jurassic park 4 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

While doing press for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy talked up a couple sequels that have nothing to do with one another other than the fact that they probably don't need to be made. First up is the long-rumored Jurassic Park 4, which is a project that seemed to be permanently stuck in development hell. Finally, Kennedy admitted that we've probably seen the last of those dinosaurs: "No... I don't know. You know, when Crichton passed away, I sorta felt maybe that's it. Maybe that's a sign that we don't mess with it." Maybe ...

... but then that means Michael Crichton's life was worth more than Robert Ludlum's life, because folks have no problem continuing the Jason Bourne franchise. In fact, during the same press junket, Frank Marshall said that The Parsifal Mosaic (which doesn't include the Bourne character, and focuses primarily on the threat of nuclear war and a spy who falls for another spy) is a potential source for the fourth installment. Also, Marshall stressed that Matt Damon is not signed on yet, but said that once George Nolfi finishes the script, they hope Damon will hop onboard. Finally, the fourth film will not be based on The Bourne Betrayal, as it was written by a friend of Ludlum's. Says Marshall, "We want to stay true to the original character." Sooo, let's adapt a book that doesn't feature Bourne then and call it a Bourne story, right? Is that staying true to the original character?

[via Coming Soon]

Odds and ends from Friday and the weekend:

• After she finishes directing Things We Lost in the Fire, Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier will tackle an adaptation of Amanda Foreman's novel, Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire. Simply called The Duchess, pic tells a story of "politics, wealth, and intrigue of late-eighteenth-century aristocracy through the intimate story of a woman who was its leader." Bier also directed the Danish film Open Hearts, which Zach Braff is supposed to direct at some point in the very late future.
• The cast for Lajos Koltai's Evening just got a whole more interesting. Hopping onboard the project are Meryl Streep and Mammie Gummer. Mother and daughter in real life, the two will play the same character at different phases in her life. Also joining this list of amazing female actresses (which already included Vanessa Redgrave, Toni Collette and Claire Danes) are Glenn Close and Eileen Atkins.
• While there's no direct quote from the man, according to a few different sources Steven Spielberg may be interested in directing the next Jurassic Park flick himself. Though Joe Johnston (who directed part three) is Spielberg's first choice to helm, if for some reason he cannot do it then Stevie will take on the task. What does this mean for Indiana Jones 4? Hell if I know, but it can't be good.

After hearing so much about what he may or may not do in the future, Steven Spielberg finally set the record straight himself during a brief interview given right before the director received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF). First off, Spielberg debunked rumors he was interested in directing a film-version of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, saying he's never been approached about it and, even if he was, would decline because it's "not his thing."

Next, Spielberg briefly touched upon Indiana Jones 4, noting the script is still in development, with David Koepp fine-tuning what we all hope is the final draft. (Why do I feel like I'll be repeating that line for the next several months?) Hey, at least Jurassic Park 4 is moving ahead at a quicker pace. Though IMDb lists its director as Breck Eisner, Spielberg insists Joe Johnston (who directed Jurassic Park 3) has first dibs on the sequel. More dinosaurs! Yay!

As far as that whole Kip Thorne-inspired sci-fi project Spielberg was working on, it's been given the title Interstellar and, like the rest of his films, is currently in development. When asked how close it was to 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spielberg said Interstellar is nothing like 2001, but didn't provide any further details as far as plot goes. Oh, and what about poor old Abe Lincoln? Is it dead? Well, he's dead, but is the project still alive? Yes it is. The script is being written and Spielberg hopes production will start somewhere around September or October of 2007. However, the big question on everyone's mind is "Will Abe Lincoln go before Indy 4?" Unfortunately, Spielberg could not answer. Yeah, I'd wave bye bye to another Indy adventure in summer 2008.