SEPTEMBER, 16


WONDER WOMAN III

Action / Superhero

The Cast: Cobie Smulders, Josh Lucas, Catherine Z. Jones, Marion Cotillard, Carrie-Ann Moss. Cameos by Jeremy Piven, Ryan Philippe.

The Director: Zhang Yimou
The Screenwriter: Dawson Edwards

The Plot:

Night. The moon shines brightly over the magnificent paradise of the island of Themyscira. Below the shine of the moon, we see a few Amazons standing guard outside of a temple. The columns of that temple are identical statues of Hippolyta, the Queen.

We see a familiar Amazon, walking through the night. Phillipus (C-A.Moss) twirls her sword as she walks. She stops in front of a cemetery. Phillipus drops to one knee and sheds a tear. She whips around her sword before thrusting it into the ground. Even in the dark abyss of the night, the sword gleams against the moonlight. She looks up slowly, and we see the name "Galina" on the head of a tombstone. Phillipus glares off into the distance, across the beautiful water springs, and wilderness of Themyscira.

We follow her glare to a cell out in the jungle. Guarded by four Amazons, we peak inside the rock-made cell to see the frame of a woman. She stretches out her arm and draws in the dirt with her finger. Sketching out what the world has now come to know as the symbol of WONDER WOMAN.

2 Months Later. Washington,D.C.

We hear the voice of Diana compare the speed of fellow heroes like The Flash to the speed of Hermes. She compares the unfortunate transformation of Dr. Barbara Minerva into the villain named Cheetah to the beasts called chimeras. And she finally references Superman with the God, Zeus. Saying that who she prays to should not factor in humankinds ability to trust her.

We see that Diana (C.Smulders) is speaking in front of the world's leaders, when she spots Steve (J.Lucas) by the exit. He smirks. She goes on to speak about the recent New God invasion, and how she hopes that her actions have proved that Themyscira means no harm to any nation. Once it's over, she talks to Steve and he jokingly tells her that they weren't listening and were just mesmerized by her beauty, her boots and Greek accent. As the two begin to leave, we see a man glaring at them from a distance. Steve whispers his name, "That's Maxwell Lord. Big money. Bigger ego."

Max (J.Piven) and another young man walk towards Steve and Diana. Max is loud and annoying. He fake salutes Steve, and kisses the hand of WW. Then makes a joke about the U.S. Air Force at Steve's expense. He introduces the young man next to him as Captain Nathaniel Adam (R.Phillippe) of the U.S. Marines. The young man doesn't move. Max calls him the future of world safety, "and the best part is? He's HOME GROWN. No loyalty issues here." he winks at Diana and walks away.

We shift back to Themyscira where Phillipus is storming up the stairs of Hippolyta's temple enraged. Sword in hand. Phillipus battles two Amazons guarding Hippolyta (C.Z.Jones), showing her fierceness and eventually taking them both down. She confronts her Queen about keeping the prisoner alive. She yells that no sister has ever taken the life of another. "Eye for an eye!" Queen Hippolyta tries to explain that if they were to kill the traitor, it would be doing exactly what upset Phillipus in the first place. Phillipus says that her blind faith could cost more sisters lives. Hippolyta simply lowers her head as Phillipus storms away.

Back in the U.S., Diana stands in the center of TIMES SQUARE in New York City. She watches the giant screen above that shows her delivering food to poor children in other countries. A crowd begins to grow around her, asking for autographs, pictures and even men wanting dates. Diana, partially embarrassed leaps away from the people and flies above the city. The giant screen changes to the face of Maxwell Lord. He's ranting about how the world is at the mercy of these superpowered people and that half of them are aliens living amongst us doing God knows what. "What little video we have of their island, we've seen nothing but brutality. They are SAVAGES!"

Diana, filled with mixed emotions continues to fly away, speeding faster and higher into the air. She flies until there's nothing around her but the clouds. She sighs and whispers "Athena, give me strength." The white of the cloud fills the screen until it turns into the white of a burning torch.

An Amazon is walking through the night towards the prisoners cell. She greets the two guards with a smile. Without words she takes them down instantly. She breaks open the door and we hear a chuckle from the dark cell. Into the torch's light we see Alkyone (M.Cotillard) step forward. A scar from Diana's sword covering her left cheek. Alkyone speaks "Bring me wood for there is a fire to be made. Then bring me Phillipus for there is death to be had."

We cut to Phillipus once more standing at the grave of her fallen sister Galina. She hears truffles in the bushes and quickly whips out her sword, only to see a warthog run from out of it. Phillipus smiles until she sees what is chasing the pig. A two headed beast that she instantly recognizes as Circe's magical doing. Phillipus suddenly finds herself surrounded by her sisters. She takes a sigh of relief and orders them to guard Hippolyta for "Circe has escaped!" One of the Amazons shoots an arrow at her head, but she's able to cut it down in time. "So the traitor got to you first. You are killing me inside my sisters." Phillipus says. "Well, let's do it then."

As they attack Phillipus we zoom out into the sky, and pan to the borders of Themyscira where a small group of armed soldiers are sneaking onto the island. We get a glimpse of a tag that reads "ADAM: United States Marine Corps". Over the hill they are climbing we can see a giant cloud of smoke coming from the palace.

Diana is home. Her home in Washington, where she gets a phone call. She smiles when she sees that it is Steve. "Good evening dear Captain." she says. He tells her that he's got some good information on a bad situation. Diana crushes the phone. She looks at her bed and sees her people's sacred armor, the belt of Aphrodite, Hestia´s golden lasso and the tiara she stole from her mother years ago.

We cut back to Themyscira where hell has let loose. Amazons fighting Amazons, with Hippolyta's Royal Guard on the losing end. We follow the mayhem inside of the palace through the halls of battling Amazons in slow motion to find Hippolyta and Alkyone standing just ten feet from each other. Both with their armor on. Hippolyta with her staff and Alkyone with a sword. Alkyone says that she just wanted Hippolyta to do what is right and kill the "daughter who sinned". Hippolyta says strongly, "Using the magic of the Gods to hurt your sisters is a far worse sin than saving man from their own." Alkyone says "Well if reason won't work..." Then she attacks and the two women fight with Hippolyta having the early advantage.

Wonder Woman lands on Themyscira to find bodies of her sisters every where she steps. They are either fighting, dead or dying. She screams for them to stop fighting but they don't listen. So she takes it upon herself to stop them. Soon she finds Phillipus fighting cutting the throat of her final threat. Wonder Woman screams "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! WE ARE SISTERS! WHERE IS YOUR MIND, PHILLIPUS?!"

With dried tears covering her face, Phillipus stands tall and says boldly "I'm doing what you couldn't. What you should have done. Now you either step forward and perish or move out of my way so I can save my Queen." The two run up the stairs of the palace running by what is left of the still fighting Amazons. They reach Hippolyta's wing, where they open the door just in time to see Alkyone kick Hippolyta to the ground. Phillipus charges and screams "ALKYONE!!!" but her attack is blocked. Their faces inches from each other, as are their swords. Alkyone says "I thought I told you last time to address me as the sorceress, CIRCE!" then she kicks Phillipus down.

Phillipus can attack again, soldiers come running into the room. Guns pointed at each Amazon, all aimed at their heads. Hippolyta says "What is the meaning of this?!" and Diana speaks up. She tells them that this is "Man's Army against us. Against you." Circe screams "THIS! THIS IS WHAT SHE DOES FOR YOU! FOR US! SHE IS NOTHING BUT THE GOD'S LITTLE MISTAKE!" The soldiers take aim at Circe but she laughs at them. They fire at the Amazons but each of them deflect the bullets.

Phillipus ignores the soldiers and attacks Circe once again. The two begin fighting again. Wonder Woman attacks the soldiers and sends them flying out of the room. Most of them are already out cold. We see one soldier crawling towards his gun, but as he grabs it, a black boot lands down on his fingers. We look up to see Steve Trevor holding his own gun down at the man, smiling.

"Sorry Captain Adam. This gun is now property of the United States AIR FORCE!" and kicks the soldier in the head. Steve glances at Diana and says "Oh, sorry to you as well. I kinda parked my jet on your roof."

Diana takes a second to smile and turns back towards her mother's throne room. Circe is managing to withstand Hippolyta and Phillipus for the moment. Phillipus catches her off guard and is able to take her down. She grabs her sword and is about to finish the job. But Diana throws her tiara just in time to stop the sword. As Phillipus turns her head, Wonder Woman punches her across the room. "I will NOT let another sister die." she says. The two begin fighting, destroying half of the room in the process.

Hippolyta stands up from the rubble she hit, and is immediately kicked back down by Circe. Phillipus punches Diana down, sees Circe going in for the kill and rushes over. Just in time to be stabbed through her armor by Circe instead of Hippolyta. sound is gone, but we see that Hippolyta is screaming while holding Phillipus. We see Steve Trevor shooting Circe but to no avail.

Wonder Woman gets up slowly, a trickle of blood falls over her face. She looks into the hallway where tired Amazons lay from fighting each other to the death. The sound comes rushing back as Diana looks back at Circe. We hear the roars of the fire, the distant sound of clanking swords and Diana's boots hitting the marble floor as she walks towards the smirking Circe.

What I'm about to do to you won't be a gift from the God's, Circe. This won't be pleasant."

The two battle, just as they did before, for what seems like forever. Diana gets the upper hand and brings Circe to her knees with her lasso. Diana says "May the God's forgive me." and then she snaps the neck of Circe. Diana walks over to Hippolyta and the fallen Phillipus. She places a hand on Hippolyta's shoulder and sheds a tear.

Hippolyta finally stands and says "Go in peace my daughter. And remember that, in a world of ordinary mortals, you are a Wonder Woman."

THE END: As the credits roll, we hear Diana once again. She says "Peace is a virtue; a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence and justice. It is not simply the absence of war. And if you know nothing of Athena, know this...her champions would die a thousand times to save but one mortal life. If it means interfering in an ensconced, outdated system, to help just one woman, man or child...I'm willing to accept the consequences. Of all people, you know who I am...who the world needs me to be."


Stark’s Comment:
The ‘Wonder Woman’ movies have always made a great box office without becoming spectacular record-breakers. The first one made 146 millions and the second one made 150 millions. So I presume we will follow the pattern with this third installment.

Behind The Scenes:
-Zhang Yimou also directed ‘Wonder Woman. The Hiketeia’. But the first Wonder Woman movie was directed by Jon Favreau.
-This is the sixth time that Cobie Smulders plays Wonder Woman in CMP’s films.
-All the cast members except for the two cameos were already seen in ‘Wonder Woman. The Hiketeia’
-Marion Cotillard was nominated for the Best Villain GMA for her work in ‘Wonder Woman.The Hiketeia’. She played Circe again in ‘Justice League 2’.
-Cobie Smulders has also worked with Dawson Edwards making a voice-only job in the two ‘Mouse Guard’ movies and also in the Spike Lee’s drama ‘Get Down’.

SKIN TIGHT

Comedy / Crime

The Cast: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Gugino, Michael Shannon, Andy Garcia, Alana De la Garza, Hank Azaria, Marley Shelton, Bonnie Somerville, Oliver Platt

The Director: Harold Ramis
The Screenwriter: D.R. Cobb

The Plot:

Dr. Rudy Graveline (B.B.Thornton) is the director of the prestigious Whispering Palms Surgical Center in Bal Harbour, Florida. But he is a dangerously inept surgeon that has never been trained or certified in cosmetic surgery. He has built his reputation through social connections, taking credit for the work of his competent associates, and blackmail.

One day, Rudy's former surgical nurse, Maggie Gonzalez (Alana de la Garza), tells Rudy that Mick Stranahan (John Cusack), a semi-retired investigator for the Florida State Attorney's office, is taking another look at a case involving the accidental killing of a college coed during a botched nose job that Rudy performed and then covered up. Rudy decides that Stranahan must be killed before he finds out the truth.

It turns out that Maggie is actually responsible for the case being re-opened. She has also promised to repeat the story on live television, for the sensational talk show "In Your Face!"

Stranahan is eating breakfast on his stilt house in Biscayne Bay, when a mob hitman appears at his front door with a gun. Mick ambushes the man, impales him through the chest with the sword of a stuffed marlin head, then pushes the body out to sea. He meets the obnoxious host of "In Your Face!", Reynaldo Flemm (H.Azaria), and his producer, Christina Marks (C.Gugino), who have come to Miami looking for Maggie after she left New York City without warning. Mick has no time for Reynaldo, but finds himself attracted to Christina (and vice-versa).

After the hitman's failure, Graveline decides to hire a disfigured felon nicknamed "Chemo" (M.Shannon) who agrees to kill Stranahan in exchange for a discount on his dermabrasion treatments. Chemo locates Stranahan the same way that Christina did: through his vengeful ex-wife, Chloe (M.Shelton). When Chemo says he's out to "get" Stranahan, she shows him the way to the stilt house, and eagerly comes along to watch. But when she realizes that Chemo means to kill Stranahan, not just scare him, she objects, since she is still receiving alimony. They begin to argue, and she makes the mistake of insulting his face, he responds by drowning her in the Bay. It turns out that Chloe's directions were wrong, and Chemo burns down the wrong house.

The next day, homicide detective Al Garcia (A.Garcia) visits Mick at his house, and informs him that Chloe's body has been found, and that he is the prime suspect in her murder. Stranahan tells Garcia that someone is trying to kill him. Garcia advises Mick to lie low. Instead of doing so, Mick visits Dr. Graveline outside his clinic, to advise him to abandon his plans to murder him, emphasizing his point by blowing up the doctor's Ferrari.

Mick returns to his house, where Christina is waiting for him. She tells him that she interviewed Mick's old partner, Timmy, at the hospital. Before Timmy died, he told her that he'd remembered a detail from the case: Graveline's brother, George (O.Platt), is a professional tree trimmer. She isn't sure what that means, but Stranahan is: most trimmers use a wood chipper, an ideal device for disposing of a body in a hurry.

Chemo arrives at the house with a submachine gun. He shoots Mick in the shoulder. Mick then emerges with a shotgun, and Chemo dives off the house to avoid a shotgun blast. Swimming back to shore, Chemo’s hand is bitten off by a barracuda. Making his way back to Graveline, he opts to attach a small chainsaw in his hand’s place, but the best Graveline can do is a portable weed whacker.

Graveline gives Chemo another job: to go to New York City and kill Maggie Gonzalez. But when Chemo finds her in New York, she tells him about Rudy's incompetence. Mortified that he has entrusted his face to a hack, Chemo decides to form an alliance with Maggie, to blackmail Rudy with the knowledge about the co-ed's death. Stranahan and Christina also go to New York to steal a videotaped confession Maggie had created for security.

Stranahan returns to Miami and delivers the video to Det. Garcia. Stranahan also turns up the heat on Graveline by recruiting his brother-in-law, a personal injury lawyer, to sue Graveline for malpractice. He then confronts George Graveline, the tree trimmer, who tries to kill Stranahan rather than talk, and is shot dead by Garcia. Chemo and Maggie kidnap Christina, holding her hostage in exchange for Mick's copy of the videotape.

Reynaldo Flemm has become jealous of Christina's growing attraction to Mick, so he comes up with his own plan to break the co-ed case: he schedules a nose job and abdominoplasty with Rudy, planning to conduct an ambush interview once the nose job is done. His plan quickly goes awry when Rudy decides to do the abdominoplasty first, and puts Reynaldo under anesthesia. When Reynaldo's cameraman bursts into the operating room to start the interview, Rudy panics and accidentally stabs Reynaldo through the heart with a liposuction cannula.

Rudy flees the clinic with Reynaldo’s body. He calls his brother George, only to be told by his George’s wife that he is dead. Rudy decides that his only option is to flee the country, he returns home, only to find he can't go: his girlfriend, Heather Chappell (B.Somerville), has been kidnapped by Stranahan. Realizing they'll never get paid until Stranahan is no longer a threat to Chemo and Maggie join Rudy to confront Stranahan at his house, taking Christina with them.

They confront Stranahan on his fishing boat. Stranahan knocks out Chemo, and sends Maggie, Christina, and Heather back to the mainland on a raft. Rudy claims not to know who the dead co-ed is, so Stranahan decides to jog Rudy's memory of the girl's death by recreating the circumstances of the botched nose job. Scared, Rudy confesses that he killed the co-ed by accident, then had George dispose of the body. He also confesses to hiring Chemo to kill Stranahan. Chemo is so alarmed at Stranahan learning that he agreed to kill him in exchange for a discount on surgery, that he kills Graveline. Stranahan ties Chemo up, calls the police, and swims away. Garcia arrives and arrests Chemo.

An epilogue reveals that Chemo is serving a life-sentence in prison for the murders of Chloe Stranahan and Rudy Graveline, and never did get his plastic surgery. Maggie Gonzalez was convicted of obstruction of justice and sentenced to six hours of community service. "In Your Face!" was canceled following the mysterious disappearance of Reynaldo Flemm and replaced on CBN's schedule with reruns of "My Name is Earl". Christina took a job at the Miami Herald and purchased a second-hand fishing boat. Mick Stranahan was ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from the Florida State District Attorney's office at all times and now enjoys a life of drinking and fishing.


Stark’s Comment:
Comedies are working nicely lately and this looks as a good one. I expect a good box office without major surprises.

Behind The Scenes:
-The film is based on a book by Carl Hiaasen
-John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton have worked together before out of CMP in the films ‘Pushing Tin’ (1999) and ‘The Ice Harvest’ (2005)
-John Cusack directed Oliver Platt in his only directional job for CMP, the flopped drama also starred by Cusack ‘Outer Eye’.
-Billy Bob Thornton has already succeeded this Season with ‘Dog Days’.
-Carla Gugino has recently made a voice-only job in the megahit ‘Metroid: Prime’.
-Harold Ramis has directed before for CMP the films ‘Ultraman’s Revenge’, ‘The Shrinking Man’ and ‘Yogi Bear’. All of them made net gains.

THE SKY IS GREY

Drama / Tragedy

The Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Daniel Craig, Marcia Cross, Paula Patton, Joseph Fiennes

The Director: Darren Aronofsky
The Screenwriter: Chad Taylor

The Plot:

Stan (Phillip Seymour Hoffman),a struggling, middle-aged man, loses his job in the nasty US economic crisis. He finds himself in a mid-life crisis. Having to care for his three kids and wife, he needs to find a way to make money. As he dives down into depression, he starts watching classic gangster and western movies. He pictures himself as one of the robbers he sees on the screen. He then decides that he will change his look and rob a bank.

But he realizes that he needs an accomplice. At the same time, he’s found a friend, Will (Daniel Craig), online that’s also depressed. He approaches Will about being his accomplice, and he says yes. But Will, who was drunk at the time of accepting the challenge, is an undercover cop. He feels bad for Stan, and doesn’t want to turn his back on him.

We find Will in the conflict of choosing between turning Stan in, which he knows would hurt his struggling family, or helping him out. He asks his wife Melissa (Paula Patton) for help, and she tells him to get away from Stan. The next day, Will gets to the station and learns that a Stan Barnett was arrested last night on suspicion of drunk driving. Fellow policeman, John Chavis (Joseph Fiennes), notices strange behavior in Will when he sees the name. Knowing his family doesn’t have the money to bail him out, Will takes a trip to Stan’s emotionally-hurt wife Amy (Marcia Cross), and gives her some cash to make bail.

Later on, Will talks to Stan, telling him he must sober up. Stan agrees, and the next few days feels happier than ever. Amy begins to yell at Stan for being a loser, making him sad again. She admits that she was overreacting, and their debt is getting to her. Meanwhile, Will and his wife start to fight as well, as he suspects that she and her ex-boyfriend, John, are having an affair.

The night before the robbery, Will begins drinking heavily. Him and his wife, have aggressive sex, and he then leaves the house when she goes to bed. He places guns in his car in preparation for the event. It is now that he begins to think about what he is getting himself into. We then see a first person view of him, and every time he blinks, it changes from day to night. Finally, his eyes shut for a good ten seconds until we hear sirens.

The cops (one of whom is John) go into his house, to find Melissa’s dead body. She had been stabbed repeatedly. They then find Will sleeping in his car, with a bloody knife in hand. He tells them he didn’t kill her but the facts are all there. We then go into flashback mode, where we see them about to have sex in the same situation as before. But this time, instead of pulling down his pants, Will pulls out a knife and stabs her. We jump back to present time, with shock in Will’s eyes.

Right before Stan leaves, Amy asks him where he’s going. He tells her he’s going to make ends meet. She begins to cry, and he holds her and tells her he loves her. He kisses her on the forehead and walks out the door. In an eerie sequence, Stan drives to the bank with only California Dreamin' by the Mamas and the Papas playing on the radio (meant to show his aspirations for becoming rich one day). The song continues as he walks into bank and holds the people inside hostage. We cut back to his house, where Amy is feeding the kids at the dinner table. The song keeps playing, as he yells demands to the people, but he notices that Will isn’t showing up. As the cops approach the door, he notices his second option. He puts the gun to his head, and the screen goes black.


Stark’s Comment:
Another hard to sell film. A dark artsy drama… Might be the first box office’s flop of the Season… or might be another nice surprise.

Behind The Scenes:
-Darren Aronofsky has directed before in CMP one of the short stories in ‘Tales Of The Unexpected’ and the dramas ‘Riders On The Storm’ and ‘Foreclosed’.
-Chad Taylor was the screenwriter of ‘Riders On The Storm’. The movie failed at box office.
-Craig and Hoffman have met before in CMP in what was the debut for both of them in the Studio: ‘Dr. Jones and the Sword of Faith’.
-Daniel Craig married recently Rachel Weisz, Aronofsky’s ex wife.
-Joseph Fiennes has already been seen this Season in the Clint Eastwood’s western ‘This Far From Heaven’.
-The title of the film is taken from the song ‘California Dreaming’, by The Mammas and the Papas.


ASSASSIN’S CREED III: Green light for the third installment of this successful saga. After working together past Season in the awarded thriller ‘Heavy Rain’, Peter Jackson and Steve Connors are back together for this one. As usual, Colin Farrell - seen past Season in the flopped horror movie ‘Midnight’ - leads the cast, ready to live the memories of his ancestors in the Roman times. The second installment of this saga was an extraordinary success, making 224 millions at box office and also generating 224 millions of net gains. So everyone at CMP expects another big blockbuster here.

WOMAN OF GOD: Just finished his work in this week’s release ‘The Sky Is Grey’, Daniel Craig has joined this shootage to play one of the lovers of Pope Joan in this historical movie being directed by Ridley Scott and starred by Cate Blanchett with a screenplay written by James Bradley. Tom Wilkinson, best known in CMP for his work in The Forgotten trilogy, will also be seen in the movie playing Blanchett’s father.

SUB-MARINER: This superhero movie will be one of the first releases of Season 19. And it will also mean the first CMP’s production written by the new screenwriter joining the Studio, John Malone. As it has been announced before, David Fincher is going to direct the movie, still recent the release of his latest work for the Studio, ‘The Lonely Polygamist’. To play Namor, the Sub-Mariner, Malone initially considered Alden Ehrenreich. But Fincher wasn’t happy with that choice. So the actor finally playing the character will be no other than Ian Somerhalder, seen before in CMP in ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘One Night Stand’.

ISLAND OF THE DEAD: Guess who can be the writer of a horror movie about humans and zombies fighting in a remote island? Not a difficult question… Yes, Matt Kubrick is finally back to CMP with this zombies story produced by his company, Midnight Movies. But the surprise here is not to see the name of Kubrick attached to a movie like this. The big surprise is that the director of it is going to be no other than D.R.Cobb. Yes, Cobb has made a peculiar choice for his first directional job and Kubrick and him will exchange the jobs they had in ‘The Goonies II’. In that one, Cobb was one of the screenwriters and Kubrick was the director. Leading the cast of the film, we’ll see Karl Urban (‘Dragonlance’, ‘Modern Warfare’) and Marley Shelton, who can be seen in this week’s release ‘Skin Tight’. Marley and Kubrick worked together before in ‘Dark Shadows’.

BORN AGAIN: More names to add to this ensemble movie that tells a few stories linked by the proximity of death and the possibility of reincarnation. Josh Collins has written and directs the film. And latest known cast members are the veteran but always very active Michael Caine, seen past Season in the Best Picture GMA Winner ‘Eye Of The Needle’; Ellen Page, who could be seen past week in the blockbuster ‘ The Team’; and Patricia Clarkson, who worked with Collins before in her only film for CMP, ‘Weigh Anchor’.

TARZAN: Kyle Chandler, who made his debut working with D.R. Cobb in one of his first projects, the thriller ‘Short On Time’, works with him again in this revisitation of the classic character being directed by Joe Wright. Tim Roth, once finished his commitment with the Dragonlance series, is also back to the Studio with this film. Taylor Kitsh is starring the film.

JONESTOWN: The very active D.R. Cobb is also behind this movie being directed and produced by Oliver Stone about the mass suicide that took place in the State of Guyana back in 1978. It is known that Josh Brolin and David Strathairn lead the cast. But we will also see in the film some CMP’s debutantes like the young actor Michael Stuhlbarg, the veteran actor Don Johnson and the actress from tv series like ‘Lost’ and the remake of ‘V’, Elizabeth Mitchell.

AT CROSS PURPOSES: Laurence Abernathy is the screenwriter of this dark crime story that takes place between Mexico and the US being directed by John Hillcoat. Putting up the cast has not been an easy task as it has gone through different changes during its pre-production phase. Rory Culkin (‘Together Apart’) replaced Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who refused the offer to play a minor role in the film. Elijah Wood, not seen in CMP since ‘Earth 3k2’, replaced Topher Grace. And the CMP’s debutante Shea Whigham replaced Jeff Bridges, seen past Season in ‘American Way’. Josh Hartnett and Tom Hardy lead this turbulent cast.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN: Dwayne Johnson, who could also be seen past week in ‘The Team’, plays a minor role in this one as security chief of a company whose President is JK Simmons (‘Sam & Twitch 2’, ‘Sunshine On Lonely Street’). This sci-fi comedy is written by Ben Tyler and Richard Linklater is directing it with a shiny starring trio: Zach Braff, Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

GROW OLD WITH ME: As it’s been said, Chad Taylor is reuniting again some of the young talents that already worked together in ‘Hunger Games’. Andrew Garfield and Elijah Kelley, both seen in that movie, are back again in this one. Nick Cassavettes is directing this romantic story with a most appealing starring couple: Robert Pattinson and Emma Watson, who also was the lead star of ‘Hunger Games’.


D.R. COBB – ‘SKIN TIGHT’

D.R. Cobb releases this week his first comedy, ‘Skin Tight’. But he is also releasing another few movies in the coming weeks, so we have talked with him about all this very different kind of films with his signature in the screenplay.

1.You like to try all movie genres. Do you think that comedy is harder than other genres?

Comedy is definitely harder for me. To be fair, I don't watch a lot of comedies, and the comedies I do watch tend to be dark. And there are just very few original comedy ideas out there. Don't expect to see many comedies with my name on them.

2.What was so special about this book that decided you to write an adaptation?

The situations are ridiculous and the characters are incredibly original. It's been one of my favorite books for a while now, and I think it's just criminal that nobody thought about making a movie out of it. Any time a story opens with somebody being impaled with a marlin, you know you're in for a good time.

3.'Jonestown' is another upcoming release written by you. Why were you interested in recreating those events that took place more than 30 years ago?

Once again, it's one of those situations where I can't believe somebody hadn't done it. The closest thing we have to a movie about the Jim Jones and Jonestown was the 1980 TV movie starring Powers Boothe. In that movie though, the tragedy at Jonestown was relegated to the last 15 minutes or so. Jim Jones is such an interesting and bizarre character. He was so weird and charismatic. Just about every other big tragedy has been given the Hollywood treatment, like 9-11, so why not Jonestown?

4.Also, you are releasing too your own version of 'Tarzan'. There are a lot of Tarzan movies. What will be different in yours?

I take the character seriously. My goal was to take what has worked in all the various incarnations of the character and put it all together, while getting rid of everything I didn't like. I wanted to show the story of what happens before he became an adventurer. Another thing that makes my movie different is that it is set in modern times. I just liked the idea of this man who grew up in the jungle encountering skyscrapers and everything that we are accustomed to and take for granted. I also lucked out with a great young actor in the lead role.

5.And now looking back, how was the experience of working with Scorsese and making such a complex film as 'Oedipus Rex'?

Martin Scorsese is a master filmmaker. Every second you spend around him you learn something new. He's always been one of my favorite directors, so having him direct something that has my name on it is just... awesome.


WONDER WOMAN III

We haven’t had a ‘Making Of…’ article for long so it is great to have one this week! Dawson Edwards has shared with us his diary during the process of writing the screenplay for this week’s release ‘Wonder Woman III’. It’s a nice and very interesting way of learning how a story is built by an author.

THE WONDER JOURNAL
by Dawson Edwards

Journal ENTRY #1

I'm feeling really great about the premise of the story so far. I've just begun my work on the plot and its sounding EPIC! Adding new characters to our cast is the best way to go.

Journal ENTRY #2

So progress is slowing down as I've run into a few BIG problems with the story and its characters. I let my vision of a HUGE Wonder Woman movie get in the way of the perfect Wonder Woman story. And in the end, that's all I want to do. Just tell a great story, and have these actors go out there for 4-6 months doing what they do best. Let's hope that's what I get.

Journal ENTRY #3

I've been working on at least 7 different projects. Unfortunately none of those are Wonder Woman. Those problems I mentioned before are still there, and I'm having a tough time trying to deal with it. I wish I had a time machine so I could stop myself from making them. I'll let you in on a secret. The problem is Wally West aka THE FLASH. Well he's one of the problems. I should have never written the first Flash film starring Wally. While my two Flash films are very entertaining, I think it closed the doors on a lot of potentially amazing stories. This Wonder Woman 3 script being one example. Call this...SCRAPPED.

Journal ENTRY #4

Fresh start. Time to look at the character, her life, her friends, her enemies, and her goals in a new light. That's how I approached the second film, and that's how I will tackle this one. Just spoke with Zhang and convinced him that I will be keeping the same tone as the second film. I want this to feel like something you've never seen before. Now all I have to do is find a story that you've never read before....or tell it in a way that you've never read before.

Journal ENTRY #5

BOOM! BANG! Got it. I have the story that I think will please all audiences. If I make this work, then this will not only be the best superhero movie ever but the best film ever. But I said that about the second WW movie too. It was robbed of BEST PICTURE! Anyway, I'm enjoying plotting this out, but other films are drawing my attention. I'm thinking of slowing down so I can make better films. I don't want to get predictable or burn out. Wonder Woman 3 is back on track, but I have no idea when it'll arrive at its next destination.

Journal ENTRY #6

Had a breakthrough today. Unfortunately, its going to change the last breakthrough I had. What I love about Wonder Woman 2 was that everyone was able to shine. Well, everyone except Catherine as Hippolyta. So now I'm in the process of making sure she shines brighter. I just love this cast so much. Can't wait to see them bring this script to life. This may be the last entry before its finished. Thank goodness!

Journal ENTRY #7

And now the scripting process ends! The movie is plotted out all the way to the credits. Thank you composer Hans Zimmer for a wonderful "Gladiator" score. It really helped me finish the last bit of this (hopefully) amazing film. Now to finish scripting this final scene and send it to the studio. I'm so excited!


PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN

‘The Sky Is Grey’ is the 10th film with Philip Seymour Hoffman in CMP. Hoffman may not be the typical lead star but he has built a solid career in the Studio. All his previous nine films made net gains. He has won the Best Starring Couple GMA and has another two nominations. And his appearance in a film, usually playing supporting roles, is always very well received by critics and audiences. ‘The Sky Is Grey’ is the first time that Hoffman leads a cast in CMP. And that’s a good reason to take a look at his interesting career in the Studio.

DR. JONES AND THE SWORD OF FAITH
Steven Spielberg / Joey Stark
B.O.: 96 / N.G.: 75
Spielberg and Stark put up this movie based on the younger years of Professor Henry Jones, the father of Indy played by Sean Connery in ‘The Last Crusade’. Ewan McGregor played Dr. Jones and Hoffman was his clumsy but intelligent buddy. Daniel Craig, his cast mate in ‘The Sky Is Grey’, was also in this film. The movie worked nicely at box office but it wasn’t as successful as expected.

BLINK
Josh Collins / Josh Collins
B.O.: 32 / N.G.: 4
Hoffman joined the long cast of one of the most tragic, intense and acclaimed Collins’ dramas. These two first works of Hoffman for CMP would set the pattern of his career in the Studio: a mix between prestige works and top budget productions.

FORTUNE CITY
Lawrence Kasdan / Marcus Trax
B.O.: 30 / N.G.: 0.2
This is the lowest box office made by a movie with Hoffman in it. It hardly saved the net losses. Kasdan directed this western and we all know that westerns always have it hard on CMP. Edward Norton and Susan Sarandon leaded the cast and Hoffman played again a remarkable supporting role.

DR. JONES AND THE CURSED TREASURE
Steven Spielberg / Joey Stark
B.O.: 122 / N.G.: 152
Although the first movie was a slight disappointment, Spielberg and Stark decided to shoot this sequel. And things worked much better this time. It was the beginning of a successful strike for Hoffman. A possible third installment of this saga has always been in Joey Stark’s mind but there’s not news about it by the moment.

NETCHASERS
JJ Abrams / Steve Connors
B.O.: 123 / N.G.: 146
Another box office’s success in Hoffman’s filmography. Abrams directed this thriller about a serial cyber-criminal starred by Nicholas Cage and Reese Witherspoon. Hoffman played the villain of the show. And he got his first GMA nod for it at the Best Villain category. But he did not win the award this time.

SHERLOCK HOLMES
Tim Burton / Matt Kubrick
B.O.: 190 / N.G.: 179
Here came the biggest success Hoffman has ever had so far in CMP. Burton and Kubrick revisited the legendary detective before Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law starred their own version of the character. Here, Johnny Depp played Holmes and Hoffman was Dr. Watson. And they won together the Best Starring Couple GMA. The film also won the Best Picture award. And although it did won too the Most Wanted Sequel award, the awaited sequel has never been developed.

TEENAGE WASTELAND
Matt Kubrick / Matt Kubrick
B.O.: 39 / N.G.: 12
After three blockbusters in a row, Hoffman returned to a more prestige work in a low budget drama. Kubrick called him back after ‘Sherlock Holmes’ to play a supporting role in this teen drama starred by Logan Lerman (who won the Best Actor GMA with it). The film was critically acclaimed.

COEN & WARSHINSKI
David Schwimmer / Steve Connors
B.O.: 36 / N.G.: 2
Hoffman and Connors had met before in ‘Netchasers’ and Connors cast him again in this comedy about a disco duo out of time played by Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell. Surprisingly, the movie didn’t work at box office at all. It’s the first and only comedy Hoffman has worked in for CMP.

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY
Steven Spielberg / Joey Stark
B.O.: 41 / N.G.: 6
Spielberg and Stark counted on Hoffman again after the ‘Dr. Jones’ movies for this very ambitious movie about two young comic authors played by Emile Hirsh and Jamie Bell. The film was a hard box office’s disappointment. But, as everybody knows, it became the most nominated (11) and the most awarded (6) film ever in GMA’s history. Hoffman was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award but finally the winner was his cast mate James Franco.


John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton – with a very different look, as you can see - arrived together to the premiere in Los Angeles of their newest movie for CMP, the comedy directed by Harold Ramis and written by D.R. Cobb ‘Skin Tight’. Here is a picture of the stars at the event.



It’s a chain reaction! A couple of weeks ago I told you that David Slade had decided to abandon the pre-production of the sequel of ‘The Question’. He preferred to team up with Tom Cruise in another project. And that Slade’s decision has caused some collateral damages… D.R. Cobb, screenwriter of The Question, needed urgently to hire another director for the sequel. And the chosen one was Duncan Jones. The problem? Jones was already working in the pre-production of a crime drama written by Chad Taylor, titled ‘State Of Mind’. But he accepted Cobb’s offer. So now it was Taylor who had to look urgently for a new director. Finally, he has found it and the chain reaction provoked by Slade’s decision (or should I say betrayal?) seems to be under control.

But that’s not the only problem that ‘State Of Mind’ has gone through. In fact, this film is becoming a nightmare for Taylor. Originally, Martin Scorsese had accepted to direct this film in what would be his third collaboration with Taylor after ‘A Farewell To Arms’ and ‘Noon’. Taylor and Scorsese cast really big names to play supporting roles in the film: Sean Penn, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt… Of course, all of them accepted those minor roles because it was Scorsese who was directing the film. But then, Scorsese lost interest in the project and finally decided to abandon it. It was then when Duncan Jones took control of the film. But Scorsese provoked an unexpected chain reaction too: Penn, Hanks and Pitt also lost interest in the project now that good old Marty was gone. So Duncan Jones had to urgently rebuild the cast. And now Jones himself has left the project… Are you still following me? Sometimes, a medium budget project like ‘State Of Mind’ can turn into a nightmare even worse than the most complex top budget production…

Let’s move to easier and happier issues… Who are the most demanded stars right now at the CMP’s scene? No others than Ryan Gosling and Emma Watson. It seems that starring ‘The Question’ has been the most intelligent move Gosling could have made. Since he made this movie (and got a Best Actor GMA nomination for it), new offers keep arriving for him. In fact, according to some rumors, he might be seen in no less than three different films next Season. And same goes for Emma Watson. She is shooting right now the romantic drama ‘Grow Old With Me’ but new projects are already waiting for her. It seems like we are going to hear a lot in the near future from Ryan and Emma.

Cobie Smulders is tired. That’s what she said in a recent interview. The star from ‘How I Met Your Mother’ has admitted that she is a bit tired of being Wonder Woman. After three movies of her own franchise and another three movies of the ‘Justice League’ saga playing the character, Cobie considers that six might be enough. ‘I would do more movies if Dawson asks me to. After all, I owe it all in CMP to Wonder Woman. But it is inevitable to lose some motivation…’, Cobie has said. Anyway, she also confirmed that next Season she will be starring a completely different kind of movie: a romantic comedy.

My friends at CMP’s offices (yes, that people I have to bribe for inside information) have shown me secretly the release schedule for Season 19. And I must say I am amazed with the quality of the films coming up next Season. It’s going to be a Season full of author-esque films. Of course, there will be the usual superheroes and action flicks. But there are also a lot of book adaptations and a few remakes that look more than appealing. CMP is going to turn its eyes to a more adult audience. And I can tell now that more than six or seven projects could easily become main contenders at the 19th Golden Moon Awards. So expect the best from Season 19 if you like adult audiences oriented movies cause there’s a lot of promising projects coming up!