Los Angeles, Aug. 30 (Reuters): A funny thing has happened on the way to movie theatres this autumn. Hollywood, it seems, has been liste- ning to fans looking for original features after years of bo- ring sequels, prequels and remakes.
Among the nearly 150 new films slated for release from September through December, there are the usual Oscar hopefuls and high-concept stories with big-name stars but very few big-budget franchises like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings films.
Even super agent James Bond, super old by the standards of Hollywood’s obsession with youth (the first Bond movie, Dr. No was released 44 years ago), got a remake. There is a younger, edgier Bri- tish spy in November’s Casino Royale. “We introduce a man that is not quite as refined, at first, as maybe we’ve known Bond to be,” said Daniel Craig, 38, the new 007 after 53-year-old Pierce Brosnan got the boot.
Craig promises all the action, stunts, effects and pretty women for which Bond flicks are known, but this new film throws a wrench into his famously healthy sex life when ladies man Bond gets jilted by his lover. “It’s complicated,” deadpanned Craig.
Indeed. But tough love for Bond and other fresh ideas may be what fans want after three straight years of fewer viewers in theatres. So far in 2006, attendance is up 3 per cent.
Disney, for instance, is high on a November sci-fi thriller in which Denzel Washington uses deja vu to track down a killer. It has an event-movie pedigree, directed by Tony Scott and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, but an odd title: Deja Vu. “Rarely do you come up with a title that you don’t have to change into local languages around the world,” counters Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. “You put great visuals along with that, and a fresh idea, and it’s perfect for the (holidays).”
Oscar hype is already buzzing for September dramas such as Children of Men, The Black Dahlia, The Queen, The Last King of Scotland and All the King’s Men. (Okay, that last one is a remake of a classic 1949 film.) Also on the award watchlist are Brad Pitt as a tourist in Morocco in Babel, Hugh Jackman playing a magician in The Prestige, director Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette starring Kirsten Dunst as the French queen, and Todd Field’s Little Children with Kate Winslet.
