DeForest Kelley Dies At 79
eForest Kelley, the actor who played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy on the original Star Trek TV series, died Friday, June 11, at the age of 79.
Kelley passed away at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif., where he had been hospitalized for several months with an extended illness.
"He represented humanity, and it fitted him well," said Kelley's fellow Trek cast member and longtime friend Leonard Nimoy. "He was a decent, loving, caring partner and will be deeply missed."
Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, was quoted on the official Star Trek Web site saying, "He was truly one of the most remarkable and talented men to walk the face of the Earth. This is the biggest loss that Star Trek will ever have, excluding Gene."
Kelley was born in Atlanta, Ga., on Jan. 20, 1920. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Carolyn.
Saturn Award Winners Announced
he Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films announced the winners of the 25th annual Saturn Awards, which honor "the best in genre film and television entertainment."
The awards were given out on June 9 at a gala celebration at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Century City, Calif. This year's winners and categories are:
- Best Science Fiction Film (Tie)
- Armageddon
- Dark City
- Best Fantasy Film
- The Truman Show
- Best Horror Film
- Apt Pupil
- Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
- Saving Private Ryan
- Best Actor
- James Woods (Vampires)
- Best Actress
- Drew Barrymore (Ever After)
- Best Supporting Actor
- Ian McKellen (Apt Pupil)
- Best Supporting Actress
- Joan Allen (Pleasantville)
- Best Direction
- Michael Bay (Armageddon)
- Best Writing
- Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show)
- Best Music
- John Carpenter (John Carpenter's Vampires)
- Best Make-Up
- Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger (John Carpenter's Vampires)
- Best Special Effects
- Volker Engel, Patrick Tatopolous, Karen Goulekas, Clay Pinney (Godzilla)
- Best Series on Network TV
- The X-Files
- Best Series on Syndicated/Cable Television
- Babylon 5
- Best Actor in a TV Series
- Richard Dean Anderson (Stargate SG-1)
- Best Actress in a TV Series
- Sarah Michelle Geller (Buffy)
Special achievement awards were presented to author Ray Bradbury, director William Friedkin (The Exorcist), director Nathan Juran (Attack of the 50-foot Woman), actor/director/writer James Coburn (Affliction), and film restorer David Sheppard.
The academy is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1972 by Dr. Donald A. Reed "to honor, promote and recognize the many talented individuals working in the genre filmmaking field." To be eligible for a Saturn Award, a film must have been screened for the general academy membership in California.
Is DS9 Finally Over?
lthough Star Trek: Deep Space Nine officially ended its seven-year TV run earlier this month, fans have always assumed that the DS9 adventures would continue in a string of feature films.
After all, the original Star Trek spawned six successful motion pictures, and Paramount immediately followed those with films based on the first Trek spin-off TV series, The Next Generation.
According to that schedule, Deep Space Nine--the third Trek television series--should be next on the film list, followed eventually by its TV successor, Star Trek: Voyager. However, DS9 star Nana Visitor (Kira Nerys) recently told Entertainment Weekly that she doesn't think DS9 will receive the same film treatment that other Star Trek series have gotten.
"I really doubt there will be a movie," Visitor told EW. "They'll go from The Next Generation cast to the Voyager cast. Once again we'll be the passed-over middle child."
If DS9 does make the transition to film, it will require a tricky bit of writing, since the show's characters were scattered all over the galaxy during DS9's final episode. "They could pick us all up from our different worlds, but I don't think it's going to happen," Visitor said.
Mystery Men Revealed Early
niversal Pictures is so enthusiastic about its offbeat superhero flick Mystery Men that it has moved the film's release up from August 6 to July 30.
The movie was adapted by Neil Cuthbert from a Dark Horse comic book series and stars an ensemble cast that includes Geoffrey Rush, Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Paul Reubens, Janeane Garofalo, Wes Studi and Kel Mitchell.
"I saw the film last week with only one-third of the visual effects completed, and my immediate reaction was, this is fabulous--a big, mind-blowing summer comedy that delivers big laughs and is different from anything else in the marketplace," said Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of
distribution. "And after seeing such positive audience reaction, we decided to move the film up from the August 6 release date to give us one more week of summer play."
The Crow Alters Flight Path
lthough Universal Television has officially cancelled the syndicated TV series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, that might not be the end of this supernatural show.
The Crow producer Edward Pressman told The Hollywood Reporter that he's putting together a financial group that will fund a second season of 22 Crow episodes.
"The Crow franchise has proven to be a marvelous television premise whose potential has barely been tapped," Pressman told the Reporter. "From the beginning, The Crow has been a property that requires nurturing, and we are taking this action in response to tremendous fan support."
Stairway to Heaven is based on the 1994 The Crow film that starred Brandon Lee, which was in turn adapted from the comic book series by James O'Barr. The TV show centers around Eric Draven (played by Marc Dacascos), a murdered rock star who returns from the dead to seek vengeance on his killers.
Stern, Torme Announce Doomsday
adio "shock jock" Howard Stern and former Sliders executive producer Tracy Torme are developing a new animated SF comedy series called Doomsday for Film Roman.
The show tells the story of the Bradleys, a family searching for a new home and traditional values amidst the ruins of a post-apocalyptic United States.
As they journey across the country in their RV, the Bradleys will face the "danger and stupidity" left behind after the death of civilization. "This is a true story...it just hasn't happened yet," Torme explained jokingly.
Stern will voice a "special character" in Doomsday, and he hopes to entice a number of his celebrity friends to take on other roles in the series. Doomsday is being marketed as a prime-time show along the lines of The Simpsons and Futurama.
Austin Open Tops Godzilla
hile the film industry is anticipating huge returns for this summer's "other" big movie, Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the Mike Myers flick has already set at least one box-office record.
Austin Powers 2 was placed in 3,312 theaters for its debut, according to distributor New Line, eclipsing the record set last year when Godzilla opened in 3,310 theaters.
That unusually wide opening, combined with a promotional campaign said to be larger than $40 million and some sly billing opposite Star Wars: Episode I, is expected to make Austin Powers 2 the second big hit of the summer. Some industry analysts are predicting that Austin 2 will take in more during its first week in theaters than the $53.9 million the first Austin Powers film made during its entire U.S. domestic run.
Irons Joins Dungeons Adventure
cademy Award winning actor Jeremy Irons has joined the cast of the independent film Dungeons & Dragons, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film is based on the popular role-playing game of the same name by TSR, Inc., and is being produced by Silver Pictures, Sweetpea Entertainment and J&M.
Irons joins a group of Dungeons adventurers that so far includes Justin Whalin, Zoe McLellan, Marlon Wayans, Lee Arenberg, Thora Birch, Kristen Wilson, Robert Miano and Bruce Payne. Courtney Solomon is directing the film, which has been budgeted at approximately $35 million.
Best Brains Auctions MST3K Props
ow much is the giant spaghetti-ball-logo from the cult SF show Mystery Science Theater 3000 really worth?
According to bidders on the online auction service eBay.com, a little bit more than $5,000 and counting.
The spaghetti logo and other famous MST3K props have recently been put up for sale on eBay by MST3K owner Best Brains, Inc. Those interested in acquiring The Forrester Baby, the Digger Smolken LP Cover or any other official BBI items should head to eBay and search for the keyword MST3KPROPS.
Rhino Plans Iron Giant Soundtrack
hino Records said it will release the soundtrack to Warner's upcoming animated SF film The Iron Giant on August 3.
In addition to the original film score by Michael Kamen, the Iron Giant soundtrack will include music from the 1950s that "pulses with the beatnik beats of the atomic era."
The film is based on the book The Iron Man by poet laureate Ted Hughes and tells the story of a giant, metal-eating robot that falls to Earth near a small town in Maine during the 1950s. The robot inadvertently terrifies the local townspeople until it makes friends with nine-year-old Hogarth Hughes.
The Iron Giant is scheduled to hit theaters on August 6.
Henson Options McIntyre's Moon
im Henson Pictures has picked up the film rights to Vonda N. McIntyre's Nebula Award-winning novel The Moon and the Sun.
The book takes place in 17th century France, where King Louis XIV orders the capture of a rare sea monster that he believes may hold the secret to immortality.
Christopher Renshaw will make his feature film directorial debut on the project, which is being scripted by Laura Harrington. McIntyre said she'll be available to assist Harrington with "whatever research and insight I can offer."
Guam Space Mission Loses Helm
ighty Joe Young director Ron Underwood has abandoned the Paramount comedy Guam Goes to the Moon, according to Variety.
The film will star Vince Vaughn as an astronaut who attempts to help a Third World country develop a manned space program.
Underwood reportedly left the movie because Paramount would not set a firm timetable for the project. He now plans to focus his attention on the Eddie Murphy SF comedy Pluto Nash, which he had previously agreed to direct for Castle Rock.
Episode I Passes $250 Million
tar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace continued to fly through theaters at hyperspeed during its third week of release, picking up another $32.2 million on its way to setting a new box-office record.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Episode I has earned $255 million in just 19 days, easily passing the record set by James Cameron's Titanic, which became the king of the world in 1997 when it earned $250 million in 36 days.
Aside from sinking Titanic's record, Episode I also became the 12th highest-grossing film of all time when it comes to U.S. domestic ticket sales, edging out the $251.2 million set by Batman in 1989. Episode I has been the No. 1 movie at the box office since it opened on May 19.
Briefly Noted
- The first episode of Crusade earned a 1.9 household rating in the Nielsens during its debut on TNT.
- The Fox cable station FX has acquired the off-network rights to Chris Carter's dark drama Millennium and will begin airing the series on July 19.
- Hallmark Entertainment is developing a two-hour movie for the Odyssey Network based on Washington Irving's famous ghost story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The movie is slated to air in October, one month before Tim Burton's feature film adaption of the story hits theaters.
- Star Trek actors Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data) and Rene Auberjonois (Odo) will star in The Wonderful World of Disney musical Geppetto, which will air on ABC during the 1999-2000 TV season.
- Silver Pictures plans to remake the classic SF films Westworld and Logan's Run, according to Cinescape.
- BBC Video will release the six-part Doctor Who adventure "Keys of Marinus" to home video on July 9. The two-volume set stars William Hartnell as the Doctor and will retail for $29.98.
- Electronic Arts reports that it has shipped more than a million copies of its futuristic city-building game SimCity 3000.
