First off one of my new guys Astral Weeks (check out his first ever AICN review below!) gives us a great story from this weeks Sunday Times about Arnie filming here..

From The Sunday Times:

THE Hollywood action hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is expected to star in a Disney blockbuster to be filmed in Ireland after Christmas. Schwarzenegger, who reputedly commands at least $25m per movie, is due to spend several weeks in Dublin and Wicklow shooting the action thriller. The Austrian-born star is expected to play a villain in the science-fiction movie about dragons which take over the earth. The former bodybuilder - best known for his roles in violent movies such as the Terminator films - recently expressed fears about the harmful effect of screen violence on young people. Schwarzenegger, 53, a father of four, is thought to be interested in running for election in America. His latest project, Reign of Fire, is said to be a cross between a monster movie like Dragonheart and the post-apocalyptic action picture, Mad Max. The new film will be directed by Rob Bowman, who made the cinema version of The X-Files. Also involved is Welsh actor Christian Bale, the 26-year-old star of American Psycho and Shaft, who recently completed work on the film of Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Reign of Fire will be the second Disney movie to be shot at Ardmore Studios in Co Wicklow. It follows The Count of Monte Cristo, which finished filming there two months ago. This $40m movie, which starred Guy Pearce and Richard Harris, was the biggest to be made in Ireland for several years. The budget for Reign of Fire is said to be at least double that of The Count of Monte Cristo. The film is already in production in Ireland. Schwarzenegger visited Ireland several times before he became an action-movie icon. Ivan Dunbar, a bodybuilding official from Belfast, once recalled how a 19-year-old Schwarzenegger arrived to take part in a contest. "He could hardly speak a word of English, but we became close and when Arnie returned he always stayed with me," said Dunbar. It is thought that at least two other Hollywood movies have also been booked for Ardmore, Ireland's only film studio. The renewal of section 481 , the Irish government's tax incentive for film-makers, and the weakness of the punt against the dollar are credited with the revival.

Most of the rest of this weeks other news I came across here and there..... Let's start with this.... Who would have ever thought it......

From peoplenews.com:

Appearing on the London stage may have been just the career boost that Macaulay Culkin, 20, so desperately needed. PeopleNews can reveal that the former child star, who is currently starring in Madame Melville at the Vaudeville theatre, has been approached by producer James Ivory to appear in the next Merchant Ivory production. Since first making a huge splash aged 10 in the 1990s movie Home Alone, Culkin's Hollywood progression has hardly been the stuff of film legend, with a string of lacklustre box-office performances and a career that effectively seemed finished by the time he was 19. However, his performance in Madame Melville, which opened last month, has been roundly praised by critics, and has massively boosted his credibility - the latest Merchant Ivory production, The Golden Bowl, features high-profile stars such as Uma Thurman, Jeremy Northam, Kate Beckinsdale and Nick Nolte. 'James Ivory thought Macaulay was wonderful,' said our source. 'He is convinced that he would be perfect for his next film.'

Also I saw that Empire Online http://www.empireonline.co.uk has what seems to be the definitive nail in the Gilliam/Watchmen coffin :-(

From Empire Online:

Fear and Loathing director Terry Gilliam revealed that he has no further plans to bring cult-comic Watchmen to the screen as he doesn't believe it would be possible to stay true to the spirit of the comic.

Talking to 6degrees.co.uk, Gilliam expressed his doubts over bringing Watchmen to the screen, saying that the epic story could not be faithfully reproduced as a movie. "The problem with Watchmen is that it requires about five hours to tell the story properly, and by reducing it to a two or two-and-a-half hour film, it seemed to me to take away the essence of what Watchmen is about."

Having been forced to abandon the project in the past due to funding problems, the director stands by his decision not to try and raise Watchmen from the ashes, "I was happy when I didn't get the money to make it because I would have been embarrassed if we'd done it."

Another project Gilliam was rumoured to be involved with in early stages was the ubiquitous Harry Potter movie. "I wasn't actually offered it - I was obvious - but after having a meeting with the studio, I realised that what they we're trying to make was a franchise - something that would sell and would probably betray the essence of Harry Potter. but I'm sure Chris Columbus will sort that out and everything will be wonderful."

Also one of our AICNers at the London Film Festival Cap K sent this back from the surprise film..............

Hi Oz,

Well ive just come back from the surprise movie and it was,,,,,,,,,,MEET THE PARENTS,i enjoyed it , the director and the leading lady showed up at the end. The director was JAY ROACH ,he directed both austin powers movies and mystery alaska. His next project is gonna be another romantic comedy for sony,he is still trying to get the hitch hikers guide to the galaxy going but the studios think that its too english, he suggested a email petition to the studios to get this made,he seems very passionate about this,i hope it happens. The leading lady in the movie (THE LOVELY TERI POLO! - OZ) is next going to be doing a movie with John Travolta and Vince Vaughn with Harold Becker directing (THAT WOULD BE D: DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE, REGIS - OZ).

I've also got a pal who does lighting for london theatres,he is trying to get into the movie side,his first movie which he just worked on, Harry Potter, he went to a few locations to set up but wasnt allowed near the set whilst filming (if i get any info ill pass it to u).

Hope this helps....

Cap K

I also came across a couple of other Irish movie stories from our friends at Showbizireland.com http://www.showbizireland.com

From ShowbizIreland.com:

The Irish Star Trek actor Colm Meaney, who played Chief O'Brien in the world famous TV show is currently back home in Ireland filming a new movie.

Speaking exclusively to ShowBizIreland.com last night Meaney sad the film was being directed by the Serbian Gorin Paskaljovic and was called How Harry became a Tree.

"It's a great story and he's a great director to work with. Adrian Dunbar is acting with me on this film and we are already five weeks into filming. We have four more weeks then it's back to LA where I live now for Christmas. Then on working on a TV show called Random Passage. I've just finished filming in Canada so Ireland is nice to come back to."

And

The Irish film of the John Le Carre novel Tailor of Panama, which stars Pierce Brosnan, will not be released before the end of the year to qualify it for Oscar consideration as first planned.

As Irish based director John Boorman wanted some additional scenes shot, the film, which also stars Geoffrey Rush, will not now open until early next year.

Brosnan, who is awaiting the birth of his second child with fiancee Keely Shaye Smith, may next star in a film biography of war photo-journalist Robert Capa.

And

The Irish movie in which the actress Melanie Griffith was set to play fellow actress Julia Roberts is back on track. The movie called The Limo Man was in pre-production, when the finance fell through and the film was pulled. Now reports are that Melanie was so upset that she cried and her husband actor Antonio Banderas has raised the cash to bring the film back on track.

Filming was due to start in September but after last minute finance fell through and the movie was scrapped. The producer of the film Katie McGuinness, sister of U2's manager Paul, is reported to have come to the rescue after much convincing by Banderas.

Sets were already built for the movie in Dublin when the movie was pulled. The director of the film Barry Devlin has confirmed to the Irish press that the filming will begin next March. "I can confirm that filming will begin next March. The film is just parked at the moment" Devlin said.

The script is based on the true story between the Irish chauffeur Mick Devine and Julia Roberts when he and his family took care of the actress when she fled to Ireland after the spit with Kiefer Sutherland nine years ago.

There's also more news from Empire Online http://www.empireonline.co.uk about everyones current favourite historical kung fu epic.....

From Empire Online:

Ang Lee's epic Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon has begun the journey towards Oscar glory with the news that the film has been chosen as Taiwan's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award.

This is the third time that Ang Lee has been chosen to represent his country in consideration for the Academy Awards, and if - as is widely predicted - the bid succeeds, this will be the director's third nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film award. Both The Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman were nominated in 1993 and 1994 respectively.

In the humble opinion of workers in the Empire Online office it will be a travesty if Crouching Tiger fails to secure additional Best Film and Best Director nominations. Our campaign for the Academy to recognise the power of Ang begins now.

Oh and this one caught my eye too...... Start booking your plane tickets now!

LONDON (Variety) - A remastered version of Stanley Kubrick's ``2001: A Space Odyssey'' will close the 2001 Berlin Film Festival before being re-released in several major territories worldwide.

The Berlin screening is set for Feb. 18, while the March 7 re-release date will coincide with the second anniversary of the director's death.

Before then, there will be one chance to see the film Jan. 1 at the National Film Theatre (NFT) in London. With the re-release upcoming, ``2001'' is not available for theatrical screening anywhere else in the world.

Warner Bros. has made an exception for the NFT because shortly before Kubrick's death the British Film Institute spent a great deal of money creating a new 70mm print.

It is hoped that Kubrick's widow and children will attend the NFT presentation. They are also expected to attend Berlin, along with the film's special-effects maestro Douglas Trumbull.

This print will not include the remastered soundtrack that Warner technicians are working on, both for the theatrical reissue and a video/DVD release later in 2001.

The territories in which a theatrical outing is planned include the U.K., France, Germany, Japan and Australia. No specific plans have been set for a U.S. re-release, although Warner insiders said they expect one later in 2001.