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Dan Owen reviews
I s s u e # 4 71 3 J u n e 2 0 0 3
THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONSWithReloadeddoing big business around the world, attention is turningto the final chapter in the sci-fi spectacular – The Matrix Revolutions.
Producer Joel Silver commented, saying: “Reloaded and Revolutions couldbe one film. But I think they work best as two sittings. It’s quite alot to absorb. Revolutions is all-out war between the humans and themachines and will, by all accounts, blow your fucking minds. We have a14 minute, $40 million battle sequence that is the most complicatedsequence ever put on film.”
Special-effect wiz John Gaeta said: “Reloaded, no problem; even thoughit was incredibly difficult, there was a lot of buffer time built in.Revolutions, on the other hand is aggressive because it’s quite grand.Revolutions is much more epic. More creature-based, and much more aboutmachines and bio-mechanical places. It’s an awesome category to work inas a lot of us are big fans of Alien. It’s a completely different trainto anything we’ve done before.”
Executive producer Dan Cracchiolo concurs, adding: “You know Revolutionsis the real thing, right? Revolutions is the pay off. Reloaded is just atease…”
And Keanu Reeves, himself, said: “The first is about birth. The secondabout life. The third about death. I don’t know though. Maybe it shouldbe called The Matrix Resurrection.”
A glossy teaser one-sheet poster for Revolutions has also now beenreleased (see right).
BACK TO THE FUTURE 4After the success of the Back To The Future DVD box-sets around theworld, ‘Universal’ are apparently keen to begin a new Back To The Futuresequel. ‘Hotdog’ magazine states that Steven Spielberg (who has a strongsay in whether a new movie is made) has already suggested some ideas -particularly regarding a different cast and an animated movie.
However, co-writer Bob Gale later denied these rumours to ‘BTTF.com’.
BEETLEJUICE IIShock-jock Howard Stern has commented that he may have a role in theproposed Beetlejuice sequel if it ever gets made. CAPTAIN SCARLETThe ‘BBC’ reports that Gerry Anderson is definitely developing a remakeof his Captain Scarlett TV series, now rendered as computer animationinstead of puppets.
The project is set to be finished in 2005, with Anderson commenting:“The puppets could not walk, their hands were sculpted and they couldnot move their fingers so they could not pick anything up. And I thinkthings were so difficult that when we hung them up at night I felt likesaying ‘serves you right, you stay there now in the dark’.”
“It is now possible to recreate them exactly as they were in theoriginal series but they will now behave just like human beings. Theywill have expressions, the mouths operate in the same way as we speak,they will be able to run, hop, skip and jump – you know the whole thingwill come to life.”
DIE HARD 4Bruce Willis spoke to ‘USA Today’ about Die Hard 4, saying: “I alwayssaid the genre had kind of run out of gas and had to reinvent itself. Ithink that’s the goal ‘Fox’ has also.”
“Maybe too much time has gone by since the last one. We’ll see. If thefirst Die Hard were an analogue version of an action movie, the kind ofaction movies that are being made right now are all digital. So, DieHard 4 would have to be brought up to the modern age.”
The fourth movie in the Die Hard franchise begins shooting next year.
ELEKTRA’Marvel’ executive Avi Arad was interviewed by ‘Comic Book Resouces’recently and updated fans on the status of some ‘Marvel’ movies.
The Elektra spin-off will start shooting next April and Ghost Rider willbegin production at the end of 2003. Arad also confirmed that JakeGyllenhaall (Donnie Darko) was approached as a possible replacement forTobey Maguire should Maguire be physically unable to return forSpider-Man 2.
“He [Gyllenhaal] was talked to in case Tobey [Maguire] couldn’t do it,so it was a true concern. It’s an action movie. It’s not a walk-and-talkand he’s a young man who has a life in front of him and, God forbid, hewould have gotten further injuries. So it was really out of good willand it got blown up”.
GARFIELDThe ‘Indy Star’ had some interesting details on the Garfield movieadaptation recently. The movie is tentatively set for a June 2004release date, using a screenplay worked on by Garfield creator Jim Davis(who also supervised to CGI rendering of Garfield himself).
Creator Davis also makes a cameo appearance in the movie as a drunkenconventioneer. Bill Murray is indeed confirmed to voice Garfield, withBreckin Meter (Rat Race) and Jennifer Love Hewitt (The Tuxedo) in thehuman roles.
Kim Campbell, a spokeswoman for ‘Paws Inc.’ (the creative and businesscomplex of the Garfield empire), said she couldn’t reveal much about thefilm, but that Garfield and Odie “really look like real animals morethan like the cartoon character you’re used to seeing in the strip. Withcomputer-generated imagery, these animals really look alive. These arecartoony, but they’re more realistic. The cat has fur.”
The plot has Garfield’s owner Jon (Meyer) takes in the hapless idiot dogOdie, turning Garfield’s world upside down. Garfield and Odie becomeenemies, but when an evil dog trainer (played by Stephen Tobolowsky)kidnaps Odie, Garfield feels guilty and attempts a rescue.
INDIANA JONES 4An anonymous contributor has reported that Indiana Jones 4 is set tobegin production this August. The anonymous source has previouslyscooped the release dates of the Indiana Jones 4 script announcement andthe DVD announcement. KILL BILLLucy Liu has commented on Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, in which shestars, saying: “It’s so violent. People will leave the movie theatre orget sick in the movie theatre. But there’s so much violence that itbecomes not numbing, but almost comedic.”
“There’s a scene where there’s so much violence that the colour of thefilm goes into black and white, so that the blood looks like oil. It’scinematic, it’s art. You can take it to a different level, and show whatviolence is, in such a heightened manner that you don’t think of it asviolence anymore, you think of it as a language. If you go to Kill Bill,you know there’s going to be violence – that’s your option.”
LEGALLY BLONDE 3Reese Witherspoon’s airhead creation Elle Woods is likely to return inanother sequel, this time set in England. THE LIFE AQUATIC’Hollywood Reporter’ reports that writer-director Wes Anderson (TheRoyal Tenenbaums) is developing a new project called The Life Aquatic.
Interestingly, his new film will reunite much of the Tenenbaum castmembers Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Anjelica Huston. The project willalso star Jeff Goldblum, Peter Stormare, Bud Cort and possibly WallyWolodarsky.
The Life Aquatic written by Anderson and Noah Baumbach, and concerns anoceanographer called Steve Zissou and his crew’s misadventures inunderwater exploration.
THUNDERBIRDSThe first picture of the cast for director Jonathan Frakes’ Thunderbirdsmovie have been released (see right). RESIDENT EVIL II’E! Online’ reported that Milla Jovovich has signed up for a second doseof zombie ass-kicking in Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Jovovich’s boyfriend(and director of the first movie) Paul W.S Anderson has written thissequel but will not direct. STAR WARS EPISODE III’TheForce.Net’ reports on some Episode III developments. Returningcharacters include: Padmé, Chewbacca, Dooku, Nute Gunray, Rune Haako,Obi-Wan, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Sly Moore, Barriss Offee, Bail Organa, Palpatine,Anakin, Shaak Ti, Luminara Undulia, Mace, Orn Free Taa and Yoda.
Yaddle, Depa Billaba, Oppo Rancisis, Even Piell, and Yarael Poof willnot be returning in Episode III.
Also, a picture of Chewbacca is causing a stir behind-the-scenes. In theimage he’s seen holding a staff while swinging from a vine…
SUPERMAN’The Z Review’ state that director McG (Charlie’s Angels 2) has said heis “this close” to directing the new Superman movie.
Speaking to the ‘BBC’ he confirmed he’s still in talks with ‘WarnerBrothers’ about the project, but will make a final decision “in the nextcouple of weeks. The cards are on the table. It’s a big commitment, andwe just want to make sure we’re all on the right page.
So who will McG cast as Superman? “I have three choices for the role,but I can’t share them yet. [They’re] not necessarily [household names].I feel like we’re living in a time where a big movie like that, you’vegot to service the movie first. The movie is the star when it’s acharacter like that, and it’s important to get the right character.”
‘Zap2It’ later revealed that actor Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor) turneddown the offer the role four times! “It just wasn’t the kind of moviethat I wanted to do.”
“They offered me the role while I was shooting Hollywood Homicide. Isaid no. They offered it to me again, I said no. They offered it to meagain, I said no. They offered it to me again, I said no.”
“I just didn’t want to play Superman and I’ve turned down all of theother superhero movies too. I talked with [originally signed director]Brett [Ratner] and I really thought that he had great ideas for thefilm.”
“When people pursue you with that amount of vigour, I take it seriously.So, I had to think about it, but no, I don’t ever want to do it andthat’s just why I ended up not doing it because it’s just not what Iwanted to do.”
A recent issue of ‘Esquire’ included a description of a fight betweenBrett Ratner and producer Jon Peters about the movie. “The two ended upin a shouting match. Ratner warned [Peters] to stay away. Peters laterclaimed that Ratner threatened him with an armed bodyguard, to whichRatner shot back: ‘I don’t need a guard to pull a gun on someone'”.
The fight was over the budget. Superman had an expected greenlightbudget of $180 million, but Ratner insisted on a $225 million budget -not even counting the massive marketing.
Ashton Kutcher, Jude Law, Brendan Frasier, Paul Walker, Matthew Bomerand Josh Hartnett were all then approached to star.
TERMINATOR 3Music composer Marco Beltrami has confirmed that “the original themewill not be featured in the movie, but will be the end credits themesong”.
US TOP 10 (CINEMA) * TRAILERS * The IncrediblesThis is the latest CGI offering, this time courtesy of Brad Bird. Birdpreviously director The Iron Giant – a fabulous movie that, in myopinion, would have been one of the greatest ever children’s films if ithadn’t been animated. Ooh, controversial. Not that the animation waspoor, just that the spectacle of a live-action version would have madepeople actually go and see it!
Ahem, anyway, The Incredibles concerns a family of would-be superheroes.Expect the usual ‘Pixar’ polish and hilarity.
Note that these are US release dates.
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.