DAN’S MOVIE DIGEST 57

RESIDENT EVIL IIActress Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine (see right) BLADE III’The Average Jones’ reports that WWE wrestle Triple H may have a role inthe third film starring Wesley Snipes. CATWOMAN’Entertainment Weekly’ ran an interview with Halle Berry about her nextmovie Catwoman. Berry: “It’s great – lots of fight training and whipwork. Catwoman’s been done by great women, and I’m just hoping I canstand among them and add some of my own personality. I’m trying to getmy purr just right.” CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORYJohnny Depp will meet for a third time with director Tim Burton todiscuss the director’s plans for him to star as Willy Wonka in Charlie &The Chocolate Factory.

Pamela Pettler was hired to write the latest version of the screenplay,a woman who previously wrote The Corpse Bride – an animated film by MikeJohnson about a man who inadvertently marries a corpse.

ELM STREET – THE FIRST MURDERSIn Austin a week or so ago, Freddy vs. Jason star Robert Englund saidthere was a Freddy Krueger prequel script floating around at New Linetitled Elm Street: The First Murders. Now, the Chicago Sun-Times hasmore on this.

“It takes a look at the crimes that caused the townspeople to burnFreddy alive in the first place. It intrigues me because I’m fascinatedby the lives and motivations of serial killers,” he tells the paper.

“Plus, I’d get to do the Freddy movie without the makeup,” adds Englund.

KILL BILLThe poster for Quentin Tarantino’s kung-fu epic has been release (seeright). The movie is now definitely being split into two films, thefirst to be released this October in the US, with the second followingin the New Year. FREDDY VS JASON IIBruce Campbell (The Evil Dead) has personally quashed rumours that hisEvil Dead character Ash will feature in a Freddy Vs Jason sequel,saying: “If you believe that, I’ve got some ocean front property outsideof Phoenix you might be interested in…” THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY 2’Empire Online’ talked to Luke Goss (Blade II) who told them a follow-upto 80’s thriller The Long Good Friday could be in the works withoriginal cast members returning.

Goss: “I like the original kind of gangster movies. I enjoyed Lock Stockbut my favourite UK gangster movie is The Long Good Friday. They’reactually thinking of making another one and they’ve asked if I would doit.”

“I don’t know who’d be directing it but I’ve heard that everybody’scoming back. I mean everybody of note who was in that movie, like Pierce[Brosnan] and Helen [Mirren] and Bob [Hoskins].”

The original John Mackenzie film featured Bob Hoskins in hisbreakthrough role as a London racketeer losing control of his ganglandempire, with Helen Mirren as his moll.

THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS*SPOILER ALERT!*
‘The Herald Sun’ revealed that the climax of The Matrix Revolutions willbe a 17-minute battle which takes place on the scorched earth of thereal world, littered with crumbling cathedrals. Here, Neo is led to histrue destiny. The segment cost two-thirds of the $100 million budget ofthe first film alone! RED DWARF’Teletext’ reports that the £12 million film version of the sci-ficomedy sitcom Red Dwarf is finally set to start production in October atthe Warner Brothers Gold Coast Studios in Australia.

Craig Charles (Lister) said: “It’s been five years in the melting potand it looks like it’s finally going to happen. The script is excellentand everyone is looking forward to making it.”

“The makers, Winchester Films, have already provisionally sold it toAustralia, Britain and Japan and it should do well in America as it’sshown on US TV. Money is still a stumbling block but I think ‘BBCWorldwide’ is putting cash into it. The budget of £12 million is massivefor a non-Hollywood movie.”

SUPERMANBrett Ratner recently explains why he left Superman as director, saying:“[Producer] Jon Peters is a pain in the butt, but he’s not the reason Iquit the project. I quit because [the studio and Peters] didn’t want tohire an unknown to play Superman, and no name actors wanted to sign onfor a three-picture deal. I loved Superman growing up, and I reallywanted to make the film, but it was too hard a thing to get off theground.” TOMB RAIDER IIIAngelina Jolie attended the UK premiere of Tomb Raider – The Cradle OfLife, and commented on the possibility of a third movie: “I don’t know.They do take a lot of time away from home and I’m very happy with thesecond one, so I’m not sure I’ll need to do another.”

All figures are weekend box-office gross.

• 1. Freddy vs Jason ($36.4m)
• 2. S.W.A.T. ($18.1m)
• 3. Open Range ($14.0m)
• 4. Freaky Friday ($13.4m)
• 5. Uptown Girls ($11.2m)
• 6. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ($9.1m)
• 7. American Pie 3: The Wedding ($8.4m)
• 8. Seabiscuit ($8.0m)
• 9. Spy Kids 3D: Game Over ($5.2m)
• 10. Bad Boys II ($3.1m)

UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)

• 1. American Pie 3: The Wedding (£4.15m)
• 2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (£2.60m)
• 3. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (£1.39m)
• 4. Freddy Vs Jason (£0.78m)
• 5. Spy Kids 3D: Game Over (£0.51m)
• 6. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (£0.36m)
• 7. Rugrats Go Wild! (£0.30m)
• 8. Piglet’s Big Movie (£0.17m)
• 9. Bruce Almighty (£0.11m)
• 10. Veronica Guerin (£0.10m)

Note that these are US release dates.