Weekly Movie and Music News

FH · 07-30-2004, 02:40 AM

Conran Directing A Princess of Mars
Source: ComingSoon!
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow helmer Kerry Conran is on board to direct the sci-fi adventure action film A Princess of Mars.

The project is based on the first book in Burroughs' 11-book series, "John Carter of Mars," which centers on John Carter, a Civil War officer from Virginia who is transported to Mars and finds himself a captive of the savage green men from Thark. Eventually, he rises to become the greatest warrior of all time, marries the beautiful Dejah Thoris, raises a family and embarks on numerous adventures.

Conran reportedly entered the picture after Robert Rodriguez resigned from the Director's Guild of America earlier this year, making him ineligible to direct the Paramount film.

FH · 07-30-2004, 02:43 AM

Hideo (Ringu) Nakata Takes on The Entity
Source: ComingSoon!
Japanese director Hideo Nakata (Ringu, Dark Water) will segue from The Ring 2 at DreamWorks Pictures to an under-$15 million remake of The Entity at Fox Searchlight, reports Variety.

Based on the Frank De Felitta novel of the same name, the 1981 original starred Barbara Hershey. The story follows a woman whose life crumbles when she believes she is being repeatedly molested and raped by an unseen paranormal force. Terrified, she turns to a parapsychologist to investigate her claims.

The updated script was written by David DiGilio, who recently penned the halted Antarctica at Disney's Buena Vista Motion Picture Group.

FH · 07-30-2004, 02:46 AM

Thomas Jane Talks Punisher 2
Source: ComingSoon!
While in town promoting his new movie Stander, about the legendary South African bank robber, actor Thomas Jane talked to ComingSoon.net about the possibilities of a sequel to his 2004 comic book inspired vigilante action flick, The Punisher. An avid comic fan, Jane is still very enthusiastic about the character and the possibilities, despite the lackluster box office and response to the first movie. According to sources, Marvel's Avi Arad is still intent on getting a sequel off the ground.

"Yeah, we have had discussions. We want Jigsaw to be the bad guy," he told us, "We'll probably shoot it for much the same budget and probably go to Australia or South Africa where we can stretch the dollar. I'd do another one. It's a niche market film that will always be that, and that's what it should be."

He wasn't bothered at all by the perception that it was a disappointment at the box office. "In today's market, if it's not a blockbuster, then it's somehow considered a failure. I just don't understand that point of view. It saddens me that if a film doesn't sell a million Happy Meals that it's considered to be a failure, and that is just incorrect. We need to change our view of that. In today's market, there's certainly a place for the blockbuster type of film, but if you can make a film for $30 million and its grossed like 50-something so far worldwide and then do a bunch more business on DVD, then that film has done its job. I like movies that don't have to cater and appeal to everybody. Those movies are great, movies that cross the board and you can take your six-year old kid and your grandma, and everybody loves it. Fantastic! And there should be more movies like that and there will be, but there should also be movies that cater to people who like to see something different. People that have a need to see something that is off-the-beaten path a little bit. That's what 'The Punisher' is there for and that's what it's there to serve. It's for the fans and I'm very proud of it. I hope they don't ever process it down and turn it into something that it shouldn't be."

We wondered if maybe he'd approach the character any different having the first movie to work from. "Absolutely. I like the character a lot and I had a lot of fun with him. For me, the second one would be an exploration of the morality of what he does. He's so close to being a bad guy and does what he does cause more harm than good? Those kind of things are interesting for me. Where do you draw the line between what you're doing being justifiable and not?"

He told us a bit about how extreme the second movie may be. "The first one ended with him busting into that club and taking out all those people, and the second will open where the first one left off. It will just be incredibly violent and then it will just get more and more violent as the film goes on. That's the kind of film that it should be! It's a real take no prisoners punk rock kind of an action film, and g**ammit, it should piss a lot of people off!"

Next up for the actor is a third movie about yet another legendary anti-hero named Glen Shirley, a career criminal who learned how to play guitar in Fulsom prison and after being released by the governor to the custody of Johnny Cash to become a big country star during the early 70s. "It's a great story about how you can take the man out of prison, but you can't take the prison out of the man." He'll be playing guitar and singing, as well.

Stander opens August 6 in New York, Los Angeles and other cities.

FH · 07-30-2004, 02:49 AM

Sin City Hits Theaters on April 1
Source: SuperheroHype!
ComingSoon.net reports that Dimension Films has scheduled the Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller big screen adaptation of Miller's Sin City for release on April 1st (yes, April Fool's Day).

**CanyonCarver** · 07-30-2004, 08:42 AM

Lifted this from Blabbermouth. Grat news for fans of Steelheart.

STEELHEART Vocalist Says He Is Ready To Sing From The Bottom Of His Soul - July 29, 2004

STEELHEART frontman Mike Matijevic has issued the following statement regarding his recent activities:
"Dear friends,
"I would like to apologize for my absence. Due to another death in my family, once again my life was taken off course. I am sad to say on September 30, 2003 my father, Mirko Matijevic, passed away at the age of 63. His death had great impact on my life and my future to come. Besides the trauma of reliving another death in the family, I also endured the responsibility to administer my father's estate. This journey consumed all of my time and energy. I am now at the end of this journey and I can honestly say that all my attention and focus is to put a band together and sing from the bottom of my soul. I would also like to let it be known that I am changing my name back to my birthright name 'Miljenko Matijevic', the short of that is Mili.
Please visit Steelheart.com and register on the message board. I will be checking the board periodically and I will try to answer any questions you may have.
"I appreciate your patience and your understanding. I love you all.
"Stay in tune, there's a lot to come."

FH · 08-02-2004, 02:33 AM

Knightley in Tony Scott's Domino
Source: ComingSoon!
Keira Knightley ("Pirates of the Caribbean," King Arthur) will star in Domino, an action thriller that Tony Scott will direct for New Line Cinema from a Richard Kelly script, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The trade says the real-life story centers on Domino Harvey, the daughter of actor Laurence Harvey, who starred in the original version of The Manchurian Candidate. Domino Harvey ditched a career as a Ford model to become a bounty hunter. The script is said to incorporate flashbacks, flash-forwards, and characters from Beverly Hills, 90210.

New Line will distribute the film in North America. Hadida's Metropolitan Filmexport distribution company will release the film in France, while Summit Entertainment and Davis Films are handling other foreign sales.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin next month in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with a 2005 release planned.

FH · 08-02-2004, 02:36 AM

Harris & Hurt Have A History of Violence
Source: SuperheroHype!

Ed Harris and William Hurt are in talks to join New Line's A History of Violence, says The Hollywood Reporter. Viggo Mortensen stars in the film to be directed by David Cronenberg.

Adapted by Josh Olson from John Wagner and Vince Locke's graphic novel, the film tells the story of an ordinary family's life after the father (Mortensen) receives unwanted national attention for a seemingly vigilante-style self-defense killing at his diner.

The trade says Harris will play the bad guy who comes looking for Mortensen, while Hurt will portray Mortensen's long-lost brother.

FH · 08-02-2004, 02:39 AM

Visitors Flock to The Village

by Bridget Byrne
Aug 1, 2004, 1:55 PM PT
Source: E!

It takes a Village to win the box office.

Director M. Night Shyamalan's latest spooky thriller debuted with an estimated $50.8 million as the nation's new number one movie, according to preliminary studio figures released Sunday.

That was more than double the money earned by Matt Damon's spy thriller sequel The Bourne Supremacy, which in its second weekend dropped sharply to second place with $23.4 million, and also Denzel Washington's political thriller The Manchurian Candidate, which opened in third place with $20.2 million.

The week's other two newcomers finished further down on the chart. The low-budget slacker comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle opened with a short order $5.1 million in seventh place, while the big-budget Thunderbirds, a live-action take on the cult favorite marionette TV series, didn't take wing, scoring only $2.7 million way down in 11th place.

Despite decidedly mixed critical notice, The Village, a period tale about weird stuff in the woods starring newcomer Bryce Dallas Howard (daughter of Ron) alongside seasoned pros William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Adrien Brody and Joaquin Phoenix, averaged $13,623 at 3,730 theaters and attracted 36 percent of the weekend movie-going audience.

The bigger than expected opening was finally some good news for Disney, which had struck out the cineplex so far this year. The PG-13 frightfest, was, like Shyamalan's previous hit thrillers, released under the Mouse House's Buena Vista banner. The Village didn't quite match the $18,418 per-screen average/$60.1 million opening weekend for Shyamalan's 2002 crop-circling E.T. tale, Signs, headlined by Mel Gibson, which eventually earned $227.9 million domestically. But it's higher than the $12,347 average/$26.6 million debut of his 1999 I-see-dead-people shocker, The Sixth Sense, which is still his top earner with $293.5 million.

Despite getting generally good votes from the critics, The Manchurian Candidate, Jonathan Demme's update of John Frankenheimer's classic 1962 satire about political corruption and brainwashing, could only muster an average of $7,046 at 2,867 sites. That's about typical for a Washington debut.

The R-rated Paramount release, now focused on the manipulative power of corporate greed, also stars Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, Jon Voight and Jeffrey Wright, but the loaded casting wasn't enough to beat out Damon's The Bourne Supremacy, even through the killer-agent thriller nose-dived 55 percent from its top-rated opening weekend. Now at 3,180 sites--15 more than it debuted in--the PG-13 Universal release averaged $7,358 per screen to bring its two-week gross to $98 million.

Harold and Kumar Go to the White Castle, an R-rated New Line release in which pot-happy John Cho and Kal Penn go on a goofy quest for burgers, averaged $2,412 per 2,135 sites. Thunderbirds, a PG Universal release whose cast includes a bunch of kids and Oscar winner Ben Kingsley as the villain, thudded in with an average of $1,313 at 2,057 sites.

In limited release, Garden State bloomed strong. Fox Searchlight's R-rated you-can-go-home-again romantic comedy, written and directed by Scrubs' Zach Braff, who stars along with Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard, averaged $20,559 at nine locations for a total of $185,034.

Paramount Classics' R-rated Intimate Strangers, French director Patrice Leconte's romantic comedy about a chance encounter between a woman (Sandrine Bonnaire) looking for a shrink, and a tax accountant (Fabrice Luchini) she mistakes for one, earned a promising $11,202 average at just five sites for $56,009.

Sony Pictures Classics' R-rated She Hate Me, Spike Lee's riff on the variegation of modern urban life, could only manage an indifferent $5,196 per 11 screens for $57,049.

In the good news department, the grumpy ogre sequel Shrek 2 earned another $1.3 million, bringing its 11-week gross to $432.4 million, making the DreamWorks 'toon the fourth-highest grossing film of all time, moving ahead of Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace, which has racked up $431.1 million.

In the bad news department, Halle Berry's Catwoman is fast loosing all its lives. The comic-book caper fell a screeching 64 percent, down to sixth place from its dismal third place opening last weekend. Its Friday-Sunday take was just $6 million, averaging only $1,951 per 3,117 screens, and its total now stands at $29.4 million.

Overall, the top 12 movies earned an estimated $140.4 million, about 1 percent more than last weekend, and 7 percent above this time last year.

Final figures are due Monday; meantime, this is how Exhibitor Relations tracks the top 10:

1. The Village, $50.8 million
2. The Bourne Supremacy, $23.4 million
3. The Manchurian Candidate, $20.2 million
4. I, Robot, $10 million
5. Spider-Man 2, $8.5 million
6. Catwoman, $6 million
7. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, $5.1 million
8. A Cinderella Story, $4.6 million
9. (tie) Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, $3.1 million
9. (tie) Fahrenheit 9/11, $3.1 million

FH · 08-02-2004, 03:24 AM

Marvel Q2 Comic Films Report
Source: DarkHorizons

Yesterday was business report delivery time for Marvel Enterprises, reports which remain overtly optimistic. As in the previous first quarter reports, a gathering of the various 'comic book to film adaptation' projects status were brought up. Here's the list, including the most recent information surrounding them and comments from scooper 'Zephyr':

Marvel Character Feature Film Line-Up For 2004

Blade: Trinity - Targeting a December 10, 2004 release

Marvel Character Feature Film Line-Up For 2005

Elektra: New Regency / Fox - Script, Director, Filming started May '04, Jan. 14, 2005 release (just recently, Ben Affleck has said he'll have some type of cameo in the film)

Fantastic Four, Fox - Script, Director, Filming starts August '04, July 1, 2005 release (the actor playing Dr. Doom should be announced in the next couple of days)

Iron Man, New Line Cinema - Script, Slated for November 2005 or Summer 2006 (with the clock ticking, it's interesting to see them include the Summer 2006 slot)

Luke Cage, Sony/Columbia - Script, Director (the last rumored candidate was Tyrese, a favorite of Singleton)

Man-Thing, Lions Gate/Fierce - TBD (was finished a while back, wasn't it?)

Marvel Character Entertainment Projects in Development For 2006 & Beyond
(Development and release timing is controlled by Studio partners)

The Avengers, Lions Gate - Slated for Q1 2006 release (animated DVD)

X-Men 3, Fox - May 3, 2006 release (May 3 is a Wednesday, and Fox still seems confident in this release date, along with a push for a X3/X4 combo, yet the search for a director continues on)

Namor, Universal Pictures - Script, Slated for Summer 2006 (recently, it was said that Chris Columbus would be taking on the Atlantean prince, who could be played by the Rock...I still think Jude Law is a better choice)

Ghost Rider, Sony - Script, Director, Pre-production, Summer 2006 (strange thing is is that I've heard that they're aiming for a Spring 2006 release, similar to Hellboy. What's stranger is that Hellboy 2 might come around the same time. Could we have a super-natural hero from hell showdown?)

Black Widow, Lions Gate - Writer, Director, Slated for 2006 release (reports point to Rebecca Romijin-Stamos to play the Russian femme fatale)

The Punisher 2, Lions Gate - Writer, Director (in an interview today, Thomas Jane was treating the next movie like it was going into production tomorrow. Good sign. Last I heard, it's possible that Punisher 2 could come as early as Winter 2005)

The Hulk 2, Universal Pictures - Development (a tricky one, Arad has said that Gray Hulk could be a result as the psyche of Bruce, who desires to live with this, and "Hulk", who desires something else, end up with something worse)

Deathlok, Paramount - Script (with Lee Tamahori off the project, Deathlok remains in limbo)

Spider-Man 3, Sony/Columbia - Director, May 4, 2007 release (the only issue with this one is with the villians, with nearly 99.9999999% of reports being about Venom. Fans just want to see him...including me)

Dr. Strange, Dimension - Contract (Arad said that nothing is really going on with the project)

Iron Fist, Lions Gate - Contract (yeesh, this one's still topsy-turvy. Ray Park is still signed on, but even he has a limit to his patience)

Silver Surfer, Fox - Contract, Development (the most out-of-the-blue candidate for directing this epic came the other day. Avi Arad said that while strolling through Europe, he met Baz Lurhmann (sp?) and was shocked by how much of a Silver Surfer freak he was)

Ant-Man - TBD (out of the blue)

Black Panther - TBD (last I heard, a company by MC Hammer was going to make a film that "inspired" by Black Panther. Also, Arad has said that the film will be like "a black James Bond-meets-Batman")

Captain America - TBD (not much since that false rumor about that three-pic deal with Brad Pitt)

Nick Fury - TBD (awhile ago, it was supposedly Samuel L. Jackson that was to bring the Ultimate version of Nick Fury to pictures)

Thor - TBD (Arad has said that this project will be treated like LOTR, and they have found a way to blend in real and mythical elements together)

FH · 08-02-2004, 05:47 AM

Mad Monster Party on the Big Screen
Source: ComingSoon!
Warner Bros. Pictures and Basil Iwanyk's Thunder Road Productions will produce a live-action feature adaptation of the 1967 Rankin & Bass animated special Mad Monster Party.

Variety reports that John Pardee and Joey Murphy will write the script, in which Baron Von Frankenstein calls together all of cinema's classic monsters for a conference and announces that he's turning over their leadership to his clueless nephew.

Warners optioned the property from Canal Plus. The original program was a production of Embassy Pictures.

FH · 08-03-2004, 02:27 AM

Julian McMahon is Dr. Doom!
Source: ComingSoon!

Nip/Tuck star Julian McMahon will play villain Dr. Doom in 20th Century Fox's adaptation of the Marvel Comics franchise, Fantastic Four, which starts production in Vancouver this month for a July 1 release.

Doom, a crazed scientific genius who hides his scarred face behind a metal mask, goes up against the title quartet of Michael Chiklis (Ben Richards/The Thing), Jessica Alba (Sue Richards/the Invisible Woman), Ioan Gruffudd (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic) and Chris Evans (Johnny Storm/the Human Torch).

The film will be directed by Tim Story from a script by Simon Kinberg.

FH · 08-03-2004, 02:30 AM

Steve Carell to Get Smart
Source:ComingSoon!
Former The Daily Show field reporter, and Bruce Almighty and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy co-star Steve Carell will play bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart in Warner Bros.' big screen adaptation of sitcom classic Get Smart.

The role was originated by Don Adams during the original 1965-70 series run and again in the feature film spin-off The Nude Bomb. Variety says a script will be tailored for Carell by Steve Koren, whose recent credits include Bruce Almighty and the Adam Sandler vehicle Click.

The secret-agent comedy, created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, pitted Agents 86 and 99 against the evil forces of KAOS. Carel next stars in Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda and NBC's American version of British comedy The Office. He gets his first lead role in a studio comedy with New Line's Furry Vengeance.

FH · 08-03-2004, 02:32 AM

Til Scheiger is a German Gigolo
Source: ComingSoon!
Til Schweiger has joined Rob Schneider and Eddie Griffin in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The German actor will play Heinz Hummer, a suave, cocky, high-ranking German gigolo whose life is threatened before the 73rd Annual Man Whore Awards.

The Columbia Pictures sequel begins filming this month in Amsterdam. Sony is financing and distributing.

FH · 08-03-2004, 02:35 AM

2 More Seasons of Chappelle's Show
Source: ComingSoon!
Comedy Central has signed a new deal with Dave Chappelle that will return his hit series Chappelle's Show to the network for two more seasons, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The comedian has committed to 26 more episodes. Each season will consist of 10 original episodes, plus two "best-of" episodes and another devoted to musical performances that are a key component of the sketch comedy series.

Chappelle's deal is reportedly the richest deal in basic cable, an eight-figure sum that gives the comedian a healthy chunk of the robust DVD sales his series has generated.

FH · 08-03-2004, 02:38 AM

del Toro on Hellboy 2, Blade & More
Source: SuperheroHype!
Moviehole shared this bit from an upcoming interview with writer/director Guillermo del Toro. He mentions Hellboy 2, Blade Trinity, and more....

del Toro on a "Hellboy: Directors Cut"
I cut out things that I thought were slowing the pace of the movie, but I've put them back into what I call the 'Directors Cut', which will be released in France and possibly Japan, theatrically. It's a more sedate thing, but it adds a more interesting direction for the characters. A little more weight for the bad guys too. Which I think is very good for the movie.

del Toro on "Hellboy 2"
I start writing it in the Fall and then it'll depend on how fast we get a script we're all happy about and how fast we can work out a budget and a date. It's in the future, but I wouldn't put a date on it. In the next Hellboy adventure he'll (Hyde-Pierce's Abe Sapien) have a more prominent role. She'll be back (Blair). Jeffrey Tambor will be back. We will have a good class of weirdos around.

On "Hellboy" star Selma Blair being linked to "Superman"
She would be just great for it. She would be a blessing to the movie.

On David Goyer's "Blade: Trinity"
I've seen the whole movie and I enjoyed the hell out of it. The thing I love the most about it is that its different, each of the Blade movies has been different to the others. [Director, David] Goyer has a very sardonic, very brutal sense of humour and it's a different movie. I think it's going to be quite a trip for the audience.

On a possible return to the "Blade" franchise
I would love to go back and do a fourth ballistic Blade – vampires all over the world – but who the hell knows.