May
29. May, 2000
Some tidbits of information popped up around the internet today...
Dark Horizons received this
from an anonymous reporter:
"Queen of the Damned" should
start pre production in Melbourne late July. Interviews have started in Sydney for key
crew members. It will be mainly studio based with lots of CG work."
This backs up earlier reports of
Melbourne warehouses being transformed into set locations, and that most of the crew and
minor cast members will come from Australia. Also, this implies that production may start
earlier than planned! This is a good sign that the movie is definitely underway...
Upcoming Movies today
reported a more defined release date of "3rd Quarter 2001 (July, August or
September)". This provides further support for the above speculation that the movie
is definitely coming along.
Fantastic news for those of us who aren't fortunate enough to own a
DVD player! It appears that the special edition 'Interview With The Vampire' DVD will be
released in VHS format as well!!!
Today I found out from Heather that the video will be released on the same day as the
DVD - the 6th of June. I take it this is the US release date, but it should arrive in
other countries real soon! Look out for it in all good video stores - I know I will be!
J
And if you want to take a look for
yourself, and even reserve a copy, just visit the Suncoast.com
page!
24. May, 2000
Well, it's been almost a week, but
still no confirmation of Josh Hartnett as the next Lestat. The negotiations continue, and
so we wait...
Meanwhile, DJ Jason Xavia has reported that MTV recently confirmed that Aaliyah has signed all
contracts and will definitely be Akasha once filming finally begins. This might be old
news, but it was also added that Aaliyah is with an *acting coach* in preparation for the
movie...(!)
In relation to the mystery Anne
Rice "property" mentioned in my last post, it seems it may not be what I thought
it was! Godmother reported hearing a rumour that, about half a year
ago, 'Feast of All Saints' was supposed to be made into a mini-series. Then Laura
reported that, a while ago, the US channel 'Showtime' was rumoured to be making a
mini-series of 'Cry to Heaven' and 'Feast of All Saints'. So now there are
three titles floating about - all unconfirmed! I am now wondering which one is true.
If you hear any further news, please e-mail me!
Also, the movie that started it
all, 'Interview With The Vampire', will be released on DVD on 6. June!!!
Today 'Entertainment Tonight' did a report on this special DVD, and showed glimpses of the
added extras. The DVD features never-before-seen interviews with Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and
Antonio Banderas, as well as a look at the robotic Tom Cruise that was used for Lestat's
"death scenes". If you have a DVD player, I definitely recommend this
'Interview' DVD! Unfortunately, I don't have one, so I'll have to rely on fan's
descriptions (any reactions would be much appreciated!) J
22. May, 2000
Today Kristi informed me of a recent phone transcript posted on the Official Anne
Rice Website. The message is dated 12. May, so my apologies for the late notice!
In her message, Anne Rice speaks of the current information made available to her
concerning the film:
"I don't have any news about the production of THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED at Warner Bros. I don't have any direct connection with the studio on that and I do know that Wes Bentley is no longer scheduled to be the Vampire Lestat. He has dropped out. Other than that, I really don't know anything. People here who work for me search the web for information and they haven't found anything. So, I don't know that anything at all is happening."
On reading this, I immediately sent an e-mail with the details of this site! J
In the same phone transcript, Anne Rice mentions:
"I had another property that is being developed. It's too soon to say how it is going to work out. But people in Hollywood are very busy working on it right now. I am hoping that we will see a two night mini-series based on that property, very, very soon."
Could this "property" be 'The
Mummy'???
I may be jumping to conclusions here, but recently I mentioned Michael Rymer's involvement
with a film attempt last year. Now it seems that, despite the making of 'Queen of the
Damned' and despite that *other* 'Mummy' creation that's currently filming a sequel, plans
for development are still going ahead!
A television mini-series sounds like an excellent idea to me - let's hope it happens real
soon!!
18. May, 2000
Major casting news was announced today!
Apparently, Josh Hartnett is now
the lead candidate for the role of Lestat!
'The Hollywood Reporter' wrote:
Hartnett feels a bite:
Josh Hartnett ("The Virgin Suicides," "Pearl Harbor") has emerged as
the leading candidate to star in Warner Bros.' vampire flick "Queen of the
Damned." The role would be a coup for Hartnett as it would mark the first time the
actor would be carrying a film. The studio went to Hartnett following the high-profile
departure of "American Beauty's" Wes Bentley.
Josh has recently starred in teen flicks such as 'The Faculty' and 'Halloween H20'. He is currently working on 'Pearl Harbour' and, if he *does* sign on for the role, he will move onto 'Queen of the Damned' as soon as filming wraps up. For more info on Josh, there are plenty of dedicated sites all over the web. I have also added a few photos in my Movie Info section - enjoy!
Special thanks go to Debbie
Campbell, Lily, SIMONREXs, Cathead19 and Jan Staso for their information.
The Hollywood Reporter, Popcorn.com, 4Filmakers.com, Cinescape
Online and Upcoming Movies all reported the news today.
Rhonda Goudy recently
pointed out to me an interesting fact about director Michael Rymer. It appears that he was
considering directing a film version of Anne Rice's 'The Mummy' (or 'Ramses the Damned')
back in September, 1999 with James Cameron as the producer! Of course, he has obviously
since passed on that project in order to do 'The Queen of the Damned'. This is a good sign
though, for it shows that he is genuinely interested in directing an Anne Rice film and,
hopefully, he'll do a good job.
For more information, check out this IGN
Movies Exclusive and/or the associated Corona's Coming Attractions
Page.
Debbie
Campbell has generously shared two images of what the
movie's stars may look like as their vampiric characters! Aaliyah as Akasha, and Josh as
Lestat. What do you think? Larger images are available in my Movie
Info section. Feel free to e-mail me and
I'll pass your comments onto Debbie! J
14. May, 2000
No news concerning Queen of the Damned for the last
few days, so I decided to use the time to update the entire image of my site! What do you
think of the new design? Feel free to e-mail me or write a message in my guestbook back at
the menu!
MAJOR script news is coming really soon. I've spent
the last week hunting information down, and I'll be posting a brand new script section
within the next week or so...so keep a look out! J
10. May, 2000
Rhonda Goudy e-mailed me today with some news about Australian
actress, Janelle McLean. As was previously suspected, the Australian film, 'Losing Heart',
apparently does not feature her. Rhonda pointed out that on the Official Losing Heart Site Map,
there is no mention of Janelle. However, there is a Sally McLean credited as the producer.
Perhaps there was some kind of mix up to begin with? Whatever the case, as of now, I will
not consider Janelle to be involved with the film.
Rhonda also pointed out that Neighbours.com
does not have Janelle listed as a previous cast member. Therefore, previous assumptions
that she used to be on 'Neighbours' are apparently also false!
Wherever is this girl from?!?
Lily revealed an interesting little rumour today that "the reason Wes
bailed out of doing Queen of the Damned was because he thought the project was horribly
disorganised!" Hmmm, I wonder if this could possibly be true? My guess is "yes!"
IGN Movies and Yahoo News
reported from The Hollywood Reporter today that Wes has signed on for a movie
called "Monty". The article read:
Bentley has right profile for Clift bio 'Monty'
By Zorianna Kit
"LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- "American Beauty's" Wes Bentley has committed to star as legendary actor Montgomery Clift in the indie feature "Monty," which casting director-turned-director Billy Hopkins ("I Love You, I Love You Not") is expected to helm next spring.
Producers Vincent Newman and Tucker Tooley are eyeing a first-quarter 2001 start. Lee Daniels is expected to also receive producing credit. At Cannes, Buena Vista Film Sales is representing the project, which was set up by William Morris Independent's Cassian Elwes.
Bentley recently created a stir when he dropped out of Warner Bros.' vampire project "Queen of the Damned" because he felt he needed to take time off after a whirlwind year that included the unexpected success of -- and activity that surrounded -- the Oscar-winning "Beauty," as well as the completion of two other features, Artisan Entertainment's "Soul Survivors" and MGM's "Kingdom Come" (HR 4/14). Sources said that Bentley will likely do another film before "Monty."
IGN Films has a strong
suspicion that this *other* film could still be 'Spider Man', and I tend to agree.
Look out for an update soon!
6. May, 2000
Rock (aka mmm_god) has
informed me that Janelle McLean's latest film, 'Losing Heart', isn't the same movie I
thought it was! He said he checked out the Official Losing Heart Site (featured on
my Local News page) and he's pretty sure that this isn't
the same 'Losing Heart'! Rather than being a quaint little independent film, he says
it was made by a big company and stars Aiden Young. I guess now the search is still on to
find information about the correct film!
Some great music info today from Lily. Entertainment Weekly has reported that Jonathan Davis
is not only working on songs for the soundtrack, but also writing a full orchestral score
with composer Richard Gibbs. The magazine reports: ''At first, the movie people
were skeptical,'' Davis admits. ''I had to convince them it wouldn't sound like Korn or
heavy metal.'' Instead of their usual sound, Jonathan says the
music is ''really gothic and atmospheric but still heavy.'' Personally, I'm relieved to hear this! J Check out the article in my Links
Archive.
The IMDb finally confirmed Michael Petroni
as a co-writer. Other sites have credited him from the beginning, but I have treated it as
a rumour up until now. The final writing credit awaiting confirmation is for director,
Michael Rymer.
1. May, 2000
Finally some
casting news today! J
Local contact mmm_god has done some searching to discover the name of the unknown actress mentioned in my last update. It turns out her name is Janelle Mclean. She is a local actress whose latest film is an Australian drama called 'Losing Heart'. Personally, I've never heard of the actress or the film until now, but I'm currently aiming to find out more.
The news was found in an industry magazine called the Australian Acting Insider. It reports that Janelle is currently considering her future movie options, one of which is Queen of the Damned. Current rumours suggest she may be under consideration for a lead role, and since Akasha is already filled, I'm guessing she might be in the line for Jesse. For further information, head on over to my Local News section!
Also, the eBay auction for the Queen of the Damned
script has now closed. The final bid was for a lousy US$21.01 by witch-hazel.
The page is currently still up here if
you want to see for yourself. Personally, I still doubt the legitimacy of the entire sale.
Until someone proves me otherwise, I'll take it all to be some kind of bizarre hoax.
Update: As it turns out, this sale WAS legitimate! I have
since talked with the woman who bought the script, and there has even been a second
sale of the script through e-Bay. E-Bay is now the place to watch! J
