Hey there, movie lovers, it's time once again to look forward to what Hollywood has in store for us down the road.
Yes, another batch of future flicks has been announced in Variety, the show-biz bible. Here's a sampling, all of which are either in production now or close to it:- "Shootfighter 2," which says it is from the producers of "Shootfighter." Good thing, I was afraid it might not have the integrity of the original.
- "Hearts of Darkness," another shot at Joseph Conrad's novel, which provided the basis for Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now," this time with Mickey Rourke in the lead.
- "Woman of Desire," starring Bo Derek and . . . are you ready? . . . Robert Mitchum!
- "Benji-Benji" with a "major cast soon to be announced" is scheduled to follow up the earlier films in the series (the most recent being "Benji the Hunted," 1987). To cash in on a recent hit, the ad line says, "Rollover Beethoven, Benji's back."
- "Joshua Tree," starring a wannabe and a has-been, Dolph Lundgren and George Segal.
- "Bachelor Party 2," yes, a sequel to the dreadful 1984 Tom Hanks comedy. Don't look for Tom Hanks this time around.
- "To Be the Best," a martial arts action flick, not to be confused with the "Best of the Best" martial arts action flicks.
- "Ninja Dragons," not to be confused with "3 Ninjas."
- "Surf Ninjas," not to be confused with "Surf Nazis."
- "The Stranger," with this concise ad line: "Bleeding, Writing and Arithmetic."
- "Attack of the 50-Foot Woman," a remake of the 1958 black-and-white cheapie, with Daryl Hannah starring. Since Christopher Guest, a member of "Spinal Tap," is directing, we can assume it's a spoof.
- "Warlock: The Armageddon," with Julian Sands back in the title role.
- "Cyborg II," without Jean-Claude Van Damme.
- "Philadelphia Experiment II," without Michael Pare and Nancy Allen.
- "Return of the Living Dead 3," not to be confused with George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" films . . . although the first "Return of the Living Dead" was sort of a sequel to "Night of the Living Dead."
- "The Hidden 2: The Spawning," a followup to the low-budget sci-fi thriller of a few years ago.
- "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday." Promises, promises.
- "Nightmare On Elm Street 6," with Robert Englund reprising his Freddy Krueger role and Wes Craven directing for the first time since the first film in the series. (Like that's going to make No. 6 better.)
- "Night of the Day of the Dawn of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Revenge of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil Mutant, Hellbound, Zombified, Flesh-Eating, Sub-Humanoid Living Dead, Part 4," which we can only hope is a comedy.
- A DOUBLE-BILL worth noting is playing at the Redwood Drive-in, which opened its gates this weekend as the snow finally melted away.A booking agent's sense of humor must have played a part in putting these two pictures on the same marquee - the new film about alien abduction, which is being advertised as "based on the true story," and Steve Martin's most recent film, which flopped at the box office in December:
"Fire In the Sky" and "Leap of Faith."
- IF YOU'RE INTERESTED in the Travis Walton alien abduction case, by the way, you can read books that chronicle both sides.
For Walton's own story, look up his autobiography "The Walton Experience." For a debunking point of view, you might try "UFOs: The Public Deceived," by Philip J. Klass.
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Andie MacDowell, asked to size up Bill Murray, with whom she worked in "Groundhog Day":
"Definitely, he's odd. More than a little odd. He's just an odd character."