DAN’S MOVIE DIGEST 93

The roles of Violet and Veruca have been cast for Tim Burton’s Charlie AndThe Chocolate Factory, which stars Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and FreddieHighmore as Charlie Bucket.

Annasophia Robb (right) has been cast as gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde and newcomerJulia Winter will play the bitchy Veruca Salt. Annasophia can be seen soonin Because Of Winn-Dixie, due out in January 2005.

SIN CITY’Variety ‘reports that actress Rosario Dawson (Men in Black II) has joinedthe ensemble cast of the Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller-directed Sin City.

Dawson will take part in the third and final segment. Rodriguez has basedthe film on Miller’s graphic novel series. The finale also stars Benicio DelToro, Clive Owen and Brittany Murphy. Quentin Tarantino is considered likelyto direct some of that episode.

The film’s starry cast also includes Bruce Willis, Josh Hartnett, MickeyRourke, Nick Stahl (Terminator 3), Jessica Alba (Dark Angel), Elijah Wood,Carla Gugino (Spy Kids), Jaime King and Marley Shelton.

THE RING 2Actress Elizabeth Perkins (Big, The Flintstones) (right) has been cast as apsychologist in The Ring sequel alongside Naomi Watts. THE DA VINCI CODE

‘The Boston Herald’ reports that George Clooney, Russell Crowe, Tom Hanksand Hugh Jackman are all in the running to star in the film adaptation ofthe best-selling book The Da Vinci Code, by author Dan Brown.

Director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman,the Oscar-winning trio from A Beautiful Mind, are re-teaming to make thefilm for ‘Sony Pictures Entertainment’.

Goldsman will adapt the novel, while Grazer (Howard’s ‘ImagineEntertainment’ partner) will produce. Howard himself will direct the filmafter completing Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe.

The Da Vinci Code book debuted at Number 1 on the ‘New York TimesBestseller’ and was the second novel by Brown to focus on Harvard professorof symbology Robert Langdon, who first appeared in his successful novelAngels & Demons published in 2000.

The Da Vinci Code focuses on a 2000 year-old conspiracy, clues to which areencoded in the paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci. Brown is currently at work ona third novel featuring his Professor Langdon character.

SERENITYActor Chiwetel Ejiofor (Dirty Pretty Things) (right) has joined ‘Universal Pictures’Serenity, Joss Whedon’s movie film version of his cancelled TV seriesFirefly.

The film revolves around an ensemble of characters who are galactic outcasts500 years in the future. The film centres on a captain and the crew on histransport-for-hire spaceship, called Serenity. When they pick up twopassengers, they find themselves caught between a military force andcannibalistic savages.

Ejiofor is the first actor to sign on to the movie who did not appear in the’Fox’ TV show. He will play a character known as the Operative, an assassinand tracker who speaks with eloquent sophistication.

All figures are weekend box-office gross.

• 1. Shrek 2 ($95.6m)
• 2. The Day After Tomorrow ($85.8m)
• 3. Troy ($15.3m)
• 4. Raising Helen ($14.2m)
• 5. Soul Plane ($7.0m)
• 6. Van Helsing ($6.7m)
• 7. Mean Girls ($6.4m)
• 8. Man on Fire ($2.8m)
• 9. 13 Going On 30 ($1.4m)
• 10. Super Size Me ($1.4m)

UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)

• 1. The Day After Tomorrow (£7.32m)
• 2. Troy (£2.48m)
• 3. Van Helsing (£0.85m)
• 4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (£0.21m)
• 5. La Mala educacion (£0.16m)
• 6. Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (£0.137m)
• 7. Hum Tum (£0.131m)
• 8. Kill Bill Vol.2 (£0.12m)
• 9. 50 First Dates (£0.056m)
• 10. The Football Factory (£0.053m)

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