WEEKLY MOVIE NEWS

[FH]

Peter Jackson Talks The Hobbit & King Kong Source: News.com.au Monday, December 1, 2003

At The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King premiere in Wellington, New Zealand, director Peter Jackson talked about his upcoming project, King Kong, which he is currently writing with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

Australian actress Naomi Watts has already been tipped as the star and media attention is now turning to those who worked on "The Lord of the Rings". "We don't really know who's going to be in King Kong yet," Jackson said.

"Whether it's King Kong or films in the next 10 or 20 years, I'm hoping that I'm going to be and I'm actually fully intending to try to work with all these people again because they've just been so fantastic."

Like "The Lord of the Rings," King Kong will be shot in New Zealand. The visual effects will again be undertaken by Weta Ltd.

"The Lord of the Rings" executive producer Mark Ordesky hinted that there may also be a movie based on Tolkien's novel, The Hobbit. "There could be a movie about the hobbit. Enough said."

Jackson said New Line Cinema had yet to speak to him about The Hobbit and said there were some difficulties related to the rights for the book. "But certainly if they want to talk to me about it I'd be keen. It would be wonderful to complete the set of films."

After the "The Return of the King" premiere, Jackson will get to work on turning the theatrical movie into an extended DVD version.

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Clint Eastwood Up for Batman Role? Source: Sky News Saturday, November 29, 2003

'Shahzad Ali' pointed us to another casting rumor for Batman: Intimidation at Sky News...

Clint Eastwood and Batman - I know, a strange combination.

But the man who is better known as Dirty Harry is being wooed by the makers of the new Batman film starring Christian Bale.

Taking no chances after previous flops, they want Clint to play a version of himself as the mayor of Gotham City.

Clint, who is now also known as an award-winning producer/director is said to be really happy with the offer.

He told my spies: "I would like to show a lighter side to my character in my later years."

Take it with a grain of salt for now, of course.

[FH]

Still more small bits from around the joint today, this time on the various comic adaptations underway from Marvel, Dark Horse and others:

"Spawn 2"
At the recent Boston Megafest convention filled with B-movie stars galore, one happened to have a scoop and 'inker' was there to catch it - "Michael Jai White said he's going to be shooting "Spawn 2" next year, because they've finally gotten a good script. He said it'll be darker, more violent and a much more entertaining film. He said the guys are talking about Sly Stallone for a character called Brimstone".

"Lobo"
.Joel Silver talked about the project's current status to About.Com: "You have to realize, these PG-13 [expectations], it's hard for me to pull these movies into PG-13. A movie like Lobo, it's going to be hard to make that PG-13 and it's really kind of a kids's movie, a young male movie. So it's a weird time now that you have these big expensive films that need to be [accessible to teens]. Look, I've stayed making R-rated movies and I've done pretty well but I've got to be conscious of the facts. Scary Movie 3 is the biggest one they've ever had and it's PG-13. So Lobo really is a complicated project"

"Wonder Woman"
In the same interview above with Silver, he re-iterated his belief in this comic - "Wonder Woman I want to make. I'm working on the script. We've got to get it right. We have a lot of good ideas, a lot of fresh ideas. I'm not going to really start it until I know we've got it".

"Constantine"
.Lauren-Shuler Donner spoke about the "Hellblazer" adaptation to Yahoo and confirms the character's famous bad attitude seems to have remained intact in the film incarnation - "It's extremely close in spirit. John Constantine is a really unique character because he walks the line between good and bad, between hell and heaven. He doesn't care if he's liked".

[FH]

It was a close race between THE CAT IN THE HAT and THE HAUNTED MANSION but ultimately the red-and-white striped feline took the top spot at the box office this past weekend. Both films netted $25 million dollars and change, with the difference between the duo less than 3K. It's also a close race between GOTHIKA and MASTER AND COMMANDER for the fourth and fifth positions, with only $10K separating GOTHIKA from falling a spot.

But look at ELF. Down to the third spot this week, the film has been out for four weekends now and is still chugging along and earning $20 M each weekend. A year ago who would have bet that a movie starring Will Ferrell would beat the grosses for THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS? Here we are, and here ELF is.


Other new releases, such as BAD SANTA and THE MISSING, performed admirably but Paramount's TIMELINE could only net a disappointing $8 M. Paul Walker might not have a choice but to do a third FAST AND FURIOUS flick if his next film has the same result as TIMELINE.


Here are the estimated box office receipts of the top ten films from November 28 to November 30, their weekend gross and the film's total domestic gross to date:


1. DR. SEUSS' THE CAT IN THE HAT $25,555,000 $77,000,000

2. THE HAUNTED MANSION $25,300,000 $35,000,000

3. ELF $22,175,000 $130,140,000

4. GOTHIKA $12,710,000 $41,134,000

5. MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD $12,700,000 $67,46700,000

6. BAD SANTA $12,485,000 $16,808,000

7. THE MISSING $11,700,000 $16,500,000

8. TIMELINE $8,475,000 $12,600,000

9. LOVE ACTUALLY $7,879,000 $43,240,000

10. BROTHER BEAR $4,900,000 $77,700,000

[FH]

DVD Website News
Original STAR WARS on DVD next November?
Website reports 11/4/04 could be the day fans have been waiting for

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dateline: Tuesday, December 2, 2003

By: PATRICK SAURIOL
By: News Editor
Source: TheForce.net

TheForce.net is receiving reports from scoopers who claim Fox Home Video has released information to retailers that the original STAR WARS trilogy of movies will arrive on DVD late next year. According to two seperate reports, Fox and Lucasfilm have plans to release A NEW HOPE, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI on DVD on November 2, 2004. One of Force.net's informants say that the movies will be offered separately and not as a packaged box set as the recent INDIANA JONES TRILOGY.

Hard to see is the future. Constantly in motion it is.

[FH]

Peter Jackson Reveals King Kong Details! Source: The Dominion Post Tuesday, December 2, 2003

While its's still about two years away, director Peter Jackson has revealed new details about King Kong to The Dominion Post. Here's snippets from the interview...

Director Peter Jackson, fresh from the Return of the King world premiere, will start work on his $200 million King Kong film in Wellington next month.

Jackson, who will be in Los Angeles tomorrow for The Return of the King's United States premiere, said he still had to edit an extended version of the third Lord of the Rings film for DVD late next year. He wanted it done before Christmas.

But after taking a short holiday, he would spend most of his time from January working on King Kong, inspired by the 1933 film. Shooting is planned for August mainly in Wellington.

Jackson said that, because the film would be set in the 1930s, to create the period it would be easier to shoot about 80 per cent of the film at his Miramar studios. Some of the natural locations, including King Kong's home, Skull Island, would also be shot at the studios.

A key feature of the film is a freighter ship, Manuia, – believed to be berthed at Miramar – which takes King Kong from Skull Island to New York.

"I'm interested in (King) Kong being quite stylised and the jungles of Skull Island I want to be very over-the-top, like a jungle from hell. I imagine we are going to be more successful pulling that off in the studio or in a back lot than we are trying to find a beech forest in the South Island," he said.

There would be some location shooting for scenes on beaches or in boats, "but I'm not imagining a huge amount".

Jackson confirmed that it looks likely that Naomi Watts will play the lead, Ann Darrow, in the big budget film.

[FH]

Joss Whedon Pitched a Batman Film Source: CFQ Tuesday, December 2, 2003

CGQ reports that Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly creator Joss Whedon pitched a Batman film to Warner Bros., but he didn't get quite the reaction he was looking for.

Just prior to Christmas 2002, Joss Whedon had a day that was memorable for all the wrong reasons. It began optimistically enough, with him arriving at Warner Bros. to pitch his take on a new Batman film.

"I came up with an idea that I really loved, which was an origin story," Whedon reflects. "After I finished pitching it, they looked at me like I was a video fishbowl. I came out of there thinking, 'How many more lessons do I need that the machine doesn't care about the creative process?' When I got back to my office and found that Firefly was canceled, I thought, 'Okay, maybe one more lesson.'"

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Keanu Reeves Talks Constantine In-Depth! Source: Moviehole Wednesday, December 3, 2003

Moviehole spoke to Keanu Reeves today, for his upcoming "Something's Gotta Give", and got chatting about the Constantine film. The site provided the following clips from the interview.

Were you committed to Constantine a long time ago?
No, I was working in Australia and working on 'The Matrix' films and just trying to develop work for afterwards and this script came and worked on the script and worked with Warner Brothers and some of the execs there, and writers, Akiva Goldsman came on as one of the producers and so, he's done some writing and it took about a year, and right now, we're about six weeks in.

Is it a comic book?
Yes, it's coming from a comic book series, from a character from Allen Moore. I think that it was introduced in 'Swamp Thing'.

What's the take on the character?
His relationship to God. I guess that it's ultimately it's his relationship to the world. It's a guy who's got anger and ambivalence. There's a line in it, 'God has a plan for all of us, and some people like it, some people don't.' That's kind of a Constantinian take on it. Some people like it and John Constantine doesn't like it, but he likes it.

Do you think that it's going to be commercial because that's a dark comic series?
Well, I mean, we have a character. We're hoping to make a PG-13 film, but it's also a character who after he goes to Gabriel and finds out that there's no way. I'm playing a character who's damned and he's trying to escape hell and he goes to Gabriel and he's like, 'Come on, I'm taking demons out of little girls. Who's that for?' Gabriel is saying, 'Well, you don't believe.' I go, 'I believe for Christ sake.' He goes, 'No, you know. You don't have faith.'

He's an ex-priest?
I don't know. It depends on what story you're telling. In this one, he wasn't and after that, he goes and you see my character with scratches on his back and he's drinking some whiskey and he's just made love to the demon. So, you know, we're trying for PG-13. My feet are on the floor of the bed, he's under the covers.

What do you think are some of the cons about getting involved with another franchise?
I don't know about cons. I don't know about that. I mean the business side of it and the storytelling side of it; if we're fortunate enough and it all comes together and we make an interesting, enjoyable film, I'll be really happy. I'm having a really positive experience right now. I'm working with some incredible artists. We have a remarkable DP. I'm working with Francis Lawrence who's very talented, has a fresh vision, a great storyteller. I'm doing a script with Akiva Goldsman, an Oscar award winner. He's one of the best writers in town. I'm working with Rachel Weisz and Tilda Swinton is acting in it. We've got some incredible set direction and we've got one of the best crews that I've ever worked with. We're telling a righteous story and something that I think is cool about adjusting one's place in the world and if we're lucky enough to entertain folks and that they dig it and whoever says, 'Keanu, do you want to do that again,' we'll see. Whether that turns into a franchise, and lunch boxes, I doubt it, but hopefully, if we can make a good film, I don't know.

[FH]

Bloody Disgusting reports that due to such positive reactions to the recent re-release of "Alien", Fox is continuing the popular franchise and in fact "Sigourney Weaver has already signed for the proposed Alien 5 (which follows her travelling to the Alien homeworld and wiping out the species for good), demanding that her character be killed off at the end of this one for good".

[FH]

NEW DVD RELEASES FOR DECEMBER 2, 2003

1 Love (2003)

Alias: Season Two (6-disc set)

The Alien Quadrilogy (9-disc set)

Aussie Horror Collection

Beethoven's 5th (2003)

The Ben Stiller Show (2-disc set)

Buster (1988)

Cambridge Spies (2-disc set) (2003)

Car 54, Where Are You? (1994)

Checking Out (1989)

The Chronological Donald: Walt Disney Treasures (2-disc set)

Cosmic Superheroes (1960-69)

Cops and Robbers (1973)

Crime of Passion (1957)

The Cuckoo (2002)

Darling (1965)

Detour (2003)

Farscape 4.1 (2002)

George Shearing: Jazz Legends

The Great Gatsby (1974)

He Walked by Night (1948)

The Horsemen (1970)

How To Get Ahead in Advertising (1989)

Hud (1963)

The Jamie Kennedy Experiment: Season One

Jeremiah: Season One (6-disc set)

Livin' Large! (1991)

The Little Polar Bear

Lord Love a Duck (1966)

Lost World: Season One (1999)

Loving Walter

The Meat Rack/Sticks and Stones (1970)

Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Vol. 2: Walt Disney Treasures (2-disc set)

Mommy & Me: Playgroup Favorites

Mommy & Me: More Playgroup Favorites

MTV: Making the Band 2: The Best of Season One

Newport Jazz Festival: 1962

Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Once Upon a Crime (1992)

The Ox-Bow Incident: Fox Studio Classics (1943)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2-disc set) (2003)

Real Men (1987)

Rent-A-Girl/Aroused/Help Wanted Female (1965/1966/1968)

Sexy Movie (2003)

Sexy Movie (R-rated) (2003)

Ship of Fools (1965)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season Seven (7-disc set)

Stargate SG-1: Season Five (5-disc set)

Strange Behavior: Special Edition (1981)

There's a Girl in My Soup (1970)

Thirst: Special Edition (1979)

This Property Is Condemned (1966)

To Live and Die in LA

Walt Disney on the Front Lines: Walt Disney Treasures (2-disc set)

Walt Disney's Tomorrowland: Walt Disney Treasures (2-disc set)

William S. Burroughs: Commissioner of Sewers (1986)

Wuthering Heights (1992)

Xotic Xtreme: Rush Zone: Hawaii

Xotic Xtreme: Wavebreaker: Hawaii

Xotic Xtreme: X-Girls: Island Adventure: Hawaii

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

[FH]

Tim Burton on His Version of Chocolate Factory Source: Chicago Sun-Times Wednesday, December 3, 2003

Big Fish director Tim Burton talked to the Chicago Sun-Times about his upcoming Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in which Johnny Depp will play Willy Wonka. Burton says while the 1971 Gene Wilder film was a bit on the sappy side, the new version won't be so much.

"Well, I don't want to crush people's childhood dreams, but the original film is sappy," Burton says. "It's sappy when it shouldn't be sappy and it's weird. Let's just say it's not one of my personal favorites. I'd rate 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' much higher."

Burton says he has wanted to do the remake for years. "I responded to the children's book because it respected that children can be adults, and I think adults forget that. There can be darkness and sort of foreboding. Very sinister things are very much a part of childhood. I like that sort of humor and emotion put together."

And why did he pick Depp, who has starred in various Burton films, for the role? "I just like working with him. He's always surprising and fun."

[FH]

Coppola's 4400 are Invading USA Network Source: Variety Thursday, December 4, 2003

The USA network has greenlit series pilot The 4400, a science fiction drama from executive producers Francis Ford Coppola, Rene Echevarria (Dark Angel) and Maira Suro (Platinum). Coppola last teamed with USA on the four-hour mini-series Moby Dick.

Picking up where most alien-abduction tales end, The 4400 centers on the return of 4,400 missing people to Earth. The series kicks off with an apocalyptic ball of light sailing toward earth. In place of the expected catastrophic event, however, thousands of returned abductees are left with no memory of their otherworldly experiences. Each has been gone anywhere from a few months to several decades, but hasn't aged a day.

For example, one character who has been missing for 15 years comes back to find her husband remarried and her daughter nearing her own age.

USA will likely premiere the series next summer. Production on the pilot starts in February, but no casting has yet been set. USA has ordered the pilot plus five episodes of the hour-long series, created and written by Scott Peters (The Outer Limits).

[FH]

We all woke up to some good word this morning: Anchor Bay is finally going to release the long talked about Dawn of the Dead Special Edition, a presentation of the same caliber as this year's 2-disc Day of the Dead (review). According to DVD File, Dawn will arrive March 9th. And it's reportedly a 2-discer as well.

That latter nugget of news seemed to bring disappointment to the masses seeing as we've all heard that Dawn was going to be a mucho grande presentation. The one to rule them all.

An Anchor Bay representative contacted Creature-Corner this afternoon to let eager fans know that this information is only partially correct. We've got the full skinny straight from the horse's mouth.

Dawn of the Dead is indeed arriving March 9th but in a single-disc package under Anchor Bay's Divimax banner (similar to the aforementioned Day of the Dead and this year's Halloween: 25th Anniversary Edition). This disc will feature a 16 X 9 theatrical cut transfer and a few Extras that are still being finalized.

Later in '04, Anchor Bay will release a multi-disc Special Edition of Dawn some time before Halloween/late summer. The number of discs contained within is a detail still being worked out by the disc's producers. Our AB rep assures us that this package will contain multiple cuts of the film and numerous commentaries. Also expect brand spankin' new interviews with cast and crew, amongst them: George Romero, Dario Argento, David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross.

This info sound familiar? It should, this release schedule and lay-out was a plan circulating through the rumor mill earlier in the year.

Full specs for both the single-disc and multi-disc set are expected to arrive after the first of the year so continue to keep an eye on the Corner for updates!

[FH]

Moviehole published a report from an anonymous scooper that Quentin Tarantino's next project after the World War 2-set action film INGLORIOUS BASTARDS will be a new airline disaster picture starring John Travolta. According to Moviehole's source, Travolta would play a pilot in the film which is supposedly Tarantino's homage to such 70s disaster films as AIRPORT or THE TOWERING INFERNO. Reportedly Tarantino is in discussions with Miramax for the new film and he also wants his star from JACKIE BROWN, Pam Grier, to star alongside Travolta in the movie.

[FH]

Bryan Singer in Negotiations to Direct X-Men 3 Source: Variety Friday, December 5, 2003

Director Bryan Singer has signed an overall deal with 20th Century Fox to develop projects he'll direct and produce. Singer has separately begun negotiations to return for a third installment of the X-Men franchise.

Fox production president Hutch Parker told Variety the effort to mount another film is in its early stages, but that he would have been eager to bring Singer into the Fox fold even if the studio wasn't thinking about another film.

"We are always wary of sequels because so often they are an invitation to mediocrity, because not enough attention is paid to the skills that allowed the first film to succeed," Parker said. "We had such a fantastic experience with Bryan on 'X2' -- he was a great partner who navigated the process, which included the magnitude of the budget, the number of visual effects, and our desire to build on the first film and make a better and more satisfying movie. The deal is an outgrowth of the strong relationship we built on those two films."

The two-year deal is the first studio pact for Singer, who named his production company Bad Hat Harry, a line from his favorite movie Jaws. Singer will have an office on the lot and will bring with him development director Alex Garcia and add to his existing staff as he accumulates projects.

"I've been stockpiling a number of different projects in movies, TV and videogames, and it's great to have a base of operation and a place to put writers to work," Singer said.

Mounting X-Men 3 will be a more pricey undertaking than the last effort. The cast members made deals for the original film and an option for one sequel. The studio will have to broker new deals for returning cast members.