Weekly Variety (April 25th) reports that Paramount has a derth of only eight (!) films in the pipeline for the coming year. 2006’s skimpy schedule, moreover, includes such sure-fire fare as a live-action Transformers movie directed by Michael Bay (seriously) and a fairly pointless remake of Charlotte’s Web. But Julia Roberts is voicing Charlotte, so I’m sure it will do gangbusters. (If you’re going to do an E. B. White book, why not Trumpet of the Swan?)
The only obvious gangbuster is Mission: Impossible 3, unless there’s a lot more hunger out there for a romantic comedy starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker than I think there is. Meanwhile, Transformers and Zodiac, about the Zodiac killer, are even being co-financed with other studios.
The studio will no doubt add to that roster in time to release more movies in 2006, but still, that’s remarkably inactive.
