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FEBRUARY 25: Having already been screened endlessly for religious leaders yet still likely to stir up protests, Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST might equal Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ as the most controversial religious film ever made. The Count of Monte Cristo's Jim Cavaziel, who was struck by lightning during the filming, plays the Son of God, with Irreversible's rape victim Monica Bellucci cast as Mary Magdalene.
FEBRUARY 27: Broken Lizard, the outfit behind Super Troopers, returns with CLUB DREAD, a comedy about an island resort plagued by a string of murders . . . There's no Patrick Swayze warbling, no Catskills setting, and no putting Baby in the corner; instead, DIRTY DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS centers on an American girl (Romola Garai) who falls for a Cuban dancer (Y Tu Mama Tambien's Diego Luna) on the eve of Castro's revolution . . . Ashley Judd, who could probably do thrillers in her sleep by now, plays a detective (and daughter of a serial killer) who becomes her own department's chief suspect once her past lovers start getting murdered in TWISTED, co-starring Samuel L. Jackson and Andy Garcia.
MARCH 5: Hoping to test his post-Lord of the Rings clout, Viggo Mortensen headlines HIDALGO, the true tale of an American who takes his trusty steed Hidalgo to Saudi Arabia to compete in a grueling desert race . . . Following the success of Charlie's Angels and presumably preceding a CHiPs flick, STARSKY & HUTCH emerges as the next 70s action show to garner big-screen attention. Frequent co-stars Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson play the detective duo, with Snoop Dogg cast as informant Huggy Bear.
MARCH 12: Although it didn't blow the roof off the box office ($47 million), last year's Agent Cody Banks has warranted a sequel via AGENT CODY BANKS 2: DESTINATION LONDON, with Malcolm In the Middle's Frankie Muniz returning as the pint-sized secret agent . . . An introverted teenager (Emile Hirsch) strikes up a relationship with his new neighbor -- a former porn star (24's Elisha Cuthbert) -- in THE GIRL NEXT DOOR . . . Julia Stiles (Mona Lisa Smile) plays a college student who falls for a Danish prince (Luke Mably) passing himself off as an exchange student in the romantic comedy THE PRINCE & ME . . . Writer-director David Mamet is at the helm of SPARTAN, in which a government agent (Val Kilmer) and his greenhorn partner (Antwone Fisher's Derek Luke) are assigned to track down a missing person and stumble across a white slavery ring.
MARCH 19: We didn't need a remake of Psycho, and we probably don't need a remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD, George Romero's 1979 zombie extravaganza (and sequel to Night of the Living Dead) that over time has accumulated the sort of laudatory reviews usually reserved for lofty Oscar winners. This current version, directed by newcomer Zack Snyder, also centers on a band of humans holed up in a shopping mall . . . Being John Malkovich and Adaptation scripter Charlie Kaufman pens ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, in which a former couple (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet) turn to a scientist (Tom Wilkinson) to have their minds wiped clean of all memories of their strained relationship, with unpredictable results; Kirsten Dunst and Elijah "Frodo" Wood co-star . . . In the wake of Gigli, Kevin Smith's JERSEY GIRL is no longer being promoted as a Ben Affleck-Jennifer Lopez flick but instead as an Affleck vehicle in which Lopez happens to appear in a small role. The title actually refers to the Affleck character's precocious stepdaughter (Raquel Castro); Smith regulars Matt Damon, Jason Lee and George Carlin pop up in minor roles . . . After the resounding failure of Beyond Borders, Angelina Jolie hopes for better luck with TAKING LIVES, a thriller about an FBI profiler tracking down a serial killer who's assuming the identities of his victims.
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