NeveCampbell Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If you were one of the people who thought that another Scream movie was a bad idea (and who could blame you after the train wreck that was Scream 3), there might be a ray of hope...but I have to stress might. Over at Cinema Blend, their 'reliable source' is telling them that the man himself, Wes Craven, will return to direct the latest installment in the horror franchise.

It had been reported that Craven would be involved in some capacity with the film back when the project was first green lit, but you have to wonder what might have convinced him to get behind the camera. Maybe it was all down to nostalgia and he wanted to get together with the old gang, or maybe it was Kevin Williamson's spec script. One thing is for sure, the big empty spot in his schedule since finishing 25/8 probably wouldn't hurt either. (By the way, 25/8 was just re-named My Soul to Take.)

Back in July, there were hints that the film was going to be a complete reboot, but once we found out that Neve Campbell and the Arquette-Coxes would be returning, a straight remake seemed unlikely. So this all sounds like any Scream fan's dream come true, right? You've got the original director, screenwriter, and cast all involved. Well, not so fast, because according to Cinema Blend's sources (and Erik's prediction), the original cast will only be appearing in cameos, and that they will be handing the reigns over to a new group of teens/cannon fodder -- and by handing over the reigns, I mean horribly murdered before the opening credits have rolled.

Do you think there's hope for Scream IV if Craven does direct, and would you be disappointed if the original cast didn't stick around? Sound off in the comments...

Who knows what finally convinced Neve Campbell to return to the Scream franchise, but according to Variety (and Bob Weinstein), she'll join both Courteney Cox and David Arquette in a fourth installment set to begin production in April or May. This fourth installment will be the first in a new trilogy, and The Weinstein Co. is in talks with Wes Craven to helm at least the first film. No word on whether Campbell and the Cox-Arquette duo will stay on past the first flick or be hacked up five minutes in (I'd vote for the latter).

The Weinstein Co. have been battling rumors of money trouble for awhile now, letting go of employees and delaying films due to lack of funds and manpower. Now, though, Bob Weinstein says the company will be returning to some of the franchises that helped produce box office, and in addition to three new Scream films, they're bringing Robert Rodriguez back to write and direct Spy Kids IV in 3D, with production on that set to begin in March of 2010 (so much for Sin City 2 ...). Also on the agenda for Weinstein is a third Halloween movie in 3D, as well as remakes of Hellraiser, Scanners (in 3D), Short Circuit and American Werewolf in London. On whether Weinstein will be able to handle all these films without bankrupting the company or delaying release dates for years on end, Bob notes, " ... there is no question that financing is readily available to produce and market these films."

Guess we'll see about that ...

Thanks to that Internet phenomenon known as Twitter, the Scream world was buzzing over the weekend, clearing up some questions whilst opening up a whole other can of worms.

Last we heard, the Arquettes were in talks to reprise their roles for Scream 4. But they weren't the only ones Kevin Williamson was counting on. June 10: "Come on Sid! Say yes! Please!!!!!! I'm begging!!!!!" But it looks like begging didn't help to schmooze Neve Campbell back to her killer-fighting role. On Friday, Williamson followed up with: "Trying to figure out a Sid-less scenario. She won't do it. This sucks." (The tweet has since been removed, but can be found in the Google cache here.) He now says that he's "moving forward will all my characters regardless...it's the story I wanna tell."

Williamson further clarified his comments to PopWrap, saying "I've had numerous conversations with Neve. She's a friend. Nicest girl on the planet. It just ain't workin' out and it sucks for me." He also admitted that Campbell not doing it kinda hurts his original idea, because her role was a lot bigger than we all may have originally thought. "It was no cameo. I'd never play Sid out that way. And I ain't got no Sid-less scenario. So, I don't know yet what to do." He did, however, clear up one thing. This is definitely not a reboot: "It is a sequel. Scream 4. The first chapter of a new trilogy."

Could this be a chapter where the frights start from moment one and actually carry through to the end? Williamson is scaring himself, but can he still scare us?

Oh, what might have been! Alison Lohman gives a terrific performance as the cursed loan officer Christine Brown in Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, which opens tomorrow. If not for the vagaries of scheduling, though, Ellen Page would have played the lead role. Would Page have been any better? We'll never know, but she joins a long list that inspires thoughts of 'What if ...?'

Once upon a time, we might have seen Leslie Howard as the titular Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi as The Monster. Instead, Colin Clive played the good doctor, Boris Karloff got a jump-start on life, and the rest is horror history. Here are seven more recent examples of actors and actresses who were considered for key roles in great horror films ... and the ones who replaced them, listed in chronological order. [Disclaimer: Based on information provided on IMDb's "trivia" pages, so no guarantees on accuracy.] Better? Worse? You decide.

1. Melanie Griffith / Sissy Spacek (Carrie)

Even though she was in her mid-20s, Spacek looks so young and fragile as Carrie that it's difficult to imagine anyone else in the role. Griffith was 18 or 19 and already had made an impression in Night Moves, The Drowning Pool, and Smile when she auditioned to play the telekinetic high schooler. Conveying Carrie's complexities might have been beyond her still-developing skills at that point. The pic above, left, is from Joyride, released the following year.

I don't know about anyone else, but I thought that was a pretty exceptional summer, as far as good, entertaining movies went. I've seen summers in which almost every movie seemed mediocre and not one standout ever emerged (2000 and 2006, for example). But this year, there were at least five standouts and at least five more really good movies. Call me crazy, but I caught up with Speed Racer on DVD this week, and even that one didn't seem so bad. (Sure, it's no Iron Man. I think it probably plays better on the small screen, although I did have trouble with the length and with the annoying Spritle character.) And, of course, we saw a lot of stars at their best this summer: Robert Downey Jr., Heath Ledger, Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Ben Stiller, James Franco, Meryl Streep, Penelope Cruz, etc. Good times! It was all so exciting that I nearly forgot about some of my other favorite stars.

It's weird. You can get caught up in the ebb and flow of this business and it may not occur to you that, say, Neve Campbell hasn't been around lately. I miss her. I interviewed her in early 2004, just after Robert Altman's The Company came out. That was a masterful film, a great piece of work, on which Neve had writing and producing credits. It looked like she was really going places: from there, she was poised to play the great silent film star Louise Brooks in a biopic. I saw her again in James Toback's twisted When Will I Be Loved, which I liked more than just about anyone else.

Many know Jack London for The Call of the Wild, but there is another, The Sea Wolf, which has captured cinematic attention again and again. Since it was written in 1904, it has had a ton of big-screen and television adaptations. Ten are listed at IMDb. Now we're getting another, with a sweet cast that is sure to do wonders with the story.

Variety reports that Tim Roth and Neve Campbell have signed on to the miniseries, and this teams them up with star Sebastian Koch -- who played Georg Dreyman in The Lives of Others. While it might not boast a crew like that of John Adams, I can definitely see these actors nailing their parts. A lad named Humphrey (was he perhaps aged into Roth?) is on a San Francisco ferry when it collides with a ship and sinks. He is picked up by Wolf Larsen (I'd presume Koch), the brutal captain of a ship called Ghost, and they later pick up Maud Brewster, a famous poet (Neve?) that Humphrey falls for. From there, it's not just happy sailing on the seas, or honorable releases from Penzance.

The script comes from Nigel Williams, and the production has a long shoot set, beginning now in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and to be completed by the end of the year.

I have to give Neve Campbell props. In the late '90s, it looked like she'd be one of those teen stars forgotten -- one who might pop up in her 40s with a resurgence, but would always be known as that teen girl who cooked up spells, fought off a bunch of movie-buff killers, and got sexy with Denise Richards. Instead, she's been working out of the spotlight and picking some interesting roles along the way, the latest of which has her getting sexy once again -- but I think without the raunchy 3-way.

Variety reports that the actress has signed on to the Vivaldi biopic starring Joseph Fiennes. The picture, which already has the likes of Malcolm McDowell, Gerard Depardieu, Elle Fanning, Carice van Houten, and Jacqueline Bisset, focuses the famous violinist when he, as a young priest, became a music teacher for the illegitimate daughters of Venice courtesans. Ms. Campbell will play one of the Venetian courtesans.

This could give Campbell enough cred for some more meaty mainstream roles, especially if she holds her own with this cast. There is no set date for release, but it is supposed to come out some time this year.

TGIF! Happy Columbus Day, Happy Native American Day, Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, or whatever else you might be celebrating! Without further ado, here's a few more bits of news for the weekend:

• After Half Nelson, ThinkFilm is looking for some heart with a romantic drama called Blue Valentine, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Written by Derek Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne, and Joey Curtis, the film will follow "a couple whose relationship is jeopardized when they find themselves in different places in their lives." Isn't that one of the vaguest premises you heard in a while? That's like saying: Hey, I'm writing a romantic drama! Someone replies: Yeah? What's it about? And you say: A couple who has problems. Anyhow, I'm sure it'll sound much better once we hear more. Production will begin in February.
• Variety reports that Neve Campbell is picking up some more television work. The actress will star with Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) and Rupert Penry-Jones (Casanova) in a 4-hour global warming thriller called Burn Up -- which will be directed by Omar Madha and comes from The Full Monty scribe, Simon Beaufoy. I'm not sure where the thrills come in, but Penry-Jones is playing "the head of a fictional oil company whose life comes apart as he's pulled into a global game of intrigue; Cambell is one of the company's staff who is also working with environmentalists, and Whitford will be an oil industry lobbyist. The production is still settling on a network.
• Last, but surely not least, we've got new The Incredible Hulk pictures over at SuperHeroHype. You might remember when he hit Toronto, which was turned into a faux Harlem. From there, the green giant hit Hamilton, a city about an hour away from Toronto, and has been wreaking havoc there. But remember -- this is a CG thang, so you won't see much more than lots of people and smashed cars.

I never thought much of Neve Campbell's acting chops (she seems ever-so-pouty in various movie and TV roles), and aside from her solid turn in Robert Altman's The Company, I thought she disappeared from the movie scene. But it looks like she's been busy: she's made a film with James Toback and is now joining the cast of Richard Attenborough's (Chaplin, Shadowlands) romance Closing the Ring, which boasts a cast consisting of Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Brenda Fricker and Pete Postlethwaite. (And, as we reported in February, stick figure Mischa Barton is going to be there for some reason as well.) The picture is a World War II story about a dying gunner who crashes his plane in Northern Ireland and asks a local to return his ring to his girlfriend in America. Apparently it takes the local fifty years to complete the quest. The movie is Attenborough's first feature film since 1999's The Grey Owl.

 

Someone at Mandalay Entertainment must have really, really liked Wild Things. They've signed a deal with that film's director John McNaughton to helm Backstabbers, the screenplay for which was written by McNuaghton's old associate - and Wild Things writer - Stephen Peters. The screenplay, which used to be called Trophy Wife (when it had a different director and a different plot), is "a sexy caper about a rich New York man who masterminds his wife's kidnapping unaware that his mistress and bodyguard are going to double-cross him." Hmm. Who could we get to star in that? Oh, I know! How about those chicks from Wild Things? They're not too busy, are they? Though nothing is official yet, Mandalay is, in fact, in talks with Denise Richards and Neve Campbell to star in the film. But it's not a sequel. Really. Not that anyone who goes expecting one will really care, as long as the ladies kiss again.