‘Sith’ Hits
The Fans!
Sci-Fi Still Sky-High! And There's
Lots
More On The Way!
by Patrick Corcoran
How would Yoda put it?
Never without its yield of sci-fi blockbusters does a summer
slip by!
No exception proves this summer! Only 16
days to slice its way into the 25 highest-grossing features
of all time
did it take “Revenge of the Sith”!
Twelve of those 25 are science-fiction films.
That’s
in a fairly strict accounting, encompassing all six “Star
Wars” films, “Spider-man” and its sequel, “E.T.,” “Jurassic
Park,” “Independence Day” and “The
Matrix Reloaded.” A looser standard including fantasy
(clownfish who talk to pelicans; warthogs who chat up meercats)
and magic (hobbits; ogres; quidditch matches) would leave
only four non-sci-fi films in that top 25.
Clearly, a Force (get it? get it?) with which to be reckoned
is sci-fi! Follow do the fantastic tales due autumn and
later! *
“Aeon Flux” is a live action remake of MTV’s
short-lived animated series combining comedy, romance,
creepy science fiction, breathless action and a scantily-attired
female secret agent leading an underground operation. Karyn
Kusama (“Girlfight”) directs the feature version
from a screenplay by Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi (“crazy/beautiful”).
Charlize Theron (“Head in the Clouds”), Marton
Csokas (“The Bourne Supremacy”), Jonny Lee
Miller (“Melinda and Melinda”), Frances McDormand
(“Something’s Gotta Give”), Sophie Okonedo
(“Hotel Rwanda”) and Caroline Chikezie (“Virtual
Sexuality”) co-star. Paramount is reportedly eyeing
a September release.
“Serenity” is the big-screen sequel to the short-lived
2002 sci-fi TV series “Firefly.” Fans will
learn at last why certain factions of the all-powerful
interplanetary government were so keen to recover River
Tam, the beautiful but unbalanced young fugitive rescued
by interplanetary smuggler Mal Reynolds. Screenwriter Joss
Whedon (“Toy Story,” “Alien: Resurrection,” “Titan
A.E.”), who created “Firefly,” makes
his feature directorial debut from his own script. All
the TV show’s regulars are back. New to the franchise
are Chiwetel Ejiofor (“Melinda and Melinda”),
David Krumholtz (“Ray,” “Guess Who”)
and Michael Hitchcock (“A Mighty Wind”). Universal
calmly anticipates a Sept. 30 bow.
“The Fog” is a remake of the 1980 John Carpenter film
about a vengeful group of shipwrecked ghosts who terrorize
a Northern California town while wreathed in a lethal fog.
Rupert Wainwright (“Stigmata”) directs from
a screenplay by Cooper Layne (“The Core”).
It stars Tom Welling (“Cheaper by the Dozen”),
Selma Blair (“In Good Company”), Maggie Grace
(TV’s “Lost”), Rade Serbedzija (“Batman
Begins”), DeRay Davis (“Jiminy Glick in La
La Wood”) and Sara Botsford (“Eulogy”).
Sony plans to let it roll out Oct. 14.
3D used to be a sure sign that a film
series had exhausted any creativity (see “Jaws 3-D” and “Friday
the 13th, Part 3: 3-D” – and maybe even “D3:
Mighty Ducks”), but Robert Rodriguez may have changed
that calculus with “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over” and “The
Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D.” It
remains to be seen which tradition “Final Destination
3-D” aligns itself with. In it, a high school senior
has a premonition of a fatal accident at an amusement park – one
that involves her and her friends. The original “Final
Destination” team of writer-director James Wong and
screenwriter Glen Morgan (they also collaborated on “The
One”) reteam. It stars Ryan Merriman (“The
Ring 2”), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“The Ring
2,” “Sky High”), Gina Holden (“Fantastic
Four”), Alexander Kalugin (“The Chronicles
of Riddick”), Patrick Gallagher (“Sideways”),
Kris Lemche (“Knockaround Guys”), Jessica Amlee
(“SuperBabies”) and Texas Battle (“Coach
Carter”). New Line says it’s destined for a
2005 release.
“Doom,” based on the popular computer game,
is a sci-fi actioner about a marine who finds himself battling
flesh-eating ghouls in a claustrophobic, labyrinthine facility.
Andrzei Bartkowiak (“Exit Wounds,” “Cradle
2 The Grave”) directs from a screenplay by Wesley
Strick (“Return to Paradise,” “The Glass
House”) and Dave Callaham. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
(“Walking Tall,” “Be Cool”), Karl
Urban (“The Bourne Supremacy”), Ian Hughes
(“Bright Young Things”), Robert Russel (“The
Prince & Me”), Al Weaver (“The Merchant
of Venice”), Dhobi Oparei (“Thunderbirds”),
Ben Daniels (“Madeline”), Razaaq Adoti (“Resident
Evil: Apocalypse”), Dexter Fletcher (“Layer
Cake”), Richard Brake (“Batman Begins”),
Daniel York (“The Beach”) and Rosamund Pike
(“Die Another Day”) star. Universal’s
destiny is to release it Oct. 21.
“Zathura” is a loose sequel to the 1995 thriller “Jumanji,” this
time about an intergalactic sci-fi board game that integrates
itself into its players’ reality. It’s based
on the novel by Chris Van Allsburg (“Jumanji,” “The
Polar Express”). Jon Favreau (“Elf”)
directs from a screenplay by John Kamps (“The Borrowers”)
and David Koepp (“Secret Window,” “War
of the Worlds”). Tim Robbins (“Code 46”),
Josh Hutchinson (“American Splendor”), Kristen
Stewart (“Catch that Kid”), Dax Shepard (“Without
a Paddle”) and Jonah Bobo star. Sony rolls the dice
Nov. 23.
“The Chronicles
of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is
a fantasy adventure about four children who discover
within a wardrobe closet a mysterious world
threatened by an evil witch. It’s based on the children’s
fantasy novel series by C.S. Lewis (“The Screwtape
Letters”). Andrew Adamson (the “Shrek” series)
directed from a screenplay by Adamson, Christopher Markus,
Stephen McFeely and Anne Peacock. James Cosmo (“Troy”),
James McAvoy (“Bright Young Things”), Elizabeth
Hawthorne (“The Frighteners”) and Tilda Swinton
(“Constantine”) star. Buena Vista lets it out
of the closet Dec. 9.
“Underworld: Evolution” is a sequel to the
2003 horror action-thriller, this time about the lovers
from the first film tracing the origins of the ancient
feud that pits the vampiric Death Dealers against the Lycan
tribe of werewolves. Returnees from part one include director-screenwriter
Len Wiseman, screenwriter Danny McBride and actors Kate
Beckinsale (“The Aviator”), Scott Speedman
(“XXX: State of the Union”), Bill Nighy (“Shaun
of the Dead”), Shane Brolly (“Impostor”),
Scott McElroy (“The Mask”) and Michael Sheen
(“Laws of Attraction”). Newcomers include Derek
Jacobi (“Two Men Went To War”), Tony Curran
(“Flight of the Phoenix”) and Caroline Marcelle
(TV’s “Medium”). Sony plans a Dec. 2
release.
If a previously undiscovered building-sized
simian from the jungles of darkest Africa isn’t science fiction,
we’re going to have to give our dictionary a stern
talking-to. “King Kong” revisits the giant
love-lorn ape who is captured and displayed in New York.
The “Lord of the Rings” team of writer-director
Peter Jackson and screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa
Boyens reunite. Naomi Watts (“The Assassination of
Richard Nixon”), Jack Black (“Anchorman”),
Adrien Brody (“The Jacket”), Colin Hanks (“Orange
County”), Kyle Chandler (“Mulholland Falls”),
Andy Serkis (“13 Going On 30”), Jamie Bell
(“Nicholas Nickleby”) and Thomas Kretschmann
(“Head in the Clouds”) star. Universal updates
the origin of the species Dec. 14.
“Pulse” is a remake of the 2001 Japanese supernatural
thriller “Kaïro,” about a website that
seems to be hosted by sinister forces – forces that
come to dominate the lives of those who log on. Commercial
director Jim Sonzero was reportedly set to make his feature
directorial debut from a screenplay by Wes Craven (“Wes
Craven’s New Nightmare”) and Ray Wright. Kristen
Bell (“Spartan”), Ian Somerhalder (“The
Rules of Attraction”), Christina Milian (“Be
Cool”), Samm Levine (“Not Another Teen Movie”)
and Rick Gonzalez (“Coach Carter,” “War
of the Worlds”) star. The newly-formed post-Disney
Weinstein Company will release it March 3, 2006 through
their erstwhile Dimension label.
“A Scanner Darkly” is a thriller about a narcotics
agent whose addiction prevents him from realizing that
he’s actually keeping himself under surveillance.
It’s based on the 1977 novel by Phillip K. Dick,
upon whose work the movies “Blade Runner,” “Total
Recall,” “Screamers,” “Impostor,” “Minority
Report” and “Paycheck” are based. Richard
Linklater (“School of Rock,” “Before
Sunset”) directs from his own screenplay. Keanu Reeeves
(“Constantine”), Winona Ryder (“Simone”),
Robert Downey Jr. (“Gothika”), Woody Harrelson
(“After the Sunset”), Rory Cochrane (“Hart’s
War”), Heather Kafka (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”),
Jason Douglas (“Secondhand Lions”), Marco Perella
(“Friday Night Lights”) and Dameon Clarke (“The
Alamo”) co-star. Warner Independent Pictures expects
it to light up screens in March.
Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan
(“The Sixth Sense,” “Unbreakable,” “The
Village”) has taken his business to Warner Bros.
for his next film, “Lady in the Water,” a fantasy
thriller about an apartment building super who discovers
a sea nymph in the building’s pool. Paul Giamatti
(“Sideways”) and Bryce Dallas Howard (“The
Village”) were reportedly in talks to co-star. Warner
Bros. reportedly plans to take a dip in theatres July 21,
2006.
“A Sound of Thunder” is a fantasy actioner
about a game hunter who, while on a time-traveling dinosaur
safari, accidentally sets off a chain of events destined
to erase humanity from the face of the planet. Peter Hyams
(“End of Days,” “The Musketeer”)
directed from a screenplay by Gregory Poirier (“See
Spot Run,” “Tomcats”) and Thomas Dean
Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer (“Sahara”).
Ben Kingsley (“Suspect Zero”), Edward Burns
(“Confidence”), Catherine McCormack (“Spy
Game”), Jemima Rooper (TV’s “As If”),
Corey Johnson (“Hellboy”), Heike Makatsch (“Love
Actually”), Scott Bellefeville (“A Knight’s
Tale”) and August Zirner (“Eyewitness”)
co-star. Shot in 2002, the Warner Bros. release has bounced
to several announced opening dates, but it currently nests
on Sept. 2.
“Transformers” has no announced plot or cast,
but it does have director Michael Bay (“The Island”),
a screenplay by John Rogers (“Catwoman”) and
Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (“The Island”)
and a release date, Nov. 17, 2006. Based on a line of toys
that turned into an animated TV series, the sci-fi actioner
is about robots who transform themselves into airplanes,
rockets, supercars and the like.
“Children of Men,” set in a future time when
humans have lost the abilitiy to reproduce, finds Clive
Owen (“Sin City”) protecting the first pregnant
woman anyone’s seen in more than twenty years. Alfonso
Cuaron (“Y Tu Mama Tambien,” “Harry Potter
and the Prisoner of Azkaban”) was set to direct from
a screenplay by Cuaron (“Y Tu Mama Tambien”),
David Arata (“Brokedown Palace,” “Spy
Game”) and Timothy J. Sexton. It’s based on
the novel by P.D. James. Universal expects it sometime
in 2007.
“Il Mare” is a romantic drama about a young,
lonely doctor and a handsome architect who live in the
same house two years apart, yet fall in love via letters
they exchange through a mysterious mailbox that bridges
time. It’s an English-language remake of the Korean
film by the same title. Alejandro Agresti (“Valentín”)
directed from a screenplay by David Auburn (“Proof”).
Keanu Reeves (“Constantine”), Sandra Bullock
(“Crash”), Shohreh Aghdashloo (“House
of Sand and Fog”), Jeremy Irons (“Kingdom of
Heaven”), Christopher Plummer (“Must Love Dogs”),
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (“Stealth”), Dylan Walsh
(“Blood Work”) and Willeke van Ammelrooy (“Antonia’s
Line”) co-star. Warner Bros. has yet to deliver a
release date.
*We’re leaving out comic-book movies (covered in
last issue’s edition of Next!) and animated fare
(which we’ll tackle next month).
