Animation World News

Films
(continued from Films page 3)

Cinema Clips: Oscar nominee Angelina Jolie is in final discussions to play buxom cyber-hero Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, a live-action feature based on the mega-hit video game. The Paramount project is set to begin production this summer, with director Simon West (Con Air, The General's Daughter). Jolie is up for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Girl, Interrupted, a film for which she has already won the Golden Globe. Known for playing wild and tough women, Jolie's star is on the rise and can easily play Croft, who is described as a female Indiana Jones. . . .Mark Steven Johnson is in talks to pen and direct Daredevil, the live-action adaptation of the Marvel Comics superhero franchise. The project originally started at Fox where directors such as Chris Columbus and Carlo Carlei developed the production. Now based out of Columbia Pictures, comic fan Johnson will breathe life into the story of the blind lawyer who uses his other, heightened senses to fight for justice. Marvel moved Daredevil from Fox, because the studio is already busy putting together the Marvel titles X-Men, Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer. For years Columbia's parent Sony has been trying to find a helmer for Marvel's Spider-Man. With names like James Cameron, Tim Burton, Chris Columbus and David Fincher all rumored, Sam Raimi (Army Of Darkness, A Simple Plan) has been brought in to swing the web-slinger into theatres. Sony is also working on a Dr. Strange flick, which Chuck Russell has been rumored to write and direct. . . .

Upon the success of his first adventure, Stuart Little is back and getting ready for the sequel to his million dollar mega-hit. © Columbia/Tri Star Pictures Motion Picture Group. Sony Pictures Entertainment Co. All Rights Reserved.

The writer behind Ghost and Deep Impact will be writing the second installment of Stuart Little. Bruce Joel Rubin will have to be typing like a madman to meet the proposed Christmas 2001 release date for the Stuart sequel. The star of the first picture, Geena Davis, is reportedly committed to Stuart II, but it is yet unknown if director Rob Minkoff will return. However, the current US$136.9 million at the U.S. box office might be a convincing enough number to lure him. . . .Bardel Animation Limited has secured the rights to bring the young adult adventure Silverwing to the big screen. Silverwing, a novel by Ken Oppel, follows the coming-of-age tale of Shade, who is in search for his father. The book has sold more than 250,000 copies internationally and still remains on the bestsellers' list two years after its initial publication. Ken Oppel will help develop the story with Bardel Animation. . . .Tim Burton is going ape over the chance to remake 20th Century Fox's 1968 sci-fi classic Planet Of The Apes. If the final negotiations finish as planned, Burton will be helming Fox's big picture for summer 2001. Rumors have attached names like Oliver Stone, Chris Columbus, James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger to the project. In development since 1993 (longer than it took to make the original and four sequels), Bill Broyles has written the newest and hopefully final version of the new Ape flick. The scripts went directly from Fox execs to the directors, and no copies were freely available for agents to read. Insiders have described the new Ape as neither a sequel nor a remake, but a "re-imagining" of the original series. Burton's current picture Sleepy Hollow is up for Oscars in the Art Direction, Cinematography and Costume Design categories and has grossed more than US$135 million worldwide since its release in fall 1999. . . .

Fans of Wallace & Gromit are excited over DreamWorks’ and Aardman’s plans for a Wallace & Gromit feature film. © CBS/Fox Home Video.

As part of the four-picture deal with DreamWorks, Nick Park and Aardman Animations have started the planning stages on a Wallace And Gromit feature. Based off of the Oscar winning franchise, no details have been released on the plot or intended release date for the film. . . .The king of family film remakes Eddie Murphy will star in the newest redux of The Incredible Shrinking Man. Set to direct the film is Tommy Boy helmer Peter Segal. Fred Wolf, a former writer on Saturday Night Live, has penned the new version of the film that follows the trials and tribulations of a man shrunk to the size of a mouse by a strange mist. . . . Ending much anticipation, Steven Spielberg has confirmed his next two projects. Going in front of cameras July 10, 2000, A.I. (artificial intelligence) was a long time work-in-progress by late great filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. The Warner Bros./DreamWorks co-production takes place in the future after the melted polar ice caps have covered much of New York City and other coastal towns with water. Oscar nominated actors Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley) and Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense) will star. To start filming in April 2001, Spielberg will direct Minority Report starring Tom Cruise. The Fox/DreamWorks co-production is based off of Philip Dick’s sci-fi novel about a futuristic Earth were people can be convicted of murder before they have actually committed the crime. With the master of visual spectacle helming these flicks, they will surely contain top notch special effects.