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July 20, 2001

It hurts to have to report this.  Famke Janssen could have been perfect as the villainess Serleena in MEN IN BLACK 2 but due to a family illness, she has now dropped out.  As if that weren't bad enough news, the worst part comes in her replacement.  Lara Flynn Boyle.  I personally can't stand Ms. Boyle's work and judging by what I know of her character off-screen, I don't like Ms. Boyle herself much either.  Before you start asking, no I don't watch THE PRACTICE. 

Sure, I've seen an episode or two, but I'm not much of a TV guy, unless it's episodes of THE SIMPSONS in syndication.  I've heard she does good work on that show but I just don't enjoy it.  In fact, I'm of the opinion she hasn't done anything worthwhile since 1989's HOW I GOT INTO COLLEGE (if anyone else out there has seen this flick, write me at scoops@joblo.com and let me know).  But, this is the decision director Barry Sonnenfeld has made and this is what we're stuck with.  Famke is a beautiful bombshell and could've kicked some serious ass in this movie but now we'll just have to settle.  Oh well...
 

July 20, 2001

If this actually winds up happening, it could be the greatest pairing of action superstars since Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell teamed up for TANGO AND CASH!  Revolution Studios has signed deals with Jet Li and Jackie Chan for them to star in an untitled action film to begin in the fall of 2002.  There is no word on what the film revolves around but both Chan and Li are "heavily involved" in developing the story with writer Robert Mark Kamen (KISS OF THE DRAGON).   I'm not sure why someone didn't think of this "Monsters of Kung-Fu" sooner but it certainly is a great idea.  Kudos to the people at Revolution for finally making this happen.
 

July 20, 2001

The winners of the 2001 Webby Awards, saluting the best and brightest in the world of the internet, were announced on Wednesday and once again JoBlo's Movie Emporium came up empty-handed (not a surprise considering we weren't nominated for anything). The official website for REQUIEM FOR A DREAM won both the official and People's Voice award for Best Film Site. To read the entire list of winners in categories ranging from Humor, Politics and Science, check out the official Webby Awards homepage.  I'm thinking 2002 is the year for JoBlo to make a serious run so we're counting on you faithful schmoes to get out and vote!  Let your voice be heard!!

Oh yeah, but it just so happened that JoBlo's Movie Emporium was voted as THE COOL STIE OF THE DAY today here, so check it out and vote, vote, vote for our sorry asses so that we could get into the finals for COOL SITE OF THE MONTH!!!

VOTE FOR JOBLO.COM HERE
 

July 20, 2001

While speaking with a publicity rep for Artisan Entertainment about the upcoming Jon Favreau/Vince Vaughn comedy MADE, the subject of the Steve Martin film NOVOCAINE came up.   I asked what the film was going to be released and for some background information.   I could never get a firm grasp on whether the film was a comedy, a dark comedy, a thriller, a suspense or what.  I'm still no clearer on the plot of the film but this is the official plot description I was provided:

"Steve Martin is a prosperous dentist, secure in his neatly ordered existence and happily engaged to his ambitious dental hygienist (Laura Dern). But when an alluring new patient (Helena Bonham Carter) steps into his life, this ordinary man discovers how little control he has over his world as he is drawn into a maelstrom of sex, drugs and murder."

This makes it seem less and less like a comedy but who knows.  The other big piece of information was told was that NOVOCAINE would be released on video and DVD this November.  The last I had heard the theatrical release date was the 14th of September so I'm guessing they're now going straight to the home video market.  I'm not sure if this means there will be absolutely no theatrical screenings but I do know that the video release date is the first or second week of November.
  

July 20, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• Download a copy (albeit a crappy one from the Entertainment Tonight website) of the ALI trailer here
• Check out the poster for Ben Stiller's latest comedy ZOOLANDER (based on the male model character he created for the VH1 Fashion Awards) here
• Did you notice that HARRY POTTER's trademark lightning scar was off-center in the trailer?  Find out why here

July 19, 2001

The Matt Wagner graphic novel MAGE has been in development in Hollywood for some time now.  Way back in April, 1999, Kevin Smith was hired to write the script about everyday guy Kevin Matchstick and his pivotal role in the battle between good and evil, while Vince Vaughn was rumored to star.  Later that very same year, Disney (Touchstone Pictures specifically) got tired of waiting around for Kevin Smith, who had just finished his work on DOGMA and was busy dealing with death threats from the Catholic League.  As Smith's replacement they found John Rogers - a fresh new writer whose first film script, JESSE JAMES, was making waves in Hollywood (that film later became AMERICAN OUTLAWS with Colin Farrell and Ali Larter).  Rogers was a self-proclaimed comic book nut and it seemed like a good fit for the project.

Flashforward to July 18th, 2001.  A director has finally been announced for MAGE after almost two years of development at Disney.  F. Gary Gray, former rap video director who also counts THE NEGOTIATOR and FRIDAY among his credits, has signed to direct the film with a budget set in the $70 million dollar range.   So far, no one has been mentioned to star but I would imagine Vince Vaughn has moved on to other projects.  Besides, he doesn't even look like character he would be playing.
 

July 19, 2001

You may remember our story here a week or so ago that told you about director Lasse Hallstrom's departure from the Leonardo DiCaprio film CATCH ME IF YOU CAN.  At the time, the details around THE CIDER HOUSE RULES director's departure were sketchy but now we have the details.   Miramax has a development deal with Miramax Films who wanted a cut of profits if Hallstrom directed CATCH for DreamWorks.  DreamWorks balked and Hallstrom was forced to walk.  OK, so Hallstrom's out.  Who's going to fill his shoes?

CATCH is still high on the list of priorities for DreamWorks and DiCaprio and the studio is talking to a number of filmmakers to take over this troubled project.  The two frontrunners for the director's chair so far are Milos Forman (ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST) and Cameron Crowe (ALMOST FAMOUS).  While I love Cameron Crowe, I'm guessing he'd be reluctant to direct a film that he didn't also write (this was written by Jeff Nathanson of RUSH HOUR 2 fame), which he's never done before.  I'd expect an announcement within the month...
 

July 19, 2001

Paul Walker, still hot off the surprise success of THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, will make close to $2 million to star alongside Scott "King" Caan in the youth mob drama WANNA-BE.  Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT) is negotiating to direct the film with his buddy David Fincher executive producing.  WANNA-BE is based on a magazine article chronicling the lives of the mafia's next generation.  Variety does the best job summarizing the focus of the film saying:

The question still lingers:  Can Fred Durst direct a watchable movie?  I dunno, but he could make anything worse than TOMB RAIDER?  Hell, I'm  convinced that a Hollywood studio should give me, JoBlo, Arrow, Dr. Drew and the whole crew a couple million bucks and have us film a movie.   How bad could it be?  Any takers?...
 

July 19, 2001

Here we have the latest proof that people in Hollywood just aren't paying attention.  DreamWorks has acquired the feature film rights to the popular video game CRIMSON SKIES.  The game has something to do with air pirates in the 1930s and a hero named Nathan Zachary who saves the day...but really that's not what's important.  I'd like to take this opportunity to offer up a friendly piece of advice to anyone who'd like to listen.  Give up trying to make video games into movies.  PLEASE!  Don't you remember FINAL FANTASY?!  TOMB RAIDER?  WING COMMANDER?  Anyone?   As a journalist though, I must remain fair and objective - this could be the one that actually works [it's too bad you're not here to see the rolling of my eyes].
  

July 19, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• Check out the first publicity shot from HALLOWEEN: THE HOMECOMING has been posted here
• Download the trailer (taped from Access Hollywood) for Ahnuld's COLLATERAL DAMAGE here
• A long, detailed (yet spoiler free) review of PLANET OF THE APES is online here

July 18, 2001

You probably heard the news last week that Uma "The Thurmanator" Thurman and husband Ethan Hawke are pregnant with their second child.  You may have also read in the same article that Quentin Tarantino's next film KILL BILL would be delayed to accommodate Ms. Thurman who has been training for the lead role since last year.  Now we have an article at IMDB which reports that UK sources (always very reliable...[insert giant eye roll]) have said Miramax and Tarantino are at odds over whether the film should be delayed for Uma or whether a suitable replacement should be found.  They claim that Tarantino wants to find a new woman to play the revenge-seeking hooker in BILL but Miramax wants him to wait nine months for Thurman.

Always the fact-checker, Harry Knowles decided to get to the bottom of this mystery.  He called Tarantino's rep who says the film isn't even officially set up at Miramax yet, so that story is incorrect.  But, the publicist also said, and this is quoting Harry paraphrasing what the publicist said, "Quentin is very very very very very anxious to start shooting on KILL BILL."   Hmmm...could this mean a replacement for poor Uma?  I can't imagine Quentin would want to sit on his hands for nine months while she's pregnant not to mention the months afterwards while she gets herself back into fighting shape.  I know he wrote the part specifically with Uma in mind but if there's a comparable leading lady out there, it might be worth his while to go on without Uma.
 

July 18, 2001

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES genius Paul Dini spoke with Comics Continuum about the progress (or lack thereof) on the BATMAN BEYOND live action film.  He said he was working with director Boaz Yakin (REMEMBER THE TITANS) on developing the project but he says the project seems to have stalled. Dini said, "They're cool on the whole BATMAN BEYOND concept right now. They want to see how a few other takes on Batman that are in development work out. They're still working on a Year One and might have a couple of different takes in the hopper."  This report comes in addition to rumors circulating over the past month or so that the WB was going to drop the project altogether.  So does this lend any credence to my theory that the Brad Pitt/Darren Aronofsky collaboration is really BATMAN: YEAR ONE?  No, not really.  In fact, it's not really a great theory at all, but it would be pretty cool.  Actually, Brad Pitt would be a little old for a YEAR ONE Batman so maybe it isn't even that cool.  Wow, I just totally shot my own theory to shit in a matter of seconds.
 

July 18, 2001

Tim Burton, composer Danny Elfman and hundreds of CGI artists are frantically working to get PLANET OF THE APES ready in time for its scheduled July 27th release date.  Already, Fox has postponed screenings, delayed press junkets (now merely a week before the film's release) and most executives haven't even seen a cut of the film yet.  While the visual effects team works round-the-clock to finish their task, the second unit is busy reshooting a sequence in which Mark Wahlberg's spaceship crash lands and Danny Elfman is making altering his score (not by his own decision, trust me) to give the film a more GLADIATOR like feel to it.  These re-shoots are in addition the reported last-minute changes to the "surprise" ending that had many test screening audiences laughing instead of gasping.  Thanks to 'BartSimpson' for the heads up.
 

July 18, 2001

Cutie-pie Renee Zellweger is the frontrunner to play the lead in the upcoming comedy 13 GOING ON 30, which has been described as a female version of the movie BIG.  The script was written by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who last wrote WHAT WOMAN WANT (not a good sign) and not further details about the film were released but from the title you can pretty much get the gist of it.  Zellweger was among the candidates to star in the pic and has recently emerged as the frontrunner.  After JACK, I was sure they'd never make another "young kid trapped in man/woman's body" but I guess I was wrong.   This reminds of my favorite genre of movie: the kid/adult switch.  My faves include VICE VERSA, LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON and the crown jewel 18 AGAIN.  Ahh, the 80s.
  

July 18, 2001

Just when you thought it was safe...Honest Abe's back with another one of his fine trademark script reviews.  This time it's the Colin Farrell/Joel Schumacher thriller PHONE BOOTH.  Let's listen to Abe's positive review with minor spoilers:

I must have done something good cause this is the second decent script I've read this week. (REIGN OF FIRE, gonna rule, gonna rule). PHONE BOOTH is a well written, nice tight thriller. Not quite edge of your seat thriller but good enough for me to tear through this script like...well...paper. Stu is a public relations spin doctor. He gets his clients out of whatever jams they stick themselves in. Stu is also married, yet having an affair. It's because of this affair that he stops in to use a phone booth on a street corner in downtown New York. He's making plans to see Mavis (the mistress). When he's done with his call, the phone rings and out of sheer curiousity i suppose, he picks it up....and our movie begins. This is one of the only problems I have with the script. The sniper talks to Stu for a bit, setting him up for the little game about to take place. I don't know about you, but the minute I hear something goofy on the phone, I hang up and walk away. Thank you. Roll Credits. See, the sniper doesn't immediately let Stu know there's a gun pointed at him. That's not revealed until after a few more minutes of talking. If Stu just said to himself "whatever, i'm outta here" and hung up the phone that would be that. (but you'd be pissed to spend 9 bucks for a 10 minute movie.) What I did like is that here's not a lot of intro to this film. This script cracks the whip and throws us into the action almost from the get-go. See, there's this sniper perched high above...somewhere...and he's got a high powered rifle aimed at Stu. The cat and mouse game begins. (I can imagine the audience clenching up the first time you see that little red dot from the laser scope appear on Stu's head). Stu himself is pretty well written....he's an ass. He's not a nice guy. His job is essentially saving other people from humiliation and not caring who he steps on to do it. It's nice to watch a character like this get his just desserts. Then there's Ramsey, the cop who's trying to help Stu but doesn't know what's going on. Forest Whitaker in this role can only add to the intensity factor. I won't say anything about the sniper except to say that I was not too jazzed with the payoff. Don't get me wrong, it's well written and should be an entertaining film to watch (thank god Jim Carrey pulled out a long time ago). Some very slick editing and camerawork should make this interesting and exciting to watch. Bottom line: unless the trailer blows puppy chow, I'd check this out the first week, if not opening weekend.
  

July 18, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• A review of CHANGING LANES, starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson, is available here
• Read an interview with Joe Johnston, director of JURASSIC PARK 3, here and find out what it feels like to follow in the footsteps of Steven Spielberg

July 17, 2001

JoBlo, Arrow and others are headed off to San Diego for a what sounds like a fun, relaxing week at the Comic Con and other misadventures.I however have caught some sort of bug and I'm sick as a dog. I've been taking some over-the-counter medications trying to kick this but in the meantime the updates may be a little smaller than usual as I take the time to recover.  If I start going off on bizarre tangents or stop making sense completely (more so than usual...), don't pay much attention.Hopefully I'll be back to my normal self ASAP.Now on with the updates:
  

July 17, 2001

You may have noticed that Garth at Dark Horizons removed the story and accompanying link on his website regarding the exclusive SCOOBY-DOO teaser one-sheet that we broke here on Friday. He explained his actions on Monday morning saying that a Warner Bros. rep denied that this was an official poster and he went on to question whether or not the poster was a fake. Since we were never contacted by either Warner Bros. or Dark Horizons about the poster and its validity, I set out today to get the story straight. This is what I know and what I can tell you for sure:

The poster IS NOT a fake. I am absolutely 100% sure that this is not a fan created image or something to that effect. I contacted Warner Bros. and they did confirm that this was not "the final approved one-sheet." They maintain that a poster for SCOOBY-DOO has yet to be approved but that what we ran on Friday "may be a concept that was floating around." I have done some research and found that the poster was created by graphic design firm BLT & Associates of Hollywood who has also done the posters for JURASSIC PARK 3, OSMOSIS JONES, ENEMY AT THE GATES and others.

So will this be a poster you see hanging in your theater in the coming months? If I had to guess, I would say yes. While it isn't the "final approved" design, it certainly got good buzz on the web so far even getting high marks from those who love to hate this film. In any case, I want to make sure that you all know that this is not (as of yet) the "official" poster. I'm sorry you may have heard it anywhere but here first but that's another story entirely...
  

July 17, 2001

Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey will star as an anti-capital punishment activist sentenced to death row in Alan Parker's (ANGELA'S ASHES) next film THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE.  GALE will be co-produced by Parker and Nicolas Cage who may also star in a supporting role.   George Clooney had been in serious talks to take on the starring role but creative differences lead to his departure.  Spacey beat out a handful of other leading men for the coveted role as David Gale.  Universal, the studio behind GALE, is currently in talks with Nicole Kidman to star alongside Spacey as the film's female lead. 
  

July 17, 2001

Your favorite script reviewer 'Honest Abe' is back again, this time sharing his thoughts on the Matthew McConaughey/Christian Bale film REIGN OF FIRE.  Here's Abe's positive review with minor spoilers:

Discuss REIGN OF FIRE with your fellow schmoes
 

July 17, 2001

Universal has purchased the film rights of Philip Gourevitch's novel A COLD CASE and will develop the picture for Tom Hanks who they are hoping will play the lead.  A COLD CASE is a true story and tells the following tale [as taken from the official book description]:

No word on whether Hanks is interested at all in Universal proposal but Hanks is still attached to a number of projects after ROAD TO PERDITION including Rob Reiner's adaptation of the classic children's book THE POLAR EXPRESS.
  

July 17, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• A test screening review of Britney Spears' debut film WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR has popped up on the net and you can read all about her lesbian scene (just kidding...) here
• Anthony Hopkins stars in HEARTS IN ATLANTIS, based on the Stephen King novel and you can check out the poster (I hope it's the official one...) for the film here
• Mysterio from AICN sat down with an interview with Kevin Smith and you can read Part One of that interview here

July 16, 2001

'Gilbert' sent in these scans from a French magazine (not sure which one) that give us an early glimpse of Robert Rodriguez's ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO. These pictures show us stars Mickey Rourke and Johnny Depp who star in MEXICO alongside Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Willem Dafoe and Cheech Marin. MEXICO will be the third and final chapter in the EL MARIACHI trilogy (MARIACHI being the first, DESPERADO being the second) and once again stars Banderas as El Mariachi, who this time around is waging war against a corrupt cartel leader. Depp reportedly plays a CIA agent in the film. Check out the shots below:

< click pics to see bigger versions >
  

July 16, 2001

The Upcoming Movies website is reporting that Miramax has moved the release of JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK up two days to August 22nd, a Wednesday. JAY AND SILENT BOB was originally slated for release on Aug. 10th but was moved to August 24th to avoid a conflict with RUSH HOUR 2 and AMERICAN PIE 2. The only competition J&SBSB would have on the 24th would be BUBBLE BOY and SUMMER CATCH (I can't wait for Jay and Bob to kick Freddie Prinze Jr.'s ass) which seems like it could be an easy win. Apparently Miramax wants to get a jump on the weekend and allow positive buzz from die-hards who will see the film on Wednesday to spread. This has not been confirmed by Dimension Films or Miramax but Greg from Upcoming Movies claims his source is pretty solid. We'll let you know as soon as we know...

Read Joey Baloney's review of
JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK
  

July 16, 2001

I think a lot of people wanted FINAL FANTASY to succeed this weekend.  Similar to X-MEN, this film's success could have a significant bearing on the likelihood of future forays into that genre.It worked for X-MEN and Hollywood is abuzz with all kinds of comic book related properties. It didn't work so well at all for FINAL FANTASY and now the future of "adult" animation is in serious jeopardy.  FANTASY had a relatively strong Wednesday opening ($5 million) and most observers had the film pegged to win the weekend easy.

Unfortunately, bad buzz spread throughout those days saying the film was (as JoBlo put it in his review) "incomprehensible" and generally just not a good film.  It wound up grossing only $11.5 million for the weekend and landing not first, second or third, but fourth!  Eventually LEGALLY BLONDE won the weekend followed by THE SCORE and CATS AND DOGS. According to Coming Attractions, Sony had announced that it would greelight a FANTASY sequel if the film grossed at least $35 million, no questions asked. It didn't even come close to that number so the chances of seeing a sequel (or even a film similar in style and scope) are virtually nil.  It's too bad that SquareSoft couldn't have made a better FINAL FANTASY film but I guess that's all water under the bridge now.

See entire WEEKEND BOX OFFICE REPORT here
  

July 16, 2001

You may have heard a while back that Brad Pitt and the Coen Bros. were set to team-up for a World War II drama entitled TO THE WHITE SEA. We've finally got some conformation on the details surrounding that film, courtesy of a recent article in Variety.  Fox will distrubute the film which has been re-written by the Coens after an original draft by David Webb Peoples (UNFORGIVEN). Pitt will star as an air force gunner forced to parachute into enemy territory after his plane has been bombed.  The plot gets a little complicated at this point and I won't even try to summarize it.

Here's what Variety says: When he heads for Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, he begins a violent odyssey that climaxes in the frozen landscape. The odd thing about this film (you knew it couldn't be that easy - it's the Coen Bros. for chrissake) is that it is primarily dialogue free, taking place in the uninhabited wilderness. In related news, Pitt will begin filming his UNTITLED DARREN ARONOFSKY SCI-FI THRILLER (possibly titled THE LAST MAN) this fall, will take a break to film WHITE SEA, then return to the sci-fi project. What the hell are Pitt and Aronofsky cooking up over there?  I just have to know...
  

July 16, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• Here's a report from the set of Bruce Campbell's latest film BUBBA HO-TEP
• Somebody's spillin' the beans from the set of the MATRIX sequels and they're talking about what they've seen going down here
• Wanna work as a Production Assistant on VANILLA SKY (directed by Cameron Crowe and starring Tom Cruise)?  Their doing post-production work now and they're looking for qualified applicants.  Find out more here