'Clifton Sleigh' is back with a breakdown of the story for the new Steve Martin "Pink Panther" movie which doesn't appear to be a prequel at all. I'll let him explain:"The title of the film is officially "The Mask of The Pink Panther" and it is not a prequel or a remake. This is the tenth film in the franchise and it has a contemporary setting.
Here's the plot: Inspector Clouseau (Steve Martin) is a brilliant detective. He's also arrogant, disastrously clumsy, and very lucky that the mayhem he creates never harms himself. His late father's claim to fame was having recovered the treasured Pink Panther diamond several times during his career but, thus far, the current Inspector Clouseau has never been able to distinguish himself in a similar fashion.
At the same time, the Middle East is aflame over the recovery of a long- forgotton treasure: The Mask of The Pink Panther. The priceless mask is recovered in the deserts of the mythical kingdom of Lugash and the current Sultan is eager to use the ancestral treasure to pacify his troubled nation.
At the same time, Inspector Clouseau is investigating the murder of the head coach of France's star football team (soccer to the Americans). The investigation leads to a shifty Paris fashion designer (Rowland Rivron), a sexy fashion model, the bizarre Claude Balls (Howard Stern), a short-tempered Hong Kong detective called Pon- Ton (Jackie Chan), and a member of the jet-set long suspected of having a criminal background (Robert Wagner).
Along the way, Clouseau's boss (Paul Giamatti) goes insane and starts seeing the cartoon Pink Panther whenever his least favorite detective is present. Apart from Steve Martin and British comic actor Rowland Rivron, the other actors cited are not yet signed but are attached to the project.
The Jackie Chan character plays an important role in the film and is obviously being considered as a recurring character. The Howard Stern character is funny but non-essential. Paul Giamatti plays a Dreyfus-like character but there is a nice cameo for Herbert Lom if he chooses to make one final appearance as Dreyfus. Robert Wagner is intended to play George Lytton (the same character he played in the original film forty years ago).
Finally, Steve Martin's hair will be dyed black and he will wear the moustache. While he plays the original Inspector Clouseau's son he will look and sound much more like Peter Sellers than Roberto Benigni did. The film will be released July 22, 2005.
The entire series--all nine installments--will be released on DVD in the Spring of 2005 with a trailer for the new film. The box set of the five Peter Sellers classics will be off the market at that point. Fans should hold onto their Region 2 DVD box as it contains a number of extras that could not be cleared for copyright in the Region 1 box coming this April".
Thanks again to 'CS'
