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March 23, 2000

Now that production has finally begun on MINORITY REPORT, we can get down to the nitty-gritty. And that includes a just announced cameo from Academy Award winner Meryl Streep. The star will play a small role in the film, which started production on March 22nd. She joins Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Peter Stormare and others in the film based on the novel by the same name and directed by Steven Spielberg.
 

March 23, 2000

Reports came out on Wednesday from a London tabloid (and we all know how reliable they are!) that claimed Whitney Houston was in talks to be the next Bond girl. I immediately blew this story off, filing it in the same mental drawer as the Sigourney Weaver/ALIEN 5 story from a while back. But now, it turns out that there is some truth to this report as producers are meeting with Houston to discuss numerous projects, one of which is the next Bond film. The report was confirmed by both MGM’s and Houston’s spokespeople but they stress that they are in very preliminary discussions. I wonder if Bobby Brown will play the villain in this one...as well...
                                              

March 23, 2000

Jason Alexander has been cast as the best friend of Jack Black in the upcoming Farrelly Brothers’ comedy SHALLOW HAL.Alexander joins Black (who plays the titular role), a fat-suited Gwyneth Paltrow and Garry Shandling. Shooting will begin on the 28th and Paltrow will join production as soon as she has finished her role in THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS for director Wes Anderson.
                                              

March 23, 2000

Kathy Bates has joined the cast of two upcoming projects, ABOUT SCHMIDT and CAROLINA. Bates will join Jack Nicholson and Dermot Mulroney in SCHMIDT which will be written and directed by Alexander Payne (ELECTION). She will then move to the independent film CAROLINA which will star Julia "Furious" Stiles in a film about a young girl (Stiles) who leaves her Southern family, including "eccentric" grandmother (Bates), behind to start a new life on the West Coast.
                                              

March 23, 2000

11) "Heeeeere’s Johnny!" (THE SHINING) – Legend has it that Jack Nicholson improvised this classic line and that’s just so Jack. The first time I saw this movie (I was 10, mind you) I didn’t sleep for about a week. And when I did finally sleep, I had nightmares of Jack axing my door down and me not being able to fit out the window. I must not forget to mention the terror in Shelley Duvall’s eyes. Scary stuff.

Stay tuned for the Ten Greatest Moments in Movie History...

Check out #29-20 here
Check out #39-30 here
Check out #49-40 here

Discuss all of these fine picks here
                                              

March 23, 2000

• If you haven’t yet, I advise you to check out the official Akira website here
• The official Star Wars site has posted some pretty neat storyboards from Episode II you can check out here
• Rick Rosenthal (HALLOWEEN 2) has been tapped to direct HALLOWEEN 8. Check the news out on the official site here
• Coming Attractions has posted a load of new pics from the set of THE MAJESTIC that you can peep out here
• If you need a good laugh (Lord knows, I do) take a listen to these hilarious Ah-nuld prank calls

March 22, 2000

The SciFi channel has managed to seal deals with Steven Spielberg, Stephen King and Clive Barker to bring three new telefilms to the cable network. Spielberg will be working on an epic alien abduction mini-series called TAKEN, which will, all told, run 20 hours in length. King will work on a sequel to his FIRESTARTER (which previously starred Drew Barrymore) to air as miniseries, that will chronicle events that took place 20 years after the first film/book. Barker will prep his SAINT SINNER (once a Marvel comic) which revolves around a 19th century monk who must track down demons who he brought to modern day Los Angeles.
 

March 22, 2000

The New York Post has gracefully retracted their report of the tension growing between the production of VANILLA SKY and the subsequently delayed production of MINORITY REPORT. They received a statement from Paramount representative Rob Friedman dismissing these claims saying that SKY "wrapped Saturday" and that "everybody is happy." Both camps are insisting that the minor delays that Cruise and Crowe incurred while filming VANILLA SKY were of no consequence to Spielberg and MINORITY REPORT, which will begin production now that Cruise is available.
                                              

March 22, 2000

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March 22, 2000

• Baz Luhrmann’s musical MOULIN ROUGE will open the Cannes Film Festival. Read more here.
• Read a script review of JURASSIC PARK 3 right here.
• Producers are considering Jude Law to play a young HANNIBAL? Read more here.

March 21, 2000

Who else but the ever-faithful dudes over at SpiderMan Hype! would get one of the toughest photos to snatch for the upcoming SPIDER-MAN movie: THE GREEN GOBLIN costume! Here it is in all its glory below (okay, so it's not a great picture, but at least we get the "feel" of things). Check out more pics by clicking on the one below:

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March 21, 2000

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March 21, 2000

According to the funky dudes over at CHUD, "New York Magazine is reporting that John Travolta and Michael Madsen have signed on to star in a project to be written and directed by Quentin Tarantino titled THE VEGA BROTHERS." As you psycho Tarantino fans already know, this project has been talked about for years, as John Travolta's character from PULP FICTION, named Vincent Vega, and Michael Madsen's character from RESERVOIR DOGS, Mr. White aka Vic Vega, were in fact brothers. The film will obviously be a prequel and shot after Tarantino finishes his current production of KILL BILL, starring Uma Thurman.
                                              

March 21, 2000

Hugh Jackman, who just finished SOMEONE LIKE YOU (formerly ANIMAL HUSBANDRY) with Ashley Judd, took some time to speak with The Chicago Sun-Times’ Cindy Pearlman on the status of X-MEN 2. The star revealed a script is being turned in to Fox executives this week and that a tentative shooting date is set for January, 2002. When confronted about Wolverine’s possible "romance" with Jean Grey, Jackman said "I think Old Wolfie gets a few romantic possibilities in the sequel… He doesn't want to narrow it down to one X-Woman. He's a little afraid of commitment." Interesting…
                                              

March 21, 2000

Warner Bros. will pay screenwriter Andrew Marlowe (who would like you to forget he wrote END OF DAYS) $750,000 to write a script for an as-yet-untitled project, to star Harrison Ford, directed by John Woo, and featuring a bunch of flying doves. Marlowe pitched the idea to Ford who loved the idea and was able to convince Woo to direct, pending approval of the script. Ford is currently sleeping on a bed of $100 bills in Canada while filming K-19 and Woo is finishing up post-production on WINDTALKERS.
                                              

March 21, 2000

Joining Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder in the upcoming comedy DEEDS will be veteran actor Peter Gallagher and Jared Harris (I SHOT ANDY WARHOL). The film will begin shooting next week, mere days after Sandler wraps filming on PT Anderson’s JUST DESSERTS. The film, written by Steven Brill (who will also direct) and Tim Herlihy (the man behind the hilarious "Herlihy Boy" sketches on SNL, featuring Sandler and Chris Farley) will be loosely based on the Frank Capra movie, MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN. The plot revolves around a country boy named Deeds (Sandler) who inherits a multi-billion dollar company from his deceased uncle. When Deeds packs up and leaves for the big city, he runs into trouble, but eventually finds love with a tabloid TV reporter (Ryder) out to paint him as a deranged lunatic. This looks like more of a return to the usual Sandler fare after that bizarre, bizarre sounding Anderson feature.
                                              

March 21, 2000

• Fatboy Slim has been signed to write the soundtrack for TOMB RAIDER.  Read more here
• Warner Bros. will allow teen webmasters to continue their Harry Potter fansites and will move on to pick on someone their own size.  Read more here
• Some pretty detailed set reports from the filming of SPIDER-MAN have popped up all over the net. Read a few here or here
• An interesting article about movie studios setting up fake "fan sites" to promote their movies that you can read here

March 20, 2000

Variety has posted a plot summary for the upcoming Adam Sandler/PT Anderson collaboration.  I must admit it was nothing like what I thought it was going to be. Here's the word:  "Sandler plays the owner of a phone-sex business that is slowly failing; as a result, three thugs are sent out to get him. Meanwhile, his sister tries to set him up on a blind date with a character played by Academy Award nominee Emily Watson. Sandler is uninterested, but ends up meeting her by chance.  Later, Sandler's character grows obsessed with saving coupons from a pudding company that's offering frequent flyer miles with every purchase, and eventually he earns enough miles to take a trip around the world. But he can't forget the mysterious woman who, he learns, has left for a vacation in Hawaii. With his life in turmoil, Barry uses his coupons for a trip to Hawaii to find her."  Still no word on a title, but don't believe anyone who tells you this project is the old KNUCKLE SANDWICH script that Moriarty at AICN reviewed a while back. T'aint.

March 20, 2000

Cinescape has posted some bits from an interview with FX legend Stan Winston, in which he drops some nuggets about the upcoming JURASSIC PARK 3.  Stan discusses how Alan Grant (Sam Neill reprising his role from the original) returns to the island and is attacked by the new Spinosaurus (described as "bigger and meaner and badder" than the T-Rex), the flying Pteranodons and of course...the Raptors.  Winston says that the Pteranodons will be more complex than any other previous dino "because of the combination of animatronics, men in suits [and] wings that are beyond what we've done."  Expect the JURASSIC PARK 3 trailer to be hitting the net and your local multiplex any day now....
                                              

March 20, 2000

FilmForce reported last week that director Jay Roach (AUSTIN POWERS, MEET THE PARENTS) was out as the director of the acclaimed novel THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY and in was director Michel Gondry (HUMAN NATURE).  Well Roach himself spoke with Inside and debunked those rumors saying "It's not true...unless there's an elaborate conspiracy I'm not aware of!"  He added that he's currently working with author Douglas Adams on developing the movie while staying faithful to the original work.
                                              

March 20, 2000

29) The whole movie (ARMY OF DARKNESS) – Unfortunately it was impossible to pick a scene from this movie to include, because everyone who voted for it, voted for a different moment. But the movie in general got so many votes, that it was simply impossible to ignore. So we will honor this classic as one giant great movie moment.

28) "You talkin’ to me?" (TAXI DRIVER) – De Niro at his finest. Yet another case of a memorable moment being improvised on set. This is just a testament to what a great acting/directing team you’ve got with De Niro and Scorcese. And really, who hasn’t stood in front of their mirror and said the lines at least once? Not that I have, but I hear lots of other people dabbled…

27) Private Pyle finally loses it (FULL METAL JACKET) – I hate to say it, but I could totally relate to Pyle in this movie. I felt so bad for him and you know things are going to go badly when Vincent D’Onofrio just starts staring insanely into space. This was the first time I had ever seen brains on screen and it creeped me out for a long time. Stanley "The Master" Kubrick does his thing once again, in probably his most under-appreciated movie.

26) The Knights Who Say "Ni" (MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL) – Funny stuff here, kids and that’s saying a lot, cause not many comedies made the list, this go round. If there had to be a comedy to make any "best of" list, it would always be this one. The quintessential comedy that stoners and intellectuals could both enjoy. The film is just packed with hilarious moments, but this was the one you guys chose as the best (and a damn fine choice at that).

25) Hannibal relates his meeting with a census worker (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) – Another revelation for the readers of JoBlo…I didn’t like this movie. I am probably the only person on the face of the Earth, but I just didn’t care much for it. But, despite not liking the movie as a whole, I did enjoy Hannibal slowly tearing into Clarice, calling her "poor white trash" and responding to her requests to fill out a questionnaire by telling her (in a ultra-classic line) that "a census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti... Fly back to school, little Starling." Hannibal – 1, Clarice – 0.

Stay tuned for numbers 19-11!

Check out #39-30 here
Check out #49-40 here

Discuss all of these fine picks here
                                                

March 19, 2000

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March 19, 2000

It looks like fan-favorite Gambit, may not be included in the X-MEN sequel after all. The trench coat wearing, New Orleans mystery man was widely considered a front-runner for the sequel but reports say that the character’s overall resemblance to Wolverine preclude any appearance in X-MEN sequels. Beast seems to be a lock, considering he almost made the first film, while Nightcrawler, Angel and Colossus have also been discussed. The report, which originally appeared at Guerilla Film, also notes that Magneto will again be the main villain with The Sentinels taking a major supporting role. Interestingly enough, their source said that, "There is so little activity going on with X-MEN 2 right now, everything's in a holding pattern."
  

March 19, 2000

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March 19, 2000

AICN is reporting that the official site for SPAWN has revealed the direction for the sequel that they have pitched to Sony. They report says that SPAWN will be a character like JAWS, where the action happens around that character not necessarily always including that character. Detectives Sam and Twitch will be more of the traditional main characters, as we follow them in their attempts to clean up the streets in the city they live. Another cool thing is that they mention how we will never see a full shot of SPAWN but rather that he will be kept in the shadows as a mysterious figure haunting so many criminals. Could be a really interesting take on the comic if it’s treated right...
                                              

March 19, 2000

What do you get when you slap three of this year's "Best Actor/Actress" nominees, Benicio Del Toro, Juliette Binoche and Geoffrey Rush, into a film written by Anthony Minghella, director of the Oscar-fave THE ENGLISH PATIENT? Uuuuuuhmmmm, let me guess here....another Oscar movie?! With Chloe Sevigny, another past Oscar nonimee for BOYS DON'T CRY, also in final negotiations to star in the film, the as-yet-untitled film based on the novel "The Assumption Of The Virgin," is definitely starting to look like a winner. The film is to be directed by and will CENTRAL STATION's Walter Salles and tells the story of the relationship between the painter Fra Lippa (Del Toro) and the torrid romance he shared with his model, a nun (Binoche).
    

March 19, 2000

Coming Attractions is reporting that Miramax’s O, the updated teen version of OTHELLO, may be headed straight to video to avoid a controversy surrounding its release...AMERICAN OUTLAWS release date has been changed to August 17, 2001 to avoid a conflict with that other Summer western, TEXAS RANGERS...EVOLUTION’s release date has been pushed up to June 8th to commemorate the release of Ghostbusters which opened 17 years ago that day. The full trailer is currently available for download right here at JoBlo. Thanks to ‘Coach P’ and ‘Ivan’ for the heads up.

Click here to check out all of the latest trailers