DAN’S MOVIE DIGEST 136

Hasselhoff: “It’s stupid. There’s no film without a talking car. So wewaited for two years and we won. The car will talk.”

In the original show, K.I.T.T was voiced by actor William Daniels, but it isnot known if Daniels will reprise the role he made famous.

BEETLEJUICE IIMichael Keaton spoke about a possible sequel to Beetlejuice, sayingrecently: “If Beetlejuice was done right. At one point, I had a conversationwith Tim ’cause I love this movie so much; I’d think there’s one more inthere somewhere. And we both talked about it and I think there’s a scriptwritten once years ago that wasn’t quite it. I would consider that a lot; Iwould seriously consider it.”

INDIANA JONES 4Harrison Ford apparently let slip the working title of Indiana Jones 4 -saying it’s currently suffixed “The Opal Of The Mer-Man Prince”. WasHarrison just having a laugh, or does the title at least suggest thestoryline involved Atlantis as long-rumoured? THE PERSUADERSBen Stiller (Meet The Fockers) and Steve Coogan (Around The World In 80Days) will star in a movie remake of 1971 British TV series The Persuaders,with ‘DreamWorks Pictures’, ‘Hyde Park’ and ‘Granada America’ partnered onthe film, reports ‘Variety’.

Stiller will play the role originated by Tony Curtis, and British comicactor Coogan will take on Roger Moore’s part.

The series, which aired in the US on ‘ABC’ and in the UK for a season,revolved around the adventures of two rich playboys. Curtis was thestreet-smart millionaire from the Bronx, Moore the debonair playboy.

THE POSEIDON ADVENTUREKurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum and Mike Vogel will star inWolfgang Petersen’s remake of The Poseidon Adventure, while Andre Braugheris in talks to join the cast.

The film will again follow the survivors of the S.S. Poseidon, a cruise shipcapsized by a tidal wave. The survivors, trapped inside, are forced to worktheir way to the surface of the upside down ship through the hull.

‘The Hollywood Reporter’ says Russell is playing an ex-fireman and mayor whois travelling with his daughter (Rossum) and her boyfriend (Vogel). Dreyfussplays a gay man whose relationship breaks up just before departure. Braugherwould play the ship’s captain.

The remake is written by Mark Protosevich (The Cell) and Akiva Goldsman(Lost In Space), which is based on Paul Gallico’s novel. Shooting isscheduled to begin 18 June 18.

THE SIMPSONS – THE MOVIE’BBC Radio 1′ spoke with Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, whosaid the long-awaited movie version of The Simpsons is moving forward.

Cartwright: “You know what? We’ve just done the table read for the’Simpsons’ movie so although we’ve been promoting that we’re going to do it,now we’re actually doing it and are in production.”

“I don’t know the name of it and I can’t go into details about it and we’lljust have to see how it goes, but I think it’s going to be great and thefans are going to dig it.”

X-MEN 3There have been big changes at the X-Men 3 production. British directorMatthew Vaughn has left the movie due to concerns about uprooting his familyto American during the shoot.

Vaughn’s departure was amicable with the studio, although ‘Fox’ aren’twilling to change their schedule – meaning they have nine weeks to find anew director to take over.

The two names in the running were John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, Flight OfThe Phoenix) and Brett Ratner (Rush Hour). A few days later it was confirmedthat Ratner (Red Dragon) would take the helm.

All figures are weekend box-office gross.

• 1. Madagascar ($28.1m) (total to date: $100m)
• 2. The Longest Yard ($26.1m) (total to date: $95.8m)
• 3. Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Sith ($25.1m) (total to date: $308m)
• 4. Cinderella Man ($18.3m)
• 5. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants ($9.83m)
• 6. Monster in Law ($6.02m)
• 7. Lords of Dogtown ($5.62m)
• 8. Crash (2004) ($3.27m)
• 9. Kicking & Screaming ($2.31m)
• 10. Unleashed ($0.84m)

UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)

• 1. Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Sith (£3.31m) (total to date: £32.6m)
• 2. Sin City (£2.45m)
• 3. The Pacifier (£0.83m)
• 4. The League of Gentleman’s Apocalypse (£0.55m)
• 5. Monster-in-Law (£0.54m)
• 6. House of Wax (2005) (£0.53m)
• 7. Millions (£0.28m)
• 8. Kingdom of Heaven (£0.17m)
• 9. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (£0.13m)
• 10. It’s All Gone Pete Tong (£0.13m)

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

• 10th June 2005: Silver City, Danny the Dog, Kung Fu Hustle, Inside Deep Throat
• 17th June 2005: Mr and Mrs Smith, Mindhunters
• 24th June 2005: Wonderful Days, Torremolinos 73, Evil, Batman Begins
• 1st July 2005: Stray Dogs, Madagascar, DiG!
• 8th July 2005: War of the Worlds (2005), Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, Overnight
• 15th July 2005: A Lot Like Love, The Debutantes, Clean, The Wedding Crashers, One Love
• 22nd July 2005: Whisky, Fantastic Four (2005), The Devil’s Rejects
• 29th July 2005: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), The Descent
• 5th August 2005: Stealth, Because of Winn-Dixie, Nanny McPhee, The Skeleton Key, Dear Wendy
• 12th August 2005: The Island, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Fever Pitch (2005)
• 19th August 2005: Doom, Bewitched (2005), Dark Water, The Cave, The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3D, Domino
• 26th August 2005: The Dukes of Hazzard (2005), Goal!, Bad News Bears
• 2nd September 2005: Cinderella Man, The Last Days, The Business, The Honeymooners
• 9th September 2005: The Man, Everthing is Illuminated, The 40-Year-Old Virgin
• 16th September 2005: Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Four Brothers, Must Love Dogs
• 23rd September 2005: Pride and Prejudice (2005)
• 30th September 2005: The Perfect Man, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, The History of Violence
• 7th October 2005: Red-Eye, Night Watch, Oliver Twice (2005)
• 14th October 2005: Wallace & Gromit Movie: Curse of the Wererabbit, The Longest Yard
• 21st October 2005: Aeon Flux, Sky High, Corpse Bride, The Pink Panther (2005)
• 28th October 2005: Noel, Flightplan, Halloween 9 (31st), The Dark, Final Destination 3D, Tickets
• 4th November 2005: Serenity, Legend of Zorro
• 11th November 2005: The Tiger and the Snow, In Her Shoes, The Moguls
• 18th November 2005: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The New World
• 9th December 2005: Underworld: Evolution, The Chronicles of Narnia: Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Shopgirl
• 14th December 2005: King Kong (2005)
• 16th December 2005: The Hawk is Dying, Walk the Line
• 23rd December 2005: Brokeback Mountain

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

• 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.