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Boys of summer: Spider-Man, Harry Potter, Jason Bourne and Shrek |
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Written by Terry Lawson, McClatchy-Tribune
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Monday, 23 April 2007 |
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Though it's often believed that bad things come in threes, that number looks to be the charm for the Hollywood studios this summer. The three potentially biggest films of the season are third installments of franchises whose sequels outgrossed their predecessors.
The summer movie season now incorporates spring, with May 4 its unofficial opening day, as "Spider-Man 3" swings into theaters. It will get two weeks to rule the roost, but it is almost certain to be displaced May 18 by "Shrek the Third." Pirates, however, do not traditionally respect such niceties, so the ogre will likely be forced off the mountain top May 25 by "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," the third and allegedly final voyage of the only hit series to be based on an amusement park ride.
Harry Potter will make magic on July 13 in the fifth chapter of his saga, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
But before Harry returns to Hogwarts, we'll be reunited with Bruce Willis' terrorist fighter John McClane in "Live Free or Die Hard" (June 27), which revives that action franchise after a long hiatus. "The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (June 15) is the first sequel to that Marvel Comics-based adventure; it is designed to spin off the Silver Surfer.
And before we forget the threes, "The Bourne Ultimatum," the third chapter of the amnesiac spy series starring Matt Damon, arrives Aug. 3.
So is everything this summer a sequel? No. In fact, one film certain to end up as one of the top five is an extended version of a TV show. "The Simpsons Movie" may put Springfield's citizens in a larger arena, but creator Matt Groening promises that while Homer and family will get bigger heads, it will be literal, not figurative.
So as Homer might say, let's do that thing again together that we did before, OK? On with the show, good health to you.
MAY 4:
"Spider-Man 3"
Story: If, as is rumored, this is to be the final installment of the series with director Sam Raimi, it's looking to have a fearsome bite. Our conflicted hero, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), has to deal with the one-two punch of villains - Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), an escaped con whose exposure to nuclear fallout leaves him with a convenient gift for shape-shifting, and a fellow Daily Bugle photographer who chemically mutates into his alter-ego, Venom (Topher Grace). Plus, his best pal, Harry Osborn (James Franco), takes up his late father's mantle to become the New Goblin, while Peter comes into conflict with his own dark side.
Backstory: Kirsten Dunst, who plays Peter's beloved Mary Jane, has announced this will be her Spider-song, while Maguire is taking the "I have to-decide-whether-there's-anywhere-else-I-can-take-the-character" tactic. Raimi, who cowrote this installment with his brother Ivan, has been talking as if this is his last dance with the franchise. (He's being courted to make the "Lord of the Rings" prequel "The Hobbit" by Bob Shaye, CEO of New Line.) The bottom line, of course, is the box office.
"Away From Her"
Story: With great reluctance, the husband (Gordon Pinsent) of a woman (Julie Christie) showing Alzheimer's symptoms agrees to put her in a nursing home, but when he is finally allowed to visit her, he discovers she not only has no memory of him, but has become emotionally involved with another patient.
Backstory: Though Sarah Polley is little recognized in the United States, in her native Canada she's like Jodie Foster, a child star who grew into one of the country's most respected actors. Now she's following Foster's footsteps by making her debut as a director in a drama that had many admirers at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
"Lucky You"
Story: Australian Eric Bana, still looking for his breakthrough role after starring in high-profile, so-so movies like " Hulk" and "Munich," plays a smart but self-destructive gambler looking to vanquish his long-time demons with a victory in Vegas' World Series of Poker. Drew Barrymore co stars as a lounge singer who is also down to her last chips.
Backstory: Curtis Hanson, the talented director of "L.A. Confidential" and "8 Mile," had his own winning streak cut in 2005 when his fine "In Her Shoes" was unfairly dismissed as a chick flick. This has been on the shelf ever since, and with the poker craze cooled, may be past its sell-by date. Hanson, on the other hand, may have brought his game.
"September Dawn"
Story: A fictionalized retelling of the Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1857, where the Fancher Party, a wagon train of western-bound settlers from Arkansas, was attacked and murdered on the Old Spanish Trail in Utah by a Mormon militia. Territorial governor Brigham Young had declared martial law days before in anticipation of hostilities with the federal government.
Backstory: Jon Voight and Lolita Davidovich are among the large cast of a film directed by Christopher Cain ("Young Guns") . It has been denounced sight unseen by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Utah Sen. Orin Hatch for its depiction of the Mormons and their founding prophet. One pundit has declared that it is a part of propaganda effort against the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney.
MAY 11:
"28 Weeks Later"
Story: The Great Zombie Comeback began with Danny Boyle's tense, realistic 2002 thriller "28 Days Later," which all but demanded a sequel. Six months after the virus known as the Rage decimated Great Britain, the U. S. Army has been brought in to restore order (uh, yeah) and has instituted a repopulation campaign in London. But one of the very first families of repatriated refugees may be bringing more back with them than their blankees.
Backstory: Boyle, long engaged in his voyage-to-the-sun drama "Sunshine," turned the directing reigns over to Argentinean Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who, like Boyle, is not a horror-action movie type. His acclaimed 2001 drama, "Intacto," was an original and haunting drama about fate that won numerous international awards.
"Georgia Rule"
Story: Lindsay Lohan steps out of the tabloids and back into the movies as an out-of-control, drinking, car-crashing mess who goes off to rehab. No, she doesn't! Her desperate Southern mama, played by Felicity Huffman, packs her cracked Southern belle off to live with tough-love grandma Jane Fonda in a tiny Mormon town where all the young women wear the proper underthings and young men and women date instead of hooking up and ordering a bottle of $300 vodka.
Backstory: More interesting than the film, directed by Garry Marshall, may be the way Lohan publicizes it: Does she use her own alleged rehab to drive home the film's take-responsibility message? If she gets caught table-dancing, the gossip-hounds will salivate.
"Delta Farce"
Story: Larry the Cable Guy and his Blue Collar Comedy Tour cohort Bill Engvall enlist pencil-necked DJ Qualls on a duck-hunting-and-beer-drinking mission, only to find themselves mistaken for errant Army Reservists and shipped directly off to Mexico to restore order to a village under the thumb of a drug lord.
Backstory: And here we thought we had ourselves the very first Iraq-set dumb comedy. But don't worry: It has to come.
"The Flock"
Story: Richard Gere, fresh off his well-reviewed starring role in "The Hoax," plays a burned-out government worker who has the job of training his replacement (Claire Danes), but can't let go of a missing-child case that he believes is connected to a paroled sex offender.
Backstory: This was meant to be the English-language directing debut of Hong Kong's Wai Keung Lau, who helmed "Infernal Affairs" (remade as Oscar-winning "The Departed"). But Lau was taken off the film, and reshoots were handled by Niels Mueller ("The Assassination of Richard Nixon").
The Salon"
Story: Vivica A. Fox plays an urban beauty shop owner and single mom who's trying to save her business while embarking on a promising relationship with a member of the city council in a comedy with dramatic undertones.
Backstory: Made in 2005 but delayed to avoid going head-to-head with Queen Latifah's "Beauty Shop," this was written and directed by Mark Brown ("Barber Shop").
"Home of the Brave"
Story: Samuel L. Jackson, 50 Cent, Brian Presley and Jessica Biel play members of a National Guard unit who return to the States after a harrowing tour of Iraq, and find coping with their experiences difficult in a drama directed by Irwin Winkler ("De-Lovely").
Backstory: Inspired by the World War II returning-veteran classic "Best Years of Our Lives," this was being billed as the first drama about Iraq when it was released for a brief Oscar-qualifying run late last year in New York and Los Angeles. Its belated opening means it was beaten to market by the independent drama "The Situation."
"The Hip Hop Project"
Story: A documentary focusing on Chris (Kazi) Rolle, a rapper who received New York's Urban Hero award for his work as a youth mentor, and who organized an at-risk-youth outreach program that uses hip-hop as an inspirational tool.
Backstory: Impresario and hip-hop pioneer Russell Simmons and Bruce Willis, who are primarily responsible for getting the documentary made and distributed, are interviewed in it.
MAY 18:
"Shrek the Third"
Story: The lovable ogre (the voice of Mike Myers) returns in the third installment of the fractured fairy tale, and much to his distress, discovers himself being prepped to rule the kingdom of Far, Far Away. While the princess (Cameron Diaz) tries to fend off crown-coveting Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), Shrek enlists Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss (Antonio Banderas) in an effort to rehabilitate the rebellious spoiled Prince Artie, voiced by Justin Timberlake.
Backstory: Though this chapter is said to close the book on the fairy tale, there is one more "Shrek" in the pipeline. It will be a prequel that deals with Shrek's childhood before he came to the Magic Forest, and will introduce characters that could spin off into their own franchise.
"Captivity"
Story: Elisha Cuthbert is a superstar fashion model who is kidnapped by an obsessed serial killer and subjected to gruesome games of torture in a thriller looking to appeal to loyal fans of the sadistic "Saw" series.
Backstory: "Captivity" probably benefited from the publicity when groups protested that billboards in New York promoting the film were offensive; now pressure is being applied to the MPAA ratings board to revoke its R rating - which means it would go out unrated and play in far fewer theaters.
"The Ex"
Story: When a young wife played by Amanda Peet becomes pregnant, she quits her high-paying job, forcing her unemployed husband, Zach Braff, to take a job at his father-in-law's company.
Backstory: Braff's movie future was super-bright with the success of "Garden State," then dimmed considerably with the American remake of "Last Kiss," in which he also played a less-than-admirable guy whose wife was expecting. If the slacker he plays here doesn't have some balancing charm, this could be another career setback.
MAY 25:
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
Story: Shot almost back-to-back with "Dead Man's Chest," the concluding chapter of the special effects-heavy pirate adventure comedy takes yet another unlikely turn, with Will (Orlando Bloom) and his beloved Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) teaming up with wicked Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to save Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). At the end of the last episode, Sparrow had been banished to Davy Jones' Locker.
Backstory: The first film was a sprightly surprise hit, commercially and critically; the bloated sequel took a critical drumming, while sweetly sailing into the No. 3 position of the top money earners ever, collecting $1.6 billion worldwide. This final voyage adds yet more new characters, including the god-like Chow Yun-Fat as Chinese captain Sao Feng, and Strolling Bone Keith Richards, the inspiration for Depp's swaggering and staggering Sparrow, as Sparrow's old man. It is said to be shorter than "Dead Man's Chest," which is comforting.
"Bug"
Story: A psychologically damaged Gulf War vet (Michael Shannon) sees bugs everywhere, and when he shacks up with a woman (Ashley Judd) in an Oklahoma motel, she succumbs to his creepy paranoia, becoming convinced there are bugs under her skin. But hey, what if they're not nuts? What if there really is a homicidal infestation?
Backstory: Though the trailer makes this look like a conventional horror piece, and it is being distributed by gore-happy Lions Gate, it is based on a well-received, serious play by Tracy Letts and is directed by William Friedkin, who made one of the best horror movies in history with "The Exorcist."
"I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With"
Story: Jeff Garlin, creator of memorable shlubs on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Arrested Development," debuts as a movie director with the story of a food-obsessed Chicagoan living with his mama (Mina Kolb), who somehow manages to find himself juggling relationships with a nutty ice-cream parlor scooper (Sarah Silverman) and a teacher (Bonnie Hunt) who's crazy for jazz.
Backstory: Silverman, Hunt, Chicago pizza and jazz: Everything I love in one movie.
"Jindabyne"
Story: The wife (Laura Linney) of a transplanted Irishman (Gabriel Byrne) is devastated by a scandal that erupts after her husband and two friends return from an extended fishing trip in the hill country. On their way there, they discovered the body of a murdered woman, but neglected to report it until they returned days later.
Backstory: This drama based on a short story by Raymond Carver won about every award Down Under.
JUNE 1:
"Knocked Up"
Story: Judd Apatow, the producer, writer and director of 2005's runaway hit comedy "The 40 Year-Old Virgin," returns to the raunchy well with this story of an average guy (Paul Rudd) who to his great surprise gets lucky one night at a bar with an inebriated, beautiful, career woman (Katherine Heigl) he figures he'll never see again - until she shows up pregnant eight weeks later.
Backstory: Apatow was as surprised as anybody when his R-rated guy movie turned out to be a big hit with women as well, and is hoping that lightning can strike twice. The question is, will funny second banana Rudd have the appeal of Carell?
"Mr. Brooks"
Story: Kevin Costner is a shy ordinary guy with a big secret: Sometimes, his mind is taken over by a serial killer, portrayed, "Jekyll and Hyde" style, by William Hurt.
Backstory: Though screenwriter Bruce A. Evans' first film as a director, "Kuffs," was undistinguished, there is some real buzz behind this thriller, all apparently based on the script by Evans and his longtime writing partner, Raynold Gideon.
"Gracie"
Story: Elisabeth Shue turns producer for a story loosely based on her experiences as teenager who fought to be allowed to play on the boys' high school soccer team. Carly Schroeder plays the determined Gracie, while Shue is cast as her supportive mother.
Backstory: This is a family film in the true sense of the word: Shue's husband, Davis Guggenheim, directed, and her brother Andrew is the soccer coach.
"Crazy Love"
Story: Burt Pugach is an ambulance-chasing Bronx lawyer with a private plane who sweeps a 21-year-old blond beauty off her feet in the 1950s; he neglects to mention he has a wife and a disabled kid. When she gets engaged to another man, he hires thugs to throw acid in her face and is sentenced to 30 years in the pen. When he gets out, he has one thing on his mind: rewinning her love. Sounds too absurd to be believed, right? That's only because it's all true - this is a documentary.
Backstory: Director Dan Klores got caught up in the story as it unfolded in New York tabloids in the 1960s.
JUNE 8:
"Surf's Up"
Story: Penguins, penguins everywhere, even on surfboards in this CGI-animated comedy from the directors of "Toy Story 2." It Boy of the moment Shia LaBeouf gives voice to cocky waddler Cody Maverick, whose assumption of a victory in the World Surfing Competition is a case of counting eggs before they can be transferred from mama to papa.
Backstory: Last summer, a glut of CGI films resulted in all taking a smaller piece of the box-office pie. But the popularity of CGI animation on DVD means the herd is not likely to be thinning anytime soon.
"Ocean's Thirteen"
Story: So who would have figured that a nostalgic affection for a mediocre heist film that gave Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Peter Lawford license to fool around in Vegas would become a cash-producing franchise for serious-minded director Steven Soderbergh ? Only anyone who figured a cast with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle and Matt Damon would attract paying customers. Outing No. 3 sends them back to Vegas to take vengeance on a double-crossing casino boss (Al Pacino).
Backstory: The first "Ocean's" was good fun, but "Twelve" was little more than an excuse for an Italian vacation for cast and crew. "Thirteen" looks to liven things up with Pacino, but one has to hope it has a story worth investing in.
"Hostel: Part II"
Story: The savagery continues in this sequel to the bloody 2005 film about three male backpackers who make a bad lodging choice in Slovakia. Lauren German, Bijou Philips and Heather Matarazzo are Americans who repeat the error here, proving once and for all girls are no smarter than boys.
Backstory: Director Eli Roth's motto: If it ain't broke, don't fix it, though it's always OK to slice it some more.
JUNE 15:
"The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer"
Story: The sequel to the 2005 Marvel comic book movie that nobody liked but everyone went to see, anyway. Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd), the Invisible Girl (Jessica Alba), the Thing (Michael Chiklis) and the Human Torch (Chris Evans) face yet another threat from Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) and his tool, Galactus, while they try to get a bead on the enigmatic Silver Surfer (Doug Jones).
Backstory: Various A-list directors have considered making a movie about that conscience of the cosmos, the Silver Surfer. The word is that his introduction here is a set-up for solo spinoff.
"Nancy Drew"
Story: Everybody's favorite girl detective gets yet another update for the screen - and the tweens - with Emma Roberts, niece of Julia and daughter of Eric, playing Nancy, who, while accompanying her dad on a Los Angeles business trip, finds herself attempting to solve a Hollywood murder mystery.
Backstory: Though Nancy has been the star of two TV series and a made-for-TV movie, this is the first time she's been on the big screen since the 1930s.
"I Could Never Be Your Woman"
Story: Michelle Pfeiffer is the producer of a "Saved By The Bell"-style sitcom who finds herself attracted to a much-younger actor (Paul Rudd) on the show, at the same time her daughter (Saoirse Ronan) is feeling the first pangs of love.
Backstory: If the title sounds familiar, that's because this is the third time this film has appeared in one of these previews; it was pulled from release the other two times.
"Fido"
Story: The title character is the best friend of bullied young Timmy Robinson (K'Sun Ray), but it's not a mutt: It's a 6-foot, rotting zombie, played by Bill Connolly, who has been hired by Timmy's mom (Carrie-Anne Moss) as a servant in a retro-alternative society where everyone who is anyone has one.
Backstory: Zombies have made such a cultural comeback that there's shorthand for films like this and "Shaun of the Dead," where they are made objects of humor: Zom-coms.
JUNE 22:
"Evan Almighty"
Story: As the title suggests, a sequel to the Jim Carrey hit "Bruce Almighty," but with Carell, not Carrey: "The Office" star Steve Carell, who played Bruce's reporter-rival in the original film, is now a congressman who is summoned by God (Morgan Freeman) and ordered to build an ark in anticipation of another sin-clearing flood.
Backstory: When the success of "Bruce" made way for a sequel and Carrey and Jennifer Aniston both passed, director Tom Shadyac didn't order up a new script; the studio simply optioned a comedy called "The Passion of the Ark" and had it refitted to accommodate Carell, Freeman and the earlier film's relationship between man and God.
"A Mighty Heart"
Story: Free-lance journalist Mariane Pearl's account of the life and death of her husband, Daniel, whose beheading was videotaped by Islamic extremists, is turned into a drama starring Angelina Jolie and Dan Futterman.
Backstory: English director Michael Winterbottom has made two films related to the current turmoil in the Mideast; his take on the Pearl murder should prove interesting.
"Broken English"
Story: Indie film darling Parker Posey plays Nora Wilder, a 35-year-old single New Yorker whose life hasn't turned out as she expected, a point driven home as she arranges a 5-year-wedding anniversary party for her best friend (Drea de Matteo). She has little luck when she attempts to alter her circumstances with a series of dates, until she meets a man who seems perfect - except that he lives in France.
Backstory: Following in the footsteps of her father John and brother Nick, Zoe Cassavetes joins the ranks of independent film directors in a romantic comedy said to have a lot more edge than most films in that category.
"DOA.: Dead or Alive"
Story: Three fighters (Jaime Pressly, Holly Valance and Devon Aoki) from around the world team up for some serious butt-kicking-in-bikinis in this action film based on the video game.
Backstory: Action fans may take comfort in seeing famed Hong Kong fight choreographer Corey Yuen listed as director; gamers might find little resemblance between the tough girls in the game and the actors hired to play them.
JUNE 29:
"Live Free or Die Hard"
Story: The state motto of New Hampshire is evoked in the fourth chapter of the long-dormant franchise, which has John McClane (Bruce Willis), head shaven, divorced from the wife he risked everything to save in the still-terrific original film and working a desk job tracking suspicious computer activity for the Homeland Security Agency. But when a terrorist group initiates a complex online plot to shut down the United States - they start by taking out all traffic lights - McClane has to team up with a young hacker (Justin Long) he had just taken into custody to counter an attack by an enemy he cannot see.
Backstory: To counter the charge that Willis, at 52, is way too long in the tooth to be a believable action hero (tell it to Harrison Ford, 64, on his way to the set of the fourth Indiana Jones adventure), the writers have built his old-school creakiness and limitations into the plot.
"Evening"
Story: Vanessa Redgrave is a dying woman recalling her life as a young woman with her two daughters, played by Toni Collette and Redgrave's real daughter, Natasha Richardson. In flashbacks, Redgrave's character is played by Claire Danes, and her best friend in college is played by Mamie Gummer, who (stay with me here) is played by her real-life mother, Meryl Streep, in the present.
Backstory: Though the set-up sounds suspiciously like the sentimental "The Notebook," this has been adopted by Michael Cunningham from a novel by the respected Susan Minot.
"Ratatouille"
Story: Unlike your average rat, Remy (the voice of Patton Oswalt) is a discriminating diner who has taken up residence in the walls of a great French restaurant, much to the disdain of the staff. But Remy wants to go where no rat has gone before: He aspires to be a chef, which causes a few comic complications in the eighth full-length feature animated film from Pixar.
Backstory: "Ratatouille" was directed by Brad Bird ("The Invincibles"), who also wrote the screenplay.
"Mama's Boy"
Story: Jon Heder is 29 and has no plans to stop living with his beloved mom (Diane Keaton) until she announces she is marrying a self-help author, played by Jeff Daniels. Let the war begin.
Backstory: The plot sound suspiciously like the upcoming comedy "Mr. Woodcock," which stars Heder's "School for Scoundrels" costar Billy Bob Thornton.
"You Kill Me"
Story: Ben (call me Sir) Kingsley puts his stone face back on to play an alcoholic assassin-for-hire who repairs to Los Angeles to dry out and rethink his life, only to get a job at a mortuary where a relative (Tea Leoni) of one of his victims is employed.
Backstory: John Dahl, whose moving World War II drama, "The Great Raid," failed to find an audience, is back on more familiar terrain with this quirky crime drama.
"Death at a Funeral"
Story: Matthew Macfadyen and Rupert Graves play estranged brothers in a seriously screwed -up family who are reunited at their father's funeral, where they are confronted by a blackmailer with a secret about their old man that could cause even further chaos. They're forced to come together to deal with the stranger before he reveals the secret.
Backstory: Frank Oz has been laying low since "The Stepford Wives" remake debacle, but this sounds like it's right up the alley of the director of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
JULY 4:
"Transformers"
Story: Unless you're under 10, you might not have noticed that the novelty toy of the 1980s - plastic gizmos that with a few flicks of the wrist can be transformed from cars and planes into ferocious armored warriors - are back in vogue. That would seem to align the planets for director Michael Bay's movie, in which the warring Autobots (the good guys) and Decepticons (bad guys) come to E arth in search of the energy source that keeps their gears going. Shia LaBeouf (we told you he was the It Boy) is the human star.
Backstory: Transformers are the heavy-metal stars of the toy world, and Bay's sledgehammer approach to filmmaking qualifies him to bring their exploits into the realm of live action - though the Transformers themselves, of course, will be animated. Still, he's hardly all-powerful: Though he filmed one of the movie's big battle scenes at Detroit's decaying train depot, he couldn't help to transform it into a new police station.
"License to Wed"
Story: Mandy Moore plays a soon-to-be bride, who with her fiance, John Krasinki, falls victim to a minister (Robin Williams) who refuses to marry them unless they're truly committed, and designs a series of challenges that allows them to prove it.
Backstory: Leaving aside the ridiculousness of the plot, the film also has to overcome Moore's recent, self-deprecating declaration that she really was a mediocre actor and a mediocre singer to boot. C'mon, kids, buy a ticket and boost this girl's self-esteem!
JULY 13:
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
Story: The fifth Potter picture sends Harry back to Hogwarts as an outcast. His claim that the evil Lord Voldemort has been restored in body and power is widely dismissed not only by his classmates (except for Hermione and Ron) and the faculty (not the wise but fading Dumbledore), but also the Ministry of Magic. The climate allows the ministry to appoint a new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor (Imelda Staunton), who plots what appears to be a Hogwarts coup, while Harry and the Dumbledore faction form an underground resistance.
Backstory: The "Harry Potter" franchise has made no missteps, getting stronger as the series rolls on. It has kept on a steady course by having the same writer, Steve Kloves, adapt each of J.K. Rowling's novels - until this one, where the job was done by Michael Goldberg. Kloves is on board to write the final two films.
"Talk to Me"
Story: Don Cheadle pulls out the `fro and the flares from his "Boogie Nights" days to play ex-con-turned-flamboyant Washington, D.C., soul music DJ and talk show host Petey Greene, whose enormous popularity in the late 1960s and early `70s turned him into an Oprah-level spokesman for the African-American community and made him a lightning rod for controversy.
Backstory: Director Kasi Lemmons has assembled a great cast for this biography of an influential and inspirational man little known outside his hometown, including Martin Sheen as the radio station's owner. Look for cameos by Lemmons' husband, Vondie Curtis Hall, and singer Keith Sweat.
"1408"
Story: John Cusack stars in his second summer movie, playing a serious version of Penn & Teller, a debunker of alleged paranormal and supernatural phenomenon, whose success as an author is tempered by his grief over the death of his daughter. His work brings him to New York's stately and historic Dolphin Hotel, to a room said to be haunted.
Backstory: If the haunted-hotel theme sounds just a little similar to "The Shining," it may be because this is based on a short story by Stephen King, whose work has been curiously absent from the big screen for some time.
"The Strangers"
Story: Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman are a young married couple house-sitting the target of a home invasion by three people in masks who may have an agenda beyond robbery.
Backstory: One of the assailants is played by the model Gemma Ward, so we can presume she won't keep the mask on for much of the movie.
"Rescue Dawn"
Story: Christian Bale is a German who immigrates to America with dreams of becoming a pilot, just in time to get free training in the U.S. Navy, which sends him to fly in the unfriendly skies of Vietnam in the late 1960s. Shot down and captured in an illegal excursion into Laos, he and fellow prisoners mount a daring escape.
Backstory: German director Wim Wenders also made the documentary on which this is based, "Little Dieter Needs to Fly," released a decade ago.
JULY 20:
"Hairspray"
Story: John Waters' 1988 comedy about an overweight Baltimore teen who wants nothing more than to be a dancer on a local "American Bandstand"-inspired program in the early 1960s was turned into a Broadway hit, and now becomes a movie again. Newcomer Nicole Blonsky is Tracey Turnblad, the outcast; John Travolta dons drag to play her mouthy mother, Edna, and Queen Latifah is the hip DJ.
Backstory: "Hairspray" was a musical in its original incarnation, although the soundtrack was made of songs of the era; a new, period-style score has been written for this film.
"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry"
Story: Adam Sandler is Chuck and Kevin James is Larry, best friends and Brooklyn firefighters. Chuck is a freewheeling bachelor, while Larry is a widower with kids. When a legal loophole is discovered that disallows Larry's children from receiving survivor or insurance benefits if he is killed or injured in the line of duty, Larry calls in a favor. He wants Chuck to pretend to be his domestic partner so the kids will be protected.
Backstory: Before you dismiss this as just another stupid and potentially homophobic farce with Sandler acting silly, you should know that the script was co written by Alexander Payne, whose screenwriting credits include some of the smarter and wittier comedies of our time, including "Sideways."
JULY 27:
"The Simpsons Movie"
Story: First it was a cult, then it was a cultural phenomenon, and then it was the continuing story of life in America, only funnier. Now it's a movie, and with the possible exception of "Spider-Man 3" it's the most anticipated movie of the year, despite the fact its old-school animation makes "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" look high-tech, and that its hero's name is Homer. So far, its plotline is known to only a few folks who had to sign a super-secrecy agreement to attend a test screening of a work in progress.
Backstory: Creator Matt Groening and producer James L. Brooks (who introduced the Simpsons in brief bits on Tracey Ullman's 1980s sketch series) had always sworn there would never be a Simpsons movie until the show went off the air. Apparently, they've concluded the show may never go off the air.
"Skinwalkers"
Story: A 12-year-old boy is unaware, as is his mother (Rhona Mitra), that he is half-human, half-werewolf, and that on his 13th birthday, under a red full moon, he will inherit a power and fulfill a prophecy that puts him in the middle of good werewolves and bad.
Backstory: Director James Isaac ("Jason X") was once a David Cronenberg apprentice.
"No Reservations"
Story: Catherine Zeta-Jones heads this comedy about a high-strung, single celebrity chef who has never had time - or an interest in - anything but her job until she becomes guardian to her niece, played by "Little Miss Sunshine" Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin.
Backstory: Have we eaten here before? It's an English language remake of the German hit "Mostly Martha," which had some international success in 2001.
AUG. 3:
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
Story: Matt Damon returns for his third go-around as former U.S. spy Jason Bourne, who recovered from an assassination attempt with amnesia, and whose on going effort to put together all the pieces of his past leads him to Treadstone, the top-secret facility where he was trained. A government official (David Strathairn) looking to revive the Treadstone program assigns agent Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) to find Bourne so he can send another assassin to finish the job.
Backstory: Though there is a novel of the same title, the film has little to do with that; it has an original script by Tony Gilroy (who wrote the second installment) and playwright Tom Stoppard, while Paul Greengrass ("United 93") also returns to direct.
"Underdog"
Story: A beagle named Shoeshine Boy (voiced by Jason Lee) finds himself in possession of an array of super powers after a laboratory accident, including the ability to speak; this understandably unnerves the boy (Alex Nueberger) who adopts him, but the boy becomes his aide de camp when he assumes the crime-fighting secret identity of Underdog.
Backstory: It's based on the popular cartoon series of the 1960s, one of those shows that is not nearly as clever as you remember but still wittier than the mainstream cartoons of the time, so there's some hope for this live-action adaptation.
"Hot Rod"
Story: Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member (and star of YouTube favorite "Lazy Sunday") Andy Samberg stars as Rod Kimble, a less than nimble daredevil, who, looking to impress his distant dad, attempts to outdo Evel Knievel by jumping the Snake River on a moped.
Backstory: Before making rash assumptions, be advised that the cast includes Ian McShane, Sissy Spacek and Will Arnett, not to mention Isla Fisher.
"Becoming Jane"
Story: A speculative look at the early life of Jane Austen, played by Anne Hathaway, and the events that could have inspired "Pride & Prejudice" and "Sense & Sensibility." Julie Walters co stars as Jane's mother, with James McAvoy ("The Last King of Scotland") as Tom Lefroy, the possible model for Mr. Darcy.
Backstory: Jon Spence, who wrote the book on which this is based, was a historical consultant on the film, directed by Julian Jarrold, who is working on a movie version of "Brideshead Revisited."
"Charlie Bartlett"
Story: Russian-born Anton Yelchin plays the title character in a comedy about a troubled rich kid who is flunking out at a public school (the principal is played by Robert Downey Jr.) but whose empathetic nature leads him to become the unofficial therapist to the school's similarly screwed-up kids - even dispensing the occasional medication with help from a classmate dealer.
Backstory: This is the first feature to be directed by Jon Poll, an editor whose credits include "Meet the Fockers," "Meet the Parents " and the legendary "Cabin Boy."
AUG. 10:
"Stardust"
Story: A graphic novel by the gifted and prolific Neil Gaiman is the source of this fantasy about a young man (Charlie Cox) who seeks to prove his love to Yvaine by retrieving a falling star from the magical land that borders their village. The stellar supporting cast in this blend of live action and animation includes, in the flesh or by voice, Robert De Niro (as a pirate), Peter O'Toole, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais and many more.
Backstory: Though the Gaiman cult does not lack for members, there was almost no audience for his previous foray into fantasy film with the visually amazing fairy tale "MirrorMask."
"Rush Hour 3"
Story: Jackie Chan's Chinese Inspector Lee and Chris Tucker's American cop James Carter are reunited in Paris, where they make quick enemies of the French branch of Hong Kong-based crime ring the Triad.
Backstory: Everyone holding their breath for another installment in the action-comedy series directed by Brett Ratner can blame the stars, who were both demanding more money than the producers wanted to pay. I'm sure they earn it, but there's no word on how much Sun Ming Ming, the 7-foot-9 Chinese basketball player, was paid, although it was probably more than his bonus for signing with the Grand Rapids Flight of the new International Basketball League.
"Bratz"
Story: Yasmin, Sasha, Chloe and Jade, the dress-up dolls turned cartoon characters with a "passion for fashion," finally get a movie that goes to the screen ahead of the DVD, a musical with original pop songs that will undoubtedly spin off an album.
The Backstory: Naked greed.
"Daddy Day Camp"
Story: A sequel to "Daddy Day Care," but without Eddie Murphy: Cuba Gooding Jr. steps in as the unemployed father who, with some typically unsuitable pals, starts a summer camp that attracts the usual assortment of discipline problems and doo-doo issues.
Backstory: While you weren't looking, the actor Fred Savage has racked up loads of TV directing credits, but this is his first stab at a feature.
AUG. 17:
"The Invasion"
Story: Nicole Kidman plays a Washington, D.C., psychiatrist who comes to believe that a supposed viral epidemic is an alien invasion, and that her infected son could hold the key to a defense; Daniel Craig, in his first post-James Bond part, is a doctor who begins to believe her.
Backstory: Against all odds, the 1950s sci-fi classic "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers" has been successfully remade twice, by directors Philip Kaufman and Abel Ferrara. Apparently the third time was not the charm for German director Oliver Hirschbiegel ("Downfall"), who was removed from the project by producer Joel Silver, with Wachowski brothers Larry and Andy ("The Matrix" films) enlisted to shoot a new ending. But when they were unable to provide more salvage work, James McTeigue was brought in to reshoot earlier sections of the film, so what will actually end up on screen is anybody's guess.
"Superbad"
Story: Michael Cera and Jonah Hill are joined-at-the-hip best buds throwing a high school graduation party. But when their quest to obtain illegal alcohol separates them, they undergo not only crazed comic misadventures but severe separation anxiety that bodes badly for them going off to different colleges.
Backstory: Seth Rogan, a Judd Apatow apparatchik who costars in "Knocked Up" and has a supporting role here, cowrote the script with Evan Goldberg, who contributed to the U.S. version of "Da Ali G Show." So keep a little faith.
"Fanboys"
Story: A dying "Star Wars" fan's last request? To see "Episode I: Phantom Menace" before he goes. Problem? It's not yet released, so three fellow fanboys take him on a road trip to convince George Lucas to give them a preview at Skywalker Ranch.
Backstory: Though a short film of the same name with the same theme was made four years ago in New Zealand, the creators of this movie, which features cameos from Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams, call it coincidence.
"Wedding Daze"
Story: Actor Michael Ian Black gets behind the camera. After a brutal break-up, a young man (Jason Biggs) is convinced he will never fall in love again. But on a dare, he proposes to a waitress (Isla Fisher) with her own relationship issues, and to the surprise of both, they find themselves planning a wedding.
Backstory: When this was set for release earlier this year, it was titled "The Pleasure of Your Company" (as on a wedding invitation) and later "The Next Girl I See." If those were obscure, the new title may be way too generic.
"Arctic Tale"
Story: In the path of "March of the Penguins" comes a documentary about the Great North, where a walrus given the name Seela and a polar bear called Nanu are tracked from birth to maturity and, finally, parenthood.
Backstory: Produced by National Geographic films, "Arctic Tale" also serves as a global warming lesson, as we watch the ice melting under the polar bears' feet.
AUG. 24:
"Good Luck Chuck"
Story: Dane Cook is back as a guy who never lacks for female company, but never holds on to one woman too long. Why? It seems that women who date him always seem to meet Mr. Right while they're seeing him.
Backstory: Cook is now officially the go-to-guy for low-budget comedies more raunchy than romantic, but this also stars Jessica (No-Nudity Clause) Alba, so it may have a sweeter tone.
"Virgin Territory"
Story: Though this sounds like a raunchy sex comedy, it's actually a take on "The Decameron," in which young Florentines take refuge in the country in an attempt to escape the Black Plague, and amuse themselves by telling stories, some of them erotic.
Backstory: OK, maybe it is a raunchy sex comedy, considering the cast includes Mischa Barton and Hayden Christensen .
"The Comebacks"
Story: David Koechner plays the losingest coach in the history of college football, who gets one last chance to prove himself when he comes out of retirement to take a job at a school that has a team that makes the Lions look like winners.
Backstory: The best we can hope for? The football version of "Major League." The worst we can imagine? Every other sports movie that's tackled the same dummy formula.
"The Last Legion"
Story: With the Roman Empire under siege by barbarians, 12-year-old Romulus Augustus (Thomas Sangster) is crowned emperor, and his father appoints the tribune Aurelius (Colin Firth) as the boy's bodyguard; but when they are captured and taken to the isle of Capri, Romulus discovers the magical sword of Caesar, and with Aurelius and a mysterious Byzantine defector (Aishwarya Rai) forms a new legion to retake Rome.
Backstory: If this isn't as bloody as "300" or as sexy as TV's "Rome," it may find retaking the box office harder than rebuilding Rome.
AUG. 31:
"Halloween"
Story: Michael Myers is born again in what was originally announced as a straight remake of John Carpenter's 1978 classic. Director Rod Zombie has reimagined the tale of a young man who breaks out of the mental institution where he has resided for 15 years after murdering his older sister, returning to his hometown to take murderous revenge.
Backstory: Set for release around Halloween, this was moved up in response to reaction to the trailer, which captures the spooky menace of the original.
"Mr. Bean's Holiday"
Story: Rowan Atkinson's archetypal British bumbler Mr. Bean finally returns to the screen in a story that has him winning a trip to France in a raffle, where he has no shortage of accidents and misadventures, none of which he ever really notices. But along the way, he also accidentally does some good deeds, and may fall in love.
Backstory: Bean is an acquired taste, but once you tune in to the silliness you're hooked.
"The Brothers Solomon"
Story: Will Arnett and Will Forte are naive brothers who have been sheltered from the big bad world by their dying father but venture into the unknown to find mates so they can fulfill Daddy's wish for a grandchild.
Backstory: Think " Dumb and Dumber" mashed up with "Being There."
Terry Lawson:
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