MOVIE NEWS
HARRY POTTER & THE GOBLET OF FIRE
'CBBC Newsround' spoke with Harry Potter producer David Heyman, who revealed
that actor Brendan Gleeson will play Defense Against The Dark Arts Teacher
Mad-Eye Moody in the next movie.
Gleeson previously co-starred with Daniel Radcliffe in 2001's The Tailor of
Panama and can currently be seen in Troy as King Menelaus.
Also cast is Madame Maxime, headmistress of French wizardry school
Beauxbatons, will be played by sitcom actress Frances de la Tour (right) - most
famous for her role as Miss Jones in classic BBC sitcom Rising Damp.
HIS DARK MATERIALS
Director Chris Weitz (About A Boy) is in talks to direct His Dark Materials,
the first instalment of Philip Pullman's children's fantasy book, says 'The
Hollywood Reporter'.
The written trilogy - The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber
Spyglass - revolves around two children who live in parallel worlds
surrounded by a cast of shape-shifting creatures. Described as darker in
tone than the Harry Potter books, the series tackles themes of childhood,
innocence and sin, and combines magic, science and theology.
MASTER OF SPACE AND TIME
'Variety' reports that French director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine Of
The Spotless Mind) is directing an adaptation of the sci-fi thriller Master
Of Space And Time, by Rudy Rucker, about two mad scientists who discover how
to control reality.
Jack Black (School Of Rock) is attached to star in the film.
MEET THE FOCKERS
'USA Today' have revealed the first official photograph of the Meet The
Parents sequel starring Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and
Barbra Streisand. (see right)
The sequel has De Niro's family, the Byrneses, meeting Stiller's family, the
titular Fockers. Director Jay Roach (Austin Powers) revealed that Streisand
herself created a great scene: "Dustin is giving a toast, and Barbra starts
to sip. He tells her, 'You can't drink yet,' so she spits out the drink, ice
cube and all, into her glass and says, 'Oh, sorry.' It was a little bit of
controlled chaos but in the most delicious way."
THE POLAR EXPRESS
'USA Today' spoke with director Robert Zemeckis (Back To The Future) about
his latest movie The Polar Express, starring Tom Hanks.
The movie, which arrives in U.S cinemas on 19 November, showcases a new
style of special-effect, described by Zemeckis as like an oil painting.
Zemeckis: "I wanted it to look like a movie in an oil painting, then have
all the warmth, immediacy and subtleties of a human performance."
** IN THE PIPELINE **