X-Files May Go To Eight Seasons
lthough creator Chris Carter and stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny have all said they won't return for an eighth season of their hit show The X-Files, it may yet happen.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Fox Entertainment president Doug Herzog would "love to have the show back" and that the "wheels are in motion" to make the deal happen.
In the past Carter has sparred publicly with Herzog and has also said he would probably not stick around past The X-Files' seventh season, which debuts on Fox this month. And Duchovny is actually suing Fox for money he claims is owed him because Fox allegedly sold reruns of The X-Files to its sister station FX at artificially low prices.
Even Herzog admitted that "there are a couple of hurdles that need to be jumped over" if there is going to be an eighth season of The X-Files. But he also said, "We are already in discussions with the studio, and when the time is right, we will sit down with Chris."
Carter does seem to be warming to the idea of a season eight, despite the fact that Fox recently canceled his new SF series, Harsh Realm. He told the Times that he is not steering The X-Files toward a conclusion just yet, and that "there are a lot of great stories left to tell."
In fact, Carter seemed downright exuberant when it came to the The X-Files' seventh season, which will feature an appearance by Millennium character Frank Black as well as the long-awaited kiss between FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. It remains to be seen if Fox can work out its problems with Duchovny, Fox and Carter, but it looks like an eighth season of The X-Files may be out there after all.
World Fantasy Awards Announced
he 1999 World Fantasy Awards were presented Sunday, Nov. 7, at the World Fantasy Convention in Providence, R.I.
The winners and categories include:
- Life Achievement
- Hugh B. Cave
- Best Novel
- The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich (HarperFlamingo)
- Best Novella
- "The Summer Isles" by Ian R. MacLeod (Asimov's Oct./Nov. 1998)
- Best Short Fiction
- "The Specialist's Hat" by Kelly Link (Event Horizon, Nov. 15, 1998)
- Best Anthology
- Dreaming Down-Under edited by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb
(HarperCollins/Voyager Australia)
- Best Collection
- Black Glass by Karen Joy Fowler (Henry Holt)
- Best Artist
- Charles Vess
- Special Award, Professional
- Jim Turner (for Golden Gryphon Press)
- Special Award, Non-professional
- Richard Chizmar (for Cemetery Dance Publications)
The awards are given annually for the best works of fantasy published during the previous calendar year.
Warner Announces SF&F Novel Contest
arner Books has announced its second novel contest for new and unpublished science fiction and fantasy writers.
The winning entry will be published by Warner's SF&F imprint, Warner Aspect, as part of the "New Aspects" program, which features "first novelists of outstanding talent and potential."
"The original First Novel Contest resulted in our discovery of Nalo Hopkinson and her manuscript Brown Girl in the Ring," said Betsy Mitchell, the editor-in-chief of Warner Aspect. "After we published that book in July 1998, it went on to become a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award, win the Locus Award for Best First Novel, and receive widespread review attention. And Nalo herself received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer at the 1999 World Science Fiction Convention."
Manuscripts must be double-spaced and typed on 8.5" x 11" paper, and they must include a business-sized self-addressed stamped envelope for response. Submissions must be received between Dec. 15, 1999, and June 30, 2000, and they must include a disposable copy of a synopsis of the complete story plus the first several chapters of the manuscript (up to 60 pages).
There is a limit of one entry per person, and only finalists from the first round of judging will be invited to submit their complete manuscripts. Entries can be sent to: Warner Aspect First Novel Contest, Editorial Department, 1271 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
Mars Movies To Launch Separately
arner Bros. has moved the debut of its Mars film Red Planet from March 31, 2000, to June 16, 2000.
That means Red Planet will hit theaters about three months later than Disney's competing feature, Mission to Mars, which is still go for a March 10, 2000, launch.
Variety reported the schedule change and said that neither film studio was discussing the move, adding that such maneuvers are "always the stuff of intrigue." Red Planet stars Val Kilmer and Carrie-Anne Moss and tells the story of an astronaut who becomes stranded on Mars.
Mission to Mars features Tim Robbins, Gary Sinise and Connie Nelson, and it also centers around an astronaut who becomes trapped on the Martian surface.
Angry Films Acquires Alien Parasyte
ngry Films has picked up the movie rights to the Japanese comic Parasyte and will turn the title into a live-action/CGI feature in conjunction with Jim Henson Pictures.
Parasyte was created by Hitosi Iwaaki and is being adapted for the big screen by the writing team of Matt Manfredi and Phil Hey.
The comic tells the story of a young man named Mike whose left hand is turned into an alien parasite called Lefty. Lefty is part of an extraterrestrial invasion force that arrives on Earth in the form of strange seeds that fall from the sky and turn any creatures they touch into hostile aliens.
Pols Stump For The Iron Giant
n an unusual marketing move, Warner Bros. has lined up several Capitol Hill politicians to help promote the home video release of its animated SF film The Iron Giant.
According to Variety, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) are going to hold a press conference in which they will reportedly endorse the G-rated feature.
The Iron Giant can use all the help it can get, since the film, while critically lauded, earned just $23 million at the box office. The movie is based on Ted Hughes' 1968 children's book The Iron Man, and it's the type of kid-friendly morality feature that Washington has been demanding from Hollywood.
Pokemon Fans Flood Warner Phones
okemon fans inadvertently crippled the Warner Bros. phone system after the studio offered free tickets to the U.S. premiere of Pokemon: The First Movie.
Warner said its main switchboard received 70,000 calls a minute on Monday, Nov. 1, when it televised the promotional offer.
Pokemon: The First Movie was originally scheduled to debut on Nov. 12, but Warner has now slated the first U.S. screening of the film for 10:30 a.m. PT on Nov. 6 at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, Calif. The studio said it plans to block off Hollywood Boulevard for the event, which is expected to attract unprecedented numbers of Pokemon's target audience, 8- to 11-year-olds.
The 76-minute feature Pokemon: The First Movie is being paired with a 22-minute short called Pikachu's Vacation, which will introduce two new characters to the Pokemon pantheon.
Sony Animates Heavy Gear For Bohbot
ony Pictures Family Entertainment is turning the giant mech-combat game Heavy Gear into an animated TV series that will air on the Bohbot Kids Network.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio plans to produce 40 episodes of the show for a fall 2000 debut.
Sony acquired the worldwide TV rights to Heavy Gear from creators Pierre Oullette and Dream Pod 9. Gear is set on the planet Terra Nova 4,000 years in the future, where warring factions battle it out with futuristic weapons and giant "mechs."
The Heavy Gear franchise includes video and PC games, books, trading cards and other products.
Cohen Will Pen Wonder Woman Script
inority Report screenwriter Jon Cohen has signed a deal to pen the script for producer Joel Silver's upcoming Wonder Woman feature film.
According to Variety, Silver and Cohen are hoping to get Sandra Bullock to play the title role in the picture.
Along with Steven Spielberg's big-budget Minority Report--which will star Tom Cruise and Matt Damon--Cohen is also working on Rob Bowman's SF film Adaptive Ultimate. Minority Report is being developed by Fox and DreamWorks, while Adaptive Ultimate is set up at Fox.
House Scares Up Halloween Record
ouse on Haunted Hill became the highest-grossing U.S. Halloween film release of all time after pulling in $15.1 million during its debut weekend.
The previous record holder was John Carpenter's Vampires, which opened with $9.1 million in 1998.
Vampires ended up with a disappointing domestic run of just $20.3 million, but House is on track for a much stronger performance. The film had the highest per-screen gross of last week's box-office Top 10, and it has already grossed more than its production budget.
House is a remake of the 1950s William Castle/Vincent Price movie of the same name.
Activision Launches Star Trek: Hidden Evil
ctivision has announced a special pre-order offer for its first Star Trek PC title, Star Trek: Hidden Evil.
Players who make an advance purchase of the game at Babbage's or Electronics Boutique will a receive a free pack of Decipher's Star Trek Customizable Card Game.
Activision is also offering a "limited holiday collector's edition" of Hidden Evil that includes a VHS copy of the Star Trek: The Next Generation two-hour finale "All Good Things," as well as a preview of the new DC Comics Trek title. Hidden Evil is an action/adventure story that takes place approximately nine months after the events in the film Star Trek: Insurrection.
Activision is touting Hidden Evil as the first Trek game that will appeal to casual players as well as hard-core gamers.
Briefly Noted
- Dimension Films has picked up Patrick Lussier's film idea Dracula 2000 and will shoot the picture next year under the "Wes Craven Presents" banner. Lussier has edited several of Craven's movies.
- The Sixth Sense recently passed the $260.1 million in U.S. domestic sales, making it the 12th highest-grossing film of all time in North America.
