'Variety' magazine has reported that shock rocker Marilyn Manson is in
line to play The Scarecrow in Darren Aronofsky's "Batman: Year One". So
many Batman and Superman franchises in development hell right now, it's
difficult to keep up!
"THE CROW 4" - Lazarus Is Born!
The screenplay for "The Crow 4" has been rewritten to become a
standalone movie project entitled "Lazarus" - about a man who turns on
his best friend, owing to some creepy supernatural forces, after the two
are involved with a gruesome crime. The potential movie should be
directed by Tony Bui ("Green Dragon")
"DUMB & DUMBER 2" - Director Does Dumb!
Troy Miller has been hired by 'New Line Cinema' to direct the sequel to
"Dumb & Dumber" - actually a prequel entitled "Dumb & Dumberer"!
"BLACK PANTHER" - Snipes Signs On?
Wesley Snipes has commented on the long-gestating possibility of him
playing Black Panther in a movie. He said: "We're trying to get it
prepared for production next year, so we'll see. You know how this movie
business goes. Will Smith could be in the role, I could wake up
tomorrow... 'Will's doing Black Panther!'"
The actor also confirmed he is interested in doing "Blade 3" should the
project be written and greenlit.
"THE FAST & THE FURIOUS 2" - Villain Cast!
Cole Hauser ("Pitch Black") has been cast the villain in John
Singleton's sequel to "The Fast & The Furious" - which starred Hauser's
"Pitch Black" co-star Vin Diesel!
"FREDDY vs JASON" - Englund Speaks!
Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) has spoken about the upcoming horror
crossover "Freddy Vs Jason". He said: "My [current] script dates back to
July and boy, it's a good script. It has the one thing that I felt it
had to have - we have to get into Jason's nightmares. Whatever's going
on, whatever remains of his synapse and psyche, we have to get into
that. And they really exploit that in this."
"There's also a wonderful set piece at a rave that's just an amazing,
amazing sequence... Freddy needs Jason. He manipulates him, and then it
all starts to fray at the edge. We've really returned to core Freddy in
this one. It wouldn't be Freddy if he didn't crack some jokes, and he
does in 'Freddy vs. Jason,' but they're a little meaner [and] kind of
politically incorrect."
It has also been confirmed that Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland has
joined the cast as the film's female lead! She will play just one of a
group of teenagers who decide to trick Freddy Kruger and Jason Voorhees
into fighting one another, in the hope of destroying both child-killers.
"KILL BILL" - Pei Mei Cast!
Quentin Tarantino will not star in his new movie "Kill Bill" as oriental
Kung Fu master Pei Mei. The role will now go to Gordon Liu ("5 Masters
Of Death") - a legendary Kung Fu movie veteran.
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss has also been cast as Sofie Fatale, while Chiria
Kuriyama will play GoGo Yubari.
"LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN" - Flood Status!
Flooding in Prague halted production on Steven Norrington's "The League
Of Extraordinary Gentlemen" picture last week.
Producer Don Murphy has this to say: "We had to shut down shooting
Tuesday at 10:45 Czech time. Sixty percent of the crew were in the
Hilton which was evacuated after the lobby became filled with a foot of
water"
"The Nautilus set, quite possibly the most beautiful set I have ever
laid eyes on, was very close to the river and we cannot get to it but is
likely to be waterlogged. Many of the actors were in beautiful
apartments by the river that had to be evacuated on Monday. The
remaining actors were in the Four Seasons which was evacuated late
Monday. The rains continue. The film is definitely not shooting until
next week at the earliest."
In related news, the movie's screenwriter James Robinson has spoken
about the difficult task in adapting the comic-book for the screen@
"It's truer to the comic in spirit than in plot. I added two characters:
Dorian Gray and Tom Sawyer... added Dorian Gray because he actually
helped the story. I won't reveal the twist and, because of commerce, I
think '20th Century Fox' felt more comfortable making a movie that was
very expensive knowing that there was a young American character."
"[Alan Moore] is the greatest comic book writer of all time. Taking that
into account, "League" is one of his great works. Is it better than
"Watchmen"? It depends on what you prefer. That gets into relative
opinions. "League" is definitely one of my favorite works that he has
done."
"HELLRAISER VI" - Tearing Souls Apart Once More!
'Cinescape' interviewed Tim Day - the co-writer of "Hellraiser: Deader"
- about the new movie's plot: "We've taken a script called 'Deader' that
Neal Marshall ('13 Ghosts') Stevens sold to 'Dimension' almost 2 years
ago as a spec, and I've rewritten it to incorporate the 'Hellraiser'
mythology."
"Our heroine is a female reporter for a London newspaper, who is sent to
Bucharest to investigate an underground suicide cult known as the
'Deaders.' She is quickly drawn into their dark world and soon can see
no way out other than to join them in preparation for the coming of...
well, I don't want to ruin it for you".
The proposed sixth "Hellraiser" movie is being worked on before number
five - "Hellraiser: Hellseeker" - is even released in the US on 15
October!
"MEET THE FOCKERS" - Shooting Now???
The US 'TV Guide' has reported that "Meet The Fockers", the sequel to
"Meet The Parents" with Robert DeNiro and Ben Stiller is currently
shooting! Perhaps this is an error on their part, but has director Jay
Roach launched himself into another movie so soon after "Austin Powers
In Goldmember"?
"RUSH HOUR 3 & 4?" - Ratner Abandones #4
Director Brett Ratner has admitted that he may not shoot two further
"Rush Hour" sequels back-to-back, but start "Rush Hour 3" in January
2004. The current plan is to start the movie in New York and then a
country where both Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker's characters are fish
out of water.
"SPIDER-MAN 2" - Screenwriters Spin Their Story...
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (creators/writers of "Smallville") have
spoken about their next project - writing the sequel to this Summer's
hit "Spider-Man":
"We can't really talk too much about the story-because the "X-Men" will
be sent out to kill us-but you will see Peter grow and evolve. That's
really the story Sam wants to tell. You'll see him grow as a person, a
superhero and in all his relationships."
So how did the creators of "Smallville" get involved with Spider-Man?
Gough: "We got a call from 'Columbia Pictures' and we went and had a
meeting. They actually took us over to the set of the first "Spider-Man"
and we met Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, and [Producer] Laura Ziskin. And
they basically said they'd like us to consider writing the sequel
because they really like "Smallville" and "Shanghai Noon". And you call
us up and invite us to the set like that, nine out of 10 our answer will
be 'yes.'"
"We were told once, 'You guys had done the Marvel Comics version of
'Superman'.' So to have 'Marvel Comics' come to us and ask us to get
involved in this, that was a real thrill!"
Millar: "We've read a lot of comics now and we've also read the
'Ultimate Spider-Man' books. We have definitely done our homework."
"STAR TREK NEMESIS" - Is It The End?
Patrick Stewart has commented that: "If this is the end of 'The Next
Generation', it's actually a beautiful and appropriate ending. There is
complete closure on 'The Next Generation' in this movie."
He also confirmed that the new movie "Star Trek Nemesis" will feature
cameos from stars of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek:
Voyager" (Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Janeway).
"SUPERMAN 5" - Up, Up & Away?
More information has arrived on the J.J Abrams' screenplay that
impressed 'Warner Brothers' recently. Insiders have christened the
script "Superman: The Man Of Steel".
Producers David Heyman ("Harry Potter") and Barrie M. Osbourne ("The
Lord Of The Rings") are involved in the project, and original "Superman"
director Richard Donner is being asked to become an executive-producer
on the new movie!
It has also been speculated that Brendar Fraser ("The Mummy") could play
Superman following his multi-picture deal with 'Warner Brothers'!
And who will direct? Well, as I said last issue, "Charlie's Angels"
helmer McG could be pushed out of the frame by one of the following:
Stephen Sommers ("The Mummy"), Stephen Hopkins ("Lost In Space"), Kevin
Reynolds ("Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves), Robert Rodriguez ("Spy Kids
2") or the current favourite Brett Ratner ("Rush Hour").
"TREMORS 4" - Tunnelling To TV...
"Tremors 4" is about to begin shooting at FOX Studios Baja, together
with the pilot for a television series.
"WOLFENSTEIN" - Game-To-Screen?
'ID Software' CEO Todd Hollenshead has spoken about plans to adapt
computer games "Doom" and "Wolfenstein" into movies. He said: ""Of
course, movies based on PC and video game properties continue to be hot
and recently 'Sony' announced plans to make a 'Return To Castle
Wolfenstein' film."
Hollenshead has met with the producers of the game and was impressed
with their enthusiasm for both the game and making the movie. The
producers are currently looking to secure a writer for the "Wolfenstein"
movie. The "Doom III" E3 demonstration in Los Angeles also caught the
eye of some Hollywood producers, according to Hollenshead. He also said
'id' is currently looking at a number of ideas for a "Doom" movie...
"xXx2" - $22 million!
Vin Diesel is said to be getting $22 million and 3% of the total gross
of the sequel to "xXx" once it's made! This firmly put Diesel amongst
the biggest earners in Hollywood - not bad for a relative unknown just 6
months ago!
US TOP 10 (CINEMA)
1. Signs ($14.2m)
2. xXx ($13.2m)
3. Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams ($7.5m)
4. My Big Fat Greek Wedding ($7.2m)
5. Blue Crush ($6.5m)
6. Serving Sara ($5.7m)
7. Austin Powers in Goldmember ($5.5m)
8. Undisputed ($4.5m)
9. Simone ($3.8m)
10. Blood Work ($2.8m)
UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)
1. The Guru (£1.5m)
2. Men in Black 2 (£1.0m)
3. Reign of Fire (£0.9m)
4. The Sum of All Fears (£0.8m)
5. Austin Powers in Goldmember (£0.6m)
6. Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams ($0.5m)
7. Scooby Doo (£0.34m)
8. Stuart Little 2 (£0.32m)
9. Minority Report (£0.31m)
10. Eight Legged Freaks (£0.2m)
** TRAILERS **
X-Men 2:
A sneak-peak of the new movie, and not strictly a theatrical trailer,
but it still offers some tantalizing glimpses of the sequel - which
already looks set to eclipse the original.
CLICK HERE
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
"BLACK PANTHER" - Snipes Signs On?
"FREDDY vs JASON" - Englund Speaks!
"HELLRAISER VI" - Tearing Souls Apart Once More!
"SUPERMAN 5" - Up, Up & Away?
X-Men 2:
A sneak-peak of the new movie, and not strictly a theatrical trailer,
but it still offers some tantalizing glimpses of the sequel - which
already looks set to eclipse the original.