Hollywood aims big in 2006
LOS ANGELES (AP) - In good years, Hollywood beats its chest and crows, "It's all about the movies!" In bad years, like 2005, Hollywood looks for something to blame and whispers, "It's all about the movies."
Studio honchos hope it was just a weak crop of flicks that resulted in a seven per cent drop in movie attendance last year and that doomsayers are wrong in predicting home-entertainment options have eroded the big screen's appeal.
If it really is all about the movies, 2006 stands a chance of turning Hollywood's slump around with a film lineup that - on paper, at least - looks like a winner.
You've got your man of steel and your mutant superheroes. You've got your pirates of the high seas and your overturned luxury liner. You've got your cartoon cars and your talking animals. You've got your action spectacle from Tom Cruise and your passion project from Mel Gibson.
And you've got your usual load of sequels, remakes and potential sleepers, plus a couple of sobering films that will test the audiences' tolerance for reliving tragedy as the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches.
Here's a rundown of Hollywood's sure hits and safe bets, along with a peek at some other intriguing possibilities (where available, specific release dates are included):
CAN'T MISS:
Superman Returns (June 30): Admit it. For all the X-Men, Bat guys, Spideys and Fantastic Foursomes prancing around on screen, the Boy Scout from Krypton is still your favourite superhero.
Superman Returns has a fresh face, Brandon Routh.
"I never intended to cast a well-known actor," said director Bryan Singer, who made the first two X-Men movies. "A known actor comes with baggage, and Superman as a character is much larger than any actor. I wanted him to come just with the baggage of the superhero. That's enough history to contend with."
The supporting cast does have star power though, with Kevin Spacey as super-villain Lex Luthor and Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane.
The premise: Having been called away on urgent off-world business, Superman comes back to Earth years later to renew his romantic dance with Lois and save us puny mortals - again.
Mission: Impossible III (May 5): Tom Cruise's third go-round as super secret agent Ethan Hunt pits him against bad guy Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Hoffman, a character actor known for smaller, intimate films, said he was thrilled to mix it up with Cruise. The studio is keeping details under wraps, so Hoffman cannot say much other than that he's the heavy.
"That's about all I can tell, or they'll put me in jail," Hoffman said.
X3 (May 26): Those marvellous mutants return for what could be the final chapter in the X-Men saga. The whole crew is back, including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebecca Romijn and Famke Janssen, whose character seemingly died a watery death at the end of X2: X-Men United.
With new director Brett Ratner at the helm, the superpowered mutants find themselves slowly being more accepted into a society that feared them as freaks, only to face new turmoil when a "cure" is discovered for their mutant condition.
"If you could actually get rid of your special power which alienates you from the rest of the world, would you do it?" said Jackman, who reprises his role as Wolverine. "It's a metaphor very much about intolerance, I think, fear of anything that's different. If you could choose to not be Jewish or not be gay or not be African-American. Life maybe is not as easy if you're a minority. Would you take the opportunity to change that if you could?"
Jackman said X3 would conclude the X-Men trilogy, though a Wolverine solo movie is in the works.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (July 7): Johnny Depp follows up his 2003 blockbuster, which earned him an Academy Award nomination, with the first of two sequels (part three follows in 2007).
Depp returns as woozy buccaneer Capt. Jack Sparrow, reunited with co-stars Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley and director Gore Verbinski.
Poseidon (May 12): Director Wolfgang Petersen updates the 1970s disaster tale The Poseidon Adventure, about a monster tidal wave that tips an ocean liner upside down.
The cast of survivors struggling to the bottom, er, top of the vessel includes Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum and Richard Dreyfuss.
The Da Vinci Code (May 19): Take one runaway bestseller, add the directing-producing team of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer and reunite them with their Splash and Apollo 13 star, Tom Hanks.
Adapted from Dan Brown's murder thriller that dissects the origins of Christianity, the film stars Hanks as a symbologist caught up in the mysteries of an ancient, shadowy religious society.
Casino Royale (Nov. 17): Daniel Craig becomes the sixth actor to play super-cool agent 007, with Judi Dench reprising her role as spymaster M in an adaptation of Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel as our hero takes on a dastardly casino owner.
Cars (June 9): The folks at Pixar Animation present a cartoon comedy about talking automobiles. Owen Wilson, Paul Newman and Bonnie Hunt lead the voice cast in the tale of a race car that learns about life in the slow lane when he's sidetracked into a snoozy burg called Radiator Springs.
Over the Hedge (May 19): Then you have DreamWorks Animation, whose latest cartoon centres on that demarcation line where human suburbia meets the realm of furry animals in the wild.
Among the voice cast: Bruce Willis as a wily raccoon, Garry Shandling as a timid turtle, Steve Carell as a frenzied squirrel, William Shatner as a possum that specializes in playing dead, Avril Lavigne as the possum's daughter, Wanda Sykes as a saucy skunk and Nick Nolte as a bear.
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (March 31): A woolly mammoth, a sloth and a sabre-toothed tiger walk into a sequel ...
Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary reunite as mouthpieces for the mismatched trio from the 2002 animated smash, joined by Queen Latifah, who provides the voice of a fellow mammoth.
The gang this time must run for cover as global warming is about to melt a glacial dam and unleash a catastrophic flood. Fun for all the family.
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SAFE BETS:
World Trade Center (August), Flight 93 (April 28): Have we reached that point where the shock of Sept. 11, 2001, has worn off sufficiently where we want to see the events reprised on the big screen?
The curiosity factor - and two very different approaches - bode well for the first theatrical dramatizations about the terrorist attacks.
Oliver Stone's World Trade Center stars Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena in the real-life story of Port Authority policemen trapped in the rubble of the twin towers.
Flight 93, directed by Paul Greengrass (Bloody Sunday, The Bourne Supremacy), uses a casts of unknowns as passengers who fought back against terrorists on the plane that crashed Sept. 11 in rural Pennsylvania.
Miami Vice (July 28): Michael Mann oversaw the TV cop show that helped define hip '80s style and music. Now he has Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell as his smooth new undercover cops as they take on Miami drug runners.
Underworld Evolution (Jan. 20): Kate Beckinsale's back as the vampire in black, whose war with rival werewolves grows more complicated when she learns she has been betrayed by her bloodsucking kin.
The Shaggy Dog (March 10), The Santa Clause 3 (Nov. 3): Tim Allen's back in the Disney fold, resurrecting the studio's franchise as a district attorney mutated into a bushy canine and reprising his Kris Kringle role as Santa fights Jack Frost (Martin Short) for dominion over Christmas.
Flushed Away (Nov. 3): The makers of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit spin a computer-animated tale featuring the voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen in the story of a pampered rat washed down the drain from his cushy digs into the sewers.
Charlotte's Web (Dec. 20): The live-action adaptation of E.B. White's classic children's tale features Dakota Fanning and the voices of Julia Roberts, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Redford, Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Buscemi.
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SOUNDS PROMISING:
Apocalypto (summer): Mel Gibson scored the first blockbuster done in ancient languages with The Passion of the Christ. Now he tells a historical epic in the Mayan tongue of Yucateco, set before the 16th-century Spanish conquest of Central America. Gibson says the film will be light on dialogue and heavy on imagery and action. Lethal arrow?
The Pink Panther (Feb. 10): If there's an actor alive who maybe, possibly could resurrect Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau without bumbling his way to oblivion, it's Steve Martin. Martin stars as the idiot savant French detective in a crime caper co-starring the actor's old pal Kevin Kline as Clouseau's long-suffering boss, along with Beyonce Knowles and Jean Reno.
Lady in the Water (July 21): M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs) spins another strange one, about a building super (Paul Giamatti) who discovers a water nymph (Bryce Dallas Howard) living in the tunnels beneath the apartment complex's swimming pool.
Other promising titles: Basic Instinct 2 (March 31) returns Sharon Stone to her femme fatale role, this time preying the field in London; Nanny McPhee (Jan. 27) stars Emma Thompson, who also wrote the screenplay, as a nanny whose strange powers bring order to the household of a widower (Colin Firth) with seven unruly kids; Click (June 23) brings Adam Sandler the remote control of his dreams, a device that magically transforms his job and home life; The Lake House (June) reunites Speed stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock as romantic pen pals who learn they're corresponding two years apart from each other; Stranger Than Fiction (Nov. 10) casts Will Ferrell as a man suddenly able to hear a mysterious narrator (Emma Thompson) chronicling his life - and impending death; Nacho Libre (June 2), from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess, stars Jack Black as a Mexican priest who doubles as a wrestler to raise cash for his orphanage; The Break-Up (June 2) presents Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn as ex-lovers living in mutual hostility when neither will move out of the condo they share; My Super Ex-Girlfriend (July 14), directed by Ivan Reitman, has Uma Thurman as a superhero scorned who unleashes her powers on her ex-boyfriend (Luke Wilson) after he dumps her; Pursuit of Happyness (Dec. 15) puts Will Smith back in dramatic mode as a single dad who finds himself homeless with his young son; Flags of Our Fathers (fall), directed by Clint Eastwood, follows the story of the U.S. troops famously photographed raising the flag at Iwo Jima in the Second World War.
Globe wins make cowboys, Cash favorites for Oscar
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - With "Brokeback Mountain" and "Walk the Line" taking the top feature prizes at the Golden Globes Awards, their Oscar prospects are greatly enhanced in this last week of Academy voting.
While no one knows how many Academy members held off returning their nomination ballots until after Monday's Globes telecast, it's a good bet that some did since the deadline is not until January 21 -- 10 days before Oscar nominations are announced.
The four Globe wins for "Brokeback Mountain" -- best picture (drama), director ( Ang Lee), screenplay (Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana) and original song ("A Love That Will Never Grow Old," music by Gustavo Santaolalla, lyrics by Bernie Taupin) -- pretty much assures that Focus Features' gay cowboy romance will wind up being nominated in Oscar's prime races.
Not only is "Brokeback" a likely Oscar nominee in all the categories in which it won Globes, but it also stands to get into Oscar races where it did not win Globes -- including best actor ( Heath Ledger), supporting actress ( Michelle Williams) and original score (Santaolalla). "Brokeback's" Globes success could also rub off on Jake Gyllenhaal, who didn't get a Globe nomination for supporting actor, but could now springboard into the Oscar supporting actor race.
Clearly, Focus Features has not lost its awards marketing touch, which in the past has generated great success for such films as Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" and Roman Polanski's "The Pianist."
Monday's other great Globes success story was 20th Century Fox's "Walk the Line," which delivered three key wins -- best picture (musical/comedy), best actor ( Joaquin Phoenix) and best actress ( Reese Witherspoon). Here, too, there should be a definite correlation between Globe wins and Oscar nominations.
With box office sales of $98.3 million through Monday, the Johnny Cash biopic has another advantage in that it's one of the few serious Oscar contenders with mainstream appeal. The Academy needs such films to be nominated if it wants to generate blockbuster ratings on March 5. (By contrast, "Brokeback Mountain" has earned $32.1 million.)
Another film that should also benefit in the Oscar race from its reception at the Globes is Sony Pictures Classics' "Capote," which took home the best actor (drama) Globe for Philip Seymour Hoffman. That should not only catapult Hoffman into the best actor Oscar race, but could also give "Capote" a shot at additional nominations. (Unfortunately for the Academy, "Capote" has earned just $13.2 million at the box office.)
"Capote," "Brokeback Mountain," and "Walk the Line" are among the five feature contenders at the Producers Guild of America Awards, which take place Sunday night. The winner usually goes on to take the best picture Oscar. (The other nominees are "Crash" and "Good Night, and Good Luck.")
Felicity Huffman's best actress (drama) win for playing a preoperative transsexual in The Weinstein Co.'s "Transamerica" is also likely to put her in Oscar's best actress sweepstakes, and it should propel the film past its current box office haul of $511,000. And George Clooney's best supporting actor win for "Syriana" seems a good bet to translate into an Oscar nod for him.
On the other hand, Clooney's loss with Warner Independent Pictures' "Good Night, and Good Luck" in the Globes' directing, screenplay and picture categories, and David Strathairn's loss in the best actor (drama) race, suggests that film could have a tougher time now on the Oscar nominations front.
Clarkson Deals With 'American Idol' Past
PASADENA, Calif. - Singer Kelly Clarkson, who vaulted to fame as the first "American Idol" winner in 2002, is now apparently refusing to let any of her songs be used by new contestants on the show.
A spokesman for Clarkson insisted it's nothing personal, but the stance prompted a public scolding from "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell.
"I think that by ignoring the show you're ignoring the audience who put you there," Cowell said on Tuesday.
Clarkson has become a major star in the past year, with her hit "Since U Been Gone" earning both massive sales and critical respect, particularly from a rock community that has looked upon "American Idol" contestants warily. Her album "Breakaway" earned a Grammy nomination for best pop vocal album.
Yet it may have cost her a good relationship with the nation's most popular talent show.
"American Idol" must obtain permission from owners of song licenses before the music can be used on the show. While many love the exposure, some artists — the Beatles, for one — like to rigidly control use of their music.
Clarkson is not allowing any of her songs to be licensed for other uses, said Roger Widynowski, a spokesman for Sony BMG. "It has nothing to do with `Idol,'" he said.
The show's executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, said he spoke to Clarkson's manager on Friday and the manager said he was unaware of the situation. He said he's waiting for a call back.
Before "Breakaway," Clarkson fired Simon Fuller, the "American Idol" creator, as her manager, saying that although he was a "great guy," she needed someone who could give her career more attention. She teamed with Swedish hitmaker Max Martin on "Since U Been Gone."
It's the same delicate position faced by countless other musicians through show biz history, wanting to break away and show artistic independence without alienating those who gave them their start.
Cowell said he hoped Clarkson would let her music be used on "American Idol."
"No matter how talented Kelly Clarkson is, she would not be in the position she's in now without winning this show," he said. "And forget the way she feels about us or the producers or anybody else, or the terrible songwriters she alleges she was with which sold her millions of records.
"It's the public who bothered to pick up the phone to vote for her," he said. "If she refuses to give songs to be used on the show, it's like saying to every person who voted for you, `you know what? Thank you. I'm not interested in you anymore.'"
With the seemingly unquenchable public interest in "American Idol," it's not like the show really needs Clarkson. But she's plainly the best example producers can point to in proving how they can open the door to wish fulfillment.
Widynowski said he would not comment on Cowell's remarks.
For his part, Cowell said, "I don't like this, when they walk away from the show and kind of forget."
Hilary Swank Hopes to Save Marriage
NEW YORK - Hilary Swank and her husband, Chad Lowe, recently announced their separation, but the Oscar-winning actress says they hope to rescue their eight-year marriage.
"We're still trying to save it," Swank told syndicated TV entertainment show "Access Hollywood" at the Golden Globe Awards, which were presented Monday in Beverly Hills, California. "It's not over, we're not divorced. We've been together for over 13 years, and there's a lot of love there."
Swank, who wore her wedding ring to the awards ceremony, added: "We're still married."
Swank, 31, and Lowe, 38, announced their split Jan. 9. They were married in 1997 and have no children.
The actress, who won Oscars for "Boys Don't Cry" and "Million Dollar Baby," next stars in the Brian De Palma-directed crime drama, "The Black Dahlia."
Lowe won an Emmy Award in 1993 for his performance on the U.S. TV series "Life Goes On."