DAN’S MOVIE DIGEST 103

FREDDY VS JASON VS ASH

Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man 2) is apparently in early talks with ‘NewLine Cinema’ for a sequel to Freddy Vs Jason that will include his Evil Deadcreation Ash (Bruce Campbell, right)

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS’The Hollywood Reporter’ says Dakota Fanning is close to signing a deal tostar in a series of movies based on author Lewis Carroll’s Alice InWonderland and Through The Looking Glass, adapted by Les Bohem for’DreamWorks’.

Bohem came up with the idea to adapt the classic novels and pitched it toSteven Spielberg, with Fanning in mind to play Alice. The trio previouslyworked together on the mini-series Taken for ‘The Sci Fi Channel’.

Bohem: “There have been cool versions of it before but never with thecapabilities [we have today] to do the effects, and now, finally, there areways to create a vision that does justice to Carroll’s boundlessimagination.”

“These are two great books with two fabulous stories. But most of the time,they get cobbled together, and we plan to stay faithful to the books andeach story.”

BLOODRAYNEMatt Davis and Michael Madsen (Kill Bill) have been cast in Bloodrayne,based on the popular video game about a female vampire hunter, joining BenKingsley (Thunderbirds), Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3) and MichelleRodriguez (Resident Evil). Uwe Boll is directing and producing. DOTElisha Cuthbert (TV’s 24) will star in and co-produce the independentdramatic thriller Dot, for director Jamie Babbit. ‘The Hollywood Reporter’says shooting starts in mid-September.

Cuthbert will star as a popular and beautiful girl in a middle-class familywho seems to have it all until a supposedly deaf orphan teenager comes tolive with her family, sparking events that reveal her family is not at allwhat it seems to be.

THE ISLANDScarlett Johansson (Lost In Translation, right) has agreed to star opposite EwanMcGregor in director Michael Bay’s sci-fi thriller The Island.

The movies is about a “harvested being” who makes a bid to escape theutopian island facility where he is being kept. Johansson will play a womanwho is the only one that McGregor’s character can trust. She also ispregnant with her “sponsor’s” child.

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVENJosh Hartnett will re-team with director Paul McGuigan (Wicker Park) forLucky Number Sleven, a noir gangster film written by Jason Smilovic.

The drama is set in a world where African-American and Jewish gangsterscollide. Hartnett plays a man who has to kill the son of a rival crime boss.

Hartnett most recently completed roles in Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City, andstarred with Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black) in Peter Naess’s Crazy In Love.

OH, GOD!Comedian Ellen DeGeneres (Finding Nemo) is set to star in a remake of the1977 comedy Oh, God! for producer Jerry Weintraub. ‘Variety’ says DeGenereswill play the title character, a role originally played by George Burns.

Weintraub produced the original film, which also starred John Denver andspawned two sequels. Weintraub told ‘Variety’ he could never figure out howto remake a film in a way that would flatter the original, but when Ellenapproached him with her take, he was suitably impressed.

Weintraub: “Ellen is a strong comedienne and she has always done materialabout God and questions about God. She will help us with the writing, andusing her will allow us to do a proper 2005 view of Oh, God! that is hip andmodern.”

JURASSIC PARK 4’Aint-It-Cool-News’ got hold of a leaked script for Jurassic Park 4 byWilliam Monahan and John Sayles that, if made, will be an enormous departurein style for the dinosaur franchise…

The movie continues the original film’s D.N.A theme and introduces a newlead character, Nick Harris. The only returning cast member from the priormovies would be Richard Attenborough at disgraced billionaire John Hammond,who appears in a neat cameo.

The script is said to be totally unpredictable and a huge rollercoaster ridein the grand cinema tradition, but the plot dives into some extremeterritories – such as genetically-modified dinosaurs trained by the militaryto fight other dinosaurs invading the US mainland. Yeah, exactly!

Many consider the script to be a thrilling and unpredictable read, but notin-keeping with the tone of the previous films and a huge gamble for’Universal’ if they make it “as written” because of its insane plot twists.

Still, when Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy said JP4 would becompletely different to the previous films… they weren’t kidding!

PRIME TIMESandra Bullock has dropped out of writer-director Ben Younger’s movie, soUma Thurman (Kill Bill, right) is being eyed as a replacement. Bullock said shewill not do the film unless script issues are resolved to her approval.

If Thurman was to accept the role, she would play a thirty-something womanwho falls for the son (Bryan Greenberg) of her therapist (Meryl Streep).

SKY HIGHBruce Campbell (Evil Dead), Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) and David Foley havejoined the cast of Sky High as superhero teachers for director Mike Mitchelland producer Andrew Gunn. THE MUNSTERSThe Wayans Brothers (Ivory, Shawn and Marlon), the trio behind Scary Movie,have agreed to make a contemporary version of The Munsters for ‘UniversalPictures’, reports ‘Variety’.

None of the Wayans brothers intend to star in the film, which will give theTV show family of Herman, Lily, Grandpa, Marilyn and Eddie Munster a newlease on life. Keenen Ivory may direct the film.

THE UNTOUCHABLES – CAPONE RISING’Paramount’ has hired screenwriters David Levien and Brian Koppelman – whojust rewrote Brett Ratner’s Josiah’s Canon – to write The Untouchables:Capone Rising, a prequel to the 1987 original to be directed by AntoineFuqua (King Arthur).

The film will focus on Capone and an early version of Irish cop JimmyMalone, who is as crooked as every other Chicago lawman until Capone becomesking of the underworld.

Levien: “The film starts on the eve of Capone’s arrival, and while Malonewasn’t the most corrupt cop, he operated at a time when every cop was on thetake. Once he crosses paths with Capone, he sees a level of violence andcriminality that causes him to have a moral awakening.”

Koppelman: “This period of Capone’s life hasn’t been done since the moviesof the ’40s and ’50s. Sherry Lansing and Donald De Line said feel free tocome up with the most compelling, dark, violent and complicated guy you’veever seen.”

WAR OF THE WORLDSTom Cruise has officially postponed work on Mission Impossible 3 becauseconfirmed new director J.J Abrams (TV’s Alias) is unable to commit until2006. So, Cruise will now move on to the War Of The Worlds remake, directedby Steven Spielberg. X-MEN 3’ComingSoon.net’ spoke to writer-director Joss Whedon (TV’s Buffy) aboutrumours he may be interested in directing X-Men 3. Whedon said the job hasnot been offered to him, but that he would love to do the third film.

‘Aint-It-Cool-News’ also cornered Whedon and he commented: “I have not beenoffered [X-Men 3]. Would I like to make an X-Men movie? That’d be bitchin’.I actually really like those actors and I really like those characters andthere’s a lot that could be done with it and it’d be a romp. But I’m notsetting my sights on that, I’m setting my sights on exactly one thing, whichis [TV’s Firefly spin-off movie Serenity.]”

Elmer Bernstein, a prolific composer of 200 movies – such as The MagnificentSeven, The Great Escape, The Man With The Golden Arm, An American WerewolfIn London and Trading Places, died on August 18th 2004.

Bernstein’s compositions were regarded by many classical critics asoutstanding examples of contemporary music. Hollywood certainly thought so -having nominated Bernstein for 14 Academy Awards. He won one for the 1967film Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Bernstein was married twice, first to Pearl Glusman, then to Eve Adamson.She survives him, as do their two daughters, his two sons from his firstmarriage and five grandchildren.

All figures are weekend box-office gross.

• 1. Hero ($18.0m) (right)
• 2. Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid ($12.8m)
• 3. Without a Paddle ($8.58m)
• 4. Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement ($8.08m)
• 5. Exorcist: The Beginning ($7.08m)
• 6. Collateral ($6.47m) (total to date: $80.2m)
• 7. Alien Vs Predator ($4.91m)
• 8. Open Water ($4.76m)
• 9. The Bourne Supremacy ($4.65m) (total to date: $158m)
• 10. Suspect Zero ($3.45m)

UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)

• 1. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (£2.20m)
• 2. The Village (£1.57m)
• 3. The Bourne Supremacy (£1.08m)
• 4. The Chronicles of Riddick (£1.04m)
• 5. I Robot (£0.87m)
• 6. A Cinderella Story (£0.53m)
• 7. Garfield (£0.47m)
• 8. The Motorcycle Diaries (£0.33m)
• 9. Shrek 2 (£0.28m)
• 10. Spider-Man 2 (£0.28m)

All dates are U.K release dates, and are subject to change.