August 25, 2000

Actress Melanie Griffith has apparently agreed to play the role of her fellow Hollywood actress Julia Roberts in the true story about the relationship between Julia Roberts and an Irish chauffeur called LIMO MAN. Showbiz Ireland apparently received confirmation from Griffith's agent that she had signed on the dotted line for the movie which starts shooting in Ireland towards the end of September.

The film will speak of Roberts’ meeting and subsequent friendship with Mick Devine (chauffeur) after he picked her up from a Dublin hotel in 1991 where the actress had just broken up with boyfriend Kiefer Sutherland. At an all time low-point in her life, Roberts apparently spent some time with Mick and his wife at their home in the Dublin suburbs, and has stayed in contact ever since.
 

August 25, 2000

Actor turned hemp crusader Woody Harrelson was found "not guilty" on Thursday of a marijuana possession rap stemming from his ceremonious planting of four hemp seeds in a Kentucky field four years ago. A six-person jury deliberated for all of 25 minutes before reaching its verdict, and the film star, dressed appropriately in a suit made of hemp, promptly signed autographs and thanked jurors for their decision. Strangely enough, former Kentucky Governor Louie Nunn, testified in court on Harrelson's behalf, saying that the Wood-man wasn't trying to break the laws, just challenge them.
   

August 25, 2000

According to several people who have seen screenings of this film in various places, the movie that everyone was anticipating to be a horrible mess, is actually quite....well, fun! Another scooper over at AICN has written his review of the film and says, "from start to finish it is a film that is having fun with itself, and is inviting you to tag along for the ride." The film is also said to contain many MATRIX-like fight scenes. Read the entire movie review here
   

August 25, 2000

Actress Famke Janssen had to prepare for her role as a stripper for her next film MADE by taking private lessons from an expert at her own home. Says Famke, "That was quite an experience because she taught me how to lap dance and I practiced on her. It was very funny." Funny, indeed. Janssen went on to say, "She gave me some hot tips that if you wanna know, you have to watch the movie to see what those are!" The movie will be out in 2001, and re-unites the team of Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, who will not only star in the picture, but wrote and produced it respectively. Puff Daddy will also made his big-screen debut in this film. 
   

August 25, 2000

Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese has agreed to direct GUCCI: A HOUSE DIVIDED, a sprawling epic tracking four generations of the Italian fashion dynasty. The Gucci family rose from peasantry to become a fashion house that stands today as one of the icons of haute couture. Most recently, the matriarch of the Gucci dynasty received a lengthy prison sentence for orchestrating the murder of a family member. Scorsese is currently directing GANGS OF NEW YORK starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
   

August 24, 2000

Actor Robin Williams has been chosen to develop and headline the biopic of flamboyant entertainer Liberace, a project in the same vein as THE PEOPLE VS LARRY FLYNT. The film will center on the rise of Liberace's career through his death in 1987.
   

August 24, 2000

We've all seen the awesome trailer in the theatres, now here is about 3-5 minutes worth of behind the scenes material from the upcoming fall action feature VERTICAL LIMIT, thanks to "Bear aka lours" for pointing it out. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, you should see it right away. The film stars Chris O'Donnell and Bill Paxton in a thrill-ride about a climber who must rescue his sister from on top of K2, one of the world's biggest mountains. Click here to see the behind-the-scenes footage
 

August 24, 2000

BOOGIE NIGHTS and MAGNOLIA writer/director P.T. Anderson is apparently in talks with comedian Adam Sandler to star in a comedy which we wrote and would like to direct. P.T. has apparently been honing his comedic writing abilities by scribbling out some sketches for TV's "Saturday Night Live" over the past year.
  

August 24, 2000

Okay, so it's not really movie news per se, but with a headline like that, who the heck cares! Sultry actress Salma Hayek, who is currently dating actor Ed Norton, recently proclaimed that she needs a man who can deal with her sexual demands and her dominating personality. "I come from a strict Catholic upbringing and sex was a taboo subject. That makes you crave sex 10 times more for the rest of your life... I love strong men and I like to feel that there's a high level of sexual chemistry in a relationship... I'm a strong woman and that intimidates a lot of men who'd rather feel that they're the boss in a relationship, rather than in a partnership." Pretty neat, eh?
  

August 24, 2000

Italian actress Francesca Neri has nabbed the lead spot opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the thriller COLLATERAL DAMAGE, a story about a man who loses his wife and child in a terrorist bombing and then teams with the wife (Neri) of the man who killed his family to seek revenge. THE FUGITIVE director Andrew Davis is set to direct. Neri's first English language role was recently completed in Ridley Scott's HANNIBAL.
  

August 24, 2000

BLOW is the movie directed by Ted Demme, starring Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz currently in post-production. The film is based on a true story that follows the life of a young man working with Colombian drug traffickers to smuggle cocaine into the United States back in the 1970s. If you want to read a script review of the project, a review that is MIXED in its appreciation of the script, and contains MINOR SPOILERS, click here
  

August 23, 2000

Nic Cage is in serious discussions to star in director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman's next collaboration together (they created BEING JOHN MALKOVICH), a project entitled ADAPTATION. Loosely based on New Yorker contributor Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief", the $25 million project follows a sexually-frustrated screenwriter's attempts to adapt Orlean's anecdotal novel for the screen. Meryl Streep is said to be interested in starring as Susan Orlean, but no talks with her have begun as of yet.
   

August 23, 2000

Julia Roberts will be taking her first big-time shot at producing and starring in a film based on the novel SIS BOOM BAH, about two sisters -- Deborah, a soap opera writer in New York, and Sharon, a wedding planner in Florida -- who are forced to stop their lifelong squabbling when their mother has a heart attack. When the sisters come to take care of her, they find themselves competing for the attention of an eligible doctor, who turns up dead. When they become suspects in his murder, they bury the hatchet. Screenwriter Dominique Lett is set to adapt the novel for Roberts' Revolution-based Shoelace Productions.
   

August 23, 2000

Leave it up to Harry Knowles to post one of the first pictures from Pixar's
next animated flick due out in fall, 2001, entitled MONSTERS INC. You
can see the full picture by clicking on the small one here

    

August 23, 2000

Last week, The Hollywood Reporter said that director Andrew Niccol had decided to go with a complete CGI actress opposite Al Pacino for his new movie SIMONE. This week, it turns out that it was all a big mistake. As it turns out, the digital leading lady had something to do with the film's storyline, not the actual making of the movie. Niccol also said that the costs of doing such a thing were way too high anyway. He's likely to cast an unknown at this point, while other "knowns" have also joined the cast: Jason Schwartzman (RUSHMORE) and Catherine Keener (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH) is in talks to play Pacino's ex-wife.
   

August 22, 2000

Chuck Palahniuk, writer of the FIGHT CLUB novel on which the film was based, is back with yet another controversial book which may also see the big screen. SURVIVOR revolves around ex-suicide-cult member Tender Branson who hijacks a 747, clears out all the passengers and tells the story of his life to the doomed plane’s flight recorder. Dark Horizons has also reported that the project is being adapted for the screen by Jake Paltrow (brother of Gwyneth) and is to be scored by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. No other names have been attached to the project as yet.
   

August 22, 2000

We all knew that it was just a matter of time, but apparently the time has now come. Fox 2000 has decided to go ahead with a big-screen adaptation of the popular TV series starring Mr. T for a 2001 release. The original series was about four elite Army commandos who, having robbed the Bank of Hanoi in Vietnam under a covert operation from the American government, were set up as patsies for the political fallout. Escaping from military prison, the four roamed America on the lam, handling covert operations for cash. The movie will apparently be totally "re-imagined, with a contemporary feel", and will likely have much younger actors in the starring roles. Does that mean no Mr. T?
 

August 22, 2000

Thanks to our trusty source "Bear aka lours", we are once again proud to announce some exclusive movie scenes from a highly anticipated fall release: the Coen bros' O' BROTHER WHERE ARE THOU.

Scene Number One (.mov)
Scene Number Two (.mov)
Scene Number Three (.mov)
  

August 22, 2000

Anyone seen the sexy trailer for the fall release of BEDAZZLED starring Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley? Growl!! Well, according to DH, the premiere role of Satan in that film, will be played by none other than Lou Ferrigno, the mighty Hulk himself! But fear not, my little schmoes, Hurley will still be portraying the "sexy" version of the dark prince in the movie. Phew!
  

August 22, 2000

Warner Brother and director Chris Columbus have finally found a kid to play HARRY POTTER, and he is an 11-year old British lad named Daniel Radcliffe. After months of searching for the perfect boy, the decision was recently made to hire Daniel, as well as two other British children as his best friends. The Potter books tell the story of an 11-year-old boy who discovers that he has inherited magical powers from his parents, a pair of wizards killed by a powerful enemy. The film adaptation of HARRY POTTER & THE SORCEROR'S STONE is due in theaters next year.
  

August 22, 2000

Warner Bros apparently still has two bat films in their future. Director Boaz Yakin has been hired to co-write and direct the live-action adaptation of the BATMAN BEYOND animated series, which debuted on the WB Kids Network last year. And the studio is also looking at continuing the Batman films with BATMAN: PART V. The difference between the two films is that former series is set 40 years in the future, and Bruce Wayne is no longer Batman. His role is now filled by Tim McGinnis, a Gotham high schooler who must battle the evil corporate forces who killed his father and now control what was once Wayne's empire.
  

August 21, 2000

A scooper over at CS apparently heard a radio conversation with the Wachowski brothers, the writers/directors of the original MATRIX, who said that they are writing and producing a prequel of the MATRIX. The prequel will likely be a Japanese Anime film(s) with the story probably set around the first Matrix disturbance, the first discovery of the Matrix by the rebels, and other things that explain the origin and existence of the Matrix and the rebels. The film will likely be released on the Internet or straight to DVD.
  

August 21, 2000

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the movies without seeing another SCREAM drop-out, it turns out that the third installment of the I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.. franchise is on tap at Columbia, with screenwriter Simon Davis Barry on board to pen the new script, based on his own idea. The tone of the third installment, however, will try to be different in that it will apparently aim to be a morality tale that returns to the roots of the horror genre without elements of comedy or camp. No cast members have yet been announced.
  

August 21, 2000

Actor Richard Gere is in final negotiations to star in an English version of the 1969 French film LA FEMME INFIDEL, translated to UNFAITHFUL (although the literal translation is actually THE UNFAITHFUL WOMAN). Gere would play a husband whose lifeless marriage to an unfaithful wife is sparked with new passion -- when he kills his wife's lover. Adrian Lyne (9 1/2 WEEKS, FATAL ATTRACTION) is slated to direct with production commencing in December 2000.
  

August 21, 2000

One of the earliest reviews of Christopher McQuarrie's directorial debut THE WAY OF THE GUN (he's the guy who wrote THE USUAL SUSPECTS) is an extremely positive one, with the reviewer summing it up best with this line, "It's entertaining, it's thrilling, it's funny and low and behold it actually has depth and story thrown in for good measure." The film stars Ryan Phillippe, Benicio Del Toro, James Caan, Taye Diggs and Juliette Lewis, and is slated to open wide on September 14, 2000. Read the dude's entire review here
  

August 21, 2000

After a three-month stint with actor Russell Crowe, it seems as though cutey-pie actress Meg Ryan has "begged for forgiveness" from her husband Randy Quaid, after what she calls a "dreadful mistake" with Crowe. Quaid is apparently giving her another shot and has withdrawn the divorce papers.
  

August 21, 2000

WHAT WOMEN WANT: Comedy starring Mel Gibson
LUCKY NUMBERS: Comedy starring John Travolta
THE YARDS: Drama starring Mark Wahlberg & Charlize Theron
SNATCH: Crime starring Brad Pitt & Benicio Del Toro
MEN OF HONOR: Drama starring Robert DeNiro & Cuba Gooding Jr.
HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES: Horror directed by Rob Zombie
MY 5 WIVES: Comedy starring Rodney Dangerfield
 

August 21, 2000

The boys at DD got a hold of a scene that was cut from SCARY MOVIE because of its goriness, according to the MPAA. The scene takes place during Shannon Elizabeth's "death scene", where the killer pulls out a chunk of her internal organs and well...see for yourself! Click here, go to their VIDEOS section, and then choose SCARY MOVIE.
  

August 21, 2000

Hey all, pay attention, it's not every day that an actual film director asks us for feedback on his next project. But here is a quickie interview with writer/director of THE TEMPLAR, Adam Schaub, asking people for some feedback on his next project. Check out the trailer of the film here (17.2MB) and:

Read his interview and check out the official site
and his email address here
 

August 21, 2000

1. The Cell                           $  17.2 Million/ New
2. Original Kings of Comedy  $  11.7 Million/ New
3. Space Cowboys               $    9.9 Million/ $  54.2 Million
4. The Replacements            $    7.5 Million/ $  23.7 Million
5. What Lies Beneath           $    7.1 Million/ $ 123.7 Million

Check out the rest of the top ten here