DAN’S MOVIE DIGEST 121

THE HITCH-HIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXYThe voice of The Book in the new Hollywood movie of Douglas Adams’celebrated work has gone to Stephen Fry (Wilde) (right) BEOWULFDirector Robert Zemeckis (Back To The Future), writer Neil Gaiman (Sandman)and filmmaker Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) are combining forces to bring theage old myth Beowulf to movie screens. Zemeckis will direct from Avary andGaiman’s script. GHOST RIDERWes Bentley (The Four Feathers) will play Black Heart, the nemesis forNicholas Cage’s Ghost Rider superhero in Mark Steven Johnson’s upcomingadaptation.

Ghost Rider concerns a former motorcycle stuntman who agrees to let his bodybecome host to a vengeful spirit, Ghost Rider, a bike-riding demon, tosecure the safety of his true love.

HARRY POTTER & THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIXAs the world await Harry Potter 4, the fifth movie has found its director -David Yates, who directed BBC TV’s State Of Play.

SPACEBALLS IIApparently, Mel Brooks’ (right) talk of a Spaceballs sequel was correct – but it mayonly take the form of an animated series. SOLACEProducer Tripp Vinson told ‘ComingSoon.net’ that one of his upcomingprojects is the long-delayed Solace – scripted by Ted Griffin, writer ofOcean’s Eleven.

The film, about a psychic hired to find a serial-killer, is planned as avehicle for Bruce Willis, and Vinson says that it will start production nextyear at ‘New Line Cinema’.

TERMINATOR 4The ‘San Francisco Chronicle’ sat down with Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggerto talk about various issues, including whether or not he will return forTerminator 4.

Arnie said he’s been approached about making a brief appearance inTerminator 4, but has told producers “they will never see me for one secondin the movie” unless the film is made in California. It’s planned to be shotin Budapest.

It was recently announced that John Brancato and Michael Ferris havecompleted a draft of a script that was developed under the supervision ofTerminator 3 director Jonathan Mostow.

Filming on T4 was rumoured to be starting later this year.

ZODIACDirector David Fincher hasn’t made a movie since 1999’s cult smash FightClub, but will make his belated return with a movie based on The ZodiacKiller, a real serial-killer who stalked San Francisco.

Fincher’s movie Zodiac will adapt the Robert Graysmith novel, withscreenwriter James Vanderbilt (Darkness Falls).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

• Cate Blanchett – THE AVIATOR
• Laura Linney – KINSEY
• Virginia Madsen – SIDEWAYS
• Sophie Okonedo – HOTEL RWANDA
• Natalie Portman – CLOSER

DAN’S PREDICTION: CATE BLANCHETT seems destined to pick-up this award, andit’s unlikely she’ll be beaten – although perhaps Natalie Portman (right) will be asurprise winner… but I doubt it.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Alan Alda – THE AVIATOR
• Thomas Haden Church – SIDEWAYS
• Jamie Foxx – COLLATERAL
• Morgan Freeman – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
• Clive Owen – CLOSER

DAN’S PREDICTION: Well, difficult to call. ALAN ALDA is my choice, but onlybecause the other roles aren’t a far cry from what we expect from theactors. Perhaps Clive Owen could sneak it, but…

BEST ACTRESS:

• Annette Bening – BEING JULIA
• Catalina Sandino Moreno – MARIA FULL OF GRACE
• Imelda Staunton – VERA DRAKE
• Hilary Swank – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
• Kate Winslet – ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

DAN’S PREDICTION: Imelda Staunton gave the best performance, but in a dourBritish role and she’s not exactly the glamorous choice. So, probablyANNETTE BENING, or Hilary Swank will cement herself into the A-list with asecond Oscar..

BEST ACTOR:

• Don Cheadle – HOTEL RWANDA
• Johnny Depp – FINDING NEVERLAND
• Leonardo DiCaprio – THE AVIATOR
• Clint Eastwood – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
• Jamie Foxx – RAY

DAN’S PREDICTION: LEONARD DICAPRIO was excellent, and I think his onlycompetition would be Clint Eastwood.

BEST DIRECTOR:

• Martin Scorsese – THE AVIATOR
• Clint Eastwood – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
• Taylor Hackford – RAY
• Alexander Payne – SIDEWAYS
• Mike Leigh – VERA DRAKE

DAN’S PREDICTION: It has to be MARTIN SCORSESE (right). He’s been ignored by theAcademy for too long, although Clint Eastwood did a great job, too…

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

• John Logan – THE AVIATOR
• Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth – ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
• Keir Pearson & Terry George – HOTEL RWANDA
• Brad Bird – THE INCREDIBLES
• Mike Leigh – VERA DRAKE

DAN’S PREDICTION: Amazing to see The Incredibles included there, but JOHNLOGON’s work with The Aviator neatly condensed a lot of biopic material intoa fulfilling movie experience – something difficult to do well!

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

• Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke; Story By Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan – BEFORE SUNSET
• David Magee – FINDING NEVERLAND
• Paul Haggis – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
• Jose Rivera – THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
• Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor – SIDEWAYS

DAN’S PREDICTION: Hmm, difficult to call. FINDING NEVERLAND gets my vote.

BEST FOREIGN PICTURE:

• AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
• THE CHORUS
• DOWNFALL (this one got applause from the press covering the telecast)
• THE SEA INSIDE (this one, too)
• YESTERDAY

BEST ANIMATED PICTURE:

• THE INCREDIBLES
• SHARK TALE
• SHREK 2

DAN’S PREDICTION: Not Shark Tale, that’s a certainty! Shrek 2 is unlikely towin against the might of THE INCREDIBLES – not just a great animation, but agreat action movie comedy!

BEST PICTURE:

• THE AVIATOR
• FINDING NEVERLAND
• MILLION DOLLAR BABY
• RAY
• SIDEWAYS

DAN’S PREDICTION: I think THE AVIATOR is going to be this year’s Lord Of TheRings and take the top trophies.

ART DIRECTION:

• Dante Ferretti (Art Direction); Francesca Lo Schiavo (Set Decoration) – THE AVIATOR
• Gemma Jackson (Art Direction); Trisha Edwards (Set Decoration) – FINDING NEVERLAND
• Rick Heinrichs (Art Direction); Cheryl A. Carasik (Set Decoration) – LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
• Anthony Pratt (Art Direction); Celia Bobak (Set Decoration) – THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
• Aline Bonetto – A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

DAN’S PREDICTION: The work done in LEMONY SNICKET is deceptively stunningand more visually engaging than the rest.

CINEMATOGRAPHY:

• Robert Richardson – THE AVIATOR
• Zhao Xiaoding – THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS
• Caleb Deschanel – THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
• John Mathieson – THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
• Bruno Delbonnel – A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

DAN’S PREDICTION: HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS was sumptuous stuff, difficult toimagine anything else beating it.

COSTUME DESIGN:

• Sandy Powell – THE AVIATOR
• Alexandra Byrne – FINDING NEVERLAND
• Colleen Atwood – LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
• Sharen Davis – RAY
• Bob Ringwood – TROY

DAN’S PREDICTION: Perhaps too obvious, but costumed epics like TROY tend toovershadow the competition… so I’ll go with that.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

• Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski – BORN INTO BROTHELS
• Luigi Falorni and Byambasuren Davaa – THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL
• Morgan Spurlock – SUPER SIZE ME
• Lauren Lazin and Karolyn Ali – TUPAC: RESURRECTION
• Kirby Dick and Eddie Schmidt – TWIST OF FAITH

DAN’S PREDICTION: I have no idea, as SUPER SIZE ME is the only one I knowmuch about. Also, is it just me or is Tupac Shakur more famous dead thanalive?

FILM EDITING:

• Thelma Schoonmaker – THE AVIATOR
• Matt Chesse – FINDING NEVERLAND
• Joel Cox – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
• Paul Hirsch – RAY
• Jim Miller and Paul Rubell – COLLATERAL

DAN’S PREDICTION: Very difficult to predict unless you’re seriouslycritiquing a movie to a high degree. COLLATERAL for me, though.

MAKEUP:

• Valli O’Reilly and Bill Corso – LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
• Keith Vanderlaan and Christien Tinsley – THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
• Jo Allen and Manuel García – THE SEA INSIDE

DAN’S PREDICTION: Undoubtedly THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, for obviousreasons. Amazing work.

MUSIC (SCORE):

• John Williams – HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
• Jan A.P. Kaczmarek – FINDING NEVERLAND
• Thomas Newman – LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
• John Debney – THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
• James Newton Howard – THE VILLAGE

DAN’S PREDICTION: Hmmm, I liked the music in HARRY POTTER best, althoughbecause it’s a sequel it could lose out to Lemony Snicket.

MUSIC (SONG):

• “Accidentally In Love” – SHREK 2
• “Al Otro Lado Del Río” – THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
• “Believe” – THE POLAR EXPRESS
• “Learn To Be Lonely” – THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
• “Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)” – THE CHORUS

DAN’S PREDICTION: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is surely a shoe-in simplybecause it’s based on one of the best-selling musicals ever!

SOUND EDITING:

• Michael Silvers and Randy Thom – THE INCREDIBLES
• Randy Thom and Dennis Leonard – THE POLAR EXPRESS
• Paul N.J. Ottosson – SPIDER-MAN 2

DAN’S PREDICTION: I’d say THE INCREDIBLES, but excellent work with allthree.

SOUND MIXING:

• Tom Fleischman and Petur Hliddal – THE AVIATOR
• Randy Thom, Gary A. Rizzo and Doc Kane – THE INCREDIBLES
• Randy Thom, Tom Johnson, Dennis Sands and William B. Kaplan – THE POLAR EXPRESS
• Scott Millan, Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer and Steve Cantamessa – RAY
• Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Joseph Geisinger – SPIDER-MAN 2

DAN’S PREDICTION: Well… again THE INCREDIBLES, but perhaps POLAR EXPRESS.

VISUAL EFFECTS:

• Roger Guyett, Tim Burke, John Richardson and Bill George – HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
• John Nelson, Andrew R. Jones, Erik Nash and Joe Letteri – I, ROBOT
• John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara and John Frazier – SPIDER-MAN 2

DAN’S PREDICTION: Undoubtedly I, ROBOT because the effects weren’t obviousand neatly complemented the plot at all times.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT:

• Gerardine Wurzburg – AUTISM IS A WORLD
• Hanna Polak and Andrzej Celinski – THE CHILDREN OF LENINGRADSKY
• Hubert Davis and Erin Faith Young – HARDWOOD
• Robert Hudson and Bobby Houston – MIGHTY TIMES: THE CHILDREN’S MARCH
• Oren Jacoby and Steve Kalafer – SISTER ROSE’S PASSION

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):

• Sejong Park and Andrew Gregory – BIRTHDAY BOY
• Jeff Fowler and Tim Miller – GOPHER BROKE
• Bill Plympton (!!!) – GUARD DOG
• Mike Gabriel and Baker Bloodworth – LORENZO
• Chris Landreth – RYAN

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION):

• Gary McKendry – EVERYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY MUST
• Ashvin Kumar – LITTLE TERRORIST
• Nacho Vigalondo – 7:35 IN THE MORNING
• Taika Waititi and Ainsley Gardiner – TWO CARS, ONE NIGHT
• Andrea Arnold – WASP

DAN’S PREDICTION: Sorry, but I’m with the millions of people who will onlypossible see a short movie based on an Oscar win. Even though I love them,but they’re tough to find on TV these days. Sky Short Movies, anyone?

All figures are weekend box-office gross.

• 1. Are We There Yet? ($18.6m)
• 2. Coach Carter ($10.5m)
• 3. Meet the Fockers ($9.68m) (total to date: $247m)
• 4. In Good Company ($7.99m)
• 5. Racing Stripes ($6.82m)
• 6. Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) ($6.50m)
• 7. White Noise ($4.99m)
• 8. The Aviator ($4.84m)
• 9. The Phantom of the Opera ($4.56m)
• 10. Elektra ($3.96m)

UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)

• 1. Closer (£1.58m)
• 2. Team America: World Police (£1.14m)
• 3. White Noise (£0.94m)
• 4. The Aviator (£0.91m)
• 5. Million Dollar Baby (£0.81m)
• 6. Elektra (£0.79m)
• 7. Ray (£0.48m)
• 8. Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (£0.44m)
• 9. Ladder 49 (£0.428m)
• 10. The Incredibles (£0.420m)

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