Zorro Is To Return In a Sequel

[Friday, March 23rd, 2001]
Director Martin Campbell, is to make a sequel to his hit film 'The Mask of Zorro'.

It is now being written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, scribes of the 1998 original which grossed more than $250 million worldwide and launched Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is Campbell's intention to bring her back along with Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins.

He is now currently working on a movie based on the Sparks novel, called 'The Notebook' which is about a man who makes daily visits to a woman in a nursing home to read her stories from a notebook. It becomes clear that she has Alzheimer's Disease, and that he is reading their love story, which centers around a young woman and two men vying for her affections. It's unclear which man she has chosen, though he's obviously the one reading the tale.

Many directors such as Steven Spielberg and James Sheridan wanted to direct 'The Notebook'

"I read the book and loved it four years ago, but Steven Spielberg was going to do with Tom Cruise, and I moved on," said Campbell. "After finishing the recent films, I want to do a smaller character-driven piece, one that harkens back to my BBC roots. It's a love story with very few characters involved and not an explosion in sight, which I find very appealing."

Campbell and producer Mark Johnson will be working on the script with screenwriter Jeremy Leven, who wrote the most recent draft.

The 'Zorro' sequel will follow 'The Notebook.' And Campbell hopes to follow that by directing "Travel Agent," also for Columbia.

"It's a time travel story, but unlike most of them, it's not a gimmick where you're taken to medieval times or the future," Campbell said.

One project which Campbell won't revisit is James Bond, even though the 1995 film he directed, "Goldeneye," restored the luster of the flagging franchise, grossing over $350 million worldwide and cementing Pierce Brosnan as a viable 007.

"It was great fun, but I just don't know how many more control rooms I could blow up," said Campbell.

Thanks to the Hollywood Reporter

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