Well, here you go. We've got zombies, witches, country singers, cowboys, videotapes and fashionistas. Simon Baker, Judy Greer and Shirley Maclaine each appear in two films. And Jessica Alba and Jessica Biel are each in films. Its a Darren world gone mad!!!! I hope 2005 is a great moviegoing year as there are many projects I'm looking forward to, but only a few I'm dying to see. Enjoy! (You probably already skipped to #1. Why am I still talking?)
10. THE RING TWO
Rachel Keller moves with her son, Aidan, to Oregon after the events in Seattle, but when a copy of the sinister videotape kills a boy and Aidan gets sick with an unexplained ailment, she has to dig deeper into the history of the girl that appears in the tape.The Director: Hideo Nakata (Ringu)
The Cast: Naomi Watts, David Dorfman, Sissy Spacek, Simon Baker, Emily Van Camp, Gary Cole and Elizabeth Perkins.
The Screenwriter: Ehren Kruger (The Ring, Scream 3)
Based On: (loosely) The Ringu trilogy.
Why? Before I die, I should see the ring...two. Naomi and David are back, and horror icon Spacek joins them. What fun videotape shenanigans will they cook up this time?
Outlook: That hot new trailer is quite promising. Audiences went for the copycat The Grudge, so this shouldn't have any problem topping $100 million. The secretive nature of the project will only create more hype. Going against it is that a sequel rarely does well when released in another part of the year than its predecessor.
Trailer here.
DreamWorks Pictures - March 18
9. ELIZABETHTOWN
A suicidal man returns home to Elizabethtown, Kentucky for his father's funeral. Once there, he meets a quick witted flight attendant who helps him get his life back on track.
The Writer/Director: Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire)
The Cast: Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Judy Greer, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin and Jessica Biel.
Why? Bloom gets his chance to act and in a Crowe film, no less. Twentysomething angst is on its way back in.
Outlook: It may get lost its first weekend going against the big boys of summer, but should have no trouble developing into a sleeper. If Bloom can carry the film well, expect kudos for him and Dunst, who plays a free spirited flight attendant. The supporting cast of Sarandon, Greer and Baldwin will add nice comedic touches. If the film is strong enough, all of this could translate into awards later in the year.
Paramount Pictures - July 29
8. SIN CITY
Sin City is a violent city where the police department is as corrupt as the streets are deadly. In this movie, we follow three stories, the central of which is Marv, a tough-as-nails and nearly impossible to kill street fighter who goes on a rampage of vengeance when a beautiful woman, Goldie, he sleeps with for only one night is killed while lying in bed with him.
The Directors: Frank Miller (debut) and Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Spy Kids)
The Cast: Jessica Alba, Devon Aoki, Maria Bello, Alexis Bledel, Rosario Dawson, Benecio Del Toro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Carla Gugino, Josh Hartnett, Rutger Hauer, Jaime King, Michael Madsen, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Nick Stahl, Marley Shelton, Bruce Willis and Elijah Wood.
The Screenwriters: Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez
Based On: The graphic comic by Miller.
Why? Have you seen that trailer? It also moved up a notch in my book when I found out Alexis Bledel and Clive Owen were in it.
Outlook: Audiences aren't reacting as positively to the trailer as film geeks are. Sky Captain only made $35 million despite mostly good notices, and I have no clue whether this groundbreaking format will work for a darker film. The cast and director should yield more business than Sky Captain but not by much. A cult hit status upon its DVD release is all but assured.
Dimension Films - April 1
7. SYRIANA
Syriana, a geological term, refers to the Middle East hot spots that have proved so volatile to U.S. security. Several vignettes dealing with these spots interweave including the stories of Robert Baer, who spent 20 years in the trenches for the CIA, and an oil executive suffereing a family tragedy.
The Screenwriter/Director: Stephen Gaghan (screenwriter of Traffic)
The Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Chris Cooper, John Malkovich, Anjelica Huston, Gina Gershon, Amanda Peet, Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella, Christopher McDonald, Tim Blake Nelson, Greta Scacchi and Michelle Monaghan.
Based On: Robert Baer's memoir "See No Evil: The True Story of a Foot Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism."
Why? Its a Traffic-style take on the political climate of the world and a very timely one. The cast is just as flawless and the script is said to be just as great.
Outlook: A serious, adult film opening in summer - the same weekend as Elizabethtown - probably won't last. If Warner Bros. wants it as their big awards titan, they should consider bumping it back to the fourth quarter where it would do much better and accolades would yield more money. Anticipation is huge and its a big budget risk. Let's hope Gaghan pulls the directing off the way he did the screenplay.
Warner Bros. - July 29
6. WALK THE LINE
He was a voice of rebellion that changed the face of rock and roll, an outlaw before today's rebels were born and an icon they would never forget. Johnny Cash did all this before turning 30. This is the story of the early years of the music legend and the woman who became the love of his life: June Carter. The Director: James Mangold (Girl, Interrupted)
The Cast: Joaqin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnfer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, Shelby Lynne, Dallas Roberts and John Carter Cash.
The Screenwriters: James Mangold and Gill Dennis
Based On: "Cash: An Autobiography."
Why? The man comes around. Phoenix and Witherspoon are perfectly cast and could be award-ready. Mangold has already been a director to watch, and this is his biggest, most ambitious project to date.
Outlook: Good. Phoenix and Witherspoon are singing their own tunes thanks to movie music master T-Bone Burnett (O, Brother Where Art Thou!; Cold Mountain.) Early stills look great and the actors enthusiasm for the film has shown in interviews. However, aren't biopics so 2004?
20th Century Fox - November 18
5. IN HER SHOESRose Feller is a thirty year old high powered attorney. Maggie is a 28 year old and drop dead gorgeous. These two women have nothing in common other than the same shoe size, a childhood tragedy, and the same DNA. The sisters are about to learn they're more alike than they ever imagined.
The Director: Curtis Hanson (L.A Confidential, Wonder Boys)
The Cast: Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley MacClaine, Mark Feurstien, Brooke Smith, Anson Mount and Eric Balfour.
The Screenwriter: Susanna Grant (Erin Brockovich)
Based On: The novel of the same name by Jennifer Weiner.
Why? Diaz, and her possible first Oscar nomination. Hanson knows how to make a character story (see Wonder Boys.)
Outlook: Despite the talent involved - Ridley Scott also produces - buzz has been minimal so far, but the book has a following. It'll need all the talent of the cast, the terrific Hanson and Grant to make it rise above the Lifetime-ready storyline.
20th Century Fox - April 8
4. BEWITCHEDWashed up actor Jack Wyatt is about to get a role that could cause his already floundering career to sink or swim: the role of mortal Darrin Stephens in a movie version of the classic TV series Bewitched. As a stipulation, a complete unknown will be hired for the role Darrin's wife, Samantha: Isabel Bigelow, who is about to make the film's production very interesting with a secret from her past: she's really a witch from another planet.
The Director: Nora Ephron (You've Got Mail, Sleepless In Seattle)
The Cast: Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, Jason Schwartzman, Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, Kristin Chenoweth, Steve Carell, David Alan Grier, Heather Burns and Nick Lachey.
The Screenwriters: Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron (You've Got Mail) and Adam McKay (Starsky and Hutch, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)
Based On: The classic TV show of the same name.
Why? Because I needed a Nicole Kidman movie in the top 10. As a kid, I remember watching the TV show everyday, but only have a vague recollection of the actual show. Will Ferrell can make anything funny and that supporting cast is to die for.
Outlook: Solid. The original concept may throw off some, but the combination of a Ephron/Kidman/Caine/MacLaine movie mixed in with a Ferrell/McKay/Comedy Central lineup one should make for an enormously entertaining summer movie.
Columbia Pictures - July 8
3. CURSED
An estranged brother and sister living in Los Angeles, mourning the recent loss of their parents, are brought together by a savage werewolf attack, forcing them to fight for survival, against both the beast and the dangers of its virulent curse.
The Director: Wes Craven (the Scream trilogy, A Nightmare On Elm Street)
The Cast: Christina Ricci, Jesse Eisenberg, Joshua Jackson, Judy Greer, Portia De Rossi, Mya, Shannon Elizabeth and Michael Rosenbaum.
The Writer: Kevin Williamson (Scream, Scream 2)
Why? I've been waiting patiently for two and a half years for the reteaming of Craven and Williamson.
Outlook: Mixed. Test screening reactions have been warm, but with only a month and half before the film's supposed release date, there's very little buzz. Don't be surprised if its bumped back again. That rumor of a PG-13 cut being released really pisses me off. If true, I may just wait for the unrated cut on DVD.
Dimension Films - February 25
2. LAND OF THE DEAD
Zombies having taken over the world and those left alive are confined to a walled-in city that keeps out the corpse corps. Anarchy rules the streets, with the wealthy insulated and living in fortified skyscrapers. The drama revolves around a group of scavengers who must thwart an attempt to overthrow the city while the dead are evolving from brainless slow-moving creatures into more advanced creatures.
The Writer/Director: George Romero (the Living Dead trilogy)
The Cast: Dennis Hopper, Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Asia Argento and Tom Savini.
Why? We've had fast moving, virus-infected humans. We've had action packed, zombie remakes. Now, the master is back and I'm dying to see what he's got in him after a twenty year break.
Outlook: Great for fans. Any fanatic of the famed, praised to heaven "Dead" trilogy knows this has been the zombie movie to see. The plot even has the series trademark tinge of politics and the cast is quite ecclectic. Its just up to Romero to show a new generation how its done.
Universal Pictures - October 21
1. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Set against the sweeping vistas of the Midwest, this is the story of two cowboys - Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist - who while working as ranch hands near Wyoming's Brokeback Mountain in the summer of 1961 begin a friendship that leads to love. Their lives take different courses over the next twenty years, however, with Jack becoming a rodeo cowboy while Ennis remains a ranch hand, and the film follows their lives as they see each other on a yearly "fishing trip." Their relationship is rocky, however, as they must deal with the challenges posed as the intolerance of pre-(and post)-Stonewall rural America rears its ugly, and ultimately violent head against the two lovers.
The Director: Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; The Ice Storm, Sense and Sensibility)
The Cast: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Anna Faris, Randy Quaid, Linda Cardelinni and Scott Michael Campbell.
The Screenwriters: Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana (Dead Man's Walk, Streets of Laredo)
Based On: The short story by Annie Proulx (author of "The Shipping News.")
Why? Its an intimate western, an epic love story with a tragic ending, and a gay indie all in one. Its also considered to be one of the most controversial films of the year. The acclaimed director and red-hot cast of Hollywood's hottest young talent will hopefully do justice to the script, rumored to have been the best unproduced script in Hollywood for the past several years. The short story it is based on is amazing.
Outlook: Extremely positive when it comes to being a good movie. Negative most everywhere else. For Ledger, Gyllenhaal and Williams (who plays Ledger's wife - the two are now dating in real life): the roles of a lifetime. Hathaway will play Gyllenhaal's married-for-her-money wife who is barely in the short story, but will probably be expanded adding another great role. The young and marketable cast have already had to defend the film to death and its still seasons away from release. As far as box-office, I doubt it will cross $30 million unless it is nominated for Best Picture. Then again, as we learned in 2004, niche audiences come out in droves. Anyone else think that if the film would star, say, Naomi Watts and Kirsten Dunst - Ledger and Gyllenhaal's respective ex-girlfriends - it would have no trouble grossing, like, $100 million. Gotta love those double standards. There's buzz that the film's title might be changed to "Brokedown Mountain" to avoid the film (already!) being called "Bareback Mount-him." (Insert pudding joke here.) As you can see, the title might as well be subtitled "Wrong Movie, Wrong Country."
Focus Features - Fourth Quarter
Well, now that my two cents are in, feel free to comment on what your most anticipated film of 2005 is!
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