Even as some of this summer's blockbusters wait to open, the Hollywood studios have filled up next summer's release schedule with sequels and franchise pictures.
Spider-Man 3 is set to kick off the season on May 4th, followed by Shrek the Third (May 18th) and Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (May 25th). June 2007 releases will include Ocean's Thirteen, Fantastic Four 2 and the Bruce Almighty spin-off Evan Almighty, starring Steve Carrell. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is set for July 13th, followed in August by The Bourne Ultimatum, Rush Hour 3 and, perish the thought, Alien vs Predator 2.
The studios are encouraged by the box-office success of Ice Age: The Meltdown, which has made almost twice as much as its predecessor, along with such relatively modestly budgeted sequels as Big Momma's House 2, Cheaper By the Dozen 2 and Scary Movie 4. The three X-Men movies have made over $1.1 billion, and the first four Harry Potter pictures have taken over $2.4 billion at the international box-office.
Warren Zide, who produced the American Pie and Final Destination trilogies, says he welcomes the opportunity to start a franchise. "There's always the possibility of a fourth Final Destination," he says. "The best thing about Final Destination is that you get to kill off the entire cast, so you can keep your budgets down."
Atonement for Keira
Shooting is now underway on Atonement, based on Ian McEwan's 2001 novel, which has been adapted for the screen by Christopher Hampton. The film reunites director Joe Wright with Keira Knightley, who starred in his cinema debut, Pride & Prejudice.
Triggered by cathartic events on a hot summer's day in 1935, the drama features Knightley and James McAvoy as Cambridge graduates Cecilia Tallis and Robbie Turner, with Brenda Blethyn, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave.
Cast in the crucial role of Cecilia's 13-year-old sister Briony is Saoirse Ronan, who had recurring roles in the RTÉ series Proof and The Clinic, and recently joined Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd and Tracey Ullman in Amy Heckerling's romantic comedy, I Could Never Be Your Woman.
Downer dramas for Joy's Ian
There are now two films planned on Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, who took his own life in 1980. Jamie Thraves, who directed The Low-Down (2000) and music videos for Radiohead and Blur, has been signed for All the Time, based on Mick Middles and Lindsay Reade's book Torn Apart: The Life of Ian Curtis, which charts the singer's early efforts to form the band while holding down a government job.
Meanwhile, photographer and music videos director Anton Corbijn is proceeding with plans to make Control, based on the book Touching from a Distance by the singer's widow, Deborah Curtis, who will be played by Samantha Morton.
Promises broken in Moscow
The Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) opens tonight with Chen Kaige's The Promise, and it would be an understatement to say that the organisers are miffed with Hidden director Michael Haneke, who had promised to serve as the festival's jury president. Haneke withdrew because he is too busy preparing his next movie, a US-set remake of his 1997 thriller Funny Games.
At a press conference in Moscow, MIFF director Renat Davletyarov read an open letter from the festival to Haneke, accusing him of disrespect towards Russia and the festival's international participants. The letter states that the festival management "is deeply disappointed by this turn of events and can see no reasonable justification for your dishonest act."
Still wild at heart
Having worked closely together for the past 20 years, director David Lynch and film editor Mary Sweeney were married last month. However, in what would not seem out of place in a Lynch scenario, he has filed for divorce within four weeks of their wedding, citing "irreconcilable differences". The former couple, who have a 14-year-old son, first worked together on Blue Velvet, and Sweeney has edited most of his films and produced his last four features, most recently Inland Empire, which opens later this year.
Lynch has a child from each of his two previous marriages, and his daughter, Jennifer Chambers Lynch, directed the bizarre 1993 movie, Boxing Helena.
