RUMOURED FILMS & TV SHOWS: True Lies 2, Taking on the Neighborhood, Alice, Wonder Woman, Fastlane...
Last Updated: January 23, 2002

News: [ 23.Jan.03 ] A Q&A was held with 'Daredevil' director Mark Johnston at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention last weekend. From a report at Comics2Film:

Another fan proclaimed that if Johnson opts to have Black Widow in a sequel, then Eliza Dushku was the ONLY possibility. Johnson agreed, and after all, Kevin Smith has said her costume in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was based off of a Black Widow statue released a couple of years ago.

Many thanks to The Tragic Vixen: the script for It Was Always Me cannot be found, from any of the agencies of the actors that are supposedly involved. I'd probably chalk the whole movie down to an IMDb rumour.

[ 25.Oct.02 ] Got a few emails about this today... the IMDB now lists Eliza as starring in 'Alice' (the movie based on the video game from Amercian McGee.) The IMDB allows anyone who pays for an IMDB Pro account to change film listing and information, so it's not really a trustworthy source. The last official news we heard about the movie was from Wes Craven, who said that it'll be a "big CGI picture" (and most likely not have any live action actors.)

Another rumour floating around is that Eliza will be appearing in an episode of Fastlane, according to Fraz on Fan Forum who's usually pretty accurate on the 'Buffy' news. But I'd wait on confirmation from a few more sources before believing it.

[ 30.Sep.02 ] In the intro to an interview with Eliza on the set of 'Wrong Turn,' Moriarty mentions that Eliza's character has been written out of out True Lies 2.

[ 12.Aug.02 ] I know that Eliza has said that she hasn't been approached about appearing in True Lies 2, but Variety reported this week that the movie is still on Cameron's immediate development slate as director.

[ 15.May.02 ] Little mini-interview with Eliza up at Fanboy Planet where she clears up some internet rumours.

Me: What can you tell us about True Lies 2?
Eliza Dushku: I can tell you a whole lot of nothing. I've heard a lot of rumors, but I haven't seen anything with my own eyes.

Me: Would you expect to be asked back for the sequel?
Her: I wouldn't expect to be. I would be thrilled if I were asked back as long as Dana is joining the family business. I want in on the action.

Me: What about the rumors that you'll play Wonder Woman in the movie?
Her: Total rumor.

Me: Where did that rumor start?
Her: Probably some internet guy.

Well, far be it from us at Fanboy Planet to start such rumors up again, but you know, it wouldn't be a bad idea. Although by the time Warner Brothers made a decision, Dushku would be 40.

[ 30.Apr.02 ] Eliza Dushku confirmed on Boston-area radio station WAAF 107.3 FM that she has NOT signed any contracts regarding True Lies 2 and lost out a potential role on T3 to Sophia Bush.

[ 1.Apr.02 ] This is from Action Adventure Movies:

Paxton Says No True Lies 2
As a friend of James Cameron, Paxton infers sequel fate

Bill Paxton has some unfortunate news for True Lies fans. Though rumor has it James Cameron wrote a script for a sequel, Paxton, who is friends with Cameron and played the sleazy used car salesman in True Lies, said he doubts such a thing will ever come to be. "I don't think there's going to be a True Lies 2, but I'm not the person to talk to about that," Paxton said. "I made a trip to Titanic with Jim back in August and September. I made four descents down to Titanic and [the sequel] came up. I think in light of the events of September, I don't think Jim Cameron will be in any way, shape or form involved in a sequel to that movie. That's my opinion. I can't really speak for Jim."

As for the script news previously reported, Paxton said, "That's one of those rumors that just goes around. I'm not really privy to it." [ article ]

[ 31.Jan.02 ] A plot outline for 'True Lies 2' has been posted on the IMDB:

If your parents are secret agents, there is only one way for you to go. Dana Tasker is finally there... in action too.

(Just a disclaimer that the IMDB isn't always reliable cuz a lot of its content is submitted by fans.) But I was doing a search for more info on TL2 and I found this old, old bit of info on E! Online:

Should James Cameron go forward with True Lies 2 (a few weeks ago he told me he won't if the script's not good), Eliza Dushku, fresh from Bring It On, will again play Ah-nuld's daughter

So it sounds like there was some sort of agreement for everyone in the cast of TL1 to return, and James Cameron has some role for Eliza planned.

[ 29.Jan.02 ] Cindy Pearlman interviewed Arnold Schwarzenegger for her Cin City column on Cinema Confidential and he said that the script for True Lies 2 has been finished and will probably go into production next year. But still no mention of Eliza.

No lie: The Big Lug is at it again. Arnold Schwarzenegger says that a script was turned in last week for "True Lies II." Details? Schwarzenegger tells this column, "Jim Cameron finished the script a few months ago. But I'm not sure it will shoot this year. I'm going to go away for a long time to do 'Terminator,' and it's not my style to go away again so quickly and do another huge movie. I like to do one movie a year at the most. We'll shoot it next year. We have a good script. There does need to be some changes because it deals with some terrorists act of some sort. But it's pretty much done."

Jamie Lee Curtis is also expected to return. Arnie says that rumors that he will run for office in California will not delay "TL2." "Do you honestly think I could run for office while I'm doing 'Terminator 3' and then 'True Lies II.' Be honest. I can't do all of it! I'm only human."

[ 20.Dec.01 ] Ok. I hope I can reveal this now, since it doesn't matter anymore. I've got confirmation that Eliza was a top contender for the role of Bad Girl (aka Jade) in 'Bulletproof Monk' that'll star Chow Yun Fat and be produced by John Woo. However, the Hollywood Reporter reported on Tuesday that the role went to James King. (If it's any consolation, some people involved in the movie would have preferred Eliza over King.) Coming Attractions had previously revealed that Michelle Rodriguez and Jessica Alba (who both kinda project the same dark edge that Eliza does) were also discussed as contenders for the role. But King - who's a blonde model/actor - picked up the role of the "sexy Russian mob princess" instead, so it sounds like the people involved changed their minds on what they were looking for.

[ 6.Nov.01 ] Rumours about casting for this movie have started to leak out and I'm not going to be online for awhile after today, so I thought I'd mention it now... Eliza's close to signing for a new movie. And it's not one that's been mentioned before. Keep an eye on sources like Ain't It Cool News, because it'll most likely pop up someplace like that first. Or Variety, for an official trade paper. I'll let you know when more info becomes available (or if I'm allowed to say more :) ) but keep in mind that final negotiations are still being hammered out, so things may change in the meanwhile. And I'll let you know if I fall flat on my face. :)

[ 24.Sep.01 ] Over at the IMDB 'Ask a Filmaker' section, John August answered a question about 'Alice' where he refutes a lot of rumours about it, including Eliza's involvement (or that of any other actress at this point.)

One of the bizarre things about the internet is that if anything is mentioned three places, it suddenly becomes "fact." When we first started to make Go, one of the trade papers decided that the title was Go! That extra, unwanted bit of punctuation was picked up by two other sites that week, and I spent the next two years haunted by it. Even now, I'll see the damn exclamation point in some reviews. A similar thing has happened with the Alice in Wonderland project, which is an adaptation of "American McGee's Alice," an extremely cool videogame that came out last year. First, I have no idea where the title "Dark Wonderland" came from. Everyone involved on the project calls it Alice. I suspect some fanboy thought "Dark Wonderland" sounded cooler. But that's not the working title. A second misconception is that Natalie Portman is starring. Or Eliza Dushku. Or whoever. It's a long ways away from casting, and any speculation is just fanboy fantasy. The third misconception is that I'm writing the script. I'm not.

[ 14.Sep.01 ] I was browsing through the site for The Hollywood Reporter recently and found this news item dated April 9, 2001.

In The Pipeline
Feature Films

"Taking on the Neighborhood"
A young woman is caught between Latino and Irish communities in New York City when she inadvertently starts a gang war between the two factions. From American Zoetrope. Stars Eliza Dushku. (Release date: 2002/2003)

The info we had from a year ago, was a report that said Eliza was only "in talks" to star and that it was to begin shooting late 2000, which it never did. What's interesting about this, was that this article was printed after Eliza finished filming 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.' Plus it lists her as starring and has a vague release date. It could be possible that she shot it after J&SBSB or it might have been done last year before she shot 'The New Guy' and 'City by the Sea'. However, Eliza hasn't mentioned it in any of her interviews so it could be possible that the Hollywood Reporter article is mistaken, or the film is on the backburner for the time being.

American Zoetrope is Francis Ford Coppola's production company, and Hollywood.com has him listed as a producer for the film. In March 2000, Zoetrope reached an agreement with MGM’s indie arm, United Artists, to combine forces on ten projects with budgets under $10 million. The first of these to be released was the recent box office hit, 'Jeepers Creepers.' 'CQ' and 'Taking On The Neighborhood' were the two other films already in development when the agreement was announced last year. Amy Talkington is attached to direct, from a script by Helen Schulman. This is from Amy Talkington's official website but it isn't listed when the site was last updated:

Helen Schulman's 'Taking on the Neighborhood' follows the untamable Daria Scorza as she stirs up trouble in her tight-knit Irish-American Bronx neighborhood. It's all harmless enough until a murder occurs. Daria is held responsible and pitted against not only her neighborhood but also her first love.

Talkington is attached to direct. Anne Harrison (Two Family House) is producing. They are currently putting together the cast.

[ 26.Aug.01 ] New article on Eliza from the Calgary Sun in Canada. It seems like she won't be appearing as Faith on 'Buffy' or as Wonder Woman or replacing Shannen Doherty on 'Charmed.' She confirms that she hasn't had any formal offers for next year yet.

Nail-biting
According to Eliza Dushku, there is something much scarier than vampires.

"Try Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans," says Dushku who played Faith in the popular Buffy TV series.

"Buffy fans are known to pop out of bushes. They are real stalkers. It never ceases to amaze me. They bring dozens of photos for you to sign.

"I haven't been on the show for the past two seasons and they still hound me."

Dushku has heard the rumours that Faith will reappear this season when Buffy moves from the WB network to UPN this year.

"I've seen those stories on the Internet but I've also read that I'm supposed to be playing Wonder Woman in the film version and that I'm replacing Shannon Doherty on Charmed.

"According to rumours, I'm going to be one very busy actress next year, but I haven't had any formal offers."

In Kevin Smith's raunchy new comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dushku plays one of the trio of sexy burglars who are meant to be a spoof on Charlie's Angels.

She will be seen later this year starring opposite Wes Bentley in the horror thriller Soul Survivor and in the drama City by the Sea which reunites her with Robert De Niro.

In the 1993 drama This Boy's Life, she and Leonardo Di Caprio played the actor's young children.

There was a major difference in her relationship with De Niro this time around.

"For one thing I didn't run around kicking him in the shins. I was 11 years old when I did that film. I was just so thrilled he remembered me."

[ 4.Aug.01 ] Fox has tentatively scheduled 'True Lies 2' for a summer 2002 release. They apparently have faith that filming will start soon and wrap quickly, so announcements about casting (and whether or not Eliza is involved) should be out soon.

[ 13.Jul.01 ] Variety reported that the sequel for 'True Lies' has been scheduled by Fox for 2002. James Cameron will be directing, and it should start filming soon after Arnold Schwarzenegger wraps up Terminator 3 this fall. Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis and Tom Arnold are all confirmed to return. In the 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back' press junket that she took part in recently, Eliza said that she hadn't heard anything about an actual script.

[ 2.Jun.01 ] Popcorn has posted an article about Eliza joining the list of candiates to play Wonder Woman:

Comic-books-turned-movies continue to be popular fodder in Hollywood and while a live-action version of 'Wonder Woman' continues through development hell, the casting rumour mill rumbles on.

'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' star Eliza Dushku (she plays naughty slayer Faith) is the latest name being thrown around as a possibility to play Amazonian princess Diana Prince.

Dushku may be the youngest actress to be linked with the project so far, but she's certainly making a name for herself away from her 'Buffy' stint. The 21-year-old actress starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in the 1994 film 'True Lies' and displayed her cheerleading talent last year in 'Bring It On'. She's also just finished filming with Ben Affleck and Kevin Smith in 'Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back'.

Popcorn contacted 'Wonder Woman' producer Joel Silver's office, only to be told by a spokesperson "the story is still in development and there's no production office set up for the film yet". When asked about Eliza Dushku, we were told: "The only person who would know that is Joel." He did not return our calls, godammit!

If the rumour's true, Dushku is going to have face some tough competition on her hands, as Sandra Bullock is still the outright favourite to take the role. Producer Leonard Goldberg - also attached to the project - has already admitted speaking with the actress and that "it all depends on the script and director... she hasn't done anything this physical in a long time, and she'd like to. We'd love to have her."

As for Sandy, she says she's interested in the project but has one or two conditions. Speaking on the set of her current film 'Fool Proof', she explains she is "not interested" in the character Lynda Carter created in the 1970s TV show. Bullock goes on to say she wouldn't want her version to be "watered down" like that. Nor would she be happy about wearing the figure-hugging stars and stripes leotard that Carter made famous.

But if Sandy isn't desperate to don the suit, there are a couple of other women who would happily do so. According to Entertainment Weekly, 'Xena: Warrior Princess' star Lucy Lawless and WWF wrestling star Chyna are both keen to get hold of Diana Prince's superpowers.

Is anyone else worried about something that Sandra Bullock is thinking about turning down for creative reasons?

[ 17.Feb.01 ] According to Upcoming Movies, "Alice" (film adaptation of American McGee's Alice) will be directed by Wes Craven after he films "The Fountain Society" and will probably be released in 2003. Eliza is listed as rumoured to be up for the role of Alice (along with Natalie Portman and Heather Donahue) but they caution that "...this film is a few years away, and by then, there might even be a new now-unknown young actress that could emerge."

[ 18.Jan.01 ] There's been talk of a sequel to the 1994 hit, "True Lies" for two or three years now, and those rumours really gathered momentum in 2000. Although nothing concrete has been set yet (James Cameron hasn't even seen the script) it seems like most of the original cast - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold and Eliza - will be on board for the sequel. James Cameron appears to be definitely producing, but he's waiting for the script before he decides whether to direct it as well. The talk is that the film is slated for release in 2001 or 2002. ... According to reports at Ain't It Cool News, the premise of True Lies 2 would deal with marital problems between Harry and Helen that arise when the two spies are split by the suspicion that one of them might be a double agent. Dana is involved with a sexually active partner and naturally, Harry does not approve. There's also something about an assortment of Russian Missile Targeting Boards landing in the wrong hands. ... From the E! Online profile: "And there's even talk that she'll reprise her role as the daughter of Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies 2. "[Jamie] actually called me at home and said, 'Eliza, this is your mother,' " laughs Dushku. "She said, 'I just want you to know I'm telling them [True Lies 2] has to be about you.' I was like, Go for it!"

In August 2000, The Hollywood Reporter reports that Eliza is in talks to star in "Taking on the Neighborhood." According to Upcoming Movies the premise is about "a young woman (Dushku) in New York City who finds herself trapped between the cultures of the Irish and Latino communities and accidentally starts a deadly gang war." It was to be directed by Amy Talkington from a script by Helen Schulman but filming was meant to begin in late 2000 and didn't. No word on what's happening with the film now, and whether or not Eliza is still involved.

In December 2000, GuerillaFilm reports that Eliza may star as Alice in the film adaptation of the video game "American McGee's Alice," as well as being involved in "Blood and Chocolate" a love story involving a werewolf. I'd take these rumours with a grain of salt.