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IN THE CINEMA
The Mummy Returns, Cash!
No matter that The Mummy Returns wasn’t the celebration of Egypt that it could have been, the entertaining action-adventure thriller hit the $200 million mark at the end of June. The sequel to Universal Pictures
The Mummy (1999), opened May 4th, 2001 and has, since hit the international markets, spreading it’s special effects over Europe, Asia, Latin America, the south Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
The Scorpion King
The third film in this franchise will be The Scorpion King, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, is currently filming. The success of these
Mummy movies should add up to increased revenues for the Egyptian film Commission, but they don’t. The Egyptian sequences of the Stephen Sommers’ directed films, and the Sommers’ produced film (The Scorpion King were filmed in Morocco.
Morocco for Egypt?
So, close and yet, so far away from the Egyptian wonders. It seems Morocco is the focus of a North African film boom. No less than six major studio productions (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Gladiator and the upcoming The Four Feathers, Spy Game, and
Black Hawk Down) have or are currently filming in the tiny, desert country. Imagine how film production revenues could benefit the Egyptian economy! Well, we’re confident, someone in Hollywood will get a brilliant idea--film Egypt,
in Egypt. Until then, we’ll have to depend on the documentary filmmakers who still flock to the wonders of the ancient land.
Farewell to an Icon of Egyptian Cinema
If you've ever scanned an Egyptian television station, beamed the signal in from satellite or enjoyed classic Egyptian film on video, than
 you've likely seen the image of Egypt's girl next door, actress
Suad Hosny. This week, thousands of Egyptians crowded the streets around a mosque in Mohandiseen, Cairo, to mourn the famed Egyptian actress, who died last week, in London at the age of 58.
A recluse in recent years, Hosny's career scanned more than four decades and includes some 79 films, including
Hobb fil Zinzana (Love in Prison), co-starring Adel Imam, Ishaa'it Hobb (A Rumour of Love), with Omar Sharif, and
Khali balak min Zouzou (Watch out for Zouzou), with Hussein Fahmy. In the latter film, Hosny played an impetuous, fun-loving young woman. Journalists reported that callers to her cellular phone in London -- still operating immediately after her death, heard: "This is Zouzou, leave your name and I will get back to you soon." Suad Hosny was as deeply afffected by her charasmatic portrayals as were here devoted fans.
ON TV
On July 26, 1799, Napoleon took Cairo. The History Channel’s series, This Week in History, will feature an hour-long program, Napoleon Takes Egypt. The documentary covers the event that presaged the development of Egyptology. Napoleon and his fleet of 400 ships and over 34,000 men invade Egypt. But he also brings along 150 scholars and experts in all fields of science and art. Their job--to extend the frontiers of Western knowledge.
 The Travel Channel’s, Lonely Planet, doesn’t quite get to Egypt, but its intrepid
hosts trek through Tunisia and Libya where they explore El Djem, a huge Colosseum that is almost as big as its counterpart in Rome. Then, they enter the desert in Tozeur in search of the
Star Wars set and they stop off at the WWII German General Rommel's last stand.
Across the Libyan border, they visit Leptis Magna, one of the finest examples of Roman ruins
on the Mediterranean. From there, they travel to Sabha, the site of the biggest camel market in the Sahara region. Finally, they hike the rugged Akakus mountains, where they meet the 90-year-old Tuareg, who discovered the 10,000-year-old rock art in the mountains he loves.
The syndicated television action series, Stargate SG-1 begins it’s fourth season with an episode that includes a battle with Apophis, of ancient Egyptian mythology. But, that’s about as Egyptian as it gets--the series featuring, Richard Dean Anderson, keeps it’s head in the science-fiction stars.
The American Movie Channel presents an encore of the 1954 film,
The Egyptian. Yes, it’s treacherous, melodramatic treatment of historical figures, Imhotep, Akhenaten and Horemheb. But, Michael Curtiz directed this Technicolor period piece, so it’s got value as a curiosity, if nothing else.
Finally, The Learning Channel will premiere Frozen in Time: Mummies Forever the first week of August. We’ll have more details in August, but the program promises to explore mummification practices from around the world.
For Children
Mid-month, The History Channel Classroom features the one-hour documentaries,
Ramses the Great, Egypt’s Mysterious Queen Hathshepsut and Tutankhamun Boy King.
A&E’s Classroom follows, the next week, with features on some of the leaders that influenced or ruled ancient Egypt. The programs include Julius Caesar: Master of the Roman WorldAugustus: First of the Emperors, and
Constantine: The Christian Emperor. All of the Classroom series screen at 6 or 7 a.m. in the morning, so if your school aged children sleep-in during the summer, set the VCR.
ON VIDEO
The Archaeology Channel, a nonprofit public-education service, announces their 14th online video, "Egypt: Gift of the Nile", which examines the ways by which the unique environment of the Nile Valley shaped the development of classical Egyptian civilization and the llifestyles
of its people. You can find this video at: http://www.archaeologychannel.org. See your local theater, television, cable or satellite directories for screening dates and times.
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