Matrix Oracle Foster Dies
he Coming Attractions Web site reported that Gloria Foster, the 64-year-old actress who played the Oracle in The Matrix, died last weekend.
The site said a representative of the Matrix production company Village Roadshow confirmed Foster's passing; the cause of death was not reported.
Foster had reportedly completed most of her scenes for the upcoming Matrix Reloaded sequel, which is currently in production, but had not shot any scenes for The Matrix 3. It's unclear how Foster's death will affect the production. Producers are already faced with the dilemma of how to deal with the death this summer of actress Aaliyah, who was also set to appear in both Matrix sequels.
Matrix Dailies Uploaded
aily footage from the Australian production of the two Matrix sequels will be shipped digitally over a high-speed broadband connection from Australia to Warner Bros. in Burbank, Calif., Variety reported.
The footage will be uploaded over TRW's Picture Pipeline network to the studio and to visual-effects company EON Entertainment in an effort to reduce production costs, the trade paper reported.
The two sequels—The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix 3—are currently in production in Australia. The first of the two sequels is due for release in spring of 2003.
Buffy Slays 'Em On UPN
he Oct. 2 two-hour season premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer delivered some of UPN's best Tuesday-night ratings ever, averaging a 6.2 rating and a 9 share, according to overnight numbers from Nielsen, Inside.com reported.
That 6.2/9 is 24 percent better than the network's Aug. 29 5.0/8 for The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards, which currently holds the network's Tuesday record among adults 18-34 and its second-highest Tuesday 18-49 average in nearly five years, the site reported.
The ratings helped UPN place fourth for the night, beating Fox and The WB. Buffy debuted on UPN after moving from The WB. It airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. PT/ET.
Benson's Brain Back On Buffy
mber Benson told SCI FI Wire that, even though she'll play Tara in nearly
every Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode this season, her name won't appear in
the show's opening credits.
"I think that whatever suits the show is what I want to do," Benson said in an interview. "Whatever [series creator] Joss [Whedon's] reasoning is for whatever he does, I'm 100 percent behind it, because he always does amazing things. So who am I to second-guess?"
Tara will appear in "Bargaining," the two-hour season premiere that will air Oct. 2 and heralds the beginning of Buffy's run on UPN. Expect the character to support her girlfriend Willow (Alyson Hannigan) as she attempts to restore the late, great Slayer (Sarah Michelle Gellar) to the world of the living in time to save Sunnydale from leather-clad, motorcycle-riding demons.
As far as Tara's concerned, Benson reported, "My brain's back! I don't know what's going to happen, but I personally want to play her as more self-confident now that she's got her stuff together. So I'm hoping that will come through. Joss listens to all of us. The characters really are us. There's a piece of us in every character, so when he writes, he's writing for us. Even though I don't come across as Tara, there's a part of me that is her. There's a part of everybody that's her, that's shy and reticent and uncomfortable in his or her own person. So I think Joss sees that in me, and he uses that and manipulates that to create her."
Now that she's back on Buffy, Benson joked that she has only one wish: "Tara needs to be heterosexual for one episode, just so she has time to make out with all the guys on Buffy and Angel. They're all so cute. It's not fair. Alyson's had two." Buffy starts its sixth season in its 8 p.m. Tuesday timeslot.
Buffy Tries New Things
uffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon told TV Guide Online that the show won't try to top itself when it starts its sixth season on UPN on Oct. 2. "It's not a question of topping ourselves," Whedon told the site.
"It's a question of doing something new. You know, if we try to top ourselves every time, it would get boring."
Whedon added, "That's why in season four we did the finale as a dream show, because we'd done a giant battle the year before, and we knew that we weren't going to top that. So we went a different way. Next year's finale is going to be very, very different in tone from this year's. It's going to have the same kind of urgency, it's going to be just as emotional, but it's going to be a very different kind of sequence."
The move to UPN from The WB does allow Whedon a little more freedom, at least when it comes to the Willow-Tara relationship, he said. "I think UPN will probably be a simpler process, because [the first kiss] already happened," he said. "They know where we are with that, and they have no problem with there being a little bit of physical intimacy between those characters. They basically said if something reads wrong, they'll let us know, and we'll have the same kind of back-and-forth we always do. But I think we're in a good position there."
Buffy starts its new season with a two-hour premiere at 8 p.m. The Zap2it Web site, meanwhile, has posted clips from the upcoming premiere and interviews with the cast and crew.
Spike Coy About Buffy Love
ill Spike nail Buffy? James Marsters, who plays the undead suitor on UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, remained coy, TV Guide Online reported.
"The fact that Spike is truly in love can motivate him to great acts of heroism as he tries to become the kind of man that Buffy could love," Marsters told the site. "Or, if spurned, it could drive to him to great acts of villainy."
Marsters added, "I don't know if Buffy will ever reciprocate Spike's feelings. I really think Spike is kind of beneath her. He's evil, he really is. He just happens to be in love with a good person."
Marsters also talked about the shooting of Buffy's highly anticipated musical episode this season. "We were in London on the dance floor, and Joss Whedon [the series' creator] actually stopped dancing, going, 'I'm in the middle of your song—I'm on fire, I can't get it out!'" said the actor, who covers Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen with his own band. "Just today he was like, 'The last stanza needs more balls.' He wants it to be really rock and roll." Buffy moves to UPN with a two-hour season premiere Oct. 2.
SCI FI Renews Farscape
he SCI FI Channel announced on Oct. 1 that it has renewed its hit series Farscape for two additional seasons of 22 episodes each, ensuring that the show will have a total run of at least five years.
The series is currently slated to finish its third season in January 2002, with season four debuting later that year.
"We are excited to renew our commitment to this smart, sexy, intelligent and fun series that rewrites the book on sci-fi entertainment," SCI FI president Bonnie Hammer said. "Farscape is not only the most ambitious original series on basic cable, we think it's one of the best-written shows on television, period. It's no wonder that it's the top-rated series on SCI FI for three years running."
Farscape has nearly doubled its audience since its launch in March 1999, and Hammer credited the show with attracting not only new viewers, but also more female viewers. Nearly three-quarters of the new viewers who have tuned into the show have been women.
"Farscape has truly extended the boundaries of science fiction programming, reaching out to a new generation of fans across all age groups, male and female alike," said Juliet Blake, president of Jim Henson Television-U.S. "I know the exceptional cast, crew, Jim Henson's Creature Shop, and our partners at Hallmark and SCI FI are thrilled to bring fourth and fifth seasons to our loyal fans and to new audiences worldwide."
Farscape tells the story of American astronaut John Crichton (Browder), who was accidentally catapulted through a wormhole, landing him on the far side of the universe. There he falls in with a motley assortment of friends and enemies, including estranged military Peacekeeper Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), alien warrior Ka D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe), the exiled Hynerian Royal Dominar Rygel the Sixteenth (voice by Jonathan Hardy), mercurial Chiana (Gigi Edgley), the sympathetic Pilot (voice by Lani Tupu) and the capricious Stark (Paul Goddard).
Rings DVD Player, VCR Offered
n an unusual bit of marketing, New Line will be selling special Lord of the Rings-themed DVD players and videocassette recorders in its online shop, starting Oct. 10.
The JVC DVD player, with a suggested retail price of $199.95, comes with a new 17-minute DVD featuring behind-the-scenes footage of the making of Peter Jackson's upcoming Rings movies.
The JVC stereo VCR ($109.95) comes with a 17-minute VHS tape of the same footage. The first Rings movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, opens Dec. 19.
Music Mirrors Rings
oward Shore, who is composing the score for Peter Jackson's three Lord of the Rings films, told E! Online that he has his work cut out for him. "It's a huge palette," he told the site.
"You're working on pieces that really are the size of the creation of these worlds."
A longtime J.R.R. Tolkien fan, Shore worked for a year with director Jackson and screenwriters Frances Walsh and Philippa Boyens while conceiving the score, the site reported. "We worked together like writers," Shore said. "I became another part of the writing group, and I would compose as they were working on the script. They have such great insights into the story. They've been working on it for years, so there was a lot to learn from them."
Shore added, "As a composer, your role is to hold up a mirror. You're making a musical text, which is the equivalent of the film. And when that film is Lord of the Rings—complete with its own worlds, civilizations and languages—writing a score is a Herculean task." Shore is also setting Tolkien's poems and songs to music. "Using the songs and poems is a wonderful way to put Tolkien's material back into the film and add a literary subtext to the music." The first Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring, opens Dec. 19.
Rowling Press Complaint Upheld
he British press watchdog agency upheld Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's complaint against a celebrity magazine that published photos of her daughter, the Associated Press reported.
The Press Complaints Commission, a voluntary industry group with no enforcement power, backed Rowling's complaint against OK! magazine, which published three pictures in August of Rowling's 8-year-old daughter, Jessica, the AP reported.
"Ms. Rowling is absolutely delighted that her complaint has been upheld," Rowling's lawyer Derek Currie told the wire service. "Children have the right to privacy."
Potter Film Done?
he MovieHeadlines.net Web site reported a rumor that the visual-effects house Industrial Light & Magic has nearly completed its work on the upcoming feature-film version of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Citing an anonymous source, the site reported that ILM was doing some minor clean-up on the effects, but that the film is essentially finished.
Harry Potter is slated for a Nov. 16 release.
Fans: Dump Enterprise Song
ans may like UPN's new Star Trek series, Enterprise, but they don't much like its soft-rock theme song, a first for a Trek series.
More than 1,000 Trekkers have signed at least two online petitions to remove the song—Faith of the Heart by Dianne Warren, sung by opera star Russell Watson—and replace it with a more traditional orchestral score. A version of the song, by Rod Stewart, was featured in the movie Patch Adams.
"The fans have voiced their opinions across the Internet, and they share the sentiment that the intro to Enterprise is woefully inappropriate for a Star Trek series, and, as such, should be changed as quickly as possible," one petition reads. "Since the airing of the original series, Star Trek has opened with a piece of music scored by a prominent composer and has been without vocals. We fans see no reason for this to change and ask that you uphold the tradition Gene Roddenberry began thirty-five long years ago." The petitions are addressed to Enterprise executive producers and co-creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga.
Nimoy Mind Melds Again
tar Trek icon Leonard Nimoy told SCI FI Wire that he was fascinated by the idea of sitting down with William Shatner—Kirk to his Spock—to tape Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime, an 80-minute one-on-one talk between the two men.
"This conversation, I think, is a valuable document for people who have known about us for some time and/or for people who are wondering what Star Trek was all about," Nimoy said in an interview.
Nimoy added, "[It's also about] how we got our jobs, about who and what we were before we started doing Star Trek, the impact of Star Trek on our lives and careers, the differences between the ways our careers unfolded—his very quickly, mine very slowly—our perceptions of the work, our feelings about the work."
Mind Meld, filmed at Nimoy's house in Los Angeles, features frank details about Nimoy's alcoholism and the alcohol-related death of Shatner's third wife, Nerine. Both men speak fondly of DeForest Kelley (McCoy), recall their often contentious relationship with Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and celebrate their long friendship. Nimoy also talks about how Trek affected his personal life and discusses seeking the counsel of a therapist once the original series put him on the map.
The duo also address the issue of mortality. Kelley is gone. Roddenberry is gone. Participating in Mind Meld and contemplating the passage of 35 years, Nimoy said, provided him with a better feeling for how a life unfolds. "It gives me, at this time in my life, a great sense of the value of family and that everything should have its place," said Nimoy, who will turn 71 on March 26, four days after Shatner reaches the same age. "Work should have its place. Family should have its place. It gives me a great sense of the importance of watching your health and taking care of yourself. It gives me a great sense of trying to leave a legacy that's positive and meaningful to people. These are the things I think about." Mind Meld will be released on DVD and video on Nov. 6.
New Line OKs Jason vs. Freddy
ightmare on Elm Street star Robert Englund told Cinescape Online that the much-anticipated supernatural horror film Jason vs. Freddy ( or Freddy vs. Jason) is coming, sooner or later.
"It's been green-lit," Englund told the site at the release party for the Boogeymen DVD. "And I've heard recently that the executives at New Line have finally gotten a draft of the script that they like."
Friday the 13th star Kane Hodder, who plays the hockey-masked villain Jason, added that his upcoming SF-themed Jason X film will eventually see the light of day as well. "We're going into theaters this spring," Hodder told Cinescape. "Expect to see Jason X in late March or early April 2002."
Geffen Winners Announced
he third annual Geffen Awards were announced Oct. 5 at Icon 2001, the annual Israeli SF&F convention, according to a report on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Web site.
The awards—named for Amos Geffen, co-founder of the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy—recognize both original Israeli works and translations of foreign works.
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card, translated by Rechavia Berman, won the award for best science fiction. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers, translated by Vered Tuchterman, received the award for best fantasy.
Spanish Ignotus Winners Named
he Ignotus Awards, recognizing outstanding Spanish fantasy and science fiction works, were presented Sept. 29 at Hispacon in Zaragoza, Spain.
A full list of winners follows.
Best Novel
•Nuxlum by José Antonio Suárez
Best Novella
•"Rax" by Eduardo Vaquerizo
Best Short Story
•"La Canica en la Palmera" by Rafael Marín
Best Anthology
•Besos de Alacrán y Otros Relatos by León Arsenal
Best Related Book
•Paradojas: Ciencia en la Ciencia Ficción by Miquel Barceló
Best Article (tie)
•"Viajando Hacia las Estrellas, Naves Estelares en la CF" by Cristóbal Pérez-Castejón
•"¡Bester! ¡Bester!" by Juan Manuel Santiago
Best Illustration
•Cover from Snow Crash by Juan Miguel Aguilera and Paco Roca
Best Audiovisual
•El Corazón del Guerrero by Daniel Monzón
Best Poetry
•Desert
Best Magazine
•Gigamesh, Alejo Cuervo ed.
Best Foreign Novel
•Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Best Foreign Short Story
•"Entra un Soldado, Después Otro" ("Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another") by Robert Silverberg
Best Web Site
•Bibliópolis, Crítica en la Red, Luis G. Prado, ed.
Stargate, Limits Items Auctioned
GM Television Entertainment will auction costumes, props and set pieces online from the SF television series The Outer Limits and Stargate SG-1 to benefit victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The auction is part of eBay's three-week Auction for America, which began Oct. 5 to benefit the September 11th Fund.
Auction items from Stargate include costumes worn by SG-1 cast members Richard Dean Anderson, Christopher Judge, Michael Shanks and Amanda Tapping; a Tollan guard phaser used in "Between Two Fires"; an armband ring activator device used in "Enemies"; Osiris' knife used in "Summit" and "Last Stand"; the urn for Moac's ashes used in "Maternal Instinct"; Brenna's alien computer/clipboard used in "Beneath the Surface"; Jaffa (Aphosos) head tattoos; signed scripts and photos; and Stargate blueprints.
Outer Limits items include costumes worn by Jessica Steen ("The Refuge"), Heather Graham ("Resurrection"), Sheena Easton ("Falling Star"), Barry Corbin ("Joyride") and
Matthew Lawrence ("In Another Life"); the alien mask used in "The Vessel"; the Medusan egg used in "Rule of Law"; the communicator used in "The Human Factor"; the bracelet worn by Col Sage in "Human Trials"; the helmet used in "Human Trials"; the communicator screen used in "Rule of Law"; a signed script from "Time to Time"; and various original studio art design drawings.
Shanks Leaving Stargate
source has confirmed for SCI FI Wire that Michael Shanks, who plays civilian archaeologist Daniel Jackson on Showtime's Stargate SG-1, will be leaving the show at the end of the current fifth season.
The SCI FI Channel will pick up Stargate SG-1 from Showtime for a sixth season and will produce 22 new episodes, starting in June 2002.
The source also confirmed that Shanks may make a few guest appearances in the new season, but that a new regular civilian character will join star Richard Dean Anderson and the rest of the SG-1 cast next year. No reason was given for Shanks' departure.
Mad Max IV Revving Up?
he Moviehole Web site reported a rumor that comic writer Brendan McCarthy and director George Miller are working on a fourth installment in the Mad Max franchise.
McCarthy told the site that Mad Max IV will be a "serious, savage, sexy, surreal sequel. ... We looked at every action-car-biker movie going. Pretty much all of them have dated badly, except The Road Warrior. That's our competition."
McCarthy also said he had met with Mad Max star Mel Gibson a while back and hoped that Gibson would reprise the role in the proposed sequel.
Starfighter Comes To PC
ucasArts announced that it will release the Star Wars Starfighter video game for the PC in the United States and Canada in January 2002.
A special edition of Star Wars Starfighter also will be available for the Xbox gaming platform in the United States in November. The PC version will release in other territories outside North America in late 2001.
The title, already available for the PlayStation 2 gaming platform, engages players in a series of missions to save Naboo from the Trade Federation, as depicted in Episode I. The single-player PC game will offer the same features and scope as the original PS 2 title, LucasArts announced.
Lucas: Episode II Trailer A Ways Off
eorge Lucas told the Empire Online Web site that he doesn't know when the first trailer for his upcoming Star Wars: Episode II—The Attack of the Clones will hit theaters, but that it likely won't appear on the DVD edition of Episode I.
"I think the primary reason is we haven't gotten a trailer for Episode II yet," Lucas told the site. "And we don't have enough shots to even make a trailer for Episode II yet."
Lucas added, "Traditionally we always release a trailer at Thanksgiving. There are always two trailers. There's always one at Thanksgiving, and there's always one in March. And we thought about it, but I didn't want to delay the DVD." The Episode I DVD comes out Oct. 16.
Caine Up For Goldmember
ichael Caine is in advanced talks to co-star in New Line Cinema's Austin Powers 3: Goldmember for director Jay Roach, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Production is scheduled to begin in November for a July 26, 2002, release date.
Mike Myers and Michael McCullers wrote the script, which continues the adventures of the swinging '60s superspy and his nemesis, Dr. Evil, both played by Myers, the trade paper reported. Although the script is being kept tightly under wraps, Caine will reportedly play Capt. Hendricks, a security specialist of the Royal Navy. Myers will also play the title character of the villainous Goldmember, as well as Fat Bastard, a role he originated in the second Austin Powers installment, the trade paper reported.
Realms TV Show Coming
ireworks Television will develop a live-action television series based on Hasbro's Forgotten Realms novels, which in turn are based on Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Wizards announced.
Wizards, a subsidiary of Hasbro, said that it will work with Fireworks to develop storylines for the television series.
Forgotten Realms comprises more than 150 novels, many of which made the New York Times best-seller list, as well as 100 game books, the company said. Realms is set in a magical, medieval world in which wizards, sorcerers, druids and other heroes wield their various magic skills in adventures that take them from deserts, forests and mountains to bustling cities and new continents, the company said.
Majestic Changes To CD-ROM
lectronic Arts will relaunch its SF suspense game Majestic as a CD-ROM in November to replace its current online game, the Reuters news service reported.
The game will be brought back for a second season next year if sales improve in the new format, Reuters reported.
Once the disc goes on sale, Majestic will no longer accept online registrations for the game, which had failed to produce the kind of subscription-based audience that the company had originally projected, the wire service reported. The number of active players for the game has stalled near 13,500, well below the number that had registered before its much-publicized launch in August.
The CD-ROM version is set to go on sale before Thanksgiving, will carry a mature rating and retail for $39.99. It will contain the first five episodes of the game and other material, including an interview with the game's creators, Redwood City, EA told Reuters. EA expected the CD format might be more popular with the game's players because they were generally rushing through episodes faster than expected and then clamoring for the next episode as soon as possible.
Affleck To Play Daredevil
ariety confirmed rumors that Ben Affleck is in final talks to put on red tights for the lead role in an upcoming movie version of Marvel Comics' Daredevil series.
Mark Steven Johnson will direct the Regency Entertainment/20th Century Fox co-production, the trade paper reported.
Budgeted at around $50 million, Daredevil is tentatively slated to shoot next year in Vancouver, after Affleck finishes shooting Revolution's Gigli. As rumored, Affleck will play blind lawyer and martial artist Matt Murdock, who becomes the costumed crime-fighting vigilante known as Daredevil, Variety reported. The movie will also feature mob boss Kingpin, master marksman Bullseye and Daredevil's ex-girlfriend turned assassin-for-hire, Elektra, the trade paper reported.
McFarlane Spawns Shrek Game
pawn creator Todd McFarlane will collaborate with TDK Mediactive and Digital Illusions to create new characters for the upcoming Xbox video game based on the hit computer-animated film Shrek, the FGN Web site reported.
New characters will include Humpty Dumpty as a half-cracked egg, a menacing Dungeon Keeper and the calculating Ice Cream Queen, the site reported.
McFarlane's company, Todd McFarlane Productions, holds the master toy license for Shrek and has created a complete line of toys based on the film. New products are slated to hit stores coinciding with the Nov. 2 release of the Shrek DVD. The Shrek video game will come out Nov. 15, timed to the launch of the Xbox gaming platform.
Demi Moore Gets Ugly
emi Moore's Moving Pictures and Denise Di Novi's Di Novi Pictures will produce a feature film based on the 1958 Isaac Asimov SF short story "The Ugly Little Boy" for Warner Bros., Variety reported.
The story focuses on a Neanderthal child transported 40,000 years into the future, where he teams with a nurse to evade scientists.
Mike Maples is adapting "Ugly," an expanded version of which was published in 1993 by Bantam, the trade paper reported. Another Asimov short story, "Bicentennial Man," was adapted into a feature starring Robin Williams that was released in 1999 by Touchstone Pictures.
Activision Releases Marvel Games
ctivision announced the release of its Spider-Man video game for the PC and Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace and X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse for the Game Boy Advance.
All of the games, based on Marvel Comics series, have shipped to North American retail stores, the company said.
Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace features enhanced, side-scrolling gameplay and powerful graphics. X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse features Wolverine, Storm, Rogue and Cyclops in a side-scrolling brawler as they try to escape archvillain Apocalypse. Spider-Man for the PC is the first free-roaming, 3-D action/adventure game to feature Spidey, the company said.
Constantine Moves Ahead
riter Frank Cappello, who is adapting the Hellblazer comic series into a feature film entitled Constantine, told fans that the film's director, Tarsem (The Cell), is the right man for the job, according to a report on the Comics2Film Web site.
Speaking on the DC Comics message boards, Cappello said of Tarsem, "Now that I've worked with the man, I can honestly say he has a lot more going for him than his incredible visual sense. He understands the underlying struggles within this world and is an extremely intelligent and, actually, darkly humorous man. His push on the visual side will be nothing less than spectacular."
Cappello added that he lost his battle with Warner Bros. to keep Constantine British, and that Nicolas Cage will likely play the Americanized hero. If Cage signs on, the film should begin production in January, the site reported.
Disney May Alter Lilo End
he Orlando Weekly reported that Disney is in the process of revising the ending of its upcoming animated fantasy film Lilo & Stitch in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the United States, according to a report on the Coming Attractions Web site.
The film's climax originally featured the cute alien Stitch sneaking onto a commercial 747 jet, commandeering it and taking it for a joy ride between the skyscrapers in downtown Honolulu, the newspaper reported.
The Weekly reported that test audiences responded favorably to the sequence, but that Disney might now edit the sequence from the movie entirely. Lilo & Stitch is slated for a 2002 release.
SU 2's Lee Is No Scully
lexondra Lee, who returns Oct. 3 as detective Kate Benson on UPN's Special Unit 2, told TV Guide Online that she doesn't see herself as the next Scully.
"They're fighting real aliens on The X-Files," Lee told the site. "They've got a serious job to do. We've got, like, fantasy creatures. We had models that turned into spider-women ... and a monster that was made out of liposuction fat."
Lee co-stars with Michael Landes in the satiric SF series, about a monster-hunting squad of Chicago cops. Unit begins its second season in its 9 p.m. Wednesday timeslot with an episode about a creature that acts out one's dreams, TV Guide reported. "We don't even have to kill all the monsters [all the time], because they're kind of fun to have around," Lee said.
Square Exits Movie Business
ideo game publisher Square is exiting the movie business after the financial disappointment of the computer-animated movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which was based on Square's Final Fantasy game series, the Video Senki Web site reported.
The SF movie, which cost an estimated $130 million, grossed only about $30 million.
"We definitely cannot say things are going better in Japan," company director Yoichi Wada told the site. "We will go back to basics and concentrate our resources on game development."
Dimension Goes It Alone
imension Films will develop Alone in the Dark, a supernatural horror film from writer Hans Rodionoff, based on the Infogrames/DarkWorks video game series of the same name, Variety reported.
Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare was released in June for all gaming platforms, the trade paper reported.
The film's story follows a pair of supernatural investigators searching for three magical tablets on an island, who are haunted and attacked by ghoulish, shadow-dwelling creatures, the trade paper reported. Don Murphy and Rick Benattar will produce via Murphy's Angry Films production company. The pair most recently produced the Jack-the-Ripper thriller film From Hell, which is based on Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's graphic novel of the same name.
Ledger To Eat Sin
eath Ledger will reteam with his Knight's Tale director, Brian Helgeland, on the supernatural thriller film Sin Eater, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Ledger will star in the Fox movie as a conflicted priest tracking down a "sin eater," who gives people absolution outside of the church by eating their sins, the trade paper reported.
Helgeland wrote the screenplay. Craig Baumgarten will produce for Hutch Parker's Fox production division, the trade paper reported. The project reportedly hit a snag in spring 1999, when Antonio Banderas was attached to the film.
Dark Sister In Works
obini Films has optioned the feature-film rights to British novelist Graham Joyce's supernatural novel Dark Sister, with Lawrence O'Neil attached to adapt and direct, Variety reported.
Sobini principal Mark Amin and production president Robin Schorr will produce, with a start target of early 2002, the trade paper reported.
Dark Sister tells the story of an unfulfilled mother who discovers a diary filled with ancient remedies. Liberated by her new powers and clairvoyance, she also awakens dark forces beyond her control, the trade paper reported.
Sobini is also writing Johnny Frankenstein, a movie updating Mary Shelley's classic SF novel.
Mutant X Star 'Masses Out'
orbes March, who plays Jesse in the upcoming syndicated SF TV series Mutant X, told the Comics Continuum Web site that "it's a lot of fun for Jesse to be a superhero."
He added, "Jesse is probably the only character here who's a volunteer. He doesn't need to be here. His dad is very wealthy, and he would be perfectly comfortable living with his dad. But he has taken it upon himself to rise above all that and fight for a cause that is against public opinion, but fighting for something he feels is for a greater good."
Jesse is part of a team of mutants who find themselves pursued by the super-secret government agency that created them. "It's a lot of fun playing a character like that," March told the site. "It allows me to take a light-heartedness to it, while still having a dedication." What are Jesse's powers? "Jesse can mass out," March said. "He can become very dense, and he can become not very dense." Mutant X debuts the week of Oct. 1.
Hayter Won't Helm Watchmen
-Men screenwriter David Hayter confirmed for the Comics Continuum Web site that he will adapt Watchmen for the movies, but won't direct it, as rumored.
The film would be based on Alan Moore and David Gibbons' classic superhero comic series of the same name.
"I read some report on Harry Knowles' site [Ain't It Cool News], which said I was directing the movie," Hayter told the site. "This is not true. I am interested in writing it, as it is one of the most brilliant pieces I have ever read. I am looking into prospects for such an eventuality now." Hayter said Watchmen is not set up at a studio right now. "I am talking to the people that own the rights," he said.
Hayter added that he worked the past summer on a script for X-Men 2, which will be directed by Bryan Singer. "X2 is going well, going to be a much bigger movie," he said. Hayter also wrote the recent draft on the Incredible Hulk movie, which director Ang Lee is developing.
Hayter Writing Watchmen Film
he Last Comic Site reported that X-Men writer David Hayter will adapt Watchmen, Alan Moore and David Gibbons' classic superhero graphic novel.
Hayter reportedly announced the project at the Vancouver International Film Festival over the weekend.
But Hayter added that the recent terrorist attacks on the United States could derail the film, whose story culminates with a devastating attack on New York. Hayter said the film was still in development and could take at least two years to come out, possibly as an HBO miniseries rather than a feature film, the site reported.
Fans of the novel have long lobbied for a movie based on the sprawling, ironic story about a team of superheroes.
Damned Dedicated To Aaliyah
ichael Rymer, the Australian director of the upcoming vampire movie Queen of the Damned, told the Urban Cinefile Web site that the movie will be dedicated to the film's star, Aaliyah, who died suddenly in a plane crash this summer.
Rymer also confirmed that the film was intended to be released theatrically in February 2002 and denied rumors that Warner Bros. changed its mind about a straight-to-video release in the wake of Aaliyah's untimely death.
"It was a challenging role for her—to play an evil, powerful character," Rymer told the site. "She worked on her craft and put a lot of energy into it, from movement coaching to dialogue coaching to harness flying lessons. She did the entire role wearing uncomfortable teeth [prosthetics], heavy makeup, difficult costumes and contact lenses. Not only did she deliver like a real pro, she never got grumpy, and she never complained. She set a real example. This beautiful, slender 21-year-old girl impressed me enormously. It's easy to lionize people when they're dead, but I used to say it every day during the shoot."
Rymer said that a scheduled test preview of Queen of the Damned in Los Angeles has been postponed as a sign of respect. "The film will be released in February 2002, as planned even before the tragic accident," he said. "It was once slotted for October, but we've still got some sound-design work to do, and the studios still have a huge backlog of films to get through. It's really hard for any of us to say how her death will impact on the film."
Ettinger OK With Smallville
ynthia Ettinger—who was replaced by Annette O'Toole as Clark Kent's mom in The WB's upcoming Smallville series—told the Superman Homepage Web site the reasons she was bumped from the teen-Superman show.
After shooting the pilot, Ettinger was supplanted by O'Toole, and Ettinger's scenes were reshot for broadcast.
"They told me I was too young and pretty, ... which you would never guess from seeing how awful I looked in the pilot," Ettinger told the site. "I had a lot of conflicting directions on the show, and although I loved the storyline, the people and the character, ... they just did not know how to use me or what to do with the character. I am too young to have him as my child, and everyone seemed to be worried about that from the word go. I was disappointed that I was replaced. However, I think Annette O'Toole is a great actress, and I think she will be perfect." Smallville premieres on The WB Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Kids All Right With Disney
isney has fast-tracked Neighborhood Kids (aka Monster Kids), a computer-animated movie based on a pitch by first-time writers Matt Cunningham and Erik Gardner, Variety reported.
Gardner and Cunningham are on board to write the screenplay, which centers around kids with special powers who must rescue their parents from an evil scientist, the trade paper reported.
Walt Disney Feature Animation senior vice president Leo Chu and creative executive Karen Rupert will oversee the project for the studio.
Eckhart Diving Into Core
aron Eckhart will star in the upcoming SF thriller The Core, the Jon Amiel-directed movie from Paramount, Variety reported.
Eckhart will play a "terranaut" leading a mission to the Earth's center, where it hopes to correct a flaw that imperils the planet, the trade paper reported.
The effects-heavy film is slated to begin production before year's end, with the studio looking to cast an ensemble around Eckhart, Variety reported.
Barbie To Make A Movie
computer-animated version of Mattel Inc.'s best-selling Barbie doll will star in a straight-to-video fantasy movie, Barbie in the Nutcracker, the Reuters news service reported.
Mattel's flagship toy will play the lead character, Clara, in the film version of Tchaikovsky's ballet.
It's not the first time Barbie has hit celluloid: Versions of the doll made cameo appearances in the computer-animated feature film Toy Story 2, the wire service reported. In Nutcracker, unknown actress Kelly Sheridan will voice Barbie, and Tim Curry will play the Mouse King. Barbie in the Nutcracker hits store shelves Oct. 2.
Fans Petition For More I-Man
ore than 200 "I-Maniacs"—online fans of The SCI FI Channel's original series The Invisible Man—have signed an online petition to urge SCI FI to renew the popular series for a third season.
"The purpose of this petition is to make sure that The Invisible Man, a television show that appears on The SCI FI Channel, as well as in syndication, gets a third season," the petition reads. "It's a good show and deserves to run for a long time."
I-Man is currently in its second season, airing Fridays at 8 p.m.
Atlantis Doesn't Sink
earts in Atlantis debuted in the No. 3 slot in the weekend box-office rankings, taking in about $9.5 million for the last weekend of September, the Hollywood trade papers reported.
After favorable sneak previews, Warner Bros. boosted the number of theaters showing Atlantis to 1,700 from a planned 1,200, Variety reported.
The only other genre film in the top 10 was The Others, which remained strong in the No. 5 slot, with an estimated $5.1 million for the weekend and a total take so far of about $87 million.
The Christian-themed apocalyptic thriller Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 placed out of the top 10, but added 39 screens for a total of 353 and a weekend gross of about $1 million. After 10 days, the film has grossed a total of about $2.8 million, the trade papers reported.
Phoenix Digs Potter's Field
hoenix Pictures' new horror division's first movie will be Potter's Field, a supernatural horror movie based on a pitch by writer Dan Clark and writer-producer Bo Zenga, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Field is described as a classic horror project about a group of kids who spend the night in a potter's field—a poor man's cemetery—that is haunted by the ghost of a former prisoner.
Phoenix's Brad Fischer, David Thwaites, Lou Phillips and chief executive Arnie Messer will oversee the film.
New Line Mounts Centaur
ew Line Cinema will develop The Centaur, a comedic fantasy film based on a pitch from writers Jack Angelo and Sam Brown, with management/production company Benderspink producing, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film would tell the story of a woman who falls in love with a seemingly perfect man, only to discover that he is a centaur—half-man, half-horse—brought to life by a magic potion, the trade paper reported.
Benderspink's J.C. Spink and Chris Bender, who have a first-look deal at the studio, will produce the project. New Line production executives Michele Weiss and Cale Boyter are overseeing, the trade paper reported. Benderspink most recently executive produced Warner Bros.' summer hit Cats & Dogs.
Cuaron To Helm Children
eacon Pictures has hired Alfonso Cuaron to rewrite and direct Children of Men, a movie based on P.D. James' best-selling SF novel of the same name, Variety reported.
The film is slated to go into production early next year for Hit & Run Productions and producers Hilary Shor and Tony Smith, the trade paper reported.
The 1993 book Children of Men—a departure for mystery writer James—is set in a future Great Britain, when the human race has lost the ability to reproduce—except for one woman. The movie adaptation was initially written by Paul Chart, then rewritten by Mark Fergus and Hawk Otsby, the trade paper reported.
Briefly Noted
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TheForce.net has reported what it says are spoilers about the entrance of Yoda in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode II—The Attack of the Clones film.
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Octocon—the Irish National Science Fiction Convention—unveiled a draft schedule on its official Web site. The con, featuring guest of honor Anne McCaffrey, takes place Oct. 13-14 in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland.
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Game publisher Square's movie division will withdraw funding from its state-of-the-art computer animation studio in Honolulu in the wake of the box-office failure of this summer's computer-animated SF movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Square will allow the studio to continue operating and has no plans to sell it or close it, the trade paper reported.
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More than 2 million unique users logged onto UPN's relaunched official Web site for Buffy the Vampire Slayer the first day it went live Oct. 1, the network announced. But the new site significantly altered the fan posting board known as The Bronze, after the Sunnydale nightclub favored by Buffy and her friends. A version of the old Bronze posting board, formerly situated on The WB's Buffy site, remains active at an alternative site.
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Joshua Wexler, developer and producer of Mortal Kombat Conquest, the proposed third installment in the game-based film series, told fans on the official Mortal Kombat Web site that the movie could feature the characters of Quan Chi and Rayden, played by Christopher Lambert.
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The Comics2Film Web site reported a rumor that preproduction staff has been hired for the proposed Wonder Woman movie, based on the DC Comics series.
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Former Quantum Leap composer Velton Ray Bunch has joined the musical staff of UPN's new Star Trek series, Enterprise, bringing to four the number of composers working on the show, the Trek Today Web site reported. Bunch and regular Trek composer David Bell will score music for Enterprise along with Dennis McCarthey and Jay Chattaway.
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The UpcomingMovies Web site reported that Paramount will release the 10th Star Trek movie, Nemesis, in late 2002, not 2003, as previously reported. Meanwhile, producers said the independent SF movie The American Astronaut will be released Oct. 12 in New York; its earlier September release was postponed after the terrorist attack on New York.
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The Coming Attractions Web site reported a rumor that Sony may unveil a teaser trailer for its upcoming sequel film Men in Black 2 with Ali on Dec. 7. The teaser will also be attached to Sony's Spider-Man movie in May 2002.
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The Coming Attractions Web site reported that former Doctor Who actor Tom Baker told Look magazine that the ball is now in MGM/UA's court over the making of a new Who television show. He added that the BBC wanted to go with Hugh Jackman and Tara Fitzgerald as leads in a Who movie, while MGM wants Hugh Jackman and Famke Janssen.
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Dark Horizons and Comics2Film reported that Grant Morrison's SF comic series The Invisibles is under consideration for development as a feature film. The concept had previously been in development as a TV series for the BBC, Comics2Film reported.
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Spanish studio Kino Vision is developing The Devil's Beauty, a sequel to Roman Polanski's 1999 supernatural thriller film The Ninth Gate, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The original film's writer, Enrique Urbizu, will also pen the sequel and will direct this time around.
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Sony has posted a new, abbreviated teaser trailer for its upcoming Spider-Man movie. The new trailer excises scenes involving the World Trade Center, which were shot exclusively for an earlier version, but which do not appear in the final film.
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The supernatural thriller film The Others is turning into the summer's biggest sleeper hit, Variety reported. Released back in August, the film has remained in the box-office top 10, even rising in the rankings in its seventh week of release. To date, the Nicole Kidman film has grossed about $86.7 million domestically, with international releases still to come.
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John Cleese told the Australian TV Week magazine that he hasn't been approached about replacing Desmond Llewelyn (Q) in the upcoming 20th James Bond film. Cleese appeared as Llewelyn's dim assistant R in 1999's The World Is Not Enough; Llewelyn, who played Bond's equipment supplier in virtually all of the 007 films, died in December 1999.
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The Dark Horizons Web site reported a rumor that Jurassic Park's young co-star Joseph Mazzello was auditioning to play the young Dr. Evil/Austin Powers in the upcoming sequel film Austin Powers: Goldmember.
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The Dark Horizons Web site reported a rumor that Australian actor Salvatore Coco was one of the frontrunners to play a villain in the upcoming 10th Star Trek film, Nemesis.
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With more than 1,000 fans urging UPN's Enterprise to dump its soft-rock theme song, at least one fan feels differently: Robert Brown has posted his own petition urging producers to keep the song, "Faith of the Heart." How many people have signed that petition? Zero, as of Oct. 1.
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The Dark Horizons Web site resurrected rumors that Alien star Sigourney Weaver is meeting with director Ridley Scott about a fifth installment in the film franchise. Neither has approached Fox about the project, which is still in the talking stage.
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Sean Stewart's Galveston received the first Sunburst Award, given to the best novel-length Canadian fantasy book, on Sept. 29, in Winnipeg, Canada. Stewart received a cash prize of $1,000 and a bronze medallion.
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The Comics Continuum reported that the upcoming syndicated SF series Mutant X has received a two-year, 44-episode commitment. The show debuts the week of Oct. 1.
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A French movie magazine has reported a rumor that New Line Cinema has set a Dec. 18, 2002, release date for the second Lord of the Rings film, The Two Towers. The first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, opens Dec. 19 this year.
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