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November 2, 2001

< Click on image to visit the official SPIDER-MAN website >

Behold!  The brand new teaser one-sheet for SPIDER-MAN!  It ain't half bad looking but compared to the original poster (which had to be scrapped because of the reflection of the World Trade Center in Spidey's eyes) it's not quite cuttin' it for me.  I do like the fact that Sony is consistent in churning out some promotional material for this film.  They've really done a great job and although I'm not the biggest fan of the above image, I'm sure they'll come back nicely.

Share your thoughts on the new SPIDER-MAN poster here
  

November 2, 2001

It's that time of month again, Allposters.com has added a whole slew of new movie posters to their collection, all of which are available to buy through the links below. All sales support our site and we thank you in advance for all of your support. Have a blast!

November 2, 2001

Jim Carrey has finally decided on his next project.  After taking careful consideration of the offers on his plate, the funnyman has chosen an as yet untitled romantic comedy (the script was once titled DOG YEARS) to be directed by Gary Ross (PLEASANTVILLE).  This won't be a romantic comedy like YOU'VE GOT MAIL or THE WEDDING PLANNER, but something a tad more dramatic and should probably have Carrey making yet another try at the elusive Oscar.

The film follows a New Yorker whose haunted by his dead wife's ghost when he begins to date a much younger woman.  Eventually, the visions of his deceased wife forces the man to "confront the 'ghosts' in their relationship."  (Grooooaaann.....)  While that may not be the best marketing copy the producers could've supplied to Variety, you can't doubt Ross's pedigree.  He wrote BIG, DAVE and PLEASANTVILLE - all fun comedies with a little heart thrown in for good measure. My only concern is that Carrey will swing for the fences and overdo this one.  A word of advice Jim - play it simple. Filming will begin in New York City this March and Universal is eyeing a Christmas 2002 release date (what a coinky-dink...just in time for Academy Award consideration......).
 

November 2, 2001

An  report at Coming Soon says that the creature effects in THE HULK will be exclusively CGI and done by Industrial Light and Magic.  It had originally been reported that Rick Baker and his team would perform work on the film but they claim that is no longer true.  To read their entire report, click here.

Steve Buscemi and child actor Matt O'Leary (who can be seen this Friday starring in DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE) have joined the cast of SPY KIDS 2: THE ISLAND OF LOST DREAMS.  Buscemi will play the villain in the piece but it's unclear who O'Leary will play (possibly a rival of the Kids?). (Variety)

The producer of 2001's biggest film, SHREK, has bought the film rights to another kids book, THE DREAM FACTORY.  John H. Williams bought the rights to the Swedish book (by Bjorn Sortland and Lars Elling) which revolves around "two children who disappear from their uncle's attic on Christmas Eve and follow Charlie Chaplin to various movie sets of classic films. The story abounds in appearances by Hollywood stars and characters like Orson Welles, Marlene Dietrich, Tarzan and King Kong."  Williams had success his first go-round after buying the rights to the picture book SHREK! and turning it into a highly successful animated franchise.   (Variety)

The other day we told you about the Steve Martin/Queen Latifah comedy IN THE HOUZE.  That film now has a director in Adam Shankman whose previous work includes THE WEDDING PLANNER and Mandy Moore's upcoming film debut A WALK TO REMEMBER.  (The Hollywood Reporter)
 

November 2, 2001

Jude Law and Robert De Niro will co-star in THE GOOD SHEPHERD, a film that will follow the history of the CIA through 40 years in the eyes of one of its veteran operatives. In addition, De Niro has signed to direct (this would be his second effort after his debut, A BRONX TALE), after John Frankenheimer (RONIN) departed to make the EXORCIST prequel. This film has been languishing since 1999 but may finally pick up steam with Law attached.  SHEPHERD was written by acclaimed screenwriter Eric Roth who won an Academy Award for FORREST GUMP and also wrote THE INSIDER and ALI.  De Niro will produce, through his Tribeca Films company, alongside Francis Ford Coppola.
 

November 2, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• Read 10 questions with cult hero Bruce Campbell here
• Wanna go see HARRY POTTER on opening weekend?  Not lucky enough to be invited to the premiere on November 11th (hehehehe...)?  Then you better start buying your ticket now.  Find out what I mean here
• Download 3 separate MP3s (beware crappy quality) of the score from LORD OF THE RINGS here

November 1, 2001

In the words of the Beatles, it's getting better all the time.  "It" would be referring to George Clooney's directorial debut CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND.  So far we've got a cast that includes Clooney, Drew Barrymore and the criminally underrated Sam Rockwell and now you can add to that the Academy Award winning most powerful woman in the world - Julia Roberts.  The film will follow ex-GONG SHOW host Chuck Barris as he confesses to the camera his double-life that featured a reported stint as a CIA hitman.   Jules will join the cast of CONFESSIONS in a supporting role, most likely as sexy femme fatale Patricia Watson (there are only two female characters and I'm assuming Barrymore will play the other - Penny Pacino, Barris' flower child girlfriend).   Roberts picks up the role which was recently vacated by Nicole Kidman who left the film for unknown reasons.  Production is expected to begin shortly and Roberts will film her scenes once she completes work on Steven Soderbergh's THE ART OF NEGOTIATING A TURN (formerly HOW TO START A HOTEL ROOM FIRE).  I wonder if the people at Renaissance Films are kicking themselves for ditching this film months ago...
  

November 1, 2001

Your pal and mine, Honest Abe, has graced us with another one of his fine script reviews. This time it's for BASIC, a film we just talked about a day or two ago that will reunite the stars of PULP FICTION.  Let's all take a collective listen:

BASIC (very positive, no spoilers)
Let me start off by saying that I read this before I knew Sam Jackson and John Travolta were attached. Now knowing that makes me want to see it even more so. This has rapidly shot up my "gotta see it" list. I don't know which actor will play which character but the BASIC plot involves a former detective brought in to determine what happened out in the field during a training exercise. One decorated drill sargeant and five recruits. Something went awry. And now the detective and one female army officer (who I believe will be played by Connie Nielsen) have 4 hours to find out what went wrong before JAG and the MP's arrive. This was one helluva roller coaster to read through. It's the first time in recent memory that I actually had to go back and read previous pages again to make sure I knew what the hell I just read. There's so many twists and turns and an ending that I never would have guessed. The pacing is great and the surprises kick in with the right impact each time. I really wish I could tell more but I don't want to ruin a thing. Bottom line: Mace Windu Vs. Terl. Be there!!! I don't think you heard me. BE THERE!!!
 

November 1, 2001

Due to "stellar early screenings" Ridley Scott's BLACK HAWK DOWN will open in select cities on December 28th in order to qualify the film for Academy Awards.   Unfortunately, the vast majority of the United States will still have until January 18th to see it because the only selected cities are New York and Los Angeles and it will only be playing one theater in each city.  This is a pretty bold move for the gritty war drama that chronicles a failed military mission in Somalia.  It was originally supposed to open this fall but concerns over its content in this time of war had it moved to March.  It was then bumped up to late January and now comes the move to December - a time when the world will likely still be at war and audiences may not be too receptive to a movie about the subject.  In any event, the film, which stars Ewan McGregor, Josh Hartnett and Tom Sizemore among others is one its way in a mere two months.

Download the teaser trailer for BLACK HAWK DOWN here
 

November 1, 2001

According to GHOST RIDER screenwriter David Goyer, Nicolas Cage is no longer attached to the film.  He said, "I think that Cage is definitely out of GHOST RIDER.  The whole thing has been a huge disappointment."  Goyer adds that "stupid complications" kept producers and director Stephen Norrington from closing a deal with Cage, who has since moved on to another comic-book adaptation, CONSTANTINE. (Comics2Film)

Remember how we told you yesterday that Jennifer Lopez would be joining Ben Affleck in GIGLI?  Well, here's some more casting news for that film. Christopher Walken has joined the cast as the cop in charge of tracking the fugitive pair down.  Filming begins in early December.  (Variety)

Director Curtis Hanson has added actress Taryn Manning (CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL) to the cast of his UNTITLED DETROIT DRAMA which stars Eminem as a rapper trying to make it big.  The actress can be seen next in her starring role alongside Brittany Spears in CROSSROADS (formerly WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR...).  In addition to Em (making his feature film debut), Manning joins Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer (O) and Brittany Murphy (DON'T SAY A WORD).  The project is currently filming in Detroit.  (Variety)
 

November 1, 2001

Want to see SHALLOW HAL before it opens on the 9th?  You'll get your chance this weekend. Fox is holding sneak previews this Friday all around the Country.  Most showings will take place around 7:45, but I suggest checking with Moviefone to confirm.  HAL, a Farrelly Bros. film, stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black and Jason Alexander and opens in theaters everywhere on November 9th.

Check out the official SHALLOW HAL website
  

November 1, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• FilmForce scored a nice exclusive with the first look at the brand new poster for ROLLERBALL.  Check it out here
• Two new review popped up over at AICN.  The first is for SHOWTIME starring Eddie Murphy and Robert DeNiro and the other is for Jim Carrey's THE MAJESTIC. Both reviews contain spoilers...
• The official website for THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE has gone live and you can find it here
• It's kinda unrelated but if you wanna get a really good laugh, watch this 9 minute clip of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog behind the scenes at a Bon Jovi concert. It's absolutely hilarious

October 31, 2001

At this point, it's very safe to assume that Ben Affleck is a damn done deal to star in DAREDEVIL.  Technically, he's still in final, final negotiations, but Affleck buddy Kevin Smith pushed his film JERSEY GIRL back by three months to accommodate the DD shooting schedule, so I'm calling it a definite.  With  the "who will play Matt Murdock/Daredevil" question answered nicely, there comes new questions.  Who will play Elektra? Kingpin? Bullseye?  Courtesy of the fine folks at Film Force, who spoke with someone deep inside the production, we have some hints as to who's interested and who director Mark Steven Johnson is interested in.  Let's take a look at the casting of Elektra with a breakdown of each actress and my rating on a scale of 1 to 5 sais (Elektra's weapon of choice):

Penelope Cruz
Reportedly has expressed "strong interest" in starring alongside Affleck and to date, is the only actress who has actually met with director Johnson.  She sort-of looks the part and the accent could be a great asset, but is she a little old for the part?

Jessica Alba
Also "interested" in the role which surprises me.  One would think she'd want to get as far away from her DARK ANGEL persona as possible.  I don't think she's tall enough for the role and although she's attractive, just doesn't have that Elektra look.

Natalie Portman
I'll put her in the same category as Jessica Alba.  She doesn't look the part (although for different reasons). Portman is too prissy looking to pull off playing an assassin.  I don't think she's got the athleticism to play Elektra convincingly.  Besides, she looks a little too young for the part.

Angie Harmon
In my opinion, so far this is the best choice.  She's got the look, the body and above-all the hair.  My only concern is that she's not a big enough name.  A lot of time producers either like to have a big star or a complete newcomer play the role. Harmon hasn't had steady work since she left LAW AND ORDER (not counting Fox NFL showing her in the stands watching her husband and New York Giant Jason Sehorn play ball) which could potentially hurt her chances of getting the part.  Too bad...

Lucy Lui
No, no no no no NO NONONONONONONONONONO!!!!!!!!!!!!  OK, I must be impartial. As much as I dislike, Lucy Lui, she's not the worst ever choice.  She obviously doesn't look anything like the character (Elektra wasn't Asian people!) but she certainly has the martial arts down pat.  Still not a very good choice at all.

All that Elektra talk aside, producers, it seems, are interested in Brit Robbie Coltrane (FROM HELL) for the role of Kingpin.  He's certainly got the (ahem) size for the part and definitely the acting chops as well. Unfortunately, there has been no discussion as to who could play the juicy role of Bullseye in the film.  Soon enough, I suppose.  Now, we sit and wait for the fun stuff to begin.

What do you think? Discuss DAREDEVIL casting here
  

October 31, 2001

Speaking of Mr. Matt Murdock, Ben Affleck has found himself another co-star in his upcoming film GIGLI. Halle Berry was originally cast in the role but was forced to drop out due to a conflict with X-MEN 2.  Her replacement?  None other than the booty-licious Jennifer Lopez.  You might ask why the almighty diva is taking sloppy seconds from Ms. Berry.  Well I'm glad you asked.  In actuality, Lopez was originally offered the female lead in GIGLI but had to turn it down due to a commitment to star in TICK-TOCK with Sam "The Man" Jackson.

That film was hit with a slew of delays after September 11th and there was an opening in the actress's schedule.  Producers of GIGLI were hip to Lopez's new availability and re-offered the role.  She accepted (thanks in part to a $12 million check) and here we are today.  Jenny (that's what I call her) will play a "free-spirited female gunslinger sent to supervise a lowly hit man (Affleck) who has kidnapped the mentally slow brother of a district attorney. Together they hold the brother hostage in an apartment and go on the lam from the cops, falling in love in the process."  GIGLI will begin filming in December for director Martin Brest (SCENT OF A WOMAN, MEET JOE BLACK).
 

October 31, 2001

Happy f***ing Halloween folks!  Here's some great news for the EXORCIST prequel - Liam Neeson has signed on to play Father Merrin in the untitled film.  With John Frankenheimer (RONIN, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE) set to direct and Neeson starring, this has major potential to be a LOT more than some silly ass HALLOWEEN H20 attempt to cash in on a classic horror film's name.

Rumors circulated a few months ago that actor Kerr Smith (DAWSON'S CREEK) would play a young Father Merrin in the film, but that appears to be a lot of crap (unless he will star as a younger version of the younger version of Merrin...).  The long-rumored EXORCIST prequel took a huge step forward once Frankenheimer climbed aboard and anticipation has mounted ever since.  The recent success of the EXORCIST re-release, DVD and VHS also helped get the wheels in motion.  This film will follow the early years of Merrin's work in Africa, chronicling his first run-in with the Devil while working at a missionary.
 

October 19, 2001

High-profile visionary directors like Spike Jonze, Steven Soderbergh, David Fincher, Alexander Payne have started up their own film company and struck a deal with USA Films (THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE) who will market and distribute their films in the US.  Why would these guys waste their time setting up their own film company?  Why not just make a film for DreamWorks, Warner Bros or Fox?  It goes like this - they want complete creative control and that's just not something you can get easily at one of the major studios.   If they run their own company, which would exist exclusively for the production of their films, they could make the films they want without budgetary restrictions and creative differences.  In addition, the directors have negotiated to own complete control over their titles five to seven years after their theatrical release.

Each of the four directors (Sam Mendes of AMERICAN BEAUTY fame had been invited to join but respectfully declined because he resides in London) have agreed to make three films in the company's first five years of existence.  The first film under this new "director's company" will be Steven Soderbergh's sci-fi thriller SOLARIS, which had originally been setup at James Cameron's production company.  The film follows an astronaut sent on a rescue mission to a space station where he finds one scientist dead and two others driven completely insane by eerie visions.  The film is expected to be Soderbergh's next and work should begin after the release of OCEAN'S 11 this December.
 

October 31, 2001

Here are some other movie tidbits as reported by the trades:

Steve Martin will star alongside Queen Latifah in the upcoming Disney comedy IN THE HOUZE.  Martin will play a quiet, lonely man who turns to the internet to find himself a date.  He strikes up a romance with a woman (Latifah) who seems nice enough, but he soon finds out she's a prison inmate.  Soon she's paroled and wreaking havoc on his life. (Hollywood Reporter)

DJ Qualls (ROAD TRIP) will make his first foray into the big-budget action flick with a co-starring role in THE CORE.  He will join Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank in this film about a trip to the middle of Earth to be directed by Jon Amiel.  (Variety)

James Wong and Glen Morgan, who have THE ONE coming out this Friday, have signed on to write and direct a film based on the John Kessel short story HEARTS DO NOT IN EYE'S SHINE (what??).  The sci-fi/romance/suspense film revolves around a struggling couple who turn to a risky procedure to save their relationship.  After the woman agrees to have painful memories erased from her brain she begins to wonder whether her beau had negative information about himself deleted from her mind.  Wong and Morgan compared it to Hitchcock's VERTIGO and said work will begin following their next two films WILLARD and DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK. (Variety)
  

October 31, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• According to a report here, writer/director Cameron Crowe refused to digitally erase the World Trade Center from VANILLA SKY. Find out why...
• Check out two character design sketches from the Disney version of DON QUIXOTE here

October 30, 2001

Well, sort of.  John Cusack and Nick Nolte will star in a sequel of sorts to LA CONFIDENTIAL but don't think of it as a "Part 2."  The film is WHITE JAZZ, based on the novel of the same name by James Ellroy.  JAZZ was a follow-up to LA CONFIDENTIAL, which Ellroy also wrote, and again follows corruption in the LAPD. This time we follow Dave Klein, a brute Lieutenant who does whatever it takes to get his job done.  When word of corruption within the force leaks to the public, there's an outcry and a subsequent investigation leaves Klein an unfortunate scapegoat. Now he's fighting to stay alive and clear his good name - before it's too late. The film will mark the directorial debut of cinematographer Robert Richardson, whose work with Oliver Stone and Martin Scorcese on such films as JFK, BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, PLATOON, CASINO and BRINGING OUT THE DEAD has earned him critical praise and a slew of Academy Award nominations (he won for JFK in 1992).

Read a 23-page excerpt from
Ellroy's WHITE JAZZ here
  

October 30, 2001

In other STAR WARS trailer news, Coming Attractions is reporting that this is only the first of the trailers for the film that we can expect in the month of November.  The second will premiere on the web on November 9th and third will be featured before HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, when it opens on November 16th.  Both the second and third trailers will reportedly be less teaser-ish and feature more "adult" footage cut from the MONSTERS, INC. trailer which will screen for millions of little kids across the country.  Things got quiet for a while but they sure are picking up lately, aren't they?
 

October 30, 2001

Could it be?! Could we possibly avoid a sequel to one of, if not THE worst movie of 2001?? It appears that a potential TOMB RAIDER sequel has gone to the way back-burner because of concerns about bringing a cast and crew to a potentially dangerous location in this post-September 11th world.  RAIDER producer Larry Gordon was quoted as saying "People not wanting to shoot overseas is now more of a concern...I'm very concerned about the safety of the crew."  Meanwhile, star Angelina Jolie was to begin filming on a sequel once she finished work on BEYOND BORDERS.  Now that this film will see delays, it is highly possible that she will take time off to concentrate on having a baby with Billy Bob Thornton - which she reportedly has been jonesing. Maybe this time off will give all parties involved a chance to reconsider a sequel to this monstrosity.  One can only hope...
 

October 30, 2001

Tom Cruise and Cameron Crowe want to hear about the greatest moment of your life.  Sure between them they've won an Academy Award, toured with Led Zeppelin, made millions of dollars and had sex with Penelope Cruz and Nicole Kidman.  Yet for some odd reason they're curious to what makes us, normal everyday schmoes, tick.  I know I'm being a little vague so here's a more detailed explanation:

What is the Greatest Moment of your life?
Some episodes in life are so profound that they remain with us forever. We’d like to invite you to share the single moment in your life that stands out above all others. Write your memory down or record it on an audio recorder, video recorder or webcam (See guidelines below). Your submission may become part of a mosaic of personal stories at vanillasky.com and/or windowsmedia.com.

Audio and video entries must be no longer than 1 ½ minutes or 90 seconds in length. If your submission is longer than this limit it may be disqualified. Written entries must be no more than 250 characters. If you submission is longer than this limit it may be disqualified. All entries must be submitted with a signed Official Release form.

Submissions and release forms can be mailed to the following address:

Greatest Moments
8424A Santa Monica Blvd
PO Box 775
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Electronic submissions may fax their release form to 323-862-1104.

If you're curious for more information on this intriguing VANILLA SKY promo, check out that film's official site and read all about it.
 

October 30, 2001

Around the time that AMERICAN BEAUTY was released, Kevin Spacey spoke with 60 MINUTES and boldly declared that his next picture would be a biopic on the life of singer Bobby Darin. Then came PAY IT FORWARD.  Then K-PAX.  Then THE SHIPPING NEWS this Winter.  And he's still got THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE to film.  Yet there's no Darin pic on the horizon.  But Spacey spoke with a reporter and said he still plans to make that film one of his next. "Next to Sammy Davis, Bobby was the greatest nightclub entertainer of his generation, and people don't recognize that. I owe it to Bobby to tell his story; it's a role I feel great empathy for," Spacey said.   The legendary crooner Darin, who sang "Beyond the Sea" and "You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You" from the title credits of SWINGERS, died at the early age of 37 of heart failure.
  

October 30, 2001

A lot of cool trailers have hit the web in the past week or two and I'm hoping you haven't let any of them slip through the cracks.  Here's a roundup of some of the most noteworthy and my brief thoughts on what I saw:

OCEAN'S ELEVEN
Super-duper sleek and ultra-f***ing cool!!  I was looking forward to this movie before it came out and now I'm REALLY looking forward to it. Soderbergh looks like he's done a great job of mixing humor, action, style and old-fashioned super-stardom into a really fun ride at the theater.  The only thing that bugged me were those multi-colored bubbles that kept popping up on the screen.  Just a small gripe though. I know I'll piss a lot of people off by saying this but - screw LORD OF THE RINGS! Go OCEAN'S ELEVEN!!!

Download the O11 trailer here

VANILLA SKY
Interesting...I'm not quite sure what to think of this film.  I'm really looking forward to finally sitting and watching it after all this guessing but the trailer didn't do too much to make me any more or less excited.  It ran the gamut from being a sappy Cruise/Cruz love story to a twisted suspense yarn with super-bitch Cameron Diaz exacting some hardcore revenge.  Director Cameron Crowe (as usual) uses music fantastically in this trailer and the shot of Tom Cruise strolling solo through Times Square (how the hell'd they do that?!) is pretty impressive.

Download the VSKY trailer here

THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE
This is a perfect example of a movie I wasn't all that interested in seeing before I saw the trailer.  Then I saw this puppy and my mood just changed.  Now I'll be seeing it in mere days when it opens on Halloween in NYC.  The Coens have done it again and somehow managed to make a black and white movie about a barber look really really cool.  Beyond that, the score in the trailer is absolutely amazing.   Great work by Carter Burwell.

Download the MWWT trailer here

EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS
Pretty cool.  They way everyone was raving about it, I expected a bit more, but I enjoyed it none-the-less.  I originally thought this film was going to be bad bad but I'm slowly becoming convinced it's going to be good bad.  In that intentional way that could make it a hell of a lotta fun.  I know this is just a teaser so at least this film is on my radar.  I also like how they downplayed the fact the movie stars box-office poison David Arquette...

Download the 8LF trailer here

THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES
This one is right up there beside THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE as a movie I wasn't expecting anything from until I saw the trailer.  Sleek, disturbing, and suspenseful - all this despite Richard Gere and Laura Linney, two of my least favorite actors.  It doesn't tell you too much about the film which I love because it teased me just right and I found myself spending the next hour or so reading up on it.  Give me more, more, more!!

Download the MP trailer here
 

October 30, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• Courtesy of Dark Horizons, the first publicity stills from STUART LITTLE 2 and MEN IN BLACK 2 are online here and here, respectively
• A negative test screening review of Matt Damon's THE BOURNE IDENTITY is online here
• Was a SLAPSHOT sequel really necessary?  The official site for this direct-to-video crapfest is online and take a look at Steven Baldwin on the frontpage. He looks like he just had his wisdom teeth pulled.  Oh, McManus, where have you gone?...

The 2002 Movie Preview !

Below is a list of movies that are coming out next year. Want more info? Click on the links...