Category: Movies

Washington Takes Villain Spot For Bad Sounding Ford Flick
Isaiah Washington (EXIT WOUNDS) is in negotiations to play the villain in the untitled buddy-cop movie starring Josh Hartnett (BLACK HAWK DOWN) and Harrison Ford (K-19) for Revolution Studios. Hartnett and Ford will play two cops that moonlight in acting and real estate, respectively. Somehow they become involved in a crime in the music business. Washington would play rapper Sartain, a record mogul who has arranged the deaths of several rappers under him when they wanted out of their contracts. The film will be directed by Ron Shelton working from a script he co-authored with former cop Robert Souza.

SOLARIS Rises Earlier
Fox has announced that Steven Soderbergh’s SOLARIS, starring George Clooney, has been moved up from December 13 to November 27, thanks to a three week-early wrap to the film. The sci-fi thriller will be the only adult-targeted film that weekend. “Nov. 27 is a great date, but from what Steven has been showing me of the rough cut, SOLARIS is going to be such a landmark of science fiction filmmaking that it doesn’t really matter when it is released,” said producer James Cameron (TITANIC). In the film, Clooney plays a scientist sent to investigate odd probe readings on a station orbiting the planet Solaris.

Go, Enjoy!
“Austin Powers in Goldmember” had a smashing debut, baby, raking in $71.5 million to set an opening record for a comedy.
For the record, here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. “Austin Powers in Goldmember,” $71.5 million.
2. “Road To Perdition,” $11 million.
3. “Stuart Little 2,” $10,7 million.
4 “Men In Black II,” $8.7
5. “K-19: The Widowmaker,” $7.3 million.
6. “The Country Bears,” $5.2 million.
7. “Mr. Deeds, “$4.2 million.
8. “Reign of Fire,” $3.3 million.
9. “Minority Report,” $3.1 million
10. “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” $3 million.

Madonna visit ends new ‘007’ shoot
It’s better late than never for 007 and Madonna.
Filming of the forthcoming James Bond epic “Die Another Day”, has been completed, ending with Madonna’s visit to the set to shoot her cameo.
Madonna was joined on the final day of filming by Justin Llewelyn, son of the late Doug Llewelyn, who played gadget-maker Q. Justin spent the day working as an extra in the film.
Pierce Brosnan told reporters earlier in the year that filming was set to wrap in June. “Die Another Day” is scheduled for release on November 18, 2002.

Stewart Preps For X2 and NEMESIS
Patrick Stewart told the British DreamWatch magazine that X2óthe upcomimng sequel to X-Menówill hinge on his character, Professor X, according to a report on Cinescape Online. “The story goes in a direction that I thought was quite unexpected, which is always a good thing,” Stewart told the magazine. “It involves my character a good deal more than the other movie did. Unlike the first X-Men, where he was just out of the movie for a big chunk of time, he is consistently active. I think it’s looking really promising.”
Stewart also said that the upcoming 10th Star Trek movie, Nemesis, will combine many of the elements fans have been looking for. “I think it’s possible that there might be more to anticipate and to be excited about with Nemesis than with any of our previous movies, including everybody’s favorite, First Contact,” Stewart said. “I think we’ve got the mix right, in terms of a strong story. … There are two storylines running side by side, interconnecting at different times. We have a very strong action base as well for this, which means that the dialogue scenes are broken up with really quite effective sequences of action. It has romance in itóin fact, it’s probably the sexiest movie we’ve done in some respects, although unfortunately none of this involves me. It has a psychological aspect to it, too, which is interesting and potent. And there are surprisesóthe kind of surprises that, while we were shooting it, we were licking our chops with glee at the thought of these things that were going to surprise people.” Nemesis opens Dec. 13; X2 is currently in production for a 2003 release.

Can ‘Austin’ Power Box Office?
Last weekend’s threadbare box office looks likely to prove a one-weekend shortfall if New Line Cinema strikes the kind of motherlode that’s predicted for “Austin Powers in Goldmember.”
The studio bows its third-in-a-franchise spy spoof in 3,613 theaters Friday, with industryites forecasting a three-day haul comfortably above $50 million.
And that could be good news for more than just New Line, as conventional wisdom says buzz generated from such big bows has a beneficial effect on other current releases.
“It gets people wanting to go to the movies,” said DreamWorks distribution president Jim Tharp, whose reigning champ “Road to Perdition” is entering its third weekend.
The original “Austin” debuted with $53.9 million in May 1997 and the first sequel opened at $54.9 million in June 1999.
“You always want to do better than the last one,” said New Line distribution president David Tuckerman. “So that’s our expectation.”
New Line offered 2,416 “Austin” sneak peeks Thursday night, but those grosses won’t be reflected in weekend totals.
Also bowing in wide release Friday is Disney’s kids-and-parents affair “Country Bears,” tagged for 2,553 locations. It will compete for the same crowd as Sony’s “Stuart Little 2,” which opened disappointingly last weekend.
Meanwhile, Paramount will try to salvage a decent sophomore session from its sub drama “K-19: The Widowmaker” after a poor launch last weekend. The modestly budget horror picture “Eight Legged Freaks” (Warner Bros.) will seek to avoid a drop from the top 10 in its second frame.
And DreamWorks adds about 100 engagements — for a total 2,250 — for “Road to Perdition.” The studio appears well validated in its strategy of adding playdates this week and last after securing a solid second-place bow over the July 12 frame. Gripping but dark, the mob-themed adult drama finished No. 1 last weekend and now seems headed north of $100 million domestically.
“Country Bears” is a modestly budgeted live-action adaptation of a Disney World theme-park attraction of the same name. Never intended as a box office behemoth, “Bears” will likely remained caged in the single-digit millions over its opening weekend.
Sony marketing and distribution president Jeff Blake expressed hope that “Stuart Little 2” would follow the trajectory of its 1999 predecessor, which ended up with an impressive $140 million tally after opening with $15 million. The costly sequel opened with $15.1 million, just behind “Perdition,” but has out-performed the market each weekday since then.
“But as always, we’ll have to wait to see how it does this weekend,” Blake said.
Industrywide, the box office was off 18% last weekend from the same frame in 2001. But 21 of the preceding 22 weekends had seen year-over-year upticks, and industryites are hoping the frame was a mere aberration.
“It’s my impression that it was just a one-weekend thing,” DreamWorks’ Tharp said, noting mid-week grosses have shown signs of renewed vigor. “But people aren’t really sure why that was last weekend.”

It is definately better the second time.
My thoughts on AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER after I saw it the first time are easily summed up in Roger Ebert’s review. He may be no Gene Siskel (RIP) but for the first time ever he crystalizes my thoughts exactly, after the first time I saw it that is.
I defer to something my friend Chris wrote about the movies to sum up my thoughts on GOLDMEMBER after my second viewing:
“I think these movies (the Austin Powers films) really get better with repeated viewings – I did laugh the most of all three movies (on first viewing).”
He is right. After 2 viewings, I can tell you it is hilarious. After one viewing, well you might agree with Roger Ebert’s review.
Enjoy the popcorn and I’ll see you at the movies, baby!

007 to Austin Powers: “Laugh While You Can, Baby.”
Secret agent 007 has a not-so-secret message for Austin Powers: laugh all you can now baby, the real thing hits movie theaters this November.

Remember…”Lower Your Expectations.”
Austin Powers is back, baby!

CHANGING THEIR TUNE
Variety is reporting that directors Joel and Ethan Coen are producing “Romance and Cigarettes,” a new musical written by John Turturro.
The filmmakers are looking at an all-star cast for the film, eyeing James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Julia Stiles, Christopher Walken and Steve Buscemi, among others, for roles.