MARCH, 6
SEASON 10 BEGINS

FALLOUT 2

Action / Sci-Fi

The Cast: Hugo Jackman, Asia Argento, Ian McKellen. Cameo by Robert Downey Jr.

The Director: Stephen Sommers
The Screenwriter: Richard Franzwa

The Plot: Months after solving Junktowns’ problems, Killian (Robert Downey Jr.) learns that the water chip that powers the well and supplies the town with fresh water has stopped working. He brings this concern to Cassidy (Hugh Jackman) who agrees to find a replacement.

Cassidy, accompanied by Dog Meat (Asia Argento), travels the desert to the location of an underground vault hoping to trade for the needed chip. After surviving an attack by Rad Scorpions, the Vault Overseer (Ian McKellen) agrees to give the group a new chip if they get rid of a pack of Deathclaws that prey on vault dwellers who work on above ground farms. Cassidy accepts the terms.

While searching for the Deathclaw lair, the group is ambushed by a band of raiders. They are able to kill their attackers and gain valuable weapons and ammo by looting the dead bodies. After finding the caves where the Deathclaws live a number of pitched battles ensue with Cassidy and Dog Meat ending up bloodied but alive. They return to the Vault and the Overseer completes his part of the bargain by giving them a water chip which they bring back to Junktown.


Stark’s Comment: Sequel of ‘Fallout’, released in Season 8 with a box office of 60 millions. The director has changed in this sequel from Richard Donner to Stephen Sommers, whose last work for CMP was the successful ‘The Legend Of Zelda’. The first episode did not meet expectations. But I hope this sequel will relaunch this franchise with a better box office.

FALLEN KINGS

Action / Drama

The Cast: Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jay Hernandez, Eva Mendes, Omar Epps, Derek Luke, Edgar Ramirez, Mos Def.

The Director: Spike Lee
The Screenwriter: Dawson Edwards

The Plot: Detroit, Michigan. Home of one the highest crime rates in the state. Here we find the murdered body of druglord of the Southwest side, "La Rey" aka The King (Edgar Ramirez). He was found by his crew and they in turn dumped the body in the street where police can find him. New partners, James Gill (Denzel Washington, a self proclaimed sex addict with a wife who claims they are divorced) and Manuel Rodriguez (Jay Hernandez, a loving young family man) are assigned the case. They know the murder of a king wouldn't be an easy case, but never did they expect it to be so...personal.

The two cops follow what narrow leads they have, which lead them to Sean "Fingers" (Omar Epps), a former cop turned preacher, turned kingpin. He called himself Fingers because he believed that nothing was to enter the city without touching his. Being the annoying man he is, Fingers raises Gill's temper to the point where he fires his gun to the hand of Sean. Fingers turns snitch...he starts telling the two that La Rey was starting a three way street war with his people, and the "YoungBucks" ran by Marcus Bank (Derek Luke).

Rodriguez knew Bank personally, they went to highschool together and were in the academy together as well, until Bank didn't finish and hit the streets. The two cops track down Bank, but not before Gill receives a death threat over the phone from a Spanish voice. Once they find Bank, more hostility arises and this time, Rodriguez attacks Banks and the two exchange punches and words. With Bank telling them Manuel's wife Cecilia (Eva Mendes) is the dirty one.

Manuel returns home and confronts his wife about her suspected cheating, to which she denies forcibly with the threat of an old baseball bat. She tells him that she heard from one of her friends that La Rey was seeing some "Gill girl" from the black side of town.

Manuel takes it upon himself to investigate Gill's wife (Halle Berry). One night while spying on her, he is attacked from behind by James. The two draw their guns screaming about who is in the wrong. When things calm down and James thinks about the situation, he suggests that they see an old friend of his, a former snitch named Two Time (Mos Def).

They visit Two Time in jail, and he tells them what they should look harder at the body. The cops rush to the morgue to find the cause of death...severe damage to the brain, which held small fragments of wood inside. Seeing the wood triggers Rodriguez's memory and he and Gill rush towards his home...

There they find Cecilia there with bat in hand and gun in the other. Manuel asks "why?" Cecilia responds by saying that they were tired of being at the bottom of the ladder, and now that La Rey is gone, Bank will be taking his area, and he promised her the world. On the brink of crying, Manuel lowers his gun and walks toward his wife, and she shoots him dead. And James shoots her in the hand in return, knocking the gun from her hand.

Luckily Manuel was wearing a bullet proof vest, so his life was saved, but what is left of it now. Knowing his wife was leaving him for greener pastures. Before Gill can arrest her, Rodriguez shoots her point blank in the head and chooses jail over loneliness...That is until he kills himself leaving James alone to think about the life he's been living.


Stark’s Comment: A mostly appealing production. Dark and tough. A look at cop’s world and life in the streets in the line of ‘The Funeral Drum’. I hope it works cause this is the kind of movies I absolutely love.

WOODLAND CREATURES

Comedy / Children

The Cast: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Vince Vaughn, Seth Rogen, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ellen Page, Jaden Smith, Jon Heder, Mackenzie Vega, Chris Tucker.

The Director: Adam McKay
The Screenwriter: Josh Collins

The Plot: Gibbie (B. Stiller) is a deer whose mother was shot by poachers when he was younger (reference to Bambi) he now makes it his business to fend off poachers, predatory creatures and people trying to ruin his woodland home (tree cutters, arsonists, etc). An honorable deer whose taught himself the harsh realities of animal lives as opposed to human lives. He knows the most out of any of his friends. Farrah Foxette (A. Adams) is a fox infatuated with Gibbie. She serves the purpose of the family-friendly sexy girl next door...but she also has a bad attitude and if the film were PG-13 the others could safely call her a bitch.

Friends of Gibbie and Farrah are Peppy (E. Page), an obsessive compulsive anal-retentive skunk, who wants everyone to leave her alone. She thinks everyone else smells terribly and are covered in germs but it's her whose known to have a terrible smell. Nuttington (J. Smith) is a happy-go-lucky squirrel child with ADHD. He could be a useful member of his society if he wasn't so easily distracted or annoying. Morticia (M. Vega) is a burrowing mole whose quite useful to her friends. She can burrow underground, travel long distances and can be used as a spy and infiltrator. She infiltrates the small gang of dangerous creatures trying to take control of the forest.

Petey Possum (C. Tucker) is one of the most useless in the society of woodland creatures. He's a wuss and drama queen. Usually playing dead or sleeping upside down by his tail when danger is near. He is an ugly creature but doesn't realize it until Farrah takes him down a few pegs by insulting him out of anger. The Beave (V. Vaughn) is a beaver who is quite useful by building things his friends might need. He is a smooth talking ladies man and is in love with Farrah. He does most of the things to help the gang because he thinks he's going to get a date from her out of it, and she'll try anything to get him to agree to help(a gentle touch on his cheek from her could send him to the moon)

Villains of the story include Oolab (M.C. Duncan) the grizzly bear who wants to rule the forest and will take out any of those who oppose him(in this film's case, the previously mentioned creatures of the story) he loves a good bear fight in the day and a fancy salmon dinner at night. His henchmen are Bandit the raccoon (S. Rogen), who doesn't exceed the cartoon stereotype of looking like a bandit. But he takes on a more 'Zorro-gone bad' approach to his personality. The other is Pokey (J. Heder), the dumb as rocks henchman. A porcupine who is so incredibly stupid and void of good judgment that he leaks information about what his boss is up to to Morticia, whom He actually thinks is a friend of his boss(or just a figment of his imagination). He daydreams a lot and usually has a glazed look in his eyes.

Other treacherous things our creatures endure throughout the film are bad weather, tree cutters and poachers(one of the poachers is the one who killed Gibbie's mother all those years ago) It's Gibbie and that poacher who have it out by the end of the film, Gibbie comes out victorious, albeit injured. In the final battle with Oolab and his henchmen, the creatures must ban together to fend off their foes. Pokey is easiest to ward off, Peppy and Nuttington confuse him to the point of making him leave. The Beave and Bandit fight it out in a classic film sword fight (Beave made his own sword out of logs) Gibbie, Farrah, and Morticia fend of Oolab and send him into a nearby raging river. Petey was no help playing dead the entire time.

The forest is safe thanks to the woodland creatures who kept it that way. And at the very end after the credits, Oolab grabs a nearby tree-branch and gets himself out of the river. The end...?


Stark’s Comment: A comedy that adults and kids can enjoy. The movie appeal is the fact that it pokes fun at the outburst of animated films featuring cute furry creatures. Instead of being animated, the film features its cast dressed up – with the help of digital effects too – as the creatures. Walk on two legs, but those outside the forest (humans) see the animals just as they are, dumb woodland creatures. I think this original and creative premise has a chance of blowing up box offices.


GEARS OF WAR: Rachel Weisz, who seems to be specialized in sci-fi movies in CMP – she was seen in the Space Quest trilogy, ‘Planetside’ and ‘Monolith’ – returns to the genre with this Michael Bay’s production. Also in the cast, the star from the tv series ‘Prison Break’, Wentworth Miller, making his debut in CMP.

WEIGH ANCHOR: More names in the cast of this Josh Collins’ drama: the debutantes in CMP Jeff Daniels and Patricia Clarkson play Joseph Gordon Levitt’s parents. Brittany Murphy, seen past Season in ‘Metal Gear Solid’ and ‘After The Storm’, plays his sister. And James Franco (‘Saving Samantha Moss’, ‘Carousel’) joins the family playing Levitt’s brother.

PSYCHO: BLOODLINE: As soon as he finishes his work in ‘Weigh Anchor’, James Franco will start shooting this new Matt Kubrick’s slasher. This time, Kubrick turns his eyes to an icon of the genre: Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’… and all the horrible sequels it had. Now, the story focuses on Norman Bates’ son, played by Franco, and how he can't escape from his genes. The director of the movie will be a man that has always defined himself as a pupil and number one fan of Hitchcock: Brian De Palma. De Palma has stated that he faces this movie as a tribute to his master.

BLOOD MERIDIAN: This Dawson Edwards’ adaptation of the violent western novel by Cormac McCarthy, directed by Ang Lee, has new known members of the cast: Gerald Butler (‘Faction 12’), Harvey Keitel (‘The Little Sister’, ‘Crooks’, ‘The Chinese Bride’) and, playing the villain of the function, no other than the always active Eric Bana, leaving aside his action hero roles after the disaster of the latest Edwards’ release, ‘Metal Gear Solid’.

DEVIL TRIGGER: The Wachowski brothers go on with this spectacular – and top budget – action and sci-fi production starred by Matt Damon. Two more names to add to the cast: Josh Holloway, whose only previous work for CMP was starring the blockbuster ‘He-Man. The Power Of Greyskull’; and the young AnnaSophia Robb, seen in ‘Paternal Nightmare’ and ‘Silver Sable’.

THE GUNPOWDER PLOT: The Scott brothers, Ridley and Tony, are picking up an allstars cast for his epic historical adventure. Of course, as in almost every John Daws’ productions, Keira Knightley is going to be in it. James McAvoy, who has also worked with Daws before in ‘Misplaced Affection’, will be in this one too. And the main star of the function will be Christian Bale, not seen in CMP since the release of ‘Monolith’.

WILD CARDS: BATTLE OF THE ROX: Villains for this last episode of the saga confirmed: Jeremy Irons returns as the serial killer ‘The Astronomer’, a character that was also played by Ian McKellen in the first movies of the saga. And to play Bloat, the strange young man whose body has grown to an extreme obesity, the chosen one has been the comedian Seth Rogen, playing his first villain ever in his acting career. Rogen can also be seen in this week’s release ‘Woodland Creatures’.

THE GREEN CHILDREN: In CMP’s Season 1, Steven Spielberg, Mike Newell and Matt Kubrick teamed up to make a new version of ‘Alice In Wonderland’, starred by Dakota Fanning. The movie was a major hit and got 3 GMA nominations. Nine Seasons later, the trio is back together again. Kubrick writes, Spielberg produces and Newell directs this version of the popular folk legend of the green children. And the Fanning family is back too. This time, it will be Dakota’s younger sister, Elle Fanning, the one starring the adventure.

HE-MAN. MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: Cast of voices for this 3D animated feature directed by Andrew Adamson completes with the names of David Hayter, Malcolm McDowell (‘The Avengers’) and Sarah Michelle Gellar, only seen in CMP in ‘Dark Omens – Fear The Darkness 3’.

THE AVENGERS 3: Here it is at last! Yes, the third instalment of the mother of all the CMP’s superheroes franchises. Matt Kubrick is behind the screenplay and Gore Verbinski returns as director and producer. And they have designed a very peculiar marketing strategy: a new major superhero will join the team in this third feature… but his identity will be kept as maximum secret and who is he won’t be announced until the very last moment of the release of the movie!


BEN STILLER

Although not as active in CMP as other comedians, Ben Stiller has become a guarantee of success for the Studio. His two last CMP’s movies became ‘100s’ and his only flop in CMP was not as an actor but as director with ‘Eureka!’. This week, GMA Nominee Stiller releases the peculiar comedy ‘Woodland Creatures’, expected to join the list of his hits.

CMP’S FILMOGRAPHY

THE PERFECT CANDIDATE – Season 1
(Mike Nichols / Joey Stark, B.O.: 40 mill.)
The first work from Ben at CMP was a funny satire of American politics. Stiller played an expert in marketing that transformed an amnesic man, played by Steve Martin, into the new US President. This adult comedy brought for Ben his only GMA nomination. He fought for Best Starring Couple, together with Martin.

LOL - Season 3
(Nora Ephron / Joey Stark, B.O.: 71 mill.)
One of the very few romantic comedies released by CMP. A look at cyber romances. Ben fell in love with the recent GMA nominee Marisa Tomei through the net and looked for her in real life. The movie was also the first work for CMP of the last Best Actress GMA winner, Kate Hudson, playing a supporting role.

EUREKA! - Season 4
(Ben Stiller / Marcus Trax, B.O.: 26 mill.)
Here, Ben didn’t act. He only directed this comedy about crazy scientists starred by Luke Wilson and Heather Graham. A bad experience. The movie didn’t make it at box office and became the only flop in Ben’s career in CMP until now.

THE SHRINKING MAN - Season 5
(Harold Ramis / Steve Connors, B.O.: 109 mill.)
First ‘100’ for Ben. A successful return to CMP. This new approach to the shrinking man myth worked so well in box office. A sci-fi comedy in which Ben met with talents like Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brendan Fraser and Bill Murray. A sequel of the movie has been repeatedly announced by Steve Connors but never developed yet.

THE LOLLIPOP MAN - Season 6
(Shawn Levy / Marcus Trax, B.O.: 108 mill.)
Second ‘100’ in a row for Ben. In his second work with Marcus Trax after the disappointment of ‘Eureka!’, Ben got a surprising success. This was a children audience oriented product with a very low budget about a lollipop man helping a kid (Josh Hutcherson) against his school’s bullies while flirting with his teacher (Kate Beckinsale). The movie made unexpected and outstanding net gains of 131 millions.

WOODLAND CREATURES - Season 10
(Adam McKay / Josh Collins, awaiting release)
A risky bet or a sure hit? Ben returns to CMP after a few Seasons away with this mostly original concept. Will audiences be interested in watching actors dressed up as forest animals? This daring premise from Josh Collins might confirm Ben as the most profitable comedian in CMP… or not.


Steve Connors
Best Screenplay GMA Winner
By Anne Roman

First nomination and first win at the GMA for screenwriter Steve Connors. Connors is one of the most veteran writers working for the Studio. His first movie, back in Season 2, was ‘Space Quest: The Heart Of The Conqueror’. Since then, he has released 15 movies, focussing mainly in sci-fi and comedy. Some of his hits are ‘Westworld’, ‘The Caves Of The Steel’, ‘The Guardians’, ‘The Naked Sun’, ‘The Shrinking Man’ or ‘Netchasers’. But it has been the comedy ‘Mary’s Dark Side’ the movie that has given him the glory of becoming a GMA Winner.

A.R.:You are a veteran in CMP. How does it feel finally winning the Best Screenplay GMA?

S.C.: Just great. I know my movies are not of the awards winning kind. In fact, I was surprised when ‘Mary’s’ got so many nominations. And then I thought that Bradley or Tyler would win for sure. So I am shocked. And it feels great. I never thought I would be so happy with this award!

A.R.: You have been writing in CMP for long. But you don’t release too many movies per Season.

S.C.: As you know, I have this problem with English… I need Harry or Joey Stark to translate my screenplays into English and they are so busy and don’t have too much time for my translations. So I know I can only release one or two movies per Season. That makes me choose very carefully what I want to release. But I will stay in CMP as long as it lasts. I am an old personal friend of the Stark brothers and it is so much fun to be part of this.

A.R.: Do you plan to keep focussing in sci-fi and comedy?

S.C.: I am enjoying comedies lately. But this Season I am going to release my own version of the game ‘Gears Of War’ so I’m back to sci-fi. It’s a big movie with plenty of CGI and the strangest digitally generated creatures. I have changed the storyline of the game and it’s been a hard work writing the screenplay. I am also writing a new Ultraman’s adventure. I know critics hate Ultraman. It seems like nobody but me enjoys the parody spirit of those films. Maybe they were ahead of their time… *laughs*. Now that there are so many Avengers movies and Nick Fury and Silver Sable and all that, I think it is a great moment to laugh at these movies again with Ultraman. I want to put together Ultraman and Lieutenant USA. So I think that might be my next movie after ‘Gears Of War’.

A.R.: There’s a legend around you that says that you regularly announce new projects you never develop.

S.C.: *laughs* It’s true. As I said, I have to choose carefully my pitches. Some times it takes months between one and the next. Matt Kubrick or Josh Collins can do anything they plan cause they release something like six or seven movies every Season. So if their movie flops, they can forget the pain quickly with the next one. That’s not my case. So I plan new pitches and then change my mind pretty often.

A.R.: Will you ever write the many times announced sequel of ‘The Shrinking Man’?

S.C.: Yes. I promise. Harry has been asking me to do it for so long. I would also love to resurrect the Space Quest movies. I loved those movies. I tried to create my own Star Wars universe with them. But box office was not too good. That was a big disappointment cause writing those movies not based on any existing story was quite a challenge. But I also have a few original ideas on my mind too, so I am not sure what will come next.

A.R.: As the sci-fi fan you are, it is surprising you are not into the superheroes movies CMP is developing lately.

S.C.: Hey, don’t forget Ultraman, my own superhero! The truth is that I like another kind of sci-fi. I am closer to Star Wars or Star Trek than to comic books. I also like the adult oriented sci-fi, like Asimov’s. You see? I also want to write a sequel to ‘The Naked Sun’. I loved to write ‘The Caves Of Steel’ and ‘The Naked Sun’ so I want to adapt the third novel of that saga, ‘Robots Of The Dawn’. There are too many things I want to do so I am afraid I have plans for the next six or seven Seasons or so *laughs*.

A.R.: And do you plan ever becoming a movie director?

S.C.: Not at all. I have a lot of fun looking for the right director for my stories.

A.R.: Don’t you think that comedies are probably the most difficult genre for a screenwriter?

S.C.: You bet! It is so difficult to transmit what you imagine as a funny sequence. You cannot simply write: ‘…and then something very funny happens’. I remember writing ‘Black Guys’ and feeling so frustrated cause I could imagine a lot of funny situations I just didn’t know how to translate into words.

A.R.: What other CMP’s movies, besides yours, have you enjoyed lately?

S.C.: ‘Tales Of The Unexpected’. Absolutely great. And I laugh a lot with all those bloody Kubrick’s slashers… although I know they are not meant to make you laugh! I mean, I laugh a lot with them cause I enjoy so much all that gratuitous violence and everything. I am a big fan of Kubrick’s work.

A.R.: Is there something you miss in CMP?

S.C.: Yes, a good erotic movie. Seriously. I watched ‘The Reader’ the other day with all those nude scenes and so and I wondered why we do not dare to do that in CMP. I hope some day I’ll have a good idea for an erotic movie.


CMP is releasing soon ‘Wild Cards: Battle Of The Rox’. Fifth mainstream episode of the cult saga – besides the two spin offs – and announced as the last instalment of the franchise. For the first time, the screenplay will be signed by the two authors involved in the previous movies, Matt Kubrick and Joey Stark. And, together with the release of the movie, CMP announces the launching of a very special DVD Box Set. It will not only include all the previous Wild Cards’ movies but also a very special extra. Nothing else has been revealed about it but sources from CMP confirm that this Box Set will mean a new experience for the Studio. Intriguing…

‘Sherlock Holmes’ won past week the GMA for Most Wanted Sequel. But will there ever be a sequel for this successful movie? Matt Kubrick surprisingly announced the day after the ceremony that he has no intention of writing a sequel. Instead of that, Kubrick publicly invites any CMP’s screenwriter interested to send him a proposal for a sequel. He would rather produce somebody else’s story for the characters if any CMP’s author shows him his interest.

Recreating London in the 17th century is an expensive task. Internal sources from CMP confirm that the budget for John Daws’ historical adventure ‘The Gunpowder Plot’ is increasing dangerously. The movie, directed by Ridley Scott and produced by his brother Tony, is expected to be one of the big events of the new Season. But its high costs are turning this release into a financially dangerous bet for the Studio. ‘1066’, the previous – and also very expensive – historical feature from Daws didn’t make it at box office. So nervous around this production are beginning to attack some executives of the Studio.

Co-writing experiences have not happened very often in CMP. ‘The Funeral Drum’, co-written by Joey Stark and James Bradley, has been the most successful one. And the Lobo movies, co-written by Matt Kubrick and Ben Tyler, were also a relevant case of writing collaboration. But it seems like more and more CMP’s authors join forces in future pitches. David Makalaster has invited anyone interested to develop some of his ideas – why can’t he do it by himself? – and other well known names like Kubrick, Collins or Tyler may put their names together in upcoming productions. If it is for good, welcome to those teams!

And I end up this week with a nice surprise. Do you remember Jack Hammer? Yes, he was one of the most active and prestigious screenwriters during the first Seasons of CMP. Back in Season 5, he had already released 15 movies, including the successful and critically acclaimed sagas ‘Uncommon Valour’, ‘The Great War Series’ and ‘The Last Lawman’. Two times nominated for Best Screenplay at the GMA, Hammer also tried luck as both director and producer. And then, he suddenly retired. The reason? His strong disagreement with one of the voting rules at the GMA. Well, the surprise is that, after four Seasons away, Hammer will return this Season to CMP. He has announced the development of at least one new movie. We all hope it won’t be the only one.