Julie Andrews Returns to Broadway; Studios Rush to Put Sequels in the Pipeline
JIM MORET, CO-HOST: Hello everyone. I'm Jim Moret in Los Angeles, along with Laurin Sydney. Laurin, I'm so excited you're here. I came in from my sick bed just to be with you today.</s>LAURIN SYDNEY, CO-HOST: We can tell.</s>MORET: It was an emotional night on Broadway, as Julie Andrews startled an audience with the sounds of music.</s>SYDNEY: Absolutely. Andrews, beloved for her roles in classics like "Mary Poppins" and "Victor/Victoria," wowed the crowd at a Broadway benefit.</s>MORET: Cynthia Tornquist was there and has more.</s>CYNTHIA TORNQUIST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a packed house for some of Broadway's favorite stars, including Julie Andrews.</s>JULIE ANDREWS, ACTRESS: Broadway musicals are so indigenous to America. They are part of America. And the music is so special. And what I'm worried about is that they'll be forgotten.</s>TORNQUIST: Andrews emceed the event, a concert where love was in the air.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): There was love all around, but I never heard it speaking.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): When I'm near you, can I hear you speak my name.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): When I'm close to you, dear.</s>CHITA RIVERA, ACTRESS: It just fit perfectly with Julie and the opportunity to hear some beautiful love songs sung.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Listen to the lullaby of old Broadway.</s>TORNQUIST (on camera): More than a dozen stars sang a mix of musical standards. But the real show-stopper came from the person who supposedly can't sing.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she's got it.</s>ANDREWS: The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plane.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By George, she's got it. By George, she's got it. (singing): Now once again, where does it rain?</s>ANDREWS (singing): On the plane in Spain, in Spain.</s>TORNQUIST: How did you feel to be on stage singing again?</s>ANDREWS: Well, I wasn't really singing. That was cheating really. I just faked my way through it. But it was wonderful just to be part of it.</s>TORNQUIST (voice-over): She has been unable to sing for the past three years following vocal surgery. The entertainer says she still has problems with her voices.</s>MICHAEL CRAWFORD, ACTOR: It went better than any of us could have ever imagined it could go. And I think she was completely bowled over by it.</s>TORNQUIST: Cynthia Tornquist, CNN Entertainment News, New York.</s>SYDNEY: Now, Jim, as someone who had a Farrah Fawcett poster in his youth -- and maybe right now. We're not quite sure -- I'm sure you can't wait for the new "Charlie's Angels" movie.</s>MORET: What do you mean "had" a poster? Exactly.</s>SYDNEY: OK, you heard it here first.</s>MORET: We happen to have an exclusive clip of the film starring Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore. It opens nationwide November 3rd.</s>BATTISTA: And here are the angels in action, hitching a ride on a helicopter. Enjoy. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CHARLIE'S ANGELS") LUCY LIU, ACTRESS: All right let's see if I can</s>MORET: Wow. You know, I have little notes on that particular scene. They could have fallen three feet and hurt themselves on the green screen.</s>SYDNEY: Wow, good line. Actually, Cameron Diaz wasn't on a green screen but on a red carpet last night at the premiere of "Requiem for a Dream." Diaz turned up to support her boyfriend, Jared Leto, who stars in the film about addiction and despair. Rocker Courtney Love and Oliver Stone were also there.</s>MORET: The unrated film has generated some controversy, but Diaz had high praises for director Darren Aronofsky.</s>CAMERON DIAZ, ACTRESS: He conditions you with sounds and images that are -- from the very beginning that he just sort flashes to you. And by the end of it, you are completely conditioned. I'm just -- tears coming down watching this movie. I'm going to go in for more.</s>MORET: She was conditioned. Darren Aronofsky is at work now on a sequel, not to "Requiem for a Dream," but for "Batman."</s>SYDNEY: You're very witty when you're sick. That's been in the works for a while, but lately the studios aren't waiting long to put sequels in the pipeline. Take "Blair Witch 2," for example.</s>MORET: It's on a fast-track to theaters like a lot of films. Gloria Hillard boards Hollywood's "Sequel Express."</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BLAIR WITCH PROJECT") HEATHER DONAHUE, ACTRESS: Oh, my god, what is that?</s>GLORIA HILLARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Don't panic. It's only a sequel.</s>ANNOUNCER: This fall, "The Witch" is back.</s>HILLARD: The sequel, also known as the movie with the number, has become Hollywood's way of doing business. Of course, you expected a sequel to last year's hit, "The Blair Witch Project," but did you expect it this fast?</s>JOE BERLINGER, DIRECTOR, "BLAIR WITCH 2": Because of what we chose to make the movie about, the fact that it's out very quickly is very important, because the movie is about the cultural phenomenon of "The Blair Witch Project."</s>PAUL DERGARABEDLAN, PRESIDENT, EXHIBITOR RELATIONS: I think the idea behind turning these films around really quickly is to strike while the iron is hot. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SCARY MOVIE") UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I am in the house.</s>HILLARD: "Blair Witch" isn't alone in it's fast return to theaters. This summer's low-budget, big-returns comedy, "Scary Movie," will have its sequel arrive in theaters next year. "The Mummy Returns" is still months away from release, but Universal Pictures has already announced plans for a prequel to the "Mummy" movies.</s>ANNOUNCER: He's the World Wrestling Federation champion.</s>HILLARD: Pro wrestler "The Rock" will star as "The Scorpion King."</s>THE ROCK: The treatment was fantastic, and they're working on the script now. And it's -- everybody's collaborating with the writers. It's going to be fantastic, no question.</s>HILLARD: What if multiple sequels were made simultaneously? (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE MATRIX") CARRIE-ANNE MOSS, ACTRESS: No one has ever done anything like this.</s>KEANU REEVES, ACTOR: That's why it is going to work.</s>HILLARD: Actually, it has been done.</s>DERGARABEDIAN: "The Matrix" sequels are going to be shot concurrently, and that's been done before. "Back to the Future II" and "III," the same thing. I think that brings to it the economies of scale. This way, you've got everybody working on the two simultaneously, and I think it's very cost-effective to do it that way.</s>ANNOUNCER: One ring to rule them all.</s>HILLARD: All three films in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy are being filmed concurrently.</s>BOB FRIEDMAN, CO-CHMN., WORLDWIDE MARKETING, NEW LINE CINEMA: It became a situation where if we were able to do the magnitude and the epic nature of this property, where we have 20,000 extras and it's based on probably the most popular book of our generation, we really wanted to do it the way the fans demanded that this be done. And the only way to really do that would be to do it in one time frame.</s>HILLARD: At a cost of $270 million, some may call it a gamble. But New Line Cinema is counting on the popular mythical tale of Middle Earth being a hit with moviegoers for years to come. Gloria Hillard, CNN Entertainment News, Los Angeles.</s>SYDNEY: There's a new spin on "Spin City." Charlie Sheen and castmate Heather Locklear on this year's Michael J. Fox-less show. And we'll take a look at a new site for some online laughs.