Science Fiction News of the Week

Visit our sister site SCI FI Wire
for daily news updates from the world of SF

A Weekly Digest Of Sci Fi Wire

RECENT NEWS

December 10, 2001

October 8, 2001

Toon Films OK'd For Oscar

ine animated films were declared eligible on Dec. 12 for the first new Oscar category in 20 years: feature-length animation, Variety reported. A committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will pare the list down to three nominees.

The contenders are Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Monsters, Inc., Osmosis Jones, The Prince of Light, Shrek, The Trumpet of the Swan, Waking Life, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and Marco Polo: Return to Xanadu. A 100-member screening committee chaired by academy governor Tom Hanks will view the contenders and determine the nominees to be announced Feb. 12, the trade paper reported.

Tyler Finds Rings' Inner Elf

iv Tyler, who plays Arwen in the upcoming Lord of the Rings films, told SCI FI Wire that she had to infuse her elf character with an ethereal, balletic quality. "The movement was something we all had to bring to life in our own separate ways," Tyler said in an interview. Tyler appears as Arwen Undomiel in the first of Peter Jackson's Rings films, The Fellowship of the Ring.

While her male counterparts were focusing on their rough-and-tumble action sequences, Tyler focused her energies on nailing down the unique Elvish dialect, as created by J.R.R. Tolkien in the Rings novels. "Over the whole film, I spent probably more time than anybody with the dialect coach, because I didn't have as much physical stuff," Tyler recalled. "I was working on my accent and working on the Elvish [language]."

A purple blanket tossed around her shoulders like a shawl to keep her warm, Tyler thinks for a moment when asked what was important to her about her character. "One of the things that was really important to me [to convey] was the idea that these characters are immortal, and that they were the first creatures placed in Middle-earth by the gods. So, because of that, they are the most powerful and the most intelligent," she said. "And to bring that across in her eyes and her being, [to show] the depth and the knowledge that she holds. Yet I was a 23-year-old young woman at the time; a lot of that actually came from, physically, inside of my gut, and I would feel sick at the end of the day. You can't act that, you can't be that—it has to come from within somehow. And somehow, through writing and other things for all the elves, I think it's really present in Elrond and Galadriel and in Legolas." Fellowship opens Dec. 19.

Tolkien Son Talks Rings

hristopher Tolkien, son of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien, issued a statement disputing that he is unhappy with the upcoming film version of his father's work, the Zap2it Web site reported. In a statement issued to London newspapers on Dec. 8, Tolkien said that, though he doesn't believe the books translate well to the big screen, he does not disapprove of Peter Jackson's upcoming film trilogy.

"My own position is that The Lord of the Rings is peculiarly unsuitable to transformation into visual dramatic form," Tolkien said. "On the other hand, I recognize that this is a debatable and complex question of art, and the suggestions that have been made that I 'disapprove' of the films, whatever their cinematic quality, even to the extent of thinking ill of those with whom I may differ, are wholly without foundation."

The Tolkien family has no control over the movies, as J.R.R. Tolkien sold the screen rights to the books back in 1969. The author died four years later at the age of 81, Zap2it reported.

Rings Already Pirated

wo days before its worldwide premiere in London, pirate copies of New Line's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring were found for sale on video CD in the United Kingdom, investigators from the Federation Against Copyright Theft told The Hollywood Reporter over the weekend. The film, which goes into general release Dec. 19, premieres Dec. 10 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London.

Investigators on Dec. 8 raided a market site near the town of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, and seized 5,000 items, including more than 2,000 pirate videos and about 100 copies of the first Lord of the Rings film, the trade paper reported.

Rings Games Coming

niversal Interactive will publish video games based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the company announced. As part of Vivendi Universal Publishing's long-term deal with Tolkien Enterprises, the company acquired the exclusive rights to develop interactive entertainment based on selected Tolkien literary works.

Universal Interactive will create games for next-generation and PC platforms, based on content from Tolkien's novels The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the company said.

Jackson Not Rings Obsessed

ord of the Rings director Peter Jackson told SCI FI Wire that, contrary to being a man obsessed with J.R.R. Tolkien's work, "I've never had a lifelong ambition to make The Lord of the Rings, which people sort of assume I do. What I have had an ambition to do is to make a fantasy film." Still, developing and making the upcoming trilogy of films over the course of the past six years wasn't an easy task, Jackson said in an interview.

After Miramax, the studio which initially developed the project, told Jackson it wanted to do only one film, the New Zealand director had to find another home for the series in just four weeks. New Line OK'd three movies. But once they began production, things didn't get any easier. Was there any time during the marathon 274-day New Zealand shoot that the pressure just felt like too much? "I don't know what the honest answer is," Jackson said. "I guess there is. I just always feel that a director has many different duties. And one of the things I have to do is to be calm. It's not that I'm hiding it; there are bad days," he admitted. "But I'm very much aware of setting an example."

Following on years of a drought of classic fantasy films like the ones Jackson recalls from his childhood, Jackson shrugs off the irony that Lord of the Rings—a trilogy that's a half-century old—is sharing the limelight with a wizard named Harry. All of this wizardry doesn't faze the inflappable Jackson. "We just happen to be in the year that they do make films like this," he said, laughing. "It's actually a very good question [as to why now], but I have no answer to that. It's kind of cool, though. It just occurred to me that normally, if people are making a series of films, like making a movie and sequels and all of that, they're never a year apart. Sequels are always like two or three years apart. And we just happen to totally synchronize where, for the next three years, there's going to be a Harry Potter film at Thanksgiving and a Lord of the Rings film at Christmas." He laughed deeply again. "It's a coincidence. Who would have ever thought that?" The first Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring, opens Dec. 19.

Jackson Explains Kong Loss

ord of the Rings director Peter Jackson told SCI FI Wire that he was all set to helm an update of the classic monster movie King Kong before signing on to the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's famous trilogy. "We were developing King Kong after [1996's] The Frighteners, and Lord of the Rings was already a project happening at that stage as well," Jackson said during a press briefing for Rings. "The rights were being negotiated [for Rings], and the concept was to do King Kong first and then Rings."

Jackson added, "King Kong coincided with a period of time in which Universal, who were going to finance it, had a very expensive volcano race with Fox over its Dante's Peak and [Fox's] Volcano. And they looked at King Kong, and the way it was scheduled—it was going to be the third movie the same year that Mighty Joe Young and Godzilla came out. So they didn't want to get into another monster-movie race, so they basically canned the film. But we had Lord of the Rings already set up, so we were literally able to finish King Kong on one day and come in as Lord of the Rings the following day."

Jackson admitted he was an unlikely choice to direct Rings. "A very unlikely choice," he agreed. "But I thought I could do it. And I take a certain perverse satisfaction in the way Lord of the Rings has broken every rule in the book." The first Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring, opens Dec. 19.

Matrix, Potter Dates Mulled

arner Brothers may delay the release of the proposed third Harry Potter movie to 2004, to allow the studio to release the upcoming two Matrix sequels in 2003, Variety reported. The studio is considering releasing The Matrix Reloaded in May 2003 and The Matrix III in November 2003, the trade paper reported.

Previously, it was expected that Warner Brothers would release a Potter film yearly. The first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, came out Nov. 16; the second film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is due in November 2002.

Neutron Look Is Surreal

ohn Davis, director of the computer-animated film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, told SCI FI Wire that it was important the film's human characters had a cartoonish visual style, even though the technology could make them look realistic. "I am much more excited about doing things that aren't photo-real, because my philosophy is that if you're wanting something to be as photo-real as possible, the highest you can attain is the look of live action, which you might as well shoot ... live action," Davis said.

Davis added, "I'm more interested in creating worlds that can't be seen with a camera, that you have to totally create. So, in creating Jimmy, I definitely wanted it to be very cartoony, and there's a really cool hybrid that evolves when you have a cartoony design done in 3-D, which in and of itself tends to replicate reality. So, you have a cartoony design sense, but you have realistic shadows and reflections and refractions and all these qualities that exist in the real world. But it's not the real world. It's something that's sort of surreal-looking. That, to me, is exciting. I like pushing that envelope more to create worlds that people haven't seen before."

The character evolved from a 40-second short into a 13-minute TV pilot and then into a feature film. Improving technology resulted in changes in the title character's design. "He actually had the big head and his relative proportions were the same [at first]," Davis said. "The hair style was a little bit younger-looking [and] wasn't quite as outrageous, partially because the tools at the time—back in '95—weren't what they became later. So, we were able to get closer to what we wanted to do as time progressed. It was actually sort of good timing, because by the time we got around to doing the pilot, we were able to capture more of what we wanted in the character." Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius opens Dec. 21.

Leopold Unhorses Jackman

ugh Jackman, star of the upcoming time-travel romance Kate & Leopold, told SCI FI Wire that, unlike his 19th-century character, he was hardly schooled in the finer points of equestrian riding. Jackman said in an interview that he had a bit of trouble rescuing co-star Meg Ryan by sweeping her onto the saddle in a key scene.

"Meg hadn't seen me ride," Jackman said while promoting the film. "I told her I was just learning it. I had never ridden before. The first time I was riding in Central Park ... [the horse] turned ... psycho. The horse just picked up pace just to the point, where ... for a new rider, it was kind of nerve-racking. So, I'm leaning over looking, and I could see the horse saw the [camera] equipment and got a little bit [freaked out]. All the camera crews start to part, and then, all of a sudden, the horse realized it wasn't going to be able to get through the equipment, so [it] ... put on the brakes. I'm like, 'Whoa!' Right over the front! Landed on my butt! There's about eight photographers there. ... Paparazzi photographers, standing right above me. And more importantly, there was Meg, contemplating ... having to get on the back of the horse with me. I bet she [thought]—this is a classic actor thing, you know?—'Can you ride a horse?' 'Sure, sure I can ride a horse!'"

As for Ryan's reaction to Jackman and the runaway horse, she confessed, "I saw what had happened, and then I got up on the horse. I'm all right on a horse—nothing amazing—but the saddle felt really funny, like it was going to switch around," she said in an interview. "It wasn't tight enough. I said, 'I'm kind of nervous, Hugh.' And he said, 'I am, too.' I love this guy. Of course I'm going to stay on! He's going to try his best!" Kate & Leopold opens Dec. 21.

Trek Props Get Big Bucks

ans ponied up hundreds of thousands of dollars for props and other items from the original Star Trek series in an auction to benefit charity, the official Star Trek Web site reported. The auction, conducted Dec. 12 by Profiles in History at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum in Los Angeles, included items from the personal collection of Walter Matthew Jefferies, the original series art director, who designed the original U.S.S. Enterprise. Jefferies will donate 100 percent of his proceeds to the Motion Picture and Television Fund, the site reported.

Among the winning bids: $50,000 for a prop phaser, $45,000 for a tricorder and $42,500 for a scale model of the U.S.S. Enterprise used onscreen in the original series. Two other props—an original-series tricorder from set decorator John Dwyer and a phaser rifle used in Star Trek: First Contact—went for $45,000 each. Jefferies' meticulously detailed scale model of the Star Trek soundstage went for $40,000, as did the gold tunic designed by William Theiss and worn by William Shatner in the show's second season.

Nemesis Spoilers Confirmed

aramount Pictures confirmed important plot details of its upcoming 10th Star Trek film, Nemesis, including several spoilers. The studio announced the start of principal photography last month in the Los Angeles area on the Next Generation movie, which will reunite the entire cast under director Stuart Baird.

Paramount summarized the film's storyline in a news release. "On their way to celebrate the wedding of First Officer Will Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise crew are suddenly diverted for an unexpected diplomatic mission to the planet Romulus," the release said. "Longtime enemies of the Federation, the Romulans have expressed their desire to initiate negotiations that will hopefully lead to a long-awaited unity in the galaxy. But upon their arrival on Romulus, the Enterprise crew is faced with a threat that could lead to the destruction of the planet Earth, and Picard comes face to face with a man who may prove to be his most dangerous adversary yet ... and surprisingly personal nemesis."

Braga Hints Enterprise Future

nterprise co-creator Brannon Braga offered Star Trek: The Magazine some hints about the series' continuing temporal cold war story arc, according to the TrekWeb site. About the villains from the future, Braga told the magazine that writers "have several possibilities in mind, but they aren't settled on any. They may come up with another possibility in the future."

Braga added, "You want to figure out about 25 percent and leave the remaining 75 percent up to inspiration. They know where a lot of things stand." Braga said that the Suliban will return in the balance of the first season. As for how the show will fit into the Trek universe, Braga said that Enterprise "will stay true to what has been established [and] will [violate] continuity only after careful thought and for a good reason." Enterprise airs on UPN Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Nemesis Films In L.A.

roduction of the 10th Star Trek film, Nemesis, began Nov. 26 in the deserts around Los Angeles, the official Star Trek Web site reported. For four days, Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Brent Spiner (Data) and Michael Dorn (Worf) were on location around Palmdale and Lancaster north of L.A. to film desert-planet scenes.

On Dec. 3, new trailers were installed on the Paramount Pictures lot in L.A. to allow the actors to take up residence for the next three months of shooting, with a two-week hiatus over the holidays, the site reported.

Stuart Baird has been directing the cast in scenes from John Logan's script on reconstructed sets of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E in several soundstages on the Paramount lot, including one immediately adjacent to the stage where UPN's Enterprise NX-01 sets are located, the site reported. There is also a set with a giant green screen, where the landscape of Riker's home state of Alaska will be digitally inserted later. Principal photography is scheduled to be completed in March 2002, with a theatrical release later in the year.

The cast includes Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker), LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge), Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) and Wil Wheaton, who has already shot his cameo as Wesley Crusher.

Berman Defends "Faith"

nterprise executive producer Rick Berman told SCI FI Wire that he's well aware of the fact that many Trekkers dislike "Faith of Heart," the theme song written by Oscar-winning composer Diane Warren and performed by European superstar Russell Watson. Despite the controversy—adamant fans went so far as to sign petitions and stage a protest at Paramount Pictures—Berman makes no apologies for "Faith of Heart."

Berman said using the song was intended both to make Enterprise a more contemporary series and to differentiate it from any previous Trek adventure. "I'm in the horrible minority of people who like the song," Berman said in an interview. "I think it fits beautifully."

Added Berman, who's currently in production on the Next Generation film Star Trek: Nemesis, "I think it's a song that's got a lot of hopefulness and uplifting qualities to it. And I like it. I've met a lot of other people who like it, but I've also heard a tremendous amount of banter about people who don't. And what's a Star Trek series without something for people to hate?" Enterprise airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on UPN.

Stait Quits Andromeda

month after Andromeda co-creator Robert Hewitt Wolfe abruptly left the syndicated SF series, co-star Brent Stait (Rev Bem) has also quit, the Sy Fy Portal Web site reported. Seth Howard, Tribune Entertainment's creative executive in charge of production, confirmed Stait's departure during a chat on the show's official Web site.

"Brent Stait chose to leave the show for personal reasons," Howard posted. "We miss him and hope that we will be able to play again sometime in the future." Stait had been having problems with the heavy makeup and prosthetics he wore as part of his character. "Brent had a severe allergic reaction to the considerable prosthetics. It became unbearable, although he was a serious trouper," Howard said. Howard offered no details of when and how Rev Bem will be written out of the show. "We miss Rev, and I for one miss that particular quality about him. And although we wouldn't duplicate his character, we can go there in other ways. ... Keep your eye on Trance."

Cyborg Movie Coming

niversal Pictures and Dimension Films will jointly develop a new feature-film adaptation of Martin Caidin's SF novel Cyborg, the 1972 book that was the basis for the Six Million Dollar Man TV series, Variety reported. Larry Gordon will produce the film with Scott Faye and Paul Rosenberg's Collision Entertainment, the trade paper reported.

Universal first began developing the feature in 1995, with Kevin Smith writing the script. While it's possible Smith could be involved with the newest take on the project, there are no writers' deals in place, Variety reported. The Universal-Dimension deal also includes rights to the three other novels in Caidin's Cyborg series: Operation Nuke, High Crystal and Cyborg IV.

In the TV series, Steve Austin was an American astronaut who became a government secret agent with atomic-powered body parts after being rescued from a spaceship crash.

Spidey Reshoots Next Week

irector Sam Raimi will shoot additional action scenes and retakes next week for his upcoming Spider-Man movie, which is set for a May 2002 release, Variety columnist Army Archerd reported. But Sony and star Tobey Maguire are so positive about the movie that they're already talking about a sequel, Archerd added.

The new two-minute trailer for the film, meanwhile, has been posted to the official Web site. The trailer premiered Dec. 13 on Fox's Temptation Island 2.

Singleton Eyes Sinbad

ohn Singleton will direct a new version of Sinbad, the tale of a swashbuckling but good-hearted thief, Variety reported. Perhaps the most famous version of the classic story is the 1974 Golden Voyage of Sinbad, which featured stop-motion special effects by legendary FX master Ray Harryhausen.

The new movie will be produced by Neal Moritz and written by Tedi Sarafian, the original writer of the upcoming Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines, the trade paper reported. Columbia hopes to have the film ready for either 2003 or 2004.

Sinise Chased Impostor

mpostor star Gary Sinise told SCI FI Wire that he envisioned his character, Spencer Olham, as something of a Harrison Ford part. "What I mean by that is that Spence is kind of any Everyman character who's vulnerable yet heroic, yet caught in a web of mistrust, and he's got to prove something while up against the odds," Sinise said in an interview. "The character also offered me a lot more in terms of being a leading man than some of the other [films] I've done. He's a little more active."

Based on the Philip K. Dick short story "Imposter," the Gary Fleder film follows Olham—a scientist accused of being an alien cyborg with a bomb in his chest—as he tries to evade a relentless cop (Vincent D'Onofrio) and reunite with his beloved wife (Madeleine Stowe). Impostor was originally going to be part of a SF anthology, but Dimension Films liked the short enough to expand it to feature length, bringing in Mekhi Phifer to play Cale, a streetwise man who agrees to help Olham.

"What's interesting about the short story is that it was written in the '50s," said Sinise, who co-produced Impostor and counts it among previous genre credits that include The Stand, Apollo 13, The Green Mile and Mission to Mars. "It's kind of remarkable when you think about it, when you think about how [the story] relates to where we are today and current events and the threat of terrorism and paranoia, and what that makes the government do. Although [the film depicts] a world far into the future, it's one person's vision, and it somehow relates to and reflects our own lives [now]. That allows us, in our own way, to identify with the story and understand it. A good SF piece can really make you think about that." Impostor opens nationwide on Christmas Day.

A.I. DVD Due March 5

special DVD version of Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence will be released on March 5, 2002, the Hollywood trade papers reported. The DVD will feature the most extra material ever produced specifically for a Spielberg movie, Variety reported.

The DVD will feature many extras not before seen. The double-disc DVD will have a making-of documentary, which will follow the decade-long development of the movie by late director Stanley Kubrick and Spielberg; interviews with Spielberg, stars Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law and special effects gurus Dennis Muren and Scott Farrar of Industrial Light & Magic; a visit to Skywalker Sound with set designer Gary Rydstrom; and a conversation with composer John Williams, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The A.I. DVD set is expected to retail for between $20 and $22.

Elektra Rumors Abound

he IGN FilmForce Web site reported rumors that Jessica Alba (Dark Angel) and Penelope Cruz are under consideration for the role of Elektra in the upcoming Daredevil movie. Ain't It Cool News, meanwhile, reported that Katie Holmes, Salma Hayek and Rhona Mitra had also read for the part.

But IGN disputed an AICN rumor that the role would go to an "unknown Greek actress," quoting an anonymous source saying that the rumor is based on "bad info." Ben Affleck is set to star as the blind superhero in the feature-film version of the Marvel Comics series.

Marvel Entertainment executive Kevin Feige, meanwhile, told the Comics2Film Web site that proper casting is key. "We're still looking," Feige told the site. "It's a tough role to cast, and it's a very important role to cast. ... It's very important, because we see her not only as the kick-ass female lead in the Daredevil movie, but we see her spinning off in her own movies. A lot of pressure on the actress."

X-2 Gets Release Date

wentieth Century Fox announced that the upcoming sequel to its hit film X-Men will be called X� and that it will be released on May 2, 2003. X� is scheduled to begin principal photography in May 2002.

The studio also confirmed that X� will introduce several new mutant characters from the X-Men comics universe. The sequel will also reunite all of the principal cast members of the 2000 film, which theatrically grossed nearly $300 million worldwide, the studio announced. The sequel brings back director Bryan Singer; producers Ralph Winter, Lauren Shuler Donner and Avi Arad; and screenwriter David Hayter.

Jackman Hints At X-Men 2

ugh Jackman, who will reprise his role as Wolverine in the upcoming X-Men sequel, told SCI FI Wire that the film may reveal some of his character's dark secrets. "I'm pretty sure there will be some explanation" of Wolverine's leaving at the end of the first film, Jackman said while promoting his upcoming time-travel movie Kate & Leopold. "I have heard both the writers were including that in the plot."

Jackman added that the sequel will also introduce some new players. "There are new characters," he said. "I know that. I think I've heard there's two or three, [but] I actually don't know what they are." As for the rumored plotline involving the comic series' legacy virus, Jackman said, "Legacy virus? No, I haven't heard anything."

Production on X-Men 2 should begin toward the end of April 2002, Jackman said. "I haven't read the script," he admitted. "They've got two writers working [on it], side by side. I think in the end they'll come up with something good."

Jackman said he was not a fan of the Marvel comic books prior to his taking on the X-Men role. "The only thing I knew about was a rock band that I saw that played in a pub, called 'The Uncanny X-Men,'" he said with a laugh. "When I first heard about the title [of the movie], I was like, 'What? They're making a movie about "The Uncanny X-Men?"' Because they were a pretty small band, you know? Then someone [told me], 'No, they're comic books.'" The X-Men sequel is scheduled tentatively for a 2003 release.

SCI FI To Air Strange World

he SCI FI Channel plans to air all 13 episodes of ABC's defunct SF series Strange World—including 10 episodes that have never been seen before—beginning in February 2002, a spokeswoman told SCI FI Wire. The SF series premiered in March 1999 and was canceled after airing only three episodes.

This X-Files-style series starred Tim Guinee as Paul Turner, an ex-government scientist who was exposed to chemical warfare in Iraq in 1991 and now survives only because a mysterious Asian woman provides the temporary cure that keeps him alive. When his former partner is accused of kidnapping and murder, Turner rejoins the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases as a special investigator who tracks down criminal abuses of science.

The series was executive produced by Howard Gordon, who has been involved in producing 24, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files and Beauty and the Beast.

Creature Rises Again

niversal Pictures will remake the classic 1954 monster movie Creature From the Black Lagoon, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Gary Ross' Larger Than Life Productions will produce. Ross' father, Arthur A. Ross, co-wrote the original movie with Harry Essex. The elder Ross also will produce the new version with his son. There is no writer or director on board, the trade paper reported.

The original Lagoon told the story of a group of scientists who discover and capture the prehistoric Gill-Man while searching for fossils along the Amazon River. It breaks free and kidnaps the fiancee of one of the scientists, with whom it has fallen in love, the trade paper reported.

OED Seeks SF Terms

ditors of the authoritative Oxford English Dictionary have launched a project to identify and collect words associated with the field of science fiction. The effort is the first by the editors to include all words that are frequently used in a specific field of endeavor.

The OED is seeking input from SF aficionados about the earliest example of every sense of every word it can include in the field of SF literature. That includes earlier examples of terms it already includes, early examples of terms that have been slated for future inclusion and any examples of terms that have not yet caught the editors' attention, but are common in SF, the editors said. Words used infrequently, words associated chiefly with a single author or words so specialized that they are found only in a single sub-genre are not high priorities for inclusion. Certain terms have been excluded because editors have already identified the earliest possible example. These include "dalek," "robot" and "grok."

CGI George Developing

onsters, Inc. co-director David Silverman is in talks to direct a computer-animated movie based on the classic Curious George children's books for Universal, Variety reported. Margret Rey and husband H.A. (Hans Augusto) Rey created the character. Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, David Kirschner and John Shapiro will produce the movie, which was originally envisioned as a live-action feature, the trade paper reported.

Curious George would mark Universal's first computer-animated feature. The studio is also developing CG films Where the Wild Things Are and The Ant Bully, both with Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone, the trade paper reported.

In 1939, the newly married Reys, both Germans, had their ex-patriate life in Paris interrupted by the Nazi invasion. Taking their Curious George manuscript with them, the Reys fled on their bicycles, eventually completing the book in the south of France. The Reys arrived in New York in October of 1940, and Houghton Mifflin published Curious George in 1941, Variety reported. Six more titles have followed in the series, which has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is translated into 14 languages.

Thumb's Up For MGM

GM will develop Thumb, a contemporary update of the Tom Thumb fairy tale, based on a script by Tom Ropelewski, former executive producer of UPN's SF series 7 Days, Variety reported. The Henson Co.'s Lisa Henson and Kristine Belson will produce the proposed movie.

A romantic comedy, Thumb tells the story of a five-inch-tall man who rises to prominence at a San Francisco architecture firm, the trade paper reported.

Devastator Due For TV

roducer David Engel told the Comics2Film Web site that he's developing a new TV series based on James Hudnall's Devastator comic series. Ralph Hemecker (TNT's Witchblade) will executive produce and direct the pilot for Jerry Bruckheimer Television, the site reported. The series won't go forward as long as Hemecker remains with Witchblade, which kicks off its second season next year. Hudnall is best known for co-writing the Harsh Realm comic series, which was the basis for Chris Carter's short-lived Fox series of the same name.

Devastator is set 30 years in the future, when everyone has a neural interface socket in the back of his neck. It centers on unemployed cop John Blake, who jacks into a tampered mood chip that turns him into a single-minded assassin for a criminal drug lord, the site reported.

Warner Is Back With T3

arner Brothers beat out several other studios for the rights to distribute Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines, Variety reported. Arnold Schwarzenegger is reportedly receiving $30 million to reprise the role of the cyborg with a heart in the $170 million sequel, to be directed by Jonathan Mostow for Intermedia. Principal photography is slated to begin in April 2002. Edward Furlong's role of John Connor is expected to be recast, the trade paper reported.

Warner beat Paramount, DreamWorks and Dimension Films in the bidding for the domestic distribution rights to the sequel. Warner plans to open The Matrix Reloaded on Memorial Day 2003, to be followed up by T3 on the July 4 weekend and The Matrix 3 in November, Variety reported. The studio also plans to open two new Harry Potter movies in 2002 and 2004.

Lost Futurama 'X-Mas' To Air

he long-lost controversial Christmas episode of Futurama will finally find its way onto Fox's schedule this year, executive producer David X. Cohen told Science Fiction Weekly. "This episode was supposed to be on a year ago, and the people at the Fox network decided that it was not appropriate for broadcast at 7 p.m," he said in an interview. "They probably replaced us with some kind Island of Naked People or something like that [laughs]. So we've been waiting a year, and finally they've [scheduled it] to show at a later timeslot."

In the Futurama future, Christmas is called X-Mas because people have forgotten the original name of the holiday, and a robot Santa believes that everyone has been naughty. "So the current schedule claims, and I'll believe it when I see it, we're actually on their schedule for Dec. 23 in the X-Files timeslot. We have a one-hour 'X-Mas' block. They're going to start with our original Christmas episode ['X-Mas Story'], which guest stars John Goodman and Conan O'Brien, and introduces our character of evil robot Santa Claus," Cohen said. "And then at 8:30 will be our long-lost episode, and your readers can judge for themselves whether it was too mature for 7 p.m. Coolio is the guest star in the new episode, and he plays Kwanzaabot. He co-exists along with the other one. It's a multicultural society." Futurama airs on Sundays at 7 p.m. on Fox.

Head To Play Who

nthony Stewart Head, who played Giles on UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, will voice Doctor Who in three segments of the BBC's radio series, coming in February, Big Finish Productions announced. Head has already recorded his performance for the segments of the Excelis series of Doctor Who radio plays.

In the episodes, the Time Lord will face the wrath of the Warlord Grayvorn, who, after meeting the fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) and Iris Wildthyme (Katy Manning) in Excelis Dawns, is touched by an alien artifact known as the Relic and becomes immortal. In the subsequent two Excelis adventures, Grayvorn has to adopt alternate identities in his quest for power over both the city of Excelis and the planet Artaris itself.

Head joins Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy for the three stories. Head recently moved back to his native England and has downscaled his role in UPN's Buffy to a recurring character from a regular.

Whedon Confirms Iron Man

uffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon confirmed for Cinescape Online rumors that he's under consideration to make his feature-film directing debut with the movie version of Marvel Comics' Iron Man series. "Iron Man is a definite possibility, but, you know, we are talking about a major motion picture, so it won't be anytime soon."

Whedon added, "I'll probably end up doing another series before I do a feature, just because of the time a feature will take and my deal with Fox. I'm looking to do a hard science fiction show. I am looking to do some spaceship action. Something very different from what's gone before, but ultimately it will exactly be the same as everything I do—women posing with fisticuffs."

Miller Dishes Batman Film

rank Miller, author of the Dark Knight graphic novels, told the Onion A.V. Club Web site that he's still working with director Darren Aronofsky to develop a feature film based on his Batman: Year One series, the Comics2Film site reported. Miller and Aronofsky are also working on other projects. Miller's sequel comic, The Dark Knight Strikes Back, hit stands last week.

"There's one [film] that I don't know where it is now, that I did based on my book Ronin and was developing with Darren Aronofsky," Miller told the site. "And Darren and I are currently developing my Batman: Year One as co-writers. I just passed a draft to him the other day."

Of Aronofsky, Miller said, "He does like comics a great deal. I can't really talk about what's in the movie, though, because I think Warner Brothers would have somebody beat me up. And asking a screenwriter what the movie's going to be like is like asking a doorman whether a building is going to be condemned."

Pfeiffer Advises Judd's Catwoman

ichelle Pfeiffer—who played Catwoman in 1992's Batman Returns—told SCI FI Wire that she supported Ashley Judd's casting in the upcoming Catwoman film, and offered some advice for Judd. "I think she'll be great," Pfeiffer said in an interview. "You just have to constantly remind yourself to have fun with it. I hope her outfit is a lot more comfortable than mine, and make sure the mask fits. It was squishing my face for half the movie. And make sure they give you a place to go to the bathroom, a little something. They don't think about that."

Pfeiffer herself didn't pursue the role in the new movie. "They like to change," she said. "Like with Batman, there's always a new person playing [him]. I thought about it for a while, but [Batman Returns director] Tim Burton isn't involved in it, and I really would have wanted to do it with him. So, it was really, for me, his vision that made it so special."

Judd's Catwoman will not be the Selina Kyle character from Returns, but rather a new character named Patience Price. Variety has reported that production is expected to begin in 2002 for a 2003 release.

Connelly Embraces The Hulk

ennifer Connelly, who will play Betty Ross in the upcoming Hulk film, told SCI FI Wire that she was attracted to director Ang Lee's philosophical perspective on the Marvel Comics superhero. "I asked him why he wanted to make The Hulk, and he said, 'Well, it's really a Greek tragedy. It's actually a psychodrama,'" Connelly said in an interview. "He talks about the rage inside all of us, he talks about fathers and sons, and he's talking about using a heightened format to get at something really profound that is otherwise more difficult to access. So, I'm hearing it like Brechtian theater."

Connelly added, "It's really interesting and ambitious. He's not talking about a guy running around in green tights and a glossy fun-filled movie for kids. He's talking along the lines of tragedy and psychodrama. I find it interesting, the green monster of rage and greed, jealousy and fear in all of us."

Connelly said it's too soon to think about how she'll approach her character, as there is not even a script yet, and her familiarity with previous incarnations won't be much help. "I used to watch the old TV series when I was a kid, but this is going to be very different than that," she said. "We're going to have one actor play both parts." Connelly begins shooting The Hulk in March 2002. The film is scheduled for a 2003 release.

Constantine Starting In March

roducer Akiva Goldsman told SCI FI Wire that he hopes to make Constantine, the film adaptation of Alan Moore's Hellblazer comic, "really dark [in tone], but I say that, and then the studio will come and hit me on the head. It's about to go, beginning of March [with Nicolas] Cage." Goldsman, the screenwriter behind the lighter comic-book adaptations Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, said in an interview that he has no plans to write the script himself, just to produce.

Constantine will be directed by Tarsem Singh (The Cell), with the screenplay adaptation by Frank. A. Cappello.

Goldsman previously produced Deep Blue Sea and Lost in Space, the latter of which he also wrote, and he said he became a producer as an alternative to directing. "I thought I would be a particularly bad director, so at the moment where my peers were going to do that, I sort of went and did the producing thing," Goldsman said. "I have a deal at Warner Brothers, which simply means that I have an opportunity to try to convince them to buy something more quickly than somebody who doesn't have a deal. I do not have the clout to go, 'And now we will buy this.'"

Cat Following Grinch

roducer Brian Grazer told SCI FI Wire that he will oversee a film adaptation of Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat children's book to follow his hit Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. "It'll be sold as sort of a follow-up to the highest-grossing movie of the year, a Dr. Seuss piece," Grazer said, "I think it will do really well, because The Grinch was the first, and it was hard to figure out, and I think I have a better handle about how to figure out the Seussian world and all that."

Tim Allen will no longer play the cat, as previously rumored, nor will Grinch's Ron Howard direct. Grazer would not say who is under consideration for the lead role and the directing job, but makeup artist Rick Baker is definitely on board to follow up his Whoville creations. "He's a genius," Grazer said. "He's already mocked up different actors on his computer so I could see what they would look like as the cat. They're the people that I've worked with in the past, but I can't [specify], because when one guy doesn't get it, then people are mad at me."

If Cat in the Hat does Grinch-size box-office business, Grazer already has the rights to another Dr. Seuss property in his stable. "I have Oh, the Places You'll Go," he said. "I'm not sure how to make that into a movie, but I own it."

Sony Readies AstroBoy

inosaur co-director Eric Leighton will helm Sony Picture Entertainment's first all computer-animated movie, AstroBoy, based on the Japanese comic series by Osamu Tezuka and characters created by the Tezuka Corp., Variety reported. Todd Alcott (Antz) and Ken Kaufman (Space Cowboys) wrote the AstroBoy script, about a robot boy modeled after the deceased son of a research scientist, the trade paper reported.

The project will be the first in a possible series of animated films from Sony's Imageworks unit, which the studio had considered selling off at one time, Variety reported. Don Murphy (From Hell) and his Columbia-based Angry Films banner, Jim Henson Pictures president Lisa Henson and Henson production executive Kristine Belson will produce the film. Imageworks has already begun tackling test footage, and a green light is thought to be imminent. A release date is planned for some time in 2004, Variety reported.

George To Slay Again

iper Perabo and Patrick Swayze are in final talks to star in George and the Dragon, a $32 million movie from the Carousel Picture Co., a Luxembourg-based production outfit, Variety reported. James Purefoy (A Knight's Tale) and Michael Clarke Duncan (Planet of the Apes) are already in the cast.

Carousel co-founder Tom Reeve co-wrote the script with Michael Burks and will direct the film. Set in 12th-century Britain, George offers a new twist on the legend of the dragon-slaying knight who became England's patron saint, Variety reported. Principal photography is slated to start Dec. 12 for a week, then resume Feb. 4, 2002.

Paramount Preps Proud

aramount Pictures is developing a remake of the 1975 supernatural film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, Variety reported. Paramount Pictures has paid $700,000 against $2.2 million for the rights to the American Independent Pictures movie, the trade paper reported.

Scott Rudin will produce. The original film told the story of a professor who experiences flashbacks from a previous incarnation and is mysteriously drawn to the town of his wife from another time, Variety reported.

Briefly Noted

The Coming Attractions Web site reported that actress Samantha Mumba (The Time Machine) is being sought to play the role of Zee in the upcoming Matrix sequels. Mumba would take over the role originally slated for Aaliyah before her death last summer.

The Comics Continuum Web site reported that X�, the X-Men movie sequel, will be shot at least in part in Vancouver, British Columbia. "We are developing a great script, we have put money down on stages in Vancouver, and we are going full tilt in the art department," producer Ralph Winter told the Continuum. "It all feels very good."

Former WWF star Joanie Laurer (Chyna) will guest star on The WB's Sabrina the Teenage Witch in an episode scheduled to air March 8, 2002, Variety reported.

In a move designed to curb video piracy, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will open in China on Jan. 31, 2002—an unusually short time after its U.S. premiere, Variety reported. Videodisc copies of the hit film were available in China within days of its Nov. 16 U.S. launch.

German film fund Apollo Media is financing Karate Chimps, a family-oriented action comedy film about simians trained in the martial arts, Variety reported. Gene Quintano, who wrote The Musketeer, will direct.

Tribune Entertainment has sold the psychic-themed syndicated series Beyond With James Van Praagh to local TV stations in 48 markets for a fall 2002 debut in broadcast syndication, Variety reported. Tribune markets cleared include New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

In a show of support for the men and women in uniform, Paramount Pictures will hold special screenings of its computer-animated film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius on Dec. 15-16 at more than 45 military bases across the United States, including Pearl Harbor Naval Station in Hawaii, Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in California, Fort Hood Army Base in Texas, Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota and Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina.

The official Web site for the upcoming Rollerball movie has been updated and revised. Rollerball, John McTiernan's remake of the 1975 SF film of the same name, opens Feb. 8, 2002.

The Dark Horizons Web site reported a rumor that writer Scott Rosenberg has been offered the job to write a new draft for a proposed Superman Lives movie, with freedom to chose whatever story he wishes.

A new full-length trailer has been posted for the upcoming Time Machine movie, which opens March 8, 2002.

T3 star Arnold Schwarzenegger is recovering from cracked ribs he received after a motorcycle crash, EW.com reported. The actor said that he still expects to be up and skiing by Christmas.

Jon Voight—father of Tomb Raider star Angelina Jolie—told Chicago Sun-Times columnist Cindy Pearlman that he wants to reprise his role as Jolie's on-screen dad in the upcoming sequel film. "They're writing it right now, and I'm like, 'Angie, is there something for your dad?'" Voight said. "Look, I was dead through most of the first one, and that was no big deal. I could talk to her from the Great Beyond."

Sony announced that it will unveil the new trailer for its upcoming Spider-Man movie on Dec. 13 during the Fox broadcast of Temptation Island and also on the film's official Web site. The site will also feature an exclusive interview with star Tobey Maguire. Spider-Man opens in May 2002.

About 2,000 guests joined cast and crew at the London premiere of Peter Jackson's first Lord of the Rings film on Dec. 10 in the Odeon Leicester Square theater, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Thousands more braved the cold to line the streets outside the theater, where the gala featured Jackson and stars Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortenson, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Ian Holm, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Sean Bean and Andy Serkis.

Jim Carrey told Cinescape Online that he won't do a sequel to his hit film The Mask. "I don't think so," Carrey said. "If the world's end came tomorrow, I don't want to spend it doing something I did two, three years ago or more."

The Queen of the Damned Movie Cast Web site has put up an image of the poster for the upcoming vampire movie Queen of the Damned, starring the late pop singer and actress Aaliyah. Queen is slated for a Feb. 22, 2002, release, the site reported.

Digital Mayhem, the action-adventure division of Interplay Entertainment Corp., announced that its Giants: Citizen Kabuto video game for the PlayStation 2 gaming platform has gone gold. The final version of the game is currently in production and will ship to retailers on Dec. 21.

Sony is sponsoring a "Create a Poster" contest in connection with the upcoming release of its Resident Evil film, based on the popular video game series. The winner will get a copy of the limited-run poster they designed; a private screening of the film and $2,500 in cash. The contest ends Dec. 31.

Isaiah Washington is set and Gabriel Byrne is in talks to star opposite Julianna Margulies in Warner Brothers' upcoming supernatural horror film Ghost Ship for producers Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis' Dark Castle Entertainment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Steve Beck will direct the film, originally titled Chimera, which is set to begin production Jan. 21, 2002, in Brisbane, Australia.

Mutant X led all other new weekly series in syndication and placed third among all syndicated weekly hours during the November ratings sweep, Variety reported. Mutant X earned a 3.0 national household rating for November, followed by weekly Buffy the Vampire Slayer repeats, which earned a 2.8 rating for the sweeps month.

William Butler told Fangoria magazine that he's currently writing a script for a proposed fourth Return of the Living Dead movie. "I'm reinventing the franchise," Butler told the magazine. "My take on the sequel is a combination of martial arts, anime and horror."

Steven Spielberg badly twisted his right knee after taking a minor spill on his motor scooter while on vacation at his home in the Hamptons on New York's Long Island, the Reuters news service reported. Spielberg fell off the bike after attempting a jump. The director suffered no broken bones or head injuries, and it appears his knee will heal without surgery, Reuters reported.

Back to the top.