For
Your (Re) Consideration
As Awards Season Staggers To Conclusion,
We Look At What’s Ahead For Some Likely Big Winners
by Patrick Corcoran
February is Oscar month
and that means it’s
time to look at what’s coming up for 2004’s
award winners. Unfortunately, editorial lead times being
what they are, we don’t even know who’s nominated
for the Academy Awards, let alone who won. So, once more,
we turn to the prestigious, vaunted, respected (and, conveniently,
announced) American Film Institute’s “10 most
outstanding motion pictures.”
They are (drum roll please!):
The Aviator
Collateral
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Friday Night Lights
The Incredibles
Kinsey
Maria Full Of Grace
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways
Spider-Man 2
The Aviator
“The Aviator’s” star, Leonardo
DiCaprio,
and director, Martin Scorsese, are set for their third
collaboration. “The Departed” is an English-language
remake of Hong Kong’s hit “Infernal Affairs” trilogy.
It revolves around a cop who infiltrates a criminal gang
while a gangster simultaneously infiltrates the police.
William Monahan (“Kingdom of Heaven”) wrote
the screenplay. DiCaprio’s co-stars were expected
to include Matt Damon (“Ocean’s Twelve”).
Warner Bros. plans a 2006 release.
Collateral
“Collateral” star Tom
Cruise is up next in “War
of the Worlds,” a remake of the 1953 science fiction
classic about a Martian invasion of Earth, based on the
novel by H.G. Wells (“The Time Machine”). Steven
Spielberg (“Minority Report,” “Catch
Me if You Can,” “The Terminal”) directs
from a screenplay by David Koepp (“Jurassic Park,” “Mission:
Impossible,” “Spider-Man,” “Secret
Window”). Cruise’s co-stars include Miranda
Otto (“Flight of the Phoenix”), Tim Robbins
(“Anchorman”), Dakota Fanning (“Man on
Fire,” “Hide and Seek”), James DuMont
(“Along Came Polly,” “Miss Congeniality
2”), David Alan Basche (“Full Frontal”)
and Justin Chatwin (“SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2”).
Paramount demonstrates the death-rays June 29.
From there, it’s on to “Mission: Impossible
3.” Secret agent Ethan Hunt is again deployed by
the U.S. government’s top-secret Impossible Mission
Force. J.J. Abrams, who created TV’s “Alias” and “Lost” and
directed their pilots, was set to make his feature directorial
debut from a screenplay by “Alias” writers
Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci. Returnees from parts
one and two are expected to include actors Cruise and Ving
Rhames (“Dawn of the Dead,” “Back in
the Day,” “Night Train”). Paramount thinks
a July 2006 release is possible.
Cruise’s “Collateral” co-star, Jamie
Foxx, sneaks up next in “Stealth,” an actioner
about a battle-savvy group of pilots on a mission to destroy
a deadly robotic craft before it can precipitate a third
world war. Rob Cohen (“The Fast and the Furious,” “XXX”)
directs from a screenplay by Cohen and W.D. Richter (“Needful
Things,” “Home for the Holidays”). Foxx’s
co-stars include Jessica Biel (“Blade: Trinity”),
Josh Lucas (“Wonderland,” “Around the
Bend”), Richard Roxburgh (“Van Helsing”),
Ian Bliss (the “Matrix” series), Jason Chan
(TV’s “Power Rangers: Ninja Force”),
Sam Shepard (“The Notebook”), Ebon Moss-Bachrach
(“Mona Lisa Smile”) and Joe Morton (“Paycheck”).
Sony sneaks it into theatres July 29.
Foxx sticks to the military theme in “Jarhead,” based
on Gulf War veteran Anthony Swofford’s memoir of
life in the Marine Corps. Sam Mendes (“American Beauty,” “Road
to Perdition”) directs from a screenplay by William
Broyles (“Unfaithful,” “The Polar Express”).
Chris Cooper (“Silver City”), Jake Gyllenhaal
(“The Day After Tomorrow”), and Peter Sarsgaard
(“Kinsey”) co-star. Universal invades theatres
Nov. 11.
Foxx’s “Collateral” director Michael
Mann was reportedly set to revisit his own work with a
big screen remake of “Miami Vice.” It’s
based on producer/writer Mann’s stylish 1984-89 NBC
TV series about two shockingly visible undercover Miami
vice detectives named Crockett and Tubbs. Mann will reportedly
direct from his own screenplay. Foxx and Colin Farrell
(“Alexander”) were reportedly set to star.
Universal has reportedly given Crockett’s red Ferrari
a green light for a 2006 release.
Eternal Sunshine
of the Spotless Mind
Kate Winslet has been busy since “Eternal Sunshine.” She’s
up next in “Romance & Cigarettes,” written
and directed by John Turturro (“Mac,” “Illuminata”).
The musical comedy, set in Bensonhurst, N.Y., is about
a cheating husband forced to choose between his wife and
his mistress. Winslet’s co-stars include James Gandolfini
(“Surviving Christmas”), Susan Sarandon (“Alfie”),
Christopher Walken (“The Stepford Wives,” “Around
the Bend”), Steve Buscemi (“Coffee and Cigarettes”),
Eddie Izzard (“Ocean’s Twelve”), Bobby
Cannavale (“Shall We Dance?”), Mary-Louise
Parker (“Saved!”), Mandy Moore (“Saved!”)
and Amy Sedaris (“My Baby’s Daddy”).
MGM plans a 2005 release.
Winslet plays the daughter of a powerful
political family who becomes a governor’s mistress in “All The
King’s Men,” a remake of the 1949 film starring
Broderick Crawford and John Ireland and based on the 1946
novel by Robert Penn Warren (“At Heaven’s Gate”)
which was, in turn, based on the life of legendary Louisiana
politician Huey Long. It’s about a citizen whose
ascent from a blue-collar laborer to an influential governor
ends in scandalous corruption and political downfall. Steven
Zaillian (“Searching for Bobby Fischer,” “A
Civil Action”) directs from his own screenplay. Winslet’s
co-stars include Sean Penn (“The Assassination of
Richard Nixon”), Jude Law (“Closer,” “The
Aviator”), Patricia Clarkson (“Miracle”)
and Mark Ruffalo (“Collateral”). Sony plans
a 2005 release.
“Sunshine” co-star Jim
Carrey returns for “Fun
With Dick And Jane,” a remake of the 1977 comedy
about a financially strapped middle-class couple who resort
to undertaking heists to pay their bills. Dean Parisot
(“Home Fries,” “Galaxy Quest”)
directs from a screenplay by Judd Apatow (“Celtic
Pride”) and Nicholas Stoller. Carrey’s co-stars
include Téa Leoni (“Spanglish”), Alec
Baldwin (“The Aviator”), Richard Burgi (“Cellular”),
Jullian Dulce Vida (“Showtime”), John Michael
Higgins (“Blade: Trinity”), Stacey Travis (“Soul
Plane”), Jeff Garlin (“After the Sunset”)
and Angie Harmon (“Agent Cody Banks”). Sony
sees it run June 24.
Friday Night Lights
Billy Bob
Thornton segues from the
world of Texas high school football in “Friday Night Lights” to
the world of Kansas crime in “Ice Harvest.” The
black comedy is about a mob lawyer who endures a Kansas
snowstorm as his scheme to skip town with a load of cash
goes awry. It’s based on the novel by Scott Phillips
(“Cottonwood”). Harold Ramis (“Bedazzled,” “Analyze
That”) directs from a screenplay by Robert Benton
(“Nobody’s Fool,” “Twilight”)
and Richard Russo (“Twilight”). Thornton’s
co-stars include John Cusack (“Runaway Jury”),
Connie Nielsen (“The Hunted”), Lara Phillips
(“Road to Perdition”), Oliver Platt (“Kinsey”),
Ned Bellamy (“The Whole Ten Yards”), Jenny
Wade (TV’s “Undressed”) and Randy Quaid
(“Grind”). Focus plans a limited release Nov.
4.
Thornton then again dons the coach’s whistle for “The
Bad News Bears.” It’s a remake of the 1976
comedy starring Walter Matthau and Tatum O’Neal about
an irritable, beer-swilling coach who transforms a hopeless
Little League team into a unit with a shot at the pennant.
Richard Linklater (“School of Rock,” “Before
Sunset”) directs from a screenplay by Glenn Ficarra & John
Requa (“Cats & Dogs,” “Bad Santa”).
Thornton’s co-stars include Marcia Gay Harden (“P.S.”),
Greg Kinnear (“Godsend”), Timmy Deters (“Daddy
Day Care”) and Ridge Canipe (TV’s “Lucky”).
Paramount plans a November 2006 release.
The Incredibles
The biggest star of “The Incredibles” is arguably
Pixar. The company has turned out an unmatched six straight
$150 million-plus computer-animated blockbusters since “Toy
Story.” The likely seventh (and possible last collaboration
with Disney) is “Cars.” The animated comedy
is about a group of talking autos making its way along
historic Route 66. Written and directed by John Lasseter
(“A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2”),
it features the voices of Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Paul
Newman, Richard Petty and John Ratzenberger. Buena Vista
plans to rev it up June 9, 2006.
Kinsey
“Kingdom Of Heaven” finds Liam
Neeson working
out his problems in a more direct way. The epic drama,
set in the 12th and 13th centuries, is about a young blacksmith
who falls for a princess and saves her kingdom during the
Crusades. Ridley Scott (“Black Hawk Down,” “Matchstick
Men”) directs from a screenplay by former Spy Magazine
editor William Monahan. Neeson’s co-stars include
Orlando Bloom (“Troy”), Eva Green (“The
Dreamers”), Jeremy Irons (“And Now Ladies & Gentlemen,” “Being
Julia”), Marton Csokas (“The Bourne Supremacy”),
David Thewlis (“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban”) and Brendan Gleeson (“The Village”).
Fox goes to war May 6.
“Kinsey” star Laura
Linney plays a defense
attorney in “The Exorcism Of Emily Rose.” The
drama is based on a true story about a Bavarian priest
who was tried for precipitating the 1978 death of a 19-year-old
woman during an exorcism. Scott Derrickson (the straight-to-video
thriller “Hellraiser: Inferno”) directs from
a screenplay by Derrickson & Paul Harris Boardman (“Urban
Legends: Final Cut”). Linney’s co-stars include
Tom Wilkinson (“Stage Beauty”), Jennifer Carpenter
(“White Chicks”), Shohreh Aghdashloo (“House
of Sand and Fog”), Joshua Close (“A Home at
the End of the World”), Colm Feore (The Chronicles
of Riddick”), Marsha Regis (“White Noise”)
and Campbell Scott (“The Secret Lives of Dentists”).
Sony casts it out Sept. 9.
Million Dollar Baby
“Million Dollar Baby” star Morgan
Freeman is his usual busy supporting-actor self. He’s up
next in “An Unfinished Life,” a drama about
a young, destitute mother who, as a last resort, uproots
herself and her pre-teen daughter to live at her estranged
father-in-law’s ranch in Wyoming. Lasse Hallström
(“Chocolat,” “The Shipping News”)
directs from a screenplay by Virginia and Mark Spragg (“Gross
Anatomy”). Jennifer Lopez (“Jersey Girl,” “Shall
We Dance?” “Monster-in-Law”), Robert
Redford (“The Clearing”), Josh Lucas (“Stealth”),
Damian Lewis (“Dreamcatcher”), Camryn Manheim
(“Twisted”) and P. Lynn Johnson (“Final
Destination”) co-star. Miramax has yet to set a release
date.
“Unleashed” finds Freeman back in the fight game in
an action-thriller about a developmentally disabled fighter,
and what happens after his “owner” – who
raised the fighter as a dog from childhood – falls
into a coma. The “Transporter” team of director
Louis Leterrier and screenwriters Luc Besson (“Kiss
of the Dragon,” “Wasabi”) and Robert
Mark Kamen (“Kiss of the Dragon”) reunite.
Freeman’s co-stars include Jet Li (“Cradle
2 the Grave”), Bob Hoskins (“Vanity Fair”),
Kerry Condon (“Ned Kelly”) and Christian Gazio
(“The Transporter”). It’s also known
as “Danny the Dog.” Focus lets it out April
8.
Freeman stars as Bruce Wayne’s business associate,
Lucious Fox, in “Batman Begins,” a prequel
to the “Batman” saga depicting the first time
Wayne dons the cape and cowl – even as the billionaire
vigilante deals with a not-entirely-appreciative Gotham
City police force and the supercriminals Scarecrow and
Ra’s Al Ghul. Christopher Nolan (“Insomnia,” “Memento”)
directs from a screenplay by Nolan and David Goyer (the “Blade” series).
Freeman’s co-stars include Christian Bale (“Equilibrium,” “The
Machinist”) as Wayne, Michael Caine (“The Statement,” “Around
the Bend,”) as butler Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman
(“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”)
as police lieutenant James Gordon, Ken Watanabe (“The
Last Samurai”) as Ra’s Al Ghul, Cillian Murphy
(“Cold Mountain”) as Dr. Jonathan “Scarecrow” Crane,
Katie Holmes (“The Singing Detective,” “First
Daughter”) as Wayne love-interest Rachel Dawes, and
Liam Neeson (from the AFI-honored “Kinsey”)
as Henri Ducard. Warner Bros. begins collecting grosses
June 17.
“Million Dollar Baby” lead Hilary
Swank hangs
up her boxing gloves and slips on some stylish 1940s frocks
for “The Black Dahlia.” The fact-based crime
drama revolves around two boxers-turned-cops investigating
the brutal 1947 murder of aspiring movie actress Elizabeth
Short. Swank plays a character who is a dead ringer for
the murdered woman. Brian DePalma (“Mission to Mars,” “Femme
Fatale”) was set to direct from a screenplay by Josh
Friedman, based on the best-selling novel by James Ellroy
(“L.A. Confidential”). Josh Hartnett (“Wicker
Park”) and Scarlett Johansson (“A Love Song
for Bobby Long”) co-star. Filming is set to begin
in March.
Sideways
Tipped last year for “American Splendor,” Paul
Giamatti has the industry buzzing again, this time for
his work as a wine-sozzled writer in “Sideways.”
After lending his voice to “Robots” (see this
month’s preview), he’s up next in “The
Cinderella Man.” The sports drama, based on a true
story of the Great Depression, is about a man who became
a working-class hero when he entered the boxing ring to
feed his family, and ended up defeating heavyweight champ
Max Baer. Ron Howard (“A Beautiful Mind,” “The
Missing”) directs from a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman
(“A Beautiful Mind,” “I, Robot”),
Charlie Mitchell and Clifford Hollingsworth. Giamatti’s
co-stars include Russell Crowe (“Master and Commander”),
Renée Zellweger (“Bridget Jones: The Edge
of Reason”), Craig Bierko (“Dickie Roberts:
Former Child Star”), Bruce McGill (“Collateral”),
Paddy Considine (“In America”), Matthew G.
Taylor (“Resident Evil: Apocalypse”), Fulvio
Cecere (“Assault on Precinct 13”) and Ron Canada
(“The Human Stain”). Universal sends it into
the ring June 3.
“The Hawk Is Dying” finds Giamatti playing an auto
upholsterer whose only passion is training a red-tailed
hawk. Julian Goldberger (“Trans”) directs from
his own screenplay, based on the novel by Harry Crews (“A
Feast of Snakes”). Michael Pitt (“The Village”),
Sarah Polley (“Dawn of the Dead”) and Matthew
Stanton co-star. It has yet to secure a domestic distributor.
Giamatti lends his voice to “Ant Bully,” an
animated adventure about a boy who floods an ant colony
with his water pistol and finds himself shrunken to ant-size
and sentenced to hard labor for his crime. John A. Davis
(“Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius”) directs from
his own screenplay, based on the book by John Nickle. Others
lending their voices include Alan Cumming, Shirley MacLaine,
Ricardo Montalban, Cheri Oteri, Julia Roberts, Clive Robertson
and Zach Tyler. Warner Bros. has yet to set a release date.
Spider-Man 2
Aside from the inevitable “Spider-Man
3,” with
Tobey Maguire (his only scheduled
project) due May 4, 2007, “Spider-Man
2” lead Kirsten Dunst plays
the love interest in “Elizabethtown.” The
romantic comedy-drama is about a suicidal industrial designer
who, after losing his high-paying job and trophy girlfriend,
returns to his rural Kentucky hometown, where he falls
for a flight attendant. It was written and directed by
Cameron Crowe (“Almost Famous,” “Vanilla
Sky”). Dunst’s co-stars include Orlando Bloom
(“Kingdom of Heaven”), Jessica Biel (“Stealth”),
Alec Baldwin (“Fun With Dick and Jane”), Judy
Greer (“The Village”), Susan Sarandon (“Romance & Cigarettes”),
Bruce McGill (“Collateral”), Gailard Sartain
(“Ali”), Loudon Wainwright III (“Big
Fish,” “The Aviator”), Emily Rutherfurd
(“Van Wilder”) and Jed Rees (“Lake Placid”).
Paramount expects to set down a July 29 release.
Dunst heads for a period piece next. “Marie-Antoinette” tells
the tale of the late 18th-century French queen whose
reign ushered in the French Revolution. It’s based on the
novel by Antonia Fraser (“Mary Queen of Scots”).
Sofia Coppola (“Lost In Translation”) will
direct from her own screenplay. Accompanying the decidedly
contemporary Dunst will be the equally modern Jason Schwartzman
(“I Heart Huckabees”) as King Louis XVI. Sony
plans a MMVI release.
