Science Fiction Movie News

[kartaron]

George Romero's Next

Last weekend RUE MORGUE held their Festival of Fear horror expo in Toronto's Metro Convention Centre. For three days fans converged on the con to see many of horror's masters assemble and share their stories of working on the set, creating creature effects and crafting the cinematic nightmares of the genre. The expo's Guest of Honor was NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD creator George A. Romero, and if you were wondering if the man would have any news to share about the state of development on his fourth DEAD film, you're in luck. Thanks to a reader that attended the Romero panel we've now got the latest news straight from the director himself...

"Saw Mr. Romero talk today at the Rue Morgue horror festival in Toronto...some of this may be older news but here's what the discussion included:

"He talked as openly as he could about LAND OF THE DEAD. He says production starts in about two weeks here in Toronto, and has had discussions with Dennis Hopper about what I'm assuming would be a major role... although he made sure to make it clear nothing was signed, but that he had high hopes. He also talked a bit about CGI and how it may be used in the movie, saying it will more than likely be used to flesh out mass zombie scenes but that he still prefers the personality that 100+ extras bring. He says the movie will more than likely get a restricted rating and he'll have to cut it down a bit depending on where it's being shown but that there will be a DVD version containing the directors cut.

"As for the basic plot, he said it has a similar feel to the captive zombie plot of DAY OF THE DEAD, except theres a few more of them and they are still learning... but the good news is that there will be no running zombies ala the remake of DAWN earlier this year (he found that a bit cheezy but a good action film). He mentioned that Tom Savini has a cameo role in the movie if they can get him cleared to work up here, but Savini seems to think it will happen so fingers crossed. Also the two guys who wrote SHAWN OF THE DEAD will get cameos if they can work out the timing... he says SHAWN OF THE DEAD is the best zombie film hes seen since his own flicks.

"As for DIAMOND DEAD, he says he really wants to get this movie made and that it's still on the plate but that it's unusual concept has made it a hard sell. But he says he's ready to go on it whenever he gets the greenlight. He also mentioned that he would be VERY interested in doing another CREEPSHOW movie... nuff said."

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial...8&obj_id=42407

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Batman / Soylent Green

David Goyer’s take on Batman has made Warner Bros so happy that they’ve signed him to a one year writing, producing and directing first-look deal. Goyer, who with his writing (and now directing) of the Blade franchise, script for Batman Begins and landmark script for Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. has become one of the go-to guys for comic movies. Part of his deal is expected to be two DC Comic related properties – possibly Green Lantern?

Goyer is also looking to remake Soylent Green. Now that Bryan Singer has left behind the update of Logan’s Run to work on the new Superman movie (this week), WB needs someone to take a crack at a beloved but essentially cheesy sci-fi message film from the late 60s or early 70s, and Goyer is their man.

http://www.chud.com/news/aug04/aug31goyer.php3

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Highlander

Film and TV property Highlander is on track to become an animated feature for release in Spring 2006, reports Variety. Davis-Panzer Productions and Imagi International are developing the project, which will be animated through Madhouse of Japan (Tokyo Godfathers).

David Abramowitz, who was head writer on the Highlander TV series, will write the screenplay. The franchise details the adventures of an immortal 16th century Scottish warrior who fights evil in modern America with his special powers.

The first film starred Christopher Lambert opposite Sean Connery and was produced by 20th Century Fox in 1986. In addition to its many sequels, it also inspired an animated series through Gaumont Animation and two syndicated television series.

The latest live-action feature, Highlander: The Source, is scheduled for production through Dimension Films later this year, for release in 2005.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=6228

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Aeon Flux

An injury Charlize Theron suffered on the set of Paramount Pictures/MTV Films' "Aeon Flux" has forced production to shut down on the sci-fi actioner for an indefinite number of weeks. The delay also could have a domino effect on Theron's next project, Warner Bros. Pictures' "Class Action," which is scheduled to start filming early next year.

Theron had been working in Berlin, where production on "Flux" began Aug. 16. The injury happened while Theron was performing stunts in wire-hanging action, according to unit publicist Jeanmarie Carrasco, quoted in an Associated Press report.

Asked for further detail, Carrasco only would say: "She sustained an injury, and we are closing down for a few weeks so that she can be 100% when she returns. She wasn't hospitalized, but I can't comment on anything specific about her injuries." Carrasco said no cameras were rolling at the time of the incident.

Theron's rep, PMK/HBH's Amanda Silverman, acknowledged that the actress had sustained an injury, saying, "She's resting and hopes to be back to work soon."

According to sources close to the film, Theron hurt her neck while performing stunts on a trampoline late last week. She was taken to a hospital for examination and flew back Tuesday to Los Angeles, where she is expected to meet with her personal doctors to further evaluate the situation.

Because it is anticipated doctors might want to monitor Theron's condition over the next several weeks, the production will not resume for a minimum of six weeks, sources said.

Paramount spokesperson Jasmine Madatian would not comment on the extent of Theron's injury or the exact circumstances under which it occurred. She would not say how long the production could remain shut down. Silverman said, "The time off is still to be determined."

"Aeon Flux," budgeted at less than $55 million, is considered a physically demanding project for Theron, who stars as a top assassin who is part of a rebellion sent to kill a government leader. Based on Peter Chung's futuristic MTV animated series, the film is being produced by Gale Anne Hurd, David Gale, Gary Lucchesi and Greg Goodman.

Because of the injury, there is a potential that Theron's upcoming project could be affected. Following "Aeon Flux," the Oscar-winning "Monster" star is due to topline Warners' "Class Action" for helmer Niki Caro. That project, scheduled to start early next year, now could be pushed back to accommodate Theron's recovery and any delays in the remaining "Aeon Flux" schedule. "We are waiting three weeks to evaluate her condition and at that time, we will decide," a Warners spokesperson said in reference to "Class Action."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr..._id=1000622087

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Ghost in the Shell : Innocence

Innocence is the most ambitious film released this year. I admire Oshii for following his vision and creating a film that actually stimulates its viewers. I doubt this film will have the same kind of following as the original. This will not be considered an instant classic. I have a feeling this is the kind of film that grows on you on repeat viewing. Innocence is the kind of film that only a master storyteller could accomplish. I can’t wait to see it again and again.

http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=18240

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Catwoman 2

She's not merely the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress, Halle Berry is also the first woman of colour to play the lead in a blockbuster.

Well, potential blockbuster. This US$90 million action movie, based on the Batman comic-book character, has taken some rough criticism and hasn't fared well at the box office either (it debuted in third place with only US$16.7 million behind The Bourne Supremacy and I, Robot), but Berry is optimistic Catwoman will see the second of its nine lives.

"I loved playing Catwoman. She's an iconic character, and, like Catwoman, I've evolved into a woman who's pretty okay with my sexuality," says Berry.

"I've realised that sensuality and sexuality really comes from some place inside. It's not about the lingerie you have on or how great your hair looks. It comes from a deep place in your soul," she says. Sure, Catwoman is a popcorn movie, but there is a little message underneath: beauty and confidence comes from somewhere else.

"Despite her glory and her sexy suit and her beauty, she's fighting to discover who she really is. That's the message I want to bring forward to women."

Right. Though Berry's intentions are admirable, it's doubtful whether the average woman will take to heart this looks-don't-really-matter missive from one of the world's leading beauties - who also happens to moonlight as one of Revlon's esteemed spokesmodels.

It would be a little like Donald Trump preaching to the homeless that money doesn't buy happiness.

The film tells the story of a painfully introverted designer who works for a cosmetics company and becomes entangled in a corporate conspiracy. Eventually she is murdered and a mysterious Egyptian cat brings her back to life. The new Patience is no longer timid. She becomes the butt-kicking, morally ambiguous superhero with cat-like abilities.

Directed by Pitof (this second-time French director goes by one name), the failings of Catwoman don't rest on Berry's shoulders.

The cliche-ridden script and flashy action sequences don't do the movie any favours, but most the criticism in the US is a result of Pitof's camera lingering on Berry's famously well-toned curves, Catwoman's over-the-top sexuality, and the much talked about costume (or lack thereof).

Berry didn't make contact with any of her Catwoman predecessors. "I purposely didn't want to talk them. I didn't want to watch their work, I didn't want to copy or mimic, I wanted to find my own Catwoman and bring my own authenticity to it and not re-do what somebody has already done. Otherwise, what would the point be?"

Berry, who can be more selective about her roles than most actresses in Hollywood, is adamant that she would be more than happy to don the tights again and pick up the whip.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainm...ection=general


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Underworld 2

Producer Tom Rosenberg gave IESB a status update on the sequel to Underworld, which goes into production soon and may have a different title.

“We start in November. We may call it something else. We’ll probably call it something with Underworld 2 [but] it’s Underworld 2. I think the real intense followers of the whole saga will really, really love the second one. It’s very intricate. It gives Selene’s history, Viktor’s history and then of course now Marcus is going to come out of the crypt. So it’s really cool. I’m excited about it" says Rosenberg who's been out promoting "Cellular".

The action is also expected to be bigger - "It’s much bigger action but still, we have to keep the coolness of it and not let the action overwhelm it. I like the whole world that’s created and you have to stay within that world. I don’t want to jam mindless nonstop action at the audience and this is going to still be story driven. But we’re going to have cool sequences and some bigger action, but if you do that on a sequel, and that’s what often happens, what’s the point? This story is better. This story is more intricate and more interesting. That’s what I really like about it".

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040831f.php

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War of the Worlds

Paramount Pictures recently swapped two of their summer tentpole movies for 2005 and 2006, with Tom Cruise and director Steven Spielberg now first taking on the adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic, The War of the Worlds, for release next summer. Then, Alias creator J.J. Abrams makes his feature directorial debut on the Cruise sequel, Mission: Impossible 3 ("M:I-3"), which is targeting a summer 2006 release.

Entertainment Weekly caught up with Cruise while he was piloting his private jet to Mexico to talk about the two projects. Abrams is the third director to take on "M:I-3", as David Fincher and Joe Carnahan were each attached at one point. "It's deceiving, these kinds of movies," Cruise says about the challenge. "They're very complex. It's not just action, it's not just suspense, it's not just the spy genre - it's all of that." So why Abrams? "He's the first guy I went through the movie with who absolutely clicked in terms of being able to discuss the intricacies of character and story and tone." He added that while he doesn't watch much TV, Cruise checked out the Alias DVDs, liked what Abrams did with the story and character, and called him up.

The magazine asked whether or not the second sequel would be completely reworked now. "We don't know yet," said Cruise. "We're just now talking about story. But it's J.J. Abrams' 'Mission: Impossible' that I'm interested in. The conceit for [the movies] was always that each one is different; it's the director's 'Mission: Impossible'. You want the director to come in and own it."

Which brings us to casting. Carrie-Anne Moss, Kenneth Branagh, and Scarlett Johansson were all announced to star in "M:I-3", but Tom says that now depends on what Abrams wants. He mentions that at this point it's "just me. I want to work with Carrie and Scarlett, and Kenneth is someone I've been wanting to work with for years, but you have to start with the director and see where he's going to take us."

Cruise also talked about how The War of the Worlds came about. "We were just releasing 'Minority Report' and Steven and I were looking for films to make together. I visited him on 'Catch Me If You Can' and we were talking about a couple of things and he says, 'You know what? I think we should do 'War of the Worlds' together.' I just looked at him and said, 'Oh my God'. I was so excited. I've never made a sci-fi movie like this before."

He adds that we have much to look forward to! "It's going to be exciting, it's going to be really scary, and it's going to maintain the tone of H.G. Wells' book. These guys are coming to dominate Earth. But I can't get too much into it because David Koepp has already done a rewrite and Steven has been working on it and things are going to change. We're just in the dream stage. We haven't even cast it yet."

Cruise says "Worlds" will be set in the U.S. but they have not decided on exact locations yet. Filming is expected to start in November.

After War of the Worlds and Mission Impossible 3, Cruise will likely star in another Michael Mann picture (he also starred in Collateral) about the WWII Battle of Britain.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/warof...ws.php?id=6178

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040831c.php

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Star Trek

Suitably, James Doohan was beaming Tuesday. The "Star Trek" actor -- famed for his portrayal of "Beam Me Up" Scotty, the intrepid engineer who kept the spaceship Enterprise flying and its passengers warping from planet to planet -- grinned and waved to fans as he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was expected to be the last public appearance of the 84-year-old performer, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and also suffers from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and lung fibrosis. The ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard was the culmination of several days of farewell activities that brought Doohan back into contact with many of this longtime "Trek" fans. George Takei, who played Sulu on "Star Trek," told the crowd: "This is a galactic day in this town full of stars. We've gathered from throughout this planet to say congratulations to you, Jimmy," Takei said. "We love you and we thank you for your luminous talent. We thank you for the gift you have given us of that unforgettable character, that ingenuous and beloved engineer that was able to fix anything." Other "Star Trek" cast members to attend were Nichelle Nichols, who was Uhura on the series, and Walter Koenig, who played Chekov. Doohan did not speak to the crowd, but he waved and posed for photos before leaving with his family.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr..._id=1000622100

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King Kong

Oscar-winner Adrien Brody, Australian actress Naomi Watts and comic actor Jack Black, now in Wellington rehearsing and having camera tests for costumes and make-up, have toured Jackson's studios as he prepares to shoot his ambitious remake of the 1933 classic.

They have for the first time also seen detailed drawings and computer-animated story boards that depict what Jackson and co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have envisaged.

"It's like the Ming Dynasty over here," said Black, best known for Shallow Hal with Gwyneth Paltrow and The School of Rock, who will play film-maker Carl Denham.

"I think it's going to be gorgeous. I've seen the story board and if the movie is half as good as what the pictures I've seen look like - it could be the greatest film of all time," Black said.

He described the tour, which included special effects houses Weta Workshop and Weta Digital as "unbelievable".

Brody, whose latest film The Village opens (in NZ) this week, said he was also impressed by Jackson's Miramar studios.

"The facilities here are incredible. I didn't expect it. I didn't know what I expected, but he's created a studio and post-production house that rivals anything elsewhere."

"He's managed to incorporate this incredible creative force with this business sense of keeping the work here and employing all these people.

Speaking to reporters Thursday at his studio in the New Zealand capital, the "Lord of The Rings" director said his first attempt to film "King Kong" was as a youngster. It involved a Super 8 camera and a cardboard model of the Empire State Building.

"It's great to be able to finally get the film made. It's a film which I've loved ever since I was a child. It really inspired me to want to become a film-maker," he said.

A screaming, vine-swinging special effects extravaganza, Jackson's "King Kong" will also be a character-driven psychological study of a monster -- and, of course, a love story.

Jackson says he will pay homage to the original, which starred Fay Wray, who died on Aug. 8 aged 96, and retain the "mystery and romance of a bygone era." However, the characters -- including Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), Carl Denham (Jack Black (news)) and Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody (news)) -- will not be carbon copies of those in the original film.

"To put modern political beliefs onto something that was made in 1933 is obviously putting a spin on it that doesn't really exist. It was a product of its time," he said.

"We're really just attempting to make a wonderful, mysterious adventure film ... it's about gorillas, it's about dinosaurs, and lost islands, and this relationship."

Watts said she accepted the part without seeing the script.

"This story is very simplistic and very human, so that's why I'm here," she said.

Jackson already had in mind Brody and Watts to play their characters, but decided on Black during the social whirl at the Academy Awards (news - web sites) in February, when he won three Oscars (news - web sites) for his final installment of the "Rings" trilogy, "The Return of the King."

Black said he had wanted to work on a Jackson film after seeing the "Rings" films.

"I remember thinking while I was watching The Lord of The Rings: 'man, I've got to get an audition for whatever he does next'," Black said.

"Then I thought that's just stupid. Everybody's going to want to be in his next film, better to just put it out of your mind."

"Then I got the call to come in and talk with them about 'King Kong' -- you wait your whole life to get a call like that."

Andy Serkis, who was the human model and voice of the computer-generated Gollum in two of the "Rings" movies, will do the same for the giant gorilla, as well as have a "live" role of a cook.

Black, who stars in folk-rock comedy act Tenacious D, and Brody both said they planned to play a lot of music in between filming in Wellington.

Jackson, who suffers seasickness, will use a number of land-based studio lots to film scenes, including those featuring the tramp steamer Venturer, which brings the giant ape to "civilization."

Special effects will be done by New Zealand-based Weta Digital and Weta Workshops, which won Oscars for their "Lord of the Rings" creations.

Hollywood turned down Jackson's previous "King Kong" pitch before his overwhelming success with the ambitious Rings trilogy. "The Return of the King," created Oscar history by winning all 11 categories in which it was nominated.

"King Kong" is reported to be likely to cost as much as US$130 million to make. Jackson spent $300 million making the three Rings films, which have grossed about $3 billion worldwide.

Universal Studios is due to release "King Kong" worldwide on December 14, 2005.

Jackson says he will not be "bending over backwards" to make his new movie King Kong politically correct.

"You always have to look at films in the context of the years they were made, and to put modern political beliefs onto something that was made in 1933 is obviously putting a spin on it that doesn't really exist," he told a Wellington press conference yesterday.

But Jackson said he wasn't out to offend anyone either.

"We're just attempting to make a wonderful mysterious adventure film. At the end of the day it's about gorillas, it's about dinosaurs, and lost islands."

His team had put a lot of thought into exploring the reality of what would happen if there was a relationship between a gorilla, who has lived by himself in "the most brutal environment", and the heroine Ann Darrow, played by Australian actor Naomi Watts.

Jackson said he was focusing on introducing the gorilla to a person he initially thinks he will kill. The gorilla then discovers empathy and emotions towards another living being.

"It's really fun to go into psychological depth with it," he said.

Naomi Watts said it was very sad Fay Wray, who played the original Ann Darrow, died before seeing the remake of the 1930s classic.

"Those are some big shoes to fill. She (Wray) did a wonderful job," she said.

Watts said she was lucky enough to meet Wray and speak to her of her experience working on King Kong.

"It was nice to have that connection, but it is very sad that she is not going to be able to see the movie."

Watts, who declined to scream for the media in Wray style, said her role was iconic, but hoped she would not be stuck with the Ann Darrow image after the film finishes.

"I have done a lot of different work before this movie and hopefully people won't suddenly see me as only this role."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainm...ection=general

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...lm_kingkong_dc

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainm...ection=general