Lions Gate Films is getting bigger and bigger by the minute as it obviously is not scared to release much of anything as it partnered with IFC Films to release Michael Moore‘s Fahrenheit 9/11 and has also given us a couple of creepy looks at their upcoming horror flick Saw, which brings us to the Fall 2004 preview for the studio.
Coming up on the Lions’ slate are a ton of films ranging from horror to stage drama including such names as Claire Danes, Tom Wilkinson, Danny Glover, Donald Sutherland, Diane Lane, Ray Romano and more… So let’s take a look at what is in store.
First off we have the comedy starring Queen Latifah, Ja Rule, Eve, Tim Meadows and Danny Glover to name a few called The Cookout. Todd Anderson is chosen as the #1 NBA draft pick by the New Jersey Nets and signs a contract for thirty million dollars that instantly changes his life and his mom will not let him forget his roots and madness ensues when Todd buys a new house and mistakenly invites family from the old neighborhood for a cookout on the same day he scheduled an endorsement interview. Click on Miss Latifah below to check out the early trailer and a gallery full of pics.
Next we find Danny Glover in another flick with a much different look as this horror film is sure to have you holding your stomach. Saw is a trip into the heart of terror when a deranged individual, obsessed with teaching his victims the value of life, is abducting morally wayward people and forcing them to play horrific games for their own survival. To check out a clip, some trailers and some pics click the sadistic (yet cool!) poster below.
In a bit of a lighter look at things we find Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland in Fierce People, a drama revolving around a woman (Lane) who, hoping for a better life, moves with her son into a world of wealth and privilege after the son has a brush with the law. When the woman is attacked, their new life is shattered. While no trailers are available we do have your first look at a couple of photos from the film, just click the small one below for more.
Back to comedy we go as Eulogy is a film with an ensemble cast featuring the likes of Ray Romano, Hank Azaria and Famke Janssen to name a few. This film has bounced around the release schedule but has seemed to have found a recent home with a limited release October 29th, when three generations of a deliciously dysfunctional family gather to bury the family patriarch, the beloved granddaughter of the deceased is given the task of delivering the eulogy. To check out some clips, the trailer and some pics click the pic below.
Another drama pops up on the grid with I am David, starring The Passion of the Christ‘s Jim Caviezel in a story of a 12-year-old boy, David, who escapes a Communist concentration camp with little more than a compass, a sealed letter, a loaf of bread, and instructions to carry the letter to Copenhagen, Denmark. To check out a full gallery of pics click the image of David below.
Continuing on the drama kick but not the tragic kind we find Claire Danes back on the big screen in Stage Beauty alongside Big Fish star Billy Crudup. The film smells a bit of Shakespeare in Love as it is set in a time where the stage’s leading ladies were played by men and the beautiful Edward ‘Ned’ Kynaston (Crudup) is certainly England’s “leading lady”, but things soon change when Charles II begins to allow women play their rightful roles setting Ned’s world in a spin only to be saved by his ex-dresser turned actress Maria (Danes). To check out a full gallery of stills like the one below just click on the lovely “lady’s” face.
Finally let’s end with another horror/thriller as we venture into the Open Water where sharks are plenty and the chances of being saved are nil. Open Water is based on true events and finds two divers stranded at sea when they are mistakenly left behind. Soon the frigid waters holding the two divers are infested with hungry sharks and I have already seen this film and can tell you certain scenes get quite intense. To check out a clip, some trailers, and a bunch of pics just click the poster below.
