Distributors
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
20th Century Fox de Argentina (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
Bontonfilm (2006) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
Gemini Film (2006) (Russia) (theatrical)

Other Companies
Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment Inc. ... cranes and dollies

Plot outline
Plot unknown

Ratner Spices Up 'X-Men'
Brett Ratner is spicing up the new X-Men 3 movie with the addition of his very own fantasy - a sex siren mutant who seduces her opponents rather than battles them. Ratner takes over from departing director Bryan Singer, who made the first two movies, and the Rush Hour film maker is determined to leave his mark on the comic book series. The new mutant has not yet been cast but unknowns Kate Nauta and Aya Sumika will reportedly audition. A source tells Pagesix.com the mutant will be, "An unbelievably hot and sexy hooker. Her super power is that she secretes a pheromone that helps her to seduce men. She can seduce anyone." The source adds of the auditions, "They are open to all ethnicities who are in their early-to-mid 20s."

Twentieth Century Fox Sues Sony Pictures Over 'X-Men' Similarities
Hollywood studio Twentieth Century Fox and comic book company Marvel Enterprises filed a lawsuit on Monday against Sony Pictures and Revolution Studios to delay the release of Zoom - a movie they believe is too similar to their X-Men films. Both projects center on children who possess special powers and are shunned by normal society before they enroll in a special to school to learn how to harness their abilities. Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel Enterprises allege Sony Pictures and Revolution Studios deliberately brought forward the release date of their movie in an attempt to attract cinema-goers before X-Men 3 is released on May 26, 2006. Legal papers filed in a California federal court state: "Just days after Fox announced X3 would be released on May 26, 2006, Sony and Revolution deliberately moved up Zoom's release so that it would come two weeks before, instead of 11 weeks after the release of X3." Fox and Marvel have also asked the court to force Sony and Revolution to remove material from their movie which is similar to X-Men content. Fox also allege Revolution ignored a written warning to leave out X-Men references in Zoom's Academy - even though some script changes were made. The lawsuit continues: "Although Revolution changed some parts of Zoom's Academy script... those few cosmetic changes cannot cover up the fact that Zoom continues to copy key elements, concepts, themes, characters and story lines from X-Men." Zoom, a comedy satire set to star Tim Allen, has not yet gone into production.

Fox Says Sony Ripped Off 'X-Men' Plot
Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel Enterprises have sued Sony Pictures and Revolution Studios, claiming that their film, Zoom's Academy, is a rip-off of their own X-Men series. Both films concern a group of children with special powers who are shunned by their normal peers and are sent to a school to learn how to cope with their super abilities. Fox and Marvel also claim that the rival studios deliberately moved up the release of Zoom Academy so that it would debut on May 12, 2006 two weeks before the release of X-Men 3, which is set for May 26, 2006. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief and unspecified monetary damages.

Alan Cumming Skips 'X-Men 3'
Scottish actor Alan Cumming has stunned his fans by announcing his retirement from the X-Men franchise. Cumming, who appeared in the series' second installment, will not be reprising his role as popular mutant Nightcrawler in X-Men 3. A posting on the actor's site reads, "Alan will not be appearing in X-Men 3. Fox has not picked up his option to play Nightcrawler for a second movie." A publicist for Cumming has confirmed the announcement. MTV News reports Cumming had earlier insisted he would be in the third movie, and director Brett Ratner declared "everybody" would be returning earlier this month. The movie begins filming this summer in Canada, with Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Patrick Stewart reprising their leading roles.

Vaughn Quits 'X-Men 3'
British director Matthew Vaughn has quit the third X-Men movie because of "personal" problems. The Layer Cake film-maker, who is married to supermodel Claudia Schiffer, has urgently flown back from Hollywood to his home in London - leaving the movie's pre-production in chaos. X-Men 3, the second sequel to the smash 2000 comic book adaptation, was Vaughn's first big-budget studio project and he is devastated he's been forced to abandon the project Producer Avi Arad says, "This is not a case of creative differences. This is a personal decision by Matthew, and I can tell you that he is heartbroken. He loved this material, and he wanted to make this film." Comic Marvel and studio Fox are expected to make an announcement in the next few days regarding a replacement director, but filming - which was set to start in early July - looks set to be delayed.

Grammer To Play Blue Beast in 'X-Men 3'
Fans of Kelsey Grammer are set to find him tough to recognize in his next project - he's playing a furry blue monster in the second X-Men sequel. In X-Men 3, the former Frasier star will play oversized mutant Beast, who has not yet appeared in any of the franchise's installments. While there has been a shocked reaction to Grammer's casting, producers of the movie insist he's the perfect choice for the part - because Beast is the most intelligent of all the mutants. Snatch star Vinnie Jones is also set to undergo a huge image overhaul when he plays villainous Juggernaut in the movie. His character is a 900 pound metal-clad battering ram. The sci-fi series stars Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Romijn. The movie, to be directed by Matthew Vaughn, is set to debut in May next year.

Janssen's Character Returns From the Dead
Dutch actress Famke Janssen has signed up to reprise her X-Men role in the movie franchise's third installment - despite her character's death in the previous film. Janssen's psychic character Jean Grey perished at the end of X2 to save her fellow mutants, but she will now evolve into new character Phoenix in X-Men 3. Other stars onboard for the third installment of the Marvel Comic adventure include Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Patrick Stewart. Shooting is slated to start this summer, for a May 26, 2006 US release.

McKellen Fears 'X-Men' Snub
Sir Ian McKellen fears he won't be asked to resume his role as Magneto in the spin-off X-Men movie about the comic book character - because he's too old. McKellen played the evil scientist in X-Men, X2 and plans to reprise the role in X-Men 3, but the new movie focuses on the early years of the villain, so the 66-year-old believes it's unlikely he'll be chosen for the part. He explains, "I have heard of a story being developed. A Magneto spin-off would probably be about his early life and therefore might not need my participation. We'll see."

Berry Keen To Return as Storm
Halle Berry will return to the X-Men franchise for a third movie if her role as Storm is more prominent than it was in the first sequel. Speaking to fans on her website, the Catwoman star has revealed she'll happily return as Storm if the character has a bigger part. She writes, "I have not read the script. All I asked is that, if I come back, Storm needs more to do. If they have, in fact, written her closer to the comic book, then I'm in... If not, then I'm out. I hope I'm in though. I love Storm and really want to be a part of the last film." Also in her latest posting, Berry confirms that a planned James Bond spin-off for her sexy character Jinx has been scrapped. She adds, "I would have loved to (have reprised that character) but that issue has been put to bed. Maybe some day I will do a cameo in a Bond movie as Jinx."

Writers
Simon Kinberg Written by
Zak Penn Screenplay

Producers
Avi Arad ... producer
Ross Fanger ... co-producer
Kevin Feige ... executive producer
David Gorder ... associate producer
Hugh Jackman ... producer
Stan Lee ... executive producer
John Palermo ... producer
Lauren Shuler Donner ... producer
Ralph Winter ... producer
Alex Young ... executive producer

Cast
Shawn Ashmore ... Bobby Drake/Iceman
Halle Berry ... Ororo Munroe/Storm
Cayden Boyd ... Young Warren Worthington
Cameron Bright ... Leech
Daniel Cudmore ... Peter Rasputin/Colossus
Bill Duke
Ben Foster ... Warren Worthington/Angel
Kelsey Grammer ... Hank McCoy/Beast
Hugh Jackman ... Logan/Wolverine
Famke Janssen ... Jean Grey/Phoenix
Vinnie Jones ... Cain Marko/Juggernaut
James Marsden ... Scott Summers/Cyclops
Ian McKellen ... Eric Lensherr/Magneto
Michael Murphy ... Warren Worthington, Sr.
Katie Nauta
Ellen Page ... Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat
Anna Paquin ... Rogue
Rebecca Romijn¹ ... Mystique
Aaron Stanford ... John Allerdyce/Pyro
Patrick Stewart ... Professor Charles Xavier
Olivia Williams ... Dr. Moira MacTaggert

Original Music
Lalo Schifrin

Cinematographers
Philippe Rousselot

Editors
Mark Goldblatt
Mark Helfrich
Julia Wong

Casting Directors
Heike Brandstatter
Coreen Mayrs
Richard Pagano

Production Designers
Ed Verreaux

Art Directors
Geoff Hubbard
Helen Jarvis

Costume Designers
Judianna Makovsky

Make Up Department
Jason Barnett ... special makeup effects technician: Spectral Motion
Roland Blancaflor ... prosthetic department supervisor/speciality costumes: Spectral Motion Inc.
Darin Bouyssou ... makeup effects lab technician: Spectral Motion Inc.
Mike Elizalde ... makeup supervisor
Thomas Floutz ... special makeup effects artist
Bart Mixon ... special makeup effects artist
Gordon Smith¹ ... special makeup effects artist

Production Managers
Stewart Bethune ... unit production manager
Jason D. McGatlin ... production supervisor

Second Unit Directors or Assistant Directors
David Arnold ... second assistant director
Silver Butler ... second second assistant director
Lee Cleary ... first assistant director
Simon Crane ... second unit director
Gary Hawes ... third assistant director
Terry Madden ... first assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Jennifer R. Blair ... art dept coordinator: Los Angeles
Andrew Campbell ... graphic designer
James H. Chow ... property master
Steve Christensen ... model builder
Daren Dochterman ... conceptual artist
Warren Flanagan ... concept illustrator
Collin Grant ... storyboard artist
Aaron Haye ... 3D set designer
Michael Anthony Jackson ... storyboard artist
Franziska Keller ... art department coordinator
Ray Lai ... graphic illustrator
Andrew Li ... assistant art director
Victor James Martinez ... digital modeler/set designer
Rick Newsome ... storyboard artist
Francisco Rosa ... lead painter
Dean Sherriff ... illustrator
Vladimir Spasojevic ... illustrator
Cale Wilbanks ... art department assistant

Special Effects Department
John Bruno ... special effects supervisor
Andrés Domínguez ... special effects technician
Mike Vézina ... special effects supervisor

Visual Effects Department
Brad Alexander ... pre-visualization lead
John Bruno ... visual effects supervisor
Shane Cook ... previs artist
Charlie Eubanks ... visual effects assistant
Rhett Finch ... visual effects assistant

Miscellaneous Crew
R. Ben Adams ... office production assistant
Courtney Andersen ... assistant costume designer
Melissa F. Barrie ... production coordinator
Ron Blecker ... military advisor
Darin Bouyssou ... creature effects technician: Spectral Motion Inc.
Deanna Brigidi ... casting associate
Allison Calleri ... assistant to producer
Genevieve Faria ... second assistant production coordinator
Ann Goobie ... location manager: Vancouver
Stacey Harris ... second assistant coordinator
Nito Larioza ... fight choreographer
Doug Moreno ... supervising production accountant
Jena Niquidet ... production coordinator
Jess Platt ... dialect coach
Jonathan Taylor ... director of photography: second unit
Gary J. Williams ... second grip