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Dan Owen reviews
I s s u e # 8 31 9 M a r c h 2 0 0 4
MOVIE NEWS STAR WARS EPISODE IIIThe first picture of Episode III villain General Grievous has been released(see right), a cybernetic alien who is the universes greatest Jedi killer.Also released are SPOILER pictures courtesy of the ‘Daily Mirror’ that showAnnakin Skywalker in his Darth Vader pose (see below-right).
CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORYJohnny Depp has spoken about his role as Willy Wonka in the new remake ofthe Roald Dahl story.
Depp: “It’s Tim [Burton’s] version of Roald Dahl’s classic book and it’sgonna be a wild ride. Tim and I have had a couple of meetings, sat down andhad some talks about where he wants to go, where we need to go. And I thinkit’s gonna be great, you know?”
“Big shoes [to fill], though. Gene Wilder did such an awesome job in thatfilm in the early ’70s, so I mean, taking that character of Willy Wonka andgoing somewhere completely different is… he sort of made the jobinfinitely more difficult for me.”
Tim Burton’s remake is slated for a June 2005 release.
FREDDY VS JASON II’Moviehole’ chatted with Evil Dead guru Josh Becker (author of The Book ofthe Dead), who also worked on all three films.
In the discussion, Becker gave his view on the prospect of a fourth EvilDead movie, and the rumoured role for Evil Dead’s Ash in a Freddy Vs Jasonsequel.
Becker: “There is no truth in the [Freddy Vs Jason] rumour. It’s my beliefthat there will never be an Evil Dead 4. Bruce [Campbell] won’t do itwithout Sam [Raimi] directing, and Sam has no reason to go backward and makeanother Evil Dead movie until his career falters, which it certainly isn’tdoing.”
THE HOUSE OF WAXSociety girl Paris Hilton, star of TV’s The Simple Life and (ahem) a certaincandid video available online, is set to star in upcoming House Of Waxremake alongside Elisha Cuthbert (TV’s 24). I AM LEGENDDirector Mathieu Kassovitz (Gothika) confirmed to ‘Moviehole’ that he’sinterested in bringing I Am Legend to the big screen at long last, aftersitting in development hell for over a decade.
Kassovitz: “I Am Legend was one of my favourite books as kids. People havebeen trying to make the movie for like 20 years ever since The Omega Mancame out. I think Spielberg wanted to do it at one time.”
“We are seeing a lot of different people [to star in it]. UnfortunatelyArnold [Schwarzenegger] can’t do it, because he’s Governor, but he wouldhave been great…”
And how about a sequel to Halle Berry horror hit Gothika? “We’ve talkedabout doing a TV series based on it. The film was a success so we have beentalking over ideas. I don’t know if it will happen, but it probably should,it’d make good TV.”
LETHAL WEAPON 5Richard Donner, director of the Lethal Weapon movies, is keen to shootLethal Weapon 5, but it all hinges on Mel Gibson’s participation.
Donner: “It’s up to Mel. If he says yes then there’s another Lethal Weapon.I have a great story, I’d love to do it and put Lethal Weapon to bed. Ifthey want to go and make it without Mel well, go ahead and be my guest butit’s not for me. Mel is Lethal Weapon.”
“It was hard for Mel to do Lethal 4. It was really hard on him. For LethalWeapon 5 it would have to be a story that would be worthwhile, but I thinkmaybe there is something out there.”
SHAUN OF THE DEAD’2000 A.D. Online’ have reported that they’ll be releasing a tie-incomic-book based on Shaun Of The Dead – the new zombie romantic comedy bythe creators of TV’s Spaced. MAGNUM, P.I’Greg’s Previews’ at ‘Yahoo! Movies’ reports that George Clooney is close tosinging to play Magnum, P.I – a remake of the 80’s TV series starring TomSelleck.
‘Universal Pictures’ and ‘Imagine’ chairman Brian Grazer acquired the rightsto create a movie from the Hawaiian detective series last year.
The site also claims that LL Cool J could play the series’ helicopter pilotThomas TC Calvin.
Screenwriter Michael McCullers (Austin Powers) has been hired to adapt theshow for the big-screen.
MEET THE FOCKERSBarbra Streisand is confirmed to star as Ben Stiller’s mother in the sequelto Meet The Parents, with Dustin Hoffman as her husband. This marksStreisand’s first film role since The Mirror Has Two Faces eight years ago. PET SEMATARY’Variety’ reports that ‘Paramount’ have signed screenwriters Mike Werb andMichael Colleary (Face/Off) to script a new version of the classic StephenKing story Pet Sematary.
An unconfirmed rumoured also suggests that George Clooney is being courtedto take the lead in the remake.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN IIProducer Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed they hope to film two sequels toPirates Of The Caribbean at the same time (a la Matrix).
Bruckheimer told ‘Entertainment Tonight’ that Johnny Depp will reprise hisrole as Captain Jack Sparrow in the first sequel, but isn’t contracted forthe third. Yet.
WAR OF THE WORLDS’Variety’ reports that Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise are teaming up toremake classic sci-fi disaster movie The War of the Worlds to the bigscreen, with Cruise expected to star.
David Koepp (Secret Window) will rewrite Josh Friedman’s first-draft script,itself based on the classic H.G. Wells novel.
It’s possible the sci-fi epic could start filming in late 2005. Cruise andhis ‘C/W Productions’ partner Paula Wagner set up the film at ‘Paramount’ inMay 2002. ‘DreamWorks’ will come aboard as a partner, now that Spielberg isinvolved.
Steven Spielberg will not direct the movie, but will produce alongsideCruise and Wagner.
THE RING 2Hideo Nakata, the Japanese director behind the original Ring movie and itssequel, is going to Hollywood to direct the U.S sequel!
The plot for The Ring 2, written by Ehren Kruger (Scream 3), is unconnectedto any of the Asian sequels – which means Nakata won’t be merely translatinghis work for Western audiences but giving the world a new story.
VAN HELSINGWell, despite having the best trailers for any 2004 summer blockbuster (sofar, anyway) the initial glee is being slowly polluted with some decidedlylukewarm test screening feedback and a disparaging review of the scripthere:Screenwriting.ugo.com/screenwriting/vanhelsing_review.php
TRAILERS Alien Vs Predator – Internet-Only TrailerWeblink: www.apple.com/trailers/fox/avp/internet_trailer
Internet only?
Yes, in a transparent attempt to elicit favour with the growing dreadsurrounding AvsP’s production (worrying set-reports and terrible scriptreviews) the studio have released a trailer targeted at AvsP’s demographic -‘net-savvy sci-fi fans.
Are things really that bad online?
Admit it; Alien Vs Predator is a stupid idea that may have worked as aspin-off comic-book series and video-game franchise, but perhaps not for amovie.
Why?
I’m not saying it isn’t possible to make a fun and exciting movie using this”versus” premise (just look at Freddy Vs Jason) but Alien is a respectedsci-fi franchise, and perhaps shouldn’t be open to exploitation like this.
Okay, but is the trailer good or bad?
Well, it’s okay. Basically it’s just the teaser trailer with added insertsshowing clips from the film – all quickly edited, but admittedly fun.Facehuggers clawing out of eggs, a Predator in a corridor, humans entering atemple and a Predator/Alien psyche-out!
See? Just breathe slowly and think good thoughts.
But it’s Paul W.S Anderson – the ultimate Hollywood hack. All his workeither borrow liberally from better source-material (Event Horizon, Soldier,TV’s The Sight), or are direct translations of existing source-material(Mortal Kombat). There isn’t an original bone in his body!
Then maybe he’s the best man for the job. AvsP isn’t going to worry theOscars next year, so all we need is a fan of the franchise giving the fans afun little sideline to the “proper” movies.
Hmmmm. But what about the set reports saying the production is besieged withproblems?
So was Titanic’s, and look at that!
So was The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and look at that!
Touché.
I need to lie down. But, okay, the trailer is okay. Think positive fornow… it’s only a movie…
I, Robot – Trailer 1Weblink: www.apple.com/trailers/fox/i_robot
I… not know what this film is.
This is a movie adaptation of a classic short-story by sci-fi guru IsaacAsimov, starring Will Smith and directed by Alex Proyas (The Crow).
Sounds good so far, so what’s it about?
Basically, Asimov’s story has been altered to fit a contemporary Hollywoodaction blockbuster, but retains the plot where a robot is suspected ofmurdering a human.
Ah, and robots aren’t programmed to kill humans.
Exactly. It’s encoded into their three governing rules – so on the eve of amassive robot rollout across the globe, Will Smith obviously doesn’t want anarmy of homicidal tin-cans killing people.
For obvious reasons. So is the trailer good?
Hmmmm, it’s okay. Unfortunately, the “future” looks like a contemporary city- but with snazzier cars, etc. Obviously, much of the budget is being spenton the hordes of CGI robots.
Do they look good?
Yes, not bad. Individually, they look okay, but the effects-work for them enmasse looks a little flaky. They resemble crash test dummies, actually…
Hmm, nice. So, this all sounds quite mediocre.
Sadly, yes. Director Alex Proyas is renowned for his imaginative visuals(The Crow, Dark City), but this looks like a low-budget Minority Report andnothing really sets it apart from the crowd. I hope they’re saving the truescope and spectacle for the final film.
Still, Will Smith is always good value…
You think? While it’s true Smith has charisma, he’s becoming a one-trickpony and just relying on his cock-sure ID4/Men In Black persona. It’sfrustrating, because Ali showed he can truly act if he puts the effort in…but I, Robot doesn’t reflect that. In fact, at times the trailer isn’t sureif this is a “Will Smith Sci-Fi Comedy” (with duff comedy lines pepperedthroughout, worryingly) or “Cerebral Sci-Fi” because of its Asimov pedigree.
US TOP 10 (CINEMA)All figures are weekend box-office gross.
- 1. The Passion of The Christ ($32.1m)
- 2. Secret Window ($18.2m)
- 3. Starsky & Hutch (2004) ($16.0m)
- 4. Hidalgo ($11.8m)
- 5. Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London ($8.0m)
- 6. 50 First Dates ($5.4m)
- 7. Twisted ($3.0m)
- 8. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen ($2.4m)
- 9. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($2.0m)
- 10. Spartan ($2.0m)
UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)
- 1. Mona Lisa Smile (£1.19)
- 2. Honey (£1.06)
- 3. Along Came Polly (£0.88)
- 4. 21 Grams (£0.42m)
- 5. Starsky & Hutch (2004) – London only (£0.41m)
- 6. The Haunted Mansion (£0.37m)
- 7. School of Rock (£0.359m)
- 8. Looney Tunes: Back in Action (£0.352m)
- 9. Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) (£0.26m)
- 10. The Passion of the Christ – London only (£0.22)
** IN THE PIPELINE **All dates are U.K release dates, and are subject to change.
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.