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![[hamlet returns]](img/sequelhamlet.gif)
Or Not to Be: Hamlet Returns
Kenneth Branagh reprises his role as the brooding young guy stuck with the mother of all
dysfunctional families. The emphasis will be on action this time, says the actor/director,
with the young prince finally taking arms against a legion of baddies - including a
tougher-than-ever Fortinbras.
Kate Winslet's out as Ophelia, and Cameron Diaz promises
to play Hamlet's wilting flower as an independent, post-feminist and germ-free heroine
for the nineties. Hamlet's death at the end of the first picture
will be explained as a wacky mixup involving a dose
of knockout poison that, as in last year's Romeo and Juliet, only caused a deep
sleep. "Just because it's a classic doesn't mean you can't have fun with it,"
says producer Joel Silver. "The Bard, crowd-pleaser that he was, would have loved it!"
Advance buzz: Good prestige element, and some legs left in the Shakespeare fad.
![[kane, citizen]](img/sequelkane.gif)
Kane, Citizen
Tinseltown's most famous news mogul returns as a crusading newsman on the
trail of a corrupt politician. Kane's still rich, but this time he has more than
money at stake.
"We found that while audiences in the first movie responded to the younger, more
idealistic
Charles Foster Kane, they were put off by the later scenes, involving
the cynical, corrupt Kane," says director Michael Crichton. "By
returning the character to his roots, we're really just getting back to basics. There's
also a lot more to play with now in terms of interactivity and
new media, which I've always believed the first movie would have dealt with if it
could have."
Advance buzz: Star Robert Sean Leonard put on 40 pounds for his role.
![[a very ghandi sequel]](img/sequelghandi.gif)
A Very Ghandi Sequel!
Wackiness ensues when the beloved prophet of peaceful resistance gets plopped down in
present day Beverly Hills. Ben Kingsley's back in the role that won him an Oscar, but
this time he promises to play it strictly for laughs. Brandy and Melissa Joan Hart (TV's
Sabrina the Teenage Witch) are a pair of Vals who think "Mahatma" is a new flavor from
Fruitopia, but befriend the newcomer and learn something about non-violence and making a
difference.
Advance buzz: A fresh, fun approach to what could have been dry historical
material.
![[the red balloon ii]](img/sequelred.gif)
The Red Balloon II
The long-awaited continuation of a magical family classic. For more than
four decades, kids of all ages have thrilled to the final shot of tiny Pascal
Lamorisse soaring over
Paris, but secretly wondered "What happens after that breathtaking
balloon ride ends?"
Until now. In this fun-packed next episode, the young boy and his
lighter-than-air companions are out for a flight over Seattle (we've
moved the action to the grunge capital to ensure a broader international
appeal), when they stumble on a criminal plot involving a virtual
reality headset that gives kids more than they bargained for!
Damon Wayans, a proven kid-flick commodity after Major Payne, joins the
cast as a tough-but-loveable cop who grudgingly joins forces with the
balloon boy to catch the crooks. The no-dialogue style that slowed down
the pace of the original has been replaced with a script full of
laugh-out-loud kid wisecracks that Joel Siegel
(ABC-TV) says "will have you roaring right alongside the kids!"
Advance Buzz: Boomer nostalgia, boffo tot attraction and X-er snob appeal from the
European connection make this a three-generation winner. Strong opener.
![[dr strangelove: still loving the bomb after all these years]](img/sequelstrange.gif)
Dr Strangelove: Still Loving the Bomb After All These Years!
The whole gang is back in the War Room, but this time they have an important story to
tell. "We realized the topic of nuclear war wasn't suited to the sort of comic treatment
that was done in the first movie," says director Peter Hyams. "We're looking for a more
serious, Day After-type film.
Jodie Foster is set to play three different parts, including a tougher, more responsible
President than Peter Sellers' original.
Advance buzz: Important message gives this issue movie possible Oscar legs.
![[native sons]](img/sequelnative.gif)
Native Sons
Bigger Thomas returns, but this time the celebrated African American
rebel is leading a
posse of angry young black men on a crusade to clean up the streets and stamp out hate
crimes. "We're confronting issues white America might not be comfortable dealing with,"
says director/star Mario Van Peebles. "But we're doing it in a way all audiences will find
entertaining."
Steve Buscemi plays a former skinhead whose conscience drives him to help out the
vigilantes in their quest for justice.
Advance buzz: Richard Wright is this year's Jane Austen.
![[doctor no...WITH A BULLET!]](img/sequeldoctorno.gif)
Doctor No ... With a Bullet!
The highly popular "James Bond" action hero returns in a surprising sequel. While the
ending of the first film - in which the hero found love and vanquished the bad guys -
didn't seem to leave room for a sequel, producer Albert Broccoli decided to listen
to audiences and bring Bond back for another adventure. "But this one will be the last,"
he laughs.
"We've added some interesting dimensions to the Bond character," says star Sean Connery.
"It really wouldn't make sense to keep playing Bond unless he could grow. I wouldn't find
that interesting, and I don't think audiences would either."
Advance buzz: Guaranteed date movie appeal - Women enjoy seeing minorities
humiliated, while men enjoy seeing them killed. Bond does both.
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![[simpleton]](img/simptitle.gif)