MARCH, 25

MOVIES RELEASED

1-OUTER EYE

Drama / Human Spirit
Directed by John Cusack
Starring John Cusack, Uma Thurman, Ashley Judd, Jeff Bridges, Oliver Platt
Box Office: 3 mill.
Net Loss: 35 mill.

CMP Reaction: Oh, my God… New TOP 1 Flop. Another little movie that generates a major financial disaster. Second time this season, after ‘Poor Little Rich Boy’. Damn it.

2-CONTRACT KILLING FOR DUMMIES

Comedy / Lampoon
Directed by Zach Braff
Starring Zach Braff, Sean William Scott, John Goodman, Jason Schwartzman, Cristina Ricci
Box Office: 46 mill.
Net Gains: 2 mill.

CMP Reaction: Not much of a blockbuster, but at least production costs were recovered. Sometimes it’s good to be wrong.

THE THUMBS AND THE STARS

1-OUTER EYE

“What is this? A drama? A dark comedy? I have the feeling that John Cusack has shot his movie without an answer to it. It just moves from one thing to another without knowing what kind of story he wants to tell us. Stories need a focus and John Cusack’s camera is out of focus this time”
-Bob Felton, ‘The Critics Corner’

“Do you want to look as an intellectual movie maker? Take a lead character with a dark side (addictions can work), sentimental conflicts (two women to choose can work), a wise and understanding therapist (Jeff Bridges can work) and film it all in a funny way (monologues to a cam recorder can work) and then you’ll have an indie-looking movie that critics will love and will make you look as a cool movie director. Or not. Too predictable, too pretentious, too wrong…”
-Anne Ratched, ‘The Critics Corner’

“Honestly, I just don’t know what to save from this movie… A failed experiment.”
-Bob Felton, ‘The Critics Corner’

2-CONTRACT KILLING FOR DUMMIES

“In 1989, the now forgotten Andrew McArthy starred in a movie titled “Weekend at Bernie’s” that was a decent hit (even a sequel was produced). Two guys had to deal with a corpse. This movie takes a lot from that one. And, surprisingly, the concept has worked again enough to make some profits for the Studio”
-Roy Winslow, ‘The Critics Corner’

“Zach Braff is a good comedian and he knows how to direct a movie (remember ‘Garden State’). So he can save this comedy without many problems. It has nothing to remember, but at least is a good way to spend an hour and a half”
-Anne Roman, ‘The Critics Corner’

“I must admit I didn’t expect it but I had a good time watching it. Some times, you just go to watch a movie convinced that you will have to write a destructive review of it and, then, when it’s over, you feel relief that you don’t have to. If you make me choose between the pretentious ‘Outer Eye’ and this simple comedy, you bet I’ll always take this one”.
-Jack Carter, ‘The Critics Corner’

AWAITING RELEASE

1-WILD CARDS 2: ACES HIGH

The Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Angelina Jolie, Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Matt Dillon, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson

The Director: Quentin Tarantino
The Producer: Matt Kubrick

The Plot: Picking up after the events of the first movie Fortunato's (M.Dillon) investigation of the murdered prostitues lead him to a strange cult of masonists led by their mysterious leader known as the astronomer (I.McKellen). He has psychic links to an alien race known as the swarm and is calling them to earth.
Dr. Tachyon (K.Branagh) meets a strange character named Jube (J.Travolta) . He looks like a walrus and might be a Joker (person with disfigurements) but he is secretly an alien from another world and is afraid that the swarm is heading to earth.
Meanwhile Puppetman's (J.Travolta again) popularity continues to grow with the voters and his wife (S.Stone) begins to notice changes in him: he seems to be getting more stranger and she believes he might be dangerous.
Chrysallis (A.Jolie) and Pop-In-Jay (B.Willis), who suffered a gentic mix, try and find a way to separate themselves from each other. They ask Yeoman (S.L.Jackson) to help them find someone like an ace or something that will be able to do it. For some comedy affect for awhile Pop-In-Jay acts a bit like Chrysallis and Chrysallis for awhile acts like Pop-In-Jay.
The whole mess with Jube and the astronomer ends up with a massive battle in the sky and on earth when the swarm attacks and the aces take to the skies to battle the astronomer and the alien insect like swarm.

The Comment: The first Wild Cards movie became a cult movie. This time, the Studio expects not only producing a cult movie but also a commercial hit. The franchise on a string.


2-SPACE QUEST II: THE LOST UNIVERSE

The Cast: Kiefer Sutherland, Rachel Weisz, Morgan Freeman, Milla Jovovich, Matthew McGouneghy, Gabriel Byrne

The Director and Producer: Roland Emmerich

The Plot: Arlan (K.Sutherland) and Brit (R.Weisz) command a group of Survivors to rescue Carey (M.McGouneghy). They succeed. But the Major (M.Freeman) sent all the Security Corp leaded by Gabriel Byrne, to chase them. They have to leave The Conqueror in a stolen spaceship.
They get to the Zorbgs planet together with Hope (M.Jovovich). It's a dangerous environment full of strange creatures. After surviving to all kind of dangers, they are captured by Zorbgs and get to meet Ranankagh, the Zorbgs Emperor. They present themselves as enemies of the Major and Zorbgs accept them as allies. Just by chance, Arlan and Brit discover that Carey is not really human, but an android. Also, Arlan and Brit fall in love and even have a baby boy there. They offer Ranankagh a false plan for the Zorbgs to destroy The Conqueror. Ranankagh thinks they are his friends and send them back to The Conqueror as false spies.
They return to The Conqueror. At the same time, Zorbgs attack The Conqueror again, according to their plan. Zorbgs almost succeed this time after an epic battle.
The Major needs more soldiers to resist. So The Major Corps capture humans to transform them in obedient androids ready to die for him against the Zorbgs.
The battle between Ranankagh and The Major forces is not finished. The Survivors are hiding and reorganizing. It's a dark and uncertain era for The Conqueror.

The Comment: Julian Jones, CMP Production Division CEO, is convinced that this sequel will resurrect this saga. Nobody else at CMP is so convinced. The problem is that the third episode has been simultaneously produced together with this one…


THE STAR PROFILE – SHARON STONE

Not a really long career in CMP. But, after all, some of us just love her as she was our erotic fantasy once due to ‘Basic Instinct’ (let’s not talk about the sequel)… Sharon hasn’t always made the right choices and her career is not as strong as it could be right now. But, call us nostalgic, we wanted to have her in our Star Profile…

CMP’S FILMOGRAPHY

ENTERTAINING MRS. SULLIVAN (Jay Roach, B.O.: 78 mill.): Sharon made a great new version of Mrs. Robinson in this comedy, seducing the fortunate Jason Biggs. She was decadent, filthy rich and absolutely appealing in this successful movie. The first movie ever released by CMP.

THE TEMPTING DIAMOND: (Ivan Reitman, B.O.: 10 mill.): The movie had it all to be a hit. Ivan Reitman had just directed the blockbuster ‘The Mogulers’. Bill Murray was coming from the prestigious ‘Deadly Sins’. It had a funny action comedy screenplay and a nice old glories cast. But, against all predictions, it joined the embarrassing Top Flops list.

WILD CARDS 2: ACES HIGH: (Quentin Tarantino, awaiting release): Sharon had nothing to lose when she received the offer to join the wild world of Wild Cards. Hey, if Tarantino resurrected Travolta’s career once, why would not be this one the chance to resurrect sexy Sharon?

MOVIES IN DEVELOPMENT

THE GREAT WAR: DARKENING SKIES: Shootage finished by Peter Weir. And here is the complete cast: Colin Farrell (‘The Heirs’, ‘Hitman: The Myth Of John Jackson’), Christian Bale (‘The Heirs’), Hayden Christiansen, Claire Danes and Jeremy Irons (‘Tales Of The Jedi’).

THE HEIRS – PART 3: Demi Moore, who was nominated for GMA Best Supporting Actress for her role in ‘The Heirs – Part 2’ won’t return in this third episode. It is said that, although Scorsese wanted her back as the club singer with dark secrets, she considered that her character had lost too many presence in the story, specially compared with the new female character played by Charleze Theron, and it wasn’t worthy for her to be in the movie.

PIECE OF MY HEART: Drew Barrymore is the chosen one by Buz Luhrmann to star his new musical. Luhrmann has said that Drew shares the same mix of sweetness, strength and weakness, innocence and fatality that the lead character of James Bradley’s story. Barrymore is already taking singing and dancing lessons.

THE LIBRARY: New Marcus Trax’s story greenlighted. An epic tale in the times of the Roman Empire with some similarities with his first production, ‘The Bridge’. Again, humans meet gods in their search of a meaning for life. Let’s hope this time box office responds better.

MINOS: Another cast completed: Val Kilmer, Cameron Diaz, James Cromwell, Fanke Jansen and Michael Chiklis will try to survive to the fierce creature awaken by a couple of irresponsible tourists. Just to warm up, here is a promotional pic of the shootage in Crete:

ROBOTECH 3: Heath Ledger does have energy to keep working. After ‘The Toymaker’, he’s back to the recording Studio to lend his voice to the movie. Antonio Banderas is also coming back. And some other talents voices may be announced soon.

THE LAW: In ‘Hot Iron’, Al Pacino played a minor role, almost a cameo, although he was in fact one of the villains of the story. In the sequel, Pacino’s character has gained so much presence that, in fact, this time Pacino is co-starring the movie together with Brad Pitt.


CALVIN & HOBBES: An agreement could not be reached. Ben Stiller’s voice won’t be finally in James L. Brooks’ animated version of the comic strip as his salary demands were not accepted. Owen Wilson will be. And now Brooks is looking for another star to be with him.

ULTRAMAN’S REVENGE: A sequel for ‘The Return Of Ultraman’ was always rumoured and it has finally become a reality. Eddie Murphy’s clumsy hero will be back. But director Chris Columbus won’t repeat behind the cameras. The reason: his relationship with Murphy, star and producer of the first movie, wasn’t exactly friendly.

THE CURE: Three times GMA nominee and one of them winner (Best Starring Couple) Paul Giamatti (‘Bill and the Rocket Man’, ‘Fools Game’) returns to CMP. He is playing a minor role in this action thriller. It will be the first time that Giamatti works for a CMP’s movie not based in a James Bradley’s screenplay.

COMING SOON – THE ADD


RUMOURS AND GOSSIPS

We called Season 3 ‘Sequelmania Season’? Well, then we’ll have to call Season 4 ‘Musicmania Season’… After announcing two musicals for next season (‘Piece Of My Heart’ is already under production), Mr. Froats, Ted Froats (amazing! correctly written twice!), announces a third one, based on a dark Rodgers & Hammerstein’s script. Who said that the musical genre was dead? Music will be all around us in CMP’s Season 4.

There’s life after Hitman for John Daws. Season 4 will not only see the release of the third (and finale?) movie of the successful saga, but also a new Daws’ screenplay completely different from his profitable creation of John Jackson. The title: ‘South East’.

What happens with ‘The Blog Review’? Specialized critics have stopped writing reviews about CMP’s movies. In fact, the stars qualification system for blog critics can be cancelled as none reviews have been received lately. Hope it changes.

INSIDE CMP

CMP’s screenwriters team, headed by younger brother of President Harry Stark, has not been too busy lately. Most of the last releases from the Studio came from the prestigious independent writers that work for CMP. In order to keep the team happy, CMP is going to greenlight new movies based on Joey Stark and his people’s screenplays, like ‘The Heirs – Part 3’.

The release of ‘Space Quest II’ and ‘Wild Cards 2’ will settle a definitive criterion about sequels of not-successful movies. Harry Stark does not like this strategy, but Julian Jones believes that this sequels will revive these franchises. Whatever happens, new sequels of flopped or not extremely successful movies are coming up soon: ‘The Law’ and ‘Ultraman’s Revenge’. At least, the first Ultraman's movie made more than 50 mill in box office.