MOVIE NEWS
INDIANA JONES 4
John Rhys-Davies (right), who played Sallah in two of the Indiana Jones movies,
talked to 'The Daily Telegraph' about the much-delayed Indiana Jones 4.
Rhys-Davies: "I was talking to Steven Spielberg the other day... we
discussed a fourth one. We're in with the chance of making something
absolutely extraordinary."
"George Lucas had reservations about the script and he said, 'The only way I
can express my reservations is making another pass at the script myself', so
it's gone back at least a year."
"It is the intention of these three great filmmakers [Lucas, Spielberg and
Ford] to make another one."
AREA 51
'Paramount Pictures' has acquired worldwide film rights to 'Midway Games'
upcoming sci-fi video-game Area 51.
Christine Peters (How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days) will produce the live-action
thriller in collaboration with 'Midway'. The game is scheduled for release
in March 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
BOND 21
Simon Thompson on 'Capital FM' spoke to Sir Ben Kingsley recently and the
renowned British actor said he'd told the producers of the next James Bond
movie that he'd like to play the villain...
Kingsley: "I would like to make it known, on this program, loud and clear,
that I would absolutely embrace with all five of my arms being a Bond
villain."
There's still no word who is going to be the next James Bond, following
Pierce Brosnan's admission he's finished with the franchise. 'MGM' have the
next movie pencilled in for a November 2005 release, although many suspect
the producers will hold off until the "Bond-centric" year 2007 to launch
their new Secret Agent. 007, geddit?
BLOODRAYNE
'Dread Central' has landed a first look at Kristanna Loken as half-human,
half-vampire, supernatural huntress BloodRayne (see right)
Uwe Boll is directing the Terminator 3 star in this movie adaptation of the
popular video-game, which concerns a crossbreed vampire/human trained by
secret agency The Brimstone Society, which hunts down and eliminates
supernatural threats around the globe. In the movie, BloodRayne is
confronted by the powerful and evil Kagan, King of the Vampires (Ben
Kingsley).
KILL BILL - DOUBLE VOLUME
'USA Today' talked to Quentin Tarantino about the success of the
martial-arts action movie Hero in the cinema, which is "presented by Quentin
Tarantino", and took an impressive $18 million in its opening weekend.
Tarantino also talked about the strong sales of Kill Bill Volume II on DVD,
which could mean Tarantino will release a full-length Kill Bill movie,
combining both films, as early as next year!
Tarantino: "It's not just like slapping the two together. There are slight
changes, and it has an intermission, like a 60's movie. It won't make these
two [current DVD's] obsolete. We have put everything we could on volumes I
and II, but I have all this cool stuff we have from over the course of a
year and a half making [the films]."
THE PASSION OF THE CLERKS
Writer-director Kevin Smith has decided to revisit his first hit movie
Clerks, with a belated sequel.
Smith: "It's about what happens when that lazy, 20-something malaise lasts
into your 30s. Those dudes are kind of still mired, not in that same exact
situation, but in a place where it's time to actually grow up and do
something more than just sit around and dissect pop culture and talk about
sex. It's: what happened to these dudes?"
The sequel - The Passion Of The Clerks - begins filming in January. 'Miramax
Films', which turned the original into a cult-hit after buying it at the
'Sundance Film Festival', plans to distribute the sequel.
Smith: "It's funny, it's very raw, insanely foul-mouthed. In many ways it's
the antithesis of Jersey Girl."
Smith said he called Jeff Anderson, who played the combative video-store
worker Randal, and Brian O'Halloran, who was the besieged-by-strangeness
convenience store employee Dante, to run the idea by them first.
"Jeff was actually very protective of Clerks. Jeff was like, 'Are you sure
you want to do this? That movie means a lot to people and do you want to go
back?' I thought about it honestly, and it would seem chicken to not give it
a shot just because I'm afraid of [messing] with the first film."
"I'm sure there will be naysayers who say, 'Oh my God, it's an opportunistic
grab at a buck,' but it's not. We're doing it for nothing. We're going to do
it insanely inexpensively. The budget will be somewhere between 250 grand
and $5 million."
"This time around we'll afford ourselves the luxury of nice 12-hour days.
And people can get paid."
Smith was previously offered the chance to direct Green Hornet, but declined
the offer, although he will likely write the script.
KING KONG
Principal photography is set to begin this month on Peter Jackson's (right) remake
of King Kong. Jackson is also producing and co-screenwriting the movie with
Lord Of The Rings collaborators Frank Walsh and Philippa Boyens.
The screenplay is based on the original story by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar
Wallace, which became the classic 1933 'RKO Radio Pictures' film, directed
by Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack.
Jan Blenkin, Carolynne Cunningham, Fran Walsh and Jackson will produce the
film under their 'WingNut Films' banner, with 'Universal Pictures' releasing
King Kong worldwide on 14 December 2005.
As with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson will shoot King Kong on
location in his native New Zealand.
Naomi Watts (The Ring) has been cast as heroine Ann Darrow, an actress from
the world of vaudeville who finds herself out of a job in Depression-era New
York. Her luck changes when she meets Carl Denham, played by Jack Black
(School Of Rock) - an entrepreneur, raconteur, adventurer and filmmaker who
is struggling to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry.
Bold, ebullient and charismatic, Denham has a natural sense of showmanship
and an appetite for greatness, which ultimately leads to catastrophe.
Adrien Brody (The Piano) steps into the role of Jack Driscoll, a New York
playwright, who becomes an unlikely hero in a romantic adventure story which
will test his physical courage and his heart.
Jackson: "I'm thrilled to be working with Naomi - not many actresses could
step into Fay Wray's shoes and I have no doubt she will be equally as
stunning in the role of Ann Darrow."
"Adrien is one of the most gifted actors working today - he is smart and
charming and incredibly versatile and I think he's going to be fantastic in
this role, which is unlike any he has played before."
"Jack [Black] adds a wonderful dimension to the role of Carl Denham. He's
playing a maverick visionary who is undone by the monstrousness of his own
ambition."
Other cast members also include Andy Serkis (Lord Of The Rings), Thomas
Kretschmann (U-571), Colin Hanks (Orange County) and Kyle Chandler (TV's
Early Edition).
Jackson: "The fun part of my job is getting to work with talented actors
like Colin, Thomas, Kyle and Andy because they bring so much more to a role
than what is written on the page. Colin Hanks is the perfect guy to play
Denham's assistant, Preston. He is so good - you forget that you're watching
an actor - which can be a little disconcerting."
"Thomas brings a quiet authority to the role of Captain Englehorn. His droll
sense of irony is the perfect counterpoint to Denham."
Kyle Chandler is playing the role of Bruce Baxter - a 1930's "movie star"
who appears in the film Denham is shooting. "It's a film within a film; Kyle
brings enormous charm and style to this role, managing to capture the
quality of some of the great legends of the era, such as Cary Grant and
Clark Gable."
"I'm really looking forward to seeing what Andy Serkis does with the
character of Lumpy, the cook. This will be the first time we will actually
get to shoot extended drama sequences together, in the full knowledge that
Andy will not be 'painted out' after the fact - as he was with Gollum."
"But Andy hasn't escaped that fate entirely. He will also provide valuable
on-set reference for the character of Kong and he has spent weeks in the
London Zoo and in the highlands of Rwanda researching various aspects of
gorilla behaviour."
"It is not our intention to soften Kong in an attempt to humanize him. The
power of the story lies in the fact that this is a savage beast from a
hostile environment and we will not compromise that."
Actors Evan Parke (Planet Of The Apes), Lobo Chan and Jamie Bell (Billy
Elliot) are also starring in King Kong as crew of the Venture, with Parke as
Hayes, the first mate, a hardened ex-infantryman from WWI; Bell as the
ship's lookout, Jimmy, a delinquent with a habit for getting into trouble;
and Chan rounding out the crew as Choy, the ever-optimistic deckhand.
Jackson will again collaborate with Director Of Photography Andrew Lesnie
(Lord Of The Rings); editor Jamie Selkirk (TLOTR: The Return of the King);
production designer Grant Major (The Lord Of The Rings); costumer Terry Ryan
(The Hard Word); and unit production manager Anne Bruning (The Last
Samurai).
The visual effects will be handled by New Zealand-based companies 'Weta
Digital' and 'Weta Workshop', supplementing practical locations in creating
primordial jungles and 30's-period America.
Stacey Snider, chairman of 'Universal Pictures' said: "We are thrilled to be
joining Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh on the heels of the landmark
achievement of The Lord Of The Rings."
"Peter and his team will bring their superior filmmaking, unequalled vision
and the latest in film effects to this treasured classic. With the
high-voltage casting of Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody, Peter's
brought on some of the most talented young actors in Hollywood."
"There is something unbelievably exciting about working with a filmmaker on
his dream project, as King Kong is for Peter. I really look forward to our
collaboration."
Jackson: "I very much want to respect the iconography of the original film,
because I don't believe we should try to change what worked. Our version of
King Kong will reflect the same sort of dramatic sensibility we employed on
The Lord Of The Rings - placing real characters, with real dilemmas, in the
context of a truly fantastical world."
"I'm determined to give the film a gritty reality and to play the dramatic
elements of the story for all they're worth. Our movie is set in 1933, and
this is important because it means we can invest the story with the mystery
and romance of a bygone era. The Thirties was a time of discovery, when we
did not know the full parameters of the world and literally, anything was
possible."
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES
Brent Forrester has been hired to adapt The Spiderwick Chronicles for
'Nickelodeon Movies', 'Atmosphere Entertainment MM' and the 'Gotham Group',
says 'The Hollywood Reporter'.
The best-selling children's book series details the adventures of the Grace
children - a 13-year-old girl and 9-year-old twin brothers - who move into a
dilapidated estate with their mother. They quickly find themselves sucked
into a world of goblins, griffins, fairies, trolls and other magical
creatures.
The five-part series is written by Holly Black and illustrated by Tony
DiTerlizzi. Mark Waters is attached to direct the film.
RED EYE
Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls) and Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later) have been
cast as the leads in thriller Red Eye, directed by Wes Craven (Scream),
reports 'Variety'.
The film, written by Carl Ellsworth, is about a woman (McAdams) who finds
herself held captive on an airplane by a stranger (Murphy) who threatens to
kill her father unless she helps him arrange the assassination of a wealthy
businessman...
Shooting starts on 8 November in Los Angeles, with a tentative late-spring
release date planned for next year.
** IN THE PIPELINE **