Movie File: Johnny Depp, Martin Lawrence, 'Star Wars' DVDs, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Jackie Chan & More
Johnny Depp must have enjoyed playing a writer in "Secret Window." Among the roles he has agreed to tackle next are "Peter Pan" author J.M. Barrie in "J.M. Barrie's Neverland," 17th century poet John Wilmot (the Earl of Rochester) in "The Libertine," and Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby in "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." Depp is also reprising Gene Wilder's title role in a remake of "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (directed by Tim Burton), shooting the sequel to "Pirates of the Caribbean" and starring in the Puerto Rican love story "The Rum Diary." ...
Martin Lawrence will follow up "Bad Boys II" with the comedy "Rage Control" about a college coach forced to take over a junior high team after he is suspended for attacking a referee. Steve Carr ("Daddy Day Care") is directing. ... "Torque" star Will Yun Lee has been cast as the main villain in "Elektra," Jennifer Garner's "Daredevil" spinoff, which starts shooting this month in Vancouver. Lee will play the head of the Hand, a tribe of ninja assassins who trained Elektra. "E.R." doctor Goran Visnjic will play her love interest, and Rob Bowman ("The X Files") is directing. ...
Mel Gibson has set an August 31 release date for "The Passion of the Christ" on DVD and VHS. Details have not been announced, but it is rumored to be a basic release, with a special edition to follow. ... When the "Star Wars Trilogy" DVD set is released September 21, on the other hand, it will include four hours of extra features. The fourth disc will contain the two-and-a-half-hour documentary "Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy," featuring interviews with more than 40 members of the cast and crew from episodes IV through VI, as well as other documentaries such as "The Characters of Star Wars," "The Force Is With Them: The Legacy of Star Wars" and "The Birth of the Lightsaber." ...
Tiger Army pay tribute to "The Lost Boys" on a song called "Santa Carla Twilight," and soon every fan of the movie will have cause to sing. A two-disc special edition of the 1987 teen vampire classic hits stores August 10. Among its many features: deleted scenes, commentary from director Joel Schumacher, a retrospective with several cast members (including Keifer Sutherland and Jami Gertz), commentary from both Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, and a featurette called "Haimster and Feldog: The Story of the Two Coreys." ...
The promotion surrounding "New York Minute" of course focuses on Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, but the guys who play their love interests in the movie are making names for themselves in Hollywood. Jared Padalecki will next star in a remake of "House of Wax" with Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray and Paris Hilton. "It's been retooled to where we're all on our way to an Iowa vs. Nebraska game and we stop to camp and my fan belt gets caught," Padalecki explained. "Elisha and I stay back and we find this small town with this little house of wax and it turns out these people look kinda real. It's a great script, and from what I hear it's the most amazing set over in Australia. They built [a whole] town apparently." Riley Smith, meanwhile, will star in a new WB show called "Summerland," debuting in the summer. "It's kinda like an 'O.C.'-type deal," he said. "The lead kid, Jesse McCartney [of 'All My Children'], moves from Kansas to this beach community. And he falls in love with this local girl who's like the surf shop girl. And I play kinda like the local surf bum who gives him a hard time 'cause he's trying to mack on my girl." ...
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, who is already set for "Whatever Turns You On," has signed on to star in another indie movie, this one called "Alibi." The movie also stars English actor Steve Coogan ("24 Hour Party People") as a man who runs an alibi service for men and women who cheat on their spouses. He meets and falls for Romijn-Stamos' character while helping a client in over his head. ... No nude scenes required for this part: Kim Cattrall, best known for her nymphomaniac role on "Sex and the City," has been cast as a former skating star in the Disney movie "Ice Princess." Cattrall's character coaches a young skater played by Michelle Trachtenberg ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). ...
Newly appointed U.N. goodwill ambassador Jackie Chan recently spent a week digging up landmines in Cambodia to raise awareness about the issue there. The actor also visited explosion victims in the country, where remote areas are still speckled with mines and unexploded bombs left over from three decades of fighting. ... Another TV show is coming to the big screen. Paramount Pictures has bought the rights to "The Partridge Family," the '70s series about the comedic adventures of a family of musicians. Producers intend to turn it into a family movie similar to "School of Rock." ...
