Christensen Signs To Play Anakin
! Online confirmed rumors that George Lucas has picked virtual unknown actor Hayden Christensen to play grown-up Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II.
The 19-year-old actor is best known for the Fox Family Channel drama Higher Ground, in which he played a teen-ager addicted to drugs.
A Toronto native, Christensen signed to play the coveted role on Thursday, May 4, E! Online reported. Earlier this month, several actors journeyed to Lucas' Skywalker Ranch to read for the part with Natalie Portman, who will reprise her Star Wars: Episode I role as Queen Amidala in Episode II.
E! Online also confirmed rumors that runners-up included Ryan Phillippe (Cruel Intentions) and Colin Hanks (Roswell). In addition, E! reported that Paul Catermole, a member of the British boy band S Club 7, read for the role. And E! reported that long-rumored contender Jonathan Jackson, an Australian soap star, did not make the trip.
Separately, E! reported that Lucas has asked Ewan McGregor to grow a beard when he reprises his role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episode II.
Lucas Likes Young New Anakin
ayden Christensen, who has reportedly won the coveted role of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II, struck casting director Robin Gurland as too young at first, according to Variety columnist Michael Fleming.
But George Lucas changed his mind about the 19-year-old actor after he read for the part with Natalie Portman, Fleming reported.
Late Wednesday, May 3, Christensen canceled his plans to appear in a television movie with Aidan Quinn to sign on for the next two installments in the Star Wars saga, Fleming reported. Christensen will join the Episode II cast and crew in June, when they begin filming in Australia.
Christensen is a virtually unknown actor who most recently appeared in The Virgin Suicides, the directorial debut of Sofia Coppola, the daughter of famed filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.
Episode II Secrecy OK For Chiang
oug Chiang, design director for Star Wars: Episode II, tells the official Star Wars Web site that the prequel's extraordinary secrecy doesn't affect his work.
"The high level of security really doesn't make our job any more difficult," said Chiang, whose work includes designing the look of virtually everything in the film.
Chiang added, "I'm used to keeping privileged information, having worked on many other films where secrecy was also paramount. Since we are totally self-sufficient and isolated in the art department, including having our own model shop, we are able to do our job without compromising security in any way, or [having] security issues compromise the work."
Games Roll Out At E3
he big game makers unveiled their new titles in advance of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, that ran in Los Angeles May 11-13.
Meanwhile, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that its next-generation PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system will launch in North America on Oct. 26, with a suggested retail price of $299.
LucasArts Entertainment Co. announced a lineup of eight new titles to be released in 2000-2001, including several Star Wars titles and a new Indiana Jones game. The games will be offered across multiple platforms, including PC, Macintosh, current and next-generation consoles.
Other companies announced games that have SF or fantasy narratives. Electronic Arts and DreamWorks Interactive announced Clive Barker's: Undying, a game for the PC, due later this year from the horror author and director. Sega.com unveiled six new online titles for its Dreamcast game console for the holidays. Mattel Interactive presented eight new PC titles for 2000. Jim Henson Interactive will introduce new games for the Sony PlayStation this October.
Movie, TV Games Big At E3
cience fiction and fantasy games based on television and movies, as well as sequels to current titles, dominated the software previews at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3.
The films and series that inspired upcoming games included The Mummy, Titan A.E., Planet of the Apes, Alien Resurrection, Star Wars, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
LucasArts unveiled Star Wars: Episode I Obi-Wan, a first-person action game coming for the PC platform in the fall; Star Wars: Episode I Starfighter, an air-combat game coming for the PlayStation 2 platform in the winter; Star Wars: Demolition, a vehicular combat tournament coming for the PlayStation in the fall; Star Wars: Episode I Naboo, a flight-action arcade game for the Nintendo 64 platform coming in the fall; Star Wars Super Bombad Racing, a multi-platform racing game coming in the first quarter of 2001; and Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles for the Dreamcast platform, coming in the fall. LucasArts also previewed Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, an action adventure game for the Nintendo 64 platform, coming in the fall.
Fox Interactive previewed Alien Resurrection, which is due for the PlayStation in the third quarter of this year and the Dreamcast platform in 2001; Buffy the Vampire Slayer, available for multiple platforms in the first quarter of 2001; Planet of the Apes, coming for multiple platforms in the last quarter of this year; and Titan A.E., based on Fox's upcoming animated SF epic movie, for the PlayStation in the last quarter of this year.
Activision showcased several PC games based on the Star Trek franchise. Star Trek: Voyager--Elite Force, built on the Quake III gaming engine, is due this summer; Star Trek Bridge Commander is due in 2001; and Star Trek Away Team is slated for 2001. Activision also unveiled Quake III: Team Arena, a mission pack for Quake III Arena.
Simon & Schuster Interactive previewed its own Trek titles. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine--Dominion Wars is due for PC in October; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine--The Fallen, a tournament game, is due for the Mac and PC platforms on September 11.
Squaresoft offered a preview of the latest installment of its popular role-playing game series, Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy IX is slated to ship in late 2000 for the PlayStation console. The company also showed Chrono Cross, the sequel to Chrono Trigger, and Parasite Eve 2, the sequel to Parasite Eve. Cross is set to ship in August; Eve 2 in September.
Sony and Verant showcased an expansion to the massively multi-player real-time strategy game EverQuest. EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark will expand the EverQuest world by more than 30 percent, allow gamers to enter the new continent of Kunark and introduce a new race of lizard men, the Iksar.
Eidos previewed PlayStation and PC versions of a game based on the upcoming animated film Chicken Run, about a group of chickens planning a revolt on a 1950s Yorkshire chicken farm. The game publisher also unveiled Project Eden, developed by members of the original Tomb Raider team at CORE Design. Project Eden, which is due in the fall for multiple platforms, is an action strategy game in which players lead a rescue mission into the lower depths of a futuristic city.
E3 ran from May 11-13, and was open only to members of the industry and the media.
New Characters Head For Farscape
arscape writer and creative consultant Justin Monjo told fans to expect some additions to the crew of the sentient starship Moya.
"But I'm not telling who, when or why," Monjo said in a SCIFI.COM chat last week. "You'll have to keep watching." Director Rowan Woods added, "I'm sure [executive producer David] Kemper and the gang in the writing room will have another Pilot coming your way in [season] three."
Woods told fans that he's had a steep learning curve dealing with the series' animatronic characters, Rygel and Pilot. "It's a tough one, ... and I'm learning all the time," Woods said. "I hadn't had a lot of experience with puppets, and no experience with animatronics. It's a gradual process. You learn to treat the whole puppetry team as a character. It takes a while. It took me two or three episodes before I was able to treat them as a real, living entity. Hopefully, some of my eps this year will show that sort of experience."
Woods said creative freedom is one reason he works on the show. "In all my time in TV, I've never known such trust and such a crazy 'go for it' attitude coming from up high," he said. "Kemper will show you the noose; he'll even put you in it. And when you're just about to hit the floor and snap your spinal cord, he'll come in and take the weight. It's a lot of fun."
Lucas Outsells Lucas
eorge Lucas In Love, a nine-minute parody film of the Star Wars creator, is outselling Lucas' own Star Wars: Episode I on Amazon.com, according to Variety.
The spoof, based on the film Shakespeare in Love, received more than 1,500 orders at $7.99 each in the first 36 hours it was made available on the site on May 10, the trade paper reported.
Pre-orders for the short film on April 21 exceeded orders for Episode I and Stuart Little, ranking it as the 10th highest-selling title for at least an hour.
Seiun Nominees Announced
oreign works nominated for Japan's Seiun Awards, popularly known as Japan's Hugos, were announced on May 11.
The awards, presented to works first published in Japanese translation in 1999, will be given out at this year's Worldcon as part of the Hugo Awards ceremony.
The awards honor achievement in science fiction. The full list of foreign nominees follows.
Best Foreign Novel
•Permutation City by Greg Egan
•Quarantine by Greg Egan
•Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman
•The Immortality Option by James P. Hogan
•Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick
•Starplex by Robert J. Sawyer
•Endymion and The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons
•One of Us by Michael Marshall Smith
Best Foreign Short Story
•"Aurora in Four Voices" by Catherine Asaro
•"War Birds" by Stephen Baxter
•"The Cutie" by Greg Egan
•"Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream" by James Alan Gardner
•"Doing the Circuit" by Alexander Jablokov
•"Cosmic Expense Account" by C.M. Kornbluth
•"...Where Angels Fear to Tread" by Allen Steele
•"Taklamakan" by Bruce Sterling
•"Out of the Everywhere" by James Tiptree Jr.
New Line Buys Vampire Rights
ew Line Cinema has acquired rights to The Little Vampire, a Cometstone Pictures film starring Jonathan Lipnicki and based on the best-selling German children's book series of the same name by Angela Sommer-Bodenberg, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The trade paper reported that the studio hopes to turn the movie into a franchise.
Uli Edel (Body of Evidence) directed the $22 million adventure film. Vampire, about a boy (Lipnicki) who befriends a young bloodsucker, will premiere Sept. 28 in Germany through distribution by Warner Bros. New Line will likely release the film in the United States in spring 2001, according to The Reporter.
King's Rose To Shoot Soon
ose Red, the upcoming ABC miniseries from Stephen King, goes before the cameras in August, with an eye to a Labor Day 2001 premiere, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Craig R. Baxeley, who directed the last King miniseries, Storm of the Century, again helms, the trade paper reported.
King was writing the six-hour miniseries when he was struck and seriously injured in an automobile accident last June. The prolific horror author resumed writing during his recovery period.
Ackerman Wins "Dr. Acula" Suit
jury ruled that longtime Los Angeles SF collector and former editor Forrest J. Ackerman owns the rights to the name "Dr. Acula," and not former business associate Ray Ferry, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Ackerman had sued Ferry for breach of contract, trademark infringement and libel.
The jury awarded Ackerman $382,500 in compensatory and $342,000 in punitive damages against Ferry, the Times reported. During the trial, movie director John Landis and SF author Ray Bradbury testified on Ackerman's behalf.
Ackerman is a former editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland; Ferry is the current publisher. Ackerman aruged that he coined the pseudonym "Dr. Acula," but that Ferry had been using it without his permission, the Times reported.
Travolta Denies Earth Church Ads
ohn Travolta, star and producer of Battlefield Earth, denied claims that the movie--based on the novel of the same name by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard--contains subliminal recruitment messages for the church.
In an interview with SCI FI Wire, Travolta said of such claims, "I think they're hilarious."
Added Travolta, an adherent of the church, "the movie is so not about any of that. And I love the idea that there's even someone that suggested that [laughs]. Because it never worked in the 1950s, so the idea that even someone would think it would work now cracks me up."
Church critics and Web sites such as F.A.C.T.net claim that filmmakers have inserted subliminal advertising into Battlefield Earth to win new recruits to Scientology, and have urged Warner Bros. to cease distribution of the film.
The studio, apparently concerned about perceptions that the film is a church recruitment film, has even taken the unusual step of including Travolta disclaimers in its publicity materials. "People have asked me if there is a connection between Battlefield Earth and Scientology," Travolta said in the press materials. "There is no connection. ... Other than being created by the same person, the two have virtually nothing to do with one another."
Earth Sequel Details Revealed
oger Christian, director of Battlefield Earth, told SCI FI Wire that at least one and possibly two sequels are in the works.
"We are definitely doing [a sequel]," Christian said while promoting Earth in Los Angeles. Shooting of part two would begin in late 2001, with part of the film set in Africa, where a Psychlo tele-transportation station is erected, Christian said.
Christian said the first movie only covers events in the first half of L. Ron Hubbard's 1,000-page novel of the same name. "I'm just warning them that I don't think I can get [the rest of the book] into one [sequel]," the director said. "So I think in effect we're going to have to have two. There's so much to come. The last half of the book is gigantic, and it's a necessary part of the revolution and a necessary part of the resolution of the whole of the saga. I think we're talking about shooting maybe late next year. ... But we're definitely doing it. [Earth screenwriter] Corey [Mandell] is being commissioned to write it. And because we made the film for such a low budget, our costs are covered already. Whatever we do now is icing on the cake. So, doing it this way means we can fulfill our dreams." The budget for Battlefield Earth was reportedly about $80 million.
Reno May Star In Rollerball
ean Reno (Mission: Impossible) is in final talks to play the villain in MGM's Rollerball for director John McTiernan, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Reno would join Chris Klein and LL Cool J in the remake of Norman Jewison's 1975 SF classic of the same name, about a violent, futuristic sport.
The new film will be set in 2005 and will tell the story of Rollerball superstars who clash with a merciless owner (Reno) who will stop at nothing to increase the game's ratings, the trade paper reported. Reno will also appear in The Visiteurs, Disney's English-language remake of the French 1993 time-travel film, Les Visiteurs.
The original Rollerball screenplay was written by Pulitizer Prize-nominated author William Harrison, based on his own short story, "The Rollerball Murders." The short story
originally appeared in Esquire magazine.
Fox Wants More X-Files
andy Grushow, chairman of the 20th Century Fox television studio, told the Chicago Tribune newspaper that the Fox network is committed to bringing The X-Files back for an eighth season, with or without star David Duchovny.
"We would like for not just the show to come back, but for David Duchovny to come back in the show," Grushow said.
But, Grushow added, "Bottom line is, we're prepared to make the show with or without David." Duchovny, who plays Agent Fox Mulder, has said he's made clear to the network what his terms are to come back. Duchovny, whose contract expires at the end of this season, has also sued Fox for royalties he argues are due him from the sale of X-Files reruns to Fox's sister cable network FX.
X-Files creator Chris Carter, whose contract also expires this season, has previously said he's not interested in doing the show without Duchovny. Gillian Anderson, who plays Agent Dana Scully, is contracted for one more season, but has said she wants to leave, the Tribune reported.
But Grushow seemed determined to carry on in any case. "We're not there yet on either count, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that Chris Carter will make the show with or without David, or whether or not David will be a part of it," Grushow said.
Scully Fans Watch TV For Charity
ans of The X-Files star Gillian Anderson are sponsoring viewing marathons in May to raise money and awareness for Neurofibromatosis Inc. and other groups that combat the debilitating disease.
The Order of the Blessed Saint Scully Enigmatic and the Gillian Anderson Web Site are sponsoring the fund-raiser for the second year.
May is Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month, aimed at increasing the public's knowledge of the genetic disorder that causes tumors to form on the nervous system. Anderson, whose brother has the disease, has given her blessing to the fans' fund-raising effort.
The fans encourage X-Philes everywhere to sponsor a day watching "Scullycentric" X-Files episodes and donate the proceeds to NF Inc. or other NF charities. Fan organizations have also organized group viewings in cities around the world. Last year, fans raised more than $13,000.
Dykstra To Spin Spidey's Web
eteran visual effects wizard John Dykstra (Stuart Little) will provide the special effects for director Sam Raimi's upcoming Spider-Man, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Dykstra will work with Sony Pictures Imageworks for a big part of the blockbuster film's effects, the trade paper reported.
Dykstra told the paper he doesn't know how many effects shots the film will contain because Raimi and David Koepp (Jurassic Park) are still working on the script. "We're still sorting the character out," Dykstra said.
Dykstra added, "It's going to come down to what the character we've come to know on the printed page requires to bring him to life. It certainly won't be in any way pedestrian." Spider-Man, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, is slated for a 2001 release, with filming expected to start by the end of the year, the trade paper reported.
Raimi Talks Spider-Man
am Raimi, director of Sony's upcoming Spider-Man movie, told Eon Magazine to expect casting news sooner rather than later.
"We're going to try and zero in on Peter Parker 12 weeks from now," Raimi told Eon, without saying who is in the running for the lead role.
Raimi, a fan of the Marvel Comics series on which the film is based, said he wants to remain true to the comics. "What I hope to put into the movie is what I found so attractive about the comic books. [Peter Parker] is not pretending to be somebody, like Superman pretends to be Clark Kent. ... Peter really is [a nerd]. He never loses sight of who he is, and that's what's great about him."
But expect the new Spider-Man to take full advantage of current film technology. "I don't think there's ever been a time in history up until now--this year and next year--that you really could've made this Spider-Man picture," Raimi said. "Where you can really create these digital cities, and we can soar with a Spider-Man above Manhattan. What I want to do is show it like you'd show a great Olympic skating routine. He's not a muscle-bound brute. He is a [lithe] and beautiful dancer who soars above the skyline, and it'll be the work of an acrobat."
Zemeckis Tackles Macabre
obert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) will direct a remake of William Castle's 1958 horror movie Macabre, according to Variety.
The $15 million-$20 million budgeted feature will be produced by Zemeckis' and producer Joel Silver's Dark Castle Entertainment production company, set up to remake Castle's campy horror classics.
The company produced last year's House on Haunted Hill and is working on
a remake of Castle's 13 Ghosts, which begins filming July 17. Steven Beck will direct, the trade paper reported.
Singer Takes X-Men Seriously
-Men director Bryan Singer told the Toronto Sun newspaper that he was ignorant of the Marvel Comics series until producer Tom DeSanto got him interested.
"I explored the universe to see if I could find a way into it," Singer told the newspaper. "I ultimately figured out a way to get there."
In Singer's upcoming film version of the venerable comic series, "young people are born with these extraordinary abilities" but "don't quite fit in with the rest of the world, and, like a lot of young people in our world, they question who they are."
The director's real-world sensibility appealed to Marvel and Fox, which are producing the movie. "They were looking for somebody to turn the project into something more than a comic book and to be taken more seriously," Singer told the newspaper.
As the film nears its July 14 premiere date, Singer can reflect on the arduous process of bringing the X-Men to life. "It's been a marathon," he said. "You can't be fazed by it or callous. It's like being a general. You are in command, but you have to trust those people around you. And you can't experience paralysis if you have to make a decision."
McKellen Shares Magneto's Pain
an McKellen, who plays the evil mutant leader Magneto in Fox's upcoming X-Men movie, said he drew from his own experience of discrimination in creating the character.
Responding to questions on his official Web site, the actor said, "I suppose all actors feed off their own experiences, and I invariably (in preparation or rehearsal) use my own feelings as a substitute for the character's."
Added McKellen, an openly gay actor, "As Magneto, in responding to Sen. Kelly's anti-mutant tirade, ...I pretended to myself that I was being attacked by Sen. Jesse Helms, the notorious homophobe. Out came my indignation and anger, which, expressed through Magneto's voice, manner and character, seem to have been convincing. This does not of course mean that I play him as a gay man."
As for Magneto's choice to go against humanity, McKellen said, "My judgment of Magneto's characteristics and behavior is irrelevant. I play him as a man who knows he is right. The disagreement between him and [Dr. Charles] Xavier [played by Patrick Stewart] is of long standing. Evil is in the eye of the beholder and of the victim. How this is plotted in the movie can be discovered at the July premiere in New York City."
McKellen Responds About Arwen
an McKellen, who plays Gandalf in Peter Jackson's upcoming film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, tried to assuage ardent fans who object to rumors about the depiction of Liv Tyler's character, Arwen.
McKellen responsed to a question on his official Web site from a fan who argued against portraying Arwen in a military battle, contrary to the three J.R.R. Tolkien novels of the same name on which the films are based.
"Sorry you aren't happy but I didn't write the screenplay and suggest you address your concerns to those who did!" McKellen said. "You might be encouraged by the fact that scripts often change during filming."
More than 11,000 fans have signed an online petition imploring the filmmakers not to alter the characterization of Arwen, as contained in the novels.
Specials Premieres In Fall
creenwriter James Gunn told Cinescape Online that his upcoming superhero comedy The Specials is headed for theaters in September or October.
Gunn wrote the independent film and appears in it as Minute Man, a member of a third-rate superhero team.
"I don't know exactly how wide the release is going to be, but it will be a decent one," Gunn told Cinescape. "And I believe we have a very good video deal that comes six months after or something like that, so the movie's definitely going to be out there."
The film also stars Rob Lowe, Jamie Kennedy and Thomas Haden Church.
Scotty Beams Up Baby
ames Doohan, the 80-year-old Star Trek veteran, became a father again when his wife gave birth to a daughter on April 11, according to E! Online.
The baby girl, named Sarah, weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces.
Sarah is Doohan's seventh child--he and Wendy, 43, his wife of 25 years, have two college-aged sons, and Doohan has four other children from a previous marriage. As for Doohan's age, the actor said, "Fathering kids in old age runs in the family." His grandfather was 72 when Doohan's mother was born, E! reported.
Doohan played engineer Montgomery Scott in several of the Trek series and films.
Harvey Winners Announced
inners of the 2000 Harvey Awards, recognizing outstanding achievement in comics and sequential art, have been announced.
The awards, selected by professionals in the comics industry, were presented on April 28 at the Pittsburgh ComiCon.
The awards are named after Harvey Kurtzman, a cartoonist, writer and founder of MAD magazine. A full list of winners follows.
Best Writer
•Alan Moore for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Best Artist
•Mike Mignola for Hellboy: Box Full of Evil
Best Cartoonist
•Jeff Smith for Bone
Special Award for Humor in Comics
•Sergio Aragones
Special Award for Excellence in Presentation
•Acme Novelty Library No. 13 by Chris Ware
Best New Series
•Weasel by Dave Cooper, edited by Gary Groth
Best Continuing or Limited Series
•Acme Novelty Library by Chris Ware, edited by Kim Thompson
Best Single Issue or Story
•Acme Novelty Library No. 13 by Chris Ware
Best Graphic Album of Original Work
•Batman: War on Crime by Paul Dini and Alex Ross, edited by Charles Kochman and Joey Cavalieri
Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work
•From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
Best Anthology
•Tomorrow Stories, edited by Scott Dunbier
Best Inker
•Jaime Hernandez for Penny Century
Best Letterer
•Chris Ware for Acme Novelty Library
Best Colorist
•Chris Ware for Acme Novelty Library
Best Syndicated Strip or Panel
•Peanuts by Charles Schulz
Best Biographical, Historical or Journalistic Presentation
•The Comics Journal
Best American Edition of Foreign Material
•Star Wars: The Manga by Toshiki Kudo and Shin-Ichi Hiromoto, based on stories by George Lucas, edited by David Land
Best Domestic Reprint Project
•DC Archive Series, edited by Dale Crain
Best New Talent
•Craig Thompson
Best Cover Artist
•Chris Ware for Acme Novelty Library
Ford To Play Gemini Man?
arrison Ford may star in Touchstone's upcoming SF thriller Gemini, due in summer 2001, according to the Coming Attractions Web site.
Both Ford and Mel Gibson were reportedly under consideration for the lead in the movie, about a hit man whose clone is out to kill him.
The Web site reports that Ford likes the project so much that he may want to executive produce as well. Coming Attractions pegs the budget at $120 million. Ford will play the hit man and his younger clone. Computer effects will be used to make Ford appear younger, the site reported. Tony Scott (Enemy of the State) is in line to direct.
Ford will appear next in What Lies Beneath, a supernatural thriller co-starring Michelle Pfeiffer, which opens July 21. The film's trailer was recently posted to the Web.
TBS Takes Robin Cook's Risk
BS Superstation will produce Acceptable Risk, an SF medical thriller based on the Robin Cook novel of the same name, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The novel tells the story of a medical researcher who discovers a mood-elevating pain medication that has terrifying side effects.
The movie is part of a roster of original films TBS will develop for broadcast this year and in 2001.
Buffy Love Is Discreet
uffy The Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon told TV Guide Online that he had to be creative when depicting the same-sex relationship between Buffy characters Willow and Tara.
"On a network, you don't have an opportunity with a same-sex relationship to show the kind of graphic coupling that you do with, say, Buffy and [boyfriend] Riley," Whedon told TV Guide Online. "So you have to use your imagination, and to me it's the best thing that could have happened to us."
Whedon added, "It forces you to come up with something that is a little more primal and I think much sexier than if we were allowed to do anything we wanted." In last week's episode, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) expressed her love for fellow witch Tara (Amber Benson). The screen went blank just as the pair were about to kiss, TV Guide Online reported.
It's not the first time Whedon has used his imagination to depict Willow and Tara's relationship while remaining discreet. In February, the pair cast a spell in a ceremony that involved hand-holding, candles, moaning and a climax that appeared sexual.
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Whedon told the Web site with a laugh. "It was sensual and physical, but, by necessity, tasteful. It made me very happy that we were able to do that."
Buffy DVDs Coming Soon
uffy the Vampire Slayer, The WB's hit vampire series, is headed for DVD, creator Joss Whedon told The Watcher's Web, a U.K. fan Web site.
"DVDs are planned," Whedon said. "We are doing the first season first, and they are talking to me about doing interviews and commentaries and stuff. That is just getting off the ground."
Whedon added, "I think about doing great long rambling commentaries: 'That director is so bad, we had to cut around that!' I don't know if they want me to do cut scenes. I am not big on revisionist history or directors' cuts--the show that we put out is pretty much the show we want seen."
Whedon, who was vacationing in England during the hiatus of his two series, Buffy and Angel, also provided a few hints about Buffy's next season. "I can't really tell you anything about Angel right now, because we are still figuring it out. For Buffy, I can say that we plan it to be very different. Season four was about freedom. The sudden freedom of college and new identity stuff. Season five will be getting back more to the concept of family and the unit and the Scooby Gang. Their relationships will be much more intense and won't be so scattered."
Whedon's complete interview will appear in Dreamwatch magazine, issue No. 71.
Galaxy To Webcast SF Films
alaxy Pictures Inc. said it has acquired rights to 50 vintage science fiction and horror films from
Passport International Productions, including titles such as Death Race 2000 and Brother from Another Planet.
The company plans to screen the films on its GalaxyOnline.com Web site.
Among the films Galaxy acquired are such black-and-white movies as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Things to Come. "The deal that we've struck with Passport should send a loud and clear message that we are serious about acquiring science fiction content and amassing the world's largest collection of science fiction films for Webcast on the Internet," said John D. Eraklis, vice president of business development and acquisitions at Galaxy Pictures.
Galaxy Pictures is also producing its own movies, including Overload, starring such television icons as Bill Mumy (Lost in Space), Tony Dow (Leave It to Beaver), George Takei (Star Trek) and Claudia Christian (Babylon 5).
Proyas Returns To Fantasy
ecessity was the mother of invention for director Alex Proyas, whose short film Groping grew out of a shortage of 35 mm film stock.
"I was trying to work out what you could shoot on these tiny little pieces of film," Proyas said in an interview on Exposure, The SCI FI Channel film series.
The solution: shoot live actors with a kind of stop-motion animation, frame by frame. The resulting eight-minute student film is a disquieting tale of urban alienation, about a man who watches and does nothing while a woman is raped.
Proyas, who is best known for the feature films The Crow and Dark City, has returned to the theme of alienation time and again, with the world of the fantastic as a backdrop.
Fantasy "can take normal people into very extreme situations," said Proyas, an avowed fan of science fiction. "It can give us a very specific view of a world, which is much like ours, but just heightened, and therefore show us those characters in relief against that world."
BW2 Footage To Screen
ideo dealers will get a peek at Blair Witch 2 when Artisan Entertainment co-chairman Amir Malin delivers the keynote address at the 19th Video Software Dealers Association convention in Las Vegas in July, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It will be the first time footage will screen publicly from the top-secret sequel to 1999's surprise hit The Blair Witch Project, the trade paper reported.
BW2 is still in production in Maryland, with an eye to an October release. Artisan is producing BW2.
First Wave Fans Send Salt
ans of The SCI FI Channel series First Wave are organizing a letter-writing campaign, modeled on one for The WB's Roswell, to persuade SCI FI to improve its treatment of the show.
The fans, organized around SCI FI's First Wave message board, "are very unhappy that since the second season ... very few new episodes have been aired," organizer Barbara J. Widro told SCI FI Wire.
The fans are also unhappy with the number of repeats and preemptions and what they perceive as a lack of promotion for the series. Emulating fans of Roswell, who mailed thousands of bottles of Tabasco sauce to The WB's executives to get their show renewed, First Wave fans are mailing packets of salt to SCI FI executives. Tabasco is the favorite condiment of Roswell's teen aliens; salt is like heroin to First Waves' alien invaders.
Pufnstuff Comes To DVD
.R. Pufnstuf, the 1970s children's television series from Sid and Marty Krofft, comes to DVD on May 23 from Rhino Home Video, the company announced.
The DVD will contain the first four episodes of the series, plus bonus features including an interview with star Jack Wild.
H.R. Pufnstuf, featuring the titular dragon as the mayor of Living Island, aired from 1969 to 1973. The DVD is available for a suggested retail price of $19.95.
German Phantastik Nominees Announced
hantastik.de, a German SF&F news Web site, announced its nominations for the German "Phantastik" Awards, recognizing the best works of science fiction and fantasy from 1999.
The nominations were based on a poll by readers of the site. Winners will be announced in October at the BuchmesseConvention 2000 in Frankfurt, Germany.
A full list of nominees follows.
Best German Novel
•When the Music's Over by Myra Cakan
•Kelwitts Stern by Andreas Eschbach
•Krieg der Engel by Wolfgang Hohlbein
•Goettin der Wueste by Kai Meyer
•Die achte Plage by Manfred Weinland and Timothy Stahl
Best Foreign Novel
•Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
•Seize the Night by Dean Koontz
•The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett
•Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
•The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons
Best German Short Story
•"Nimrod" by Michael Iwoleit
•"Wiedergaenger" by Michael Marrak
•"Der Lockentenschnitzer von Beteigeuze XIV" by Horst Pukallus
•"Maskenhandlungen" by Malte S. Sembten
•"Wolf" by Michael Siefener
Best Original Anthology
•Das Proust-Syndrom, Wolfgang Jeschke, edit.
•Der Agnostische Saal 2, M. Marrak and M.S. Sembten, edit.
•H.P. Lovecrafts Bibliothek des Schreckens 1, Frank Festa, edit.
•Kontakte, Roman Sander, edit.
•Lichtjahr 7, Erik Simon, edit.
Best German Series
•Das Volk der Nacht
•Grusel-Schocker
•H.P. Lovecrafts Bibliothek des Schreckens
•Perry Rhodan
•Prof. Zamorra
Author of the Year
•Andreas Eschbach
•Werner K. Giesa
•Ronald M. Hahn
•Wolfgang Hohlbein
•J.K. Rowling
Best Translation
•Geschoepfe der Nacht by Dean Koontz, Uwe Anton tr.
•Harry Potter 3 by J.K. Rowling, Klaus Fritz tr.
•Qual by Greg Egan, Bernhard Kempen tr.
•Fluss aus blauem Feuer by T. Williams, H.U. Moehring tr.
•Studien der Todes by E. Count Stenbock, Michael Siefener tr.
Best Film
•The Matrix
•The Mummy
•eXistenZ
•Star Wars: Episode 1
•The Blair Witch Project
Best TV Series
•Buffy the Vampire Slayer
•Earth: Final Conflict
•Stargate SG-1
•Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
•Xena: Warrior Princess
Best Actress
•Gillian Anderson (The X-Files)
•Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
•Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix)
•Leni Parker (Earth: Final Conflict)
•Natalie Portman (Star Wars: Episode 1)
Best Actor
•Richard Dean Anderson (Stargate SG-1)
•David Boreanaz (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
•Avery Brooks (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
•Liam Neeson (Star Wars: Episode 1)
•Keanu Reeves (The Matrix)
Best German Web Site
•Andreas Eschbach site
•Bastei publisher's site
•Alien Contact magazine
•SF Radio.de
•Zaubermond publisher's site
Top Honor Award
•Fandom Observer (fanzine)
•Science Fiction Freundeskreis Leipzig e.V. (club)
•SF Radio.de (Web radio)
•The Matrix (film)
•Perry Rhodan Weltcon 2000 (convention)
Flop of the Year
•Area+49
•Mark Hellmann
•SF-Tage Trinity
•Star Wars: Episode 1
•Wild Wild West
La Femme Nikita Canceled
ast and crew members of the USA Network series La Femme Nikita told fans over the weekend of May 6 that the current season would be the show's last.
"I'm sure you've heard by now that we have been officially canceled," Alberta Watson (Madeleine) told fans on her official Web site message board.
Executive consultant Joel Surnow posted his own message to a fan Web site. "As our series sadly winds down, I'd like to thank you for being such an important part of the show," Surnow told fans. He added, "You let us know what rang true and what was false. You kept us honest. And for that I will always be grateful. Congratulations for your creative participation. It truly was a group effort ... and I can't emphasize enough how good it made us feel when we hit the target."
La Femme Nikita, starring Peta Wilson and Roy Dupuis, is finishing up its fourth season on USA. It is based on the 1990 French film of the same name. USA Network is a sister cable net of The SCI FI Channel.
No Alien/Predator For Cameron
ames Cameron's production company has denied rumors that the director is producing Aliens vs. Predator, a proposed feature film based on the Dark Horse comics series, according to Cinescape Online.
There is "no truth to any of that," Lightstorm president Rae Sanchini told Cinescape.
The rumors had suggested that John Bruno (visual effects supervisor on Cameron's True Lies) would direct the film, which would bring together characters from the two SF franchises. But Sanchini said none of it was true, "except that Jim is very fond of John Bruno ... they're old, old friends. We're currently not in discussions with John to do anything for us. Certainly not Alien vs. Predator, which we have no involvement in."
Briefly Noted
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MP3.com has posted music from Evan Chen's band Alien Ear, which was featured on the aborted television series Crusade, the sequel to Babylon 5. The music is described as "Euro-Asian jazz groove."
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David Twohy, who wrote and directed the surprise SF hit movie Pitch Black, is preparing a sequel that will again star Vin Diesel, according to Variety columnist Michael Fleming. The first film has grossed nearly $40 million so far.
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The Mummy Returns, Universal's sequel to last year's hit The Mummy, has been slated for a May 11, 2001, release, according to Zentertainment news.
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David Goyer, screenwriter of Blade and its upcoming sequel Blade II, told the Comics Continuum Web site that Mike Mignola, artist of the Marvel Comics series of the same name, might be involved with the new movie. Director Guillermo del Toro "would like to bring him on as a conceptual designer, but nothing's been arranged yet," Goyer said.
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20th Century Fox-based producers Arnold and Anne Kopelson have optioned Terry Brooks' best-selling fantasy novel Magic Kingdom for Sale--Sold for a feature film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Cinescape Online, citing a tipster from the Adrian Paul fan club, reported that Highlander: Endgame, the fourth feature-film installment of the popular franchise, will be released in October.
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The trailer for Jim Carrey's The Grinch, based the Dr. Seuss children's classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas, has gone up on the official Grinch movie Web site. The film opens in November.
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Vlad, a vampire feature film based on the novel Dracula, Prince of Many Faces, is coming from independent production company Larchmont Boulevard, according to Variety. Yabo Yablonsky is writing the script based on Radu Forescu and Raymond McNally's novel.
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OnStar and DC Comics have launched The Batman Challenge, part of the joint marketing of OnStar's car information service. The Batman Challenge is a series of three Web games designed to highlight OnStar's features.
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Hundreds of New Zealanders lined up for the chance to appear as extras in the Lord of the Rings films now shooting near Wellington, N.Z., according to The New Zealand Herald newspaper. Filmmakers held auditions during the weekend of May 6.
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Brad Bird, the animator who created 1999's The Iron Giant, has signed with Pixar studios to work on an unnamed film that the studio plans to release in 2004, according to Hollywood.com.
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Nicholas Vance, who appeared in Clive Barker's first two Hellraiser films, told the Dark Horizon Web site that he will begin work soon on interviews with other cast members for a DVD edition of the first Hellraiser movie. The DVD is planned for a 2001 release to commemorate the film's 15th anniversary.
- Director Ivan Reitman told Cinescape Online not to expect another sequel to Ghostbusters. It's "not going to happen," Reitman said. "For years we've been trying to work out a deal with the studio and the actors, and we can't even agree on one of the two."
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The SF thriller Frequency came in third place in the box-office rankings for the weekend of May 6. Frequency earned $6.5 million in its second week of release, for a total of $17.8 million.
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Director James Cameron is seeking rights to the Japanese manga title Battle Angel Alita, according to Cinescape Online. Rae Sanchini, president of Cameron's production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, told Cinescape that the director and his company were "in negotiations for all the rights, but we haven't made any decisions on talent."
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SF author Harry Harrison was recovering from quadruple bypass surgery on April 11, according to the SF newsletter Ansible. Harrison's daughter, Moira, reported next day that he was recovering well and expected to be "better than new," the newsletter said.
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Stephen King, making his first public appearance since a near-fatal car accident nearly a year ago, read from his short story "L.T.'s Theory of Pets" in a Manhattan night club, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The reading was part of The New Yorker Festival celebrating writers.
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Phoenix Pictures is developing Frozen, an SF thriller film based on a spec script by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film tells the story of a magician who can freeze time and continue to move through frozen space.
