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Sony Ericsson/Empire Magazine Awards: It’s so nice that everything has a corporate sponsor nowadays, isn’t it? A selection of winners:
Best Newcomer - Martine McCutcheon
Scene of the Year - Ride of the Rohirrim, Return of the King
Best British Actress - Emma Thompson
Best British Actor - Andy Serkis
Best British Film - Love Actually
Best Actress - Uma Thurman
Best Actor - Johnny Depp
Best Director - Quentin Tarantino
Best Film - Return of the King
Lifetime Achievement - Sigourney Weaver
Oscar Watch: Keeping it Clean! [from Boobgate-style acceptance speech obscenity]; Kris Tapley Spreads the Wealth; Jeff Lelek's Oscar Nomination Reax; TIME's Oscar Run-Down; Fifth Annual Predict the Winners Contest Up and Running
New images
Dark Horizons: Broken Lizard’s Club Dread, Eurotrip, Against the Ropes, The I Inside
Latino Review: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind poster, Club Dread
Movieweb: Van Helsing (hi-res)
Z Review: Bridget Jones 2, The I Inside, Eurotrip
Trailers and multimedia
Apple: Breaking All the Rules, Crimson Gold, The Return, Dust to Glory
Empire Movies: The Girl Next Door clips, Harry Potter TV spot
IGN: Welcome to Mooseport video feature
The Movie Box: Jersey Girl clip, the making of The Alamo, Ladykillers Super Bowl spot, Hidalgo/Viggo Mortensen interview, The Girl Next Door clips, Miracle clips, more Super Bowl spots
Trailer Park: Superbowl TV spots (Miracle, The Alamo, Van Helsing, Troy, Secret Window, Starsky & Hutch, Secret Window, Hidalgo, The Ladykillers)
Casting calls and future films
Release dates
X3: Patrick Stewart says he expects a third installment to appear next year. (SciFi Wire)
Quick casting
Batman: Intimidation: Moviehole scoopers have sent in the reason Chris Cooper turned down a role, and news on the casting of Lucius Fox and Jim Gordon.
Bond 21: Britney Spears? (Moviehole)
The Brown Bomber: Vin Diesel as Joe Louis for Spike Lee? (Jo Blo)
Chasing Fate: Jordana Brewster, Kip Pardue
Conquistador: Chris Cooper will probably play a lawyer representing Patricia Clarkson in this disabled-rights drama penned by Cooper’s wife (Moviehole)
Down in the Valley: Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood (Jo Blo)
Friday Night Lights: Jay Hernandez (Latino Review)
Gnomeo and Juliet: Ewan McGregor (?), Kate Winslet (?), the music of Elton John Sarcastic yay. (Coming Soon)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: John Hurt will return as Mr. Ollivander (Coming Soon)
The Ladies’ Man: Tom Hanks will play “Nash Harvey, a womanizer who works as a commercial jingle writer. He then returns to Boston to make amends with a woman he stood up at the altar” (Cinema Confidential)
LAPI: Johnny Knoxville
Lemony Snicket: Cedric the Entertainer as “the detective who’s trying to figure out what’s going on” (Coming Soon)
Nanny McPhee: Colin Firth, Emma Thompson (who scripted from the “Nurse Matilda” series) (Empire Movies)
Rainbow Six: dir. John Woo? (Cinescape)
Seed of Chucky: Contrary to recent rumors, Brad Dourif is apparently “thrilled” and on board (Coming Soon)
Superman: Bruce Willis? (Latino Review)
The Three Stooges: Will Ferrell as Moe? (Cinescape)
Watchmen: Sigourney Weaver as the Silk Spectre, Daniel Craig as Rorschach? (Cinescape)
Screenwriters
Dungeon Siege: David Freeman, to add to Uwe Boll’s harem of video game/RPG movies (Coming Soon)
Shazam!: Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow (Cheaper by the Dozen) (CHUD)
The Unprofessionals: John Ridley will script the tale of “three hapless monkeys who are sent out on a quest where they are expected to fail, though they ultimately succeed” for DreamWorks’ animation department. (Cinema Confidential)
More films
Chuck Palahniuk movies: Dark Horizons reports that Invisible Monsters, Choke, and Diary have all been greenlit. No cast or crew is attached to any of the three yet.
Marvel and Pixar?: IGN reports that, now that Pixar has left Disney’s negotiating table, the studio may look into a very different partnership.
Musicals to movies: Andrew Lloyd Webber is looking at bringing Phantom of the Opera (currently filming, actually), Sunset Boulevard, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Jesus Christ Superstar to the screen. The casting rumors verge on terrifying. (Dark Horizons)
Barbershop 2: Smilin’ Jack Ruby reports from the junket. (CHUD)
Bride of Frankenstein remake: There’s gonna be one. (SciFi Wire)
The Constant Gardener: …may be Fernando Meirelles’ (City of God) next: “A drama about an English diplomat living in Kenya whose wife is murdered, as well as her suspected lover.” (Dark Horizons)
Fast and the Furious 3: There’s gonna be one (3 Fast 3 Furious?) with Vin Diesel most likely returning. (Dark Horizons)
Fierce People: Diane Lane will star for director Griffin Dunne. Premise: “The film, written by Dirk Wittenborn, centers on fifteen-year-old Finn Earl who is fed up with his bohemian existence with his drug-addicted mother Liz (Lane). He finds a window opening an exotic new world when Liz is hired as a personal masseuse by her friend and benefactor, elderly millionaire Ogden C. Osborne. Finn soon bonds closely with Bryce and Maya Langley, Osborne's beautiful grandchildren. Finn and Maya begin a passionate relationship, much to Liz's trepidation. The year is 1978 and drugs flow freely in Finn's racy new social set. He learns that there are beasts lurking in this suburban jungle and a shattering degradation at the hands of a mysterious assailant threatens to blight his young life.” (Coming Soon)
House of Wax remake: There’s gonna be one. Grrrr. (SciFi Wire)
Intolerance: The Sequel: Another Fernando Meirelles project. Yes, a sequel to the D.W. Griffith film. No, not kidding. (Dark Horizons)
The Matador: Pierce Brosnan’s next, about a hitman who has a breakdown, has gotten the greenlight and will start filming in Mexico in two months. (Moviehole)
Reviews (Here be spoilers!)
AICN: A Dirty Shame, You Got Served, Ginger Snaps 2, Memories of Murder, Save the Green Planet, Code 46
Dark Horizons: House of Wax (script), Mindhunters, Catch That Kid, The Lion King 1.5, Miracle, The Purifiers
Film Jerk: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (script)
SAST: link to Correspondent Vladimir’s Young Gods review
Upcoming DVDs
DVD Fanatic: Lost in Translation clips, Roswell (S1) clips, Open Range, Death in Venice, John Mellencamp: Trouble No More, Grand Hotel, Jeepers Creepers 2
DVD File: Mambo Italiano, Gilligan’s Island (S1), Angel (S3, R2), American Splendor
DVD Savant: The Diary of Anne Frank, Mrs. Miniver, Walk on the Wild Side
DVD Talk: Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, Chump Change, Runaway Jury, Anna Karenina: The Complete Miniseries, Final Cut, King Solomon’s Mines, Simple Men, Under the Tuscan Sun, Billabong Odyssey, The FW Murnau Collection
Empire Movies: Under the Tuscan Sun, Alice in Wonderland
IGN DVD: Under the Tuscan Sun, Lost in Translation, Cabin Fever
Interviews and profiles
About.com: Bradley Raymond (Lion King 1.5)
Cinema Confidential: Kurt Russell (Miracle)
Dark Horizons: Kurt Russell (Miracle)
Empire Online: Fernando Meirelles (City of God)
IGN: Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door), Kurt Russell (Miracle)
Latino Review: Cedric the Entertainer, Ice Cube (Barbershop 2), Kurt Russell (Miracle)
Moviehole: Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider)
Other news
Ananova: Love Actually scoops film accolade; Barrymore gets star on Hollywood Walk of Fame; Tom Hanks to play serial womaniser; Scary Movie 3 still top in the UK; Gibson defends father over Holocaust; Michael Caine signs up for The Weather Man; Spears would like to be a Bond girl; I'm slowing down, says Nicholson; Natural Born Killers 'most unromantic movie couple'
Chicago Sun-Times: Hey, hey, hey! Who'll be Fat Albert?; Jackson of 'Rings' lauded as 'Master'
Coming Soon: Pixar to Start Talks with Studios in March
Empire Online: Memorial service held for Keiko the Killer Whale; Academy expels pirate member, Censors target Oscars: Superbowl fallout threatens freedom of speech; X-treme sports stars tear up Hollywood
IMDB: Jackson Admits Super Bowl Stunt Was Intentional; Vandross Unable To Attend Grammys; Gest Blames Minnelli Split on Tabloid Article; Glamorous Kidman Stopped 'Cold Mountain' Oscars?; Parker Cries Filming Last 'Sex and the City'; Tori Spelling To Wed; Michael Jackson Searches Seize Video Tapes & Computers; Lewis Slams Davis Dating Reports; J.Lo Seeks Help; Spector Hires Retiring Lawyer
Jam Showbiz: Ed Norton, Wood team up for 'Valley'; Rapper Ice Cube acting with attitude; Drew Barrymore on Walk of Fame; Coppola, friends celebrate 'Translation'; 'Rings' star Mortensen looks for work; Remembering River Phoenix; 'You Got Served' dances to No. 1; Hanks to present at Oscars; James Ellroy to pen Korshak bio; OutKast star for 'Get Shorty' sequel
Sci Fi Wire: Hellboy Stunt Broke Rib; Gibson Cuts Passion Scene; Comics Influenced Sky Captain; Passion's Gibson, ADL Correspond
USAToday: A brief history of the boob tube; Paris Hilton, the next Bert Parks?
Yahoo: Film Academy Expels Member Over Tapes; What You See if You're an Oscars Voter; Pixar Earnings Soar on 'Finding Nemo'; Annan Says U.N. Thriller Aids Cause of Peace; Academy Eyeing Film Museum
Zap2It: Actor expelled for screener piracy; What an Oscar Nod Means to Jesse Friedman; Ding Dong! -- Salma Hayek Calling; Berry Won't Adopt 'Catwoman's' Bengal; Norton, Wood Saddle Up for 'Valley'; Firth Fingered for 'Nanny's' Father Figure; Drew Joins Barrymore Dynasty on Walk of Fame
Fun and games
Dateline: Hollywood: NFL apologizes for not promoting Jackson breast exposure; Miramax acquires motion picture academy; Charlize Theron hailed for making self ugly in ‘Monster’; Nation ‘couldn’t give a rat’s ass’ about CBS’s ‘Becker’ finale
Fametracker: Mandy Moore’s Fame Audit; Oscar Nominees in the Galaxy of Fame
The Onion: Boy, Dolphin No Longer On Speaking Terms; 10th-Grade Class Watches Ben-Hur For Two Weeks; Celebrity Saddened By Death Of Other Celebrity
Short Attention Span Theater: Neoquest II takes over; Leif Garrett fans are craaaaazy; awful things done to Bonnie Fuller’s food in the name of vengeance
Parting shot
IMDB: “US Army Uncovers 'Exorcist' Site in Iraq”
** The US Army is turning Hatra, Iraq, into a movie mecca after discovering the site where movie maker William Friedkin shot the opening sequence of horror classic The Exorcist. Movie fan Capt. Nik Guran stumbled across the eerie find last month while stationed in Hatra and now he plans to turn the desert site into The Exorcist Experience. And Guran has Friedkin's backing. The director says, "The Army has hatched this idea to turn the whole area into a tourist attraction. I hope they'll arrange it. I would love nothing better than to return to Iraq. I've traveled all over the world, and I have never felt closer to a people than I did to the Iraqis." Friedkin reveals he spent three months in 1972 sleeping in a tent and shooting stock footage of a German archaeological site in the desert outside Hatra for his film's creepy opening scenes. Army officials like Guran's idea and have given the enterprising captain $5,000 to spend on the venture. So far, the soldier has created a car park and revamped a nearby hotel with the help of local students. Friedkin and Exorcist author William Peter Blatty are expected to visit the 'theme park' before it opens later this year.**
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