Tales
to Astonish!
by
Patrick Corcoran
Recent visits to Hogwarts, Dagobah, Narnia,
Skull Island, and the Baxter Building serve as just the
latest reminders of the box office might Hollywood continues
to find in tales of the fantastic. Next!, as a consequence,
here again surveys the many upcoming feature projects created
in the genre – a genre that accounts for nine of
the 10 highest-grossing features ever released to cinemas.
Note please that our compendium covers only
films opening later than March and does not include comic
book-based
science fiction like “X3,” “Superman
Returns,” “Ghost Rider,” “Fantastic
Four 2,” “Wonder Woman” or “Zoom.” Nor
does it include animated science fiction (“Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “The Wild”), which
will also have its day sometime in the near future. Nor
does it include sci-fi horror, which Next! covered last
month. What does it include? Read on.
“Aquamarine” is a comedy-fantasy,
based on the novel by Alice Hoffman (“Practical Magic”),
about a pair of teen girls who discover a lonely 17-year-old
mermaid in the pool of their beach club. Elizabeth Allen
makes her feature directorial debut from a screenplay by
John Quaintance (TV’s “Joey”). Emma Roberts
(“Blow”), Sara Paxton (“Sleepover”),
Arielle Kebbel (“Be Cool”) and recording artist
JoJo co-star. Fox expects it to wash ashore April 14.
“Click” is a comedy about a workaholic architect
who finds a remote-control device that allows him to rewind
and fast-forward to various parts of his life. Frank Coraci
(“The Waterboy,” “Around the World in
80 Days”) directs from a screenplay by Steve Koren & Mark
O’Keefe (“Bruce Almighty”) and Tim Herlihy
(“The Waterboy,” “Mr. Deeds”).
Adam Sandler (“The Longest Yard”), Kate Beckinsale
(“Underworld: Evolution”), Sean Astin (the “Lord
of the Rings” series), David Hasselhoff (“Dodgeball”),
Henry Winkler (“Holes”) and Christopher Walken
(“Wedding Crashers”) star. There’s a
better than remote chance that Sony will release it June
23.
“Super Ex-Girlfriend” is a comedy about a
man who breaks up with his high-maintenance girlfriend,
only to have her torment and embarrass him with her powers
when she turns out to be a superhero. Ivan Reitman (“Six
Days Seven Nights,” “Evolution”) directs
from a screenplay by veteran TV writer Don Payne (“The
Simpsons,” “Men Behaving Badly”). Uma
Thurman (“The Producers: The Movie Musical”),
Luke Wilson (“The Family Stone”), Anna Faris
(“Brokeback Mountain”) and Eddie Izzard (“Ocean’s
Twelve”) star. Fox lets it fly July 14.
“Lady
in the Water” is a fantasy
thriller, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan (“Signs,” “The
Village”), about a building superintendent who decides
to help the sea nymph who has taken up residence in his
apartment complex’s swimming pool. Paul Giamatti
(“Cinderella Man”), Bryce Dallas Howard (“The
Village,” “Manderlay”), Freddy Rodriguez
(“Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story”), Jeffrey
Wright (“Syriana”), Bob Balaban (“Capote”),
Bill Irwin (“The Manchurian Candidate”), Cindy
Cheung (“Spider-Man 2”), Jared Harris (“Ocean’s
Twelve”), Mary Beth Hurt (“Exorcism of Emily
Rose”) and Sarita Choudhury (“She Hate Me”)
star. Warner Bros. plans to flood cinemas with the release
on July 21.
“Children of Men,” based
on the novel by P.D. James, is set in a future when humans
have lost the ability
to reproduce, and follows a man who protects the first
pregnant woman anyone’s seen in more than 20 years.
Alfonso Cuarón (“Y Tu Mamá También,” “Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”) directs from
a screenplay by Cuarón, David Arata (“Brokedown
Palace”) and Timothy J. Sexton. Clive Owen (“Derailed”),
Julianne Moore (“The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio”),
Michael Caine (“The Weather Man”), Charlie
Hunnam (“Green Street Hooligans”), Danny Huston
(“The Constant Gardener”), Peter Mullan (“Young
Adam”) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (“Serenity”)
co-star. Universal expects it Sept. 29.
“Untitled Sunshine Project” is a sci-fi thriller
about a team of astronauts – on a mission to re-ignite
the dying sun with nuclear devices – who come across
what’s left of the ship that disappeared years earlier
on the same mission. Danny Boyle (“28 Days Later,” “Millions”)
directs from a screenplay by Alex Garland (“28 Days
Later”). Cillian Murphy (“Breakfast on Pluto”),
Michelle Yeoh (“Memoirs of a Geisha”), Troy
Garity (“After the Sunset”) and Chris Evans
(“Fantastic Four”) star. Fox Searchlight should
shed some light on the title by its October release.
“Stranger Than Fiction” is a comedy fantasy about
an IRS auditor who becomes unglued when he begins to hear
his life being narrated. Marc Forster (“Finding Neverland,” “Stay”)
directs from a screenplay by Zach Helm. Will Ferrell (“The
Producers: The Movie Musical,” “Winter Passing”)
stars with Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Happy Endings”),
Dustin Hoffman (“Meet the Fockers”), Emma Thompson
(“Nanny McPhee”), Queen Latifah (“Last
Holiday”), Tony Hale (“Stateside”), Linda
Hunt (“Yours, Mine and Ours”), Tom Hulce (“Wings
of Courage”) and Kristen Chenoweth (“The Pink
Panther”). Sony releases it for real Nov. 10.
“Eragon” is a period fantasy, based on the
best-selling novel by Christopher Paolini, about a 16-year-old
farmboy whose discovery of a dragon egg leads him to the
realization that he is the only individual who can defeat
the evil king who threatens his homeland. Longtime visual-effects
supervisor Stefen Fangmeier (“Master and Commander,” “Lemony
Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”)
makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by
Peter Buchman (“Jurassic Park III”) and Lawrence
Konner & Mark Rosenthal (“Planet of the Apes,” “Mona
Lisa Smile”). Djimon Hounsou (“The Island”),
Jeremy Irons (“Casanova”), John Malkovich (“The
Libertine”), Sienna Guillory (“Resident Evil:
Apocalypse”), Robert Carlyle (“Once Upon a
Time in the Midlands”) and Ed Speleers star. Fox
gets it over easy Dec. 15.
“Idiocracy” is a comedy about an army private
frozen by the government for 1,000 years – and what
happens when, post-thaw, he realizes humanity has grown
so vacuous he is now one of the smartest men on the planet.
Mike Judge (“Office Space”) directs from a
screenplay by Judge and Etan Cohen (TV’s “King
of the Hill”). Luke Wilson (“The Family Stone”),
Stephen Root (“Dodgeball”), Maya Rudolph (“50
First Dates”), David Herman (“Dude, Where’s
My Car”), Justin Long (“Waiting”), Terry
Crews (“The Longest Yard”), Heather Kafka (“The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre”), Dax Shepard (“Zathura”),
Chris Warner (“Sin City”), Michael McCafferty
(“Bring It On”), Brendan Hill (“Max Keeble’s
Big Move”) and Sara Rue (“The Ring”)
co-star. Fox plans a 2006 release.
“The Santa Clause 3,” has
the Kringle working this time to keep Christmas safe from
a takeover by Jack
Frost. Returnees from parts one and two include Tim Allen
(“Christmas with the Kranks,” “The Shaggy
Dog”), David Krumholtz (“Serenity”), Eric
Lloyd (“My Giant”), Judge Reinhold (“Homegrown”)
and Wendy Crewson (“The Clearing,” “Eight
Below”). Returnees from part two include director Michael
Lembeck (“Connie and Carla”), screenwriters Ed
Decter & John J. Strauss (“The Lizzie McGuire Movie”),
and actors Elizabeth Mitchell (“Nurse Betty”),
Spencer Breslin (“Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement,” “The
Shaggy Dog”) and Liliana Mumy (“Cheaper by the
Dozen”). Newcomers include Ann-Margret (“The
Last Producer”) and Martin Short (“Jiminy Glick
in La La Wood”). Buena Vista lets it out of the sack
Nov. 3.
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” the
fifth installment of the blockbuster fantasy series, finds
15-year-old Harry embarking on his first date while contending
with both the returned Lord Voldemort and a martinet from
the Ministry of Magic sent to shore up discipline at Hogwarts.
It’s based on the 2003 novel by J.K. Rowling. Returnees
from the first four movies include actors Daniel Radcliffe
(“The Tailor of Panama”), Rupert Grint, Emma
Watson, Alan Rickman (“The Hitchhiker’s Guide
to the Galaxy”), Maggie Smith (“Ladies in Lavender”),
and Robbie Coltrane (“Van Helsing”). Returnees
from parts three and four include Michael Gambon (“Sky
Captain and the World of Tomorrow”) and Gary Oldman
(“Batman Begins”). Newcomers to the series
include director David Yates (the HBO TV-movie “The
Girl in the Cafe”) and screenwriter Michael Goldenberg
(“Peter Pan”). Warner Bros. has conjured a
June 1, 2007 release date.
“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, July 4, 2007. Based on a line of toys
that turned into an animated TV series, the DreamWorks
sci-fi actioner is about robots that change themselves
into airplanes, rockets, automobiles and the like.
A project close to our hearts, “Next,” based
on a short story by Philip K. Dick (“Minority Report”),
is a science fiction action-thriller about a clairvoyant
federal agent who learns that shadowy government forces
mean him harm. Lee Tamahori (“Die Another Day,” “XXX:
State of the Union”) directs from a screenplay by
Gary Goldman (“Total Recall,” “Navy SEALS”).
Nicolas Cage (“The Weather Man”) and Julianne
Moore (“Children of Men”) star. We just know
Sony has a 2007 release planned.
“The Invisible” is a supernatural thriller
about a teen trapped in limbo after a near-fatal attack
leaves his spirit stuck between life and death. David Goyer
(“Blade: Trinity”) directs from a screenplay
by Mick Davis (“Modigliani”). Justin Chatwin
(“War of the Worlds”), Michelle Harrison (“Capote”),
Callum Keith Rennie (“Blade: Trinity”) and
Marcia Gay Harden (“Bad News Bears,” “American
Dreamz”) star. It remains to be seen when Sony will
release it.
“The Fountain” is a science fiction epic, set in 1535,
2006 and 2500, about a cancer researcher, his dying wife,
a Mayan temple and immortality. Darren Aronofsky (“Pi,” “Requiem
for a Dream”) directs from his own screenplay. Hugh
Jackman (“Van Helsing”), Rachel Weisz (“The
Constant Gardener”), Ellen Burstyn (“Requiem
for a Dream,” “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya
Sisterhood”), Donna Murphy (“Spider-Man 2”),
Ethan Suplee (“Without A Paddle”), Sean Patrick
Thomas (“Barbershop 2”) and Sean Gullette (“Requiem
for a Dream”) star. Though the Mayans are famed for
their calendars, Warner Bros. has yet to set a release
date.
“Zu Warriors” is a Mandarin-dialect martial
arts actioner, set in a fantasy world of mountain kingdoms,
about a group of immortal warriors who must band together
against an evil threat. Hark Tsui (“Time and Tide”)
directs from a script by Tsui and Man Choi Lee. Ziyi Zhang
(“Memoirs of a Geisha”), Cecilia Cheung (“Shaolin
Soccer”), Sammo Hung (“Around the World in
80 Days”) and Ekin Cheng co-star. Miramax hasn’t
settled on a release date.
“The Lake House” 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 “Il Mare.” Alejandro Agresti
(“Valentín”) directs from a screenplay
by David Auburn (“Proof”). Keanu Reeves (“Thumbsucker”),
Sandra Bullock (“Crash”), Shohreh Aghdashloo
(“House of Sand and Fog”), Jeremy Irons (“Kingdom
of Heaven”), Christopher Plummer (“Syriana”),
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (“Stealth”), Dylan Walsh
(“Blood Work”) and Willeke van Ammelrooy (“Antonia’s
Line”) star. Warner Bros. has yet to deliver a release
date.
