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Dan Owen reviews
I s s u e # 1 31 1 O c t o b e r 2 0 0 2
** MOVIE NEWS **
“DR. SEUSS’ THE CAT IN THE HAT” – Myers Meow!
‘USA Today’ have revealed Mike Myers in full make-up for his role as TheCat in “Dr. Seuss’ The Cat In The Hat” (right).
Myers told the newspaper that he was always a fan of the 1957 classic.But it was the modern-day take on the book that persuaded him to takethe part. He said: “Not only is ‘The Cat in the Hat’ my favouritechildren’s book, it’s one of the best scripts I’ve read in years. It’s ahuge honour to be part of a brilliant cast and a team of filmmakersdedicated to making a children’s classic.”
“ALEXANDER” – Tally-Tittle-Tattle / Leo’s Next?
Screenwriter Ted Tally (“The Silence Of The Lambs”) has again spokenabout his upcoming “Alexander” biopic, to be directed by Baz Luhrmann(“Moulin Rouge”).
He said: “We [Baz & I] haven’t really worked together yet. We’ve met andtalked on the phone, but it’s been so far more general. We haven’tgotten down to nuts and bolts of the revisions yet. I think he’s goingto want more scenes of Alexander’s childhood, but we haven’t reallygotten down to the details yet. He’s agreed to do the movie and thestudio greenlit it, but there’s still script work to be done”
Later Tally also spoke of the difficulty in making the movie: “It’s froma trilogy of novels. It’s 1400 pages, these books put together. So, toreduce 1400 pages to 130 or so is insane. It’s just a monstrouslydifficult thing to do.”
“Even though Alexander only lived 32 years, they were awfully packedyears. You could make a movie about any 10 year period of his life. Youcould make three movies, him to the age of 10, him to the age of 20, and20 to 32. You could make three movies, his life is that packed. So, thatwas the hardest adaptation just as sheer struggle with the material.”
Leonard DiCaprio, due to play the titular Alexander, will not beginfilming in January 2003 as first thought. He will first play HowardHughes in biopic “The Aviator” for Martin Scorsese.
“AMERICAN PIE 3” – Weddings Bells?
“American Pie 3”, a.k.a “American Wedding”, begins shooting in January2003, for a summer 2003 release. Star Alyson Hannigan recrently said thescript is wonderful and that she was never contractually obliged to doan “American” sequel, but she took the second and third because shethought they were both excellent screenplays.
It was also heavily hinted at that the wedding in “American Wedding” isbetween Jim (Jason Biggs) and Alyson’s flute playing sex-freak with theheart of gold, Michelle. Seann William Scott is coming back as Stifler(as best man?) and Eugene Levy will return as Jim’s dad. From the soundsof it, no other original cast member will return.
“AUGUST 5th” – Minogue In WWII
‘Sky News’ has reported that Aussie popstar Kylie Minogue is in talksfor the lead role in an epic war film called “August 5th”. The movie,already being touted as the UK’s “Pearl Harbor” could see Kylie playinga 23-year-old woman whose fiance Henry (an RAF pilot in World War II) iskilled in action and must cope with his death.
Kylie has apparently instigated script changes to enhance her role.Producer Don Simpson said: “Kylie feels this movie will prove she canact. She knows she could easily get an undemanding role in a bigHollywood blockbuster. But she wants to test herself and prove she cando more than look good in hot-pants.”
“BEOWULF” – Adaptation Done!
‘Entertainment Weekly’ has reported that director Roger Avary (“Rules ofAttraction”) and “Sandman” creator Neil Gaiman have co-written anadaptation of the heroic poem “Beowulf”.
The famous 6th-Century tale of the Scandinavian warrior has been adaptedmany times before, though this time Avary not only plans to be faithfulto the original text but intends to use an actual actor as the monsterGrendel rather than relying on CGI. He said: “I want to do somethingthat is on the scale of ‘Excalibur'”
“CAPTAIN SCARLETT” – This Is The Voice Of Mr Anderson…
Gerry Anderson, creator of “Thunderbirds”, has confirmed that he’s beenapproached to make a live-action version of his other puppet hit”Captain Scarlett”, about an indestructible futuristic agent.
“THE CORE” – Delayed!
‘Variety’ magazine reports that ‘Paramount’ have delayed their sci-fithriller “The Core”, starring Oscar-winner Hilary Swank (“Insomnia”).Instead of debuting in November, the high-concept movie – about a teamof scientists tunnelling to the centre of the Earth to prevent a globalcatastrophe – will premiere in early-2003.
‘Paramount’ C.E.O. Rob Friedman said: “‘The Core’ is a huge film withexciting innovative effects and we always knew we were on a tightpost-production schedule. In order not to compromise the quality of theeffects, we have decided to give the filmmakers more time to perfectthem. It’s important to us to make the best film possible, not a releasedate.”
“DUKE NUKEM” – Moving Ahead…
‘Blackbelt’ TV network president Josh Wexler spoke to ‘UGO’ recentlyabout his involvement in the planned “Duke Nukem” movie – based on thevideo-game character.
Wexler said the project is: “…moving very fast ahead now.” Theinterviewer suggested either Bruce Campbell or The Rock for the role ofDuke and Wexler responded that he “would have to tend to agree with yoursecond choice.”
“DUMB & DUMBER: WHEN HARRY MET LLOYD” – Back To School!
That’s the new title for the “Dumb & Dumber” prequel movie, which hasbeen confirmed to take place in 1986 with idiot friends Harry and Lloydmeeting for the first time in High School. The plot has an evilPrincipal (Collins) creating a High School Special Needs class in orderto qualify for a half-million-dollar grant.
Harry and Lloyd are two of the social misfits enlisted to the class,together with: a wheelchair-bound girl, a girl with a mouthful oforthodontic machinery, a guy with big ears and hearing aid, a guy whoears thick glasses and a French exchange student.
They quietly band together with the help of a Straight-A student torebel against Collins, and our duo end up going undercover as “normal”students to get the evidence they need.
The ‘Coming Attractions’ website has indicated that Christopher Walkenis attached to the movie, most likely to play Principal Collins.Production begins on 16 November 2002.
“HOUSE OF THE DEAD” – Director Ditches Animation…
Director Uwe Boll will be directing the movie adaptation of video-gameshoot ’em up “The House Of The Dead”. Recently he said: “I make my movie’House of the Dead’ for the horror and video-game fans around the world.In thousands of e-mails they showed me that they don’t want Video GameAnimation Scenes in the movie and so I changed now the movie! The fanscan be happy now! In a DVD version maybe six months after the theatricalrelease I will show my Animation stuff additional”.
“GLORIOUS BASTARDS” – Let Slip The Reservoir Dogs Of War?
Quentin Tarantino is two-thirds of the way through writing his next filmproject, the World War II action movie “Glorious Bastards”. Tarantinopromised himself he’d make two back-to-back movies – after years ofabsence post-1997 following “Jackie Brown”.
“INDIANA JONES 4” – Indy’s Exes / 2004 Start?
Harrison Ford was interviewed for ‘Total Film’ magazine recently andconfirmed a strong rumour… He said: “There’s a scene [in ‘the newIndiana Jones screenplay’] where a lot of Indy’s ex-girlfriends show up- it’s probably going to be the best scene in the movie. With Indianathere will be different aspects of his character that we’re [Lucas,Spielberg and himself] working on. We’ll see him in the 50’s in America,or at least for part of the film and I think that’s an interestingopportunity there”.
Ford gave another quote to Empire magazine: “We want to preserve thespirit of the original… but I hope we have some good jokes in thereabout it [being older]. It was always as much fun for the audience tosee me get beat up as it was to see me beat somebody up. That’s kind ofunique”.
Harrison Ford was also interviewed recently by Jonathan Ross for ‘Film2002’ and indicated he may be gearing up to start shooting “IndianaJones 4” next year in 2004!
“KARATE KID 5” – Wax On, Wax Off…
‘Karate Bushido’ magazine has indicated that a fourth sequel to theoriginal “Karate Kid” film starring Ralph Macchio is being written byRick Filon. Producers are already scouting locations in Mexico.
“KILL BILL” – The Game!
‘Black Label Games’ will produce a video-game based on QuentinTarantino’s upcoming “Kill Bill” movie. The game will debut in 2004 totie-in with the film’s DVD/video release date.
“PLANT LIFE” – Talking To Foliage!
‘The Hollywood Reporter’ says that special-effects studio ‘DigitalDomain’ has teamed up with “Shrek” writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossioto develop the screenplay “Plant Life”, written by Tina Anderson andSteve Barr.
‘Digital Domain’ President Scott Ross will produce the movie withwriters Rossio and Elliott. “Planet Life” will be combine live-actionwith CGI effects and concerns an office plant-lady who gains the abilityto speak with plants and becomes the ultimate corporate spy!
Terry Rossio said: “After this film, you’ll never look at the plant in youroffice the same way again. Steve and Tina have created an enchantinggroup of characters – both human and foliage.”
“THE RING 2” – Sequels?
‘Cinescape’ interviewed “The Ring” producers Walter F. Parkes & LaurieMacDonald about a potential sequel to the US remake of the Japaneseoriginal.
They said: “You know, the idea is to hope the first movie works, and ifit does, it’s a very challenging franchise to create because I don’tthink, at least in initially looking at the other “Ring” sequels [madein Japan], there’s an obvious story to take. I don’t think any of themwere nearly as good as the original. We hope the movie’s a success andit leaves itself open to some interpretation for a second, but we wouldstart at the beginning creatively saying, ‘Is there a story worthtelling?'”.
“SCREAM 4” – Third Sequel Coming Soon?
Well, no. Screenwriter Ehren Kruger (“Scream 3”) revealed during aninterview to promote his latest work (“The Ring”) that there won’t be athird sequel to Wes Craven’s “Scream”.
He said: “No. To the best of my knowledge, no one is working on thatproject. To the best of my knowledge there is no project.”
“THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN” – Writer Attached!
‘Variety’ reports that ‘Dimension Films’ has asked screenwriter TrevorSands to pen a movie adaptation of cult 70’s TV series “The Six MillionDollar Man”, retitled to “The Six Billion Dollar Man” due to inflation,for the movie.
“STAR WARS EPISODE III” – Jones Is Back / Jackson Out?
The ‘Toronto Sun’ newspaper spoke to actor James Earl Jones (who voicedDarth Vader for the original “Star Wars” trilogy), about his role in”Episode III”. Jones said: “George Lucas says ‘when Anakin goes bionic -that will be in the last five minutes of episode three – they will hearyou.”
What does Jones think of new Vader actor Hayden Christensen? “Aren’t youimpressed with him? I like his whole bearing, the spine, the neck…he’s like a snake.”
In a recent interview, Samuel L. Jackson told ‘SciFi Wire’ the hehas discussed his role in “Episode III” with George Lucas. He said that:“[George and I] were just talking about stuff and then [George] finallysaid, ‘Okay, so you know you’ve got to die. I haven’t quite figured outhow I’m going to kill you yet, because I guess you’re the most importantguy that’s going to die. In the other ones, Obi Wan is still there andYoda’s still alive and Darth is still there.’ So I become the mostimportant character that can die. I guess it’s got to be pretty dynamic.So he’s working that out.”
“SUPERMAN” – Ratner Psyched!
Director Brett Ratner (“Red Dragon”) spoke to ‘E! Online’ briefly abouthis next project – “Superman”. He said: “I’m so happy about it. I’vebeen trying to do it for years and they wanted me to do it for years -but the script was never right. Then I read this script and said I’vegot to do this movie. It’s got heart, it’s got soul, it’s got emotion.It’s awesome.”
There were rumours that early versions of the screenplay were verysimilar to Richard Donner’s “Superman”, which starred Christopher Reeve.But now, Ratner says: “It’s very different. J.J Abrams has done anamazing job. It’s top secret, and I don’t want to give anything away.They spanked me so bad.”
Josh Hartnett (“Pearl Harbor”) is still being rumoured to play Superman,and ‘Entertainment Weekly’ reported that Josh Hartnett was present atthe premiere for Ratner’s “Red Dragon”. When Hartnett’s representativeswere asked if he was still in the running they had no comment, and whenthe magazine asked Ratner himself he just smiled coyly. So who knows…?
Ratner also commented more about last month’s negative review of J.JAbrams’ first draft of the script. He said: “The script I’m shooting hasnone of that stuff [such as a gay Jimmy Olsen, Lux Luthor being an alienand that Superman is killed, only to be reborn with more power.”
“TERMINATOR 3” – VFX Guru Speaks!
Pablo Helman (‘ILM”s visual effects supervisor) spoke with’TheArnoldFans’ website about what audiences can expect to see visuallyin “Terminator 3” next year.
He said: “Well, we are doing some really interesting visual doubling onthe TX, on the female terminator and also on Arnold. And it’s mainly forvery safety concerns, stunt cinematography. We’re also doing a lot offluid simulation, which is basically we’re taking the skin of the TX andmaking it into basically liquid metal, but peeling off and revealing abunch of surprises”.
Helman confirmed that “T3” will contain between 350 and 500 visualeffects compared with “T2″‘s 47. Will it be as revolutionary though?Helman says: “I think it will be revolutionary from a scientific pointof view because like I said, we’re developing a lot of fluid simulation,computer simulation stuff that hasn’t been seen before”
“THUNDERBIRDS” … are… oh NO!
The “Thunderbirds” script, written by William Osborne, has been leakedto ‘Aint It Cool News’ recently – and the resulting review should cast agreat shadow over the project Jonathan Frakes (“Clockstoppers”) looksset to direct.
Such crimes against the TV series include; no actual rescues takingplace, the majority of the Tracy brothers having minimal screentime, acamp villain named Aristotle Spode and the fact Brains has a son calledFermat!
The plot sees the Thunderbirds team stranded in outer space afterThunderbird 5 explodes, leading to arch-nemesis Spode trying to stealtheir vehicles for nefarious purposes.
Oh dear. Gerry Anderson – make the madness stop if you can… please!
“TIME DOGS” – From Muppets To CGI Doggies!
‘The Hollywood Reporter’ says that ‘Jim Henson Pictures’ will co-producetheir first CGI-animated feature film – “Time Dogs” with ‘The Shop’productions company.
‘The Shop’ is a new Vancouver-based digital animation studio co-foundedby president and C.E.O Ian Pearson and entertainment executive Aaron L.Gilbert.
Lisa Henson, president of ‘Jim Henson Pictures’ said: “This venture intoCG feature animation promises, like all of our films, to be funny andfresh with something entertaining for kids and adults alike,” said LisaHenson, president of Jim Henson Pictures.”
“Time Dogs” is about a pair of canines who travel through time to savetheir master and in the process save all dogs from a life of slavery.The script, in its final stages before going into visual development,was written by Christopher Leone and Laura Harckom. Leone is set todirect the project.
“WESTWORLD” – The Action Threesome!
‘Hotdog’ magazine have summarised a few rumours about the proposedremake of Michael Crichton’s “Westworld”, now starring ArnoldSchwarzennger (in the Yul Bryner role of a malfunctioning cowboy robot).
In the remake Arnie apparently wants to star alongside ex-‘PlanetHollywood’ partners Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone! Stallone’scharacter is expected to die very early in the film, but Willis’ rolewill be as hero against Arnie’s villain.
A script being worked on apparently sets the futuristic holiday centreon the Moon, with ‘Aquaworld’, ‘Lunarworld’ and ‘Jurassic World’ joining’Westworld’ as their destinations.
“X-MEN 2” – Stewart Spills Story!
Patrick Stewart was interviewed by Sci-Fi Wire about “X-Men 2” recentlyand said: “We were [originally] introducing people to who the X-Menwere, to what their world was like, who their enemies were and whattheir conflicts were going to be like.”
“‘X-Men 2’ is really extending those themes and notions that were justsketched in in the first film, and we’re extending them much moredeeply. So, there’s my continuing conflict with Magneto [Ian McKellen]and with a new enemy, a very, very dangerous individual [GeneralStryker] played by Brian Cox. And, of course, Xavier is attempting tohold the X-Men together and trying to change humankind’s perception ofwhat mutants are, which finally climaxes in the movie with a very strongscene in the Oval Office between Professor Xavier and the president ofthe United States [played by Cotter Smith].”
“xXx 2”- Jackson Talks!
Samuel L. Jackson spoke about the probable sequel to “xXx”. He said:“We’re talking about it, yeah, and we – actually Rob and I – had someconversations about what Gibbons back story is and why he is what he is,and hopefully that will show up in the next one. I purposely did notpick up a gun. I purposely didn’t beat anybody up. I was just Gibbons,so he’s this mystery guy, so may be we’ll find out what happened to hisface. We’ll find out if he was a Bond-type, and why he is where he is,and why he gets to do that stuff.”
US TOP 10 (CINEMA)
** WEBSITES **
“Below”:’Miramax’ didn’t bother making an official site of David Twohy’s”Below”, so the filmmakers went ahead and made their own – so here itis!
CLICK HERE
“House Of A 1000 Corpses”:Take a look at the website for Rob Zombie’s long delayed schlock horrormovie, due out next year!
CLICK HERE
‘The Facer’:Take a look at the opening sequence of “Harry Potter & The Chamber OfSecrets” in storyboard form at this site!
CLICK HERE
“The Ring”:US remake of the cult Japanese thriller, starring Naomi Watts as areporter who discovers a video-tape that instigates the death whoeverwatches it…
CLICK HERE
** TRAILERS **
“DIE ANOTHER DAY” [Theatrical Trailer #3]:The third trailer for Bond’s 20th adventure on his 40th Anniversary.More gadgets, more girls, more action, a return of the ‘villain’s lair’and even some in-jokes for fans. What more d’you want from a Bond movie?Are you desperate to see clips of what you’ll be watching every BankHoliday Monday post-2005? Look no further!
Buzz: 4/5 – Bond movies are always highly anticipated, but “Die AnotherDay” takes it to a whole new level. They can’t disappoint us on the 40thAnniversary can they? So far there’s been no bad word on 007’s latestoffering, and the trailers look good (as always).
CLICK HERE
“BELOW” [Theatrical Trailer #1]:Writer-Director David Twohy (“Pitch Black”) returns with this horrormovie set aboard a haunted submarine.
Buzz: 3/5 – A strange one, this. Intrigue is slowly building around thismovie simply because of the unique combination it offers. First there’sthe movie’s strong filmmaking pedigree – director David Twohy andco-writer Darren Aronofsky (“Requiem For A Dream”) – but with almost nostudio marketing! This could become a sleeper hit if strongword-of-mouth takes hold, but it could also be this year’s “DeepRising”. One to watch with interest…
CLICK HERE
“HARRY POTTER & THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS” [Theatrical Trailer #2]:The latest trailer for the second boy wizard’s adventures, due outNovember!
Buzz: 4/5 – with the foundation successfully set down by last year’s”Philosopher’s Stone”, director Chris Columbus can breathe a sigh ofrelief and begin twisting the screws on this darker Potter adventure.The cast are now experienced, “Chamber” has a more focused narrative,’ILM’ are now in charge of the extensive special-effects, and even morefamous Brits have been cast in key roles! Tremble box-office records,tremble…
CLICK HERE
Page Content copyright © Dan Owen, 2002.
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.