Stewart: X-Men Not Done
atrick Stewart, who plays patriarch Prof. Charles Xavier in Fox's upcoming X-Men movie, told SCI FI Wire that he still hasn't seen the finished film yet.
"There's some last-minute work still going on," Stewart said in a telephone interview from New York. "Probably the editing process is completed, but there's probably still some fine-tuning."
The film premieres on July 14, the day after Stewart's 60th birthday, and director Bryan Singer has reportedly been under considerable pressure to complete the film in time for press screenings and the official New York City premiere the week of July 10. "I haven't seen the movie yet," Stewart said. "It's very difficult to assess ... exactly how it's going to look. I shall know much more when we see it. ... I've seen tiny portions of it. I think it looks very exciting, very cool and attractive, and it has quite an original quality about it."
Stewart added that he was confident the movie would satisfy fans of the comics series of the same name. "From having been in Star Trek for so many years, and having helped created a new version of Star Trek, I also know that people are very protective of the original work that first attracted them," Stewart said. "And some people don't want to see it change, [or] some people want an extension and development of it. It brings with it some problems too, because the expectation of course is based entirely on the comic book, and that's not what they're going to see. They're going to see something quite different."
Stewart said he's already committed to at least one sequel should X-Men please its audience. "[A franchise] will always depend on the quality of this film and of any future screenplays that there might be. [But] I find it an attractive prospect. Whether or not Bryan Singer were to be attached to another project, I find this ensemble of actors delightful to work with. It will be very interesting, if we have success with this film, to develop a sequence of films. [I'm committed to] one further film, if there is to be one."
Paquin Relates To Rogue
scar-winning actress Anna Paquin, who plays Rogue in Fox's upcoming X-Men movie, told Cinescape Online that she relates to her teen character.
"I doubt I would be alone if I said that teen-agers often feel isolated or different," said Paquin, who turns 18 shortly after X-Men's July 14 release date.
Paquin added, "Of course, this is an incredibly exaggerated situation, but I think feeling like you don't fit in or having moments where you feel different [are universal]."
Paquin--who won a 1993 Oscar for her role in The Piano--said she appreciated the chance to appear in X-Men, which is based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. "I wanted to do an action film. I thought that would be fun. And I've really lucked out because [X-Men isn't] just about action. There are a lot of opportunities to act, and the characters are well developed, so I can do both."
Jackman: Wolvie Is Restless
ugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine in Fox's upcoming X-Men movie, told the Comics Continuum that his character is a wandering guy.
"It's sort of very easy to say that he's kind of angry, but I think really what it is is that he has no peace in any way," Jackman said.
Jackman added, "There's no peace about him. So he's searching for so many things. This is kind of on a deep level. He's searching for a history; he's searching for a past. They are things I don't think anyone can really relate to. The guy's got no memory beyond from what we've decided is 15 years ago. And no one knows how long he's been around prior to that."
Jackman added that he sees humor in the role. "[Wolverine] enjoys, and this is probably why it's good to have an Australian in the role, bringing people down to what he thinks is an acceptable level. No one is too tall. No one's beyond a little bit of ribbing. As we say in Australia, 'If they're knocking you, that's a sign of affection.' I think Wolverine's got a little bit of that in him."
X-Men, which is based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, opens July 14.
Episode II Starts Filming
tar Wars: Episode II began filming June 26 in Australia, with the first shot centering on Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) on a blue-screen set, according to the official Star Wars Web site.
Shooting began three years to the day after the start of Episode I, the site added.
Director George Lucas told the site, "It's hard for me to remember if I'm still shooting Episode I, the special edition, the DVD or Episode II." The last comment suggested that Lucas has done work on a DVD version of the Star Wars films.
"The thrill for me today was seeing C-3PO reborn," editor Ben Burtt told the site. "I got to put the faceplate on Anthony Daniels. The character suddenly came alive."
Hales Talks Episode II
tar Wars: Episode II co-writer Jonathan Hales told the official Star Wars Homing Beacon newsletter that the film will add to the Star Wars saga, but not just in the form of new characters, aliens, droids and locales.
"It will add political complexity, but it will also add an interesting and a fascinating love story," he said.
Hales will travel soon to Australia to meet with director George Lucas, who is already filming there. "He and I will sit down, and he'll tell me what more thoughts he's had about the screenplay, and I will tidy that up," Hales said. "I shall only be there for a couple of weeks anyway. There's nothing more useless than a writer on a soundstage."
Hales added that he faces an exhilarating but daunting task. "My personal goal was to make it the best screenplay that ever was, so that it will be the best movie that ever was. You just do your very best. I tried to forget, in a way, that it was Star Wars, in a sense that I didn't want to think 'Oh my God, there is a world out there waiting to see this stuff.' I just tried to concentrate on it and what it was, and forget about that terrifying dimension that's out there."
Episode II Owen Cast
oel Edgerton has won the role of Owen Lars in Star Wars: Episode II, the official Star Wars Web site reported.
Edgerton will play the young version of the man who grows up to be Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen, played by Phil Brown in the original Star Wars film.
Edgerton has appeared on stage and in television and films, including Praise, Erskinville Kings, Dogwatch and Sample People.
Episode II Hires Oz, Kiwi Actors
everal unknown Australian and New Zealand actors will play roles in the upcoming movie Star Wars: Episode II, according to the official Star Wars Web site.
Production of the film begins in Australia next month.
The actors are Jay Laga'aia, Leeanna Walsman, Rose Byrne, Veronica Segura, David Bowers, Matthew Rowan and Daniel Logan.
•Jay Laga'aia has appeared in Xena: Warrior Princess as Draco, as well as in New Zealand and Australian television series. The 6-foot-1-inch actor will play a security officer in Episode II.
•Leeanna Walsman has appeared in the TV series Thunderstone and Heartbreak High. She will play a skilled bounty hunter in Episode II.
•Rose Byrne has played roles in the TV series Echo Point and Heartbreak High and in the film Two Hands and My Mother Frank. She'll play a handmaiden.
•Veronica Segura moved to Australia from the United States and has appeared in a number of independent films and the television mini-series Tribe. She will also play a handmaiden.
•David Bowers served with the Australian Special Air Service and has played roles in several Australian television series, as well as the first episode of The SCI FI Channel original series Farscape. In Episode II, he will portray a high-ranking Senate official.
•Matthew Rowan has appeared on stage in several plays. The 6-foot-4-inch actor will play an indulgent politician.
•Daniel Logan is only 13, but he's a veteran of TV commercials and has appeared on television in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Shortland Street. He also played the lead in the short film Falling Sparrows. He plays a mysterious youth in Episode II.
Australian actor Joel Edgerton also won a role in Episode II, but producers provided no information about him for now.
Stewart: 10th Trek Film A Go
atrick Stewart confirmed that a 10th Star Trek movie is in the works and will feature the crew of The Next Generation.
"The story's being developed, yes ... and my character [Capt. Jean-Luc Picard] is in the story. ... Conversations [with Trek producer Rick Berman] are ongoing," Stewart told SCI FI Wire.
Stewart added, "A director has not been selected. ... We're really at the very earliest stages of creating a possible story for this film, and perhaps in a couple of months ... I will have more to say."
As for rumors that Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon might be asked to write a draft, Stewart said, "No, not as far as I'm aware."
Whedon To Buff Up Trek?
he Planet Riker Fan Web site reported a rumor that Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon was in line to write a script for the proposed 10th Star Trek film.
The site said Star Trek honcho Rick Berman had talked with Whedon about writing a draft of the as-yet untitled sequel.
Whedon co-wrote the screenplay for Titan A.E., got screenwriting credit for Alien Resurrection and did a rewrite of Fox's upcoming X-Men, which ended up being tossed out.
New Trek To Begin
tar Trek: Voyager executive producer Rick Berman told the official Star Trek Communicator magazine that he will start the pilot script for the next Trek television series soon.
In an interview reported by the TrekWeb site, Berman said that his partner Brannon Braga and he "are right now actively working on the story for the pilot episode, which we hope to be writing soon."
Berman added, "We'll be discussing the pilot episode story with the studio shortly, and we hope to be starting on the screenplay within the next four to six weeks. We are extremely excited about the story idea--this is really a unique and fresh approach to Star Trek."
Berman offered few details of the new series concept, saying only, "The concept for this new show is a somewhat dramatic departure from previous Star Trek series. But it is a show that will be both fresh and unique, while at the same time being Star Trek to the core."
Berman added, "It is a show that takes place on a Starfleet vessel, but at the same time a rather dramatic departure from the previous three Star Trek shows. I believe it will be more Star Trek than anything since The Next Generation and, perhaps, anything since the original series in terms of its principles and its tone and style." He added that the series would center on seven major characters. The new series is aiming at a fall 2001 launch date, after Voyager wraps its final season.
As for the next Star Trek feature film, Berman said, "We have now completed our story for the film; we have submitted it to the studio, and we are waiting for a go-ahead to go to script. The story line revolves around the Next Generation crew. ... We've never done a film that I wouldn't say to you at this stage, 'This is going to be the biggest and the best.' And there is no difference with this one. We have a writer who has never done Star Trek before and has an extremely fresh approach to this. We are dealing with a story that is extremely poignant in ways that I wish I could tell you. It is a story that will focus around a remarkable villain, and is a very action-oriented space film. A lot higher percentage of this film will take place in outer space than in our previous films. It is tentatively scheduled for Thanksgiving of 2001."
Starship 2 Released
imon & Schuster Interactive has released Starship Creator: Warp 2, a PC game set in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine universe.
The follow-up to Starship Creator Deluxe, Warp 2 allows gamers to build their own starships and fly them in one of 34 scenarios or create scenes for their own Trek "episodes."
Gamers will also be able to import their ships into another game, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Dominion Wars. Warp 2 retails for $29.95.
Mulgrew: Bring It Home
ate Mulgrew (Capt. Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager) told the British TV Zone magazine that she wants Voyager to return to Earth early in its last season, according to the TrekToday Web site.
"And I would say the sooner, the better," Mulgrew said.
"I would try and do a full season in Federation space, as there are so many problems," Mulgrew added. "The Maquis are criminals. Tom Paris is supposed to be in jail. Seven-of-Nine is a Borg. It's an endless thing. What happens?"
Mulgrew herself will head back to the legitimate stage once the show is over at the end of next season.
Potter IV Includes Death
uthor J.K. Rowling told the London Times that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the much-anticipated fourth volume of the popular children's novel series, comprises 640 pages and features the death of a key character, according to the Reuters news service.
Rowling would not name the character. "If it is done right, I think it will be upsetting, but it is not going to be damaging,'' Rowling told the Times.
Rowling also denied reports that she clashed with director Steven Spielberg over the film adaptation of her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. "Did I have a fight with him? No, I definitely did not," she said. "There were things he said that I didn't agree with and things he said that I did agree with." The film is going ahead with director Chris Columbus at the helm.
NBC, Pax Get Mysterious
he paranormal drama Mysterious Ways will air on both the Pax cable network and NBC, starting this summer.
NBC will debut the first seven episodes of the series on July 24 and air them on Mondays at 8 p.m. The show will then run on Pax, starting on Aug. 22 and airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
NBC initially developed Mysterious Ways three years ago. Pax picked up the show as a series. NBC decided to air a limited run of the shows after viewing the first two episodes. Mysterious Ways stars Adrian Pasdar and Rae Dawn Chong as an anthropologist and a psychiatrist who investigate paranormal events.
Fox To Produce O.Z.
ox Broadcasting Co. will produce a hip-hop musical version of The Wizard of Oz next year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The O.Z. will star Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes, Little Richard, Patti LaBelle and rapper Ginuwine, the trade paper reported.
O.Z. will update Dorothy as a successful but lonely hip-hop music producer in Los Angeles who is transported by a massive earthquake to a strange land called the Big O.Z. Fox is seeking a writer and musicians to compose original music and songs for the production.
D&D Film Is Done
ungeons & Dragons director Courtney Solomon told the DragonCon in Atlanta that the movie is done and could premiere as early as November or December, according to Cinescape Online.
But the movie, based on the Wizards of the Coast role-playing game series of the same name, could be delayed until Memorial Day 2001.
"This is a big debate all over the place," Solomon said at a press conference in Atlanta. "It'll be in about two weeks when we start deciding which distributor it's going to be, and [we're] speaking to all the domestic distributors. We've had offers already; it's just a question of who's going to get behind the film at this stage of the game. Warner Bros. gets first dibs on it, obviously, because of [executive producer] Joel Silver and his relationship there."
Solomon added that he already has ideas for sequels. "One thing I always loved about Star Wars was that the characters progressed through the first three movies, and there was a final end to it. I set up outlines for three up front, and so you're looking at the first, the introduction of the world. In the second, the same characters progress, and new characters are introduced, and in the third, it'll all end up however it ends up. I want to make sure that if we do sequels, they'll be as good as or better than the first one."
Blade 2 On Track
riter David Goyer told the Comics Continuum Web site that Blade 2, the sequel to Wesley Snipes' 1998 film Blade, could start by summer's end.
"Blade 2 is just finishing up being budgeted," Goyer said. "If all goes well, we will begin pre-production in August."
Guillermo del Toro (Mimic) will direct the sequel for New Line Pictures. Blade is based on the Marvel Comics series Blade the Vampire Hunter.
Goyer also said he's writing the feature film version of Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider series for Crystal Sky Entertainment. "Ghost Rider is still in the discussion stages," Goyer said. "We'll see what happens."
Fox To Air Escaflowne
andai Entertainment announced that its acclaimed Escaflowne anime series will air on the Fox Kids Network this fall.
In October, Bandai will also market home video versions of Escaflowne.
Escaflowne will come on a bilingual DVD and a dubbed and subtitled VHS series at retailers and online.
Escaflowne tells the story of a high school girl's dream--a young man battling a dragon--becoming reality. A warrior drops out of the sky and transports her via a pillar of light to his planet, Gaea, where she finds herself in the middle of a battle against an evil empire.
Superman Lives?
! Online reported that the on-again, off-again fifth Superman movie may not be entirely dead.
Warner Bros. may be moving forward with the project, even though one-time star Nicolas Cage has opted not to put on the superhero's blue tights, the site reported.
The project, which once had director Tim Burton and writer Kevin Smith attached, has gone through several scripts over the last four years. The latest overhaul, by William Wisher (the Terminator movies), may make the studio happy, E! Online reported. Ralph Zondag (Dinosaur) is now reportedly in line to direct. The film would be based on the DC Comics series Superman Lives.
Star Wars Game Mag Due
izards of the Coast and LucasBooks will publish a new, full-color magazine, Star Wars Game Force, to cover games related to the film franchise.
The magazine will cover the entire spectrum of Star Wars products, including the upcoming Star Wars role-playing games, the companies announced.
The magazine's first issue will appear in November in conjunction with the release of the Star Wars Adventure Game. Star Wars Game Force will come out bi-monthly. The magazine will provide information on how to play the new games, technical schematics and other game-related content, and new Star Wars fiction.
Reitman To Evolve
van Reitman (Road Trip) will direct the SF comedy movie Evolution for DreamWorks, according to the Hollywood trade papers.
The film will tell the story of the accelerated evolution that results from a meteor strike on the Earth.
Don Jakoby (Arachnophobia) and the team of David Diamond and David Weissman (Family Man) wrote the script. Special effects maven Phil Tippett (Jurassic Park and Starship Troopers) will create the effects. The film is slated to go before cameras in the fall.
Seven Potters Due?
he Teletext Big Screen U.K. Web site reported that J.K. Rowling is contracted to write a total of seven Harry Potter children's novels, with each slated for eventual production as a feature film.
The much-anticipated fourth novel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, debuts July 8.
The first movie, based on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is already in pre-production under director Chris Columbus. But officials have declined filmmakers the use of Canterbury Cathedral as the location of Potter's Hogwart's School for Wizardry, the site reported. The church reportedly didn't want to be associated with the film's "pagan" theme.
Jacket Green-Lighted
teven Soderbergh and George Clooney will produce the supernatural thriller movie The Jacket, according to the Hollywood trade papers.
Soderbergh and Clooney will produce the film under their Section Eight production banner for Mandalay Entertainment.
Mark Rocco will direct Jacket from his own script. The project is being eyed for a fall start. The Jacket tells the story of a wrongly imprisoned Vietnam vet who learns how to use his mind to travel through time.
Oldman To Go Ape?
ary Oldman (Hannibal) may join Mark Wahlberg in Tim Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Oldman would play the ape head of the anti-human senate, the trade paper reported.
William Broyles Jr. (Apollo 13) is writing the script of the film, which is described as less a remake as a "re-imagining" of the original 1968 movie. Wahlberg will take on the role originated by Charlton Heston, an astronaut who finds himself on a planet populated by talking monkeys.
Diablo II Ships At Last
iablo II, the much-anticipated follow-up to 1997's role-playing game Diablo, will hit store shelves this week, Blizzard Entertainment announced.
Blizzard will ship an initial order of 2 million copies of the real-time action role-playing game, which is available for the PC platform. A Mac version will ship in the third quarter of the year.
Diablo II returns players to the dark world plagued by evil forces. After possessing the body of the hero who defeated him, Diablo resumes his scheme to shackle humanity into slavery by joining forces with the other Prime Evils, Mephisto and Baal. Players face a new series of quests to rid the world of Diablo and his brethren forever. With nearly 25 minutes of motion-picture quality cinematics and a 70-minute original score, Diablo II features five new character classes: amazon, paladin, barbarian, sorceress and necromancer. The game also features a randomly generated world and more than 20 quests.
The original Diablo debuted as the No. 1 selling game in 1997. The original game has sold 2 million copies worldwide.
Larson: Francisville's Real
yan Larson, who plays herself in Trimark's upcoming supernatural horror film The St. Francisville Experiment, told SCI FI Wire that what you'll see is real.
The movie, slated to open in September, purports to be the record of a night Larson and three associates spent in a haunted house in Louisiana last fall.
But don't mention that witch movie to Larson. "I've never seen it," she said. "I really, honestly hate scary movies. I never see scary movies. The Blair Witch Project was scripted; it was based on a fake story. That's the difference. These things really happened."
Larson, 24, plays a history student who joins three companions--a film student, a psychic and a "ghost hunter"--for a night in a house supposedly owned by Delphine Lalaurie, a 19th-century slave owner whose treatment of her charges made Hannibal Lecter look like Mr. Rogers. Armed with three cameras, the four people set out to investigate reports that the Lalaurie house is haunted by the spirits of the tortured slaves. Larson said the movie is like a combination of The X-Files, The Real World and Scooby-Doo.
According to Larson, there was no script and no director. And some supernatural stuff happens, which she claims wasn't staged. "Without giving away the movie, a lot of unexplainable, very frightening, very scary things happened that night," she said. "You're going to see a lot of things unfold in this house that I have no explanation for. This was not scripted. We went into this haunted house ... not knowing what to expect."
Another difference with that witch movie? Larson and her three companions came out of the experience alive and well. So does she believe in ghosts now? "That's a tough question," she said. "I was the skeptic going in. ... I'm a minister's child, and I was always told those things don't exist. ... Coming out, I still have no explanation for the things that happened. I still hold back from saying what they were, because I honestly don't know, but still, I can't explain them."
Life To Be Adapted
owell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel will adapt the Japanese fantasy movie After Life for a remake for Fox, Variety reported.
Hirokazu Koreeda wrote and directed the original film.
After Life tells the story of an afterlife way station where souls must decide what memory to take with them into eternity.
T3 Draft Won Arnold Over
riter Tedi Serafian told Variety columnist Michael Fleming that it was his draft of the proposed Terminator 3 that wooed Arnold Schwarzenegger back into the fold.
"It was pretty shocking, because it was my first draft," Serafian told Fleming. "He read it, we sat down, he said how much he liked it and gave me some notes, and then he said yes."
Schwarzenegger had been saying he wouldn't sign on to the proposed third installment in the popular film franchise unless Terminator creator James Cameron were on board to direct. But Schwarzenegger later said he would return to star, with or without Cameron.
Serafian said he wrote the sequel with hopes that Schwarzenegger would be back. "Even though Arnold had said publicly that he would not be involved without Cameron, I wrote it half for him, while leaving open the possibility it would not be him. He asked, 'Where were the one-liners?' and I said, 'They would only work if you said them, and they'll be back in the next draft.'"
SCI FI Mulls Battlestar
onnie Hammer, executive vice president and general manager of The SCI FI Channel, confirmed that the cable network might produce new episodes of Battlestar Galactica and The Others.
In a June 22 chat on SCIFI.COM, Hammer said that a new version of the 1970s SF cult series Battlestar "is something that we have thought of and continue to think of."
Hammer added, "We have actually started some preliminary conversations; however, we never know where they are going to go. So I don't want to start any false hopes out there. However, it is definitely something we are looking into."
In response to fan questions, Hammer also said SCI FI was mulling whether to pick up production of NBC's recently canceled paranormal drama The Others. "Again, this is another conversation we have had and continue to have with DreamWorks [the studio that produced the series for NBC]. We happen to like the series very much. And we are trying to see if there is an affordable way that we could do this. It is a very good series and a very expensive series. So we just [need] to see if it can be done for the dollars that we can afford, without in any way diminishing the quality of the show."
But Hammer said it was a long shot that SCI FI would produce new episodes of Fox's canceled Space: Above and Beyond, the SF series that was created by The Others executive producers James Wong and Glen Morgan. "[It's] not likely, but never say never!" Hammer said. "We've learned that before." SCI FI will run existing episodes of Space at some point, she added.
Hugo Stories On Web
lexandria Digital Literature has posted 11 Hugo Award-nominated SF short stories, novellas and novelettes to its Web site.
Registered members of WorldCon may read the stories free.
The general public may purchase the stories for download, either individually or as an anthology, to the PC, hand-held devices and e-book readers, the company announced.
The stories available from AlexLit include "macs" by Terry Bisson, "Fossil Games" by Tom Purdom, "The Winds of Marble Arch" by Connie Willis, "Hunting the Snark" by Mike Resnick, "Sarajevo" by Nicholas A. DiChario, "Hothouse Flowers" by Mike Resnick, "Scherzo with Tyrannosaur" by Michael Swanwick, "The Secret History of the Ornithopter" by Jan Lars Jensen, "The Chop Girl" by Ian R. MacLeod, "The Astronaut from Wyoming" by Adam-Troy Castro and Jerry Oltion, and "Ancient Engines" by Michael Swanwick.
Trekkie Shops TV Show
ongtime Star Trek fan Deborah Warner has turned her passion into writing and is shopping her idea for an SF series, Privateers, to Tribune Entertainment and Showtime.
With the help of her husband, Jon Cunningham, Warner has written the script for a two-hour pilot and enlisted the support of Trek alumnus Walter Koenig and onetime Xena: Warrior Princess player Karl Urban.
Both actors appear in a 25-minute promotional trailer that Warner is showing at conventions and on her official Web site. Urban plays Aran Dravyk, a pirate captain in the distant future and the sole survivor of an assassinated noble family who finds himself torn between the affections of a princess and a pirate queen. Warner hopes to sell the show into syndication, but no deals have been signed yet.
Warner talked about her hobby writing erotic Trek fan fiction in the Paramount documentary Trekkies.
--Reported by Noelle Hay
Wahlberg Signs For Apes
ark Wahlberg (The Perfect Storm) will star in Tim Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Wahlberg also agreed to appear in any sequel.
Wahlberg will play the role made famous by Charlton Heston in the original 1968 movie. Earlier, Matt Damon had been rumored to be in line for the role.
Burton will direct the film, which is slated to go before the cameras this fall. Fox is producing the film for a July 4, 2001, release. Oscar-winner Rick Baker will provide the special-effects makeup, the trade paper reported.
Neill To Star In JP3
he Hollywood trade papers confirmed rumors that Sam Neill has signed on to Jurassic Park 3, reprising the role of Dr. Alan Grant from 1993's Jurassic Park.
Alessandro Nivola (Face/Off) is also reportedly in talks to appear in Jurassic 3. Nivola would play a graduate student, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Shooting on the third installment of the dinosaur film franchise is set to begin in late July or early August, with a July 2001 release date, the trades reported. Most of the film's 18-week shoot will take place in California, with three weeks in Hawaii, Variety reported. Joe Johnston (Jumanji) will direct the Universal picture for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment production company.
Back To Robo Basics
ulian Grant, creator of the upcoming RoboCop: Prime Directives television movie series, told the SFX Web site he started from scratch to reinvent the franchise.
"We started off using the original [1987 Paul Verhoeven] film as inspiration and ignored everything else," Grant said.
Grant added, "Robo: PD is a unique four-part movie series that covers Alex Murphy from his origin days to where he is now, ten years later." Writers Joseph O'Brien and Brad Abrahams explore the psyche of the robotic lawman, played by Page Fletcher, Grant said. "All of what was written was filmed!" he said. "I am thrilled. It is dark, bloody, funny, brutal, scary and genuinely touching. People will not forget this Robo."
RoboCop: Prime Directives will air on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom (no date yet) and on the Space Channel in Canada in September, Grant said. No U.S. air date or channel has been set yet.
Wyle Co-Stars In Darko
oah Wyle (ER) will co-star with Jake Gyllenhaal in the fantasy thriller film Donnie Darko, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Wyle will play a high school physics teacher to Gyllenhaal's disturbed teen-ager, the trade paper reported.
Darko will combine science fiction and fantasy elements with teen-age romance. First-time director Richard Kelly will write and helm the movie for Drew Barrymore's Flower Films. Barrymore, who will executive produce, will also play a small role as an English teacher.
Expect Freddy Vs. Jason
obert Englund, who played Freddy Krueger in seven Nightmare on Elm Street movies, confirms a project that would pit Freddy against Friday the 13th villain Jason.
Englund told the Popcorn U.K. Web site that Freddy vs. Jason is "still a go. [New Line president] Michael De Luca just wants to get it perfect. This is a movie with a lot of fans and seven prequels, and he wants to get it right."
Englund added that Guillermo Del Toro is no longer on board to direct the film. Blade director Stephen Norrington will write the script and helm the proposed movie, Englund said. "I'm really hoping ... that they have a dream sequence in Jason's mind--a Jason nightmare--because that's the only way Freddy could ever vanquish him anyway," he added. "It would be a great Freudian, psycho, sicko dreamscape to go inside Jason's head and see what goes on when he's dreaming and maybe show what led Jason to become the evil that he is."
SCI FI Revives Series
he SCI FI Channel will air reruns of The New Fantasy Island, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven and Highlander: The Raven starting next month.
Fantasy Island begins July 11; both The Crow and Raven start July 23.
SCI FI bought the rights to 13 episodes of Fantasy Island, an update of the 1970s television series. The network bought the rights to 22 episodes of The Crow, based on James O'Barr's comic series The Crow. SCI FI also bought the rights to 22 episodes of Raven, based on the Highlander series of movies.
SCI FI Sets Records
he SCI FI Channel broke ratings records as it embarked on a summer of no-rerun programming, the cable network announced.
SCI FI was one of only six cable networks out of the top 20 to post ratings gains in the second quarter of 2000.
SCI FI's 0.8 rating average in prime time set a second-quarter record, a 14 percent improvement over the comparable quarter in 1999. SCI FI also set an all-time record for second-quarter average household delivery, with 501,000 households, a 23 percent improvement over '99.
In June, SCI FI drew an average prime-time household audience of 573,000, a record for the month. The June 9 premiere of The Invisible Man delivered the largest audience ever to the channel: 1,534,000 households and a 2.4 rating.
Pioneer Signs Bandai Deal
ioneer Entertainment has signed an exclusive deal with Bandai Entertainment (Gundam, Cowboy Bebop) to distribute Bandai's anime titles.
On the heels of Pioneer's similar deal with Viz Communications (Pokemon), Pioneer now calls itself the largest anime distributor in the United States.
Pioneer plans to release about five titles a month, including its own titles and those of Bandai and Viz.
WB Preps Nightcrawlers
arner Bros. will develop Nightcrawlers, an animated feature film about a coalition of children who investigate monsters, Variety reported.
Brian Lynch (The Next Muppet Movie) wrote the script for the computer-animated movie.
Chris Bender and J.C. Spink will produce the picture under their Bender/Spink production banner, the trade paper reported.
Earth Goes Digital
ene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict will shoot on the same digital video cameras George Lucas will use on Star Wars: Episode II, Variety reported.
Earth becomes the first television series to make use of the 24-frame-per-second CineAlta video cameras, developed by Sony and Panavision for Lucas, the trade paper reported.
The syndicated TV series, produced by Alliance Atlantis with Tribune Entertainment and Roddenberry Kirschner Productions, began shooting the first of 22 episodes of the show's fourth season in Toronto last month, Variety reported.
The Sony HDW-F900 cameras, which produce 35mm film-like images on digital 24-frame progressive high-definition video, will cut production costs and speed up the editing process, producers told the paper. Lucas is using six of the $100,000 cameras for Episode II.
Hollywood Discovers Asimov
ox has optioned the late SF author Isaac Asimov's epic Foundation series of novels for the movies, Variety columnist Michael Fleming reported.
Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) will direct a film based on the series, Fleming reported. The Foundation series is set thousands of years in the future during the waning centuries of a vast Galactic Empire.
The Foundation movie is only one of several Asimov film projects in the works. Warner Bros. will adapt Asimov's story "The Ugly Little Boy," a time-travel drama about a nurse who cares for a Neanderthal boy. Denise DiNovi and Demi Moore will produce the film, which will star Moore.
Paramount wants Total Recall co-writer Gary Goldman to adapt Asimov's End of Eternity, an SF romance, for director Ridley Scott (Gladiator). Sony Pictures Family Entertainment will make an animated film based on Asimov's Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot series of children's novels, with Asimov's wife, Janet, acting as creative consultant.
Fox Exits Animation
n the heels of Titan A.E.'s disappointing box-office performance, Fox will close its 2-D animation studios, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Phoenix-based 20th Century Fox Animation Studio was run by Titan A.E. director/producers Don Bluth and Gary Goldman.
Titan A.E., an SF epic voiced by Matt Damon and Drew Barrymore, was the third animated film from the studio, which was formed to make traditional 2-D animated movies. Titan A.E. has earned only $16.8 million after two weeks of release.
Fox will continue to make computer-animated films out of its Blue Sky Studio in New York.
Mulder To Vanish
avid Duchovny will appear in the first two episodes of The X-Files eighth season, then vanish until late in the year, William B. Davis (the cigarette-smoking man) told the Hollywood Expo in Texas.
Davis, whose character died at the end of season seven, added that he is not under contract for season eight, according to the Gillian & David News Web site.
Casting goes on, meanwhile, for a new partner for Agent Dana Scully, played by Gillian Anderson, according to Fandom's X-Files site. Casting requests seek a male ex-cop in his 30s to 40s, a blue-collar kind of guy who gets recruited into the FBI. Shooting is scheduled to begin for the new character on July 25.
Meanwhile, Dean Haglund--who will play Langly in Fox's upcoming X-Files spinoff, The Lone Gunmen--said he is also seeking home video for another show he's working on. Speaking on his official Web site, Haglund said he wants footage for a non-fiction show that looks at conspiracies around the world. "If it is really cool and intriguing, then we will come out and do an in-depth story on the case that will be hosted by yours truly."
Arnold Mellows Out
rnold Schwarzenegger told Cinescape Online that he's eager for mellower roles.
"Fifteen years ago, I was looking forward to how big the explosions were, how big the action was, how many people do you wipe out," the actor said from the set of his upcoming cloning thriller, The 6th Day.
"Then I was 35," Schwarzenegger added. "Now I'm over 50, and you think differently. There are other elements of the story and of character, and all this becomes more important. I think it has to do with growing up, I guess."
In The 6th Day, which is due in theaters this November, Schwarzenegger plays "an ordinary guy," he said. "Although he's a very physical guy, a very daring guy, it's not like his job is to be a CIA agent and get into those situations like in True Lies, where he is a spy. And I think that's what makes him quite sympathetic."
Will Neeson Fight Spidey?
iam Neeson (Star Wars: Episode I) is rumored to be in line to play a villain in Sony's upcoming Spider-Man movie, according to the Spider-Man Hype! Web site.
Neeson is reportedly considering playing the Green Goblin, the site reported.
Spider-Man, to be directed by Sam Raimi, is based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name.
Previous rumors say that Neeson will appear in Star Wars: Episode II, though his Episode I character, Qui-Gon Jinn, died at the end of that film.
Prinze Passes On Buffy
reddie Prinze Jr. may be dating Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar, but don't expect him to appear on The WB's hit series.
"I'm not joining Buffy next season as her TV boyfriend," Prinze told Cinescape Online.
Prinze added, "I don't have the attention span to play the same character for all those months." In response to another rumor, he said, "And no, we're not cutting an album together. That rumor made us laugh."
Expect More Rising Stars
abylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski told fans to expect more B5 stories under his own imprint from Top Cow comics.
"I'm doing the Rising Stars books from Top Cow, which are in the top 20 of comics, which is great ... to the point that TC has offered me my own imprint," Straczynski said in a SCIFI.COM chat on June 21. "So starting in September, the first issue of my imprint will be out. The comic title is Midnight Nation, and the imprint of the title overall is JOE'S COMICS."
Straczynski added, "In addition to that, we're in the process of selling the Rising Stars film rights, and there are some TV/film related projects that are in the early stages, but not yet nailed down to a point where I can talk about them. But expect some info in the next few weeks."
Straczynski also created City of Dreams, an anthology of original audio dramas for SCIFI.COM's Seeing Ear Theatre, which premieres July 10.
Hitchhiker Was Tough Sell
ouglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, told the Slashdot.org Web site that Hollywood hasn't always got the humor of his SF satire.
"I've hit a certain amount of difficulty over the years in explaining this in Hollywood," said Adams, who recently completed the latest draft of a screenplay for a proposed movie version of his book.
Adams added, "I'm often asked, 'Yes, but what are [protagonist Arthur Dent's] goals?' To which I can only respond, 'Well, I think he'd just like all this to stop, really.' It's been a hard sell. I rather miss David Vogel from the film process. He's the studio executive at Disney who was in charge of the project for a while, but has since departed. There was a big meeting at one time to discuss, amongst other things, Arthur's heroicness or lack of it. David suddenly asked me, 'Does Arthur's presence in the proceedings make a difference to the way things turn out?' To which I said, slightly puzzled, 'Well, yes.' David smiled and said, 'Good. Then he's a hero.'"
But Adams said he's pleased with how the current draft has come out. "In the current, latest version of the screenplay, I think that Arthur's non-heroic heroism is now absolutely preserved, and I'm pleased with the way he works out."
Buscemi Up For T3?
teve Buscemi (Con Air) has been approached to play a role in the upcoming Terminator 3, the London Times reported.
Buscemi, who is best known for quirky roles in independent films such as Fargo, would have a leading role opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has indicated in recent days that he's open to reprising his most famous role as the killer cyborg.
Buscemi is reportedly interested in the movie only if Schwarzenegger stars, according to the Dark Horizons Web site. T3 will be the third installment of the popular movie franchise that started with James Cameron's 1984 sleeper Terminator.
Buscemi will star in "The Damned Are Playing At Godzilla's Tonight," the first episode of J. Michael Straczynski's City of Dreams audio series, which will premiere July 10 on SCIFI.COM's Seeing Ear Theatre.
Nikita Fans Press Campaign
ans lobbying to save the USA Networks series La Femme Nikita claim to have mailed more than 6,400 letters to USA and Nikita producer Warner Bros.
The fans also say they have sent more than 3,200 faxes and nearly 3,900 e-mails arguing against the cancellation of the popular series.
As part of their campaign to save the four-year-old show, fans have been mailing in TV remote controls, sunglasses and, in some cases, old television sets and video cassette recorders, according to the fans' Save La Femme Nikita Campaign 2000 Web site. USA has said it canceled the series, which stars Roy Dupuis and Peta Wilson, because of a contract dispute with Warner. New episodes of Nikita began airing June 25, with the final episode scheduled for Aug. 27.
USA is owned by USA Networks, which also owns SCIFI.COM and The SCI FI Channel.
Space '99 Fans To Meet
ast and crew members of the 1970s cult SF TV series Space: 1999 will appear at MainMission:2000, a convention commemorating the series' 25th anniversary.
MainMission: 2000 will take place Sept. 1 to 3 in New York City.
Guests will include Prentis Hancock (Main Mission Controller Paul Morrow), John Hug (Eagle pilot/Reconnaissance Operative), Zienia Merton (Data Analyst Sandra Benes), Barry Morse (Professor Victor Bergman), Alibe Parsons (Communications Officer Alibe), Anton Phillips (Dr. Bob Mathias), Suzanne Roquette (Main Mission Operative Tanya Alexander), Catherine Schell (Alien Psychon Science Officer Maya) and Nick Tate (Chief Eagle Pilot/Reconnaissance Chief Alan Carter).
Expo Hosts SF TV
reators of television and movie science fiction will discuss their vision at the 112th annual meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific next month in Pasadena, Calif.
The Universe 2000 Expo takes place July 13 to 19 at the Pasadena Convention Center.
On July 16, a panel entitled "Visioning the Future" will convene to examine how science figures into the creation of SF. Speakers will include Andre Bormanis, science consultant on Star Trek: Voyager; Brannon Braga, Voyager executive producer; Syd Mead, production designer for Blade Runner; and Frank Spotnitz, executive producer of The X-Files.
Lain Sequel Planned
ioneer plans to produce a sequel to the popular 13-episode television series Serial Experiments Lain, executive producer Hideki Goto told SCIFI.COM's Anime Colony.
Pioneer will produce the sequel on its own, added Goto, who is also a Pioneer vice president of animation.
Lain was a joint production between Pioneer and Genco productions. More information will follow.
Chicken Hatches Well
hicken Run escaped with $17.5 million in its opening weekend, taking the No. 2 slot in the box-office rankings for the weekend of June 23, according to the Hollywood trade papers.
The healthy premiere marked the biggest animated film opening for DreamWorks, which released it.
In only its second week of release, however, the animated SF epic Titan A.E. imploded, bringing in just $3.7 million to rank No. 8. The Fox movie's total take so far is an anemic $16.8 million.
Mission: Impossible 2 remains strong at No. 6, with $8 million in earnings for the weekend and a total so far of $189.3 million. Disney's Dinosaur ranked ninth with $3.5 million in weekend ticket sales and a total of $127 million.
Briefly Noted
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Dick Maas will direct The Elevator, an English-language remake of Maas' 1983 supernatural Dutch movie De Lift, Variety reported. The movie tells the story of an elevator that takes on a horrific life of its own.
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John Hughes (Sixteen Candles) will produce, write and direct an as-yet untitled "Cinderella in Chicago" movie, Variety reported. The film is slated for a Christmas 2001 release for Columbia Pictures.
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Fox's upcoming SF series Fearsum will change its name to Freakylinks, according to the Zap2It Web site. The series, which stars Ethan Embry, debuts in the fall.
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G-Men from Hell, a movie based on Mike Allred's comic series of the same name, will screen at the Comic-Con International in San Diego July 22, producer Rick Albert told the Comics2Film Web site. The film will unspool at 9:30 a.m. at the Pacific Theater.
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Animator Will Vinton (The PJs) has produced an animated fantasy short, Mr. Resistor, for Netcaster Z.com. Mark Gustafson created and directed the short.
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Rolfe Kanefsky will write and direct Pretty Cool, a teen fantasy comedy about a high school senior who can read minds, Variety reported. Alexis Thorpe, Summer Altice, Cecilia Berqvist and Amy Brassette will star.
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The news.com.au Web site reported that Anthony Hopkins is in talks to appear in the feature film version of Stephen King's supernatural short story "Hearts of Atlantis." Hopkins will play a mysterious old man who befriends a boy.
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Rocker Rob Zombie has posted the trailer to his upcoming horror movie and directorial debut, House of 1,000 Corpses, to the movie's official Web site.
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The German newspaper Die Welt reported that Steven Spielberg will delay production of A.I., his upcoming SF epic, to August because of his overcrowded schedule, according to the Empire Online Web site.
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In response to a report in Variety, a Lucasfilm spokesperson told the IGN MovieHeadlines Web site that M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) is only one of several writers vying for the job of scripting the fourth Indiana Jones movie, and that no deal has been made.
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French game developer Kalisto has licensed the rights to the Highlander film series for an online multiplayer game, FGN reported.
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Pioneer plans to produce a sequel to its popular anime release Armitage III, Pioneer's vice president of animation, Hideki Goto, said.
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Angel's David Boreanaz will star with Denise Richards and Marley Shelton in Valentine, a thriller movie from Warner Bros., according to The Hollywood Reporter. The project, slated to begin shooting July 10 in Vancouver, will be directed by Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend) and is targeted for a Valentine's Day release.
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Cinescape Online reported that Godzilla will get a major overhaul in the Japanese production Godzilla vs. Megaguiras, the next film in the long-standing movie series, according to Aaron Smith's Godzilla: Monster Zero Web site.
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Michael Kamen's original score for Fox's upcoming X-Men movie will come out on CD July 11, instead of July 4 as originally planned, according to Fandom's X-Fan Web site.
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J. August Richards, who appeared occasionally as a vampire on The WB's series Angel, has signed on as a regular for next season, Variety reported.
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The Dark Horizons Web site reported that representatives have denied a London Times report that Steve Buscemi would appear in Terminator 3, the next installment in the popular Terminator film franchise.
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The New Zealand Dominion newspaper reported that police charged a 36-year-old local man with money laundering and theft for allegedly stealing film footage from the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, according to the Dark Horizons Web site. Filmmakers have reportedly beefed up security on the Rings set as a result of the incident.
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Dark Commandos: Empires Fall, a live-action vampire series, will premiere exclusively on the Internet later this year, the Dark Horizons Web site reported.
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Revolution Studios chairman Joe Roth and former Artisan Entertainment marketing executive John Hegeman have launched DistantCorners, a science fiction, fantasy and horror Web site featuring original animation, streaming video, games, news, memorabilia offerings and community environments, Variety reported.
