Weekly Entertainment & Movie News

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2004 Grammy Winners

The big winners at the 2004 Grammy ceremony include Beyoncé, who already had four wins from a pre-broadcast ceremony before she earned the evening's first televised award. Other multiple winners include: Outkast, winner of the night's biggest award, Album of the Year; Luther Vandross, who had four wins (and a brief taped appearance from home, where he is recovering from a stroke); and the White Stripes and Eminem with two awards each from the preshow ceremony.

Here are winners in the major categories:

Album of the Year
''Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,'' OutKast

Record of the Year
''Clocks,'' Coldplay

Song of the Year
''Dance With My Father,'' Luther Vandross

New Artist
Evanescence

Female Pop Vocal Performance
''Beautiful,'' Christina Aguilera

Male Pop Vocal Performance
''Cry Me a River,'' Justin Timberlake

Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
''Underneath It All,'' No Doubt

Female Rock Vocal Performance
''Trouble,'' Pink

Male Rock Vocal Performance
''Gravedigger,'' Dave Matthews

Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
''Disorder in the House,'' Warren Zevon and Bruce Springsteen

Rock Song
''Seven Nation Army,'' The White Stripes

Rock Album
''One by One,'' Foo Fighters

Alternative Music Album
''Elephant,'' The White Stripes

Female R&B Vocal Performance
''Dangerously in Love,'' Beyoncé

Male R&B Vocal Performance
''Dance With My Father,'' Luther Vandross

R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
''The Closer I Get to You,'' Beyoncé and Luther Vandross

R&B Song
''Crazy in Love,'' Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z

R&B Album
''Dance With My Father,'' Luther Vandross

Contemporary R&B Album
''Dangerously in Love,'' Beyoncé

Rap Female Solo Performance
''Work It,'' Missy Elliott

Rap Male Solo Performance
''Lose Yourself,'' Eminem

Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
''Shake Ya Tailfeather,'' Nelly, P. Diddy, and Murphy Lee

Rap Song
''Lose Yourself,'' Eminem

Rap Album
''Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,'' OutKast

Female Country Vocal Performance
''Keep on the Sunny Side,'' June Carter Cash

Male Country Vocal Performance
''Next Big Thing,'' Vince Gill

Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
''A Simple Life,'' Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder

Country Song
''It's Five O'Clock Somewhere,'' Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett

Country Album
''Livin', Lovin', Losin' -- Songs of the Louvin Brothers,'' Various Artists

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media
''Chicago''

Best Short Form Music Video
''Hurt,'' Johnny Cash

(Posted:02/04/04)

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Columbia & Donner Remaking Dutch Science Fiction
Variety Monday, February 9, 2004

Columbia Pictures has picked up remake rights to the Dutch family film Science Fiction, for producer Lauren Shuler Donner, reports Variety.

The original 2002 movie, directed by Danny Deprez, is the story of a boy who arrives in a new neighborhood and makes friends with the local kids by convincing them that his odd parents are actually aliens.

Kevin and Dan Hageman, whose credits include the upcoming Charlie Dills for Steven Spielberg and The Wizard of Oz Project for Jerry Bruckheimer, have been hired to write the Hollywood version. The brothers are expected to keep the storyline and atmosphere of the original film intact.

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Awesome Batman Article in Variety!
Source: Variety Sunday, February 8, 2004

Variety has published an excellent article on the new Batman movie with quotes from director Christopher Nolan, writer David Goyer, and Warner Bros. This time around, it's about the genesis of Batman: How billionaire Bruce Wayne makes a series of decisions that turn him into the Caped Crusader. Batman will be more realistic and less cartoonish. There are no campy villains. Wayne -- younger, more vulnerable, more human -- will be getting as much attention as his masked alter-ego.

"I felt like doing the origins story of the character, which is a story that's never been told before," says Chris Nolan ("Insomnia," "Memento"), who takes the reins of "Batman" from Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher.

Humanity and realism, says Nolan, is the crux of the new pic.

"The world of Batman is that of grounded reality," he says. Burton's and Schumacher's visions were idiosyncratic and unreal. Nolan says, "Ours will be a recognizable, contemporary reality against which an extraordinary heroic figure arises."

Nolan, a self-confessed James Bond fan as a child, is keen on reinventing Wayne as more of a modern-day Bond than hapless playboy -- an action-adventure hero who has mythic qualities and battles the odds to save the world.

WB Pictures prexy of production Jeff Robinov says, "There's an emotional component to the film which grounds it and really tells us about Bruce Wayne's struggle."

While the new Bruce Wayne is getting emphasis, Nolan, scripter David Goyer and WB have focused on fixing problems that plagued the other pics. For example, Bruce Wayne was too dark and impenetrable and had lost the humorous side found in the comics. The character was basically just dead screen time until Batman appears -- which in the new film may not happen until 40 minutes after it begins.

"If we're successful, the thing that will be talked about a lot and on what we worked on the hardest is that the audience will really care about Bruce Wayne and not just Batman," Goyer says. It doesn't matter how much you spend on special effects -- if it feels hollow, no one gives a damn."

Nolan starts helming the film next month, and its summer 2005 release will prove whether WB has been able to breathe new life into the Caped Crusader -- and to rescue its biggest franchise outside of "Harry Potter."

So the new, untitled "Batman" is getting a complete overhaul, backed by a roughly $150 million budget.

Rather than pit Batman against a new set of supervillains, the new film focuses on how billionaire Bruce Wayne becomes the Dark Knight.

"It's almost impossible to reinvent Batman," says Robinov. "Chris is reintroducing Batman, and it feels smart and cool and fresh. That's no disrespect to the other movies, but it's really Chris' vision of Batman, and that's what we're supporting."

There'll be a new Batmobile, a new arsenal of gadgets, a new Batsuit (sans nipples) as well as a new musical theme.

Even Gotham City is getting a facelift. Previous pics made the city seem dark and claustrophobic or garishly stylized. Instead of lensing on sets built inside huge soundstages, the new film will be shot on locations in New York, London and Iceland, assembling pieces of each city to recreate Gotham as a modern-day metropolis.

"Gotham will seem like this great city in a contemporary world and will be created through various cities," Nolan says. "We are trying to avoid a villagey feel for Gotham, as it starts to get claustrophobic."

Goyer -- who penned the successful "Blade" series for New Line and was a former staffer at "Batman" publisher DC Comics -- adds: "As the Batman films progressed, they became increasingly more cartoonish and more like the campy TV show. We think the audience is tired of that, and it's at odds with the way Batman is depicted in the comicbooks over the last decade. Batman is a classic figure whose story is wrapped in tragedy."

Nolan jumps on that theme: "Few superheroes have the sense of purpose and destiny that Batman has. He is driven by an incredible sense of rage, sadness and grief because of the tragedy of his parents' murder at an early age. To me, Batman is the most interesting superhero because he doesn't have any superpowers. He is very human."

The casting of Bale, Nolan hopes, will not only give audiences a younger Batman to root for but also a weighty sense of his true character.

"Bruce Wayne is strong, and the things that are done to him to make him become Batman are all psychological and character-based," Nolan says. "We needed an actor capable of taking us along on this journey and showing the different psychological layers which inspire Bruce to become Batman."

In terms of whether the movie will be too dark, Robinov says the film's more about conflict than darkness: about Batman's internal conflict and what drives him to suit up as a superhero.

The director's feeling the pressure to succeed. "It's an awesome responsibility," Nolan says, "because the fan base for Batman is extraordinary, and there's a lot of emotional investment in the character."

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SCORPIONS Return To Classic Sound On Upcoming CD
- Feb. 8, 2004

A reporter for Sweden Rock magazine recently visited the SCORPIONS at a Dutch studio where they are mixing their new CD, "Unbreakable", and has described the album's musical direction as "classic hard rock" in the vein of such acclaimed efforts as "Blackout" and "Face The Heat".

As previously reported, SCORPIONS — who recently announced the addition of Polish bassist Pawel Maciwoda (SECTION 31, URBANATOR) to the group's ranks — completed the recordings for "Unbreakable" at Peppermint Park Studio in Hannover. "Unbreakable" is scheduled for release in April. An as-yet-undisclosed single will precede the album in March. The band are also working on a DVD which should be released later in the year.

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Beyoncé Confirms She's Up for Superman!
Source: Extra Saturday, February 7, 2004

You heard it first here at Superhero Hype!, and now singer/actress Beyoncé Knowles herself has confirmed that she is up for the role of Lois Lane in McG's Superman.

She tells Extra, "I hope so. Everyone pray that happens for me."
We also broke the news that Johnny Depp is up for the role of Lex Luthor, we'll keep you updated on that as well.

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Preview Hellboy: The Art of the Movie
Source: Dark Horse Saturday, February 7, 2004

Dark Horse has up a four-page picture preview of the upcoming "Hellboy: The Art of the Movie". The 200-page book is coming on March 3 and you can pre-order it already at Amazon. Here's how they describe it...

This 200-page book features del Toro's complete screenplay, based on Mignola's Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, production art by Mignola, Wayne Barlowe (Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3), and Ty Ellingson (Jurassic Park, Star Wars: A New Hope, The Special Edition), as well as commentary by Mignola and excerpts from del Toro's on-set diary.

Check it out at the links above!

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Original Spider-Man Animated Series Hitting DVD
Title: Spider-Man
Starring: N/A (Animation)
Released: 29th June 2004
SRP: $19.99

Further Details
Buena Vista have also sent us over the first details on Spider-Man: The '67 Classic Collection which brings together all fifty-two fully restored classic Spider-Man episodes from the original 1967 TV series. It’s non-stop action and excitement as Spidey takes on his biggest foes including Dr. Octopus, The Green Goblin, Mysterio, The Rhino, The Kingpin, Dr. Magneto and many more! It will be available to own from the 29th June this year and should set you back somewhere in the region of $19.99. I'm afraid that we don't have the artwork yet but we'll bring you that shortly. You will also be able to pickup Spider-Man Vs Doc Ock from the same day for around $19.99. Stay tuned for more information on both.

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PROJECT GREENLIGHT 3 is looking for your horror/thriller scripts and a director!

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Dateline: Monday, February 9, 2004

By: PATRICK SAURIOL
By: News Editor
Source: Project Greenlight, Mania Entertainment

Think you have the next killer horror or thriller movie in your mind's eye, and all you need is that big break to prove it to the world? Then today is your lucky day because it marks the start for screenplay and director submissions for the third PROJECT GREENLIGHT contest. This year the creators of GREENLIGHT are specifically looking for a few good genre entries to find their way amongst the candidates vying for the chance to be made into a feature film. Because we here at Mania Entertainment and CINESCAPE know that there are loads of talented people out there who visit this site daily and that are tomorrow's screenwriters and directors, Mania, CINESCAPE and PROJECT GREENLIGHT are joining forces to help get the word out and get up-and-coming genre helmers and writers to submit their entries!

Starting today and running until February 28, PROJECT GREENLIGHT is accepting submissions for screenplays (from writers) and scenes (from directors) to be considered for the third PROJECT GREENLIGHT contest. Once the submission period is over, the PG team will comb over the candidates and select one screenplay and one director to make the third PROJECT GREENLIGHT film. This is your chance to prove to the world that all it takes to make it is raw talent and a great idea, not bags of money (although we hope those will come later to you in your career as a filmmaker.) Remember, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, PI, CUBE and THE EVIL DEAD proved to everyone that it doesn't take a hundred million dollar budget to make a horror movie that everyone will remember forever. Do you have what it takes to be the next Sam Raimi or Darren Aronofsky? We think you do!


The winner will not only get the chance to make their movie a reality, but the making of the project will also be filmed and broadcast as PROJECT GREENLIGHT 3 on Bravo TV. You get to hang out with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and the rest of the PROJECT GREENLIGHT gang, call the shots, launch your moviemaking career in earnest and eat the fine food supplied by craft services. Plus, if your genre project wins you better believe we'll be plugging it on here!


To find out more about the rules, timeline and contest regulations, get over to the PROJECT GREENLIGHT website and read all the information there about the contest. Don't forget that time is running out and get your entry in before February 28!

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Ex-EVANESCENCE Guitarist BEN MOODY: 'I Heard A Voice That Said You Got To Leave' - Feb. 9, 2004

EVANESCENCE won "Best New Artist" and "Best Hard Rock Performance" at Sunday's Grammys, months after co-founders Amy Lee and Ben Moody parted ways.

Their first reunion since breaking up in the middle of EVANESCENCE's European tour was onstage Sunday — and it wasn't a happy one, according to the Associated Press.

"We didn't really say anything," Lee, the group's lead singer, told reporters backstage. "We just said congratulations. It was kind of strange."

Moody, sporting long hair, a goatee and silver cane with a skull's head, said he had grown increasingly unhappy being a part of EVANESCENCE, which he created with Lee when they were at a summer camp together.

"Amy and I spent eight years together, and spent that time at a very early age. By the time we became 22 and 23 we were just entirely different people," the group's former lead guitarist said. "One day I just heard a voice that said you got to leave."

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Terminator 4
Producer Mario Kassar recently spoke to a Lebanese film magazine regarding production for Terminator 4 and TheArnoldFans transcribed a copy of the key elements of the article:

"T4 is in the works. The screenplay will be ready in 8 or 9 months. Once we have that, we will proceed with the production. The question that has never been answered in all the Terminator films is time travel. You can come from the future to change the present. But we never see how they go back to the future, which is a subject that can be explored. I think you already know where T4 is going from the ending of T3".

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Farrelly Bros. Want Crowe for The Three Stooges
Source: The Herald Sun Monday, February 9, 2004

The Herald Sun chatted with Peter and Bobby Farrelly who are planning the big screen version of The Three Stooges for Warner Bros.

"We would like to get Russell Crowe for Moe," said Peter. "He is the perfect Moe. He hasn't done a big comedy and the movie is basically The Stooges are back in the present day, there is no time machine taking you back. We are big fans...so we think it would be fun to work with him." The duo has yet to approach Crowe about the role.

The new movie will be an adventure that revolves around the Stooges characters originated in the classic Columbia Picture films.

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Early Word on the New Spider-Man 2 Trailer?!
Source: TrekBBS Monday, February 9, 2004

A visitor at TrekBBS got to take a peek at a preview of the possible new Spider-Man 2 trailer and wrote out a description...

AUnt May starts it out, with a voiceover about responsibility. Then we see Peter gettin yelled at by several different people, including Jameson, about being late. We also hear Jameson tell Peter he's fired. Curt COnnors also shows up, talking to Pete about missing classes.

MJ tells Peter she can't keep thinking about him, and is getting married. Then Peter says he does't have to always give up what he wants, and throws away his Spider-man costume. We then see him walking around, wearin glasses again, and telling MJ he decided he no longer has to be devoted to anything but his own happiness. MJ tells him she likes him being himself.

Then we see Harry, chiding Peter about being Spider-Man's friend. He also talks about Octavius having a new invention that will put Oscorp on the map. We see Octavius have his accident, then hear Jameson saying "A brilliant scientist turns himself into some kind of monster with mechanical arms!", and see Ock climbing down the hospital wall.

Harry tells Ock to find Spider-Man for him, Ock asks how he'll find Spider-Man since he's apparently left town, and Harry says to go after Peter to get to Spider-Man. Next we see Ock in that cafe, grabbin Peter by the neck and telling him to bring Spidey out of hiding or he'll peel the flesh from MJ's body.

CG shots of Ock throwing car doors, hubcaps, etcetera down a street. A little boy asks Peter if he knows where Spider-Man is, since Peter knows Spidey. We see Spidey swing around Ock, sticking to a wall. Then we see Ock, holding Spidey as he says "You're beginning to annoy me," and SPidey says "Yeah, I get that a lot." We then see him being laid down in front of Harry, and as Harry rips off Spider-Man's mask, the Spider-Man 2 logo pops up.

We're guessing Sony might be prepping this one for Hellboy when it's released on April 2, but we'll have to wait and see.

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The Simpsons Movie Coming in 2006
Source: DVD Fanatic <http://www.dvdfanatic.com/news.php?id=0402101> Tuesday, February 10, 2004

DVD Fanatic <http://www.dvdfanatic.com/news.php?id=0402101> got a chance to talk to The Simpsons producer and writer Mike Reiss, who chatted about the next "Simpsons" DVD and says that The Simpsons movie is definitely in the works. Here's two clips from the interview.

Tom: What can you tell us about the movie? We've heard that there was supposed to be a "Simpsons" movie for the past several years but you don't want to just simply put three episodes together, so how are you creating something new that's not been done before?

Mike: That's been the biggest challenge. They've wanted to do this since season two. It's been 13 years of wanting to do "The Simpsons" Movie. Finally FOX said, "Let's just do it!" We never had the greatest idea that was compelling but FOX said, "Maybe if we start paying you, you'll get inspired." And sure enough it worked! We've got a very good and interesting idea and it's different from the show. You know, it's like the "South Park" movie where it's just a bigger, longer, amplified version of the show. I can't tell you anything specific about it. My wife doesn't even know the secret.

Tom: When do you think "The Simpsons" movie will come out?

Mike: I will say two years from this summer. I think it's going to be Summer 2006 or maybe Christmas 2006. It's a reality after being just sort of this phantom idea. I think it is really gonna happen.

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The Star Wars Trilogy on DVD September 21
Source: The Hollywood Reporter Tuesday, February 10, 2004

The Star Wars Trilogy will be released as a four-disc DVD box set September 21, with a global rollout on DVD expected within days of the domestic release, according to Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The trilogy featuring the classic franchise films Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi will be released on three DVD discs, with a fourth disc likely to hold a newly made documentary about the "Star Wars" franchise and never-before-seen footage, among several other bonus materials, Jim Ward, Lucasfilm's vp marketing and distribution and the DVD trilogy's executive producer, tells The Hollywood Reporter.

"We are currently in the process of restoring and remastering all three titles for the DVD release, so we're still working on details of the marketing strategy," Ward said. "But I believe that it is safe to say that it will receive tremendous exposure across all media."

Lucasfilm and Fox chose the September release date to maximize on holiday gift buying during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. They are hoping to cash in on DVD sales throughout the holidays and up until the theatrical release of Star Wars: Episode III, which is set for release nationwide May 25, 2005.

Each of the three films in the Star Wars Trilogy has been digitally restored and remastered by THX for sound and picture quality. The films will be sold exclusively as a collection and not seperately.

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Todd Haynes Next Making Bob Dylan Film
Source: Variety Monday, February 9, 2004

Paramount Pictures has reached a deal with Killer Films and Wells Prods. to produce writer-director Todd Haynes' next feature, a film about the life of Bob Dylan.

Variety reports that Haynes is currently scripting the project, tentatively titled I'm Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan. The singer has also licensed music rights to the production.

"The film is going be inspired by Dylan's music and his ability to re-create and re-imagine himself time and time again," said Killer principal Christine Vachon. Haynes is expected to finish the script in another few months.