Sequels: For better or for worse
By Harinda Vidanage
Corporate Hollywood stung by a run of huge budgets and softer-than-hoped-for showings in its peak summer season, has begun a palpable shift in attitude regarding yesterday’s sure thing: the sequel.

Hollywood became sequel-crazed in recent years after the old rule of thumb that follow-ups usually do 60% of the original’s business flew out the window with such hits as “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” “The Mummy Returns” and “Rush Hour 2.” And, the success of the “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings” series have made the franchise business that much more alluring.

Several studios are already locked into expensive bets very much in the mold of this year’s crop of high-budget sequels. Those include Columbia’s “Spider-Man 2,” which is budgeted at $200 million and is set for release next July 2; DreamWorks’ “Shrek 2,” for which the studio is already running full-page ads though its release is still a year away; Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible 3”; and Warner’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.”

This year’s movie success can be viewed below with its breakdown of top ten earnings. Four top ten rankers are sequels. Following a screening of “X2: X-Men United” for the Society of Composers and Lyricists on July 15 , director Bryan Singer revealed that he has just finished writing a treatment for a third film based on the Marvel comic book series.

The film will likely be centered more on Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman) story and Jean Grey’s (Famke Janssen) transformation, while Storm (Halle Berry) may be completely absent or only appear in a cameo performance. Actors already signed on for a sequel include: Jackman (Wolverine), Janssen (Jean Grey), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Aaron Stanford (Pyro), Shawn Ashmore (Iceman), James Marsden (Cyclops), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Mystique), Daniel Cudmore (Collossus) and Kelly Hu, whose character Lady Deathstrike appeared to have died in the last film.

Not signed on yet: Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, who will both likely wait for a completed script before signing on. New X-Men characters who might appear: rumours have circulated about Angel, Beast (who may be a CGI character) and Gambit (Rogue’s boyfriend in the comic book series) being introduced into the film version. Singer is not yet signed on to helm “X-Men 3,” although the fact that he is writing a treatment makes it more than likely that he will be returning to the helm for the sequel. In the meantime, he and “X2” editor and composer John Ottman recently worked together on two Coke commercials, and the director says he is actively looking for a new project to helm before “X-Men 3” gets underway.

Though some studios have felt the meltdown in the success of sequels and the “sequel weariness” that is getting into fans there is no shortage of sequels even in the months ahead with the release of Spy Kids 3, Tomb Raider 2, Jeepers Creepers 2, Matrix Chapter 3 and the Lord of the Rings final chapter.
The Sequel list goes to year 2004 where there is a whole list of sequels from Spider man, Harry Potter to Dare Devil.

The fans may be feeling the weariness and the studios feeling the softening up of income but still the spirit of the sequel remain intact with non of the corporate entertainment studios from Sony to Fox willing to pull the plug of any of the sequel projects undertaken.

Sulang Kirilli wins another award

‘Sulang Kirilli’- (Wind Bird) directed by Inoka Sathyangani Keerthinanda has won another International award. The film was among one of the feature films screened at Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania (ZIFF) and went onto capture the silver Dhow award for the best feature film.

Sixteen films for the final round of this festival were selected from the 38 countries that had sent in their films. It competed with feature films from Iran, France, America, Italy, Netherlands, India, Denmark and many other countries.

At the June 18-23 Innsbruck International Film Festival held in Austria, ‘Sulang Kirili’ was chosen for the final round which included eight films. In addition two other Sri Lankan films “Agnidhaya”-The Compensation of Benette Ratnayake and “Mage Wam Atha”- The pickpocket of Linton Semage were screened at the non-competitive section of this festival.

The story of ‘Sulang Kirilli’ is based on a true story of a girl who had come all the way from the village in search of a job in a garment factory. Left alone in a complex society the story depicts the social and human problems she faces. The two leading roles are played by Linton Semage and Damitha Abeyratne.

Real life shooting comes to Sri Lanka
A Skoda car in running condition valued over Rs. 100,000 was set aflame and reduced to ashes in the jungles of Kirindiwela for Udayakantha Warnasuriyaís film ‘Diya Yata Gindara’.

Setting a car on fire in this fashion for filming happened in Sri Lanka for the first time. The cameraman K.D.Dayananda had used two cameras to record the event. Location shooting was done in and around Colombo city, Piliyandala, Kirindiwela and Nuwara Eliya and was completed within two months and the post-producton work of the film is expected to be finalized soon.

The film based on an incident that happened in Sri Lanka last year will be processed at DIL Labs in Sri Lanka. The first copy would be ready by next September. The cast includes veteran actors Tony Ranasinghe, Amarasiri Kalansuriya and Sanath Gunathilake along with Srinath Maddumage, Nirosha Herath and Srimal Sathyajith Wedisinghe and Achala Alles who has made a name as a talented actress on the mini screen, makes her presence felt on the wide screen with a major role in ëDiya Yata Gindaraí.

Stanley de Alwis is the editor, K. D. Dayananda is director of photography and Sangeeth Wickremasinghe does the musical score. Udayakantha wrote the story and screen play. The film is produced by Cinema Entertainment (pvt.) Ltd. Diya Yata Gindara will be released solely in CEL circuit cinemas.

‘Sonduru Dadabima’: New theme

By Ranjith Bandara Attanayake
Film Director Anura Horatius’ main film ‘Sonduru Dadabima’ (A Pleasurable Hunt) is a production of ‘Sadheera Films’ by W.A.S.K. Samarawickrema.

‘Sonduru Dadabima’s cast include Tony Ranasinghe, Dilhani Ekanayake, Sanath Wimalasiri, Mahendra Perera, Murie Samarasinghe, Wilson Karunaratne, Srinath Maddumage, G.R. Perera, Kusum Renu, Tyronne Michael, Sumith Mudannayake, Kumara Therumedura, Giriraj Kaushalya, Gehan Fernando, Asela Jayakodi, Neetha Samaranayake, Nadee Chandrasekera, Anushika Sewwandi, Dayadeva Edirisinghe and Nilanthi Dias.

The story of the film is as follows: ..Kamal is a married soldier in Special Task Force. After having revealed a scandal regarding his wife they separate.

One day Kamal happens to meet a young mother (Samanthi) with her daughter stranded in a bus-stand when he was on his way for work. Samanthi says she was going to Batticaloa in search of her husband whose whereabouts were not known after an attack on the Army Camp her husband was serving in.

Kamal helps Samanthi and her daughter providing them with lodging. Following morning they depart. Kamal had to give his snap to Smanathi as she worried him.

Time passes as usual. Suddenly three officers claiming to be from a Special Investigations (Crimes) come to arrest Kamal in connection with an assassination of a popular General of the Army by exploding a bomb. He denies the charges.

Later on Samanthi is summoned. She comes out with the diabolic lie that Kamal is her husband and it is he who planted the bomb to kill the General to the utter astonishment of Kamal. In the meantime investigative officers force Kamal to admit that he blasted the bomb and promise to give money. But Kamal says he can’t tell lies for money. At the end the whole family of Kamal had to face enormus diffiuclties.

Though “Sonduru Dadabima” according to the film director is completely a fictitious story, it seems the theme is not a fiction. The script has been written based on some incidents connected to an assassination of a high official in the Force, and revolves around a controversial figure that made the whole country flabbergasted by giving false evidence.

But Horatius has very cleverly built the characters and arrayed the story with additional sequences. Sanath Wimalasiri (Kamal) a budding actor has shown us that he has a very bright future and will be able to go on a long journey in the field.