NEW TOMB RAIDER SEQUEL SET REPORT
Copyright 2003 www.tombraiderchronicles.com

[ February 21st 2003 ]

Online movie rumour mill Aint It Cool News scores this report from the London set of Par's Tomb Raider movie sequel The Cradle Of Life starring Oscar winner Angelina Jolie and Red Dwarf star Chris Barrie. The Jan de Bont helmed production is concluding at Pinewood Studios before post production wields scissor and tape to ready the film for it's July 25th silver screen debut. Details as follows:

"The first set I saw was a cavernous cave in China filled with an army of terra cotta warriors. The entrance to this cave is guarded by a 20ft stone Buddha. Inside, there are boxes full of smuggled goods, ancient Chinese lanterns and signage strewn around everywhere. I've been told that there will be a fight scene in this cave where Ms Croft leaps from head to head of the rows of stone figures.

"The next set I saw was nicknamed 'the washing machine'. It's a huge revolving set like the drum of a washing machine. It's about 40ft tall and has been built to steadily revolve. It ís full of deep brown jagged rocks and pinnacles. I believe that in the actual film, different characters will occupy different areas of the floor and ceiling and that there will even be different weather effects in the different areas. I'm not really sure what that means. I'm also not really sure whether you'll see this set actually rotating in the film or whether it's just a means of allowing actors to walk around on the walls and ceiling a la 2001.

"The main stage at Pinewood, the '007 Stage' was filled by two sets. In one half, there's a massive clearing full of petrified trees. I believe there are going to be some kind of 'tree people' in this scene again, I'm not sure what this means. They could be tree-like people or just people that live in the trees. I don't know. I also heard that after I visited it, the director demanded that the whole set be repainted because early footage from the area had looked so unpromising. While I was there, they were also filming an underwater sequence where Lara rides an aquatic bike through a series of rocky passageways make out of stone and coral. Her ultimate destination: a partially submerged underwater temple the other huge set occupying the 007 Stage.

Lara Croft & The Cradle of Life: Tomb Raider 2 follows the adventures of British aristocrat Lara Croft sent on a perilous mission to rescue the world from the exploits of an evil Chinese crime syndicate led by oriental crime lord Chen Lo. The movie opens with an explosive underwater action scene involving the struggle for a sacred ancient spear guarded by Chen Lo's evil henchmen followed by a mission to overthrow new villain Reiss from deploying an army of biological drones to wreak havoc on the world. Movie opens July 25, 2003.