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Dan Owen reviews
I s s u e # 32 A u g u s t 2 0 0 2
** MOVIE NEWS **
“BOND 20” – The Material Bond Girl!
After months of speculation it has been confirmed that Madonna doescameo in the new James Bond adventure “Die Another Day”. She also singsthe new film’s title song, due for release this November.
“ALIEN vs PREDATOR” – Casting News!
Everyone’s favourite craggy-faced actor, Lance Henriksen, will reprisehis role as android Bishop for “Alien Vs Predator” – the upcomingcrossover between the “Alien” and “Predator” franchises, to be directedby Paul Anderson (“Mortal Kombat”).
“AMERICAN PIE 3” – Hugh Grant Gets A Slice!
Hugh Grant set to appear in “American Pie 3” – after starring in “AboutA Boy” – also directed by “Pie” helmers Chris and Paul Weitz.
“AUSTIN POWERS 4?” – Yeah, Baby!
Mike Myers is willing to continue the Powers franchise, saying: “I wouldlove to do more, Jay [Roach, director] and I were apprehensive aboutdoing a 3rd, then we felt that we had a good idea, we had a great timedoing it, the response has been awesome, we’ve loved this wholeexperience. I think now we would love to do a 4th one, I don’t have anidea yet so if I come up with an idea – then yeah… I had so much fun”.
Let’s hope they finally use the title “Austinpussy” for the next outingof the 60s superspy…
“BATMAN vs SUPERMAN” – Who Will Wear The Capes?
‘Entertainment Weekly’ have published a list of those contending for theroles of Batman and Superman in Wolfgang Petersen’s “Batman Vs Superman”movie, being written by Andrew Kevin Walker (“Seven”).
They include: Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, James Franco, Jude Law andPaul Walker. An alleged insider stated that Warner Brothers’ Executiveshad settled on Colin Farrell as Batman and Jude Law as Superman – butthis was later denied in an unprecedented e-mail from the studiostating: “The roles have NOT been cast yet. They are still seeing otheractors in casting next week. Jude Law and Colin Farrell are verydefinitely in the running but nothing has been locked yet.”
“BATMAN: YEAR ONE” – Aronofsky To Bat?
With the spotlight on Wolfgang Petersen’s Batman/Superman crossovermovie, what has happened to the momentum of “Batman: Year One” – the70’s based prequel to “Batman” devised by director Darren Aronofsky(“Requiem For A Dream”) and based on the acclaimed graphic novel byFrank Miller?
Well, there are rumours that Warner Brothers still want “Year One” to bemade sometime between 2003 and 2010. So we could be in for quite a wait!
They’re also envisaging the big-screen debut of “Wonder Woman” very soon(starring Sandra Bullock or Shannon Elizabeth?), as well as “BatmanBeyond” (a futuristic update of Batman, based on the animated series),and “Catwoman” starring Ashley Judd – a movie that has been in thepipeline since Michelle Pfeiffer poured herself into the cat-suit for”Batman Returns” back in 1992!
“BLADE 3” – U-Turn!
Remember screenwriter David Goyer’s idea for a third “Blade” movie setin a post-apocalyptic world? Well seems this may not be happening, asGoyer recently said he’s going “…off that idea a little bit. Because Iknow that they are working on “I Am Legend” [the Richard Matheson novel,previously filmed as “The Omega Man”]. I decided to tweak my idea…What we’re talking about is actually having the vampires outing Bladeand letting the world know he exists. They turn the tables on him, sothe cops and all of the humans are hunting Blade. They think he’s crazyand that he’s a monster. The vampires are doing a PR smear on him.”
“CHARLIE’S ANGELS 2: HALO” – Casting News!
Filming continues on the sequel to “Charlie’s Angels”, again starringDrew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu – but minus Bill Murray. Ithas been confirmed that Justin Theroux (“Mulholland Drive”) has nabbedthe part of Barrymore’s ex-boyfriend.
“THE CROW” – Flying Again?
Alex Proyas’ 1994 hit movie “The Crow” – starring the late Brendan Lee -could get yet another sequel, despite the third movie “The Crow:Salvation” going straight-to-video in the UK.
However, ‘Edward M. Pressman Productions’ are considering a fourth moviein light of the continuing success of various “Crow” merchandise.
“We’re talking about turning one of our “Crow” novels into a movie, andwe’re talking to a name director about doing a female Crow,” said asource at the company. “This is a director who could attract nametalent, and for some reason he happens to like “The Crow”.”
It now seems unlikely that a proposed “Crow” instalment by Rob Zombie -entitled “The Crow: 2087” will become a feature-film, although it couldbe used as a spin-off movie from “The Crow” franchise. A source disclosethat “It would probably work better in animation, because there’s a lotof weird stuff in it that would be hard to pull off unless you had a TimBurton [directing].”
“DAREDEVIL” – Latest Image!
Ben Affleck jumps on the superhero bandwagon, playing blind lawyer MattMurdock in “Daredevil”, with this latest picture just released.
“THE FAST & THE FURIOUS 2” – Rapper Up For Sequel?
US rapper Ja Rule is in talks to return as street car racer Edwin, inthe sequel to “The Fast And The Furious”, directed by John Singleton(“Shaft”). The storyline has disgraced cop Paul Walker teaming up withnewcomer Tyrese, as they hunt a drug runner.
“FREDDY VS JASON” – Out Of Development Hell?
Yet another “versus” movie (following “Batman Vs Superman” and “Alien VsPredator”)! This one has been in development hell for years, with “ANightmare On Elm Street” villain Freddy Krueger chomping at the bit tostart messing with “Friday The 13th” psycho Jason Vorhees.
‘Entertainment Weekly’ has stated that: “The film will open with Freddytrapped in hell, sending Jason to Elm Street to resume his choppingspree, but Jason is not that easy to deal with”. The action shifts toCamp Crystal Lake, and “don’t expect a clear cut victor”.
And don’t hold your breath. There have been numerous screenplays writtenfor this clash of the psycho’s… and all have come to nothing.
“HANNIBAL” – Ridley Scott Directs!
No, this isn’t a headline left over from a few years ago, this is ‘TheTelegraph’ reporting that Ridley Scott is planning a movie adaptation ofHannibal (the guy with the elephants who attacked Rome, not the cannibaldoctor).
However, he may have competition from actor Denzel Washington – who hasexpressed interest in filming the story himself! Washington (who hasalways wanted to play Hannibal since he wrote a college thesis on theCarthaginian general’s life) has the backing of 20th Century Fox, and ascreenplay already written by David Klass (“Desperate Measures”).
Meanwhile, Scott now has the backing of Sony, and has chosen actor VinDiesel to play Hannibal. It’s been announced that “Gladiator”screenwriter David Franzoni will pen Scott’s movie.
But historians may want to champion Washington’s cause, as it’s expectedthat Scott will base his adaptation on the book “Carthage: A Novel”,which features events not corroborated by historical facts, such as thegang-rape of Hannibal’s wife (who may not have even existed!), andHannibal’s subsequent retaliation of burying 400 Roman soldiers alive,disembowelling eight pregnant women, and impaling hundreds of Romantownspeople!
Adrian Goldsworthy, a Hannibal historian who wrote “The Punic Wars andCannae” told ‘The Telegraph’: “These were pretty brutal times but Ithink sometimes people’s imaginations can get carried away. We don’tknow anything about Hannibal’s love life.”
Time will tell who will get Hannibal’s story to the multiplexes first,and exactly how his life-story will be told…
“HARRY POTTER 3” – Magically Appearing In 2004!
Warner Brothers have stated that filming of the third Harry Potter movie(The Prisoner Of Azkaban) will start in early 2003 for a Summer 2004release.
The director of this decidedly darker Potter adventure will be AlfonsoCuaron, director of the erotic drama “Y Tu Mama Tambien”! Oo-er, missus!
In related news, filming of “The Chamber of Secrets” is about tofinished, and it has been confirmed the character of Cornelius Fudgeappears – portrayed by Robert Hardy (from TV’s “All Creatures Great &Small”).
“INDIANA JONES 4” – Jones Junior?
Harrison Ford has stated that there will definitely not be a role forIndiana Jones’ son in the upcoming “Indiana Jones 4” – scheduled tobegin shooting in 2004.
In related news, the DVD release of “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” is nowexpected in Winter 2003 – possibly as part of a box-set with “The TempleOf Doom” and “The Last Crusade”.
“KILL BILL” – Tarantino’s Comeback?
Quentin Tarantino’s next film will be “Kill Bill”, starring Uma Thurmanas a character known only as The Bride. The Bride is a martial-artsexpert who seeks revenge on the titular Bill after waking from a 5-yearcoma after he massacred everyone at her wedding – thinking she had diedtoo.
Tarantino is promising that “[his] fans are gonna love this one. They’vebeen waiting a long time, and I think they’re really going to be happywith it.” According to reports, the movie is something Tarantino startedthinking about seven years ago and “It’s a character that [he] and Uma[Thurman] came up with together.”
Sources who have read the script describe it as a screenplay that breaksall the rules of conventional screenwriting – with a fractured attitudeto storytelling, as with Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction”.
The script is seen a love letter to Hong Kong action cinema, mixed withTarantino’s signature criminal leanings, and split into 10 chapters:’2′, ‘The Comatose Bride’, ‘The Man From Okinowa’, ‘Showdown At TheHouse Of Blue Leaves’, ‘Yuki’s Revenge’, ‘Can She Bake A Cherry Pie…’,’The Lonely Grave Of Paula Schultz’, ‘The Cruel Tutelage Of Pai Mei’,’Elle And I’, and ‘The Blood-Splattered Bride…’
Reviews of the screenplay have been mixed, with some believing Tarantinois back on form with an action-packed B-movie, while others believe thescreenplay is a self-indulgent mess that (at best) will make a guiltypleasure for a limited audience. Otherwise known as “The Big Trouble InLittle China” syndrome.
Whatever the outcome, it certainly sounds like a movie you’re going tohave to see just to judge for yourself. And hey – any film that starsTarantino himself as a Kung Fu master has got to be worth seeing!
“PITCH BLACK 2… AND 3” – The Return Of Riddick!
It has been confirmed that David Twohy, writer/director of sleeper hit”Pitch Black” will return to helm a further a sequel – under the banner”The Chronicles Of Riddick”, with a further sequel a possibility.
Twohy told Variety, “I pitched an ambitious treatment for a sequel twoyears ago and they passed.=A0It was only after “Lord of the Rings” and thenew “Star Wars” that the possibilities here grabbed us. Once we startedrunning with it, everybody fell in love with what we were doing, eventhe studio. Is everybody planning for three? Yes, they are.”
Twohy has been going over the idea of developing the franchise withactor Vin Diesel (who played Riddick in “Pitch Black”), and the numberof sequels will depend on how successful “The Chronicles of Riddick” isat the box-office.
Twohy says “Vin wanted a franchise and when “Fast And The Furious”didn’t happen for him, we pitched this to the studio and they went forthe idea of not just one but up to three follow-ups. We’ll give Riddickmultiple adversaries on different levels. We think of “Pitch Black” like”Mad Max” was to “Road Warrior”, or “The Hobbit” was to “Lord Of TheRings”. They were places to find one of your characters, enabling you totake them to different places in subsequent films.”
“RED DRAGON” – Lecter’s Back For Thirds!
Hannibal Lecter returns again, in prequel instalment “Red Dragon” -previously filmed in the 80s by Michael Mann as “Manhunter”.
This new movie is designed to provide a Lecter trilogy starring AnthonyHopkins, and is being directed by Brett Ratner (“Rush Hour”). The filmalso stars Edward Norton (“Fight Club”) as psychic FBI Agent WillGraham, and Ralph Fiennes as lead villain ‘The Tooth Fairy’.
Ratner has promised that the film will be “more like Hitchcock, which isgoing to show much less. There’s not going to be any gore in this movielike there was in “Hannibal”. It’s much more along the lines of “SilenceOf The Lambs.” The director also informed About.com how Sir AnthonyHopkins will appear more youthful in the prequel. “[He’s] on a workoutregimen. He’s lost 20 pounds. He’s back to the weight that he was whenhe did Silence Of The Lambs.”
“SCOOBY DOO TWO?” – Talking Mutt Strikes Again!
Despite harsh reviews worldwide, “Scooby Doo” has proven itself asuccess at the world’s box-office, so plans are already afoot for asequel!
Screenwriter James Gunn had this to say: “I knew I’d probably take onthe sequel but I didn’t know I’d have as much enthusiasm for it as whatI have. I’m extremely excited about it. We get a chance to correct allmy mistakes we made on the first one… and I can put my sea monstersback in – they got cut from the first one due to the budget”.
Bad news, as the main reason the first movie flopped was down to itslame script and dodgy casting (Matthew Lillard excused). The last thingthey should want to do is lumber the faltering cast with the samebelow-par screenwriter!
“STARGATE SG-1: THE MOVIE” – Full Circle!
The “StarGate” franchise is about to come full circle, when the TVcontinuation of the 1993 movie “StarGate” gets its own chance to shineon the big-screen.
So far the screenplay has been submitted and is being rewritten as wespeak. There’s no definite word on anything else, but the TV cast areexpected to reprise their roles. But will this include Michael Shanks -who played popular character Daniel Jackson, until being written out inseason 5… ?
“STAR TREK: NEMESIS” – Stewart Speaks!
Patrick Stewart has spoken about the upcoming “Star Trek Nemesis”,possibly the final voyage for “The Next Generation” cast:
“I think it’s possible that there might be more to anticipate and to beexcited about with “Nemesis” than with any of our previous movies,including everybody’s favourite, “First Contact”.”
“I think we’ve got the mix right, in terms of a strong story… Thereare two storylines running side by side, interconnecting at differenttimes. We have a very strong action base as well for this, which meansthat the dialogue scenes are broken up with really quite effectivesequences of action.”
“It has romance in it – in fact, it’s probably the sexiest movie we’vedone in some respects, although unfortunately none of this involves me.It has a psychological aspect to it too, which is interesting andpotent. And there are surprises – the kind of surprises that, while wewere shooting it, we were licking our chops with glee at the thought ofthese things that were going to surprise people.”
“UNBREAKABLE 2” – Unlikely Sequel Possible?
M. Night Shyamalan, whose new movie “Signs” is about to hit US cinemas,has been indicating his aborted plans to make “Unbreakable” into atrilogy of films. “I would have [done that], but I just didn’t feelenough love, that’s the true answer. Most people won’t give you the trueanswer. I just didn’t feel enough love.”
“I was mostly surprised at the lack of the acknowledgment of what atleast we aspired to do, [which] was to do the classy, non-fighting[non-Green-] Goblins-on-the-roof version [of a comic-book story].”
“Spider-Man” was the goblins on the roof. I liked “Spider-Man” a lot.And my favourite part of it was the first hour, again, becoming”Spider-Man”. That’s what I like, and that’s what I wanted to make amovie of. And yeah, I have other ideas for Mr. Glass [Samuel L. Jackson]and Bruce’s character, but… I guess there is a little cult thing goingon… I don’t know. I don’t know. Maybe”.
“X-FILES 2” – Hungry For More?
Rob Bowman, director of this Summer’s dragon-based smash “Reign OfFire”, and numerous episodes of “The X-Files”, has suggested that asequel to “The X-Files Movie” may not materialize for a good while yet.
“I know [creator] Chris Carter intends to do another movie and ‘Fox’Studios certainly wants one. David Duchovny definitely wants to doanother one and I’m pretty certain Gillian Anderson could be talked intodoing one.”
“It’s really a matter of gauging fan appetite. When we did the firstone, the series was at its peak, so the appetite wasn’t all that greatfor a feature film. Chris pointed out the first “Star Trek” movie didn’tcome out until 15 years after the TV show ended. I doubt Chris will makeus all wait that long for another “X-Files” movie, but he will wait forpeople to get really hungry.”
And will Bowman direct the sequel? “No one has even whispered thepossibility to me. I’d be on board in an instant if they asked me, butif they don’t, it doesn’t matter because I had such incredibleexperiences with the “The X-Files” already.”
US TOP 10 (CINEMA)
** TRAILERS **
THE MATRIX RELOADED:The sci-fi movie that should rule the roost in 2003, as Keanu Reevesreturns as cyberhacker Neo (aka “The One”). This trailer is dazzlingvisually in places, although criminally lacking in the “oooh”-factorfans may have been expecting. But for just a TEASER of the sequel, thisis very impressive stuff.
CLICK HERE
HARRY POTTER & THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS:A fine trailer that does justice to expectations for Harry Potter’s nextcinematic outing, although this trailer plays like a continuation of thefirst film in tone and design (which could disappoint people who hate”more of the same” sequels). Oh, and Daniel Radcliffe’s vocal cords aretellingly strained…
CLICK HERE
RED DRAGON:The prequel to “The Silence Of The Lambs”, starring Anthony Hopkins,Edward Norton and Ralph Fiennes. Main reason to be scared? It’s directedby Brett Ratner (“Rush Hour 2”) whose credentials are not inspiring, andcertainly not as auspicious as Jonathan Demme or Ridley Scott’s!
The trailer looks quite good, although a little formulaic. Worryingly,Anthony Hopkins may look satisfyingly younger than he did in “Hannibal”,but his acting looks like a shaky balance between the spooky “Silence”Lecter and the hammy “Hannibal” Lecter. But the screenplay is beingrevered in Hollywood circles, and the casting is excellent… so ifRatner himself can deliver the goods – this could be his break-out movieand a satisfying conclusion to the Lecter saga.
CLICK HERE
Page Content copyright © Dan Owen, 2002.
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.