The Mummy Returns Again, But Without Rachel Weisz

Hey, there's a new Mummy movie heading our way. Did you know that? I didn't. I really loved 1999's The Mummy -- I loved it cuz it was the fourth Indiana Jones movie we'd been waiting for -- and the 2001 sequel, The Mummy Returns, is almost as much fun. So I'm primed for more.The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which looks like it's got a planned release date of August 1, 2008, moves the story to post WWII England and China, where the O'Connells' now-grown son, Alex, makes a major discovery of great archaeological and supernatural import. (IESB.net: The Movie Reporter has details on the plot and such: none of it sounds spoilerish.) Action-comedy will ensue, I imagine, as well as some kung fu fighting: Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh are listed as among the new cast members.

There's another new cast member, though, that makes me worry just a bit for Mummy 3: Maria Bello is replacing Rachel Weisz as Evelyn. Now, don't get me wrong: Bello is a fantastic actress, as daring and powerful and gifted as they come. (Have you seen The Cooler? Oh, man, see it.) But part of what made the first two Mummy movies so enjoyable was the potent chemistry between Brendan Fraser -- who will be back, thank the movie gods, as Rick -- and Weisz. Screen chemistry is such a delicate thing, and so impossible to fake: what are the odds that Fraser will be so lucky the second time around with a different actress opposite him as the same character?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, even with the other pinch-hitters among the creative team. Original creator, writer, and director Stephen Sommers is all but gone -- he's acting as producer only on this one -- but Rob Cohen is taking over behind the lens. Yeah, he's made mostly cheese like Stealth, XXX, and The Fast and the Furious, but it's at least competent, engaging cheese. And screenwriters Miles Millar and Alfred Gough have written such highly amusing flicks as Spider-Man 2 and Shanghai Noon. That's gotta be a good sign, right?

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Cohen Directs 3rd `Mummy' Film in China

Rob Cohen has started shooting the third installment of "The Mummy" films starring Brendan Fraser in a desert valley north of Beijing.

In a blog entry on his "Mummy" Web site, Cohen says he's filming a battle scene between a family of explorers and a resurrected ancient Chinese emperor, played by Jet Li, and his 5,000 terra-cotta warriors.

He will later shoot a scene featuring the Chinese emperor racing through Shanghai's famous waterfront Bund in 1946 in a chariot drawn by four bronze horses.

Fraser is reprising his role as explorer Rick O'Connell in "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor." Maria Bello plays his wife, Evelyn, and Luke Ford is son Alex.

Michelle Yeoh will portray a sorceress, and Russell Wong is one of the Chinese emperor's enemies brought back from the dead.

Cohen said the China shoot, which involves a crew of 2,000 people, has been helped by good weather.

The film is expected to be released next summer.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com