MINORITY REPORT PRODUCTION DATE CONFIRMED BY SPIELBERG
FRIDAY AUGUST 13, 1999 12:00PMCT
from:Nick (production has been moved to January)

For his impact on veterans everywhere after making Saving Private Ryan, the United States military awarded Steven Spielberg with the top medal that can be given to a civilian, the Defense Department's Medal for Distinguished Public Service. The reception was held in Washington, D.C. at the Smithsonian Institute where many fedoras and whips could be spotted in the audience. Those who got to speak to him have emailed this site claiming that Spielberg is to start production on MINORITY REPORT this November. Well, there we have it, the real production date confirmed by Spielberg himself. 

RAMBLINGS ON SIXTH SENSE PLUS TWO NEW MINORITY REPORT SCOOPS
TUESDAY AUGUST 10, 1999 12:54PMCT
from:Nick

“I see dead people. They want me to do things for them.”

Alright, alright, I obeyed my own first sense this weekend and decided to check out Sixth Sense, the psychological thriller that has bumped ‘Blair Witch’ out of the #1 spot. Sixth Sense is a chilling thriller about an eight-year-old boy who is haunted by a dark secret: He is visited by ghosts. But, isn’t that the movie with Bruce Willis? Yes, oil-rigging Willis is in it, but this is a much calmer and confident Willis in a grade ‘A’ horror flick, unlike a family vacation video about some witch you saw a few days ago. You guys need to see Sixth Sense. I think it’s one of the best acting jobs put on by a child star since, well, E.T. What makes this film so good is that it is FRESH. I know the saying goes, “nothing in Hollywood is original anymore. It’s just a copy of a copy of a copy,” or something like that. But Hollywood is doing a good job at throwing different sides of ghost stories at us this summer. This movie swallows you into the characters and makes us believe that the kid is too young to understand his purpose and too terrified to tell anyone about his torment, except child psychologist Dr.Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), the only one who can help him and attempt to decipher the unexplainable. Sixth Sense is worth a weekend at the cinema, especially since maybe your last weekend was spent on painkillers following the ‘Blur witch Project.’ Oh, and whatever you do, don’t call the kid a ‘freak.’

Now on to what this site is really for: Wonderful scoops on the coolest movie of them all, MINORITY REPORT (ok, weak plug). Two new scoops are in:

Date: Tuesday, August 10, 1999
Time: 3:39 PM EST
Subject: Minority Report

Comment: IN THEIR DREAMS.  A production team from Steven Spielberg's Dream Works SKG toured HP Labs last week to glean ideas from HP scientists for their upcoming futuristic movie "Minority Report."  Spielberg will direct the film, which will be set in Washington, D.C., in the year 2080. Tom Cruise has been signed to star as a detective who arrests and helps convict people before they commit a crime. During a daylong tour of HP Labs, the Dream Works team saw prototypes of products HP is working on for introduction in 2010 and beyond.  HP has agreed to provide technical assistance for the movie -- possibly in developing props with sonogram 3D- imaging and optical display -- in exchange for prominent placement of the HP logo.  Although it is difficult to quantify, logo exposure in a major motion picture can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the company, according to Randy Lane, manager of HP's Product Placement Program. "Minority Report" is based on an original short story by Philip Dick, whose work also provided the basis for "Blade Runner" and "Total Recall."  Co-producers DreamWorks SKG and 20th Century Fox expect to release the film in July 2000.

Date: Tuesday, August 10, 1999
Time: 7:26 PM EST
Subject: Minority Report

Comment: As of today (August 10), Minority Report  is still scouting locations for November/December shooting...several homes in the Lake Arrowhead, California area are under consideration.

MEGABUCKASAURUS EATS TOM CRUISE? 
FRIDAY AUGUST 6, 1999 4:00PMCT
from:Ben

Well, we can all finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Last night at around 7 pm, when the all the world takes a load off and eats hastily microwaved insta-meals while watching the tube, Nick and I were having our own  private breakdowns.  There we were, happily going about our business of preparing your favorite web site for our explosion onto the national scene when, out of the blue, we received and e-mail from a "friend" who claimed to have a super-secret decoder ring that told the future. Minority Report had been cancelled.

 What!?!?  That's right, friends and neighbors; Minority Report, the film that this very web site's existence is wholly rooted in, vanished like a virgin on prom night.  Frantic, we scoured the internet for any information that would back up this frightening claim. 
Yahoo?  Whoopee.
 Lycos?  Like, no.
Excite?  Pretty boring.
We tried everything, from the IMDB to the NRA, and nobody seemed to know what the status of Minority Report was.  The only source we had was someone who claimed to have super-secret powers of divination.  According to this source, Spielberg had just gotten his malenky rookers on the finished script for Jurassic Park 3: Attack of the Megabuckasaurus, and, without letting me and Nick in on the decision, scrapped MR.  Needless to say, we were quite upset. 
Being the reactionaries that we are, your two faithful heroes jumped immediately into emergency mode.  Well, should we keep the site up?  Maybe we should focus on another movie?  Forget, let's scrap the whole thing!!

So there I was, with me finger hovering dangerously close to the DELETE key when, out of the blue, I happened upon an article.  It said that, while the third installment of Universal's money-maker was indeed (and, one might, unfortunately) given the green light, Spielberg would not be directing it because he was already committed to a low-budget art film called--you guessed it--Minority Report.  Upon reading this article, I nearly burst into tears.  But I'm a guy so instead I punched a monkey in the stomach to show how macho I am.

In case you are wondering (and since you're at the Minority Report website and not the Jurassic Park 3 website, I don't know why you would be), Spielberg will produce JP3 while the generically named Joe Johnson (director of the CGI fest, "Jumanji") will get to sit in the director's chair if he's good and eats all of his vegetables like a big boy.  If not, Amblin Entertainment will send him to bed without any supper and make him do the dishes every night for a week.

So, in short, this web site will remain up until the next overblown pseudo-emergency stumbles into our crosshairs, much to the dismay of people who could use this site for something productive, like saving the rainforest or something.

THOUGHTS ON EARLY DRAFT OF MR AND WHAT TO EXPECT
THURSDAY AUGUST 5, 1999 4:00PMCT
from:"Luigi"

Scott Frank seems to have been "seriousing" up the script a bit. We are curious as to why Spielberg was attracted to this material. After serious stuff like Private Ryan, Amistad, and Schindler's List, MINORITY REPORT feels very light and comic bookish. Then again, that may be the reason. Maybe the Scott Frank rewrite is taking it into a dark, moody BLADE RUNNER direction? That would be something different for Steven. 

The following is a comment sent in by a fellow reader:

"This is one of those "parade of writers"
projects. Cohen was replaced years ago
by Robert Goethals, who in turn was
replaced by the team of Gary Goldman and
Ron Shusett, who in turn were replaced by
Scott Frank earlier this year.
Jan de Bont originally was going to
direct, but he turned it over to Spielberg.
De Bont will take a producer credit.

I read a pre-Scott Frank version of the
script and that's an accurate description. As
a result of new technology, which is linked up
to these sort of mutant people, the police force
is able to predict with 100 percent certainty
who is soon to commit a murder. So suspects
are arrested before the fact and society is
peaceful. The lead in the story is the chief
of police, but one day his name pops out of
the computer, and he goes on the run in the
new capital city, which is draped down the
side of the Grand Canyon. 
It's chock full of
special effects, including flying hoverboards
that everyone rides.There's also a lot of people 
flying with jet boots and in-air fights with guys
in jet boots. Jeana Elfman's character 
is very sexy and aloof, sort of like
the girl character in GATTICA -- a big change 
from the type of roles she's done before.
Jenna Elfman is slotted for the female
lead."

NEW FUEL CELL CARS GET STARRING ROLE IN FILM
TUESDAY AUGUST 3, 1999 10:53PMCT
FROM:Ben

Well, the wave of the future is here. Sort of.

The rumor mill surrounding Minority Report is already a-churnin', one of which surrounds the supposed inclusion of fuel-cell cars in the film. Apparently Tom Cruise's character is going to drive one, and it may be featured quite extensively though the film.

But what's a fuel-cell car, you ask? Well that's a very good question.

According to some new-fangled scientists, fuel-cell cars are the wave of the future and will one day completely replace our good friend, the combustion engine. Much to the chagrin of evil people everywhere, the fuel-cell car aims to have zero emissions--no exhaust, for you simple folk--and may be available by 2004. Or possibly 2010. Or 2012. As you can see, there are still a few kinks to be worked out.

For starters, the "fuel" in fuel-cells has yet to be decided upon, something most scientists insist is a vital step. Once this boundary is overcome, however, they agree that "it'll be all good". The cells will convert the fuel into hydrogen which will mix with oxygen to make a electricity which will run the car's electric battery. (I admit I was never too good at chemistry, but I thought hydrogen and water mixed to form water. I guess that's why I'm a film student and not out there designing fuel-cells.) The only emission from the whole process will be water vapor.

Steven Spielberg could not be reached for comment despite my many attempts to reach him by phone. Tom Cruise's publicist issued a statement saying that, while he and the combustion engine have had a long and fruitful relationship, the time has come for him to move on. "But it doesn't mean they can't still be good friends." It is widely rumored, however, that the MPAA will digitally alter the scenes so as not to be offensive to the younger viewers who snuck into an R rated movie. Oh no, wait....wrong film. Sorry.

MATT DAMON TO PLAY VILLIAN IN ‘MINORITY REPORT’
SUNDAY AUGUST 1, 1999 10:37PMCT
from:Nick

According to Variety columnist Michael Fleming, the Private Ryan actor is in final negotiations to helm the role of the main villain in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report. The shooting script is still reportedly unfinished though, causing Matt Damon to withhold on the contract, but the studio is expecting it to be turned in by this week’s end. 

What’s the delay in the script you say? It sounds as if an important change has been made in the story’s concept. The original plot had Tom Cruise as a cop who works in a future when a system is in place that allows the detection of murderers before they commit a crime. Cruise learns that he himself may be a murderer and does whatever he can to stop this from happening while he is being tracked down. According to Fleming, though Cruise remains a cop, it is now his brother (Damon’s prospective character) who may be the murderer. 

Another tidbit: Word has it that Mission: Impossible 2, the project currently directed by John Woo (Broken Arrow, Face Off) starring Cruise, has been pushed back as a result of production delays. This affects the shooting schedule for Cruise, which could explain the reason why the Minority Report release date has been pushed back for Fall 2000. Stay tuned.

RUMOR: SHOOTING LOCATIONS?
SATURDAY JULY 31, 1999
from: A set designer in Texas

Exciting news for those who live in Texas! There was a rumor earlier an anonymous scooper told us that Spielberg has asked Matt Damon to co-star in the picture once the young actor has finished making All the Pretty Horses. Whoa! It's suddenly set to become a starring hunk-o-rama vehicle! Also, if you didn't know, All the Pretty Horses, directed by Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade, Armageddon), has just wrapped up production in the Austin, Texas area. What's interesting is I am told that Spielberg sent the MINORITY REPORT script to Matt there to read, with intentions of filmming some locations shots in that area! We'll just have to wait and see....

RUMOR: MINORITY REPORT:THE REAL DEAL
FRIDAY JULY 30, 1999
from: http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com

Hi there Harry,

I recently came by some information on the upcoming Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise project and I wanted to fill you in. The working title of the film is currently "Minority Report" and it is slated for a late June release, but that is no new news. The film is scheduled to start shooting in a few weeks, shortly after Cruise finishes with Mission Impossible: II. Nothing else I am about to say has been published on the Internet, to my knowledge, so some people might consider it spoiler material.

Fox’s internal documents are marketing the film as "futuristic, not sci-fi." Judging by the conceptual drawings I saw, it is difficult to tell the difference. The film is set c. 2080 on earth and the conceptual drawings indicate it will include a great deal of CGI. The cities in the drawings looked very much a hybrid of The Jetson’s and Phantom Menace’s Coruscant. City buildings were tall, round and chrome, and there were large clear tubes (perhaps roadways?) running all around the city. One small production detail: cars will have the ability to move frontward and backwards, like normal cars, but also very quickly from side to side. According to my source, it is safe to assume that there will be some action shots that make use of this ability. The futuristic setting surprised me; it is quite a departure from Spielberg’s last few projects. I tried to make copies of the conceptual drawings, but they were removed very quickly. Sorry.

Now to the good stuff: the plot. The story centers on Cruise being pursued by a group of people. Cruise’s character is baffled because he has no idea why anyone would want to harm him. It turns out the group is pursuing Cruise for killing someone in the future (evidently some kind of time travel is possible by 2080). By killing Cruise in the past, Cruise’s future killing will be prevented. It sounds kind of like the Terminator concept. Does Cruise murder the person in the future, or is it death by accident? I have no idea. Any other casting details? None. The significance of the title, Minority Reports? Absolutely clueless. However, at least we now know the general plot. I’m sure your sources will fill in the details for us in the months ahead.

Needless to say, the people at Fox are expecting this film to be HUGE. The script to this film is a VERY close kept secret. No one can get their hands on a script. It is being guarded a la The Phantom Menace. My source wouldn’t answer any questions about the film, and wouldn’t give out any more details. They simply outlined out the information described above, showed a few conceptual drawings, and left. I hope you find it interesting. I will let you know if I come by any other information.

my best,

Esquire

So there it is: the first reliable source of info saying that MINORITY REPORT IS IN PRE-PRODUCTION! - stick around! it's gonna be fun!