AWAY WITH THE BIRDMAN

Birdman of Alcatraz, directed by John Frankenheimer, was a 1962 movie starring Burt Lancaster as Robert Stroud, a lifer at the infamous island prison who became a world authority on birds. Forty-one years on, Brad Pitt is set to produce and possibly star in The Madman of Alcatraz, based on a true story about the psychiatrist who treated Stroud and the two-year relationship between the men that nearly caused the psychiatrist to lose his own mind.

A NEW "CANDIDATE"

Another of the best films of 1962, also directed by Frankenheimer, was The Manchurian Candidate, which starred Frank Sinatra. Sinatra's daughter, Tina, is about to remake her father's famous film with Denzel Washington in Sinatra's role and Julianne Moore in a role for which Angela Lansbury received an Oscar nomination. The movie is a frightening thriller about a decorated solider who is unknowingly programmed to kill a presidential nominee and further his stepfather's political career.

WHAT A SHRIEK! "SHREK" TO BE A RIDE!

The Academy Award-winning animated movie, Shrek is going to a ride at Universal's three theme parks. With state-of-the-art technology, the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz and 15 minutes of 3D animation, the ride will also promote Shrek 2, the movie sequel, which is due next year.