Kit Bowen's Weekly Role Call, Aug. 6
By Kit Bowen, Hollywood.com Staff
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Friday, August 06, 2004
Ralph Fiennes |
Fiennes to be Harry Potter's nemesis
I can hardly contain myself. Ralph Fiennes has joined the all-star cast of Warner Bros. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth installment in the popular Harry Potter series, as the boy wizard's ultimate foe, the evil Lord Voldemort. This may not mean anything to non-Potter folk--Muggles, as I like to call you--but to us true blue fans, Fiennes is just about perfect. He is more than capable of playing arrogant and evil, ever since he poured malevolence on-screen in Schindler's List. Also joining the Goblet of Fire crew is Miranda Richardson as sneaky, snarky journalist Rita Skeeter, another great choice. They round out the cast, which now includes Brendan Gleeson (Troy), as Hogwarts' new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Mad-Eye Moody; Frances De La Tour (The Cherry Orchard) as Madame Maxine, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and a giant who catches Hagrid's eye; and British TV star Roger Lloyd-Pack as the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Barty Crouch. Within the student realm, new additions to the young cast include Robert Pattinson (The Ring) as Cedric Diggory and young newcomer Katie Leung as Cho Chang, whom Potter readers know is Harry's soon-to-be paramour. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is being directed by Four Weddings and a Funeral's Mike Newell and will be released November 2005. If you can wait that long.
Knightley plays Domino
King Arthur star Keira Knightley is set to star in director Tony Scott's Domino, an action thriller based on the true tale of a model-turned-bounty hunter. Yes, go on. The story centers on Domino Harvey, the daughter of actor Laurence Harvey (1962's The Manchurian Candidate), who apparently ditched a career as a Ford model to become a bounty hunter. Nice. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film incorporates flashbacks, flash-forwards, and characters from Beverly Hills, 90210. Well, OK then.
McMahon could foil Fantastic Four
Nip/Tuck star Julian McMahon could be slicing his way into the Fantastic Four as the quartet's main nemesis, Dr. Doom, in 20th Century Fox/Marvel Studios'b comic book adaptation. The actioner follows the adventure-seeking four who develop superpowers when their spaceship is exposed to cosmic radiation. McMahon would join Michael Chiklis (The Shield) as Benjamin Grimm/the Thing, Ioan Gruffudd (King Arthur) as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Jessica Alba (Dark Angel) as Susan Storm/the Invisible Girl and Chris Evans (The Perfect Score) as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch. Sounds a little like X-Men, each even with their own characters named Storm. I really want this one to work, but I have some serious doubts.
Soccer trilogy to hit screens
Let's do the cry: "Goooooooooooooooooooooooal!" Well, we'll see if this one makes it. Danny Cannon, exec producer for all three editions of the CBS forensics franchise CSI, will return to the big screen, directing Goal! for Icon Entertainment, starring Mexican cutie Diego Luna (Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights). The film is intended as the first chapter in a $100 million trilogy about a young Latino from the East Los Angeles barrios who becomes an international soccer star. The second movie in the trilogy has the hero playing in the Uefa Champions League with Real Madrid, currently David Beckham's home. In the third he plays in the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, the world's biggest sporting event, in Germany. Ho-hum. If this movie finds as many fans as the sport itself has in the States, this might be an expensive miss.
Rwanda tragedy to be played out
Brit Hugh Dancy, who played Galahad King Arthur, has joined John Hurt in Shooting Dogs, a movie set against the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Hurt plays a priest who forges a friendship with Joe (Dancy), a young teacher. Together they have to confront the limits of their courage as they decide whether to stay or leave in the face of the Rwandan tragedy. How's that for uplifiting, take-your-mind-off-your-troubles entertainment? Ugh.
Until next week…
Photo(s) by Ken Kwok- © 2001- Hollywood.com, Inc- All Rights Reserved