Good or bad, movies have a pesky habit of exploding into the public's consciousness with little warning. To make sure you aren't caught totally unaware when the next big thing hits theaters, we present this look deep into the film-going future.
Richard Kelly's ('Donnie Darko') forthcoming foray into weirdness promises to be more genre-bending and head-scratching. Described as a comedy/thriller/sci-fi/musical, the film stars The Rock, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Kevin Smith.
Reportedly influenced by T.S. Eliot's 'The Hollow Man,' the film's release will be preceded by the publication of six graphic novels which, according to Kelly 'will give the die-hard fans more of an understanding of the back-story.'
Set in 2008, the film focuses on a policeman, a porn star and an amnesiac action star who foresees the apocalypse, as a three-day heat wave leaves L.A. on the brink of disaster.
The question that begs to be asked is if the apocalyptic disaster promised by the film's plot will be followed by a similar disaster at the box office. After all, despite Kelly's cult appeal, 'Tales' is nevertheless a musical starring Seann William Scott and The Rock.
'Aaron Ensweiler
Kevin Smith made 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back' as if it was his swan song, a piece to close out his acclaimed 'Jersey Series.' However, when star Jason Mewes' drug addiction led him down a path of destruction, Smith told Mewes he would relaunch the series if Mewes kicked his drug habit.
As a result, 'The Passion of the Clerks' exists not just as a really stupid title, but one of the more bizarre anti-drug messages to come out of Hollywood in recent years.
Unlike the 'Clerks' animated series, Smith claims this incarnation will remain true to the original 'Clerks' franchise since it focuses on Dante and Randall's personal experiences and their daily battles of whether life is worth living as a lowly clerk.
'Kevin Nelson
Little is known about this movie, but it will certainly become an instant classic. The little bits of information that trickled through reveal 'Snakes on a Plane' to be about, well'snakes on a plane.
Apparently, a crazed hitman decides to take out his target by letting loose a crate of deadly snakes upon a plane. Samuel L. Jackson stars as the FBI agent tasked with saving the plane from doom.
While this premise sounds silly, it can be assumed the movie will contain some of the greatest scenes in modern history, such as when the assassin has to smuggle an entire crate full of snakes onto the plane ('I swear Mr. Air Marshall, snakes are only weapons of little destruction... WLDs!').
Greatness can also come from Jackson's tremendous solution to save the plane from the terror of snakes ('Ummm... land it!').
'Kevin Nelson
Although it butchered the plot of the novel on which it was based, 2002's 'The Bourne Identity' was a well-done spy film starring Matt Damon as Robert Ludlum's amnesic assassin. Writer Tony Gilroy modernized the character and sent him on a manic trip through Europe in search of his past, a quest for vengeance continued two years later in 'The Bourne Supremacy.'
In 2007, Gilroy and Damon will close the trilogy with 'The Bourne Ultimatum,' the last of Ludlum's Bourne novels.
The film's plot is a mystery, but as Gilroy showed in 'Supremacy,' abandoning Ludlum's storyline didn't derail the saga and diehard fans could still be entertained. The film's cast may be weaker this time around'Brian Cox and Franka Potente were both killed in 'Supremacy''but Damon's presence assures a determined lead, and Joan Allen would be welcomed back as the icy CIA director. Still too soon to say, but 'Ultimatum' should be a solid close to the trilogy.
'Les Chappell
For some of us, fond childhood memories involve sitting transfixed in front of a television set, watching robots transform into cars and then blow the shit out of each other.
Those mechanical times are coming back in the summer of 2007. DreamWorks-SKG has put a live-action adaptation of 'The Transformers' television series into production.
If the new picture is half as exciting as the animated Transformers movie from 1986'a classic of the transforming-robots-who-fight-each-other genre'we might want to get an Oscar ready now.
But as any TransFan knows, there's a dark side to every issue, and this film is no exception. Michael Bay'the hack behind commercial bores like 'Pearl Harbor' and 'Armageddon' 'is slated to direct, and the screenwriter is the same man who gave us the script for 'The Core.'
Still, it's hard not to get giddy thinking about robots shooting at each other.
'Joe Lynch
2007 looks to be the Year of the Spider as 'Spider-Man 3' swings into theaters in the summer. Toby Maguire returns as the web-slinger, who this time, according to an interview with co-star Kirsten Dunst, will be facing off against two new baddies: Venom (Topher Grace), a symbiotic alien with more than enough power to rival Spidey, and Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), a virtually indestructible creature made of sand.
Though plot details have not been finalized, the plot with these villains will most likely focus on Peter's relationship with Mary-Jane (Dunst), his rivalry with fellow Daily Bugle reporter Eddie Brock (who becomes Venom) and Harry Osborn's (James Franco) continuing attempt to get revenge on Spider-Man for his father's death in the first film. No one has been assigned the screenplay, but Sam Raimi will be back to direct.
'Brad Boron
After this winter's release of the first episode of 'Narnia,' it is fitting that the first of the His Dark Materials trilogy is coming in 2007. Philip Pullman's best-selling novels have been described as an atheist response to C.S. Lewis' Christian fantasy saga.
But controversy has hit Anand Tucker's (Shogirl) production, as New Line Cinema has reportedly ordered the story's religious commentary to be significantly toned down. The Time Warner-owned studio did not chafe at some of Peter Jackson's unconventional choices with 'Lord of the Rings,' but it is true that some of His Dark Materials' content borders on sacrilegious.
Of course, that is the books' entire point. It will be interesting to see if enough is left in to allow the story to be recognizable, or if it will be just another cookie-cutter fantasy film.
'Dan Wohl
