BBC - Films - High Noon - 17th June 2004

		Up, Up And Away? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Or is it just another spandex-wearing rumour? The aborted Superman remake may finally be going ahead after screen tests took place last week to decide who could slip into the Man of Steel's red underpants. But hold the celebrations, comic book fans. It seems that nothing's been given the greenlight yet, as negotiations at Warner Bros are still in full flow. If the remake does get the thumbs up, this will be third time lucky; initial plans to put director Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage together fell apart in 1998, while rumours that director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour) might convince Ben Affleck or Jude Law to do a quick change in the phone box came to nothing. Now, Warner Bros are pushing for a late 2004 shooting start in Australia with a relative unknown in the title role. Will they steer clear of the deadly Kryptonite this time? Watch this space.

		The Terminal Man An A-list star like Tom Hanks doesn't usually hang about at airports, but the Oscar-winning thesp has been getting used to the departure lounge for his new film The Terminal, the story of a man who's stranded at an airport indefinitely. "If you don't have to go anywhere, if you don't have to make it to a plane on time, I think an airport is almost like a day spa," Hanks told The Associated Press. Clearly this is someone more used to the VIP lounge than the greasy cafeteria at London Luton. Directed by Steven Spielberg, The Terminal takes place in a purpose-built, three-storey airport set, rumoured to be one of the most elaborate ever designed. Each of its shops and restaurants are working replicas of the real thing, with Burger King, Borders and Hugo Boss outlets keeping the cast and crew entertained between takes. It's a hard life, this movie lark, you know. The Terminal is released in the UK on Friday 3rd September.

		Royale Ruckus Plans to release Battle Royale II: Requiem on DVD in Japan in September have been shelved indefinitely after an 11-year-old girl stabbed a classmate to death. Apparently, the girl mentioned the Battle Royale books on her website, leading some to wonder if she'd been influenced by the ultra-violent Asian killfest in which high school kids are made to stalk and murder each other. Go figure. In a separate incident in March, students at a junior high school in Tokyo commandeered the broadcasting system and ordered their classmates to off each other. They later claimed to have been influenced by the film. Ironically, the UK theatrical release of the film has been aborted in favour of going straight to DVD in August. We can see the tabloid headlines already.

		And There's More The gender-bending story of a woman who disguised herself as a man and went into battle during the American Revolution has been snapped up for an undisclosed sum. Historian Alfred F Young's book, Masquerade, about the real life story of drag king turned war veteran Deborah Sampson, is currently being put through its development paces... Quirky Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan (Ararat) is doing the time warp back to 70s LA for his next movie, Somebody Loves You, about a celebrity journalist investigating an A-list murder mystery... The final kiddie casting for Tim Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory movie has been announced, with Anna Sophia Robb, Jordan Fry, Julia Winter and Philip Wiegratz filling the remaining roles. You may not have heard of any of them yet, but give it time...