Posted on: Friday, January 19, 2007
Hollywood Part III or year of never-ending stories
By Bill Muller
Arizona Republic
You could call 2007 the year of the sequel, but that's true almost every year. With the omnipresent pressure to rake in cash, studios are committed to movies with guaranteed return. And that means sequels, lots and lots of sequels, where people know (sort of) what's coming. But it's more accurate to call 2007 the year of the three-quel. This year, it's Hollywood Part III, as we see third chapters of, among others, "Shrek," "Spider-Man" and "Pirates of the Caribbean."
And the moviemakers aren't stopping there.
They're also coming out with fourth and even fifth chapters of other series, apparently out to prove that you can't have enough of a good thing. Or even a mediocre thing.
Here's a look at 2007 — Year of the Three-quel (release dates subject to change):
THREE-QUELS
"Spider-Man 3" (Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst): An unknown force transforms Spider-Man's suit and his attitude, turning both decidedly dark. While Spidey's trying to find matching shoes, he's attacked by two new (at least to the movies) villains: Sandman and Venom. May 4.
"Shrek the Third" (voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz): With Shrek's father-in-law fading fast, the green guy is set to take over Far, Far Away, but doesn't want the job. He tries to push another successor, while Prince Charming plans a nefarious comeback. May 18.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom): As the heyday of pirates ends, Will and Elizabeth join Capt. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) on a trip off the edge of the map (here be dragons and all that jazz) to rescue Jack Sparrow (Depp). May 25.
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Matt Damon, Joan Allen): Amnesiac spy Jason Bourne makes his way to London to head off a book being written about his former employers. When the author and his editor are killed, Bourne is blamed and must go on the run once again. Aug. 3.
"Ocean's 13" (George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon): Danny Ocean (Clooney) collects his original gang (plus one addition, of course) for another heist. Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin join the cast. June 8.
"Rush Hour 3" (Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker): While in Paris, inspector Lee (Chan) and detective Carter (Tucker) tangle with gangsters from the Chinese Triad. Tucker must have run out of lunch money again. Aug. 10.
"Resident Evil: Extinction" (Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter): Survivors of the Raccoon City zombie attack — and doesn't that look great on a resume — head across the Nevada desert with hopes of reaching Alaska. Super-being Alice (Jovovich) tags along. Sept. 21.
SEQUELS
"Hannibal Rising" (Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li): If you count the original "Red Dragon" adaptation, "Manhunter" (and we do), this is the fifth movie with cannibalistic psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter. No sign of Anthony Hopkins here, as we're introduced to a teen, recently orphaned Hannibal (Ulliel). Feb. 9.
"28 Weeks Later ..." (Robert Carlyle, Harold Perrineau): Six months after the rage virus laid waste to the British Isles in "28 Days Later ... " the disease is declared defeated. Refugees return, though one may carry a more powerful form of the plague. May 11.
"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis): A new powerful shiny guy arrives to kick around the super-team. Even worse news: He works for Galactus, who has a mighty big appetite — for entire planets. June 15.
"Evan Almighty" (Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman): Follow-up to "Bruce Almighty" about a newsman-turned-congressman (Carell), who's commanded by God (Freeman) to build an ark before the onset of another Great Flood. June 22.
"Live Free or Die Hard" (Bruce Willis, Justin Long): In this fourth "Die Hard" movie (the series really lives up to its title) a high-tech terrorist group tries to systematically take down the nation's computer systems, but Luddite cop John McClane (Willis) isn't about to let that happen. July 4.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson): In the fifth movie (my, has time flown) Harry and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) warn of dastardly Lord Voldemort's return and a dictatorial witch attempts to seize control of Hogwarts. July 13.
"National Treasure: The Book of Secrets" (Nicolas Cage, Harvey Keitel): Treasure hunter Ben Gates (Cage) tries to recover 18 missing pages of Abraham Lincoln's diary, which may reveal the "true story" of the president's assassination. Hmm ... I thought we already figured that one out. Dec. 21.
OTHER NOTABLES
"Ghost Rider" (Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes): Motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze (Cage) makes a deal with the devil (hey, he had a coupon) to protect his loved ones, but now his tab is due. By night, Blaze is transformed into a flaming rider on the trail of a rogue demon. Feb. 16.
"Zodiac" (Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo): True story of police and reporters on the trail of the so-called "Zodiac Killer" in San Francisco, a serial murderer who often taunted police with boastful letters and confounded them with coded messages. Based on the book by Robert Graysmith. March 2.
"Grindhouse" (Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez): Hyper-violent double-feature (complete with fake trailers) modeled after the low-budget exploitation films of the '60s and '70s. One is directed by Robert Rodriguez ("Planet Terror") and the other by Quentin Tarantino ("Death Proof"). Can't wait. April 6.
"The Nanny Diaries" (Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Alicia Keys, and Paul Giamatti): Adaptation of the best-seller about a college student (Johansson) hired to watch the child of a well-to-do New York couple. April 20.
"Surf's Up" (voices of Shia LaBeouf, Jon Heder, Zooey Deschanel): Animated tale of a cocky surfing penguin (LaBeouf) from Antarctica who enters his first professional competition, leaving behind his family and traveling to the big surf-off. He's mentored by a washed-up surfer (Jeff Bridges). June 8.
"Nancy Drew" (Emma Roberts, Joanne Baron): Nancy (Roberts) travels to L.A. with her dad, where she solves a murder mystery involving a movie star. Based on the popular book series by Carolyn Keene. June 15.
"Transformers" (Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox): Michael Bay's live-action adaptation of the '80s cartoon (and toy line) about two mechanized alien races, the Autobots and the Decepticons, fighting for control of the Earth. It's about time Bay did some serious work. July 4.
"The Simpsons Movie" (voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright): Doh! Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa finally reach the big screen in this adaptation of one of TV's most popular animated shows ever. July 27.
"Stardust" (Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Robert De Niro): Fantasy film, based on a comic book, about a hero (Cox) who tries to retrieve a fallen star from a magical land. Aww. July 27.
"Bee Movie" (voices of Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Chris Rock and Matthew Broderick): Animated film about a solitary bee (Seinfeld) who doesn't want to make honey and leaves the hive, where he meets a friendly florist (Zellweger). Nov. 2.
| | |
|
|
