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Dan Owen reviews
I s s u e # 5 11 1 J u l y 2 0 0 3
BATMAN – YEAR ONEDarren Aronofsky’s 70’s-set Batman prequel may be growing more unlikelyby the day, but at least fans can now look at some of the conceptdesigns drawn up by the production team. (see right and below-right) AKIRAScreenwriter James Dale Robinson (League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen) hasbeen signed to write the US live-action film adaptation of Akira.
ALIEN 5James Cameron spoke to the BBC recently about his thoughts on theAlien franchise – and Alien 3: “Hated it. Simple as that. I hated whatthey did… I couldn’t stand Alien 3. How they could just go in thereand kill off all these great characters we introduced in Aliens, and thecorrelation between mother and daughter. It stunk, but hopefully I’llget a chance to rectify all that”.
Does this mean the oft-rumoured Alien 5 is a possibility, with Cameroninvolved somehow? “To an extent. Yes. We’re looking at doing anotherone. Something similar to what we did with Aliens. A bunch of greatcharacters, and of course Sigourney [Weaver]. I’ve even discussed thepossibility of putting him [Arnold Schwarzenegger] into the Alienmovie.”
CAPTAIN AMERICAThe latest in the seemingly never-ending comic-book adaptation news isthat Brad Pitt is being sought to star in a new version of CaptainAmerica. CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORYMichael Keaton is rumoured to be a prime candidate for the role of WillyWonka in the remake of the classic 70’s movie, based on a book by RoaldDahl. FANTASTIC FOUR’Comics Continuum’ talked to X-Men 2 producer Ralph Winter aboutupcoming Marvel movie adaptations The Fantastic Four.
“Fan Four is heating up. [We] just got a new outline, and we willprobably start some concept work this summer.”
ICE AGE 2John Leguizamo was interviewed by ‘Latin Film Network’ and said heexpects to sign on for Ice Age 2 very soon, while other voice-Ray Romanoand Dennis Leary have already signed. INDIANA JONES 4As expected, it seems Sean Connery was seriously misinformed referencehis comment about Steven Spielberg not directing Indiana Jones 4.Spielberg is definitely still involved.
In related news, ‘Entertainment Weekly’ spoke with screenwriter FrankDarabont and executive producer Frank Marshall about the movie.
Darabont: “I’m the world’s biggest Indiana Jones fan. I’ll trip all overmyself to work for Spielberg.”
Marshall: “Frank [Darabont] understands who the characters are. We’resticking with Indy on his own. He still gets around pretty good.”
MALICE IN SUNDERLAND’ScreenDaily’ reports that Kelly Osbourne is set to star in acontemporary reworking of the classic Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland.Shooting begins later this year under the direction of Simon Fellows. TERMINATOR 3Director James Cameron recently talked with the BBC about his thoughtson Jonathan Mostow’s Terminator 3: “In one word – great. There was asmall part of me that hoped it wasn’t good – but another part of mehoped it succeeded. And it did. And I’m so glad it did. Jonathon’s madea great movie. Arnold’s in great form. I really like what he’s done withit”.
But if he had directed T3, would he have handled it differently? “Yes.That’s only natural. I mightn’t have structured it the same, nor may Ihave ended it the same way – but coming in where he has, such a hardthing to do, and I give Jonathan points for it.”
TERMINATOR 4Terminator 3 actor Nick Stahl has let slip a stipulation of hiscontract: “I’m actually signed on for two more. But I can’t even think aweek into the future, much less like that.”
US TOP 10 (CINEMA)All figures are weekend box-office gross.
- 1. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ($44.0m)
- 2. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde ($22.2m)
- 3. Charlie’s Angels 2: Full Throttle ($14.0m)
- 4. Finding Nemo ($11.0m)
- 5. The Hulk ($8.2m)
- 6. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas ($6.8m)
- 7. 28 Days Later ($6.0m)
- 8. The Italian Job (2003) ($4.1m)
- 9. Bruce Almighty ($4.0m)
- 10. 2 Fast 2 Furious ($2.6m)
UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)
- 1. Charlie’s Angels 2: Full Throttle (£3.27m)
- 2. Bruce Almighty (£3.25m)
- 3. 2 Fast 2 Furious (£0.62m)
- 4. The Matrix Reloaded (£0.30m)
- 5. Wrong Turn (£0.27m)
- 6. Identity (£0.20m)
- 7. Nicholas Nickleby (£0.18m)
- 8. Anger Management (£0.13m)
- 9. Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon (£0.08m)
- 10. Piglet’s Big Movie (£0.07m)
** WEBSITES ** Bad Boys IIWill Smith and Martin Lawrence return this summer with Bad Boys II, andhere is Sony’s official website to get fans of smart-ass action cinemasalivating…
CLICK HERE FOR WEBSITE League Of Extraordinary GentlemenEarly word from insiders suggest Stephen Norrington’s movie could be asummer sleeper hit, with some claiming it’s more enjoyable than MatrixReloaded, Hulk, X2 and T3.
LXG certainly has one thing going for it – it’s fresh. Almost all of theother big players this summer are sequels (X2, T3), or adaptations ofsuccessful franchises (Hulk). LXG could be a welcome breath of freshair.
In the meantime, the film’s website has updated quite significantly withmore goodies to wet your appetite before LXG’s release.
CLICK HERE FOR WEBSITE
Not another version.
Yes, although this version has two things in its favour.
What’s that?
It’s not animated and it’s not being directed by Steven Spielberg.
Ah, a snide remark aimed atHook,I see.
Exactly. Peter Pan II failed at the box-office for Disney earlier thisyear, and Spielberg’s 1991 atrocity can still induce the shivers. Shame,really, as J.M Barrie’s book is excellent material for a movie.
Well, decades of pantomimes can’t be wrong.
True. So P.J Hogan gets to unleash this faithful adaptation of the book(along the lines of the live-action Disney cartoon original) and not acynical quasi-sequel.
Who’s P.J Hogan?
The director ofMy Best Friend’s Wedding.
Ah.
But don’t worry. The trailer should calm you down – it’s pretty mucheverything you’d imagine a movie Peter Pan should be. Great visuals,lush special-effects and a hissably good villain in Captain Hook.
Who’s played by…?
Jason Isaacs. He played Lucious Malfoy in Harry Potter 2.
So not much of a stretch for him then.
Not really, but Isaacs is arguably the best British villain of recenttimes, also managing to tempt tomato-throwers watchingThe Patriota few years back.
Okay, so Peter Pan has my interest. When’s it out?
Christmas. Just in time for panto season.
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.