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Dated
| Jan 17 | Confessions of a Dangerous Mind | George Clooney directs Sam Rockwell in the story of the loonier than real life Chuck Barris–he was the host of The Dating Game but behind the scenes he was really a CIA field op. |
| Jan 31 | The Recruit | Al Pacino mentors Colin Farrell at the CIA, directed by Roger Donaldson (who’s also done, among other things, Tom Cruise’s Cocktail and the first really cool Aussie film I ever saw, Smash Palace. The TV commercial/trailer looks good. |
| Feb 7 | Shanghai Knights | Reportedly pushed back from a Dec. 2002 release, this sequel to Shanghai Noon has Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson off to London where the become involved in the hunt for Jack the Ripper and Chan tries to prevent Wilson from romancing his sister (played by Fann Wong, a Singaporean TV star) |
| Feb 14 | Darevil | Affleck plays the blind lawyer superhero and makes nice with Jennifer Garner, who looks hot in leather, and not so nice with Colin Farrell and Michael Clarke Duncan |
| Mar 13 | Foreigner | Steven Seagal |
| Mar 21 | Identity | John Cusack is one of my favorite younger actors but looks like he’s on a losing streak now (Max, Serendipity, America’s Sweethearts) |
| Mar 21 | Willard | Remake of the heartwarming tale of a boy and his rat, starring the creepy Crispin Glover and written directed by Morgan/Wong |
| Mar 28 | Head of State | Chris Rock is a local DC politician thrust into a presidential campaign as a replacement when the Democrat nominee dies, Bernie Mac is his brother, and there are plenty of lovely women to make for laughs; Rock makes his directorial debut with this one. |
| Mar 28 | The Core | Delayed from late 2002, a group of astronauts and scientists (portrayed by Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Bruce Greenwood and Stanley Tucci) must drill to the center of the Earth to jump-start the planet’s inactive core. |
| Apr 4 | Dreamcatcher | Steven King horror with Morgan Freeman
Update, 12/26/2: Slipping from a previously scheduled January release. |
| Apr 4 | Ripley’s Game | This time Ripley’s played by John Malkovitch and Italian writer/director Liliana Cavani makes her American film debut. |
| Apr 11 | Anger Management | Sandler is the angry man and Nicholson is gonna teach him how to tame it |
| Apr 15 | Bulletproof Monk | Chow Yun Fat protects a scroll which holds the key to unlimited power across the centuries and, in the present day, takes on Sean William Scott (American Pie, Road Trip) as his protege and successor. Trailer |
| Apr | George and the Dragon | A long time ago in Ireland; has Michael Clarke Duncan in it, though one wonders how a huge African-American can fit in any better than Morgan Freeman did in Prince of Thieves; then again this is a comedy. |
| May 1 | Anything Else | Woody Allen’s follow up to Hollywood Ending, he’s having an affair with Christina Ricci, who’s dating Jason Biggs, and somehow Jimmy Fallon fits into the picture |
| May 2 | X2: X-Men 2 | All the mutants, the Professor, and Magneto are back for another round |
| May 9 | Daddy Day Care | Eddie Murphy and a pal (Steve Zahn?) get laid off and decide they can do the kid thing professionally–too bad the Simpsons already did this one |
| May 15 | Matrix Reloaded | Keanu and Lawrence fight Agent Smith and the machines again |
| May 23 | The Wedding Party | Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks play the Peter Falk and Alan Arkin roles in a remake of 1979’s The In-Laws |
| May 23 | Bruce Almighty | Jim Carrey complains about God too often and is given almighty powers for 24 hours |
| May 30 | Finding Nemo | The next Pixar/Disney animation (trailer online here) featuring the voices of Albert Brooks, Willem Dafoe, Ellen Degeneres and a host of TV actors |
| Jun 6 | 2 Fast 2 Furious | Paul Walker tries to earn back his badge by going undercover in Miami, while Vin Diesel remains at large and offscreen, in the sequel to The Fast and the Furious |
| Jun 13 | Hollywood Homicide | Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett try not to let their personal lives get in the way of catching rap impresario Isiah Washington for murdering stars who want to leave his label. A big bang police flick. One has to wonder if Ford is moving into the roles Clint Eastwood did about ten, fifteen years ago that were, well, good paydays. |
| Jun 13 | When Harry Met Lloyd: Dumb & Dumberer | Remember the two idiots (played by Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey) in Dumb and Dumber? This film brings them back as teenagers simply trying to survive high school (watch the trailer) |
| Jun 20 | The Hulk | Ang Lee brings us Eric Bana as Bruce Banner, Jennifer Connelly as his squeeze and a computer creation as the big green guy |
| Jun 27 | Charlie’s Angels 2: Full Throttle | Three fine ladies and Demi Moore as a fallen Angel, but sadly, Bill Murray does not return. Trailer |
| Jul 2 | Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde | Reese Witherspoon returns as the not really blonde Elle Woods, working her magic in D.C. this time and getting all in their faces about animal rights and animal testing with the help of Bob Newhart. |
| Jul 3 | Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | Arnold, of course, is back after the producers coughed up $30 million |
| Jul 9 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom face off against a crew of ghost-pirates in this Jerry Bruckenheimer production based on the disneyland ride–we saw the trailer today and it actually looks half decent. |
| Jul 11 | The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen | What if all those fictional late 19th century heroes were real? Sean Connery as Alan Quartermain, Stuart Townsend as Dorian Gray, the luscious Peta Wilson as Mina Harker, Jason Flemyng as Jeckyll and Hyde, and someone (not Jason Isaacs) will portray Campion Bond (Jame’s great-grandfather?). And they had a cool logo…
Update, 11/5/2: Release date drops five weeks due to delays in filming caused by the recent floods in Central Europe. But the trailer is making the movie look great! |
| Jul 18 | Exorcist 4: The Beginning | Paul Shrader steps in for the recently passed John Frankenheimer to direct and Stellan Skarsgard steps in for (no big loss) Liam Neeson to star in this post-WWII headspinner prequel set in Africa |
| Jul 18 | Bad Boys 2 | Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, cha-ching! The original was director Michael (Aramgeddon, Pearl Harbor) Bay’s first big movie. |
| Jul 25 | Lara Croft and the Cradle of Life: Tomb Raider 2 | Angelina Jolie shows off her luscious body jumping and kicking all over the screen, Jan de Bont (Speed, Twister) taking over the director chair from Simon West |
| Aug 1 | Gigli | Affleck and J. Lo get biz-zay, falling in love onscreen and off, in this comedy caper |
| Aug 1 | American Pie 3: American Wedding | Same writer, new director, many of the actors return to look at life just after college, when Michelle (Allison Hannigan) and Jim (Jason Biggs) decide to get married. |
| Aug 8 | Cursed | Same writer, same director as the Scream trilogy (Williamson, Craven) go after werewolves: scary first, and then a lot of fun |
| Aug 8 | S.W.A.T. | Samuel L. Jackson takes over the LA squad, and is joined by Colin Farrell and James Todd Smith (LL Cool J’s real name); will be directed by Clark Johnson, fresh from his success directing The Shield. |
| Summer | Masked and Anonymous | Zimmy himself, ol’ Bob Dylan, makes his first movie appearance in many years in this film costarring John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Cheech Marin, and many other name actors. Dylan plays an older, struggling singer managed by Goodman and they’re up to something investigated by reporter Lange in this feature directed by Seinfeld’s Larry Charles. Dylan’s currnt band backs him during the concert sequences. |
| Sep 26 | The Big Bounce | Owen Wilson and Morgan Freeman star in this picture shot in Oahu, which also features Sara Foster and Gary Sinise, directed by George Armitage (he directed the John Cusack classic Grosse Pointe Blank), is based on a crime novel by Elmore Leonard and is a remake of the 1969 Ryan O’Neil-starrer. A recent (12/02) script review is less than enthusiastic. |
| Fall | Once Upon a Time in Mexico | Banderas is back as the Mariachi, with Johnny Depp, Selma Hayek, Willem Dafoe, Cheech Marin, and Ruben Blades, written and directed by Robert Rodriguez |
| Fall | The Singing Detective | Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. (talk about sticking by your pals!) star in a remake of Dennis Potter’s British musical mystery comedy, which mixes a hallucinatory fantasy of spies and criminals with 1940s pop tunes–do you think Mel can sing?
Update, 1/11/3: Production was done in June, 2002, so this film could be in theaters any time now. Update 2/7/3: Finally picked up by a studio, Paramount Classics, and look for a semi-prestige Fall release date. Update 4/21/3: A correspondent informs me that Gibson did a fine job singing in Disney’s animated version of Pochahontas a few years ago. |
| Oct 10 | Kill Bill | Tarantino’s next comic thriller |
| Oct 10 | Intolerable Cruelty | George Clooney and Billy Bob Thornton team up with Ethan and Joel Coen once again, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffey rush, and Cedric the Entertainer co-star in the story of a revenge-seeking gold digger marries a womanizing Beverly Hills lawyer with the intention of making a killing in the divorce. |
| Oct 17 | The Whole Ten Yards | Bruce and Amanda, Mattthew and Natasha, and Kevin Pollack as Gogolak are all back for another run down the field |
| Oct 17 | Texas Chainsaw Massacre | Leatherface is back in this remake of Tobe Hooper’s classic horror tale, directed by first-timer Marcus Nispel and starring former 7th Heaven hottie Jessica Biel and Jonathan Tucker |
| Oct 17 | The Medallion | Jackie Chan is a cop, is murdered, comes back as a spirit superhero, co-starring the creepy pizza delivery guy from There’s Something About Mary.
Update 3/13/3: Name of the movie has been changed from The Highbinders and release date moved up a week. |
| Nov 7 | Matrix Revolutions | The last(?) of the trilogy |
| Nov 7 | Jersey Girl | Kevin Smith (Dogma, Chasing Amy) makes a flick that is not set in the same little universe as all his previous gems but does star Ben Afleck and J. Lo |
| Nov 21 | Mona Lisa Smile | Julia Roberts teaches at a girl’s college in 1953, with Julia Stiles and (maybe) Kirsten Dunst, a female Dead Poet’s Society |
| Nov 21 | Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat | Mike Myers gets all Jim Carrey |
| Nov 21 | Around the World in 80 Days | Jackie Chan in a remake of the Jules Verne classic, directed by Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer, The Water Boy).
Update 3/13/3: Production is just starting this week, so one wonders about the release date. |
| Nov 26 | Timeline | Crichton’s novel of academics travelling to 14th century France, with Gerard Butler, Paul Walker, and David Thewlis.
Update 5/20/3: Release slipped to Thanksgiving due to post-production, scheduling issues. |
| Nov | Hero | The biggest production ever to come out of China, this story of the ruthless bastard who conquered six kingdoms 2200 years ago to create China stars Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen as a set of assassins out to stop this from hapenning, Jet Li as the protector who stands in their way, and Daoming Chen as the warlord. Though the politics may be a bit muddled, this may be the film that tops even Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon |
| Nov | Shopgirl | Steve Martin, Jimmy Fallon, and Claire Danes will star in the screen version of Martin’s novella for director Anand Tucker |
| Dec 12 | The Alamo | Back to old Texas, was supposed to be directed by Ron Howard but Russell Crowe is still rumoured as the star
Update, 12/30/2: IMDB is now showing the stars as Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn in Lord of the Rings), Dennis Quaid, and Billy Tob Thornton and John Lee Hancock (The Rookie) directing. |
| Dec 12 | The Last Samurai | Tom Cruise stars as a Civil War veteran visiting Japan as the Meiji attempt to eradicate the remaining Samurai warriors |
| Dec 17 | The Return of the King | Final leg of the trilogy, wherein we see if Frodo and Sam destroy the One Ring and make it out of Mordor alive |
| Dec 17 | Cold Mountain | An all star case led by Jude Law, Rene Zellweger, and Nicole Kidman star in writer/director Anthony Minghella’s adaptation of Charles Frazier’s recent best-selling post-Civil War novel |
| Q4 | Godsend | Robert DeNiro (maybe), clones the dead child of Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Greg Kinnear in a thriller to be directed by Nick Hamm. |
| Q4 | Untitled Nancy Myers Project | Myers, the writer/director of What Women Want and Father of the Bride, will bring us this story of a never grown up music mogul (Jack Nicholson), his girlfriend (Amanda Peet), her mother (Diane Keaton), her aunt (Frances McDormand), and his doctor (Keanu Reeves) and the hilarity that ensues when the mogul has a heart attack, falls in love with the mother, and has to contend with the doctor for her heart. |
Undated
| The Three Stooges | New take on the characters from the Farrelly brothers |
| The Prisoner | Remake of the McGoohan TV series |
| Memoirs of a Geisha | Spielberg directs the bestselling novel
Update, 1/11/3: Spielberg dropped off the project as director, apparently the studio (Sony) is taking its time picking a replacement, so no surprise if this movie doesn’t show up until late 2004 or into 2005. |
| Operation Condor 3 | Jackie Chan follows up his Nazi gold caper from 1990 |
| Tibetan Monk in New York | Jet Li martial arts (duh) comedy, could the co-star be the always working Jackie Chan? |
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