UPDATES
10/7/02 -- Just a mini-update today. The box office estimate was corrected to an actual take of $36.5 mil, which still ain't bad. Meanwhile, John Flynn has got some follow-up on the Red Dragon soundtrack review page!
Second update 10/6/02 -- Apparently, Red Dragon's take of $37.5 million is a box office record for October. The eagle-eyed TonysGirl emailed me with this link to a box office story as well as this ABC news story on Tony and Red Dragon! Thanks, TonysGirl!
Next, Li'l Lecter writes in with this review info:
I just saw RD for the 3rd time and like it more and more after each viewing. I haven't seen SotL in a couple months in an effort to allow RD to overwhelm me on it's own merits, but after my next viewing of RD I'll surely pop SotL in the DVD player and enjoy them both one after the other. Also, Ebert & Roeper gave RD "two thumbs up". Pretty cool! I really like Ebert's reviews as he tends to like smart thrillers. He also gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars in his print review. Talk to you later. --Li'l Lecter
10/6/02 -- Thanks go out to Paul T. in Toronto for letting us know that the weekend estimate for Red Dragon is 37.5 million. The full chart, courtesy of boxofficemojo, is here!
Next, longtime scooper the Mad Doctor loved Red Dragon! Read his review now on the Red Dragon reviews page!
And if you can't get enough of Lecterology, Inge has sent in this link which has more clips and photos than you could shake a stick at! And while you're at it check out this slideshow of the Red Dragon premiere from the LA Times! Also, once again cribbing from the great Edward-Norton.org (which if you haven't checked out you should, far more thorough than my site, be it ever so humble), you can read the transcript from Anthony Hopkins' recent chat by clicking HERE!. Also listed on that great site is the following: This previous week's Time magazine had an article (check newsstands before it's gone). Don't forget to catch "On the Set: Red Dragon" on STARZ! and "Behind the Scenes: Red Dragon" on the E! channel (check your local listings).
And Tony De Sarzec sends in this link to another Red Dragon review from DVD Times in the UK.
Last, I plan to see Red Dragon again tonight prior to writing my own review. If any of you out there plan on seeing it a second time and want to send me a review or second look, please do! Cheers!
10/5/02 -- Red Dragon -- SEEN! (by me) My thoughts after I've had time to, well, digest. But in the meantime, the Lovely Helene & her Lecterbuddies, as well as cOry, have sent in their reviews, which you can read (along with a gang of others') on the Red Dragon reviews page! Warning, some spoilers, and some radically opposed opinions, but variety is the spice of life, eh? (somehow food metaphors keep popping into my head tonight, imagine that!) One thing I will say without a doubt is that I agree with TonysGirl's assessment that Ralph Fiennes deserves some serious Oscar consideration for his perf as Dolarhyde!
OK, read the reviews, then come back and read the rest of this update... The great cleo returns with this very cool collection of tidbits!
Just got my EW in the mail; of course it has a Red Dragon cover. The
article's pretty funny, particularly because the reporters go back to
Michael Mann and repeat all of Ratner's babbling to him for commentary
(Mann
comes off as pretty gracious under the circumstances). It's interesting
to
note that Ratner comes off relatively well in the article--he sounds
like he
needs a serious Ritalin IV drip, but you also get the feeling that he
says
so many of the stupid and/or bombastic things he does because he just
has no
filter between his mouth and his brain. Also interesting: The demands
the
different actors made of the beleaguered Ratner in terms of how they
were
directed ("Only speak to me in adverbs and adjectives"). And Anthony
Hopkins? "I can say, 'Just say it like this.' He doesn't care." No
wonder he
wants him on board for Superman.
It's partially online now at EW.com.
Also: Edward Norton was on Letterman last night. He literally walked out the door after the interview was over to get to the theater where he's doing "Burn This." They talked surprisingly little about Red Dragon, and at the end just showed the "You have certain... disadvantages" clip. Norton seemed a little nervous, actually, but he had the play to do right after, so whatever. Seriously, check out cleo's fantastic movie site, Daily Digest for scoops.
Next, the great Inge sends in this Movieweb link that has full press kit photos, a synopsis and a cast list. One stop shopping!
Lastly, thanks to cleo (with mad props to the lovely Helene and TonysGirl for writing in about it), you have to check out this USA Today article on Red Dragon. I'm putting this link on the Red Dragon page, but check out the Sequel page to find out why it's there too!
10/4/02 -- Well, the reviews (that I've only glimpsed; seriously, I hate spoilers) have been all over the map but I'm looking forward to seeing the movie for myself TONIGHT!!!! Can't wait to hear what the lovely Helene, her Lecterbuddies, TonysGirl and my other scoopers make of it. In the meantime, an update...
First, Frank Jackson weighs in on this weekend's projected box office:
Expert weekend forecasters are predicting an opening weekend of between $44m and $50m for "Red Dragon". Personally, I could see it being as high as $57m, considering "Hannibal"'s stellar weekend last year.
Next, be sure to watch the E! special that is starting to air; Ed Norton on the today show today, and Ralph Fiennes tonight on Leno (just cribbed that info from the ever-awesome Edward-Norton.org!
Now, onto REVIEWS!!!
*First, Clark Kent writes in on the review page!
*Next, see what those krazy mixed-up kids at CHUD think!
*literally, a TON of reviews on today's Dark Horizons!
*And be sure not to miss Rotten Tomatoes if you're into reviews. They've got a ton!
Happy Hannibal day, everyone!!!! Cheers!
10/3/02 -- Here it is, the first two original reviews from readers of this site!!!! Click here to read excellent reviews from longtime scooper Li'l Lecter and new scooper Michelle! Thanks, guys!
Also, a couple more external reviews from:
Aint It Cool's Alexandra du Pont
A bunch of readers of the great Coming Attractions!
10/2/02 -- The clock is ticking, Clarice! Naturally, the scoops are pouring in from all over!
The lovely Helene had a great idea so I will open a page for reviews from readers of this site, regular scoopers like Helene, TonysGirl, cOry, and others whose names you've seen on these pages, but also from "lurkers"! So please do send me your reviews! On to the news...
First, Tony De Sarzec, who has purchased his ticket already, sends in THIS LINK to BBC interviews with Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes and Brett Ratner!!! Thanks, Tony!
Next, thanks to the eagle-eyed Brad Keene for sending in this very cool Time Magazine feature by Jess Cagle on the film, with all the playaz interviewed. Excellent read! 48 hours left. Holy %&$#!!!
Next, Norway's Finest, Inge, sends in these links to Red Dragon multimedia:
CLIPS (from Cinemovies)
TV SPOTS (from Cinemovies)
and the Baltimore screening announcement up at Edward-Norton.org!
Wow, thanks to Li'l Lecter (formerly Nick K.) for telling us about Dark Horizons' own "Aussie webmaster" quoted in the New York Daily News in a piece about Red Dragon! Li'l Lecter also writes in the following:
Hopkins was on the Today Show this morning. Great! He was interviewed by Matt Lauer and it was a pretty long segment. Really cool clips I hadn't seen yet. Also, the new TV spots are really cool with quotes from (not so well known) critics. Still, though, pretty neat.
OK, OK, REVIEWS! Here are the ones I've seen pop up in the last couple of days:
*Jenna McFatBack on Aint it Cool (thanks to Li'l Lecter)
*Skiewed and Reviewed's Gareth J. Von Kallenbach (from DarkHorizons)
*"Battle Pope" on Dark Horizons
*Ted Pfeifer on ReelInsider.com
*Aint It Cool's Quint
*Aint It Cool's Massawyrm
*And if you're interested in reading reviews, there's always the one-stop-shopping that is the great Rotten Tomatoes' Red Dragon page!
Well, that's it for now! More later (I'm sure!) Cheers AND JUST TWO MORE DAYS TO GO!!!!
9/30/02 -- Well, news is breaking pretty fast and furious now that we are in the DESIGNATED WEEK!!!! We have mad scoops today, starting, with longtime scooper and friend of this site, the lovely Helene, who adds her imressions to the Red Dragon soundtrack review page!
Next, thanks to Brad Keene for pointing out that ComingSoon.net has posted a Ralph Fiennes interview.
Continuing on the ComingSoon.net bead, thanks to longtime scooper Mike, who lets us know that the site has posted four MAJOR Red Dragon clips!!!! and to John Nestore for letting us know that the AOL clip between Dolarhyde and Reba is up at Moviefone!!!
Nick K. adds icing to the cake with the following ace report:
Just thought I'd let you know that getting up at 6am this morning really paid off. I was able to get across town to one of our Border's Books and wait in line (a line that had easily 100+ Red Dragon fans) to get free passes to a screening. They only had 60 passes so, unfortunately, quite a few people left empty-handed. I was 15th in line so I'm totally psyched for the screening. I'll let you know how it goes. Also, I purchased the soundtrack. Very good. I think it'll play much better accompanied with the visuals of the film.
And finally, Entertainment Weekly lists Anthony Hopkins on Conan O'Brien Tuesday(Oct 1st), Edward Norton on Letterman Thursday(Oct 3rd), and Ralph Fiennes on Leno Friday(Oct 4th). Thanks, Nick! Please, if anyone gets screen grabs from these like Laura Palmer used to do, please do send them in!!
And last, thanks to Lecterfilia for pointing us to these cool shots from the premiere of Red Dragon! Click the little shot to get to the Yahoo Photo version of the pic!
9/28/02 -- Scooper John Flynn, who has SEEN Red Dragon, weighs in with a review of the soundtrack on the Red Dragon soundtrack review section!!!!
Also, mucho thanks to Michelle for this info about the DVD box set:
Thought you oughta know that this box set is actually out in stores and has been out for some time. The only thing new is that actual box it comes in with a picture of Hannibal in red. The two discs are the widescreen Special Editions. Still, it's tempting to buy it just for the box. Amazon listing. Amazon's picture is different from the actual sets I've seen. Perhaps Canada got something different. Futureshop Canada's listing. So, there it is! thanks, Michelle!
9/27/02 -- Just in time for the weekend comes a MASSIVE UPDATE courtesy of my awesome scoopers! First, thanks to the lovely Helene for writing in about the following:
On Monday, the 30th at 5:30 PM EST, MSN Live is gonna have a chat with Sir Tony...
The amazing Webmistress of Eye of The Storm set up the link on her main page, above the RD pic:
Also, thanks to Conrad for sending in this link to the MSN page.
This is major news. I will be there with bells on, if I can get in.
Next, thanks to longtime site contributor (and all around good egg) TonysGirl for sending in her review of the Red Dragon soundtrack. I also got a short review from new scooper Lester, so I'm putting them both in a new Red Dragon soundtrack review section! So go! Read them now!
Last but not least, be sure to check out the tidbit on the Sequel page!!!
9/26/02 -- Mucho thanks to the great Brad Keene for letting us know that the Dutch UIP Red Dragon site now has INTERVIEWS up! So check it. Thanks, as always, Brad.
And huge thanks to new scooper Heather who sent in two great scoops, one involving the "behind-the-scenes" E! special and the other about a box set (!!!). Here's Heather:
Just want to tell you also that I've been seeing commercials for a Hannibal/SOTL dvd box set. They've been running all night on MTV tonight. I don't recall when it's coming out, but I'm sure it's soon. It will probably coincide with the RD release or something.
And:
My lecterbuddy, Helene who often sends you scoops, told me to drop you a line about E! television's upcoming behind the scenes look at Red Dragon. I'll post the day and times, all times being for the central zone. Hope you enjoy, as I know that I will!
Thu 3 1:00 PM Behind the Scenes: Red Dragon E!
Fri 4 6:00 AM Behind the Scenes: Red Dragon E!
Fri 4 12:00 PM Behind the Scenes: Red Dragon E!
Sun 6 2:00 AM Behind the Scenes: Red Dragon E!
Sun 6 6:00 AM Behind the Scenes: Red Dragon E!
Mon 7 2:30 AM Behind the Scenes: Red Dragon E!
Wow! Thanks, Heather (and, as always, the lovely Helene!)
And lastly, The Mad Doctor has commented on Frank Jackson's review, a counterpoint, if you will.
The most surprising element in the latest sneak preview review was the comment that the Elfman score was awful. I've listened to every track on the web link, and, if anything, I agree with a much earlier sneak preview review that said it seemed like an imitation (homage?) of the Silence of the Lambs soundtrack. The note patterns from Clarice's run in the woods that served as the musical thread for Lambs occur in several of the Red Dragon selections. Some of the pieces sound similar to those in Hannibal as well (which was, by far, the more memorable of the two previous soundtracks, although Silence was the superior film). There is some similarity to Elfman's Darkman score, but I don't imagine Beetlejuice jumping out of Hannibal's cage.
Another comment was that Dr. Chilton looked more noticeably older than Hopkins. From the photos I've seen (as well as from enjoying Anthony Heald in Boston Public) I can't see how this is the case. Although, in both cases (Hopkins as well as Heald) the most noticeable aspect of aging on them both is their respective necks (a little loose under the chin). Hopkins always looks younger with his shirt buttoned to the top. If someone had fitted them both with prosthetic necks, it would have taken off ten years from their physical appearances quite easily. I know that sounds cruel, but they need make-up supervisors with some knowledge of facial anatomy and how and where the skin sags.
9/22/02 -- Scooper Monika, who is close watch on the Hannibal sequel talk, writes in with the following:
At DARKHORIZONS is an exclusive Hopkins interview (note: and Edward Norton too. --ed.). Here's the most interesting part: "Anthony Hopkins was in a surprisingly good mood promoting Red Dragon in a New York hotel. Casually attired in leather jacket and jeans, the Oscar wining Brit begins by impersonating Red Dragon producer Dino De Laurentiis, with deep Italian accent to match. ?We?ll talk later about doing another one, eh? Five more.? Laughing, Hopkins, who returns as the famed cannibalistic serial killer in the prequel to Silence of the Lambs, says to the producer that he really cannot conceive of doing more than three in total.[AND THEN,LISTEN!!!] But he concedes never say never. ?I honestly don?t know. I guess anything is possible; I?m like putty,? Hopkins says smilingly. As is said it.De Laurentiis will try everything and when Hopkins says "anything is possible",I know what to expect... Thanks, Monika!
9/22/02 -- With the release date around the corner, tidbits are pouring in from all over! Read all the way to the end of this dispatch, folks! First, thanks to tertXCard for letting us know there was a new TV spot shown during the Emmy's. Next, Steve McKenzie writes in with this:
There is a lot of Oscar buzz around the performances of Anthony Hopkins and Ralph Fiennes in "Red Dragon". The movie has already been getting rave reviews from fans and people who have seen sneak previews of the film. Hopkins is getting most of the buzz. Reviewers say he deserves one for his more angry and vengeful portrayal of Hannibal Lecter. But Fiennes is also getting in a good word for his disturbing yet sorrowful performance as Francis Dolarhyde. This film is sure to be a box office hit, but if it fares well with more mainstream critics (Roger Ebert, "Rolling Stone" movie critic, ect.) then both performers might get a shot at the "Best Supporting Actor" category. I personally would love to see Sir Tony get some more Oscar love for Hannibal! Bring it on!
Last but not least, the GREAT longtime scooper Frank Jackson writes in with his own Red Dragon review (the first and only sent in to this site)!!! Read that by clicking here (mixed review/minimal spoilers). Thanks, as always, Frank!
9/20/02 -- Well! Big news day for fans of Hannibal. Thanks go out to the ever-vigilant Brad Keene for pointing us to the gang of new Red Dragon reviews now posted at Aint It Cool. As always, BEWARE OF SPOILERS.
Also, John Flynn writes in that the iclassics.com Red Dragon page has posted some exquisite clips from Danny Elfman's score for the film! Thanks, John!
Next, the great Dark Horizons posted the following funny bit about the film:
Red Dragon: Every now and then there's an English tabloid story that's so funny you've got to laugh, today one such one emerged. The Mirror reports that star Ralph Fiennes had no problem going nude for a scene in the Hannibal Lecter prequel, in fact according to Director Brett Ratner "We had to digitally remove part of his willy because it was so long, in the end we had to remove three or four inches". Fiennes says "It's ridiculous when men get out of bed wearing underwear or pants after sleeping with a girl - it's just not realistic. Nudity's no big deal to me". In any case the make-up artists caught an eyeful, the full length back tattoo that Fiennes' sports in the film took an astonishing eight hours to apply. Thanks to The Z Review. And lastly, be sure to mosey over to the Hannibal Sequel section for a tasty morsel sent in my Monika!
09/16/02 - I was perusing the excellent message boards at The Doctor's Office and found a link from the proprietor, Library Curator, linking to the VERY COOL Official Dutch Red Dragon site. There you'll see a gang of new images, including the one on the front page and at right. Wow!
Here's an interesting bit of not-really-film-related-but-sorta news. Nick K. writes in the following: Just received my Entertainment Weekly (no, I don't just sit around all day and read magazines) and Ratner, who is supposedly going to direct the new Superman flick, says that he wants Hopkins to play Supes' dad (played by Brando in the original with Reeves).
Meanwhile, Thomas writes in to take Friday's Hopkins quote about the future of his Hannibal portrayal with a grain of salt. We shall see!
Finally, more reviews have popped up on Aint It Cool News and the great Coming Attractions but be warned: HERE BE SPOILERS!
09/15/02 -- Thanks to John Flynn for pointing us to iclassics.com where all the correct soundtrack information for Red Dragon is listed! Apparently the information we had earlier in the year was w-r-o-n-g!
09/14/02 -- Thanks to the lovely Helene for this report about E! News Daily. I'm pretty sure they will repeat this program, or bits of it, over the weekend, so be vigilant! On "E News Daily" last night, there was a "behind the scenes" segment on RD with short clips of interviews with Hopkins, Norton, Fiennes and Rattner....not too much was mentioned about the movie itself.....it was more about the on-set hijinks and practical jokes that went on, but you can tell they seemed to have a good time working together. Thanks, as always, Helene!
Next, Nick K. writes in with another excellent scoop, pointing us to not only a new Red Dragon review at Dark Horizons but Garth's great site also has the following report, which puts the oft-mentioned Hannibal sequel rumors into question:
Red Dragon: Cinescape talked with Anthony Hopkins about playing Lecter one last time and during a meeting with Director Brett Ratner in NYC, he told him how he wanted the character to differ from his performance in 'Silence': "I just want to play him differently. I don't want to play him like we did in SILENCE. This is a man who is so enraged about being locked away by the Ed Norton character - if I could get out, I'd destroy him. I wanted to play him as a man who isn't to be messed about with. No charm, just lethal". Is there a remote chance he'll do another? No - "I enjoyed playing it, and the last one was a good experience, working with Brett Ratner and Ed Norton. And that's it. I won't do any more. Three is enough". Thanks to 'FanHalen'.
09/13/02 -- Second Update! The Shark reports that the Red Dragon Official Site is now up and running. There are some cool new stills there but they're in flash so, alas, I can't reprint them here. Also, the ever-lovely Helene reports that Hannibal promotion things are now showing up in her AOL email box proving that yes, we are incredibly close to the opening of this flick! p.s. Saw Igby Goes Down at a matinee. What a nice surprise. Excellent flick.
Friday the 13th -- Well, on behalf of Jason Voorhees I'd like to wish everyone a happy Friday the 13th. In the meantime, I've got two big scoops of Red Dragon for your morning commute! We'll start with the wonderful Nick K.'s tip about what's out there on the newsstand:
Just thought I'd write to tell you that I just received my monthly issue of Premiere and it includes their "best of" items for the past 15 years (they've been around since '87). I was pleased, but not surprised, to see that not only did SOTL take "Best Horror Film", but good ol' Dr. Lecter took "Best Villain". Pretty cool, huh? Also, I dropped by my local mag store here in Phoenix and picked up the latest issue of the UK's Empire(Oct'02) and the Sept'02 issue of Fangoria. Both have Lecter on the cover, but Fangoria's with the famous mask shot is awesome. The articles for each are fantastic. Tally discusses RD in Fangoria and Lecter, Graham, and Dollarhyde are discussed in Empire. Great scoopage, Nick! Thanks!
Next, apparently there was a recent screening in New York and Harry's got a gang of reviews. WARNING: SPOILERS! Click here to go read them!
9/10/02 -- New commercials on TV? New scooper Lester writes in with the skinny: I have seen TWO different commercial's so far for Red Dragon. One of them I saw on NBC, the other on ESPN. Thanks, Lester!
9/7/02 -- First, thanks to Susan, webmaster of the great Edward-Norton.org for the following report about the premiere:
The "Red Dragon" world premiere will be held at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on Monday, September 30. Tickets start at $250, which also includes dinner and cocktails at a post-screening party.
The proceeds will be donated to the Enterprise Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing housing to low-income families which was founded by James Rouse, Edward Norton's grandfather.
There's more info about the premiere at the Enterprise Foundation website.
Now, if any of ye'z have got the chedda to go to this event, PLEASE write in a report. That would rock the casbah, y'all!
Thanks to scooper Brad Keene for alerting us to a new update from ComingSoon.net with bits from stories on USA Today (quoting the studio) and Cinescape, the latter in which Brett Ratner says, ?It makes my skin crawl when people say, ?Oh, you?re doing a remake of MANHUNTER,? Ratner told us. ?It really isn?t. If you know the book well, MANHUNTER doesn?t even end at all like the book ? it?s like nothing like it. Michael Mann made MANHUNTER [F.B.I. profiler] Will Graham?s story but it?s really not. It?s mostly [serial killer] Dolarhyde?s story, and that?s what I did. Also, MANHUNTER doesn?t incorporate the idea that [Dolarhyde] had a facial disfigurement, a cleft palate, that he had that huge tattoo on his back. You didn?t know why he was a serial killer. The book explained his history and background, and that?s what we do in our movie.? Thanks, Brad!
9/6/02 -- OK, I took a very long hiaitus from the site. I'm sorry to all the Hannibal fans out there but between all my responsibilities I just had to take a break from it. I'd like to thank everyone who wrote in. It's quite a thing to see 200 messages in your inbox that aren't all vaguely disturbing spam. But man, taking a break means there's a HUGE UPDATE, so keep reading.
First up, what I love best. Thanks to the great Frank Jackson, Dark Horizons reports there is a whole slew of new images up at Empire Movies (that's a sample you see at right).
Next, from new scooper Bruce for writing in about the new test screening review that just popped up at Coming Attractions! There is also a slightly older review on Aint It Cool News (thanks to the amazing Edward Norton site by way of the Mad Doctor, as well as the awesome scoopers TonysGirl, Mike, Brad Keene and c0ry). Read that here! And one on Dark Horizons (thanks, Nick Cavanaugh!) Read the DH review here! I guess I will organize a review section because I'm sure they will start coming in fast and furious as we close in on the release date!
Trailer news:
The ever-lovely Helene writes in, The new trailer is in front of "Signs" in many parts of the country (I saw it in Boston)- Also, there are some new posters available on Ebay, the soundtrack is availabe to pre-order on Amazon and there is word that the trailer can also be found in front of "XXX". Thanks, as always, Helene. Online, it can be viewed the official Red Dragon site. Thanks to Vader's Girl, Inge, Avid Fan, Mike). ComingSoon.net had it first though (thanks to Brad Keene, c0ry ). Thanks to the great Frank Jackson, here it is in Windows Media for you non-QuickTime lovers.
7/27/02 -- Hi. I'm the one-sheet for Red Dragon... I first saw this on JoBlo.com but it's up at the Official Site!
Also, thanks to the great scooper Mike for pointing out that over at Manhunter.net is a preview of the Red Dragon soundtrack CD. Click here to check it out.
Lastly, thanks to up-to-the-minute scooper The Mad Doctor for letting us know that Rotten Tomatoes has taken 25 SCREEN GRABS!!! of the trailer. Click here to see it.
Read more news in the Red Dragon news archive!
