Lucas offers peek at new `Clone Wars'

By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer 15 minutes ago

LAS VEGAS - Fans never seem to get their fill of "Star Wars," and George Lucas is happy to oblige.

Lucas offered a glimpse into the latest creation in his sci-fi universe at the theater-owners convention ShoWest on Thursday, showing a sequence from "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," a computer-animated movie due in theaters Aug. 15. It will be followed by a TV series of the same name, to air on the Cartoon Network and TNT this fall.

The movie came about as an afterthought while Lucas was developing an animated TV show of the same name. That show debuts this fall, but Lucas figured it was ripe for big-screen treatment, too.

"You've got the whole assembly line built, and then you say, `Hey, we can make up something,'" Lucas said in an interview. "It was like old-time moviemaking. What I love about television, it's like Monogram Pictures or the old studio system, where a couple guys come to work and they sit and have some coffee and go, `Why don't we make a movie about such and such? OK, fine.' And at the end of the day, it's pretty much on its way."

Set in the years between episodes II and III — "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith" — of the big-screen "Star Wars" chronicle, the movie and series present fresh adventures of Jedi warrior Anakin Skywalker, his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and other colleagues.

The movie introduces a female Jedi, Ahsoki, who is Anakin's young apprentice.

"It's like `Band of Brothers' in space, with Jedi," Lucas, 63, said. "You can tell lots of stories. They come up all the time."

Lucas said he plans to produce at least 100 hours worth of TV episodes of "Clone Wars."

He also is moving forward with a live-action "Star Wars" TV show focusing largely on new characters removed from the Skywalker family. That show will be set in the decades between "Revenge of the Sith" and the period when the original film, 1977's "Star Wars," takes place.

So can fans ever get enough of "Star Wars"?

"I don't know," Lucas said. "I'm thankful every year that it keeps going."

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Time Warner Inc. owns TNT, the Cartoon Network and the film's distributor, Warner Bros.

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Winslet's Holocaust drama resumes production

By Karsten Kastelan

BERLIN (Hollywood Reporter) -
The Holocaust drama "The
Reader" has quietly resumed production in Berlin after shutting
down last year when Nicole Kidman was forced to drop out
because of her pregnancy.

Kate Winslet has stepped into her shoes, playing a
concentration camp guard. Also on board are Ralph Fiennes,
Bruno Ganz, David Kross and Alexandra Maria Lara.

The story is set in postwar Germany and centers on a teen
who begins a long, obsessive affair with Winslet's character.
He never learns much about her, and when she disappears one
day, he expects never to see her again. But to his horror, he
discovers that she is a defendant in a Nazi war crimes trial,
and it soon becomes clear that she is guilty of an unspeakable
crime.

The project marks a reunion between director Stephen Daldry
and screenwriter David Hare, who previously collaborated on the
Kidman vehicle "The Hours." It is based on the international
best-seller by German author Bernhard Schlink.

MGM and the Weinstein Co. are set to release the film in
the North America in December.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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Tribeca Film Festival comes with all the trimmings

By Gregg Goldstein and Steven Zeitchik

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) -
The Tribeca Film Festival
has followed through on its promise to trim its slate,
announcing Tuesday a features lineup that's nearly 25% smaller
than last year's.

The six-year-old festival, co-founded by Robert De Niro,
responded to criticism that it has grown too unwieldy. "There's
been elephantitis at film festivals worldwide," artistic
director Peter Scarlet said, noting the reduction of features
from 159 last year to 122 this year.

"Festivals are getting bigger and bigger, and with the
digital revolution more films are getting made," Scarlet added.
"There's a limit as to how much new information people can
process."

The previously announced opening-night film, scheduled for
April 23, is Michael McCullers' surrogate-mother comedy "Baby
Mama," starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. The festival runs
through May 4 in various Lower Manhattan venues.

Twelve narrative and 12 documentary competition features
competing for $100,000 in cash prizes were announced Tuesday,
along with 21 Spotlight features.

New works from notable filmmakers include Shane Meadows'
teen-friendship comedy "Somers Town," Rosa von Praunheim's
autobiographical adoption documentary "Two Mothers" (Meine
Muetter), animator Bill Plympton's dark comedy "Idiots and
Angels" and Melvin Van Peebles' character study
"ConfessionsofaEx-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha."

The Plympton and Van Peebles films highlight another effort
on the part of the festival to emphasize fiction films.
Tribecas has established a strong reputation in documentaries,
but its scripted efforts have been less notable.

Comedies were a large part of the Sundance Film Festival in
January, but they will be less of a factor here. "There were
more comedy submissions, but they either weren't very funny or
didn't translate from other cultures," Scarlet said.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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