LOS ANGELES - Steven Spielberg's tossing Tom Cruise to the Martians. Peter Jackson's handing Naomi Watts over to a 900-pound-plus gorilla. Tim Burton's turning Johnny Depp loose in Willy Wonka's candyland.
Yet in a year whose big Hollywood return engagements include the remakes "War of the Worlds," "King Kong" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," aren't we all really looking forward to one last outing with George Lucas and the Skywalker clan?
The Force will be with you again in May as Lucas unveils "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," the final chapter of his prequel series.
Fans grumbled over the first two prequels. They scoffed at starting Anakin Skywalker's journey toward evil in childhood and ridiculed the young Jedi's mushy romantic babble.
Still, it's hard to imagine fans will not turn out to see Anakin take his final turn to the dark side and become the malevolent Darth Vader.
The man pulling the galaxy's strings shrugs off the gripes. Lucas says he's making the movies his way, not the way fans want.
"The fan base basically wanted the first film to be this film, 'Revenge of the Sith,' and have Darth Vader become Darth Vader in the first episode, then have the other ones with Darth Vader going around killing everybody," Lucas told The Associated Press. "But that's really not what the story is at all. And I knew it when I was going to go back and do it. I said, 'I'm going to tell the story of how he became that person, not the story of him being that person.'"
Along with "Revenge of the Sith," studios continue their onslaught of sequels, prequels, spinoffs, remakes and big-screen adaptations of TV shows throughout 2005.
Before "King Kong" runs off with her, Watts delivers "The Ring Two," her horror follow-up about a videotape whose viewers die within a week.
Other winter and spring follow-ups include "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous," with Sandra Bullock back as the stylish FBI agent; "Beauty Shop," Queen Latifah's spinoff of the "Barbershop" flicks; "Be Cool," John Travolta's sequel to the crime romp "Get Shorty," reuniting him with "Pulp Fiction" co-star Uma Thurman; and "XXX: State of the Union," with Ice Cube replacing Vin Diesel in the action franchise.
Ice Cube also softens his image with the family flick "Are We There Yet," about a man trying to worm his way into the heart of a single mom (Nia Long) by taking her mischievous children on a road trip.
The PG-rated comedy was a logical progression after his R-rated "Friday" films and PG-13 "Barbershop" movies, Ice Cube said.
"Kids like those movies, but those movies aren't necessarily made for kids," Ice Cube said. "Since 'Barbershop' got a wide mainstream response, this was the natural next step, to try to see how broad can we take it? I think a lot of people are typecast, and I'm trying to stay away from that, because that limits your opportunities to work."
On the remake lineup this winter and spring: "Assault on Precinct 13," with Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne in a jail-break thriller; "The Amityville Horror," with Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George in a fright film about a cursed house; "Guess Who," an update of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" starring Ashton Kutcher as an unwelcome prospective son-in-law and Bernie Mac as a disapproving father of the bride; and "The Honeymooners," a big-screen take on Jackie Gleason's TV sitcom, with Cedric the Entertainer as loudmouth bus driver Ralph Kramden.
Intimidated by the role, Cedric?
"Indeed. He's such an iconic figure, and the comedy on the show was the first of its kind," Cedric said. "The timing of his delivery, the way he punctuated what he said. I didn't want to do a caricature or just try to outright emulate him, so I just tried to do my own thing. I mainly took the attitude that this guy was an everyman and took the attitude of doing it my way, but paying homage when I could."
Other early-year releases include "Constantine," with Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz in a supernatural adventure based on DC Comics' "Hellblazer" series; the romantic comedy "Hitch," starring Will Smith as a matchmaker pursuing his own dream date; "The Interpreter," featuring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn in a thriller centered on an assassination plot at the United Nations; "Hide and Seek," with Robert De Niro in the story of a girl (Dakota Fanning) with a menacing "imaginary friend"; and the animated tale "Robots," about a young inventor who moves to the big city to make a name for himself in a world populated by mechanical beings.
Directed by Chris Wedge ("Ice Age"), "Robots" features voice work by Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Robin Williams, Mel Brooks, Drew Carey and Greg Kinnear.
While aimed at families, "Robots" touches on themes that adults without children can appreciate, including rampant consumerism, marketing blitzes that dictate the latest fashions and the plight of "outmodes," machines that have overstayed their welcome.
"I look at the machines in my life. That's what started the whole idea," Wedge said. "Some of the things are so endearing, you give them names. Everybody gives their first car a name. You get attached to gadgets, cell phones, stereos. You upgrade them, but after a while, it's just not worth it. The machines become obsolete.
"It's a metaphor for people growing old. Those are the issues the characters in the movie are dealing with."
Along with "Revenge of the Sith," summer brings such sci-fi and action tales as "War of the Worlds," with Cruise in Spielberg's update of the Martian-invasion classic; "Batman Begins," starring Christian Bale in a look at the masked crime-fighter's early years; and "Fantastic Four," with Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba in a big-screen adaptation of Marvel Comics' saga of a superhero family.
Other big summer-season releases include Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," with Depp in an update of 1971's "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"; Adam Sandler and Chris Rock's "The Longest Yard," a remake of the 1974 prison football tale; "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as husband-and-wife assassins; "Madagascar," featuring the voices of Ben Stiller and Chris Rock in the story of zoo animals cut loose in the wild; and "The Bad News Bears," a remake of the 1976 comedy "The Bad News Bears" casting Billy Bob Thornton as an ex-ballplayer coaching misfit Little Leaguers.
Also, "Fun With Dick and Jane," starring Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni in a new version of the 1977 romp about an upscale couple who take to robbery; "Kingdom of Heaven," featuring Orlando Bloom in Ridley Scott's epic set in the Middle East during the Crusades era; Jennifer Lopez's "Monster-in-Law," a comedy about a woman battling back against her fiance's scornful mom (Jane Fonda); "The Dukes of Hazzard," with Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson and Burt Reynolds in a big-screen take on TV's good old boys; and "Kicking & Screaming," starring Will Ferrell as a father coaching his son's soccer team to a showdown against his own dad, Robert Duvall, an opposing coach with a win-at-any-cost mentality.
Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka co-stars as himself, playing a rival neighbor of Duvall who becomes a coaching mentor for Ferrell.
"I start coaching and don't really know what I'm doing and just want everybody to have a good time. Only it's not quite working, the kids are so bad, and they're not really having fun," Ferrell said. "So I kind of get the help of Mike Ditka, we build this team up from nothing, and along the way, I'm the casualty. I kind of develop the same bloodlust for winning that my dad has, so I become an even bigger maniac than my dad is."
Ferrell also joins Woody Allen's latest romantic ensemble in the spring release "Melinda and Melinda"; Nicole Kidman in the summer comedy "Bewitched," adapted from the TV sitcom about a mortal man who marries a witch; and Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick for the holiday-season remake of Mel Brooks' theatrical farce "The Producers."
Among other fall and holiday flicks: "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," with Daniel Radcliffe returning for the fourth chapter in J.K. Rowling's saga of the boy wizard; "Memoirs of a Geisha," with Rob Marshall ("Chicago") directing Zhang Ziyi in an adaptation of the novel about a Japanese madame; Roman Polanski's "Oliver Twist," featuring Ben Kingsley as Fagin in a new take on Charles Dickens' adventure of the orphan boy; "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," based on C.S. Lewis' fantasy classic of children whisked to an oppressed land; and "The Pink Panther," with Steve Martin taking on Peter Sellers' role as bumbling Inspector Clouseau.
Also, "Chicken Little," an animated tale about the poultry prankster who proclaimed the sky is falling; "Walk the Line," starring Joaquin Phoenix as country-music legend Johnny Cash; Terry Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm," with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger playing the 19th century fairy-tale spinners as con men peddling their services as monster fighters; "All the King's Men," starring Sean Penn in an update of Robert Penn Warren's novel about a political kingfish; "Rent," adapted from the stage hit of artists struggling against poverty and AIDS; "Wallace & Gromit," an animated comedy about the cheese-loving dweeb and his dog from the British short films; and of course, Jackson's take on "King Kong."
Andy Serkis, who provided the voice and body for the computer-enhanced Gollum in Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings," is handling similar duties as Kong. Serkis' motions will be the basis for the computer-generated final images of the gigantic ape.
Having Serkis on set has been a great help for Watts as she re-creates the role originated by Fay Wray as the object of King Kong's affections, the actress said.
"It's wonderful having a pair of eyes to look at," Watts said. "Andy Serkis is there, and they're filming him at exactly the same time as they're filming me, so everything is in sync in terms of our reactions and connections together.
"He's got a special suit on, not like a hairy gorilla suit, but it's a thing that pads out his body, gives him posture and big teeth, and he's hooked up an audio system so his voice carries around the whole stage. He's studied and prepared so well that I forget I'm actually looking at Andy Serkis. Other than the size, everything seems as it should be."
Highlights of Hollywood's 2005 movie lineup
LOS ANGELES - Highlights of Hollywood's 2005 film slate. Many films do not yet have specific release dates, some remain untitled and studio schedules are subject to change. For films that have specific dates, the month of release is noted in parentheses:
Winter and spring:
ALIENS OF THE DEEP: James Cameron crafts another 3-D documentary, this time exploring exotic undersea life. (January)
ALONE IN THE DARK: A paranormal investigator (Christian Slater) discovers that demons are coming to rule the world. (January)
THE AMITYVILLE HORROR: An update of the 1979 fright flick about a family that moves into a house with a malevolent presence. With Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George. (April)
ARE WE THERE YET?: Ice Cube takes a slapstick road trip with two mischievous kids, hoping to win a date with their mom (Nia Long). (January)
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13: Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne star in a remake of the 1976 thriller about a siege to free a jailed crime boss. (January)
THE BALLAD OF JACK AND ROSE: Daniel Day-Lewis is a dying activist coping with his rebellious daughter. Day-Lewis' wife, Rebecca Miller, directs. (March)
BEAUTY SHOP: Queen Latifah opens a new salon in this spinoff from the "Barbershop" comedies. With Kevin Bacon and Djimon Hounsou. (March)
BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE: A lonely girl finds solace in a stray dog she adopts. With Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson and AnnaSophia Robb. (February)
BE COOL: "Pulp Fiction" pals John Travolta and Uma Thurman reunite in a follow-up to Travolta's crime romp "Get Shorty." (March)
BOOGEYMAN: Producer Sam Raimi follows his horror hit "The Grudge" with a tale of a man haunted by terrifying visions. With Lucy Lawless. (February)
THE CAVE: Spelunkers find terror in a network of Romanian caves. With Cole Hauser, Piper Perabo and Morris Chestnut. (April)
CONSTANTINE: Keanu Reeves is the hero of DC Comics' "Hellblazer" series, who journeys to the underworld in a crime investigation. Rachel Weisz co-stars. (February)
CRASH: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Brendan Fraser and Matt Dillon lead an ensemble drama revolving around a disparate group of Los Angeles dwellers. (May)
CURSED: Siblings (Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg) gain special powers but find them a curse instead of a blessing. Wes Craven directs. (February)
DEAR FRANKIE: A Scottish mom (Emily Mortimer) concocts tales of a distant dad to satisfy her deaf son's curiosity about his father. With Gerard Butler. (March)
DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN: Abruptly cast aside by her hubby, a woman (Kimberly Elise) tries to stitch her life back together. (February)
DUMA: A boy journeys across southern Africa to restore his cheetah pal to the wilds. With Campbell Scott and Hope Davis.
EROS: Steven Soderbergh, Michelangelo Antonioni and Wong Kar-Wai direct segments in an anthology trilogy examining erotic desire. (April)
GUESS WHO: Ashton Kutcher's the surprise prospective son-in-law, Bernie Mac the fretting father in an update of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." (March)
HIDE AND SEEK: A 9-year-old girl concocts a demented "imaginary friend" in this thriller with Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning. (January)
HITCH: Will Smith's a professional "date doctor" whose matchmaking skills fail him when he finds the woman of his dreams (Eva Mendes). (February)
THE HONEYMOONERS: Cedric the Entertainer is bus driver Ralph Kramden in a big-screen take on Jackie Gleason's TV classic. (March)
HOSTAGE: A washed-up hostage negotiator (Bruce Willis) must dust off his skills when delinquents take a family captive. (March)
HOUSE OF D: David Duchovny directs and co-stars with wife Tea Leoni, Robin Williams, and Erykah Badu on a coming-of-age drama. (April)
ICE PRINCESS: A teen (Michelle Trachtenberg) chases her dream of becoming a champion figure skater. With Joan Cusack and Kim Cattrall. (March)
IN HER SHOES: Estranged sisters (Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette) reconcile with help from a grandma they never knew they had. Shirley MacLaine co-stars. (April)
INSIDE DEEP THROAT: Brian Grazer produces this documentary chronicling the cultural impact of the 1972 porn flick "Deep Throat." (February)
THE INTERPRETER: Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn in a thriller about a U.N. translator at risk after overhearing a death threat. Sydney Pollack directs. (April)
THE JACKET: An institutionalized veteran (Adrien Brody) is hurled into the future, where he learns of his own looming death. With Keira Knightley. (March)
KING'S RANSOM: A rich businessman (Anthony Anderson) tries to stage his own kidnapping to avoid paying a huge divorce settlement. (April)
A LOT LIKE LOVE: Friends (Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet) take a seven-year hitch toward romance with each other. (April)
MAN OF THE HOUSE: Texas Ranger Tommy Lee Jones plays den mother to five cheerleaders who witnessed a crime. Cedric the Entertainer co-stars. (February)
MELINDA AND MELINDA: Woody Allen's latest Manhattan romance features Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, Radha Mitchell and Chloe Sevigny. (March)
MILLIONS: A suitcase of cash drops out of the sky and changes the lives of two grieving young brothers. Danny Boyle ("28 Days Later") directs. (March)
MISS CONGENIALITY 2: ARMED AND FABULOUS: Sandra Bullock's back as the stylish FBI agent, tracking a beauty-pageant pal's kidnappers. (March)
THE PACIFIER: Vin Diesel's a Navy SEAL on his deadliest mission - babysitting an unruly brood of orphans in this action comedy. (March)
POOH'S HEFFALUMP MOVIE: Winnie the Pooh and pals set out to capture the horrible heffalump in this animated family flick. (February)
REBOUND: A disgraced college coach (Martin Lawrence) seeks redemption leading a junior-high basketball team. (April)
THE RING TWO: Naomi Watts has another go-round with the killer videotape in this horror sequel. Hideo Nakata, who made the Japanese original "Ringu," directs. (March)
ROBOTS: Robots rule the roost in this animated tale featuring the voices of Halle Berry, Ewan McGregor and Robin Williams. Chris Wedge ("Ice Age") directs. (March)
RORY O'SHEA WAS HERE: Wheelchair-bound Dubliners (James McAvoy and Steven Robertson) strike out on their own with a saucy home-care aid (Romola Garai). (February)
RUMOR HAS IT: An obituary writer (Jennifer Aniston) tries to set her muddled life straight. Rob Reiner directs, Kevin Costner and Shirley MacLaine co-star. (April)
SAHARA: An adventurer (Matthew McConaughey) hunts for treasure in Africa in this Clive Cussler adaptation. With Penelope Cruz. (April)
SIN CITY: Bruce Willis heads a huge cast in Robert Rodriguez's adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novels about a crime-ridden burgh. (April)
SON OF THE MASK: Minus Jim Carrey, the follow-up to his comedy hit casts Jamie Kennedy as a man whose son is born with the mask's strange powers. (February)
A SOUND OF THUNDER: Time-traveling dinosaur hunters disrupt the course of evolution. Based on Ray Bradbury's story. With Edward Burns and Ben Kingsley. (March)
SWIMMING UPSTREAM: An Australian youth overcomes a troubled upbringing to become a champion swimmer. With Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis. (February)
UNLEASHED: A mob killer (Jet Li) goes straight and must fight to protect his kindly adopted family. With Bob Hoskins and Morgan Freeman. (April)
THE UPSIDE OF ANGER: A boozy, bitter single mom (Joan Allen) struggles with four daughters and romance with a neighbor (Kevin Costner). (March)
XXX: STATE OF THE UNION: Ice Cube steps in for Vin Diesel to track a rebel soldier (Willem Dafoe) in this follow-up to the action hit. (April)
THE WEATHER MAN: A successful TV weatherman (Nicolas Cage) copes with chaos in his private life. With Michael Caine. (April)
THE WEDDING DATE: A woman (Debra Messing) hires a male escort (Dermot Mulroney) to dupe her ex-fiance at a wedding. (February)
Summer season:
THE ADVENTURES OF SHARK BOY & LAVA GIRL: Robert Rodriguez ("Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over") spins a new three-dimensional tale of a boy with two fantastical imaginary pals. (June)
THE BAD NEWS BEARS: Billy Bob Thornton is an ex-ballplayer coaching a team of Little League misfits in a new version of the 1976 comedy.
BATMAN BEGINS: The masked crusader's crime-fighting origins are explored. With Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman. (June)
BEWITCHED: Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell star in the big-screen treatment of TV's husband-and-witch sitcom. Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine co-star. (July)
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY: Johnny Depp is Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's new take on the family classic. (July)
CINDERELLA MAN: Russell Crowe plays Depression-era fighter Jim Braddock, who gets a second chance at his boxing dream. Renee Zellweger co-stars, Ron Howard directs. (June)
DARK WATER: A single mom (Jennifer Connelly) faces strange noises, puzzling water leaks and other sinister signs in her new apartment. (August)
DEUCE BIGALO: EUROPEAN GIGOLO: The goofy male prostitute (Rob Schneider) is back in action to solve a wave of gigolo murders. (August)
THE DEVIL'S REJECTS: Director Rob Zombie resurrects characters from his "House of 1000 Corpses" in this horror follow-up. (August)
DOOM: The Rock and Karl Urban star in the sci-fi action-adventure based on the computer-game phenomenon. (August)
THE DUKES OF HAZZARD: The good old Duke boys race from the TV tube to the big-screen. With Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson and Burt Reynolds.
ELIZABETHTOWN: Cameron Crowe directs a story of blossoming romance at a Southern patriarch's ostentatious funeral. With Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. (July)
EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED: Elijah Wood stars in the story of a man's search to find the woman who saved his grandfather in World War II. Actor Liev Schreiber directs. (August)
FANTASTIC FOUR: The Marvel Comics superhero family battles the evil Doctor Doom. With Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba. (July)
THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN: Buddies of a geek (Steve Carell) plot to end his lifelong celibacy by fixing him up with a single mom (Catherine Keener). (August)
FUN WITH DICK AND JANE: Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni in a remake of the 1970s comedy of an upscale couple that turns to robbery to cover their debts. (June)
HAPPY ENDINGS: Lisa Kudrow, Laura Dern, Tom Arnold and Maggie Gyllenhaal lead an ensemble comedy about dysfunctional family and friends. (July)
HERBIE: FULLY LOADED: Disney's "Love Bug" gets a new owner in Lindsay Lohan, who enters the plucky Volkswagen on the NASCAR circuit. (June)
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: Douglas Adams' end-of-the-world sci-fi romp finally hits the big-screen. With Sam Rockwell, Mos Def and John Malkovich. (May)
HOUSE OF WAX: College students fall in with a menacing museum curator in an update of the Vincent Price fright film. With Elisha Cuthbert and Paris Hilton. (June)
INTO THE BLUE: Divers battle rival treasure hunters and smugglers to retrieve gold from a shipwreck. With Paul Walker and Jessica Alba. (July)
THE ISLAND: Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson are clones out to escape the farm where they're raised as spare parts for their originals. Michael Bay directs. (July)
KICKING & SCREAMING: A father (Will Ferrell) coaching his son's soccer team ends up in a showdown with his dad (Robert Duvall), a rival coach. (May)
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN: Ridley Scott directs an epic of a knight protecting Jerusalem from a siege in the era of the Crusades. With Orlando Bloom. (May)
THE LONGEST YARD: Adam Sandler and Chris Rock star in an update of Burt Reynolds' tale of prison inmates in a football showdown. Reynolds co-stars. (May)
LORDS OF DOGTOWN: The skateboarding Z-Boyz of 1970s southern California pioneer extreme sports. With Heath Ledger, Johnny Knoxville and Emile Hirsch. (June)
MADAGASCAR: Pampered zoo creatures fend for themselves in the wild in this animated comedy featuring the voices of Ben Stiller and Chris Rock. (May)
MINDHUNTERS: A group of FBI profilers must uncover a killer in their midst. With Val Kilmer, Christian Slater and LL Cool J. (May)
MONSTER-IN-LAW: Jennifer Lopez plays a woman duking it out with her future husband's disapproving mom (Jane Fonda). (May)
MR. AND MRS. SMITH: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are married assassins who end up targeting each other. (June)
MUST LOVE DOGS: With help from her meddling family, a divorcee (Diane Lane) makes a shaky return to romance. With John Cusack.
THE PERFECT MAN: A teenager (Hilary Duff) concocts a secret admirer for her loser-at-love mom. With Heather Locklear and Chris Noth. (August)
THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS: Four teen girls bond through sharing a pair of thrift-shop pants. With Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel. (May)
THE SKELETON KEY: A live-in nurse (Kate Hudson) encounters terror in her patient's crumbling mansion. With Gena Rowlands and John Hurt. (July)
SKY HIGH: A freshman at a superhero school copes with his embarrassing lack of superpowers. With Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston. (July)
STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH: George Lucas completes his saga of the Skywalker clan in the close of his sci-fi prequel trilogy. (May)
STEALTH: Military top guns try to bring down a renegade drone plane controlled by artificial intelligence. With Jamie Foxx and Jessica Biel. (July)
UNTITLED KURT RUSSELL/DAKOTA FANNING PROJECT: A father and daughter work to salvage the career of an injured racehorse. (August)
UNTITLED MIKE JUDGE PROJECT: Director Mike Judge spins a comedy of a man (Luke Wilson) who wakes up 1,000 years in the future to find he's the smartest guy alive. (August)
WAR OF THE WORLDS: Steven Spielberg directs Tom Cruise in a new take on H.G. Wells' Martian invasion classic. With Tim Robbins. (June)
WEDDING CRASHERS: Two divorce mediators (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson) crash weddings in search of one-night stands. (July)
Fall and holiday:
ALL THE KING'S MEN: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Anthony Hopkins star in a new adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's novel of political boss Willie Stark.
THE BARNYARD: An animated family flick about talking farm animals, featuring the voices of Kevin James, Danny Glover and Courtney Cox Arquette.
THE BROTHERS GRIMM: Matt Damon and Heath Ledger play the fairy-tale tellers as monster-fighting con men suddenly facing the real thing. Terry Gilliam directs. (November)
CHICKEN LITTLE: The chick that cried wolf must save the world when the sky really does start falling in this cartoon adventure. (November)
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE: C.S. Lewis' fantasy follows four siblings whisked to an oppressed magical land. (December)
DOMINO: The daughter (Keira Knightley) of actor Laurence Harvey quits her modeling career to become a bounty hunter. Tony Scott directs.
THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE: A lawyer (Laura Linney) defends a priest (Tom Wilkinson) accused of in the death of a girl who underwent an exorcism. (September)
FEVER PITCH: Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon in a romance about a woman competing with her man's first love: the Boston Red Sox. Bobby and Peter Farrelly direct. (October)
FIERCE PEOPLE: A drug addict (Diane Lane) tries to clean up her act and build a new life for herself and her teenage son.
FLIGHTPLAN: A mother (Jodie Foster) faces an airborne mystery when her 6-year-old daughter vanishes on a trans-Atlantic flight. (September)
THE FOG: Ghosts of shipwrecked sailors terrorize a seaside town in a remake of John Carpenter's 1980 horror tale. (October)
THE FOUNTAIN: Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz star in a fantasy of a man's 1,000-year-long quest to save his lady love.
GEORGE ROMERO'S LAND OF THE DEAD: "Night of the Living Dead" creator George Romero resurrects the undead again in his return to the zombie genre. (October)
A GOOD WOMAN: Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Wilkinson star in an update of Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windermere's Fan" set in 1930s Italy.
THE GREAT RAID: U.S. troops go on a daring rescue of American POWs from a Japanese camp in the Philippines in 1945. With Benjamin Bratt and James Franco. (December)
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE: The boy wizard (Daniel Radcliffe) has another showdown with dark lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). (November)
THE ICE HARVEST: Plans by an embezzler (John Cusack) to skip town with his loot and a beautiful woman are disrupted by an ice storm. With Billy Bob Thornton. (November)
JARHEAD: Sam Mendes ("American Beauty") directs a drama based on a U.S. Marine's memoirs in the Gulf War. With Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx. (November)
KING KONG: Peter Jackson graduates from hobbits to great apes in a remake of the adventure classic. With Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. (December)
KISS KISS, BANG BANG: A thief (Robert Downey Jr.) auditioning as an actor is hurled into a murder investigation. With Val Kilmer.
THE LEGEND OF ZORRO: Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reunite with "The Mask of Zorro" director Martin Campbell for another swashbuckler. (November)
LUCKY YOU: A professional card player (Eric Bana) has a run-in with his estranged dad at Vegas' World Series of Poker.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA: Rob Marshall ("Chicago") directs the adaptation of the novel about a geisha (Zhang Ziyi). (December)
THE NEW WORLD: Colin Farrell stars in a tale of John Smith, Pocahontas and the conflict between Indians and 17th century settlers. Terrence Malick directs. (November)
OLIVER TWIST: Ben Kingsley's the menacing Fagin in Roman Polanski's take on Dickens' story of an orphan boy who falls in with pickpockets. (September)
THE PINK PANTHER: Steve Martin's the bumbling Inspector Clouseau in a revival of Peter Sellers' franchise. Singer Beyonce and Kevin Kline co-star. (September)
THE PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO: A mother of 10 (Julianne Moore) pays the bills by entering commercial jingle contests. With Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern.
THE PRODUCERS: Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprise their stage roles in the movie remake of Mel Brooks' farce about theater swindlers. With Will Ferrell. (December)
RENT: The Broadway musical about Manhattan artists coping with poverty and AIDS stars Rosario Dawson and Taye Diggs. Chris Columbus directs. (November)
ROLL BOUNCE: A local roller-skating king (Bow Wow) enters the big competition at a glitzy rink. (September)
SAW 2: The low-budget horror hit from 2004 about a diabolical serial killer gets a quick follow-up. (October)
A SCANNER DARKLY: Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson and Winona Ryder in Philip K. Dick's tale of a future in which America has lost the war on drugs. (September)
SERENITY: Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") offers a big-screen addendum to his acclaimed but failed sci-fi TV show "Firefly." (September)
SHOPGIRL: Steve Martin stars in an adaptation of his novella about a Saks clerk (Claire Danes) wooed by a rich older man and a young average guy (Jason Schwartzman).
SYRIANA: George Clooney and Matt Damon star in a political thriller set among energy industry power-mongers. With William Hurt.
TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE: Stop-motion animation tells the story of a man forced to wed in the underworld. With the voices of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter and Emily Watson. (September)
UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION: Kate Beckinsale vamps her way through a sequel to the action tale of a blood feud between vampires and werewolves. (December)
UNTITLED 50 CENT PROJECT: Singer 50 Cent stars in the story of a street tough who gives up crime to pursue a rap career. Jim Sheridan directs.
UNTITLED NIKI CARO PROJECT: "Whale Rider" director Niki Caro tells the story of a woman (Charlize Theron) crusading against her mining company's unfair practices.
V FOR VENDETTA: The Wachowski brothers ("The Matrix") co-write a sci-fi thriller about a rebel in totalitarian Britain.
WALK THE LINE: Joaquin Phoenix is the man in black in this biography of singer Johnny Cash. Reese Witherspoon co-stars. (November)
WALLACE & GROMIT: The makers of "Chicken Run" bring the clay-animated cheese-eater and his canine pal to the big screen. (October)
THE WOODS: A teen (Agnes Bruckner) has ghastly visions at a boarding school where students are disappearing. With Patricia Clarkson. (September)
ZATHURA: Two young brothers are hurled into a space adventure while playing a mysterious game found in their basement. Jon Favreau ("Elf") directs. (November)
TBD:
AEON FLUX: Charlize Theron turns action hero in a live version of TV's animated sci-fi series set in Earth's bleak future.
ANNAPOLIS: A struggling Naval cadet (James Franco) challenges his rival (Tyrese Gibson) in the academy's boxing championships.
ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL: An art student (Max Minghella) schemes to make a splash in the cultural world. Co-starring John Malkovich and Anjelica Huston.
BANDIDAS: A society woman and a peasant become notorious bank robbers in 19th century Mexico. Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek star.
BEE SEASON: A neglected daughter (Flora Cross) comes into her own after triumphing in a spelling bee. With Richard Gere and Juliette Binoche.
BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE 2: Martin Lawrence puts on the fat suit again as an FBI agent who goes undercover as a portly Southern woman.
CAPOTE: Philip Seymour Hoffman plays author Truman Capote researching the crime novel "In Cold Blood." With Catherine Keener and Chris Cooper.
GLORY ROAD: The real-life story of college basketball's first all-black starting lineup in its 1966 NCAA tournament quest. With Josh Lucas and Derek Luke.
THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED: A young amateur (Shia LaBeouf) transfixes the golf world in a match against the British champ in 1913. Bill Paxton directs.
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE: An unassuming family man (Viggo Mortensen) is hurled into the public spotlight by a violent incident. David Cronenberg directs.
LAST HOLIDAY: Convinced she's dying, a wallflower (Queen Latifah) lives it up on a European spree. LL Cool J co-stars in the update of an Alec Guinness tale.
LITTLE MANHATTAN: A 10-year-old tries his hand at first love when he's smitten by a classmate. With Cynthia Nixon.
THE MAN: A federal agent (Samuel L. Jackson) teams with a dental-supply sales guy (Eugene Levy) in an undercover crime romp.
NANNY MCPHEE: Emma Thompson stars as a nanny out to tame the seven unruly children of a widower (Colin Firth). Angela Lansbury co-stars.
PRIME: A twentysomething man falls for a divorced career woman (Uma Thurman) in this romantic comedy. With Meryl Streep.
PROOF: Gwyneth Paltrow stars as a woman coming to terms with the death of her father (Anthony Hopkins). With Jake Gyllenhaal.
RED-EYE: An airplane passenger (Rachel McAdams) is forced into a plot to kill a business executive. Wes Craven directs.
THE RINGER: A sleazy guy (Johnny Knoxville) tries to pull a con on the Special Olympics by signing up and pretending he's mentally challenged.
ROMANCE & CIGARETTES: John Turturro directs a musical fantasy set among working-class stiffs. With James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet and Mandy Moore.
STAY: A psychiatrist tries to save a distraught patient planning to commit suicide. With Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts.
THE TRANSPORTER 2: Jason Statham returns as the tough operative, who sets out to save abducted twin brothers.
TRISTAN AND ISOLDE: A new take on the medieval legend of a love affair with tragic consequences. James Franco and Sophia Myles star.
TWO FOR THE MONEY: An ex-college football star (Matthew McConaughey) becomes a pawn in a sports-gambling operation. Al Pacino co-stars.
UNDERTAKING BETTY: Alfred Molina, Brenda Blethyn, Christopher Walken and Naomi Watts in a funeral comedy set at a Welsh mortuary.
AN UNFINISHED LIFE: Robert Redford and Jennifer Lopez star in a reunion drama about a reclusive rancher and his estranged daughter-in-law. With Morgan Freeman.
UNTITLED CARLITO'S WAY PROJECT: This prequel to "Carlito's Way" traces the crime roots of the title character (Jay Hernandez). Mario Van Peebles co-stars.
UNTITLED LINDSAY LOHAN PROJECT: Lindsay Lohan stars as a woman whose good luck is accidentally swapped for a man's bad fortune.
UNTITLED MARK WAHLBERG PROJECT: Mark Wahlberg stars in the story of four brothers out to avenge their mother's death. John Singleton directs.
WANNABE: Two rising actresses (Pell James and Ashlee Simpson) try to build some hype for an unsuccessful musician.
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