DAN’S MOVIE DIGEST 142

Written by Dave Kajganich, the new version centres on a female protagonistwho uncovers a conspiracy in a small town where the inhabitants’personalities seem to be changing.

In Don Siegel’s original 1956 sci-fi horror film, hysteria spread through asmall California town after townspeople appear to their relatives andfriends as strangers while retaining their outward appearances.

The studio owns the remake rights to the film after making 1993’s BodySnatchers, directed by Abel Ferrara. Production on the new version willstart this October in Baltimore.

James Doohan (1920-2005)

Actor James Doohan, who played the Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scottin Star Trek, has died at the age of 85. Doohan, whose role was immortalisedin the line “Beam me up, Scotty”, had been suffering from pneumonia andAlzheimer’s disease, his agent said. His wife of 28 years, Wende, was byhis side.

Doohan was a popular character actor when he auditioned for the Star Trelrole that made him famous back in 1966. When the series ended in 1969, hefound himself forever typecast as the irascible Scotsman.

U.S network ‘NBC’ cancelled Star Trek in 1969 because of weak ratings, butthe cast was reassembled when the franchise hit the big screen in 1979 withStar Trek: The Motion Picture. Doohan appeared in seven big screenadventures of Star Trek, continued to voice the franchise’s video games intothe late 1990s, and has a guest role in Star Trek The Next Generation.

Doohan became a father again at the age of 80, when his wife Wendy gavebirth to daughter Sarah. His last public appearance was in October 2004 whenhe received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

All figures are weekend box-office gross.

• 1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) ($56.2m)
• 2. Wedding Crashers ($33.9m)
• 3. Fantastic Four (2005) ($22.8m) (total to date: $100m)
• 4. War of the Worlds (2005) ($15.2m) (total to date: $192m)
• 5. Batman Begins ($6.04m) (total to date: $183m)
• 6. Mr & Mrs Smith ($5.23m) (total to date: $168m)
• 7. Dark Water (2005) ($4.61m)
• 8. Herbie: Fully Loaded ($3.62m)
• 9. Bewitched (2005) ($2.56m)
• 10. Madagascar ($2.31m) (total to date: $184m)

UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)

• 1. Madagascar (£5.43m)
• 2. War of the Worlds (2005) (£2.22m)
• 3. Wedding Crashers (£2.18m)
• 4. Batman Begins (£0.42m)
• 5. The Descent (£0.41m)
• 6. Mr & Mrs Smith (£0.21m)
• 7. Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya? (£0.14m)
• 8. Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Sith (£0.08m) (total to date: £39.0m)
• 9. Dus (£0.04m)
• 10. (There’s a new entry, but IMDB.com haven’t listed the name!) (£0.03m)

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

• 22nd July 2005: Fantastic Four (2005), No Entry, Silver City, Dark Water
• 29th July 2005: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), 29 Palms, Shallow Ground, Whisky
• 5th August 2005: Herbie: Fully Loaded, Stealth, Because of Winn-Dixie, Stealth, The Devil’s Rejects, Beautiful Boxer, Yes, Dear Wendy, The Last Days, Wolf Creek
• 12th August 2005: The Island, Fever Pitch (2005), The Rising, Supercross, Crash (2004), Primer
• 19th August 2005: The Skeleton Key, Bewitched, Paradise Now, R-Point, Danny the Dog, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Bewitched (2005),
• 26th August 2005: Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, The Dukes of Hazzard (2005), Bad News Bears, Intruder, The Cave
• 2nd September 2005: The Business, The Honeymooners (2005), Red-Eye, On a Clear Day, Vital
• 9th September 2005: Cinderella Man, Land of the Dead, Rock School, The Man, The Longest Yard
• 16th September 2005: Four Brothers, Must Love Dogs, Pride and Prejudice (2005)
• 23rd September 2005: The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Revolver
• 30th September 2005: Goal!, Corpse Bride, A History of Violence, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Aeon Flux, The Perfect Man, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, The History of Violence
• 7th October 2005: Night Watch, Oliver Twist (2005), The Constant Gardener, Serenity, The Kinky Boot Factory
• 14th October 2005: Wallace & Gromit Movie: Curse of the Wererabbit, Lord of War, The Dark
• 21st October 2005: Nanny McPhee, Murderball, Elizabeth Town, Syriana, Sky High, Broken Flowers
• 28th October 2005: Doom, Flightplan, The Legend of Zorro
• 4th November 2005: V for Vendetta, The Exorcism of Emily Rhodes,
• 11th November 2005: Everything is Illuminated, The New World, Hustle & Flow, In Her Shoes
• 18th November 2005: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• 2nd December 2005: Tickets
• 9th December 2005: Hey Mr DJ, Just Like Heaven, The Chronicles of Narnia: Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Shopgirl, Brokeback Mountain
• 14th December 2005: King Kong (2005)
• 16th December 2005: The Hawk is Dying
• 30th December 2005: Stray Dogs
• TBA: The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3D, Domino, The Pink Panther (2005), Halloween 9, Final Destination 3D, Noel, The Tiger and the Snow, Underworld: Evolution, Walk the Line

All the following are U.S. release dates, and are subject to change.

• JULY: The Island (22), The Dukes Of Hazzard (29)
• AUGUST: 3001 (5), Doom (5), Deuce Bigelow European Gigolo (12),
• SEPTEMBER: Birth Of The Pink Panther (23), Legend Of Zorro (23), Serenity (30), Spy Hunter (30)
• OCTOBER: Wallace & Gromit (7), The Fog (14), Land Of The Dead (21)
• NOVEMBER: Cars (4), Harry Potter 4 (18), Brother Grimm (23)
• DECEMBER: Chronicles Of Narnia (9), Underworld 2 (9), King Kong (14), The Producers (24), Zathura (21), Mad Max Fury Road (31), Die Hard 4 (31)

Page Content copyright © Dan Owen, 2005.