myth to outer-space interventions.
INVASION OF THE BODY-SNATCHERS
Writer-director Victor Salva (Jeepers Creepers 2) is under serious
consideration to remake Invasion Of The Body-Snatchers.
Salva told the BBC: "I think it's just one of the best ideas that any
writer has ever come up with and that's why it translates so well in
each incarnation". In terms of its progress though things are in
ultra-early stages - I haven't put it through the thinking machine yet".
Salva is also being considered to direct a World War II horror film
entitled The Watch. "I like [it] very much because it's a horror movie
and a wonderful anti-war story at the same time. I think we really need
our anti-war stories right now, because we're falling back into a very
dangerous place."
KILL BILL
Daryl Hannah has commented on Kill Bill, in which she stars, saying: "Oh
my God. The parts that I've seen, it wasn't the parts that I'm in, but
parts that I've seen of - from the House Of Blue Leaves, it's just
stunning, it's just amazing."
"It was really, really, really different from anything I've ever seen
before because Bob Richardson is the cameraman and the camerawork is
just spectacular and it just floats through this scene and every extra
has his own story going on, but their own story adds to the whole story
and the story doesn't stop for a fight scene. The story evolves through
the fight scenes and grows and changes to you know, it's hard to
explain... it's really striking."
MADMAN
'Zap2It' reports that Robert Rodruguez (Once Upon A Time In Mexico) is
still interested in adapting Mike Allred's comic series Madman for the
big screen.
Rodriguez commented: "Madman is a really funny comic because you could
kind of spoof comic book movies and do a really great one all at the
same time. I think it would really catch on and be funny and fun".
Madman follows the exploits of Frank Einstein, a reanimated corpse with
unpredictable psychic powers who is trying to revive his creator and
seek revenge on the killer. The comic also has quirkiness to it, because
Frank has self-doubt issues about his appearance which leads to him
dressing up in a "Mr Excitement" costume!
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3
'FilmJerk' has revealed that the female lead for Mission Impossible 3
will be a character called Leah Quint, with filming to begin in January
2004.
Leah is described as a natural American beauty endowed with grace,
warmth and vulnerability. She is exceedingly intelligent with a
compelling presence and a great, disarming sense of humour. Leah has had
extensive training with the IMF (Impossible Mission Force), starting her
training with the agency right out of school. She has extensive
experience for someone her age, a force to be considered with, as she
can instantly turn into a person of steely resolve and toughness.
OCEAN'S TWELVE
French actor Vincent Cassell (Brotherhood Of The Wolf) is the new
addition to the Ocean's Eleven sequel.
Dutch newspaper 'De Telegraaf' spoke to producer Jerry Weintraub who
revealed that one of the team's targets will be Rembrandt's 'Nachtwacht'
(Nightwatch) painting that is located in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The team will be going after three valuables in the follow-up, so there
are still two heists that are as yet under wraps.
PREDATOR 3
'Moviehole' talked to Sam Park - the writer of a Predator 3 script
that's being considers at the moment. Park says that because of Arnold
Schwarzenneger's political aspirations, the script may be re-cast if the
film is given the greenlight.
Park considers WWE superstar The Rock as the best contenders to step
into Arnie's shoes, saying: "I think this is an excellent idea and could
insure the franchise continuing on for many years - Clay McBride and I
have definite ideas for sequels with some bizarre twists for the Dutch
character and the Predators that we believe will keep the franchise
stories fresh and exciting for decades."
SON OF THE MASK
Plot details have been leaked about this sequel to The Mask, starring
Jamie Kennedy. Kennedy's character Tim Avery will only wear the Mask
twice in the movie and get his girlfriend pregnant during the first
wearing. Hence, their son is born with the powers of The Mask (without
the need to wear the façade).
A subplot will involve the Norse God Odin commanding the God of Mischief
Loki (Alan Cumming) to find the lost Mask and return it. Apparently the
final action sequence of the film will involve a huge car chase that
should astound audiences if they follow the script's descriptions.
THE SIMPSONS - THE MOVIE
Executive-producer/writer Al Jean has revealed that the team behind The
Simpsons have discussed creating a spin-off show starring Krusty The
Clown.
"They talked about doing a spin-off starring Krusty. My view of it is
that the show, itself, is still vital and we wouldn't want to do
anything to dilute it. We might do feature films, but I would say they
should just do the series as long as they want and then do features if
they choose to".
So there films are definitely on the way? "Yeah, there's a deal in
place, but it's years away from completion. We're just concentrating now
on keeping the show as good as possible."
STAR WARS EPISODE III
Some rumours and news have emerged about Episode III: Christian Bale
(American Psycho) is not playing Governor Tarkin in the new movie, the
Death Star has no real importance in Episode III, the reason for
Obi-Wan's name change to Ben is revealed, Obi-Wan's actions are seen to
be pivotal to events that end the Clone War, Force "ghosts" and the fate
of the younglings is explained [the kids with Yoda in Episode II], Darth
Sidious has more screen time (and he will remove his hood), and we will
see proto-type Tie-Fighters!
SUPERMAN
Director McG (Charlie's Angels 2) is in talks again with Warner Brothers
to take the helm of their new Superman trilogy.
TERMINATOR 4
'Entertainment Weekly' talked actor Nick Stahl about the possible fourth
film, who said: "They're tossing around different ideas now because
they're committed to move forward. I know they're developing ideas to do
it without [Arnold Schwarzenegger] if he's unavailable."
TRANSFORMERS
X-Men producer Tom DeSanto told 'Dreamwatch' magazine that he's
committed to filming a movie-version of the classic 80's cartoon series
Transformers.
DeSanto: "There's no better mythology to bring to the big screen than
Transformers. Transformers has got great characters and created an
iconic world, and the mythology still resonates with people 20 years
after it was launched. Even though they're robots the characters have a
lot of personality and a lot of heart and people still care about them.
That's a great thing."
"The plan with the movie is that it will combine live action with CGI. I
think it's going to be something the audience has never seen before. In
all the years of movie-making, I don't think the image of a truck
transforming into a 20-foot tall robot has ever been captured on
screen."
"I also want to make a film that's homage to 1980's movies and gets back
to the sense of wonder that Hollywood has lost over the years. It will
have those Spielberg-ian moments where you have the push-in on the
wide-eyed kid and you feel like you're 10 years old even if you're 35.
That's the energy I want to go for."
THE WOODS
M. Night Shyamalan's The Woods will be changing its title soon, because
another movie project is already in existence with this monicker.
BATMAN 5
A supposed working title for Chris Nolan's fifth Batman movie has
surfaced - Batman: Intimidation - although some rumours suggest this
title, and sets being built at Shepperton Studios, are actually for a
new video-game.
Regardless, a list of potential Batman lead actors has been announced:
Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko), Christian Bale (American Psycho), Joshua
Jackson (The Skulls), Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later), Henry Cavill (The
Count Of Monte Christo), Eion Bailey (Almost Famous) and Hugh Dancy
(King Arthur).
THE WORLD OF TOMORROW
'Variety' reports that quirky sci-fi movie The World of Tomorrow is
being planned to become "a three-picture franchise with the same cast
and substantial merchandising potential". In fact, director Kerry Conran
has already been given permission to start writing the sequel.
YOUNG LECTER
Macauley Culkin (Home Alone) is rumoured to be under consideration to
star as a young Hannibal Lecter in a proposed prequel detailing the
childhood of Anthony Hopkins' infamous cannibal.
ZORRO 2
Antonio Banderas (Spy Kids 3) has confirmed that plans are afoot for a
sequel to The Mask Of Zorro, saying: "Steven Spielberg came to the
theatre [Banderas' Broadway play Nine] like several weeks ago and said
to me 'We want to do a different approach to Zorro this time, we want to
make more of an adult movie, and we are going to talk about more of the
human stuff, there's going to be a big issue with General in the second
part, and more of the relationship between you and your wife'."
"And of course there's going to be stunts and all that stuff but they
are going to make the film a little bit more deeper than the first one
was, and I thought that was an interesting approach instead of going for
the popcorn straight-forward, they wanted to something a little more
complex than that."
"I thought that was interesting too... If everything goes as planned we
will begin filming at the end of March beginning of April. We will
probably start shooting in San Miguel De Allende, Mexico. I practically
live there now, going back and forth from the states to San Miguel all
the time."
OBITUARIES
Charles Bronson (1922 - 2003)
Charles Bronson, the Pennsylvania coal miner who drifted into films as a
villain and became an action star, most notably in the Death Wish
movies, passed away at the age of 81.
Bronson died of pneumonia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with his wife
at his bedside. He had been in the hospital for weeks.
During the height of his career, Bronson was hugely popular in Europe;
the French knew him as "le sacre monstre" (the sacred monster), the
Italians as "Il Brutto" (the ugly man). In 1971, he was presented a
Golden Globe as "the most popular actor in the world."
** IN THE PIPELINE **