MOVIE NEWS
FREDDY VS JASON VS ASH
Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man 2) is apparently in early talks with 'New
Line Cinema' for a sequel to Freddy Vs Jason that will include his Evil Dead
creation Ash (Bruce Campbell, right)
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
'The Hollywood Reporter' says Dakota Fanning is close to signing a deal to
star in a series of movies based on author Lewis Carroll's Alice In
Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, adapted by Les Bohem for
'DreamWorks'.
Bohem came up with the idea to adapt the classic novels and pitched it to
Steven Spielberg, with Fanning in mind to play Alice. The trio previously
worked together on the mini-series Taken for 'The Sci Fi Channel'.
Bohem: "There have been cool versions of it before but never with the
capabilities [we have today] to do the effects, and now, finally, there are
ways to create a vision that does justice to Carroll's boundless
imagination."
"These are two great books with two fabulous stories. But most of the time,
they get cobbled together, and we plan to stay faithful to the books and
each story."
BLOODRAYNE
Matt Davis and Michael Madsen (Kill Bill) have been cast in Bloodrayne,
based on the popular video game about a female vampire hunter, joining Ben
Kingsley (Thunderbirds), Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3) and Michelle
Rodriguez (Resident Evil). Uwe Boll is directing and producing.
DOT
Elisha Cuthbert (TV's 24) will star in and co-produce the independent
dramatic thriller Dot, for director Jamie Babbit. 'The Hollywood Reporter'
says shooting starts in mid-September.
Cuthbert will star as a popular and beautiful girl in a middle-class family
who seems to have it all until a supposedly deaf orphan teenager comes to
live with her family, sparking events that reveal her family is not at all
what it seems to be.
THE ISLAND
Scarlett Johansson (Lost In Translation, right) has agreed to star opposite Ewan
McGregor in director Michael Bay's sci-fi thriller The Island.
The movies is about a "harvested being" who makes a bid to escape the
utopian island facility where he is being kept. Johansson will play a woman
who is the only one that McGregor's character can trust. She also is
pregnant with her "sponsor's" child.
LUCKY NUMBER SLEVEN
Josh Hartnett will re-team with director Paul McGuigan (Wicker Park) for
Lucky Number Sleven, a noir gangster film written by Jason Smilovic.
The drama is set in a world where African-American and Jewish gangsters
collide. Hartnett plays a man who has to kill the son of a rival crime boss.
Hartnett most recently completed roles in Robert Rodriguez's Sin City, and
starred with Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black) in Peter Naess's Crazy In Love.
OH, GOD!
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres (Finding Nemo) is set to star in a remake of the
1977 comedy Oh, God! for producer Jerry Weintraub. 'Variety' says DeGeneres
will play the title character, a role originally played by George Burns.
Weintraub produced the original film, which also starred John Denver and
spawned two sequels. Weintraub told 'Variety' he could never figure out how
to remake a film in a way that would flatter the original, but when Ellen
approached him with her take, he was suitably impressed.
Weintraub: "Ellen is a strong comedienne and she has always done material
about God and questions about God. She will help us with the writing, and
using her will allow us to do a proper 2005 view of Oh, God! that is hip and
modern."
JURASSIC PARK 4
'Aint-It-Cool-News' got hold of a leaked script for Jurassic Park 4 by
William Monahan and John Sayles that, if made, will be an enormous departure
in style for the dinosaur franchise...
The movie continues the original film's D.N.A theme and introduces a new
lead character, Nick Harris. The only returning cast member from the prior
movies would be Richard Attenborough at disgraced billionaire John Hammond,
who appears in a neat cameo.
The script is said to be totally unpredictable and a huge rollercoaster ride
in the grand cinema tradition, but the plot dives into some extreme
territories - such as genetically-modified dinosaurs trained by the military
to fight other dinosaurs invading the US mainland. Yeah, exactly!
Many consider the script to be a thrilling and unpredictable read, but not
in-keeping with the tone of the previous films and a huge gamble for
'Universal' if they make it "as written" because of its insane plot twists.
Still, when Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy said JP4 would be
completely different to the previous films... they weren't kidding!
PRIME TIME
Sandra Bullock has dropped out of writer-director Ben Younger's movie, so
Uma Thurman (Kill Bill, right) is being eyed as a replacement. Bullock said she
will not do the film unless script issues are resolved to her approval.
If Thurman was to accept the role, she would play a thirty-something woman
who falls for the son (Bryan Greenberg) of her therapist (Meryl Streep).
SKY HIGH
Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead), Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) and David Foley have
joined the cast of Sky High as superhero teachers for director Mike Mitchell
and producer Andrew Gunn.
THE MUNSTERS
The Wayans Brothers (Ivory, Shawn and Marlon), the trio behind Scary Movie,
have agreed to make a contemporary version of The Munsters for 'Universal
Pictures', reports 'Variety'.
None of the Wayans brothers intend to star in the film, which will give the
TV show family of Herman, Lily, Grandpa, Marilyn and Eddie Munster a new
lease on life. Keenen Ivory may direct the film.
THE UNTOUCHABLES - CAPONE RISING
'Paramount' has hired screenwriters David Levien and Brian Koppelman - who
just rewrote Brett Ratner's Josiah's Canon - to write The Untouchables:
Capone Rising, a prequel to the 1987 original to be directed by Antoine
Fuqua (King Arthur).
The film will focus on Capone and an early version of Irish cop Jimmy
Malone, who is as crooked as every other Chicago lawman until Capone becomes
king of the underworld.
Levien: "The film starts on the eve of Capone's arrival, and while Malone
wasn't the most corrupt cop, he operated at a time when every cop was on the
take. Once he crosses paths with Capone, he sees a level of violence and
criminality that causes him to have a moral awakening."
Koppelman: "This period of Capone's life hasn't been done since the movies
of the '40s and '50s. Sherry Lansing and Donald De Line said feel free to
come up with the most compelling, dark, violent and complicated guy you've
ever seen."
WAR OF THE WORLDS
Tom Cruise has officially postponed work on Mission Impossible 3 because
confirmed new director J.J Abrams (TV's Alias) is unable to commit until
2006. So, Cruise will now move on to the War Of The Worlds remake, directed
by Steven Spielberg.
X-MEN 3
'ComingSoon.net' spoke to writer-director Joss Whedon (TV's Buffy) about
rumours he may be interested in directing X-Men 3. Whedon said the job has
not been offered to him, but that he would love to do the third film.
'Aint-It-Cool-News' also cornered Whedon and he commented: "I have not been
offered [X-Men 3]. Would I like to make an X-Men movie? That'd be bitchin'.
I actually really like those actors and I really like those characters and
there's a lot that could be done with it and it'd be a romp. But I'm not
setting my sights on that, I'm setting my sights on exactly one thing, which
is [TV's Firefly spin-off movie Serenity.]"
** IN THE PIPELINE **