Lindsay turns Swiss
Apparently, Lindsay Lohan can’t get enough of Disney remakes. Having already starred in Disney’s The Parent Trap, Freaky Friday and Herbie: Fully Loaded, the actress is in negotiations to redo yet another Disney classic, Swiss Family Robinson, according to Web site Moviehole.net. The classic story finds the Robinson family washed ashore on an uncharted tropical island following a stormy shipwreck. On the island, the family builds a home for themselves in a gigantic tree, making a new life while battling the island’s elements. Director Jonathan Mostow is keen to add Lohan to his cast for the film, which will shoot in Queensland, Australia next year, World Entertainment News Network reports. Lindsay, honey, you’ve gotta break free from those Mouse House chains!
Fraser takes a Journey
Brendan Fraser will topline Millennium Films’ Journey to the End of the Night for writer-director Eric Eason (Manito). The thriller focuses on a son and father, fighting over a woman, who also separately plan to escape the desolation of their lives through a lurid underworld. “The father has to unload a red suitcase filled with a substance that ain’t baby powder, and the son clearly has something investing in that situation as well,” Fraser explained to Entertainment Weekly. “It would be illegal to do that kind of research I’d have to do.” Hmmm, wonder what on earth he means by that? The film will start shooting in Brazil in September. Mos Def (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace) are in talks to join the project. Fraser is also attached to the romantic drama The Last Time about a cynical salesman who rediscovers a passion for life after falling in love with the fiancée of his new business partner, a Midwest transplant learning the ropes in Gotham, costarring Michael Keaton. Fraser is one of those untapped talents–maybe one of these movies will finally be his Oscar ticket.
Swank, Costner lend their voices
Oscar-winners Hilary Swank and Kevin Costner will narrate the upcoming film On Native Soil: The Documentary of the 9/11 Commission Report, directed by former NBC News producer Linda Ellman. The actors will share voice-over duties for the feature-length film on the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. “I was in lower Manhattan that horrible day” when the World Trade Center collapsed, Swank told The Associated Press in a statement Friday. “I was drawn to the project by the amazing stories of the 9/11 families and survivors featured in the film, and I am proud that by contributing my voice to the project, I can help their voices to be heard.” On Native Soil will tell five stories of survival and examine the 9/11 Commission’s final recommendations. The film features interviews with people such as the victims’ families, Sen. John McCain, a former FBI counter-terrorism official and the former head of the CIA’s Osama bin-Laden desk. “I saw this film in a rough cut and wanted to become involved,” said Costner. “It’s honest, it’s serious and it’s not political. This film tells stories every American will and should want to know.” Indeed.
Big plans for Dallas movie
Director Robert Luketic (Monster-in-Law), the man behind the movie adaptation of 1980s soap Dallas, plans to spend a fortune on lavish homes and private jets, according to WENN. He doesn’t believe the TV series captured the true riches of an oil tycoon’s family, after spending some time doing research with some wealthier Texas families. He told Web site Moviehole.net, “They have wealth beyond your wildest imagination. These people own nuclear power plants, they run their own healthcare facilities in small countries and, in one family, each of the children have jets, right outside the house.” The director, is still keeping mum about his cast, which is rumored to feature Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones–and John Travolta as villain J.R. Ewing. Luketic cryptically said, “I’m not allowed to comment on anything to do with casting on Dallas. I can’t even deny that rumor. It’s going to be a big cast.” Luketic will admit, there’s going to be a brand new Southfork. He states, “We’re going to build the new Southfork. We’re going to build runways besides the house and applying for permits with the FAA so we can build a temporary tower so we can get Boeing 747s in.” What kind of budget does this guy have? Is he being backed by one of these Texas billionaires? Geez…
The Turtles return
The Weinstein Co. is making its first deal outside the Walt Disney company, signing with Warner Bros. to distribute the first all-CGI-animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yes, those pizza-lovin’, wise-crackin’, ass-whuppin’ turtles are back. The-yet-untitled pic, set for release in early 2007, would return the franchise to the big screen for the first time since 1993. You, of course, remember the trio of live-action Turtles released in the early ’90s that grossed more than $256 million overall at the U.S. box office. But this new CGI-animated movie will be grittier than its predecessors, taking its tone directly from the comic book series. “We think that a new generation of kids will love discovering Turtles, especially supported by the enthusiasm of fans of the original movies, comic books and TV shows,” Warner Bros. Pictures president Jeff Robinov told Variety. Well, I hope they at least still eat pizza.
Igor gets his dues
It’s always tough to be the ugly sidekick assistant, forced to do the evil master’s bidding. At least, that’s the premise of a new computer-animated short film called Igor: Unholy Frijoles, with Steve Buscemi, John Cleese and Jay Leno on board as the vocal talent. The short will serve as a prequel to the 2007 mad scientist feature Igor about a mad scientist’s hunchbacked lab assistant who dreams of winning the coveted first-place award at the annual Evil Science Fair and becoming a mad scientist in his own right. Christian Slater will give voice to Igor, while Buscemi will voice the part of Scamper, a super-intelligent and sarcastic lab rabbit, and Cleese will voice Dr. Glickenstein, Igor’s evil master. Leno is voicing Brian the Brain. I like the sound of this one!
Dawson goes psycho
Rosario Dawson is attached to star in Descent, a psychological thriller she also is producing via her newly formed banner, Trybe Films. Dawson will play Maya, a college coed who turns into a vengeful seductress after a shocking act of violence. Yikes. But it sounds a tad derivative, doesn’t it? Like you’ve seen the same kind of movie a thousand times before. Oh well.
Until next week…
