Just a few news blurbs.
1. The Daily Telegraph reports that 20th Century Fox is looking for a five-year-old boy to play Damien in an upcoming remake of The Omen (1976) that is due to be released on June 6, 2006 — or 6/6/06, a release date that has already been claimed by Brian Flemming‘s The Beast, but never mind. The article states:
The new version of the horror classic, which is being shot with a $40 million (£22.7 million) budget, is expected to incorporate the post-September 11 war on terror as the background to its apocalyptic struggle between good and evil. . . .
Exactly how the film will be updated to reflect contemporary political developments is still under wraps. Given that Damien’s adopted father plays the part of US ambassador to London, there is scope to feature events such as the recent terrorist bombings in London and the war in Iraq.
However, while the film’s script has religious themes, the remake seems unlikely to refer explicitly to al-Qaeda or tensions between the Christian and Muslim worlds.
John Moore, who previously directed Behind Enemy Lines (2001) and the remake of Flight of the Phoenix (2004; my review), has reportedly talked to Peter Sarsgaard and Julia Stiles about being in the film. If true, he’s got good taste in actors, at least.
FWIW, I devoted a paragraph to the Omen movies in a feature on end-times movies that I wrote for the Vancouver Sun four years ago. I also posted some comments elsewhere on The Omen, Damien: Omen II (1978), and The Final Conflict (1981) and the made-for-TV Omen IV: The Awakening (1991).
2. The Dallas Morning News‘ Jeffrey Weiss says the latest Harry Potter book reveals “a bit more of the ‘theology’ of Harry’s world — and his reality has never been less religious. Magic has never been less magical or more mechanical. And while there’s a lot more about the battle between good and evil, that fight seems to be centered on this world rather than anything transcendent.”
3. JoongAng Daily has an interesting story on a German Catholic priest who runs Benedictine Media, an organization that promotes European arthouse films in South Korea.
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