weekly movie news

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USA Today chatted with Bruce Willis, who is gearing up to star in Hostage, about the possibility of another Die Hard film. He says he still plans to revisit the role of tough cop John McClane in Die Hard 4. "We're working on it. Fox wants to do it. I want to do it. It depends on the script," says Willis.

He doesn't go as far as saying that the project, which would be the first Die Hard movie since 1995, is a done deal. "After the first Die Hard, I said I wasn't going to do any more Die Hards, and I did two more. So I don't make predictions anymore. If they get the script right and it seems like an interesting story..."

He adds that "It's hard today to do. The whole Die Hard trilogy so far has been based on some element of terrorism, and it's difficult in today's world to do stories that fictionally portray terrorism."

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Kill Bill: Vol. 2 Move to April 16 Confirmed Source: Variety Friday, January 9, 2004

Variety has confirmed that Miramax has moved the Quentin Tarantino sequel Kill Bill: Vol. 2 from February 20 to April 16. In a clever move, Disney has already moved its Lindsay Lohan romantic comedy Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen into the Feb. 20 spot.

The trade adds that it is also still undecided whether Kill Bill: Vol. 2 will travel to the Cannes Festival. No clear reason has surfaced for moving the sequel, but a later date will allow time to bring Kill Bill: Vol. 1 to DVD. It's expected to hit video shelves on April 13.

Also scheduled for April 16 are Universal's Nia Vardalos and Toni Collette-starrer Connie and Carla and comic book adaptation The Punisher.

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Orlando Bloom Moving to Elizabethtown Source: Variety Friday, January 9, 2004

According to Variety, Orlando Bloom has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Ashton Kutcher in director Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown.

Bloom is in talks to star opposite Kirsten Dunst in the drama, portraying a suicidal young man who returns to his small Kentucky hometown of Elizabethtown following the death of his father.

The "Lord of the Rings" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" star would not be able to start on the film until he completes work toplining on director Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven, a Crusades-era epic that begins lensing this month in Morocco for 20th Century Fox.

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Cole Hauser Starring in Screen Gems' Cave Source: The Hollywood Reporter Friday, January 9, 2004

Cole Hauser (2 Fast 2 Furious) will dive deep for Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment in horror thriller Cave.

Written by Michael Steinberg, the film revolves around a group of expert cave explorers who go for a deep sea ocean dive to explore a cave. While on the expedition, the cave collapses, leaving the team stranded. By the time they are discovered, they have all mysteriously mutated into primeval beings.

Hauser will star as the team's lead explorer with more casting expected shortly. Bruce Hunt, who directed the second and third units on the first and last "Matrix" films, will make his directorial debut.

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New "Dawn of the Dead" Trailer Online...


Following up on the first teaser trailer released three months back, Yahoo! Movies is hosting the new full trailer for the remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD. Jarring and disturbing are two words I'd use to describe the trailer; it really does look like they've taken Romero's original DAWN film and ramped it up to 11. Fans of the RESIDENT EVIL games or 28 DAYS LATER should definitely take note...and if you really want to experience the full effect of this trailer, you should see it in a darkened theater. You'll know what I mean when you see the trailer's ending.

If you can't wait until then, hit
Yahoo Movies then choose your format.

Dawn of the Dead comes out this March.

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Did Cillian Beat Out Viggo for The Scarecrow? Source: Unison Friday, January 9, 2004

'Robert' has the latest on which villain actor Cillian Murphy might play in Christopher Nolan's new Batman movie.

According to the Irish news website Unison.ie, Cillian Murphy will play the Scarecrow aka Dr. Jonathan Crane and start filming in the summer after a theater tour in Ireland. Here's a clip from the article:

"Although already hailed as a major player, the 29-year-old Cork actor is set for worldwide fame when he appears as the villain in the next Batman movie. Beating Lord of the Rings superstar Viggo Mortensen to the role of Scarecrow, Murphy will begin filming one of the most expensive movies of the year after his Druid tour ends this summer."

I asked the Creative Artists Agency ,Viggo Mortensen's representatives, about Viggo's rumored role in Batman Intimidation. They completely denied that he's signed or involved. When I asked what his next movie is, they said: 'He has no new or next project.'

It's not unusual for representatives of actor/actresses to deny stories/rumors. This has been proven in the past numerous times. But we'll have to wait and see what WB announces in the coming weeks.

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The Matrix Revolutions Hitting DVD on April 6 Source: Warner Home Video Saturday, January 10, 2004

Warner Home Video has released the specs for The Matrix Revolutions DVD, coming on April 6. The 2-Disc DVD will be available in separate anamorphic Widescreen and Full Screen versions. It carries a suggested retail price of $29.95

The DVD Features Include:



DVD ROM Features: Links to The Matrix Online test site and the official Matix website

Documentaries: "Revolutions Recalibrated": The making of the final chapter of The Matrix trilogy, including a segment on Neo Realism: The Evolution of Bullet Time

Documentary: "CG Revolution": The incredible special effects arsenal, including the segment Super Big Mini-Models

Featurette: "Super Burly Brawl": Behind the final Neo/Smith showdown, including the segments Double Agent Smith and Mind Over Matter: The Physicality of The Matrix

Other: "Before the Revolution": A 3-D Matrix timeline

"Future Gamer: The Matrix Online": an introduction to the massively multi-player game

Photo gallery: "3-D Evolution": Multidimensional stills gallery

Theatrical Trailer

In The Matrix Revolutions, the final chapter in the "Matrix" trilogy, the rebels' long quest for freedom culminates in a final explosive battle. As the Machine Army wages devastation on Zion, its citizens mount an aggressive defense -- but can they stave off the relentless swarm of Sentinels long enough for Neo to harness the full extent of his powers and end the war?

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Short Circuit 3: Seems that No. 5 is still alive and didn't die of a computer virus as expected - the latest issue of Source indicating a third film in the series will be going into production around Easter.

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Resident Evil: Apocalypse Clip Screened at Fango Source: Ain't-It-Cool-News Monday, January 12, 2004

Ain't-It-Cool-News reports that a new clip from Resident Evil: Apocalypse was shown at Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors. Here's a description with spoilers:

The clip seemed to take place at the end of the film because we see Milla "Alice" Jovovich inside of a huge tank just like the one Luke Skywalker was in Star Wars 2 and we see scientists scurrying about discussing how well she's healing then the head scientist has her released from the tank then we see Milla Fully nude (Bonus) incoherently trying to speak doing the LeeLoo thing and the Head scientist asks her if she remembers anything and then she starts to have rapid cut flashbacks of her fully strapped shooting double guns and various shots of the S.T.A.R.S. team, Zombies leaping and screaming then she snaps out of it and says to the head scientist "I remember everything" then proceeds to grab his pen then stabs him in the neck.

The report also mentioned that the sequel to Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses will begin filming in late April for an October release this year.

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Irons Joins Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven Source: The Hollywood Reporter Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Jeremy Irons will star in director Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven at 20th Century Fox. Irons joins a cast that includes Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Eva Green, Marton Csokas, David Thewlis and Brendan Gleeson.

Set in 12th century Europe and the Far East, the William Monahan-penned script revolves around a young peasant (Bloom), who becomes a knight, saves a kingdom and falls in love with a princess (Green) during the crusades in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Irons will play Tiberias.

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A Review of an Early Screening of Hellboy Source: Fangoria Monday, January 12, 2004


Fangoria got a chance to see quite a lot of director Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy adaptation. Here's a clip...

With two and a half months to go to complete the effects, looping and put on the score, HELLBOY looks remarkably complete, likely due to the number of in-camera effects Del Toro chose to use in the film. All in all, the movie looks like a truly great bit of monster-making with a really strong and well-executed story, multi-dimensional characterizations, some amazing creature designs, a lot of Mignola-style dark humor and a truly beautiful look.

You can read the review of the unfinished film at the link above!

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Robert Luketic Bringing Back Matt Helm Source: BBCi Films Tuesday, January 13, 2004

BBCi Films reports that Legally Blonde director Robert Luketic is bringing super spy Matt Helm back to the big screen. Based on a series of novels by Donald Hamilton, Columbia Pictures used these as a vehicle for crooner Dean Martin back in the 60s.

Luketic is hoping to make a more lasting impression with his take on the series, enthusing: "It would be a character-based, action adventure-driven franchise of films, unlike contemporary spy genre films where there really isn't any emotional attachment.

"If you remember Spielberg's Indiana Jones," Luketic adds, "he bled and he was so real, and you were with him during the adventures. You really felt peril for him. So I think that's something we want to try."

Luketic mentioned Josh Duhamel, the lead in his upcoming comedy Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!, as a possible candidate for the role.

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Ledger & Gyllenhaal to Play Gay Cowboys Source: The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal are in talks to play gay cowboys in the next film from The Hulk director Ang Lee, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Brokeback Mountain revolves around two men who meet one summer in Wyoming and form a bond and love that spans 20 years. The film tracks that time period and their evolving relationship. The start date has yet to be determined.

The Focus Features project was adapted by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana from a short story by The Shipping News screenwriter E. Annie Proulx.

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David Goyer Directing Unique at Touchstone Source: The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday, January 14, 2004

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Touchstone Pictures has picked up Unique, an upcoming graphic novel from Platinum Studios, to serve as a directing vehicle for David Goyer.

Unique centers on Jon Geoffries, a man who discovers the Earth has a twin, a parallel world in another dimension. The worlds are closely linked, explaining such phenomena as deja vu and love at first sight, with people having counterparts on both Earths. However, a few are born "unique," with no doppelgangers, and can travel between worlds. Geoffries is one such person and soon finds himself a target of enemies who want to exploit his connection.

David Heyman will produce through his Heyday Films, while Platinum's Scott Mitchell Rosenberg will serve as executive producer. Michael Cooney has been tapped to adapt the material.

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CAVE is the new Screen Gems sci-fi project that was announced late last week in the trades. The announcement of the movie in The Hollywood Reporter kept to the facts, with the primary piece of news conveyed being that actor Cole Hauser has been cast in the film.

Thanks to someone working in the biz, we've been sent more detailed information about the key creators working on CAVE plus an extra morsel of info about the film's mysterious storyline.


According to our scooper, the screenwriters for CAVE are Michael Steinberg and Tegan West (West was not mentioned in the Reporter article.) Lakeshore Entertainment and Screen Gems are the two companies producing CAVE. The film's producers are Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi and Andrew Mason.


Reporter described CAVE's premise as concerning a team of divers that get trapped in an underwater cave as a result of a cave-in. When help finally arrives to free them, the rescuers are shocked to find that the divers have de-evolved into primordial beings.


Our scooper adds to the premise by mentioning that the team of divers are exploring an underwater cave system in Eastern Europe and not in a major body of ocean. The scooper also mentions that when the divers become trapped in the underwater caves they "find that something else is down there with them in the dark..."