Category: Movies

Patrick Stewart Talks STAR TREK X And X-MEN 2
He dismisses talk that Star Trek: Nemesis will mark his farewell to the 24th Century. “There’s been a lot of gossip about this being the last Next Generation film. Those conversations are only happening in the fan community. As far as the studio is concerned, and our executive producer is concerned, and indeed as far as all of us are concerned, though we all have our own opinions and feelings, there is nothing official at all about it being the last.”
“Although,” Stewart concedes, smiling, “this would be a very appropriate way to take our leave of Star Trek. Everything about the ending of this movie has a sense of closure about it, but there is also a huge opportunity for a sequel to this movie just sitting there, should it be taken up. And my feeling is that with Paramount it will totally be a matter of profits. If this film does really well, there will be another one. And that will continue, so long as they do well. The first time one does badly then, `Clang!’ We shall be put out to graze.”
Not that the passing of Jean-Luc Picard weighs too heavily on Stewart. With X-Men 2 looming, he’s in the enviable position of juggling two blockbusting fantasy franchises. “The script for X-Men 2 is very different in tone from the first one, which in any case I always felt was just an extended trailer. It was sort of `This is who the X-Men are, this is the kind of thing that they do, and that’s all we can tell you for now.’ It was an establishing movie.”

No More After GOLDMEMBER
Mindy Sterling, who plays Frau Farbissina, says in a sad tone, “I’m told this is the last Austin film, but I certainly hope there’s a four, five, six and seven. These movies are so much fun and I think we need to laugh these days.”
Sterling divulges, MINOR SPOILER ALERT, “The most hilarious new character is Goldmember who is one of Dr. Evil’s entourage. He’s a big bad guy.”
Contrary to rumors, he isn’t gold-plated. “It was definitely a huge makeup job for Mike Myers to play him. Let me just say that he dresses in gold and he’s really tan.” Many of her scenes are with Caine, who plays Austin’s swinging pop. “He gets kidnapped by Dr. Evil. It’s about Austin getting him back,” she says, adding that the babes are in for double the trouble. “Austin’s dad is also a babe magnet. Frau is actually turned on by him. I cannot say how far she goes or if it becomes a love triangle with Dr. Evil.”
Our bet is on Dr. Evil. “I love that bald, sexy look,” she says. Sterling admits that her toughest scenes were making love to Evil. “Mike Myers just looks at me in his evil, sexy way and I want to laugh until I cry, but I can’t cry or my makeup will run. It’s a horrible dilemma.”

Another UNDERCOVER BROTHER
The movie doesn’t hit theaters until Friday, but according to columnists Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith plans are already in the works at Universal for a sequel to Eddie Griffin’s “Undercover Brother”.
Usually, says Griffin, “a studio will say, ‘If the picture does such and such, and performs in such and such a way, we’ll make a follow-up.’ But producer Brian Grazer has already talked to me about a sequel, and I’ve said, ‘Hell, yes!’ ” He says his role, spun off from the satirical series about a top operative working at a secret organization, “is one of the funniest characters I’ve ever played.”
Griffin expects to make the sequel next year and adds that he would want John Ridley back to write the script. “His sensibility is a monster on the first ‘Undercover’ movie.”

AMERICA’S MAYOR
Oscar-nominated actor James Woods has signed on to play former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in “Rudy!”, a two-hour cable movie to air later this year on USA Network about his tenure in office, climaxing with the September 11 terrorist attacks.

HARRY SITUATION
Director Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two Harry Potter films, reportedly not returning for the third installment because he wants to move his family back to America from England, according to London’s Times. Warner Bros. executives are now talking with director Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien, A Little Princess) about taking over the job.

Tucker Sees Pink
Chris Tucker is the latest actor to read for the part of Inspector Closeau in the remake of THE PINK PANTHER, which Peter Sellers made famous. Tucker read for the part on Thursday with director Ivan Reitman and other MGM execs. If Tucker wins the role, he would be the first African American actor to take on the role, following Sellers, Roger Moore, and Alan Arkin.

So Why, Exactly, Do C3P0 and R2-D2 Not Remember Obi-Wan Et Al In STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE?
E! Daily News interviewed Star Wars creator George Lucas and finally got an answer on the mystery surrounding what R2-D2 and C-3PO should and shouldn’t remember of their adventures in the prequels.
A slight SPOILER warning is given for what Lucas had to say…
“Well, one, his brains have, his memory system has been erased and so has R2’s. So, they don’t remember anything from the first trilogy. I’m telling you something from Episode III, but I shouldn’t be telling you that, but I think most of the fans already know that.”

Two More Actors Join X-MEN 2
As Bryan Singer gears up to begin work on X, the sequel to 2000’s X-Men, the film’s cast of all-singing, all-dancing new mutants is beginning to fall into place. Blue-skinned demonesque character Nightcrawler has been confirmed and will be played by Ethan Embry (Can’t Hardly Wait, Empire Records).
An acrobatic little sprite, Nightcrawler sports a prehensile tail and uses inhuman agility and acrobatic skills to flummox his foes. Add the fact that he can teleport in a puff of smoke and you’ve got one slippery customer.
Joining Nightcrawler in the sequel’s superhuman line-up is Pyro, a mutant with the ability to control fire – observant souls may remember a brief cameo in one of X-Men’s classroom scenes. Played by relative newcomer Aaron Stanford, Pyro is best known as a villainous mutant rather than a super hero but, for the film’s purposes, he’ll be getting caught up with the good guy this time around.

A New WW Candidate?
“Enough” star Jennifer Lopez told MTV recently that if she could be any superhero she would like to be Wonder Woman. “I kind of look like Wonder Woman right now,” added the singer/actress.

Gimme Some Money
With “Star Wars: Episode II- Attack Of The Clones” in the driver’s seat Hollywood has enjoyed it’s biggest weekend ever.