Last week it was The Baltimore Sun; this week, the Baltimore Museum of Art. On Monday, Red Dragon, a prequel to The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, made the Homewood Campus its lair as some of the cast and crew converted the Baltimore Museum of Art into another BMA, the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Red Dragon, based on a novel by Thomas Harris, is due for release in late 2002, but rumors of problems between Edward Norton and director Brett Ratner make it possible that the movie will be released in early 2003. According the United Kingdom's movie magazine Empire, there are "creative differences" on the set. In Red Dragon, Anthony Hopkins resurrects his role as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Norton plays Will Graham, Ralph Fiennes plays Francis Dolarhyde, Harvey Keitel plays F.B.I. Section Chief Jack Crawford, Emily Watson plays Reba McClane and Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Freddy Lounds.
Norton (who was spotted in Canton last week) will be seen in several other movies in the next few years, including Frida, starring Selma Hayek, Alfred Molina and Geoffrey Rush. Norton plays Nelson Rockefeller in the movie, which is due October 2002. He is also set to star in The 25th Hour, production for which is scheduled to begin in May 2002, in New York. Directed by Spike Lee and co-starring Brittany Murphy, Rosario Dawson and Hoffman. The 25th Hour depicts the last day of freedom for a young man before he begins serving a seven-year jail term for drug dealing. In that day, he is forced to re-examine his life and how he got himself into his predicament.
Hopkins is currently filming The Human Stain (due in 2003), with Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise. In The Human Stain, Hopkins plays Coleman Silk (Hopkins), a classics professor with a terrible secret that shatters life in a small New England town. Kidman plays a young and troubled janitor having an affair with Silk. Before The Human Stain comes out, though, Hopkins can be seen in The Devil and Daniel Webster (due later in 2002), in which Hopkins plays Daniel Webster and Jennifer Love Hewitt plays the Devil. The project is directed by Alec Baldwin, who also stars.
Interestingly, although Red Dragon is a prequel to The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, producers will use digital technology to make Hopkins appear younger in the movie. Wrinkles and age spots will be virtually erased from Hopkins' face, making him look up to 20 years younger.
Fiennes (who was spotted leaving the BMA on Monday), meanwhile, will star in The Chambermaid with Jennifer Lopez. The Chambermaid is a modern-day Cinderella story set in Chicago, directed by Wayne Wang and written by John Hughes (of Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Home Alone fame). Filming started in April, and the movie is slated to open Christmas 2002. Also, Fiennes will star in The Honest Thief, written and directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game).
Hoffman is currently involved in a number of projects. In Punchdrunk Knuckle Love (due fall 2002), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, Boogie Nights), Hoffman will co-star with Adam Sandler and Watson. Hoffman will also be in Voltage, the next Robert Altman film, with Joaquin Phoenix. Production is set to begin in May 2002. Also, he will be in Owning Mahowny, a thriller/crime movie with Minnie Driver.
Harvey Keitel will be in Crime Spree with Grard Depardieu. Crime Spree is to be directed by Brad Mirman.
Ratner is set to direct Samurai Jack (due in 2003) and Rush Hour 3 (2004), starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Other highly-anticipated movies set for a 2004 release include Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Indiana Jones 4 (directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Harrison Ford and Kate Capshaw) and Shrek 2.
