Crew: 9 Steven Soderbergh idirector).
Prediction: 7 The arty llllll-W|ihlli-a-llllli premise (Brad Pitt plays himself) might alienate those waiting for Ocean's Fwelve. but Steve's the wonderkid to pull it off.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Theme park ride adaptation August
Cast: 7 Johnny Depp. Geoffrey Rush. Crew: 6 (acre Verbinski (director).
Kudos: 6 Depp swashing his handsome buckle with Rush's evil pirate captain — one. as they say, for the ladies.
Prediction: 5 Poseiny the first film based on a Disney theme park ride. Used to be the film came first.
Fun fact: 4 Shortly after filming began. a fire turned the soundstage to ash. Cost: $350,000.
20 THE LIST 8. .‘.'.a.
M Charlie’s Angels: Full Thrfitlle u y
18 July
Cast: 6 Eric Bana. Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte.
Crew: 9 Aug; Lee diicctc' Janus SClliill‘ulltS (SCYCCli'.‘.Tll(2l:.
Kudos: 9 From the superb The Ice Storm to the terrific Crouching Tiger. Hidden Dragon, Lee and Schamus effortlessly turn their prodigious talents to any film genre.
Prediction: 8 It's been called art independent him With a blockbuster budget. Translation: intelligent film ‘.‘.’llll spectacular sfx.
Fun fact: 4 Lou Ferrigno. the jolly green giant from
the crap Hulk TV series. makes a cameo as 'head of security“.
Cast: 6 John "Travolta. Samuel l- Jackson. Crew: 6 John McTiernan Idirectori.
Kudos: 6 McTiernan made his name as the action movie director of choice with the terrific Predator and Die Hard. but then rumed his rep With the awful Rollerball remake.
Prediction: 6 Travolta hasn't made a good film Since Quentin Tarantino revwed his career With Pulp Fiction. Doofus.
Fun fact: 7 First pairing of Travolta and Jackson since their great two-hander in Tarantino‘s movie.
F
Booty
Cast: 7 Cameron Diaz. Drew Barrymore. Lucy Liu.
Crew: 4 MCG (director — gedda real name whydon'tcha’h.
Kudos: 7 The first film swindled high brow critics into thinking it was self-consciously stoopid rather than just plain stoopid. That's funny. And the babes' booty looked tasty. too.
Prediction: 7 Demi Moore plays an an ex-Angel and Crispin Glover returns as the creepy Thin Man. but there's no sexy Sam Rockwell and no comic genius Bill Murray to play Bosley.
Fun fact: 10 Murray swore he'd never work with Liu again. They shoulda sacked her.
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Prediction: 7 (Inuit). ‘.i to: l liti‘ll‘dl‘ tight; (Edd.
tight ‘a‘J'tiVs liifiii‘fi 2' .i’. (Zi'rw. '6; Hum“
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Kill Bill
Martial Arts October
Cast: 9 Uma Thurman, David Carradine (Kwai Chang Caine from TV's Kung Fu!). Lucy Liu.
Crew: 10 Oucritin larai‘tino,
Kudos: 10 Reservoir Dogs. Pulp Fiction. Jackie Brown — Tarantino's film's get better and better. Crouching Tiger. Hidden Mufhalucka!
Prediction: 10 lai‘antiiio takes hit; much lf),'(:(l kunr; lu genre to the next level.
Fun fact: 8 There's a cameo by chop-socky star Sonny Chiba. who appears in a film-within-a-film in the Tarantino-scripted True Romance.
Cast: 6 Sean Conner-,4 Stuart Townsend.
Crew: 5 Stephen Nornngton ldirector,
Kudos: 6 Norrington has another comic book adaptation. Blade. under his belt. but his background is in sfx lsuch as Aliens creature- effectsl.
Prediction: 7 Alan Moore's translation of Victorian literary characters i’for example. H Rider Haggard's Alain OUZirlerll‘all‘i — Connery's character, into a superhero team is pure satirical genius. But Moore's not involved in the filth.
Fun fact: 5 Or not so fun: COnnery and Norrington
allegedly almost came to blows while filming in Prague. Bad omens?