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Dan Owen reviews
I s s u e # 2 72 4 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 3
BEETLEJUICE IIIt’s been rumoured for over a decade, but will we ever see a sequel toTim Burton‘s horror/comedy cult movie Beetlejuice? Well, studioproducers have released the following premise that they’d likescreenwriters to work towards: Beetlejuice has been banished into limbowhere he meets up with an urban version of himself who helps him wreakhavoc on an inner-city environment.
Hmmm. Looks like we could be getting two Beetlejuice-type charactersthen? Michael Keaton obviously isn’t much of a box-office lure thesedays (if ever), so are they hoping a partnership with the likes of ChrisRock will work?
Please, God, no!
BLADE IIIScreenwriter David Goyer (Blade II) mentioned that preproduction is setto begin on Blade III in about two months time, although he is stillbusy finishing the script.
According to Goyer, ‘New Line’ is hoping to release the film in August2004. Goyer also let slip that one scene he’s considering involves a newchemical weapon for Blade; atomized Silver Nitrate, which he will filterinto a room full of vampires through the ventilation system…
But who will direct? Goyer says, with a great deal of uncertainty, thathe hasn’t ruled out the possibility of directing the film himself. Butthat decision most likely won’t be made until March.
BLAIR WITCH PROJECT III – THE CURSEDan Myrick of ‘Haxan Films’ talked to ‘Moviehole’ about the proposedprequel to The Blair Witch Project.
He said: “The fact of the matter is, Ed and I have an existing deal inplace to write a prequel script for ‘Artisan’, but they have yet todecide whether or not they want to exercise this deal, so we’ve put iton the back burner for now and have since moved on to other projects.”
“Ed is tweaking his script, ‘White Trash’ and I’m in the process oftrying to set up my ‘Tomorrow Man’ project. We’ll just have to wait andsee what ‘Artisan’ decides to do with the ‘Blair’ franchise.”
BRIDGET JONES’ DIARY 2’The New York Post’ interviewed Renée Zellweger recently, and theactress confirmed that she will star in a sequel to Bridget Jones’ Diaryentitled The Edge Of Reason.
Zellweger: “I’m ready, willing and able. Bridget’s a character I reallyidentify with. I’ll put the weight back on with pleasure.”
CATWOMANEver since Michelle Pfeiffer poured herself into the cat-suit back in1992 for Batman Returns, we have waited for the rumoured Catwomanspin-off movie. Well, we already know that Ashley Judd (Double Jeopardy)has been attached for years, but now the rumour is that Die Another Day‘sHalle Berry (right) will get the role.
It also looks like a director is being seriously considered and his nameis Pitof, and he was the special-effects expert behind Delicatessen andThe City Of Lost Children.
New changes to the premise include the omission of Selina Kyle(Catwoman’s alter-ego). They will instead use the name Patience Price.The movie will also be set in Lake City (not Gotham City). Batman willalso not feature in the movie.
Owen Wilson (I, Spy) is set to star as Tom Lone, a detective who hasrecently moved to Lake City from Gotham City (because of the highsuperhero/villain quotient!) only to become neighbours with PatiencePrice.
DIE HARD 4Daft news of the week alert ‘The Mirror’ reports that pop princessBritney Spears is in talks to star as Bruce Willis’ kidnapped daughterin the fourth Die Hard movie. Hmmm. FINAL DESTINATION 3’Fangoria’ interviewed Final Destination 2 director David R. Ellis andproducer Craig Perry about a possible third movie.
Ellis replied: “Well, they’ve got me already as an option to do ‘FinalDestination 3’ if they decide to do it. Truthfully, I think a twistwould be to come back and do it as a comedy and spoof the ‘FinalDestination’ movies. It might be interesting.”
“We’ve left it wide open for a sequel, and I feel and ‘New Line’ feels that the movie is going to be successful, so I’m sure there will be athird film, whether it’s a comedy or a serious bloodbath.”
THUNDERBIRDS’Production Weekly’ have stated that British actress Sophia Myles (TheAbduction Club) has been cast in the movie adaptation of 60s puppetseries Thunderbirds.
Myles will play the iconic role of Lady Penelope in the movie, whichstarts shooting in March on location in the Seychelles, with laterfilming to take place at Pinewood Studios in the UK.
Thunderbirds is working from a script by William Osborne (The ScorpionKing) and a budget from ‘Universal’ of $50 million. It will be releasedin 2004.
HARRY POTTER 3Timothy Spall (Vanilla Sky) looks very likely to be playing PeterPettigrew/Wormtail in Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban.
Also, David Thewlis (The Island of Dr. Moreau) has won the role of RemisLupin in the next movie. Lupin is the new ‘Defence Against The DarkArts’ teacher who hides a dark secret…
THE HITCH-HIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXYWith the The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy close to being greenlit,attached director Jay Roach (Austin Powers) has decided he’d rather dosomething else! So now the jinxed project is seeking a director -pronto! LORDS OF DOGTOWNDavid Fincher (Fight Club) is rumoured to be involved with skateboardingmovie set in Venice Beach. The film was previously to be directed byFred Durst of Limp Bizkit fame, but some sources suggest Fincher istaking over and will start shooting in March. SUPERMANApparently the screenplay for Superman is said to have been budgeted at$8 million per page! The project is therefore being shut down for twomonths while the execs work the costs out and fine-tune the plot.
Contrary to other reports online, ‘Warner Brothers’ says Brett Ratner isstill signed up to direct the movie.
A new rumour also has Kelly Brook (Smallville) as a possible candidatefor the Lois Lane role – according to ‘Sky News’. Yeah, right.
STAR WARS EPISODE IIIGeorge Lucas has spoken about his plans for Episode III to ‘Fox News’saying: “I know what I want to do; it was mapped out from my originalwriting for 30 years. But still you have these two pieces Clones andChapter IV and you have to make them fit together. You’re going to seea lot about Anakin and Luke and Princess Leia’s mother, all the adults.And of course Luke and Leia will be infants in it.” THE GOLDEN GLOBES 2003The first major awards ceremony of the year – The Golden Globes – wereheld on 19 January! So who won? Read on!
1. Best Motion Picture – Drama
- a) About Schmidt
- b) Gangs Of New York
- c) The Hours
- d) The Lord Of The Rings – The Two Towers
- e) The Pianist
And the winner was… The Hours
2. Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
- a) Salma Hayek – Frida
- b) Nicole Kidman – The Hours
- c) Diane Lane – Unfaithful
- d) Julianne Moore – Far From Heaven
- e) Meryl Streep – The Hours
And the winner was… Nicole Kidman – The Hours
3. Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
- a) Adrien Brody – The Pianist
- b) Michael Caine – The Quiet American
- c) Daniel Day-Lewis – Gangs Of New York
- d) Leonardo DiCaprio – Catch Me If You Can
- e) Jack Nicholson – About Schmidt
And the winner was… Jack Nicholson – About Schmidt
4. Best Picture – Musical or Comedy
- a) About A Boy
- b) Adaptation
- c) Chicago
- d) My Big Fat Greek Wedding
- e) Nicholas Nickleby
And the winner was… Chicago
5. Best Actress – Movie Musical/Comedy
- a) Maggie Gyllenhaal
- b) Goldie Hawn
- c) Nia Vardalos
- d) Renee Zellweger
- e) Catherine Zeta-Jones
And the winner was… Renee Zellweger – Chicago
6. Best Actor – Movie Musical/Comedy
- a) Nicolas Cage – Adaptation
- b) Kieran Culkin – Igby Goes Down
- c) Richard Gere – Chicago
- d) Hugh Grant – About A Boy
- e) Adam Sandler – Punch-Drunk Love
And the winner was… Richard Gere – Chicago
7. Best Actress – Movie Supporting Role
- a) Kathy Bates – About Schmidt
- b) Cameron Diaz – Gangs Of New York
- c) Queen Laitfah – Chicago
- d) Susan Sarandon – Igby Goes Down
- e) Meryl Streep – Adaptation
And the winner was… Meryl Streep – Adaptation
8. Best Actor – Movie Supporting Role
- a) Chris Cooper – Adaptation
- b) Ed Harris – The Hours
- c) Paul Newman – Road To Perdition
- d) Dennis Quaid – Far From Heaven
- e) John C Reilly – Chicago
And the winner was… Chris Cooper – Adaptation
9. Best Director – Motion Picture
- a) Stephen Daldry – The Hours
- b) Peter Jackson – Lord Of The Rings – The Two Towers
- c) Spike Jonze – Adaptation
- d) Rob Marshall – Chicago
- e) Alexander Payne – About Schmidt
- f) Martin Scorsese – Gangs Of New York
And the winner was… Martin Scorsese – Gangs Of New York
10. Best Original Song – Motion Picture
- a) ‘Die Another Day’ / Die Another Day – Madonna
- b) ‘Father and Daughter’ / The Wild Thornberrys Movie – Paul Simon
- c) ‘The Hands That Built America’ / Gangs Of New York – U2
- d) ‘Here I Am’ / Spirit – Bryan Adams/Gretchen Peters
- e) ‘Lose Yourself’ / 8 Mile – Eminem
And the winner was… U2 – Gangs Of New York
Other notables:
Best Screenplay: Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor – About Schmidt
Best Music Score: Elliot Goldenthal – Frida
Best Foreign Language Film: Talk To Her
US TOP 10 (CINEMA) 
** TRAILERS ** The Matrix Reloaded – Japanese Commercial
What is it?
As if you need to ask! This is the hugely anticipated sequel to 1999’sThe Matrix; the sci-fi movie starring Keanu Reeves that changed the faceof contemporary action movies and was responsible for bringingJapanese-style filmmaking into vogue for mainstream Western audiences.
Since 1999 the film’s influence can be found in dozens of subsequentprojects (Charlie’s Angels) and has been parodied numerous times (ScaryMovie/Deuce Bigelow).
But will it be good?
A resounding yes, yes, yes! The Wachowski Brothers always planned themovie as a trilogy and the final movie is due around Christmas thisyear! That’s right – two movies released within 6-months of each other(a movie-making feat not seen sinceBack To The Future II and III)
With a bigger budget the special-effects are reported to be trulymind-blowing and should make the impressive bullet-time sequences fromthe original look ridiculously tame by comparison. Producer Joel Silverhas gone on the record as saying it will take 5 years before other filmsfind a way to compete with the effects achieved here.
But SFX aren’t everything. What made The Matrix so immensely enjoyablewas the multilayered, intelligent storyline and intriguing characters.For the sequels, there are even more characters to meet and apparentlythe plot goes much deeper into the nuances and layers of the universeonly glimpsed in the first movie. Be prepared to be blown away!
So what is this trailer like?It’s basically a remix of the teaser trailer released last year, but forthe Japanese market (hence some Japanese subtitles and dubbing). Thedownload is big (about 10MB) but does include some brand new shots thatshould get fans drooling.
Click here for trailer
Email Dan Owen
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.