New Trek Details Revealed?
than Phillips (Neelix on Star Trek: Voyager) revealed details of the next Trek series to the TrekWeb fan site.
Phillips said the new series would be set about 100 years before the era of the original Trek series, which would appear to confirm rumors that the show would concern the birth of the Federation, the site reported. Phillips added that the cast would consist of three men and two women.
As for Voyager's last season, Phillips said that executive producers Ken Biller, Brannon Braga and Rick Berman will write the last seven episodes, which will presumably tell the story of Voyager's return to the Alpha Quadrant.
Voyager Mixes Body And Soul
tar Trek: Voyager star Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Paris) told the Fandom Web site that he will direct this season's fourth episode, "Body and Soul."
The episode focuses on the doctor (Robert Picardo) and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and tells a story in which the doctor must hide his program in Seven's Borg circuitry.
"The doctor is kind of hiding out in Seven," McNeill told the site. "It's really a story about how that affects Seven, what happens and the chaos that ensues, and the mistaken identities that are happening all around. It's just a lot of fun. I think the best way to say it is that the doctor does have to hide out, and Seven does give him a hand. It's an action-comedy."
McNeill said the episode will feature guest star Megan Gallagher, who played Catherine Black in Fox's canceled series Millennium. "Megan Gallagher, who is very well known, plays the second-in-command on the alien ship, and the doctor has some feelings for her character. He is hiding out, and starts becoming attracted to her a bit, and the captain on the alien ship starts to fall for Seven. It's almost like Midsummer Night's Dream and everyone falling for the wrong person."
High Hopes For Unbreakable?
ruce Willis, star of M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming paranormal thriller movie Unbreakable, told the Calgary Sun newspaper that he hopes the movie lives up to expectations.
"We're not feeling pressure," Willis said at a New York press briefing. "We're feeling a responsibility to all those people who loved the first film [Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense] and have been anticipating this one."
Though Willis' character--a Philadelphia stadium guard--may be impervious to injury, the action star said he's not. "I'm vulnerable emotional and physically," he said. "Just cut me, do we not all bleed?" He added, "I did these movies to work with Night." Unbreakable opens Nov. 22.
Shyamalan Coy About Unbreakable
irector M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) told the Los Angeles Times that he wouldn't reveal the plot twists of his upcoming supernatural thriller, Unbreakable.
The movie stars Shyamalan's Sixth Sense lead, Bruce Willis, as a stadium security guard who inexplicably walks away from train and car wrecks without a scratch.
"We want to keep you as virginal as possible," Shyamalan told the newspaper. But he admitted that the movie is partly about "faith: believing that once you bring your mind to a place of believing, things open up for you that you can't possibly imagine."
Shyamalan, who lives in Philadelphia, added that he feels little pressure with the next film after his blockbuster hit, The Sixth Sense. "Obviously, life has changed in so many ways since Sixth Sense," he told the newspaper. "But I feel safe and normal here. I remember the day after Sixth Sense was nominated for all those Oscars; I was trying to put the garbage out in front of our driveway. And the dog next door was trying to take the garbage from me, and the driveway became a mess, and I went to the neighbors to complain and I felt great! This was the leveling experience I needed at that moment." Unbreakable opens Nov. 22.
New 'Weirding Way' In Dune
ohn Harrison, writer and director of The SCI FI Channel's upcoming miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune, told fans to expect a new take on the "Weirding Way" described in the novel.
"I'm not sure the Weirding Way was described so definitively in the book," Harrison said in response to a fan question on SCIFI.COM.
Harrison added, "The Weirding Way is an important element of the story as part of Paul's Bene Gesserit training. And when he is taken in by the Fremen, he makes it his mission to train the young men of the tribes with it to create the Fedaykin. This will be explicitly dramatized in the movie, and I believe we've created the proper visual representation of what this form of fighting is. As much as I love films like Matrix, it will definitely not be effects-driven like that. It will be much more zen-like, more of a reliance on strict Para Bindu training and mind/muscle control than on superhuman physical stunts." Dune will air in widescreen format Dec. 3-5.
Rings Not Over Budget
arrie M. Osborne, producer of Peter Jackson's upcoming The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, told the New Zealand Herald that the films have not run over their $660 million budget.
"Normally if a picture is blowing out or having difficulty, it reflects in the shooting days, but we are finishing on Dec. 22 as scheduled," Barrie said during a press briefing at the films' kiwi location.
Osborne added, "It's a healthy three-budget film," though he admitted that the budget had been "enhanced."
Rings Will Wrap On Time
irector Peter Jackson told the New Zealand Press Association that his epic film trilogy The Lord of the Rings would indeed wrap principal photography on Dec. 22, despite rumors that it would run long.
The three movies--based on J.R.R. Tolkien's three novels of the same name--will have shot for 14 months in the kiwi nation, Jackson said.
"For the last year, the best moments for me have been when I've had a quiet moment in a corner--waiting for a camera to be set up or something--I'm sitting there and it dawns on me from time to time that here I am at Bag End, or here I am at Helm's Deep, and there's Aragorn there, or Gandalf or Frodo," Jackson said.
Elijah Wood, who plays the trilogy's hero, Frodo Baggins, told the wire service that there was an advantage to filming for so long. "The great thing about taking so long to make a film like this is we've all been able to live with our characters for such a long period of time," Wood said. "I've been able to see my character through all its changes and all the growth."
Is Fox Episode II Memo Real?
ill Star Wars: Episode II be too racy for youngsters? That is the gist of a memo purportedly from Fox studio executives to Lucasfilm obtained by the iFilm Web site.
But the graphic nature of the scenes cited suggests that the memo is a hoax, and iFilm could not authenticate it.
The memo--which iFilm says it received from an anonymous source--appears to express concern about sexual themes and violence in the film. "Our team is concerned that [Star Wars: Episode II] is treading into PG-13 territory, or, even more troubling, R," the memo said. Specifically, the memo expresses concern about sex scenes between Anakin and Padme, Mace Windu and Anakin's mother, and about scenes of violence.
Neeson Donates Saber For Charity
tar Wars: Episode I star Liam Neeson has donated his lightsaber prop from the film to be auctioned as part of UNICEF's fund-raiser for the Movie Action for Children charity, Empire Online reported.
Neeson is a special patron of UNICEF.
Sotheby's will hold the auction on March 6, 2001. The auction will also feature other film props, costumes and memorabilia. Proceeds will go to UNICEF's campaign to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Ivory Coast.
Car Design Influences Episode II
tar Wars: Episode II concept artist Kurt Kaufman told the official Star Wars Web site that he brought to bear his training as an automotive designer to the sequel.
Trained at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., Kaufman designed a Naboo bus that will be seen in Episode II.
"I try to work in my car influences, but it's difficult because it's not the real world, plus I'm trying to predict what George Lucas is going to like and what [design director] Doug [Chiang] is going to like," Kaufman said."But definitely my automotive design education has helped me get to this point."
Kaufman will also make use of architectural design training in the sequel, particularly in a scene that takes place in an abandoned district of Coruscant. "I did a concept for that scene, so it's mainly mine with some of [fellow designer] Marc Gabbana's influence," Kaufman said.
A.I. Bagel Cam On Web
teven Spielberg has allowed the CountingDown Web site to post a Web cam over the crafts service table on the set of his upcoming SF epic movie A.I.
The so-called "Bagel Cam" broadcasts live images from the truck that houses the snacks and beverages for the crew of the movie.
Occasionally, visitors can catch a glimpse of Spielberg himself. The camera will operate Nov. 14-17, starting daily at about 7 a.m. PST. A.I., based on a treatment by the late Stanley Kubrick and a short story by Brian Aldiss, is currently shooting in Los Angeles.
Portman Evades Fans At Harvard
atalie Portman--Queen Amidala in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode II--told the IMDB Web site that she's determined to keep a low profile while attending Harvard University.
She's even taken her maternal grandmother's maiden name while going to school to avoid unwanted visitors, IMDB reported.
"I don't want to have visitors, to be completely blunt," Portman said. "All I've heard is that when Brooke Shields was at Princeton, she had hundreds of visitors a year. I don't want that. I don't want to hang out with people I don't know. Some people may find that rude, because fans immediately think that, you know, they can be your friend, and that's not the relationship I want to have."
The 19-year-old actress admits to being in awe of her classmates. "Everyone I'm around, they're the most amazing people. I mean, just the people in my dorm: The guy upstairs has played cello with Yo-Yo Ma, there's a girl who's a published poet, I know a few people who went to the Olympics. These kids are all accomplished, and they're interested in my life, but I'm as interested in theirs and it's not like, 'Oh my God, you're in a movie!'"
iFilm Drops Jar Jar
Film has pulled the satiric short Jar Jar Binks: The E! True Hollywood Story from its site after complaints from the real E! cable network, Variety reported.
The 10-minute short film, which was downloaded more than 71,000 times, drew the ire of E! executives, who considered it a slight against the network, the trade paper reported.
Neurotrash.com picked up the Internet broadcasting rights to the short film, which satirizes the Star Wars: Episode I character. As part of the deal, Jar Jar producer Alok Mishra, writer-director Leif Einarsson and co-writer David Estes signed a production deal with Neurotrash to create 10 projects, Variety reported.
Arnold Won't Do Conan 3?
rnold Schwarzenegger told the IGN Filmforce Web site that it's unlikely he'll appear in the proposed third installment of the Conan the Barbarian film series.
John Milius, who directed 1982's Conan the Barbarian, will reportedly write and direct a new Conan film for Warner Brothers.
"Right now there's too many things on the table to do," Schwarzenegger told Filmforce. "From Terminator 3 to Doc Savage and a possible Total Recall No. 2 and maybe a comedy--I [also] want to direct again. I don't know where this [Conan] will happen."
Buffy Reveals Spike's Origins
ames Marsters, who plays the vampire Spike on The WB's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told the Zap2It Web site that the Nov. 14 episode and the following crossover with Angel will reveal his character's checkered past.
"I think anybody who's had a metamorphosis in their life is going to be very interested in this arc--anybody who feels that they've transformed in their life, trying to become themselves," Marsters told the site.
The back-to-back episodes will flash back to Spike's origins and feature appearances by his vampire companions Drusilla (Juliet Landau) and Darla (Julie Benz) over the centuries in England, Europe and China. "It's been great to go back and fill in the backstory," Landau told Zap2It. "We were in London in 1860; we were in Yorkshire in 1880; we were in a Gypsy village in 1890; and then we were in China in 1900. In the China section, we were in the Boxer Rebellion, so there were a hundred extras and oxen; it was so lush."
Spears Won't Vamp On Buffy
op star Britney Spears won't be making a guest appearance on The WB's hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer due to scheduling conflicts, TV Guide Online reported.
"It's not happening," Buffy co-executive producer Marti Noxon told TV Guide. "It's off the plate completely."
Spears, who is reportedly friends with Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar, had planned to show up on the popular series. Noxon said that the character Spears would have played will live on. "We're still going to do the episode," she said. "We're just going to do it with someone else. ... The [story] idea is still valid, and we're going to go ahead and run with it. But now that [Britney's] not available, we're going to push that episode to a little bit later." Spears' representative said the singer may still show up on Buffy at some time in the future, but can't schedule anything now, TV Guide reported.
Buffy To Seek More Lucre
roducers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are expected to ask The WB to pony up production money of $2 million per episode--twice the current budget--when they sit down with the network to negotiate a contract renewal in January, EW.com reported.
If the WB balks, the creators and Twentieth Century Fox television, which produces the show, could move the series to another network.
ABC has already expressed interest in Buffy. "To be honest, there has always been a suspicion that The WB didn't quite get it," Buffy star Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) told EW.com. "I don't know what the hell will happen." If Buffy does move, that throws into question the fate of its companion series Angel, which would remain on The WB.
Buffy executive producer Marti Noxon told EW.com that the series is exploring new territory in its fifth season, with the arrival of Buffy's sister, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg), and Buffy's quest to understand her inner slayer. "This is a whole world, and you can explore a lot of different corners of it," Noxon said. "Now we're covering the experience of being a young adult, which dictates you go deeper."
Blade 2 Will Shoot In Prague
avid Goyer, writer and producer of the upcoming sequel Blade: Bloodhunt, told the Comics Continuum Web site that the movie will shoot in Prague.
"Yep, it's official," Goyer told the site. "[Director] Guillermo [del Toro] is there right now location scouting. And I'm in New York City. ... [It] should be crazy." The filmmakers were considering shooting in Toronto.
Preproduction began on the movie last month. Filming will begin on Feb. 23, 2001. Bloodhunt is the sequel to Wesley Snipes' 1998 hit, Blade, which was based on the Marvel Comics series Blade the Vampire Hunter.
Roach Plans Austin Prequel
irector Jay Roach told the Popcorn U.K. Web site that he is making plans for a third installment of his Austin Powers series of movies.
Filming on the third movie--which will again star Mike Myers as the titular hero and his nemesis, Dr. Evil--is expected to begin filming next fall.
"We have a concept based on a prequel, where Dr. Evil and Austin are together in the 1950s as young men in some academy," Roach told Popcorn. "Of course, something goes wrong. Dr. Evil goes off to some zone, and Austin launches the British revolution in American music and color, just to annoy Dr. Evil."
Roach added, "We've always wanted Sean Connery to do something. We've tried talking to his people, [and] they were very polite--schedules and stuff--but he may just not want to go there."
Laurie Right For Hitchhiker
ay Roach, director of the proposed feature-film version of Douglas Adams' satiric SF novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, told the British Teletext Web site that Adams wants Hugh Laurie to play his hero, Arthur Dent.
"Hugh's his favorite choice," Roach told the site. British thespian Laurie is best known for portraying Bertie Wooster in the British television series Jeeves and Wooster, as well as the father in 1999's Stuart Little.
Roach added, "Casting for the movie will be international. We would cast Ford Prefect as an American. Zaphod Beeblebrox could be Jim Carrey or Bruce Willis, someone big."
Such decisions are a ways off. The project is currently on hold because Hollywood studios doubt the book would translate to film, Roach said. "The studios see it as an obscure Monty Python in space," Roach said. The production is now looking for foreign investors willing to pony up the estimated $100 million production costs.
D&D Movie Caps Director's Quest
ourtney Solomon--writer, director and producer of New Line's upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie--told fans that he struggled for 10 years to bring his favorite role-playing game to the screen.
"It was a long quest," Solomon told fans at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention Nov. 12. "It took 10 years. ... The movie was really for everybody else, not really for me. ... We made the plot to be a good story, to be interesting characters, to actually be characters in the world that you would care about ... and placed in the D&D world, and [to] bring that world to life for the first time. That was the goal."
Solomon, nicknamed "Corey," appeared on a panel for the film with stars Thora Birch (Empress Savina), Justin Whalin (Ridley), Lee Arenberg (Elwood), Bruce Payne (Damodar) and D&D game designer Dave Arneson, who has a cameo in the film as a "mage." The movie, which was shot on location in Prague and other parts of the Czech Republic, was produced by The Matrix producer Joel Silver and premieres Dec. 8.
"I wasn't really familiar with with the game or anything, but then I read the script, and ... I had meetings with Corey," Birch said. "What really made me want to do the film was actually his passion and the fact that he had worked on it for ... almost 10 years, and he was getting the ball rolling. And when he talked about the film, he had such energy and ... a complete fire to bring this about, ... and he was still as passionate about the film as though he had just read the script the night before for the first time. ... He had these pictures, these incredible sets. ... And what 18-year-old girl doesn't want to ride a dragon?"
Among the locations was the so-called "Bone Chapel" in a 12th-century church in the Czech Republic, Solomon said. The chapel is decorated with the human bones of its parishioners, including an entire chandelier.
Solomon added that he wrestled with the decision of whether to film people playing the game or the fantasy world of the game itself. "That was a tough decision from day one, which way to go with that," he said. "And I just felt that, when you play the game, you're sitting on the outside, but you go into a fantasy world. And as this movie would be the first introduction of fantasy and this world, the best way to do it would be to have the whole movie take place in that world."
Birch A D&D Newcomer
hora Birch, who plays Empress Savina in New Line's upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie, told Mean Magazine that when she took the role she was new to the role-playing game on which the movie is based.
"I had never even heard of Dungeons & Dragons," she told the magazine. "I just thought it was a great title! I hadn't even heard of the game until I mentioned it to my friends, and they were like, 'Oh my God, you're doing Dungeons & Dragons?' And I'm like, 'OK, there's obviously something going on here that I'm not aware of.'"
D&D was written, directed and produced by Courtney "Corey" Solomon based on the Wizards of the Coast game of the same name. "I liked the part of the empress," Birch said. "Her character was something I hadn't done. Coming off of American Beauty kept me in this really dark place for a while, and to be able to do the Empress--who is really doe-eyed and wants to fight for the people and give them freedom--it was good for me to force myself to have that optimism again." D&D opens Dec. 8.
SCI FI Preps Rex, Riverworld
he SCI FI Channel announced a deal with Alliance Atlantis for two new original series for late 2001: Riverworld, based on Philip Jose Farmer's SF novel series of the same name, and Anonymous Rex.
The deal is the most recent in a string of original series announcements from SCI FI.
Riverworld will be executive produced by writer/director Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City). Stuart Hazeldine will write the two-hour pilot. Based on Farmer's five-book adventure series, Riverworld explores a time between life and death, where dead people from every era of humanity have been reborn young and healthy and set about to learn the truth about the Riverworld they inhabit.
Anonymous Rex, based on the 1999 book of the same name by Eric Garcia, tells the story of a secret society of dinosaurs living in the modern world disguised as humans.
Fox Developing Ghost Detective
ox will develop the fantasy film Marcus Bryant: Ghost Detective, based on a spec script by newcomers Bennett and Steve Schneir.
Bennett Schneir is a development executive at Jack Rapke and Bob Zemeckis' DreamWorks-based ImageMovers; Steve Schneir works for Interplay, a computer game company.
The film tells the story of a streetwise cop who has a near-death experience and begins seeing ghosts, the trade paper reported.
Voldemort Talks Potter
an Hart, who will play the evil Lord Voldemort in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone movie, told the Empire Online Web site that he's thrilled to be in the feature-film version of J.K. Rowling's book.
"I've read all four [Harry Potter] books," Hart told the site. "They're really good, and I get to play the villain, which is great."
Hart added, "The cast is brilliant. ... Maggie [Smith]'s very nice. So's Alan Rickman; he's absolutely great as Snape. I'm the only person who's not posh in the entire cast, and I'm very happy with that." Potter, based on Rowling's first book, is currently shooting in London.
Vonnegut Named NY State Author
he New York State Writers Institute on Nov. 15 named SF writer Kurt Vonnegut the official state author, the Associated Press reported.
Vonnegut joins past state authors who include Grace Paley, E.L. Doctorow and Norman Mailer. He will receive $10,000.
"It is a most agreeable honor, with my 78th birthday only a few days away, that New York state should declare so publicly that I, although born in Indianapolis, am one of its own," Vonnegut told the AP. Vonnegut has spent much of his life in upstate New York. He graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca in 1944 and later lived in the village of Alplaus, where he worked for General Electric Co. and was a volunteer firefighter, the AP reported.
Vonnegut is best known for his 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five and has written more than two dozen books.
Battlefield Changed For Germany
ohn Travolta wants to improve his flop SF movie Battlefield Earth before it is released on video in Germany, the Reuters news service reported.
The film's German distributor, Intertainment, told Reuters that the modifications will delay that country's video release to 2001 from this quarter.
"Following the movie's poor reception in the U.S., Travolta wants to make a few improvements in the post-production of the film," Intertainment chief executive Ruediger Baeres told Reuters. The report offered no details of the changes.
Battlefield Earth is based on the SF novel of the same name by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, of which Travolta is an adherent. Germany has mounted an aggressive campaign against the church, arguing that it is not a legitimate religion, but rather a money-making scheme; the church has responded that it is being subjected to religious persecution.
Blair 2 Casts No Spell
ook of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, which opened to lackluster box-office at the end of October, will probably gross only about $30 million, Forbes magazine reported.
That pales in comparison with its predecessor, 1999's The Blair Witch Project, which raked in more than $140 million.
Even so, Blair Witch 2 stands to make a profit of about $13 million, after deducting the film's production and marketing costs, according to Forbes. It's still unclear whether the studio, Artisan Entertainment, will proceed with an expected third Blair Witch movie, a prequel from the original Blair Witch filmmakers Daniel Sanchez and Ed Myrick, who were only peripherally involved in the making of Blair Witch 2. Forbes reported that Sanchez and Myrick have a dispute with Artisan over their share of video revenues from the first movie.
Roach Pushes Hitchhiker
irector Jay Roach told the Popcorn U.K. Web site that he's still hoping to direct a big-screen version of Douglas Adams' satiric SF novel The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, despite resistance from Hollywood.
Roach said he and Adams have even gone so far as to consider "selling tickets now for the movie--which isn't even made yet--to prove to the studios it can be done."
Roach added, "Douglas and I are determined to get it off the ground, so I'm going to keep trying."
Sheep Escapes On 'Toon Net
he Cartoon Network premieres its tongue-in-cheek animated series Sheep in the Big City Nov. 17 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.
The series centers on a sheep who escapes to the city to evade the top-secret military organization chasing him.
The half-hour series was created by Mo Willems and is produced by Curious Pictures. Sheep is the network's ninth original series.
Arnold Can't Reprise Recall
rnold Schwarzenegger--who stars in the upcoming cloning film The 6th Day--told TV Guide Online that he couldn't do a sequel to his hit 1990 film Total Recall, even if he liked the script.
"Unless I clone myself for real, I can't do all these sequels to The Terminator and Total Recall at the same time," said Schwarzenegger, who is set to appear in Terminator 3 in the spring. The actor has previously said the script for the proposed Total Recall 2 was "bad."
Schwarzenegger added, "You can only do one movie a year if you really want to be a part of it from beginning to end. That's what makes it fun for me. I don't want to come in and be a hired hand like some actors."
She'll Be Back In T3
rnold Schwarzenegger told the New York Post that his upcoming Terminator 3 will feature a new villain: a female terminator cyborg.
"She can disappear, she can mold into someone else, and she is sometimes just energy," Schwarzenegger told the tabloid newspaper. The role has yet to be cast.
Schwarzenegger--who will re-team with Edward Furlong in the sequel--added that he had ordered rewrites of the Terminator 3 script. "The two drafts I read were so big that it would have cost $300 million to make it," he said. "So now they're toning it down, because I don't think we need to see a 747 crash-land into all those buildings in downtown L.A. I think we can do it on a football field somewhere so that it doesn't cost that much."
Terminator 3 is slated to begin filming in the spring, if it's not derailed by impending writers' and actors' union strikes. No director has been hired yet, and Terminator franchise creator James Cameron has declined to take part.
Two Arnies At 6th Day Fete
rnold Schwarzenegger made not one but two grand entrances at the Nov. 13 premiere of his cloning movie The 6th Day in Hollywood, the Popcorn U.K. Web site reported.
Schwarzenegger--who plays a man and his clone--arrived in a limousine, dressed in a suit and tie and accompanied by his wife, Maria Shriver.
Schwarzenegger then ducked out and reappeared driving a yellow Hummer, wearing a leather bomber jacket and claiming to be the "real" Arnie, Popcorn reported. Cast members Wendy Crewson, Michael Rooker and Terry Crews and director Roger Spottiswoode also attended the premiere screening. The 6th Day opens to the public on Nov. 17.
Cameron Changes Mars Plans
ames Cameron told Premiere magazine that he's changed plans for his proposed movie or television miniseries about Mars, according to the Eon Web site.
Cameron had originally planned on directing an IMAX movie focusing on a manned mission to the Red Planet, but now says he will write a novel instead and based his future plans on that.
"It's turned out to be a very sneaky project from a writing standpoint," Cameron told Premiere. "Al Reinert and I are working on it, but I've taken the reins back to do my own pass, and I've decided to complete a novel first based on this material, because I just need to know what my priorities are in terms of character."
"[The Mars project] is a fictional miniseries with tendrils in many media," Cameron said. "The current plan is to do it as both a TV miniseries and a 3-D IMAX movie."
Lillard May Be Shaggy
atthew Lillard (Scream) is in talks to star as Shaggy in Warner Brothers' live-action feature-film version of the animated Scooby-Doo television series for director Raja Gosnell, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Andrew Gunn and John August are writing Scooby-Doo.
If Lillard signs on, he could reteam with his Wing Commander co-star Freddie Prinze Jr., who is in talks to play the role of Fred opposite his real-life paramour, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar, who is in talks to play Daphne.
Lillard will also appear in 13 Ghosts, producer Joel Silver's remake of William Castle's 1960 schlock horror classic.
KITT Heads For Big Screen?
avid Hasselhoff told late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien that he plans to adapt his 1980s television series Knight Rider for the big screen, the SFX Network Web site reported.
The series featured Hasselhoff as a crime-fighter with a talking super-powered Trans-Am code-named KITT.
Hasselhoff said the film would be set in the future but would feature KITT and himself fighting crime.
Sadler Happy He Chose Roswell
eteran character actor William Sadler--now best known for playing the sheriff in The WB's teen alien series Roswell--told the Associated Press that it wasn't hard for him to commit to series television after a successful movie career.
"In this town, when somebody writes something good, it's like a nugget of gold," he told the AP. "I wasn't too worried about what effect it would have on my film career. People go back and forth all the time. I was more concerned about the direction of the character."
As Roswell's Sheriff Jim Valenti, Sadler's been able to broaden his character beyond the strict lawman of the first season. "There are a lot of firsts for me with this show," Sadler said. "I never had an on-screen romantic entanglement until now. I've never worked with these kind of special effects."
Executive producer Jonathan Frakes (who played Cmdr. Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation) told the AP that Sadler has brought a lot to the role. "When we started, it was unclear what the part would be and where it would go," Frakes said. "He's taken the character from just a hard-nosed sheriff to a complex man dealing with issues--from his relationship with his dad to the one with his son." Roswell airs Mondays at 9 p.m.
Lawless Misty About Xena End
ucy Lawless told fans on E! Online that she has mixed feelings about ending her run as the star of Xena: Warrior Princess, which wraps next summer after six years in syndication.
"There are going to be days when I just break down and cry, because these are my best friends whom I've been hanging out with for so long," Lawless said in response to fan questions.
Lawless added, "As for [co-star] Renee [O'Connor] and I, we will always be close. We've been together longer than a lot of marriages, and she's like my sister. I'll always be there for her, come what may." O'Connor plays Xena's faithful sidekick, Gabrielle.
Lawless also had ideas about how the show should end. "I want to see Xena and Gabrielle walking off into the sunset or going out in a burst of glory," she said. "Either way, there should be a blazing final shot."
First Real 'Holodeck' Created
firm in Southern California has invented a virtual reality system to train soldiers that is described as "version .0001 of the holodeck" seen on Star Trek, the official Trek Web site reported.
"It's going to take a long time to get from here to a holodeck. But it's a beginning," said Richard Lindheim, executive director of the Institute for Creative Technologies in Marina del Rey. One of the principal designers of the interactive system is Herman Zimmerman, who helped create the holodeck concept for Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The "Experience Learning System," which was commissioned by the U.S. Army, immerses the occupant in a digital sight-and-sound environment that simulates war-torn Bosnia and situations that soldiers could encounter there, such as enemy fire and dealings with local citizens, the Trek Web site reported. The simulation involves characters Lindheim described as "artificial intelligent virtual humans, [who] react to what the soldier here in the room is saying to them and what he's doing. And that's the first step towards creating those virtual humans like you see on the holodeck." ICT plans to eventually add smells, temperature and humidity to the environment to make it even more realistic, and sees a day when such systems will be available to everyone.
Director Will Plumb Batman's Mind
arren Aronofsky, director of the upcoming Batman: Year One film, told the Chicago Sun-Times that he'll take a psychological approach to the DC Comics character.
"I want to introduce some Freudian psychology and answer the question, 'What does it take for a real man to put on tights and fight crime?'" Aronofsky told the newspaper.
Aronofsky added, "I promise that this time, Batman will be a complex character with issues." He said he will sit down to write the screenplay for the fifth Batman movie this week with Frank Miller, who wrote the 1980s comic series The Dark Knight Returns, the paper reported.
"It's not the teen Batman. But we do tell the origins story," Aronofsky said. "We learn how Batman saw his parents killed in front of him by a gunman and then trained himself to fight crime." Is Ben Affleck in the running to put on the cape and cowl? "It's really premature," the director said. "Honestly, I haven't thought about it."
Batman Beyond In Early Stages
riter Paul Dini told the Comics Continuum Web site that a feature film based on his Batman Beyond animated television series is in the earliest stages of development.
"Boaz [Yakin], Alan [Burnett] and I are still working on story concepts," Dini told the site. Yakin is a writer and director of the series; Burnett is a writer and produces the show with Dini.
Dini, who also co-produces the animated Superman series, told the Continuum that he has nothing to do with a rumored series based on the DC Comics Justice League of America series.
Turman To Write Iron Fist
ohn Turman (The Crow: Stairway to Heaven) has signed to write the script for a feature-film version of Marvel Comics Iron Fist series, and X-Men actor Ray Park is in talks to star, the Comics Continuum Web site reported.
The proposed film is part of Artisan Entertainment's deal with Marvel to develop movies based on Marvel series.
Turman was a writer and story editor on the Stairway to Heaven television series and has worked on screenplay drafts of The Hulk, Silver Surfer and Prime movie scripts in the last six years, the Continuum reported.
Dino Named After Jurassic Writer
Chinese dinosaur specialist has named a species of the extinct creatures after Jurassic Park novelist Michael Crichton, the Associated Press reported.
Dong Zhiming, lead researcher at Beijing's Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, named a small, armored plant-eating dinosaur "Crichton's ankylosaur" after the author and filmmaker. The creature dates to the early Jurassic period and was identified with fossils discovered 62 years ago in southern China, the wire service reported.
Zhiming told the AP that he chose to honor Crichton because of the popularity of his works in China. Dong presented casts of skull bones from the newly identified dinosaur to Crichton during a ceremony Nov. 14 at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, the AP reported.
Pearce In Talks For Time Machine
uy Pearce (Memento) is in final talks to star in a new feature-film version of H.G. Wells' classic SF novel The Time Machine for DreamWorks and Warner Brothers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Simon Wells--grandson of H.G. Wells--will make his live-action directorial debut with the film. The project is slated for a February start.
John Logan (Gladiator) wrote the adaptation of what will be a big-budget digital effects vehicle about a man who invents a machine that allows him to travel 800,000 years into the future.
The book was previously adapted for film in a 1960 movie starring Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux. The MGM picture won an Oscar for special effects, the trade paper reported.
Russell May Helm Scorpion
irector Chuck Russell (The Mask) is in talks to helm The Scorpion King for Universal Pictures, Variety reported.
Scorpion, which will star WWF headliner Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is the proposed second sequel to 1999's hit film The Mummy.
The Scorpion King will pick up the storyline from the upcoming sequel The Mummy Returns, which is currently in production for a May 2001 release. Scorpion tells the story of an ancient Egyptian peasant who seeks revenge for his town, which was plundered by an army from the north, the trade paper reported.
Scorpion is set for either a Christmas 2001 or a summer 2002 release.
Linney May Headline Mothmen
aura Linney (You Can Count on Me) is in final talks to co-star with Richard Gere in The Mothman Prophecies, a paranormal movie for Sony, Variety reported.
Gere plays a reporter who is drawn to a small West Virginia town to investigate a series of strange events, including psychic visions and the appearance of bizarre entities, the trade paper reported.
Mark Pellington (Arlington Road) will direct the movie, which is expected to start production in January.
Barbarella A Ways Off
rew Barrymore's producing partner, Nancy Juvonen, told Cinescape Online
not to expect Barrymore's proposed update of Jane Fonda's campy 1960s SF movie Barbarella anytime soon.
"We haven't even begun to write it," Juvonen told Cinescape columnist Cindy Pearlman. "But I can tell you that Drew won't be a 'fembot.' The new film will be about society and what happens in utopia. It will still have some flower-child ideas in it."
Barrymore added, "I will be completely different. We aren't doing a remake. This will be a new Barbarella. I'm not going to play the Jane Fonda character."
Maguire Excited About Spidey
obey Maguire, star of Sam Raimi's upcoming Spider-Man movie, told E! that he's looking forward to playing Peter Parker, the Comics Continuum reported.
"I'm really excited," Maguire told E! News Daily. "It's a lot of fun. I've been doing some pretty interesting stuff to train for it."
Maguire added, "I don't know what to expect, really. I'm just looking forward to doing something very different than anything I've ever done." Maguire, who is promoting the re-release of his film The Wonder Boys, is scheduled to appear on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Nov. 14. Spider-Man, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, is expected to begin shooting in January.
X-Men Director Talks Sequel
-Men director Bryan Singer is in early talks to helm an expected sequel to Fox's summer hit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The entire cast--including Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen and Anna Paquin--has already signed on for the sequel to the film, which was based on Marvel Comics' long-running series of the same name.
The trade paper reported that a script has not been written for the sequel, and the project has no start date. But sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Fox would like to get the project before cameras as soon as possible.
Grinch Costume Was 'Hellish'
im Carrey, star of the upcoming Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, told TV Guide that wearing his extensive costume was like being buried alive, the Associated Press reported.
Carrey added that the special contact lenses he had to wear "were like knives in my eyes."
"It was hellish," Carrey told the magazine. "It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. It was very claustrophobic." Carrey enlisted the help of a Navy SEAL to help him deal with the discomfort of the costume, which transformed him into the titular green character. "He gave me a couple of physical things that I could do, like pinching my leg when I start getting a panic attack. I learned a huge lesson to stop compulsive thought."
Minkoff Will Helm Little II
ob Minkoff (The Lion King) has signed a deal with Columbia Pictures to direct Stuart Little II, the sequel to Minkoff's 1999 hit Stuart Little, Variety reported.
Stuart Little II is being rewritten by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, the trade paper reported.
Minkoff's partner, Jason Clark, will produce the sequel. Stuart Little was based on E.B. White's classic children's book of the same name.
Spears To Star In Lost Girls?
he SFX Network Web site reported a rumor that pop star Britney Spears is in line to star in The Lost Girls, director Joel Schumacher's proposed sequel to his vampire movie The Lost Boys.
Spears was earlier rumored to make a guest appearance on The WB's similarly themed Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
According to SFX, Spears will headline Girls, which tells the story of a female band of bloodsuckers terrorizing the town featured in the first movie.
Gilliam Nixes Watchmen Film
irector Terry Gilliam (Twelve Monkeys) told the 6 degrees Web site that he won't be helming a feature-film version of Watchmen, Alan Moore's epic superhero graphic novel.
"After Twelve Monkeys I was offered a chance to do Watchmen again," Gilliam said.
Gilliam added, "The problem with Watchmen is that it requires about five hours to tell the story properly, and by reducing it down to a two- or two-and-a-half-hour film, it seemed to me to take away the essence of what Watchmen is about. So I was happy when I didn't get the money to make it, because I would have been embarrassed if we'd done it."
Toy Story 2 Wins Annie
oy Story 2 won the top award Nov. 11 at the 28th annual Annie Awards, honoring animation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Toy Story 2 took the prize for outstanding achievement in an animated theatrical feature film and five other awards.
The Annies were presented by ASIFA-Hollywood, the International Animated Film Society, to recognize achievement in animation in film, television, commercials, home video and electronic media.
Toy Story 2 beat Fantasia/2000, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken Run and Titan A.E.
Dimension Inhales Ether
imension Films will develop the supernatural thriller movie Into the Ether, based on a script by Brian Carr, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The project, picked up from Summit Entertainment, follows a young female doctor who endures her junior residency in a haunted Boston hospital.
Carr will do a rewrite on the script for Dimension. As part of the deal, the studio also has signed Carr to pen two additional scripts, which have yet to be determined, the trade paper reported.
Talking Ape Coming To Fox
reators of Fox's animated King of the Hill signed a deal to create a new Fox sitcom featuring a talking orangutan, Variety reported.
Alan Cohen and Alan Freedland are developing the as-yet-untitled project, which will deal with a crocodile hunter who hosts a Los Angeles TV show alongside the orangutan, the trade paper reported.
Cohen and Freedland plan to use computer imagery to bring the show's ape to life. Their deal to create a pilot for the crocodile-hunter project is part of a multiyear development deal with producer 20th Century Fox Television, Variety reported.
There's More To The Gift
am Raimi told Cinescape Online that his upcoming movie The Gift isn't all about clairvoyance, though its heroine has second sight.
"There are supernatural moments," Raimi told Cinescape. "[But] it's primarily the story of a woman [Cate Blanchett] and how she raises a family in a small town that is prejudiced against her abilities, and how she deals with these problems. But there are also scenes of her using this gift."
Blanchett plays Annie Wilson, a recently widowed mother of three living in Georgia who uses her ability to solve the kidnapping of a rich girl (Katie Holmes) who's engaged to the local elementary
school principal (Greg Kinnear). Keanu Reeves also stars.
"Once [Blanchett] was cast, I think a lot of other actors and actresses ... felt that it was something that they wanted to be involved with," Raimi said. "It was really just about the love of the script and, I think, working with Cate." The Gift opens in January.
Carr To Pen Exorcist Prequel
est-selling author Caleb Carr (The Alienist) will rewrite the proposed prequel to The Exorcist for Morgan Creek Productions, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
William Wisher originally adapted William Peter Blatty's novel, The Exorcist: Dominion, for the big screen.
Carr's books include Angel of Darkness and the upcoming Killing Time, the trade paper reported. Warner Brothers recently re-released the original 1973 Exorcist in an enhanced version with added scenes.
Nicky Ranks No. 2
ittle Nicky--Adam Sandler's satanic comedy--premiered in the No. 2 slot in the weekend box-office rankings, earning an estimated $18.1 million, the Hollywood trade papers reported.
Sandler plays the son of the devil, who comes to New York to thwart the plans of his two miscreant brothers.
The other genre movie that opened Nov. 10, Red Planet, debuted at No. 5, with an estimated take of $9 million. That pales in comparison with this year's previous Mars-themed movie, Mission to Mars, which opened with $22.9 million in March and earned about $60.7 million domestically.
Bedazzled ranked No. 10, with $2.5 million for the weekend and a total take of about $34.6 million in its fourth week of release.
Briefly Noted
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The Spider-Man Hype fan Web site reported that Freaks and Geeks star James Franco will play the role of Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's upcoming Spider-Man movie. Harry Osborn is the son of industrialist Norman Osborn, who becomes the villainous Green Goblin.
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Producers have posted trailers for the upcoming The Mummy Returns to the Web. The sequel to 1999's The Mummy opens next May.
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As previously announced, Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner will reprise their Star Trek: The Next Generation roles in the upcoming 10th Trek film, E! Online reported. Gladiator writer John Logan is penning the screenplay for the as-yet-untitled film; no director is attached.
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The official German Star Wars fan club is organizing its third-ever Star Wars convention next Easter weekend, April 13-15, 2001, in Cologne, Germany, with an appearance by Star Wars: Episode II producer Rick McCallum and a symphony orchestra, the official Star Wars Web site reported.
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Kathryn Erbe (Stir of Echoes) has landed the female lead opposite Kevin Costner in the Tom Shadyac-directed fantasy film Dragonfly, Variety reported. Costner will play a doctor who feels he's receiving messages from his dead wife through his dying patients. The movie began filming recently in Chicago and Los Angeles.
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Queen Elizabeth II attended the Nov. 15 London premiere of Jim Carrey's upcoming fantasy film Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Associated Press reported. Carrey, Dr. Seuss' widow, Audrey Geisel, and director Ron Howard also attended the charity screening.
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The Countingdown Web site has posted a theatrical trailer for the upcoming animated fantasy film Shrek.
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James Van Pelt is listing authors who are eligible for consideration for the John W. Campbell Award for best new SF writer on his Web site. Authors must have made their first appearance in a magazine, anthology or novel with more than 10,000 copies in print in 1999 or 2000. Contact Van Pelt by e-mail.
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Barnesandnoble.com has posted a video interview with Anne Rice, author of the Merrick, the latest in her Vampire Chronicles books. The interview is part of the site's "Behind the Words" series produced by the bookseller and the video production company Rain.
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The Eon Magazine Web site reported that Dracula 2000 director Wes Craven told Entertainment Weekly that Dimension Films imposed an unrealistic schedule on the vampire movie. "What's the benefit of making movies so fast?" Craven said. "There's no benefit whatsoever. It's terribly difficult, and completely unnecessary."
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Production has begun on the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Prophecy," in which the ship takes on a complement of Klingons who believe that B'Elanna's baby may be the Klingon messiah, according to the official Star Trek Web site. The episode is the 12th of the series' seventh and last season.
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Chapters of The Mars Society have persuaded theater owners to allow the group to set up booths at screenings of Warner Brothers' Red Planet to distribute literature and answer questions about Mars exploration, the IMDB Web site reported.
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The Upcomingmovies.com Web site reported that the straight-to-video release of The Crow: Salvation has been pushed back to March 20, 2001, from the original Jan. 23. The new date coincides with the release of the Crow trilogy boxed DVD set, the site reported.
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Shadow of the Vampire, a fantasy account of the making of F.W. Murnau's classic silent movie Nosferatu, will open the CineVegas International Film Festival in Las Vegas on Nov. 28, Zap2It reported.
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Aaron Paul (Whatever It Takes) will play a supporting role in the Kevin Spacey SF comedy K-Pax, which begins filming in New York soon, Variety reported.
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Final box-office figures show that Adam Sandler's satanic comedy movie Little Nicky pulled in only $15.3 million on its opening weekend, not $18.1 million, as originally estimated.
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The Ain't It Cool News Web site reported a rumor that the Cartoon Network had green-lighted an animated show based on the DC Comics Justice League of America series. AICN had no word on who would write the show or which characters would be represented.
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EW Online reported that the upcoming Jurassic Park III will start with a plane crash and will focus on the search and rescue mission. The magazine site added that the finale of the movie, which was originally to be shot with green screen, will instead be filmed on location in Hawaii in January.
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Entertainment Tonight has posted a teaser trailer for The Mummy Returns, the upcoming sequel to 1999's hit movie The Mummy. The sequel opens next year.
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Eon Magazine reported that the DVD with the entire first season of The WB's Buffy the Vampire Slayer will be delayed until sometime in 2001. The DVD was originally scheduled to come out Jan. 9, 2001.
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Visa USA is charging American Express with sending out mailings featuring artwork from the upcoming holiday movie Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, though Visa holds the exclusive rights to such images, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Visa has taken legal action against American Express to protect its rights as a promotional partner for Grinch, the trade paper reported.
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TheOneRing.net reported a rumor that a new teaser trailer for the upcoming The Lord of the Rings film trilogy will be attached to prints of Kevin Costner's upcoming political thriller Thirteen Days, which premieres Dec. 20.
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