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[retro_eidas]

Snagging this from a_caged_heart, but apparently...

Variety (subscription only) is reporting that Brett Ratner and Maggie Grace are both go for X3.

If you're a fan of Lost / Shannon and have been watching each horrific dark turn into abysmal mediocrity the current X3 has been taking... this is nothing short of a disaster as far as I'm concerned.

UNLESS Maggie somehow found a way to juggle her "Lost" schedule with X3.... rumor was Shannon was going to get killed off early in the second season if she accepted the X3 role. Unfortunately, with good reason. X3 is scheduled to start filming in August. "Lost's" second season IIRC is scheduled to start July/August.

Frankly, I could give a rat's ass about X3 anymore. I've written it off as a lost cause and hope for better things in the future (someone resurrecting the franchise in a few years from the doldrums Ratner is likely to bury it in). But Maggie Grace as Kitty Pryde just cuts. I *really* hope this isn't true and Variety was mistaken. Just the idea of Maggie and her people pulling a David Caruso for the likes of X3 (as it stands) is nothing but career suicide as far as I'm concerned. I'm afraid they've been lulled either by the hefty paycheck or the notion of Maggie starring in a big summer popcorn movie possibly boosting her star chances. Standing by and witnessing as X3 rapidly spirals into vapid popcorn movie hell.... I have little hope this decision, if true, benefiting the actress at all. I can already see people scratching their heads wondering what the hell she was thinking (leaving an astonishingly successful tv series for a grossly hurried, low-grade popcorn summer shlockfest). She's FAR better off sticking with Lost. Again, I really hope Variety was mistaken.

Not to mention, I'd just *miss* Shannon. Not a very popular opinion, I realize, but I really grew to like her as I was plowing through season one. I love the transition her character has made. It would be a damn shame to lose her now, so early in the series. There are so many places her character could still go. Just as it was a shame to lose Boone WAY too early.

Comments

[a-caged-heart.livejournal.com]

Here is the article.....

Ratner new Fox 'X' man
New master for mutants
By Michael Fleming, Claude Brodesser
Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment set Brett Ratner on Friday night to replace Matthew Vaughn as the director of "X3," the third installment of the "X-Men" franchise.
Hiring keeps the film on track for an August start date and a Memorial Day weekend 2006 opening date.
Vaughn dropped out less than a week ago. Official reason was that the "Layer Cake" director didn't want to uproot his family, but it appears the exit followed his growing apprehension about taking on such a large assignment in his second outing.
A comicbook enthusiast, Ratner was among the helmers considered to direct the first "X-Men"; the job went to Bryan Singer.
Ratner then spent a full year developing "Superman Returns," the film that ultimately prompted Singer to drop out of directing "X3."
Fox had also hoped to put Ratner to work on "Josiah's Canon," a heist movie that was all but ready to shoot when star Sean Connery announced he was dropping out.
Fox's hiring of Ratner also means that "Rush Hour 3" will most certainly miss New Line's projected fall start and summer 2006 release dates. Ratner directed the first two pics in that series and seemed certain to make the third, but Chris Tucker's unwillingness to sign his $20 million deal in timely fashion scotched those plans.
New Line refused to spend any real money until Tucker signed a deal that waived script approval. To get a sluggish project on track, the studio had gotten Tucker, Ratner and Jackie Chan to agree to waive script approval after hearing a pitch by "Rush Hour 2" scribe Jeff Nathanson. All three liked Nathanson's pitch and Ratner and Chan signed immediately. Tucker vacillated, then declined.As that process dragged out, New Line briefly contemplated replacing Tucker with a short list of actors that included Martin Lawrence.The "X3" budget is locked, and Fox and Marvel brass consider the script by Zak Penn and Simon Kinberg to be at least as strong as that of the first two installments. The original returning stars have been signed, and the cast is bolstered by Kelsey Grammer, Vinnie Jones and Maggie Grace ("Lost"), who just came aboard as new mutant characters."

* Note that Maggie Grace is confirmed in this article...

[eido.livejournal.com]

I actually went ahead and subscribed (antsy as I was)... and my heart sunk reading that last sentence. I so want them to be wrong... that this was old news and Maggie has since pulled out. But my gut is telling me she's signed on. Oh Shannon, how little we knew ye.

Her people are making a huge mistake. Huge huge HUGE. There are no words.