Memory Madness

Now, there's been times before, we admit, that we've despaired of the utter absence of originality in Hollywood but this news has forced even our cynical souls to let out a wail of despair. We hate to have to tell you this, but there's another 'memory loss' pic in the pipeline. Loyal Empire Online readers will, of course, know that not only John Woo but Nic Cage, Iain Softley, Bruce Willis and even Val Kilmer all have various amnesiac projects on the go but now it seems it's the girls turn to mine this apparently rich generic seam. Oscar-winning Bond girl Halle Berry is to be joined by the lucky Mr Cruise's right-hand-woman, Penelope Cruz, in the flick Gothika. Think Memento crossed with an all-female version of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and you're already there. Berry will portray a criminal psychologist who awakens to find herself a patient in the very hospital that employs her, with, of course, no memory of a murder she's rather inconveniently accused of committing. With Cruz meanwhile filling out the Jack Nicholson role as a charismatic but rather deranged fellow patient of the facility, Berry struggles to regain her recollections and