Baxter Wins PKD Award
tephen Baxter's story collection Vacuum Diagrams, published by HarperPrism, won the Philip K. Dick Award for distinguished science fiction, given to a 1999 book published for the first time in the United States as a paperback original.
Tower of Dreams by Jamil Nasir, published by Bantam Spectra, received a special citation honor.
Baxter won a certificate and a check for $1,500. Nebula Award-winning author Nicola Griffith accepted the award on his behalf at ceremonies April 21 at Norwescon in Seattle.
Baxter is now the only author who has been honored with two Philip K. Dick Awards. He previously won in 1996 for his novel The Time Ships. The award is named for legendary SF author Philip K. Dick and is jointly sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and the Northwest Science Fiction Society.
Episode II May Alter Fett
hink you know Boba Fett? Then you probably won't recognize the infamous bounty hunter when he makes an appearance in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode II, according to the Star Wars official Web site.
"Forget everything you knew, or thought you knew, about the origins of Boba Fett," writes Steve Sansweet, Lucasfilm's director of content management and head of fan relations.
In response to a question about the character, Sansweet said, "While none of us have seen a script of Episode II or have an idea of the direction in which George Lucas is taking the character, it's fairly safe to say that he won't be held to any of the back stories that have arisen over the years to try to explain the roots of this strong, mostly silent type. If there is any hint of Fett's beginnings, it will be all George."
Sansweet added, "Like any great storyteller, George starts to develop a script, and it sometimes takes on a life of its own, with characters coming to life and demanding a say. He has told us that Boba Fett will have a role in Episode II--just as Fett first appeared in the second film of the classic trilogy--so we may finally learn the bounty hunter's true genesis. As for whether Fett really survived his descent into the cavernous maw of the Sarlacc in Return of the Jedi ... what do you think?"
Fett's history was told in several Star Wars books, including Tales of the Bounty Hunters and Dark Empire II, and Marvel Comics' Star Wars series. But, Sansweet said, "As many fans know, when it comes to Star Wars knowledge, there are degrees of 'canon.' The only true canon are the films themselves. For years, Lucas Books has stayed clear of characters, events or the timeframe that George might want to deal with in the Star Wars prequels. While such things as the Clone Wars, the fall of the Jedi and Palpatine's rise to power were on that list, Boba Fett wasn't considered to be of major concern."
More Anakin Rumors Surface
he front-runner to play Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II could be General Hospital hunk Jonathan Jackson. Or filmmakers could seek an unknown Australian actor to play the coveted role.
At least that's the latest batch of rumors on TheForce.net Web site.
The site quotes the Melbourne, Australia, Herald Sun newspaper saying that Episode II casting director Robin Gurland would arrive Down Under soon and would consider a local to play Anakin.
At the same time, the site quotes the InHollywood.com Web site as saying that Jackson (Deep End of the Ocean) was "in negotiation" to play an unspecified role in Episode II. Jackson has been previously rumored to be up for Anakin's part.
Other actors rumored to be vying for the Anakin role include Dawson's Creek hunk Joshua Jackson, Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Nicholas Brendon, Once and Again actor Shane West, Cruel Intentions star Ryan Phillippe and virtually every other young actor in Hollywood.
Colin Hanks To Play Anakin?
olin Hanks (The WB's Roswell) is rumored to be close to signing on to play Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II, according to TheForce.net fan Web site.
Quoting a source close to Hanks' agent, the site reports that the young actor has traveled to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch several times.
The rumor is that Hanks is ready to "close the deal for his pay" to take on the key role in Episode II. Hanks is reportedly also among those ready to read with Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala) this weekend.
Portman Prepares For Episode II
atalie Portman, who will reprise the role of Queen Amidala in Star Wars: Episode II, told E! Online that she is heading south soon to begin filming.
"I get a week and a half off from school, and then I head to Australia in June for the next one," said Portman, who is a university student.
But Portman remained mum on who will play the role of grown-up Anakin Skywalker, her Episode II love interest. "I promised them I wouldn't tell anyone if they told me the names, but I probably would, and that's why they're keeping me in the dark," she told E!. "But I will be reading with people at the end of the month."
Meanwhile, Episode II producer Rick McCallum is jetting around the world to prepare for the start of filming, according to the official Star Wars Web site. "Obviously we're getting into serious crunch time," McCallum said. "We're building sets like crazy and adding new construction workers daily. We'll probably max out next week with about 200 construction crew in total." McCallum has flown to Tunisia and to Italy to prepare for Episode II location shooting.
Design director Doug Chiang said he is also very busy. "We're deeply into jamming mode," he said. Chiang has begun painting key points in the action for selected scenes, and a sculpting team is working at peak capacity creating three-dimensional models of approved designs, according to the Star Wars Web site.
SCI FI Unveils 2000-'01 Shows
he SCI FI Channel announced a slate of original programming for the 2000-'01 season, highlighted by several specials and the premiere of the six-hour miniseries Dune in December.
Based on Frank Herbert's classic SF novel of the same name, Dune is an original six-hour miniseries starring William Hurt.
Special programming will include the original six-hour miniseries Ultraviolet, on July 31, which will tell the story of contemporary vampires. In the fall, SCI FI will broadcast the SF-themed New York Village Halloween Parade.
In October, SCI FI will air Blair Witch 2: Set Report, a one-hour special coinciding with the release of Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows. The special, a companion show in the tradition of last year's Curse of the Blair Witch, will parallel the plot of the sequel to The Blair Witch Project. The Set Report will follow a film crew as it investigates bizarre happenings that occurred on the set of Blair Witch 2.
In 2001, SCI FI will air the first SCI FI Awards, a two-hour special honoring SF&F film, television, video games, comics, music and fashion. A list of other SCI FI programming follows.
•Invisible Man, a series premiering June 9, stars Vincent Ventresca as a thief who inadvertently becomes transparent.
•Crossing Over With John Edward, a talk show that premieres July 9, features a psychic medium who communicates with the dead.
•Sciography, a monthly one-hour documentary program starting July 16, looks at the history of science fiction series and what those series meant to the genre and era.
•Robodeath, a one-time special airing in early 2001, pits robots against each other in arena battles for cash winnings of up to $20,000.
•Matthew Blackheart: Monster Smasher, an action-comedy series starting in early 2001, stars Robert Bogue as a World War II hero who is frozen and thawed out in present day New York. SCI FI has ordered 22 one-hour episodes of the New Line Television series executive produced by Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon).
•Taken, a 20-hour miniseries from Steven Spielberg that airs in 2001, follows three generations of one family who have been abducted by aliens.
SCI FI To Use Ninja Music
he SCI FI Channel has signed a deal with independent record label Ninja Tune to use its distinctive futuristic songs in SCI FI promotions.
Ninja Tune music will back SCI FI promos starting in April and will run through 2002.
Ninja Tune is known for its underground electronica styles.
SCI FI Gets Blade Runner
he SCI FI Channel has bought the exclusive rights to 1982's Blade Runner, the classic SF film by director Ridley Scott.
The film will premiere in an uncut, widescreen version on Sunday, June 4, at 9 p.m. ET.
SCI FI will also air Scott's own director's cut of the film at a future date. Blade Runner, based on the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, hasn't been seen on television in nearly a decade because of legal entanglements.
SCI FI To Air Lexx Movies
CI FI has bought the rights to Tales from a Parallel Universe, the four feature-length SF films that were the basis of the SCI FI series Lexx.
SCI FI will air the four films nightly from August 7 to 10, leading up to the first-season finale of Lexx on August 11 at 10 p.m. ET.
Tales from a Parallel Universe follows a group of misfit characters who have inadvertently stolen the most powerful weapon of destruction ever made, a Manhattan-sized, sentient, genetically modified insectoid starship named Lexx.
Whedon Disses X-Men
oss Whedon, the creator of television's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told the Empire Online U.K. Web site that makers of the upcoming X-Men film erred in throwing out his rewrite of the script.
Whedon was brought in to doctor the script, but found that most of his contributions were disregarded.
"They wanted me to punch up the last fight," Whedon told Empire. "I said, 'I think you've got a greater problem than that.' I didn't think the script was any good, so I did a major overhaul of the script. And yeah, I was the only real X-Men fan on the project that I know of."
But, Whedon said, "the director [Bryan Singer] threw it out. ... They went back to another version. A teeny bit of what I had written got in, and I heard that more of it got in after the read-through. I don't know, but basically I was treated incredibly shabbily. Not by the director--in movies that's his prerogative. But I was just staggered by what I thought was a terrible decision. I actually got a copy of the script later and found out that they had thrown out the entire rewrite I had done."
The experience hasn't soured Whedon on movies entirely. "I did a great thundering rewrite on [Titan A.E.], bigger than the one I did on X-Men, and a lot more of that actually stayed in the film." He added, "I'm dying to make a movie and direct it myself. I want to make something big."
Third X-Men Trailer Due
om DeSanto, executive producer of the X-Men movie, told the Comics Continuum Web site that moviegoers should expect a third trailer for the upcoming Fox film.
The third trailer will include "a lot of special effects," DeSanto said. He didn't say when the trailer would hit movie screens.
The film, which premieres July 14, is in post-production. "We're under a time crunch, but we're on schedule and in good shape," DeSanto told the Continuum site. The site reported that X-Men, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, has not been tested before an audience yet.
Jackman Talks Wolverine
ugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine in Fox's upcoming X-Men movie, told fans that the clawed mutant is the film's main character.
"Through his eyes the audience enters the world of mutants," Jackman said in a chat on Yahoo Wednesday, April 26. "The X-Men are together at the beginning of the film, and Wolverine comes into the fold. As does Rogue. ... He's not an X-Man at the beginning. I'm not even sure if they call him one at the end of the film, actually. But I definitely can't say any more than that."
Jackman praised Bryan Singer, who directed the film based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. "Bryan was just fantastic," Jackman said. "He's something of a genius. Very exact about what he wants. Very smart and intellectual, and [he] never compromised the integrity of the script and series. The film is never two-dimensional. It's never stereotypical. The characters are well thought out, and he insisted on 150 percent commitment and development. It had to be that way. And he pushed every one of us. He was wonderful to work with."
Jackman also praised co-star Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, who plays shape-shifter Mystique. Jackman has a major fight scene with Romijn-Stamos, who appears in the film wearing little more than blue makeup. "At times [it was] a little nerve wracking," Jackman said. "I definitely didn't want to miss with any of my punches or kicks. And of course, [it was] obviously a little distracting. ... But as a professional, I could handle it. Her first day was outside, and she was pretty much naked, as you say, and she had to hold her breath to hide the steam in her mouth, and it was about -20 degrees wind chill! Her makeup took about 10 hours to put on. She would have a pickup at 2 a.m., so she could be ready for after lunch! When she worked, she put in almost 24 hours. 17-19 hour days. She was quite a trooper, and she was fantastic as Mystique. As you see in the trailer, we have quite a fight together."
Jackman was confident of the film's success, and is eager to do a sequel. But, he added, "Sequels are solely dependent on the success of the first movie. And I know they are really hoping that will happen, as are we. So until July 20th or so, no one will really know." X-Men opens July 14.
Marsden Was Quick X-Men Study
ames Marsden, who plays Cyclops in Fox's upcoming X-Men movie, told the Calgary Sun newspaper that he knew nothing about the Marvel Comics series X-Men until he read for the part.
"I had never read the comics before I auditioned for the role, but I had played the video game a couple of times so I had some idea of what I was getting into," Marsden told the newspaper.
Marsden added, "When I was cast, I got hold of as many of the comics as I could and devoured them." He also said that the film's special effects weren't a burden for him. "I had it much easier than many of my co-stars," he said. "I didn't have to hang from riggings all day long, and I didn't have a super state-of-the-art fight on the top of the Statue of Liberty, like Wolverine [Hugh Jackman] does."
Expect Lots Of FX In X-Men
alph Winter, producer of Fox's upcoming X-Men movie, told the Comics Continuum Web site that the film will have nearly 400 special effects shots.
"Which, in today's special effects movies, is about right," Winter told the site.
He added, "It's sort of inched up to that level in the last 10 years. ... The first Star Wars was at about this level. Certainly, [Star Wars: The] Phantom Menace was--I lost track--maybe 2,000. It was huge. Every shot almost went through the computer. We're not at that level by any means, but this is a big special effects movie."
Winter added that Fox is definitely hoping to develop a series of X-Men movies, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. "We'd love to do a franchise," he said. "We'd love to see many stories get told. So we're trying to start at a level that establishes the characters and makes people want to go further."
Braugher Tunes In To Frequency
ndre Braugher, who plays Satch in the new SF thriller Frequency, told SCI FI Wire that he was attracted to the film because of its unique premise.
"I thought it was one of the most interesting scripts I had read recently," Braugher said of the movie, about a father and son talking via ham radio across the decades.
Braugher, who won an Emmy for his role in NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street, added, "I thought the father-son story, which predominates and is the heart of the story, was very interesting and freshly done. I thought the science and physics of this communication across different times to be another very interesting idea, and I had worked with Greg Hoblit, our director, on several occasions before, and had a lot of confidence in his ability to pull this very difficult material off the page and onto the stage."
Braugher plays the homicide detective friend of Dennis Quaid's firefighter character in 1969 and the same man in 1999 as the friend of Quaid's son, played by John Caviezel. He told SCI FI Wire that it wasn't that hard to span the decades. "The body deteriorates, but the mind doesn't," he said. "You know, I still feel like I'm 25. ... It's not really [an issue] of a changing psyche, but one of physicality ... [But] it is challenging, without a doubt. Beyond the tedious aspects of the latex special effects, it is interesting to play a 59-year-old man only in that he has a different perspective on life than his 29-year-old counterpart in the past." Frequency premiered Friday, April 28.
Blair 2 Hype Starts
he hype machine is gearing up for The Blair Witch Project 2, the sequel to last year's surprise hit The Blair Witch Project, even though the sequel won't be released until the fall.
Artisan Films has already opened a teaser Web site for the sequel, hoping that Internet buzz will do for the sequel what it did for the first Blair Witch Project. Filmmakers attributed much of the first film's success to anticipation that resulted from the mythology created in an elaborate Web site.
Berlinger Blurs Reality In BWP2
n his first interview on The Blair Witch Project 2, director Joe Berlinger told Entertainment Tonight that the sequel to 1999's hit The Blair Witch Project will further blur the lines between reality and fantasy.
"That's the question, does the Blair Witch really exist?" said Berlinger, who is best known as a director of documentaries.
Berlinger added, "Maybe we should ask the town of Burkittsville [Maryland], who have really experienced these events over the years. The historical events that relate to the Blair Witch mythology is something that we are taking advantage of significantly. Blurring the lines between fiction and reality doesn't just mean taking a camera and shaking it and using documentary techniques. It is also thematically taking certain ideas, taking the idea that many people believe that the witch really exists, and molding it into a story. I think that is sort of the starting point of the new movie."
The director also took pains to cast unknowns in the sequel. "I wanted to honor the first movie and maintain the heritage of the first movie in many ways by casting unknown talent," Berlinger told ET. "We spent a lot of the time in New York and Los Angeles. Actors who are popular in theater or up-and-comers. I can't really talk about the plot of the movie, but I was actually looking for people who in their real lives kind of personify what we are trying to achieve in the movie. I think we have--in the relatively short time--a great group, very diverse, who get along well, and I think they are doing a great job."
Berlinger also admitted feeling pressure to live up to the success of the first film. "Yeah, I am under lot of pressure, but I have pushed that aside," he said. "I'm taking the idea of the Blair Witch and pushing it in a whole new direction--one that honors the original idea, but takes it into a whole other realm. It is a little scary, because the movie did so well. It's really [a] tough act to follow. Sequels, generally, do not do as well as the original. I'm trying not to think about doing a sequel. I'm taking an idea that was created by the guys at Haxan [Entertainment] and try to make it my own."
Benford Joins Space.com
ebula Award-winning SF author Gregory Benford will join the Space.com Web site as a monthly columnist, with his first column focusing on the practical demands of getting humans to Mars, the site announced.
Benford, author of Timescape, joins fellow SF author Larry Niven as a contributor to Space.com.
"Benford's monthly column will allow him free play in both literary and real-world subjects," said Space.com science fiction editor Scott Martin in a statement. "However, I expect he will gravitate toward the rich borderland between space science and space fiction, a territory in which he has few peers."
In addition to writing, Benford is a professor of physics at the University of California, Irvine, and acts as an adviser to the Department of Energy and NASA, among other things.
Wombat Readies Dark Zion
ombat Games announced a massively multiplayer online game, Dark Zion, which the company said would give players "unprecedented control of their world compared with current online games."
Wombat is seeking a publisher for the game, which it promises will be released for Windows, Linux and Macintosh platforms sometime in the future.
SF&F author Tad Williams will act as a creative consultant, contributing ideas for the design, story and overall feel of the Dark Zion world. Dark Zion will allow players to explore, build cities, create clans and governments, wage wars, breed insects and discover the lost secrets of the game's world. Wombat Games will release parts of the game as open source and has already released one library as open source.
Showtime Renews Stargate SG-1
howtime has agreed to renew Stargate SG-1 for a fifth season, ordering another 22 episodes of the SF series starring Richard Dean Anderson, the cable network announced.
The announcement was part of a deal between Showtime and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the studio that produces the program.
Under the agreement, Showtime also gets the exclusive pay television rights to all MGM feature films theatrically released through Dec. 31, 2008. That would include the upcoming SF film Rollerball, starring Chris Klein and LL Cool J.
Clive Barker Developing PC Game
orrormeister Clive Barker will develop a PC-based game, Clive Barker's Undying, for DreamWorks Interactive, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The game, about a family of 19th-century immortals in Ireland, is slated for a fall release, the trade paper reported.
"It's not one of those chase-the-bugs-around-and-shoot-it games," Barker told the paper. The original idea for the game came from DreamWorks, but Barker will add his own mythology. "It's sophisticated, sheer spectacle," Barker said. "It has monsters that will not quit. They called me in to create extraordinary beasts, my having something of a reputation in that direction." The game is expected to sell for $40-$50.
Barker recently signed a deal with Walt Disney Co. to write four novels, The Abarat Quartet, which will also be developed as TV, film and game projects. Barker will finish his next book, Coldhard Canyon, a Hollywood ghost story, before beginning Abarat.
Parisot Takes On Locked
alaxy Quest director Dean Parisot is in final talks to helm Locked and Upright, a time-travel comedy for Artisan Entertainment, according to Variety.
Parisot will work on the script with writers Barry McEvoy and David Sussman.
Locked tells the story of two 1970s flight attendants who go back in time to World War II and save England from the Nazis. Artisan will distribute the film domestically, Variety reported.
Weaver Says Alien Is Done
igourney Weaver said that she believes the Alien movie series has run its course.
"Well, you know, as far as I know, that's it," Weaver said on the BBC television program Film 2000 while promoting the U.K. premiere of Galaxy Quest.
Weaver, who played Ripley in four Alien films, added that another sequel was "certainly not up to me, it's up to 20th Century Fox. I'm astonished still by the amount of interest there is, and how popular the last one was. It was fun for me, because I got to play sort of devil Ripley, but I don't know anything about [another sequel], I promise you."
Weaver played a clone hybrid of Ripley and an alien in 1997's Alien Resurrection, the last film in the series that began with Ridley Scott's Alien in 1979.
Lucas On Episode I DVD
tar Wars: Episode I may or may not be coming to DVD anytime soon, according to a Los Angeles radio interview with George Lucas posted on TheForce.net Web site.
"Yeah, well, we're working on it," Lucas reportedly told KROQ-FM.
"We're going to have some material, we're trying to put it on the DVD, and it's going to be a while 'til they get it put together," Lucas said. "Plus, I'm trying to make this other movie [Episode II] at the same time, so it will be coming out at some point. It's a lot of work."
Fraser Bedeviled In Bedazzled
rendan Fraser, who stars in Fox's upcoming fantasy film Bedazzled, relishes his role as a hapless techno nerd who makes a deal with the devil, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
In the film--a remake of the 1968 Peter Cook-Dudley Moore movie of the same name--the devil (played by Elizabeth Hurley) grants wishes for Fraser's character, Elliot.
Each time, Elliot suddenly becomes a new man. And each time, a twist ruins Elliot's wish, and he has to punch 666-# on a red pager to escape. "It's perfect for an actor, because I play a different person in each episode, and the story is arranged around the seven deadly sins idea," Fraser told the newspaper.
Director Harold Ramis told the Chronicle that the funny film has a moral. "Elliot is a pathetic jerk," Ramis said. "This whole story is about wishes, and people's desperation to be liked, to be loved and accepted. I wanted to target that streak in all of us, that part where we feel like a nerd and say, 'If only I was more handsome, or if only I was more athletic or had more money or power, then people would like me, or I could get that girl.'" Bedazzled is slated for an August release.
Spaceman Heads For Cannes
paceman, an independent SF movie from Onion.com editor Scott Dikkers, will screen at this year's Cannes Film Festival, according to Variety.
Palm Pictures has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to Spaceman, and its Film Co. unit will host the Cannes screening.
Spaceman, a low-budget action comedy, won the Austin Film Festival's audience award. It tells the story of a man abducted by aliens and turned into a mindless drone, who then returns to Earth to work as a hit man for the mafia, the trade paper reported. Palm will seek other distributors for the film.
Dikkers heads the Onion, a satirical news publication.
Roswell Ratings Improve
oswell, The WB's teen alien series, received its best ratings of the year on April 24, the second time it aired in its new Monday 9 p.m. time slot, the network reported.
Roswell retained 81 percent of the audience from its lead-in, 7th Heaven, among adults 18-49 and 89 percent among adults 18-34.
Roswell built on its lead-in audience in two important categories: men 18-34 and men 18-49, The WB reported. Roswell had languished in the ratings in its original Wednesday 9 p.m. time slot before jumping to a new time this month.
The good ratings bode well for the freshman series as it enters its home stretch. Producers have been worrying about the show's chances for renewal, though it has won critical acclaim and a modest but active fan following. The WB will announce its decision on the show in May.
World Tops All Bond Films
he World Is Not Enough, the 19th James Bond movie, was the most successful 007 film ever, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
World grossed $350 million worldwide and helped boost MGM to its third consecutive quarter of profits, the trade paper reported.
MGM stands to earn more money when World is released on DVD May 16. Video and DVD preorders total 4.5 million so far. MGM is also developing a video game based on the Bond film.
Edlund Talks Live Tick
en Edlund, creator of The Tick comic, took time out from producing a live-action television version of his comic book series to update fans on the alt.tv.the-tick newsgroup.
"At this point, we've finished shooting the pilot [for Fox], and I feel now is as good a time as any to talk to those who give a damn about the strange golden egg we've been laying here in Los Angeles," Edlund wrote in a posting this week entitled "Unsolicited Propaganda from Ben Edlund Regarding The Tick Prime Time TV Show."
Among other things, Edlund said, "The show will be closer in tone to the comic book [than the animated television series of the same name], favoring character over action, painting a superheroic portrait of genuine human lameness." He added, "The pilot will introduce two new characters: Batmanuel (played by Nestor Carbonell), a suave, Eurotrash hero who has a torrid off-and-on relationship with Captain Liberty (played by Liz Vassey), a beautiful but violent superhero with dubious connections to the CIA and other shadowy government agencies."
Edlund praised Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld), who plays the titular character, and pilot director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black). "This is only a pilot, and awaits Fox's final judgment before it can go to series," he added. "Maybe our warped fruit will tumble out of your TV screens sometime in October. I hope it will, and I hope that you will decide to jump on the big Tick hay ride to Happyland. That would certainly help me pay my mortgage."
Wyle To Produce Patient
ichael Palmer's best-selling medical SF thriller novel The Patient will become a feature film to be produced by ER star Noah Wyle, according to Variety.
Warner Bros. Pictures bought the feature film rights to the novel for Wyle's production company.
The Patient tells the story of a neurosurgeon, Jessie Copeland, who has helped refine a robot that can perform brain surgery. A terrorist takes hostages and demands that the robot be used to operate on his own brain tumor. Copeland must join forces with a rogue CIA agent to stop him. It's unclear whether Wyle will play a role in the film, the trade paper reported.
Fox Family To Air Mind
he Fox Family Channel has picked up the fantasy series The Fearing Mind, a one-hour drama from Jim Henson Television, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The cable network has ordered 13 episodes of the series, which is slated to premiere in the fall.
The show, originally developed as a pilot for NBC, revolves around a short story writer and his family. Each week, one of the writer's stories comes to life. The series will mix horror and fantasy and will make use of Henson's trademark puppetry and animatronics, the trade paper reported.
Fox Signs Roswell Producer
hania St. John, co-executive producer of The WB's teen alien series Roswell, has signed a deal with 20th Century Fox Television to develop and produce new TV series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Fox produces Roswell with Regency TV for broadcast on The WB.
Before helping develop Roswell with co-executive producer Jason Katims, St. John co-created and executive produced the 1995 SF series VR5. She has also written for Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and other series.
New Trek Based on Enterprise?
he Trek Today fan Web site reports a rumor that the next Star Trek television series will center on the U.S.S. Enterprise--the starship of the original series, but way before Kirk and his crew came aboard.
The site earlier reported a rumor that the new series would be set in the early days of the Federation, with a new villain: a time traveler from the 29th century.
Officially, Paramount and Star Trek: Voyager executive producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga have denied all rumors about the new series, and have said they're still working on a concept.
Trek Fans Rally For Excelsior
nly about 30 Star Trek fans showed up Saturday, April 22, to demonstrate in front of Paramount studios to push for a new television series based on the character of Capt. Hikaru Sulu and the U.S.S. Excelsior, organizers said.
The fan-driven Excelsior Campaign had hoped to rally as many as 1,000 fans to demonstrate in front of the studio, part of a nationwide show of fan support for the idea.
But Russ Haslage, head of the campaign, said about 500 fans turned out in 12 other cities around the country. In Los Angeles, fans drove in from as far away as Las Vegas and Sacramento, Calif., to take part in the demonstration, during which they handed out fliers and held up an Excelsior sign, Haslage said.
Paramount and Star Trek: Voyager executive producer Brannon Braga have been cool to the idea of a Sulu-based series to replace Voyager once that show ends its run at the end of next season.
Starfleet Command II Due In Winter
ame maker 14 Degrees East will release Star Trek: Starfleet Command Volume II--Empires at War, the sequel to its popular PC game Star Trek: Starfleet Command, the company announced.
Volume II is scheduled for a winter release.
The sequel, which is intended for solo or multiplayer gaming, will feature a redesigned fleet-control interface. The sequel will also introduce two new races, the Mirak Star League and the Interstellar Concordium, and their weapon systems.
Aurora Nominees Announced
ponsors of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards announced the final ballot for the Aurora Prize, or Prix Aurora, to be presented July 14-16 at Canvention 20 in Toronto, in conjunction with Toronto Trek 2000.
The awards are based on voting by members of the convention who are either Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
The official ballot is available at the awards Web site. A complete list of nominees follows.
Best Long-Form Work in English
•Beholder's Eye by Julie E. Czerneda
•Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
•Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer
•Starfish by Peter Watts
•Bios by Robert Charles Wilson
•Death Drives A Semi by Edo van Belkom
Best Long-Form Work in French
•L'Aile du papillon by Joël Champetier
•Le Livre des chevaliers by Yves Meynard
•Sur le seuil by Patrick Senécal
•Samiva de Frée by Francine Pelletier
Best Short-Form Work in English
•"The Emperor's Old Bones" by Gemma Files
•"Erratic Cycles" by Mark Leslie
•"Speaking Sea" by Sally McBride
•"Any Port in a Storm" by Mark Rayner
•"Stream of Consciousness" by Robert J. Sawyer
•"State of Disorder" by Douglas Smith
•"Symphony" by Douglas Smith
•"Plato's Mirror" by Robert Charles Wilson
Best Short-Form Work in French
•"Souvenirs du Saudade Express" by Éric Gauthier
•"Soldats de sucre" by Yves Meynard
•"Passions étouffées sous la pierre cendreuse" by Jean-Louis Trudel
Best Work in English (Other)
•Aurora Awards, Edo van Belkom, ed.
•Northern Frights 5, Don Hutchison, ed.
•On Spec, Jena Snyder, general ed.
•Parsec, Chris Krejlgaard, ed.
•TransVersions, Dale L. Sproule, managing ed.
Best Work in French (Other)
•L'Année de la Science-Fiction et du Fantastique Québécois 1997 by Claude Janelle et al.
•"Historique des Pulps québécois" by Jean-Louis Trudel
•Le XIXe siècle fantastique en Amérique française by Claude Janelle et al.
•Solaris, Joël Champetier, ed.
Artistic Achievement
•James Beveridge
•Jean-Pierre Normand
•Terry Pallot
•Bernard Reischl
•DLSproule
•Larry Stewart
•Ronn Sutton
Fan Achievement (Fanzine)
•CONtract, John Mansfield, ed. & publisher
•Disrupter, Bernard Reischl, ed.
•OSFS Statement, Joel Polowin, ed., Dwight Williams, ed., Sharon C.P. Fall, ed.
•Voyageur, Karen Bennett, ed.
•Warp, Lynda Pelley, ed.
Fan Achievement (Organizational)
•Brian A. Davis (inCONsequential)
•Cathy Palmer-Lister (MonSFFA)
•Lloyd Penney (Toronto in 2003 worldcon bid)
•Yvonne Penney (Toronto in 2003 worldcon bid)
•Bernard Reischl (KAG/Kanada)
•Ann Methe (Con*cept)
Fan Achievement (Other)
•Made in Canada Web site by Don Bassie
•Lloyd Penney (fan writing)
•The Road to Roswell music CD by Karen Linsley & Lloyd Landa
•Larry Stewart (entertainer)
•Jason Taniguchi (one-man SF parody shows)
Whitaker Likens Earth to Pulp
orest Whitaker, who will star alongside John Travolta in the upcoming SF epic Battlefield Earth, told the Popcorn U.K. Web site that the film is similar to one of Travolta's most famous pictures.
"John describes it as, like, Pulp Fiction for the year 3000," Whitaker told the site. "It's the way he sees the movie, and I understand what he means."
Whitaker added, "The aliens are extremely cool; you know, evil. We don't like people, but we got our own style and we have no problem destroying other things, and those two characters in Pulp Fiction have similar sensibilities."
The movie is based on the SF novel of the same name by L. Ron Hubbard, who also founded the Church of Scientology, of which Travolta is a well-known adherent. Earth opens in May.
McCarthy To Star In FX Shadows
ndrew McCarthy is set to star in the television movie Shadows, a supernatural thriller for the FX cable network that is also a pilot for a proposed series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Written and produced by Paul Anderson (Soldier), the movie begins filming this week in London, the trade paper reported.
McCarthy will play a New York architect who travels to London to work in a mansion that is haunted by 27 ghosts. He investigates their deaths while helping police catch a serial child-killer, according to the trade paper. The movie doesn't have an air date yet.
Freedom Web Site Opens
ed Storm Entertainment has opened an official Web site for Freedom: First Resistance, its upcoming game based on Anne McCaffrey's Freedom series of novels.
The site contains news updates, descriptions and images of characters and game environments, as well as video chronicling the game's development. Eventually the site will include downloads and a community section.
Freedom: First Resistance is a third-person, single-player action-adventure game due for release in the fourth quarter of 2000. It picks up McCaffrey's story about nine months after the powerful alien Catteni race has completed its invasion of Earth. Gamers join the human resistance, led by young freedom fighter Angel Sanchez, in its fight to rid the Earth of the alien overlords.
Lady Death Movie Due Next Year
haos! Comics publisher Brian Pulido told the Comics Continuum Web site that the animated movie based on Chaos' Lady Death series is set for a March 2001 release.
"We've handed in the story, and we're 90 percent through the character designs," Pulido told the site.
Pulido added, "We go into full pre-production in about a month. It's about two months off track, but other than that, we're proceeding along swimmingly." The film is intended for theatrical release only in Japan, but is aimed at the direct-to-video market in the United States, Pulido said.
But, he added, "it could be popular enough that it could be on a cable network or any number of kinds of things. If it's as kick-ass as we think it could be, then it has the possibility of being shown in a number of places."
Whedon Discusses His Other Slayer
oss Whedon, creator of The WB's hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, admits that Faith the evil slayer could carry a show of her own, according to TV Guide Online.
"I think absolutely you could have a show that revolves around Eliza," Whedon told TV Guide, referring to Faith actress Eliza Dushku.
Whedon added, "She is an extraordinary talent. But [it] would be a very different show. There's a reason why Sarah [Michelle Gellar] is Buffy and Buffy is Sarah. What Eliza brings to the show is very different than what Sarah brings. They have very different personas ... a very different kind of magnetism."
But don't expect Whedon to actually come up with a new show. He's already got his hands full with Buffy and Angel, the spin-off series on which Faith made a guest appearance Tuesday, April 25. "I don't really think that far ahead," Whedon said. "I'm thinking about the next year, and I know Sarah will be here. And I imagine that she will be here for some time after that."
Spielberg Films Come To DVD
everal of Steven Spielberg's movies, including SF hits such as Jurassic Park, E.T. and The Lost World, will finally be coming to DVD, according to Variety.
Universal Home Video will release the DVDs starting July 11 with a 25th anniversary collector's edition of Jaws, the trade paper reported.
The other films Spielberg directed for Universal will follow on DVD on a staggered basis, Variety reported. In addition, Universal plans to release films produced under Spielberg's
Amblin Entertainment company, including Back to the Future, Casper and The Land Before Time.
The Indiana Jones trilogy, which Spielberg directed for Paramount, won't be included in Universal's DVD releases.
O'Connor Amazed At A.I. Role
rances O'Connor, star of Mansfield Park, told the Australian Sun-Herald newspaper that she was surprised when she won a coveted role in Steven Spielberg's next movie, A.I.
"I met [Spielberg] a couple of weeks ago," she said. "He'd seen Mansfield Park and this thing I did [for the BBC] called Madame Bovary. So we met, and we had a second meeting with Haley Joel Osment, and they offered me the part after that."
Added O'Connor, who will play Osment's mother in the film, "I was also auditioning for a whole bunch of other stuff at the time, and then this kind of came out of the blue. It was a nice surprise and it just happened so fast I haven't really had time to let it sink in."
But O'Connor wouldn't discuss the futuristic film, which is based on a treatment by the late Stanley Kubrick and co-stars Osment and Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley). "I'm not allowed to talk about it," she said. "Only a handful of people have actually read [the script]."
Miller Returns To Dark Knight
rank Miller told the Comic Book Resources Web site that he will write a sequel to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, the landmark 1986 comic series that breathed new life into the venerable DC Comics franchise.
Miller's first Dark Knight series is said to have influenced director Tim Burton's vision in the 1989 film Batman.
Speaking to Comic Book Resources' Charles Brownstein, Miller said his new series is "not a repetition of the first Dark Knight. It uses the first one as a springboard to a new story. If Dark Knight was a ripping down--a deconstruction of the hero, as many said, which I don't really believe it was--this is much more of a building up."
Miller added, "I came up with some ideas and got the itch to play with DC's toys. I wanted to play with the big old superhero characters. I've been away long enough that I'm not weary of them anymore. And seeing where things have gone in the past few years, I think some refurbishing and house cleaning is in order."
BSFA Awards Announced
en MacLeod's The Sky Road was named best novel in the 1999 British Science Fiction Association Awards, the association announced.
The awards were presented Sunday, April 23, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Eric Brown's "Hunting The Slarque" won the award for best short fiction. The cover art for Darwinia by Jim Burns took the award for best artwork. The BSFA Awards are presented annually by the British Science Fiction Association, based on a vote of BSFA members and members of the British national SF convention (Eastercon).
F&SF Back Issues Go Online
he peanutpress.com Web site is now selling back issues of the award-winning Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, the company announced.
Buyers can download electronic versions of the magazine for reading on Palm and Windows CE handheld devices.
The first selection of back issues includes all 11 magazines from 1997. The standard issue is available for a price of $3.95, while the annual anniversary double issue will sell for $4.95. The first set of issues contains stories such as "Everything's Eventual" by Stephen King, "Borrowed Light" by Jo Clayton and "The Pipes of Pan" by Brian Stableford.
In May, peanutpress.com will release all 1998 issues of F&SF, followed by all 1999 issues within two months. The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is the original publisher of such SF classics as Stephen King's "Dark Tower," Daniel Keyes's "Flowers for Algernon" and Walter M. Miller's "A Canticle for Leibowitz."
Briefly Noted
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David Duchovny again said he's open to doing an eighth season of The X-Files, but only if the price is right, according to the Associated Press. "I definitely could do another year, but I really don't know if it'll happen," Duchovny told the wire service. "I'm kind of happy that decision's been taken away from me. I've made my terms clear."
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The casting director for the upcoming movie based on J.K. Rowling's best-selling children's novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone told the Empire Online U.K. Web site that she has received more than 40,000 letters from boys interested in playing the young wizard. "We don't want any more people to write to us because we can't, quite honestly deal with any more," Susie Figgis said.
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Decipher Inc. announced plans to bring its popular customizable card games online, starting with its Star Trek game by the end of the year.
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Harry Potter director Chris Columbus has signed a two-year deal with Brad Grey Television to develop comedy and drama shows, according to Variety. Columbus is also developing a feature film version of Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four for release next year, the trade paper reported.
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The Sixth Sense is becoming the largest rental title in the history of the Blockbuster video store chain, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Rentals of the film should amount to $65 million in the first 26 weeks of the video's release, the paper reported.
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The Comics Continuum Web site reported that rock group Metallica may contribute a song to the upcoming X-Men movie. Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich is a fan of the X-Men, particularly Wolverine, the site reported.
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Shadow of the Vampire, a film about the making of the classic German vampire movie Nosferatu, is one of three films representing the United States in the Cannes Film Festival's Directors' Fortnight section, according to Variety.
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Garrett Wang (Harry Kim on Star Trek: Voyager) will host the Media Action Network for Asian Americans' media achievement awards ceremony on May 20 in Los Angeles, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Catherine Dent (One Life to Live) will co-star with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michael Rooker in the upcoming SF thriller movie Replicant, according to Variety.
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Stephen L. Burns won the Compton Crook Award for his 1999 novel Flesh and Silver. The Crook Award is presented by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society for the best first science fiction, fantasy or horror novel published in the previous calendar year, according to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Web site.
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Director Frank Marshall told syndicated columnist Liz Smith that a proposed sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is dead. "After we budgeted the project, we realized it would simply be too expensive--way, way too expensive," he said, referring to the cost of combining live action and animation as in the first film.
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Harrison Ford told Cinescape Online's Cindy Pearlman that his next film, What Lies Beneath, is "a thriller with supernatural overtones. I play a professor of genetics at a small college in Vermont. ... My
wife, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, is beginning to see things that may or may not be ghosts."
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Clive Barker told a convention audience in Berlin that Artisan Films bought the rights to a sequel to Nightbreed, Barker's 1990 supernatural film, according to the Dark Horizons Web site. Artisan plans to develop the movie, with Barker as executive producer.
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Kes (Jennifer Lien) returns to Star Trek: Voyager May 3 in a new, more powerful form, and attempts to commandeer the starship on behalf of an alien that needs the crew for its own purposes, according to the Zentertainment Web site.
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Melissa Good, a writer of fan fiction based on the Xena syndicated television series, will get a chance to write a script for the show itself, according to AnotherUniverse.com. "I have already participated in story meetings, and submitted a story sheet, and I am in the process of submitting a first draft of the script to [the] writing team," Good told the Web site.
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The X-Files creator Chris Carter told an audience at UC Santa Barbara that the series' seventh-season finale began shooting last week, though there's no decision on an eighth, according to Cinescape Online. Carter also said that David Duchovny is still in talks to stay on, though his contract expires this year. Carter said he doesn't want to continue the show without Duchovny.
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Paul Leyden, who played Laraqq on Farscape, has joined the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, playing Simon Frasier.
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Final Destination tied for the ninth spot in the Easter weekend box-office rankings, taking in $2.8 million. Destination has earned $42.6 million so far.
