Zoinks! Scooby-Doo’s Got More Work to Do!

Are you ready for some … Scooby-Doo?

My 5-year-old son reminds that the Cartoon Network will offer families a break from today’s NFL action with the premiere of Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (7 p.m./6 p.m. Central). In order to continue what it started with a bang with 2001’s Scooby-Doo and ruined with 2003’s Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Warner Bros. has turned back the clock to offer a live-action prequel with a spankin’ new cast comprised of unknowns. Hey, what better way than to shed the salaries of Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, and Linda Cardellini? The prequel—which reveals how everyone’s favorite meddling kids went into the monster-busting business—stars True Jackson VP’s Robbie Amell as Fred, Kate Melton as Daphne, Nick Palatas as Shaggy, and Hayley Kiyoko as Daphne. The reliable Frank Welker, who’s voiced Fred in most of the Mystery Inc. misadventures over the past four decades, gives Scooby-Doo his growl.

Sadly, director Brian Levant’s in charge of rebooting the live-action Scooby-Doo franchise. He messed up The Flintstones and then tried in vain to start over with its prequel, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. So it’s doubtful The Mystery Begins will be much of an improvement over its two disappointing predecessors.

Warner Bros. probably wouldn’t have placed itself in the position of rebooting the franchise had it released Monsters Unleashed in the summer—rather than in the quieter March—like Scooby-Doo. As a result, Monsters Unleashed dug up just $84.1 million in 2004 vs. Scooby-Doo’s $153.2 million in 2002. I think Warner Bros. jumped the gun making a TV movie, which debuts Sept. 22 on DVD. Bringing back Scooby-Doo’s original live-action cast for a 3-D adventure surely would have earned Warner Bros. enough money to buy everyone in the world a Scooby Snack or two.

Hollywood Déjà Vu Fall 2009 Preview: Remakes & Reboots

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.

Sorority Row (Sept. 11)
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…

Fame (Sept. 25)
Cast: Asher Book, Kristy Flores, Paul Iacono, Paul McGill, Naturi Naughton, Kay Panabaker, Kherington Payne, Collins Pennie, Walter Perez, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Debbie Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally, and Bebe Neuwirth
Director: Kevin Tancharoen
Synopsis: A reinvention of the original Oscar-winning hit film, Fame follows a talented group of dancers, singers, actors, and artists over four years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, a diverse, creative powerhouse where students from all walks of life are given a chance to live out their dreams and achieve real and lasting fame…the kind that comes only from talent, dedication, and hard work. In an incredibly competitive atmosphere, plagued by self-doubt, each student’s passion will be put to the test. In addition to their artistic goals, they have to deal with everything else that goes along with high school, a tumultuous time full of schoolwork, deep friendships, budding romance, and self-discovery. As each student strives for his or her moment in the spotlight, they’ll discover who among them has the innate talent and necessary discipline to succeed. With the love and support of their friends and fellow artists, they’ll find out who amongst them will achieve Fame…

St. Trinian’s (Oct. 2)
Cast: Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Russell Brand, Lena Headey, Mischa Barton, and Stephen Fry
Directors: Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson
Synopsis: Welcome to St Trinian’s, a quirky comedy set in an all-girls private school in England called St. Trinian’s and run by the oddly eccentric headmistress Ms. Camilla Fritton (Rupert Everett). It’s more than a school it’s an institution and a hotbed of anarchy and ill-discipline, where the academic results are an absolute disaster. But for girls who don’t fit in, like new girl Annabelle (Talulah Riley), this is the place where everyone is accepted. However, when the newly appointed minister of education Geoffrey Thwaites (Colin Firth) tries to take them down, the girls have no choice but to rise up with the help of Head Girl Kelly (Gemma Arterton) and artful dodger Flash Harry (Russell Brand) to defeat the establishment.

The Stepfather (Oct. 16)
Cast: Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward, Penn Badgley, Amber Heard, and Jon Tenney
Director: Nelson McCormick
Synopsis: Michael Harding (Penn Badgley) returns home from military school to find his mother (Sela Ward) happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David (Dylan Walsh). As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there with a helpful hand. Is he really the man of her dreams or could David be hiding a dark side?

Astro Boy (Oct. 23)
Voice Cast: Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, Matt Lucas, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, and Nicolas Cage
Director: David Bowers
Synopsis: Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist named TENMA (Nicolas Cage). Powered by positive “blue” energy, Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore) is endowed with super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed and the ability to fly. Embarking on a journey in search of acceptance, Astro Boy encounters many other colorful characters along the way. Through his adventures, he learns the joys and emotions of being human, and gains the strength to embrace his destiny. Ultimately learning his friends and family are in danger, Astro Boy marshals his awesome super powers and returns to Metro City in a valiant effort to save everything he cares about and to understand what it takes to be a hero.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol (Nov. 6)
Cast: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn, Cary Elwes, and Fionnula Flanagan
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Synopsis: Disney’s A Christmas Carol, a multi-sensory thrill ride re-envisioned by Academy Award winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, captures the fantastical essence of the classic Dickens tale in a groundbreaking 3D motion picture event. Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (Gary Oldman) and his cheery nephew (Colin Firth). But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it’s too late.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Nov. 20)
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Coolidge, and Xzibit
Director: Werner Herzog
Synopsis: Academy Award winner Nicholas Cage unites with world-renowned director Werner Herzog in a remake of the 1992 independent film classic, Bad Lieutenant.

The Princess and the Frog (Nov. 25)
Cast: Anika Noni Rose, Terrence Howard, John Goodman, Keith David,
Jim Cummings, Jenifer Lewis, and Oprah Winfrey
Directors: Ron Clements and John Musker
Synopsis: Walt Disney Animation Studios presents the musical The Princess and the Frog, an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans. From the creators of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana. The Princess and the Frog marks the return to hand-drawn animation from the revered team of John Musker and Ron Clements, with music by Oscar-winning composer Randy Newman.

Brothers (Dec. 4)
Cast: Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sam Shepard, Mare Winningham, Bailee Madison, and Taylor Grace Geare
Director: Jim Sheridan
Synopsis: When a decorated Marine goes missing overseas, his black-sheep younger brother cares for his wife and children at home—with consequences that will shake the foundation of the entire family.

Everybody’s Fine (Dec. 4)
Cast: Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, and Sam Rockwell
Director: Kirk Jones
Synopsis: This remake of Giuseppe Tornatore’s Stanno Tutti Bene follows a widower (Robert De Niro) who embarks on an impromptu road trip to reconnect with each of his grown children only to discover that their lives are far from picture perfect.

Sherlock Holmes (Dec. 25)
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, and Kelly Reilly
Director: Guy Ritchie
Synopsis: In a dynamic new portrayal of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous characters, Sherlock Holmes sends Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.

Hollywood Déjà Vu Box Office Breakdown: Summer 2009

All fell to the Fallen—except Harry Potter.

Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (above) ruled supreme as the summer’s biggest sequel—earning $400.6 million through Monday, which marked the official end of the popcorn season—and will likely close 2009 as the U.S.’s high-grossing film of the year.

But everyone’s favorite boy wizard worked enough magic to ensure Harry Potter and the Half-Blood dominated worldwide: $917.2 million vs. Revenge of the Fallen’s $830.6 million. The sixth Harry Potter also will the first since the series kicked off with The Sorcerer’s Stone to cross the $300 million barrier; it’s currently at $297.6 million. It also needs another $21 million worldwide to surpass its predecessor The Order of the Phoenix ($938.2 million) as the franchise’s second highest-grossing entry.

Going 3-D allowed Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur to give Revenge of the Fallen a run for its money by collecting $808 million worldwide, which is all the more impressive considering only $194.2 million came from the United States. Dawn of the Dinosaur also will pass The Meltdown’s $195.3 million in a few week to become the franchise’s high-grossing entry in the United States.

J.J. Abrams’ ingenious handling of Star Trek as both a prequel and the reboot—with the original TV series recast with younger actors like Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto—resulted in the 11th big-screen voyage of the USS Enterprise being its most popular at $257.1 million. More important, Star Trek finally gained traction overseas, earning a respectable $126.3 million.

With the exception of The Final Destination, which is just two weeks into its release, all other sequels experienced troubling series fatigue. X-Men: Wolverine may have been hit hard at the box office after its workprint was leaked online, but it also had to rely solely on Hugh Jackman’s drawing power rather than the entire X-Men cast. Besides, it deserved its scathing reviews, especially in terms of how it took liberties with the previous trilogy’s mythology. Still, Fox is already moving forward with a second Wolverine.

Ben Stiller’s Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian probably would have benefited from opening in December. Night at the Museum was a perfect holiday offering; Battle of the Smithsonian seemed out of place in the sweltering heat.

Angels & Demons represented Robert Langdon’s first literary adventure, and had it reached theaters before The Da Vinci Code, no one would look at its $484.4 million worldwide gross with slight disappointment. But The Da Vinci Code opened first, and its $758.2 million set a high standard for Tom Hanks and Ron Howard’s Angels & Demons that really proved impossible to meet. Sony’s committed to turning Dan Brown’s third novel The Lost Symbol into a film, and as this is the true sequel to The Da Vinci Code, it should have an advantage over Angels & Demons at the box office.

Perhaps it was too much to expect Terminator Salvation to overcome the loss of the face of the franchise, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Even with the Governator contributing a computer-generated cameo, the fourth Terminator made $25 million less than Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. It really hurt that Christian Bale’s onset ranting and raving earned more attention than his colorless performance as John Connor, which is just as much a fault of the story being so focused on Sam Worthington’s conflicted cyborg. Whether Terminator Salvation spawns another sequel remains to be seen, but it’s already bankrupted its producers.

Lightning didn’t strike twice for Brüno, the second and most certainly last mockumentary spawned from Sacha Baron Cohen’s Da Ali G Show. Unlike Borat, which received universal acclaim, Brüno seemed stale. It may have done better had it won over gay and lesbian groups. But Brüno did significant damage in its bid to squash homophobia by perpetuating the gay stereotypes it sought to shatter. No wonder Brüno made just half of Borat’s $261.5 million worldwide gross.

It doesn’t matter whether Halloween II barely makes $30 million, or just a little more than half of its predecessor’s $58.2 million. Rob Zombie’s grubby sequel to his Halloween reboot cost just $15 million, so the cash-strapped Weinstein Co. has more than enough reason to rush Halloween 3D into production for summer 2010 with My Bloody Valentine’s Patrick Lussier possibly directing. The Weinstein Co. would have reaped more at the box office had it not put it against the 3-D The Final Destination.

Remakes
Was it really worth updating The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3? Or giving Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol a contemporary makeover as the romantic comedy Ghosts of Girlfriends Past? Or bothering to turn the cult TV series Land of the Lost into a witless Will Ferrell star vehicle?

Absolutely not.

Without a grieving John Travolta available to promote The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, the Tony Scott-directed remake earned $101.1 million worldwide, or $1.1 million than it cost to make.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past didn’t attract the same large female-oriented audience that usually come out for a Matthew McConaughey romcom. Time for the bongo-bashing sex symbol to take a break from romantic comedies.

Universal has a pretty bad track record when it comes to turning TV shows into feature films. Think Miami Vice, Sgt. Bilko, The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Thunderbirds. Now add Land of the Lost to that list. With Ferrell wearing out his act as the lovable goofball, and director Brad Silberling offering special effects cheesier than anything found in a 1970s sci-fi TV show, Land of the Lost was bound to crash and burn. Universal should have played it straight and offered a Jurassic Park-style thrill ride.

Potential New Franchises
Sure, the buzz was loud around The Hangover, but who would have thought the what-happens-in-Vegas-stays-in-Vegas frat-boy farce would become the highest-grossing R-rated comedy? No wonder a sequel is in the works for summer 2011.

Paramount likely envisioned G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra as the next Transformers. Not even close. Proud to be loud and dumb, G.I. Joe may yet hit the $300 million worldwide total Paramount’s predicting. Even if that’s the case, is there really any enthusiasm for a sequel? Imagine how much worse G.I. Joe would have done had Paramount screened it for discerning critics.

Thanks to the hype surrounding its Comic-Con debut, District 9 came out of nowhere to garner some of the year’s reviews and more than triple its $30 million budget. Sony wants a sequel, which presumably will be set three years after the events of the Peter Jackson-produced sci-fi apartheid allegory.

Put 3-D glasses on a kid—like my 5-year-old son—and they will sit through anything. Case in point: G-Force. With its daring-do guinea pig secret agents, countless explosions, robot-like beings and a villain voiced by Nicolas Cage, G-Force played exactly how you imagined Jerry Bruckheimer’s first 3-D film would play. At $80 million, G-Force was worth Disney’s investment, so don’t be surprised if the agents of G-Force rushed into action for second, more dangerous mission.

The following is a breakdown of how all sequels, remakes, and new/potential franchises fared this summer, based on figures tracked by Box Office Mojo.

SEQUELS

1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
U.S. Total: $400.6 million
Worldwide Total: $830.6 million
Previous Entry: Transformers ($319.2 million U.S./$709.7 million worldwide)

2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
U.S. Total: $297.6 million
Worldwide Total: $917.2 million
Previous Entry: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ($292 million U.S./$938.2 million worldwide)

3. Star Trek
U.S. Total: $257.1 million
Worldwide Total: $383.5 million
Previous Entry: Star Trek: Nemesis ($43.2 million U.S./$67.3 million worldwide)

4. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
U.S. Total: $194.2 million
Worldwide Total: $808 million
Previous Entry: Ice Age: The Meltdown ($195.3 million U.S./$655.3 million worldwide)

5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
U.S. Total: $179.8 million
Worldwide Total: $363.4 million
Previous Entry: X-Men: The Last Stand ($234.3 million U.S./$459.3 million worldwide)

6. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Total: $176.7 million
Worldwide Total: $404.4 million
Previous Entry: Night at the Museum ($250.8 million U.S./$574.4 million worldwide)

7. Angels & Demons
U.S. Total: $133.3 million
Worldwide Total: $484.4 million
Previous Entry: The Da Vinci Code ($217.5 million U.S./$758.2 million worldwide)

8. Terminator Salvation
U.S. Total: $125.3 million
Worldwide Total: $371.3 million
Previous Entry: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ($150.3 million U.S./$433.3 million worldwide)

9. Brüno
U.S. Total: $60 million
Worldwide Total: $136.9 million
Previous Entry: Borat ($128.5 million U.S./$261.5 million worldwide)

10. The Final Destination
U.S. Total: $50.4 million
Worldwide Total: $82.9 million
Previous Entry: Final Destination 3 ($54 million U.S./$113.2 million worldwide)

11. Halloween II
U.S. Total: $26.9 million
Worldwide Total: $26.9 million
Previous Entry: Halloween ($58.2 million U.S./$80.2 million worldwide)

12. Soul Power
U.S. Total: $172,276
Worldwide Total: $215,066
Previous Entry: When We Were Kings ($2.7 million U.S.)

REMAKES

1. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
U.S. Total: $65.4 million
Worldwide Total: $101.1 million

2. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
U.S. Total: $55.2 million
Worldwide Total: $97 million

3. Land of the Lost
U.S. Total: $49.4 million
Worldwide Total: $62.5 million

4. Easy Virtue
U.S. Total: $2.6 million
Worldwide Total: $16.8 million

5. In the Loop
U.S. Total: $2 million
Worldwide Total: $5.6 million

NEW/POTENTIAL FRANCHISES

1. The Hangover
U.S. Total: $272.1 million
Worldwide Total: $440.4 million

2 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
U.S. Total: $141 million
Worldwide Total: $279.9 million

3. G-Force
U.S. Total: $115.4 million
Worldwide Total: $167.8 million

4. District 9
U.S. Total: $103.3 million
Worldwide Total: $117.7 million

Miami Vice (1 1/2 out of 4 stars)

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, Gong Li, Naomie Harris, Ciarán Hinds, Justin Theroux and Barry Shabaka Henley
Director: Michael Mann
The Verdict: I want my MTV cops, not these VH1 Classics doppelgangers director Michael Mann passes off as Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs. In his long, tedious and predictable big-screen rendering of his flashy 1980s TV series, Mann makes the assumption that we already know and love his designer-suited drug busters. Sure, we know and love the Crockett and Tubbs played with confidence, wit and sophistication by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas. But Mann never allows us to get close to knowing anything about Colin Farrell’s Crockett and Jamie Foxx’s Tubbs, other than that they both share a dangerous—and almost costly—weakness for smart, sexy women. The only thing distinguishing from one detective from the other is the Larry the Cable Guy-like handlebar mustache Farrell inexplicably sports. Such is Mann’s intrigue with the politics of the international drug trade that he sadly fails to inject Crockett and Tubbs with any personality. Then again, Mann’s so determined to put Miami Vice’s goggle-box past behind him that he strips the Magic City of its color and vibrancy. That’s a far cry from the tropical party town image Mann helped perpetuate with the TV show. Mann has so little use for Miami—from its landmarks to its culture—that he could have relocated Miami Vice to any major city in America. Heck, much of Miami Vice isn’t even set in South Florida; Mann sends his rule-breaking Miami-Dade vice detectives off on some humdrum undercover mission in South America. Yes, Crockett and Tubbs pose as traffickers in order to bust a drug baron (Luis Tosar) responsible for the murder of several FBI agents. Not much happens, other than Crockett tumbling into bed with the drug baron’s wife and business partner (Gong Li). Sparks hardly fly between Farrell and Li, and unfortunately this is all the fault of the usually terrific Chinese actress. Like Penelope Cruz, Li’s too stiff and self-conscious when she’s not speaking in her native tongue. Not that Farrell or Foxx fare any better. They’re stuck firing off inane police jargon while looking all very serious and intense. They’re not having any fun, and nor are we. It’s quite understandable why Mann would want to distance himself from his trend-setting cop opera. What was hip and fashionable in the 1980s is laughably cheesy today. You can’t have Crockett and Tubbs wearing pastel T-shirts and no socks. Or Crockett living on a boat with his pet alligator. But if Mann happily uses the Fort Lauderdale-based Nonpoint’s cover version of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” why not dust off Jan Hammer’s “Miami Vice Theme”? Unfortunately, Mann’s not interested in making us feel connected to the source material. Hence his decision to shoot Miami Vice in the same edgy manner as his Collateral rather than recapture the cool atmosphere of the TV series. If Mann’s that embarrassed by the TV show, then he should have started from scratch—in a different locale with new characters—rather than peddle a Miami Vice in name only.
Release Date: July 28, 2006
Rating: R
Running Time: 135 minutes