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Dan Owen reviews
I s s u e # 1 41 8 O c t o b e r 2 0 0 2
** MOVIE NEWS **
“AKIRA”
‘Variety’ reports that ‘Warner Brothers’ will produce a live-actionEnglish-language remake of the Japanese 1988 anime classic feature”Akira”.
Director Stephen Norrington (“Blade”) will re-team with the “The LeagueOf Extraordinary Gentlemen” screenwriter James Robinson on the movie -which will follow the original story of a futuristic biker gang leaderwho must rescue his younger brother from his involvement in a secretgovernment project.
“AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS”
Director Frank Coraci spoke to ‘SciFi Wire’ about his upcoming remake of”Around The World In 80 Days”, with Jackie Chan as Passepartout.
He said: “The movie does take place at the turn of the century, and Idecided instead of just making Phileas Fogg an Englishman that’s verywealthy, in this version he’s an inventor. That was inspired by the ideathat Jules Verne was way ahead of his time, and so our Phileas Fogg is aman way ahead of his time, living in a Victorian era when people didn’twant to accept big change.”
“They were very stodgy and trying to hold onto their old ways, and thebet [to travel the world in 80 days] stems out of him trying to prove tothem that the world is a much more progressive place and that anythingis possible. In that sense, I think it’s the modern-day version of aJules Verne theme. Think ahead. Think progressive.”
“BITTEN”
Angelina Jolie is set to star in this werewolf movie adaptation of anovel by Kelley Armstrong. The screenplay has been written by AlexanderStuart (“The War Zone”) and concerns a woman who turns into a werewolfafter she gets bitten and begins livings amongst a clandestine wolf packin Canada.
She finally decides to suppress her animalistic tendencies for a normalhuman life, becomes a journalist and falls in love. But she is drawnback to her pack when a rogue band of werewolves begin draftingcriminals into its pack.
“CHARLIE’S ANGELS 2”The sequel has recently been renamed as “Charlie’s Angels 2: FullThrottle”, dropping the “Halo” suffix.
“THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK”
Writer-Director David Twohy (“Pitch Black”) recently gave an interviewdetailing some elements for his upcoming movie trilogy with Vin Diesel -“The Chronicles Of Riddick”.
He said: “We’re in pre-production. The script is finished and I’ve gotmy production designer on it. Right now we’re calling the series ‘TheChronicles Of Riddick’. We’re referring to them now as ‘C-1’, ‘C-2′ and’C-3.’ I’m plotting all three films as we pre-produce this first film.”
“The reason why it’s ‘Chronicles’ and not ‘Pitch Black 2’ is becausethat would give a false impression of this next film, because not onlyare we changing genres – the first one was a horror film and this onewill be action/adventure/sci-fi – but we’re also increasing the scope insuch a way that isn’t true to the original film as well.”
Will ‘C-2’ and ‘C-3’ be shot back-to-back? “If the first one justifiesany follow-ups at all, then yeah, we’re thinking of doing 2 and 3together.
So what is this trilogy about? “All I can say is that it takes that theRiddick character and follows him through multiple worlds as he meetsmultiple adversaries. There’s a lot of theology in it. Even though I’mnot a religious guy, I am very interested in religion and why peopleturn to it.”
“In ‘Below’ I’m interested in why people turn to supernaturalexplanations when there are more plausible ones. I’m not a greatbeliever in the supernatural either, but I find it fascinating whenpeople turn to it.”
Will the trilogy be filmed in Australia? “No. We would have gone back,but stage space was a little tight there. So we booked Vancouver andsucked up all of their available stage space, only to find out thatDarren [Aronofsky]’s new film, ‘The Fountain’, went down.”
“He had a lot of stage space in Australia reserved and suddenly in thelast two weeks all of that stage space has become available again. Iwould have loved to go to Australia, but now we’re booked intoVancouver, so I don’t think there’s any chance of switching back at thispoint.”
Besides Vin Diesel have any other roles been cast? “No.”
“THE CAT IN THE HAT”
‘CNN’ reports that thieves have stolen $55,000 worth of excessivelylarge custom-designed props on from the set of the “The Cat in the Hat”,which stars Mike Myers. They stole an 8-foot-long pair of dark blueglasses, a yellow 4-foot-long door key, a black anvil with hammer, a4-foot golf tee and a blue golf ball 7 feet in diameter.
“DIRTY DANCING 2”
A sequel to the Patrick Swayze 80’s hit “Dirty Dancing” is going ahead!The new movie will be set Cuba circa 1959.
“HANNIBAL 4”
In a bizarre new twist to the Hannibal Lecter franchise, star AnthonyHopkins has confirmed he’s penned a potential fourth instalment himself!
He said: “I did write a screenplay of my own, just as an exercise, thatwould follow Hannibal, I showed it to [producer] Dino [DeLaurentis] andto my agent and the studio. It’s about Hannibal actually out there,after ‘Hannibal’. The final denouement. Clarice is having a nervousbreakdown and living in San Francisco. Then the nightmares start. Shesees him on street corners, and he vanishes in the crowd. Then one nightshe wakes up in her bedroom and she’s handcuffed to her bed, and he’s inthe corner smoking a cigar, and he says, ‘Hello, Clarice…'”
It’s not known if Hopkins’ screenplay will actually be made as a finalmovie in the ongoing Lecter saga.
“DIE HARD 4”Bruce Willis and ‘Cheyenne Enterprises’ are likely to reach a deal with’20th Century Fox’ to bring a third sequel to 80’s hit “Die Hard” to thebig-screen, according to ‘Variety’ magazine.
How did this all come about? Well, Bruce Willis is currently involved ina movie by Antoine Fuqua called “Tears Of The Sun”. But the filmmakerswanted to change the title to “Man Of War” – which is a titlecopyrighted by ’20th Century Fox’.
‘Fox’ have agreed to allow the title change to go ahead, but only if’Cheyenne Enterprises’ commit to a fourth instalment of “Die Hard”franchise!
Ever since the release of “Die Hard With A Vengeance” in 1995 there havebeen rumours of another sequel set in the South American jungle after afailed hijacking of a plane with John McClane aboard…
“THE INCREDIBLES”
Computer-animation studio ‘Pixar’ have a new movie due out next year(“Finding Nemo”) but what can we expect post-2003 from the company thathave already given us “Toy Story”, “A Bug’s Life” and “Monster’s, Inc.”?
Well, first we have “The Incredibles” from director Brad Bird (who madethe excellent “The Iron Giant”) about a family of superheroes.
Next could be “Cars”, by director Jan Pinkava. It’s not yet known whatthis film will be about but talking cars is a distinct possibility.
“FREDDY vs JASON”
Director Ronny Yu has spoken out about the studio’s decision to recastthe Jason role, effectively sacking fan-favourite Kane Hodder. He said:”I’m totally neutral because I don’t know Kane and I’m not that familiarwith that franchise anyway, so for me it’s just an actor. Whomever thestudio wants [is fine]”.
“When I did ‘Chucky’, I didn’t know anything about ‘Child’s Play’.That’s exactly what the producers from ‘Chucky’ and the producers from’Freddy Vs Jason’ want. They want a fresh angle, a director with adifferent style”.
The movie should debut on a Friday the 13th sometime in 2003…
“INDEPENDENCE DAY 2”
‘Entertainment Weekly’ reports that cast members Bill Pullman and JeffGoldblum have been approached about starring in sequel to 1996box-office smash “Independence Day”.
Bill Pullman said: “I think it’s definitely going to happen… I like whatthey [Roland Emmerich & Dean Devlin] are talking about”.
Jeff Goldblum said: “I enjoyed the first film, and I like thecharacter.” But will you return? “It depends… I’m meticulous”.
“THE HULK”Why does Bruce Banner turn green when he transforms into The Hulk? Well,according to “The Hulk” director Ang Lee it’s because he has the genesof a specific type of jellyfish that turns green when angered. So there!
Lee is employing scientific experts who helped with “Minority Report” toground Banner’s transformation sequences in some form of hyper-reality.
“THE ITALIAN JOB”
Jason Statham (“Snatch”) has spoken about the remake of cult MichaelCain movie “The Italian Job” to ‘About.com’. He said: “[the movie] isfrom scratch. The main character that Michael Caine played is thecharacter of John Bridger, they are still very much in there, but therest is changed around… the Minicoopers are new ones, but I don’t wantto give too much away on what they’re gonna do. We’ll talk about thatone at a later date”.
“I’ve seen the original many times. I love that film. Michael Caine’s agreat actor. This is a lot, lot different. It’s more of a homage than adirect remake. But a lot of the kids of today have never even seen theold original, so it’ll be a brand new movie for them. There won’t be anycomparisons made, so yeah, it’s a great story and I think it’ll be agood movie”.
JOHN WILLIAMS
Movie composing legend John Williams has revealed this diary to readersof ‘Movie Music Now’ magazine. He said: “‘Harry Potter & The Prisoner ofAzkaban’ is definitely in my future. ‘Star Wars Episode III’ will followthat, which I’m very much looking forward to doing. It’s like thecompletion of an epic journey.”
“Then I’m back with Steven Spielberg for the fourth Indiana Jones, anexciting project that seems to have attracted incredible interest.Steven has also expressed his desire for me to score the next ‘JurassicPark’ film, which he is developing presently. It’s a genre I would justadore to revisit, so I’ll do my best to be available for it.”
“JURASSIC PARK 4”
Sam Neill (“Jurassic Park”) has also confirmed that a third sequel tothe 1993 dinosaur action movie is in development.
Speaking to ‘The New Zealand Listener’ he said: “I’m not sure what I’mallowed to say in regard to this. Yes, another ‘Jurassic Park’ is in thedevelopmental stages at the moment. I think I can say that without beingarrested, or eaten by one of those scary dinosaurs.”
“As for my involvement, it’s a possibility. I certainly had a ripper ofa time doing the previous two, so I have no objection in that respect.Steven [Spielberg] has spoken with me briefly about the new story theyare working on, which is remarkably inventive and intriguing, by theway.”
What is the new plot, pray tell? “You really do want to get me arrested,don’t you? No, I’m very sorry, no juicy secrets from me. Steven hasindicated I may have some part in the film, but I’ll leave it at that.From what I know, it’s pretty early goings. As always, I’ll wait for thefinished script, and just see how my schedule shapes up.”
“KILL BILL”
Samuel L. Jackson is set to cameo in Quentin Tarantino’s revenge flick”Kill Bill” as the ‘dead organ player’ (in the wedding massacresequence)
“LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION”
Go herefor some onset photos from Joe Dante’s live-action/animation moviestarring Bugs Bunng, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and Co.
“THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT”
Cult TV series “The Magic Roundabout” is returning to our screens! Theoriginal show ran throughout the 60’s and 70’s and was revived again inthe 90’s with Nigel Planer (Neil in “The Young Ones”) narrating.
This latest version will be a computer-animated movie featuring thevoices of Robbie Williams (as Dougal), Kylie Minogue (as Florence), JimBroadbent (as Brian The Snail), Ray Winstone (as Soldier Sam), Tom Baker(as ZeeBadee), Joanna Lumley (as Ermintrude) and Richard O’Brien.
“THE MATRIX RELOADED”
Producer Joel Silver has spoken about the cliff-hanger ending to thefirst “Matrix” sequel. He said: “I think we won’t even have to advertisethe third film, we’ll just tell people the date and they’ll come Thestory is so fantastic.”
“You’re not going to want to wait for the next movie, so we want torelease them as close as we can together. The cliff-hanger is sosubstantial you will want to see it soon, and we’re aware of that.”
“PHONE BOOTH”
Director Joel Schumacher’s long-awaited experimental thriller starringColin Farrell looks set to be delayed in light of the recent sniperkillings in Washington, D.C.
“Phone Booth” is almost entirely set inside a phone booth, with KieferSutherland (“24”) as a sniper who sets his crosshairs on randomsuburbanite Farrell – who answers the booth’s telephone.
It’s not yet known when the movie will be released.
“RESIDENT EVIL II: NEMESIS”
Director Paul W.S Anderson (“Event Horizon) may not actually direct theupcoming sequel to his recent hit “Resident Evil”, although he iswriting the feature. Anderson is instead more likely to produce themovie, which begins filming sometime next year.
“SCOOBY DOO 3”
‘The Hollywood Reporter’ suiggests that screenriters Dan Forman and PaulFoley are inline to write “Scooby Doo 3”, after they impressed studioexecs with their script for a live-action adaptation of “The Jetsons”cartoon.
“Scooby Doo 2” is being written by original screenwriter James Gunn (whoalso has written a remake of “Night Of The Living Dead”).
“THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE”
The upcoming remake of Tobe Hooper’s classic horror movie could featurea soundtrack from gothic rocker Marilyn Manson – he revealed to ‘TasteLike Chicken’ online magazine. Manson has already dabbled in the movieworld with his score for “Resident Evil”.
“WALLACE & GROMIT”
The plastic inventory and dog duo Wallace and Gromit return this week,as the BBC has a new series of 1-minute movies that are not viewable ona pay-per-view site. The shorts will be screened on ‘BBC 1’ later thisyear.
Creator-animator Nick Park confirms that these short films are: “partlyto train people up for doing the feature film. We wanted to get Wallaceand Gromit out there again because we missed them really… I wasnervous at first because no-one has animated them for a long time. Butit’s worked a treat. I’ve been very impressed”. The first short isentitled ‘Soccamatic’ and is available at the ‘BBC News Online’ site
here.
“xXx 2”
Director Rob Cohen has discussed some potential plot ideas for theinevitable sequel to “xXx”. He said: “I have two scripts in developmentright now. One takes place in South East Asia and involves the MalakaStraits pirates and other things that go on from there.”
“The other takes place in Washington D.C., where I think our mostcolourful character will go up against all the grey men in Washington.And I can see mountain-biking sequences on the Capitol dome, things likethat where, in a domestic context opposed to an exotic context, Xandergets to shake-up, well, George Bush and all that he represents”.
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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.