Skip to content
Dan Owen reviews
I s s u e # 1 1 10 3 N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 4
STAR WARS EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH
The official teaser poster for next year’s final Star Wars movie has beenreleased (see right)
THE BLOB
‘Paramount Pictures’ and producer Scott Rudin have signed a deal to remakeThe Blob, the 1958 horror classic that launched Steve McQueen, reports’Variety’.
The film concerns a jelly-like substance that crashes on Earth from spaceand grows, consuming every human in its path.
The 1958 original was remade in 1988 by Chuck Russell (Nightmare On ElmStreet III) and writer Frank Darrabont (The Shawshank Redemption), andmentioned as ripe for a remake in DMD’s very own “Greatest Underdog Movies”list!
ESPIONAGE FOR DUMMIESJohn Woo and Terence Chang’s ‘Lion Rock Productions’ have reached anagreement with publisher ‘Wiley’, to create an action/comedy film, titledEspionage For Dummies.
The original script, written by Stevie Long, follows a high schoolvice-principal whose identity becomes crossed with that of a U.S. super-spy.Armed only with the super-spy version of the “Espionage For Dummies” manual,he must become a secret agent and save the world.
The Dummies franchise totals 125 million books in print, “Pilates ForDummies”, “Windows For Dummies” and “Poker For Dummies”.
Terence Chang: “Stevie Long has written a brilliant and funny script with theperfect potential to synergize with the ‘For Dummies’ products andphilosophy. It is a great marriage.”
Marc Mikulich, VP Brand Management: “we tell our readers that with a littlehelp from us, they can do anything… this story takes that promise to theextreme, with lots of laughter and action in the process.”
FANTASTIC FOUR
Some footage, mixed with interviews, was recently released onto the’Joblo.com’ website, on the Fantastic Four. The footage gives us our firstglimpse at Dr Doom’s make-up, some shots of the stretchable Mr Fantastic,Invisible Woman turning transparent, Johnny Storm engulfed in flame, andsome space sequences.
Immediate response was mostly negative from fans, again frustrated by TheThing’s facial make-up and now Dr Doom’s restyled mask. However, in my ownopinion, there’s much to like here – particularly some production paintingsof key sequences and the CGI-Human Torch.
You can see for yourself, by clicking this 5MB link to the Windows MediaVideo file:click here
FLUSHED AWAY
Nicole Kidman is in talks to voice a streetwise sewer rat called Rita in theclaymation comedy Flushed Away, from the creators of Chicken.
The movie tells the story of an uptown British rat named Roddy (HughJackman) who is flushed down the toilet from his penthouse apartment intothe sewers of London, where he has to learn a whole new way of life.
Ian McKellen (right) voices the story’s antagonist, a villainous frog, while AndySerkis plays his henchman, Spike.
Henry Anderson, David Bowers and Sam Fell are directing from a script by TVsitcom writers Dick Clement and Ian LaFrenais.
INDIANA JONES 4
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have hired Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me If YouCan) to rewrite Indiana Jones 4, reports ‘Variety’.
US TOP 10 (CINEMA)All figures are weekend box-office gross.
- 1. The Grudge (2004) ($21.8m)
- 2. Ray ($20.0m)
- 3. Saw ($18.3m)
- 4. Shark Tale ($7.5m) (total to date: $147m)
- 5. Shall We Dance ($6.29m)
- 6. Friday Night Lights ($4.09m)
- 7. Ladder 49 ($3.26m)
- 8. Team America: World Police ($3.08m)
- 9. Surviving Christmas ($2.44m)
- 10. Taxi (2004) ($2.11m)
UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)
- 1. Shark Tale (£2.43m)
- 2. Alfie (2004) (£0.92m)
- 3. AVP: Alien Vs Predator (£0.81m)
- 4. Finding Neverland (£0.77m)
- 5. Princess Diaries 2 (£0.67m)
- 6. Exorcist: The Beginning (£0.57m)
- 7. White Chicks (£0.41m)
- 8. Saw (£0.38m)
- 9. Five Children and It (£0.28m)
- 10. Bride and Prejudice (£0.24m)
** IN THE PIPELINE **All dates are U.K release dates, and are subject to change.
Email Dan Owen
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.