Ebenezer Scrooge, voiced by Jim Carrey, carries Tiny Tim, voiced by Gary Oldman, in this scene from Disney's new version of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol.” Carrey is also the voice of all the Christmas ghosts.
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LOS ANGELES — Hollywood loves money. So does Ebenezer Scrooge. So what better way to begin the holiday season than putting the old money-grubber at the head of the line to separate moviegoers from their cash?
The latest version of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol, which opens at local theaters today, features Jim Carrey as Scrooge. This holiday season will include everything from vampire romance (“The Twilight Saga: New Moon”) and end-of-the-world stories (“2012,” “The Road”) to epic science fiction (“Avatar”) and a new incarnation of the world's greatest detective (“Sherlock Holmes”).
Presented in 3-D, “Disney's A Christmas Carol” is the latest from Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump”), who presents Dickens' London with the same performance-capture technology he used on “The Polar Express” and “Beowulf.”
Carrey and co-stars such as Gary Oldman, Robin Wright Penn, Colin Firth and Bob Hoskins worked on a bare soundstage, their bodies covered with sensors so digital cameras could record their performances in 360 degrees. Sets, costumes and other details were filled in by computer animation.
Actors can play multiple roles, with Carrey playing Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.
Zemeckis said previous adaptations never captured the full impact of Dickens' surreal images. As he made “Beowulf,” Zemeckis realized he now had the tools to bring “A Christmas Carol” to the screen the way he imagined it on the page.
“It was the idea of being able to actually recreate London and not have any limitations whatsoever. Anything that existed at the time we could present,” Zemeckis said.
With “Sherlock Holmes,” Robert Downey Jr. and director Guy Ritchie also recreate old London while reinventing Arthur Conan Doyle's brainy, monkish detective as an action hero, quipster – and even a bit of a lover.
Downey's Holmes fights with fists, clubs, pistols and hammers; trades odd-couple banter with best buddy and roommate Watson (Jude Law); and shares romantic moments with the only woman (Rachel McAdams) who ever got the better of him.
Another blockbuster last year was Hollywood's take on author Stephenie Meyer's love story between a sensitive schoolgirl (Kristen Stewart) and her immortal vampire boy toy (Robert Pattinson).
The second installment, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” is a lesson in teen heartache as Edward dumps Bella, realizing the danger he represents to his human girlfriend.
James Cameron is back with his first fictional film since 1997's blockbuster “Titanic.” “Avatar” also marks Cameron's return to his science-fiction roots and a reunion with “Aliens” star Sigourney Weaver, who joins Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana among the cast of the filmmaker's 3-D epic about humans taking on the form of extraterrestrials as they explore a distant world.
Hollywood has dozens of other films coming before year's end. Here's the lowdown on some highlights:
Husbands, wives and lovers
♦“Chicago” director Rob Marshall's latest musical is “Nine,” based on the Broadway adaptation of Federico Fellini's foreign-language classic “8 1/2 .”
It's the story of a filmmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his women: His wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his mom (Sophia Loren), his film star (Nicole Kidman), his costume designer (Judi Dench), a lover from his youth (Stacy Ferguson), and a fashion journalist (Kate Hudson).
♦“Did You Hear About the Morgans?” — A Manhattan couple (Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant) in a rocky marriage see a murder and are hustled into witness protection.
♦“It's Complicated” — A messy love triangle develops among a bakery and restaurant owner (Meryl Streep), her ex-hubby (Alec Baldwin) and an architect (Steve Martin) in the latest from director Nancy Meyers (“Something's Gotta Give”).
Foxes, frogs and rodents
♦Meryl Streep also joins George Clooney and Bill Murray among the voice cast of Wes Anderson's animated comedy “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” the tale of a wily fox waging war with human farmers.
♦“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” — Critter crooners Alvin, Simon and Theodore find their hearts and singing talents tested in a battle of the bands against a trio of female chipmunks.
♦“The Princess and the Frog” — Disney animation goes old-school as the studio releases its first hand-drawn cartoon in five years with this update of “The Frog Prince” fairy tale, set on the jazzy Louisiana bayou.
End of the world
♦The Mayan calendar predicted an end of days in 2012. Director Roland Emmerich's “2012” features John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton and Danny Glover in a tale of a world devastated by cataclysm and struggling with a terrible quandary: Whom do you choose when you can save only a fraction of humanity?
♦“The Road” — Author Cormac McCarthy's starkly poetic vision of doom comes to the screen in this adaptation starring Viggo Mortensen as a father on a road trip across the wreckage of America, seeking some hope of a future for his young son.
Playing field inspiration
♦Clint Eastwood taps former co-star Morgan Freeman to play Nelson Mandela in “Invictus,” a post-apartheid drama about the South African president rallying black and white behind his country's rugby team in the 1995 World Cup.
♦“The Blind Side” — Just in time for his rookie season with the Baltimore Ravens comes this real-life drama about Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a black youth surviving on his own who gets a shot at a better life after he's adopted by a white couple (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw).
Family affairs
♦“Lord of the Rings” mastermind Peter Jackson turns to the home front while keeping a foot in otherworldly realms with “The Lovely Bones,” an adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel about a slain girl (Saoirse Ronan) watching over her family from heaven. The cast includes Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci.
♦“Up in the Air” — Happily living without connections, a corporate hatchet man (George Clooney) travels the country aiming for 10 million frequent-flyer miles, only to discover that family bonds might be the greater value, after all.
♦“Old Dogs” — A divorced guy (Robin Williams) enlists his womanizing buddy and business partner (John Travolta) to help care for the twin kids he never knew he had.
♦“Brothers” — Jim Sheridan directs this drama about siblings (Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal), one a Marine presumed dead in Afghanistan, the other a black sheep who becomes man of the house for his brother's wife (Natalie Portman).
♦“Everybody's Fine” — Robert De Niro co-stars with Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell in the story of a widower who tries to reconnect with his grown kids in this remake of the Italian original.
