DAN’S MOVIE DIGEST 127

STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITHThe final one-sheet poster has been released (see right) 8th VOYAGE OF SINBADKeanu Reeves is set to board The 8th Voyage of Sinbad for ‘ColumbiaPictures’, with Rob Cohen (xXx) in the director’s chair, reports ‘Variety’.

In the film, set in eighth-century China, Sinbad and his shipmates embark ona quest to find the Lamp of Aladdin. Along the way, they meet a beautifulempress and battle fantastical creatures as well as a rebellious Chinesegeneral who threatens the kingdom with his supernatural powers.

Charlie Mitchell is rewriting a script by Cormac and Marianne Wibberly andTedi Sarafian.

Special-effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen took up Sinbad’s story several timesbefore at Sony with The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad (1958), The Golden VoyageOf Sinbad (1974) and Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger (1977).

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM’Empire Online’ talked to Matt Damon at the ‘2005 Empire Awards’ and he gavean update on the third film in the Bourne franchise, The Bourne Ultimatum.

Damon: “We’ll probably do that in about a year and a half. We’re all signedon in principle, in the sense that we’ve all agreed that we want to do it,but we’re not going to do it unless we have a great script. It’s ours tolose at the minute, and if we do make a third one, we want to make it asgood as the first two. And if we can’t do that, then we’re going to have tolet it drop.”

The original Robert Ludlum novel The Bourne Ultimatum saw Bourne finallyface off against his long-time nemesis, Carlos The Jackal – a characterexcised from Doug Liman’s The Bourne Identity and therefore unavailable forthe third film.

Damon: “Yeah, all that stuff with Carlos being actually caught. It’s kind ofa Cold War story. We’re essentially retaining the title, so it’s going to becalled The Bourne Ultimatum. But we don’t know at this point what the hellthat means! So if you have any ideas for a script, then please…”

MRS DOUBTFIRE 2Despite Robin Williams now having some doubts, ‘Fox’ announced in Novemberthat a sequel to 1993’s Mrs. Doubtfire was in the works with Bonnie Huntwriting a script.

Williams: “They’re trying to write it. I think if [Bonnie Hunt] can do itright, it’ll be OK. If they don’t do it right, it’s not worth doing it.”

THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK 2Well, despite the first of the proposed trilogy doing badly at thebox-office last year, star Vin Diesel (right) has told ‘MTV@ that after the finishedfilming Hannibal The Conqueror he will move onto The Chronicles Of Riddick2.

The first film actually earned a respectable $115.4 million worldwide.However, it cost $140 million to produce and market. But unexpectedly goodDVD sales should mean the film will recoup its cost.

Diesel: “Riddick? Well, you know that I’ve always had C2 planned. I’msilently – and I shouldn’t even say this – I’m silently working on C2 withsome of the outlines that were created when I first thought of doing thethree films.”

“The way that it’s designed-and I hope that I’m not giving too much away -is that in Chronicles of Riddick 2, we go into the Underverse, and then C3,if you will, is that final return home to Furia.”

The first movie rated PG-13 in the US, but Diesel expect the sequel to berated R (an equivalent 18 in the UK) “by virtue of the fact that it takesplace in the Underverse, which is obviously going to be a lot more gruesomethan New Mecca.”

THE DA VINCI CODEDirector Ron Howard is apparently keen to cast Jim Carrey as Silas in themovie adaptation of Dan Brown’s best-selling book. THE HOBBITDirector Peter Jackson (Lord Of The Rings) says it will be at least threeyears before production may start on Lord Of The Rings prequel, The Hobbit,says the ‘AAP’.

Jackson: “Three or four years would be accurate, I think there is probably awill and a desire to try and get it made. But I think it’s gonna be a lot oflawyers sitting in a room trying to thrash out a deal before it will everhappen.”

The rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel are split between ‘MGM’ and ‘New LineCinema’. Jackson said he was keen to return to Middle Earth but that thesale of ‘MGM’ to a consortium led by ‘Sony’ made the project’s futureunclear.

RAMBO IVSylvester Stallone has commented to ‘TV Guide’ on the possibility of anotherRambo movie, saying: “I hope to start shooting the next Rambo in September.” THE REAPING’The Hollywood Reporter’ says two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank (MillionDollar Baby) is in final talks to star in The Reaping for ‘Warner Brothers’and ‘Dark Castle Pictures’.

The supernatural tale centres on a myth debunker (Swank) who travels to asmall, religious town in Texas to investigate occurrences that appear to bethe 10 Biblical plagues.

James Cox wil direct a story based on a spec script by Brian Rousso -rewritten by by Chad and Carey Hayes. The Hayes brothers wrote the upcoming’Dark Castle’ production House Of Wax.

STAR TREK XINow that TV’s Star Trek Enterprise has been cancelled, the future for Trekdoesn’t look so bright. But a ray of hope is shining in the form ofscreenwriter Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers) who has been tapped to writethe eleventh Trek movie.

Speaking recently, Jendresen confirmed that the new movie will involve a newcast – unseen in any of the Trek TV incarnations. “I can certainly say thatthe story concept, the basic idea of this thing, is pretty damn big. It’s anoble enterprise, pun intended.”

“When I heard the notion, I realized that the people I was talking to wereserious, and genuinely dedicated. I started to really think about it, and,ultimately to develop a story. And it’s a pretty good one.”

“We’re going 160-odd years before Kirk is born. It’s an earlier time, and Ithink it would be really refreshing to feel something in the course oftelling this tale, instead of being wowed by special-effects, or presentinganother crew in jeopardy where, in the end, the captain does somethingbrilliant, and all’s right with the world.”

“By the end of this story, everyone isn’t fine. I can safely say as astoryteller with certain standards… my intention is literally as a writer,as a storyteller, as a filmmaker, to go boldly where no one has gonebefore.”

So, the first Trek movie that isn’t a spin-off from a TV series? Maybethey’re hoping a successful movie will mean a greenlight for a spin-off TVshow…

SUPERMANApparently John Williams will not return to score the music to BryanSinger’s new Superman movie, but his successor John Ottman has acknowledgedthat he will pay tribute to Williams’ iconic theme.

In other news, ‘Latino Review’ has confirmed that director Bryan Singerplans on using stock footage of Marlon Brandon that was originally shot bySuperman director Richard Donner for the latest Superman movie. Thecharacter in the new film is expected to have a very minor role.

Originally, Brando and Christopher Reeve were filmed interacting with oneanother for Superman II, but due to a lawsuit the scenes were deleted andre-shot using Superman’s birth-mother instead.

TOY STORY 3Bradley Raymond will direct Toy Story 3, aiming for a 2008 theatricalrelease. Raymond previously helmed direct-to-video ‘Disney’ sequels to TheLion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

‘Disney Feature Animation’ is making the third film without originalcreators ‘Pixar’ and basing the next instalment on a script by young writerJared Stern.

V FOR VENDETTAStephen Rea (The Crying Game, right) has joined Natalie Portman and James Purefoyin the action thriller V For Vendetta, which has started production inBerlin, Germany.

The movie, based on an Alan Moore graphic novel, is a UK-Germanco-production between ‘Warner Brothers Productions Ltd’ and ‘FunfteBabelsberg Film GmbH’, and will be released on 4 November 2005.

More information will be available soon from www.vforvendetta.com

X-MEN 3Ain’t-It-Cool-News has confirmed that Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughnwill direct X-Men 3 for 20th Century Fox. Bryan Singer directed the firsttwo films of the franchise and is now shooting Superman.

The anticipated third film is expected to center on the Dark Phoenix saga.Both Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn wrote scripts, but the site says the studiowill use Penn’s draft for the movie.

In related news, while Hugh Jackman (who is also producing), Famke Janssen,Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming and more are all coming back,Halle Berry still isn’t sure. She tells XMenFilms.net:

“I have not read the script. All I have asked, is that if I come back asStorm, she need to be closer to the comic book. So, if they have in factwritten her closer to the comic book character, then I’m in. If not, I’mout. I hope I’m in though. I love Storm, and really want to be part of thelast film.”

Fox and Marvel Studios are eyeing a Memorial Day, 2006 release date forX-Men 3.

All figures are weekend box-office gross.

• 1. Robots ($36.0m)
• 2. The Pacifier ($18.2m)
• 3. Be Cool ($10.3m)
• 4. Hostage ($10.2m)
• 5. Hitch ($8.79m) (total to date: $150m)
• 6. Million Dollar Baby ($5.15m)
• 7. Diary of a Mad Black Woman ($4.88m)
• 8. Constantine ($3.84m)
• 9. Man of the House ($1.77m)
• 10. Cursed ($1.56m)

UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)

• 1. Hitch (£4.23m)
• 2. Hostage (£0.80m)
• 3. Boogeyman (£0.38m)
• 4. Meet the Fokkers (£0.30m)
• 5. Hide and Seek (£0.23m)
• 6. Hotel Rwanda (£0.199m)
• 7. Are We There Yet? (£0.197m)
• 8. Million Dollar Baby (£0.17m)
• 9. Shall We Dance (£0.15m)
• 10. The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (£0.14m)

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

• 18th March 2005: 5×2, Non ti muovere, Robots, Monster Man, Constantine (right), The City of No Limits
• 25th March 2005: Melinda and Melinda, Maria Full of Grace, Wild Side, Valiant, Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
• 1st April 2005: Be Cool, The House Keys, The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse (London), Mean Creek, The Rage in Placid Lake, The Ring Two
• 8th April 2005: The Assassination of Richard Nixon, The Cave, Bullet Boy, Sahara, DiG!
• 15th April 2005: The Edukators, The Weather Man
• 22nd April 2005: Tarnation, Sin City, Palindromes, Machuca, The Wedding Date, Unleashed, The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse
• 29th April 2005: In Your Hands, One Love, XXX: State of the Union
• 6th May 2005: Rubber Johnny, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Mysterious Skin, Twin Sisters, Kingdom of Heaven, Monster-in-Law
• 13th May 2005: The Eye 2, Friday Night Lights, A Good Woman
• 20th May 2005: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (19thh), Saint Ralph, What the Bleep Do We Know?
• 27th May 2005: Clifford’s Really Big Movie, Torremolinos 73, Ong-bak, The Pacifier
• 3rd June 2005: House of Wax
• 10th June 2005: Silver City, Screaming Blue Murder
• 17th June 2005: Mr and Mrs Smith
• 24th June 2005: Batman Begins, Wonderful Days
• 1st July 2005: Stray Dogs, Madagascar
• 8th July 2005: War of the Worlds (2005)
• 15th July 2005: Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)
• 22nd July 2005: The Wedding Crashers, Whisky, Fantastic Four (2005)
• 29th July 2005: The Skeleton Key, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
• 5th August 2005: Stealth, Because of Winn-Dixie, Nanny McPhee
• 12th August 2005: The Island, Herbie: Fully Loaded
• 19th August 2005: Doom, Bewitched (2005), Dark Water
• 26th August 2005: The Dukes of Hazzard (2005), Edison, Goal!
• 2nd September 2005: Cinderella Man, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
• 9th September 2005: Elizabethtown
• 16th September 2005: TBA
• 23rd September 2005: Pride and Prejudice (2005)
• 30th September 2005: The Perfect Man
• 7th October 2005: TBA
• 14th October 2005: Wallace & Gromit Movie: Curse of the Wererabbit
• 21st October 2005: Aeon Flux, Sky High, Corpse Bride
• 28th October 2005: Noel, Flightplan, Halloween 9 (31st)
• 1st November 2005: Bad Blood
• 18th November 2005: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• 9th December 2005: Underworld: Evolution, The Chronicles of Narnia: Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
• 14th December 2005: King Kong (2005)

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

• MARCH: The Ring 2 (18)
• APRIL: Sin City (1), Amityville Horror (15), XXX State Of The Union (29),
• MAY: Kingdom Of Heaven (6), Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (6), Star Wars Episode III (19)
• JUNE: Mr & Mrs Smith (10), Batman Begins (17), War Of The Worlds (29)
• JULY: Fantastic Four (1), Bewitched (8), Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (15), The Island (22), The Dukes Of Hazzard (29)
• AUGUST: 3001 (5), Doom (5), Deuce Bigelow European Gigolo (12),
• SEPTEMBER: Birth Of The Pink Panther (23), Legend Of Zorro (23), Serenity (30), Spy Hunter (30)
• OCTOBER: Wallace & Gromit (7), The Fog (14), Land Of The Dead (21)
• NOVEMBER: Cars (4), Harry Potter 4 (18), Brother Grimm (23)
• DECEMBER: Chronicles Of Narnia (9), Underworld 2 (9), King Kong (14), The Producers (24), Zathura (21), Mad Max Fury Road (31), Die Hard 4 (31)

Page Content copyright © Dan Owen, 2005.