• melgibson.jpgBecause the art of dead-language filmmaking apparently doesn't keep him busy enough, Mel Gibson will have a hand in four TV properties over the next year. Two pilots are set up at UPN, and one each at CBS and ABC. Three of the series (all but the ABC property) will have some sort of legal bent: Conflict of Interest (which sounds something like Ally McBeal 2005), a still-untitled series about lawyers who investigate malpractice cases, and a CBS-based dramedy called Solomon v. Lord, which is supposedly modelled after Moonlighting. The ABC series is a single-camera family comedy. In order to produce these projects, Gibson has set up a second production company, called Con Artist. We're assuming the "Con" is short for "Conservative", but you can draw your own conclusions.
  • Forget about its relative US triumph – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire "completely dominated foreign moviegoing over the weekend" by making $92 million overseas.
  • Justin Chang reviews Aeon Flux, comes up with yet another explanation for Pete Posthlewaite's costume.
  • And Todd McCarthy, as usual, subsumes indifference into industry jargon while reviewing Narnia: "While [Lord of the] Rings-level B.O. totals won't be matched, there's little doubt Disney's massive marketing push in the service of a competently made film that appeals to all demographics will be banking money from this one for the indefinite future."