Witch Makers, Goyer Team Up For Fearsum
axan Films, the company behind the blockbuster movie The Blair Witch Project, and Blade writer David Goyer are teaming up to create the TV show Fearsum for Fox.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series will center around the host of a Web site that details bizarre happenings.
In the pilot episode, the host will reportedly learn that his long-dead twin brother might actually be alive. Fearsum will have a companion Web site that will go online before the series airs, much like The Blair Witch Project's now-famous Web site.
Kushner-Locke Experiments With St. Francisville
he Kushner-Locke Co. has picked up the rights to the low-budget supernatural thriller The St. Francisville Experiment.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the independent movie was shot in the style of The Blair Witch Project, with four non-actors filmed during an overnight stay in an allegedly haunted mansion.
The filmmakers behind the project recruited a psychic, a ghost hunter, a film student and a historian to star in their movie. The film takes place in the Lalaurie House in New Orleans, La. The Lalauries were a well-known family that supposedly abused and tortured slaves, and their house is reportedly haunted by the ghosts of their victims.
Is Quinn Leaving Angel?
umors that Glenn Quinn will be leaving the cast of Angel appear to be correct, according to the Dark Horizons Web site.
Quinn's agent, James Selman, reportedly confirmed the news, saying, "In a recently delivered final draft of the script of episode nine, Glenn Quinn's character, Doyle, dies."
Recently there has been some confusion about Quinn's role on Angel, with several sources reporting that he was being unexpectedly kicked off the series. Other reports indicated that his half-human/half-demon character would be killed, only to be resurrected again at a later date.
Selman explained, "The plot line has apparently been planned since early in the development of the storylines for the season and has been kept under wraps. We don't know what happens after episode nine, but Glenn has been aware of this development since the beginning of the season and is looking at scripts for his next film."
New Zealand Army Deserts Lord of the Rings
ccording to TheOneRing.Net Web site, the Royal New Zealand Army won't be in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy after all.
Director Peter Jackson had originally been planning to use the army in several scenes that required thousands of extras.
However, due to the ongoing conflict in East Timor, the army has to be on call to fulfill its obligations to the United Nations, and it can no long participate in the Rings project. Jackson and company are reportedly looking for local extras who can fill the job.
Aykroyd Working On Ghostbusters 3
he Ghostbusters Headquarters Web site recently received a video clip that features Dan Aykroyd talking about the upcoming Ghostbusters 3 movie.
According to Aykroyd, he and several of the other Ghostbusters principals are currently "strategizing with Sony" on how to develop the franchise.
"We're just working out the business details to move Ghostbusters into the next generation," Aykroyd said. "I have a first draft of the script. It needs a lot of work, but at least now
something exists, whereas a year or so ago it didn't."
Rapaport, Wynter Join Arnold's The Sixth Day
ighty Aphrodite's Michael Rapaport and Species 2's Sarah Wynter will join Arnold Schwarzenegger in the SF action thriller The Sixth Day.
According to Variety, Schwarzenegger will take on the role of a man who learns he has been replaced by a clone, while Rapaport will play his best friend.
Wynter will play the female lead in the picture, an assassin whose job it is to kill Schwarzenegger's character. The movie is being directed by Tomorrow Never Dies helmer Roger Spottiswoode.
MGM Wants To Jettison Supernova
GM is trying to sell the international distribution rights to its troubled SF film Supernova.
Variety reports that the studio plans to screen the $60 million picture for potential buyers in the coming weeks.
It's not clear why MGM is trying to pawn off Supernova, although early reports indicate the film simply doesn't live up to its sizable price tag. The picture has also been plagued with problems from the outset, with two directors having quit the project.
Geoffrey Wright had originally signed on to helm the movie, but he left after bumping heads with studio executives. Walter Hill was brought in to finish the picture, but he quit the film after the principal photography was completed in 1998.
Hill Flees Supernova
irector Walter Hill has decided to remove his name from MGM's big-budget SF film Supernova.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hill and MGM are trying to agree on a pseudonym to use for the director's credit, instead of the generic "Alan Smithee" moniker normally defaulted to in such situations.
Hill joined Supernova in 1998 after helmer Geoffrey Wright departed the picture just two months into principal photography due to creative differences with the studio. Hill took the project through post-production and then turned in a final edit in February, although a Reporter source says he was also unhappy with MGM.
After Hill, Lindsey Doran and director Jack Sholder took a crack at Supernova, which didn't do well with test audiences despite their efforts. Currently MGM vice chairman Chris McGurk and Francis Ford Coppola are trying to fix the troubled movie.
Supernova stars James Spader, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lou Diamond Phillips, Angela Bassett and Robert Forster in a story about a rescue mission sent to recover a damaged spaceship, only to run into a black hole. The film is slated for a January 2000 release in the United States.
Faithful Flock To The Omega Code
he religious SF thriller The Omega Code is doing so well in limited release that more theaters are opting to pick up the TBN Films picture.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie is currently playing in 305 theaters and will open in another 65-70 by Oct. 29, then in 80 more by Nov. 12.
The picture--which contains no violence or profanity--has been heavily promoted on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, which bankrolled the $7.5 million project. It is also being pushed in Christian churches and in the Family Christian Stores chain, and televangelist Pat Robertson has endorsed the flick.
Although critics panned the movie for its low-budget production values and its Christian theme, The Omega Code pulled in $2.4 million during its first weekend in theaters for a No. 10 finish at the box office. The end-of-the-world thriller stars Casper Van Dien and Michael York.
Forlani Falls For Johnny Domino
eet Joe Black star Claire Forlani is in talks to star in the low-budget vampire flick Johnny Domino.
According to Variety, Jonathan Rhys Meyers will costar with Forlani in the picture, which will shoot next year in Europe.
Meyers will play the title role of Johnny Domino, a musician in a small-town fishing village who becomes a local sensation after being bitten by a vampire. Forlani will play a female vampire who becomes Meyers' lover, and together the two battle it out with the village's evil preacher.
The picture is being directed by Irish newcomer Enda Hughes from a script by British writer Max Chipchase.
Briefly Noted
- The Mummy was the top-renting VHS for the week of Oct. 18, earning $5.65 million. The Matrix finished No. 2 with $5.16 million.
- Angel star David Boreanaz has filed for divorce from Ingrid Quinn, his wife of two years, according to E! Online.
- Rhys Ifans, who played Hugh Grant's oddball roommate in Notting Hill, will reportedly star as the devil opposite Adam Sandler in the film Little Nicky.
- Fusion International Sales has picked up the international rights to Repli-Kate, an SF film from American Pie producers Craig Perry and Warren Zide.
- The TBN Films religious/SF thriller The Omega Code picked up $2.4 million during its first weekend in theaters, according to a company press release.
- Xena star Lucy Lawless gave birth to her second child, Julius Robert Bay Tapert, on Saturday, Oct. 16.
