MAY, 30

MOVIES RELEASED

1-DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

Fantasy / Adventure
Directed and Produced by Peter Jackson
Starring Nicholas Cage, Bruce Willis, Claire Danes, Andy Sirkis, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Anne Hathaway, Jon Favreau
Box Office: 194 mill.
Net Gains: 231 mill.



CMP Reaction: Box Office did not reach the 200 mill. landmark. But this movie has been the bestselling CMP’s DVD ever, so net gains reach 231 mill. Magnificent breakdown for an outstanding visual show. Predictably, the beginning of another major franchise.

2-NINE

Comedy / Musical
Directed by Rob Marshall
Starring Antonio Banderas, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jennifer Lopez, Monica Bellucci, Catherine Z. Jones
Box Office: 49 mill.
Net Gains: 3 mill.

CMP Reaction: Saved by the bell. A great musical that at least recovered production costs. More than enough for such a difficult genre.

THE CRITICS CORNER

1-DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

“Jackson is back to the epics of ‘Lord Of The Rings’. ‘Bigger than life’ is not enough to describe this big, very big production. The problem with this kind of movies is that some times the luxurious and sophisticated wrapper eats the story itself. But not this time. The storyline is so entertaining and the adventure spirit of it is not overshadowed by the digital paraphernalia and so. Good characters and good plot are the main and indispensable elements to make a good movie beyond special effects and exotic locations. And this one’s got both”
-Wayne Hart

“I was surprised when I saw the names of Cage and Willis related to this kind of movie. It just did not fit. But, after watching it, I must admit it was a good choice. It’s nice to see those two experienced stars instead of some cute teen upcoming talent leading this mega-adventure. Both build up two interesting adventure heroes that may bring a lot of thrill and entertainment to the future of this new saga”.
-Roy Winslow

“The formula: Lord Of The Rings x Star Wars. I must confess I’m not much of a LOTR’s fan. But the ‘Star Wars touch’ (first trilogy, of course), priorizing adventure over epic, and making Willis and Cage a kind of new Luke / Han buddy couple (together with Claire Danes / Leia as the third member of the trio, not to mention other parallelisms such as Holm / Yoda or Lee / Vader) has been an intelligent choice from Jackson. A great movie.”
-Bob Felton

2-NINE

“Marshall has recovered the magic of ‘Chicago’ with this sexy, intelligent and classy musical. Once again, he appeals to the Bob Fosse elegant style instead of the Baz Luhrman’s baroque excesses (remember ‘Piece Of My Heart’ or ‘Moulin Rouge’). Choreographies are just great (much better than music itself) and the whole cast adapts perfectly to their different type of characters translating each personality to the dancing and singing style of each of them”.
-William Prodowski

“If ‘Chicago’ was the obvious heir of ‘Cabaret’, ‘Nine’ is the obvious heir of ‘Chicago’. Marshall does not assume any risk. He uses the narrative techniques seen before in those movies. It is not innovative, but it is a sure formula that always provides an appealing show for musical lovers. So Marshall just copies himself when copying Bob Fosse. The best? Catherine Z. Jones. Although playing a minor role, she shows again how brilliant and sexy she can be when dancing and singing.”
-Lilly Stevens

“This is Antonio Bandera’s show. The whole story moves in circles around him. His character made me remember so much Roy Schneider in ‘All That Jazz’. Banderas deals with the four women, a complex net of relationships, the dancing and the songs. And he survives to it all making a wonderful performance that deserves a major applause.”
-Jack Carter

PREMIERE – DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

When a huge amount of money is spent in a mega-production, all the possible marketing is needed to sell a movie. CMP attracted the attention of fans and media to its latest release ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ with a glamorous premiere in Los Angeles. Walking down the red carpet of Sunset Boulevard’s Chinese Theatre, fans could wave director and producer Peter Jackson and members of the cast such as Nicholas Cage, Jon Favreau, Anne Hathaway or Bruce Willis, who was there with all his family, Demi and Ashton included. Claire Danes was the big absence of the night, as she is in London finishing the shooting of the musical ‘Carousel’.


AWAITING RELEASE

1-THE GREAT WAR SERIES: STORM BREAKS

The Cast: Colin Farrell, Christian Bale, Claire Danes, Hayden Christensen, Jeremy Irons, Adrien Brody

The Director: Peter Weir
The Screenwriter: Jack Hammer

The Plot: 1916 – Europe, as the war continues the Armstrongs find themselves once more thrust into the forefront of the conflict. After the carnage that was the Gallipoli campaign Commander Thomas Armstrong (C.Bale) and Captain Phillip Armstrong (C.Farrell) are hoping for some rest in England only to be thrown into two of the biggest battles of the war.

Thomas is now Inflexible’s first officer as she joins the Grand Fleet in the sortie that may well decide the war at sea – the Battle of Jutland. In France Phillip’s company is deployed to the front lines once more for the Somme, a campaign that will forever scar the English psyche.

Lieutenant George Armstrong (H. Christensen) is assigned to a fighter squadron but finds the novelty of aerial combat wears off quickly under German fire as he battles the “Fokker Scourge” in a do-or-die campaign in the skies over France, and romance finds Anne (C.Danes) in the form of a young Belgian officer wounded in the fighting in Flanders (A.Brody).

Meanwhile in London Major General Richard Armstrong (J. Irons), one of the major planners of the Somme campaign, is faced with a decision that is almost certain to send one of his sons to his grave. But at first Phillip Armstrong seems invulnerable, standing unscathed as all about him German machineguns and artillery turn the ground red with English blood.

Finally after weeks of brutal carnage the advance grinds to a halt and Phillip’s charmed life comes to a bloody end, sending shockwaves through the Armstrongs that threaten to tear them apart.

The Comment: The first episode of this saga was the most surprising success for CMP ever. That kind of miracle will be difficult to repeat. But the Studio feels confident about the success of this release.


2-MCMILLAN AND WIFE

The Cast: Harrison Ford, Rene Russo, Kathy Bates, Jeff Goldblum

The Director: Ron Howard
The Screenwriter: Bill Cougan

The Plot: June Applegate, a mediocre but sexy actress in erotic movies, appears murdered in her apartment. Chief Inspector McMillan (H.Ford) is in charge of the investigation. It seems as if she was killed after having sex relationships and fighting with somebody but there’s no hint on who could be with her.

Probably, this will the last case for McMillan as he is considering retirement. William Kelsen (J.Goldblum), a promising candidate to the upcoming Major Elections in San Francisco, McMillan’s old friend, is trying to convince him to be part of his advisory team. Kelsen invites both McMillan and his wife Susan (R.Russo) for dinner at home to try to convince him. Due to a mistake, Susan will exchange her mobile phone with Kelsen’s and take his home. And she hears accidentally a voice message in it: ‘Need to meet you urgently. I love you. It’s me, June’. Could that be June Applegate?

Susan tells her husband about her suspects. But McMillan does not take it into consideration. So, from that moment, Susan, with the help of her housemaid Mildred (K.Bates), starts to investigate Kelsen by herself, using the weirdest methods to get into Kelsen’s house and office.

When Kelsen asks Susan to give him back his phone, he notices something strange in Susan’s behaviour. And when he discovers her wandering around her campaign office, he realizes she is investigating him and tells her ‘not to play dangerous games for a housewife’. Kelsen tells McMillan about Susan’s quests and McMillan gets so mad with his wife. A few days later, the brakes of the McMillan’s car suddenly fail and they almost die in a car accident. Susan is convinced that it was Kelsen.

Although McMillan still can’t believe Kelsen has something to do with June’s murder and their accident, he accepts to investigate him just to prove his wife she’s wrong. But he will be surprised. Yes, Kelsen and June were lovers and he tried to leave her when he decided to run for Major. June got mad and tried to blackmail him, so Kelsen finally killed her.

When Kelsen discovers that McMillan is getting close to the truth, he kidnaps Susan and takes her to his ranch to try to stop McMillan’s investigations in a desperate attempt to save his political career and avoid jail. But McMillan will chase him there and will finally arrest Kelsen and save his wife.

The Comment: Bill Cougan’s debut in CMP is a kind of sure bet. A mainstream action comedy that will probably make a nice box office without big surprises. No risk and no miracle expected for this one.


THE INTERVIEW SERIES – JOEY STARK
By Amy Ratched

Who said that being the little brother of the almighty CMP’s President was easy? Joey Stark leads the internal CMP’s screenwriters team. And, in so many ways, he is less spoiled than the independent screenwriters. But the truth is that the young Stark is responsible of some of the best CMP’s movies, like the Season 1 GMA Winner for Best Picture, ‘The Crusades’; the profitable Captain America’s movies or the multi-awarded and prestigious trilogy ‘The Heirs’.

A.R.: So what’s your status in the Studio?
J.S.: Well, mainly, I am the younger brother of the President… *laughs* I’m ahead of the Studio’s Screenplay Department. That means that I lead a group of screenwriters that develop those ideas that do not come from independent writers. Also, I supervise independent writers’ screenplays and report Harry if they are good enough to be produced or not or if they need any rewriting.

A.R.: It sounds like you have a big power then in CMP to decide what is greenlighted and what’s not.
J.S.: Not really. Green light depends on a lot of factors. I give my opinion, then CMP’s Executive Board analyzes the projects and Julian Jones decides. And, of course, Harry has the last word. Just to give you an idea, there are movies that have been produced by the Studio that I recommended not to.

A.R.: Which one of your screenplays do you feel more proud of?
J.S.: Without doubt, ‘The Heirs’ trilogy. That was quite a challenge. Scorsese came to us with this idea of a father and son war in a mob family. We didn’t want it to be a new Godfather, although it was inevitable to have it as a reference. It was really hard to conceive the concept. But I think the final result was great. I love that saga with all that mix of violence, betrayal, emotional conflicts and those great characters played by big stars…

A.R.:What genres do you prefer?
J.S.: Well, I usually do not write big action or sci-fi stories, as most of the independent writers are focussed on that. I try to work on genres that do not get much attention from our independent writers. Romantic comedies like ‘LOL’ and intimate dramas as ‘September’s Gone’. I’ll tell you a secret: I like so much silly action comedies, movies like ‘Casual Day’ or ‘The Tempting Diamond’. Also, writing the screenplay for ‘Nine’ was quite a challenge. When I started the adaptation of the Broadway musical, CMP had never produced a musical. But then appeared ‘Piece of my heart’ and ‘Carousel’. That was a funny coincidence.

A.R.: Do you like sequels and franchises?
J.S.: Harry loves them cause they make him so rich… *laughs* I like some of them. I’m a big fan of ‘Wild Cards’, which is a really creative concept, although based on a previous comic series. The movie industry settles on franchises. Mainly, movies based on things such as computer games and so. I don’t feel crazy about that but it is just the times we are living.

A.R.: Tell me, what CMP movies you would have never greenlighted?
J.S.: *laughs* I’m not going to tell. I want to save my friendship with our writers. And remember I was the one who wrote ‘Poor Little Rich Boy’ so I cannot tell anything about others. I should have been fired for that screenplay *laughs*.

A.R.: And your favourite CMP movie, besides yours?
J.S.: Many of them. ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’ was a great movie. And ‘Cursed Neverland’. I’m sure it will become a cult movie in years to come. And I really enjoyed the dark humour in ‘Contract Killing For Dummies’. And, of course, ‘Darkening Skies’, which I personally consider a masterpiece.

A.R.: Who are your favourite stars?
J.S.: Should I say Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, Natalie Portman and Claire Danes, as everyone in CMP? I loved all the talents that worked in The Heirs. It was great to see De Niro, Penn or Nicole Kidman telling the lines I had written.

A.R.: Don’t you feel sometimes shadowed by all the independent screenwriters?
J.S.: Well, that’s my job. Their movies go first. And then come mine. But the pay is really good, so I accept things the way they are.

A.R.: Any movies from you in Season 5?
J.S.: Not many, really. Right now I’ve just finished the screenplay for the third Captain America’s adventure. As everybody knows, we are going to kill him and that’s quite a challenge. I’m working too in another of my silly action comedies, ‘Crooks’, and Eddie Murphy will be in it. And we have begun contacts with Steven Spielberg for a possible sequel of Dr. Jones, but I’m not sure if it will be ever produced or not yet.

MOVIES IN DEVELOPMENT

CAPTAIN AMERICA: DESTINY: Jon Voight, Angelina’s dad, makes his debut in CMP playing the villain of this one. Voight will be an ambitious head of the National Security Agency of the US that allies with a terrorist group to weak the nation’s Government looking to become one day the new President of the US.

GAME BOY: Only one human character will be seen in this movie. The rest of the characters will be digitally generated, as they will be popular characters from pc and console games. And who will be the lonely human in this digital cast? No other than Daniel Radcliffe, very demanded recently after his success with ‘South East’.

CAROUSEL: Two more names playing supporting roles in Carousel: just finished her work in ‘McMillan & Wife’, Kathy Bates has joined this cast together with William H. Macy, who returns to CMP after his work in ‘Vorhees: The Early Years’.

KING OF THE WORLD: Ben Stiller has refused the offer to make a cameo in this comedy. Instead of him, it has been known that it was Steve Carell who has made the cameo just before joining the shooting of ‘Crooks’.

CROOKS: And another return to CMP after a rest. Queen Latifah (‘Court Appeal’, ‘Alice In Wonderland’, ‘Styx and Stones’) is back to CMP with this action comedy. Latifah will play a wise madame of a popular Las Vegas brothel.


22:01: No director or cast is confirmed yet for this one. But, according to rumours, Robert De Niro might be considering starring it. It is also said that he has contacted Quentin Tarantino trying to convince him to direct it. Tarantino has expressed his interest in making a new ‘Ace Banner’ movie, but he could first find time for directing this action story if De Niro is convincing enough.

NAGASAKI DAYDREAMS: A nice surprise. After the disappointing experience of ‘Dakota North’, Clint Eastwood will direct this drama for CMP. ‘This won’t be Letters From Iwo Jima 2’, has said Eastwood, ‘but an intimate drama about a family the days before the atomic bomb’. To avoid new problems, this time Eastwood will not only direct but also produce the movie.

THE GROTTO: Freddie Highmore will be Kiefer Sutherland’s son in John Carpenter’s horror Christmas tale… and, of course, the main victim of the evil Santa played by Donald Sutherland.

NO EVIL: Green light for an intense drama to be released in the upcoming Season. Edward Norton, who played the villain in ‘Checkmate’ and got a GMA Best Villain nomination for it, may lead the cast of a movie that promises loads of tears and suffering.

SYNDROME: PARADISE LOST: Matt Kubrick will return to direction with this one. The last time Kubrick was behind the cameras was in the critically acclaimed ‘Home’. Kubrick is setting up the cast for this sci-fi adventure that is expected to become a new franchise for the Studio.

COMING SOON – THE ADD


RUMOURS AND GOSSIPS

War of the Stars – Episode II: There’s not even a draft yet for the next episode of Star Wars, but one thing is already clear: Marcus Trax and George Lucas won’t be together in it. Trax has proposed a name to direct the movie: Joss Whedon. But Harry Stark has rejected him, asking for a more prestigious movie director. George Lucas insists that he’ll be going away if he does not direct the movie. And it is said that Steven Spielberg, who directed ‘New Order’, has rejected an offer to direct again the next episode. Harry Stark has stated about this fuss: ‘Right now, after what’s been going on between Trax and Lucas lately, we are not even sure if there will be a third movie’.

Jake Gyllenhaal will have to choose. Gyllenhaal has been offered the leading role in two movies that will be produced at the same time by CMP: ‘Syndrome’ and a tearjercker drama written by Ted Froats. The Studio is waiting for his decision before contacting new talents.

Production costs of ‘Game Boy’ may rise to the sky. CMP will have to pay quite a few copyrights, as many popular console and pc games characters will appear in the movie. Hiring SuperMario or Princess Zelda for a movie may be even more expensive and difficult to negotiate than hiring a human star.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN… OR HELL

HEAVEN

CLAIRE DANES: Here she is, releasing three movies in a role. The first one, ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ has directly taken her to heaven, as it has been a major success. In a few days, we’ll see if ‘Storm Breaks’ and ‘Carousel’ keep her up there or take her back to the ground… or even under.

DAKOTA FANNING: It feels like heaven to have her back at CMP. GMA Best Actress nominee, Dakota will sing and dance in ‘Carousel’. And we will all enjoy the return of this brilliant young actress that made such great (and profitable) works for CMP in ‘Alice In Wonderland’, ‘Fear The Darkness’ or ‘September’s Gone’.

HELL

THE SHADOW: He was supposed to be a regular journalist that would cover CMP’s events. He was also supposed to concede the Shadow Awards (a kind of CMP’s Razzies). But The Shadow seems to have been eaten by the shadows of inferno, as no-one has never heard again from him.

PC GAMES: Old movies used to be based in great novels. In our days, more and more movies are based on computer games. Is this an improvement for the art of moviemaking? Just asking…

INSIDE CMP

Julian Jones, Production Department CEO, has made a clear statement about the controversy around the Hitman movies. Are they based on a console game or are they original ideas? Here is what Jones has said about it: ‘Who cares? The Hitman trilogy has made nearly 300 mill. in box office. That’s the point. If they are based or not in a previous game is something I just don’t care when I look at the box office breakdown of the three movies.’

Confirmed: ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ has been the most expensive production ever for CMP. Although it did not reach the 200 millions in box office, luckily it has succeeded enough. And DVD sales took it to net gains superiors to 200 millions after all. The top expensive productions list is completed with ‘Visionaries’, ‘New Order’ and ‘Mysteries Of The Sith’.

Another record for ‘Dungeons & Dragons’: it is the first CMP’s movie released in 8.000 theatres. ‘New Order’ had that record before with 7.000 screens.

Looking for the right release date. Finding the right release date for a movie has been a recurrent nightmare for CMP’s executives. Obviously, big action (and also sci-fi) shows go for July, 4th, although some of them are moved to Christmas time. But what about comedies and dramas? After quite a few tests, CMP is trying to establish a certain pattern: comedies (musicals included after the decent breakdown of ‘Nine’) are released on Easter, dramas go for November, horror stay on Halloween and romantic comedies or love stories go for Valentine’s Day.

CMP’S TOP 5 WORLWIDE GROSS (HM’s v38)

1.STAR WARS: NEW ORDER – 250 mill.
2.THE GREAT WAR SERIES: DARKENING SKIES – 238 mill.


3.DUNGEONS & DRAGONS – 194 mill.
4.STAR WARS: MYSTERIES OF THE SITH – 173 mill.


5.WESTWORLD – 155 mill.