MOVIE NEWS
FANTASTIC FOUR
Julian McMahon's "pre-mask" look as Dr Victor Von Doom has been revealed
(see right). The entire Fantastic Four cast, and much of the crew, were also
interviewed (see below).
BOND 21
Pierce Brosnan spoke to the 'Toronto Sun' about his new action-comedy After
The Sunset, but also found time to confirm he won't be back as James Bond
because the producers want "to go younger."
Brosnan: "It's over, it's over, it's absolutely over." Brosnan said he was
willing, even eager, to do a fifth and final Bond, adding that producers
Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson had asked him to return right before he
started promoting Die Another Day, although no contracts were signed.
"It's very hard to find the truth in that town (Hollywood) or in this
business at times. But it was their prerogative to change their minds. They
can do it!"
Interestingly, Brosnan has his own idea about who should replace him, saying
the unknown actor "... had a presence: face, body, voice, the eyes. He would
make a good one."
BUBBA NOSFERATU
Bubba Ho-Tep director Don Coscarelli has delighted fans of his cult movie
about an aged Elvis battling an Egyptian mummy, by confirming plans are
afoot to film a sequel - with Elvis battling another supernatural foe.
Rumour has it that Bubba Nosferatu will see The King up against female
vampires.
ARTHUR
Madonna will lead the voice cast of big-budget CG-animated movie Arthur,
directed by Luc Besson (The Fifth Element).
The 'Hollywood Reporter' says Arthur is adapted from a series of children's
books written by Besson, who also wrote the screenplay. Ten-year-old Arthur,
in a bid to save his grandfather's house from developers, goes in search of
treasure hidden in the land of the Minimoys, a tiny people living in harmony
with nature.
The $80 million English-language movie, scheduled for a 2006 release, will
include some live-action sequences. The 3-D animation is being crafted by
French specialist Buf Compagnie.
Madonna will be voicing the part of Princess Selenia, a character who
travels with Arthur to a mysterious forbidden city where an evil being
dwells. A major male star is also being cast.
Arthur will be the first film directed by Besson since The Messenger: The
Story of Joan of Arc five years ago. Besson also is working on a parallel
live-action project, which he has written but which remains a closely
guarded secret.
REVOLVER
Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) and Jason Statham (Lock, Stock) are set to star in
Guy Ritchie's action drama Revolver, reports 'Variety'.
Ritchie abandoned the project a year ago in favour of directing Six Shooter,
which failed to get the go-ahead. Revolver, which is produced by Luc Besson
and Marty Katz, is now in production in London and the Isle Of Man, and
follows a hotshot gambler who becomes tangled in a game with deadly
consequences...
THE DUKES OF HAZZARD
Burt Reynolds (right) and Willie Nelson have been cast in the big screen adaptation
of hit TV series The Dukes Of Hazzard. 'Variety' reports that Reynolds will
play corrupt politician Boss Hogg and Nelson will star as Uncle Jesse.
BASIC INSTINCT 2
Basic Instinct 2 is moving closer to getting the greenlight. The Sharon
Stone sequel has secured financing from German film fund 'IMF3', film group
'International Media' announced Tuesday.
'Variety' says the move reunites 'Intermedia' and 'IMF' with 'C-2 Pictures'
Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar, the team behind last year's Terminator 3.
The budget is expected to exceed $70 million, with Michael Caton-Jones lined
up to direct. The male lead has not been cast in the movie, which will see
Stone's serial-killer seduce her psychiatrist.
MIAMI VICE
'Universal Pictures' is hoping to sign Colin Farrell (Alexander) as
Detective James "Sonny" Crockett, alongside Jamie Foxx (Collateral) as
Detective Ricardo Tubbs, in the big screen adaptation of hit '80s cop drama
Miami Vice.
THE A-TEAM
James Bond screenwriter Bruce Feirstein has been hired to adapt The A-Team
for the big screen. Stephen J. Cannell, who created the show, will produce
the movie with Spike Seldin.
The movie version will be updated from the Vietnam era and reflect
contemporary issues and politics. The tone of the film will be more serious,
in the vein of Die Hard and Lethal Weapon.
Cannell has commented that Mr T, who played B.A. Baracus in the TV series, is
likely to make a cameo appearance.
SUPERMAN
A while ago, director Bryan Singer (X-Men) was rumoured to be close to
announcing who will star as Superman in his upcoming movie, but the death of
Christopher Reeve apparently postponed this announcement out of respect.
So, nothing was official, but 'Latino Review' scooped everyone by revealing
that unknown actor Brandon (B.J) Routh (right) has secured the coveted role. (see
right, in a photo taken of the actor dressed as Superman for Halloween last
year!)
'Warner Brothers' later confirmed his casting. Routh is a 25-year-old native
of Iowa with television and film acting experience - such as roles in One
Life To Live, Gilmore Girls, Will & Grace and Cold Case.
Singer's Superman movie is expected to begin principal photography in
Australia early next year for release in summer 2006. It will be produced by
Jon Peters, Bryan Singer and Gilbert Adler from a screenplay by Michael
Dougherty & Dan Harris. No other casting has been announced.
Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer of 'Warner Brothers' said:
"We are so pleased to have put this extraordinary team of filmmakers and
talent together and to be moving forward with a project we've all
anticipated so much. I think we're going to make a Superman movie that all
of us can be very proud to bring to our audience around the world."
Singer commented on his choice of a star, saying: "Contrary to speculation,
it was always my absolute intention to hire an unknown for this role.
Brandon is an extremely fine actor who possesses the physical qualifications
of Clark Kent/Superman. But he also embodies the legacy and history of this
character in a way that makes me certain he's the right choice."
Robinov: "We respect and appreciate the intense interest that our fans
around the world have in Superman, and we went everywhere in search of a
talented actor who would represent his look, character and presence. We
think Brandon is a gifted young performer who can re-energize this iconic
character and excite new audiences about the legend of Superman."
In related news, Bryan Singer spoke to fans recently and let slip that he
asked Richard Donner, who directed the original Superman movie, for his
opinion on his new movie (which will be a true sequel to the first two
movies that starred Christopher Reeve. Donner was apparently very positive
about Singer's vision.
Singer also revealed he's keen for John Williams to reprise his role as
composer on the new movie - which, naturally, brought the house down.
INTERVIEW - THE FANTASTIC FOUR
Q: Julian, how much have you enjoyed playing the bad guy? Are you hamming it
up or playing it straight?
Julian McMahon: "I'm the bad guy? (laughter) I need to talk to Avi for a
second. You know, it's been a lot of fun. It really has. First we have this
guy here (Ralph Winter), Avi at the other end. And this wonderful cast.
You're surrounded by wonderful people and who obviously know what they are
doing."
"For me it's just immersing myself into the role and hopefully giving the
fans what they want. Initially it's a comic book, so you have to understand
that's the kind of environment we're trying to fulfil. So, there's so much
outside of what we do that's the common aspect of it, it's the graphics,
it's the computerization, the prosthetics that he's been for the last couple
of weeks and all that stuff that creates that world."
"So for me, it's really not about trying to push things too much, it's about
trying to face reality, so that you as an audience want to take that journey
with me. There's a little bit of both if you ask, you try to camp up a
little bit when you get those opportunities, but you don't want to look like
a schmuk."
Q: What's it like working on sets like the Brooklyn Bridge set?
Michael Chiklis: "This goes under the category of 'you know you're in a huge
movie when...' The first day I went to the Brooklyn Bridge set, to see a 75
yard section of the Brooklyn Bridge having been recreated with a half a mile
track in a circle so that traffic can flow through it with three stories of
blue screen."
"You know, you walk on the set that day and you go 'WOW' (hold up hand to
ear) "Hey mom! Mom! You gotta see this!" To see it unfold, and we're going
to spend eight days on that and we're not done with that set yet. And then
second-unit starts an equal amount of time on that set, and it's going to
translate into maybe 2 or 3 minutes of the movie. It's an extraordinary
thing to watch and for me, spending 11 to 12 hours in latex is fun!
(laughing)."
McMahon: "That's definitely some of Chickies' happiest moments."
Chiklis: "Absolutely, it's a little something like being in the 7th circle
of hell! (laughing) But at the end of the day, honestly, sure it's hot, it's
uncomfortable, it's cumbersome, but when you see it, it really is
extraordinary."
Q: How many hours does it take to get the costume ready every day, and what
do you do during that time?
Chiklis: "I'm doing whatever it is I can do to relax. And sorta let it
happen, surrender that you have to, and keep it up, because if you try to
control the situation you're going to panic. It's three hours to get into
the suit, head to foot."
"So you just have to relax any way you can. Initially it was really kind of
frightening for me. I knew it would be a physical challenge to do that. I
did not know it would be a psychological challenge. I'm not a phobic person
or have anxiety, but I had a full-on anxiety attack the first time they put
me in and I think it's because when they put the hands on I can't get out on
my own."
"But now, it's two months later and I'm through it. Now it's not about fear
it's more about loathing. In terms of just the personal discomfort. I'm
talking about that a lot, but I really want to make it clear that when you
put your eyes on the prize, the big picture of it, you look at the dailies
and you see what we're doing, that's the analogy that's good to you. You
start thinking 'Wow, this is something I can talk to my kids and grandkids
about.'"
Q: Now that you're in the midst of shooting, do you pick up any of the
comics at all just to see what's going on with the character or are you
pretty much ignoring it and focus more on the script?
Chris Evans: "We read a lot of comics before we started shooting. We all ran
out and got as many as we could, but there are so many different series, the
Ultimate series, and it's kinda tough to keep track. You try to keep as much
information as you can, since shooting actually I haven't read many."
Q: For people not knowing the Marvel comics, the Fantastic Four, they've
seen both X-Men movies and they like them, how would you present to the
general audience how these characters are different from the X-Men other
than they're blue?
Avi Arad: "The Fantastic Four has actually been around longer than X-Men.
This is not a before and after, it's the most famous comic family out there.
So one is there is a lot of awareness. Two, this movie the tone, the
relationship is functional, tell us we're dealing with is really unique. It
took a lot of time to put this movie together because we have to service
five characters."
"So we have a really busy time putting it out there, especially now that we
actually have dailies and footage that we love. It plays exactly to the norm
that has been around forever. Bear in mind that over the years there's
somewhere of 350 to 400 million copies sold of the Fantastic Four."
Chiklis: "It's really a great time for this film to be made too because on a
technical level 20 years ago and you make this picture and it's cheese
whizzy. Because you can't achieve the individual effects. You know, Mr.
Fantastic stretching and these kinds of prosthetics, you know, you turning
into the flame and you doing the force-field. Now the technical can be
married with the technical and the emotional and human, and in a way it
never could be before. That's what we're trying to achieve, not just being
technical show, we're trying to fuse those elements together as seamlessly
as we can."
Q: Tim, could you elaborate on the dysfunctional family aspect of the group?
Tim Story: "I'm a fan of arguments and things like not right all the time,
to me that makes the real drama and it also even better makes the real
comedy. The Fantastic Four being a group like many of us, that's the fun
part."
"I think when it comes to superheroes this one kind of fit me best because
they're regular people. They have everything happen to them and then they
have to deal with it. And to me it's just about bringing that to life. I
guess it is a dysfunctional family because we can all relate to liking our
family but not loving all the time."
Q: Does it interest you that this is the only group where they don't have
secret identities?
Story: "I think that's the other thing that drew me too it, this is an
origin film so we're dealing with what's happening to them, but the future
is how to play them on the fact that they are known."
Q: How excited were you when you could finally talk about being cast:
Ioan Gruffudd: "I'm very excited, incredibly excited. I have to be honest I
wasn't aware of the comic books, hadn't heard of these comic books. So I
came from just the script stuff and I jumped at the chance of playing this
character. And he's an American, I'm a British actor, so I'm thrilled."
Chiklis: "I met this gentleman (Arad) at a party and Jennifer Garner
actually introduced us and I said, 'I have two words for you, Ben Grimm',
and that was the beginning of it. He called me into his office months later
and we discussed the possibility of this happening. And I was in
excruciating pain actually emotionally, because there was a big question
whether I would be available for this film because I have a television
series."
"It was all about can we make this happen purely from a scheduling
standpoint, and of course the film get being pushed back and pushed back
which made it more and more precarious. It really came down to Peter
Churner, and you know Avi and all those folks at F/X and everybody involved,
the heads up state, the meeting of minds and making it happen for me which I
thank you and thank them all for."
Arad: "I had no choice, I had his bobblehead. So everytime I sit down at my
desk his head is going like this."
Chiklis: "So it was out there and Avi was up for it and I couldn't say
anything. It was pretty excruciating at that time and it was great to be
able to finally say, 'Yeaaah!' That was pretty exciting to say."
Q: Tim, this is a different genre for you. You've done Barbershop, you've
done Taxi, what different approach are you taking this time?
Story: "You know I don't know if it's that much different of an approach.
It's a character-driven, and that is one of the reasons, hopefully, why they
brought me on. I remember sitting down with Avi and Ralph in terms of what
support I would have for action and special effects because I knew I didn't
have a lot of experience with that."
"And they said, you know what, we brought you to the table for character and
story and we'll support you with the rest of it. I look at it if I have to
make a movie work, absent of the action sequences and absent of the special
effects, if I can pull that part and make it successful I think the rest
will take care of itself because the special effects, we have some serious
wizards on this movie and it's going to be incredible, so didn't really have
to deal with that. I felt comfortable and once I had a cast and Avi had the
script I had the tools to make it work."
Q: To Ioan, what's it like working on these bigger projects?
Gruffudd: "It's the same sort of process as television work I've done just
on a much grander scale. It's fantastic (laughing). It's the hardest thing
I've done to date because I have to present so much more imagination.
Everything is done after the event or computer generated, with the
stretching. It's a strange feeling as an actor to put your life/character in
other people's hands. There's a trust issue there when you have that over
you."
Q: Ralph, What is the challenge that's unique that is more present compared
to the other films you've worked on?
Winter: "A big challenge that is always present in these films is in the
script of getting all five characters' heroes to have something helpful and
meaningful towards the final act. That's probably the greatest challenge
that we keep wrestling with even now as we sort of tweak what we have in the
third act."
"To make it happen so it's fulfilling for all the characters. It's always a
challenge financially, trying to get as much on the screen as possible and
make it look as big and exciting as possible. Brooklyn Bridge is a huge
challenge, we feel very good about that now. Now we just have a small, you
know, fight in the third act here in Vancouver (laughing)... which will
destroy Vancouver. Throwing buses and cars and blowing things up, jumping
from building to building. Easy stuff."
Q: Jessica, your character is known for having maternal instincts, is that
something that comes naturally to you or are you learning as you go?
Chiklis: "Yes! Sorry. Yes, you are maternal. Sorry. I'm sorry to jump in
like this. I didn't know Jessica before this and she's like a little mommy,
I've always told her you should have children immediately."
Alba: "Thank you. Actually that is a big part of my personality that I don't
get to do a lot, especially as an actress, because I get type cast as the
kick-ass bitch or the whatever girl. I never get the maternal, loving,
supportive, intelligent role."
"And Tim, I tell him I don't know how I will get this movie, I love this
movie, but if I was in this movie this is who Storm's going to be. I thought
he was going to be opposed and he wasn't."
McMahon: "How can you oppose that?" (laughing)
Q: Chris, were you lobbying for this?
Evans: "Of course! This was a group effort for me. I went back many times
and it was a long audition process. And my agent pulled through, I was
ecstatic. So far great, I never was in anything this big, so every day it's
an educational experience for me."
Q: Is it fun playing a superhero at the end of the day:
Winter: "None of these pay are having fun." (laughing)
Chiklis: "Hey, I'm a rock He-Man, that's crazy, who gets to do that. I was a
fan growing up of the Fantastic Four. I loved this comic book. I've played
cultural icons before and I know there's a certain responsibility that goes
along with that, you can't get preoccupied as an actor with that, you have
to just bring your own joy to the opportunity and to play this character to
just jump in, you just have to go for it."
"There's always going to be someone in the audience who goes 'eh' that he
didn't handle it. But hopefully the mass majority will go, 'Yeah, he was
really committed to it and pulled it off.'"
Q: Can each of you how the powers that your characters manifest represents
who they are?
Gruffudd: "For Reed, he's always reaching for the stars, he's always
reaching for affection and that he's only human. His mistake in his
calculation creates these characters, they are exposed. I suppose that's his
analogy, he's striding for perfection and always reaching when he becomes a
superhero. Does that make any sense?"
McMahon: "That was fantastic." (laughing)
Alba: "My character, she's very intelligent and very maternal, and emotional
because she's a woman. And the guys kinda run the show, they don't see that,
she might as well be invisible. She still lives in a man's world and she has
to work double hard to get ahead and they still overshadow her."
Evans: "I think Johnny's a hothead, you know, he's a playboy, loves to live
life in the fast lane. He likes attention so what's more of a spectacle than
bursting into fire and flying." (laughing)
Chiklis: "The Thing, he's a tough guy, tough exterior, heart of gold. In a
nutshell, that's it. He's been Reed's best buddy and protector. He's a
strong guy and doesn't want to be a hero, just wants to do his thing and get
on with his life. I think the thing that truly makes him heroic is choices,
as you'll see in the film, he has to make a pretty selfless choice to be
heroic, I think they all do."
McMahon: "Who am I again?" (laughing) "Oh yeah. You know the wonderful thing
about this whole thing is you actually get to see the whole evolution of the
characters. They start of as human beings, they don't start off as
superheroes. It's fantastic, the guy who does Chiklis' character is a comic
book freak. He knows everything about the comics. Every day he has a new
T-shirt, every day he has a new thing."
Chiklis: "Every day there's a new Fantastic Four T-shirt. And he's not had
the same one twice! I didn't know you made that many T-shirts!"
Arad: "I didn't know either!"
Chiklis: "Unbelievable, you know this guy asked me about Episode 285, I'm
like 'whoa whoa', I thought I was a fan before."
McMahon: "I watched the original TV series, '65 or something, so I saw the
whole original comics and all that kind of stuff, and it's wonderful because
I've seen the comics and watched it through the '80s, and first you're
watching it through a child's eyes and you're not into the depth of the
characters, and stuff involved with playing this kind of role."
"But after watching the original cartoons of this thing, it's amazing how
much the original comics and cartoons are put to our characters, and it can
be very subtle kind of things. It really starts off with relationships
between the four people."
"And these two (Reed & Doom) are basically nemeses from day one, they went
to college together, Ben was the one who stood by him, Mr. Fantastic and
Victor had a spell for Sue who was the most gorgeous woman on the planet and
then along comes this young hot-start, you know what I mean? And you really
get to see these characters as people before they become something."
"So, it's not until they go up into space and they get hit by this comic
storm and they will develop their individual powers that they really start
to embrace and start to take on their original and probably deeper
characteristics."
"And that's the fantastic journey about this, you're not seeing the heart of
humanity until they get infected with this thing. So it's really a unique
and interesting journey, and it's what brings these guys pull that together
and that's what separates me from them. And that's a fantastic moment that
will hopefully bring more money."
Q: For Michael and Julian, you said this movie has already almost conflicted
with your TV schedule, as the franchise continues and both of you on running
shows, how will your future schedules work out? Can we expect "Shield"
episodes missing Vic Mackey?
Winter: "Yes!" (laughing)
Chiklis: "They did an extraordinary thing at FX. They pushed the shoot three
months for The Shield so that I could film this. I had never seen that done.
Makes you feel good and is humbling."
McMahon: "It all comes under the Fox umbrella. As much as we are on the FX
network, it's owned by Fox."
Chiklis: "Synergy is I believe the word."
McMahon: "For me, I feel like it's allowed me to be here. And it's very
difficult to make these kind of things work, it's not that easy to be on a
TV show and try to upstart a movie career at the same time."
"The one thing we do have is that we've both worked on TV shows that only
work 6 months out of the year, which is a bonus because you can do 6 months
of something else. And when you have these kind of guys to do whatever it is
right, eventually you work things out. I'm just trying to get myself in the
sequel, so... (laughing) Nip/Tuck won't go back into production until
March."
Q: Have you decided on the music, both the score and soundtrack?
Winter: "John Ottman is the composer, who did X-Men 2. He's very excited and
we're very excited about him. A great choice for building themes and
emotion. John is terrific. There's nothing to talk about yet (for the
soundtrack)."
McMahon: "Well, me and Chiklis have submitted a couple of renditions of our
favorite songs and we're just waiting to hear the yay or nay on that."
(laughing)
Q: This is your second comic book movie, this and Sin City, what approach
have you taken from one comic to another?
Alba: "They are completely different. I get to act and do what I love, and
that's something that's great. They're both more about the work and about
action, and about feeling complex, and this is definitely an action movie.
I'm just thrilled that they're so good, you know. I love that comic fans are
so loyal so hopefully I can still make movies for them."
Q: Chris, did you ever expect to be a superhero?
Evans: "No, in a lot of ways it's a little boys dream. I've said that 20
times today. What little kid didn't tie a towel around his neck and jump off
the couch to be a superhero."
McMahon: "I jumped off the second story." (laughing)
Q: Julian, have you had to do any prosthetic work yet?
McMahon: "Mine's a little more painful than Michael's, just so you know
(laughing). He's trying to make it look better, but just look at that
outfit, look at him up there (referring to the banner featuring The Thing
that's hanging behind them)"
Chiklis: "I would like you to know that was a test. That was taken the
second test, the second time I put it on. It's close, but it's not exactly
where it's come to."
McMahon: "To answer your question, I have started the prosthetic thing. Once
they come back to earth, Victor gets a cut in his head and he starts to
develop this stuff in his hand and it's a very cool thing. It's a very slow
evolution of this man turning into a metal steel getup."
"So far it's just been stuff with my face and stuff on my hand. It does
develop more into a Thing-like prosthetic, what you expect it to be. The
thing really for me is, the prosthetics have evolved for so many years, and
the computer effects, that you can actually see the actor beneath it. You
can see Michael behind that face, you can see the expression of his face
when he's going through certain types of emotions."
Chiklis: "That was a huge issue for me. I felt very strongly that I gave
myself a 100% to this. I really wanted it to be a costume, because I felt
that if it was just a CGI than you would loose the humanity part. The other
question was, can we make it so it looks and feels like the original
character?"
"And that's the extraordinary thing that these guys have accomplished. Even
when I'm in the 60 pounds of make-up, the prosthetic, you see it's my eyes,
it's my face, and it moves along with my face. I think it's a pretty big
accomplished, to marry the technical with the emotional, the human. And
hopefully that will translate onto the screen."
Q: In the comics, the Fantastic Four attracted a lot of other Marvel
superheroes at times, will there be a superhero cameo in the film?
Arad: "Well, we always have a couple of mystery acts, for the true
believers, and as you see the movie you'll see some and you'll say, 'Oh, I
thought that was...' Watch for Stan Lee's cameo and some other vignette, but
these are the best kept secrets especially here."
Q: Does the loyal fan base, who question a lot of things, affect how you
make the movie?
Story: "If you can create the spirit of what comic books are, and you find
the best actors the role and you find a script and you go for it, then all
you do is put it out there and hope that they will accept it. Sometimes you
have to win them over."
"Avi and Ralph told me about how much they screen, and how Hugh Jackman
wasn't right for Wolverine and now you can't see that franchise being
anything without him, so all you can do is give it a 180% and put it out
there. I think here with the actors, specifically, they have taken on this
role and just made the characters better than I can imagine. And I can't
wait for people to see it."
"I'm definitely not one to talk before it's released but I think they're
doing it justice. Avi and Ralph forbid me to look at Internet stuff and
comments, and this and that. You know when this or that comes up, some
people will shoot it down. That's not always a negative thing, because
they're just so in love with the character and story that they want it done
right."