mummy Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Just when you thought there was little to no movement on the do-we-really-need-another-one Terminator 4, comes word from Moviehole that a couple of high-profile actresses might be battling it out to play the lead female. First off, take this all with a grain of salt since it comes via two websites called Celebrity Spotlight and GlobalArnold.com. Since I dig Clint at Moviehole, and trust his opinion, I've decided to link directly to his story (in which he provides links to the original articles). That said, according to whomever, both Rachel Weisz and Chloë Sevigny approached Terminator producers Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek at a recent party -- and, apparently, inquired about "the role." I'm not sure what "the role" is, but I assume it's the same character portrayed by Claire Danes in Terminator 3.

Additionally, they also claim that a "high profile hunk has already been cast as the male lead," which most likely means Nick Stahl will not be reprising his role as John Connor. No idea who that could be, but feel free to throw out guesses based on what we already know about the John Connor character and the words "high profile hunk." Fred Savage? Fingers crossed! Another, more interesting (to me, at least) note is that they also mention the following with regards to Weisz's busy shooting schedule: "She is already signed up to star in Peter Jackson's Lovely Bones and next year will start shooting Sin City 2 with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez." Oh really?

First off, when did Weisz sign on for that role (which, in all likelihood, would be that of Ava Lord), and when did Rodriguez solidify a shooting schedule? From what we know, no one is really planning post-strike right now, and even so, Rodriguez has to shoot his Barbarella remake first. So, has Weisz been officially cast? And seeing as she turned down a third Mummy film, what makes you think she'd be interested in a fourth Terminator film? Chloë Sevigny, on the other hand, is super sexy in that "I might kill you after we sleep together" kind of way -- which I really dig -- so go ahead and sign her up. All rumors for now; we'll let you know if anything more concrete materializes.

It always amazes me how far in advance a studio can plan its release schedule. I understand that really, really big tentpole blockbusters need to reserve certain dates, as Paramount just did with its fourth installment of Indiana Jones. Some weekends, particularly those in the summertime, are very desirable. But considering that most of the films Universal has just penciled in for 2008 haven't even begun shooting yet, it seems a bit silly to think about when to expect to see them in theaters. Nevertheless...

Here the studio's list of announced release dates for 2008:

• March 28: Wanted - Chris first told us about this comic book adaptation, the Hollywood debut of Russian director Timur Bekmambetov starring Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy, back in November. As far as I know, it hasn't begun filming yet.
  
• June 13: The Incredible Hulk - They're still casting for this comic book reboot. So far we only know that Dominic Purcell is not playing the lead. Chris already mentioned this was set for June 27, but Universal has moved it up to avoid competition with Disney/Pixar's Wall-E.
  
• July 11: The Mummy 3 - Jessica just told us that the cast is still negotiating this one. Erik spoke directly to Brendan Fraser, who didn't seem to know exactly what was going on yet. It may begin production this summer.
  
• July 18: Mamma Mia! - Erik gave us the news a month ago that the Broadway hit will be adapted to film. A day later he added that Meryl Streep would star. Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight is also scheduled for this date, so while Mom and Sis are enjoying all the ABBA music, you and Dad can be next door watching Batman.
  
• August 1: Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - We've been hearing about this sequel for years, and for awhile Mark was issuing updates around the clock. Now it looks like Del Toro will begin shooting this Spring.
  
• November 14: The Wolf Man - Now that Scott has pointed out it has a director, another of Universal's monster movie reboots is good to go.
  

Brendan Fraser unofficially announced a third Mummy movie at a press conference in Shanghai this weekend, where he was promoting a film he'll be shooting in China called The Children of Guangxi. MonkeyPeaches reports that Fraser let slip that a script for The Mummy 3 does exist, and hinted that China/Asia may serve as a backdrop. Fraser did go on to recant, saying the film has not yet been announced officially. I liked the first Mummy remake, but do we really need a third one? And will The Rock return as the CG scorpion?