Leo Confirms Anakin Rumors
eonardo DiCaprio confirmed that he talked with George Lucas during a visit to the director's Skywalker Ranch last year about playing grown-up Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, DiCaprio also said he would be interested in playing the role, but that no decision was made.
DiCaprio's remarks appear to confirm widespread rumors that the Titanic star is being considered for the role, and also to contradict denials from Lucasfilm.
Meanwhile, George Lucas told CNN after receiving an award from the American Jewish Committee last week that he is still writing the script for Episode II. "We start shooting in June, and ... hopefully, it will be finished by October," the director said.
Lucas Seeks Tatooine.com
eorge Lucas is trying to claim the domain name Tatooine.com from Web designer Steve Mount.
Mount, 31, received a letter from Lucasfilm, which produced the Star Wars films, challenging Mount's ownership of the name, which refers to the planet on which Luke Skywalker grew up, according to CNET News.com.
The letter argues that Mount's use of the domain name "dilutes the distinctive quality" of the Star Wars trademark. Mount registered the domain name Tatooine.com in 1997 for his programming and Web design services.
Mount said he has yet to decide whether to challenge Lucasfilm or ask them to simply reimburse him for fees paid for the domain over the past three years, plus the cost to establish a new domain for his business.
Episode I Costumes To Be Exhibited
ome of the elaborate costumes from Star Wars: Episode I will go on display in Los Angeles next month.
The costumes will be on view in the exhibit "The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design" at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.
Among the Episode I items on display will be costumes for Darth Maul, Chancellor Valorum, a palace guard, a Naboo security officer and Anakin Skywalker, as well as two of Queen Amidala's gowns. The exhibit will also feature sketches, film clips and other items from both current and classic films.
The exhibit runs from Feb. 21 to April 28 and is free and open to the public. The institute's gallery is open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
More Details On New Trek Series?
eports from the Star Trek: Voyager newsgroup confirm more details of the three concepts previously rumored as being tested for a new Trek series to replace Voyager once that show's initial run ends at the end of next season.
The three concepts are Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: Alpha Squad.
The concepts were explained to a focus group of people who were paid for their opinions on the three ideas, according to an unnamed source who took part in one such group.
Starfleet Academy would take place after the Dominion War depicted in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Starfleet cadets would serve on a starship commanded by a seasoned captain and would find themselves in life-or-death situations while on training missions. The characters would include a female Vulcan cadet and a changeling disguised as a Klingon.
Enterprise would be a prequel, taking place in the 22nd century. Alpha Squad would take place long after the Dominion War. The Alpha Squad is an elite force of two ships that would be dispatched on specific missions against enemies of the Federation.
Moore Talks About Leaving Voyager
ongtime Star Trek writer and producer Ronald D. Moore, who left the staff of Star Trek: Voyager abruptly last summer, now says he quit because he was unhappy with his role in the show.
"I regret going to the show" from his previous job as a writer on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, he told the Fandom Web site. "I think that was my mistake."
"It just turned into this other thing, and it was this bad trip, and it was a bad place to work, and it was an unhappy experience" working with Voyager executive producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, Moore said. "I was surrounded by people [who] were unhappy working there, and didn't like their own show, and weren't pleased with the people they were working with."
In particular, Moore said he felt that onetime writing partner Braga cut him out of the creative process. "It was a breakdown of trust. ... I wasn't allowed to participate in the process, and I wasn't part of the show," he said. "I felt like I was free-lancing my own show."
Neelix Hates His Make-Up
than Phillips, who plays Neelix on Star Trek: Voyager, isn't a big fan of his elaborate make-up.
"The rubber has gotten to be so much of a bitch to wear that I've really started to get phobic about it," he told Eon Magazine.
"Your whole head is vacuum-packed into a rubber skin that's glued to your face, and it takes four hours to put it on," the actor said. "Man, I can't stand it any more after six years. So I don't care if they use me too much!"
But Phillips said he's looking forward to the return of Jennifer Lien, who will reprise her role as Neelix's love interest, Kes, in an upcoming episode. "I guess on Star Trek you can do anything you want, but I can't believe she's coming back," he said. "She's coming back to do a guest star [role], which is terrific, but it's the last thing I ever expected. So hopefully I'll get a nice squeeze out of this. I never get enough action on the show."
Jeri Ryan To Appear In Willis Film
tar Trek: Voyager star Jeri Ryan will join Jean Smart and Bruce Willis in an as-yet-untitled Disney fantasy comedy.
The movie--with the working title The Kid--tells the story of a high-powered businessman who meets himself as an eight-year-old boy not happy with how he turned out, according to Variety.
The movie starts shooting this week. The film was written by Audrey Wells (Guinevere) and is produced and directed by Jon Turteltaub (Phenomenon).
Spies, Floods Bedevil Rings Filming
loods and spies have bedeviled the New Zealand location where director Peter Jackson nevertheless soldiers on to film the three Lord of the Rings movies, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel trilogy of the same name.
E! Online reports that the worst floods in 90 years washed out roads built at great expense to the films' Queenstown location, forcing the film crew into an old hangar for filming.
To help local victims of the flood, filmmakers donated a collectors' edition of the Rings trilogy signed by Jackson and the cast to a charity auction, raising NZ $2,500.
Meanwhile, spies from TheOneRing.net have been spotted trying to gain access to the set, E! reported. Security has been tightened. But Xoanon at TheOneRing.net denied rumors that his spies have been banned from the set, though he admitted one person unfairly received a trespassing notice for a set visit that never happened.
The films' publicists, meanwhile, banned a New Zealand women's magazine from carrying official press releases about the film after the magazine published unauthorized photos of actress Liv Tyler in costume as Arwen, the elf princess.
Most of the scenes shot thus far have been for the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, which is based on the first novel in the trilogy. The crew has also wrapped a handful of scenes from the last film, including scenes in the fortress of Mordor, which were shot in the mountains around Queenstown.
Rings Producer Quits
im Sanders, one of three producers of the feature film series based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel trilogy The Lord of the Rings, has reportedly quit the project now in production in New Zealand.
Sanders, a longtime associate of Rings director Peter Jackson, has left without giving much of a reason, according to TheOneRing.net Web site.
Sanders denied to the Australian newspaper The Sunday Star-Times that he was leaving in connection with disputes over spending or over anything he's done. "If anything, it's the reverse," he said. "And therefore it's my choice."
Meanwhile, Christopher Lee, the veteran actor who plays the evil wizard Saruman in the movies, talked about his role to the London Times. "For me, Tolkien's [trilogy] is the definitive work of the century. I was lucky enough to meet Tolkien, you know. He was a charming man and always laughing. For me, he was the greatest author of his time. I was speechless in his presence."
There's No Rings Discord
he departure last week of Tim Sanders, one of the producers of the feature film series The Lord of the Rings, does not signal financial problems or tension between the Americans and native crew members at the films' New Zealand location.
"His departure has nothing to do with being over budget or over schedule. There is no sense of division between Kiwis and Americans," project spokeswoman Claire Raskind told the New Zealand newspaper, the Evening Post, according to TheOneRing.net Web site.
Meanwhile, TheOneRing.net Web site was warned by New Zealand authorities not to trespass on the Rings set for two years, according to the Ain't It Cool News Web site. TheOneRing.net has been posting regular anonymous dispatches and photographs from the set.
The films, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel trilogy of the same name, are filming in Wellington and Waikato, New Zealand.
Cleo Star Grins And Bares It
ennifer Sky, who plays the title character in the syndicated SF action comedy Cleopatra 2525, says that style--and bare midriffs--will still be around in 500 years.
At least that's the image in her new show, half of Studios USA's Back2Back Action hour, she told fans during a chat on SCIFI.COM this week.
"Even 500 years in the future, the world is still style-conscious--and [Cleopatra] likes that!" Sky said of her character, an actress and stripper who awakes in the 26th century after being mistakenly frozen during breast implant surgery. "Cleo always likes an excuse to show a little bit of tummy and to be a girl."
In response to questions about the show's skimpy outfits, she said, "The tight clothes are something you learn to live up to. ... [It takes] lots of working out--which is good! [But playing] a strong female character is all a female actress could hope for."
Sky describes the futuristic show as "sort of Charlie's Angels meets The Matrix." And the 22-year-old actress said she's a longtime fan of SF, "beginning with Star Wars before I was even out of the womb. ... The sky is the limit [in SF]--and I really enjoy the fact that in the future, there is no definitive 'no.'"
Two New Series Coming From SCI FI
ciography and Beer Money, two new series from The SCI FI Channel, are being developed to expand the cable network's slate of original programming.
The new series were announced by Bonnie Hammer, executive vice president and general manager of SCI FI.
Sciography is a weekly non-fiction show that will combine clips, interviews, historical footage, pop culture tidbits and fan testimonials to examine a classic SF television program. Subjects will include Dark Shadows, The Bionic Woman and Manimal. Sciography premieres in the spring.
Beer Money is a comedy that places an E.T.-like alien, "Greeni," into the company of a trio of slackers. Rich Wilkes (Airheads, The Jerky Boys) and Amy Brown are the show's producers.
Keeslar Joins Dune Cast
att Keeslar (Scream 3) has joined the cast of The SCI FI Channel's original miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel Dune.
Keeslar will play Feyd, the nemesis to hero Paul Atreides, played by newcomer Alec Newman.
The miniseries, titled Frank Herbert's Dune, is currently in production in Prague and also stars William Hurt and Giancarlo Giannini. John Harrison (Tales from the Darkside: The Movie) wrote the screenplay and is also directing.
SCI FI Airs Pitch Black Special
he SCI FI Channel airs a one-hour special tied to USA Films' upcoming SF thriller movie, Pitch Black, on Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. ET. The movie opens Feb. 18.
The special, Into Pitch Black, tells a parallel story to complement the film's narrative.
In the film, a transport shuttle carrying serial killer Richard Riddick (Vin Diesel of Saving Private Ryan) crashes on an uncharted planet, and the survivors find themselves dealing with the planet's deadly nocturnal inhabitants. Into Pitch Black shows the response to the crash on Earth as the government searches for Riddick.
The special includes original footage as well as clips from the film. The show stars Lisa Saum, Brian Gant and Diesel, who reprises his movie role.
New Actor Joins Invisible Man
aul Ben-Victor (Crazy in Alabama) joins the cast of The SCI FI Channel's new action-comedy series Invisible Man, which goes into production in March.
Vincent Ventresca has already been set to star in the series, which launches in June.
Invisible Man was created and executive produced by Matt Greenberg (Halloween: H2O). Ventresca (Romy and Michele's High School Reunion) plays Darien, a small-time thief who is drafted into secret government experiments on invisibility.
GvsE Becomes good vs. evil
vsE will get a new name as well as a new channel when it moves from USA Network to USA's sister station, The SCI FI Channel, on March 10.
Eleven new original episodes of the stylized action series will air Fridays at 9 p.m. ET with the name good vs. evil as part of the SCI FI Prime lineup of original series.
good vs. evil will launch on SCI FI with two back-to-back episodes. The show stars Clayton Rohner (The Relic) and Richard Brooks (Law & Order) as soul savers returned from the dead.
Upcoming episodes will feature guest stars Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura from Star Trek) and Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear from Starsky & Hutch).
Frequency Trailer Derided
udiences who have screened the trailer for New Line Cinema's upcoming SF thriller Frequency have been underwhelmed by the movie's sentimentality, according to the Hollywood.com Web site.
The film, directed by Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear), stars Dennis Quaid as a man who communicates backward in time with his dead father.
But audiences groaned at the trailer that plays up the father-son bond and downplays the SF thrills. "Apparently such soppiness is triggering derisive laughter and even some boos from antsy moviegoers hoping for a higher 'frequency,'" according to the Web site's column.
Vampire Girls Film Coming
he Lost Girls, a feature film that will complement the 1987 vampire movie The Lost Boys, is being developed based on an idea by filmmaker Joel Schumacher.
The Warner Bros. film will feature a female cast with a similar plot line, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
As in the original film, The Lost Girls tells the story of a family moving into a town where they discover that the members of a local gang are vampires. Schumacher, who has directed feature films (8mm, Batman & Robin), will only produce. Writers and a director have not been selected.
The Lost Boys grossed $32.2 million domestically. It starred Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland.
Bone Going To The Movies
one, Jeff Smith's fantasy comic series, may be headed for the silver screen.
Nickelodeon Movies/Paramount Films recently acquired the feature film rights to the fantasy adventure about three cousins who become lost in a mysterious forest populated by giant rat creatures and dragons.
Meanwhile, a new version of the comic's Boneville Web site debuts Feb. 1, with interactive adventures of Smith's antic characters. A new browser will allow visitors to explore the 3-D village of Boneville, visit the county fair and mingle with the Bone characters.
Jackson To Play Edgar Allan Poe
op singer Michael Jackson plans to star in the Nightmare of Edgar Allan Poe, a fantasy feature film based on the life of the American poet and writer.
Jackson is also producing the film. A script is due in the next month, with an eye to a September production start, according to the Cinescape Web site.
Jackson will wear heavy makeup to transform himself into the author. The story focuses on Poe's last days, with the twist that characters from his macabre writings show up to haunt him. He also has a teen-age love interest.
The Immortal Coming To Syndication
he Immortal, a syndicated SF television series starring Lorenzo Lamas, will be distributed in the United States by Western International Syndication.
The Immortal is described as an amalgam of The Matrix, Highlander and The X-Files, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The series deals with one man's battle against evil. It was created by writer-producers Michael Grais and Mark Victor (Poltergeist II: The Other Side).
Fraser, Weisz, Sign On For Mummy 2
he Mummy stars Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz have signed up to reprise their roles in The Mummy 2, the sequel to the 1999 hit.
The film starts shooting this spring for a May 2001 release, according to Variety.
Fraser is returning to the desert for a salary in the $12.5 million range, more than twice his original payday. He will play adventurer Rick O'Connell and Weisz will play his love interest, Evelyn. The Mummy screenwriter/director Stephen Sommers has already signed on to the sequel, and co-star John Hannah also agreed to return in his role of Evelyn's brother, Jonathan.
The Mummy has earned more than $400 million worldwide.
H.G. Wells Series Coming To Odyssey
dramatic series based on the short stories of classic SF writer H.G. Wells is being developed by Hallmark Entertainment for the Odyssey Network.
Thirteen episodes have been ordered for the as-yet-unnamed series, which premieres in the fall, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The series, executive produced by Robert Halmi Sr., will dramatize stories written mostly between 1894 and 1897 that deal with the potential uses of science. One episode, "The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper," will tell the story of a man who receives a newspaper dated 40 years in the future.
U.F.S. Vanguard Makes You Captain
ed Storm Entertainment, the game company founded by best-selling author Tom Clancy, will release U.F.S. Vanguard, a tactical space combat game for the PC, in August.
The game will be featured at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in May.
In U.F.S. Vanguard, a player becomes the captain of a large and powerful interstellar capital ship in the United Forces Navy. The gamer must protect Allied Cultures territory from the destructive forces of The Hierarchy of Man, which seeks to gain absolute control over the entire galaxy.
"In U.F.S. Vanguard, we are creating a unique space combat game that allows the player to indulge in the fantasy of being a starship captain," said Game Designer Juan Benito. "For the first time, players will truly experience capital ship combat from the commander's chair, making those key decisions that determine the fate of themselves, their crew and possibly the universe."
Red Storm is best known for the popular anti-terrorist combat game, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six.
Prelim Nebula Nominees Announced
reliminary nominees for the 1999 Nebula Awards have been posted to the Web site of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
The coveted awards are given out each year recognizing the best SF&F novel, novella, novelette, short story and script, as determined by the membership of the group.
The final ballot will be announced in March, and the awards will be given out at the 2000 Nebula Awards Weekend, which will take place in New York from May 19-21. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America was founded in 1965 and now has more than 1,000 members, including most of the leading SF&F writers.
Canton Co. Develops SF&F Movies
ormer studio executive Mark Canton's independent production company has a full slate of SF&F films and television shows in development.
They include a revisionist movie version of Snow White, a live-action feature starring the Tazmanian Devil and a supernatural TV series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Among the Canton Co.'s upcoming feature films is Eighth Dwarf, which tells the story of a fairy-tale princess and an unknown eighth dwarf, baby brother of the Seven Dwarfs. Bad Cop-Worse Cop is a live-action and animated movie based on the Warner Bros. cartoon character the Tazmanian Devil. Other People's Wishes is a comedy about a man who steals pennies from a wishing well and is forced to live out the wishes of others. House of Secrets is a ghost story about a young woman who returns to her hometown and is confronted by a spirit seeking to free himself from his inner demons.
Among Canton Co.'s television projects is Jonah Hex, a one-hour supernatural western based on a DC comic book. An unnamed half-hour situation comedy described as a modern-day Bewitched is being developed for next season or as a mid-season replacement.
Raimi Spider-Man Talks Confirmed
onfirming previously reported rumors, director Sam Raimi's partner Rob Tapert confirmed for SCI FI Wire that Raimi has talked with studio executives about directing the upcoming feature film version of Marvel Comics' Spider-Man.
"He's had a regular series of meetings, explaining his problems with the script, and the usual director things," said Tapert, who is a partner with Raimi in Renaissance Pictures, a television production company.
Raimi (For Love of the Game) very much wants to direct the movie, Tapert added. But Tapert confirmed that there were scheduling problems with the job. Sony Pictures wants to start filming Spider-Man this spring, the same time Raimi will be in post-production on The Gift, a supernatural thriller he is currently directing in Georgia, starring Keanu Reeves and Cate Blanchett.
"[Raimi] says, 'Uh, I'm trying to get Spider-Man, but they're never going to let me do it; they'd have to move this and that,'" Tapert said. But, he added, "He's just negative on those things, until he's shooting on the set and cashing the check. ... [But] I think if he was doing Spider-Man, and prepping it right now, it would be the big blockbuster that he should have."
Spielberg Not Committed to Potter
teven Spielberg denied a published report that he has committed to direct a feature film based on J.K. Rowling's popular young adult novel series, Harry Potter.
The London Times had reported that Spielberg would direct a film entitled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
But the director has yet to decide on his next project, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Spielberg has the Potter script in hand, but has until the first week of February to make a decision.
Spielberg is also considering directing A.I., an SF thriller based on a treatment by the late Stanley Kubrick, for which Spielberg is completing a script. Spielberg is also mulling Minority Report, an SF feature starring Tom Cruise and based on the story of the same name by Philip K. Dick.
Spielberg Takes A Hand In The Others
teven Spielberg has been a strong creative presence in NBC's upcoming paranormal drama series, The Others, executive producer James Wong told SCI FI Wire.
Spielberg, whose DreamWorks Television is producing the show, is "pretty involved," Wong said.
"He was literally just here, an hour ago; he was looking at the cut, making changes and talking about stuff," said Wong, who is working with longtime partner Glen Morgan on the show. "He reads every script and makes notes on every script, looks at every cut and makes notes on that ... He's very involved, and it's really great."
Indeed, it was Spielberg who asked Morgan and Wong (Millennium, Space: Above and Beyond) to help run the show. "We were doing a movie up in Vancouver [Final Destination] ... and we get a call from people who said, 'We want you to do this show, would you look at the pilot?'" Wong said. "They had already shot the pilot, and Mike Ferris and John Brancato [The Net and The Game] were the creators of this show. They had limited television experience, and they thought we could help. We looked at the pilot. ... We thought it's pretty cool, and we really liked the idea of working with Spielberg. He's like my idol. He's done movies that we've been kind of copying forever [laughs]. So the opportunity to work with him and see how that would work was really attractive."
The Others tells stories about a team of seven psychics who use their abilities to solve problems. Spielberg's influence can be seen in the involvement of several prominent feature film directors who have accepted assignments to direct episodes. They include Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) and Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist). The show premieres on NBC Feb. 5.
Frakes To Direct SF Lampoon
onathan Frakes, the Star Trek: The Next Generation star who directed and appeared in two feature films based on the TV series, will helm a new film lampooning SF and fandom.
Frakes is set to direct Sony Pictures' Steve Was Here, in which an economically depressed town fakes an alien landing to bring in tourists, according to Variety.
The film will be executive produced by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich (Godzilla, Independence Day). Norman Steinberg is writing the script from a story he developed with Michael Hertzberg (Entrapment).
Frakes is also in line to direct Total Recall 2, the sequel to the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger film based on Philip K. Dick's short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale."
Poe Gets Graveside Birthday Gifts
or the 51st year, a stranger clad in black has left three roses and a bottle of French cognac on the Baltimore grave of Edgar Allan Poe on the day of his birth, Jan. 19.
The American pioneer of fantasy and horror stories died in 1849 at the age of 40; the first visits by the stranger began 100 years later and have continued ever since, according to the Associated Press.
A small group of witnesses stood in subfreezing temperatures beside Westminster Church's cemetery to observe the 2 a.m. visitation. The man placed the cognac at the base of Poe's grave and deposited three red roses, one each for Poe, his wife and his aunt Maria Clemm, who are buried side by side.
A few people who knew of the original man in black, who remained anonymous, say he died in 1998 and that his sons are carrying on the secret ritual.
Is New Frankenstein Dead?
computer-animated feature film version of Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley's seminal SF novella of the same name, is either canceled or delayed indefinitely.
Universal Studios deemed the film too dark in its current form to appeal to its target audience of children, according to Variety.
Universal had contracted to spend as much as $80 million to develop the computer-animated movie with George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic special effects house. The film was originally slated for a summer 2000 release.
Jason Goes To Space
t's Jason in space: The next installment of the Friday the 13th horror movie series takes the hockey-masked slasher into the year 2455.
Jason X, based on a script by Todd Farmer, takes place in a future in which the Earth has been abandoned, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A teacher and his students on a field trip back to the planet discover a cryogenically frozen young woman and Jason. Both are thawed out and taken into space, where carnage ensues.
James Isaac will direct the New Line Cinema movie, which begins shooting in Toronto in March.
NBC's 10th Kingdom Opens Web Site
BC is promoting its upcoming fantasy miniseries The 10th Kingdom with a Shockwave-enhanced Web site that will feature games, previews and images.
The 10th Kingdom, a five-part, 10-hour miniseries from longtime NBC producer Robert Halmi Sr. (The Odyssey) and Hallmark Entertainment, airs Feb. 27 and 28 and March 1, 5 and 6.
The Web site will unfold in two phases, one operational now and a second operational on Jan. 31. The 10th Kingdom stars Kimberly Williams (Father of the Bride) as a young New York waitress transported into an alternate reality where fairy tales are real. John Larroquette, Dianne Wiest, Ed O'Neill and Camryn Manheim also star.
Sapphire Awards Announced
Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold won the fourth annual Sapphire Award for the best science fiction romance novel of the year.
The award was announced by the Science Fiction Romance newsletter.
The Godmother Sanction by Patricia White won the second place award for novels, and The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro won third place.
In the short fiction category, "Aurora in Four Voices" by Catherine Asaro (Analog, November 1998) won first place. "Dinner Date" by Patricia White (Millennium SF&F) took second. "A Little Death" by Susan Sizemore (A Dangerous Magic) tied for third place with "Empire Day" by Astrid Cooper (Stardates: Infinite Celebrations, from Dreams Unlimited).
The
Science Fiction Romance newsletter is an international forum for the readers and writers of the science fiction romance sub-genre, and is distributed monthly to subscribers throughout the world.
Campbell Turns Camera On Fans
ctor Bruce Campbell, now in New Zealand filming his new TV series, Jack of All Trades, is also finishing up a documentary about SF&F fandom.
Campbell directed Fanalysis, which he said is "all about fans," according to Eon Magazine.
"I went to three or four conventions that I was invited to as a guest, and I just took my video camera, and I interviewed fans and tried to figure out what the deal is because I think it's a fascinating concept," Campbell said.
"They have another documentary out there called Trekkies," he said. But, he added, "this doesn't really focus on the Trekkie aspect of fandom; ... it focuses on that devotion that equals a fan. Why do they buy your T-shirts and your hats and your movies and hopefully your books? The film is in the can and edited and will be available later this year."
South Camelot Updates Arthur Myth
ing Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are headed for the modern big city in a proposed television series called South Camelot.
Television producer R.J. Stewart (Xena: Warrior Princess, Cleopatra 2525) has completed a pilot script for the proposed fantasy show and submitted it to the cable network TNT, Stewart told SCI FI Wire.
"It's urban and modern, and Arthur is a tough guy," Stewart said. The series would update the Arthurian myth by making Merlin, Guinevere and the other familiar characters modern-day gang members in an unnamed American city.
TNT has paid for the initial script and talks are underway to produce a two-hour pilot movie. If the movie does well, then the series will be picked up, Stewart said.
Johnston Preps Jurassic Park 3
oe Johnston (October Sky) told a Danish newspaper that he is looking forward to directing Jurassic Park 3, slated to hit theaters in the summer of 2001.
"I am very happy for this assignment," Johnston told Politikken, according to the Steven Spielberg DreamWorks SKG fan Web site.
"There will be a lot of special effects, but most important for me would be the story," Johnston reportedly said. "Steven Spielberg [who directed the first two installments of the series] has given me carte blanche. He has said that I shall make my own movie, although the plot in the movie is based on an idea by Steven. He has strongly pointed out that I shouldn't try to copy him."
Johnston said that the sequel will feature new characters and dinosaurs. "Maybe there will be two characters we already know from the two first ones, but in the end ... unknown characters will appear." He added that the new movie will employ effects technology pioneered in Star Wars: Episode I. "I see ... a lot of flying reptiles," he said.
Duchovny To Return To The X-Files?
avid Duchovny, soon to appear in the feature film Return to Me, could be persuaded to return to The X-Files for an eighth season if the money's right.
That's the conclusion of Entertainment Weekly, which speculated that the actor who plays FBI Agent Fox Mulder might come back after the expiration of his current contract at the end of the current season.
But it would mean doubling Duchovny's current per-episode salary of about $200,000, the magazine said. In addition, it would require settlement of Duchovny's lawsuit against Fox and others arguing that the actor is being cheated of syndication royalties.
But nothing's impossible. Fox executives have said that they will do as much as they can to bring the popular series back. And creator Chris Carter has said he won't come back unless Duchovny signs on.
Meanwhile, Mitch Pileggi, who plays Mulder's boss, Assistant FBI Director Walter Skinner, told the Winnipeg Sun that he doesn't know whether the show will come back for another season. "I think there's a possibility," he said. "You hear all kinds of different rumors, you know. Until Chris comes out or until Fox comes out and says we're going to do this or we're going to do that, I'm probably one of the last people to know... Anything can happen in this business; it's so unpredictable, I really don't know which direction it's going to go in."
Peanut Press Teams Up With DAW
eanutpress.com has reached agreement with well-known SF&F publisher DAW Books to distribute electronic versions of best-selling SF&F titles via the Web for use on 3Com's Palm computing platform.
The books will retail for $5 to $30 each. Peanutpress.com also offers SF&F titles from Tor Books.
Palm Pilot users will be able to buy the electronic books via the Peanut Press Web-based storefront, with an average download time of one minute per book. Peanut says that a typical Palm III will be able to hold six or seven electronic novels.
Works from authors such as Julie E. Czerneda and Anne Knight will be available shortly, as well as books from C.J. Cherryh, Charles Ingrid, Elizabeth Forrest and Emily Drake.
Supernova Fails To Shine
ritically panned Supernova debuted in an anemic eighth place in the weekend box office rankings, earning only $5.7 million.
By contrast, Stuart Little dropped a slot to No. 2, but still managed to pull in a respectable $9.7 million.
The Green Mile remained in the top 10, at No. 5 with $7.5 million. Galaxy Quest refused to surrender its listing in the top 10, coming in sixth with $6.6 million. Toy Story 2 was No. 9, with $5 million.
Briefly Noted
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Oscar hopeful Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry) has reportedly dropped out of Sam Raimi's paranormal thriller The Gift, which is now in production, according to the Dark Horizons Web site. The film stars Cate Blanchett and Keanu Reeves.
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Episodes of genre television series Millennium, Profiler and The X-Files were among the finalists for outstanding achievement in cinematography as nominated by the American Society of Cinematographers. Final awards will be presented Feb. 20 at the ASC's annual ceremony in Los Angeles.
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Brazilian director Carlos Diegues (Orfeu, the country's Oscar contender) will co-write and helm a fantasy comedy, God Was Born in Brazil. The film, which begins shooting in June, tells the story of a disillusioned God who takes a vacation in Brazil to seek a replacement for himself, according to Variety.
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Warner Bros. will release Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, a direct-to-video feature-length animated movie, which sees the long-awaited return of the Dark Knight's archenemy, voiced by Mark Hamill. The video will hit stores this fall.
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Spawn creator Todd McFarlane told Canadian TV that he's working on Spawn 2, a sequel to the feature film version of his comic series. He said he wants it to be an R-rated "very dark, urban police drama."
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Decipher plans to publish new expansion sets of its Young Jedi collectible card games based on Star Wars: Episode I. In addition to three card sets already announced, the game maker will issue the Duel of the Fates set in late 2000 and the Boonta Eve Podrace set in early 2001.
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Quentin Tarantino will appear in Little Nicky, a supernatural comedy about a young demon (Adam Sandler) who travels from hell to New York to find his runaway brother. Tarantino plays a blind street preacher who senses Sandler's evil.
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The SCI FI Channel's first talk show, Crossing Over with John Edward, debuts in the spring and features the psychic medium whose book, One Last Time, is a Los Angeles Times best seller.
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Farscape, The SCI FI Channel series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon (Alien Nation), returns for its second season March 17 at 8 p.m. ET. The premiere follows on the heels of the series' first-season cliffhanger finale to be broadcast later this month.
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Rob Tapert, producer of the Evil Dead horror movies, says director Sam Raimi has written a draft of a script for a fourth installment in the series. But it's doubtful the film would ever see the light of day, he told SCI FI Wire. "If I were Bruce [Campbell, the series' star], I wouldn't do it. It's really hard on you. ... Sam talks about it all the time, but only when he's depressed."
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Comedy Central bought the first broadcast rights to Being John Malkovich, which is slated to debut on the network in fall 2002.
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EOS CON III, the third annual online SF convention, will take place on the Eos Web site on Jan. 29 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET. The convention, sponsored by HarperCollins Publishers' SF&F imprint, Eos, will feature lectures and panels with authors such as Gregory Benford, Anne McCaffrey, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.
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Director Simon Hunter (Lighthouse) will direct a feature film version of the role-playing game Mutant Chronicles. The film will tell the story of a team that battles aliens to save the Earth, according to Variety.
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Universal Pictures has moved up the release date of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle to June 30 from July 14. The film combines live action and animation and stars Robert De Niro, Jason Alexander and Rene Russo.
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SF author Orson Scott Card is at work adapting two of his works for the big screen. Card is preparing one script based on his novel Ender's Game and a second based on his short story "Dogwalker," according to the CHUD.com Web site.
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Brak, Space Ghost's alien nemesis, gets his own show on the Cartoon Network.
Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak airs Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. The half-hour musical variety show features comedy skits and musical numbers with Monica, Freddie Prinze Jr. and The Chieftains.
