OCTOBER, 3


DR. JONES AND THE CURSED TREASURE

Adventure

The Cast: Ewan McGregor, Rachel McAdams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tim Roth, Naomi Watts, Jet Li, Michael Clarke Duncan.

The Director and Producer: Steven Spielberg
The Screenwriter: Joey Stark

The Plot: The story is set in the beginning of the 20th Century, when Doctor Henry Jones (E. McGregor) – future father of Indiana Jones – is still a young man.

Phineas Holloughby (T.Roth), an eccentric british millionaire, has as its favourite hobby the search of old lost treasures. He has been obsessed for years with the so called ‘Jewel Of Wan’, which according to its legend is the most beautiful lost treasure from the 15th Century Malaysian buccaneers. Holloughby has recently found an old and indecipherable parchment that is supposed to mark where the Jewel of Wan is.

He visits Doctor Henry Jones, as an expert in dead languages and symbols, asking him to decipher the parchment. Dr. Jones, not much of an adventurer himself, tells him that he is not interested in doing it as the legend says that those who find the Jewel of Wan will die in the most terrible way. A few days later, Dr. Jones’ wife, Julia (R.McAdams) disappears. And Jones receives a copy of the parchment and a letter: if he wants to see Julia alive again, he will have to go to Malaysia and find the Jewel of Wan.

So a new adventure begins for Dr. Jones…

Jones flies to the Malaysian islands with his friend, the funny and clumsy Profesor Humpting (P.S.Hoffman). They begin following the trace of the ancient legendary buccaneer called Red Heart, who is said to be the last man who owned the Jewel. They hire a small boat to visit the little islands where the buccaneers used to hide. The pilot of the boat is the nice Barney (Michael Clarke Duncan), who soon becomes their friend. The three men will sail through the islands, having different mishaps on their way, from the attack of a giant snake to the risk of sinking into a whirlpool.

Visiting the island where Red Heart’s hideout was said to be, they are surprisingly attacked by a band of renegades leaded by the mysterious Chang Lu (J.Li). They are taken as prisoners and taken to a cavern. There, they meet with Andrea Ormond (N.Watts), a speleologist also taken prisoner by the band. Jones asks Chang Lu about the Jewel of Wan. Chang Lu tells him that he is a direct descendant of Red Heart and his mission in life is to maintain in secret the place where the Jewel is. So, when he sees Jones’ interest in finding the Jewel, he decides to execute Dr. Jones and his friends.

Jones, Humpting, Andrea and Barney are tied up to the cavern’s rocks and abandoned as the tide begins to rise and drown them. Barney uses all his strength to break the ropes and free them all. They climb out of the cavern with great danger. To scape from the island, they assault the guardians of one of Chang Lu’s boats and sail away. Chang Lu and his men follow them in other boat and try to board them. There is a big fight in the most classic pirate way with swords and everything and, surprisingly, they get to beat Chang Lu’s fierce men. Now, Chang Lu is their prisoner. Dr. Jones convinces Chang Lu that the Jewel is in danger and to tell him where the Jewel is so it can be protected from bad people. He has no option but trust Jones and tells him where it is.

The whole group hires a balloon to fly to the mountain where the Jewel is hidden. The balloon starts to lose air when they are flying and they hardly survive. Finally, after a difficult landing, they are at the Solitaire Mountain, another island. They have to climb the mountain, where they are attacked by a flock of vultures and survive to an avalanche of rocks.

Finally, they are on top of the mountain… and Phineas Holloughby, Julia and a few armed guys are waiting for them there. Andrea reveals herself as Holloughby’s accomplice. She never was a speleologist but another seeker of the Jewel. When she knew where the Jewel was, she told Phineas, who was waiting nearby.

The Jewel is inside a death volcano. Phineas obliges Jones to descend into it or he will kill Julia. So Jones climbs down the insides of the rocky and dangerous volcano. He finds the little arch where the Jewel is kept behind a little temple of rocks and, as soon as he takes it, the volcano seems to wake up. It is the curse of the Jewel, says Chang Lu.

Lava starts to flow quickly. Phineas takes the Jewel and liberates Julia. The balloon is burst. The only way to leave the island is in Phineas’ boat, where there’s only room for him, Andrea and the armed guys. Lava starts to fall down the hills. The bad guys are leaving on the boat. The good guys, abandoned at the island, quickly cut a few bamboo branches and improvise a weak boat. They quickly sail away from the coast as the lava is reaching the beach.

The bamboo boat is falling apart and they will soon sink. They see sharks all around them. But something happens in Phineas’ boat. It’s not that far and they can see everything. Phineas is opening the arch. As he looks inside, a ray of light comes out of the arch and covers the whole boat. And Phineas, Andrea and all the guys in it burn with flames coming out from their own bodies.

At that moment, Chang Lu jumps into the water. Sharks go for him but he swims so fast until he reaches Phineas’ boat. Chang Lu closes the arch and put out all the flames. Jones, Barney, Julia and Humpting reach Phineas’ boat just when their bamboo boat is sinking.

‘Only the descendants of Red Heart can see the Jewel. The curse says that any stranger seeing it will burn into ashes as fast as the number of their sins may be’, Chang Lu tells them. So they safely sail to the coast, with the Jewel remaining kept in the arch, and the adventure ends as the boat disappears in the sunset.


Stark’s Comment: It’s been quite some time since ‘Dr. Jones and the Sword of Faith’. After watching ‘Indy IV’, my younger brother came to me with the idea of retaking the character of Indy’s father in his younger years. Did I have any option (he’s my only brother after all)? Seriously now, I like this classic concept of adventure movie with a character less heroic than his iconic son. Dr. Jones is more an intellectual that hates action but he is always forced to it. Hope it works (at least enough to keep my brother happy).

CIVILIZATION M

Sci-Fi

The Cast: Eric Bana, Brendan Fraser, Halle Berry, Harrison Ford.

The Director: Roland Emmerich
The Screenwriter: Josh Collins

The Plot: A peculiar science fiction film which takes place in the future. The people speak of a greater evil, aliens invading their planet. A well respected scientist (E.Bana) has been keeping research and "watching the skies" for any strange activity and has been reporting to the president of the nation (H.Ford).

The president would then go on to explain to his people what is going on with the research while trying to keep them calm. In preparation of any future invasions, the army begins training specifically for alien attacks, which brings about the subplot of a soldier (B.Fraser) who had left his newlywed wife (H.Berry) and infant child at home to fight for his country.

The invasions happen throughout the film and many casualties are among the people which this film centers around. The invaders would leave and the people would think of tactics and bigger, better weapons to counter the attacks should they return. The scientist continues his research and finds that the invaders are doing this because they fear this civilization will get to them first.


In the final battle the people manage to take out the invader's mother ship. They soon discover that these invaders are...human beings from Earth.

In the film you're led to believe that these "people" are Earth humans and that the invaders are just the everyday Hollywood little green men, but in actuality, the roles are reversed! Aliens who are living their own daily lives not so different from human being lives who are invaded by humans who have built their own weapons and spaceships of war to get to the aliens before the aliens get to them. Taking the point of view from the alien perspective, who are just everyday beings who have no knowledge of life beyond the stars and live their daily lives and are invaded by a mysterious otherworldly species!

This film pays homage to those old films and shows like Twilight Zone that made us think 'who are we'


Stark’s Comment: Collins steps into sci-fi with what he has described as a Twilight Zone’s episodes kind of story. An alien invasion with a twist. Everything is so appealing around this pitch that (I think) it has to work almost inevitably.

THE FUNERAL DRUM

Cops / Action

The Cast: Sean Penn, Julia Roberts, Jeffrey Wright, Ryan Gosling, Keanu Reeves, Clint Eastwood, Rosario Dawson, Edward Burns, William Hurt.

The Director: Michael Mann
The Screenwriters: James Bradley & Joey Stark

The Plot: Los Angeles, California. Richard Osborne (R.Gosling), a LAPD officer, gets involved in a gunshot with members of the dangerous latin gang in an abandoned warehouse. Osborne is in a desperate situation. He shoots his gun in the dark and a gang member falls dead. The victim was armed and shooting the officer too. The problem? After he kills him, Osborne discovers the victim is only a 14 year old kid.

Osborne is rapidly crucified by the media. The prestigious journalist Claire Simpson (J.Roberts), a well known defender of civil rights, denounces it as a case of police brutality. The politically ambitious district attorney John Callaghan (Edward Burns) – by the way, Claire’s boyfriend – quickly accuses Osborne of homicide. Osborne is arrested and formally accused of murder.

The latin community of LA is on fire with the scandal. There are riots and loots. Police cars are destroyed. A few districts become almost an outlaw area. The leader of the gang, Soares, promote the riots and the attacks against policemen. But, at the same time, he appears to the public opinion as a kind of honest and committed community leader looking for peace and justice. Claire even publishes an interview with him praising his work for the community.

Captain Jack O’Leary (S.Penn), head of the precinct in which Osborne worked, finally loses his temper and appears on TV telling what he thinks: Soares is a criminal, a drug dealer, and not any kind of people’s leader. Everything is manipulated. Osborne shot in self-defence and he couldn’t know the victim was only a child. The whole campaign against LAPD and particularly Osborne is rubbish.

Jack is an experienced cop. A tough guy, heavy smoker, twice divorced, rude but honest. He has been fighting against gangs all of his life. His main target lately is arresting Soares. Some people say that he is obsessed with being as good policeman as his father, Ray O’Leary (C.Eastwood), a now retired cop, a legend in LAPD. The truth is that Jack and Ray have a great relationship and Jack often looks for his advice.

After Jack’s tv appearance, he becomes the most unpopular guy in LA. Some media call him ‘fascist’. A writing appears in his car: ‘Kids Killer’. The Mayor (W.Hurt) presses him to behave and accept Osborne has to pay for his crime. Callaghan pictures Jack as a defender of brutality. But Jack ignores it all.

He keeps trying to put up together evidences against Soares. He has an undercover agent, Ana (R.Dawson), infiltrated in Soares’ drug traffic organization. Also, he has the help of another officer, Tom (K.Reeves). What Jack does not know is that Tom is a drug addict and, in fact, he buys his drug to Soares.

Claire visits Jack. And, although they have nothing in common, there is an immediate attraction between them. In fact, they will soon initiate a secret sexual relationship although they are confronted due to their different points of views.

As Osborne’s trial begins, things get worse and worse in the streets. Riots increase. Violence is out of control. Attorney Callaghan appears as the leader of civil rights for the community. Claire keeps writing articles against police brutality – but also having sex encounters with Jack, in a contradictory but passionate relationship – and Jack keeps trying to protect his district and return it to law and order.

Jack sees a chance to prove who Soares really is and change public opinion. Ana tells him about a drug operation he is about to make. Jack prepares everything to capture him. But things complicate…

Tom, broken by all the pressure, is demanding more and more drug from Soares. He has no money to pay his debts with him so accepts to exchange drug for useful information: Tom tells Soares that Ana is in fact an undercovered police woman…

Ana is stabbed and murdered. When Jack knows it, he gets out of control… He tells Claire she has to know the truth about that ‘so called people’s hero’. So he takes her with him when the drug operation is going to take place in LA’s decks. Police appears and there’s a tremendous gunfight. Claire has her camera with her. She takes pictures while cops and criminals fight.

Finally, Jack faces Soares. Claire sees it all. Jack and Soares fight. During the fight, Jack puts his gun in Soares’ head. He is going to shoot. Claire shouts him not to do it. Jack doubts, but finally arrest him instead of killing him in cold blood.

Next day, Claire publishes some pictures from the gunfight. Some of them show young kids armed and shooting. That makes a great impact on public opinion. And now everyone knows who Soares really is and does. Some papers say that Callaghan has ruined his political career unfairly chasing policemen just to look popular. And the major even makes a public appearance supporting Jack’s work – after having been denostating it for weeks.

Osborne is declared innocent of homicide as the jury accepts he acted in self-defence. That very same day, Tom appears dead in his apartment. He has shot himself. Jack is the only one to see his suicide note where he confesses he was a drug addict and Ana was murdered because of him. Jack hides the note to everyone.

The final sequence is Tom’s official funeral ceremony. Jack and Osborne are there. Claire too. Claire and Jack meet there after weeks without seeing each other. ‘How do you feel, Jack?’, Claire asks him. ‘Dry as a funeral drum’, answers Jack. They walk away together from the graveyard.

The movie ends.


Stark’s Comment: I know how hard Bradley and beloved brother Joey have worked on this screenplay. They wanted to develop a classic concept of cops movie. I think they have chosen a great cast and a great director so, although I do not expect it to be a blockbuster, it should work well enough. Have a happy week, Joey.


THE NAKED SUN: Ian Holm, GMA Best Villain winner for ‘Pompeii’, returns to the villain role in this sequel of ‘The Caves Of Steel’ being directed by Brett Ratner. Also in the cast, Guy Pearce, whose only previous work for the Studio was ‘Syndrome: Paradise Lost’. Pearce plays here a positronic android.

LOBO’S BACK: Here it is. The sequel to ‘Lobo’ (B.O.: 93 mill, Net Gains: 66 mill.). Written again by Ben Tyler and Matt Kubrick. Directed again by Robert Rodriguez. Starred again by Vin Diesel. But we promise there will be a lot of new things in it.

CHANGE OF HEART: Some returns to CMP in this cast: Mark Ruffalo (‘Indigo Prophecy’, ‘Piece Of My Heart’); Jennifer Connelly, not seen in the Studio since ‘Three Wooden Crosses’; and Ariel Gade, the child star seen in movies like ‘No Evil’, ’72 Hours’ and ‘The Towering Inferno’.

MALEFICARUM: New pitch from David Makalaster, who jumps from the future of ‘Bullet Witch’ to this story about witches that takes place in 1590. So Makalaster and witches team up again this Season. After a few failed attempts, Sofia Coppola finally makes her debut behind the cameras in CMP. Sean Penn, just finished his work in ‘The Funeral Drum’, keeps busy starring this historical drama.

PATERNAL NIGHTMARE: A trio of female stars for this Comedy: Renné Zellwegger, finally making her debut in CMP; another debutante, AnnSophia Robb; and Amy Adams, who had been previously seen in another Josh Collins’ pitch, ‘Babes In Toyland’.

THE CHINESE BRIDE: And she is no other than Ziyi Zhang, in her third movie for the Studio after ‘Nagasaki Daydreams’ and ‘Five Thunderbolts’. Zhang plays the woman that kills the man she was sold to as a wife in this courtroom drama directed by Ang Lee.

THE CRITIC: Morgan Freeman already worked with director Rob Reiner in another John Daws’ story, the mockumentary ‘No More Bush!’. There, Morgan only lend his voice. This time, he works in front of the cameras in his second reunion with Reiner and Daws.

THE THINKING MAN: Eric Bana keeps jumping from one set to another this Season. After ‘Bullet Witch’ and this week’s release ‘Civilization M’, he joins this shootage playing a more relaxed character than in those other two films. And another surprising addition to the cast: no other than David Hasselhoff makes his debut in CMP here playing Jim Carrey’s boss.

THE MANOR: David Lynch returns to CMP after the disappointment of ‘Little Tin Goddess’ in this Richard Franzwa’s pitch. Some sources from CMP have said that ‘this is the strangest production ever developed by the Studio’. Intriguing. Two names from the cast are already known: Steve Martin - a peculiar choice for a Lynch’s movie - not seen in CMP since ‘Welcome To Summer Camp’; and Emma Thompson, who made her debut in CMP past Season with the thriller ‘Daisy Lane’.

THE AVENGERS 2: It may have taken a lot of money to satisfy his demands but finally it is confirmed that Edward Norton joins this franchise playing again The Incredible Hulk. Gore Verbinski has almost finished the shooting of this sequel.


CIVILIZATION M
An Interview with Josh Collins
By Stephanie Stevens

GMA Winner Josh Collins is synonymous with deeply depressing dramas such as Velcro and Blink. Opening this week, however, he has stepped into a new territory of science fiction, a genre most to all other of CMP's current writers have done. But he tells his story from a peculiar perspective which I can not say right now as it would spoil the ending.

S: The first question on my mind is what does that M stand for. Why is it important to have in the title?

J: It's not totally significant, just didn't want to confuse people into thinking it's based on the CPU game, Civilization. I didn't want to put 'X' because that's just too obvious, I would say the 'M' stands as the roman numeral for 1000.

S: What was your inspiration for this film?

J: I already had the ending in mind. We've seen the typical alien invasion plot many times before, but not quite how this film portrays it. And if there have been movies with the same ending, it's very rare. As I wrote it I thought how much it reminded me of how Twilight Zone episodes usually ended up that always made the audience think.

S: We heard from sources you were having a hard time getting a crew together for the film. How was that?

J: Just like most of my other big budget special effects fantasy film, Legend of Zelda, it was hard finding a crew. I was hoping one of the big stars like The Rock or Will Smith would at least take the offer. But, I was very happy with the choice of Brenden Fraser whom I feel fits the role a lot better anyway. I was surprised and honored to get Harrison Ford right off the bat, sure it's a role as a President like he did with Air Force One, but doesn't he just have that President aurora about him? Halle is very good in action and I certainly bought the relationship better with her and Brenden than the other offers.As for a director, I don't think Spielberg likes me. Or he's trying to get away from the science fiction type movies. It was considered but not accepted. And it wasn't the first time his names been brought up in a pitch of mine only to have it denied. Roland may not have been my first choice, but he can do some good work and it's not entirely special effects kind of film as it more focuses on the relationship among the people who are preparing, reacting and wanting to fight with the invaders.

S: What do you want out of the film?

J: It's something that pays more homage to the older days of science fiction cinema. I would like moviegoers to have a good time and to be left with the lasting impression which the ending should give them. I just hope it doesn't flop. Or at least flop too badly!

S: Thanks for your time, Josh!


As always, CMP’s stars keep visiting the most popular late night shows to talk about their new releases and their careers. Here we have a selection of the latest visits to Jay Leno’s The Tonigh Show to promote their latest CMP’s movies: Ewan McGregor, starring this week ‘Dr. Jones and the Cursed Treasure’; Eric Bana, also starring this week ‘Civilization M’; and Robert Downey Jr., star of ‘Fallout’ and coming back soon as Ironman in ‘The Avengers 2’.




Here is the kind of juicy controversy I love. Some Asian CMP’s stars like Jet Li, Gong Li, Ziyi Zhang, Ang Lee or Jackie Chan have signed a public statement protesting about some recent words from our movie critic Mr. Thumb. On his recent review of ‘Q*Bert’, Mr. Thumb wrote: ‘Asians in films are like kids and "little persons", whatever they say or do is always going to be cute’. On their statement, these stars consider Mr. Thumb’s words ‘inappropriate and offensive’. In the statement, the stars claim an apology from Mr. Thumb ‘as these words may be considered as an unacceptable racist comment’. Wow…

Mystery solved. Nobody knew if, after the death of JJ / Colin Farrel in ‘Hitman: Shadow Of A Legend’, this meant the end of the franchise or not. Finally, John Daws has decided to clarify things with the following public statement:
‘Hitman's last episode will be the last for the forseeable future. From it's controversial beginnings about plagiarism through to it's controversial crucifixtion scene this series i believe has grown and grown and for now outgrown itself. Everybody involved in all the movies has said this is the right time to end. It really was JJ's story and now he is no longer involved i think the story ends with him.
That is not to say the universe is dead. There are still a lot of unexplained parts to the Hitman universe and maybe one day I will bring those stories to light.
Thank you everyone involved and to the fans who watch the films.’
So now everything is clear: there will be no more Hitman’s movies… or there will be?

Coincidences happen. In just one week, two new pitches have arrived to CMP’s offices both involving legend guitarist Jimi Hendrix. One of them, from Richard Franzwa, has Hendrix as a minor character. The other one, from Josh Collins, is a biopic of him. So get ready next Season for ‘hendrixmania’ in CMP!

And talking about ‘-manias’. Some journalists say this is a sequelmania Season in CMP, as so many sequels are being released. But it can also be considered a mattkubrickmania, as we have almost a Kubrick’s release per week. Another option? Ericbanamania. Yes, Bana is living one of those sweet moments (previous to oblivion? Remember Claire Danes, once multi-employed and now forgotten) in the Studio. Three movies have him in the cast this Season: the already released ‘Bullet Witch’ and the upcoming releases ‘Civilization M’ and ‘The Thinking Man’. Be careful, Eric, too much may not be too good.

How many times have we written here that Marcus Trax has retired from CMP? When it was stated that ‘The Thinking Man’ would be his farewell project in CMP, the once hyperactive and now unpredictable Mr. Trax has reappeared with a new pitch for the Studio. A fantasy tale that will probably be developed next Season. Does that mean that there is still hope for a third Dungeons & Dragons movie?

Well, Season 8 reaches its 15 releases. First balance? A tough Season for the Studio. Yes, I know, we had ‘The Ice Princess’, that little animated movie that turned everyone crazy, but Season 8 may finish as a hard time for the Studio. After 15 releases, only two productions overcome the magic ‘100’: that frozen princess and ‘Q*Bert’ (power to the silliest movies!) while the Studio has already suffered four flops – something that had not happened for long: the financial disaster of ‘Night Cab’ with net losses of 32 millions (!!!), the extreme disappointment of the wonderful ‘1066’ – with a painful net loss of 22 millions – and those minor disasters that were ‘The Killing Run’ and ‘The 6th Avenue Castaways’. Some releases expected to become major hits – from ‘The Running Man’ to the fifth Hitman or the second Lieutenant USA’s adventure – have stayed in a nowhere land not flopping but not becoming the blockbuster they were expected to be. After a few Seasons full of triumphalism, it looks like sun is not shining that much anymore for the guys at CMP.

THE MID-SEASON WORLWIDE GROSS TOP 5

Box Office / Net Gains

1.THE ICE PRINCESS: 316 / 320
2.Q*BERT: 110 / 96
3.WILD CARDS: DOUBLE SOLITAIRE: 97 / 74
4.BULLET WITCH: 95 / 56
5.HITMAN: SHADOW OF A LEGEND: 82 / 58