Mummy Money

As previously reported here - months ago - Rachel Weisz will not be returning to the Mummy franchise in part 3. And not as previously reported here, Brendan Fraser will be.

Essentially, both Fraser and Weisz found the script rather lacklustre. Fraser was eventually seduced, however, by an incredibly lucrative deal - and Weisz may well have been too, had she been offered one. The glass ceiling is alive and well in Hollywood, and Rachel Weisz's nose is smuched against the glass.

Rob Cohen is directing, and he's hardly either visionary or consummate technician. This is likely to be quite a terrible film.

Inkheart Video

I'm a quiet fan of Iain Softley. Many of his films are deeply flawed but I can place little of the blame at his feet, certainly not squarely. He's a sensible director, and several sequences from his films can be held up as models of solid, smart craft. Indeed, I've been using the first few minutes of Skeleton Key in class for some time now and it really does help a lot in getting some good storytelling techniques across to the students.

His next film, Inkheart, has been filming in recently and I've been very excited for this one in particular. The cast includes Helen Mirren, Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany and Andy Serkis and the cinematographer is Roger Pratt. Yep, Roger Pratt. Best. Cinematographer. Ever.

If you want to see a little behind the scenes featurette, with a nice look at the sets and some production design artwork, then IESB have just the clip for you. I wish it was more revealing, but anything is better than nothing, and the film is months and months and months from release.

Fraser 3D Is A New Milestone

I love the Real D process. Very much. Indeed, the 3D version of Meet the Robinsons is one of my most eagerly anticipated releases of the year.

Next year, Eric Brevig's Journey 3D is to become the first live action film to be released in the format. Sign me up. One day, when my kids find 2D films antiquated and unappealing, and I myself consider at least new 2D films to be conceited in their disregard for my second eye/the third dimension, I'll enjoy remembering the beginnings of Real D.

In the new film, Brendan Fraser is to star as a geologist who with his teenage son and teenage son's teenage friends (it's a family film, then) follows the path Jules Verne took on his journey to the centre of the world. It's another one of those metatextual ploys, such as in Brothers Grimm, in which famous fictions are treated as or blended with history - something I have a weakness for, I must admit (and indeed, I have my own killer take on this subgenre safe and snug up my sleeve).

We also know, thanks to Variety, that Eric Brevig is directing and the script is by D. V. DeVincentis, one of the many Grosse Point Blank scribes, so nothing really off-putting has been announced about this project so far. Good.

We're still waiting for the official announcement that Brendan Fraser will not be returning for the third Mummy, but Journey 3D seems to be shaping as an easily superior replacement.

Fraser And Weisz Snubbing Third Mummy

I haven't been keeping up on the projected third Mummy film, so excuse me if this is old news, but I've had it confirmed for me this morning that neither Brendan Fraser or Rachel Weisz will be appearing - at all - in Rob Cohen's upcoming snorefest. A source near the film dropped me a line directly and as I've been skimming Mummy news at best, it certainly seemed to be a bit of new news, and I thought you'd like it.

Apparently, neither Fraser nor Weisz liked the script at all and didn't find it at all hard to root out better projects to do. I mean, there's always wet paint somewhere and hair washing, if done properly, can provide a fully engaging experience. Suffice to say, they have now definitively walked away, brushing their hands clean.

The film will now centre on their characters' son - which was, I think, common knowledge already. It's going to be set in the East too, right? A few bits and bobs have been sinking in.

At this stage, nothing about the project makes it sound any better or worse than the previous two installments. Frankly, I always preferred the kitsch panto of the The Scorpion King spin off anyway.