MOVIE NEWS
STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH
The final one-sheet poster has been released (see right)
8th VOYAGE OF SINBAD
Keanu Reeves is set to board The 8th Voyage of Sinbad for 'Columbia
Pictures', with Rob Cohen (xXx) in the director's chair, reports 'Variety'.
In the film, set in eighth-century China, Sinbad and his shipmates embark on
a quest to find the Lamp of Aladdin. Along the way, they meet a beautiful
empress and battle fantastical creatures as well as a rebellious Chinese
general who threatens the kingdom with his supernatural powers.
Charlie Mitchell is rewriting a script by Cormac and Marianne Wibberly and
Tedi Sarafian.
Special-effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen took up Sinbad's story several times
before at Sony with The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad (1958), The Golden Voyage
Of Sinbad (1974) and Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger (1977).
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
'Empire Online' talked to Matt Damon at the '2005 Empire Awards' and he gave
an update on the third film in the Bourne franchise, The Bourne Ultimatum.
Damon: "We'll probably do that in about a year and a half. We're all signed
on in principle, in the sense that we've all agreed that we want to do it,
but we're not going to do it unless we have a great script. It's ours to
lose at the minute, and if we do make a third one, we want to make it as
good as the first two. And if we can't do that, then we're going to have to
let it drop."
The original Robert Ludlum novel The Bourne Ultimatum saw Bourne finally
face off against his long-time nemesis, Carlos The Jackal - a character
excised from Doug Liman's The Bourne Identity and therefore unavailable for
the third film.
Damon: "Yeah, all that stuff with Carlos being actually caught. It's kind of
a Cold War story. We're essentially retaining the title, so it's going to be
called The Bourne Ultimatum. But we don't know at this point what the hell
that means! So if you have any ideas for a script, then please..."
MRS DOUBTFIRE 2
Despite Robin Williams now having some doubts, 'Fox' announced in November
that a sequel to 1993's Mrs. Doubtfire was in the works with Bonnie Hunt
writing a script.
Williams: "They're trying to write it. I think if [Bonnie Hunt] can do it
right, it'll be OK. If they don't do it right, it's not worth doing it."
THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK 2
Well, despite the first of the proposed trilogy doing badly at the
box-office last year, star Vin Diesel (right) has told 'MTV@ that after the finished
filming Hannibal The Conqueror he will move onto The Chronicles Of Riddick
2.
The first film actually earned a respectable $115.4 million worldwide.
However, it cost $140 million to produce and market. But unexpectedly good
DVD sales should mean the film will recoup its cost.
Diesel: "Riddick? Well, you know that I've always had C2 planned. I'm
silently - and I shouldn't even say this - I'm silently working on C2 with
some of the outlines that were created when I first thought of doing the
three films."
"The way that it's designed-and I hope that I'm not giving too much away -
is that in Chronicles of Riddick 2, we go into the Underverse, and then C3,
if you will, is that final return home to Furia."
The first movie rated PG-13 in the US, but Diesel expect the sequel to be
rated R (an equivalent 18 in the UK) "by virtue of the fact that it takes
place in the Underverse, which is obviously going to be a lot more gruesome
than New Mecca."
THE DA VINCI CODE
Director Ron Howard is apparently keen to cast Jim Carrey as Silas in the
movie adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling book.
THE HOBBIT
Director Peter Jackson (Lord Of The Rings) says it will be at least three
years before production may start on Lord Of The Rings prequel, The Hobbit,
says the 'AAP'.
Jackson: "Three or four years would be accurate, I think there is probably a
will and a desire to try and get it made. But I think it's gonna be a lot of
lawyers sitting in a room trying to thrash out a deal before it will ever
happen."
The rights to J.R.R. Tolkien's novel are split between 'MGM' and 'New Line
Cinema'. Jackson said he was keen to return to Middle Earth but that the
sale of 'MGM' to a consortium led by 'Sony' made the project's future
unclear.
RAMBO IV
Sylvester Stallone has commented to 'TV Guide' on the possibility of another
Rambo movie, saying: "I hope to start shooting the next Rambo in September."
THE REAPING
'The Hollywood Reporter' says two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank (Million
Dollar Baby) is in final talks to star in The Reaping for 'Warner Brothers'
and 'Dark Castle Pictures'.
The supernatural tale centres on a myth debunker (Swank) who travels to a
small, religious town in Texas to investigate occurrences that appear to be
the 10 Biblical plagues.
James Cox wil direct a story based on a spec script by Brian Rousso -
rewritten by by Chad and Carey Hayes. The Hayes brothers wrote the upcoming
'Dark Castle' production House Of Wax.
STAR TREK XI
Now that TV's Star Trek Enterprise has been cancelled, the future for Trek
doesn't look so bright. But a ray of hope is shining in the form of
screenwriter Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers) who has been tapped to write
the eleventh Trek movie.
Speaking recently, Jendresen confirmed that the new movie will involve a new
cast - unseen in any of the Trek TV incarnations. "I can certainly say that
the story concept, the basic idea of this thing, is pretty damn big. It's a
noble enterprise, pun intended."
"When I heard the notion, I realized that the people I was talking to were
serious, and genuinely dedicated. I started to really think about it, and,
ultimately to develop a story. And it's a pretty good one."
"We're going 160-odd years before Kirk is born. It's an earlier time, and I
think it would be really refreshing to feel something in the course of
telling this tale, instead of being wowed by special-effects, or presenting
another crew in jeopardy where, in the end, the captain does something
brilliant, and all's right with the world."
"By the end of this story, everyone isn't fine. I can safely say as a
storyteller with certain standards... my intention is literally as a writer,
as a storyteller, as a filmmaker, to go boldly where no one has gone
before."
So, the first Trek movie that isn't a spin-off from a TV series? Maybe
they're hoping a successful movie will mean a greenlight for a spin-off TV
show...
SUPERMAN
Apparently John Williams will not return to score the music to Bryan
Singer's new Superman movie, but his successor John Ottman has acknowledged
that he will pay tribute to Williams' iconic theme.
In other news, 'Latino Review' has confirmed that director Bryan Singer
plans on using stock footage of Marlon Brandon that was originally shot by
Superman director Richard Donner for the latest Superman movie. The
character in the new film is expected to have a very minor role.
Originally, Brando and Christopher Reeve were filmed interacting with one
another for Superman II, but due to a lawsuit the scenes were deleted and
re-shot using Superman's birth-mother instead.
TOY STORY 3
Bradley Raymond will direct Toy Story 3, aiming for a 2008 theatrical
release. Raymond previously helmed direct-to-video 'Disney' sequels to The
Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
'Disney Feature Animation' is making the third film without original
creators 'Pixar' and basing the next instalment on a script by young writer
Jared Stern.
V FOR VENDETTA
Stephen Rea (The Crying Game, right) has joined Natalie Portman and James Purefoy
in the action thriller V For Vendetta, which has started production in
Berlin, Germany.
The movie, based on an Alan Moore graphic novel, is a UK-German
co-production between 'Warner Brothers Productions Ltd' and 'Funfte
Babelsberg Film GmbH', and will be released on 4 November 2005.
More information will be available soon from www.vforvendetta.com
X-MEN 3
Ain't-It-Cool-News has confirmed that Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn
will direct X-Men 3 for 20th Century Fox. Bryan Singer directed the first
two films of the franchise and is now shooting Superman.
The anticipated third film is expected to center on the Dark Phoenix saga.
Both Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn wrote scripts, but the site says the studio
will use Penn's draft for the movie.
In related news, while Hugh Jackman (who is also producing), Famke Janssen,
Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming and more are all coming back,
Halle Berry still isn't sure. She tells XMenFilms.net:
"I have not read the script. All I have asked, is that if I come back as
Storm, she need to be closer to the comic book. So, if they have in fact
written her closer to the comic book character, then I'm in. If not, I'm
out. I hope I'm in though. I love Storm, and really want to be part of the
last film."
Fox and Marvel Studios are eyeing a Memorial Day, 2006 release date for
X-Men 3.
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