Buffy's Dead, But Not Really
uffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon told TV Guide Online that his heroine is really, truly dead.
"Yes," Whedon told the site. "She's rotting in her grave even as we speak."
Ah, but isn't Buffy picked up for two more seasons on UPN? And won't the show continue to star Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy? "Yes," Whedon said cryptically. He admitted to being worried about alienating fans by bringing her back from the dead, but added, "The point is, you have to take it seriously and pay it homage and make it as hard and strange for the people in the show as it is for the audience to accept. Then you earn it."
But Whedon did say to expect changes next season. "Giles will be recurring next year, instead of a regular, because [Anthony Stewart Head is] going to live in England," he said. "We're working on a BBC [spinoff] show for [that character]." UPN will add Buffy to its fall lineup with a two-hour season premiere in early October, Whedon added.
Buffy/Angel Crossovers Unlikely
uffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon told the Los Angeles Times that it's not likely there will be future crossovers with spinoff series Angel now that the two shows are on competing networks.
Buffy moves to UPN in the fall, in the wake of fractious and failed contract renewal talks with The WB; Angel remains on the frog network.
"There's acrimony here, and I like to kid myself and say it'll fade," Whedon told the newspaper. "A lot of people got bruised. I haven't broached the subject yet [of future crossovers], and now's not the time."
Whedon added that one crossover had been planned for next season, but was recently dumped: Angel was scheduled to drop in on the Buffy gang, but another character will fill that role.
"[Buffy and Angel] will and can reference each other, but the big emotions can't be about each other," Whedon said. "They haven't been for the past year. There will always be a lingering tie, but both do have to move on."
Whedon Reassures Buffy Fans
uffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon reassured fans that the events in the May 22 fifth-season finale don't mean the show's over.
The finale depicted the demise of a key character.
But the day after, Whedon went on the popular fan posting board The Bronze to reassure fans that the hit series will indeed return. "Just want to say again, finally, definitively, and in living color, that Buffy will be back next season, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar (of television's Buffy the Vampire Slayer), on UPN, Tuesdays at 8" p.m., Whedon wrote.
Referencing the finale spoiler, Whedon added, "How will we bring her back? With great difficulty, of course. And pain and confusion. Will it be cheesy? I don't think so. (I've loved some of the theories here on how it might be done.) The fact is, we've had most of next season planned before we ever shot this ep. Same writers you know, same actors you love, same crappy little warehouse we've been shooting in for five years. ... Different network. But we've never been controlled by the network--WB was great about that; UPN has already shown they will be too. The only difference is that Marti [Noxon] will share [executive producer] credit with me, and it's about time she did. I'm in charge. Okay, that's a lie. The story is in charge, the story that keeps on speaking to me, that says there is much more to tell about all these characters. An ensemble this brilliant could easily carry the show even without the Slayer--but the fact is, even though she reached some beauty closure, Buffy's story isn't over. When it is, I'll know. And we'll stop. 'Til then, have faith. (Not Faith the character--she's making movies and stuff.)"
WB Switches Buffy Time
hen UPN scheduled its new acquisition, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, on Tuesdays at 8 p.m., it planned on keeping regular viewers of the series, which has aired in the same timeslot on The WB all year.
But The WB threw a wrench into those plans by switching Buffy to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. during the summer, when it will air reruns of the fifth season that ended May 22, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The WB will move Angel to its new timeslot of Mondays at 9 p.m. for the summer, the trade paper added. The former occupant of that timeslot, Roswell, won't air during the summer. The WB canceled Roswell; UPN has picked it up for the fall and plans to air it on Tuesdays at 9 p.m., after Buffy.
On Tuesdays, The WB will air movies, including the two-hour pilot for the upcoming TNT series Witchblade on May 29, the trade paper reported.
Angel Star Talks UPN
avid Boreanaz, star of The WB's Angel, told TV Guide Online that he "really didn't have a preference" whether the show stayed on The WB or followed Buffy the Vampire Slayer to UPN.
"If Angel ended up on UPN, I would still have gone in to work and done my thing," Boreanaz told the site. "And if it stayed on The WB, I'd do the same thing. That's what I get paid to do. I am not in a position to decide what network we should be on."
The WB renewed Angel and will move it to Mondays at 9 p.m. UPN will air Buffy--which The WB let go in a contract renewal dispute--in the same Tuesday 8 p.m. timeslot. UPN had offered to pick Angel up for two seasons if The WB had canceled it.
Boreanaz concedes that having the two series on competing networks will make crossovers difficult, if not impossible. "If the storyline calls for a major crossover, then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said. "But I think that the distance between the two shows will enhance the storylines. I think that the writers will be even more creative than they are now." Buffy co-executive producer Marti Noxon told SCI FI Wire earlier that there will be no more crossovers.
Boranaz also confirmed that Angel will add Amy Acker to the regular cast as Fred, an escapee from another dimension, in the upcoming third season. As for his title character, Boreanaz said, "Angel is going to be a little bit more of an action hero, rather than a slumping depressed person. He's going to break out of that, and I think his humor will also come out more and more."
Obi-Wan Eager To Fly
wan McGregor, who reprises the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode II, told the British Daily Record newspaper that he loved shooting scenes in his personal fighter craft, the Jedi Starfighter.
"I've always wanted my own ship," McGregor told the paper. "And Kenobi gets to take off and have his own adventure in this one, which is cool."
In Episode II, McGregor gets to play a fighter pilot, a role his uncle, Denis Lawson, played in the first three Star Wars film. Lawson was Wedge Antilles, the paper reported.
McGregor shot his fighter scenes in a wooden ship rocked by stagehands. "None of it feels great to do," he said. "But it's fun to see." He added, "I can't wait to see the pictures--it will be extraordinary."
Episode II Footage Pulled
day after it posted exclusive Star Wars: Episode II footage, the Force.net Web site has pulled the unauthorized video at the request of Lucasfilm.
"We have removed the video file from our servers for various reasons," the site reported. "We apologize for the inconvenience."
On May 21, the site had posted footage of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in behind-the-scenes training for a lightsaber duel. Episode II is still in post-production, aiming at a May 2002 release.
Owen Talks Episode II Alien
ena Owen, who voices the computer-generated alien Taun We in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode II, told the official Star Wars Homing Beacon newsletter that she's not worried that her face won't appear in the movie.
"There are a million actors in the world who'd love the opportunity to be in Star Wars," Owen told the newsletter. "It's knowing that you're part of history, part of the Star Wars phenomena, and the opportunity and the privilege of working with someone like George Lucas, to be able to sit there and watch how they work, watch them do their thing. That's what it's all about."
Owen's character is described as soothing and mellow. "I'm not sure how to describe it," she said. "She kind of flows and talks the same way. The two operative words that George uses--he used them on set as well as in looping--was 'flowing' and 'kind.' They're creatures of love and light. It's good, as a person, to play that, because you tap into that part of yourself. As an actor, when you're playing those characters that are angst-ridden, it's not much fun. Taun We's a free-flowing creature. I'm kind of the opposite side. I'm out of my head all the time! I live in Los Angeles! I work in the film industry! I think that says it all."
Enterprise To Re-energize Trek?
ick Berman, co-creator of UPN's upcoming Star Trek series, Enterprise, told the Chicago Tribune that the show goes back in time to re-energize the franchise.
Enterprise, starring Scott Bakula as Capt. Jonathan Archer, takes place about 150 years before the events of the original Trek series.
"We ... produced 526 hours of television in the 24th century and three motion pictures, and a fourth one coming. It was time for something new," Berman told the newspaper. "For us, going back to a time when deep space travel was new to humans, it gives us a chance to truly see humans going where no man has gone before. It gives us a chance to deal with more contemporary characters, because they're closer to us now. And it also will give the fans, I think, a wonderful opportunity to see things that they know will be coming in future centuries in their infant stages, and seeing them being developed and worked out."
Enterprise Re-Invents Trek
ick Berman, co-creator of UPN's upcoming Star Trek series, Enterprise, told the Los Angeles Times that the show will depict the genesis of the Trek universe.
Enterprise, the fifth Trek series, will be set in the 22nd century, just after the invention of the warp drive and a century before the time of Capt. Kirk and the original series.
"You'll see the first guys who go out into space, the Chuck Yeagers of space exploration," Berman told the newspaper. "Fans will see all the things they recognize from Star Trek, but in the developmental phase."
Berman's partner and Enterprise co-creator Brannon Braga added that the show will allow writers to move beyond the Trek formula. "The formula must evolve," Braga told the Times. "Part of what's appealing about Star Trek is that people are better. ... But there have been some attempts to alter that with Deep Space Nine and Voyager, arguably darker shows. Was that a mistake? Might have been. Do we want to just go back to the Next Generation formula? No way. We need a show that gives us everything."
Berman added, "The next season will bring a bending of the rules, without losing [Trek creator Gene] Roddenberry's vision of a hopeful, uplifting future. The Roddenberry perfection of humanity is in the process of happening, but will be not completed when the series begins. That will enable us to do a show within the general umbrella of Star Trek, but eliminate some of the stumbling blocks." Braga concurred. "Deep Space Nine and Voyager, while both excellent shows, lost a little bit of that original Star Trek spirit," Braga said. "It's time to get back to the fundamentals of Star Trek."
SFX magazine, meanwhile, reported that crews are building new sets for the series, according to a report on the TrekWeb fan site. "They're definitely building up for a long run," a source told the magazine. "They need heavy-duty sets that are really big, and they're spending a lot of money on it. ... The Voyager sets were 'dead-stuck'. They just chopped them down and threw the pieces in the trash. [Enterprise] is being built from the ground up. The new engine room core set is on Stage 18. It used to be on Stage 9. It had been on Stage 9 since 1977, when they made [Star Trek: The Motion Picture]. It had been used from Next Generation through all the other shows. Until now." A source had told SCI FI Wire that portions of the Voyager sets were being cut up and recycled in part of the Enterprise sets; a recent visit to the Paramount lot confirmed some of the re-use.
Trek Games Live On
ctivision--which will soon be the exclusive producer of Star Trek games--unveiled two new titles at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.
Both titles are set in the Next Generation universe.
Due this fall, the space combat simulation game Star Trek Bridge Commander marks the first time gamers will be able to assume command of a Galaxy or Sovereign-class starship as the captain. Players receive mission briefings from Capt. Picard and Cmdr. Data; the digital 3-D models of these characters are voiced by Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner. The graphically intensive gameplay can be controlled in two modes. The direct command mode--which might be the one preferred by Jean-Luc Picard--lets the player give the commands to her crew while watching the action from the bridge. The tactical mode in the game lets players get their hands dirty and take the helm directly to control the action. A multiplayer option allows other players to take command of any ship on screen.
Due in time for the holidays is Star Trek Armada II, a real-time strategy game sequel to the first installment. Build bases, mine resources, and lead a fleet in battle. As of now, Stewart is the only TNG regular who'll be providing a voice; however, some recurring guest actors will lend their voices, too, including J.G. Artzler (Gen. Martok). This game ups the ante on realism by allowing players to command a fleet from a 3-D tactical view. The story is spread across three single-player campaigns played as the Federation, Klingons and Borg. Other villians--including the Cardassians, Romulans and Species 8472--will pop up when least expected. Multiplayer gameplay includes support for up to eight players over a local area network or the Internet.
Not being shown, but also on the horizon: Star Trek: Borg Simulator. Although it's also set in the Next Generation universe, there are no characters from the series. Instead, players get to control the entire Borg Collective and control the queen and drones as they assimilate a planet. Borg Simulator will be available early 2002.
The Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force expansion pack just shipped. This add-on to Activision's very successful Voyager game Elite Force offers four holodeck activities, including a Capt. Proton scenario, an assault on a Klingon compound and a shooting range. There are also three new multiplayer games. And, as a nice touch given the end of Voyager, the expansion pack lets players take a meandering walking tour through 10 decks of the ship, wandering in and out of crew quarters and exploring the environs with a tricorder.
Takei Leery Of Enterprise
riginal Star Trek star George Takei told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he's leery of UPN's upcoming fifth Trek series, Enterprise.
"It seems the people who took over don't have the [same] feel for the show as Gene Roddenberry," Takei told the newspaper. "Each subsequent spinoff keeps going down in the ratings."
Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu, added that he feels the more recent Trek incarnations lack Roddenberry's ''values, his sense of adventure. Deep Space Nine was the polar opposite of what Gene stood for: our creativity, our ability to work together with diversity."
Takei To Guest On Chronicle
tar Trek alumnus George Takei will guest-star on The SCI FI Channel's upcoming original series The Chronicle, which will air on Saturdays at 9 p.m., starting July 14.
Takei will play Mr. Shen, the father of a young Chinese woman, in the episode "Here There Be Dragons," which will air July 28. The Chronicle's official Web site on SCIFI.COM went live May 21.
The Chronicle tells the story of a tabloid newspaper that investigates reports of paranormal phenomena. It stars Chad Willett, Rena Sofer and Reno Wilson.
On his official Web site, Takei talked about his experience shooting the episode. "My guest-starring role in the episode titled 'Here There Be Dragons,' scheduled to air this summer on The SCI FI Channel, was that of a Chinese immigrant father whose daughter, it is suspected, might be involved with a dragon inhabiting the sewers of Chinatown. The drama is played with straight-faced seriousness. I thought it might be fun." Takei added that San Diego, where the series is in production, doubled for New York, where the episode is set.
UPN Offers Enterprise Tidbits
PN entertainment president Tom Nunan told the New York Post that the network's upcoming Star Trek series, Enterprise, will have a different look from previous shows.
"The controls inside the ship look like the kind of controls we've seen on videos from inside the space shuttle and the new space station," Nunan told the newspaper. "The uniforms look like the NASA uniforms that we're more familiar with."
A preview of Enterprise during UPN's recent presentation to advertisers offered brief glimpses of the ship's interiors, which featured toggle switches and other mechanical controls. SCI FI Wire, meanwhile, reported earlier that at least some of the Enterprise crew will wear navy blue jumpsuit uniforms with black mock-turtlenecks underneath and colored piping along the shoulders and yoke. The uniforms also feature shoulder patches with the ship's insignia.
Enterprise will debut with a two-hour pilot episode, "Broken Bow," in the fall.
Voyager Finale Synopsized
he official Star Trek Web site has posted a synopsis of the two-hour Voyager series finale, "Endgame," which airs at 8 p.m. May 23.
The series is ending its seven-year run on UPN.
The official synopsis contains a few spoilers: "It took the U.S.S. Voyager decades to journey home from the Delta Quadrant, decades which took their toll upon the ship's crew and captain. Now an admiral in Starfleet, Kathryn Janeway cannot reconcile the price of the long passage and embarks on an ambitious and forbidden plan to change the past, forcing a final confrontation with Voyager's deadliest enemy." As previously reported, that enemy is the Borg, featuring Alice Krige as the Borg Queen.
Meanwhile, the site reported that Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan proclaimed May 23 "Star Trek: Voyager Day" in recognition of the show's seven years on the air and the evening's finale. A UPN press release noted that Voyager's message of universal harmony among diversity was a sentiment that resonated in the multicultural city.
New Trek Games Previewed
nterplay, a longtime maker of games based on the original Star Trek series, is prepping its final games before its Trek license runs out, the company told SCI FI Wire at the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.
Star Trek: Shattered Universe, an arcade-style action-shooter for the PlayStation 2, is due at the end of the year and takes place in the alternate universe established in the original series episode "Mirror, Mirror." There are 30 to 35 single-player missions, and gameplay is supplemented by cinematic cutscenes that bridge the missions.
Interplay also previewed its final PC-based Trek title, due out in June. Starfleet Command Orion Pirates is not an expansion pack to the popular Starfleet Command, but is rather a stand-alone game set in the Starfleet Command world. This installment adds new races, more than 200 ships and 22 new models. There's an online component as well.
Voyager's Wang Looks Ahead
arrett Wang told SCI FI Wire that he isn't sure if he'll ever play Ensign Harry Kim again once Star Trek: Voyager calls it a day on May 23 with the series finale, "Endgame."
"That's really tough to say," he said in an interview.
"Now that The Next Generation has taken over the flame from the original cast when it comes to Star Trek features, I don't know if there's room for Deep Space Nine or Voyager movies," Wang said. "And the TNG cast is still relatively young. They're not ready to pass the torch on. I think they've got at least one more film in them, so it would be several years before anyone could make a Star Trek film with people from the other shows."
But what about those rumors that the upcoming Star Trek X movie will be the last one with the TNG crew? "I'd heard rumors that Insurrection was going to be the last one with the TNG cast, and they're doing another one," Wang said. "And I find it hard to see Patrick Stewart or Brent Spiner saying no to the paychecks that they're getting if Paramount asks them to do Star Trek XI. If it's a good story and the money is good, I think they'd do it again. Whatever happens, whenever the TNG movies stop, the studio will have to decide, `Do we want to make a movie with the DS9 cast, the Voyager cast, or even both together?' I think, in terms of a cohesive group, we have a little more cohesion than DS9. But I'd love to work on a project with DS9 actors, too. That would be fun."
X-Files Details Uncertain
he X-Files will return for a ninth season on Fox, but viewers still don't really know who's the father of Scully's baby, whether Mulder will be back and how much creator Chris Carter will be involved.
"I think it's really premature to talk about what next season's going to look like creatively," Fox chairman Sandy Grushow told the Zap2It.com Web site. "Chris and his folks at 1013 are all very excited and enthusiastic about doing another season. That they feel like they reinvented the show this year, that they feel like they can go even further in terms of its reinvention next season."
Gillian Anderson comes back next year, along with Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish. As for Duchovny, "He certainly made it clear that after eight years of doing the show he feels like he wants to move on with his life and with his career," Grushow said. "But that's not to say that there isn't a possibility that at some point down the road he might show up. I just wouldn't hold my breath."
Rings DVDs Already Planned
he first Lord of the Rings movie doesn't hit theaters until December, but director Peter Jackson is reportedly already planning for the DVD release, slated for 2004, Variety reported.
The boxed set will contain director's cuts of the three upcoming movies, the trade paper reported.
The three Rings movies, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's books of the same name, are being released theatrically in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
The DVD versions of the trilogy will probably contain more extreme footage than the tamer version released in cinemas to earn a PG rating, the trade paper reported. New Line Home Video also hired a crew to film behind-the-scenes details in New Zealand, during the nearly two years the films were in production.
McKellen Updates Rings
an McKellen, who plays Gandalf in Peter Jackson's upcoming Lord of the Rings film trilogy, told fans on his official Web site that the first cut of the first movie will be delivered to New Line in June.
McKellen was in New Zealand recently to shoot new scenes and touch up his dialogue in the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, which opens Dec. 19.
"Peter Jackson and his diminished cohorts have labored through a hot New Zealand summer," McKellen wrote. "Some pick-up shots kept Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) filming through most of January. The WETA digital department has 120 technicians perfecting the special effects, whilst Peter and his editors have been shaping the first film and fitting together the story of the fellowship's journey to Mordor, where the ring was forged and must be destroyed."
McKellen added that most of the film's dialogue had to be replaced, since the Wellington film studio--where much of it was shot--was not soundproofed. "Already, in an underground sound studio off Wardour Street in London, Sean Bean (Boromir), Ian Holm (Bilbo) and Christopher Lee (Saruman) have added a fresh soundtrack to their scenes."
McKellen returned to New Zealand in part to shoot a revised beginning for the first film. "The very opening of the film due this December was to be changed," the actor said. "Its original prologue has been abandoned and the backstories of Isildur and of Smeagol--who both found and lost the ring--are now to be told once Bilbo, the adventurer from Tolkien's The Hobbit, has been introduced. In Bag End, we will see Bilbo starting to write his memoirs. Gandalf's arrival in Hobbiton for Bilbo's 111th birthday party of magnificence now opens the movie, just as it opens the first book, but it has been expanded to help with the exposition. Hence the need for extra filming."
Rings Game Unveiled At E3
ierra On-Line told SCI FI Wire at the recent Los Angeles Electronic Entertainment Expo that its upcoming Lord of the Rings game will offer players a detailed look at the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.
Tracey Donnelly, one of the game's developers, said that Tolkien's level of detail "helps us create a believable interpretation" of his world.
Sierra is working with Seattle-based developer WXP and Tolkien Enterprises to develop an Xbox game based on Tolkien's first Rings book, The Fellowship of the Ring, in conjunction with Peter Jackson's upcoming Rings film trilogy. Sierra said the first game is about 70 percent complete, but isn't slated to be shipped until the first half of 2002. The first Rings movie, also based on Fellowship, premieres Dec. 19.
Sierra, which holds the exclusive license for Tolkien games, and WXP knew that it needed to create the game for a powerful game system. And the technical abilities of Microsoft's upcoming Xbox platform are such that it seemed like the right fit, especially given the reported ease of developing for that platform and transferring game code between the PC and the Xbox. (No PC version has been announced at this time, but it is a possibility.)
The plot of the Fellowship of the Rings game will follow the book closely and will feature all of the characters in the books, with additional characters and battles to keep the action moving. Tolkien Enterprises has final approval "to make sure it's consistent with the books and Tolkien's themes," Donnelly said in an interview.
Roswell Fans Thank UPN
ans of the teen alien series Roswell, which ended its run on The WB May 21, are organizing a charity fund-raiser to thank UPN for picking the show up for a third season.
The fans had sent in more than 12,000 bottles of Tabasco sauce--the aliens' favorite condiment--urging UPN to adopt the show.
Now the fans are asking others to thank the network by making a charitable contribution in UPN's name to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation instead of writing more letters. The campaign ends June 1; the foundation will send a letter to UPN letting it know how many people responded.
New Who On BBC?
he Outpost Gallifrey Web site reported rumors that at least one proposal has been submitted to the BBC for a new Doctor Who television series.
The site also relayed an SFX magazine story that a possible revival of the series is being timed to coincide with the series' 40th anniversary in the fall of 2003.
SFX reported that BBC officials are aware of the interest surrounding possible plans for a film project, though some fans favor a series over a film.
Queen Is Dream Role
op star Aaliyah--who will play a 6,000-year-old vampire in the upcoming Queen of the Damned movie--told USA Today that she played a role close to her heart.
"It was a dream role, because Akasha is the queen, the mother of all vampires," Aaliyah told the newspaper. "She's also Egyptian, and I'm totally obsessed with Egypt and have pictures all around my apartment."
Aaliyah added that she is a fan of Anne Rice, on whose book the film is based. Aaliyah's character, Akasha, is "very powerful, very regal, very spoiled," she said. "I had to tap into my evil side."
But the 22-year-old actress remained mum about her role in the upcoming sequels to The Matrix. "Lips are sealed," she said, adding only that her character is named Zee.
Giving Voice To Atlantis
inguist Marc Okrand--who created a readable and speakable language for Disney's ucpoming animated movie Atlantis: The Lost Empire--told USA Today that he also became a model for the hero, Milo Thatch, voiced by Michael J. Fox.
"When I first met animator John Pomeroy, he said, 'I hope it doesn't bother you, but I'm going to be drawing sketches when I talk to you. You're the only linguist I've ever met, so I don't know what they look like or how they behave,'" the bespectacled Okrand told the newspaper.
Okrand, who also created Klingon and Vulcan languages for Star Trek, sought to make something flowing and soothing for Atlantis. "It's supposed to be like other languages," said Okrand, who based Atlantean on Indo-European. "A root language, whatever that is. So I found sounds that were common." Disney animators drew the 29 letters of the Atlantean alphabet with Okrand's help.
He made a phonetic transcript of the Atlantean lines in the script, "so I would know what I meant." Yes is "tig," no is "kwam," and hello is "supak." Atlantis opens June 8 in New York and Los Angeles and June 15 in the rest of the United States.
Limits Heads For Screen
GM has made a deal with Victor & Grais Productions for a big-screen version of The Outer Limits television series, now airing on The SCI FI Channel, Variety reported.
The project will be co-produced under the Trilogy Entertainment banner, the trade paper reported.
MGM president Michael Nathanson told Variety, "The idea of an Outer Limits film is extremely exciting, and we look forward to seeing where these veteran producers take us." Producers are seeking a writer.
German Phantastik Nominees Named
he German Phantastik.de SF Web site reported that fans have nominated finalists for the German Phantastik Awards 2001, recognizing German-language works.
Winners will be announced at the Buchmesse Convention, Oct. 13 in Dreieich-Buchschlag, Germany, which is near Frankfurt. A complete list of nominations follows.
Best German Novel
•Die Legende von Camelot 1: Gralszauber by Wolfgang Hohlbein
•Wilde Jagd by Bjoern Jagnow
•Lord Gamma by Michael Marrak
•Das Haus des Daedalus by Kai Meyer
•Das Buch der Schluessel by Micha Pansi
•Apokalypse: Der Tod kam aus dem All by Jo Zybell
Best Foreign Novel
•Strange Eons by Robert Bloch
•Stardust by Neil Gaiman
•The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
•Nobody's Son by Sean Stewart
•Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Best Short Story
•"Halloween" by Andreas Eschbach
•"Der fuenfte Erzengel" by Andreas Gruber
•"Troubadour" by Marcus Hammerschmitt
•"Pimperlinge" by Michael Marrak
•"Herz in Bernstein" by Manfred Weinland
Best Anthology
•Lovecrafts dunkle Idole, Frank Festa, ed.
•Der fuenfte Erzengel, Andreas Gruber, ed.
•Wolfgang Hohlbeins Fantasy Selection 2001, Wolfgang Hohlbein, ed.
•Halloween, Marco Schneiders, ed.
•Die ein boeses Ende finden, Malte Schulz-Sembten, ed.
Best Serial
•Grusel-Schocker
•Maddrax
•Necroscope
•Prof. Zamorra
•Ren Dhark
Author Of The Year
•W.K. Giesa
•Wolfgang Hohlbein
•Claudia Kern
•Michael Marrak
•Jo Zybell
Best Translation
•Hannes Riffel for Schismatrix
•Klaus Fritz for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
•Michael Plogmann for The Fire Worm
•Andreas Diesel/Rainder Marquardt for Necroscope
•Christine Strueh for Stardust
Best Feature Film
•Galaxy Quest
•Scary Movie
•The Cell
•Unbreakable
•X-Men
Best TV Series
•Angel
•Buffy
•Farscape
•Futurama
•Stargate SG-1
Best Actress
•Gillian Anderson (Scully/X-Files)
•Claudia Black (Aeryn Sun/Farscape)
•Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy/Buffy)
•Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina/Sabrina)
•Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine/Star Trek: Voyager)
Best Actor
•Richard Dean Anderson (Jack O'Neill/Stargate SG-1)
•David Boreanaz (Angel/Angel)
•Patrick Stewart (Prof. X/X-Men)
•Ben Browder (John Crichton/Farscape)
•Jonathan LaPaglia (Frank B. Parker/7 Days)
Best German Internet Site
•Maddrax
•Alien Contact
•Lord of the Rings Movies
•SF Radio
•Star Trek
Special Honor Award
•Wolfgang Jeschke
•W.K. Giesa
•J.K. Rowling
•SF Radio
•Social Fantasies
Special Flop Award
•David Duchovny (X-Files)
•Star Trek: Voyager
•Verlag Marxmuehle (publisher)
•John Sinclair
•Der Herr der Ringe, new translation of The Lord of the Rings by Wolfgang
Krege
Marie Gets New Exposure
isa Marie told SCI FI Wire that there's a universe of difference between acting and serving as the hostess of The SCI FI Channel's short-film showcase Exposure.
"They're totally different, and I'm still figuring it out," she said in an interview. "I'm still learning the process of hosting, because I'd never done it before now."
Lisa Marie will host approximately 20 segments of Exposure, introducing viewers to up-and-coming filmmakers, as well as to genre favorites. She'll also preview film shorts directed by pros, relative newcomers and complete neophytes.
"You are yourself, but there is a formula," she said of the challenges. "There is a script. There is a way you have to do it. There's a lot of thought put into it--at least I put a lot of thought into it. I watch as many of the films as I can so I know what I'm talking about. The directors are from all over the world. The films are shorts and features. Some of them are in English, and some are foreign-language films."
As an actress, Lisa Marie is best known for her roles in the films of her longtime beau, director Tim Burton. She played Vampira in Ed Wood, Martian Girl in Mars Attacks! and Ichabod Crane's mother in Sleepy Hollow. And she'll be back in action on July 27 in Burton's latest, Planet of the Apes.
"I play Nova," said Marie, who describes her role as that of a sexy ape. Ask her to define whether Planet of the Apes is a remake or a reinterpretation, however, and there's silence. "I don't know," she said after a moment. "I don't know quite how to describe it, because that's really Tim's territory. I did my work. I was responsible for my part. And then I went on with my own life. I'm not in the entire movie. I have a small part. Tim was there much longer than I was, so I don't want to speak for him on what the film is. All I can tell you is it's a huge movie. It's about as huge as it gets."
It's Kent, Not Superman
om Welling, star of The WB's upcoming Smallville, told TV Guide Online that he won't be playing a certain blue-and-red-clad superhero.
"I'm not Superman--I'm Clark Kent, before he was Superman. Not many people know that."
Welling also admits to worries about typecasting as the Man of Steel. "I actually thought that at the beginning," he told the site. "But, then I read the script, and there's so much to it that I'm not worried. It's quality stuff." Smallville will air Tuesdays at 9 p.m.
Apes Finds Missing Link
im Burton, director of the upcoming remake of Planet of the Apes, told the New York Times that his film links apes and humans.
"It's about apes and humans creating a new behavior," he told the newspaper. "It's about how we perceive ourselves and how we perceive apes. They terrify us because they are so close to us and so far away."
The new film, with a script written by William Broyles Jr. and revised by Lawrence Konner and Mark D. Rosenthal, pits humans against apes after hero Mark Wahlberg crashes his experimental spacecraft in the year 2029, the paper reported. Wahlberg meets a chimpanzee human-rights activist played by Helena Bonham Carter.
Burton studied ape behavior to shape his vision of the simian characters. "Part of the reason they have survived so long is that they are so strong," Burton said. "And the chimps aren't what you think at all. They can be scary. They may smile at you and look cute, but there is darker behavior beneath the surface."
Make A Japanese SF Movie
eb and television studio Submarine announced the debut of AbsolutDirector.com, an offbeat site that allows aspiring filmmakers to make their own movie using 36 film clips from an obscure 1960s Japanese SF movie.
Director Spike Lee is the first filmmaker to premiere his work on the site, A Woman in a Rubber Suit.
The site is also launching with short films by acclaimed directors Mary
Harron (American Psycho) and Chris Smith (Home Movie).
A user can choose the scenes he wants, set the running order, write the dialogue for each of the 11 characters, select voices and background music and even create title and credit screens.
TNT Gets Charmed Reruns
NT has acquired rerun rights for up to eight seasons of The WB's witch series Charmed, Variety reported.
The cable network also has acquired the rights to air an immediate second run of Charmed within a week of its original airing on The WB, beginning in September.
TNT plans to air Charmed reruns weekdays, beginning in fall 2002. The show's producer, Paramount, will put the show into weekend syndication simultaneously, Variety reported.
The WB recently finalized a three-year renewal deal for Charmed, which enters its fourth season in September without co-star Shannen Doherty. It runs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on The WB. TNT wouldn't be able to air the second run of the show until 10 p.m.
Activision Launches Marvel Games
ctivision announced two new titles for the Game Boy Color based on Marvel's Spider-Man and X-Men comic series.
The games have been shipped to North American retail stores at a suggested retail price of $29.99.
Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six is the sequel to Spider-Man. Players use Spidey's powers to battle Doc Ock, Scorpion, Sandman, Mysterio and Vulture.
X-Men: Wolverine's Rage is an all-new action-adventure game that lets players fight as Marvel's legendary X-Man against Cyber, Sabretooth and Lady Deathstrike.
Not Easy Being An Animal
ob Schneider, co-writer and star of the upcoming SF comedy The Animal, told SCI FI Wire that he worried about how to play a man who gains unusual abilities after receiving transplanted animal parts.
Schneider said writing partner Tom Brady approached him with the idea, at the time called Zoo Boy.
"I saw the potential for it," Schneider said in an interview while promoting the picture. "But I also knew, I said, 'This is going to be the biggest pain in the ass.' ... And it took us, like, five months to figure it out, what the story was. Because, if you think about it, what is he, squirting out ink on people's faces like a squid? Will he climb the walls like a spider? I'm going to have to do this stuff, Tom! But we worked it out."
Schneider said he and Brady spent hours watching animal attack videotapes, which added little to the script, but convinced Schneider he didn't want to work with bears after he watched one attack a woman on a Japanese television show. He did pick up one gag after viewing how a bear fishes salmon out of a river.
Schneider said he also encountered real-life dangers when working with an orangutan for a key sequence in the film. "Orangutans, you don't see them in a lot of movies, because they're very dangerous," he said. "They're unpredictable. It's a relationship. They don't work for, like, a biscuit. 'Here's a biscuit. Now do your Michael Jackson impression.' I work that way. ... You have to have a great relationship. It has to get along with me." The first ape selected for the job was a full-grown female stronger than seven men. At their first meeting, the ape grew livid at Schneider for no apparent reason, leading its trainer to withdraw from the film. Eventually, the filmmakers paired Schneider with a very young ape, Louie. "Louie and I just got along famously," Schneider said. "You have to treat the orangutans like they're your oldest, best friends. ... You try not to make fast movements. I warmed him up to the fast movements. ... It's delicate. You have to keep them in a playful mood." The Animal, which co-stars former Survivor contestant Colleen Haskell, opens June 1.
Law Reveals A.I. Meaning
ude Law--who plays a robot gigolo in Steven Spielberg's upcoming A.I.--told Premiere magazine that the movie has a deep meaning, according to a report on the Cinescape Online Web site.
"The message, perhaps, is that if we do create artificial life, we will be responsible for them, we will be their gods," Law said. "We will choose what they have, what they're good at. But the one thing we can't program is love. Love is untranslatable."
Law added that it took some adjustment for him to act alongside actual robotic constructs, the magazine reported. "They were so real, so funny, so amazing," he said. "I had to match them. You realize the oddity of working in films. Bottom line is, you're shooting a scene; it doesn't matter who you're opposite: him, her, that. It's all relevant. It's all believing, isn't it?"
As for playing an artificial intelligence, Law said, "When we started, I kept picturing this geek in a workshop, building me. What would he have put in me? What could I do or not do? Then I realized I was the geek. I was the guy building me, programming my brain, deciding how emotional, how expressive he could be. Steven would say, 'Go for it, make him as human as you want. Let me remind you of the rules if you go too far.'"
Devastator Heads For TV
roducer David Engel told the Comics2Film Web site that he's working on a proposed television series based on comic writer James Hudnall's Devastator series.
Engel said he is developing the concept with Jerry Bruckheimer Television (C.S.I.).
Director Ralph Hemecker (TNT's Witchblade TV movie) is attached to direct Devastator. "We're hoping it's going to be Ralph's next series. Ralph has blown up from Witchblade and wants to do it," Engel told the site.
The comic takes place in a future Los Angeles, where everyone has neural interface sockets in the backs of their necks. When a troubled ex-cop named John Black plugs in a mood chip to alleviate his sorrows, the tampered chip turns him into a programmed killer out to assassinate the mayor.
Engel and Hudnall previously teamed up to bring Hudnall's Harsh Realm comic to television, Comics2Film reported.
Exorcist Creators Sue Warner
illiam Blatty and William Friedkin, the writing and directing team behind The Exorcist, filed suit Tuesday against Warner Brothers and its affiliates, Turner Network Television and Turner Broadcasting System, seeking tens of millions of dollars, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Blatty and Friedkin are claming breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty and seek imposition of trust and accounting concerning revenues gained from the original film and The Exorcist--The Version You've Never Seen, an updated and re-edited version of the movie that was released in September, the trade paper reported.
According to the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the duo are claming that Warner improperly allocated to the film unreasonably low shares of the total license fee paid by licensees where the film is sold as part of a package, particularly in licenses to companies that are part of the AOL Time Warner corporation. In one instance, the suit alleges, Exorcist was licensed to TNT in 1997 within a package of 114 other films for only $110,000--a third of its license fee four years earlier.
Blatty wrote the book upon which the film was based and the screenplay, for which he won an Academy Award in 1973. Blatty also co-produced the film, which received a best picture nomination as well as a best director nomination for Friedkin, the trade paper reported. Warner spokeswoman Barbara Brogliatti told the Reporter that she had not yet seen the suit and added, "We never comment on matters of litigation, especially those that are ludicrous."
John Edward Expands Airings
he SCI FI Channel's original psychic talk show Crossing Over with John Edward will move to prime time at 8 p.m. from 11 p.m. and air in an hour-long block, Sundays through Thursdays, starting June 4.
SCI FI has also partnered with Studios USA for the series to air in national syndication, beginning Aug. 27.
Beginning as a late night, half-hour weekday series last July, Crossing Over launched its second season in January with an expanded full-hour weekend show, Sundays at 8 p.m.
The prime-time debut of Crossing Over is part of SCI FI Channel's "Summer of SCI FI," which features more than 100 hours of new original programming. SCI FI will also air an episode of its original series Farscape, written by star Ben Browder; the premiere of the new original series The Chronicle; the third season premiere of LEXX; and the season finales of First Wave, Black Scorpion and The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne.
How Evolution Evolved
on Jakoby, who created the story and co-wrote the script for Ivan Reitman's upcoming Evolution film, told The Hollywood Reporter's Martin Grove that he originally intended the film to be serious.
"I wrote the screenplay called Evolution, which was a serious, dramatic science-fiction set piece, a big movie, and it came into Ivan's hands through [producer] Tom Pollock," Jakoby said.
Jakoby added, "I guess in Ivan's mind, the light bulb went on, and it said Ghostbusters 2001. We had a big meeting with Tom and Ivan and all of their people--Joe Medjuck and all of Ivan's producers. And they brought me into the room and said, 'Look, we love this script. Here's the thing, we want to'--and then [Reitman] made a sort of a tilting motion--'we want to camp this thing 20 or 30 degrees. We just want to take it slightly off center.' And I said, 'You mean, Ghostbusters 2001.' He said, 'Yup. Do you mind selling it to us and letting us do that and helping us do that?'"
Jakoby said he had no problem with the suggestion. "I knew Ivan was capable of doing that kind of a movie, certainly. I happen to think Ghostbusters is one of the best movies of the last 20 years." Evolution, starring David Duchovny, Julianne Moore and Orlando Jones, opens June 8.
SCI FI Preps Earthsea Mini
he SCI FI Channel has signed a deal with producers Lawrence Bender and Kevin Brown (Roswell) to develop a miniseries based on the first three novels of the epic Earthsea saga by Ursula Le Guin, SCI FI confirmed.
SCI FI president Bonnie Hammer told Variety that the Earthsea books are "pure fantasy novels that set up a phenomenal, magical world similar to the Rings trilogy of J.R.R. Tolkien and the Harry Potter novels."
SCI FI is seeking a writer to adapt the first three Le Guin novels: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore . The sixth novel in the series, The Other Wind, comes out this fall, the trade paper reported.
X-Men 2 Casting Debunked
he Comics2Film Web site denied a rumor, first reported by the 4Filmmakers site, that Anthony Hopkins and Scott Caan had been cast in the upcoming X-Men 2 sequel.
4Filmmakers had said that Hopkins might provide the voice for Beast, while Caan might play Gambit.
But Marvel executive Kevin Feige denied the report to Comics2Film, saying that no casting decisions have been made yet. "I don't know where they get this stuff," Feige said.
The Ain't It Cool News Web site, meanwhile, reported several new rumors about the sequel, among them that Zak Penn and David Hayter have each drafted separate proposed scripts for the film. The story reportedly centers on the Legacy Virus plot, in which conspirators create a disease that targets mutants. AICN also reported that the stories will feature Sentinels, but in human form, not robot form.
Mutant X Not X-Men
arvel Entertainment executive Avi Arad told the Comics Continuum Web site that Mutant X, the upcoming live-action syndicated TV series, will take a different approach to mutation than other Marvel projects.
The Tribune Entertainment show deals with three Genome-Project mutants who find themselves on the run from the government agency that created them. Arad is executive-producing the show.
"It's definitely not the X-Men," Arad told the site. "It's about genome technology. It's a whole new universe of mutants. You look at the show and think about it, that 20 years ago they were experimenting on babies, with DNA, and to make all kids with blue eyes, all kids tall, this sort of thing. Now, there is a product recall. These babies are 18, 20, 25 and so on. They know they are different. They were born different. Many of them were changed in the embryo stage or even pre-embryo."
Arad added, "It's more like The Fugitive. It's not like the world is against them, because the world is really unaware that they exist." Production of Mutant X will take place in Toronto, possibly starting next month, the Continuum reported.
Allen May Headline StarChild
im Allen (Galaxy Quest) is in talks to play the lead in StarChild, an SF film from Paramount, the Hollywood trade papers reported.
Allen would play a CIA agent assigned to return the Roswell alien back home before interplanetary war erupts, Variety reported.
Peter Segal (Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps) will direct; Dan O'Dowd is writing the script. No start date has been scheduled for the movie. Allen's Boxing Cat Productions is producing the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Baldwin Balks On Devil
lec Baldwin has refused to get involved with post-production of his upcoming fantasy movie The Devil and Daniel Webster--his directorial debut--until the film's financial backers come up with more money, Variety reported.
Baldwin worked until the March 13 wrap of principal photography, but he received pay for his last four weeks of work only after he hired an attorney, the trade paper reported. Baldwin is also reportedly concerned about whether others on the production will be paid through the end of the project.
David Glasser, an executive with Cutting Edge Entertainment, which is backing the movie, denied to Variety that the film had serious money problems beyond the usual ones experienced by independently financed films with several investors.
Devil--co-starring Anthony Hopkins and Jennifer Love Hewitt--is a remake of a 1941 movie, which is based on Stephen Vincent Benet's short story of the same name.
Witchblade Deepens Partner's Role
avid Chokachi, who plays Jake McCarty in TNT's upcoming Witchblade television series, told the Comics Continuum Web site that his character will be more complex in the series than in the pilot movie.
"In the pilot, he was pretty green, trying to figure it out," Chokachi told the Continuum. "But they took a giant step away from that, which I requested."
Chokachi plays the partner of heroine Sara Pezzini (Yancy Butler). "I'm still the rookie, but in this series, I have a lot more to offer to everyone, and detective-wise to Sara," Chokachi said. "I just bring a lot more to the dance, basically." TNT has ordered 11 episodes of Witchblade, which is based on the Top Cow comics series of the same name.
"They have this 'B' story that our captain is kind of involved with this group of vigilante cops," Chokachi said. "And he hates Yancy's character. And he knows I'm her partner and his only access to her. So he's trying to recruit me into his little group to try and get rid of her, and it all goes into all different directions. And no one knows what my real purpose is and why I'm here. It's starting to look like I could be here for more alternative reasons than just being a detective. So it's pretty bad-ass. It's killer, the direction it goes in." TNT will rebroadcast the Witchblade pilot on June 5, and the series premieres June 12.
Animating Cats & Dogs
omputer animators at the Los Angeles visual-effects house Rhythm & Hues--best known for making a pig talk in Babe--told SCI FI Wire that they face another challenge in the upcoming fantasy film Cats & Dogs.
The FX house, one of 11 working on the animated and live-action movie, faced the challenging of making household pets talk, engage in martial-arts fights and perform Mission: Impossible-like stunts in a film about the secret, high-tech war between felines and canines.
"It's harder to do dogs and cats than dinosaurs, or even 16-foot gorillas, because few people have seen 16-foot gorillas sitting on their hoods," Rhythm & Hues' senior animation supervisor Bill Kroyer said.
Animators built the pets up from the skeleton outward in computers, then devised behavior in keeping with the animals' actual physiology. Among other things, they consulted with a martial-arts expert to come up with moves a cat might actually perform. In a preview clip, two Siamese "ninja" cats descend from wires into a suburban home and attack the protagonist, a beagle named Lou (voiced by Tobey Maguire), fighting him with Matrix-like high kicks.
One of the biggest challenges was animating the chief villain, a white Persian cat named Mr. Tinkles. The cat was portrayed in part by a puppet and in part with computer animation. Among other things, Rhythm & Hues had to devise new software to make the cat's millions of white hairs move realistically--software so new, the cat could not have been created even a year earlier. "It was like building an airplane in flight," Kroyer said. The company started research and development for Mr. Tinkles in January 2000 and was still completing the character animation last week; dozens of people at R&H are working on Mr. Tinkles alone. "Nature had a couple of million years to make these creatures," said Bill Westenhofer, Rhythm & Hues' visual effects supervisor. "We had 18 months." Warner Brothers' Cats & Dogs, featuring the voices of Alec Baldwin, Sean Hayes, Jon Lovitz and Susan Sarandon, opens July 4.
Diesel Up For T3 Role?
in Diesel, rumored to be under consideration for a part in the upcoming Terminator 3 movie, said he'd be eager to strike a deal if offered a role, the Popcorn U.K. Web site reported.
But Diesel would not confirm or deny that he's actually up for a role.
"Do I look like a cyborg?" Diesel asked the site. But he said he is a fan of the franchise. "I don't think people generally like heroes that are too polished," the Pitch Black star said. "I think antiheroes of any sort are usually more interesting."
USA Today reported that Terminator 3 is moving forward now that a strike by Hollywood writers has been averted. Star Arnold Schwarzenegger will reportedly contend with two bad terminators, a male and a female. Director Jonathan Mostow and writer Tedi Sarafian are said to be still working on the script.
Diesel Preps For Pitch 2
in Diesel told the Zap2It Web site that he's starting work on the sequel to his surprise hit SF movie Pitch Black.
"I'm training right now for Pitch Black 2," he told the site. "David Hayter, the guy who wrote X-Men, is writing the sequel. It's going to be called The Chronicle of Riddick, so it should be exciting."
But Diesel was coy about the upcoming Terminator 3, neither confirming nor denying rumors that he'll play the villain in the sequel.
TV, Films Fuel E3 Games
ilm and television tie-in games were among the highlights previewed by SCI FI Wire at the Electronic Entertainment Expo held May 17-19 in Los Angeles.
But several were also missing in action, including last year's highly touted Fox Interactive PC title based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That game is now slated to be an Xbox game produced by Electronic Arts for Fox, and the game was not being demonstrated on the show floor.
Buffy may face competition in Simon & Schuster Interactive's Darkened Skye, whose athletic heroine battles the forces of evil magic. Due out in the fall for PC and PlayStation 2, this third-person action adventure game--pitched by SSI as being "Buffy meets [Tomb Raider's] Lara"--does have one thing Buffy does not: the financial backing of the company behind Skittles candies, which are featured in the game as the character's "holy grail."
SSI also showcased its final Star Trek title: Star Trek: Dominion Wars, due out in June. After that, the license for Trek games shifts to Activision. Dominion Wars is set in the Deep Space Nine universe and supports up to eight players in online gameplay. There are also 20 single-player space combat missions.
Unfortunately, SSI didn't have much to show yet for its highly anticipated Farscape game, which is being done in conjunction with The Jim Henson Co., based on The SCI FI Channel original series of the same name. Planned for a 2002 release on the PC and one of the upcoming next-generation game platforms, Farscape will let players control their favorite Farscape characters. The company showcased a short video of the game's drawings and renderings.
From Universal, whose gaming division gained new strength in the wake of the Vivendi merger, comes a game based on its hit sequel movie The Mummy Returns. Planned for the PlayStation 2 platform, the Mummy's release will be timed with the Christmas release of the DVD. The game uses the same sound effects as the movie and will let players follow the events of the film from the perspective of the villain, Imhotep, or hero, Rick O'Connell. Universal is also bringing out a PS2 game, Jurassic Park: Survival, based on the film franchise, but not the plot of the upcoming Jurassic Park III film, which premieres July 20.
Knowledge Adventure is releasing three games based on Jurassic Park, aimed at children aged 7 and up. Jurassic Park 3: Scan Command comes with barcode readers that connect to a PC and allow kids to add DNA to their dinosaurs by randomly scanning barcodes on ordinary household goods, like food and videos.
Jurassic Series Not Extinct?
ew York Daily News columnist Mitchell Fink reported a rumor that Steven Spielberg, director of Jurassic Park, is ordering ideas for a fourth installment in the dinosaur franchise.
Jurassic Park III, the third film, is due in theaters July 20.
Spielberg directed the first two films and produced the third, which is directed by Joe Johnston. Asked about the prospects for Jurassic Park IV, Spielberg's spokesman, Marvin Levy, told Fink, "I've heard rumblings to that effect. From what I understand, Steven is very happy with what he has seen of Joe Johnston's work in III. If there is a IV, Steven would again produce it. But Steven is definitely not going to direct any more Jurassics."
Gibson Reading Signs
s rumored, Mel Gibson is in talks to star in Signs, Disney's upcoming suspense film written and to be directed by The Sixth Sense's M. Night Shyamalan, Variety reported.
Gibson is believed to have read the script last week, the trade paper reported.
Gibson reportedly likes the prospect of working with Shyamalan on Signs, which tells the story of the sudden appearance of crop circles at a family's farm in Bucks County, Pa.
Potter Film Is Faithful
teve Kloves, the writer who adapted J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the big screen, told the San Jose Mercury News that the film will adhere to the best-selling children's novel.
"We're being faithful to the book," Kloves told the newspaper. "It doesn't look like a kiddie film, I can tell you that."
The filmmakers, including director Chris Columbus, are aiming at a PG rating, Kloves said. "What appeals to a certain level of kids who read these books is that they don't feel written as children's books, because there's real darkness, real edge," he said. Potter, which is currently in production, premieres Nov. 16.
Potter Games Previewed
lectronic Arts previewed video games at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles based on J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of children's novels.
The games--timed to coincide with the release of Chris Columbus' feature-film version of the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone--will be released Nov. 16 for the PC, PlayStation, GameBoy Advanced and GameBoy Color gaming platforms.
The games will share visuals from the film and allow gamers to interact with characters from the books, a spokesman told SCI FI Wire. Rowling worked closely with EA to ensure the games' fidelity to the stories, and she also created special creatures and narratives specifically for the games, the spokesman said.
Set during Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts, the games will allow players to attend classes, play Quidditch, ride a broomstick, fight a troll and eventually face Harry's nemesis, Voldemort. The games will differ on each platform: the PC version will be a puzzle-adventure; the PlayStation and Game Boy Advanced editions will be action-adventures; and the Game Boy Color will be more like a role-playing game.
Shrek Takes The Green
he computer-animated Shrek lived happily ever after, debuting as the No. 1 film on the weekend of May 18, the Hollywood trade papers reported.
The DreamWorks movie took in an estimated $42.1 million, the second-biggest premiere for an animated movie, after Toy Story 2, the trades reported. Shrek's success represented the biggest opening for a non-Disney animated movie ever.
The Mummy Returns continued to wrap up good returns, taking in an estimated $20.5 million for the No. 2 slot in its third weekend of release. The movie has earned about $146.5 million so far.
A Knight's Tale made an estimated $10.7 million in its second weekend, for the No. 3 position. The anachronistic medieval story has earned about $32.2 million after 10 days.
Spy Kids scared up an estimated $1.3 million and ranked ninth, raising its total take to about $103.5 million.
Briefly Noted
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Zentertainment reported that the female lead role in the upcoming Ball and Chain TV pilot will be played by Myndy Crist. She and Dan Cortese play a divorcing couple who become endowed with superpowers that function only when the bickering couple is together.
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Newsweek magazine reported that Cadillac has arranged to have its new luxury pickup truck, the EXT, placed as the "vehicle of choice" for the villain in the upcoming sequel The Matrix Reloaded.
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The Dark Horizons Web site reported that production on the upcoming Time Machine film is troubled. Filmmakers are reportedly reshooting crucial parts of the story, co-star Jeremy Irons was brought back to shoot his introductory scene with Guy Pearce, and two full units are scrambling to finish.
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The second teaser trailer for Peter Jackson's upcoming Lord of the Rings film trilogy debuts May 25 on the official Web site.
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Classic SF films from 1951 will screen at the Englewood Theater in Indpendence, Mo., at the Area (19)51 FilmFest, June 17-24. The lineup includes The Day the Earth
Stood Still, The Thing From Another World, When Worlds Collide, Flight
to Mars, The Man From Planet X, Lost Continent and the complete 12-chapter Republic serial
Flying Disk Man From Mars.
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The organizers of the James White Award announced judges for its 2001 competition: Michael Carroll, Ian McDonald, Kim Newman, David Pringle and Mike Resnick. The James White Award was established in honor of SF writer White and is open to non-professional authors throughout the world for the best original short story.
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The Dark Horizons Web site reported that Sean Hood will co-write Cube 2: Hypercube, the proposed sequel to the cult Canadian hit SF film Cube. The sequel will center on the concept of four-dimensional cubes and a story of people trapped, as in the first film.
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A new trailer will be posted to the official Lord of the Rings movie Web site on May 25.
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NBC has bought the broadcast rights to DreamWorks' computer-animated hit film Shrek, according to The Hollywood Reporter. NBC will get three runs of the movie, beginning in 2004, for a licensing fee that could go as high as $30 million if the film's box-office tally surpasses $200 million, the trade paper reported.
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The Ain't It Cool News Web site has posted a new trailer for Steven Spielberg's upcoming SF epic movie A.I.
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