Hollywood Déjà Vu News: Sept. 22, 2009

Remakes
There can only be one—again. Director Justin Lin (right) will reunite with his The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Fast and Furious producer Neal H. Moritz for Summit Entertainment’s Highlander remake, according to Variety. Showing how much Highlander means to the fledging studio behind the The Twilight Saga, Summit’s hired Iron Man screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway to revive the franchise once anchored by Christopher Lambert’s immortal Connor MacLeod. A Highlander reboot couldn’t come at a better time: the last sequel, The Source, the first in a proposed trilogy featuring Adrian Paul’s Duncan MacLeod, bypassed theaters and debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel in September 2007.

Sequels
Boris Kodjoe can’t stop talking about Resident Evil: Afterlife. It’s not enough that he announced via Twitter that he’s costarring with Milla Jovovich in the Paul W.S. Anderson-directed sequel, due in 2010, but now he’s revealing more cast details. Kodjoe tells Black Film that Afterlife will see the return of Ali Larter, who played Claire Redfield in Extinction, and the addition of Prison Break’s Wentworth Miller as a fellow survivor of the zombie apocalypse.

Speculate all you want, but no one’s been cast in the next Batman sequel beyond the usual suspects. So forgot all those rumors about Megan Fox and—according to Michael Caine—Johnny Depp. The man who is Gotham City’s most invaluable butler tells MTV that “Johnny Depp is great in anything, but there is no Johnny Depp in this Batman. They tell me in no uncertain terms.” When will someone tell us who will be in the third Batman?

Hollywood Déjà Vu on DVD: Sept. 22, 2009

Direct-to-DVD Sequels
Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins

Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death

New Franchises
Clive Barker’s The Book of Blood

Hollywood Déjà Vu News: Sept. 21, 2009

Remakes
Sherlock Holmes will live to sleuth another day. Warner Bros. is so confident that audiences will adore Robert Downey Jr. as the world’s most famous detective that it is developing a sequel to the Guy Ritchie-directed Sherlock Holmes (right), which opens Christmas Day, per The Hollywood Reporter. There’s also talk that Brad Pitt may take on the role of Holmes’ arch nemesis, Moriarty, but there’s no deal in place. So don’t get too excited—we all remember what happened with Nicholas Cage and The Green Hornet.

Sequels
Maybe we have not seen the last of Halle Berry as Storm. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner says she wants a fourth X-Men in addition to all the other spin-offs, such as a Wolverine sequel, Deadpool, and X-Men: First Class, according to I-Film. She’s also considering enrolling the New Mutants, featuring such teenage would-be superheroes as Cannonball and Wolfsbane, at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. That’s all well and good, but wouldn’t you rather see the long-mooted Magneto prequel?

Hollywood Déjà Vu News: Sept. 20, 2009

Sequels
Whatever you want to say about Rob Zombie’s Halloweens, you have to respect him for trying to impose his vision on the rebooted franchise. Lord knows what My Bloody Valentine’s Patrick Lussier will bring to the next Halloween other than the ability to direct a horror yarn in 3-D. Dread Central and Shock Till You Drop have confirmed that Lussier will direct Halloween 3D, which reportedly goes before the cameras in November for a summer 2010 release. Lussier will have his cake and eat it too: he won’t have to walked away from the Nicolas Cage 3-D action thriller Drive Angry, which won’t shoot until 2010 due to the actor’s busy schedule. Lussier is a known quantity to the Weinstein Co.: he directed Dracula 2000, Dracula II: Ascension, Dracula III: Legacy, and The Prophecy 3: The Ascent. He also edited Halloween: H20, as Dread Central reminds us, but that necessarily isn’t an advantage: the Michael Myers of the original franchise isn’t exactly the same serial killer that Zombie gave us. Sure, both are taciturn killing machines, but Zombie tried hard to make us understand why Myers slaughters at whim by strapping him to Dr. Loomis’ couch. But that may not matter if Halloween 3D puts the knife in the hands of Myers’ evidently disturbed sister, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton). Still, there really isn’t much difference between Halloween and My Bloody Valentine. Both feature masked madmen with a thirst for blood. And, truth be told, My Bloody Valentine was vastly more entertaining than either Halloween. So I’m anticipating from Lussier more of an old-school Halloween—i.e. a greater emphasis on scares—than Zombie dared give us. Couple that with some gory 3-D effects and a third Halloween should perform better at the box office than Zombie’s recent sequel (above), which so far has made only $30.7 million (the original Halloween II made $25.3 million in 1981). But Halloween II only cost $15 million, so Halloween 3D was inevitable—with or without Zombie.

All’s quiet in regards to a My Bloody Valentine sequel, but Lionsgate is giving Saw VII the 3D treatment. OK, Saw VI isn’t in theaters until Oct. 23, but you figure it’s good to make at least $50 million. Director David Hackl—who cut his teeth with Saw V—confirmed on his Facebook page that pre-production has already begin on next year’s sequel, per Bloody Disgusting. Too bad Lionsgate is already considering Saw VIII—setting his deadly traps in 3D would have allowed Jigsaw to have gone out in bloody fashion.

What does the sudden departure of Walt Disney studio chief Dick Cook mean for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides? Well, Johnny Depp’s not too happy about Cook leaving the Mouse House. And, according to the L.A. Times, the loss of the “the sweetest man on the planet” has lessened his interest in portraying Capt. Jack Sparrow for a fourth time. Disney will no doubt work overtime to assure Depp that it’s business as usual, and not just to get him to sign on the dotted line for 2011’s On Stranger Tides. Depp’s also going to star as Tonto in Disney’s The Lone Ranger remake. Depp isn’t an actor who always looks to line his pockets, so if he feels that On Stranger Tides and The Lone Ranger aren’t worth his time and effort, he’s going to bolt no matter how much money Disney tries to throw at him. While you can make The Lone Ranger without Depp, On Stranger Tides would sink without him. So it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Disney does everything it can—including delaying On Stranger Tides by one summer if the script needs punching up—to appease Depp.

Remakes
B.A. Baracus, meet Nite Owl. Watchmen’s Patrick Wilson has joined The A-Team as a CIA operative, per Entertainment Weekly.

Hollywood Déjà Vu News: Sept. 17, 2009

Sequels
Does it make any sense that DC Entertainment isn’t currently deciding the fate of Superman? Diane Nelson, the head of Warner Bros.’ new company, tells MTV that, “We’ve obviously done a lot of great things behind the property in our history, and it’s a key part of the family, but we don’t have current plans behind Superman.” Why not? If I were running DC Entertainment, I would make a new Superman—be it a sequel to Bryan Singer’s 2006 Man of Steel adventure or a reboot—my No. 1 priority. After the underwhelming response to Superman Returns, the right approach needs to be taken if the franchise is to have any chance of survival at a time when we want our superheroes to brood as much as they fight for truth, justice and the American way. I would convene all necessary parties to start plotting our next move when it comes to Supes. If starting over à la The Incredible Hulk is the way to go, that’s fine—Brandon Routh’s (above) contract has expired, so Warner Bros. and DC can go out and find a new Superman that audience can connect with the way they did with Christopher Reeve. There really isn’t any time to lose: the heirs of Superman creator Jerry Siegel won a decisive court victory in July when a judge ruled that Warner Bros. and DC must start production on the next film by 2011 or the heirs can sue for damages. Given the circumstances, a new Superman is inevitable. And while DC Entertainment is obviously busy working on other films—including Jonah Hex, The Losers, Green Lantern, Lobo, and the next Batman saga—it’s foolish to sit on the property until the last minute and rush a Superman into theaters that no one wants to see.

The Xavier School for Gifted Children may one day open its doors, but not just yet. Aussie actor Tim Pocock, who stared as the fresh-faced Cyclops, is denying he Tweeted that X-Men: First Class could shoot as earlier as next year, per Superhero Hype! Based on the Marvel comic-book series, this in-the-works X-Men prequel will focus on how Professor Charles Xavier took the likes of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Beast under his wings when they were young mutants learning how to harness their powers. Pocock first donned Cyclops’s protective glasses in X-Men: Origins: Wolverine, and makes it clear he would want to return for First Class. No kidding.

Disney continues to position Tron Legacy as the blockbuster to beat on Dec. 17, 2010 by announcing plans to screen the belated sequel at IMAX 3D theaters, per Heat Vision. Tron Legacy will open against The Green Hornet and Yogi Bear.

Remakes
So maybe Nicolas Cage isn’t all about the money. He reveals that he left The Green Hornet because there wasn’t enough time to humanize his cold-blooded villain. “The Green Hornet was something that I wanted to do, I think [director] Michel Gondry is very talented and I had hoped it would work but I think [star] Seth Rogen and Michel had a different take on the character,” Cage said while promoting Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans at the Toronto International Film Festival, according to the Canadian Press. Cage’s loss is Christop Waltz’s gain. After seeing Inglourious Basterds, it’s hard to imagine Waltz giving us a bad guy we have seen countless times before.

Hollywood Déjà Vu News: Sept. 16, 2009

Sequels
How sure is writer Mark Millar that Kick-Ass (right) will kick ass a second time? “The series ends on a teaser for the next one, and the movie ends on that teaser, too,” Millar tells MTV of director Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of his Kick-Ass comic book. The ongoing series features a high school kid—played in the film by British unknown Aaron Johnson—whose passion for comic books inspires to become the superhero Kick-Ass, albeit one without any powers. Nicolas Cage costars in Kick-Ass as a vigilante working to bring down a drug baron. Kick-Ass doesn’t open until April 16, but Millar’s happy to tell MTV that it could be “even bigger” than the Angelina Jolie shoot ‘em up inspired by his Wanted series. Bold words, so Kick-Ass had better live up to its name.

We’re going to be running up that Silent Hill again. Roger Avary will write the sequel to the 2006 horror film based on the video game, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Avary, who won an Oscar for co-writing Pulp Fiction, recently pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving for a January 2008 car crash that killed one of his passengers.

How much would you pay to stand in the presence of Scarlett Johansson at next year’s Iron Man 2 premiere? ScarJo, who slips into Black Widow’s catsuit for the superhero sequel, is auctioning off two tickets to the premiere to benefit Oxfam America, per People. Not only do you get to see watch Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man wrestle Mickey Rourke’s Crimson Dynamo, but Johansson will make time to say hello to you as part of her duties as an Oxfam Ambassador. The auction runs 10 p.m. Thursday through Sept. 24 on eBay.com. Let the bidding begin.

Will Optimus Prime return to protect Earth before Bad Boys Will Smith and Martin Lawrence can head back down to Miami for more fun in the sun? Perhaps we’ll know very soon which threequel Michael Bay will prioritize following this week’s chat with Steven Spielberg and writer Ehren Kruger about all things Transformers 3, per the director’s Web site. Not sure what Bay has to gain from doing Bad Boys 3, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he turns his attention to the steroids-fueled crime caper Pain & Gain if he’s sick of dealing with big robots and giant-sized egos.

In case you were worried, work is progressing very nicely on Mission Impossible: IV, according to J.J. Abrams. “Yeah, we have a really cool story. It’s being written right now by Andre Nemec and Josh Applebaum,” Abrams tells Sci Fi Wire. Forget cool—just let it be better than the Abrams-directed M:I:III.

No surprise, but Spider-Man IV will also debut in IMAX theaters when the Sam Raimi-directed sequel swings into action May 5, 2011, Coming Soon reports. That’s all well and good, but how about letting us know which villain will try to squash the Web-slinger. My money’s on the Lizard.

Remakes
So what if it was just three years ago that we had to endure a 3-D remake of Night of the Living Dead? Director Zebediah de Soto, though, at least has the good sense to try something new with his proposed 3-D Night of the Living Dead: Origins remake of George A. Romero’s (left) seminal zombie yarn. He will employ a new 3-D CG technique to explain how the dead come to life, according to Heat Vision. Romero, whose sixth zombie saga Survival of the Dead screens next week at Fantastic Fest 2009 in Austin, TX., won’t be involved. It would be nice to think that this will be the last Night of the Living Dead remake we’ll see, but as the rights to Romero’s film are in the public domain, we’ll most likely have to suffer many more such nights.

I was feeling good about the casting of The A-Team, but now there are reports that Jessica Biel’s ready to join Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Sharlto Copley. I would be fine if she were merely playing an old flame of Bradley Cooper’s Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck. But it just so happens that she’s also the army general on the trail of the mercenaries wanted for a crime they didn’t commit, per Variety. If director Joe Carnahan had seen Stealth and Home of the Brave, he would know a uniformed Biel will never be all she can be.

Tom Hanks immediately comes to mind when you think of a Harvey for the 21st century. Hanks is the Jimmy Stewart of our times. But perhaps casting Hanks as the man who hangs out with an invisible bunny struck Steven Spielberg as too obvious. Like every other director trying to cast a big-budget studio production, Spielberg’s got his eye on Robert Downey Jr., per Variety. But, as we all know, what Spielberg wants, Spielberg gets.

Hollywood Déjà Vu on DVD: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2 out of 4 stars)

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan, and Ryan Reynolds
Director: Gavin Hood
Synopsis: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the first chapter in the X-Men saga, unites Wolverine with several other legends of the X-Men universe, in an epic revolution that pits the mutants against powerful forces determined to eliminate them.
The Verdict: This anticlimatic X-Men prequel reveals how Wolverine got his adamantium claws. Director Gavin Hood offers uninspired action sequences that never top anything that we’re seen in past X-Mens; jams too many superheroes into the proceedings with little payoff; and fails to maintain continuity with the previous trilogy (nemesis Sabretooth is Wolverine’s half-brother, but in X-Men he was just Magneto’s lackey). Hugh Jackman looks bored as Wolverine. The multiple endings set up a Wolverine and a spinoff for Ryan Reynold’s underused and much-abused Deadpool. But does anyone really care for yet another mutant chronicle?
Theatrical Release Date: May 1, 2009
DVD Release Date: Sept. 15, 2009
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Features: Digital copy; The Roots of Wolverine: A conversation with Stan Lee and Len Wein featurette; Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins featurette; Alternate “Memory Erase” sequence; commentary by director Gavin Hood; Deleted and alternate scenes with commentary by Gavin Hood; commentary by producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter

Hollywood Déjà Vu Trailer Park: New Moon

The Golden Compass did not convince me that Chris Weitz, best known for About a Boy and Down to Earth, has a feel for action. But I must admit this intense new trailer for New Moon does suggest the Twilight sequel will try to satisfy those of us (i.e. men) who can only take so much of Kristen Stewart’s alienated teenager and Robert Pattinson’s wimpy vampire staring lovingly at each another. Also, it’s amusing to see the ever-reliable Michael Sheen wearing vampire fangs after getting all hairy as Underworld‘s alpha werewolf.
Trailer Grade: B+

Hollywood Déjà Vu Box Office Showdown: Sept. 11-13, 2009

How bad is Madea? Bad enough to make things very loud during the traditionally quiet first weekend of the fall box office.

Madea’s a moneymaking machine. Creator Tyler Perry proved that in February when Madea Goes to Jail opened with $41 million en route to $90.5 million, both personal bests for the actor/director/writer. Perry’s fifth Madea misadventure, the critic-proof I Can Do Bad All By Myself (right), should easily put a hurting on its competition—including the Sorority Row remake—to knock The Final Destination off the top of the box office.

That said, Madea isn’t the focus of I Can Do Bad All By Myself. She’s likely to provide comic relief whenever things get too heavy (and they often do when it comes to Perry preaching about living a good, clean life). So don’t expect Perry’s latest morality play to shatter Madea Goes to Jail opening. It should open in line with Meet the Brown’s $20 million than last September’s Madea-less The Family that Preys’s $17.3 million. The presence of Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson—as a boozy singer forced to reevaluate her life when she must care for her niece and nephew—should help push I Can Do Bad All By Myself past $23 million.

Too few will find an excuse to drive down Sorority Row (below, left). Sure, this heavily promoted remake pits scantily clad sorority sisters against a vengeful hooded killer, but that’s not going to be enough for it to open above $10 million. It must do battle against Kate Beckinsale’s new thriller Whiteout and The Final Destination. Plus, the Tim Burton-produced post-apocalyptic animated 9 opened Wednesday with a higher-than-expected $3.1 million, so it may pose more of a threat than previously expected.

Worse, the apathy toward Halloween II—which will barely make $2 million in its third weekend—indicates that audiences are perhaps growing tired of the slasher genre. And it’s not like House on Sorority Row—which earned $10.6 million in 1983—is regarded outside horror circles as a classic on par with Halloween and Friday the 13th. That probably wouldn’t matter so much if it was being released in 3D—like My Bloody Valentine—or with a PG-13 rating, which helped the remakes of the lesser-known Prom Night and When a Stranger Calls lure the high school crowd. Hardcore horror fans may applaud Sorority House for refusing to clean up the bloodshed, but its R rating will limit its audience.

Gone are the days when Michael Douglas is a major box office draw. His new thriller, a remake of Fritz Lang’s 1956 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, tiptoes quietly into five theaters. One can only assume this perfunctory release has more to do with serving that the film exists—in the hope of goosing up DVD sales and rentals—than than giving audiences a chance to see Beyond a Reasonable Doubt in theaters. At least Douglas avoids the embarrassment of seeing Beyond a Reasonable Doubt go direct to DVD.

The Final Destination, which tumbled 54.9% in its second weekend from $27.4 million to $12.3 million, should experience a greater drop in its third weekend. This, though, will be The Final Destination’s final hurrah: theaters with only a single 3-D screen will ditch the fourth in the Final Destination franchise next weekend for the kid-friendly Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Predictions: Sequels
Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself: $23 million opening; $50 million total

Predictions: Remakes
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: $15,000 opening; $100,000 total
Sorority Row: $7.5 million opening; $16 million total

The Madea Franchise By the Numbers
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005): $21.9 million opening; $50.6 million total
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion (2006): $30 million opening; $63.2 million total
Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns (2008): $20 million opening; $41.9 million total
Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail (2009): $41 million opening; $90.5 million total

Hollywood Déjà Vu Weekend Preview: Sept. 11, 2009

Sequels
Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself
Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez, Brian White, Hope Olaidé Wilson, Kwesi Boakye, Freddy Siglar, and Tyler Perry
Director: Tyler Perry
Synopsis: When Madea, America’s favorite pistol-packing grandma, catches 16-year-old Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting her home, she decides to take matters into her own hands and delivers the young delinquents to the only relative they have: their aunt April. A heavy-drinking nightclub singer who lives off of her married boyfriend Randy, April wants nothing to do with the kids. But her attitude begins to change when Sandino, a handsome Mexican immigrant looking for work, moves into April’s basement room. Making amends for his own troubled past, Sandino challenges April to open her heart. And April soon realizes she must make the biggest choice of her life: between her old ways with Randy and the new possibilities of family, faith…and even true love.
Release Date: Sept. 11, 2009
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 113 minutes

Remakes
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (Sept. 11)
Cast: Jesse Metcalfe, Amber Tamblyn, and Michael Douglas
Director: Peter Hyams
Synopsis: High profile lawyer Mark Hunter (Michael Douglas) has an impeccable record putting criminals behind bars and is a shoo-in for governor in the upcoming election. But when ambitious rookie journalist, C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe) begins investigating Hunter for tampering with evidence to secure his convictions, the district attorney’s perfect record is up for scrutiny. Commencing a risky game of cat and mouse with Hunter, C.J. frames himself as a murder suspect to catch the corrupt D.A. in the act. Romantically involved with C.J. but unaware of his assignment, assistant D.A. Ella Crystal (Amber Tamblyn) becomes caught between her boss’s political ambitions and C.J.’s dangerous exposé. As mounting evidence stacks up against both men, Ella’s own life becomes threatened when she discovers incriminating proof that puts the fate of both Nicholas’s innocence and Hunter’s reputation in her hands.
Release Date: Sept. 11, 2009
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 105 minutes

Sorority Row
Cast: Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Rumer Willis, Jaime Chung, Audrina Patridge, Julian Morris, and Carrie Fisher
Director: Stewart Hendler
Synopsis:When five sorority girls inadvertently cause the murder of one of their sisters in a prank gone wrong, they agree to keep the matter to themselves and never speak of it again, so they can get on with their lives. This proves easier said than done, when after graduation a mysterious killer goes after the five of them and anyone who knows their secret…
Release Date: Sept. 11, 2009
Rating: R
Running Time: 100 minutes