Movie Sequels

In Hollywood, controversy rarely hurts the bottom line, so it came as no surprise when MGM over the weekend disclosed plans for a sequel to "Barbershop," the breakout comedy about life in a Chicago barbershop, which has earned more than $65 million at the box office. The studio is already in talks to bring back star Ice Cube, although the script does not yet exist. "We're still flushing it out.

David Lagumbay hasn't gone to the movies all year. That changes tonight. The 35-year-old network systems manager from Irvine is gathering friends and family to see "Spider-Man 3," Sony Pictures' newest superhero spectacle. After opening to record business in countries as varied as France and Malaysia, "Spider-Man 3" debuted in U.S. theaters this morning at 12:01, kicking off a summer of big-budget sequels that is likely to shatter Hollywood's box-office records.

Quentin Tarantino said Monday that he plans to shoot a third part of the "Kill Bill" vengeance series, eventually. "I have plans, actually not right away, but like in 15 years from now, I'll do a third version of this saga," the director said at a news conference in Madrid to promote "Kill Bill Vol. 2," which opens in Spain next month. Tarantino said it would focus on the daughter of a hired killer that Uma Thurman's character bumps off early in her revenge spree.

Despite a media-saturation campaign for the slick action flick "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," the sexy girl-power trio of Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore landed with a thud. "Angels," again directed by McG, arrived at No. 1 one with an estimated gross of $38 million, roughly $2 million less than the original, which opened with $40.1 million in November 2000.

Disney Confirms 'Lion King' Sequel Video: The company said that it is assembling animation teams for the project, as well as for another "Aladdin" video sequel. Disney is said to have made $100 million in profit from the "The Return of Jafar," a direct-to-video sequel to "Aladdin." To date, the Lion King has grossed more than $300 million at the box office domestically, making it Disney's top film ever at the box office. The film is scheduled to be released on video March 3.

The upcoming TV remake of "Sahara" has a lot in common with the classic desert adventure produced more than a half century ago: Same story, same characters, even the same script. The major difference: Instead of Humphrey Bogart in the lead, it'll be Jim Belushi. Jolting as that may sound, it's just one of a spate of remakes and sequels of past cinema classics now in the works for television.

This summer's "Speed," dubbed "Die Hard"-on-a-bus by those who have seen it, has gathered so much positive buzz that 20th Century Fox has already begun discussions of a sequel. In the words of one Fox source, "they're banking the store on this one," with the studio already pushing up its Aug. 5 release date to June 10.

Environmental emphasis seems to be on acid rain, global warming and similar major areas. Why not devote some of this effort to asking people not to discard beer and soft-drink cans, paper cups and other debris all over? The result would be visible evidence of a cleaner environment. HENRY FEIL Laguna Niguel