Two 'Three Musketeers' projects move forward

By Sarah Sluis

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Hollywood is full of eyelash-batting people who cozy up to an idea and then go off and develop it on their own. I've written about this trend before, and another battle seems to be heating up.

Currently, there's not one but two Three Musketeers projects in the works. Each one will want to release before the other, so 2011 may be the year of feathered hats and swashbuckling swordsmen---for better or worse. Unlike Baz Luhrmann's Alexander epic or Sacha Baron Cohen's Sherlock Holmes adaptation, both of which were nixed while their competitors' projects moved forward, all six musketeers are going into production this fall. Here's how the two projects stack up:

Three Musketeers	The Three Musketeers
Summit will distribute	Warner Bros. will distribute
From the director of �Resident Evil'	From the director of the �Bourne' films
Trio played by Ray Stevenson, Matthew MacFadyen, Luke Evans�who?	Haven't gotten that far yet
But awesome villains! Christoph Waltz and maybe Orlando Bloom (he's more of a yawn, but eye candy for some)	Maybe they can take some of the rejects from Summit's auditions?
To be released in stunning 3D	Not so fast�you'll also need 3D glasses for this one
Described as �modern but still a period piece.' Isn't that an oxymoron? Clarified as, we will be zooming in on the action, not the corsets and men wearing tights.	From the producer of �Sherlock Holmes,' so expect a mix of annoying matte backgrounds and a general lack of realism
Director Paul W.S. Anderson has been working on the project since October �09	Director Doug Liman was just hired and has a reputation for messy, overbudget productions
With casting and legwork done, and filming starting in September, Summit's likely to be first to the finish	But could Liman's version be better? Or will everyone be sick of all those sword battles? Plus, I'm still recovering from Dumas adaptation �The Man in the Iron Mask'