BOP Daily News
October 22, 2003
The spirit of BOP News lives on in
This is So Last Week,
our pop culture week-in-review,
presented in a pleasing quiz form.
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Well, he hasn’t been very high-profile lately, but it’s still surprising to learn that Vin Diesel may be feeling enough career heat to return to a franchise on which he had previously passed. Reports have surfaced that Diesel, who recently skipped reprising his role in the xXx sequel, is interesting in returning to the Fast and the Furious franchise for its third outing. As reported in this column some weeks ago, Ice Cube will be taking over the lead in the next xXx film, which is looking to use a new actor for each outing. Diesel is purportedly interested in the third FatF film due to the box office - and we emphasize box office - success of the poorly-named 2Fast, 2 Furious. Of course, with a slate of films already on his schedule, including the upcoming big-screen biopic of the famed Carthaginian general, Hannibal. Of course, if his films keep doing as poorly at the box office as A Man Apart, Diesel might be street-racing again quicker than you can say "Vin Diesel".
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Seems reports of the demise of Pierce Brosnan as James Bond are premature. Recent rumors have surfaced in the press proclaiming Clive Owen taking over the role of Bond after Brosnan announces sometime in 2004 that the 21st film in the series will be his last. But according to Britain’s Channel 4 TV, Brosnan isn’t quite ready to hang up the tuxedo and license to kill just yet. Although Pierce proclaims he will happily turn over the role to Owen - who he recommended to producers - when the time comes, that time is still a ways off. Considering Roger Moore played the part until he was 172, we think the 50-year-old Brosnan still has a couple good years left.
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In one of the stranger screen pairings we’ve seen in a while, Robert Duvall will be starring opposite Will Ferrell in the as-yet-untitled Universal film about kids’ soccer that we reported on last week. Duvall would play Ferrell’s character’s father, a Type-A sort who coached his son’s soccer team with such intensity, the boy lost all joy in the game, even though he was becoming quite proficient at it. As an adult, Ferrell is convinced to coach his own son’s team, which ironically pits him against his own father. Rumors that the script called for Duvall’s character to insist his players call him The Great Santini could not be confirmed at press time.
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Gwyneth Paltrow has hit back at critics of her latest film, Sylvia, which tells the tragic tale of poet Sylvia Plath. The film - which Plath’s daughter, Frieda Hughes, refused to cooperate with, calling it “insensitive” - received a less-than-warm reception from critics, with many considering it far too full of misery to attract even the most masochistic of moviegoers. Paltrow, however, has reportedly dismissed the criticism, and seems to be under the impression that only one person has so far savaged the film in print. Paltrow says of reaction to the film, "A writer in New York - he's not even a film critic - wrote a mean review. I didn't see it, but we were surprised" and proclaims the film a “very intelligent, well-handled emotional piece.” Since this was supposed to be Paltrow’s so-called “comeback” film and was touted by some as being the star’s best work, such negative reaction must be quite the blow. Guess Chris Matthews is going to have an on-the-tour-bus girlfriend for quite a while longer.
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Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney’s blockbuster summer film that is still raking in the bucks, may soon join the ranks of such diverse franchises as Back to the Future, The Matrix, Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings trilogy by having its upcoming two sequels shot back-to-back in one long production schedule. This would allow the sequels to be released fairly close to one another, and also carries other advantages, including the cast not changing appearance too greatly between films. Of course, the downside is, if you rush the films too much or try too hard to make two films out of what is essentially one story, both sequels suck.
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"We've reached a special place... spiritually... ecumenically... grammatically. "
Box Office Prophets offers quality, reliable news about the entertainment industry. BOP is also entertaining. To that end, please be advised that some content in this column is intended to be humorous and should not be considered factual.
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