Weekly Entertainment News

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John Woo to Direct & Produce He-Man
Source: ComingSoon!
Variety reports that Fox 2000 has set John Woo (Paycheck) to direct and produce He-Man, a live-action film based on the characters in Mattel's "Masters of the Universe" line of action figures. Adam Rifkin will adapt the screenplay.

Originally made into an animated series in 1983, the property was also adapted into a live-action film in 1987 called Masters of the Universe, which starred Dolph Lundgren as the hero and Frank Langella as Skeletor.

He-Man began life as Prince Adam, the hybrid of an Earthling and an Eternian. At the age of 18, he was taken to Castle Grayskull, where Adam received super powers. He-Man has a sidekick in the form of a tiger, Battle Cat, and a deadly enemy, Skeletor.

Woo is also attached to direct The Rock in the video game adaptation Spy-Hunter for Universal Pictures.

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Robbins & Otto Prepare for War of the Worlds
Source: ComingSoon!
Tim Robbins (Mystic River) and Miranda Otto ("The Lord of the Rings" trilogy) are in talks to join Tom Cruise in director Steven Spielberg's The War of the Worlds for Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures, reports Variety.

Robbins will play astronomer Ogilvy, while Otto will play the wife of the main character played by Cruise. Dakota Fanning will portray their daughter. Production is being fast-tracked to start shooting in November for a June 29 release.

Based on H.G. Wells' legendary science fiction classic, "The War of the Worlds" (published in 1898), the film is a modern day version of what many critics agree is the definitive model for alien invasion stories. David Koepp wrote the film's script

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The Boogeyman to Scare on Video
Source: ComingSoon!
Boogeyman, which was originally intended to be the first film for Sam Raimi's recently established Ghost House Pictures, will be skipping theaters and heading directly to DVD and video. Sarah Michelle Gellar horror remake The Grudge, opening October 22, will now instead be Ghost House's first feature.

Filmed in Auckland, New Zealand, Boogeyman was originally planned for a mid-2004 theatrical release but was forced to undergo reshoots in January, and has subsequently been pushed back to February.

Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment will be releasing Boogeyman, which has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of horror and terror/violence, and some partial nudity. The film stars Barry Watson, Emily Deschanel, Lucy Lawless, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Charles Mesure, Tory Mussett, and Louise Wallace.

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No Vegas Brothers or Grease 3 for Travolta
Source: ComingSoon!
Moviehole tells us they caught up with John Travolta and asked him about the status of both Grease 3 and The Vega Brothers.

Is he interested in the proposed Grease 3? "Oh God no", Travolta told the site. Travolta says it's mostly rumor anyway.

"Well that and the prequel to Pulp Fiction, 'The Vega Brothers.' If there's truth to the 'Vega Brothers' that's only in Quentin's imagination. That's never been presented to me but a 'Grease 3,' I just don't want to do. There's nothing about it that is - I didn't do two why would I do a three?"

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Jamie Foxx Confirms Miami Vice Rumors
Source: ComingSoon!
Latino Review got a chance to talk to Ray star Jamie Foxx, who confirmed he will be working together soon again with his Ali and Collateral director Michael Mann.

Foxx says that Universal Pictures is moving forward with its big screen adaptation of hit '80s cop drama Miami Vice, which starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas. Previously it was reported that Mann would write, direct, and produce the film.

Now Foxx adds that he's attached to star as Detective Ricardo Tubbs, played by Michael Thomas in the series. "Yeah man, it's happening," he told the site. He was also asked if Mann was still doing the project and he replied, "hopefully he will."

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Kerry Washington is Alicia in Fantastic Four
Source: SuperheroHype!
The lovely, talented Kerry Washington is about to get a lot of attention for her portrayal of Ray Charles' wife Della in the upcoming Taylor Hackford biopic "Ray," but a few weeks ago, Ms. Washington signed on for Tim ("Barbershop") Story's big screen adaptation of the Fantastic Four comic book. Up until now, it's been a bit of a mystery about what part she may play, but she talked to Superhero Hype! while in New York promoting "Ray" confirming that she will indeed be playing Alicia Masters.

"For those of you who are not fans, she is the blind girl that is in love with The Thing, which is really exciting for me, because it's not a character that's black," she told us. "In the comic book, historically, she's always been blonde haired and blue eyed, and the studio was really willing to go with us on this one. I'm really excited to be doing it, and I've signed on for the sequels and all that, so it's really exciting."

Audiences are sure to enjoy the romantic scenes between Ms. Washington and Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles, but the roles will be reversed when she plays the blind person in what should be some powerful scenes between her and "The Shield's" Michael Chiklis.

Fantastic Four opens next summer. "Ray" opens nationwide on October 29.

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Shark Tale: Very Big Catch
Source: E!

Shark Tale gobbled up a very sharp $49.1 million, estimated to be the best October opening gross ever and the fifth best ever for an animated film

Rungs below was Ladder 49 with a slightly lukewarm $22.7 million.

Dreamworks' PG rated beneath-the-waves mob story, larded with celebrity voices and hip-hop music, but the target of criticism from groups who view its mafioso inspired plot as ethnically stereotypical, swam into a massive 4,016 sites, where it averaged $12,226.


The heavily promoted CGI adventure of a fin flapper (voiced by Will Smith) whose fishy story gets him fingered by the big boss shark (Robert De Nero), whose family includes a veggie peacenik (Jack Black), hooked 47 percent of the audience buying tickets this weekend for the top twelve movies.

If the final figures come close to the estimates the family attraction will now head up the best October opening list, above the $48.1 million scared up by Scary Movie 3 prior to Halloween last year. In the best animated category Shark Tale has swum right past Ice Age, which debuted with $46.3 million in 2002. But it was nowhere close to the openings of the list's top four - Dreamworks' own green ogre sequel Shriek 2's $108 million and rival Disney's little-fish-who-could hit Finding Nemo's $70.2 million, things-that-spook-in-the-night tale Monsters Inc.'s $62.5 million, and playthings sequel Toy Story 2's $57.3 million.

Disney's PG-13 rated drama Ladder 49, starring John Travolta as boss to Joaquin Phoenix, a firefighter trapped in a burning building, in danger of being reduced to ashes but with plenty of time for his life to flash before the audience's eyes, only fired up 21.8 percent of the weekend crowd. Opening at a more standard 3,260 sites, the drama averaged $6,989, attracting an older audience than Shark Tale, which fed the hunger for family fodder.

In just 409 sites the religious based Woman, Thou Art Loosed, starring Kimberly Elise as a killer who grew up the victim of sexual abuse, and real life preacher Bishop T.D. Jakes as the conduit for the spiritual inspiration that might save her, earned $2.5 million. That meant the R rated independent Magnolia release averaged a very noteworthy $6,127.

In really limited release the best screen average was the truly huge $75,016 per just four sites, for I Heart Huckabees. That brought in $300,062 for Fox Searchlight's R rated quirky existentialist comedy about the meaning of life in a corporate universe, starring Jason Schwartzman, plus heavyweights Jude Law, Naomi Watts, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Isabelle Huppert and Mark Wahlberg.

Earning a similar sum - $303,000 - was Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry. But that wasn't good news as the documentary about the Presidential hopeful's Vietnam war experience on the battle field and in the protest arena was at 160 sites, so it averaged a mere $1,894.

Doing considerably better was Dig!, a documentary which follows two bands over a period of many years as they strive to succeed in the hard hearted music business. The un-rated Palm/Magna release averaged $10,377 at two sites, from $20,754.

Last weekend's top movie the horror story The Forgotten wasn't completely overlooked. Dropping 43 percent to third place the Julianne Moore vehicle earned $12 million to bring its two week total to $38.2 million.

The gory zombie romantic comedy spoof Shaun of the Dead stayed alive. At just 645 sites, only 38 more than its opening week it dropped only 27 percent to remain in seventh place for a second week, grossing $2.4 million to bring its current total to $6.8 million.

The traditional romantic comedy First Daughter wasn't so frisky. At 2,280 sites, 20 more than its debut week, it dropped 46 percent, averaging only $943 per site, to gross $2.1 million in ninth place, bringing its two week total to $7.1 million.

Overall the top twelve films grossed an estimated $104.4 million, up a huge 77 percent from last weekend and 29.5 percent from this time last year, a big boost to Hollywood, after a very weak September.

Final figures are due Monday. Exhibitor Relations Inc. estimates the top 10 as follows:

1. Shark Tale, $49.1 million
2. Ladder 49, $22.7 million
3. The Forgotten, $12 million
4. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, $3.3 million
5. Mr. 3000, $2.6 million
6. Woman, Thou Art Loosed, $2.5 million
7. Shaun of the Dead, $2.4 million
8. Resident Evil: Apocalypse, $2.3 million
9. First Daughter, $2.1 million
10. Cellular, $2 million

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David Benioff Writing Wolverine Spinoff
Source: ComingSoon!
20th Century Fox has hired Troy screenwriter David Benioff to write Wolverine, a spinoff focusing on the character from the studio's "X-Men" films and Marvel comics. Variety reports that Benioff will write with the expectation that a deal will be made for Hugh Jackman to reprise his role as the superhero.

The trade adds that the film will likely be produced by the "X-Men" duo of Lauren Shuler Donner and Marvel Studios' Avi Arad, though those talks haven't been completed.

Benioff seems an unusual choice for the project, but he is a fan of the comic book. Fox will press forward with Wolverine development while simultaneously preparing X-Men 3, which will be written by Simon Kinberg.

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Dimension Films Remaking The Ghost
Source: ComingSoon!
Dimension Films has acquired the remake rights to the Korean horror film Ryeong ("The Ghost") from Showbox, says The Hollywood Reporter. Vertigo Entertainment's Roy Lee, Doug Davison and Sonny Mallhi will produce.

The story revolves around a teenage girl suffering from amnesia who discovers that she is somehow connected to a group of people who are being killed off one by one by a vengeful ghost. Ryeong, directed by Tae-Kyeong Kim, was the best-performing horror movie of the summer in Korea.

Vertigo Entertainment also executive produced DreamWorks' The Ring and its upcoming sequel The Ring 2. It has The Grudge, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, opening October 22 via Sony Pictures. The studio's Dark Water just wrapped.

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Biopic on Dr. Jack Kevorkian Coming
Source: ComingSoon!
Producer Steve Jones has acquired rights for a film about Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the advocate of doctor-assisted suicide who is serving a 10- to 25-year prison term, says The Hollywood Reporter Filmmaker Barbara Kopple is attached to direct.

Jones' Bee Holder Productions has secured story rights to an unpublished biography on which Kevorkian is cooperating with Neal Nicol, his assistant of 25 years, and Harry Wylie, a longtime friend.

The project marks the first time that the doctor has authorized any media-based project surrounding his life and efforts in assisted suicide.

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Paramount to Sneak Team America on Oct. 9
Source: ComingSoon!
Paramount Pictures' Team America: World Police, an action adventure from the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, will sneak preview in 800 theaters across North America this Saturday, October 9, 2004.

Starring an all-marionette cast, the film is about an international police force dedicated to maintaining global stability, called Team America, who learns that a power-hungry dictator is brokering weapons of mass destruction to terrorists. From the pyramids of Cairo to the Panama Canal and finally to the palace of power-mad dictator, Kim Jong Il, the heroes of Team America crisscross the globe on a harrowing mission to save the world.

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Kishiro on the Battle Angel Alita Movie
Source: SuperheroHype!
Battle Angel Alita (aka "GUNNM") writer Yukito Kishiro has confirmed on his official website that "Titanic" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" helmer James Cameron is attached to direct the big screen adaptation.

I made an agreement about film adaptation of "GUNNM" with the
movie director James Cameron. I can't tell you in detail I have the
confidentiality agreement. It is yet to be determined by him when start making it and released on. An official announcement will be made after a decision of starting time. Often they will give up movie projects or make it for more than a decade, you could guess that the GUNNM movie will get put together as well as I could. Please pray for quick and complete making the amazing movie, and warmly watch and wait in the long term.

You can learn about the character, the story, and view pictures at this link.

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NINE INCH NAILS: The Downward Spiral Deluxe Edition Details Revealed
Source: Blabbermouth

NINE INCH NAILS' two-disc deluxe edition of 1994's "The Downward Spiral" will be released on November 23. The set will feature a redesigned deluxe package which includes a hybrid CD/SACD with the original album in stereo, high-resolution stereo, and high resolution 5.1 digital surround sound. This will play on regular CD players as well as SACF players. Also included is a bonus disc featuring a new compilation of remixes, b-sides, demos, and non-album tracks, including previously unreleased material. The complete track listing is as follows:

Disc One (Hybrid CD/SACD) — The original album digitally remixed and remastered in SACD high-resolution stereo and 5.1 surround sound:

01. Mr. Self Destruct
02. Piggy
03. Heresy
04. March of the Pigs
05. Closer
06. Ruiner
07. The Becoming
08. I Do Not Want This
09. Big Man With A Gun
10. A Warm Place
11. Eraser
12. Reptile
13. The Downward Spiral
14. Hurt

Disc Two (CD) — Remixes, b-sides, demos, and non-album tracks:

01. Burn
02. Closer (Precursor)
03. Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)
04. A Violent Fluid
05. Dead Souls
06. Hurt (quiet)
07. Closer to God
08. All the Pigs, All Lined Up
09. Memorabilia
10. The Downward Spiral (The Bottom)
11. Ruiner (demo)
12. Liar (Reptile demo)
13. Heresy (demo)

Also in stores November 23 will be a DualDisc DVD-Audio version of "The Downward Spiral". This includes the original album digitally remixed and remastered in stereo and 5.1 surround sound. The DVD side includes an image gallery, discography, and three bonus videos: "Closer" (in suuround), "March of the Pigs" and "Hurt".

The Dualdisc will be playable in DVD-audio players, standard DVD players, and regular CD players.

NINE INCH NAILS' "Closure" DVD is tied up in "legal problems" at the moment and looks unlikely to see release until early 2005, according to a posting on the group's web site.

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NIRVANA: Box Set Title, Release Date Announced
Source: Blabbermouth

According to Amazon.com and a several other Internet sources, the hotly anticipated three-CD/one-DVD NIRVANA box set will be entitled "With The Lights Out" (a lyric from the legendary NIRVANA track "Smells Like Teen Spirit") and will hit stores on November 23 via Geffen (November 22 in Europe).

The four-disc compilation is made up of three audio CDs, with over 40 tracks on them, and one DVD with archive footage.

The audio tracks will be rare and previously unheard demos, alternative versions and radio session tracks.

The DVD footage includes a rare promo of "In Bloom" and is also expected to feature an early live show.

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Indiana Jones back in front of the lens in '05?
Source: Moviehole

Seems there's still life in "Indiana Jones 4" after all.

According to IESB, Steven Spielberg told Canal+ that he will begin the long-awaited fourth 'Jones' chapter as soon as he finishes "War of the Worlds" in Early 2005. Doesn't sound like he's giving himself much time to finish one project and get another going, but never the less, that's what he said.

The site speculates that it's possible that Stevo, Georgie and Harry have now agreed on an "Indiana 4" script, if they're talking start date.