Carroll’s fantasy world returns in colorful ‘Alice’

‘Fast & Furious’ revs up for 15th anniversary re-release

LONDON, May 26, (Agencies): Lewis Carroll’s much-loved heroine Alice returns to the big screen for more fantasy adventures in “Alice Through the Looking Glass”, going through a mirror and then travelling back in time to help her friend, the flamboyant Mad Hatter.

The colorful movie with plenty of special effects follows the 2010 box office hit “Alice in Wonderland”, with Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska and Helena Bonham Carter returning as the Mad Hatter, Alice and the Red Queen, respectively.

The plot follows Alice, after a trip at sea, as she rushes to reunite the Mad Hatter and his family.

“She’s just spent two years travelling the world as the captain of a ship and she’s very empowered and very much knows who she is,” Wasikowska told Reuters in an interview in London.

Sacha Baron Cohen, known for his satirical characters such as Ali G and fake Kazakh reporter Borat, is a new addition to the cast, playing the tick-tocking Time.

Concentrate

“Essentially you’re in a room with blue carpet everywhere and there are a lot of people wearing blue one-piece suits made out of spandex and you can’t see their faces,” Cohen said of working on a film with plenty of computergenerated imagery.

“So, it’s hard to sometimes concentrate and take it seriously ... Did I go mad? Yeah.”

Alice’s quest to help the Mad Hatter sees her come across the Red Queen, for which Bonham Carter’s head was again digitally increased.

“She’s a fun person to play ... Even the big head is great ... And it’s liberating to play somebody who is so direct and so fantastically self-absorbed and narcissistic,” Bonham Carter told Reuters in a separate interview in Los Angeles.

“The downside is the shouting and ... how long it takes to get ready, and two bald caps.”

“Alice Through the Looking Glass” hit cinemas worldwide from Wednesday.

Also: LOS ANGELES:

“The Fast and the Furious” is speeding back into theaters this summer in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the film that launched the improbable $3.9 billion franchise. Tickets are now on sale for the nationwide June 22 re-release, Universal Pictures said Wednesday.

The 2001 film about East Los Angeles street racers starring

and the late was a big box office success, earning over $200 million worldwide, but no one at the time could have imagined its potential longevity. In the years and films since, the franchise has only grown in profitability and audience goodwill.

The most recent, “Furious 7,” earned over $1.5 billion globally in 2015. The eighth film is in production for a 2017 release, with 9 and 10 scheduled through 2021.

LOS ANGELES:

and her shingle, Blossom Films, has optioned the film rights to the Off-Broadway vampire drama “Cuddles.” Penned by playwright

the thriller examines the strange and disturbing forms love can take. Wilde will write the film adaptation from his own play. Kidman will produce with Blossom partner

“Joe’s voice is so beautifully subversive. He’s exactly the kind of young writer Blossom is looking to support,” Kidman said in a statement.

Production company Blossom Films, founded by Kidman and Saari in 2010, is no stranger to literary adaptations. It most recently produced “The Family Fang,” based on bestselling novel. It was directed by and starred Kidman, Bateman and

Blossom Films is also currently shooting the HBO series “Big Little Lies,” based on the New York Times bestseller by It’s helmed by and stars Kidman, and