Director Rob Cohen has criticized British actress Rachel Weisz for refusing to return for the third installment of The Mummy trilogy. The 37-year-old shot to international stardom after appearing in 1999's original movie The Mummy.

And, despite appearing in 2001 follow-up The Mummy Returns, she turned down a role in the forthcoming sequel The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - blaming the location for her decision. Her representative insisted the actress didn't feel comfortable spending five months shooting in China as her son Henry is not yet two years old. But the film's director Cohen claims she actually turned down the part because movie bosses had made her character too old.

He tells Britain's Heat magazine, "I got a very angry phone from her agent, saying she'll never play the mother of a 21-year-old. I said, 'OK, good, fine, bye.'" Weisz has been replaced by Maria Bello in The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, which is due for release later this year.

Rachel Weisz steps back in public eyes
Actress Rachel Weisz poses for a photograph in New York in this January 18, 2008 file photo. Oscar winner and self-professed tomboy Weisz is back in full swing as an actress, juggling motherhood with roles ranging from boozy vixen to ancient philosopher. The 37-year-old British actress recently wrapped production on "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson's adaptation of the best-selling novel "The Lovely Bones," due next year, and currently stars in "My Blueberry Nights" now in theaters.
Source: www.chinadaily.com.cn

On Thursday, New Zealand site Flicks.co.nz reported a rumor that director Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones had ceased production "due to a rift between the big man and his art director over the best way to depict Heaven. Given that a large portion of film takes place in that very location, with main character Susie Salmon looking down on her family after her murder, this seems a crucial point of difference." The site has since updated the story to make it seem like this happened a while back.

On top of that, DreamWorks/Paramount told us on Friday that the drama will hit theaters in the fall of 2009 and not on March 13, 2009 as it was reported by sites last year. We asked the studio if this had anything to with the supposed "rift" between Jackson and his art director, but that's not the case at all.

Turns out, the movie was never scheduled for March 13 at all, there has not been a delay or "rift," and a fall 2009 launch was always the plan. DreamWorks chief Stacey Snider cleared up the issue by telling ComingSoon.net, "It was a very smooth shoot with no dissent, and all heaven sequences requiring sets or Art Dept involvement were completed on schedule in March. The only shooting remaining involves blue-screen VFX elements, which will be shot in June."

An adaptation of the Alice Sebold best-selling novel, The Lovely Bones tells the story of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), who is murdered, but continues to observe her family on Earth after her death. Although she is detached from the world she once knew, Susie witnesses the impact of her loss on her loved ones, whilst her killer skillfully covers his tracks and prepares to murder again. In a tone that is both emotionally truthful, and darkly humorous, Susie tries to balance her desire for vengeance against the love she feels for her family and her need to see them heal; and ultimately comes to understand that the concept of family can encompass both the living and the dead.

Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Michael Imperioli, Rose McIver and Carolyn Dando star in the film, co-written by Jackson and his King Kong and "Lord of the Rings" partners Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh.

Agora is an English language film described as a historical drama set in early Egypt concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hopes of pursuing freedom while also falling in love with his master, a female philosophy professor and atheist. The TimesofMalta.com website adds a bit more detail to the story: Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz plays astrologer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria who fights to save the collected wisdom of the ancient world. Her slave Davus (Max Minghella of Syriana) is torn between his love for his mistress and the possibility of gaining his freedom by joining the rising tide of Christianity. In addition to Weisz and Minghella, Agora also stars Rupert Evans, Michael Lonsdale, and Homayoun Ershadi.

The film doesn't even have a US distributor yet, but is shooting for 15 weeks and should wrap by June. Local Maltese workers are being employed in roles and crew positions, which is rare for Malta, and the production is giving new life to the city. It's great to see a small project like this slowly building buzz because it sounds like something special that the Maltese are supporting. In actuality, it sounds like a movie that definitely captures my interest but I can't say I'm sold until I really get a feel for the atmosphere Alejandro Amenábar is creating and more details about the story.

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