DAN’S MOVIE DIGEST 120

BATMAN BEGINSSome photos are fast emerging from the new prequel movie, including someprobable fakes of The Scarecrow villain. But here’s a genuine photo ofChristian Bale as Batman to please Batfans! (see right) BATTLE ANGEL ALITADirector James Cameron (Titanic) confirmed his next movie will be alive-action adaptation of Japanese anime Battle Angel Alita. The movie willbe filmed in 3D, with the promise that many cinemas will soon beginupgrading to “d-cinema” so that, by 2007, audiences will watch movies as3-dimensional images using special glasses.

On the movie itself, Cameron elaborated that BAA takes place in the “26thcentury, the story takes place 300 years after a societal collapse caused bya major war, but in that society, it’s a technological dark age following apinnacle of achievement far, far beyond where we are right now.”

“So in a sense it’s post-apocalyptic, but it’s post-apocalyptic from a veryhigh level. So now, you’ve got cyborg technology as just a way of life.People are augmented a lot as workers and so on, so being a cyborg is notunusual.”

“The main character is a cyborg. She has an organic human brain, and shelooks like she’s about fourteen years old. She has a completely artificialbody and she’s lost her memory- she’s found in this wreckage and she’sreconstituted by this guy who is a cyber-surgeon who becomes her kind ofsurrogate father.

“It’s a father-daughter relationship story that just has the most insaneaction that you can imagine. It will be PG-13 – lots of blood, but it’s allblue.”

HERBIE – FULL LOADEDAnother attempt to reinvent the Herbie franchise (did anyone actually seethe 90’s movie with Bruce Campbell??), this time starring teen sensationLindsay Lohan (Mean Girls). DIE HARD 4’Maxim’ magazine, via ‘Freeze Dried Movies’, asked Bruce Willis aboutwhether or not a fourth Die Hard is still likely, and he said: “It’s DieHard 4.0. They’re working on the script right now. Doug Richardson, whowrote Hostage is typing away furiously. It’s a really interesting idea. Andit’s the first one that Fox has liked, so we’ll see. John McClane isretired. I can tell you that.” GHOST RIDERWriter-director Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil) told ‘Superhero Hype!’ thathe begins shooting another comic-book movie, Ghost Rider, in four weeks.

Nicolas Cage is set to play the titular Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze, with abudget of $51 million allocated to the movie. Johnson reveals that they haveabandoned David Goyer’s screenplay and will use his own, which is said to becloser to the comic and a supernatural western.

THE GRUDGE 2The Grudge director Takashi Shimizu will return to direct the sequel.

HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXYThen one-sheet poster for this year’s movie adaptation of Douglas Adams’sci-fi comedy has been released (see right).

In related news, Alan Rickman has been signed to voice Marvin The ParanoidAndroid in the new movie based on Douglas Adams cult sci-fi comedy book.Marvin is being acted by Warwick Davies – a veteran of “small” roles such asWillow and Wicket in Return Of The Jedi.

THE LOVELY BONESPeter Jackson and partner Fran Walsh have put up their own money to optionfilm rights to the Alice Sebold novel The Lovely Bones in an unusualdevelopment plan that will exclude studio financing until the script isfinished, says ‘Variety’.

Rights were acquired from FilmFour, the movie arm of British broadcasterChannel 4, which will still serve as Jackson and Walsh’s partner indeveloping the project. The project will be next for Jackson after hecompletes King Kong.

Jackson, Walsh and Philippa Boyens will begin next January adapting the bookas a spec script for a movie that likely won’t be ready for release untilfall 2007.

The trade adds that Jackson’s manager Ken Kamins and FilmFour won’tentertain distribution or financing possibilities until the script is doneand the movie is budgeted, a process that should be complete around May2006.

The book’s publisher describe the story thus: “When we first meet14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. This was before milkcarton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973,when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these thingsdidn’t happen.”

“In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relatesthe awful events of her death, and her own adjustment to the strange newplace she finds herself. (It looks a lot like her school playground, withthe good kind of swingset.)”

“With love, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie watches her familyas they cope with their grief–her father embarks on a search for thekiller, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring, her little brotherbuilds a fort in her honor–and begin the difficult process of healing.”

Jackson himself has commented that: “[Heaven] is cleverly not described thatwell in the book, because Alice wanted your imagination to do the work anddecide what Susie’s heaven looks and feels like. We will have to showsomething on film. It has to be somehow ethereal and emotional, but it can’tbe hokey.”

SUPERMANDirector Brian Singer is apparently extremely close to casting Lois Lane andLex Luthor in his upcoming Superman sequel – with Kate Bosworth (Blue Crush)likely to win the role of the intrepid reporter. (see right)

Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects) has been confirmed as the master criminalLex Luthor, while Britain’s own Hugh Laurie will play a more youthfulincarnation of Daily Planet editor Perry White. Elsewhere, James Marsdenwill re-team with his X-Men director to play Richard White, son of Perry andboyfriend of Lois Lane…

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3Ricky Gervais (TV’s The Office) has been offered a role by the director ofMission Impossible 3, J.J Abrams, in M:I-3. Abrams also gave Gervais a smallrole in an episode of his TV series Alias last year.

Gervais: “I know the director well and he said ‘do you want a part?’ I justreplied ‘Yeah, that will be great’. I greatly admire the director JeffreyAbrams and Tom Cruise is the greatest film star of our generation. It shouldbe fun.”

SPIDER-MAN 3Screenwriter Alvin Sargent, who script-doctored Spider-Man and gained awriting credit for Spider-Man 2, will take complete control of Spider-Man 3.Sargent is also expected to stay with the franchise and write Spider-Man 4.

The plot for Spider-Man 3 has apparently already been crafted by Sargent,director Sam Raimi and his brother Ivan Raimi.

STAR WARS EPISODE IIA variety of images from Episode III have been leaked, with sites beingordered to take them down by ‘LucasFilm’ due to their spoiler potential.But, here are some general shots that won’t ruin anything (see right and below-right). TOY STORY 3’Disney Feature Animation’ has committed to make Toy Story 3, withoutoriginal creators ‘Pixar’ on boards, basing the next instalment on a scriptby young writer Jared Stern.

Stern has developed a story idea for the third movie is expected to advancethe franchise by taking the characters on the road and out of Andy’s room.Stern is also understood to have invented a couple of new characters for thenext instalment.

TRIPODS – THE TRILOGYDirector Gregor Jordan (Buffalo Soldiers) is in talks to helm the Hollywoodversion of the classic children’s books, adapted into a hit BBC series inthe 80’s. V FOR VENDETTANatalie Portman (Star Wars) is in final negotiations to star in the bigscreen adaptation of Alan Moore’s acclaimed graphic novel V For Vendetta.

‘Variety’ reports that the film will be produced by The Wachowski Brothers(The Matrix) and directed by their Matrix first-assistant director JamesMcTeigue.

All figures are weekend box-office gross.

• 1. Coach Carter ($29.2m)
• 2. Meet the Fockers ($22.5m) (total to date: $234m)
• 3. Racing Stripes ($18.9m)
• 4. In Good Company ($16.6m)
• 5. Elektra ($14.8m)
• 6. White Noise ($13.8m)
• 7. The Aviator ($6.35m)
• 8. Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events ($5.34m) (total to date: $112m)
• 9. The Phantom of the Opera ($4.63m)
• 10. Fat Albert ($3.81m)

UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)

• 1. Closer (£1.56m)
• 2. Team America: World Police (£1.52m)
• 3. White Noise (£1.38m)
• 4. The Aviator (£0.98m)
• 5. Million Dollar Baby (£0.80m)
• 6. Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (£0.65m)
• 7. The Incredibles (£0.59m)
• 8. National Treasure (£0.55m)
• 9. Alexander (£0.52m)
• 10. Without a Paddle (£0.33m)

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