411 Movies Zone News Report 12.16.02
Posted by Lionel Bohbot on 12.16.2002
Comic book fans, this report will please you. Superman, Batman: Year One, Batman vs. Superman, Spider-Man and Hulk-Man. What a manly report! I've even added in some Mad Max-Man and Gladiator-Man items.
Well talk about perfect timing. Jennifer Lopez somehow finds herself at number one this weekend. Is she a draw? Hell no! The fact that Lopez ended up at #1 has to do with good timing and the "calm before the storm" effect.
Lopez's movie opens up and faces no competition. Harry Potter and Bond are dying rapidly. The people who wanted to see those two movies have seen them already. Analyze That didn't appeal to anyone. We already have The Sopranos. Lopez's only competition was Nemesis, but does anyone really care about the 38th Star Trek movie? This franchise is getting ridiculous. There was no need to trot out the crew from The Next Generation. Even Trekkies couldn't save that one and god knows they're more loyal than Chris Benoit marks.
Moviegoers needed a break between blockbuster weekends. The casual viewer won't watch a movie every week. The casual viewer only goes in for big movies. People have seen Bond and Potter and they're just waiting for the new wave of blockbusters. Enter The Two Towers and Gangs of New York. The break is over and the big boys are coming. That's why you can expect to find Maid in Manhattan flushed down to #4 or #5 next Monday. Sadly, Lopez will mange to pull in enough money to cover Maid's budget.
I caught "Must See TV" on Thursday and I must say, NBC is in deep shit. Friends is going away. Will & Grace is going the way of Just Shoot Me. Whatever crap they have on a 9:30 is about as entertaining as an episode of The Bob Patterson Show. ER seems to be in remission but it's a temporary thing. Those gimmicked shows won't work next year. Scrubs is the only winner on the lineup. The second season is hilarious and almost as entertaining as the first was. I'd feature them more prominently next season at the 8 spot and bring in Hidden Hills for the 8:30. Will & Grace stays at 9 until the show runs out of hot shot storylines and dies a rapid death. 9:30 is tricky. I'd be willing to give another shot to Ellie, Julia Louis-Dreyfus' virtual time series, unless a better show comes along.
Sarah Michelle Gellar wants to be the next James Bond.
Two problems with SMG:
1- James Bond will always be a man.
2- James Bond will always be played by a real actor.
Stick to vampires and teen lesbians.
NEWS, RUMORS AND OPINIONS
Mad Max 4: We're starting off with some Mad Max for the second straight report. As you know, the first three Max movies were all filmed in Australia. In a surprise move, Mad Max 4 will be shot entirely in Namibia. That's a small country in Africa for the geographically-challenged. Why the move? It's cheaper to film in Namibia (who knew?) and they threw in a bunch of financial incentives, i.e. supplying 4000 extras for two goats and a bucket of rice. (The Herald-Sun)
Gladiator 2: Producer Walter F. Parkes was asked a few questions about Gladiator 2 at the Catch Me if You Can junket.
Are you producing Gladiator 2?
We're developing GLADIATOR 2, yes and John Logan is writing and I am producing it.
Is it a sequel, prequel?
7 years later in Rome! [Laughs]. Well remember the character "Lucius"? He is the last heir to Marcus Aurelius, so it's a prince reigning to happen and guess who he finds out who his real father was.
Is Lucius into incest?
No!
You're not considering Vin Diesel, are you?
No comment.
So Lucius doesn't fool around with his sister?
What? No! He doesn't even have a sister.
Harry Potter 3: What's the official title? The Prisonner of Azabakan? Akabazan? Ooh yeah, I love Harry Potter. More Dumbledore news. Squash the Christopher Lee and Ian McKellen rumors. Dumbledore will be played by CGI. George Lucas' best bud managed to snag the role. Apparently, they'll animate Richard Harris' face using computer trickery. Harris' double, Harry Robinson, will stand in for the recently deceased actor while the tech guys superimpose images on his face. That might work. I'd ask the people who worked on The Crow for a few tips instead. (The Sun)
The Amazing Spider-Man: Who is Lyle Conway? He's the guy who was in charge of SFX on Spidey 2 before being released. The guy did manage to come up with a cool concept for Dr. Octopus: "Sam [Raimi] wants to use mechanical tentacles whenever possible, he wants the actors to have actual physical tentacles to interact with. Sam wants to 'save the CGI for Spider-Man'. The puppeteers filmed some test scenes with someone wearing prototype tentacles. In the test footage, Doc Ock is standing behind a desk and he picks up the phone, puts on a pair of glasses, pops a cigar into his mouth, lights the cigar, and dials the phone. The smoke alarm on the ceiling goes off and he smashes it with one of his tentacles. Then he starts to sit down (without looking) and another tentacle reaches out behind him and grabs a chair-placing it under him in the nick of time. Bear in mind that all of this happens simultaneously. Sam was floored." (ComingAttractions)
Superman vs. Batman: Year One: Warner Bros. COO Alan Horn spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the online talk surrounding the Superman script as well possible Batman: Year One and Batman vs. Superman projects: "In many cases, the very things that the letter writers were objecting to or concerned about were the very same things that we're concerned about. We don't think Lex Luthor should be an alien, either. And my answer is -- and it's all over the Web -- we agree with you. He won't be. We're planning to do the J.J. Abrams screenplay for "Superman," which is an origins story. We feel it's fresh even though it covers ground that was originally covered by the Dick Donner movie -- that was 20-some-odd years ago. We feel that this is fresh, hip, contemporary, moving, funny and loaded with action". We had a competing script [to Superman], "Batman vs. Superman." It's very, very good, written by Akiva Goldsman, and we will do it. But I prefer we start with "Superman," the early years, and complement that with a Batman origins movie. And I'd like to think that each character will evolve so that when we have "Batman vs. Superman," the meeting of the two will feel more organic."
Oh and Eminem is still the frontrunner for Batman. Did Alfred die in Schumacher's abortion? I see a juicy role for Dr. Dre.
The Matrix Reloaded: The official website has some new pictures up.
The Hulk: SuperHeroHype has a bunch of new stills up. HulkMovie also has some new pics up. Woah, that Nick Nolte pic looks even worse than his mug shot!
MOVIES ZONE UPDATE
This & That: When he's not fighting parking tickets in court, Michael Dalvano takes the time to write a pretty good first column here at the 411 Movies Zone.
Works of Genius: Do yourselves a favor and check out Works of Genius by Cassius. Ever wonder why The Godfather was so good? Let Cassius clue you in. His column is a Work of Genius that should not be missed.
K-19: The Widowmaker: Julian Cantella reviews this box office bomb. If you liked The Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide, this is your kind of movie. We also get to experience the Russian point of view for the first time.
