Panic Room (2001)
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News:
7 February, 2002
According to Cinema Confidential, the film's release date is being moved to March 29.
15 January, 2002
The first trailer is up for this movie.
What do you think? Talk about it on the Forums
26 March, 2001
In the latest edition of the Untitled Deadpool Column, we have a review of the script for this movie. The review isn't exactly glowing. Check it out here.
1 February, 2001
It looks like a replacement has been found for Kidman. Jodie Foster finds herself free at the moment. She was scheduled to direct Flora Plum but that was put on hold due to a shoulder injury suffered by Russell Crowe. Getting Foster on board hinges on coming up with a deal suitable to all parties.
26 January, 2001
Houston, we have a problem. Nicole Kidman's doctor is urging her to withdraw from the production due to her severely injured knee. Kidman sustained the injury while working on Moulin Rouge. This is causing serious problems for Columbia Pictures. They need to be able to recast the role and quickly. Unfortunately, due to the strike threat there aren't any big name stars with free time on their hands to step into the project immediately. Worse, filming has been under way for two weeks now, meaning that a pretty substantial amount of money has been invested already.
Are they screwed? Talk about it on the Forums
21 September, 2000
The last time we saw Jared Leto in a David Fincher movie, his character was getting his face rearranged by Ed Norton's character in Fight Club. Maybe he'll fare better this time. Leto has been cast in the male lead in David Fincher's next movie, Panic Room. He will be playing the leader of a trio of thieves attempting to break into a house and find a fortune in cash hidden away. Forest Whitaker and Dwight Yoakam play the other two crooks.
Nicole Kidman will be playing the current owner of the house. She and her daughter have try and hide from the criminals for fear of their lives. The script was written by David Koepp.
10 July, 2000
Over at IGN Movies, they managed to get their hands on the script to G.J. Pruss' Passengers, currently sitting second in director David Fincher's production schedule. Why second? Well it's pretty dark. Really dark. Plus no big name stars have signed on. Therefore it waits while he does the seemingly less interesting Panic Room.
24 April, 2000
When I first heard about this script my first reaction was, "What the hell is a panic room?" Well thanks to Stax and another great script review, I now know what a panic room is. You know what? I don't care. This sounds like a lame idea to me. But that won't stop it from being made. It was originally set to be directed by David Fincher, which would have been a big point in its favor, but it looks like he has backed out of the project. Anyway, enough of my rantings, on with the review.
A "panic room" is essentially a bomb shelter crossed with a vault. It gives wealthy folks a safe place to hide should home invaders break in. The panic room, like a bomb shelter, is stocked with supplies and it also has a separate phone line and an array of video surveillance banks. What I never understood was why is the panic room so well stocked with provisions? Just how long do these rich people plan on hiding there for? It's like living in N.O.R.A.D. Also, the Panic Room has fireproof sleeping bags, waterproof matches, and such but no fridge, running water, or toilet?! Kind of defeats the purpose of holding up inside there if you'll die of starvation and thirst. The Panic Room sure comes in handy as Meg and Sarah must use it the FIRST night they stay there. Three thieves (the gambling addict Burnham, the uptown white boy gangsta Junior, and big bad Raoul) break in with the intent to steal the $14 million dollars the previous reclusive owner is alleged to have hidden there. But these are movie thieves and, of course, the heist quickly goes horribly awry. As fate would have it, the treasure they're after is held inside a floor vault within the Panic Room where Meg and Sarah have sealed themselves in once the intruders break in. The rest of the story, told in near real time, shows the lengths these thieves will go to invade the Panic Room and the courage and decisiveness Meg musters in order to protect herself and her child.
To read the entire review, head over to FilmForce.
4 April, 2000
This project may be losing its only bright spot, the director. David Fincher was all but set to make this movie for Columbia but it now looks like he's on the way out over disagreements on final cut. This might propel him back toward Passengers, an alien possession thriller for USA Pictures.
Panic Room was written by David Koepp. It's about a woman and her daughter who have to lock themselves in a room to avoid harm from criminals breaking into their house.
23 March, 2000
David Fincher is apparently considering making The Panic Room his next project. The script was written by David Koepp (Stir of Echoes) who will also serve as producer along with Gavin Palone. Koepp received an astonishing $4 million for the script from Columbia Pictures. Nicole Kidman is rumored to be interested in taking a role in the project.
The script tells of a mother and daughter whose house has room called the panic room. It is meant to be a room for escaping the outside world. They are force to use it as a refuge when criminals break into the house. It's a little hard to know what to make of this project. On the one hand the storyline sounds a bit weak. On the other hand, Fincher has a dark style that is hard to resist. Only time will tell how this plays out.
