Blair Residents Say No To Sequel
esidents of Burkittsville, Md., the small town that stood in for the fictitious hamlet of Blair in The Blair Witch Project, said the surprise hit movie meant trouble for them.
The movie's fans inundated the tiny town, stole signs, vandalized the local cemetery featured in the movie, and even videotaped local children, according to the Maryland Sun Web site.
But some people in the town also profited from the movie. Residents sold "Witch Way to Burkittsville" T-shirts; postcards that warned, "They ain't got no witches" here; bundles of sticks tied in the form of the icons from the movie; and mock maps with a warning not to lose them, referring to a plot twist.
Still, when filmmakers from Artisan Entertainment and Haxan Films arrived in town to seek permission to shoot the sequel, Blair Witch Project 2, in March, they were repeatedly interrupted and insulted until they finally walked out of a town meeting. "They're done," said one town resident.
Burton To Helm Planet of Apes
im Burton (Sleepy Hollow) is in final talks to direct Fox's feature-film remake of the 1968 SF classic movie Planet of the Apes.
Burton emerged as the front-runner late last week and a deal is expected to be signed by Tuesday, Feb. 22, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Fox is aiming at a July 4, 2001, release for the film. Production would have to begin immediately. There is no producer as yet and no cast.
The Apes remake has been in development for a long time, with a script by William Broyles (Entrapment); different directors reportedly attached, including Oliver Stone and James Cameron; and Arnold Schwarzenegger once rumored to star. Makeup and special effects wizard Stan Winston (Jurassic Park) is also on board.
Buffy, Angel Renewed At The WB
he WB network has renewed its hit show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel, giving both full 22-episode orders for the 2000-'01 season.
The shows are The WB's third- and fourth-highest rated series respectively, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The early renewals allow cast and crew to gear up production for the new season. Buffy creator Joss Whedon and partner David Greenwalt, who co-created Angel with Whedon, will begin writing new Angel scripts in June and shift to Buffy scripts later in the summer. Angel goes into its second season; Buffy into its fifth.
Whedon said there will be a few more regular supporting characters added to Angel by next season. One regular character, Doyle, played by Glenn Quinn, has already met his demise, replaced by the character of Wesley, played by Alexis Denisof. "We're looking to build up the ensemble a little more, but you'll see fewer stories that are peripheral to Angel," Whedon said. "We initially saw Angel as being more of a guardian for other characters, but we found the audience was much more emotionally invested in Angel, so we'll be staying closer to home and exploring his character."
Xander Stays Busy On Buffy
icholas Brendon, who plays sidekick Xander Harris on The WB's hit horror series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has one eye on his popular character and another on his budding career outside television.
But he's not exactly the goal-oriented type, he said in an interview with Eon Magazine.
"When you're doing nine months of the show, it's like you're running a marathon," he said. "I have my eyes on opening up a production company. I just want to do quality, not quantity. Shopping things. Attaching my name to certain things. I don't like having goals. You set yourself up for defeat if you don't
accomplish them. I roll with the punches."
While his character makes his way through Buffy's fourth season, Brendon is looking forward to the premiere of two new films in which he stars, Pinata and Psycho Beach Party. But don't expect him to show up on Angel, Buffy's spinoff series starring David Boreanaz.
"There's really no reason for me" to be there, Brendon said. "Xander hates Angel, and he's in L.A., and we're in Northern California. I know they talked
about it. They were talking about using Alyson [Hannigan, who plays Willow,] and me in episode three, but they used Seth [Green, who plays Oz,] instead ... because it made more sense. I don't think it's going to happen. Which is fine, because we're busy here, and when you're doubling up, it's 'Oh shoot, I've got to go over there!' If they ask me to do it, of course I will, but I don't think that I would fit into their plot line over there."
Dune Miniseries Aims High
itchell Galin, executive producer of The SCI FI Channel's upcoming miniseries Dune, based on Frank Herbert's best-selling SF novel of the same name, said he is striving to be faithful to the book.
"I think the thing I'm most proud of is the [quality] level that we are striving to attain," Galin told the SFX Web site.
"When you're dealing with a classic such as Dune, your challenge is to reach out and replicate the original in such a way that you are hopefully maintaining the same level in your respective venue," Galin said. "Compromises are always made when one is involved in making a film. You never have enough time or money, but we've taken these challenges head on and I think we're making a very special movie."
Galin added that he's pleased with the cast and crew on the six-hour miniseries, which stars William Hurt as Duke Leto and Giancarlo Giannini as Emperor Shaddam IV. "We've been able to attract a level of below- and above-the-line talent that I think is extraordinary for television," he said. "I believe that what has attracted them to this project is that they were people who wanted to be involved in this project because they had a passion for the book and felt that John's [Harrison] adaptation and talent as a director created the possibility of being a part of something special. The attitude on the set is as collegial as one could ever hope for, which is made even more remarkable [given] the mix of nationalities."
Stone May Helm Superman
liver Stone (Any Given Sunday) is reportedly considering directing a new feature film version of Superman with Nicolas Cage as the titular superhero.
Stone is being drawn to the project by the new script by Bill Wisher (Terminator 2: Judgment Day), which has also won the support of Warner Bros. and Cage, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie would offer a new approach to the enduring story based on the DC Comics series of the same name. The film would dispense with the tights and be more in the style of The Matrix, according to the trade paper.
Russell To Direct Dr. Strange
riter-director Chuck Russell (Eraser) joins the rush to bring Marvel Comics characters to the movies by signing on to develop a film based on the comic series Dr. Strange.
Russell will develop a movie titled Dr. Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts for Columbia Pictures, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The studio is already developing films based on Marvel characters Daredevil and Spider-Man.
The Doctor Strange comic book series, created by Stan Lee, tells the story of a materialistic surgeon who injures his hands in a car accident. In an effort to heal them, Dr. Stephen Strange seeks out a powerful magician in the Far East, where he becomes the magician's apprentice. His nemesis is Baron Mordo, another apprentice who has turned evil. Strange eventually sets up shop as a supreme sorcerer in New York, where he battles the forces of darkness.
McCallum Discusses Star Wars
n a series of video interviews on the Inside Reel Web site, Star Wars: Episode I producer Rick McCallum offers his views on the film's production and technical advances that will aid the production of Episode II.
The video interviews, conducted several months ago, will be made available over the next four weeks.
The interviews were conducted for the one-hour television show Filmmaking in the New Millennium, which is currently in post-production. The interviews took place at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch, Tippett Studios, Sony Image Works, and film junkets and festivals all around the world.
Crush Depth, Megalodon In Production
rush Depth, a thriller movie about undersea aliens, and Megalodon, about a giant prehistoric shark, are among the slate of low-budget genre films to be touted at the upcoming American Film Market.
The films will be produced by 100% Entertainment and Corbitt Digital Films Llc. and will be sold through Fusion International Sales, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The movies will be budgeted at less than $3 million each and shot on high-definition video on stages in New Jersey. Crush, written by J.P. Donahue and Kevin Polay, goes before the cameras in April. Special effects veteran Pat Corbitt will direct.
Megalodon is written and directed by Gary Tunnicliffe, who did special effects for Sleepy Hollow, Blade and the upcoming Mission: Impossible 2.
Partners Sign Up To Push Grinch
r. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the upcoming holiday movie from Universal Pictures, is already lining up corporate partners for cross-promotions.
Partners include the fast-food chains Wendy's (in the United States) and Burger King (internationally), Visa, interactive toy manufacturer Konami, Kellogg, Hershey and Nabisco, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Playmates will license Grinch toys, and retailers Toys R Us and Wal-Mart will offer their own promotions. Grinch promotional campaigns are slated to begin four weeks before the film's Thanksgiving release.
The film, starring Jim Carrey, is based on the classic children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Theodore Geisel, who wrote as "Dr. Seuss," and on the 1966 Chuck Jones animated television version of the story.
Tally Keeps Mars Human
riter Ted Tally (who won an Oscar for his screenplay for The Silence of the Lambs) said his new film Mission to Mars will highlight human drama, not tech.
"I think sci-fi buffs will be pleased--there's plenty of [Industrial Light & Magic special effects]," Tally told the Space.com Web site. "But to me, it's always a human drama."
Tally was brought in to do a rewrite on the original script about a rescue mission to the red planet. "One challenge was trying to re-imagine the layout of the spacecraft to make it work for the suspense sequences, to stress the physical aspects of that environment. ... Also, trying to imagine a place where no human being has ever been."
He added, "It's also kind of an unusual story. There's no bad guy in the traditional Hollywood sense. There's a lot of conflict, danger and tragedy, but there are no giant wormy creatures jumping out of dark places. ... 2001[: A Space Odyssey] was always in our minds. That movie is a work of great beauty. It has very credible technology, yet it also has an element of the mystical that goes beyond the realism. It's very poetic." The movie opens March 10.
Kloves Will Be Faithful To Potter
creenwriter Steve Kloves (Wonder Boys) said he will be faithful to the characters when he adapts J.K. Rowling's popular children's novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the movies.
"The first thing I said to Warner Bros. was that I love the characters--and that is the whole movie," Kloves told Salon magazine.
"Obviously you need a plot, but the charm of the movie should be these kids, and you have to be as faithful as possible," Kloves said. "The picture has to be British, and it has to be true to the kids. I'm speaking from my own experience, but I find that children 7 and under respond less to special effects than to characters and to what's happening to characters. And Warner Bros. seems to be wholeheartedly embracing this approach--that if you don't care about the kids in Harry Potter, you're not going to care about the movie, no matter how remarkable the dragon or the flying broomsticks."
Kloves said he was attracted to the book because of its charm and honesty. "I liked the feeling of the book--there is genuine edge and genuine darkness to it. One reason it's so popular with children is that there's no pandering whatsoever," he said. "Adapting the first book in the series is tough because the plot doesn't lend itself to adaptation as well as the next two books," he added. "Volumes two and three lay out more naturally as movies, since the plots are more compact and have more narrative drive. The first one is about exposing you to this world of a boy who grows up in a cabinet and finds out who he really is--that he is the son of wizards who are now dead, and that he has inherited their talent--and then goes to a school to explore that talent."
Columbus On List To Helm Potter
irector Chris Columbus (Bicentennial Man) is reportedly on the short list of directors in line to helm the feature film version of J.K. Rowling's popular Harry Potter series of children's novels.
Columbus is in the running now that Steven Spielberg has said he's not interested, according to Variety.
Columbus' production company is also developing a movie for Fox based on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, with Roger Donaldson signed to direct.
McKellen Tries To Understand Fans
an McKellen, who plays Magneto in Fox's upcoming feature film X-Men, said it's a chore dealing with fan expectations, but he still praised fan sites.
Posting responses to e-mail on his official Web site, the actor said dealing with expectations is "perhaps beginning to take too much time--but I'm enjoying trying to understand it."
He added, "I'm not too sure why the studios and the fan sites seem to be in such opposition. Maybe moviemakers don't want to admit that there is a new source of criticism on the Net. But one that is amazingly informed and run by fans. The passion in the postings about X-Men is refreshing after the careful cinema journalism of the major newspapers wherever I travel. The industry will eventually embrace the already open arms of the best sites as they have done the Golden Globe and other television shows. I shall always be grateful to Ain't it Cool News for its early rave for Gods and Monsters--the most crucially influential publicity the film ever had. The whole production team took heart from [site owner] Harry [Knowles]."
McKellen's comments on the the movie version of Marvel Comics' long-standing series of the same name are accompanied by candid photographs from the set of the movie.
McKellen Stays True To Tolkien
an McKellen said he's relying heavily on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel trilogy The Lord of the Rings as he plays the wizard Gandalf in director Peter Jackson's three film adaptations of the books.
Posting responses to e-mail on his official Web site, the actor said, "The novels are the Bible, and I reference the relevant chapter as we film."
Writing from the films' New Zealand location, he added, "Occasionally I have pointed out omissions to [writers] Fran [Walsh] and Philippa [Boyens], and they sigh because they know what they are doing, and every cut in the story had to be justified. But they always respond positively to the little changes that help me as an actor. I mean like switching around a couple of words in a line to get the stress right for me, or slipping back in a Tolkien phrase that seems essentially 'Gandalfian.'"
McKellen also talked more about the recent criticism he has received as a gay actor playing the famous wizard. In response to a correspondent who suggested that such critics be censored, McKellen said, "Let the bigots be heard--then they can be answered. All my correspondents have been positive."
Roddenberry Confirms Earth: FC Change
ajel Barrett Roddenberry, co-executive producer of the syndicated TV series Earth: Final Conflict, confirmed speculation that the show will focus on one-shot episodes in its fourth season.
The change in focus was one of the reasons head writer Cory Tynan reportedly left the series.
In an interview with the Earth: Final Conflict Galactic Newsletter, Roddenberry said the series will move away from arc story lines that continue over several episodes. "I always thought television was a work in progress anyway," she said. "We will be changing story lines so that instead of one being dependent on another, it will be all stand-alones. Everything. It's difficult when people say they are not watching this because they don't know what was going on before."
With regard to her new series, Andromeda, starring Kevin Sorbo, Roddenberry said production will begin in May with an eye toward an October premiere. "We have four preliminary scripts in, along with two or three more stories," she said.
Johnson To Helm Daredevil
riter-director Mark Steven Johnson is in talks with Columbia Pictures to helm the feature film version of Marvel Comics' Daredevil series.
Johnson (Simon Birch) would also write the screenplay for the live-action film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Daredevil tells the story of Matt Murdock, a lawyer who is blinded in a freak radiation accident, but acquires super-sensitive senses that enable him to fight crime.
It's the latest Marvel Comics project in development. Columbia recently signed Sam Raimi to direct Spider-Man, which starts production in the fall, and hired Chuck Russell to direct a movie based on Dr. Strange. Also in development are Fox's film versions of X-Men, which wraps principal photography soon; Fantastic Four, which Roger Donaldson recently signed on to helm; and Silver Surfer.
Red Hood Updates Fairy Tale
ed Hood, a screenplay that updates the classic fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood," has been acquired by Walt Disney Co.
Ezekiel Martinez and Lee Alford wrote the spec script for producer Tova Laiter (Varsity Blues), according to Variety.
Red Hood catches up with the fairy tale's story 10 years after Hood encounters a character named Wolf. Wolf has killed Hood's grandmother and is now terrorizing the Land of Grimm, and the 18-year-old heroine finds herself on a revenge mission.
Jehovah Contract Optioned For Screen
he Jehovah Contract, a novel by Victor Koman about a supernatural transaction, has been optioned for a feature film by producer Allan Kaufman (The Whole Nine Yards).
Robert Meyer Burnett (Free Enterprise) will adapt the book for the screen, according to Variety.
The cult novel tells the story of a political assassin dying of cancer who makes a deal for immortality with a millionaire televangelist. The catch: He must carry out one more hit, on God. His companions on the mission include a witch and a telepathic 12-year-old hooker.
Europeans To Produce Dark Realm
ark Realm, a new television series described as a "twentysomething Twilight Zone," is going into production under the aegis of Warner Bros. International Television and French, German and Isle of Man partners.
The series will be produced on the Isle of Man, but has no U.S. distribution yet, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Dark Realm will be hosted by Eric Roberts and will feature an anthology of one-hour suspense shows with changing casts. The stories will deal with superstition, the supernatural and the paranormal, and feature American and European actors. The producers have ordered 13 episodes, with an option to order 13 more.
Polanski To Return To The U.S.?
irector Roman Polanski (Chinatown), a fugitive from U.S. charges of statutory rape since 1977, may return to the United States from his home in France to direct a stage musical version of his 1967 horror camp movie The Fearless Vampire Killers.
The musical has become a hit in Europe and is headed for Broadway, according to the New York Daily News.
Polanski fled the country after being charged with having illegal sex with a minor--charges he has publicly denied. The director hasn't been back since. Hollywood power brokers are reportedly trying to work out a deal with the Los Angeles district attorney's office to allow Polanski's return, the paper reported.
Polanski's latest film, The Ninth Gate, is a supernatural thriller starring Johnny Depp. It opens next month.
Shyamalan's Next Film Is Thriller
he Sixth Sense's director, M. Night Shyamalan, is preparing to shoot his next supernatural feature film, Unbreakable, starting April 17 in his hometown of Philadelphia.
Like Sense, Unbreakable also stars Bruce Willis and is "a slightly larger cousin" of Sense, the Oscar-nominated director told USA Today.
"It'll feel like the same group of people made the movie," Shyamalan said. Unbreakable tells the story of a man (Willis) who survives a train accident. Samuel L. Jackson plays a stranger with a strange theory why; Julianne Moore plays the man's wife. "It's not traditional action; no car chases, fruit stands turning over," Shyamalan said. "But your heart should definitely be pounding."
Creature Features Coming To HBO
BO has signed a deal for Creature Features, a series of five new films inspired by the classic 1950s monster movies produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff.
Arkoff's son Lou Arkoff, along with visual effects master Stan Winston (Aliens) and actress-producer Colleen Camp (Election) will produce the series, tentatively scheduled to premiere on HBO in 2001, according to Variety. Sam Arkoff will executive produce.
Director Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn) has signed on to write and direct one of the films. Other directors will create stories based on or inspired by one of Sam Arkoff's movies, which include The She Creature, How to Make a Monster and Brain Eaters.
Ralston Leaves Jumanji 2
irector Ken Ralston has left Jumanji 2, the sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams movie Jumanji, citing creative differences with Columbia Pictures, which is producing the movie.
Ralston, an Oscar-winning special effects supervisor who created the computer-animated animals for the first film, was to have made his directorial debut with the sequel, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Jumanji 2 wasn't moving forward as fast as Ralston had hoped, the trade paper reported. Ralston is president of Sony Pictures Imageworks, a visual effects company, which will create the visual effects for Jumanji 2. Jumanji, about a mystical game, earned $264.4 million worldwide.
Universal Florida Readies MIB Ride
niversal Studios Florida is readying a ride based on the 1997 hit movie Men in Black that is being billed as a life-size, ride-through interactive video game.
Rip Torn and Will Smith, who appeared in the movie, are reprising their roles as alien-chasing agents in a two-and-a-half-minute film that is part of the ride, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
On the Men in Black Alien Attack ride, guests will use virtual laser weapons mounted on their vehicles to zap animatronic aliens after they crash into the belly of a 30-foot creature. The $70 million ride is touted as the largest indoor ride ever. Housed in an 80,000-square-foot building, it is set to open in April.
Madonna To Play Wonder Woman?
adonna is rumored to be in the running to play Wonder Woman in the Joel Silver-produced feature film version of the classic DC Comics character, according to the Coming Soon! Web site.
The site quotes an anonymous source as saying the singer will play the lead in the movie, to be directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour), who directed Madonna in the video of her song Beautiful Stranger.
Jon Cohen is reportedly working on the script. Silver has declined to comment on casting rumors in the past.
Poe's NY Home Faces Demolition
dispute has arisen over New York University's plans to raze a four-story Greenwich Village brick building in which horror writer Edgar Allan Poe lived with his ailing wife for a few months in the mid-1840s.
NYU, which owns the building and uses it for law school offices, argues that the building has little literary significance, according to the The Nando Times Web site.
But preservationists and Poe historians argue that the building is the last tangible connection to Poe left in Manhattan. "We've torn down all the other places that he lived, places that he worked, places that he visited. There's nothing left but this house. It's part of the literary heritage," said Jeffrey Savoye of the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore.
NYU, which owns most of the block on which the Poe house sits, has not yet decided what to do with the building, but said demolition is an option. The university would like to develop the site.
X-Men To Wrap Soon
ox's upcoming SF blockbuster X-Men, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, is nearly finished shooting on location in Toronto.
Director Bryan Singer now faces an intense deadline to lay in special effects, add sound, put in the score and do other post-production on the FX-heavy summer movie, according to the Toronto Sun newspaper.
To meet its July 14 release date, the movie has to be nearly done by April, ready for test screenings in May and for media screenings in June. Singer says of the tight schedule, "It sucks."
Kirk Wong Will Direct Six
ong Kong director Kirk Wong and producers Craig Baumgarten (Universal
Soldier: The Return) and Demitri Samaha are working on an SF movie called
Six that will begin production later this year, according to Variety.
Six tells the story of a military man infused with an intensive adrenaline flow
that gives him super strength and speed when he's angered.
The plot of the movie involves the man returning to his hometown in order to
find his wife and regain his humanity.
Shandling To Play Mulder
omedian Garry Shandling will guest-star on the Fox series The X-Files--playing paranormal G-man Fox Mulder in an upcoming episode.
In a weird twist, Shandling will assume the role of Mulder opposite X-Files star David Duchovny's real-life wife, Téa Leoni, who will play FBI Agent Dana Scully, according to Fandom's X-Files Web site.
"I'm doing an X-Files episode in which I get to make out with Téa Leoni, David Duchovny's wife--I think you see my ploy," Shandling told the Web site. "I'm doing that in the middle of March, in which I play the Mulder character in an X-Files film version, and David comes to see if it's being depicted accurately. I play him, and Téa Leoni plays Scully, and I make out with her. They're all good friends of mine."
It's not Shandling's first brush with genre entertainment. He stars in the upcoming SF sex comedy movie What Planet Are You From?, which opens on March 3.
Superheroes To Tout Milk
ot heroes? DC Comics characters Batman and Superman will appear with milk mustaches to promote the dairy beverage in ads produced by America's Dairy Farmers and Milk Processors, the comic publisher announced.
The ads will be part of a year-long promotion that includes a sweepstakes, custom comic books and an in-school campaign.
Print ads featuring Batman with a chocolate milk mustache will begin in late March in issues of Sports Illustrated for Kids, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Skateboard Magazine, Surfing and DC's comic books, including Batman, Superman, Scooby-Doo and Looney Tunes. Superman print ads will appear in April in the same publications. Billboards featuring the ads will show up in May.
Changes Take Place At Earth: FC
arth: Final Conflict writer and producer Cory Tynan, who was brought in during the syndicated series' third season to help revitalize it, is no longer with the show, the SyFy World Web site reported.
The site speculated that Tynan left because of a difference with the show's producer, Tribune Entertainment, about the direction of the series.
Tynan reportedly wished to base the series more on arc storylines; Tribune and executive producer Majel Barrett Roddenberry supposedly favored stand-alone episodes.
Other changes may be in the works for the series, which is based on an idea by late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Original cast member David Hemblen has also left the show, and actors Richard Chevolleau (Augur), Lisa Howard (Lili) and Leni Parker (Da'an) have yet to sign on for another season.
Highlander Filming Moves To U.K.
roduction of Highlander: End Game, the fourth installment in the popular Highlander movie series, will move from Romania to London and Scotland this month, producers Peter Davis and William Panzer wrote on the Highlander official Web site.
"Yes, the food might not be as good as in Romania, but the decision has been made to finish shooting this epic in London and Scotland," they wrote in a message dated Feb. 17.
"Approximately three weeks of first-unit photography and two weeks of second-unit photography [remain] to be shot," they wrote. "Impressive locations all around. Assembled footage to date is terrific."
The film, starring Christopher Lambert and Adrian Paul, is slated for release later this year.
Briefly Noted
- This Way Comes, an upcoming horror anthology television series, will feature works by well-known SF&F authors and will be hosted by Edgar Allan Poe IV, a descendant of the American master of the macabre. The pilot episode, by Zoe Bloom (Shariann Lewitt), tells the story of a rock star who uses an ancient ritual to contact Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.
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The official Web site of the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, now in production in New Zealand and based on the novel series of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkien, has been updated with new pictures and features, including a customized browser and live updates from the set.
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Rock to the Casbah: The Coming Attractions Web site says World Wrestling Federation star The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) is being offered a role in the upcoming feature film The Mummy 2. The Rock, last seen in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, would play a "Han Solo-ish" part in the sequel to the 1999 hit movie The Mummy, according to unnamed sources.
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The WB has renewed freshman series Angel for a full 22-episode second season, a source told SCI FI Wire. The series, a spinoff of The WB's hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, stars David Boreanaz and Charisma Carpenter.
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NBC will swap the time slots of its new supernatural drama The Others and its longtime series Profiler starting March 11. The Others moves to 9 p.m. Saturdays; Profiler moves to 10 p.m. The Others has seen ratings decline from its Feb. 5 debut.
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American Beauty co-star Wes Bentley is in the running to play the vampire Lestat in the feature film version of Anne Rice's novel Queen of the Damned, the follow-up to Rice's novel Interview With the Vampire. Damned follows Lestat as he becomes a rock star whose music wakes up the queen of all vampires.
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Cast and crew members of The WB's hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel mingled with more than 300 fans at an invitation-only charity benefit party in Hollywood that raised $11,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation Saturday, Feb. 19. Attendees included Buffy/Angel creator Joss Whedon and cast members Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, Marc Blucas, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield, Alexis Denisof, Elizabeth Anne Allen and Danny Strong.
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Pitch Black, the only SF film premiering during the President's Day weekend, came in No. 4 in the domestic box-office rankings, earning $14 million over four days.
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Martial arts star Jet Li said he has not been approached to play the villain Boba Fett in Star Wars: Episode II, as rumored, but he added that he'd love to do it if asked. Li made the comments at the L.A. Sci-Fi and Comic Book Convention over the weekend of Feb. 19, according to the C.H.U.D. Web site.
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The Blair Witch Project producers Gregg Hale and Robin Cowie will receive the Producers Guild of America Todd-AO Nova Award, which recognizes the year's most promising emerging film producer. Being John Malkovich producers Michael Stipe, Sandy Stern, Steve Golin and Vincent Landay will receive the PGA's Vision Award, which recognizes imagination and artistic achievement in theatrical film.
