Lucas Unveils Episode II Title
eorge Lucas' upcoming Star Wars: Episode II will be titled Attack of the Clones, the official Star Wars Web site announced.
The title is an apparent reference to the Clone Wars, which will reportedly figure in the prequel's plot.
Clones takes place 10 years after the events of Episode I, the site reported. The galaxy has undergone significant change, as have Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen).
According to the site, Anakin has grown into the accomplished Jedi apprentice of Obi-Wan, who himself has grown from student to teacher. The two Jedi are assigned to protect Padmé, whose life is threatened by a faction of political separatists. Clones opens in the spring or early summer of 2002.
Obi-Wan Hates Clones Title
wan McGregor, who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode II, told reporters that he's not impressed with the movie's just-announced title, Attack of the Clones, the Popcorn U.K. Web site reported.
"It's a terrible, terrible title," McGregor said, adding that he found out about the film's title from reporters covering the Hollywood Film Festival.
McGregor reprises his role in the second Star Wars prequel, which takes place 10 years after the events of Episode I.
Lucas Vets Episode II FX Work
eorge Lucas has stepped up his visits with Industrial Light & Magic as post-production moves ahead on his upcoming Star Wars: Episode II: The Attack of the Clones, according to the official Star Wars Homing Beacon newsletter.
ILM must complete work on more than 2,000 visual-effects shots for the film prior to its May 2002 release date.
Animation director Rob Coleman and visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Pablo Helman are consulting with Lucas on hundreds of shots, which are at various stages of completion.
No detail is too small for Lucas' attention, the newsletter reported: The slight skid of a ship turning a corner, the shadows cast by digitally created furniture, the short attention span of a walnut-sized-brained monster and the growing discomfort of a guard as tension builds in the room.
Coleman, who joked that he has the longest list of items to review because he "has the most interesting stuff," delights in finalizing an animated performance and passing it off to the group responsible for the automated simulation of real-world physics, including movement of armor, material, wings and floppy ears, the newsletter reported.
Sounds Of Star Wars Revealed
en Burtt, who created some of the signature sounds in the Star Wars films, has authored The Star Wars Galactic Phrase Book and Travel Guide, which comes out this week from Del Rey, the official Star Wars Web site reported.
The book, illustrated by Mad magazine artist Sergio Aragonés, contains hundreds of phrases in alien languages, including Huttese, Ewokese, Neimoidian, Jawa, Droidspeak and more.
A "Behind the Sound" segment offers insight into the movie sound creation process. An appendix offers Star Wars scenes with full translation. Among other things, Burtt reveals where he got the sound for lightsabers: the hum from an old movie projector motor combined with the buzz from a TV picture tube.
Daredevil Green-Lighted
riter and director Mark Steven Johnson told the Wizard World Web site that Fox has green-lighted a proposed feature-film version of Marvel Comics' Daredevil series.
"You're never really on until you're yelling 'action,'" Johnson told the site. "But other than that, we're on and scheduled for a late November start date."
Johnson said he would be leaving Los Angeles soon to begin scouting locations in and around Montreal. As for who will wear the blind superhero's signature red tights, Johnson said, "When I return from the scout, hopefully we'll have some big news."
Dawson Talks MIB 2
osario Dawson, who appears in the upcoming sequel Men in Black 2, told the Zap2it.com Web site that she's a big fan of the 1997 original. "I loved the first one," Dawson told the site.
"It's a really great movie, and it's really a grand thrill to be in the sequel. It's like watching a favorite show again with extra scenes, and I think it's going to do amazing."
Dawson will reportedly play Will Smith's love interest. "I can say I work as a pizza girl," she said. An alien pizza girl? "Hey, no. Why can't I be, like, I'm an agent? I don't look like I could be an agent?"
Dark Angel Adds New Cast
ox's SF series Dark Angel will add two new cast members when it starts its second season on Sept. 21, the Zap2it.com Web site reported.
Both characters are connected to Manticore, the classified government facility whose genetic experiments produced the show's main character, Max (Jessica Alba), the site reported.
Soap actor Jensen Ackles will play Alec, a "transgenic" from the same generation as Max, who has spent his entire life at Manticore and remains a loyal soldier for the cause. Ackles previously appeared in the "Pollo Loco" episode as Max's genetically engineered brother, Ben, the site reported.
Kevin Durand (who had a part on Stargate SG-1) will play Joshua, a genetic experiment taken too far in Manticore's efforts to create the perfect soldier by blending human and animal DNA.
Elwes Joins The X-Files
ary Elwes (The Princess Bride) has joined the cast of Fox's The X-Files and will play the recurring character of FBI assistant director Brad Follmer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Follmer is the ex-boyfriend of special agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), the trade paper reported.
Creator Chris Carter told the trade paper that the producers' goal was to cast someone very different from special agent John Dogget (Robert Patrick). "(Follmer) is a guy who is a little more buttoned up, a little more polished; he represents a different kind of FBI," Carter said.
Elwes was offered the part after he read with Gish on Aug 8. "All of us saw at the same time how he would be the best choice for the dynamic we were trying to create; we liked the energy between the two of them," Carter said. Elwes' character will be introduced in The X-Files' ninth-season premiere episode on Nov. 4, written by Carter and executive producer Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners.
Aaliyah Reveals Matrix 2 Role
aliyah, who appears in the upcoming Matrix Reloaded and the as-yet-untitled third Matrix movie, told fans during a TeenPeople.com chat that she never shares the screen with star Keanu Reeves.
"I don't even think I have a scene with him," the pop star said, according to a transcript on the Matrix Online Web site. "I'm not sure, because stuff changes, but we don't interact."
Aaliyah reportedly plays a character named Zee. "My boyfriend in the film flies their ship, but I don't do much with Neo," she said. "My character's motivation is her boyfriend. She's from Zion. Everything she does is based on him. She gets to be in some of the action in part three for her man, so it's really sweet."
The singer, who also stars in the upcoming vampire movie Queen of the Damned, said she will return to Sydney, Australia, for a month in January to shoot more footage for the Matrix sequels. The Matrix Reloaded is due out in late 2002.
Matrices Far From Done
aurence Fishburne, who reprises the role of Morpheus in the two upcoming Matrix sequels, told the IGN FilmForce Web site that the movies are far from finished.
There's "a lot more shooting to go on both movies, both two and three," Fishburne told the site. "We've got a long way to go."
Fishburne added, "I'm booked through 2002. We won't be finished before the middle of 2002. ... We go back down to Australia [to resume shooting] at the end of August." The first of the sequels, The Matrix Reloaded, is now aiming at a May 2003 release date.
Matrix Reloaded Delayed To 2003
oel Silver, producer of the two upcoming Matrix sequels, told SCI FI Wire that the release of the first sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, likely won't happen until 2003.
"It's going to be summer now, summer 2003," Silver said in an interview at the premiere for Osmosis Jones, in which he has a cameo role. Rumors had The Matrix Reloaded opening as soon as Christmas 2002.
So what does that mean for The Matrix 3's release? "You'll see," Silver said.
Silver assured that the extra time added to the production schedules is simply meant to benefit the quality of both films. "It's just it's an enormous project," Silver said. "It's a staggering project. There's so much dealing with it, it's unbelievable, and they just need time to finish both movies, because we're shooting them as one big movie. It's not back to back. It's one movie, so they'll finish shooting it, and then they'll take the time to finish the movies."
Matrix Reloaded Delay Confirmed
ariety confirmed a story first reported in SCI FI Wire that The Matrix Reloaded, the sequel to 1999's hit The Matrix, will be delayed for release until 2003.
The trade paper reported that the film is tentatively set for release in May 2003.
Warner Brothers won't officially confirm the plans. "We never have had it scheduled," Warners distribution president Dan Fellman told the trade paper. Expectations were that the film would be released in the fourth quarter of 2002.
Fellman said early effects work is going well. "We are right on schedule with the film," he said.
Court Won't Bar Mutant X
court rejected 20th Century Fox's action to block production of the upcoming syndicated television series Mutant X, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Fox had sued in April, arguing that the series duplicated its hit movie X-Men.
A U.S. District Court ruled that it found no evidence that show producers Tribune Entertainment and Fireworks Entertainment intended to breach a contract between Marvel Comics, which created X-Men, and Fox, the trade paper reported. Marvel is also a production partner in Mutant X.
But the court added that "Fox has demonstrated a clear likelihood of success for a claim of breach of contract grounded in defendants' use of the Mutant X name as the title of the proposed series," leaving the door open for further action. Mutant X is the title of a Marvel Comics series, but the upcoming TV show shares only the title with that series.
Seven episodes of the weekly series have completed production; the series is set to premiere the week of Oct. 1, the trade paper reported.
Pay TV Rights Open For JP III
niversal hopes to ignite a bidding war among pay cable television networks for its hit Jurassic Park III, Variety reported.
The movie becomes available for pay TV distribution between fall 2002 and spring 2004.
Unusually for a Jurassic film, the pay TV rights haven't been snapped up yet, owing in part to a slack market for television advertising, the trade paper reported. HBO, Starz! and Showtime are likely contenders for the movie.
Osmosis Pushes Envelope
ak Penn, one of the producers of the upcoming live-action/animated SF film Osmosis Jones, told SCI FI Wire that filmmakers didn't shy away from grossness.
"Here's our general attitude," Penn said in an interview. "We felt like there's nothing wrong with bodily fluids. ... Them getting washed away in a river of snot, you know, whatever. Everyone has snot in their nose; it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's appropriate."
The film is a "buddy cop movie ... set inside Bill Murray," Penn said. Osmosis tells the story of "a white blood cell, played by Chris Rock, who teams up with a cold pill, played by David Hyde Pierce, ... to fight a virus that Bill Murray has ingested. The virus is played by Laurence Fishburne, named Thrax."
The movie combines live-action scenes with animated sequences in which Rock's character pursues Thrax through the cityscape of Murray's body. Live-action directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly, who joined the film relatively late in production, pushed the envelope a little too far on occasion, Penn said. "They definitely made it a little bit harsher," he said. "But actually, we ended up pulling back on most of that. ... When we saw the first cut of the movie, and there was some pretty ... harsh humor, ... it was more like it didn't feel right with the rest of the movie. It's not an R-rated movie. ... [But] we didn't cut some of the grossest stuff."
Penn added, "It's definitely not your typical animated movie," Penn said. "And not just because of the blend of live action and animation, but also because it's much closer to a fantasy or science fiction film in structure than it is to a typical animated movie. ... The model was Men in Black," which Penn also worked on. "There's a lot of 13-year-old boys at heart working on this movie." Osmosis Jones opens Aug. 10.
Rowling Denies Writer's Block
arry Potter author J.K. Rowling has protested a report in the Scottish newspaper The Scotsman that writer's block is preventing her from completing a fifth Potter novel in a timely fashion.
In a letter to the newspaper, Rowling wrote, "As I, my publishers and my agent have stated since the publication of Goblet of Fire, in July 2000, there was never any intention of publishing the fifth Harry Potter book in 2001, nor has any deadline ever been set for the delivery of the manuscript. These facts have been on record for over a year and, as children all over Britain have grasped them with ease, I am mystified to know why 'Scotland's national newspaper' is so slow on the uptake."
Rowling added, "There is no writer's block; on the contrary, when your journalists take a break from leaning on my doorbell, I am writing away very happily."
Rowling sent the letter a day after the newspaper ran a story headlined, "Has Harry Potter finally lost his magic for J.K. Rowling?" The story suggested that the fifth Potter book has been delayed again, a suggestion that Rowling denied.
New Tortoise Writers Hired
ew writers have been hired by Aardman Animations to polish the script for the company's upcoming Tortoise and the Hare movie, the Popcorn U.K. Web site reported.
Production halted on the movie, and 90 Aardman workers were laid off last month, because of problems with the film's story, the site reported.
Rob Sprackling and John Smith have been brought on board for a new draft, based on the original work of Chicken Run writers Karey Kirkpatrick and Mark Burton, the site reported. "They have both live-action and animation experience, which makes them ideal for us," executive producer Michael Rose told Popcorn. "And they share the Aardman sense of humor."
The production is likely to be delayed about six months, but Aardman is still aiming for a 2003 release, with Michael Caine and Paul Whitehouse signed on as voice talent, the site reported.
Clooney Not Up For Four
arvel Studios executive Kevin Feige denied to the Comics Continuum Web site rumors that George Clooney was in talks to play Reed Richards in a proposed Fantastic Four movie.
"We have not started casting yet," Feige told the site.
The rumor was started in the British tabloid press. Peyton Reed (Bring It On) is on board to write and direct Fantastic Four for Fox. "Peyton is working hard on the story," Feige said.
Walken Joins Stuart 2
hristopher Walken voices the villain in the upcoming sequel Stuart Little 2, Columbia Pictures announced.
Walken joins returning Stuart Little cast members Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Lipnicki, Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane and Steve Zahn, as well as Melanie Griffith, in the follow-up movie about a mouse adopted by a human family.
Walken voices the character of Falcon, the sharp-beaked villain. Stuart Little director Rob Minkoff is helming the sequel, which is due in theaters July 19, 2002.
Spidey Games Due In 2002
ctivision announced that Treyarch will develop Spider-Man: The Movie Game for the PlayStation2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and GameBoy Advance platforms.
The game is inspired by Sam Raimi's upcoming Spider-Man movie, which is based on the Marvel Comics series.
The games are slated for release in May 2002, coinciding with the film's release. Activision and Treyarch are working closely with Columbia Pictures and Spider-Man Merchandising, a limited partnership between Marvel and Sony Pictures Consumer Products Inc., during all stages of the game's development.
Shrek DVD Is Stuffed
reamWorks has created 15 minutes of new animation and 11 hours of other material to enhance the DVD release of its hit computer-animated film Shrek, Variety reported.
Shrek videos and DVDs will be released on Nov. 2.
The movie makers have conceived, developed and produced a new three-minute scene that will be incorporated into the VHS version of the film, Video Premieres told Variety. The scene is an extension of the final post-wedding "I'm a Believer" party scene. The other 12 minutes is original animation created for the interactive menus on the DVD, which DreamWorks is pricing to allow retailers to offer it at $19.95.
The Shrek DVD will feature the usual extras, plus a first-of-its-kind DVD-ROM technology that allows users to dub their own voices in place of any of the characters in "Shrek's Revoice Studio." It's one of 12 DVD-ROM games included, the trade paper reported. Other extras include humorous outtakes of computer glitches that caused Donkey to look like a Chia Pet, for example.
DreamWorks has also partnered with Microsoft's Xbox, Nintendo, Baskin-Robbins, Philips Electronics and Kia in a multimillion-dollar cross-promotion blitz for the video release, the trade paper reported.
Minkoff Lights Candle
ob Minkoff (Stuart Little 2) has optioned the movie rights to Sidney Sheldon's Broadway play Roman Candle, about a psychic woman and her skeptical paramour, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Minkoff will produce the project with an eye to direct, the trade paper reported. The project is not yet set up at a studio.
Minkoff and Sheldon will work together to develop the movie, the trade paper reported. No writer has come on board.
Karloff, Lugosi To Get Waxed
oris Karloff's Frankenstein monster and Bela Lugosi's Dracula will be immortalized at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in New York, the Reuters news service reported.
Offspring of the two horror movie veterans were on hand Aug. 8, when the museum announced it would feature its first-ever wax figures of celebrities in costume and character makeup. The figures are set to be unveiled at the museum on Halloween, Reuters reported.
The wax museum worked closely with Karloff and Lugosi family members on the figures, which are being crafted at its London branch. Karloff's character from The Mummy is also being created, and all three will debut at Universal Studios in Hollywood and Florida ahead of an Oct. 31 unveiling at Madame Tussaud's in Times Square, the wire service reported.
Superman Joins Batman On Film
arner Brothers is developing a movie that will pair DC Comics heroes Superman and Batman, Variety reported.
Andrew Kevin Walker (Sleepy Hollow) will write the script for the as-yet-untitled project, and Wolfgang Petersen will direct.
Another Superman film, produced by Jon Peters, is in the works, as are at least two proposed Batman films. Walker is also adapting the Marvel Comics series Silver Surfer for 20th Century Fox, the trade paper reported.
WB Unveils Fall Schedule
he WB announced season premiere dates for its fall shows, including its new Superman saga, Smallville.
The series, starring Tom Welling as a teen-aged Clark Kent, premieres Oct. 16 and will air Tuesdays at 9 p.m.
First up among The WB's genre shows is Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which premieres Sept. 14 and will air at 8 p.m. Fridays.
Angel begins its third season on Sept. 24 and moves into a new timeslot, Mondays at 9 p.m. The timing is notable: FX begins running reruns of Angel predecessor series Buffy the Vampire Slayer that week. UPN, which acquired Buffy from The WB in a contentious contract dispute earlier this year, unveils the series' sixth season with a two-hour premiere the following week, on Oct. 2.
Charmed premieres Sept. 27, with a two-hour episode that introduces Rose McGowan as a new character to replace Shannen Doherty's departed sister. The show will air Thursdays at 9 p.m.
Rings Scripter To Adapt Earthsea
hilippa Boyens (the Lord of the Rings film trilogy) will adapt Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series for The SCI FI Channel, the channel confirmed.
SCI FI plans to turn the Earthsea books into a six-hour miniseries.
Kevin Brown, executive producer for television at Lawrence Bender's A Band Apart company, will produce the miniseries with SCI FI senior vice president of original programming Ian Valentine.
Boyens, a playwright, teacher, producer and editor, made her debut as a screenwriter with Peter Jackson's upcoming film version of J.R.R. Tolkien's Rings trilogy of novels.
Johansson Caught In Arac Web
carlett Johansson, one of the stars of the upcoming tongue-in-cheek SF movie Arac Attack, told SCI FI Wire that she was ready for fun after performing in the likes of Ghost World, An American Rhapsody and The Horse Whisperer.
"Arac Attack is kind of a sci-fi spoof movie," the 16-year-old actress said in an interview. "I don't know if it's really a spoof; it's like a '50s film, like Tarantula."
The film, directed by Ellory Elkayem (They Nest), is tentatively set for release in November by Warner Brothers. It stars David Arquette, Kari Wuhrer and Johansson. "It's about these spiders that come, grow giant and attack this deserted town in Arizona," Johansson said enthusiastically. "It's very campy, gory and scary, all those good elements. It's got all the good elements of a Roland Emmerich-Dean Devlin production [the producers of Independence Day]. I play the teen-age role-model girl who all the teens are supposed to relate to. There's a kid and a love story between my mother [Wuhrer] and David Arquette."
Johansson added, "It was bizarre. I'd never done anything like that before, which is why I took the project. It's acting I've never done, where you have to imagine being chased by 15-foot spiders. It was awesome. I'm excited about it. Everybody makes fun of me. 'Well, you've done The Horse Whisperer AND Arac Attack.'"
Johansson thinks she might get the last laugh. "I saw some of the digital effects when we were looping, and it looks pretty cool," she said. "I loved Jurassic Park III. It was a big chase movie, and it didn't pretend to be anything it wasn't. Arac Attack looks like something I'd enjoy seeing."
New Catwoman Isn't Selina
ohn Rogers, who is writing a screenplay based on the DC Comics vixen Catwoman, told the Comics2Film Web site that the film will differ from the established comic mythology.
Among other things, Catwoman--to be played by Ashley Judd--won't be Selina Kyle, but rather will be a completely new character named Patience Price.
"If you're starting a new franchise, the decision was to do a totally new character to make it stand on its own," Rogers told the site. "It's both a business decision and a creative decision that I can understand and agree with."
The new Catwoman's origins will resemble those of Kyle, who was played by Michelle Pfeiffer in Tim Burton's 1992 movie Batman Returns. The woman is wrongfully killed and comes back to settle the score.
"We're going to set up a legacy in the first few minutes, so that you understand how it works and the mythology behind it," Rogers said. "In the first half hour of the movie, you will know not only how this happens with this girl, but how that worked back with Selina Kyle." He added, "This movie isn't about the mythology of Catwoman. It's about the adventures of this particular Catwoman, in this particular situation."
Like Kyle, Price will have to struggle with her new persona. "The fun of the movie is watching this nice, pleasant person become this very sexy, viciously sarcastic, extremely talented criminal," Rogers said. "As she evolves into Catwoman, one of the things she's dealing with is 'This can't be good. I'm becoming a criminal.'" Rogers is working on a previous script by Kate Kondell and Theresa Rebeck.
Sweden Bars Kids From A.I.
wedish censors have given Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence its highest rating, barring anyone younger than 15 from seeing the film, Variety reported.
The otherwise liberal country's Board of Film Censors believed that the scene in which a young robot boy is abandoned by his mother could upset children.
"We feel that sensitive kids could be really scared and as a result suffer damage," censor Jonas Wall told Variety. "This is the age where kids are emotionally developing."
One Swedish film distributor, Staffan Wallhem, disagreed with the decision. "If violent fare including Pearl Harbor, Jurassic Park and The World Is Not Enough got an 11 rating, we cannot understand why the same would not apply to A.I.," Wallhem told the trade paper. "We have decided to protest and apply for a lower rating."
Mythopoeic Winners Honored
he Mythopoeic Society announced the winners of its Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, which were handed out during Mythcon XXXII, held in Berkeley, Calif., Aug. 3-6.
The awards honor works from 2000. A full list of winners follows.
Adult Literature
•The Innamorati by Midori Snyder
Children 's Literature
•Aria of the Sea by Dia Calhoun
Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies
•J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century by Tom Shippey
Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies
•King Arthur in America by Alan Lupack and Barbara Tepa Lupack
World Fantasy Nominees Named
rganizers announced the nominees for the 2001 World Fantasy Awards, honoring the best in the genre.
The awards will be presented Nov. 4 at the World Fantasy Convention in Montreal, Canada. A full list of nominees follows.
Novel
•Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay
•Perdido Street Station by China Miéville
•Declare by Tim Powers
•His Dark Materials 3: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
•Galveston by Sean Stewart
•The Grand Ellipse by Paula Volsky
Novella
•"Blue Kansas Sky" by Michael Bishop
•"Pelican Cay" by David Case
•"Seventy-Two Letters" by Ted Chiang
•"Mr. Simonelli or the Fairy Widower" by Susanna Clarke
•"Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol" by Elizabeth Hand
•"Mr. Dark's Carnival" by Glen Hirshberg
•"The Man on the Ceiling" by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem
Short Fiction
•"The Saltimbanques" by Terry Dowling
•"Lincoln in Frogmore" by Andy Duncan
•"The Pottawatomie Giant" by Andy Duncan
•"Shoe and Marriage" by Kelly Link
•"Is There Anybody There?" by Kim Newman
•"The Raggle Taggle Gypsy-O" by Michael Swanwick
•"Down Here in the Garden" by Tia V. Travis
Anthology
•The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Thirteenth Annual Collection, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds.
•Vanishing Acts, Ellen Datlow, ed.
•whispers from the cotton tree root: caribbean fabulist fiction, Nalo Hopkinson, ed.
•Dark Terrors 5: The Gollancz Book of Horror, Stephen Jones and David Sutton, eds.
•Shadows and Silence, Barbara Roden and Christopher Roden, eds.
•Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora, Sheree R. Thomas, ed.
Collection
•Perpetuity Blues and Other Stories by Neal Barrett Jr.
•Blackwater Days by Terry Dowling
•Beluthahatchie and Other Stories by Andy Duncan
•Travel Arrangements by M. John Harrison
•Magic Terror: Seven Tales by Peter Straub
•The Perseids and Other Stories by Robert Charles Wilson
Artist
•Jim Burns
•Kinuko Y. Craft
•Les Edwards
•Daniel Merriam
•John Jude Palencar
•Shaun Tan
Special Award, Professional
•Ellen Datlow, for editing Sci Fiction and anthologies
•Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner for Spectrum 7 : The Best in Contemporary
Fantastic Art
•William Schaeffer, for Subterranean Press
•Tom Shippey, for J.R.R Tolkien: Author of the Century
•Gary Turner and Marty Halpern for Golden Gryphon Press
Special Award, Non-Professional
•Benjamin Cossel, Jeremy Lassen and Jason Williams for Nightshade Press
•Peter Crowther, for PS Publishing
•Philip J. Rahman and Dennis E. Weiler for Fedogan & Bremer
•Barbara Roden and Christopher Roden for Ash-Tree Press
•Raymond Russell and Rosalie Parker for Tartarus Press
•Bill Sheehan, for At the Foot of the Story Tree: An Inquiry into the
Fiction of Peter Straub
Gugino Plays More Than One
arla Gugino, star of James Wong's upcoming SF thriller film The One, told columnist Cindy Pearlman that she just wrapped production on the movie.
Gugino plays the wife of Jet Li, a man who discovers he's being hunted by his counterpart from a parallel dimension.
"I play three characters in it," Gugino told Pearlman. "I'm Jet's wife in one universe. I play a bad vixen in a parallel universe, and then there's a third universe where ... well, I can't tell you." The One opens Nov. 2.
Gugino also starred as the mother in this year's hit children's film Spy Kids, which is being re-released Aug. 8, with an additional scene. "It's a few more minutes of the fun," Gugino said.
13 Ghosts Borrows Gimmick
hannon Elizabeth, star of Joel Silver's upcoming 13 Ghosts movie, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the update of William Castle's cheesy 1960 horror film will borrow a gimmick from the master showman.
Patrons of the original film were handed 3-D glasses that allowed them to see the titular ghosts.
"We've kept the origin of the story," Elizabeth told columnist Cindy Pearlman. "We have special glasses in the haunted house that allow you to see the ghosts. But the deal is, the audience can see through these glasses when one of our characters picks them up. You see what happens while the characters don't know yet."
The film centers on a group of college students in a haunted house. "It really stinks when you come home from college for the summer and find that your inherited house is full of ghosts," Elizabeth said. She added, "It's almost too scary. I've been told that the filmmakers are trying to tone it down." 13 Ghosts opens Oct. 26.
New Wolfenstein Announced
d Software announced the development of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, the sequel to the popular PC game Wolfenstein.
Id and Gray Matter Interactive will executive produce the title, which will be developed by Nerve Software for Activision.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein will feature complex, mission-based multiplayer warfare and pit players in a contest for front-line domination in supernatural World War II-themed action, the company announced.
The game's multiplayer mode allows gamers to engage in a series of combat scenarios as an Axis or Allied soldier storming beachheads, infiltrating military installations, holding strategic positions and more. No release date was announced.
Batman Rumors Abound
he Batman on Film Web site reported rumors about the proposed Batman: Year One sequel movie, from director Darren Aronofsky, and other bat-movies.
Citing an anonymous source, the site reported that Aronofsky and writer Frank Miller are having trouble making the Year One script work.
The site added that Warner Brothers is mulling whether to green-light Year One, a second Batman movie based on the Batman Beyond animated TV series, or a third option. That third option, the site reported, is a feature-film version of Miller's Dark Knight Returns graphic novel, supposedly bringing back Michael Keaton as the caped crusader under the direction of original Batman director Tim Burton, with Sean Connery as Commissioner Gordon.
As for Year One, the site reported rumors that Kurt Russell is being considered to play Jim Gordon, not Batman, and that A.I. star Jude Law is up for the lead role.
Rangers Darkens B5 Universe
. Michael Straczynski, creator of The SCI FI Channel's upcoming original TV movie Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers: To Live and Die in Starlight, told Science Fiction Weekly that the film will take the saga into darker territory.
"I did want a darker, more serious look to this," Straczynski said in an interview. "I've always felt that we should learn from the B5 tradition, but not be bound by it. We can take it in another direction and expand and improve it--I'm all for that. I just don't want to go backwards."
Rangers takes place in the year 2265, a few years after the events in the B5 episode "Objects at Rest," Straczynski said. The show is a pilot for a possible series. "We've had the Rangers as part of the Babylon 5 universe ever since season three," he added. "I've always been fascinated by them, and the fans have been pretty intrigued by them for a long time. And the creation of the Interstellar Alliance is something that was also dramatized in the series. The nearest point of comparison [for them] would be King Arthur and his knights, because this is about empire building. It's a variety of stories. The thing about the Rangers is that they go everywhere, and therefore the entire B5 universe is open to us, and will definitely be involved [in the stories]."
Straczynski added, "Babylon 5 was really a show about political intrigue, with [this] core wrapped around an action series. This really isn't [the same], for several reasons. The political stuff will be there to inform [the Rangers'] missions, in terms of trying to make new alliances and to steady problems as they come up out there. But I want this to be more action-oriented. Plus, this is a small ship; we've put these characters into a very small, confined situation--a tin bucket in space--and they have to live with each other on a daily basis." SCI FI airs Babylon 5 reruns weeknights at 7 p.m.
Jay and Silent Bob Spoofs SF
evin Smith told SCI FI Wire that his upcoming Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back movie pokes fun at Scooby-Doo, Planet of the Apes and other SF entertainment.
To make sure he wasn't infringing on anybody's copyrights, Smith consulted the Dimension Films studio lawyers, who instructed him to make slight alterations for safety.
"Scooby doesn't have the triangle or diamond tag. He has a square, but it says 'DOG' on it in the green and [a] kind of yellow shade," Smith said at the film's press junket. "Their outfits are not picture-perfect to the cartoon. Fred is wearing a pink shirt, as opposed to white, but still with an ascot. Daphne's outfit doesn't have the shoes that she has, and the color's a little different, but everything is just close enough to be reminiscent of it or to make you look at it and you're like, 'That's Scooby-Doo.'"
Such changes made it possible to create recognizable likeness for the audience, but allow the studio plausible deniability in case of any legal questions.
"We never call anyone Scooby-Doo, nobody's ever called Daphne, nobody's ever called Fred [or] Shaggy, so you get away with it legally," Smith said. "Planet of the Apes [was the] same thing. We couldn't do the exact same outfits that they had, like I really wanted to do those leather striped vests that they had, and we couldn't do those. We had to do slight variations on them, but you see it and you're like, 'That's Planet of the Apes.'" Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back opens Aug. 22.
Did Apes Steal Ending?
irector Kevin Smith told fans on his official View Askew Web site message board that he considered suing Planet of the Apes director Tim Burton for allegedly appropriating Apes' surprise ending from one of Smith's comics.
The image in question appeared on page 7 of Jay and Silent Bob No. 3 and mirrors the ending of Burton's Apes remake.
"Believe me, I contemplated legal action," Smith wrote to fans, who first made the connection. The image gives away the controversial ending of Burton's movie.
But Burton denied he stole the idea from Smith. "I have not seen the image, and anybody that knows me knows I do not read comic books," Burton told the New York Post. "And I especially wouldn't read anything that was created by Kevin Smith."
Madonna, Stiller Voice New Toon
adonna and Ben Stiller will join Chris Rock and Jason Alexander to voice DreamWorks' upcoming animated fantasy movie Madagascar, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Eric Darnell (Antz) and Conrad Vernon (who wrote dialogue on Shrek) will direct, the trade paper reported.
Madagascar centers on four zoo animals who are sent back to their native homeland by an animal rights group that feels they belong back in the wild. But their ship capsizes, and the animals find themselves in Madagascar.
Kung Fu Deal Near
reamWorks Pictures is in talks to distribute and possibly finance Kung Fu Theater, a fantasy movie to be directed by music video helmer Nick Quested, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Mandalay Pictures is producing the movie, which is slated to begin production by the end of the year, the trade paper reported.
Kung Fu tells the story of a comic-book artist who finds himself transported into a martial-arts film, where he embarks on an unusual journey to find inspiration. Tom Jankiewicz (Grosse Pointe Blank) wrote the screenplay, after developing the concept with Paul Jay Shrater, who will serve as an executive producer, the trade paper reported.
Osmosis A Health Primer?
an the upcoming live-action/animated SF comedy film Osmosis Jones help teach kids about health?
That's what a Tufts University dentistry professor believes, according to the film's distributor, Warner Brothers.
"It can be seen by kids as tremendously funny, as well as an instructive primer in biology and human anatomy," Terrence J. Griffin, an associate professor at Tufts' School of Dental Medicine, told Warner Brothers.
The movie tells the fanciful story of a white blood cell, voiced by Chris Rock, and his partner, a cold capsule voiced by David Hyde Pierce, as they track down a lethal virus, voiced by Laurence Fishburne, in the body of Frank, played by Bill Murray.
"Osmosis Jones gives a good overview of how the body fights infections and how its systems react and work together when you're sick," Tufts student Brendon Chiou told Warner Brothers. His classmate, Davis Rubin, added, "The movie shows that the lymph nodes are where white blood cells hang out. A lot of people don't realize what their lymph nodes are and what they do." Osmosis Jones opens Aug. 10.
Klein Backs Rollerball Delay
hris Klein, who stars in John McTiernan's upcoming Rollerball movie, told SCI FI Wire that he backs the delay of the SF remake, which was bumped to February 2002 from its original August release date.
He added that he doesn't know why McTiernan is re-shooting scenes for the movie, an update of Norman Jewison's original 1975 film of the same name.
"I don't know anything," Klein told reporters while promoting American Pie 2. Rumors have suggested that the film is being re-shot to tone down the violence and earn a PG-13 rating. As for the film's delay, Klein said, "That's not my call. That's not something I can control, as are the re-shoots. We don't really know what's going to happen with those. This is their [MGM's] baby. This has been in the works for over two years, trying to get it made, and they want to do it right. They've got a lot of money invested in it, and they're going to protect their investment as best they can. So good on them, because it was a great experience for me. I'm glad that they're taking care of a product that I was in."
Klein also discussed his costume for the film. "It was pretty awesome," Klein said. "The uniform is made from a full leather motorcycle suit, and it was all taken in and vacuum-sealed. It's all black leather and has red stripes, because our team is red, and it was pretty rocking. It's got inlaid elbow pads and pads on the hips and pads on the knees. It was pretty in-depth. If you need more stimulus than the suit and the heat and the sweat to get you in character, then you're pretty brain-dead."
Dawn, Willow Talk Buffy
ichelle Trachtenberg, who plays younger sister Dawn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, hinted to SCI FI Wire that her character may get a love interest in the upcoming sixth season, which marks the show's move to UPN.
"Dawn will be doing regular teen-age things," Trachtenberg said in an interview. "I don't know that I'm allowed to say this, but Dawn might be getting some interests in the crush field."
But Trachtenberg was vague about details and declined to answer a question about what kind of training she's getting for the show. "I can't tell you that," she said. "I have no comment. I cannot confirm or deny anything. We just started shooting last week. A lot of stuff is happening, a lot of fun stuff. You can expect it to be in typical Buffy fashion. We start out, of course, [and] a couple months have passed since the season finale, and it's just jumping right into the regular Sunnydale fun stuff."
Meanwhile, Alyson Hannigan, who plays best pal Willow, told SCI FI Wire that she's already overwhelmed by the new season's work. "We've only been working for a week and a half, and so far, it's been a bitch," Hannigan said in an interview. "I've had to do some stuff that I just really had trouble with." She wouldn't say whether that was physical or emotional stuff, nor did she know what her specific character arc would be this year. "I don't actually, honestly," Hannigan said. "They know, but I have not had time to sit down and figure [it out]. I mean, I have an idea just because people are saying things." Buffy makes its season premiere with a two-hour episode at 8 p.m. Oct. 2.
Boone Back On Earth
arth: Final Conflict will bring back first-season lead actor Kevin Kilner as a guest star in the upcoming fifth season, the official EFC.com Web site reported.
Other notable guest stars for the season will include Superman co-star Margot Kidder and Anita La Selva (Zo'or), who left her position as a regular cast member at the end of last season.
Kilner will reprise his role as William Boone in two episodes set to air in November, the site reported. The site reported spoilers that Boone--who supposedly died at the end of season one--has actually been kept in a state of suspended animation aboard the mothership for several years, and reawakens to find that the Taelons and Jaridians have merged to become a new alien species posing an even greater threat to humanity.
Kidder will guest star in a November episode in which she plays a forensic pathologist turned serial killer, who is awaiting her fate on death row. Renée breaks her out of prison, hoping she will be able to provide the information necessary to kill the deadly Atavus aliens, but the plan backfires.
La Selva returns as Zo'or in a "startling new incarnation," the site reported. The syndicated Earth: Final Conflict starts its new season the week of Oct. 6.
Borg Game Resisted
ctivision announced that it has suspended the development of the PC video game Star Trek: Borg Assimilator, the GameSpot Web site reported.
Activision said that the decision was made out of concern that the game's design didn't fully match the Star Trek universe, the site reported.
The decision does not affect any of Activision's other Star Trek games now in development, including Star Trek: Armada II and Star Trek Bridge Commander. Borg Assimilator was to have allowed players to control a small Borg colony and conquer and assimilate enemy units in order to gain access to new technologies. Cyberlore Studios was developing the game, which was slated for a holiday season release, the site reported.
Uni Goes Where Wild Things Are
niversal will develop an animated feature film based on Maurice Sendak's fantasy children's book Where the Wild Things Are, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Former longtime Disney feature animator Eric Goldberg is in final talks to direct the computer-animated movie.
Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone Productions is producing, along with Sendak and John B. Carls of Wild Things Productions, the trade paper reported. No start date is set, but the project is expected to move forward immediately, sources told the Reporter.
Wild Things tells the story of a little boy who uses his imagination to take him to a land of giant monsters, where he eventually is made the king. Screenwriter David Reynolds (The Emperor's New Groove) is adapting the project for the screen, the trade paper reported.
New Frankenstein In Works
evin Bernhardt will write a script for Johnny Frankenstein, a proposed modern retelling of the familiar monster story, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Independent production company Sobini Films is developing the project.
Johnny Frankenstein tells the story of a lonely Los Angeles misfit who, after a botched suicide attempt, is reconstructed by a visionary female doctor who pushes the limits of organ regeneration and bio-engineering to transform him into a superhuman, the trade paper reported. The film is loosely based on Mary Shelley's classic SF novel Frankenstein.
Elfman To Spin Spidey Score
omposer Danny Elfman told Cinescape Online that he's not worried about expectations for his score for Sam Raimi's upcoming Spider-Man film.
Elfman will reunite with director Raimi, for whom he composed scores to Darkman and A Simple Plan, in January to begin work on Spidey, the site reported.
"I've already been down that road with Batman," Elfman told the site. "You know, whether it is Planet of the Apes, Batman or Spider-Man, you can't worry about what hard-core genre fans are going to perceive of what you do or don't do. You have to take everything for what it is. The movie will be what it will be, and I'll do the best I can with it."
Elfman will also score the upcoming sequel Men in Black 2, the site reported. "I'm attempting to only do two films a year again, which is what I did for most of my composing career," Elfman said. "It's a little tricky getting that and all the other stuff that I want to do."
Disney Developing Jackson
isney has bought Indiana Jackson, a proposed supernatural adventure film based on a pitch by Tyger Williams, Variety reported.
Described as a hip-hop Raiders of the Lost Ark, the movie is intended to star former Fugees member Pras, the trade paper reported.
The film tells the story of an archaeologist and his pupil, the film's title character, who travel to Ethiopia, where they seek the staff of Moses. Pras will exec produce with Darryl Taja, with that duo sharing story credit with Williams, the trade paper reported.
Apes Appeal Slips
lanet of the Apes dropped to the No. 2 slot in the box-office rankings in its second weekend of release, with about $28.5 million for the weekend of Aug. 3, the Hollywood trade papers reported.
That represented a steep 58 percent drop in Apes' box-office take and a total of about $124.7 million after 10 days of release.
Jurassic Park III took fourth place for the weekend, with an estimated $12.1 million. To date, the sequel has grossed about $146.8 million, the trade papers reported. Genre films rounding out the top 10 included No. 9 Cats and Dogs, with an estimated $2.3 million and a total of $86.7 million, and Dr. Dolittle 2 at No. 10, with about $2.1 million for the weekend and a total of about $105.9 million.
Briefly Noted
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MSN.com has posted the first trailer for Kevin Spacey's upcoming K-Pax movie, in which the Oscar winner plays a mental patient who claims he's an alien from another planet.
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Marvel Comics executive Kevin Feige denied to the Comics2Film Web site rumors that Daniel Day Lewis has expressed interest in the lead role in a proposed Sub-Mariner movie. "Not true," Feige told the site. "Interesting, but not true."
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A tentative schedule for the World Science Fiction Convention, or Millennium Philcon, has gone up on the official Web site. The convention takes place in Philadelphia Aug. 30-Sept. 3. The final version of the schedule goes live Aug. 24.
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Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri and animation director Yutaka Minowa will attend the U.S. theatrical premiere of their anime film Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Aug. 24, at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. Composer Marco D'Ambrosio will also attend, as will vocal cast members John DiMaggio and John Rafter Lee.
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Sony has posted an official trailer for its upcoming SF thriller movie The One, starring Jet Li, which opens Nov. 2.
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The Countingdown.com Web site has posted spoilers for the upcoming Resident Evil movie, based on the video game series of the same name.
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The Star Trek Universe fan Web site has posted what it says are spoilers for upcoming episodes of UPN's new Trek series, Enterprise.
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Artisan is set to release the first season of Twin Peaks on DVD on Dec. 4, the DVD File Web site reported. The set will include the entire first season aside from the pilot, which remains caught in a rights quagmire, with new Dolby Digital and DTS tracks, audio commentary by creator David Lynch, making-of features, and more to be announced, the site reported.
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Doom, which pioneered the first-person shooter game, is available for the GameBoy Advance platform. Id Software and David A. Palmer Productions partnered for the release, the companies announced.
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Bryce Zabel--writer and producer of the genre TV shows Dark Skies and The Crow--will take over as chairman and chief executive officer of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences this October, Variety reported.
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Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and Sam Mercer, who produced M. Night Shyamalan's 1999 hit film The Sixth Sense, will reteam with the writer-director to produce his upcoming SF thriller film Signs for the Walt Disney Co., Variety reported. Mel Gibson is set to star, with Mark Ruffalo to co-star.
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Nearly divorced supercouple Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise appeared--separately--at the premiere of Kidman's upcoming supernatural thriller film The Others, which Cruise produced, on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles, the Associated Press reported. The couple's divorce becomes final Aug. 8; The Others opens Aug. 10.
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The Comics Continuum Web site reported that the upcoming syndicated SF television series Mutant X will preview Aug. 25 at the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in Toronto. The show's cast and producers will be on hand.
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Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment announced that it will release the two-disc DVD of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within on Oct. 23. The computer-animated film debuted this summer, but quickly disappeared from multiplexes.
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The Comics Continuum Web site reported that the pilot episode of its upcoming Justice League animated series will air Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. New half-hour episodes will air Mondays at 8:30 p.m., starting Nov. 19.
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NBC will pull its paranormal series Mysterious Ways from its schedule, starting Aug. 10, the Zap2it.com Web site reported. Citing poor ratings, NBC will pull four episodes of the series, which it shares with the PAX network, off its August lineup.
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New Line has slated an Oct. 24 release date for Bones, its upcoming ghost movie starring rapper Snoop Dogg.
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The James Marsters.com fan Web site has posted a trailer for the upcoming second season of the syndicated SF television series Andromeda, featuring a glimpse of Marsters in his guest role as a Nietzschean nobelman.
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The Movie FX Video Magazine Web site has posted video of what it says are Spider-Man's web shooters and the Green Goblin's pumpkin bomb from Sam Raimi's upcoming Spider-Man movie.
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The Psi Phi Web site reported that Diane Carey will write the novelization of the pilot episode for UPN's upcoming Enterprise series, "Broken Bow." The book is due in October; the show premieres Sept. 26.
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The Tolkien Online Web site has posted The Complete List of Film Changes, which details the differences between Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books and Peter Jackson's upcoming movie adapation.
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Tribune Entertainment has posted a new trailer for its upcoming syndicated Mutant X television series.
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Variety confirmed the casting of Amy Acker as a new regular cast member of The WB's vampire series Angel. Acker will reprise the role of Fred, the librarian, which she originated last season.
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ABC and USA Network will share the TV rights to The Mummy Returns, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Under the pact between Universal, ABC and USA, ABC will get first crack at the film in early 2004, with three runs over 18 months, after which the movie will go to USA for multiple runs during the next 44 months.
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