mummy 3 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When it comes to Hollywood movies, Chinese censors have always been a little strict. Case in point: The State Administration for Radio, Film and Television tells Variety that the upcoming release of The Mummy 3 Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is still pending until Universal makes unspecified changes to the flick. The censors didn't give any details about what would have to be cut from the film, but speculation has it that the source of the problem is "usually themes involving ghosts are taboo in China".

Emperor sets the new and improved O'Connell family (Brendan Fraser, Luke Ford, and Maria Bello) smack dab in the middle of another adventure battling a tyrannical emperor (Jet Li) and his legion of undead armies. Universal already made some concessions to the Chinese government in exchange for permission to shoot on location. According to Variety Universal was urged to make the film, "less political and more focused on fantasy than real history" -- Less political? Now that's a word I would have never associated with the Mummy franchise.

A flack for Universal has already released a statement saying, "Universal does not anticipate any obstacles to clearing the film for China and looks forward to releasing "The Mummy: Tomb of The Dragon Emperor" in the country where it was set and shot." Translation: We just spent $145 million bucks on this movie, and we want some of those Chinese box-office dollars. Emperor is just the latest Hollywood production to get a rough deal from Chinese censors, but at least they are in good company. On the upside, I guess the Chinese will never know what they're missing.

The Mummy 3 Tomb of the Dragon Emperor opens on August 1st, 2008.

So in spite of everything, I have always enjoyed watching Brendan Fraser on screen. There have been highs, and God knows there have been plenty of lows, but I have stuck with the fellow Canuck through thick and thin -- up until now anyway. CinemaBlend is hosting a gallery of images from the update of Jules Verne's sci-fi classic, Journey to the Center of the Earth. The story has been updated ever so slightly and now centers on Fraser "as a science professor whose untraditional hypotheses have made him the laughing stock of the academic community. But on an expedition in Iceland, he and his nephew stumble upon a major discovery that launches them on a thrilling journey deep beneath the Earth's surface, where they travel through never-before-seen worlds and encounter a variety of unusual creatures". Joining Fraser are Josh Hutcherson as his nephew and Anita Briem as a fairly glamorous-looking mountain guide helping Fraser find his lost brother.

Rumor has it that originally the indie director Paul Chart had been slated to direct, but once the 3D technology was part of the production, Chart bowed out. His loss was visual effects artist Eric Brevig's gain, and Journey is Brevig's first foray into directing a feature film. Erik brought us the exclusive first look at the poster for the film a few days ago, and it's kind of funny that a film that is going to rely on the visuals has released not one but two sets of relatively blah images -- I guess you really need the glasses to make it pop. Well, at least the film still has the distinction of being the first wide-release to be released exclusively in the emerging technology of Real D Cinema. Journey is set to arrive on over 1500 screens on July 11th, 2008.

Well to be honest, my expectations for the latest installment of The Mummy aren't too high, so if I look on the bright side then maybe I will get a pleasant surprise after all. Director Rob Cohen has announced on his production blog that The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has wrapped shooting in China. Starring Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell, this time, the O'Connells (Maria Bello, Fraser, and Luke Ford as their son, Alex) are bound for China to battle an immortal emperor (Jet Li). Rounding out the cast are John Hannah, who returns to play Evy's brother Jonathan, and Michelle Yeoh as a "double-crossing sorceress".

Cohen has made this particular announcement on his blog a veritable love fest for his cast. Cohen gushes over his new stars, Maria Bello as the 'new and improved' Evy, saying, "Her beauty and intelligence, wit and courage were something I appreciated each and every day". Jet Li wasn't left out either, and Cohen says that he was everything that "epitomizes graciousness, spiritual depth, and physical grace". Just because shooting has finished, there is still a lot of work ahead on the film, including somewhere around "800 visual effects shots" to be completed.

Considering no one was all that anxious for a third film in the series, the blog has maybe managed to improve things just a little. I know my opinion on the film has fluctuated wildly based on the few pictures that have been released so far. Just for the record: those opinions varied from everything from "Well, maybe this won't be so bad after all" to something with a lot more expletives in it that I probably shouldn't get into here. The Mummy 3 is set for release on August 1st, 2008.

Now is it just me or does Maria Bello look an awful lot like Geena Davis in this picture? Rob Cohen's production blog for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has posted the first picture of Bello as Evy (the role famously dumped by Rachel Weisz after two films). Just last month, Chris had reported on one of the first images to emerge from the production and for lack of a better word, it was pretty. Not much to see, but there was definitely some style there. Plus, let's be honest, it's not like expectations for this flick are all that high anyway, so I'll take what I can get thank you very much. As you probably know, The Mummy 3 will be heading in a different direction this time around, placing the action in China with martial arts master Jet Li filling in as the bad guy.

When Bello had spoken with Sci Fi Wire in September, she was quoted as saying her Evy, "...has the same name, but she's a very different character than Rachel played. She's a bad-ass action chick. I had to train a lot. I had to do wushu, a martial-art form, some kickboxing, swordfighting, rifle training for a couple of months before we even started shooting" A far cry from Weisz's plucky librarian, but as much as I like the idea of "bad-ass action chicks", I still think recasting the same role with a different actress was a bit of a mistake. According to Cohen, Li has just arrived on location in Montreal to film some of the more climatic battle scenes with returning hero Brendan Fraser (as Rick O'Connell -- who's also pictured in the above link) before moving on to shoot in China. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is scheduled for release on August 1st, 2008.

If the news had been "Maria Bello to replace Rachel Weisz as the female lead in the Mummy series," that wouldn't be all that strange. But word from Variety is that Maria Bello will be stepping in to play the exact same role. Ugh, it's always weird when this happens, isn't it?

Apparently Ms. Weisz just wasn't interested in returning for a third mummy-go-round, and no amount of Universal green would change her mind. Which means than a very fine actress, albeit one not exactly known for big-budget adventure movies, has earned a place in one of next summer's big-time tentpole pictures. Good for her. (Ms. Bello is best known for recent work in World Trade Center, Thank You for Smoking and A History of Violence, in which she was really damn excellent.)

As reported earlier, the third Mummy flick will star Brendan Fraser as bandage-battling adventurer Rick O'Connell, Luke Ford as his 20-something son, Michelle Yeoh as a nasty wizard (?) and Jet Li as a mummified ol' emperor. Universal is hoping that the Rob Cohen flick (which was written by Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar) will re-invigorate the franchise and bring in lots of young new spectators. Guess we'll find out next summer.

We're still waiting for word on official casting for Mummy 3. There is so much news in the not-news, that I'm wondering if this will even get off the ground. We've already got Brendan Fraser saying that he's waiting for the call, while IMDb has him attached, we have rumors of Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh possibly jumping on-board and we've got a filming location in Montreal. There isn't word on Ms. Weisz, or whether John Hannah will return as Jonathan Carnahan. However, we are minus one cast member, according to Oded Fehr.

IGN has reported that while promoting Resident Evil at WonderCon 2007, Fehr said that he would not be returning to the Mummy franchise as Ardeth Bay -- but it isn't for lack of interest. It seems that this story has no use for the character, and Fehr is quoted as saying: "As far as I know, I'm not involved. My character is not involved in the third one... If they did ask me to do a third one, I would gladly do it." He also says that: "The movie will forever be very close to my heart, and it's very much a part of me being an actor." Apparently the people whipping together this sequel don't feel the same way. While I can understand that sometimes stories don't warrant having every character, they're already taking a risk by making yet another one. It seems extra-risky to me to leave off one of the main characters. Is this further confirmation that the sequel won't be worth it, or does it really matter?

To further fuel the fire that started in 2005 when IESB reviewed a script for the Mummy 3, there are now reports that the hunt for the younger O'Connell is on. To recap, The Mummy Returns introduced Alex O'Connell, Rick and Evelyn's 10-year-old son. Now, the young boy will be making a return in the sequel, but as a young man. Rumor has it that a hunt is on to find a young, 20-ish star to play the young, poker playing, gun-toting lover boy.

Part of the script has Alex and Rick comparing weapons in snow-covered woods. Rick's gun tastes run old-school, while Alex loves the new machinery, such as the Walther P-38 and the not-yet-released AK-47. According to IGN, this places the tale some time prior to 1947... and after 1938. Regardless, it's at least 10 years after the Mummy Returns, which took place in 1933. While neither Evy or Ardeth Bey are mentioned, Jonathan, Evy's brother, is.

In more specific news, IGN also reports that Rob Cohen was rather loose-lipped about sequel news while at a Q&A in California. According to their source, Cohen said that he is definitely directing the latest sequel, Jet Li will play the Mummy (head of a group of mummies that were the Teracotta Army), it will take place in China and Michelle Yeoh has also been cast. Yoeh's people say that she has not been cast, but they don't seem to have ruled out the possibility. So, there you have it. They're probably traveling to China and are going to take the Indiana Jones route -- delving into the whole father/son dynamic. Hopefully, at the very least, they'll take out most of the Jones rip-offs that IESB mentioned.

So I just returned home from London (I trust you've all noticed how I have not been around these past few days -- either that, or you just forgot I existed) where I had the pleasure of visiting The Golden Compass and Inkheart sets. While I shall have plenty (and I mean, plenty) to say about both of those set visits soon, I figured I'd start out by unloading a bit of scoop I received from Brendan Fraser while on the set of Inkheart yesterday.

One of the highlights of yesterday's Inkheart set visit was meeting the cast which, while brief, definitely put a nice finishing touch on what was a fantastic visit to the Land Where Things Are Outrageously Expensive. Though we only had a few minutes with each cast member, I did manage to pull Brendan Fraser aside quickly to ask him about The Mummy 3. Basically, I wanted to know if both he and Rachel Weisz were returning -- also, when they would begin shooting and whether or not a director had been attached yet.

On the production front, I asked if he was shooting Mummy 3 right after Inkheart, to which he replied: "I'm still waiting for the call, so we'll see ... " And when I asked if he would once again be co-starring alongside Rachel Weisz: "I haven't talked to Rachel yet, but it's all on the page." Yes, that means her character is in the script, and so chances are very likely she'll be back alongside our hero. Finally, Fraser did not confirm nor deny rumors that Rob Cohen had been asked to helm the third installment -- I take it he's a bit out of the loop right now, and is waiting to finish up Inkheart in order to dive head first into Mummy action.

A while back we heard some rumblings about how Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz might be returning to star in a second Mummy sequel (third sequel if you count The Scorpion King, which I choose not to), and now comes word that action-lovin' director Rob Cohen might be the guy in line for the gig.

I know what you're thinking: "An established and profitable director signing on to do somebody else's sequel? That's a little bit funky." And you'd be right. Aside from Adam Shankman diving in to direct Cheaper By the Dozen 2, it doesn't seem to happen all that much. "Part 3s" are usually reserved for newcomers who've cut their teeth on music videos -- or an FX / production design / cinematography guy who just earned a fair promotion.

So why would Cohen (who has directed such hits as The Fast and the Furious and xXx) be willing to step into this particular gig? To take over for Stephen Sommers, who graduated from the Mummy movies to direct Van Helsing? TMZ.com has not only the scoop, but the logic:

Rob Cohen's last movie was Stealth, the $130 million dungpile that made less than $37 million in domestic box office. That's why.

Only a handful of days ago, Brendan Fraser officially announced his involvement in a third installment of The Mummy franchise. Early news indicates the film will not be a direct sequel, but rather a "re-imagining" of the first two films. Basically, this means "we want to do it again, but with cooler effects." So gone, it would seem, are the rumored terracotta army of a Chinese emperor, unless the re-imagining also involves a serious plot relocation. At the time of the announcement, no word was given on any co-stars or supporting cast for the film, but recently Rachel Weisz answered a question or two about the project while attending the Deauville 32nd annual American Film Festival. She explains, "I know there's a new script but I haven't read it yet. Nothing's definite yet and should the film be done, it's probably going to happen next summer. And if so, I would definitely like to be in it."

So Weisz is interested in returning, should the film make it out of the early stages of development. One would presume the folks in charge of The Mummy 3 (can it be called part three if it isn't actually a sequel?) would likely be interested in Weisz (and her Oscar-sized paycheck?), but I suppose nothing is certain in Hollywood ... except, of course, that any moderately popular movie will always have a sequel on the way.