SEPTEMBER, 11
BULLET WITCH 0
Action / War
The Cast: Eric Bana, Kate Hudson, Cillian Murphy, Brad Dourif, Ice Cube, Kieran Culkin, Ben Kingsley
The Director: Renny Harlin
The Screenwriter: David Makalaster
The Plot: Meet Sergeant Maxwell Cougar (E.Bana), a career soldier of Fort Hamilton,NY. He and his squad are the top of the roster, having several succesfull black ops under their belt. But the squad - consisting of veteran demolisher Chuck Gusto (B.Dourif)),sniper Alan 'Hawkeye' Johnson (C.Murphy), heavy support soldier Shaw Cross (Ice Cube) and young gun Jason Thomas (K.Culkin) - now has to deal with a new enemy when their superior General Woods (B.Kingsley) sends them on missions against the emerging demons of the world.
Much of Arizona quickly falls to the demons, but the onslaught seems to pause enough for the world to mobilize against it. Before Maxwell's squad leave on their first mission, Maxwell's wife Hannah (K.Hudson) begs him not to go because of a very bad feeling. Maxwell comforts her but leaves anyway, being sent to the frontlines to attempt a deep strike operation designed to try to find where the demons come from.
Once in Arizona they are sent in via airdrop to the small town of Salem's Creek.That's when everything turns sour. Demons swarm at them from every direction and their focus quickly changes from their mission to just surviving.
Unknown to them, Gusto is posessed by a demon spirit.Because of this, the demon attack seemingly let up, and the team start making their way back to human grounds. After several big battles, they make it back to base where they will be sent back to NY for other missions.However, the posessed Gusto places his demo charges all around the base, killing almost all the soldiers present and leaving the base wide open for attack. Only Maxwell and Shaw escapes, making a quick getaway in the remaining plane, watching the base being overrun from the cockpit.
They fly back to NY, only to find it already infested by demons. General Woods is dead, and Maxwell assumes command of the single remaining squad and starts fighting his way to Hannah. When he reaches their apartment, he finds her posessed, and she tries to strangle him. After a brief struggle, Maxwell's gun goes off, piercing her heart. Maxwell is devastated, and after giving Hannah a proper burial, sets out to exact his revenge on the demons.
Stark’s Comment: ‘Bullet Witch’ made 95 millions in box office. Now, David Makalaster offers us a prequel to that story focused on the character played in it by Eric Bana. Once again, Makalaster keeps searching for a blockbuster after his successful past Season. This wasn’t an easy movie to produce. There were a lot of cast changes before the final one was set up. The movie means the return to CMP for the two GMAs winner Kate Hudson and for director Renny Harlin after his past Season’s box office’s hit ‘Deep Silence: Red Code High’.
DEADLY FORCE
Action / Cops
The Cast: Brad Pitt, Paul Walker, Ray Liotta, Emilio Estevez, James Franco. Cameo by Elijah Wood.
The Director and Screenwriter: Jack Hammer
The Producer: Brad Pitt
The Plot: A few months after the Storella case Inspector Larry Gannon (B.Pitt) is back in Capt. Eidshide’s (R.Liotta) Homicide division when he is called to investigate a dead body in a car at the municipal dump. The body turns out to that of Narcotics detective Johnny Pappas, shot through the head at long range, on the seat next to him is a brick of heroin taken from the narcotics security vault, still bearing its police ID tag. On a rooftop with a clear view of the dump Gannon finds a spent shell casing.
Back at Police headquarters Eidshide tells Gannon that drugs have been disappearing from the vault for the past several years but Commissioner DeMarco has always ordered it swept under the rug for political reasons, right not the investigation has been put on hold until after the mayoral election. When Gannon expresses his dismay at the political situation he is told that Eidshide is going on with the investigation anyway but it has to be kept quiet. Just two officers, one detective from Homicide and one from Narcotics. Gannon will be half of the team, the other half will be his old friend Detective Sergeant Burt Lucas (P.Walker), who had transferred from Homicide to Narcotics six months ago. All three men know that they can trust one another but all also realize that even if successful, they could still be fired for going behind DeMarco’s back.
Gannon and Lucas meet up and begin the investigation by questioning a known stool pigeon named Little Ricky (E.Wood). Although reluctant to cough up any information, Ricky eventually gives the pair a lead on an operator named Santos (J.Franco) who works for an independent on the South side.
Eidshide calls the pair in and tells them that Santos’ prints were found on the shell casing that Gannon discovered on the roof, but Gannon has to admit that he didn’t have a search warrant when he searched the roof, thus making the shell casing in-admissible as evidence. Eidshide goes ballistic as he sees their best lead go up in smoke because Gannon didn’t follow procedure. Lucas mollifies him with the news about Little Ricky’s lead, but Eidshide orders the pair to make sure the investigation can hold up in court.
That evening as he returns home Eidshide is severely beaten by a masked assailant who leaves a blood-spattered message to stop the investigation
Tracking Santos down to a cheap dive in the Combat Zone, Boston’s notorious red-light district, Lucas questions him at gunpoint until he gives them the information that they want. The hit on Pappas was ordered by a man named Contrez (E.Estevez), an independent operator selling narcotics around the city’s schoolyards, who also makes kiddie porn. Pappas was his narcotics supplier but when he started to get nervous and threatened to turn state’s evidence Contrez had Santos kill him. Contrez has already arranged a new inside man at narcotics and so didn’t need Pappas anymore. Meanwhile Gannon has a vicious brawl with the masked assailant eventually killing and then unmasking the man who turns out to be Narcotics Detective Lieutenant Falcone, the new inside man.
The next morning Lucas contacts Gannon with the news that reporters have gotten a hold of the story on the killings and Commissioner DeMarco’s retribution has swift. Eidshide is being forced to resign and he and Gannon have been demoted to Traffic starting Monday morning. After mulling things over the pair decide to use the time they have left to pressure Contrez into making a bad move.
They manage to invade his mansion, plant a bug, and push him into making a last big score; but they have misjudged his reaction to the confrontation badly. That evening Lucas’s long time girlfriend is found dead of a massive heroin overdose, and the next morning it is learned that Gannon’s niece has also been killed in the same way. Lucas goes completely to pieces and quits the force.
Gannon, however, is mad as hell and goes after Contrez at the final score. In a running gunfight among the sand dunes on Cape Cod the two battle it out. Gannon is seriously wounded but manages to kill Contrez in the final confrontation. The narcotics that Contrez has in his possession forces a major, public investigation that brings down the corrupt DeMarco and clears Eidshide, Gannon and Lucas of any wrong-doing.
Stark’s Comment: The awaited return to CMP of Jack Hammer after 5 Seasons away is finally here. And you bet I’m happy for it. ‘Deadly Force’ is the third adventure of Larry Gannon after ‘Hot Iron’ (a tremendous flop that only made 9 millions in box office but won the Most Wanted Sequel GMA) and ‘The Law’ (that made a decent box office of 68 millions). So this hasn’t been a too successful franchise until now. But many moviegoers will take this movie as something brand new, as so much time has passed since the two first installments and that may be good for it. By the way, I must confess the shooting was a nightmare, with constant fights between Hammer and Pitt, so thank god it’s over…
SILENT HILL
Horror
The Cast: Rupert Everett, Lindsay Lohan, Susan Sarandon, Robert Downey Jr., Amanda Bynes, Ariel Gade
The Director: Brad Anderson
The Screenwriter: Max Arilius
The Plot: The movie opens with Harry Mason (R.Everett) and his daughter, Cheryl (A.Gade), driving to the resort town of Silent Hill, when Harry swerves to avoid a figure in the road. Harry is knocked out and regains consciousness to find Cheryl missing, so he sets off to find her in Silent Hill.
The Town seems to be deserted, is foggy, and snow is falling out of season. Having followed a figure that looks like his daughter, he finds himself in an alleyway that goes dark and morphs to the sound of an air-raid siren into a hellish version of the same world, covered in blood and rust.
As Harry looks around he is attacked by creatures that seem to be dead children that seem to kill him, but he wakes up more to find himself in a cafe, with the world returned to normal. He talks to a police officer, Cybil Bennett (L.Lohan), whose bike they saw on the side of the road before the crash. Cybil hands him a gun and leaves , while Harry continue his search.
A sketchbook in an alleyway leads Harry to the local school, where he fights his way through more of the undead children when the school transforms to its "Otherworld" state, including a mark on the ground. Though he does not find his daughter, he spots a girl who vanishes before his eyes; hearing a church bell ringing, he sets out to find the source of the only thing that could seem normal, and meets a woman named Dahlia Gillespie (S.Sarandon) at the church. She gives him an unusual item, the Flauros, and cryptic warnings about what is to come.
Departing, she tells Harry to visit the Hospital, where he encounters Dr Kaufmann (R.Downey Jr.), who is as bewildered as Harry about their circumstances, and later, finding himself in the nightmarish Otherworld hospital, also meets Lisa Garland (A.Bynes), a terrified nurse. Though she knows much about the town and its history, he is unable to get answers before he is transported back to the normal world, where Dahlia reappears and tells him the mark he has seen in various places must not be completed, lest the darkness devour the whole town.
Meeting up with Cybil, who has seen a girl out on the lake, the pair find a hidden altar in an antiques store, but Harry disappears out of sight of Cybil, much to her confusion; Harry, meanwhile, finds himself back in the Otherworld with Lisa, who gives him directions to the lake, but also tells Harry she feels she's "not supposed to leave". On the way to the lake, Harry runs into Kaufman and chooses to assist him in the resort area; soon after, the Otherworld nightmare begins to take over the town completely. Regrouping with Cybil and deciding to stop the mark's completion at Dahlia's suggestion, Harry heads to the lighthouse and Cybil to the amusement park.
Harry once more spies the apparition of the girl at the top of the lighthouse before heading to the amusement park himself. Here, Cybil appears possessed, and then Harry uses a substance he found in the hospital to save her. With the girl appearing once more, Harry unwittingly uses the Flauros to trap her; Dahlia appears, revealing that she manipulated him into trapping her as he was the only one who could and that the girl is in fact her daughter, Alessa.
With Alessa's powers out of control, Harry awakens to find himself in a distorted world resembling the hospital, simply known as "Nowhere". Here he finds Lisa, who has come to realize she is in fact dead, and begins to bleed out in front of a horrified Harry, who flees; her diary, left in the room, explains that she was the nurse who attended to Alessa after she was burnt.
Continuing on, Harry views a flashback in Nowhere, and soon finds Dahlia, Cybil and Kaufmann, as well as a figure in a wheelchair, wrapped in bandages - Cheryl with Alessa kneeling nearby. Both the flashback and Dahlia's words explain that Dahlia sacrificed her daughter to fire seven years ago, in an attempt to nurture and bring about the birth of the cult's god that resides inside her. In so doing, Alessa's soul was split in two, and the god could not be born, so a spell was cast by Dahlia that would ultimately draw the other half of the soul back to Alessa.
The other half of the soul manifested itself as Cheryl, whom Harry and his wife found and adopted in the form of a baby when they were on vacation in the area at that time. In the present, Alessa, tried to keep the god at bay. Her plan is defeated and her soul now together, the god begins to manifest and kills Dahlia before turning its attention to Harry. Harry defeats the God and in its place a new baby is created.
Harry and Cybil leave Silent Hill with the new baby in tow. Kaufman attempts to follow but is pulled down into the hell by Lisa Garland.....
The movie ends with the hellish screams of Kaufman.....
Fade to Black...
Stark’s Comment: Max Arilius makes his debut in CMP with this intriguing and disturbing horror story. It is nice to see Everett and Downey Jr. playing characters completely different from Harry Flashman and Ironman. I think this is a highly interesting production for the fans of the genre so I hope it will work nicely in box office.
MORE TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED: Gus Van Sant has chosen a very
French cast for the story he is going to direct. Gerard Depardieu, Gaspard Ulliel, Cyril Descours and Jean-Pierre Léaud will make his debut in CMP with it. Eva Green (‘Powerhouse’, ‘Yeoman’, ‘Chrysalis: Pennies From Hell’, ‘Metal Gear Solid’) will also show up in the story.
ROBOTS OF DAWN: Here comes the adaptation of the third Isaac Asimov’s robots novel after ‘The Caves Of Steel’ and ‘The Naked Sun’. Steve Connors has written again the screenplay and Brett Ratner returns behind the cameras. Of course, the Best Starring Couple winners, Bruce Willis and Paul Bettany, return too as the human and robot investigators.
WONDER WOMAN: Three actresses will join Colbie Smulders in the cast of this awaited production. The two GMAs winner Catherine Z. Jones has accepted to play Colbie / Wonder Woman’s mother. Carrie Ann Moss will be back to CMP after so long (her previous and only work for the Studio was ‘Star Wars: Balance Of The Force’). And Michelle Williams will also be in the movie after her recent GMA nomination for her work in ‘Weigh Anchor’.
CRIME STOPPERS: Leslie Mann will be the only female member of the cast of this Kevin Smith’s comedy. And it will be her debut in CMP too. Jeremy Sumpter, whose previous work for the Studio was the interesting ‘Haight-Ashbury’, has accepted to play a minor role in this one too.
SILVER SABLE AND THE WILD PACK: Two more members of the Wild Pack team, besides the announced Gerard Butler: Eric Balfour, seen past Season in ‘Deep Silence: Red Code High’, and the star from the tv series ‘Lost’, Dominic Monaghan, making his debut in CMP. On the side of the villains, we’ll see Edgar Ramirez, who made his debut in CMP past Season with ‘Fallen Kings’.
THE DARK TOWER: WASTE LANDS: The young star William Mosely played one of the main characters of the first installment of this saga, ‘The Gunslinger’. His character lost presence in the second movie, ‘The Drawing Of The Three’. But now he recovers full strength in the plot. In the meantime, we have also seen Mosely in other CMP’s productions like ‘Daisy Lane’ and ‘Bedtime Stories’.
FIREFLIES IN THE JELLY-JARS: Two prestigious talents join the cast of this drama written by Josh Collins and directed by James Mangold: Robin Wright Penn, seen in two of The Heirs movies and also in ‘American Heartland’, will play Abigail Breslin’s mother. And Jeffrey Wright, who played the villain in the acclaimed ‘The Funeral Drum’, will be here Robin’s lover.
ZANN: Green light for a peculiar horror story. David Makalaster has adapted a H.P. Lovecraft’s tale and he has chosen it to make his debut as movie director. Makalaster stated recently that he wanted to make a series of movies based on Lovecraft’s stories and this will be the first one. It is said to be a dark and intriguing plot that takes place in the streets of Paris.
MA
RRIED TO THE SUPERVILLAIN: CMP has finally found a director to take care of this superheroes’ parody after Terry Gilliam refused the offer to direct it. It will be no other than Andy McKay. It seems like his recent success with ‘Woodland Creatures’ has turned him into a trustable directing talent for the Studio. It is also known that the supervillain of the title will be played by no other than Ashley Judd, not seen for long in CMP. Her two previous works for the Studio were ‘Checkmate’ and ‘Outer Eye’.
ZOIDS: It seems like ‘Wonder Woman’ won’t be the only top budget production coming from Dawson Edwards this Season. The Studio has green lighted this live action adaptation of the cult anime tv series written by him. Alfonso Cuaron, the successful director of ‘The Fantastic Mansion’, will be directing it.
JACK HAMMER - 'DEADLY FORCE'
This is the week for the awaited return of writer and director Jack Hammer to CMP. Hammer, who used to be known in CMP as Mr. Trilogy – Uncommon Valour, Great War Series, Last Lawman – stays loyal to his alias cause he returns closing the trilogy he started with ‘Hot Iron’ and ‘The Law’ about the adventures of inspector Larry Gannon. Not seen in CMP since Season 5, ‘Deadly Force’ is expected to be just the first of his new upcoming pitches.
1.It is peculiar the fact that you have returned to CMP with a new instalment of your less succesful saga. Why did you choose 'Deadly Force' for your return?
It was an unfinished story. I had always planned to make three of them but somehow never got around to making the third picture in the saga. When I was thinking about coming back, it was to finish the Gannon Trilogy. After all, you know me and trilogies.
2.Is it true that quite some years ago you already made an amateur movie based on the story of 'Deadly Force'?
Hey everybody's career has to start somewhere. Yes , when I was in college I made all three Gannon movies. Of course they were far shorter and less involved than the professional versions I made for Harry.
3.Will there be more adventures for Larry Gannon in the future?
That depends on the box office, although I will admit to having ideas for two sequels. One for Gannon set about ten years in the future and one for Capt. Eidshide set about a year or two after Deadly Force.
4.It is rumoured that Brad Pitt and you did not have a good relationship during the making of the movie. Do you want to talk about it?
Might as well, it'll get out sooner or later. On the set we were completely professional to one another. Frankly we had to be, I was directing and he was starring. But away from the set we rarely spoke except through our assistants and memos. Until the last week of production. Angie tricked us both into the same room and locked us in together, then read us the riot act. It turned out that George Clooney suggested that Dakota North be re-cut the way it was, as a gag. He never expected Brad to actually do it. Well Brad thought he was serious and then things snow-balled from there. Well, to make a long story short George apologized to us all, he even called Eastwood to apologize, and afterward we talked for most of the day. In the end we decided to let bygones be bygones. Actually we're all working on a new movie together. George is going to produce and co-star, Brad and Angie will star, and I'll be writing and directing; but we're really planning to make this one a group effort of the four of us.
5.What new pitches can we expect from you now that you are back?
Besides the picture with Brad, George and Angie, I've turned in the script for the second Nathan Zachary adventure - Nathan Zachary a
nd the Pilfered Prototype, and again I'll be directing and producing this one. Harry's been talking to me about extending the story of the Armstrongs to World War II, I considered it but I don't really think that's a good idea. The Great War was pretty complete and I'm afraid that any attempt to continue the saga would just dilute its impact. I do admit to having a hankering to try my hand at one of the superhero franchises, I'm not saying which one yet. Last are the possible Gannon sequels. After that we'll have to wait and see.
CMP’S BIGGEST FLOPS
‘Deadly Force’ is the third installment of a saga that begun with one of the biggest flops in CMP’s History, ‘Hot Iron’. Now that CMP has reached this week an amazing strike of 26 consecutive releases without net losses, it looks as a good moment to remember that CMP’s movies can also be box office’s disasters. This week, we take a look at the 10 biggest flops in CMP’s History.
1.THE COMPANY
(Oliver Stone / Matt Kubrick)
Net Losses: 42 mill. B.O.: 2 mill.
Why? Stone and Kubrick have teamed up before in the brilliant ‘Home’. Now, they choose a peculiar story about religious fundamentalism. It was a highly controversial production and some catholic groups even tried to sabotage the release of the movie. Not even the starry cast, leaded by Sean Penn and John Travolta, could save the movie from disaster.
2.THE LIBRARY
(Anthony Minghella / Marcus Trax)
Net Losses: 41 mill. B.O.: 3 mill.
Why? It was a time when CMP did not seem to know how to make historical movies work in box office. This elegant story sited in the times of Roman Empire and starred by Anthony Hopkins and Eric Bana was an example of it.
3.TALES OF THE JEDI
(Peter Jackson / Matt Kubrick)
Net Losses: 40 mill. B.O.: 12 mill.
Why? Before Marcus Trax released his successful trilogy of Star Wars movies, Kubrick tried to get into the Star Wars universe with this mega expensive production starred by Orlando Bloom and Jennifer Garner. The flop took everyone by surprise at CMP.
4.THE BRIDGE
(Wolfgang Petersen / Marcus Trax)
Net Losses: 36 mill. B.O.: 11 mill.
Why? Another historical adventure by Marcus Trax, this one with Liam Neeson and Sean Connery involved, among others. And again, the Studio failed in its attempt to make historical movies work. That was a time long before ‘The Gunpowder Plot’…
5.OUTER EYE
(John Cusack / Marcus Trax)
Net Losses: 35 mill. B.O.: 3 mill.
Why? Cusack not only starred but also directed this low budget production about a tormented guy. It was a difficult product to sell and audiences did not find any interest in it.
6.CALVIN & HOBBES
(James L. Brooks / Matt Kubrick)
Net Losses: 33 mill. B.O: 6 mill.
Why? Long before ‘The Ice Princess’, there was also a time when animated productions never succeeded in CMP. The flop of this movie made the Studio to shut down its Animation Department. It took some time before CMP bet again for animated movies. And then came ‘The Ice Princess’…
7.NAGASAKI DAYDREAMS
(Clint Eastwood / Marcus Trax)
Net Losses: 33 mill. B.O: 2 mill.
Why? This drama that covered the days before the Nagasaki’s bombing was a complete disaster at box office. But the big surprise came later, when the movie won 3 Golden Moon Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Now, it has become a CMP’s classic.
8.POOR LITTLE RICH BOY
(Jay Roach / Joey Stark)
Net Losses: 33 mill. B.O.: 4 mill.
Why? Because it was a horrible comedy. Before its release, Jason Biggs was considered the most promising comedian in CMP. After it, Biggs has never worked for CMP again. Jay Roach has recently resurrected his career in CMP with ‘Check, Please’.
9. NIGHT CAB
(Steven Soderbergh / Matt Kubrick)
Net Losses: 32 mill. B.O.: 7 mill.
Why? Pairing George Clooney and Sasha Baron Cohen off in a comedy looked as a great idea. But it wasn’t. This comedy only made laugh to movie critics. Soderbergh resurrected winning Best Director GMA with ‘Things I Forgot To Tell You’. Clooney successfully returned to comedy with ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’. And Sasha Baron Cohen is still frozen since this disaster.
10.HOT IRON
(Christopher Nolan / Jack Hammer)
Net Losses: 32 mill. B.O.: 9 mill.
Why? An unexpected flop. But the movie won the Most Wanted Sequel GMA so the Studio accepted to green light a sequel, ‘The Law’, that worked correctly in box office. That award saved this Hammer’s trilogy and now we are ready to watch its third episode.
The horror movie ‘Silent Hill’, first story written by Max Arilius, opens up this week in theatres. The premiere of the movie took place this week in Los Angeles. It is said that the starring couple of the movie, Rupert Everett and Lindsay Lohan, not only attended to this event but also to the wild party that the whole crew of the movie had later.
‘The Avengers 4’ is not expected to be released this new CMP’s Season. But this saga always
offers juicy news that makes it worth it to write about. The big question running through CMP’s corridors at the moment is: will this movie ever be produced? Matt Kubrick has confirmed that he won’t write more Avengers’ movies after this fourth installment. And, recently, Gore Verbinski officially announced that he won’t return neither as director nor producer to the franchise. Confidential sources tell me that CMP is considering Jonathan Mostow to replace him as director for this fourth movie. Mostow is already connected to the saga, as he successfully directed the spin-off ‘Nick Fury’. But the main problem now is that nobody at CMP knows by now if Robert Downey Jr. and Edward Norton would accept playing Ironman and Hulk again. The bad relationship between them is the main difficulty to put up this fourth – and maybe final – episode of this profitable but controversial franchise.
Joey Stark and James Bradley co-wrote the acclaimed cops movie ‘The Funeral Drum’. And the experience was so good that the couple has decided to team up again. Stark and Bradley are said to be writing together a thriller about traffic of human organs inspired on recent true events that took place in New Orleans. Also, they are planning to co-write a drama about drugs addicts. So it seems like they could become a stable working team in the near future.
John Daws succeeded past Season when his movie, ‘The Gunpowder
Plot’, won the Best Picture GMA. But it seems like he will abandon historical movies for a while. Rumors say that he is working on a live action movie version of the animated tv series ‘Thundercats’. But he will have to hurry if he wants CMP to produce it. There are rumors about a movie version of the series being developed by another Hollywood’s major. CMP has seen how some of its movies – ‘Nine’, ‘Sherlock Holmes’ – have another Studio’s version being produced. But Harry Stark’s policy is not producing any movie based on the same concept than other Studio’s project.
New screenwriter in CMP. Trent Nielsen has joined the Studio and he is already developing some stories. It is the first new writer since CMP left Hollywood Mogul’s board. So it seems like this change won’t affect the search for new writing talents. But, as every CMP’s writer, Nielsen will have to be patient. The first movies written by Nielsen are expected to be green lighted at the beginning of Season 12 as Season 11’s release schedule is already closed.
But, although closed, I’ve heard that Season 11’s release schedule suffered some last minute changes. A drama titled ‘Storm At Home’, written by Dawson Edwards and planned to be released this Season, has been postponed due to some casting problems. And another drama, this one written by Richard Franzwa and titled ‘Sunset’, wasn’t postponed but definitely cancelled. It is said that this drama, expected to be starred by Tom Hanks and John Cusack, was cancelled because Harry Stark was not completely happy with the final draft of the screenplay.
BULLET WITCH 0
Action / War
The Cast: Eric Bana, Kate Hudson, Cillian Murphy, Brad Dourif, Ice Cube, Kieran Culkin, Ben Kingsley
The Director: Renny Harlin
The Screenwriter: David Makalaster
The Plot: Meet Sergeant Maxwell Cougar (E.Bana), a career soldier of Fort Hamilton,NY. He and his squad are the top of the roster, having several succesfull black ops under their belt. But the squad - consisting of veteran demolisher Chuck Gusto (B.Dourif)),sniper Alan 'Hawkeye' Johnson (C.Murphy), heavy support soldier Shaw Cross (Ice Cube) and young gun Jason Thomas (K.Culkin) - now has to deal with a new enemy when their superior General Woods (B.Kingsley) sends them on missions against the emerging demons of the world.
Much of Arizona quickly falls to the demons, but the onslaught seems to pause enough for the world to mobilize against it. Before Maxwell's squad leave on their first mission, Maxwell's wife Hannah (K.Hudson) begs him not to go because of a very bad feeling. Maxwell comforts her but leaves anyway, being sent to the frontlines to attempt a deep strike operation designed to try to find where the demons come from.
Once in Arizona they are sent in via airdrop to the small town of Salem's Creek.That's when everything turns sour. Demons swarm at them from every direction and their focus quickly changes from their mission to just surviving.
Unknown to them, Gusto is posessed by a demon spirit.Because of this, the demon attack seemingly let up, and the team start making their way back to human grounds. After several big battles, they make it back to base where they will be sent back to NY for other missions.However, the posessed Gusto places his demo charges all around the base, killing almost all the soldiers present and leaving the base wide open for attack. Only Maxwell and Shaw escapes, making a quick getaway in the remaining plane, watching the base being overrun from the cockpit.
They fly back to NY, only to find it already infested by demons. General Woods is dead, and Maxwell assumes command of the single remaining squad and starts fighting his way to Hannah. When he reaches their apartment, he finds her posessed, and she tries to strangle him. After a brief struggle, Maxwell's gun goes off, piercing her heart. Maxwell is devastated, and after giving Hannah a proper burial, sets out to exact his revenge on the demons.
Stark’s Comment: ‘Bullet Witch’ made 95 millions in box office. Now, David Makalaster offers us a prequel to that story focused on the character played in it by Eric Bana. Once again, Makalaster keeps searching for a blockbuster after his successful past Season. This wasn’t an easy movie to produce. There were a lot of cast changes before the final one was set up. The movie means the return to CMP for the two GMAs winner Kate Hudson and for director Renny Harlin after his past Season’s box office’s hit ‘Deep Silence: Red Code High’.
DEADLY FORCE
Action / Cops
The Cast: Brad Pitt, Paul Walker, Ray Liotta, Emilio Estevez, James Franco. Cameo by Elijah Wood.
The Director and Screenwriter: Jack Hammer
The Producer: Brad Pitt
The Plot: A few months after the Storella case Inspector Larry Gannon (B.Pitt) is back in Capt. Eidshide’s (R.Liotta) Homicide division when he is called to investigate a dead body in a car at the municipal dump. The body turns out to that of Narcotics detective Johnny Pappas, shot through the head at long range, on the seat next to him is a brick of heroin taken from the narcotics security vault, still bearing its police ID tag. On a rooftop with a clear view of the dump Gannon finds a spent shell casing.
Back at Police headquarters Eidshide tells Gannon that drugs have been disappearing from the vault for the past several years but Commissioner DeMarco has always ordered it swept under the rug for political reasons, right not the investigation has been put on hold until after the mayoral election. When Gannon expresses his dismay at the political situation he is told that Eidshide is going on with the investigation anyway but it has to be kept quiet. Just two officers, one detective from Homicide and one from Narcotics. Gannon will be half of the team, the other half will be his old friend Detective Sergeant Burt Lucas (P.Walker), who had transferred from Homicide to Narcotics six months ago. All three men know that they can trust one another but all also realize that even if successful, they could still be fired for going behind DeMarco’s back.
Gannon and Lucas meet up and begin the investigation by questioning a known stool pigeon named Little Ricky (E.Wood). Although reluctant to cough up any information, Ricky eventually gives the pair a lead on an operator named Santos (J.Franco) who works for an independent on the South side.
Eidshide calls the pair in and tells them that Santos’ prints were found on the shell casing that Gannon discovered on the roof, but Gannon has to admit that he didn’t have a search warrant when he searched the roof, thus making the shell casing in-admissible as evidence. Eidshide goes ballistic as he sees their best lead go up in smoke because Gannon didn’t follow procedure. Lucas mollifies him with the news about Little Ricky’s lead, but Eidshide orders the pair to make sure the investigation can hold up in court.
That evening as he returns home Eidshide is severely beaten by a masked assailant who leaves a blood-spattered message to stop the investigation
Tracking Santos down to a cheap dive in the Combat Zone, Boston’s notorious red-light district, Lucas questions him at gunpoint until he gives them the information that they want. The hit on Pappas was ordered by a man named Contrez (E.Estevez), an independent operator selling narcotics around the city’s schoolyards, who also makes kiddie porn. Pappas was his narcotics supplier but when he started to get nervous and threatened to turn state’s evidence Contrez had Santos kill him. Contrez has already arranged a new inside man at narcotics and so didn’t need Pappas anymore. Meanwhile Gannon has a vicious brawl with the masked assailant eventually killing and then unmasking the man who turns out to be Narcotics Detective Lieutenant Falcone, the new inside man.
The next morning Lucas contacts Gannon with the news that reporters have gotten a hold of the story on the killings and Commissioner DeMarco’s retribution has swift. Eidshide is being forced to resign and he and Gannon have been demoted to Traffic starting Monday morning. After mulling things over the pair decide to use the time they have left to pressure Contrez into making a bad move.
They manage to invade his mansion, plant a bug, and push him into making a last big score; but they have misjudged his reaction to the confrontation badly. That evening Lucas’s long time girlfriend is found dead of a massive heroin overdose, and the next morning it is learned that Gannon’s niece has also been killed in the same way. Lucas goes completely to pieces and quits the force.
Gannon, however, is mad as hell and goes after Contrez at the final score. In a running gunfight among the sand dunes on Cape Cod the two battle it out. Gannon is seriously wounded but manages to kill Contrez in the final confrontation. The narcotics that Contrez has in his possession forces a major, public investigation that brings down the corrupt DeMarco and clears Eidshide, Gannon and Lucas of any wrong-doing.
Stark’s Comment: The awaited return to CMP of Jack Hammer after 5 Seasons away is finally here. And you bet I’m happy for it. ‘Deadly Force’ is the third adventure of Larry Gannon after ‘Hot Iron’ (a tremendous flop that only made 9 millions in box office but won the Most Wanted Sequel GMA) and ‘The Law’ (that made a decent box office of 68 millions). So this hasn’t been a too successful franchise until now. But many moviegoers will take this movie as something brand new, as so much time has passed since the two first installments and that may be good for it. By the way, I must confess the shooting was a nightmare, with constant fights between Hammer and Pitt, so thank god it’s over…
SILENT HILL
Horror
The Cast: Rupert Everett, Lindsay Lohan, Susan Sarandon, Robert Downey Jr., Amanda Bynes, Ariel Gade
The Director: Brad Anderson
The Screenwriter: Max Arilius
The Plot: The movie opens with Harry Mason (R.Everett) and his daughter, Cheryl (A.Gade), driving to the resort town of Silent Hill, when Harry swerves to avoid a figure in the road. Harry is knocked out and regains consciousness to find Cheryl missing, so he sets off to find her in Silent Hill.
The Town seems to be deserted, is foggy, and snow is falling out of season. Having followed a figure that looks like his daughter, he finds himself in an alleyway that goes dark and morphs to the sound of an air-raid siren into a hellish version of the same world, covered in blood and rust.
As Harry looks around he is attacked by creatures that seem to be dead children that seem to kill him, but he wakes up more to find himself in a cafe, with the world returned to normal. He talks to a police officer, Cybil Bennett (L.Lohan), whose bike they saw on the side of the road before the crash. Cybil hands him a gun and leaves , while Harry continue his search.
A sketchbook in an alleyway leads Harry to the local school, where he fights his way through more of the undead children when the school transforms to its "Otherworld" state, including a mark on the ground. Though he does not find his daughter, he spots a girl who vanishes before his eyes; hearing a church bell ringing, he sets out to find the source of the only thing that could seem normal, and meets a woman named Dahlia Gillespie (S.Sarandon) at the church. She gives him an unusual item, the Flauros, and cryptic warnings about what is to come.
Departing, she tells Harry to visit the Hospital, where he encounters Dr Kaufmann (R.Downey Jr.), who is as bewildered as Harry about their circumstances, and later, finding himself in the nightmarish Otherworld hospital, also meets Lisa Garland (A.Bynes), a terrified nurse. Though she knows much about the town and its history, he is unable to get answers before he is transported back to the normal world, where Dahlia reappears and tells him the mark he has seen in various places must not be completed, lest the darkness devour the whole town.
Meeting up with Cybil, who has seen a girl out on the lake, the pair find a hidden altar in an antiques store, but Harry disappears out of sight of Cybil, much to her confusion; Harry, meanwhile, finds himself back in the Otherworld with Lisa, who gives him directions to the lake, but also tells Harry she feels she's "not supposed to leave". On the way to the lake, Harry runs into Kaufman and chooses to assist him in the resort area; soon after, the Otherworld nightmare begins to take over the town completely. Regrouping with Cybil and deciding to stop the mark's completion at Dahlia's suggestion, Harry heads to the lighthouse and Cybil to the amusement park.
Harry once more spies the apparition of the girl at the top of the lighthouse before heading to the amusement park himself. Here, Cybil appears possessed, and then Harry uses a substance he found in the hospital to save her. With the girl appearing once more, Harry unwittingly uses the Flauros to trap her; Dahlia appears, revealing that she manipulated him into trapping her as he was the only one who could and that the girl is in fact her daughter, Alessa.
With Alessa's powers out of control, Harry awakens to find himself in a distorted world resembling the hospital, simply known as "Nowhere". Here he finds Lisa, who has come to realize she is in fact dead, and begins to bleed out in front of a horrified Harry, who flees; her diary, left in the room, explains that she was the nurse who attended to Alessa after she was burnt.
Continuing on, Harry views a flashback in Nowhere, and soon finds Dahlia, Cybil and Kaufmann, as well as a figure in a wheelchair, wrapped in bandages - Cheryl with Alessa kneeling nearby. Both the flashback and Dahlia's words explain that Dahlia sacrificed her daughter to fire seven years ago, in an attempt to nurture and bring about the birth of the cult's god that resides inside her. In so doing, Alessa's soul was split in two, and the god could not be born, so a spell was cast by Dahlia that would ultimately draw the other half of the soul back to Alessa.
The other half of the soul manifested itself as Cheryl, whom Harry and his wife found and adopted in the form of a baby when they were on vacation in the area at that time. In the present, Alessa, tried to keep the god at bay. Her plan is defeated and her soul now together, the god begins to manifest and kills Dahlia before turning its attention to Harry. Harry defeats the God and in its place a new baby is created.
Harry and Cybil leave Silent Hill with the new baby in tow. Kaufman attempts to follow but is pulled down into the hell by Lisa Garland.....
The movie ends with the hellish screams of Kaufman.....
Fade to Black...
Stark’s Comment: Max Arilius makes his debut in CMP with this intriguing and disturbing horror story. It is nice to see Everett and Downey Jr. playing characters completely different from Harry Flashman and Ironman. I think this is a highly interesting production for the fans of the genre so I hope it will work nicely in box office.
MORE TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED: Gus Van Sant has chosen a very
French cast for the story he is going to direct. Gerard Depardieu, Gaspard Ulliel, Cyril Descours and Jean-Pierre Léaud will make his debut in CMP with it. Eva Green (‘Powerhouse’, ‘Yeoman’, ‘Chrysalis: Pennies From Hell’, ‘Metal Gear Solid’) will also show up in the story.ROBOTS OF DAWN: Here comes the adaptation of the third Isaac Asimov’s robots novel after ‘The Caves Of Steel’ and ‘The Naked Sun’. Steve Connors has written again the screenplay and Brett Ratner returns behind the cameras. Of course, the Best Starring Couple winners, Bruce Willis and Paul Bettany, return too as the human and robot investigators.
WONDER WOMAN: Three actresses will join Colbie Smulders in the cast of this awaited production. The two GMAs winner Catherine Z. Jones has accepted to play Colbie / Wonder Woman’s mother. Carrie Ann Moss will be back to CMP after so long (her previous and only work for the Studio was ‘Star Wars: Balance Of The Force’). And Michelle Williams will also be in the movie after her recent GMA nomination for her work in ‘Weigh Anchor’.
CRIME STOPPERS: Leslie Mann will be the only female member of the cast of this Kevin Smith’s comedy. And it will be her debut in CMP too. Jeremy Sumpter, whose previous work for the Studio was the interesting ‘Haight-Ashbury’, has accepted to play a minor role in this one too.
SILVER SABLE AND THE WILD PACK: Two more members of the Wild Pack team, besides the announced Gerard Butler: Eric Balfour, seen past Season in ‘Deep Silence: Red Code High’, and the star from the tv series ‘Lost’, Dominic Monaghan, making his debut in CMP. On the side of the villains, we’ll see Edgar Ramirez, who made his debut in CMP past Season with ‘Fallen Kings’.THE DARK TOWER: WASTE LANDS: The young star William Mosely played one of the main characters of the first installment of this saga, ‘The Gunslinger’. His character lost presence in the second movie, ‘The Drawing Of The Three’. But now he recovers full strength in the plot. In the meantime, we have also seen Mosely in other CMP’s productions like ‘Daisy Lane’ and ‘Bedtime Stories’.
FIREFLIES IN THE JELLY-JARS: Two prestigious talents join the cast of this drama written by Josh Collins and directed by James Mangold: Robin Wright Penn, seen in two of The Heirs movies and also in ‘American Heartland’, will play Abigail Breslin’s mother. And Jeffrey Wright, who played the villain in the acclaimed ‘The Funeral Drum’, will be here Robin’s lover.
ZANN: Green light for a peculiar horror story. David Makalaster has adapted a H.P. Lovecraft’s tale and he has chosen it to make his debut as movie director. Makalaster stated recently that he wanted to make a series of movies based on Lovecraft’s stories and this will be the first one. It is said to be a dark and intriguing plot that takes place in the streets of Paris.
MA
RRIED TO THE SUPERVILLAIN: CMP has finally found a director to take care of this superheroes’ parody after Terry Gilliam refused the offer to direct it. It will be no other than Andy McKay. It seems like his recent success with ‘Woodland Creatures’ has turned him into a trustable directing talent for the Studio. It is also known that the supervillain of the title will be played by no other than Ashley Judd, not seen for long in CMP. Her two previous works for the Studio were ‘Checkmate’ and ‘Outer Eye’.ZOIDS: It seems like ‘Wonder Woman’ won’t be the only top budget production coming from Dawson Edwards this Season. The Studio has green lighted this live action adaptation of the cult anime tv series written by him. Alfonso Cuaron, the successful director of ‘The Fantastic Mansion’, will be directing it.
JACK HAMMER - 'DEADLY FORCE'
This is the week for the awaited return of writer and director Jack Hammer to CMP. Hammer, who used to be known in CMP as Mr. Trilogy – Uncommon Valour, Great War Series, Last Lawman – stays loyal to his alias cause he returns closing the trilogy he started with ‘Hot Iron’ and ‘The Law’ about the adventures of inspector Larry Gannon. Not seen in CMP since Season 5, ‘Deadly Force’ is expected to be just the first of his new upcoming pitches.
1.It is peculiar the fact that you have returned to CMP with a new instalment of your less succesful saga. Why did you choose 'Deadly Force' for your return?
It was an unfinished story. I had always planned to make three of them but somehow never got around to making the third picture in the saga. When I was thinking about coming back, it was to finish the Gannon Trilogy. After all, you know me and trilogies.
2.Is it true that quite some years ago you already made an amateur movie based on the story of 'Deadly Force'?
Hey everybody's career has to start somewhere. Yes , when I was in college I made all three Gannon movies. Of course they were far shorter and less involved than the professional versions I made for Harry.
3.Will there be more adventures for Larry Gannon in the future?
That depends on the box office, although I will admit to having ideas for two sequels. One for Gannon set about ten years in the future and one for Capt. Eidshide set about a year or two after Deadly Force.
4.It is rumoured that Brad Pitt and you did not have a good relationship during the making of the movie. Do you want to talk about it?
Might as well, it'll get out sooner or later. On the set we were completely professional to one another. Frankly we had to be, I was directing and he was starring. But away from the set we rarely spoke except through our assistants and memos. Until the last week of production. Angie tricked us both into the same room and locked us in together, then read us the riot act. It turned out that George Clooney suggested that Dakota North be re-cut the way it was, as a gag. He never expected Brad to actually do it. Well Brad thought he was serious and then things snow-balled from there. Well, to make a long story short George apologized to us all, he even called Eastwood to apologize, and afterward we talked for most of the day. In the end we decided to let bygones be bygones. Actually we're all working on a new movie together. George is going to produce and co-star, Brad and Angie will star, and I'll be writing and directing; but we're really planning to make this one a group effort of the four of us.
5.What new pitches can we expect from you now that you are back?
Besides the picture with Brad, George and Angie, I've turned in the script for the second Nathan Zachary adventure - Nathan Zachary a
nd the Pilfered Prototype, and again I'll be directing and producing this one. Harry's been talking to me about extending the story of the Armstrongs to World War II, I considered it but I don't really think that's a good idea. The Great War was pretty complete and I'm afraid that any attempt to continue the saga would just dilute its impact. I do admit to having a hankering to try my hand at one of the superhero franchises, I'm not saying which one yet. Last are the possible Gannon sequels. After that we'll have to wait and see.CMP’S BIGGEST FLOPS
‘Deadly Force’ is the third installment of a saga that begun with one of the biggest flops in CMP’s History, ‘Hot Iron’. Now that CMP has reached this week an amazing strike of 26 consecutive releases without net losses, it looks as a good moment to remember that CMP’s movies can also be box office’s disasters. This week, we take a look at the 10 biggest flops in CMP’s History.
1.THE COMPANY
(Oliver Stone / Matt Kubrick)
Net Losses: 42 mill. B.O.: 2 mill.
Why? Stone and Kubrick have teamed up before in the brilliant ‘Home’. Now, they choose a peculiar story about religious fundamentalism. It was a highly controversial production and some catholic groups even tried to sabotage the release of the movie. Not even the starry cast, leaded by Sean Penn and John Travolta, could save the movie from disaster.
2.THE LIBRARY
(Anthony Minghella / Marcus Trax)
Net Losses: 41 mill. B.O.: 3 mill.
Why? It was a time when CMP did not seem to know how to make historical movies work in box office. This elegant story sited in the times of Roman Empire and starred by Anthony Hopkins and Eric Bana was an example of it.
3.TALES OF THE JEDI
(Peter Jackson / Matt Kubrick)
Net Losses: 40 mill. B.O.: 12 mill.
Why? Before Marcus Trax released his successful trilogy of Star Wars movies, Kubrick tried to get into the Star Wars universe with this mega expensive production starred by Orlando Bloom and Jennifer Garner. The flop took everyone by surprise at CMP.
4.THE BRIDGE
(Wolfgang Petersen / Marcus Trax)
Net Losses: 36 mill. B.O.: 11 mill.
Why? Another historical adventure by Marcus Trax, this one with Liam Neeson and Sean Connery involved, among others. And again, the Studio failed in its attempt to make historical movies work. That was a time long before ‘The Gunpowder Plot’…
5.OUTER EYE
(John Cusack / Marcus Trax)
Net Losses: 35 mill. B.O.: 3 mill.
Why? Cusack not only starred but also directed this low budget production about a tormented guy. It was a difficult product to sell and audiences did not find any interest in it.
6.CALVIN & HOBBES
(James L. Brooks / Matt Kubrick)
Net Losses: 33 mill. B.O: 6 mill.
Why? Long before ‘The Ice Princess’, there was also a time when animated productions never succeeded in CMP. The flop of this movie made the Studio to shut down its Animation Department. It took some time before CMP bet again for animated movies. And then came ‘The Ice Princess’…
7.NAGASAKI DAYDREAMS
(Clint Eastwood / Marcus Trax)
Net Losses: 33 mill. B.O: 2 mill.
Why? This drama that covered the days before the Nagasaki’s bombing was a complete disaster at box office. But the big surprise came later, when the movie won 3 Golden Moon Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Now, it has become a CMP’s classic.
8.POOR LITTLE RICH BOY
(Jay Roach / Joey Stark)
Net Losses: 33 mill. B.O.: 4 mill.
Why? Because it was a horrible comedy. Before its release, Jason Biggs was considered the most promising comedian in CMP. After it, Biggs has never worked for CMP again. Jay Roach has recently resurrected his career in CMP with ‘Check, Please’.
9. NIGHT CAB
(Steven Soderbergh / Matt Kubrick)
Net Losses: 32 mill. B.O.: 7 mill.
Why? Pairing George Clooney and Sasha Baron Cohen off in a comedy looked as a great idea. But it wasn’t. This comedy only made laugh to movie critics. Soderbergh resurrected winning Best Director GMA with ‘Things I Forgot To Tell You’. Clooney successfully returned to comedy with ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’. And Sasha Baron Cohen is still frozen since this disaster.
10.HOT IRON
(Christopher Nolan / Jack Hammer)
Net Losses: 32 mill. B.O.: 9 mill.
Why? An unexpected flop. But the movie won the Most Wanted Sequel GMA so the Studio accepted to green light a sequel, ‘The Law’, that worked correctly in box office. That award saved this Hammer’s trilogy and now we are ready to watch its third episode.
The horror movie ‘Silent Hill’, first story written by Max Arilius, opens up this week in theatres. The premiere of the movie took place this week in Los Angeles. It is said that the starring couple of the movie, Rupert Everett and Lindsay Lohan, not only attended to this event but also to the wild party that the whole crew of the movie had later.
‘The Avengers 4’ is not expected to be released this new CMP’s Season. But this saga always
offers juicy news that makes it worth it to write about. The big question running through CMP’s corridors at the moment is: will this movie ever be produced? Matt Kubrick has confirmed that he won’t write more Avengers’ movies after this fourth installment. And, recently, Gore Verbinski officially announced that he won’t return neither as director nor producer to the franchise. Confidential sources tell me that CMP is considering Jonathan Mostow to replace him as director for this fourth movie. Mostow is already connected to the saga, as he successfully directed the spin-off ‘Nick Fury’. But the main problem now is that nobody at CMP knows by now if Robert Downey Jr. and Edward Norton would accept playing Ironman and Hulk again. The bad relationship between them is the main difficulty to put up this fourth – and maybe final – episode of this profitable but controversial franchise.Joey Stark and James Bradley co-wrote the acclaimed cops movie ‘The Funeral Drum’. And the experience was so good that the couple has decided to team up again. Stark and Bradley are said to be writing together a thriller about traffic of human organs inspired on recent true events that took place in New Orleans. Also, they are planning to co-write a drama about drugs addicts. So it seems like they could become a stable working team in the near future.
John Daws succeeded past Season when his movie, ‘The Gunpowder
Plot’, won the Best Picture GMA. But it seems like he will abandon historical movies for a while. Rumors say that he is working on a live action movie version of the animated tv series ‘Thundercats’. But he will have to hurry if he wants CMP to produce it. There are rumors about a movie version of the series being developed by another Hollywood’s major. CMP has seen how some of its movies – ‘Nine’, ‘Sherlock Holmes’ – have another Studio’s version being produced. But Harry Stark’s policy is not producing any movie based on the same concept than other Studio’s project.New screenwriter in CMP. Trent Nielsen has joined the Studio and he is already developing some stories. It is the first new writer since CMP left Hollywood Mogul’s board. So it seems like this change won’t affect the search for new writing talents. But, as every CMP’s writer, Nielsen will have to be patient. The first movies written by Nielsen are expected to be green lighted at the beginning of Season 12 as Season 11’s release schedule is already closed.
But, although closed, I’ve heard that Season 11’s release schedule suffered some last minute changes. A drama titled ‘Storm At Home’, written by Dawson Edwards and planned to be released this Season, has been postponed due to some casting problems. And another drama, this one written by Richard Franzwa and titled ‘Sunset’, wasn’t postponed but definitely cancelled. It is said that this drama, expected to be starred by Tom Hanks and John Cusack, was cancelled because Harry Stark was not completely happy with the final draft of the screenplay.
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