4/21/02 Corona's Coming Attractions and the Johns Hopkins Gazette both have new info on the Baltimore filming.

4/17/02 Dark Horizons reports the following: "Red Dragon: Islamorada in the Florida Keys is the current site of shooting"

4/16/02 Hollywood.com has an article and pictures about EN, Anthony Hopkins, and director Brett Ratner receiving awards at the Palm Beach International Film Festival this past saturday. Also, the Film Festival was treated to the "first public screening" of the Red Dragon trailer (although it might have been shown at ShoWest). Palm Beach honors "Red Dragon" cast, director [Thanks to Mindy for the info!]. There is also an additional article in the Palm Beach Post; Ed Norton, Anthony Hopkins at film fest fete

4/15/02 Corona Coming Attractions reports that a teaser trailer for Red Dragon will be shown in front of "The Borne Identity" and "Windtalkers," which will both be released on June 14 [Thanks to Joanne for the info!].

4/9/02 Today's Dark Horizons includes a report of the RD script which contains "MASSIVE SPOILERS". To read the report, highlight the text in the Spoiler box below or go to Dark Horizons for the report

Spoiler box Red Dragon (MAJOR SPOILERS): 'Sun' talks about the opening and closing scenes of the Hannibal Lecter prequel tale, be warned as the item contains lots of MASSIVE SPOILERS: "I can tell you that the last five minutes are very scary. You think that Ralph Fiennes Tooth fairy character is dead, but he has found the beach house Will Graham (Ed Norton) is staying at with his family. The script starts off with a full orchestra. Hannibal is still part of society at this point. He doesn't care for the way the tuba player in playing, so, that tuba player becomes the after show dinner for the group of friends or socialites. Ed Norton's character relies alot on the good doctor at this point. Within the first 15 pages, he puts two and two together. Will and Hannibal get into a nasty fight and just when you think Will (Norton) is done, he shoots Hannibal. There is some sort of temperal elipse at this point, because soon after, Will has quit the force and Hannibal is in that famous cell of his. Hannibal is definitely not so nice in this one. He's pretty much leading the tooth fairy/red dragon to Will and his family. I will give you this final tidbit. The very last scene is of this doctor talking to Hannibal, telling him about this FBI woman who needs his help and she's waiting just outside. Hannibal thinks about it for a moment, then agrees to see her, leading us into Silence of t he Lambs. We never see Clarise though. Okay, that's all for now! :) "

4/7/02 A great description of the Maryland filming including a pic of a stuntman on fire is included in a Baltimore Sun article Baltimore is stunt double for Chicago in new movie

3/28/02 Edward Norton may be working again with Dragon co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman (Freddy Lounds): Hoffman is in final negotiations to join the cast of The 25 Hour starring EN and directed by Spike Lee.

3/22/02 Lights Out Entertainment (3/21) provided more set info :

Red Dragon: In case you've been wondering how things have been going over at Universal, things are going... slow. For one thing, several weeks ago, there was an issue with the application of full body tattoo's to actor Ralph Fiennes. Seems that the make-up department was a bit generous with their original estimates. The application ended up taking as many as three hours each day! Needless to say, this is a huge delay.

Also adding to the lethargic shoot, is director Brett Ratner's decision to evacuate the stage for rehearsals. Seems that the crew is seen milling around (outside) the stages of Universal for thirty minutes or more each time!

Finally, we've heard that Ratner's frequent set visitors can be quite unruly. Among the stories we received: There's the one about two young ladies hanging around Brett and the monitors who seemed to be... just a bit drunk. Apparently, the girls eventually made their way into the trailers to play dress-up. How about the one about the guy who might be a childhood friend of Brett's who was asked to leave the set when his behavior became, um, strange.

3/13/02 Dark Horizons reports that the release date has been pushed up from Nov 22 to October 4!!!

3/12/02 Lights Out Entertainment has provided some behind-the-scenes info.

Edward Norton had some time off from the set of Red Dragon, while the crew finished up scenes with Anthony "call me Tony" Hopkins. Hopkins finished up his work as the menacing Hannibal Lecter about a week ago. Hopkins worked a total of three weeks on the film. A few scenes with Lecter took place in the cell from the film The Silence of the Lambs, which Oscar winning Production Designer Kristi Zea (who also did Silence), faithfully reproduced on one of the stages at Universal. A few changes were added which have to do with several new plot points. The film is about midway thru production with the remainder having to do with Ed Norton's character Will Graham's pursuit of Frances Dollarhyde (played by Ralph Fiennes). The company has several more weeks to shoot in L.A. before going off to Baltimore and Florida. Word is Ed Norton's behavior on set was strictly professional while in the presence of Anthony Hopkins, but now that Sir Anthony is off to his next gig, the real question is: Will Norton and director Brett Ratner get back to their shouting matches and stand-off's? We'll keep you posted. Thanks to Dr. Chilton for the scoop.

3/7/02 EW.com has posted an article which provides some new details on Red Dragon - How Anthony Hopkins will play a young Hannibal

3/6/02 Coming Attractions posted the following report on 3/4 about a "test trailer." My first thought is that this trailer was probably assembled to become part of the Universal product reel at the ShoWest Convention, the meeting of National Association of Theater Owners. However, when I visited the official ShoWest site, I found out that meeting runs from March 4-7 in Las Vegas. So if it was for ShoWest, it was very last minute.

"I was at the local mall today and was shown a preview for Red Dragon for market research purposes. It starts out with Norton talking to the police force about the serial killer they are trying to apprehend. This is an approximate, but one of the police officers asks Norton why the killer continues killing and Norton replies, 'Because he feels like God. Would you want to give that up?' It then moves on to Keitel and Norton talking in a cafe about a previous case. Norton states that he didn't solve the case on his own; he had some help. The preview then mentions Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson as an image is shown of the two of them together in a dinning room. Then it shows Norton walking down a hallway to a glass wall where Hopkins steps out of the shadows. He says, 'Hello Will' and gives a very eerie smile. It cuts to black and the title is shown. Overall, a very effective preview. It's nice to see a slow build up to with no quick cuts and without giving any of the story away."

3/4/02- Universal's 13thstreet.com, which has provided a good number of Red Dragon scoops will be shutting down.

2/6/02 Lights Out Entertainment (2/5/02) posted a RUMOR about some tension on the set. Please note this is only a RUMOR. The last well-publisized RD rumor (about Jodie Foster offered a cameo) turned out to be FALSE, so who knows the accuracy of this latest one.

Keitel: Actor Harvey Keitel, who has taken over the Jack Crawford role in Red Dragon walked off the set recently when a "discussion" or "disagreement" came up again between director Brett Ratner and star Edward Norton. Tipsters tell us that Keitel simply decided he'd had enough of the bickering, and just walked out without fanfare. The Crawford role was played in Manhunter by Dennis Farina, and by Scott Glenn in The Silence of the Lambs

2/4/02- The Baltimore Sun (2/3/02) had an article on local costume designer Catherine Incaprera who revealed the following info about filming done a week before Christmas in a local home: "They shot a lot of POVs [points of view from the perspective] of the serial killer, who's played by Ralph Fiennes, stalking a victim family." She also said that they are expected to return to Maryland for three weeks of shooting in the next three months. Read the article Around Town

1/22/02- Entertainment Tonight (1/18/02) reported that Anthony Hopkins backed out of presenting at the Golden Globes due to a torn ligament in his knee. There was no mention of how he acquired this injury or if it will have an effect on filming. Dark Horizons (1/21/01) includes a report that Stage 27 and 28 at Universal Studios are being used for Red Dragon

1/14/02- Comingsoon.net has posted their entire interview with Ratner- The "Brett Ratner" Experience. Also I've updated the filming locations

1/9/02 PM - For you industry watchers, CBS.MarketWatch.com has published an article on the buzz (or lack thereof) on the agreement between the two studios making the film- MGM, Universal mum on 'Red Dragon'. It also confirms that filming started Monday.

1/9/02- A release date of November 22, 2002 has been reported by Upcomingmovies.com. Also, About.com did an interview with Brett Ratner where he talked about the differences between Red Dragon and Manhunter (the earlier film adaptation of the novel) as well as the mood of the film as compared to Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal along with the techniques that will be used to make Anthony Hopkins look younger - Interview with Brett Ratner

1/7/02- Upcomingmovies.com reports that the release date for Red Dragon has been pushed back from Summer to the Holidays 2002. If the sources are correct, filming is supposed to start today.

1/3/02- Filming on Red Dragon is scheduled to start Monday and there are a few new pieces of info. The Chicago Sun-Times (12/31/01) had some comments from Emily Watson about the film (as well as a quip from Anthony Hopkins) Good Eats. Along with that article is some info from the Baltimore Sun (12/31/01) that seems to confirm the earlier info by 13thstreet.com that filming will take place in Baltimore- Around Town. Also of note, CHUD reports that discussions on a sequel to Hannibal are underway - HEEEERE'S HANNIBAL!

12/19/01- Dark Horizons reports that January 7, 2002 is locked in as the start of shooting datefor the film.

12/18/01- The Jodie Foster cameo rumor is false. Coming Soon! interviewed director Ratner and he "confirms that they have not spoken with either Julianne Moore or Jodie Foster about reprising the Starling role in 'Red Dragon.' Ratner says he's not sure 'what they are talking about.'" Unfortunately, Coming Soon! only gives this info, they don't provide a transcript or any excerpts of the interview on their website.

12/14/01- Dark Horizons reports that Jodie Foster has passed on doing a cameo appearance.

12/05/01- The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Ralph Fiennes has signed on for the role of Francis Dolarhyde (The Dragon). Fiennes gets fired up for Uni's 'Dragon'

11/28/01- Variety reports that Ralph Fiennes will be meeting with Radner about role of Francis Dolarhyde (The Dragon). It also mentions that Sean Penn was also one of the actors Radner met with for this role, however the "buzz seems to be centering on Fiennes." While these two are excellent actors, they don't exactly fall into the category of "someone with practically a new face", a phrase that producer Dino De Laurentiis used when talking about who he wanted to cast in the role in a August interview. Fiennes may see "Red" for Ratner. Also, this week's Entertainment Weekly (Harry Potter cover) has an article talking about the use of CGI (computer-generated imaging). The article also mentions that CGI will be used to make Anthony Hopkins appear younger in the film. De Laurentiis had mentioned CGI as a possibility much earlier (I think in interviews around the "Hannibal" theatrical release), but I had not heard this brought up recently. Also if EW is correct, Red Dragon is still scheduled to be release in Summer 2002.

11/21/01- Dark Horizons and Ain't-it-Cool News both received a rumor from someone using the alias "Dialling DeLaurentis" that Jodie Foster might make a cameo in Red Dragon.

A ******** tells me that little Ms Jodie Foster might be doing a cameo
for Ratner's "Red Dragon". Expect an announcement shortly on whether or not she says yay or nay. Nothing more than a hi and bye in a corridor - but Foster is open to the idea; and loves the script. Philip Seymour Hoffman is also really interested in playing the part of the photo journalist; previously played by Stephen Lang in Manhunter. I can tell you the opening to the movie is sensational, this is the busy end of Hopkin's possy - he will only be with the studio for 2 weeks work

11/18/01- According to the Hollywood Reporter, Harvey Keitel has signed on to play Crawford. It also reports that Philip Seymour Hoffman and Mary-Louise Parker are in negotiations to play tabloid reporter Freddy Lounds and Graham's wife, Molly, respectively. Keitel braves Uni's 'Dragon' lair

11/15/01- 13thstreet.com reports that location scouting for Red Dragon has begun and filming will be taking place in Baltimore. This is a very appropriate location since in the novel, Lecter was a practicing psychiatrist in Baltimore (also, EN was raised in Columbia, a suburb of Baltimore).

10/22/01- An Anthony Hopkins interview that took place at the end of September for the release of Hearts in Atlantis has been posted on IGN Film Force. When asked about the project, "Hopkins seems hesitant to discuss it, saying only 'that's in the works, I guess. I just take it a day at a time. I'm told that Edward Norton is going to play the other part, and that's wonderful. Brett Ratner is directing it. That's planned for January.'" Also, Dark Horizons (10/12/01) posted that Australia's Who Magazine reports that Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn looks set to Red Dragon. The crucial role that had not been cast is that of the serial killer "The Dragon" (aka "The Tooth Fairy). I don't know if this is the role that Mendelsohn would play, but producer Dino De Laurentiis mentioned going with "somebody with practically a new face". Absolutely useless trivia: Hopkins and Mendelson were both in an earlier film Spotswood (aka "The Efficiency Expert") along with Toni Collette and Russell Crowe.

9/10/01- Dark Horizons reports that Jeremy Piven is auditioning for a role in Red Dragon. The tattoo mentioned below would indicate that he is after the role of Francis Dollarhyde, who is the serial killer "The Dragon" (aka the Tooth Fairy)

The Sunday Herald Sun reports that actor Jeremy Piven (TV's "Ellen", "Very Bad Things") recently turned up for a promotional appearance for the John Cusack romance "Serendipity" in which he has a role when he did something rather revealing. Piven stripped off his shirt to reveal a 'red dragon' tattoo and confirmed to the crowd he was about to audition for a juicy role in Red Dragon - sounds like a potential Francis Dollarhyde/Tooth Fairy candidate to me. Indeed Piven has worked with the film's director Brett Ratner on his two most recent films ("The Family Man and "Rush Hour II"). Thanks to 'Clint'

8/27/01 13thstreet.com's interview with Dino DeLaurentiis cleared up some rumors and reveals more about Red Dragon. Early reports mentioned that Jude Law would play Lecter in some flashbacks. This is not true- Anthony Hopkins will play Lecter throughout the movie. Author Thomas Harris loves Ted Tally's script. In the interview, DeLaurentiis talks about why he went with director Brett Radner. He also mentions that there has not been a final decision on who will play the role of the serial killer, but they are going with "somebody with practically a new face". Here is what was said about EN

13th St: How did you come to the decision to cast such a young man - Ed Norton - as Will Graham?

Dino: Well, Will Graham is a young guy, he's thirty-five.  I think it's no problem with a great actor like Ed Norton to make up some way or to act some way, to look like he could be forty-five or fifty-five.  There's no big deal about that.

13th St: What had you seen of Ed Norton's that made you want to cast him for this particular film?

Dino: Because he's a great actor.  With every single character in Red Dragon, we needed a great actor.  It's an acting piece.  For the (other) characters, also we needed great actors.  For instance, for Reba, we chose Emily Watson because she's a great actor, not because she's a name.  Ed Norton is a great actor and for me the chemistry, the teaming, the combination between Ed Norton and Anthony Hopkins within the structure we have for them in the movie.  

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