Paramount/DreamWorks 2007 Preview

Norbit

February 9, 2007

Norbit (Eddie Murphy) has never had it easy. As a baby, he was abandoned on the steps of a Chinese restaurant/orphanage and raised by Mr. Wong (Eddie Murphy). Things get worse when he’s forced into marriage by the mean, junk food-chugging queen, Rasputia (Eddie Murphy). Just when Norbit’s hanging by his last thread, his childhood sweetheart, Kate (Thandie Newton), moves back to town. In the comedy Norbit, he’ll show them all that nice guys sometimes finish first. (View Gallery)

Zodiac

March 2, 2007

Based on the actual case files of one of the most intriguing unsolved crimes in the nation’s history, Zodiac is a thriller from David Fincher, director of Seven and Fight Club. As a serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his ciphers and letters, investigators in four jurisdictions search for the murderer. The case will become an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues. (View Gallery)

Shooter

March 16, 2007

Shooter is an action-packed thriller starring Mark Wahlberg as Bob Lee Swagger, a former Army sniper who leaves the military after a mission goes bad. After he is reluctantly pressed back into service, Swagger is double-crossed again. With two bullets in him and the subject of a nationwide manhunt, Swagger begins his revenge, which will take down the most powerful people in the country. Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) directs. (View Gallery)

Blades of Glory

March 30, 2007

When rival figure skaters Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) go ballistic in an embarrassing, no-holds-barred fight at the World Championships, they are stripped of their gold medals and banned from the sport for life. Now, three-and-a-half years on, they’ve found a loophole that will allow them to compete: if they can put aside their differences, they can skate together – in pairs’ figure skating. (View Gallery)

Disturbia

April 13, 2007

After his father’s death, Kale (Shia LaBeouf) becomes sullen, withdrawn, and troubled – so much so that he finds himself under a court-ordered sentence of house arrest. His mother, Julie (Carrie-Anne Moss), works night and day to support herself and her son, only to be met with indifference and lethargy.

The walls of his house begin to close in on Kale. He becomes a voyeur as his interests turn outside the windows of his suburban home towards those of his neighbors, one of which Kale begins to suspect is a serial killer. But, are his suspicions merely the product of cabin fever and his overactive imagination? (View Gallery)

Shrek The Third

May 18, 2007

When Shrek married Fiona, the last thing he had in mind was becoming the next King. But when Shrek’s father-in-law, King Harold, suddenly croaks, that is exactly what he faces. Unless Shrek (with the help of his trusted companions Donkey and Puss In Boots) can find a suitable King for Far Far Away, the ogre could be stuck with the job. The most promising candidate, Fiona’s cousin Artie, an underachieving Medieval high school slacker, proves to be more of a challenge than they bargained for. (View Gallery)

Hot Rod

June 1, 2007

Self-proclaimed stuntman Rod Taylor is preparing for the jump of his life. Rod plans to clear fifteen buses in an attempt to raise money for his abusive stepfather Frank’s life-saving heart operation. He’ll land the jump, get Frank better, and then fight him, hard. (View Gallery)

Transformers

July 4, 2007

In 1984, the Transformers brand took the world by storm with its compelling saga of the “Robots in Disguise,” and quickly became a childhood rite of passage with a tremendously successful toy line from Hasbro and Takara, comic book series, television program and animated feature film. Twenty years later, a new generation of kids has discovered the excitement of the Transformers brand and the legendary characters, such as Optimus Prime and Megatron, that truly are “more than meets the eye.” Today, the franchise features a popular toy line, an animated series on Cartoon Network and a chart-topping comic book series from Dreamwave Productions, which sold two million Transformers comic books last year. (View Gallery)

Stardust

July 27, 2007

Stardust, based on the best-selling graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess, takes audiences on an adventure that begins in a village in England and ends up in places that exist in an imaginary world. A young man named Tristan (Charlie Cox) tries to win the heart of Victoria (Sienna Miller), the beautiful but cold object of his desire, by going on a quest to retrieve a fallen star. His journey takes him to a mysterious and forbidden land beyond the walls of his village. On his odyssey, Tristan finds the star, which has transformed into a striking girl named Yvaine (Claire Danes).

However, Tristan is not the only one seeking the star. A king’s (Peter O’Toole) four living sons – not to mention the ghosts of their three dead brothers – all need the star as they vie for the throne. Tristan must also overcome the evil witch, Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), who needs the star to make her young again. As Tristan battles to survive these threats, encountering a pirate named Captain Shakespeare (Robert De Niro) and a shady trader named Ferdy the Fence (Ricky Gervais) along the way, his quest changes. He must now win the heart of the star for himself as he discovers the meaning of true love. (View Gallery)

Untitled Farrelly Brothers Project

October 5, 2007

Single and indecisive, Eddie (Ben Stiller) begins dating the incredibly sexy and seemingly fabulous Lila. Upon the urging of his father and best friend, Eddie proposes to her after only a week, fearing this may be his last chance at love, marriage, and happiness. However, while on their honeymoon in sunny Mexico, Lila reveals her true beyond-awful nature and Eddie meets Miranda, the woman he realizes to be his actual soul mate. Eddie must keep his new, increasingly horrid wife at bay as he attempts to woo the girl of his dreams. (View Gallery)

Bee Movie

November 2, 2007

Bee Movie is a comedy that will change everything you think you know about bees. Having just graduated from college, a bee by the name of Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) finds himself disillusioned with the prospect of having only one career choice – honey. As he ventures outside of the hive for the first time, he breaks one of the cardinal rules of the bee world and talks to a human, a New York City florist named Vanessa (Renée Zellweger). He is shocked to discover that the humans have been stealing and eating the bees’ honey for centuries, and ultimately realizes that his true calling in life is to set the world right by suing the human race for stealing their precious honey. (View Gallery)

Beowulf

November 16, 2007

Based on the Old English epic poem following a Scandinavian warrior (Winstone) as he takes on the legendary monster, Grendel (Glover), and becomes king.

Things We Lost in the Fire

Fall/Holiday 2007

After an unspeakable tragedy, two people get a second chance at life in Things We Lost in the Fire. When Audrey Burke (Halle Berry) loses her husband in an act of random violence, she forges an unlikely relationship with Jerry Sunborne (Benicio Del Toro), her husband’s best friend from childhood. Jerry is a heroin user; his addiction has destroyed everything that was once important to him. As Audrey discovers that Jerry is the only person who can help her survive her loss, Jerry finds the strength to overcome his own problems. Acclaimed Danish director Susanne Bier helms. (View Gallery)

Sweeney Todd

TBA 2007

Johnny Depp will star as the titular Demon Barber of Fleet Street from the award-winning Stephen Sondheim musical thriller.

The Broadway production of Sweeney Todd, with Sondheim’s music and lyrics and a book by Hugh Wheeler based on the play by Christopher Bond, opened in 1979 and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Its mix of the comic, the dramatic and the macabre held together by Sondheim’s movie-like score has had hundreds of productions throughout the world. A highly acclaimed revival is now playing in New York.

The story of Sweeney Todd is of a wrongfully imprisoned barber in Victorian England who sets out to seek revenge on the judge who imprisoned him. The plot is foreshadowed in the first lines of the opening number: “Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd./His skin was pale and his eye was odd./He shaved the faces of gentlemen/Who never thereafter were heard of again.”

Stop-Loss

TBA 2007

Decorated Iraq war hero Sgt. Brandon King makes a celebrated return to his small Texas hometown following his tour of duty. Brandon tries to resume the life he left behind with the help and support of his loving family, and his best friend, Steve Shriver, who served with Brandon in Iraq. Alongside their war-time buddies, Brandon and Steve try to make peace with civilian life. Then, against Brandon’s will, under a measure called Stop Loss, the Army indefinitely extends Brandon’s enlistment and forces him back to Iraq. This upends Brandon’s entire world, and sends him to one of the only people he can trust: his childhood friend – and Steve’s fiancée – Michele. Michele becomes Brandon’s confidante and accomplice as he races across the U.S. – a fugitive from justice in the country he fought to protect – in search of a way out of his predicament. (View Gallery)