Marion Zimmer Bradley Dies
F&F author Marion Zimmer Bradley died at the Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 25.
The 69-year-old writer and editor was admitted to the hospital on Sept. 21 after suffering a massive heart attack that left her unconscious.
Bradley was a well-known personality in the SF field who made her first professional story sale in 1952 and began her famous Darkover series in 1958. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction called her "a major figure in the genre" and said that her Darkover stories are "perhaps the most significant planetary-romance sequence in modern SF."
Bradley also wrote the popular Arthurian novel The Mists of Avalon, which spent four months on The New York Times best-seller list. She followed that book up with two sequels, The Forest House and Lady of Avalon.
Bradley also founded Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine in 1988, and she edited the annual anthology Sword and Sorceress for DAW Books. She was noted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for having launched and nurtured the careers of many young authors, as well as for allowing fans "unprecedented opportunity" to write stories based on her Darkover series.
Bradley's funeral will be held at Saint
Mark's Episcopal Church in Berkeley, Calif., at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 17. Memorial donations may be sent to the church at 2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704.
Will Cameron Take On T3?
ccording to a report on the Coming Attractions Web site, James Cameron has patched up his relationship with the producers of the upcoming Terminator 3 movie and he now intends to write, produce and direct the big-budget project.
Both Cameron and Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger have previously expressed interest in the film, but between complications with the movie rights and various production problems, it looked like neither would be involved.
Coming Attractions also says that Rae Sanchini--from Cameron's company Lightstorm--will serve as a producer on the film, as will Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. No further details about the movie are available, though if Cameron is really working on the project it's likely that Schwarzenegger will return as well.
Amazon, Relic Hunter Start Strong
he new syndicated SF action series Relic Hunter and Peter Benchley's Amazon scored big in the ratings when they debuted during the week of Sept. 20.
According to Variety, Amazon was the highest-rated new syndicated show for the week, earning a preliminary 2.4 rating in the Nielsens.
Relic Hunter was close behind with a 2.3 rating. Last year only two syndicated action shows earned better than a 2.0 rating, VIP and Stargate SG-1. They were also the only two new action series that made it to a second season.
Bruce Campbell To Star In Jack
ruce Campbell has signed on to play the lead role in the Studio USA/Renaissance Pictures half-hour action series Jack of All Trades, according to numerous online reports.
Campbell will take on the role of the character Jack Styles, a kind of James Bond of the Elizabethan era who fights pirates in the Caribbean.
The series will begin shooting in New Zealand in December, with the first episode slated to air in U.S. syndication in January 2000. Jack is one half of the Back 2 Back Action Hour, which is being developed as a replacement for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Jack will be paired with another half-hour action show, Cleopatra 2525.
Oz Takes A Break From Buffy
eth Green, who plays the werewolf Oz on WB's hit show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is taking a hiatus from the series now that the first six episodes have been shot.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Green is already up in Canada working on the Johh Malkovich film Knockaround Guys, a dark comedy about mobsters' sons.
Green's spokesperson and the WB say the actor will return to Buffy after the movie is completed, although EW reports that won't necessarily be the case. According to an "inside source," the Buffy producers plan to see where the show goes without Oz before they decide if they want to bring his character back.
Is Hart Too Wicked For Sabrina?
abrina the Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart may be getting a little too sexy for her own good.
Hart's recent pictorials in the men's magazine Maxim and in Bikini magazine have drawn the ire of Archie Comics Publications, which owns the rights to the Sabrina character.
Michael Silberkleit, the publisher of Archie Comics, wants Sabrina producer Viacom to fire Hart from the show unless she apologizes for her steamy photographs, as well as for her comments about sex and drinking games. "She can say whatever she wants as Melissa, but she can't say it as a representative of my trademarks," Silberkleit said.
There is no word yet on how either Hart or Viacom plan to respond to Silberkleit's demands.
BeastMaster Exec Roars About Series
hile talking to the British magazine SFX, BeastMaster executive producer Steve Feke revealed some new details about his upcoming syndicated show.
"The series takes place in a world before time," he said. "This world is comprised at the moment of three different places: the Territories, the Mydlands, and the Downs."
"They are differentiated morally, physically, and cinematically," Feke explained. "Sorcery and magic exist in all of the worlds, and this is one of the concepts which differentiates the series from others in the fantasy genre."
Feke said that the series hero, Dar, is from the Mydlands, which is a place of emerging societies located in a sub-tropical zone. "Dar has his sanctuary in a garden of Eden atop a jungled plateau," he said.
On the other hand, the Territories "is a world of base emotions and morality." It's populated by nomadic warriors called the Terrans, who are led by the intelligent but vicious King Zad.
The Downs are the most sophisticated world in BeastMaster, with villages, towns and castles, as well as more sophisticated types of evil and societal problems. The series debuts in U.S. syndication during the week of Oct. 5.
SCI FI Adds LEXX To Its Lineup
he SCI FI Channel has picked up the rights to the offbeat SF series LEXX and plans to add the show to its prime-time lineup in January 2000.
LEXX is based on the unusual movie series of the same name, which aired in the United States with the title Tales from a Parallel Universe.
Both the movies and the hour-long TV show follow the adventures of four futuristic misfits who steal the most powerful weapon ever created, a giant insect named Lexx who doubles as a space ship. The TV series stars Brian Downey as Stanley Tweedle, the bumbling, self-serving captain of Lexx; Xenia Seeberg as Xev, a former love slave; Michael McManus as the 2,000-year-old assassin Kai (who also happens to be dead); and Jeffrey Hirschfield as the lovestruck robot head 790.
SCI FI has acquired the rights to the first 20 episodes of the series with the option to pick up additional seasons. "LEXX is a unique and unconventional series that adds to our roster of original, cutting-edge fare," said Bonnie Hammer, the senior vice president for SCI FI Channel Programming and USA Original Productions.
LEXX is a co-production of Salter Street Films and Germany's TiMe Film und TV Produktion. It's produced in association with CHUM Television and is executive produced by Paul Donovan from Salter and Wolfram Tichy of TiMe.
SCI FI Picks Up Prey, Brimstone
he SCI FI Channel has picked up the off-network rights to the Warner Bros. shows Brimstone and Prey.
Brimstone will make its debut on SCI FI during a December stunt that will feature back-to-back episodes of the series airing between 7-11 p.m. ET. on Dec. 3, 10 and 17.
Both shows will then join SCI FI's regular prime-time lineup sometime during 2000. Thirteen episodes of each series were produced by Warner Bros. before both series were canceled. Prey previously ran on ABC, while Brimstone was formerly seen on Fox.
Prey co-star Vincent Ventresca can also be seen on SCI FI's upcoming Invisible Man series, which is slated to air in 2000.
The Matrix DVD Sees Titanic Sales
he blockbuster SF film The Matrix has set a new record for first week DVD sales, nearly tripling the business of the recent DVD hit Titanic.
According to Warner Home Video, The Matrix DVD has already sold more than half of the 1.5 million copies shipped to North America.
So far consumers have spent $23.4 million on the DVD, which includes numerous extra features such as director commentary, a making-of special and details about the film's special effects. Rentals of The Matrix on VHS have also been brisk despite the fact that Warner did not initially release the VHS version at sell-through prices.
Briefly Noted
- Former Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Wil Wheaton will star in the play "Marmalade Skies," which debuts at The Matrix theater in Los Angeles, Calif., on Oct. 21.
- The trailer for Toy Story 2 has been posted online at www.toystory2.com, in advance of its Oct. 8 theatrical release. The film itself will hit theaters on Nov. 24.
- Electronic Arts said it will begin shipping its new PlayStation game Xena: The Warrior Princess on Oct. 5, to coincide with the launch of the new Xena TV season.
- Xena and Hercules frequent guest star Bruce Campbell will direct the final episode of Hercules, which airs in syndication the week of Nov. 22.
