FADE IN:

EXT. NAZI GERMAN CONCENTRATION CAMP - DAY (1940's)

A little boy named MAX LENSHERR (who will become MAGNETO, leader of the The Brotherhood) is being taken off of a train along with his family.

The German soldiers separate him from his parents. Max screams. The men are placed with the men, women with women, and the children are dragged away kicking and screaming.

As he is pulled from his parents, little Max gets heavier and heavier. Suddenly barbed wire from the fences uncoils and the steel tentacles slowly inch toward the soldiers.

The soldiers freak out. One of them realizes what is happening so he hits Max in the head with the butt of his rifle. Max falls to the ground unconscious and the barbed-wire coils back into its original position.

EXT. SAMLL VILLAGE IN KENYA - DAY (1978)

A little 12 year-old African girl with white hair named ORORO MUNROE (who will become STORM, one of the X-Men) is playing a game of tag using sticks with other kids in her tribe in a sandy field.

Ororo is tagged and then shunned by the other children, who begin to tease and taunt her. Their cries begin to turn increasingly cruel until they begin to hit her with their sticks.

The little girl's eyes go white and it suddenly begins snowing copiously. The tribe's adults are terrified by this spectacle... even more so when the snow turns into large hail.

Ororo falls to her knees and begins to cry. The tears run from her solid white eyes. We see that the hail falls around her and does not touch her. The image of the circle of hail, which pummels the ground while leaving her within a safe 10-foot radius, is striking.

INT. HIGH SCHOOL IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - NIGHT (1986)

A man named SCOTT SUMMERS (who will become CYCLOPS, one of the X-Men) is at his high school senior prom.

Scott argues with his girlfriend, who then runs into the women's bathroom. He tries to follow but is stopped by a teacher.

Scott goes into the men's room and sees that everyone is smoking pot.

Scott sits on the toilet and covers his eyes. Tears flow like a tap from between his fingers. The guys in the bathroom ask him what he has been smoking...

SCOTT

My eyes are killing me.

Another boy offers Scott some Visine... but it is too late. Scott raises his head and reveals his eyes, which glow like embers. A red beam shoots out from his eyes and blasts through several walls, including the school gymnasium.

EXT. CONGRESSIONAL HEARING - DAY (present day)

A woman named JEAN GREY (member and spokeswoman for the X-Men) is speaking at a podium and briefing the audience about the "mutator gene" that exists in all humans and has remained dormant until recently. She says that mutants are the next evolution of mankind and that they should not be feared.

SENATOR KELLY then stands and announces that mutants are dangerous and that they can not be trusted. He riles up the crowd with frightening claims of what mutants can do: There is a girl in Indiana who can walk through walls - she would be a perfect thief. There is a mutant who can disrupt computers, possibly threatening Wall Street. The list goes on and on.

Kelly then talks of a secretive school for mutants in Westchester, New York. Kelly believes that the school is a cult that trains mutants how to use their aberrant powers against mankind.

Kelly then pushes his Mutant Registration Act. The crowd is obviously on his side, not even listening to Jean.

Jean then tries to calm Kelly and the crowd, when suddenly a bottle of water comes flying toward her head from the press gallery. Jean freezes the bottle in mid-air with her telekinesis and says...

JEAN

Mutants are not the ones mankind should
fear.

The bottle then falls to the floor. The press and the senators erupt at the demonstration of mutant power.

Professor CHARLES XAVIER (founder and father figure of the X-Men) sits in the audience shaking his head in disappointment at Jean. She should not have used her powers.

Xavier suddenly senses a "disturbance in the room." He turns and sees a man in shadow at the far end of the room in the doorway. The man abruptly turns and walks out.

Xavier, in wheelchair, follows the man out. The man, with his back to Xavier, stops in his tracks.

[Notice how the architecture in the in the background forms a series of "X's". A bit of symbolism?]

XAVIER

Max please, give them a chance.

Max Lensherr (Magneto), in an expensive suit, turns around and expresses that it is too late for compromise. The war has begun and Max guarantees that he will win.

XAVIER

Consider what we're trying to accomplish
here.

Max is unconvinced. He then winces in pain and shakes it off.

MAX

Are you trying to sneak around in my head
Charles? What are you trying to find?

XAVIER

Hope.

Max walks away and leaves Xavier there alone.

The dynamics between the two characters is awesome. The dialogue between Max and Xavier crackles, even though they are briefly together onscreen.

INT. A BASEMENT IN EDMONTON - EVENING

A 17 year-old girl named ROGUE (who will become one of the X-Men) is with her boyfriend in the basement of his home. They are watching the news conference we were just at.

The boyfriend leans over to kiss her and their lips suddenly lock in a death embrace, as she begins to suck the life from him (on accident). The boy suddenly drops in front of Rogue and the boy's parents.

Rejected by her family, Rogue runs away from home.

EXT. JUST OUTSIDE A LOG CABIN BAR IN ALBERTA, CANADA - LATER THAT NIGHT

A pick up truck sits axle-deep in the snow outside the bar. It is snowing heavily.

Inside the bar are a few drunk truckers and locals. Rogue enters the bar completely covered from head to toe and asks the bartender for a Coke and some chips. She has obviously run away from home.

A rugged man named LOGAN (who will become WOLVERINE) sits at a bar watching a different newscast of the mutant press conference. He tells the bartender to give the poor girl what she wants. She then proceeds to sit down in the corner and have her snack.

As Logan watches the newscast it says that at the upcoming U.N. World Summit Conference all the world's leaders will meet in a few weeks at Ellis Island in New York to discuss, among other things, the mutant phenomenon.

One of the drunk truckers then goes over to Rogue and begins to talk to her. She ignores him and this causes the trucker to get pushy, grabbing her hand. There is a sudden flash of light and he passes out.

The trucker's friends realize that she is a mutant and so they close in on her ready to get revenge until... the local named Logan speaks up.
They push him out of the way and then find themselves in a heap of trouble. Logan, who is wearing a gleaming metal dog tag, knocks out one of the truckers and a fight ensues.

He then puts his fist against one of the trucker's legs and we hear a sound that is described as "SHOOK" in the script (like the sound of sharp claws quickly emerging). The trucker howls in pain. Logan retracts the claw and we see three deep holes in the trucker's leg.

CUT TO Logan's truck as Logan and Rogue drive away. The truck door reads "Firewood for sale."

As Rogue and Logan are driving, Rogue tells Logan that he should wear a seatbelt. Before he can answer they suddenly hit something and Logan goes flying through the windshield.

He then gets up... unharmed. Rogue is amazed to see the large wound on his face heal before her eyes.

Logan looks at the obstacle in front of the truck: a tree has been felled in their path, intentionally, from the looks of the cut.

Logan is inspecting it, when suddenly a big furry hand slashes across his face. A furious battle ensues between SABRETOOTH (Magneto's lead henchman) and Logan. Rogue, who can not undo her seat belt, watches on.

Sabretooth takes Logan and slams him into the side of the roadside cliff. Logan's dog tag comes off on Sabretooth's claw. Sabretooth then tosses Logan's unconscious body in front of the truck... where two odd figures now stand silhouetted. Both wear strange, form-fitting uniforms.

One figure is a black woman with long white hair and the other is a man with a strange glowing visor on his face.

A rising gale wind created by STORM begins to push Sabretooth back.

But the feral mutant charges, only to be met by an optic blast of red energy from CYCLOPS. Sabretooth is blown off the hill. Cyclops and Storm then turn toward a frightened Rogue.

INT. ODD LABORATORY - NIGHT

TOAD (a member of The Brotherhood) is hard at work in the laboratory.

In a nearby office Sabretooth tells Magneto that he lost Logan to Cyclops and Storm. He shows Magneto that all he got was Logan's dog tag. Magneto fondles the dog tag while his Holocaust serial number tattoo is clearly visible on his arm.

Magneto reads the odd word "Wolverine" on the tag. He realizes this is a strange dog tag... it won't bend.

MAGNETO

It's just enough for my test.

INT. THE X-MANSION - NIGHT

The severely injured Logan and Rogue are rescued and brought back to the X-Mansion.

Inside one of the laboratory rooms Logan lies on a bed, still unconscious.

His x-rays show an odd skeleton that almost appears to glow. There is a strange, almost machine-like bone structure, especially around the forearms and knuckles.

Jean then enters and prepares to stick an IV in his arm. Logan suddenly snaps out of it and begins to choke her. He eventually drops her and as she gasps for air on the floor, Logan realizes that his dog tag is gone.

He rushes out of the lab in a hurry.

As he wonders through the mansion, he finds himself in a locker room type area with odd black uniforms along the wall.

He finds his clothes and continues to wonder through the underground facility.
Logan then ducks into a hangar with an odd-looking black jet in it.

He finds an elevator and takes it to the ground level where he finds himself in a stately corridor of the mansion. He hears a voice from a nearby door and peaks in to see Storm teaching a class of very unusual teen-agers about the rise of Christianity.

Hearing footsteps, Logan turns and hides in a nearby office. In this office he is surprised to be welcomed by a man who introduces himself as the founder of the school... Charles Xavier.

Xavier explains to Logan his own mutant gifts and how he telepathically "lead" Logan to this office. He also explains the conflict that the X-Men have with Magneto.

Xavier then proceeds to tell Logan about the X-Men and how each of them have codenames and what they mean - Cyclops, Storm, etc. Logan the rudely asks...

LOGAN

What's yours --- "Wheels?"

Logan then wants to get the hell out of there. But Xavier says that Logan's cabin in Canada has been destroyed by Sabretooth and he no where to go.

He appeals to Logan to stop hiding because of the terrible things that have been done to him.

XAVIER

If you leave now, then what's to stop them
from killing you?

LOGAN

Me.

Xavier says he knows that deep down Logan is a good man and continues to explain more about the reason for Logan being there...

XAVIER

Nothing right now can change what's
happening. It's how we deal with what's
around us that helps things feel right.
That's why you're here."

Jean then enters the office with Rogue.

Xavier says that Rogue is looking for a place to belong and that this school is just the place she has been looking for. He briefs her about the school and explains what the mutant's purpose is...


XAVIER

We're not what you think.

Logan says that he will give the place 48 hours... after that he's gone. Xavier agrees.

INT. A LIMOUSINE IN WASHINGTON D.C - DAY

Senator Kelly is in the limousine complaining to his assistant, HENRY GUYRICH, about how the president won't see his position.

Guyrich then suddenly transforms into the real identity of MYSTIQUE. She kicks Kelly in the face, knocking him out.

INT. THE X-MANSION - DAY

Jean shows Logan to his room at the school. It is a basic dorm room with a simple bed and a desk. She asks if he needs anything...

LOGAN

A case of beer and some cigars.

She lightheartedly tells him no and then proceeds to asks him how he got his skeleton and who gave it to him. He says he does not remember.

Jean then suggests that Xavier could help him with that by reading his thoughts. He looks at her with interest and replies...

LOGAN

What if they're naughty?

Jean just smiles and starts out the door.

She then turns and only then does she realize that Cyclops is standing there.

JEAN

Scott... I ---

Cyclops starts down the hall. Jean follows.

CYCLOPS

He shouldn't be here.

JEAN

What are you talking about?

CYCLOPS

He's dangerous. You heard what happened at
that bar. There's no telling what a guy
like that is capable of. This is a school,
for God's sake.

JEAN

If Magneto is planning to use this man for
some terrible purpose, it's our
responsibility to do something.

Jean stops Cyclops from walking.

JEAN (cont.)

What's wrong? There's something else
bothering you.

Cyclops gets closer to Jean. She affectionately places her hands on his chest.

CUT BACK TO Logan's Room. Logan's sensitive hearing has picked up the whole conversation between Cyclops and Jean.

CYCLOPS

I have a bad feeling about this.

Logan shrugs.

JEAN

That's the difference between you and him.

INT. THE X-MANSION - LATER THAT NIGHT

Jean shows Logan's x-rays to Xavier, Storm, and Cyclops.

She explains that Logan's skeleton is made of Adamantium, which she believes has been grafted onto his bones by someone. Adamantium is the strongest substance known to man.

Xavier says that Logan has no memory of who did this to him and that he is pretty sure that it is not Logan the man that Magneto actually wants... it is his skeleton.
INT. THE X-MANSION - THE NEXT MORNING

Scott approaches Logan and tries to introduce himself to try to get off on the right foot. But Logan is not feeling too friendly. Logan tells Scott to stay out of his way until he leaves.

A MONTAGE OF SCENES THEN FOLLOW...

We witness the daily events at Xavier' School for the Gifted: Students study, play sports with their powers, etc.

[This is probably where a lot of young mutant cameos will take place.]

EXT. THE X-MANSION - LATER THAT AFTERNOON

Storm explains the school's mission to Logan. Logan wonders why a simple school needs high-tech labs, special battle uniforms, a stealth jet, etc.

Storm says that Xavier inherited a great deal of money as a young man and established the school to protect mutants while humans adjust to their presence.

As they walk, they come across Scott and Jean, wearing their costumes while practicing their powers. Some of the other students, including Rogue, watch on.

Scott is blowing the caps off Coke bottles on a fence. Jean catches them and sets them up again.

Logan makes another suggestive comment to Jean and this makes Scott a bit jealous. Angry, Scott completely obliterates one of the bottles.

We PAN BACK to see that Toad has been watching all along.

EXT. FOREST CLEARING - LATE THAT NIGHT

Senator Kelly awakens to find himself strapped to a metal chair. Magneto, wearing his costume and helmet, is there, still fingering Logan's dog tag.

Magneto tells Kelly that Guyrich has been dead for some time and has been impersonated by Mystique, who then shows herself.

Kelly tells Magneto that his actions are only proving Kelly's views about mutants correct. Magneto replies...

MAGNETO

I hope so.

Magneto then turns on some lights to reveal a large, flamboyant-looking Machine.

He then explains his war plan to Kelly while mentally moving chess pieces on a chess board.

MAGNETO

Humans invented God to explain away their
fears. Now humans fear us... so we must be
Gods.

Magneto is completely insane.

He and Kelly continue to spar over the "intentions" of the Mutant Registration Act. Magneto says he intends to help humans "understand" mutants better.

He then inserts the dog tag into the Machine and raises his arms, using his magnetic powers to activate it. Rings of light form around the dog tag, spinning faster and faster. The Machine begins to work on its own and Magneto leaves.

Light begins to "ooze" out of the machine, covering Kelly.
The light spreads out into the forest and into the night sky, shining like a beacon for miles around. We see that we are on an island and the light that engulfs the island grows to about five miles in diameter and then vanishes.

We find that the dog tag has been reduced to ash by the machine.

Kelly appears healthy, pink, and somewhat different.

MAGNETO

Welcome to the future.

INT. THE X-MANSION - LATER THAT NIGHT

Logan sleeps fitfully in his room at the mansion.

He then discovers that he is an old lab with 1950s era equipment in it. He notices that his body is covered in incision marks that match his skeleton.

Faceless doctors take notes and prepare the dog tag marked "Wolverine". The doctors with scalpels prepare to cut as Logan screams at the top of his lungs.

Logan wakes from his nightmare to see a figure standing over him. This startles him so he reacts instinctively and aggressively.

Cyclops, Jean, and Storm then rush into the room to find Logan's claws deep into Rogue's chest. Logan pulls out the claws and Rogue, who is fading, reaches out and touches him. Logan trembles and howls in pain as Rogue absorbs his healing power. Her wounds then close.

She then takes on Logan's persona and begins to smash things, raking the walls as though she has claws. After a moment she finally reverts to her normal self.

She then runs from the room and Storm follows. Jean tends to the unconscious Logan while Scott fumes.

INT. MAGNETO'S ISLAND - THE NEXT DAY

Senator Kelly is in a cell on a cliff on Magneto's island. There is nothing but rock and bars that surround him as he faces the ocean. The entrance at the rear of the cell enters into a dark chasm, with a retracted catwalk providing the only access.

Kelly puts his face against the bars and presses. His head cracks like an egg and slips through. He is more in shock than he is in pain... especially when his head snaps back into place. He hears someone approaching.

Magneto arrives to find Kelly pushing his broken and rehealing body through the bars. Magneto sics Sabretooth on him and Sabretooth grabs Kelly's skull and squeezes. The Senator's head collapses and he slips through Sabretooth's grasp and falls into the ocean.

Sabretooth looks apologetically at Magneto.

INT. THE X-MANSION - LATER THAT DAY

Logan walks through the halls of the school. Everyone is keeping their distance from him after hearing about the previous night's incident.

[This could possibly be the rumored scene where KITTY PRYDE walks by Logan in the hall and proceeds to walk strait through a door to the astonishment of Logan]

He then enters a gym with unusually large weights and finds Jean working out. She is wearing a large engagement ring.

She has some trouble with the weights but refuses Logan's help ... and his invitation to go get a beer.

She spots herself, using her powers to lift the weights back on to the rack.

EXT. A PUBLIC BEACH - DAY

At a crowded public beach, a strange object moves through the water. As it gets close, it appears to transform from a dolphin-like creature to a human as it nears the shore.

Its fins morph into arms and feet as... Senator Kelly searches for some clothes to wear.

The crowd flees in fear and a child asks...

CHILD

Mom, is that a mutant?

INT. THE GYM AT THE X-MANSION - LATER THAT DAY

Jean and Logan continue talking. She explains that she is engaged to Scott. She then asks if that's why Logan's interested in her. He doesn't reply.

She asks Logan if he would have killed the men in the bar.

LOGAN

They shouldn't step up if they're not
prepared to pay the price.

JEAN

That's a pretty steep price.

Jean adds that that is the difference between Logan and Scott.

Cyclops then enters the weight room, still dressed in full uniform. Logan takes him in, obviously amused by the dramatic outfit.

CYCLOPS
(to Jean)

Would you excuse us, please? I'd like to
talk with Logan for a moment.

JEAN
(beat)

Sure.

She exits.

CYCLOPS
(walking up to Logan)

I just want to make you clear on
something. Personally, I don't care what
Magneto wants with you. He can take those
claws of yours and use them for barbecue
skewers. What I do care about is the
safety of this group. So, for the
remainder of your time here, you're going
to keep that killer instinct of yours
locked down so no one else gets hurt.

Logan looks at Cyclops appraisingly.

LOGAN
(smirks)

You know, I've served with men like you
before. Methodical. Systematic. ---
Naive. You know what happens to those
men in a real fight?

CYCLOPS

You better just ---

LOGAN

Shut up. Who are you talking to? I got no
interest in you, Xavier,

He points mockingly at the X's on Cyclops' uniform.

LOGAN (cont.)

or your... X-Men.

Logan takes him in for a moment.

LOGAN (cont.)

And you know what? I don't think this has
anything to do with my "killer instinct".
I think you just don't like the way I'm
looking at your girl. --- or maybe you
don't like the way she's looking back. And
maybe you think you're man enough to do
something about it.

Cyclops is enraged. A red light begins to glow around the edges of his visor and the ruby-quartz lens brightens. We can faintly hear the low hum of immense power that is now barely contained.

Before Cyclops can even react, Logan puts his right fist against Cyclops' throat. "SHOOK!"... Logan extends one claw up the side of Cyclops' neck. He smiles

LOGAN (cont.)

C'mon sport. You think you can blow the
meat off my bones before I gut you? Let's
find out.

The air is now charged with tension. We hear nothing but the sound of Logan's enraged breathing. Then... Cyclops turns away.

INT. XAVIER'S OFFICE - MINUTES LATER

WHAM! Logan slams open the door of Xavier's office and storms in.

LOGAN

I have a question for you, Chuck ---
What's the point? Making yourselves into
some sort of "team" of super-powered
freaks. Teaching wayward mutants about
classical literature. For what?

XAVIER

Logan, when I ---

LOGAN

Yeah, I know, I heard. You were a rich
young mutant and the injustices of
society and blah, blah, blah.

Xavier tells Logan that Magneto is right... humans will come after mutants.

XAVIER

But the choice is fight and be destroyed
or fight for understanding.

Xavier believes the latter response is the more worthy.

Logan says they differ on that because if the people who put the claws in his arms were standing right there, he would kill them ... again. Logan then says the 48 hours are up.

Xavier says he knows that Magneto wants the Adamantium in Logan's bones... but he doesn't know for what purpose.

Storm then abruptly enters and says that Rogue has vanished.

Logan, Xavier, Storm, Cyclops, and Jean then walk down a high-tech subterranean corridor to a big vault door. Xavier says they will use the device within to find Rogue the same way they found Logan. The device is... Cerebro.

A retina scan clears Xavier to enter.

Once in, he puts on the chrome skull-cap.

Xavier says that Magneto helped him build the device back when they were allies.

Xavier then activates the machine. We see the Earth from space, approaching quickly. We then hear the voices of everyone on the planet, skimming through entire towns and countries until we see... Rogue in a train station.
We close in on the back of her head until the screen goes black and we hear her voice...

ROGUE

I don't belong ... there's no where to go.

Xavier's eyes pop open and he says that Rogue is at the train station and doesn't know where she's going.

Logan wants to help her and asks to go along.

INT. ANOTHER PART OF THE X-MANSION - MINUTES LATER

Scott and Storm get into one of Xavier's Bentleys, but Logan chooses a Harley from the garage and roars off ahead of them to the train station.

INT. THE SOLARIUM OF THE X-MANSION

Jean is in the solarium treating a small cut on a student when... Senator Kelly suddenly appears. He says he has always known about the school. But he is hurt badly, barely making it. Water is oozing off his body.

Jean takes him to the lab, where she and Xavier examine him. Kelly is barely coherent.

Xavier then enters his mind and we see a quick recap of the movie's events as seen from Kelly's point of view.

EXT. THE TRAIN STATION

Scott and Storm enter the train station, going past Logan's parked cycle.

Inside, Logan is tracking Rogue and spots her get on a train. He hops on a few cars and finds her sitting alone.

She explains to Logan how her powers first appeared on her first date, on her first kiss. How she
nearly killed the boy and how her parents rejected her.

Logan comforts her just as the train starts to leave. He says that they will get off at the next station and give Xavier's geeks another chance.

But the train suddenly stops... Magneto's boots can be seen walking down the aisle toward Logan. Logan pops out his claws.

Magneto reveals under his cloak five glass and metal syringes. He then levitates Logan.

Magneto uses his powers to launch the syringes at Logan. They hit and the plungers depress.

Logan staggers, taking swipes and cutting the seats in the train before he collapses at Magneto's feet.

INT. THE X-MANSION

Jean's tests reveal that Kelly's cells can't handle the change his body is going through. His body is liquefying.

INT. THE TRAIN STATION

At the station, Scott and Storm spot where the crowds are fleeing from the car where the fight has occurred. They head for the action.

Sabretooth suddenly reaches out and grabs Storm by the throat. Toad then reveals himself, using his sticky tongue to steal Cyclops' visor.

Surprised, Cyclops directs his beam up, away from the crowd before he can close his eyes. The blast
hits the ceiling and the entire building shakes.

INT. THE X-MANSION

Xavier detects Storm's distress telepathically. He and Jean race to join the battle.

CUT BACK TO THE TRAIN STATION...

Storm appears done... but the hairs on Sabretooth's back rise and he is blasted away from her by a bolt of lightning that she creates.

Storm is knocked out. Sabretooth is only stunned.

With his eyes closed, a blind Scott stumbles through the crowd looking for Storm when a cop suddenly stops him and puts a gun to the side of his head.

INT. THE X-MANSION

At the gate to the mansion, Rogue appears. She is admitted and finds her way to Cerebro. Rogue's eye morphs into Xavier's eye to gain access through the retina scan.

Once inside, Mystique resumes her normal shape...

... and steals a small computer chip from the device.

INT. THE TRAIN STATION

Cops are everywhere at the station. E.M.T.'s are examining Storm. Scott is handcuffed and refuses to open his eyes or reveal his name to the cops who are questioning him.

The cops are about to get rough with Scott when everyone in the station suddenly hears the word "STOP!"... in their minds.

Xavier and Jean reveal themselves and everyone one but the X-Men suddenly drop to the ground and go to sleep.

Xavier calls to Rogue, who steps from the shadows scared stiff by what has happened.

INT. THE X-MANSION - LATER THAT DAY

Xavier and Jean explain to the others that they know Magneto has built a Machine that will turn normal humans into mutants and that it uses Adamantium as its core, much like a light bulb uses Tungsten as a
filament. Adamantium is the only known substance strong enough to contain the power the device emits.

Jean then insists that what has happened to Senator Kelly proves that the machine does not work. She believes that human genes can not handle the change. Meanwhile, Kelly is dying.

They believe Magneto wants to use Logan's skeleton to power a larger demonstration of his device. They realize the most likely place that Magneto could do this would be at the U.N. summit about to convene on Ellis Island.

Suddenly, Kelly's monitors go berserk and the X-Men watch helplessly as Kelly's body liquefies before their eyes. They realize they need to find out where Logan is being held.

Xavier then enters Cerebro again. But suddenly the machine goes berserk when he activates it. Xavier's back arches in incredible pain and he falls to the floor unconscious. He is taken to the lab and they monitor his coma.

Jean then examines Cerebro and realizes the neurofilter that allows Xavier to filter out the billions of minds on the planet in his search for one mutant, is gone.

They can't bring Xavier back without Cerebro's help and they need to recover the filter for it to work properly.

Jean then reassures a distraught Cyclops that he is the leader for a reason, that he can live up to Xavier's expectations.

INT. THE WAR ROOM IN THE X-MANSION - MINUTES LATER

Examining a map of the New York Harbor...

... they determine that the only place Magneto could use his machine to maximum effect without being detected is the Statue of Liberty.

Before leaving, Cyclops promises the comatose Xavier that he will look after the school and the students no matter what happens to Xavier.

Rogue then tries to talk the X-Men into letting her come along, but Storm says that it is too dangerous. Rogue will not take no for an answer.

Scott apologizes to Jean for acting jealous as they suit up and join everyone else aboard... the X-Jet.

The school's basketball court in the yard opens up to reveal the jet. They then take off into the night sky.

EXT. ELLIS ISLAND - NIGHT

At Ellis Island, all the political dignitaries are arriving to a grand display of pomp.

Away from the action, two cops patrol the Island. Toad descends on them, incapacitating them with a sickening crunch.

Two more cops are on patrol along the sea wall at nearby Liberty Island. One of the cops holds a lighter for the other's cigarette when all of the sudden the flame goes out of control and engulfs them.

A police boat then approaches the island. A cop in the foreground waves at the boat pilot then contorts in pain from Sabretooth taking care of him. The boat pilot shapeshifts to reveal Mystique.

Magneto is standing on the boat as it docks. He pulls back a tarp to reveal the unconscious Logan and the Machine. Magneto prepares to "raise" the machine.

EXT. THE X-JET

On the X-Jet, Storm provides cover for their approach, creating a dense fog in the harbor.

INT. THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

Logan wakes in a strange, small room. Magneto is there. Logan's fists are strapped to his body so that if he extends his claws he'll puncture his vital organs.

Magneto explains he intends to make the mutant cause the world's cause in one fell stroke and Logan¹s life is small thing to sacrifice toward that goal.

Magneto prepares to drug Logan again, but Logan suddenly kicks the syringe out of his hand. Indifferent, Magneto leaves and locks Logan in the room.

Magneto then stands on the catwalk around the statue's torch, savoring the moment. Mystique then reports that the president is late.

Magneto spots the fog and realizes the X-Men are coming. He warns his Brotherhood of Mutants.

EXT. JUST OFF OF LIBERTY ISLAND

The X-Jet lands in the water. The X-Men open the hatch and jump down onto Liberty Island.

Across the water at Ellis Island, the dignitaries are taking their seats for the opening of the summit. Storm looks up at the torch and sees it has been replaced by the bottom part of Magneto's machine.

Cyclops finds the charred remains of a policeman's hat.

Inside the X-Jet, the hatch pops open again. A stowaway Rogue hops out, ready to join the mission and save her friend, Logan, who's kicked away the glass in the torch and can see out.

[At some point Logan gets his uniform because he is wearing it as all of this is going on. At this time I do not know how he acquires it.]

Rogue then heads past a 6-foot replica of the statue outside the structure. The replica's eyes turn Mystique red.

INT. THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

In a giant museum multi-level room that welcomes visitors to the statue, Scott, Jean, and Storm consult a map to figure out the best plan of attack and rescue.

Rogue rushes into the museum when she suddenly hears footsteps and turns to find Logan, who we see from behind is really Mystique, trying to lure Rogue away.

In the museum, Toad unexpectedly enters the fray, leaping at Storm. Cyclops fires at him but misses.
Toad attacks Jean, using his tongue-slime on her. It covers her mouth and nose and then hardens. She is unable to breathe. Toad suddenly disappears.

Scott rushes to Jean and tells her to lay still.

He focuses his beam tightly and cracks the adhesive on her face. He is then able to pull it off and she can breathe again.

Meanwhile, Storm is looking for Toad. He quickly pops up again.

Toad then spots Cyclops and Jean back on the lower level.

To Toad's surprise Storm appears again.

She cranks up the wind to hurricane force, so Toad adheres himself to the deck until the deck finally gives way.

With the wind blowing harder, he grabs on to the seawall railing with his six-foot tongue and flaps in the wind. Storm zaps the railing with a lightning bolt and Toad is then blown into the harbor, sinking without a trace.

Scott, Jean, and Storm then find the stairwell to the torch is blocked by debris.

Instead, they head for the statue's crown. Once they arrive, they discover that the crown is empty, but from there they can see and hear Logan trying to escape from the torch.

Suddenly, the metal bracing in the room comes loose and wraps around Cyclops' neck. Storm and Jean are also caught. Scott is held facing Jean.

Magneto floats into the crown [this creates the hole in the roof of the crown] and tears off Cyclops' visor, leaving him unable to use his power without hurting Jean. Magneto then puts the visor on his belt.

Magneto takes the neurofilter from his belt and tucks it in a pocket on Jean's costume, saying they can try and save Xavier once this is all over.

Jean says that the machine does not work because Senetor Kelly is dead. Magneto says it does not matter and that he is the one holding the fates of the world leaders in his hands, not vice versa.

Sabretooth then radios in and says that the president has finally arrived. Magneto raises his arms and begins to power up the machine. Logan's skeleton begins to glow through his skin.

Mystique arrives and walks over to stand next to Magneto. The machine is fully charged.

Jean pleads to Mystique to stop this.

MYSTIQUE

Don't listen to her. It's a trap.

MAGNETO

What is?

MYSTIQUE

This is.

Mystique then kisses Magneto deeply. Mystique is actually... Rogue [who has acquired Mystique's shape shifting ability], and she is sucking the power out of him. When Rogue does this, the immense power she gains from Magneto creates the famous white stripe down Rogue's hair.

Jean then tells Rogue to destroy the machine, but Magneto is still conscious and begins to choke Rogue.
Rogue begins to lose consciousness and makes eye contact with Wolverine from the torch. His skin begins to smoke.

Seeing no other way out, Wolverine extends his claws through his chest and roars in pain as he frees himself and pulls the claws from his own body.

EXT. ELLIS ISLAND

The security on Ellis Island notices the catastrophy and begins to investigate. They get in boats and speed over to Liberty Island.

INT. THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

Enraged, Magneto chokes Rogue even harder.

Wolverine stands free and leaps down into the crown. He extends his claws and heads in to kill Magneto, who doesn't have enough power to defend himself.

Jean pleads with Wolverine not to kill him. So he retracts his claws mid-punch and merely knocks out Magneto.

From the stairwell though, Sabretooth grabs Wolverine and pulls him down. A knock-down fight occurs in the narrow confines of the stairs.

Wolverine uses his metal skull, head-butting Sabretooth with a sickening crunch.

But then Sabretooth tosses Wolverine through the whole in the roof onto the crown.

Sabretooth then climbs onto the crown, grabs Wolverine's body, and tosses him off of the head of the statue.

In mid-air, Wolverine grabs one of the spikes protruding from the statue's head...

...and slingshots himself back onto the spike.

Wolverine extends his claws, inviting Sabretooth to come and get him.

Sabretooth accepts the challenge with a roar.

They continue to fight and Wolverine even punctures Sabretooth with his claws at one point. But eventually Sabertooth knocks Wolverine unconscience.

Sabertooth is about to finish off Wolverine when... his hair rises, but this time Sabertooth knocks out Storm before she can strike again.

Sabertooth then goes for Jean... but Wolverine is there again, standing over Magneto. Wolverine takes Cyclops' visor from Magneto's belt. Wolverine tosses it in the air and Jean then uses her powers to quickly float it back onto Cyclops' face.

Wolverine and Sabertooth continue to fight in a logic-defying manner. But Sabretooth's death does not come from Wolverine, it comes from... Cyclops, who blasts Sabretooth through the forehead of the Statue of Liberty.

Sabertooth lands on Magneto's boat, still parked next to the island.

Rogue, who still has Magneto's powers, frees the X-Men and they flee the statue.

Mystique, who is tied up, takes the form of a cop to escape when the authorities arrive. They search Magneto's boat, but Sabretooth is gone.

[Something to remember... Sabretooth has the super healing factor just as Wolverine does.]

Magneto is then captured. The police do not notice the shape of the X-Jet flying off in the distance.

INT. THE X-MANSION

Back at the school, the neurofilter is re-installed and, with Cerebro's help, Xavier comes to.

INT. THE X-MANSION - A FEW DAYS LATER

The school's students are watching the vote on the Mutant Registration Act in the Senate. The bill fails on a 51-49 vote. The deciding vote belonged to Senator Kelly... who now says that he fears the forces of fear and prejudice could tear the nation apart.

He then gets into a limousine and he is revealed to be Mystique in yet another disguise.

INT. LOGAN'S ROOM IN THE X-MANSION

Logan opens the blinds in his room at the school to find a box. It is a case of O'Douls nonalcoholic beer and a card that reads "Welcome home X."

Xavier then appears and tells Logan that they will miss him. But as everyone prepares to say goodbye and thank Logan for what he did, he changes his mind, drops his duffel bag and asks...

LOGAN

Is there any real beer in the place?

INT. A SPECIAL PRISON

In this special prison, where the walls and everything inside of them is made of plastic, Xavier is wheeled in a special plastic wheelchair into the cell where Magneto is being held.

Magneto is playing chess. He says that he would not have let Charles die and that soon he will find an escape and the war will continue.

Xavier says he and his students will be ready to meet him. Xavier then moves a piece on the chess board.

XAVIER.

Check.

Xavier then leaves, escorted out by a guard. Magneto smiles, and levitates another piece on the board.

MAGNETO

And mate.
.

The end.

• A scene where Magneto has a run in with the cops and lifts two police cars with his powers.
• A scene where Jean Grey uses Cerebro.
• A scene where Scott Summers runs through a tunnel looking worried in the basement of the X-Mansion.
• From some other storyboards on the Internet, we know that at one point in the climax of the movie, Storm lifts Wolverine to the torch of the Statue of Liberty using her powers to manipulate wind.
• And there is a rumored scene where Wolverine fights Mystique [who is in the form of Wolverine].

PEARL HARBOR CRASH:
One of the Pearl Harbor movie planes mocked up to look like a Japanese bomber crashed during production yesterday. According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the male stunt pilot's crash resulted in a broken wrist and lacerations. He is currently in stable condition at the Tripler Army Hospital. The paper reports that the crash happened when its left wing clipped a coconut tree during a dive. The plane, which is actually a BT 13 single engine Convair, is believed to be a total loss. This is the second injury during production of the film. The first injury involved a stuntman jumping off ship in another recently shot scene. That stuntman injured a collar bone in the fall.

X-MEN SPEAK!
The cast of The X-Men is talking about the intense fan scrutiny of the production courtesy of the Internet. A number of the cast spoke to CNN Showbiz (via the Comics Continuum), about the matter. Bryan Singer talked about the plethora of online rumors, saying, "Some of it's quite accurate, some of it's quite inaccurate. Some of it makes you look sort of behind you and wonder who's lurking over your shoulder, reporting about your every move." Meanwhile, Famke Janssen revealed that she has chosen to avoid the numerous rumors, news and grumblings, saying, "It all seems so negative to me. I thought that I don't want to surround myself with that. I don't want to know about it. I don't want to hear that my hair color was the wrong color for them or whatever they had imagined. So, I'm just going to do what I think is best, and hopefully they're going to like it, even if it's slightly different from what they had expected." Bruce Davison simply referred to previous Internet rumor mill fodder, saying, "You think of all the speculation about Titanic and this and that and everything. You never know until it hits the theaters and if people like it."

Rob Allstetter of Comics Continuum scored an interview with the film's Wolverine wherein the actor revealed his interest in pursuing more X-films. . When asked if he or the cast might be open to further X-adventures, Jackman revealed, "All the cast and crew would love to re-visit these characters and work with each other again." The actor continues, "I always think when you create a character that you really love and you respect - and I think all of us got to that point - it's a shame to put it away. I'd be really, really happy to come back to it." Jackman also chose to reassure longtime fans of the Marvel comic series, saying, "I want everyone to know that the loyalty of the fans has really been at the forefront of our heads, in the whole time for the decision making, we've wanted to stay true to what the comic book is all about… When, at times, we've taken any kinds of liberties with it, it's been a hard decision. I think we all appreciate their loyalty and their support throughout the web sites and stuff. I hope they share our vision that this is going to be a really cool and groundbreaking movie in this genre. That's what we've tried to do… I got to tell ya, from cast and crew, there are so many fans, and they've all put their hearts into it, and I hope this is the beginning of many X-Men films."

ROSIE IN "HARRY POTTER"? NO!!!!!!!!
Talk show host Rosie McDonnell is dropping hints that she may be up for a part in the Harry Potter movie. While talking to Popcorn, O'Donnell revealed that she has been in talks with helmer Chris Columbus to take on the role of Mrs. Weasley. O'Donnell is quoted as saying, "I just think it's absolutely enchanting and I would love to be a part of it. I think it's going to go down in history as a Wizard Of Oz-type epic for the next generation.

BURTON TALKS STAR TREK 10:
LeVar Burton is sounding a lot more positive about returning for another Star Trek film than he did after the release of Star Trek: Insurrection. Back then, on December 10, 1998, Burton declared, "I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not under contract any more. I delivered the last movie I owed them under my agreement. I know it's not going to get any cheaper to get me." Now, while talking to Fandom.com, Burton sounded much more upbeat, saying, "Do I want to do another movie? I don't know if want is how I would characterize it at this point. I will say that the last one was a lot of fun, and it would be great to have another experience like that-another wonderful, positive, fun experience. They've said that if there is another one it will happen on slightly different timeline than these movies have been made in the past. They want to create a little bit more separation between release dates. So whenever that is, and they give me the call and say here's the script, whatever the process, if they are going to do it again, I am certainly open to it."

A NEW AND IMPROVED STEVEN SEAGAL!!!
Producer Joel Silver (The Matrix, Romeo Must Die) is talking about Exit Wounds, his upcoming attempt to re-ignite faded action star Steven Seagal's film career. While talking to the LA Times, Silver revealed, "Wait until you see what we're doing with Steven Seagal. The movie opens in an anger management class." Silver revealed that the film's first scene then takes Seagal on the street only to find his car being stolen. Seagal cracks and busts some heads while his fellow classmates cheer him on. "I think it's Seagal the way the audience wants to see him. But it's also fun and plays with what's happened to him," says Silver. "Seagal is very anxious to get back [into movies]. He's lost weight. He looks good. He will not have a ponytail." This film will rock! Seagal is back!!

"PHONE BOOTH" SHOOT:
Details of how Fox's Phone Booth suspense thriller project will be shot are being revealed. According to Variety columnist Michael Fleming, current plans for the Joel Schumacher production include rehearsing the nearly one man show as a play-like structure and then shooting the film in what may only take a week's time. Even though Michael Bay briefly flirted with the project, Fox's acquisitions exec Elizabeth Gabler suggests that the studio always had Schumacher in mind for the project, saying, "When we bought Phone Booth, we thought we could just go out and make the movie, and we wanted Joel to do it, but he wouldn't commit. It took a while for him to see the movie, but he knows exactly how to do it in this abbreviated way, and he is a singular director with the visual style to be able to sustain shooting a movie in a single location and at a very quick pace."

MOSS SIGNS ON DOTTED LINE FOR MATRIX SEQUELS!
Carrie-Anne Moss has only now officially signed on to the productions of The Matrix 2 and 3, according to Variety. No specifics of the deal were revealed. Moss' upcoming film appearances include The Crew and Red Planet. The Matrix 2 & 3 250-day shoot is scheduled to start this fall.

X FINALE?
Details of what may be the final episode of The X-Files have turned up. According to Marilyn Beck, Stacy Jenel Smith and Stephanie DuBois as well as NY Daily News gossip columnist Mitchell Fink, the last episode, which is written by Chris Carter, will be titled "Requiem." Both columns report that the episode's story will involve Mulder and Scully sitting down with an FBI auditor to explain their accrued expenses. Fink reports that the program is looking to cast the auditor role with "an angry bureaucrat-type."

GODZILLA GUYS MAKE A GREAT FILM?
Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich are upbeat about their new film, starring Mel Gibson, The Patriot. While talking to Hollywood Reporter columnist Martin Grove, the film's director, Emmerich revealed, "We had our first test screening in New York and now we're doing a second test screening next week. We're pretty far along. I think we'll lock the picture in 15 or 20 days."

Emmerich adds, "We have enough time to finish the movie very carefully. It's not like we have to race to finish the movie. We're locking in the picture pretty soon. That leaves us enough time to do (everything) very carefully. Also, John Williams is scoring the movie. He came on very early on and he has enough time to write the music. I think we're doing really well time-wise."

Producer Dean Devlin adds, "There's a wonderful editor on this film, David Brenner, who worked with us on Independence Day. He really also helped us accelerate the whole picture. His first assemblage is really quite excellent."

The two Centropolis partners also spoke of the recent screening and how they chose the footage that was shown. Devlin says, "When we were looking at the movie, we realized that this isn't a movie that's about hype or effects or anything like that. We just thought the best way to give people the impression of what we're trying to do here is to show as much as we can at this point. The movie has to kind of sell itself, in essence. We didn't want to produce some thing too slick. We didn't want to make an extended trailer. We thought, let's just take a chunk out of the movie in the current state and show it and say, this is what we're trying to accomplish… We thought it was a nice cross section, too, of acting scenes and action scenes."

Emmerich adds, "We wanted to show a part where pretty much all the characters are introduced and where you see already part of the conflict. This was pretty much out of the first third of the movie. There's highly dramatic stuff happening in the middle and at the end, but we didn't want to give too much away. It's a little bit (like doing a) trailer. You choose a lot in trailers from the beginning to set up the story. So that was the thinking behind it -- not to give too much away, but give people enough to get an idea what the movie's about and what the relationship's about (for Gibson's character)."

The columnist also asked Devlin what the film's budget ended up being. Devlin answered, "We try not to talk about the budgets of our films, usually. But I think for what's on screen, it's a remarkably economic budget for the film. I'll put it this way -- it was more than Independence Day, but a lot less than Godzilla. Independence Day was $71 million and Godzilla was $120 million."

EPISODE I DVD COMING SOON?
Yep. Lucas himself recently stated that ILM is currently working on the Episode I DVD! So hopefully that means it will be released soon!!!! Oh please, please, please…

TRAVOLTA'S NEXT VILLIAN:
John Travolta looks to be taking another bad guy turn in Warner Bros.' Swordfish. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film will have the actor playing the world's most dangerous spy. He has a scheme that involves the CIA coercing a computer hacker into helping him steal $6 billion in unused government funds. In return, the hacker will receive custody of his daughter and a new life start. The film, which has a script by Skip Woods, will be directed by Dominic Sena (Kalifornia). Joel Silver and Jonathan Krane will produce the pic, which is scheduled to start shooting in July.

ARNOLD ON "DOC SAVAGE";
Arnold Schwarzenegger is talking about the current status of his Doc Savage project. While talking to SCIFI.COM regarding the script by David Leslie Johnson, Arnold revealed, "That's being written now as we speak. But ... I've not seen a finished draft. I've only seen parts of it." Arnold also spoke of how he got involved in the project, saying, "Frank Darabont and Chuck Russell [and I] ... were always sitting down together talking about what would be great to do, what could we do together. And Frank Darabont said, 'You know something, I've been watching you. You're like Doc Savage. Have you ever thought about it? ... You're more Doc Savage than you are Conan or the Terminator. You'll be great. ... Would you ever do it?' And I said, 'Why not?' That's how that all happened." Also, Don't count on seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger in any further Terminator films… unless James Cameron is attached as well. While talking to SCIFI.COM, Arnold simply declared, "I'm only interested in it if Jim Cameron does it." Regarding the Terminator sequels currently in development and being produced by Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna, Arnold candidly says, "I have not been approached, because there is no script. So until I see a script, I cannot comment on it… There is nothing here. There is no financing for it, there is no script for it, there is no director for it. There is nothing."

3 HOUR MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2?
Tom Cruise and John Woo's Mission: Impossible 2 project is a running time of three hours with word that Paramount wants it trimmed down to an easy to swallow 140 minutes. According to Reel.com columnist Jeffrey Wells, the film will need to be trimmed in time for its press junket on the weekend of May 5-7. The columnist reports on rumors going around that at this time, Woo and his editors are currently, frantically, trying to make cuts and still retain a story.

BLANCHETT TALKS 'RINGS'
While talking to frequent Cinescape contributor Cindy Pearlman for her syndicated column, Blanchett talked about Tolkien's original books, saying,

"[Author] J.R.R. Tolkien created a whole language. He created a world within a world. My god, that man. He created the Middle Earth. I think Lord of the Rings will be a historic movie."

Blanchett is ready to go as she says, "I can't wait until I start filming in June… I'm really excited to work with director Peter Jackson. He has one of the most out-there imaginations of any director around." Still, Blanchett admits that she doesn't quite know what to expect, saying, "I don't even know what I will look like in the movie."

JONATHAN HALES LENDS HELPING HAND ON EPISODE II SCRIPT!
George Lucas has tapped scribe Jonathan Hales to lend him a hand on the script for Star Wars: Episode Two. Last night, the official Star Wars website posted the following information on the news: "Pre-production continues on Star Wars: Episode II, with the script nearing completion. George Lucas has written several drafts of the screenplay and set the stage for the action, events and characters to be seen in the movie. To refine the script into its final drafts, Lucas has enlisted the aid of screenwriter Jonathan Hales. Hales and Lucas have had an association through The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Hales wrote or co-wrote several episodes of the critically-acclaimed television series, including the feature-length Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal, Young Indiana Jones and the Scandal of 1920, and Young Indiana Jones: Tales of Innocence." Still, having said all that, the report does suggest that previous rumors of a potential cast list may be somewhat true given that Lucas had finished "several drafts" of the script, which would include the film's major characters. Though Hales work may involved additional characters, it's more likely that the writer will flesh out ideas created by Lucas and provide a different dialogue and creative voice that was lacking in Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace.

BENTLEY OUT AS VAMPIRE:
Wes Bentley has abruptly dropped out of the Queen of the Damned project even as Aaliyah (Romeo Must Die) has signed up. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Bentley's reps claim that the young actor decided to take a break after the last year's heavy work load, which included promoting American Beauty. Bentley's passing may cause some problems with the time restricted project with word that Warner Bros must start production before the initial agreement with author Anne Rice expires in October. The trade reports that Bentley had not officially signed on to the project, but negotiations had been completed up to the point where he was expected to do so. Warners also sounds a bit miffed about Bentley's departure with word that they may require the actor to sign an agreement that he not work in any other project during production of Damned. Meanwhile, Aaliyah will take on the title role of the ancient vampirific title character. The film's story is a combination of elements from the books The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned.

SCOOBY-DOO ON FAST TRACK. WHY?
Warner Bros. has placed the Scooby Doo film project on the fast track. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the reason for this turn for the best was due to James Gunn's recently finished script. The trade reports that the script's story would place live-action versions of the familiar cartoon gang in an Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein or Ghostbusters vein. Oh, and even though Mike Myers had left the project after word that his script with Jay Kogan was turned down, the studio is said to still be eying the Austin Powers actor for the role of Shaggy. What a stupid concept this is!!!

OLDMAN SIGNED FOR "HANNIBAL"?
Gary Oldman's name is once again being tossed around regarding the Hannibal film project. According to the Hollywood Reporter, negotiations with Oldman have stalled only due to determining the actor's billing in the film. The trade reports that Oldman might be signing on to play Dr. Lecter's even more evil nemesis, Mason Verger.

FORBIDDEN PLANET REMAKE?
New Line Cinema is getting ready to remake the 1956 Universal/Disney classic, Forbidden Planet. New Line acquired the rights last month and has since been considering such luminary directors as James Cameron and Frank Darabont for the director's chair. Michael Fleming of Variety now claims the project has been offered to Darabont, best known for The Shawshank Redemption and, most recently, The Green Mile. Forbidden Planet is based on Shakespeare's The Tempest and tells the story of a spaceship that visits a planet inhabited by a man, his daughter, and a robot. The original, now a campy classic, starred Walter Pidgeon, Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis, and introduced to the world Robby the Robot. Dr. Morbius (Pidgeon) resents the strangers' intrusion into his world and, powered by secret devices hidden beneath the planet's surface, begins murdering the crew of the spaceship with a physical manifestation of his own savage Id. Darabont has not directed a sci-fi flick before but he has spent time in the genre, penning screenplays for both The Blob remake and The Fly II.

GIBSON WAS GOING TO BE "GLADIATOR";
In an interview with Movieline magazine Gladiator director Ridley Scott admits to being torn between Mel Gibson and Russell Crowe for the lead in the upcoming film. Scott admits that the only two actors he considered for the part of the Roman general turned gladiator were Gibson and Crowe. Crowe was "always on the cards," the director explains. "… "even in our first discussions about the project. If there hadn't been him, there could probably only have been Mel. But Mel had done 'Braveheart' and didn't want to go down that road again." Which doesn't explain why Gibson went ahead with The Patriot, which is already being compared to Braveheart. Scott claims he's "happier with this [Gladiator] than I have been with anything for a long time."

STAN LEE ON SPIDERMAN CASTING:
Marvel-man Stan Lee was online last night, talking with fans about the new Spider-Man movie. Regarding the rumored casting of Jude Law in the lead role, Lee replied: "The role hasn't been cast yet. Too bad it took so long that I'm now a little too old to play him myself." Adding, "If it was up to me, I'd cast an unknown and let big stars play all the other roles...Bit it's not up to me!" Lee also suggested fans lobby director Sam Raimi to give Lee a cameo role in the movie.

FRAKES DOING STAR TREK SPOOF?
Jonathan Frakes is currently pushing a pet project called Star Patrol!, a spoof on the venerable Star Trek franchise. "This is what I've really been waiting to do," Frakes said, comparing the project to Mel Brooks' Spaceballs. "With the success of Galaxy Quest," Frakes explains, "it's been shown that it's healthy to spoof one's self," he said. "We'll shoot it straight, so the dialogue will be really funny."

Frakes doesn't believe Star Trek fans will be turned off by the satire. "The fans are not as blind as we sometimes make them out to be. They are loyal, and we won't be doing a disservice to them. However, if we don't offend someone, we haven't done our jobs."

The busy Frakes was also asked about the possibility of a new Star Trek movie. Frakes, who directed 1998's Insurrection as well as First Contact answered, "I hear in the rumor mill that there will be a movie for 2001.I'm thrilled about it if it's true." Referring to Insurrection as a "smaller, romantic movie," Frakes now calls for a change of pace. "I think we should go big again. We want galactic consequences this time!"

MYERS IN "MIND"?
According to Popculprit comedian Mike Myers is getting ready to star in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, a movie based on the autobiography of Gong Show host Chuck Barris--who also claims to have been a CIA hitman. The script, written by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich) is being hailed as the one of the hottest in Hollywood. The Popculprit people got a look at the script and describe it as follows: "In the script, Barris is a self-indulgent nut case who spends all of his free time desperately trying to score chicks. As the story begins, a filthy-rich, 50-year-old Barris is a thoroughly slovenly man who shoots TVs when repeats of "The Gong Show" come on. Overweight, he lives in a hotel room, where he spends his days naked, surrounded by half-eaten plates of food. He feels like he's wasted his life, so he decides to write his story, to warn kids to make different choices than the ones he made:" "I'm wrinkled like a prune. Covered in liver spots, like an old guy ... My toenails are yellow and crumbling. My ears are clogged with coarse hairs and brown, smelly wax. My asshole itches. Hemorrhoids abound. George Orwell said every man has the face he deserves by 50. Does every 50-year-old have the asshole he deserves as well?"

LORD OF THE RINGS INTERVIEW:
Xoanon over at the OneRing.net has posted an interview conducted by Newsmonitor Services with Lord of the Rings producer, Barrie Osborne. HOLMES: Congratulations on the Matrix (thank you very much). Four Oscars for technical brilliance, that must have been very heartening. OSBORNE: Yes it was it was a lot of fun to make that film. HOLMES: Are the special effects going to be very much a feature of Lord of the Rings. OSBORNE: Ah yes, actually you couldn't bring this picture to the screen without relying on the recent increases in the capabilities of visual effects, technology yeah. HOLMES: Are you going to be doing that here or in Los Angeles? OSBORNE: The entire films are being done here, including all the post production and the visual effects, at WETA, which is Peter's company with several partners. HOLMES: And so we must be then pretty good by world standards if Peter can do it here. OSBORNE: You certainly are and they've got quite a facility in Wellington that they've built up. HOLMES: You must have been, were you surprised by reaction to the 2 minutes on the website the other night. OSBORNE: Ah yeah it's really gratifying and I think it's a tribute to both Lord of the Rings and the international cast that has been assembled to portray it on the screen and to Peter Jackson, yeah it's really gratifying. We're out here day after day slogging it out for 255 days up and down mountains and all over the country and it's great to see that there's such an interest in the work, it makes all that effort worth while.

WILL SMITH WANTS MEN IN BLACK SEQUEL?
Will Smith on Tuesday's Access Hollywood on Tuesday night that had the actor talking about Men In Black 2. Smith is said to have called the second film's script "brilliant" and tells the story of an intergalactic war with the MIB in outer space. Smith also said he's "all signed up" for the project would seem to set to rest word that the film couldn't be done due to an anticipated steep budget, courtesy of Smith and Jones' combined salaries. Still, there's no word from Jones on his potential participation in the project as yet.

PORTMAN ON ANAKIN READINGS:
Production seems ever closer on Star Wars: Episode Two with word that Natalie Portman will be doing audition readings with prospective Anakin Skywalkers very soon. While talking to the Calgary Sun, Portman revealed, "I'm reading with potential Anakins at the end of the month. I asked George Lucas who some of the guys are but he refused to tell me. He knows I'd let the information leak out." Portman does reveal all she knows at this point, saying, "All I know is that it's a romance between Anakin and Queen Amidala and that Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson, Jar Jar Binks and Yoda are returning. Beyond that, nothing… Once again, it is all cloaked in secrecy. I've heard that George is still working on the screenplay and that wouldn't surprise me or worry me."

ANOTHER X-MAN TALKS:
Famke Janssen is talking about her career as well as her work in the upcoming X-Men movie. In an interview in the latest issue of Talk magazine, Janssen spoke of her career fears, revealing, "I knew having been a model would be an obstacle (in becoming an accomplished actress), … but I didn't realize how big. (After GoldenEye) I was scared I would go into B-movie territory." As far as why she took on the role of Jean Grey in The X-Men, Janssen explains, "The character of Jean Grey is very different. She's a cerebral character, not Ms. Kung Fu. Besides, the chance to work with Bryan Singer was the deciding factor in taking the movie… I've learned that as much as I want to have my career my way, in the end it's a business. It's a game you have to play."

STAR WARS GOING COMLETELY DIGITAL?
Apparently any rumored problems with the digital camera system have been worked out with word that Lucasfilm has officially confirmed that Star Wars: Episode Two will be shot entirely digital. The film's official website reports: "Using a prototype digital acquisition system consisting of a Panavision modified Sony HDW-F900 integrated camera recorder, a series of carefully prescribed tests were initiated by teams from ILM and Lucasfilm working in conjunction with Sony and Panavision. These tests, which include image performance and system functionality culminated in comparative shoots with motion picture film, convinced George Lucas and producer, Rick McCallum of the benefits of shooting in digital 24P at 1920 x 1080 HD sampling." George Lucas is quoted as saying, "It's an exciting step that we are taking, and working with Sony and Panavision, we plan to further advance this system over the coming years. Star Wars: Episode II is our first giant step."

YET ANOTHER X-MEN TALK:
Sir Ian McKellen participated in an online chat on Monday night and answered questions about The X-Men movie. On Yahoo Chat (via the Comics Continuum), the actor spoke of how he got involved in the project, saying, "I had just finished doing a very hard season of work at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in the UK and decided that I wouldn't work for the rest of the year unless it was a wonderful script. So Bryan (Singer, the director of X-Men) showed me the script, I had looked at the comics and I said yes rather quickly." Once again, McKellen gave his impressions of working with his X-Men co-stars, saying, "I like them all immensely ... and Hugh (Jackman, who plays Wolverine) in particular has become a good friend. They were all delightful to work with. Yesterday Jimmy Marsden (who plays Cyclops) and I spent the day going about Universal Studios with friends. He was wearing sunglasses that rather looked like a visor, but nobody recognized him. They were blue, not red." Regarding shifting from the role of Magneto to Gandalf so quickly, McKellen spoke of the difficulty, saying, "I had intended all the time I was doing X-Men in Toronto to be catching up and thinking of Gandalf and I couldn't do that. I was so concentrated on X-Men. So, over the holidays and when I arrived in New Zealand in January, I had to do some adjusting. So it was good to have that brief break… And I don't recommend actors jump directly from one role to another. Although some actors do two films at once. But I did come from the theater and have done as many as three productions in a season, so maybe it's not as difficult as all that." While Sir Ian McKellen's Monday night chat online was dominated by X-Men talk, the actor did briefly answer some questions about the Lord of the Rings production. Though much of what he said he had covered before on his own website, McKellen was asked about how much the films' director, Peter Jackson, had changed the books material for the films. McKellen revealed, "He's translated it from 3 books into 3 films, so it has changed alot, has he changed the story? no. We literally go back to Tolkien's work and re read what he wrote."

LORD OF THE RINGS BEATS STAR WARS:
New Line Cinema is reporting that the amount of downloads done by viewers online of their recent Lord of the Rings exclusive preview exceeds the record previously held by Lucasfilm for The Phantom Menace trailer. New Line reports that their LOTR footage was downloaded approximately 1.7 million times in its first 24 hours, compared to 1 million for Star Wars. The figure was determined by Apple, who managed releases of both trailers through their Quicktime format.

JET LI IN "GREEN HORNET";
After weeks of wishful rumors, it has now been confirmed that Jet Li is in early talks to jump into Universal's long delayed Green Hornet production. Universal is hoping to cast Li in the role of the Hornet's sidekick, Kato (made famous by Bruce Lee back in the '60s TV series). According to Variety, the film will be produced by by Larry Gordon, Chuck Gordon and Dark Horse Entertainment. No director, writer or additional cast is attached as yet.

SAM ON SHAFT:
Samuel L. Jackson is talking about his performance in the title role in Shaft Returns. While talking to Popcorn, Jackson enthusiastically described what he does in the film, saying, "I look good in it. I talk smart and snappy, I beat people up, I shoot people, I chase people. He's still, you know, a black private Dick who's a sex machine for all the chicks." Once again, Jackson tells that he wants to do all kinds of movies, adding, "I like gun movies."

"I AM LEGEND" TALK:
What ever happened to that I Am Legend project with Arnold Schwarzenegger? Scribe Mark Protosevich (The Cell, Impostor) recently gave an interview to Wicked magazine editor Gina McIntyre and revealed how he got involved with the project, the twists and turns along the way and what's up with it now…as far as he knows. As to how Protosevich happened to get involved writing on the film's script, it started with his work on The Cell, as the writer reveals, "The Cell sort of served as my calling card. Lorenzo DeBonaventure who's now the president of Warner was a VP at the time and gave me the job to write I Am Legend and the success of that script and the popularity of it within the industry really helped solidify my career." The path to his script for I Am Legend was a bumpy road, as Protosevich explains, "It's funny because I was actually fired twice and hired three times on that movie. When Ridley Scott came on, he wanted to work with another writer. That didn't work out, so I was brought on again. I write the script that gets everyone excited and gets Schwarzenegger interested but when Ridley comes on, he wants to work with his writer so I'm gone. That doesn't work out and I"m hired again, and I write the script that actually gets the movie close to being greenlit, working with Ridley. Then all the budget concerns start to happen and everything starts to get really complicated and I'm fired again and they hire someone else to come in, but then the movie completely falls apart. Then, Ridley leaves and then another producer Steve Ruther becomes involved and it looks like Rob Bowman is going to do it. I work with them and that script that I worked on at that time I think was probably, although I'm very fond of the first version that I wrote, I think probably that version has been the best version of the script. I really thought it was going to go, and all of a sudden it didn't and now it's just in limbo." When asked if he knew if Schwarzenegger was still attached to the project, Protosevich replied, "As far as I know, yes, but I think what the political and contractual situations involved in that are, I have no idea. I just know that everyone I talk to is still incredibly enthusiastic about the project and loves it, but nothing's happening." Finally, when asked if he had any idea how soon the project might gear up again, the writer just answers, "To my knowledge, not any time soon. For whatever reason, I don't know. It was funny because I'll run into people when I'm in L.A. and I'll go to rent DVDs at this one store somebody will see my name and say, 'are you the Mark Protosevich who wrote I Am Legend?' Everybody's read the script. They've worked as readers or it's posted on the Internet and people will read it. So many people, I think, are inclined to like this movie and want to see it made but for whatever reason it's just not happening. I've learned to be patient." I NEED to see this movie with Arnold… NOW!!

X-FILES AGAIN:
Gillian Anderson is suggesting that there may well be an eighth season of The X-Files after all. While talking to TV Guide Online, Anderson revealed what's up with the series right now, saying, "Chris [Carter] is in the process of writing the season finale, and we don't know [if we're coming back]. He doesn't know what to write." Anderson adds, "The thought of [taping] two more episodes and that being the end of it is infuriating. It hasn't given any of us the opportunity to mourn the ending. And it also hasn't given Fox the chance to advertise the s--- out of it. This could be incredibly lucrative for them [if they] do it correctly, and it tells me that they believe very strongly that there is going to be an eighth season."

HAMILTON IN T3??
Linda Hamilton would be up for coming back to do further Terminator films, but only if her ex is directing. While talking to the LA Times, Hamilton revealed, "A script is being written, but if Jim doesn't direct it I wouldn't do it. Jim's the genius behind it, and I'm loyal to that. Sarah Connor was a wonderful character but not one I want to revisit. It could have been my way of life, because it's so empowering, but I'm not that woman anymore. I've become this normal human being."

REEVES SNAGS "HARDBALL";
Keanu Reeves has signed up for another project called Hardball. According to Variety, the film, which is based on Daniel Coyle's book Hardball: A Season in the Projects, will tell the story of man who can't seem to get his life together choosing to waste time partying and other pursuits that leave him behind. In an attempt to get his life straightened, he gets a loan from a friend. The loan has strings attached as he is required to also coach a little league team out of Cabrini Green in Chicago to get the money. The experience changes the man giving him direction for the first time in his life. Brian Robbins (Ready to Rumble) will direct from a script by by John Gatins with Peter Iliff. Robbin's partner, Mike Tollin, will produce. Reeves was freed up after the plug was pulled on his Ottoman Empire pic. Plans are to shoot before Reeves must head down under to do Matrix 2 & 3.

JET LI IN MATRIX SEQUELS?
Word has it that Jet Li may be joining The Matrix 2 & 3 projects. According to the Hollywood Reporter, though there are no negotiations going on yet, the Wachowskis are keen on having Li come on board. The trade reports that the only barrier in the way is how to fit the action actor (who really belongs in the project) into the budget.

STEWART'S STAR TREK HORROR STORY:
This might explain why Patrick Stewart was so ready to call it quits on Star Trek: Next Generation. While talking to the NY Daily News, Stewart revealed that he only enlisted with the Next Gen series because he was told that it would not be successful. Stewart explains, "I was assured that it wouldn't be successful - that was the only reason I did it. I was so naive. I thought I was looking at six months work, and it wasn't until they offered it to me that my agent spelled out it was a six-year commitment." Stewart continues, "I was horrified. I had things to do, my wife and children were in England, but everyone said, 'Don't worry, it's a nice idea but it's not going to work. You cannot revive something that has become such an icon in the entertainment business.'" On the plus side, Stewart does admit that his success in Next Gen served to pave the way for his future projects, which he had the freedom to choose as he pleased. The actor says, "In the past 13 years since [Star Trek], my attitude has changed about this. I did go through a period when I was deeply irritated by the fact that everyone only seemed to know me as Captain Picard and didn't know my real name… But if I'm realistic, there's no doubt the most significant thing that ever happened to me was being cast as Jean-Luc Picard, because that then opened up a lot of things for me - like Broadway."

AFFLECK AND HARTNETT JOIN ARMY?
To prepare for their work to come in Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckhiemer's Pearl Harbor project, both Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett were ordered to go through Army Rangers boot camp for the film. Both actors had to go through the real deal for four days. While talking to the AP, Affleck revealed his take on the training, saying, "We thought it was going to be an actor-y kind of boot camp, where they teach you to salute. It wasn't quite that. It was more like the first 20 minutes of Full Metal Jacket, but it was extraordinary." Affleck also adds, "I don't think I scrubbed a urinal in my entire life."

"STONEHENGE MOVIE"??
Germany's Constantin Film and Impact Pictures (Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon) are joining forces on an epic fantasy based on Bernard Cornwell's novel, Stonehenge 2000, according to a number of sources. Oh, and that's 2000 B.C. Cornwell's book tells a fictionalized account of the construction of the historic site focusing on a rivalry between three brothers happening concurrently. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film's script is in early stages, though no scribe is mentioned. Furthermore, no cast or crew has been tapped to bring it all to the big screen.

NO SULU SERIES:
Don't plan on seeing a George Takei starring Excelsior program when the fifth Star Trek series is launched. While talking to SCIFI.COM's Sci Fi Wire, fifth series co-developer and Voyager exec producer Brannon Braga cleared the air on the matter, saying, "There is no plan for a Sulu series at the moment, I can say with almost certainty." Braga also made sure that it was understood that he respected and liked George Takei, saying, "I really like Sulu. We did a Sulu episode on Voyager. Whether or not there's some sort of Sulu project, it's out of my domain. I'm not really aware of any plans to do it. I would be very surprised. There's also a 'Bring Back Kirk' campaign. Some people want to see [a] Starfleet Academy [show], some people want to see a Borg show. ... We keep an eye on these things. And there are a lot of rumors and a lot of campaigns going on. But I don't think any of them are really going to influence what we do."

CASTAWAY PRECAUTIONS:
The production of Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks, is making very sure that they don't have the same problems that plagued Leonardo DiCaprio's The Beach. According to the BBC, investigators from the World Wildlife Fund have been on set and report that the Robert Zemeckis helmed production has "gone to considerable lengths to avoid the public relations disaster that plagued... The Beach." The film is currently in its second phase of production on Maya Beach on Phi Phi Island. The Beeb reports that prior to shooting, the production company, Cast Away Productions, forged an agreement with local landowners which allows photography through the end of 2000 if needed. As part of the agreement, Cast Away Productions has promised that any tree they remove during production will be replaced by at least three of the same species. In addition, any and all rocks that are removed will be placed back in their original spots.

NO "DAREDEVIL" OR "DR. STRANGE"?
Sony may be releasing the coming Spider-Man movie, but their aggressive attempts to launch two more movie franchises based on Marvel's Daredevil and Dr. Strange seem to have been stopped. According to Variety columnist Michael Fleming, recent negotiations between Sony/Columbia and Marvel came to a dead end resulting in the studio no longer being involved in making the potential franchise starting films. That doesn't mean they won't happen though, with word that Marvel is planning on using its newfound clout, courtesy of Fox's X-Men project, to shop around the properties and production packages. At this point, writer/director Mark Steven Johnson and his producing partner Gary Foster are still attached to Daredevil. In addition, though nothing had as yet been firmed up, the Dr. Strange film will likely still have a script by Mike France, and word that both Chuck Russell (Eraser, The Mask) and Steve Norrington (Blade) are interested in taking on the project's directing duties. Daredevil tells the story of Matt Murdock, a crusading lawyer who was blinded as a youth while saving another person from being hit by a careening truck. In the process, Murdock was also struck in the head by a canister that contained an unknown radioactive material. Though unable to see, Murdock soon learned that the freak accident also granted him a radar-like ability that allowed him to "see," as well as detecting objects and people out of what would be a normal person's sight range. Murdock then took on the red devil suit of Daredevil to fight crime in the night while dealing out justice during the day through his law practice. Dr. Stephen Strange was an arrogant though gifted surgeon until he had an accident that injured his hands preventing him from practicing. Fallen to the lowest depths, Strange finds himself in Asia where he encounters the Ancient One, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme who reveals a whole new perspective on the world the once selfish surgeon could barely imagine. After years of training, Strange himself takes over the work of his master battling evil magic wielding foes from Earth and other dimensions (most prominently the flame-headed Dormammu from the dark dimension). Rumors suggest that should the Dr. Strange film happen, it will involve his origin as well as his battle with his first enemy, Baron Mordo, another of the Ancient One's students.

MORE FRAKES ON STAR TREK 10:
Jonathan Frakes also gave his opinion on when the next Star Trek movie is likely to happen… and what he feels it needs to be for it to be successful. While talking to Fandom.com, Frakes talked about the "when" of the next movie, saying, "I think Star Trek 10 is probably a step behind the next TV series. I know that Rick Berman has a commitment to Paramount to get the next series up and running. While he's doing that, I know there have been primary meetings and discussions on 10. Certainly there are no writers on board, no director. I have a feeling it will be 2001 - maybe 2002 - before we see Star Trek 10. The new series was supposed to have been in development by this point, but they're behind schedule." Regarding what he feels must be done with the movie series, Frakes doesn't shy away, saying, "I think the next film has to be huge. I think the stakes have to be higher than they were for Insurrection. I don't think it can be as inside as the Borg in First Contact. It's got to be a galactic war movie. It's got to be balls-out, and I think that will bring all the fans back. We did a horror movie with First Contact, which was fabulous. And we did a softer, intellectual romance with Insurrection, which was also cool. But I think for Star Trek 10, the first Trek of the new Millennium, I think it's just got to be balls-to-the-wall. A big action war epic with the Federation on the line, with the Enterprise on the line, with mankind, earth or something the audience can relate to on the line, and play that great Picard heroism and have people get knocked around. I think we're great when we're doing action and we spice it up with other elements. I think that's the success of the show."

SANDLER AND TARANTINO?
Quentin Tarantino's next project, which is looking to be a war picture, may feature Adam Sandler if the director-writer has it his way. According to the UK's Daily Mail (via Empire Online), Tarantino revealed that his next film will pay homage to The Dirty Dozen, adding that the classic '60s action pic is "going to be my template, just as Reservoir Dogs was my heist film nod to the Killers." Regarding the role for Sandler, Tarantino explains, "I've got a bunch of guys fighting the Nazis, and there's a part for Adam Sandler, and I hope he'll be crazy enough to do it."

TAKEN FROM VARIETY AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER CASTING

• Faye Dunaway plans to star in a project for director Pedro Almodovar (ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER), though the director is working on three scripts and has yet to decide on his next project.
• Peter O'Toole joins Aidan Gillen in THE FINAL CURTAIN about the rivalry between a showbiz veteran and a newcomer for director Patrick Harkins.
• Kevin Reynolds (WATERWORLD) will direct THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO based on the Alexandre Dumas book for Spyglass Ent. Jim Caviezel stars. Reynolds may also direct OKRACOKE with Kevin Costner.
• Nick Nolte, Neve Campbell, Robin Tunney, Tuesday Weld, Terrence Howard and Til Schweiger will star in INVESTIGATING SEX for director Alan Rudolph (BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS) about a group of men who study sex and two female stenographers who transcribe the sessions. German actor Schweiger will also star in CHAMPS opposite Sylvester Stallone with Renny Harlin at the helm.
• John Travolta will star in SWORDFISH with Dominic Sena (upcoming GONE IN 60 SECONDS) at the helm. The story follows a CIA agent who persuades an ex-con computer hacker to help him steal billions of dollars and if he succeeds he'll get custody of his daughter and a new life.
• Charlie Sheen will star in the romantic comedy GOOD ADVICE about an investment banker who loses it all and has to find out what's important in life.
• Giancarli Giannini and Francesca Neri (LIVE FLESH) join HANNIBAL--they'll play police investigators. Shooting begins next month in Florence.
• Heath Ledger (upcoming THE PATRIOT)will take the lead in FOUR FEATHERS for Miramax and director Shekar Kapur. The film is a remake of the 1939 Zoltan Korda film.
• Jet Li is in talks to star in THE FIRST KING for producer Joel Silver and Warner Bros. about the first king of China and his court brought into modern times.
• Roger Moore will star in the biological warfare pic THE ENEMY.
• Jason Gedrick ("Falcone") joins Freddie Prinze Jr. in SUMMER CATCH.
• Richard Riehle (OFFICE SPACE) joins SAY IT ISN'T SO with Heather Graham.
• Michael McKean will have a role in NEVER AGAIN for director Eric Schaeffer.
• Jim Caviezel will star opposite Jennifer Lopez in ANGEL EYES for director Luis Mandoki. He replaces Aaron Eckhart in the drama.
• Tim Robbins joins Patricia Arquette, Rhys Ifans and Mirando Otto in the comedy HUMAN NATURE written by Charlie Kaufman (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH) and to be directed by Michel Gondry. The story follows a woman covered in body hair, a scientist who teaches table manners to mice and a French lab assistant who have their eyes on a young man who was raised as an ape.
• Jason Isaacs (THE PATRIOT) joins SWEET NOVEMBER with Keanu Reeves.
• Illeana Douglas will have roles in both GHOST WORLD and PLUTO NASH.
• David Ramsey joins PAY IT FORWARD.
• Laura Harris (THE FACULTY) will star in and produce the indie pic COME TOGETHER for writer/director Jeffrey Macpherson. Tygh Runyan also stars.
• Norman Reedus (upcoming BEAT) will have roles in both DEUCES WILD and EDDIE KILLED THE PRESIDENT.
• Kiefer Sutherland and Melora Walters will star in the thriller DESERT SAINTS about the relationship between a vulnerable woman and an assassin. Jamey Sheridan, Leslie Stefanson and Rachel Ticotin also star in the pic co-written and to be directed by Rich Greenberg.
• Wesley Snipes will star in and produce FAST FLASH TO BANG TIME for director Gary Fleder about a crack-addicted FBI agent and his sex-addicted female partner who team up to prevent a terrorist attack. Shooting begins this summer.
• Carrie Anne-Moss (THE MATRIX) has signed to star in both MATRIX sequels for Warner Bros. as well as CHOCOLAT for director Lasse Hallstrom (THE CIDER HOUSE RULES) where she'll play the daughter of Judi Dench's character.
• Meg Ryan is being pursued to star in CRIMINAL CONVERSATION for Iain Softley (WINGS OF THE DOVE) or Oliver Stone's BEYOND BORDERS with Kevin Costner, both for Paramount.
• Portia DeRossi ("Ally McBeal") and Teri Hatcher will star in the indie film TWO GIRLS FROM LEMOORE.
• Josh Lucas (AMERICAN PSYCHO) joins Radha Mitchell (HIGH ART) and Barry Watson (TEACHING MRS. TINGLE) in Screen Gems' SHEARER'S BREAKFAST.
• Rick Yune (SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS) and Paul Walker will star in the street-car racing pic REDLINE (formerly titled RACER X) for Universal and director Rob Cohen.
• Colin Farrell (upcoming TIGERLAND) will play the title character in JESSE JAMES, an action-comedy Western about the outlaw and his gang as they go up against greedy railroad barons. Les Mayfield (BLUE STREAK) is directing the Morgan Creek/Warner Bros. pic in June.
• Devon Sawa (FINAL DESTINATION) and Jason Schwartzman (RUSHMORE) are in talks to star in SLACKERS about three college students who are scamming the school, but are then blackmailed by a geek to win over the most popular girl on campus. Shooting begins June 8 with Dewey Nicks directing the David Steinberg script.
• Nestor Serrano joins Armand Assante and Benjamin Bratt in Trimark's AFTER THE STORM.
• Lynne Thigpen (RANDOM HEARTS) joins NOVOCAINE with Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter and Laura Dern.
• William Shatner will play a beauty pageant host in MISS CONGENIALITY starring Sandra Bullock and Michael Caine. Jennifer Gareis (upcoming THE SIXTH DAY) will play Miss New Jersey, Raquel Robinson will be Miss California and Diedre Quinn shall play Miss Texas. The Castle Rock pic will begin shooting next month.
• Courtney Love is in final talks to star in JOHN CARPENTER'S GHOSTS OF MARS opposite Ice Cube and Jason Statham.
• Katie Holmes and Ashton Kutcher will star in 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS for Universal/Working Title and possibly Miramax in the story of a man who decides to avoid physical contact with women for 40 days. During this time he meets the woman of his dreams. Michael Lehmann will direct the Rob Perez script.
• Gary Grubbs, Daniel Roebuck, Andrea Navedo, Shawn Elliott, Vivica A. Fox, Brent Briscoe and Edward Hermann join Eddie Griffin and Orlando Jones in DOUBLE TAKE for Disney and director George Gallo (29TH STREET). Production begins April 28.
• Matt Dillon joins Sandra Bullock and Michael Caine in MISS CONGENIALITY for Castle Rock/Village Roadshow and director Donald Petrie (MY FAVORITE MARTIAN).
• Eddie Cibrian ("Third Watch") has been cast in SAY IT ISN'T SO with Heather Graham and Chris Klein for director J.B. Rogers and producers Peter and Bobby Farrelly.
• Colin Firth will star opposite Rene Zellweger in BRIDGET JONES' DIARY. Hugh Grant also stars in the Sharon Maguire-directed pic which starts shooting May 1.
• Jet Li is in negotiations to play Kato in THE GREEN HORNET for Universal Pictures.
• David Krumholtz (LIBERTY HEIGHTS, upcoming SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK) joins THE MEXICAN with Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and James Gandolfini.
• James Spader, Lara Flynn Boyle, Jay Mohr, Bill Murray, Melora Walters and Catherine O'Hara are in talks to star in SPEAKING OF SEX with John McNaughton directing. The story centers around a couple of counselors trying to help a married couple. Some lawyers are involved as well and couples start to mix and match. Gary Tieche wrote the script.
• Kevin Spacey will star in and produce an untitled romantic comedy about a stage director who tries to cast a movie star in his play to help launch it on Broadway. Wendy Wasserstein (THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION) is reworking Allison Burnett's script formerly titled THE ROLE OF A LIFETIME for Centropolis Entertainment. It's possible Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich or Spacey may direct.
• Morris Chestnut (BOYS N THE HOOD, THE BEST MAN) will star in THE BROTHERS for Screen Gems and director Gary Hardwick.
• Tom Hanks is being eyed for THE LOOKOUT the DreamWorks film written by Scott Frank (OUT OF SIGHT) and to be directed by Sam Mendes (AMERICAN BEAUTY).
• Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Tobey Maguire, Chris Klein, Ewan McGregor and Leonardo DiCaprio are said to be the lead candidates to play SPIDER MAN for director Sam Raimi.
• Cameron Diaz is eyeing Columbia Pictures' romantic comedy the UNTITLED NANCY PIMENTAL PROJECT for director Roger Kumble about a girl who has to learn how to woo once she finds Mr. Right.
• Gary Oldman is back in talks to play Mason Verger in HANNIBAL for director Ridley Scott and MGM/Universal.
• Twins Alicia and Annie Sorell join Robin Dunne in the prequel CRUEL INTENTIONS II for Columbia Tri-Star/Newmarket produced by Roger Kumble.
• Catherine Kellner (200 CIGARETTES) joins Disney's PEARL HARBOR.
• Natasha Henstridge, Peter Fonda and Angus McFadyen (CRADLE WILL ROCK) will star in the thriller SECOND SKIN for Alliance Ent and director Darrell Roodt (SARAFINA). The story follows a man who opens a bookstore to distance himself from his mob past--until he meets a mysterious stranger.

  DIRECTOR/WRITER ATTACHMENTS

  • Trimark pickedup Alex Rosio's spec UNTITLED LOW-BUDGET THRILLER THAT WILL SCARE THE SHIT OUT OF YOU about a police officer and a female television producer and an investigation of a serial killer.
  • Lewis Colick (OCTOBER SKY) has written DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE about a strong bond between a father and a son, which has been sent to directors and is on the fast-track at Paramount.
  • Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU) have written PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION which was put in turnaround by Disney but may get picked up by Fox 2000 about a woman who falls for the guy she's helping to fix up.
  • Laurice Elehwany and Rick Copp (THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE) are writing the sex comedy EVERY SEVEN MINUTES about a 17-year old virgin and his quest for a supermodel during summer vacation.
  • Simon Kinberg will write an untitled script for Village Roadshow based on his pitch about five friends who come upon an eerie town. He's also written GHOULS OF NEW YORK for Redeemable Pictures and BREAKAWAY for Edward R. Pressman.
  • Stacy Peralta will direct the documentary DOGTOWN about the world of skateboarding for Vans.
  • Mike Judge is in talks to direct and co-rewrite Clay Tarver (SQUELCH) the remake THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET for Warner Bros., Baltimore/Spring Creek and Gerber Pictures.
  • David Magee has written NEVERLAND, acquired by Miramax, about author J.M. Barrie's relationship with his children neighbors and how it influenced his writing PETER PAN.
  • Onion writer Todd Hanson will script 10TH CIRCLE ADDED TO RAPIDLY GROWING HELL for DreamWorks Animation about the need for an expansion in hell due to a growing number of demographers, ad execs, tobacco lobbyists and monopoly law experts.
  • Jeff Daniels has directed an adaptation of his play ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT about a family on the night before deer hunting season. Daniels also stars.
  • Fred Wolf (BLACK SHEEP) will write the comedy THE FIVE JOES for Adam Sandler to produce for New Line Cinema.
  • Mick Jagger is writing a script (possibly titled THE LONG PLAY) which will take a no-holds-barred look at the world of pop music. Martin Scorcese is working with Jagger and is set to direct the film.
  • Skip Woods (SWORDFISH) is in final talks to write and direct a remake of the 1976 film LOGAN'S RUN for producer Joel Silver and Warner Bros.
  • Steve Beck is in negotiations to direct a remake of William Castle's 1960 film 13 GHOSTS for both Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures. It has been said the updated version will be scary as opposed to campy. Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis will produce.
  • Allison Anders (GAS FOOD LODGING) will direct THINGS BEHIND THE SUN which she co-wrote with Kurt Voss about two childhood friends: a female musician and a guy music journalist who are haunted by her rape. Kim Dickens (MERCURY RISING) and Gabriel Mann (OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE) will star. Shooting starts in June in Florida.
  • Actor Grant Heslov (ENEMY OF THE STATE) will direct PAR 6 starring Jeffrey Jones later this month.
  • Gary Sinyor (THE BACHELOR) will direct the romantic comedy ONE for Lions Gate about a woman whose boyfriend, a sportswriter, dies and comes back as his enemy, a tennis star. Anya Kochoff-Landis scripted.
  • Chris Fallon will write the action-thriller THE ASSIGNMENT for Warner Bros. based on a story by Fallon and David Faigenblum where an undercover agent is double-crossed during an assignment. Fallon has also written PHANTOM DEER ARISE with John Schlesinger attached to direct.
  • Bandeira Ent. picked up Chris Rose's script THE ANNIVERSARY MAN about a guy who wishes for a new life the same day every year until he finally gets the one he wants.
  • Topper Lilien and Carroll Cartwright will write THE GORY DETAILS for Touchstone Pictures for Michael Bay to produce and maybe direct. It's about a group of "crime cleaners"--people who clean up the mess at a murder scene.
  • Brad Silberling (CITY OF ANGELS) is developing a feature based on the Who's late drummer Keith Moon for Warner Bros. Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle are cooperating with the project. Silberling will most likely make this his next project after he makes BABY'S IN BLACK.
  • John Hughes is in talks to direct his untitled script for producer Joe Roth. The storyline is being kept under wraps but is described as a BREAKFAST CLUB-style comedy. It would be Hughes' first directing gig since CURLY SUE.
  • Gwyn Lurie will write a script for Bel Air Entertainment about a couple who die and get a second chance at life to prove they were meant to be together.
  • Stuart Baird (U.S. MARSHALS) is set to direct two films for Warner Bros.: HIGH TIDE, about a man who vacations in Alaska, gets caught in quicksand and must escape with the help of his wife before the tide kills him; NOWHERE TO HIDE by Patrick Lee about a thief who masquerades as a cop and is sent to investigate his own robbery. He discovers a double homicide took place and must find the true killers without blowing his cover.
  • Richard Hatem has sold his psychological thriller spec script REDEMPTION to Trimark Pictures for Gustavo Graef-Marino (JOHNNY 100 PESOS) to direct. The story revolves around a cop who accidentally kills the girlfriend of a Gulf War veteran who then kidnaps the officer's wife and forces the policeman to confess.
  • Claire Kilner (JANICE BEARD 45WPM) will direct and supervise a rewrite of John McLaughlin's script SPY GIRL for MTV Films about a girl who was raised by her CIA dad to be a spy. Kilner will also rewrite of Sarah Thorp's screenplay ALICE, a contemporary version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND also for MTV Films.
  • Frank Darabont (THE GREEN MILE) is in talks to produce and direct the remake FORBIDDEN PLANET for New Line Cinema.
  • Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst will direct RUNT about a high school kid who "takes up arms" against those who have been picking on him. David Fincher may produce the William J. Coakley and Christian Van Gregg script. Shooting should begin this fall.
  • Ron Howard is in talks to direct A BEAUTIFUL MIND based on Sylvia Nasar's book about Nobel prize winning math genius John Forbes Nash Jr. who became a schizophrenic. Tom Cruise may play the lead for Universal and Imagine, but no deal has been made and he may not announce his next project until MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2 opens. Shooting is expected to start at the end of the year.
  • David Ayer (U-571) will script SQUIDS for Indelible Pictures about a coming of ae story about a boy on a nuclear submarine at the end of the Cold War. David Fincher and Art Linson will produce for New Line--Fincher may or may not direct.
  • Bob Potter will direct a documentary about Manchester United, the world's richest soccer club for Icon Entertainment Intl.
  • Richard Attenborough is planning to make a film about 19th century Austrian empress Elisabeth who was murdered in 1898. The director is still developing a picture about the 18th century political activist Thomas Paine.
  • Chris Carter is near a deal to direct THE WORLD OF TED SERIOS for Dimension Films based on a book by Dr. Jule Eisenbud, M.D., about the true story of a 1960s psychiatrist's study of a bellhop who could project his thoughts onto film negative.
  • David Dobkin (CLAY PIGEONS) will direct two films for Warner Bros.: the comedy HELIUM, based on the book by Tim Earnshaw about a rock star who experiences weightlessness when his life turns upside down; and the thriller MOTOR CITY, where a marketer finds corruption and a murder coverup at a Ford plant while trying make a success out of the Edsel.
  • Joel Schumacher is in advanced talks to direct PHONE BOOTH this summer for Fox 2000. The movie takes place entirely in a phone booth where a man picks up a phone and his told not to hang up or he will be shot dead.
  • Terry Hayes (ROAD WARRIOR, upcoming FROM HELL and VERTICAL LIMIT) will direct his action adventure script BOXER'S RUN for Original Voices about a CIA agent whose family was killed for possessing the Spear of Longinus, a weapon used to kill Jesus Christ. He uncovers a plot to destroy the Catholic Church while searching for his family's killers.

  MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION TIDBITS

  • Matt Dillon has dropped out of MISS CONGENIALITY starring Sandra Bullock and Michael Caine.
  • There may be sequel to AMERICAN PSYCHO, but there have been no official discussions yet. Lions Gate does own the rights to any sequels to the film through 2005.
  • Disney is buying the movie and ancillary rights to Clive Barker's upcoming fantasy quadrilogy tentatively titled THE ABARAT QUARTET about a 16-year old girl who crosses over into another dimension that consists of 25 islands where she meets a rebel named Finnegan and faces a villian called the Lord of Midnight who wants to conquer all of the islands and then the human world. The first book is due fall 2001.
  • Martin Scorcese's GANGS OF NEW YORK starring Leonardo DiCaprio is scheduled to start shooting in August.
  • Gemini Films has purchased the feature rights to Salman Rushdie's novel THE GROUND BENEATH HER FEET which has been described as "the rock 'n' roll version of the myth Orpheus and Eurydice." Raoul Ruiz will direct.
  • Jersey Films picked up the upcoming novel LOST GIRLS by Andrew Pyper about a lawyer whose visits with a serial killer conjures up repressed childhood memories which make him believe he may have committed a murder.
  • Robert Evans' best-selling biography THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE may be developed as a documentary by Brett Morgen and Nanette Burstein (ON THE ROPES).
  • The Kaufman Co. picked up the rights to two books: Gabriel Everett's 1997 novel A STORY OF SCORPIONS about a minister who forges a relationship with his family's killer; and THE KEEPER OF THE BEES, the 1925 novel by Stratton Porter where a soldier escapes a veteran's hospital and falls in love.
  • Universal and Jersey Films have optioned the screen rights to Elmore Leonard's upcoming novel PAGAN BABIES about a fugitive missionary in Rwanda, who killed some Tutsis who murdered his flock, but heads home to Detroit to bury his mother.
  • Aaron Eckhart has dropped out of ANGEL EYES starring Jennifer Lopez. Luis Mandoki (MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE) directs the Gerald DiPego script. Benjamin Bratt, Viggo Mortensen, Andy Garcia and James Caviezel are among the names of possible replacements.
  • Universal has shuffled the releases with two of it's films: HEAD OVER HEELS, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter, has been moved to the Valentine's Day weekend 2001; D-TOX, starring Sylvester Stallone, will be released early 2001 to avoid conflict with Stallone's other pic--Warner Bros.' GET CARTER.
  • HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE planned release date may move from summer 2001 to holiday 2001 and start production this November.
  • Sony is in negotiations to co-finance THE UGLY TRUTH with Bel-Air Entertainment. Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck are in talks to star in the pic about a sloppy, sexist TV host who gives lessons in love to a "romantically challenged" girl. No director is yet attached to the Nicole Eastman script.
  • Warner Bros. has put SCOOBY-DOO on the fast track now that writer James Gunn has turned in his draft.
  • Wes Bentley has dropped out of Warner Bros.' Anne Rice adaptation QUEEN OF THE DAMNED to take time off after a very busy year.
  • Twentieth Century Fox picked up the musical comedy pitch SONNY DAY by Lauren Lloyd, Jamie McLaughlin and Boyce Bugliari about a farm boy who enters an L.A. band competition to save his family's farm from bankruptcy