JANUARY, 18

MOVIES IN DEVELOPMENT

T.Y.M. 3 (provisional title): ‘T.Y.M.’ was one of the first movies ever produced by CMP. The sci-fi comedy, starred by Tobey Maguire and Jessica Alba, made a great 199 mill. box office. Later, a sequel was developed with Brendan Fraser - who played a supporting role in the original movie - starring it together with Jennifer Love-Hewitt. Now, although that second episode wasn’t as successful as expected, a third movie is announced and the starring couple of the second one is confirmed to be back.

TOWERING INFERNO: Bill Cougan goes on with his plans of making a remake of this classic. Cougan has said that more than a remake, the movie pretends to be just based in the original one. John McTiernan, who has directed for CMP the hit ‘Bullitt’ and the flop ‘Ace Banner 2’, is the first candidate to take control of the cameras.

POMPEII: James Bradley, who had a solid hit with the historical adventure ‘The Toymaker’, including six nominations for the GMA, will look back now to the ancient Rome to tell the drama of the legendary city destroyed by a volcano in this epic project. Wolfgang Petersen could have a second chance to succeed in CMP after failing with ‘The Bridge’.

DREAM OF A KING: A biopic of Martin Luther King could not be directed by any other but Spike Lee, making his debut in CMP. Joshua Collins is behind this major production and it is said that Laurence Fishburne will play Dr. King after being summitted to a deep physical change.

HF: Provisional title for this candidate to major blockbuster. Michael Bay, a man with a long history in CMP as director and producer (Robotech, Wild Cards, ‘Westworld’) will return to action with this explosive story involving terrorists and loads of testosterone.

MCMILLAN & WIFE 2 (provisional title): The first McMillan movie, starred by Harrison Ford and Rene Russo, was a surprising megahit, making 120 mill. in box office. That’s the reason why Harry Stark insisted Bill Cougan to write a sequel, although he wasn’t exactly keen on the idea. But, finally, here it is.

OMEGA: Very little is known yet about this Marcus Trax’s story. The only thing known is that, together with HF, Trax pretends to focus on big budget projects in the beginning of this Season.

BLOOD BEACH: We all know by now that Matt Kubrick loves B-series horror movies. With changing luck, he has jumped into the screaming genre with quite a few projects by now, from the brilliant ‘Cursed Neverland’ to the disappointing ‘London Underground’, not forgetting the Darkman’s movies or his resurrection of Jason Vorhees. Well, here he is again betting for a classic teen scream concept: college, sexy girls and a serial killer.

THE CAVES OF STEEL: And we also know that Steve Connors loves sci-fi and has faced the genre from both a serious (‘Space Quest’, ‘The Guardians’) and hilarious (‘Ultraman’, ‘The Shrinking Man’) perspectives. Now, he gets more than serious to translate into images Isaac Asimov’s thriller sci-fi book. The original book is the first of a trilogy so this one might be the beginning of a franchise if it works.

GOTHS: And, besides horror, Matt Kubrick gets tender with this love story between two teenagers. Harry Stark has asked him to make some re-writes in the original screenplay before going on with the project.

A LOOK AT… CMP’S SCREENWRITERS

This looks as a good moment to remember who are the brains behind CMP's stories:

MARCUS TRAX
Profile: Trax likes to combine mega-productions with low budget dramas. Responsible of some of CMP’s major sagas, he has also set up a solid team with director David Mamet and star Johnny Depp that has given CMP some of its most critically acclaimed productions (‘Smoke Signals’, ‘No Evil’, ‘Parody Of Arts’). Trax is ahead of his own production company: Trax Star Pictures.
Major Achivements: The Star Wars movies and making dramas work at box office
Some Flops: He couldn’t make it with animation (‘Happy Hamsters’) nor epics (‘The Bridge’, ‘The Library’)
Franchises: ‘Star Wars’ (three movies) and ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ (two movies). The future of ‘Planetside’ is yet unknown.
Awards: Still waiting for his first nomination as writer or director.

JOSHUA COLLINS
Profile: Still a short career, Collins likes to direct his own screenplays. He does not seem to look for big blockbusters but for quality productions with a touch of classicism. Future will tell where his career can take him to.
Major Achivements: The critical reception for the peculiar ‘Hollyweird’.
Some Flops: Not yet, but his movies ’72 Hours’ and ‘Hollyweird’ didn’t make it at box office as well as expected.
Franchises: Does not seem to be interested in sequels.
Awards: Looking for his first GMA both as writer and director for ‘Hollyweird’.

JAMES BRADLEY
Profile: Bradley’s main worry seems to be running away from any cliché. He has given a try to all kind of genres from musical (‘Piece Of My Heart’) to historical adventure (‘The Toymaker’), drama (‘Chevrolet’) and comedies with a difference (‘Fools Game’, ‘Bill and the Rocket Man’, ‘Paperback Story’).
Major Achivements: Not much of a box office’s favourite, but his movies usually provide some benefits. And critics just seem to loyally follow his proposals.
Some Flops: The kitsch ‘Piece Of My Heart’, far away from the main CMP’s musical hit, ‘Carousel’.
Franchises: Don’t even dare to talk him about sequels. He hates them.
Awards: A regular at the GMA. Two wins in a row as screenwriter with ‘Fools Game’ and ‘The Toymaker’ and a nomination for ‘Chevrolet’.

BILL COUGAN
Profile: Can be defined as the official ‘remaker’. He seems to love the 70’s, as his two movies by the moment – ‘McMillan & Wife’ and ‘Get Christie Love!’ – were remakes of 70’s tv shows and he has already announced his intention of writing a new version of the 70’s classic ‘The Towering Inferno’.
Major Achivements: Surprisingly, ‘McMillan & Wife’ became an unexpected megahit.
Some Flops: Surprisingly, ‘Get Christie Love!’ became an unexpected megaflop.
Franchises: Stark has convinced him to write a sequel for McMillan although he wasn’t very excited with the idea.
Awards: Not yet. His kind of stories are not much of the award favourite type.

MATT KUBRICK
Profile: Versatile and unpredictable, Kubrick loves mainly horror movies and B-series spirit production. Far away from Hollywood’s mainstream, Kubrick always dares to take risks with low budget productions. He has tried almost every genre with different results. A cult author. Regularly teams up with Michael Bay and Quentin Tarantino. And he has created the production company Midnight Movies.
Major Achivements: Kubrick does not care much about box office but more about originality. To be remembered: a horror masterpiece (‘Cursed Neverland’) and the appealing animation saga ‘Robotech’. Also, the classic war epic drama ‘Home’.
Franchises: Besides Robotech (will there be a fourth episode?), the cult saga ‘Wild Cards’ (will there be the announced spin off?) and maybe the sequels of his vampires fantasy ‘Syndrome’. Does not seem like Darkman, from ‘Fear The Darkness’, will ever resurrect after three episodes.
Some Flops: ‘Calvin and Hobbes’, ‘London Underground’ and the failed saga of ‘Ace Banner’, not the mention the legendary flop ‘Tales Of The Jedi’.
Awards: Nominations for the screenplays of ‘Wild Cards’ and ‘Home’

TED FROATS
Profile: Peculiar is the perfect word to describe his stories. Characters hardly survive in them. From ‘Saving Samantha Moss’ and ‘Contract Killing For Dummies’ to ‘Flashes Of Life’, death is quite of a presence in his brilliant dramas. Another author that can’t be stereotyped. Definitive talented.
Major Achivements: Not much of a blockbusters author, his movies go more on the side of the critics acclaim. No doubt, the awarded musical ‘Carousel’ is his best work up until now.
Some Flops: It was a shame that the brilliant ‘Saving Samantha Moss’ didn’t make it at box office.
Franchises: Will finally ‘Cell Mates’ become a trilogy? Or the controversy around its poster – marijuana included - together with its uncertain genre – was it a comedy or a drama? – will make him forget about his original plans?
Awards: Already won the GMA for his adaptation of ‘Carousel’. Next edition, he’ll have two options: the original story ‘Flashes Of Life’ and the country song adaptation (!!), ‘Three Wooden Crosses’.

STEVE CONNORS
Profile: Sci-fi is his world. Connors is the man for any story far away from reality. His screenplays include more FXs than words. Visionary, Connors will sure become a reference in the story of Sci-Fi, with CMP’s classics like ‘Westworld’ or ‘The Guardians’.
Major Achivements: He hasn’t wrote yet his definitive sci-fi blockbuster. His peculiar remake of ‘Westworld’ is probably his best movie.
Some Flops: The trilogy ‘Space Quest’. Pretended to become a kind of Star Wars megahit… but never was.
Franchises: The semi-failed ‘Space Quest’ and the Ultraman comedies. His upcoming new movie, ‘The Caves Of Steel’, may become another one.
Awards: Why sci-fi movies are always mistreated by all kind of awards ceremonies?

JOHN DAWS
Profile: Some times very ‘british’ (‘South East’), some times very ‘american’ (‘Game Boy’), Daws is mainly known as the author of the cult trilogy ‘Hitman’ (nothing to do with the pc game and its recent movie version!). Talented, very talented guy.
Major Achivements: A unique landmark: none of his movies have ever lost a cent (or penny). Daws makes the perfect mix between quality and box office.
Some Flops: Amazing, but any.
Franchises: ‘Hitman’, with prequels announced included. And maybe the megahit ‘Game Boy’ and the Stark’s favourite ‘Lieutenant USA’.
Awards: Unfair, but his screenplays have not ever been nominated.

JOEY STARK
Profile: The official Head of CMP’s Screenwriters Department. The younger brother of Harry Stark develops CMP’s projects not coming from the rest of screenwriters. Joey and his people have written for almost any genre.
Major Achivements: Probably, his best story has been the CMP’s classic ‘The Crusades’.
Some Flops: The embarrassing teen comedies ‘Poor Little Rich Boy’ and ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’.
Franchises: One of the most prestigious CMP’s trilogies, ‘The Heirs’. Also ‘Captain America’, now necessarily finished after the death of the superhero. Now he’ll try to revitalize ‘T.Y.M.’
Awards: Three nominations: ‘Crusades’, ‘The Heirs’ and ‘Warland’.

RUMOURS AND GOSSIPS

Looking for the Stars: It seems like, alter 5 months of inactivity, CMP needs fresh money to go on. So Harry Stark is looking for some sure bets to feed his money pig. How? Trying to involve major stars in his new movies, as the best guarantee to reach tasty box offices. Some names in the target: Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie…

Sequelmania again?: Stark wants to reactivate some franchises that have proved to be profitable for the Studio. Although not confirmed yet, these are some of the CMP’s sagas that could be returning soon: Wild Cards, Syndrome, Dungeons & Dragons and Hitman.

No returning? Probably, the talented movie critic Misterbaldy and the acclaimed writer and director Jack Hammer won’t be returning to CMP. According to confidential sources, both were so disappointed with a new rule established by CMP in the GMA: those who did not vote for nominations are not allowed to vote for the winners. Both expressed Stark their strong disagreement with this rule and announced they would not keep working with CMP due to this. So a return is not expected as Stark won’t change a rule he considers pretty reasonable. Anyway, Stark has privately said that he would be more than happy having them both back.

SPECIAL REPORT: GMA NOMINATIONS
By Anne Roman

Surprises? Not many really. Intimate dramas are the winners in this edition’s nominations. That’s the headline to analyze a GMA edition that has left aside major productions. Epic stories with high budgets like ‘The Crusades’, ‘Uncommon Valour’, ‘Star Wars: New Order’ and ‘The Great War Series: Storm Breaks’ were the previous Best Picture winners at the GMA. This time, whatever happens at the ceremony, the winner will be a low budget movie. Big productions have been ignored in favour of movies focussed on human stories.

In fact, the three movies nominated for Best Picture didn’t make it at the box office. ‘Nagasaki Daydreams’, now with 6 nominations, only made 2 mill. and lost 33 mill., which places it at the top 5 of CMP’s biggest flops. ‘Hollyweird’ made a poor box office (33 mill.) and only ‘Parody Of Arts’ reached a decent breakdown (71 mill.). So, this time, voters and audiences have gone their very own separate ways and we could end up watching how one of CMP’s biggest financial disasters becomes the winner of the night.

About the stars… we can find some talents specialized in being nominated. Many returns and not too many surprises (beyond watching Sylvester Stallone in a nominations list… wow!). Names like Jack Nicholson, Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton or Scarlet Johansson are becoming familiar at the GMA ceremonies.

So, as usual, nominations become predictable. But who said awards were created to innovate?

The Ignored – Movies

The Great War Series: Final Thunder: The two first episodes of Hammer’s WWII saga became GMA favourites. ‘Darkening Skies’ got 5 nominations (but not a single award) and ‘Storm Breaks’ got 6, winning Best Picture and Best Director. This time, ‘Final Thunder’ has only got a minor nomination for Best Marketing. Voters just got tired of supporting the concept?

Wild Cards. Ace In The Hole: Although the redefinition of the franchise was strongly supported by critics and moviegoers, voters forgot the third episode of the freakest CMP’s franchise.

22:01: In a GMA edition where 17 out of 30 movies have got at least one nomination, did this peculiar Tarantino’s movie deserved to be so ignored?

A few quality blockbusters didn’t get the attention of the voters: ‘Legend of the Last Lawman’ didn’t get any mention and ‘The Guardians’ was only remembered for Best Villain. Maybe both deserved a bit more (not so sure about another ignored one: ‘Star Wars: Balance Of The Force’, an exhausting ending of another exhausting saga). Oh, and ‘Planetside’… a severe punishment for another interesting production.

The Ignored – Stars

Peter O’Toole: Probably, the best performance of the season was O’Toole’s work in ‘Parody Of Arts’. The movie has been nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. But what about the acting job of its stars? The unfair event of this edition is, no doubt, ignoring O’Toole.

Claire Danes and Jennifer Connelly: Although I wasn’t very interested in the religious ‘Three Wooden Crosses’, both actresses made a very good job in it that could have deserved some recognition. Well, at least both already have the GMA’s statue at home.

Supermario: The star of ‘Game Boy’ also deserved to be in the list. Just kidding…

The Returns

Many returns this time. Just a quick reference:

Ted Froats: Winning Best Screenplay for ‘Carousel’ does not seem to be enough for him. This time, he has placed two of his stories in that same category: ‘Three Wooden Crosses’ and ‘Flashes Of Life’.

Scarlet Johansson: Previously nominated for Best Supporting Actress twice (‘Chevrolet’ and ‘Paperback Story’), this time goes for the big one, Best Actress, in her third attempt to bring home a golden statue for free.

Anthony Hopkins: The villain himself. He won Best Villain with ‘Captain America’. Now, he can repeat as the master of villains with ‘The Guardians’.

First win?: Edward Norton didn’t make it as Best Villain with ‘Checkmate’. Now he’s got his chance as Best Actor.

Previous winners returning: Jack Nicholson (won Supporting Actor for ‘September’s Gone’, now fights for Villain and Starring Couple); Johnny Depp (Best Villain for ‘Uncommon Valour’ and now going for Starring Couple with Jack); Robert Downey Jr. (looking to repeat as Best Supporting Actor after winning it with ‘Home’); Daniel Craig (another Villain awarded for ‘Star Wars: New Order’, now fighting for Best Actor); and Robin Williams (first winner as Best Actor for ‘Deadly Sins’, now trying to repeat).

The Prediction

Don’t know why, but one of GMA’s traditions is that the most nominated movies do not finally become the most awarded. And don’t know why but I have the feeling that this could happen again with Clint Eastwood’s ‘Nagasaki Daydreams’.

Don’t know either what to think about ‘Parody Of Arts’. Nominated only in major categories (Picture and Director), the lack of acting nominations makes me think it won’t make it at the end.

So my bet goes for ‘Hollyweird’. Also, this could be the time at last for a regular at the nominations list, Scarlet Johansson, who made a wonderful job as the bullimic ‘parishiltonesque’ star.

And probably it will be the time for Nicholson Show. I presume he will be up on stage to pick some statue.

Best Actor? Well, ‘The Story Of Me’ was a kind of a One Man Show movie, so Williams deserves the statue… at least just for the hard work of being in each and every take of the movie.

TOP 6 – ALLTIME WORLWIDE GROSS

Lets remember too which movies are the cream of the crop at box office:
(Movies from CMP’s 1st Season not included as they were produced under an easier HM’s version)

Box Office / Net Gains

1-STAR WARS: NEW ORDER: 229 / 250
2-GAME BOY: 211 / 242
3-THE GREAT WAR SERIES: DARKENING SKIES: 206 / 238
4-DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: 194 / 231
5-THE GREAT WAR SERIES: STORM BREAKS: 188 / 205
6-STAR WARS: MYSTERIES OF THE SITH: 173 / 167