Poul Anderson Dead At 74
ward-winning SF author Poul Anderson, the prolific author of more than 100 books, died July 31 of prostate cancer at his home in Orinda, Calif., according to his publisher, Tor Books. He was 74.
With a career spanning more than 50 years, Anderson was considered one of the best writers in the genre, having penned hundreds of short stories and dozens of novels; more than 100 of his novels and short-story collections have been published.
Anderson--born in Pennsylvania of Scandinavian parents, a culture that informed his writing--was just 20 years old when he published his first short story in 1947, according to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. In 1948, he earned a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota. Among his early novels are the SF Brain Wave and the fantasy Three Hearts and Three Lions. Anderson also wrote under the pseudonyms Michael Karageorge and Winston P. Sanders. With SF author Gordon R. Dickson, Anderson also wrote stories about Hokas, a species of furry aliens.
His later books can be grouped by sequence, including the Technic History series, centered on Nicholas van Rijn and Dominic Flandry; the Time Patrol stories, which began with Guardians of Time; the Psychotechnic League stories; and the History of Rustum sequence. Notable singletons include the fantasy A Midsummer Tempest and the SF Tau Zero, and his recent work included the four-book sequence beginning with 1993's Harvest of Stars. In an interview in Locus in 1997, Anderson said that he would like to be remembered for Tau Zero, Midsummer Tempest, The Boat of a Million Years, Three Hearts and Three Lions, The Enemy Stars and Brain Wave.
On July 6, Anderson's 2000 novel Genesis won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best science fiction novel of the year, the latest in a long string of honors that included three Nebula Awards and seven Hugo Awards, according to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Anderson was a former president of the SFWA and guest of honor at the World Science Fiction Convention. In 1997 he received SFWA's Grandmaster Award, and in 2000 he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
Anderson is survived by his wife and writing partner, Karen; his daughter, Astrid; brother, John; two grandchildren; two nieces; and SF writer Greg Bear, his son-in-law.
Stewart Talks Trek X
atrick Stewart--Jean-Luc Picard of the Star Trek films--told British convention-goers not to believe rumors about the upcoming 10th Trek movie, according to the BBC Lancashire Online Web site.
Stewart made a surprise appearance at the Voyager: The Return convention in Blackpool, U.K.
Among other things, Stewart said there is no truth to the rumor that he or co-star Brent Spiner (Data) had agreed to appear only to be killed off. He added that he could see a great future for the Voyager cast in forthcoming movies, and said he was pretty sure for Mulgrew, that would happen "very soon."
Stewart added that production on the new movie would begin in October, after he ends an extended run in Johnson over Jordan at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.
Buffy Moved Up On UPN
PN announced that it has moved up the season premiere dates for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Roswell, shows it picked up from The WB at the end of last season.
Buffy will now make its sixth-season debut on the smackdown network at 8 p.m. on Oct. 2, instead of Oct. 9, with a two-hour premiere.
Roswell starts its third season at its new home on UPN at 9 p.m. Oct. 9, instead of Oct. 16.
Other fall premiere dates remain the same. Enterprise premieres with a two-hour pilot episode at 8 p.m. Sept. 26. Special Unit 2 starts its second season at 9 p.m. on Oct. 3.
Minear Gets Angel Wings
ngel writer Tim Minear becomes a co-executive producer of The WB's vampire series in the upcoming season, working under co-creators Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt, Variety reported.
The promotion was part of a seven-figure drama development deal with 20th Century Fox TV, the trade paper reported.
Under the deal, Minear will create, write and produce series programming for the studio. It's also expected that at some point during the length of the deal, Minear will be elevated to executive producer of Angel. "Tim is the heir apparent," Whedon told Variety. "If there was no Tim Minear, there would be no Angel. He's the unsung and unbelievably necessary hero of the show."
Minear has written for Angel since the show was spun off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1999. Last season, he worked as supervising producer of the series, directing two episodes and writing or co-writing nearly one-third of the season's episodes, the trade paper reported.
Rohm Would Return To Angel
lisabeth Rohm told SCI FI Wire that she's eager to return to her role as angry cop Kate Lockley on The WB's Angel, even though she's taken on a new regular role on another TV show.
"Let's put it in print," Rohm said during an interview. "I would actually love to come back."
Rohm played the recurring role of Lockley, the police detective who alternately butted heads and connected with everyone's favorite vampire/private eye. Rohm said that she and Angel producers have discussed the possibility of coming back and added that, despite her new gig as a district attorney on NBC's Law & Order, she'd make time in her schedule for Angel.
"I'm off the month of September, and I'm like, 'Guys, even if I'm doing a movie, I would love to just continue the role,'" said the actress, who last season juggled both Angel and the defunct TNT Wall Street drama Bull. "They absolutely should do it. One of the cool things they did was space my episodes apart so much that people were waiting for me. With the schedule of Law & Order, they could continue that. There's a lot of anticipation. 'Is Kate going to come back? We like Kate Lockley.' There was always a five-episode gap that made people more curious."
And, no surprise, Rohm has an idea how to make it all work. "We could pop a few episodes in while I'm in California in September," she suggested. Law & Order shoots in New York. "They could run them over the year, and it would accomplish what we want. It's really up to them. I've called and said, 'I've not abandoned this ship by doing Law & Order. [Law & Order producer] Dick Wolf is going to let me do Angel. Write for me.' And we'll see."
First Rings In Home Stretch
ost-production is entering the home stretch on the first of Peter Jackson's three Lord of the Rings films, associate producer Rick Porras told the E! Online Web site.
"We're in 'finishing film one' mode, with about 20 percent of the post-production process left," Porras told the site. "The final visual effects are coming in, and we're putting on the final layers."
Porras said that New Line executives have already screened a rough cut. "We're getting the studio's comments and continuing to make it better," he said. But, he added, the studio won't preview the film before its Dec. 19 release. "We aren't previewing in the traditional route," he said. "Considering the amount of interest in the films, I'm glad we're not. This way, there's less chance of people finding out details in advance and releasing clips on the 'Net."
Cast and crew members in New Zealand are completing the dialogue re-recording, and Canadian composer Howard Shore (The Cell) is writing the score. "We'll be showing [Shore] the whole film on this trip to L.A.," Porras said. Shore will spend August and September recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Post-production work has also begun on the remaining two films in the trilogy. "Film two is moving along nicely," Porras said. "Film three is third up, so it's less of an issue right now, but again, there's a lot of overlap with effects and editing."
Kazakh Cops Harrass Rings Fans
he British tabloid Independent newspaper reported that police in the former Kazakhstan capital of Almaty are cracking down on fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books, seeing them as practitioners of an illegal "bohemian" lifestyle.
The Rings books are popular in the countries of the former Soviet Union, where thousands of fans dress up and gather in conventions, the newspaper reported.
Citing the London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting, the newspaper reported that police have detained so-called "Tolkienists," some of whom complain that they have been tortured. One fan told the newspaper that he was held for two days in a "water tank," a narrow cell about 4 1/2 feet high that is half-filled with cold water in which a prisoner is forced to crouch. Kazakhstan police reportedly consider the fans to be Satanists and who conduct dark rituals.
Silver Promises Better Matrix
oel Silver, producer of the two upcoming sequels to 1999's hit The Matrix, told USA Today that filmmakers must up the action ante in the new films.
"Wait till you see what we're doing," Silver told the newspaper. "Think of a car chase inside the Matrix. It's beyond anything you could ever imagine."
Directors and brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski have been shooting the two Matrix sequels simultaneously, though they're staying mum about the projects, due next year and in 2003, the newspaper reported.
More X-Files Due On DVD
ox Home Entertainment will release the complete fourth season of The X-Files on DVD on Nov. 13, the Zentertainment Web site reported.
The boxed set will feature all 24 episodes from the season.
The DVDs will also feature nine deleted scenes, six interviews, a new documentary, 48 on-air promos, a new DVD-ROM game Urbs Tertia, audio commentary tracks on the episodes "Small Potatoes" and "Memento Mori" and an alternate audio clip from the episode "Home." The collection will retail for a suggested $149.98.
Xena Guests On X-Files
ena: Warrior Princess star Lucy Lawless has signed on to another "X" show--The X-Files, on which the New Zealand actress will appear in a multiple-episode story arc, Variety reported.
Lawless is set to appear on the first two episodes of the show's upcoming fall season, with a chance she could do more, the trade paper reported.
Details regarding the Lawless character are secret, the trade paper reported. "We're thrilled to have an opportunity to work with Lucy, whose work we've admired for a long time," X-Files executive producer Frank Spotnitz told Variety. "We think we've found an interesting and unexpected way to have her join the family." The show's season premiere is Nov. 4.
Is New X-Files Agent Gay?
s The X-Files' new FBI Agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) more than just a pal of Gillian Anderson's Scully?
Executive producer John Shiban told TV Guide Online that the writers briefly considered making Reyes' character a lesbian at one point.
"We talked about it," Shiban told the site. "But we [ultimately decided] that it's the kind of baggage that we didn't want to deal with with this kind of character right now. We had other ideas that we were more excited about."
Though the series implied that Reyes once had a romantic entanglement with Scully's partner, John Doggett (Robert Patrick), the series' season finale had Reyes telling Scully she looked "amazingly beautiful," TV Guide reported. Shiban said he sees how viwers may have misunderstood the remark. "I can see where they got that idea" that Reyes had switched teams, he said. Reyes "does have an affection for Scully that is deep and real, but our intention was that it is non-sexual." But, he added, "On The X-Files, anything can happen, so I don't want to discount anything. Life is complicated."
Episode II Rough Cut Screened?
heForce.net Web site reported a rumor that a rough cut of Star Wars: Episode II has already screened for licensing representatives.
Citing an anonymous source, the site reported that the rough cut was shown last month to merchandising partners from around the world.
The site added that packaging for licensed merchandise won't carry the Episode II title, but rather will feature only the Star Wars logo.
Fox Net Goes Apes
he Fox broadcasting network and its cable sibling, FX, have locked up broadcast rights to Planet of the Apes, Dr. Dolittle 2 and Kiss of the Dragon, Variety reported.
The Fox movie studio produced all three films, the trade paper reported.
Under the deal, rights to the films will revert to the networks in 2004, following their exclusive pay-TV run on HBO, the trade paper reported. Sources told Variety that the networks will together pay about 15 percent of the films' domestic box-office gross.
The Fox network will get the premiere run of the movies, after which they will go to FX, then alternate over the course of the five-year deal, the trade paper reported.
Roth Talks Apes Gen. Thade
im Roth, who plays the villainous chimpanzee Gen. Thade in Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, told SCI FI Wire that he would see no redeeming qualities in his character--if he gave it any thought at all.
"That's interesting, I haven't thought about that [laughs]," Roth said in an interview. "In that case, no. I'm just thinking about it on the surface, but now I'm thinking--I only saw the film once and I wasn't paying too much attention to myself. I think he could have [had redeeming qualities]-- ... but I think he's losing it through the film, and by the end it's over. Maybe the only thing redeemable about fascism is its inherent stupidity."
Like his co-stars, Roth added that the elaborate makeup and costume helped his performance, transforming him from a human into an ape. "They really help you," he said. "The teeth are kind of difficult, because it's very hard to articulate, but you can do your best and then revoice. The makeup itself and the costume, it actually helps you do the acting, it helps you do the job. Once it's on, it's actually quite easy to maintain."
Roth added that he came up with Thade's guttural vocalization on his own. "The voice is just a creation," he said. "I did that because I didn't like the sound of my own voice in my head, so I changed it so it took me away from being me even more. But the emotion and the anger--the craziness [laughs]--it's easy to sustain that kind of stuff, it's just whether it's appropriate. It's easy, because you're filming, and your day is not spent doing that, your day is spent waiting around on set and fooling around with the other actors. There's only a small amount of acting that takes place, and within that moment, you're up and running, and it's fun. It's actually just fun to do." Apes is playing now.
Carter Put On Her Apes Face
elena Bonham Carter, who plays the humanist chimp Ari in Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes film, told SCI FI Wire that she found the heavy makeup and costume liberating as an actress.
"I love the idea of prosthetics," Carter said in an interview. "I had done a bit of prosthetics--in Frankenstein, I was a bit of a monster at the end--but I had never done a whole part under a mask."
Carter added, "I loved the idea that I could be free of my face and inhabit somebody else's. And it was a chimpanzee, an animal, and I love the whole ape school idea," she said, referring to the actors' preproduction training. "It just sounded fun, all of it just sounded like pure fun. But at the same time, it did present a challenge to somehow make this part work and be a chimpanzee and not be completely ridiculous."
Carter said she got more out of ape school than learning how to move and walk like a simian. "We were taught at ape school to find our 'inner ape,' and the inner ape was this focus, the fact that they have an ability to be absolutely 150,000 percent present in the moment and fully alive and not be distracted or thinking about something in the past or the future. But you do all that and then, you know [laughs], you do all this preparation, and when it comes down to it, you just tend to act. I think it was very difficult to incorporate everything without thinking, 'Oh God, this is just me doing my ape thing, and I've got to make a movement,' without feeling like it was all sort of demonstrating. It felt like acting a bit in the dark all the time, because you had no idea what was coming over." Apes is now playing.
Apes Ending Explained?
ruce Snyder, 20th Century Fox's head of distribution, talked to Zap2it.com about the controversial ending of Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes movie.
Following are his comments, which may contain spoilers for the film.
The new surprise ending, intended to top the original 1968 film's Statue of Liberty ending, has many viewers scratching their heads. But, Snyder told the site, "Actually, you're not supposed to be able to [explain it]. If the truth be known, it wasn't really supposed to make sense. It was just supposed to go 'whoa,' make you think. Now is he in another world, did he go back in time, did he get forward in time?"
Snyder added, "The reality is, there's no firm answer to that. It's whatever you want it to be. Everybody keeps looking for [the answer], but you've got to remember you just watched a movie about talking monkeys in outer space. Don't look for too much logic, you know." Apes is now playing.
Apes Swings To No. 1
im Burton's Planet of the Apes remake loped to the top of the box-office rankings in its debut, taking in about $69.6 million in ticket sales on the weekend of July 27, according to the Hollywood trade papers.
It was the biggest non-holiday opening ever and a record for a Burton movie, surpassing the $46 million opening of Batman Returns in 1992, the trades reported.
Last weekend's No. 1, Jurassic Park III, slipped a slot to No. 2, with about $22.5 million for the weekend, for a total of about $124.8 million after nine days of release.
Dr. Dolittle 2, which came in at No. 7, was expected to pass the $100 million mark on July 29, its 38th day of release. The Eddie Murphy comedy pulled in an estimated $4.2 million over the weekend, taking its total to $100.8 million, the trades reported.
Genre films rounding out the top 10 included Cats & Dogs, at No. 6 with $4.5 million for the weekend and a total of $81.5 million; and Shrek, at No. 10, with $1.7 million for the weekend and a total of $255.4 million.
Roswell Pickup Shocked Sadler
illiam Sadler told SCI FI Wire that he thought Roswell was dead, dead, dead and was shocked when UPN picked up the series.
"I was talking to my agents and managers, saying, 'Let's look for the next gig, boys, because this is it,'" he recalled in an interview. "I couldn't imagine how we'd pull this out of the fire."
Sadler co-stars as Sheriff Jim Valenti, who transformed from threat to ally during the first two seasons. "The WB didn't want us," he said. "The numbers weren't fabulous. But UPN bought 22 episodes. That's indicative [of UPN's faith in the series]. They could have bought six or nine."
Year three will kick off on Oct. 9. When last seen, the aliens (Jason Behr, Brendan Fehr and Katherine Heigl) watched as the murderous and pregnant Tess (Emilie DeRavin) rocketed towards her home planet. Meanwhile, Valenti was without a job, having sacrificed everything to protect the aliens he once pursued. What will unfold remains to be seen--cast and crew only returned to the set in late July--but Sadler believes the leap from The WB to UPN will have a major effect on Roswell.
"The two things I've heard [producer] Jason Katims talk about is that, one, the episodes will be more self-contained," Sadler said. "You can tune in anytime and don't have to have watched the previous episodes to understand this one. The other thing is that they'll be character-driven. They'll be about the people and not so much about evil FBI special units, big threats from the outside and having to deal with them. Those episodes were fun to shoot, but I don't think they served us well, and I'm not sure that's what we do best. The shows that worked the best were the ones that tug at your heart a bit. They're human stories everybody can relate to. It doesn't have to be schmaltzy high-school romance. The episode in which we lost Alex--'Cry My Name'--was an example of that."
Exorcist IV Will Be Prequel
ohn Frankenheimer will direct the next installment in the Exorcist franchise, an as-yet-untitled prequel from Morgan Creek Productions, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Production will begin in the spring in the United States, England and Africa, the trade paper reported.
The prequel will trace the story of Father Merrin back to his first encounter with the devil during missionary work in post-World War II Africa. William Wisher initially adapted the prequel for the big screen from William Peter Blatty's original The Exorcist novel. Best-selling author Caleb Carr rewrote the script, which then caught the interest of Frankenheimer, the trade paper reported.
Warner Bros. will distribute the film domestically, while the studio and Morgan Creek International will distribute overseas. The first installment, released in 1973, has spawned two sequels--1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic and 1990's Exorcist III, the trade paper reported. Last year, Warner Bros. reissued the first film with recovered footage that was cut from the original release.
Gunn To Raise The Dead
ames Gunn (Scooby-Doo) will write the script for a remake of George Romero's 1978 zombie movie Dawn of the Dead, Variety reported.
Beacon Communications will produce the remake.
Dawn of the Dead was the sequel to Romero's seminal 1968 horror film Night of the Living Dead. Tom Savini resurrected Night of the Living Dead in 1990, the trade paper reported. The sequel--in which zombies converge on a shopping mall--was in part a sly social statement about the consumer culture of the time, Variety reported.
Fans Send Pez For Witchblade
aking a page from Roswell fandom, fans of TNT's Witchblade series have been bombarding the network's Atlanta office with letters and Pez dispensers urging the show's renewal, the Zap2it.com Web site reported.
Witchblade's main character, Sara Pezzini (Yancy Butler), is nicknamed "Pez," the site reported.
Some fans have already mounted an online petition urging that TNT pick up the show for a second season. Witchblade wraps its first season at 9 p.m. Aug. 21.
A campaign by fans of teen alien series Roswell--in which they sent bottles of Tabasco sauce, the aliens' condiment of choice--helped persuade The WB to renew the show for a second season.
Fans Want More Witchblade
early 600 fans of TNT's supernatural series Witchblade have signed an online petition urging the cable network to renew the show for a second season.
The petition is sponsored by fan Carrie Hults and the Witchblade Fans Forum message board.
"The Witchblade movie brought many fans to your network, and the series has indeed brought many more," the petition reads. "The ratings have stayed consistent because of our loyalty to the show and your network. If you have not visited the Internet lately, then I think you need to grab a computer and check." TNT airs Witchblade on Tuesdays at 9 p.m.; four new episodes remain in the first season.
Penn Talks X-Men 2 Villains
ak Penn, one of the writers drafting the script for the upcoming X-Men 2 film, told SCI FI Wire not to expect any of the more outlandish villains from the Marvel Comics series.
"X-Men is really more about the leaders of a minority group that's persecuted," Penn said in an interview. "Some of the ... [comic] villains ... are hard to bring into the X-Men universe that was created in the first film, because they feel like something out of Batman. So that's the one thing I hope the fans will be understanding of. ... I don't think the X-Men are ready to go into outer space to deal with the Shi'Ar [an ancient avian-based race with advanced technology]."
Penn and writer David Hayter are both working on drafts of the sequel to last year's hit X-Men, based on a common outline developed with director Bryan Singer, Penn said. "What I can tell you is that both David and I are working on drafts of the script, but we are doing that in concert," he said. "We're talking to each other about it. And it's mostly because ... there's just not a lot of time, and they both want us to work on it at the same time. Eventually it will be combined into a single draft, I would imagine, by him and Bryan. We are working separately, but the outline we're working on is based on both of our ideas. Bryan's in charge of the whole thing."
Penn was coy about the plot, except to say "I can confirm that Wolverine will be back, and Professor X probably, and some of the other characters as well. ... I understand everyone's anxious to get information about it. ... It's remaining very faithful to the comic book, I would say. ... It's going to have the same tone. I think they're going to try to do it bigger and better, and I think that they've probably learned [from the first film]. They were on a pretty tight schedule the last time, and I think they were getting their feet wet on some of the type things that they were doing, and I think now they have a much better idea of ... what they know how to do. ... Honestly, as opposed to Batman, ... where I think they've had problems making the movies better, ... I think there is a genuine feeling on X-Men that there's no reason why the second one can't be better than the first."
This time around, Penn added that the movie will interweave stories about several characters at once. "That's what makes it hard to write the script, to tell you the truth," he said. "It's easier to write the setups. ... We were both talking about this the other day--it's just a difficult screenwriting task to balance all these different stories and give them the proper weight. I mean, there's so many different characters that everyone loves. ... There's only so many minutes in a movie."
Scaring Up The Ghosts
ohn Carpenter, director of the upcoming SF horror movie Ghosts of Mars, told SCI FI WIRE that until the day he first rolled cameras, he refused to believe his latest film would actually happen.
"You never know," said the director of Halloween, Starman and The Thing in an interview. "One day it's not going to happen, the next day it is. One day this person falls in, and that person falls out."
Carpenter added, "If I say to somebody before I actually start shooting that a film is going to happen, I might be lying, even if I don't mean to lie. This all finally fell into place. Screen Gems wanted to make the script I wrote, and the elements came together." In the cast of Ghosts of Mars, the production was thrown into doubt by the abrupt departure of lead actress Courtney Love, until Natasha Henstridge stepped in at the last minute.
Set for nationwide release on Aug. 24, Ghosts of Mars follows the adventure and terror that befalls a group of human colonists on Mars after long-silent Martian ghosts are accidentally unleashed on the populace. It's up to Lt. Ballard (Henstridge), along with her crew--played by Clea Duvall, Pam Grier, Jason Statham and Liam Waite--to save the day, a task that's complicated by the presence of James "Desolation" Williams (Ice Cube). A dangerous criminal, Williams may or may not join the cause.
Over the years, Carpenter has worked his way up and down the Hollywood
ladder. He's made no-budget flicks (They Live, Halloween), mega-movies (The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Memoirs of an Invisible Man) and more modestly budgeted films (Escape from New York, Starman, Vampires). Ghosts of Mars fits into the last category.
"Usually, the higher-budget films are more ambitious," Carpenter said. "You're usually trying to accomplish something that's bigger and grander visually or story-wise. But often you sacrifice a certain amount of creativity. You're forced to be a little bit more creative when you have no budget. That's when you really have to figure out, 'Well, how do I tell this story? How do I shoot this in the time I have?' Also, the bigger the budget, the more the studio will want to have their say, which is fine. I don't blame them. If I were spending that kind of money, I'd try to protect my investment, too." Bottom line for Carpenter: The budget doesn't matter. "For me, as the director, it's all the same," he insisted. "It's just directing once you get on the set."
New Spy Kids Scene Coming
isney's Dimension Films will re-release this year's hit Spy Kids on Aug. 8, with an added three-minute action scene cut from the original release in March, the company said.
The new scene has the titular kids underwater.
"It was one of my favorite scenes, but it was never completed, because of the enormous amount of effect shots to be done in the time we had," director Robert Rodriguez said in a statement. "I initially thought of saving the scene for the sequel, but when presented with the opportunity of a re-release, I was too excited for kids to see it now. I believe it is the best scene in the movie."
Meanwhile, Rodriguez will begin shooting Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams in mid-September in Latin America and Austin, Texas; the sequel is slated for release on Aug. 7, 2002. Since its original debut, Spy Kids has grossed more than $100 million at the North American box office, the company reported.
Cage A Lock On Rider
icolas Cage campaigned against Johnny Depp for the lead role in the upcoming feature-film version of the Marvel Comics series Ghost Rider, syndicated columnists Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith reported.
Producer Steven Paul told the columnists that when Cage heard that Depp would likely be the Rider, he phoned the director and said, "I am the Ghost Rider."
Cage is reportedly a big fan of the series and owns five Ghost Rider motorcycles, the columnists reported. "He flew in from Hawaii for meetings, and that was that," Paul said. "We're closing a deal with him now."
Ghost Rider tells the story of a motorcycle stuntman who sells his soul to a dark force to save his girlfriend. Shooting is expected to start in November in Canada and Arizona; Jon Voight will co-star.
O'Haver Is Enchanted
ommy O'Haver will direct Ella Enchanted, a fantasy film based on the Newberry Award-winning children's book of the same name by Gail Carson Levine, Variety reported.
Set in a medieval fantasy world with contemporary elements, the story centers on Ella of Frell, who is given the gift of obedience from a fairy, which Ella eventually realizes is actually a curse, the trade paper reported.
Production of the Miramax film is slated tentatively for January, the trade paper reported. O'Haver is working on a script with writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (Legally Blonde).
Tribune Unveils New Pilots
ick Askin, president and chief executive officer of Tribune Entertainment, told reporters that the company has given the green light to several genre TV pilots, Variety reported.
Tribune Entertainment is the L.A.-based subsidiary of Tribune Broadcasting.
Speaking at a press conference, Askin unveiled the following genre pilots, the trade paper reported:
• MechWarriors, based on Microsoft's SF game Battletech, from producers Paul Bryant and Michael Wahl of Foundation Imaging.
• Pendragon, an Arthurian series about the establishment of Camelot, from producers Lawrence Bender and Kevin Brown and head writer Jonathan Hale.
• Beyond with James Van Praagh, an hour-long reality show hosted by psychic Van Praagh, from executive producer Kari Sagin.
Tomb Makers Apologize
akers of the Tomb Raider Four video game have apologized publicly to a French archaeologist who claimed a character seemed to resemble him, the Reuters news service reported.
In a statement published in the French daily newspaper Le Monde, Eidos Interactive said that any likeness between Jean-Yves Empereur and the archaeologist Jean-Yves in version four of its adventure game was purely coincidental.
Empereur is famous for discovering the remains of the Pharos lighthouse--one of the seven wonders of the ancient world--near the Egyptian city of Alexandria, Reuters reported. The game features a character of the same name and profession and partly plays out in Egypt.
The British computer gamemaker and its French distributor said Tomb Raider Four would continue to be sold in its present state for technical reasons, but that no such character would appear in any of its games in the future, Reuters reported.
SCI FI To Air Now Again
he SCI FI Channel has picked up reruns of CBS' SF series Now & Again.
SCI FI acquired 22 episodes of the series from King World.
The series told the story of a man, played by John Goodman, who is killed off in the first episode and resurrected in the body of a younger man, played by Eric Close. Glenn Gordon Caron produced the show.
CBS aired the series for one season in 1999-2000. SCI FI has a three-year license for the series and will air Now & Again Monday through Thursday at 9 p.m., starting in August.
Rollerball Gets Presidential
GM has slated John McTiernan's upcoming Rollerball remake for wide release on Feb. 8, 2002, Variety reported.
The date directly precedes the Presidents Day holiday weekend, the trade paper reported.
Robert Levin, president of worldwide theatrical marketing and distribution for MGM, told the paper that releasing Rollerball on that date was part of a strategy to "eventize" the film; that is, make it into an event. The movie was bumped from its original summer 2001 release date.
No Indy IV For Shyamalan
. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) told the Dark Horizons Web site that it looks like his script for a proposed fourth Indiana Jones movie won't take off.
"I was never contacted formally to do the project," he told the site. "I did publicly express interest, but nothing really ever came to fruition."
Shyamalan added, "They have their ideas, and I, of course, as a fan, have ideas of how they should do it. They will get it done; I just don't think it will be completed for some time. It will probably be the biggest film ever made. I think it would even topple Star Wars and Titanic at this point." Original Indiana Jones creators George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford have all expressed interest in doing another movie, but only if they can find an acceptable script.
Unbreakable 2 Now Possible?
ruce Willis told Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM that he's in talks to star in a sequel to M. Night Shyamalan's 2000 thriller Unbreakable, according to a report on the Dark Horizons Web site.
Shyamalan has previously said he's not interested in helming a sequel to the comic-book-themed movie.
But Shyamalan told Dark Horizons, "I have been in contact with the studio about this. Initially they declined a sequel, because the film did not really perform like The Sixth Sense. Although that film performed beyond expectations, and they didn't think it would do too well at all, so I don't really understand the logic there. But after the success of the DVD set, they are a little more receptive to the idea. I was always kind of mixed about the prospect of doing a sequel, but I had always had little treatments here and there I had jotted down while I was making the first. I had actually cut from the film and DVD deleted scenes an alternate ending that was just incredibly open for another chapter. I would like to see Bruce exploring his powers a bit more, perhaps even becoming overeager to use them. I have talked with him about it, and he said he would love to return to the character. [Samuel L. Jackson], however, has so much going on, I am not sure if we could get him or not. I love the idea of bringing Sam back and having him take in another villain and train him to do the things he is not capable of doing because of his disability. He would use the pages of his comics to construct the villain himself. Those characters are all so wonderful, it would be cool. But you never know. One day they say no, and I say 'Ahh, come on.' And the next day it's the other way around."
Lawrence Crying Wolf
haron Lawrence (NYPD Blue) will join the cast of CBS' upcoming supernatural series Wolf Lake, Variety reported.
Lawrence is expected to finalize a deal to play Vanessa Cates, wife of the town's powerful industrialist, in the Big Ticket/CBS Productions show, the trade paper reported.
Mia Kirshner also joined the cast of the revamped series last week, Variety reported. Wolf Lake tells the story of a Northwest town where residents can morph into wolves. Lou Diamond Phillips stars as Seattle police officer John Kanin, who comes to town in search of his missing fiancee (played by Kirshner). Lawrence's character is married to the village's "alpha" wolf.
Executive producers Alex Gansa and Rick Kellard have made a number of tweaks to Wolf Lake in recent weeks, including the addition of Lawrence, the trade paper reported.
Rogers Talks Mage Film
ohn Rogers, who is writing the script for a proposed movie based on Matt Wagner's Mage comics, told the Comics2Film Web site that he approves of the choice of F. Gary Gray to direct the film.
Gray will direct the superhero movie for Spyglass Entertainment and Critical Mass Entertainment.
"I can't think of anybody who could be a better choice," Rogers told the site. "The Negotiator is great, totally underrated as an action film. Set It Off was amazing. He gets why comic books are cool. He gets why they're important. It's a guy whose vision I really love and a guy who loves the comic book. He totally is committed to Matt's vision."
Rogers' first draft is titled Mage: The Hero Discovered, and is a direct adaptation of Wagner's comic. The second draft added new material to build the story up, the site reported. "All the script ideas were not only 'Let's bring more stuff from Matt's comic book into it,'" Rogers said, "but, nicely enough, that overlaps with my first draft, which hews very closely to the comic book."
Rogers hasn't met with Gray yet, but hopes he'll be able to stay on as the writer of Mage. "I've been with the project since day one," he said. "My job originally was to make sure Matt's vision stayed intact. My job now is to do whatever it takes to get Gary's version of Matt's vision up on the screen."
Knight Rider Film Coming?
avid Hasselhoff told the Popcorn U.K. Web site that he's ready to make a feature-film version of his campy 1980s television series Knight Rider.
"We made the deal on Friday," the actor told the site.
Hasselhoff credited the idea to "all the fans in the U.K." and believes "not a day goes by when people don't say Knight Rider." He added, "We're talking about doing it a little bit like The Matrix."
Hasselhoff admitted that his character, Michael Knight, might have to be a "little bit older, like I am." He has already persuaded William Daniels, the voice behind K.I.T.T., the car, to return, and said the late Edward Mulhare--who played Knight's boss, Devon Miles--is going to come "back as a hologram."
Activision In The Minority
ctivision signed a five-year licensing deal for the rights to develop video games based on Steven Spielberg's upcoming SF film Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise and slated to bow in summer 2002, the company announced.
Through an agreement with Fox Interactive and DreamWorks, Activision will develop video games based on the film for PCs, next-generation consoles and hand-held platforms.
"The games will be set within the universe of the film, which offers rich sci-fi environments based on both the short story by Philip K. Dick and Steven Spielberg's film," Activision vice president of brand development and licensing Greg Goldstein said in a statement. "There's the potential to take these games in a lot of different directions over the next five years."
Multiple games will be released next year, including versions for PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox, Goldstein said. Several games will ship when the film opens, while others will ship shortly thereafter.
Walker To Take Timeline
aul Walker (The Fast and the Furious) will star in the feature-film version of Michael Crichton's time-travel novel Timeline, for which he will receive $3 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Richard Donner will direct the film, which is reportedly near preproduction.
The film--about college archaeology students who travel back to 14th-century France to rescue their professor--is slated to begin shooting in March, the trade paper reported. Walker will join Gerard Butler (Dracula 2000), who will play the lead role of Andre Marek, a site manager on a dig in France who is recruited to save the professor. Walker will play Chris Hughes, an archaeology student who also is the professor's stepson, the trade paper reported.
Donner is producing with his wife, Lauren Shuler Donner. Paramount picked up feature-film rights to the book 18 months ago. George Nolfi wrote the latest draft of the script, the trade paper reported.
Nearly Time For Timeline
he proposed feature-film version of Michael Crichton's time-travel novel Timeline is nearing production, syndicated columnists Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith reported.
Richard Donner will direct the film.
Donner told the columnists that the film goes into preproduction in November, with shooting to begin in February or March. Scottish-born Gerard Butler (Dracula 2000) has been cast, and Donner is now looking for two other leads. "We're closing in," he told the columnists.
The film, like the book, will tell the story of archaeology students who journey back to 14th-century France to rescue their professor.
Spawn 2 Moves Along
riter Steve Niles told the Comics Continuum Web site that work continues on the script for a sequel to the Spawn movie, based on Todd McFarlane's comic series of the same name.
"I've done an initial pass on the script. Todd has it now," Niles told the Continuum. "When he gets back from vacation, we'll get together and compare notes."
Niles added, "Bottom line is the script is coming along nicely, and I think the fans will be pleasantly surprised." Niles has written the Spawn: The Dark Ages and Hellspawn comics. He said Spawn 2 will be very different from its 1997 predecessor, about the vengeful damned spirit of a cop. "It's very dark," he said. "Not at all a superhero movie, but with plenty of creepy action and suspense." Spawn 2 is set up at Columbia Pictures.
Majestic Goes Live
lectronic Arts announced the start of its online SF game Majestic, an interactive online suspense thriller.
The game places players in the center of an experience in which the lines between reality and fantasy quickly blur, the company said.
The game interacts with players via e-mail, instant messaging, voice mail, fax and the Internet. Unlike any online gaming experience to date, Majestic decides when it is time to engage and summons players to their PCs, the company said. The first season of Majestic, which is intended for mature players, will launch with the free pilot, subsequently followed by monthly episodes available through EA.com for an introductory price of $9.99 per month.
"We wanted to produce something that could compete with television in its storytelling, but would not compromise interactivity in the process," said Neil Young, vice president, executive in charge of production and creator of Majestic, in a statement. "We're the first to create a new form of entertainment specifically for the medium of the Internet and are very excited with the end result."
Writer Hired For Mask 2
creenwriter Lance Khazei has been hired to script The Mask 2, a sequel film for New Line Cinema, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Details are being kept secret about the long-in-development follow-up to the 1994 Jim Carrey fantasy movie The Mask.
No other elements are attached yet to the project, the trade paper reported. The original film, which made Carrey a star and launched the career of Cameron Diaz, grossed $119.9 million at the domestic box office.
Salem's Lot Rises Again
ark Wolper (The Mists of Avalon) will produce a new adaptation of Stephen King's vampire novel Salem's Lot, which will run as a four-hour miniseries on TNT, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Writer Peter Filardi (Flatliners, The Craft) will adapt the novel for the screen, the trade paper reported.
Salem's Lot tells the story of vampires running amok in a New England town. The novel was previously adapted in a 1979 TV version that starred David Soul and James Mason.
I-Man Winks At Prey
ans of ABC's defunct SF drama series Prey, who were left hanging when the series ended abruptly, will get a little satisfaction in an upcoming episode of The SCI FI Channel's original series The Invisible Man.
In the last episode of Prey, Tom Daniels (Adam Storke) was captured and left for dead in a diminutive cell.
In the Sept. 21 episode "Exposed," I-Man star and former Prey regular Vincent Ventresca comes across a character played by Storke in similar circumstances and has a chance to set him free. "Exposed" also guest stars Armin Shimmerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).
It's Harry Potter's Birthday
arner Bros. is encouraging fans to celebrate Harry Potter's birthday on July 31, the Zap2it.com site reported.
The fictional young wizard created by author J.K Rowling is 11 years old in the first book and 14 years old by the fourth installment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the site reported.
A birthday party for Harry will take place in New York City, which will be televised on the CBS Early Show and will feature a look-alike contest, balloons, cake and a six-foot birthday card. The feature-film version of the first Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, opens Nov. 16.
Showtime Orders Jeremiah
howtime has ordered 20 episodes of Jeremiah, an SF series from Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, based on the comic book series of the same name by Belgian writer Hermann Huppen, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner will star in the series, produced by MGM and Lions Gate Television.
The series tells the story of the survivors of a pandemic that has wiped out the world's adult population, sparing only those who hadn't reached puberty, the trade paper reported. The title character, played by Perry, is enlisted to help make peace among warring factions of survivors and prevent the virus from reoccurring. Warner will play Kurdy, Jeremiah's reluctant partner, the trade paper reported.
Straczynski will serve as executive producer alongside Sam Egan (The Outer Limits). Perry, Sam Egan, Joe Dante, Michael Finnell, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Ervin Rustemagic and Gregory Noveck will also executive produce, the trade paper reported. Production is set to begin Sept. 4 in Vancouver, B.C.
Tamahori May Helm Bond 20
ew Zealand-born director Lee Tamahori is in line to direct the 20th James Bond movie, rising to the top of a list that is rumored to contain several top helmers, Variety reported.
The next spy movie is slated to begin shooting in early 2002, with Pierce Brosnan returning as 007 for a fourth time, the trade paper reported.
Tamahori emerged as the clear front-runner late last week, Variety reported. Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are the franchise's producers. The new Bond film will be released in late 2002, in time to mark the 40th anniversary of the launch of the series based on the Ian Fleming novels.
Briefly Noted
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Entertainment Weekly reported that X-Men director Bryan Singer was one of the fans ogling the huge Time Machine prop from the upcoming SF movie at the International Comic-Con in San Diego last month. But though he asked, security people wouldn't let Singer sit in the device, which will be featured in director Simon Wells' take on his great-grandfather's classic SF novel.
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The Coming Attractions Web site reported a rumor that Chris Tucker turned down the lead role in The Mask 2, the proposed sequel to Jim Carry's 1994 hit The Mask.
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Robert Englund--Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies--will voice the villainous character of Felix Faust in Cartoon Network's upcoming Justice League animated series, the Comics Continuum Web site reported.
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Tippett Studio (Cats and Dogs) is the lead visual effects house for the upcoming Blade 2 movie, according to the Comics Continuum Web site.
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Scott Bakula, who will take on the role of Capt. Jonathan Archer in UPN's upcoming Enterprise, invited fans of his old series Quantum Leap to tune in this fall in an informal letter to the Project Quantum Leap Web site.
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The Dark Horizons Web site has posted what it says is a description of a fight scene between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jango Fett from the upcoming Star Wars: Episode II, as screened to marketing partners in Mexico.
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The TrekToday Web site has posted links to new promotional video for UPN's upcoming Enterprise.
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A source at Stampede Entertainment told the Comics2Film Web site that Universal Pictures has signed off on a treatment by screenwriter Nick Marine for its proposed Supernatural Law film, based on Batton Lash's comic series Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre, about lawyers who represent monstrous clients. Marine is now set to begin a new draft of the script, the site reported.
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The official Star Trek Web site has posted new biographies of the cast of UPN's upcoming series Enterprise.
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The Dark Horizons Web site reported that Adam Rodriguez (All Souls) has been cast as Jesse, Isabel's love interest, in the upcoming third season of the teen alien series Roswell on UPN.
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Access Hollywood reported that shooting will begin in mid-September on Spy Kids 2, the sequel to this year's hit fantasy movie. Co-star Antonio Banderas will join the production in October, according to a report on the Dark Horizons Web site.
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The Ain't It Cool News Web site reported what it said are spoilers from the upcoming two-hour sixth-season premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which moves to UPN on Oct. 9.
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The Hollywood Reporter confirmed earlier reports that Electronic Arts has signed a contract with New Line Cinema to develop a series of games based on its upcoming Lord of the Rings film trilogy. David Imhoff, New Line's executive vice president for worldwide licensing and merchandising, confirmed the Electronic Arts video-game license and said an official announcement will be made shortly, the trade paper reported.
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A new trailer has been posted for the upcoming time-travel romantic comedy Kate & Leopold, which stars Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman. Kate & Leopold opens in February 2002.
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The Empire Movies Web site has posted a new trailer for James Wong's upcoming SF thriller film The One, which stars Jet Li. The One opens Nov. 2.
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Curious George, based on H.A. and Margaret Rey's children's book series of the same name, will be produced as a computer-animated film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Universal Pictures and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment are producing the film.
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The TrekWeb site reported details of what it said was the "bible" for UPN's upcoming Star Trek series, Enterprise. The written guide reportedly details the premise, backstory, characters and other central elements of the series.
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