Editors, Writers Survive Attack
ocus Online reported that it received word from numerous New York and Washington-area-based SF authors, literary agents and publishing industry figures that they were OK, at least physically, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Among those checking in were: Richard Curtis, SCIFI.COM's Ellen Datlow, Shelly Shapiro, Jennifer Brehl, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Betsy Mitchell, Juliet Ulman, Michael Walsh, Colleen Lindsay, Harvey Jacobs, Jamie Levin, Ginjer Buchanan, Russ
Galen, Laura Anne Gilman, Tim Avers, Susan Allison, Eleanor Lang and Chris Lotts, as well as the staff at the Donald Maass Agency, the site reported.
Others were not so lucky. Harvey Jacobs, the author of Beautiful Soup, American Goliath and the recent short fiction piece "Fish Story," canceled a reading scheduled for Sept. 19 at the KGB Bar in Manhattan due to what Locus Online referred to as a "family loss" that occurred during the assault on the twin towers. Colleen Lindsay of Ballantine said pretty much all there was to say in her brief note to Locus Online: "Thanks for your concern. We are all very shaken, very confused and very, very sad. It's a little hard to comprehend what happened until you see just how wrong the New York City skyline looks at this moment. The world seemed to end this morning while we watched it live on TV." Locus Online will continue to post updates on SF writers and editors.
2001 Gets 2001 Release
arner Bros. will re-release Stanley Kubrick's classic SF film 2001: A Space Odyssey in its full, restored 70mm glory in a limited run starting Oct. 5, Variety reported.
Seattle's Cinerama theater will screen the digitally restored movie on Oct. 5, with December dates set for L.A.'s Egyptian Theater, San Francisco's Castro and the Uptown in Washington, the trade paper reported.
The restored print of 2001 also was made available on DVD this summer as part of the boxed set of Kubrick's films, Variety reported.
Enterprise Spoilers Hinted
rannon Braga, co-creator of UPN's upcoming Enterprise, offered the TrekGalaxy.com Web site a few hints about the new Star Trek series' chief aliens and its plot arc.
"The Suliban have subcutaneous pigment sacs, like octopi have on their skin," Braga told TrekGalaxy writers Gregory L. Norris and Laura A. Van Vleet. "This allows them to not become fully invisible, but take on the colorization of backgrounds. It's a very imperfect camouflage. The Suliban are bald, and they have a really weird texture to their skin, and we've come up with a makeup design that is really unique and very cool-looking."
As for the pilot, "Broken Bow," and subsequent first-season episodes, Braga said, "You are going to see the Suliban again, our villains in Enterprise. We are going to reveal a little more about the Temporal Cold War that's going on. But for the most part, we are going to be doing some exploring, and the crew is going to find some really weird stuff. We are going to see one of the characters totally freak out and want to go home early on. We are going see the Vulcan-human rift come out again in a very dramatic episode. We are going to see a surprising character development with T'Pol. It's going to be a lot of firsts. You know, even having the Enterprise pull up to another spaceship to say 'Hi' is a big deal to this crew. They don't have any of the famous Star Trek protocols yet, so it's going to have a different feeling from other shows that we've done. And we are already finding that out as we cut together the first episode now. It feels different from anything that's gone before. It feels more naturalistic somehow, and realistic, and it's totally cool. It's great to work on." Enterprise premieres with a two-hour episode on Sept. 26.
Dawn The Slayer Coming?
ichelle Trachtenberg, who plays little sister Dawn on UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told TV Guide Online that creator Joss Whedon has approached her about starring in another Buffy spinoff series.
"I've been asked if a spinoff or a continuation [of the show] would be of interest to me, and pretty much it is," she told the site. "It's quite exciting. I love my character, and I love the fact that Joss lets me exercise any type of acting that I want to and really show what I can do."
Whedon—who is also developing an animated Buffy series and a British spinoff featuring the Giles character—is eyeing Trachtenberg in case Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar ever moves on, TV Guide reported. Buffy has already spun off the successful WB series Angel.
In the meantime, Trachtenberg said her character will finally get to deal with boys this season. "There were some hints about that in the 'Body' episode," Trachtenberg said. "But all I can say is that, like any teen-ager, Dawn will be going through every type of emotion. Anything you throw at me, I'll try to tackle." Buffy returns for a sixth season on Oct. 2.
More Iron Man Rumors Emerge
he Ain't It Cool News Web site reported more rumors about a proposed movie based on Marvel Comics' Iron Man series, saying that Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon may be in line to direct, not write, the movie.
Whedon has not yet signed a contract, the site reported.
Director Ron Howard and Tom Cruise's production company have also expressed interest in the project, the site reported.
Writer Tim McCanlies has turned in a second draft of the film to New Line Cinema, the site reported. The new draft eliminates Nick Fury and focuses on Tony Stark (Iron Man), Justin Hammer and Rhodey Rhodes, the site reported. AICN said the draft brings the red and gold armor into the story faster and plays up the "James Bond" feel of the film.
Lawsuit Filed In Spidey Death
he wife of 45-year-old welder Tim Holcombe—who was killed on the set of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movie—filed a wrongful-death lawsuit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The suit names Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, NES Studio Equipment, Ingersoll-Rand Company and Pete's Road Service and was filed Sept. 17 in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Deborah Holcombe claims wrongful death, general negligence and products liability and is seeking an unspecified sum due to "the loss of love, comfort, society and support," according to the suit. Tim Holcombe was killed March 6 when a crane toppled onto a construction basket in which he was riding, the trade paper reported.
A Columbia spokesman said the studio does not comment on litigation. When contacted by the Reporter, representatives for Ingersoll-Rand and Pete's Road Service said the appropriate individuals to comment on the matter were not available. A message to NES Studio Equipment was not returned.
Sony has appealed the state of California's proposed fines of nearly $59,000 for alleged safety violations on the Spider-Man set in the wake of the accident, Variety reported earlier. California's division of Occupational Safety and Health cited nine violations against Columbia Pictures in its notification, the trade paper reported.
New Spidey Trailer Coming Soon
arvel Studios' executive Kevin Feige told the Comics Continuum Web site that a new trailer for Sam Raimi's upcoming Spider-Man movie should reach theaters by the end of the year.
Sony pulled the original teaser trailer because it featured a special sequence involving the World Trade Center; the twin towers do not appear in the film.
"Sony is hard at work on [the new trailer] even as we speak," Feige told the site. "You can expect to see the trailer at the time when you would expect one." Feige would not comment on rumors that the new trailer would be attached to copies of New Line's upcoming first Lord of the Rings film, which opens Dec. 19.
Spidey 2 Game Postponed
ctivision announced that it would delay the scheduled Sept. 18 release of the video game Spider-Man 2, Enter: Electro, for the PlayStation gaming platform, because the game's New York setting features a building that resembles one of the World Trade Center towers.
While the environments in the game were not designed to depict specific buildings, the climax of the game takes place atop a skyscraper that loosely resembles one of the towers, which were destroyed last week by terrorists, Activision said.
"Out of respect for the victims, their families and our fellow citizens, we will be postponing the launch and making minor changes to the game," Activision president Ron Doornink said in a statement. "While the buildings in Spider-Man 2, Enter: Electro act only as a background environment and do not explode or collapse, Activision is being extremely cautious about any images in our game that might be mistaken for the twin towers. We expect to ship the game well in time for this holiday season. Additionally, the delay of the game will have no material impact on our business." A new release date for Spider-Man 2 has not yet been scheduled.
SCI FI Aired Tribute Telethon
he SCI FI Channel joined other stations in pre-empting its regular Friday night lineup on Sept. 21 from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT in order to air the telethon America: A Tribute To Heroes.
The live, commercial-free, simulcast raised funds for a long-term relief effort for Americans who have directly suffered from last week's terrorist attacks.
In order to accommodate the telethon, SCI FI held the new episode of Lexx that was scheduled to air Sept. 21 at 10 p.m. and instead will run it on Sept. 28. The episode is the last new episode of Lexx that will air on SCI FI in 2001.
After Sept. 28, Lexx will next return to SCI FI with more new episodes in early 2002.
Theaters Decline Megiddo
ive major theater chains have declined to screen the Christian-themed apocalypse movie Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, which opens Sept. 21, Inside.com and Zap2it.com reported.
United Artists, General Cinemas, Edwards, Pacific and Loews Cineplex have declined to screen the sequel to the cult hit The Omega Code in light of recent real-life terrorist attacks.
Not every cinema in every chain has pulled the movie; some movie houses are ruling on screenings on a case-by-case basis, Zap2it reported. Inside reported that the movie will play at 50 fewer theaters than the original 400 it planned to play in. AMC, Regal and Cinemark have agreed to continue with plans to show the movie, Zap2it reported.
"The film obviously deals with events that are considered apocalyptic in nature, and we understand that to some people certain images of destruction in the movie may prove difficult to witness due to similarity to real-life events," said Matthew Crouch, founder of the film's production company, Gener8Xion, and son of Trinity Broadcasting televangelists Paul and Jan Crouch. "In the context of the film, however, these images are neither graphic nor exploitative, but serve as a catalyst for the people of America and the world to proclaim that they aren't going to let this stop them from uniting together to overcome adversity."
Amiel Digs Into Core
on Amiel will direct The Core, a science fiction movie in the vein of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, Variety reported.
Paramount Pictures is developing the film, drafted by co-producer Cooper Layne. Core is due to start shooting Dec. 10.
The movie tells the story of a group of "terranauts" recruited to pilot an experimental ship to correct a potentially planet-crushing flaw in the Earth's core caused by a chemical waste reaction, the trade paper reported. Amiel replaces Peter Hyams, who at one time was in negotiations to direct the movie.
Swanwick Makes His Bones
he prolific Michael Swanwick told SCI FI Wire that Eos Books will release his next novel, Bones of the Earth, in February 2002.
"The heart of the story is that paleontologists are given the gift of time travel," Swanwick
said in an interview. "They're able to travel back to the Mesozoic and actually study dinosaurs."
The gift, however, comes from mysterious sources and with plenty of strings attached. "It's about the joy of scientific discovery," Swanwick added. "I wanted to just write about real scientists doing actual research and the joy
and enthusiasm they bring to this. So it's about science as a basic endeavor. In a way it was a tough one for me to write, because it's a hard-science novel. So I was sticking to the facts. I was calling paleontologists I know every couple of days with a new list of questions. The result of it is I wasn't able to get as weird and strange as I usually do in my writing. It's a lot closer to reality. The dinosaurs in there are accurate as of a month ago."
Bones of the Earth is only one of many current Swanwick endeavors. Old Earth Books just published Being Gardner Dozois, a book-length interview with SF author Dozois. SCIFI.COM's Sci Fiction, meanwhile, is running Swanwick's Periodic Table of Science Fiction, a weekly series of short-short stories, one story for every element in the periodic table, in order.
In the meantime, the Eos Books Web site features Swanwick's Field Guide to Mesozoic Megafauna, 13 short-short stories appearing at a rate of one every two weeks, starting Oct. 1 and building to the release of Bones of the Earth. Lastly, the author is also running short-short stories on his own official Web site.
Swanwick believes that even as the SF of yesterday becomes today's science fact, the genre's drawing power remains the same as always: the wonder of possibility. "It's all the things we don't know and wish we did," Swanwick said. "Paleontologists are the single most likely group to read SF. It's very popular among paleontologists, and that's because SF can provide them the one thing they most want but will never get, which is a glimpse of living dinosaurs. Only in SF can you experience that."
Baker Confirms MIB 2 Change
ick Baker, who will design makeup for the upcoming sequel Men in Black 2, confirmed for SCI FI Wire that the ending of the movie will change location from the World Trade Center, but will keep the same action as in the original script.
The change will take place because of the terrorist attack that destroyed the landmark New York towers last week.
"I just asked that today with [director] Barry [Sonnenfeld] what they were thinking about doing, because as you probably heard, the World Trade Center was involved in the end of the movie," Baker said in an interview. "Anyway, the same stuff basically happens, [but] it's going to be a different backdrop. The creature that we're designing, which we've redesigned about four or five times because they've rewritten the ending as different things, it's currently the same, still the same action."
Baker also shared the sentiment of many that the terrorist attacks resembled the fictional disasters of Hollywood movies. "This is pretty scary sh-t happening, and it's so much like a science fiction movie when you see it," he said. "It's so weird to watch that. Just think if they would have gotten the White House or the Capitol building—it would be like Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and stuff."
During a visit to the Men in Black 2 set on Sept. 14, SCI FI Wire observed Baker working with the makeup and animatronic crew on scenes involving the worm aliens, reprising their role from 1997's original Men in Black. While one animatronic team worked on worm movements with rods in the MIB headquarters set, another team shot a scene in the "Worm Pad," the aliens' home, which includes a full bar, workout equipment, "Twister" mat and other bachelor accessories, housed under a four-foot-high ceiling. Men in Black 2 is still scheduled for a July 3, 2002, opening.
MIB 2 Doesn't Need Rewrite
arry Sonnenfeld, director of the upcoming Men in Black 2 film, told TV Guide Online that changes to the sequel's ending in light of last week's terrorist attack on New York won't require a major script rewrite. "It's so slightly different," Sonnenfeld told the site.
"The ending took place at the base of the World Trade Center and will now take place at some other New York icon, but we hadn't shot any of the ending."
MIB 2 was mostly filmed on location in Manhattan early this summer; the rest is now being shot on a Los Angeles soundstage. "[The finale] will be shot here against blue screen, so it just means shooting one background plate [in New York] instead of another," the director said. "In fact, the original version was written to take place at the base of the Chrysler Building, and I thought the World Trade Center would be neater. But it's not like [the terrorism] in any way affects what we're doing or what we did."
Carr Looking To Gods
teve Carr (Dr. Dolittle 2) is in talks to direct Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies' fantasy comedy film Gateway to the Gods, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie is aiming at a spring start, with John Williams (Shrek) producing through his Vanguard Films, the trade paper reported.
Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi wrote the script, which follows Greek gods who descend on modern Manhattan thanks to the discovery of an ancient gateway to Mt. Olympus, the trade paper reported. Paramount and Nickelodeon picked up the project as a spec script from Hay and Manfredi two years ago. The story was conceived by George Melrod, the trade paper reported.
CBS' Wolf Drags Tail
he Sept. 19 premiere of CBS' supernatural drama series Wolf Lake placed third among the major networks, behind ABC's 20/20 and a rerun of NBC's Law & Order, Variety reported.
But Wolf, starring Lou Diamond Phillips, did give CBS its best ratings among adults aged 18-49 in the timeslot since May, and improved upon the time period's average of a year ago by 13 percent, the trade paper reported.
Even so, the werewolf series failed to draw the young audience CBS was hoping for, Variety reported. Wolf Lake gained viewers and demographic shares in its second half-hour, but the series goes up against the season premiere of Law & Order next week.
No Comics For Smallville Star
om Welling, star of The WB's upcoming Smallville, told SCI FI Wire that he knew next to nothing about the 63-year-old Superman saga before signing on to play a teen-age Clark Kent.
"I don't remember ever seeing a comic book," Welling said in an interview. "So I went into Smallville clear-minded."
Even after he landed the role, Welling admitted that he didn't read the binder of Superman information The WB provided him. He decided to base his performance and his take on the character strictly on the scripts he received. The pilot, which will air Oct. 16, sets up the new Superman universe and introduces the key figures in 15-year-old Clark's life.
In the new series, Clark lives in Smallville, Kan., with his adoptive parents, Jonathan (John Schneider) and Martha Kent; pals around with Chloe (Allison Mack) and Pete (Sam Jones III); adores the gorgeous Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk), who's already got a boyfriend (Eric Johnson) and sports a necklace with a piece of kryptonite dangling from it; and strikes up an unlikely bond with a bald loner named Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), whose father (John Glover) is a disagreeable tycoon. Each week, Welling said, Clark will deal not only
with the likes of Lana and Lex, but also with a variety of other people—villains with bizarre powers they may have gained as a result of a meteor shower that hit in 1989, the same meteor shower that brought Clark to Earth.
Reviewers have already embraced the Smallville pilot and the betting money is that Smallville will be one of the fall season's biggest hits. While that's flattering, it might also be the source of some super pressure. "Not for me," insisted Welling, a relative newcomer whose credits include a guest shot on UPN's Special Unit 2 and six episodes of Judging Amy. "I think we've got a great show here. The scripts are solid. I think we've got enough quality and substance that I don't feel the pressure. Also, we're up here in Vancouver, so I'm separated from a lot of the hype. We're just going to do good work and, hopefully, that will speak for itself."
Daredevil Star Needed
he casting of Matt Murdock is the "No. 1 goal" for makers of the upcoming Daredevil movie, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, Marvel's Kevin Feige told the Comics Continuum Web site.
But Feige downplayed rumors that Vin Diesel is the top candidate for the part, the site reported.
"A casting decision has not been made," Feige told the site. "A number of people are being discussed." Production of Daredevil, to be directed by Mark Steven Johnson, could begin before the end of the year. "It all depends on who we get for Matt Murdock," Feige said. "Everything else will fall into place once we get the lead actor."
As for the villain in the movie, "Kingpin has a very specific body type in the comic book," Feige said. "We're going to do our best to find someone who can represent that and who also has the acting chops."
Phlox Abducted By Roswell
ohn Billingsley, who will play the alien Dr. Phlox in UPN's upcoming Enterprise series, will make a cameo appearance in a crossover episode of the teen-alien series Roswell, which moves to the Smackdown network this fall, Zap2It.com reported.
Billingsley will play himself in the episode, in which Roswell star Jason Behr as the alien Max will audition for a role—as an alien—on an episode of the new Star Trek series, the site reported.
Billingsley will not be wearing his Phlox makeup or costume, Roswell executive producer Ronald D. Moore told the site. "No. The scene isn't set up that way," Moore said. "It's a casting scene, and he's the guy that's reading with Max, as himself."
The Roswell episode, "Secrets and Lies," will be directed by former Trek star and director Jonathan Frakes, who is also an executive producer of Roswell. Frakes will also have a cameo appearance as himself in the episode, Zap2It reported. "Secrets and Lies" is the season's fourth episode and is set to air Oct. 30.
I-Man Episode Delayed
n light of the ongoing national crisis, The SCI FI Channel is rescheduling the Sept. 21 episode of its original series The Invisible Man because some aspects of the episode may inadvertently strike some viewers as insensitive.
The episode, "Exposed," features Adam Storke, who played the role of Tom Daniels in the defunct TV series Prey alongside current Invisible Man star Vincent Ventresca.
In the last episode of Prey, Tom Daniels was captured and imprisoned in a small cage. In "Exposed," Ventresca comes across a character played by Storke in similar circumstances and has a chance to set him free. The SCI FI Channel had originally planned to air the last episode of Prey before "Exposed."
SCI FI will replace "Exposed" with a rerun of "The Other Invisible Man." The Prey finale will be replaced with an episode of the original Star Trek. No new air date has been set for the pulled episode.
Mutant X Raises Relief Funds
roducers of the upcoming syndicated SF television series Mutant X are inviting fans to donate to a fund set up to aid victims of last week's terrorist attacks on the United States.
Fans may donate to the Tribune Entertainment Disaster Relief Fund through the official Mutant X Web site. The McCormick Tribune Foundation will match each dollar donated at a rate of 50 cents, up to the first $5 million raised.
The site for the upcoming series, meanwhile, has been updated with new features. Mutant X debuts the week of Oct. 1.
Episode II Gag Reel In Works
llison Gibbons, apprentice editor on George Lucas' upcoming Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones, told the official Star Wars Web site that she's assembling a gag reel of outtakes from the prequel.
"There's been some pretty funny things," she told the site. "There's a few things we can't put in, because of swear words and things. Or when the lady farted on set—we were cracking up for hours here. Or when [co-star] Ewan [McGregor] couldn't get a line out, but he kept trying and trying and stuffing it up each time. It's funny to watch. It gives me something to laugh at after sitting there for three hours watching all this footage."
Gibbons—who is assisting editor Ben Burtt—is perhaps the only person on the mammoth production who has seen every second of the film's footage, the site reported. "I'm the one who constantly looks at it," she said. "Because I'll have watched it all, I'll basically know where everything is on all those tapes. It's a good element to have. Not even George Lucas has seen all of that."
Tollbooth Heads For Film
live-action feature film based on Norton Juster's popular children's fantasy book The Phantom Tollbooth is in development at Storyopolis, Fonda Snyder and Dawn Heinrichs' production company devoted to developing film and TV projects based on children's books, Variety reported.
Stuart Little director Rob Minkoff is attached to helm the film.
Juster's 1961 classic book tells the story of Milo, a bored 10-year-old, who finds a large tollbooth sitting in his room, enters it and joins forces with a large dog named Tock to rescue the twin princesses Rhyme and Reason from the Mountains of Ignorance.
Dimension Films has signed a first-look, three-year deal with Storyopolis, the trade paper reported. Based in Los Angeles, Storyopolis was founded by Paul G. Allen and represents more than 80 artists and artists' estates.
Animal To Benefit Victims
evolution Studios will re-release Rob Schneider's SF comedy The Animal on Sept. 21 with America's Sweethearts to raise money to benefit the United Way's September 11th Fund, for the victims of last week's terrorist attacks, Variety reported.
Revolution and Sony had previously planned to re-release only America's Sweethearts in 1,000 theaters, but added The Animal after the attacks, the trade paper reported.
The proceeds will benefit the charity fund established by the United Way and the New York Community Trust to help with the immediate and longer-term needs of victims, families and communities affected by the attacks, Variety reported. The double bill is currently slated to play in 650 theaters nationwide. In theaters unable to accommodate the recent addition of The Animal, Revolution will donate its share from the solo presentation of Sweethearts, the trade paper reported.
Sabrina, Dark Angel Bumped
he WB has again bumped the season premiere of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch in light of continuing upheaval to television schedules as a result of last week's terrorist attacks on the United States.
The premiere, originally slated for Sept. 14, then moved to Sept. 21, will now take place Oct. 5, the network said on its official Web site.
Sabrina's season debut was displaced by the upcoming Sept. 21 America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon to benefit victims of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. On Sept. 28, The WB will rerun a Sabrina movie that it aired only a few weeks earlier. The WB has also moved Charmed's season opener, to Oct. 4.
Fox's Dark Angel, meanwhile, will delay its scheduled 8 p.m. Sept. 21 second-season debut to the following week, Sept. 28, to accommodate the telethon.
New Line Adopts Elf
ew Line has bought the fantasy comedy script Elf from writer David Berenbaum as a starring vehicle for Will Ferrell, Variety reported.
Ferrell is in talks for the Elf lead, in which he will play a man who is raised from infancy as an elf after accidentally falling into Santa's gift sack during Christmas, the trade paper reported.
Jon Berg and Todd Komarnicki from the production/management company Guy Walks Into a Bar will produce for New Line, Variety reported. No director is attached yet.
Watson Balances Equilibrium
mily Watson told Empire Online that she will be starring in Equilibrium, a science fiction film from director Kurt Wimmer (Sphere).
"It's a futuristic thriller, set in a world where everybody's on this drug, which makes everybody peaceful, harmonious and happy," Watson told the site. "I'm in the resistance movement to try and overthrow the system. That's with Christian Bale—who's a dreamboat—and it was fun. I think it's coming out sometime next year."
The film, formerly titled Librium, will also feature Taye Diggs (House on Haunted Hill).
Majestic Back Online
lectronic Arts restarted its online SF game Majestic, after suspending it for a week in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States, the Reuters news service reported.
The game includes elements of espionage and murder, and the game publisher felt it was inappropriate to continue the game in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.
The game is now available for play, but has not been automatically restarted for all players. Instead, it has been configured so that players can resume when they feel ready, the wire service reported.
Fox Mulling Hardwired?
he Coming Attractions Web site reported a rumor that Fox is close to giving the green light to Hardwired, a science fiction film based on Isaac Asimov's I, Robot stories.
Jeff Vintar has written a third draft of a screenplay for the film, to be directed by Dark City's Alex Proyas. Will Smith (Men in Black 2) is rumored to be considering signing on to play the lead.
Laurence Mark and John Davis would produce. The movie would begin shooting in Australia in the spring of 2002, the site reported.
Shrek Gets Most Annie Nods
he hit computer-animated film Shrek received 12 Annie Award nominations from the International Animated Film Society, Variety reported.
Shrek earned nods for best animated theatrical feature, directing, writing and voice acting (male), as well as multiple nominations in character animation, effects animation and production design.
The Emperor's New Groove received 11 nominations, including best animated theatrical feature, directing, song, production design, storyboarding, writing and voice acting (female), the trade paper reported. Osmosis Jones and Blood: The Last Vampire also garnered nods in the theatrical feature category.
In the television category, Nickodeon's The Fairly OddParents and Invader Zim each got six nominations. Futurama, The Simpsons, Time Squad, The Fairly OddParents and Invader Zim will compete for the top honor in prime-time or late-night animated TV. The Annies will be handed out at the 29th annual ceremony Nov. 10 at the Alex Theater in Glendale, Calif., Variety reported.
Disney Video Sequels Due
isney will release the straight-to-video animated sequel Cinderella II: Dreams Come True on Feb. 26, 2002, as part of its Princess Month initiative, Variety reported.
A second video sequel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, will come out three weeks later, on March 19.
Jennifer Hale, who plays the voice of Cinderella on Disney's cartoon series The House of Mouse, will provide the lead voice in Cinderella II, taking over for Ilene Woods, who originated the voice in the 1950 theatrical release, the trade paper reported. Hunchback II features the return of voice actors Tom Hulce, Kevin Kline, Jason Alexander and Demi Moore, among others; Jennifer Love Hewitt, Haley Joel Osment and Michael McKean voice new characters.
Disney's animated flop Atlantis: The Lost Empire comes to home video Jan. 29 in standard VHS and DVD formats, as well as in a two-disc collector's DVD set. Other coming video releases from the studio include Spy Kids this week, the DVD of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and a 60th-anniversary DVD edition of Dumbo, Variety reported.
Bana May Morph Into Hulk
ustralian comic and actor Eric Bana (Chopper) tops the list of actors in line to play Bruce Banner in Ang Lee's feature-film version of Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk series, Variety reported.
Progress on the film came to a halt after last week's terrorist attack, and no deal has yet been negotiated, though production is expected to begin in the spring of 2002, Variety columnist Michael Fleming reported.
Fleming also confirmed a report on SCI FI Wire on Sept. 17 that makeup wizard Rick Baker (Men In Black 2) has not yet signed a deal to create creature effects for The Hulk, as reported widely by the trade press. Industrial Light & Magic will provide visual effects for the film, Fleming reported.
Baker Denies Hulk Rumor
akeup guru Rick Baker denied rumors that he was connected to Ang Lee's proposed feature-film version of Marvel Comics' Hulk series, but would be open to it.
"I heard that too," Baker said in an interview from the set of Men in Black 2. "It's one of those Internet rumors. I don't know how it happened, but numerous people are coming up to me asking about that. Nobody's talked to me about it. I'd like to [work on it], actually."
Baker added that he's not sure how much his skills would be required in the film. "I don't know," he said. "From my understanding, they want to do [the effects] all [computer-generated], but still, part of what I enjoy doing is the design aspect and just giving a certain aesthetic to the stuff, and they still need that."
Lee's version of the Hulk myth will reportedly be set in Berkeley, Calif., with such plot points as the misunderstood Hulk being pursued by the military while attempting to ward off threatening evil forces. There is also a love story between Banner and a fellow female scientist, the Hollywood trade papers reported. No one has been cast in the film yet.
TV Writers Help United Way
riters of The SCI FI Channel original series The Chronicle and Fox's Dark Angel are offering fans the chance to obtain copies of autographed scripts if they donate money to help the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Donations must be made to the United Way's September 11th fund.
Fans who send a receipt for at least a $30 donation to the Chronicle will get a first-season script autographed by the writing staff (one per person). Fans who send in a similar receipt to Dark Angel will get a copy of the script for the second-season premiere, "Designate This," autographed by the writing staff.
U.K. Strike Threatens Bond 20
roduction of the 20th James Bond film could be affected by a pending strike of the British actors' union, Equity,
BBC Online reported.
Equity instructed its members to refuse work on all U.K. feature films, starting Dec. 1, in a dispute with film studios over rights for bonus payments, affecting more than 36,000 U.K. actors, the news site reported.
Star Wars: Episode II star Ewan McGregor told the BBC that he was "tired of making producers and distributors rich while I and my fellow actors are exploited."
A strike would not affect the U.K. production of the second Harry Potter movie, for which Warner Bros. has entered separate negotiations with the union.
Mindfire Raises Dead
indfire Entertainment is developing a feature film based on the Sega horror video game The House of the Dead, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The company is looking for cast and a director.
Mindfire's Dan Bates, Mark Altman and Dan Kletzky will be producers for the R-rated film, budgeted at $15 million-$20 million, the trade paper reported. Altman (Free Enterprise) wrote the script. Principal photography is set to begin in mid-January, possibly overseas, with a premiere date between Halloween 2002 and February 2003.
The film tells the story of college coeds—who attend a rave on an island inhabited by zombies, monsters and other creatures—and the Coast Guard officer who joins them to fight an evil entity that resides there.
Paul Denies Highlander Role
ighlander: Endgame star Adrian Paul told the Cinescape Online Web site that he hasn't signed to do another Highlander movie, despite a rumor to the contrary.
"That's a wrong rumor," Paul told the site.
Highlander executive producer Bill Panzer told convention-goers recently that he and partner Peter Davis were developing a new feature based on the popular series, subtitled The Source, but that no director or cast had been named.
Dark Horizons, meanwhile, reported further rumors about the project, including one from The Irish Examiner newspaper that producers are in talks with Sean Connery to reprise the role of Ramirez. The newspaper also reported that Timothy Dalton would be signed to play the villain.
A Culkin Signs For Signs
ory Culkin will star with Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix in Signs, M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming SF drama, Variety reported.
Culkin, the younger brother of Macaulay and Kieran, was tapped after an exhaustive search, columnist Michael Fleming reported.
Set in Bucks County, Pa., Signs focuses on the mysterious appearance of a 500-foot array of circles and lines found mysteriously carved into the crops of a family's farm, the trade paper reported. Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and Sam Mercer will produce a film, which begins production next month.
Fantasy X Due For PS2
quare announced that it will release Final Fantasy X, the latest installment in the venerable video game franchise, in the United States in January for the PlayStation 2 gaming platform.
Final Fantasy X was released in Japan on July 19 and sold through 90 percent of the 2.14 million units it shipped in the first four days, becoming the first PS2 title to reach the 2 million mark, the company reported.
The story revolves around Tidus, a star athlete who survives the destruction of his homeland and must travel to distant temples to learn the secret art of summoning spirits to defeat a supernatural enemy. The game features voices by James Arnold Taylor (Futurama) and Hedy Burress (Valentine).
Below is Beyond Foley
cott Foley, who stars in the upcoming supernatural submarine thriller Below, told SCI FI Wire that he did not completely understand the film's story, at least not at first.
"I think the fact that it's over my head is one thing," Foley said in an interview. "It's a really well-written movie. It's smart. I had to read the script a couple times before I truly caught what was happening." The script was written by Darren Aronofsky (Pi) and directed by David Twohy (Pitch Black). (One of Foley's first lessons on the set was in how to pronounce his director's name. "David Twoo-hee. I didn't [say it right] either when I first started.")
Foley spent three and a half months filming in London and tried as best he could to explain the plot. "It's about a World War II submarine in 1942, sort of psychological thriller," he said. "If I say a haunted submarine, it's simplifying it too much. It's about a submarine going back to go down with its captain, sort of a reversal of fortune there. You know how a captain always has to go down with the ship? In this case, the submarine is going down with the captain."
Foley agreed the story was more like The Final Countdown than U-571, but still wasn't sure if indeed a former captain was haunting the sub. "We're not sure. That's the question. It's way over my head, guys." Below is scheduled for release in 2002.
Spielberg Up For Potter 3?
teven Spielberg—who turned down a chance to direct the upcoming Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone—told the British Telegraph magazine that it's possible he might be persuaded to direct a movie based on J.K. Rowling's third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
"That first story didn't touch me creatively," Spielberg told the magazine, according to a report on the Empire Online Web site.
Spielberg added, "Now the third Harry Potter book. ... It's pure genius! Much darker, more esoteric and interesting to me personally. If they'd offered me that, I'd have said yes." Is that still possible? "You never know," the director said cryptically.
Time Machine Pushed Back
he Time Machine has been pushed to a Feb. 8, 2002, release date from its original Christmas 2001 opening, Variety reported.
Warner Bros. and DreamWorks, who are co-producing the film, will also recut the movie to remove an ending in which pieces of the moon fall on New York City, the trade paper reported.
Guy Pearce stars in the movie, directed by Simon Wells, based on his great-grandfather H.G. Wells' classic SF novel of the same name. DreamWorks will handle the domestic release of The Time Machine; Warner will launch it overseas, Variety reported.
Genre Master Arkoff Dies
Genre filmmaker Sam Arkoff, who created hundreds of movies in the 1950s and '60s and co-founded American International Pictures, has died, Variety reported.
He was 83.
Arkoff distributed such films as The Amityville Horror, I Was a Teenage Werewolf and many of Roger Corman's early movies, the trade paper reported. At the company's height, American International's B-grade movies provided double bills for the nation's drive-ins and movie theaters, and through Corman Arkoff helped launch the careers of Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Ivan Reitman, David Cronenberg, Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson.
Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Arkoff partnered with former exhibitor and distribution executive James H. Nicholson in 1954 to start American International. AIP eventually churned out or distributed more than 200 films, including The Pit and the Pendulum, The House of Usher, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Blacula and the original Mad Max, starring Mel Gibson, the trade paper reported.
Others Still Strong
he Others ranked fourth in the weekend box-office top 10, taking in an estimated $4.8 million, the Hollywood trade papers reported.
The Nicole Kidman ghost story has grossed about $73.7 million so far.
Jeepers Creepers scared up another $3.9 million for seventh place, for a total of about $29.7 million, the trades reported. But Artisan's Soul Survivors saw its box-office take drop by 52 percent to $550,000 in its second weekend of release, failing to place in the top 10 and bringing its 10-day take to just about $2 million. The movie cost an estimated $15 million, the trades reported.
Briefly Noted
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In light of last week's terrorist attacks on the United States, The Jim Henson Co. will postpone its planned Sept. 22-23 Muppetfest! celebration, a convention that was to take place in Pasadena, Calif. The company will reschedule the event, intended to commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Muppet Show.
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The Zap2it.com Web site reported that a new full-length trailer for the first of Peter Jackson's upcoming Lord of the Rings films will air on The WB Sept. 24 during the third-season premiere of Angel. A 30-second version of the trailer snuck onto television during the MTV Video Music Awards show a couple of weeks ago. The film, The Fellowship of the Ring, opens Dec. 19.
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The FX network will begin airing reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer weeknights at 7 p.m., starting with the first episode, on Sept. 24.
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An official Web site has opened for the upcoming British animated fantasy movie A Christmas Carol: The Movie, voiced by Kate Winslet and Nicolas Cage. The film opens at Christmas.
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Apparently backing off widespread news this week, Australian comic Eric Bana's agent told an Oz newspaper that talk of Bana's taking the lead role in Ang Lee's proposed Incredible Hulk movie is just that—talk, according to a report on the Dark Horizons Web site. "All I can tell you is there are a few other projects that we are considering at the moment," the agent reportedly said.
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The Ain't It Cool News Web site has posted what it says are images of Spider-Man and the Green Goblin from Sam Raimi's upcoming Spider-Man film, but which look suspiciously like action figures.
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The official UPN Web site has posted a new trailer for the upcoming two-hour season premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the Comics Continuum Web site has posted spoilers. Buffy moves to UPN on Oct. 2.
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Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence, which tanked at the U.S. box office, has nevertheless pushed past the $100 million mark as a result of foreign ticket sales, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Overall, A.I. grossed about $5.5 million on the weekend of Sept. 14 from 2,206 screens in 20 countries, lifting its total take to about $104.2 million, the trade paper reported.
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The official Web site for Peter Jackson's upcoming Lord of the Rings film trilogy has just posted a new video featurette on the making of the Weathertop scene. The first Rings film opens Dec. 19.
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The Dark Horizons and The R2 Project reported that the U.K. DVD release of Superman II has been delayed to fix the sleeve illustration that depicts New York's World Trade Center towers.
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The board of the Society of American Vintage-Radio Enthusiasts Inc., a non-profit educational and archival society, has awarded its annual William L. Spier Golden Microphone Award to The SCI FI Channel and Leonard Nimoy for SCIFI.COM's Seeing Ear Theatre.
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Zentertainment reported that Artisan Home Entertainment would release a collector's-edition DVD of Total Recall in a Mars-shaped tin, with features including a new interview with star Arnold Schwarzenegger and audio commentary from director Paul Verhoeven.
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ABC and Turner Broadcasting's TNT/TBS will pay $25 million to share the television rights to Jurassic Park III, Variety reported. ABC will pay about $15 million for the first crack at Jurassic III, getting the initial four runs over 21 months, beginning in February 2004. TNT will pay $10 million for runs of Jurassic III in November 2006 for a three-and-a-half-year exclusive window during which the movie will shift between TNT and TBS.
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The Dark Horizons Web site reported a rumor that Roswell star Brendan Fehr was in line for a role in a supposed Pet Sematary 3 sequel film.
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