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MOVIE FEVER E-MAIL NEWSLETTER
¤¤Your Complete Source for Entertainment Information¤¤

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May 10, 2001 Issue Number 132
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Publisher & Editor: Bob Messinger
Contributing Editor: Laurie L.
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IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Trivia Blitz
2. In The News - Movies & Entertainment
3. Online Celebrity Chat
4. In The News - Television
5. Movie Review - The Mummy Returns
6. Celebrity Profile - Brendan Fraser
7. Celebrity Birthdays
8. Trivia Answer

===============================================================

Hi Movie Fans!

We wish all our Mom readers a Happy Mother's Day on Sunday! I
know my Mom is reading this, so Happy Mother's Day Mom and I love
you!

In today's issue we reveal the official title for the upcoming
"Matrix" sequel. We also got word that Tommy Lee Jones may be
reprising his role in "MIB2" after all. Jaime Lee Curtis has
joined the "Halloween 8" cast and Ewan McGregor talks "Phantom
II." All this and more in todays Movie Fever..enjoy!

- Bob

If you enjoy Movie Fever, please tell your tell your family and
friends about us.
<A href=http://www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=852472> Help us
grow!</a>

It's Showtime!

=======================
1. TRIVIA BLITZ
=======================

The film title 'American Beauty' refers to what constant thread
of the movie?

a) Drugs
b) Flowers
c) Nervous breakdowns
d) Adultery

¤ Correct answer can be found at the bottom

================================================
2. IN THE NEWS - Movies & Entertainment
================================================

'MATRIX 2' GETS OFFICIAL TITLE
Entertainment Weekly has announced that Joel Silver has decided
on a title for the sequel to "The Matrix" and the what will that
title be? "The Matrix: Reloaded."

WRITERS GUILD STRIKE DEAL
Hollywood was spared a potentially crippling strike on Friday
when
the Writers Guild of America reached a tentative contract with
film studios and television networks that, if ratified, will give
the union's 11,500 members a $41 million pay increase over three
years. The Screen Actors Guild much-anticipated film and TV
contract talks with producers are set to begin May 15, giving the
parties about seven weeks to avert a possible strike.

HUDSON IN 'GUY' FOR PARAMOUNT
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kate Hudson ("Almost
Famous") is attached to star in Paramount Pictures' romantic
comedy "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days." The film tells of
womanizer who bets his friends he can stay in a relationship for
more than 10 days. He winds up getting more than he bargained for
when the woman he chooses tries to get rid of him. No director is
yet on board the project.

FREDDIE PRINZE THE CAPED CRUSADER?
J-14, a teen magazine, reported (via SCIFI.com) that director
Darren Aronofsky wants Freddie Prinze Jr. to don the cape and
cowl in his proposed Batman: Year One movie, according to the
Ananova Web site. Prinze would reportedly play a young Bruce
Wayne.

JONES NOT REPRISING ROLE IN 'MIB2'?
A few newsletters back we reported that the New York Times ran an
article saying Tommy Lee Jones would not be reprising his role in
"Men in Black 2." The trade is now reporting that those rumors
are false and the Dark Horizons web site is reporting that Jones
is definitely on board the project.

LOREN, DEPARDIEU IN 'STRANGERS'
Sophia Loren, Mira Sorvino, Deborah Kara Unger and Gerard
Depardieu have signed on to star in Edoardo Ponti's feature
directorial debut, "Between Strangers," according to The
Hollywood Reporter. Ponti, who also wrote the script, is the son
of Loren; this marks the first time that mother and son have
worked together professionally. The drama centers on the separate
yet parallel stories of three women (Loren, Sorvino and Unger)
from different generations whose lives radically change when they
attempt to confront their past. Depardieu plays an eccentric
gardener who befriends Loren's character.

'FROM HELL' RELEASE DATE
The big screen version of Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's novel
"From Hell" now has a set release date. While talking to
Comics2Film, producer Don Murphy revealed that the film will be
hitting theater screens on October 19th.

'HALLOWEEN 8' CASTING
The official Halloween movie site reports that the star of MTV's
"The Real World Seattle" and "Urban Legends: Final Cut," Jacinda
Barrett, has been cast in "Halloween 8." Also, Jaime Lee Curtis
has agreed to star in the 8th installment. In related news,
Director Rick Rosenthal answered fan questions and the exclusive
interview can be found here..
http://www.halloweenmovies.com/site/interview_rr.htm

EWAN McGREGOR TALKS 'PHANTOM II'
While promoting 'Moulin Rouge' at the Cannes Film Festival, Ewan
McGregor had a few words to say about the difference between
"Episode II" and the "Phantom Menace": The actor explains that
the script for 'Episode II' is much better than for 'The Phantom
Menace', which prompted a barrage of questions over whether he
had been unhappy with the first movie. McGregor simply replied
"no" before adding: "It could have been better. Could have been a
lot better." McGregor, who reprises the role of young Obi-Wan
Kenobi in "Episode II," has previously said that shooting
"Episode I" was "boring" in places.

'DOGTOWN' FOR SONY
Variety reports that Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North
American distribution rights to "Dogtown and Z-Boys," a
skateboarding documentary that won two prizes at this year's
Sundance Film Festival. The picture, which was directed by skater
great Stacy Peralta and narrated by Sean Penn chronicles the rise
and fall of the 1970s southern California skate scene by
profiling the Zephyr Team (Z-Boys) in "Dogtown," a seedy stretch
of oceanfront in West L.A.

POLLAK, QUINN, DENNEHEY JOIN 'SUMMER'
Kevin Pollak, Aidan Quinn and Brian Dennehy have joined child
actor Max Weinberg in the cast of "Stolen Summer," according to
The Hollywood Reporter. The film being produced by Matt Damon,
Ben Affleck and Chris Moore tells the story of a young Irish
Catholic boy who defies his father to help a Jewish friend dying
of leukemia get into heaven. Pete Jones will be making his
feature writing and directorial debut on the film. For those of
you who have never heard of Jones, he was the winner of an
Internet competition for first-time writer-directors launched by
Miramax, HBO, LivePlanet and the producers. His script was chosen
from among 10 finalists earlier this year.

DANTE IN NEGOTIATION TO HELM 'MINDHUNTERS'
Joe Dante is in negotiations to direct the action-thriller
feature "Mindhunters," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Mindhunters" revolves around the FBI's psychological profiling
division, whose members are referred to as mindhunters, and
involves seven new recruits in training on a remote island to
track serial killers. The trainees must put theory into practice
when it emerges that a killer is among them. Production is slated
to begin in the fall.

<> <> <> ENTERTAINMENT NEWS <> <> <>

ROBERT BLAKE'S WIFE MURDERED
The wife of actor Robert Blake, star of the 1970s television show
"Baretta," was shot to death in the couple's car on Friday night
as she waited for him after he forgot something at a restaurant
where they had eaten. This is what was being reported by the
media on Saturday. Now there comes word that on Monday Police
found an object in a blue trash canister on a construction site
about a block away from the incident. A Los Angeles police
spokesman declined to say what the object was and the Los Angeles
Coroner's office said it had been ordered by police to keep its
autopsy report on how she died secret for the time being. Blake,
67, told police he had left his wife alone to retrieve a gun he
had left at a restaurant where they had just dined. The type of
gun used in the attack has not been revealed. At this point you
must be asking, "why did he have a gun"? According to Blake's
lawyer Harland Braun, Bakley was a scheming con-woman who preyed
on elderly and famous men, including his client. Braun said she
was in fear for her life in the days leading up to her murder,
even asking Blake to carry a gun to protect her. That was the
weapon Blake said he had gone back to the restaurant to retrieve.
I think you can see where this is going. Although, Police have
said that Blake is not a suspect in the case , a relative of
Bakley in Memphis, Tenn., told KNBC Los Angeles that she and
Blake had a rocky relationship and he had taken to carrying a gun
around, boasting that he had a bullet with her name on it.
Meanwhile, Blake has hired an investigator to help solve the
murder.

CHRIS EVANS, BILLIE PIPER WED IN VEGAS
British media personality Chris Evans and his girlfriend teenage
pop star Billie Piper got hitched in Las Vegas on Sunday night.

'PRODUCERS' TOPS TONY NOMS
Mel Brooks racked up a record 15 Tony nominations Monday for the
stage version of his classic 1968 film comedy, The Producers,
including Best Musical, as Broadway honors the best of this
year's musicals and plays. Costars Nathan Lane and Matthew
Broderick were both nominated for Best Actor, while Susan Stroman
earned nods in the Best Director and Best Choreographer
categories. The Blazing Saddles director Brooks saw his Broadway
dreams come true as he received nominations for Best Book of a
Musical, Best Original Score and for producing "The Producers."
For a complete list of the 2001 Tony Award nominations visit..
http://www.tonys.org/nominees

RYAN O'NEAL BATTLING LEUKEMIA
60-year-old actor Ryan O'Neal has been found to have chronic
myelogenous leukemia, a type of blood-borne cancer. He's
undergoing treatment in the Los Angeles area and according to his
agent his prognosis looks good. "It's treatable. It's not life
threatening at all. He's doing great," his agent says.

BERRY SETTLES OUT OF COURT
The woman who sued Halle Berry over her car crash last year has
now agreed to settle the case out of court. Hetal Raythatha had
filed a lawsuit against Berry last March, after both women were
injured when their cars collided in a West Hollywood
intersection, and Berry allegedly drove off. Last May Actress
Halle Berry pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of leaving
the scene of an accident and was ordered to pay $13,500 in fines
and perform 200 hours of community service. But Raythatha still
pressed ahead with her lawsuit, claiming she suffered emotional
distress and that Berry was under the influence of drugs or
alcohol. Berry vehemently denied that claim, and police say there
was no evidence she had been drinking at the time of the crash.
Neither Raythatha's nor Berry's lawyers are commenting on terms
of the settlement.

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"Without water," he replied.

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_____________________________________________________
3. Online Celebrity Chat
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
¤ Amber Benson - Chat with the star of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
on Thursday, May 10th at 7pm ET.
http://chat.yahoo.com/c/events/info/2001/05/10/051001benson.html

¤ George Eads -Chat with the star of "CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation" on Thursday, May 10th at 8pm ET.
http://chat.yahoo.com/c/events/info/2001/05/10/051001eads.html

¤ Gillian Anderson - Chat with the star of "The X-Files" on
Tuesday, May 15th at 5pm ET.
http://chat.yahoo.com/c/events/info/2001/05/15/051501anderson.htm
l

¤ Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay - Talk to the Producer and
Director of the upcoming "Pearl Harbor" movie on Thursday, May
17th at 5pm ET.
http://chat.yahoo.com/c/events/info/2001/05/17/051701pearl.html

^you may have to cut and paste entire link into browser

================================================
4. In The News - Television
================================================

BUGS BUNNY SHOWS BANNED
According to E! Online, AOL Time Warner has banned 12 Bugs Bunny
cartoons from it's much hyped "June Bugs" event to air on the
Cartoon Network. Some of the cartoons banned are "All This and
Rabbit Stew" short in which Bugs distracts a black rabbit-hunter
by rattling a pair of dice and "Any Bonds Today?" in which he
appears in blackface. Then there's "Frigid Hare," where Bugs
calls an ungainly, bucktoothed Eskimo a "big baboon." The site
reports that The Cartoon Network initially planned on airing the
racially charged episodes late at night with the following
disclaimer: "Cartoon Network does not endorse the use of racial
slurs. These vintage cartoons are presented as representative of
the time in which they were created and are presented for their
historical value."

N.J. LAWMAKER DENOUNCES 'SAPRANOS'
A New Jersey congresswoman, the granddaughter of Italian
immigrants, wants the House of Representatives to denounce the
cable television series "The Sopranos" for "unfair stereotyping."
Rep. Marge Roukema (R-N.J.) is asking other lawmakers to sign
onto a resolution she is drafting that will praise
Italian-Americans for their civic contributions and criticize
movies and television shows that portray them as gangsters.
"People stop me in the grocery store, objecting to ('The
Sopranos')," Roukema said Tuesday. "I decided this has gotten to
be so discriminatory and stereotypical of Italian-Americans as
mobsters, and denigrating women and families, that I thought I
have to speak out." The HBO series focuses on fictional mob boss
Tony Soprano and his dual struggles heading a suburban New Jersey
family and an organized crime family. Roukema said she will
introduce her resolution within the next two weeks. Congressional
resolutions are statements of opinion and, even if passed, do not
carry the weight of law.

'SURVIVOR' USED STAND-INS
The producer of "Survivor: The Australian Outback" has admitted
to staging scenes with stand-ins for the show's contestants.
Executive producer Mark Burnett readily admitted to employing the
cinematic technique of the "pickup shot" to capture wide-angle
views after the fact, when the scene is uncluttered by close-up
camera crews shooting the actual contests. As an example, Burnett
explained that a river-swimming race was later re-staged with
"body doubles" so that a helicopter crew could shoot uncluttered
aerial shots. While use of staged scenes, even as brief inserts,
may give ammunition to critics who argue that "Survivor" is less
than reality TV, Burnett said the technique was merely cosmetic
and denied it had any impact on the outcome of the games
themselves. "I couldn't care less - I'm making great television,"
he told the New York Times.

================================================
5. MOVIE REVIEW(s)
================================================

The Mummy Returns (Rated PG-13)
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, The Rock,
John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo.
Release Date: May 4, 2001

Review by Susan Granger
SSG Syndicate
http://www.susangranger.com

It's the first purely escapist popcorn picture of the summer, a
brainless, fast-paced action sequel, set in 1933, after the
dashing soldier-of-fortune Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) wooed
and wed Evelyn, the feisty, fearless Egyptologist (Rachel Weisz).
They now live in London with their eight-year old son Alex
(Freddie Boath). The new adventure begins when Evelyn has visions
about an ancient warrior, known as the Scorpion King (WWF
wrestler, The Rock), who sold his soul to the evil god Anubis in
return for an invincible army of jackal-headed soldiers - hounds
from hell - who are awaiting re-birth under the sand dunes. She
also discovers she's a reincarnated princess, Nefertiri
(Filmmakers decided not to use "Nefertiti" because of the obvious
breast jokes). Meanwhile, there's an evil cult raising the spirit
of Imhotep, the murderous Mummy (Arnold Vosloo), led by his lover
(Patricia Velasquez), plus a mysterious Berber (Oded Fehr) and,
of course, Evelyn's greedy brother (John Hannah), still swiping
valuable souvenirs.

Written and directed by Stephen Sommers ("The Mummy"), there's
not a shred of originality in the entire concept; in fact, so
much is "borrowed" from "Indian Jones and the Last Crusade" that
it should, at least, be advertised as a homage. On the plus side,
there's rousing martial arts matches between the two women
(reminiscent of "Crouching Tiger") and cool computer-generated
visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic, like the dirigible,
and creepy pygmy demons who resemble demented members of the
Lollipop League a la "Wizard of Oz."

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The Mummy Returns" is a
campy, frenzied 5. It's eye-candy aimed at a PG-13 audience and
plays like a big-screen video game. Or, better yet, a new ride at
Universal's Orlando theme park.

Recent Additions:
http://www.movie-fever.com/reviews/Driven
http://www.movie-fever.com/reviews/Memento
http://www.movie-fever.com/reviews/BridgetJonesDiary
http://www.movie-fever.com/reviews/AlongCameASpider

Past Reviews: http://www.movie-fever.com/reviews

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ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
================================================
6. CELEBRITY PROFILE
==========
BRENDAN FRASER
================================================

The son of a Canadian travel executive who frequently moved
his family, Brendan can claim affinity with Ottawa,
Indianapolis, Detroit, Seattle, London and Rome. His early
exposure to theatre, particularly in London, led him to
Seattle's Cornish Institute. After graduation he found a
minor role as Sailor #1 in River Phoenix's Dogfight (1991),
then somewhat more substantial roles in Encino Man (1992) and
School Ties (1992). He expresses a preference for playing "fish
out of water" men. Five more years of supporting work led
finally to the title role in George of the Jungle (1997), a
role which fully utilized his charm and beefy good looks, as
well as offering him a chance to show off his comic talents.
He describes this role as the one which dramatically altered
his career. Critical raves for his role in Gods and Monsters
(1998) pointed to yet another dimension to his dramatic persona.

Fraser has recently stated that he will not repeat his George
performance for George of the Jungle 2. Brendan has also
recently said that he's looking forward to the upcoming release
of The Mummy 2 and that he would love to work with Catherine
Zeta-Jones and Tom Cruise in some type of romantic comedy.

biography courtesy of IMDB
<a href="http://www.imdb.com"> AOL readers</a>
______________________________
Filmography - Most Recent
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
The Mummy Returns (2001) .... Rick O'Connell
Monkeybone (2001) .... Stu Miley
Bedazzled (2000) .... Elliot Richards
Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists (2000) (voice) .... Sinbad
Dudley Do-Right (1999) .... Dudley Do-Right
____________________
Upcoming Project(s)
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
The Quiet American (2001)

==========================================================
7. CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS - Week of May 9th - May 15th
==========================================================

<D>=Deceased

MAY 9
Billy Joel (52)
Candice Bergen (55)
James L. Brooks (61)
Albert Finney (65)

MAY 10
Bono (41)
Sid Vicious (44) <D> February 2, 1979
Chris Berman (46)
Meg Foster (53)
Gary Owens (65)
Pat Summerall (71)
Fred Astaire (102) <D> June 22, 1987

MAY 11
Natasha Richardson (38)
Martha Quinn (42)

MAY 12
Jason Biggs (23)
Jamie Luner (30)
Kim Fields (32)
Stephen Baldwin (35)
Emilio Estevez (39)
Ving Rhames (42)
Bruce Boxleitner (51)
Katharine Hepburn (94)

MAY 13
Dennis Rodman (40)
Stevie Wonder (51)
Ritchie Valens (60) <D> February 3, 1959
Harvey Keitel (62)

MAY 14
Cate Blanchett (32)
Robert Zemeckis (49)
George Lucas (57)
Bobby Darin (65) <D> December 20, 1973

MAY 15
David Charvet (29)
Emmitt Smith (32)

================================================
8. Answer to this weeks trivia is..
================================================

b) Flowers
American Beauty is a breed of roses which are constantly used
throughout the film.
____________________________________________________________

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