Arnold Vosloo Resource Page:
August 28, 2000: Access Hollywood featured "The Mummy Returns" again today. No earth-shattering scoops, but Brendan Fraser confirms that there is a showdown between himself, AV and the Rock over the kidnapping of his son, who is hidden in a pyramid. A small glimpse of AV though! CLICK HERE to view the pictures.
August 27, 2000:
News today from the unit publicist for "The Mummy Returns":
The reports of us finishing filming after the 2nd
unit night shoots in London are wrong. As we originally discussed, we will
continue filming at Shepperton Studios - with several visits to Pinewood to
complete our exterior filming there on the back lot - until the middle of
September. Production Designer Allan Cameron has designed a massive set
which is currently being constructed on one of the big sound stages at
Shepperton where some of the final scenes in the film - involving Arnold as
well as the other key cast - will be played out. Principal photography for
the film should complete around September 15 before ILM (the visual effects
company) take over for all the visuals. And the final movie will be ready
for release in the US on May 11 next year.
Isn't it nice to hear that Arnold is in the ENTIRE movie!?
August 24, 2000: This from Dark Horizons today: 'KS' scored these shots from outside London's Shepperton Studios where "The Mummy" sequel is currently shooting, though a new mystery has cropped up. A memo has been released from the studio which I have seen myself, one which lists the production as "The Mummy II - Pyramid of Gold". Strange huh? CLICK HERE for pics.
August 15, 2000: Exclusive to the Arnold Vosloo
Resource Page from regular reader Loren in London. Set pics from "The Mummy Returns" 2nd unit filming on Monday August 14th. Loren reports that the crew was very hospitable towards the fans and chatted with them and fed them until all hours. No celebrity sitings (just doubles) as this was 2nd unit filming. The night before, London Bridge was the location for some stunt filming and a certain Brendan Fraser was spotted! Thanks Loren for the scoop and keep up the great work (but first get some well-deserved sleep!).
A similar report has appeared on Ain't it Cool News:
Just thought that you would like to know a couple of little bits and pieces that me and my mates saw last night at the location shoot of ''The Mummy 2'', in London.
There wasn't much really happening, and there were only doubles there, but the things that we did see were:
A couple of old 20's style cars, driving about.
A double for a child, who was in most scenes we saw.
An old London bus driving about, then coming down the road really fast with the Brendan Fraser double fighting a mummy on the upper floor. There were a couple of smashed windows, and there was a large hole punched out through the roof.
Also, one of the old cars speeding down the road, and then being chased by another person in another car, the first car had the Fraser double, and the second had a very sinister looking male in long black, flowing cloak, this man was ''Egyptian'' looking.
This all took place during a rainstorm, there was also lots of lightning effects.
We were talking to the police that were on set, and apparently, this is the last week of shooting on the movie.
Lou's note: Filming continues until mid-September.
From Empire Online:
Empire Online caught more of The Mummy Returns last night as a bus chase scene was filmed on London's Lambeth Palace Road. John Hannah's character nicks the bus that we captured on film last month (see below for link) in an attempt to whisk Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz's kidnapped son back to safety, having first broken his car keys in the lock. The bus then careers into a bridge, ripping the top off. Hannah and the boy continue their escape by car and return to Egypt.
Three buses have been used for this scene - one with the top torn off, one intact and another for special effects (word is this film is even more effects-heavy than the last one). Watch out for a typical 'This Is London' scene, with Big Ben looming in the background and rain-machine generated sogginess.
Filming also took place on Sunday 13th at Tower Bridge, in a scene where Fraser tries to scale the bridge as it's closing, and is left hanging off it precariously. Passers-by watched a stunt man clinging to a specially-made piece of bridge which prevented him from risking a fall into the Thames. Crew say UK filming of The Mummy Returns is now complete
August 11, 2000: Access Hollywood had a short report on "The Mummy Returns" today, very similar in nature to the one by Entertainment Tonight last week (looked like they interviewed Brendan on or very near the same day!). AV was mentioned a couple of times, but there were no new pics to be had. Brendan Fraser stated that he, AV and The Rock have a big showdown this time (but then we knew that already!).
August 10, 2000: Access Hollywood will be featuring Brendan Fraser on the set of "The Mummy Returns" tomorrow. This show is syndicated, so check local listings. In Toronto, its on Channel 11 OnTV at 5:30 pm.
August 9, 2000: This anonymous filming tip was posted on Dark Horizons this am. "Filming will take place outside the Museum of Garden History and Lambeth Palace, along Lambeth Palace Road in London from 19.00 Monday August 14th through to 06.00 Tuesday 15th August, total of 11 hours. It is most likely the production will close some of the road of as residents along the road are being put in hotels for the evening. I am not sure if any stars are going to be there, but they are going to be using a rain machine. For those people interested in going along who live in London, Lambeth Palace Road runs parallel with the River Thames just on the opposite side to Westminster and the Houses of Parliament, between Lambeth Bridge and Westminster Bridge."
August 1, 2000: Check out the Pictures page for some screen captures and video from Entertainment Tonight's report with Brendan Fraser----straight from the set!
July 16, 2000:
AVRP exclusive!! From one of my readers, Loren, who had the pleasure of making a quick visit
to the "British Museum" set:
So off we go, head straight to where the filming supposedly was, there
were signs along the way saying "crew" etc., i don't exactly know where
they were heading but there is a huge car park under a park, at
Bloomsbury Square, so it may of been that the crew parked up there.
After about 15 min walk from the Square, searching for something i
recognized from the released photos, i said that's it! As the pictures
show, they have finally finished,
took these pictures ready to go, when Michael, my friend told me to be
bold and ask the porter on the gate, so i plucked up courage and asked!
The Porter was really nice, i asked if there had been filming here in
the week and he said yes, so i asked what happened, he confirmed that
filming was in the middle of the night, and that he saw John Hannah, the
little boy and the tall one in a black cape with and at this point my
heart skipped but soon drop when he said the tattoos on his face, which
i presume was Oded Fehr, i asked if he had seen Arnold but he didn't
recall him. He said it was exciting having them there, and also told me
about the set and mock up sign saying British Museum, the old cars and
the bus.
thanks Loren for sharing!!
On Friday July 14th, I again spoke with Geoff Freeman, the publicist for "The Mummy Returns".
He was unaware
that I had intended to post the information he had initially given me, on my website.
I apologize
for the miscommunication, as that had always been my intent and one of the reasons I had been
put in touch with him by Sylvia Vosloo, but I am happy to report that all is okay.
He was able to pass on some more
interesting
tidbits and these are being passed on with his full knowledge and consent.
First of all, I asked Geoff if he was aware of all the on-line speculation about filming and had seen
the pictures recently posted. He said he had, but that there was some misinformation. The filming
at the quarry is not the pre-title sequence, but will be taking place after the titles. This is
the first glimpse we will get of our heroes. The pre-title sequence is in fact the back story to
the Scorpion King character. There will again be a voiceover narrating the pre-title sequence, but
he could not tell me if it would be Oded Fehr or Arnold Vosloo or either. He knows, but he's not
telling!!
Regarding Arnold Vosloo, Geoff again had only glowing reports about the actor.
He stated that in his opinion Arnold's part in the sequel is about the same size as in the original.
When we first see Arnold in the film, he will already be in a 2nd stage of regeneration. Geoff
stressed that the wonderful thing about the Mummy films is how the special effects are used to help tell
the story, but not overwhelm it. I couldn't agree more. "The Mummy Returns" is being described
as a 3 way battle between Imhotep, the Scorpion King and the heroes. There will be no "teaming up"
of heroes and villains, etc. Sounds exciting!
Night filming will be finishing at the end of next week, and then return to Shepperton Studios. A
large pyramid is being constructed at Pinewood studios----large enough for interior filming as well.
Jerry Goldsmith is not yet confirmed for the music scoring.
Geoff also clarified a lot of the rumours surrounding sequels and prequels. The "prequel" currently
in discussion with "The Rock" is not a "Mummy" movie per se. It would not involve the "Mummy" cast.
However a 3rd "Mummy" movie may be in the works which would involve them.
July 10, 2000: From Ain't it Cool News............ "Monday, July 10, 2000 THE MUMMY RETURNS filming in London tonight! Hey folks, Harry here... this probably won't be exciting thrilling action/explosion stuff being filmed here... BUT YA NEVER KNOW!!! If ya get a chance to swing by tonight in London... swing by and take a look at the shoot for THE MUMMY RETURNS, go get a t-shirt printed that says CREW on back, and just wander with the natives... hehehehhehe... Best of bloody luck you hear... Harry Hey, first time English scooper over here in London with a few developments regarding the Mummy Returns. I'm a postgrad student at University College London, unfortunately slogging through the summer, but at the moment the quadrangle and portico out the front of college has been commandered by those Universal bods and their cameras. Attached is a gif file showing the front of the college for your perusal. The way the set has been decorated, basically has a large stone tablet with the British Museum embossed upon it, stuck on the front of the steps. Either side are several wooden display boards with posters advertising an Egyptology display within the 'British Museum' According to my tutor who's a Dean of Faculty here, the filming is taking place after dark, around 11pm BST tonight (10th july). Armed with my college swipe card and a camera I'll be back to try and spot Fraser, Hannah or Weiss, although I've no idea whether they are involved in this scene. The amount of props and trucks and catering stuff around in the locals streets suggests they may be around for a couple of days, but no one seems too eager to talk or divulge any info. I'll mail later hopefully with sightings of the stars Jimster"
July 7, 2000: News from Dark Horizons today. The Mummy Returns: 'Miles' has some minor details on the opening sequence of this sequel to "The Mummy": "Bryant's Lane quarry in Heath & Reach here in the UK was recently prepared for shooting of the opening shots, with full on detailing including Egyptian sculptures and 1930's cars etc. The preparation and eventual shooting took the crew something like four weeks, though it will only have screen time of a few minutes. It's shaping up to be one of the films biggest scenes though, with Imhotep making an appearance. Stephen Sommers had said that the quarry was perfect as the sand was the same colour as in Morocco, where filming has already taken place." IMHOTEP makes an appearance!!!!
July 4, 2000:
Happy Independence Day to my neighbours to the south!
Just some shameless self promotion here. Check out these links. Arnold Vosloo Resource Page
is getting famous!!
The increased exposure quadrupled the hits on this site June 22nd.
June 22, 2000: Amazing news today! I had the pleasure of speaking with the publicist for "The Mummy Returns" today. He offered me some tidbits of info for the website! First of all, he spoke very highly of AV saying that he is a favourite of both the cast and crew, and telling me that "he is one of the good ones". But hey, we knew that didn't we?! He then went on to talk about the filming of the movie. They are now finished all of the filming in Morocco and Jordan. Filming in London will continue until mid-September at Shepperton Studios and various locations around London. They will be starting 3 weeks of night filming very soon. The last couple of days they have been filming Imhotep's first regeneration in a warehouse below the British Museum (on a set). AV is not in these scenes, however he's lending his body and movements to his computer generated counterpart (as in the first film). This publicist has generously agreed to keep in contact every few weeks to share any news he can. His enthusiasm for the project was infectious! I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished project, even more than before.
March 19, 2000: Courtesy of Diabolical Dominion, MAJOR script spoiler for "The Mummy 2"!!! First of all, the story. "The Mummy 2" is set eight years after the original. Rick (Brendan Frasier) and Evie (Rachel Weisz) are happily living together in London, but have headed back down to Egypt and uncovered a strange bracelet and an incription about another long-dead dude called The Scorpion King. It turns out that Evie has been having some peculiar dreams about Egypt (remember all her blabbering about "being drawn to the desert" in the original?), which prompted this little trip. Along for the journey is their all-too-precious little boy, who gets real old after a few pages... Here's a great deal more about the movie in pretty graphic detail. If you want the film to be a surprise, we suggest skipping the rest of this paragraph. For those who are interested - Read on. Well, after a chance encounter with some desert ruffians, the family heads back up to London. Little do they know, the Princess Anck-Su-Namun (Patricia Velazquez) has returned form the dead after being hacked to pieces at the end of the original and awakens her undead love, The High Priest Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo). Back in London, Rick and Evie bring the bracelet to Evie's big brother, Jonathan (John Hannah), who is now the owner and operator of an Egyptian-themed gambling establishment. Well, before you can say "action", a group of Imhotep's warriors attack the casino. Rick's son is subsequently kidnapped and chaos ensues. The heroes get chased across rooftops, dropped into alleyways, and nearly munched by a billion of those pesky little scarabs from the original. Well, they have to head back to the land of sand and, once there, they come face-to-face with the now-resurrected Scorpion King (Duane Johnson). The ending reeks of the original, but is played off pretty well. There's too many similarities to list, but at least I won't have to put up with Benny again. I'm happy.
March 14, 2000:
New!! from "Dark Horizons" and finally AV is
mentioned by name!
"Construction is starting on the sets at Pinewood. There's an underground labyrinth of store rooms corridors at the British Museum, which will be full of artifacts and a handy sabre that once belonged to Ghengis Khan - Ideal for Brendan Fraser to slay a few Mummy brethern with. There's Fraser's home - Very sub-victorian, full of momentoes - One room is the child's bedroom, with a collapsable section of wall for a kidnap sequence where Fraser and Weisz's child is targetted as a potential sacrifice. There's a resurrection sarcophagus, where Arnold Voosloo will be brought back from the dead yet again, and there's the Lair Of the Princess - Where Imhotep's former squeeze holds court, deep in the old spice docks on the north of the River Thames. A roof top is due to be built at a later stage with a blue-screen cyclorama, because it's said that all of the creatures persuing Weisz and Fraser during this particular moment (trying to save their kid) will all be CGI based. Auditions are currently reaching their climax to find the said child."
March 13, 2000:
More Mummy 2 news from "Upcoming Movies". Its now confirmed, fan favourite
Oded Fehr will be returning as Ardeth Bay. Also, continued rumours about
Patricia Velasquez's beefy role. UM reports that the "Mummy" of the title now
refers to HER character!
February 29, 2000:
News from
"Coming Attractions" on "The Mummy 2":
"The character The Rock has been offered is called "The Scorpion King".
Described as looking like half-man, half-scorpion, what's also now known is
that The Scorpion King is actually one of the new villains seen in The Mummy
2. While the comparison to Han Solo that our intrepid explorer made earlier
may, at first glance, be at odds with today's report, keep in mind Solo
could be viewed in a pretty dark light too...especially if you were an
Imperial. Maybe the character's arc is more complex than what we know of so
far. Stay tuned for more news.
