The
Women of Autumn
Next! looks at what’s
ahead for the female stars of the season
Nicole Kidman
Fur
“Untitled Noah Baumbach,” covered in the August/September
edition of Next!, is about a city dweller (Kidman) who
takes her 12-year-old son to visit relatives in rural Upstate
New York. Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale”)
writes and directs. Paramount Vantage brings it to filmgoers
in 2007.
“The Invasion,” an update of the 1956 classic “Invasion
of the Body Snatchers,” is a horror thriller about
an epidemic of extraterrestrial origin that seems to alter
the humans with which it comes into contact. Previously
known as “The Visiting,” it is directed by
Oliver Hirschbiegel (“Downfall”) from a screenplay
by Dave Kajganich, it stars Kidman, Daniel Craig (“Infamous,” “Casino
Royale”), Jeffrey Wright (“Lady in the Water,” “Casino
Royale”), Jeremy Northam (“Tristram Shandy:
A Cock and Bull Story”), Malin Akerman (“Harold & Kumar
Go To White Castle”), Susan Floyd (“Domestic
Disturbance”), John M. Jackson (“The Glimmer
Man”), Misty Kelly (“The Recruit”), Susan
Lynskey (“Random Hearts”), Timothy J. Scanlin
(“Liberty Heights”), Josef Sommer (“X-Men:
The Last Stand”), Robert Stanton (“Find Me
Guilty”), Jeff Wincott (“S.W.A.T.”) and
Veronica Cartwright (“Kinsey,” 1978’s “Invasion
of the Body Snatchers”). Warner Bros. launches it
Aug. 17, 2007.
More has been learned of “The Golden Compass” since
it was previewed in the July
edition of Next!. It’s
a fantasy-adventure, set in an alternate-universe Europe
in which humans dwell alongside sentient non-humans, about
an orphan girl thrust into a race of good versus evil when
she thwarts an assassination attempt on her powerful uncle.
Based on the first volume of the popular “His Dark
Materials” trilogy by Phillip Pullman, it was directed
by Chris Weitz (“About A Boy”) from a screenplay
by Weitz and Tom Stoppard (“Enigma”). Kidman’s
co-stars now include Daniel Craig (“The Visiting”),
Eva Green (“Kingdom of Heaven,” “Casino
Royale”), Clare Higgins (“The Libertine”)
and 12-year-old newcomer Dakota Richards. New Line points
to a Nov. 16, 2007 release.
Angelina Jolie
The Good Shepherd
“A Mighty Heart” is the story of Mariane Pearl,
whose journalist husband Danny was kidnapped in 2002 while
traveling to interview an alleged terrorist in Pakistan.
Directed by Michael Winterbottom (“Tristram Shandy:
A Cock and Bull Story”) from a screenplay by Winterbottom
and Laurence Coriat (“Me Without You”), it
stars Jolie, Dan Futterman (“Enough”), Irfan
Khan (“Salaam Bombay!” “The Namesake”)
and Adnan Siddiqui. Paramount Vantage plans a 2007 release.
Naomi Watts
The Painted Veil
“Funny Games” is a thriller about a middle-class
family who visit a lakeside vacation retreat, only to find
themselves terrorized and tortured by a pair of sadistic
young men. Written and directed by Michael Haneke (“Cache”),
it stars Watts, Tim Roth (“Don’t Come Knocking,” “Even
Money,” “Virgin Territory”), Brady Corbet
(“Thunderbirds”), Michael Pitt (“Last
Days”), Robert LuPone (“The Door in the Floor”),
Devon Gearhart (“Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius”),
Siobhan Fallon (“Fever Pitch,” “Charlotte’s
Web”) and Boyd Gaines (“I’m Not Rappaport”).
Shot this fall, it currently lacks a distributor.
Sarah
Michelle Gellar
The Return
The Grudge 2
Since it was profiled in the July
edition of Next!, numerous additional details have emerged regarding “The Girls’ Guide
To Hunting and Fishing,” a romantic comedy about
a Manhattan book editor who finds her idea of romance challenged
when she attracts the interest of a powerful older man.
Screenwriter Marc Klein (“Serendipity,” “A
Good Year”) still makes his feature directorial debut
from his own script, but Gellar’s co-stars now include
not only Alec Baldwin (“The Departed,” “The
Good Shepherd”) and Maggie Grace (“The Fog”),
but also Richard Dreyfuss (“Poseidon”), Audra
Blaser (“Bandidas”), Nathan Corddry (“The
Nanny Diaries,” TV’s “Studio 60 on the
Sunset Strip”), Vanessa Branch (the “Pirates
of the Caribbean” franchise), Geoffrey Cantor (“The
Notorious Bettie Page”), Vincent De Paul (“The
Transporter 2”), Marin Ireland (“The Manchurian
Candidate”), Amad Jackson (“The Ladykillers”),
Marian Seldes (“Mona Lisa Smile”) and Lanette
Ware (“Marci X”). Warner Independent Pictures
has inked it for a 2007 release.
“The Air I Breathe” is a drama about four
people – a banker, a gangster, a pop star and a doctor – linked
to the same crime boss. Written and directed by Jieho Lee,
it stars Gellar, Brendan Fraser (“Crash”),
Forest Whitaker (“The Last King of Scotland”),
Kelly Hu (“X2”), John Cho (“American
Dreamz”), Julie Delpy (“The Hoax”), Clark
Gregg (“Hoot”), Emile Hirsch (“Lords
of Dogtown”), Andy Garcia (“The Lost City”)
and Kevin Bacon (“Where the Truth Lies”). We’ve
not yet gotten wind of a U.S. distributor.
“Southland Tales,” covered in the December
2005 edition of Next!, is an ensemble comedy-musical-sci-fi-thriller
set against a three-day Los Angeles heatwave. It teams
Gellar with writer-director Richard Kelly (“Donnie
Darko”). Though screened at the Cannes Film Festival
in May, it still lacks a U.S. theatrical distributor.
Lindsay Lohan
Bobby
“Georgia Rule” is a drama about a rebellious
teen dispatched to spend the summer with her grandmother.
Directed by Garry Marshall (the “Princess Diaries” series)
from a screenplay by Mark Andrus (“Life As a House,” “The
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood”), it stars
Lohan, Jane Fonda (“Monster-In-Law”), Felicity
Huffman (“Transamerica”), Dermot Mulroney (“The
Family Stone”), Cary Elwes (“Saw”), Dylan
McLaughlin (“Supercross”), Garrett Hedlund
(“Four Brothers,” “Eragon”) and
Zachary Gordon. Universal has not ruled out a 2007 release.
“Chapter 27” is a drama following John Lennon
stalker Mark David Chapman in the days leading up to the
ex-Beatle’s 1980 assassination. Written and directed
by Jarrett Schaeffer, it stars Lohan, Jared Leto (“Lord
of War”), Brian O’Neill (“The Good Shepherd”),
Matthew Humphreys (“The Good Shepherd”), Michael
Sirow (“The Good Shepherd”) and Lauren Milberger
as Gilda Radner. We have not yet read of a U.S. distributor
for the project.
Kirsten Dunst
Marie Antoinette
In “Spider-Man 3,” Mary Jane Watson (Dunst)
finds she has a new rival for Peter Parker’s affections
as Spider-Man contends with the sinister shape-shifting
Sandman and an extraterrestrial substance that gives the
superhero strange new powers. Besides Dunst, returnees
from parts one and two include director Sam Raimi (“For
Love of the Game,” “The Gift”) and actors
Tobey Maguire (“Seabiscuit,” “The Good
German”) as Parker, James Franco (“The Wicker
Man,” “Flyboys”) as Harry Osborn, J.K.
Simmons (“Thank You For Smoking”) as J. Jonah
Jameson, Elizabeth Banks (“Invincible”) as
Betty Brant, Bill Nunn (“Idlewild”) as Joseph
Robertson, Ted Raimi (“The Grudge”) as Hoffman,
Rosemary Harris (“Being Julia”) as Aunt May,
Cliff Robertson (“Escape From L.A.”) as Uncle
Ben, and Bruce Campbell (“Sky High”) as the
guy with the prominent chin. Returnees from part one include
Joe Manganiello (TV’s “So NoTORIous”)
as Flash Thompson and Tim De Zarn (“Texas Chainsaw
Massacre: The Beginning”) as Phillip Watson. Returnees
from part two include screenwriter Alvin Sargent (“Anywhere
but Here,” “Unfaithful”) as well as actors
Dylan Baker (“Hide and Seek,” “Let’s
Go to Prison”) as Dr. Curt Connors, Daniel Gillies
(“Bride and Prejudice”) as John Jameson and
Mageina Tovah (“Failure To Launch”) as Ursula.
Newcomers to the franchise include actors Bryce Dallas
Howard (“Lady in the Water”) as Gwen Stacy,
Thomas Haden Church (“Spanglish”) as Flint
Marko, Topher Grace (“In Good Company”) as
Eddie Brock, James Cromwell (“The Queen”) as
Capt. George Stacy and Theresa Russell (“The Believer”)
as Mrs. Marko. Sony has long clung to May 4 for this tentpole.
Scarlett Johanssen
The Black Dahlia
The Prestige
“The Nanny Diaries,” covered in the July
edition of Next!, is a comedy about an NYU grad student charged
with the care of a spoiled and demanding housewife’s
4-year-old son. Johanssen teams with writer-directors Shari
Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini (“American Splendor”).
Weinstein is caretaker of the 2007 release.
“The Other Boleyn Girl” is a romantic drama,
based on the novel by Philippa Gregory (“The Virgin’s
Lover”), about Mary and Anne Boleyn, who competed
for the affections of England’s King Henry VIII.
Veteran British TV director Justin Chadwick (“Bleak
House”) makes his feature directorial debut from
a screenplay by Peter Morgan (“The Last King of Scotland’).
Johansson’s co-stars include Natalie Portman (“V
For Vendetta”), Eric Bana (“Munich”),
Rue McClanahan (“The Fighting Temptations”)
and Eddie Redmayne (“The Good Shepherd”). Sony
has married it to a 2007 release.
Julianne Moore
The Children of Men
“I’m Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning
Dylan” is a biography of Bob Dylan featuring seven
different actors portraying the singer/songwriter at various
stages of his life and career. Written and directed by
Todd Haynes (“Velvet Goldmaine,” “Far
From Heaven”), it stars Moore, Richard Gere (“The
Hoax”), Heath Ledger (“Casanova,” “Candy”),
Cate Blanchett (“Notes on a Scandal,” “The
Good German,” “Babel”), Christian Bale
(“The Prestige,” “Harsh Times”),
David Cross (“School for Scoundrels”), Adrien
Brody (“Hollywoodland”), Michelle Williams
(“Brokeback Mountain”) and Charlotte Gainsbourg
(“The Science of Sleep”). There’s no
word yet on a U.S. distributor.
“Next” is a science fiction action-thriller,
based on a short story by Philip K. Dick (“A Scanner
Darkly”), about a clairvoyant federal agent who learns
that shadowy government forces mean him harm. Directed
by Lee Tamahori (“Die Another Day,” “XXX:
State of the Union”) from a screenplay by Gary Goldman
(“Total Recall,” “Navy SEALS”),
it also stars Nicolas Cage (“The Wicker Man”).
Added to its cast since Next! last covered “Next” last
February are Jessica Biel (“The Illusionist,” “Home
of the Brave”), Peter Falk (“The Thing About
My Folks”), Jim Beaver (“The Life of David
Gale”), Thomas Kretschmann (“King Kong”),
Jason Butler Harner (“The Good Shepherd”),
Michael Trucco (TV’s “Battlestar Galactica”)
and Jose Zuniga (“Mission: Impossible III”).
Sony looks ahead to Sept. 28.
Cate Blanchett
Babel
The Good German
Notes on a Scandal
In addition to starring with Julianne
Moore in “I’m
Not There,” Blanchett stars in “The Golden
Age,” a sequel to 1998’s “Elizabeth,” this
time focusing on the monarch’s relationship with
writer-poet-explorer Walter Raleigh. Besides Blanchett,
who reprises her role as the queen, returnees from the
first film include director Shekhar Kapur (“The Four
Feathers”), screenwriter Michael Hirst (“Meeting
Venus”), and actor Geoffrey Rush (the “Pirates
of the Caribbean” series, “Candy”), who
again assays Sir Francis Walsingham. Newcomers to the franchise
include screenwriter William Nicholson (“First Knight,” “Gladiator”)
and actors Clive Owen (“The Children of Men,” “Shoot ‘Em
Up”), Samantha Morton (“Lassie”), Abbie
Cornish (“A Good Year,” “Candy”),
Adam Godley (“Nanny McPhee”) and Eddie Redmayne
(“The Good Shepherd,” “The Other Boleyn
Girl”). Universal tries to mine the age’s gold
next year.
Hilary Swank
The Black Dahlia
“Freedom Writers,” covered in the August/September
edition of Next!, is about the 23-year-old Long Beach,
Calif., English teacher who inspired her “at-risk” students
to participate in a journal project that changed many of
their lives. It teams Swank with writer-director Richard
LaGravenese (“Living Out Loud”). Paramount
has it penciled in for a Jan. 12 release.
“The Reaping” is a horror thriller about a
university professor – famous for debunking myths – who
comes to a small Louisiana town to investigate what could
be the 10 plagues described in the Book of Exodus. Directed
by Stephen Hopkins (“The Ghost and the Darkness,” “Lost
in Space”) from a screenplay by Chad & Carey
Hayes (“House of Wax”), Jacob Estes (“Mean
Creek”) and Chris Markus & Stephen McFeely (“The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,” “You
Kill Me”), it stars Swank, David Morrissey (“Basic
Instinct 2: Risk Addiction”), Idris Elba (“Buffalo
Soldiers”), Burgess Jenkins (“Remember The
Titans”), William Ragsdale (“Big Momma’s
House 2”), Stuart Greer (“Glory Road”),
Laura Grice (“Just My Luck,” “Déjà Vu”),
David Jensen (“Just My Luck,” “Déjà Vu”)
and AnnaSophia Robb (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”).
Warner Bros. sows the mayhem March 30. 
