News: April 26th - May 2nd 1999

Old Movie News:
April 26th - May 2nd 1999

In this section you will find the latest news & rumours on current and upcoming Hollywood projects. To spice up the page we also serve a variety of new posters, images and reviews. If you have a scoop you'd like to share with everyone, please submit it to us.

Movie Trailers: The full 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me' trailer is finally available online. Also two brand new commercials for "Star Wars: Episode I - TPM" titled 'One Love' and 'One Will.' Thanks to The OB-1 Design Group.

Movie Posters: Above is the official poster for this upcoming sequel to the popular 1997 film "Austin Powers." For those having problems reading the tagline, I believe it is "First he fought for the Crown. Now he's fighting for the Family Jewels." Also an eerie poster for "Stigmata" - the Patricia Arquette/Gabriel Byrne starrer that opens July 9th in the US. Thanks to 'Howard.'

Shaft: Variety reports that John Leguizamo ("Spawn") is near a deal to join the cast of "Shaft,'' director John Singleton's remake of the classic 1971 detective picture. Leguizamo would play villain Peoples Hernandez opposite Samuel L. Jackson, who heads the cast as New York P.I. and sex machine John Shaft. Shooting begins in New York in August.

Texas Rangers: Marco Leonardi has landed one of the leading roles in Miramax’s upcoming John Milius-scripted Western, "Texas Rangers." Leonardi joins co-stars James Van Der Beek, Dylan McDermott and the recently cast Ashton Kutcher as a group of young men in charge of cleaning up the West after the Civil War. Steve Minor directs the pic set in 1870s Texas; Alan Greisman and Frank Price share producing duties. Lensing is skedded to begin in late May in Calgary, Canada.

Picking Up the Pieces: David Schwimmer ("Friends") rounds out the cast of high-profile indie film "Picking Up the Pieces." The star joins Woody Allen, Sharon Stone and Kiefer Sutherland in the Alfonso Arau-directed black comedy that starts shooting this weekend in Valencia, Calif. The Bill Wilson-penned script centers around a kosher butcher from New York, played by Allen, who decides to chop his wife (Stone) into pieces and then drive to Mexico with the remains. En route, a hand falls out in the small border town where Schwimmer is a priest. Schwimmer portrays a fallen priest in "Pieces." Once the severed hand is discovered, miracles ensue as the wayward holy man regains his faith, according to THR.

Madison: Jake Lloyd ("Star Wars: Episode I") is set to star in the father-son action drama "Madison.'' Set in 1971 in Madison, Ind., the picture - which director William Bindley co-wrote with his brother Scott - is a true story of a dying river town set against the backdrop of hydroplane boat racing. The action focuses on the relationship between a racer who is considering moving his family out of town, and his young son (Lloyd). The father is yet to be cast The $10 million indie picture will be shot on location in Madison this summer. "Jake is a terrific actor,'' William Bindley said. "He already has an extraordinary following among young kids. We're happy he's on board."

Star Wars: Episode I - TPM: The song "The Duel of the Fates," which was composed and conducted by John Williams is now available online. It is reported that it 'embodies the conflict between the light and the dark at the heart of the new Star Wars movie.' In related news, CHUD has gotten their hands on the Episode I comic, check out their site for pictures of that. And finally, THR reports that 20th Century Fox will unfurl "Star Wars: Episode I - TPM" for theater owners May 4-6 in 30 U.S. cities, but film buyers won't know where the screening is until the last minute for security reasons. Thanks to Movie Salvage and CHUD.

15 Minutes: According to THR, Kelsey Grammer has been cast opposite Robert De Niro and Edward Burns in New Line Cinema's "15 Minutes." Shooting begins in New York and Los Angeles in early June. Directed by John Herzfeld, the film is a thriller laced with dark humor and social commentary centered on a New York Fire Department arson investigator (Burns) who teams with a famous homicide detective (De Niro). Grammer will play Robert Hawkins, a charming host and star of a top-rated tabloid show. Smart and aggressive, he will go after an exclusive interview at any cost.

Summer of Sam: A trailer for this upcoming Spike Lee flick starring Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino and John Leguizamo.

Ashton Kutcher from "That '70s Show" has signed on for three Miramax Pictures including "Down to You" and "Texas Rangers" and "Reindeer Games." In the Steve Miner-directed "Rangers," Kutcher is part of a group of men - including James Van Der Beek and Dylan McDermott - who band together after the Civil War to clean up the West, calling themselves the Texas Rangers. Kutcher plays Durham, a big, awkward, rawboned farmboy who decides to join the Rangers to "become a man."

Entrapment: A negative look at this Sean Connery/Catherine Zeta-Jones starrer which is set to open tomorrow in US theatres. Thanks to LegitCrit.

Cactus Flower: Columbia Pictures is planting a remake of "Cactus Flower,'' the 1969 light comedy in which Goldie Hawn made her Oscar-winning screen debut. The original picture starred Walter Matthau as a dentist who avoids marrying his loopy girlfriend (Hawn) by pretending to already be married; he then gets his prim nurse (Ingrid Bergman) to impersonate the wife. Director Daisy Mayer ("Party Girl") is attached to take the helm and write the script. Full Story >>>

Circus: Famke Janssen ("The Faculty," "GoldenEye") will star opposite John Hannah in Columbia Pictures' "Circus" for director Rob Walker. Eddie Izzard, Peter Stormare and Tiny Lister are also set for roles in the action thriller, which is a working title for the film. The project began shooting this week at Shepperton Studios and on location in Brighton, England. Written by David Logan, "Circus" centers on con man Leo Garfield (Hannah) and his glamorous wife Lily (Janssen), who have masterminded an audacious scam, according to THR.

Untitled Norwegian/American Project: Kate Winslet ("Titanic") is one of the stars coming to Norway this autumn, to shoot a Norwegian/American film about Norwegian emigrates in the 1800s. The film will be directed by Kathryn Bigelow ("Strange Days"). Kate Winslet will come to shoot her part as one of the film's three leading ladies this autumn. This is suppose to be a huge epic production about ghosts of the past set in a story about three brothers and sisters who emigrated to the US in the late 1800s. The story takes place both in the past and present and circles around a murder mystery. More international stars are expected to join the cast, as well as Norwegian actors. I'll be sure to keep you posted on this project! Thanks to 'Howard.'

The Patriot: Variety reports that Australian actor Heath Ledger (“10 Things I Hate About You”) has been cast opposite Mel Gibson in Columbia’s American Revolutionary War film, tentatively titled “The Patriot.” The 20-year-old thesp plays Gabriel, son of Gibson’s character, a farmer who reluctantly takes up arms against the British when the fighting reaches his town. The two end up battling side by side in the quest for U.S. independence. Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day”) directs.

Bad Boys II: I'm not sure if this film will ever be made, but here's a script review none the less for those interested. Quite a few spoilers are included. Thanks to 'DaSKRASH'!

Movie Info: With thanks to 'Ian' (be sure to check out his newly revamped Entertainian), two short news stories:

First, Akiva Goldsman (Batman and Robin) has written the third draft to the Sum of all Fears, the next Harrison Ford/Jack Ryan thriller based on the book by Tom Clancy. From his mouth he stated that it'll begin rolling next year (early) and is set for a late summer 2000 release.

Ray Park, the actor who plays Darth Maul in the upcoming Episode I, will star in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow this summer.

Church Of The Dead Girls: With thanks to 'gm' - some news on this possible Schumacher project:

Director Joel Schumacher (8MM) is casting the thriller Church Of The Dead Girls. The film, based on Steven Dobyns' novel of the same name, focuses on a small town reeling from the random dissappearence of three local teenagers. Names already linked to the project include Brad Renfro (Apt Pupil), Anna Paquin (The Piano), Katie Holmes (Dawson's Creek) and Matt Dillon (There's Something About Mary).

The Hollow Man: Greg Grunberg, Kim Dickens and Joey Slotnick will join in Sony’s “The Hollow Man” for director Paul Verhoeven. Alan Marshall and Doug Wick share producing duties on the pic, which is skedded to go before the cameras this month in L.A. and Washington D.C. “Man” is about a doctor who foolishly tests his invisibility experiments on himself, unleashing his dangerous megalomaniacal tendencies.

Boesman and Lena: Danny Glover and Angela Bassett will co-star in the film version of South African Athol Fugard's "Boesman and Lena," which will go before the cameras in Cape Town on May 10. John Berry, the veteran American theater and film director who staged the first New York production of the play with James Earl Jones and Ruby Dee in 1970, will take the helm, working from his own adaptation. Berry and the actors already have rehearsed extensively in Los Angeles. The story follows the play's namesake characters, two itinerants who take stock of their lives by a riverbank, according to Variety.

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