DAN’S MOVIE DIGEST 72

BATMAN 5Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later, right) will be one of the Caped Crusader’svillains in the new Batman film. Katie Holmes is also being courted toto play the female lead, subject to a screen test with star ChristianBale and director Christopher Nolan. BE COOLUma Thurman is re-teaming with her Pulp Fiction co-star John Travolta inthe sequel to Get Shorty, and now Vince Vaughn (Swingers) is also intalks to join the cast.

Thurman will play the female lead, Edie – a widower who takes over herlate husband’s record label. That puts her in business with Travolta’sPalmer, the loanshark-turned-movie producer who has entered the musicbusiness in search of another film idea.

Danny DeVito reprises his role as actor Martin Weir and WWE wrestler TheRock will play a bodyguard with acting aspirations.

Peter Steinfeld wrote the script which starts shooting in February.

GLADIATOR II’E! Online’ received word on the possible storyline for the sequel toGladiator 2. Apparently the movie will be set 20 years later and focuson the life of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and her son, Commodus’ nephewLucius.

BOND’The Toronto Star’ published an interview with Ewan McGregor (right) in which headdresses rumours that he may be the next James Bond, saying: “There hasbeen talk of it, but not with the people that matter. I believe Pierceis either doing his last (Bond film) or he’s doing one more.”

“It’s interesting. It’s a fun thing to talk about when it’s not reallyeven on the cards. In the same respects, I’m not sure what would happenif it cropped up. You’d have to really think about it. I think you’dhave to really think about it in the same way that I did with the StarWars films. I really thought about it and spoke to people I knew and inthe end I just wanted to do it more and more, the closer it got.

“I think it would be the same with Bond. It might take a bigger man toturn it down.”

HARRY POTTER & THE GOBLET OF FIREDirector Mike Newell, who is set to direct the fourth Harry movie, told’Sci Fi Wire’ that he has spoken with Prisoner Of Azkaban directorAlfonso Cuarón to make sure his film picks up where Cuarón’s finishes.

Production of Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire begins in late April orearly May next year, with Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron)and Emma Watson (Hermione) reprising their roles.

“They’re all actually the age they are in the story”, Newell said, adding“What Alfonso has done very remarkably is he’s developed the films froma sunny vision of childhood into something that is much darker andblacker. And he’s done that without taking away any of the romance ofthe thing. But he has transformed it into adolescence, and I must go onfrom what he’s done. [I] can’t go back.”

KING KONGThe ‘Sunday Star-Times’ has posted more interesting rumours on thepossible King Kong cast. Naomi Watts is in talks to play Ann Darrow, thefemale lead played by Fay Wray in the 1933 original and director PeterJackson may also utilize his Lord Of The Rings actors Ian McKellen andAndy Serkis (as the CGI Kong).

But Jackson is also considering either George Clooney or Robert De Nirofor the male lead of Carl Denham, the adventurer who captures the giantape and brings him back to New York.

X-MEN 3Director Bryan Singer (right) has signed a deal with ’20th Century Fox’ todevelop projects he’ll direct and produce. Singer has begun negotiationsto return for a third instalment of the X-Men franchise as part of thisdeal.

‘Fox’ production president Hutch Parker told ‘Variety’ that X-Men 3 isin the early stages of being prepped, saying: “We are always wary ofsequels because so often they are an invitation to mediocrity, becausenot enough attention is paid to the skills that allowed the first filmto succeed.”

“We had such a fantastic experience with Bryan on X – he was a greatpartner who navigated the process, which included the magnitude of thebudget, the number of visual effects, and our desire to build on thefirst film and make a better and more satisfying movie. The deal is anoutgrowth of the strong relationship we built on those two films.”

The two-year deal is the first studio pact for Singer, who named hisproduction company Bad Hat Harry, a line from his favourite movie Jaws.Singer will have an office on the lot and will bring with himdevelopment director Alex Garcia and add to his existing staff as heaccumulates projects.

Singer: “I’ve been stockpiling a number of different projects in movies,TV and videogames, and it’s great to have a base of operation and aplace to put writers to work.”

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN IIAccording to the ‘USA Today’ production is set to begin on Pirates OfThe Caribbean 2 in January 2005. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, directorGore Verbinski, writers Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott, and actors JohnnyDepp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are all set to return.

All figures are weekend box-office gross.

• 1. The Last Samurai ($24.2m)
• 2. Honey ($12.8m)
• 3. The Haunted Mansion ($9.3m)
• 4. Elf ($8.0m)
• 5. The Cat in the Hat ($7.1m)
• 6. Bad Santa ($7.0m)
• 7. Gothika ($5.2m)
• 8. The Missing ($4.0m)
• 9. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ($3.7m)
• 10. Love Actually ($3.5m)

UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)

• 1. Love Actually (£3.20m)
• 2. Elf (£2.31m)
• 3. SWAT (£1.96m)
• 4. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (£1.10m)
• 5. Brother Bear (£0.88m)
• 6. The Matrix Revolutions (£0.28m)
• 7. Timeline (£0.27m)
• 8. Kal Ho Naa Ho (£0.27m)
• 9. Finding Nemo (£0.18m)
• 10. Intermission (£0.06m)

Note that these are UK release dates.