Spidey 2 Deals Signed
ariety confirmed earlier reports that Columbia Pictures has signed deals with the cast and crew of Spider-Man for a proposed sequel film, though the first webslinger movie doesn't open until May 3.
Stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, director Sam Raimi and producers Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad and Ian Bryce have all signed on for the sequel, which will begin shooting next year, the trade paper reported.
As previously reported, Smallville producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar will write the sequel's script.
Spidey CD On Sale Soon
ony announced that it will release a CD of music from and inspired by its upcoming Spider-Man movie on April 30.
The CD will include "What We're All About (The Original Version)" from Sum 41 and "Hero," a new track from Nickelback vocalist/guitarist Chad Kroeger, which was written for the film.
The album also includes new music from Alien Ant Farm, Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Pete Yorn, Black Lab, Bleu and Greenwheel, as well as Tom Morello's rock remix of Macy Gray's "My Nutmeg Phantasy." Other featured artists include The Hives, Default, The Strokes, Jerry Cantrell, Theory of a Dead Man, Injected and score composer Danny Elfman, as well as the original "Theme from Spider-Man" and a new interpretation of the theme by Aerosmith.
The CD will also feature CD-ROM links to streaming video versions of some of the songs, and initial copies will come with a limited-edition 3-D collector's card.
MGM OKs Goldmember
ew Line Cinema announced that it has reached agreement with MGM to use the title Goldmember in the upcoming third Austin Powers movie.
As part of the agreement, New Line will be allowed to use the title Austin Powers in Goldmember, but all future titles that may be construed as parodies of James Bond titles will be subject to MGM's approval, New Line said.
MGM, which distributes the Bond franchise of movies, had objected to the Goldmember title and had won the backing of the Motion Picture Association of America prohibiting its use. Goldmember, starring Mike Myers, opens July 26.
Henchwoman Hunts Powers Dad
ina Kaczorowksi, who plays one of Goldmember's evil henchwomen in the third Austin Powers film, told SCI FI Wire that her assignment is not to attack Powers, but rather his father, Nigel (Michael Caine).
"[Goldmember] is trying to kidnap Nigel," Kaczorowski said in an interview. "Why? I have no idea. I never got that far into the story while I was on the set. They were really secretive about everything. What you know is [only what's relevant for] the days you were there."
In the third installment of Mike Myers' spy-spoof franchise, Kaczorowski goes to seduce Nigel, but "he has the same effect that Austin Powers has with women, so it kind of gets turned around," she said. "It's just like in the past movies, where Austin is charismatic and the women fall for his whole suave style. It's the same thing with Nigel."
With Caine and Myers in scenes together, Kaczorowski said that she had trouble keeping a straight face. "When you have Mike Myers and Michael Caine just continuously going at it, it gets tough," she said. "Even when the camera stopped rolling, they kept going with their improv. One guy says something, and the other one responds. It just keeps going back and forth."
Kaczorowski is a former model and has appeared in films such as A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Once Upon a Time in China and America and A Simple Plan. Austin Powers 3 opens July 26.
Berry Injury Downplayed
alle Berry's publicist, Karen Samfilippo, downplayed the severity of the Oscar-winning actress' injuries on the set of the 20th James Bond movie, Die Another Day, the Zap2it.com Web site reported.
"She got debris in her eye, that's it," Samfilippo told the site. "She was in and out [of the hospital], didn't miss work at all."
Berry was rushed to the hospital in Spain on April 5 after debris got in her eye during the filming of an action sequence. Earlier reports suggested that Berry underwent surgery for the injury, but the publicist said that she simply had her eye flushed out.
Cleese Promoted To Q
ohn Cleese told the Calgary Sun that he will take on the role of Q in the upcoming 20th James Bond film, Die Another Day—a role played for decades by Desmond Llewelyn, who died in 1999.
"I am Q now—I actually have a name," said Cleese, who made his debut in the franchise as Q's assistant, R, in 1999's The World Is Not Enough.
"It was terrific fun," Cleese told the newspaper. "I like the new director [New Zealand's Lee Tamahori], and I always got on with [star] Pierce [Brosnan]. He's a very clever actor. He's fascinating, because when you're working with him, he seems to be doing nothing at all, but then you see him onscreen, and he's fantastic."
Cleese said that he hopes to do a Bond movie every couple years. He will also appear again as Sir Nicholas (Nearly Headless Nick) de Mimsy-Porpington in the sequel film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Both films are due in November.
Otto Talks Rings' Eowyn
iranda Otto, who plays Eowyn in the upcoming Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, told USA Today that her character is conflicted, according to a report on Cinescape Online.
Eowyn is "slightly cold, white, emotionally distant, a lady. ... But once Aragorn [Viggo Mortensen] comes along, there's a huge well of feeling for him. She's a very passionate person underneath," Otto told the newspaper.
Otto added that Eowyn is "not some wimpy kind of Sleeping Beauty character, but someone with a bit of guts. She falls in love with Aragorn, but her love is unrequited, and she dresses up as a man, goes to war and kills the king of the witches." But while Eowyn is able with a sword, Otto admitted that she was less so. "[It] was fun, extremely liberating," she said. "I'd like to do more of it, even though I stabbed someone in the leg." The Two Towers opens Dec. 18.
Episode II Fans Pass 100-Day Mark
ohn Guth and Jeff Tweiten—the two Seattle Star Wars fans who are already waiting in line for the upcoming Episode II—Attack of the Clones—announced that they passed the 100-day mark in their vigil on April 9.
The two members of the Seattle Star
Wars Society are camped out outside the Seattle Cinerama theater.
"This 100th day is a big day for us," Guth said in a press release. "It's big, because
now we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and soon many other Star Wars fans around the Northwest will start to join in on the fun."
The fans are aiming for an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest wait outside of a theater for a movie. To date, the fans said, they have received more than 2,000 visitors and conducted more than 480 press interviews, including 32 with TV outlets from CNN to NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America. Episode II opens May 16.
Episode II To Benefit NY Kids
he New York premiere of Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones on May 12 will benefit The Children's Aid Society charity and victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Tribeca Film Festival announced.
The charity creenings of the prequel will close the festival, which runs from May 8-12.
The first and second screenings will be private showings for children and families affected by Sept. 11 and Children's Aid Society beneficiaries. The afternoon screening will be a fund-raiser premiere for the society. "As a father and filmmaker, it's my pleasure to offer the film in support of the children of New York City," director George Lucas said in a statement. "Following the devastating events of Sept. 11, it's inspiring to see two great organizations like The Children's Aid Society and the Tribeca Film Festival join forces to help kids and restore confidence in the vitality of lower Manhattan."
The Tribeca Film Festival will honor The Children's Aid Society with a special award at the Star Wars premiere. Tickets for the children's private screenings will be distributed by the society and by the film festival. Ticket sales for the afternoon benefit screening are $500 for the pre-party and screening and $1,000 for the pre-party, screening and VIP seating. To order, call (917) 286-1530.
McGregor Disses Episode I
wan McGregor—Obi-Wan Kenobi in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones—has admitted that he didn't think much of the first prequel, Episode I—The Phantom Menace, according to a report on EW.com.
"One of the things about Episode I [that] I was slightly disappointed by was I thought it was ... kind of flat," McGregor told the the U.K. movie cable channel FilmFour.
As for the next installment, McGregor said, "I think there is much more humor, and there is much more color in Episode II."
The official Star Wars Web site, meanwhile, reported that the final visual-effects shot for Episode II has been completed and approved by director George Lucas. The last shot depicted gigantic fuel cylinders, knocked loose from a Techno Union starship, crashing into fleeing battle droids as Republic gunships rain down missile volleys from the golden skies, the site reported. Episode II opens May 16.
Stewart Talks Nemesis Aliens
atrick Stewart, who reprises the role of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in the upcoming Star Trek: Nemesis movie, told TV Guide Online to expect some startling new aliens in the 10th Trek film.
"Romulus has a sister planet called—of course, as you'd expect—Remus," Stewart told the site. "So you're going to meet the inhabitants of that planet, the Remans, who are quite unlike anything you've seen before."
Stewart added, "I think they might be the most successful aliens [makeup designer] Michael Westmore has ever produced. I even include the Borg in saying this. He's brought an alien race to life in an entirely convincing way. There's something very novel and unique in their design. They're imposing and sinister in a very different way from the Borg."
Nemesis also features other enticements, Stewart said. "There is romance, and there is also sex, but Picard is not involved in either," he said. Stewart added that he won't have a producer credit on this film, as he has on previous Trek movies. "Brent Spiner [Data] took my role this time, and he worked with [producer] Rick Berman and [writer] John Logan on the story," he said. "It's been a great thing for us to have a non-Star Trek writer. Logan [Gladiator] is a fine writer, but also a big fan of the TV series. He remembers the names of the episodes and so forth!" Nemesis opens in December.
Paramount Heads To Mars
aramount Pictures has acquired the film rights to Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic SF novel series John Carter of Mars, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Alphaville will produce a movie based on the 11-book series, about a Civil War officer from Virginia who is transported to Mars and becomes a hero of the Red Planet, the trade paper reported.
The studio is said to be especially excited about the first three books, A Princess of Mars, The Warlord of Mars and The Gods of Mars, the trade paper reported. Paramount hopes to be in production next year. No writers are yet on board to adapt the books.
Disney Is Spirited Away
isney has acquired the rights to Spirited Away, anime master Hayao Miyazaki's latest film and the highest-grossing movie in Japanese history, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The animated film, which grossed $234 million in Japan, will be released in the United States in the fall, after Toy Story director and Pixar Animation chief John Lasseter serves as creative consultant for a newly dubbed version, the trade paper reported.
Spirited tells the story of a 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, who encounters strange spirits, assorted creatures and a grumpy sorceress in a secret world when she and her family get lost and venture through a hillside tunnel, the trade paper reported. Lasseter told the paper that no cuts have been made to the film and that the animation will not be altered in any way. He is overseeing the translation of the script and the voice casting.
Disney acquired domestic theatrical, home-entertainment and TV rights to the anime, as well as Japanese video distribution rights and theatrical, home-entertainment and television rights in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and France. Earlier, Disney released Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke. The studio also is preparing several of Miyazaki's other films for release on video and DVD this year, the trade paper reported.
Norrington Adapting Akira
tephen Norrington (Blade) will write and direct an adaptation of the classic Japanese SF anime Akira for Warner Brothers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Jon Peters will produce.
Akira, released in 1988, was based on a Japanese manga and centers on a group of motorcycle-riding teens in a a post-apocalyptic Tokyo who must stop one of their members from running amok after he acquires telekinetic powers in a government experiment known as Akira, the trade paper reported.
Norrington told the Reporter that his draft "preserves the tone, the visual and the epic scope of the original, whilst telling a somewhat more accessible story [to Western audiences]."
SCI FI Joins Free Comic Day
he SCI FI Channel will take part in the May 4 Free Comic Book Day promotion by distributing free postcards designed by comic artist Neal Adams featuring artwork of the SCI FI original series Farscape and Stargate SG-1.
About 250,000 postcards with Adams' artwork will go to fans at comic retailers around North America.
Retailers will also display limited-edition posters designed by Adams for SCI FI, featuring Farscape and Stargate SG-1 casts side by side and entitled The Far-Gate Experience. SCI FI will also promote Free Comic Book Day with Superhero Saturday, an 18-hour movie marathon featuring superhero-themed films, including the uncut, widescreen version of Superman: The Movie, which has never before been seen on broadcast television.
SCIFI.COM will also feature a special Free Comic Book Day Web page, from April 27 to May 11, offering visitors a chance to win the original color-finished piece of art signed by Adams or one of 15 limited-edition Adams-autographed posters. Free Comic Book Day is an industry promotion to generate more interest in comics.
Pitof Prowls Catwoman
rench visual-effects director Pitof (aka Jean-Christophe Comar) is in talks to make his English-language debut as a feature-film director on Warner Brothers' upcoming Catwoman movie, starring Ashley Judd, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie has no start date.
Pitof is known for his visual-effects work on The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, Asterix & Obelix vs. Caesar and Alien: Resurrection. Last year, he made his directorial debut on the French action/crime thriller Vidocq.
John Rogers wrote the most recent draft of the Catwoman script, which is based on the DC Comics character from the Batman series.
Bullock Out Of Wonder Woman?
as Sandra Bullock bowed out of the proposed Wonder Woman movie?
That's the rumor on the Countingdown.com Web site, based on a report in the New York Post.
The Superhero Hype Web site, meanwhile, reported that Jordan Bayne (TV's Poltergeist: The Legacy) might be in the running to play the DC Comics superhero.
Witchblade To Rewind
ancy Butler, who plays NYPD Detective Sara Pezzini in TNT's Witchblade series, told the Comics Continuum Web site that the upcoming second season goes back to the beginning of things.
"The first episode is just amazing," Butler told the site. "We come out of the gate with quite a bang. We actually pick it up prior to Pezzini having the Witchblade. So she has to acquire it all over again."
Butler added, "Her emotional kind of chronological state in her head is as if she had kind of a weird dream or kind of a bad case of amnesia. She runs into people, for instance such as Gabriel, and he looks vaguely familiar, and she's not really quite sure why. She not only has to acquire it again, but she's really more confused than ever in terms of who knows what and what she knows." Mixing up the show's chronology presents a challenge to the actor. "It's quite hard," she said. "It does keep me on my toes. I have copies of all the scripts we've ever shot, because we mess and manipulate time so much. Chronological order of events is difficult to keep track of." The second season of Witchblade, which is based on the Top Cow comics series of the same name, kicks off June 10.
Hurd: Hulk Worth The Wait
ale Ann Hurd, the longtime genre producer who is shepherding The Hulk to the big screen, told EW.com that it's taken more than a decade to get the project off the ground, but that it will be worth the wait.
"It's always been alive and kicking," Hurd told the site. "But we opened the floodgates about a year and a half ago," when director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) came on board, she added.
About the unorthodox choice of Lee to helm the superhero movie, Hurd said, "You want to make this film a character-driven film with amazing action." As for the long wait, she added, "If we started a few years ago, I don't think the technology would have been up to it." Based on the Marvel Comics series, The Hulk is currently in production, starring Eric Bana and Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly.
X-Files Fans Rally For Finale
ans of The X-Files will take out six full-page ads in The Hollywood Reporter on May 19 to commemorate the series' finale after nine seasons on Fox, according to the Zap2it.com Web site.
The ads, which each cost $2,485, will thank cast members Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, Annabeth Gish, Robert Patrick and Mitch Pileggi, as well as the general cast and crew, the site reported.
Extra funds collected will be donated to a charity that is close to the actor associated with the contributions, including the Buskaid Soweto String Project (Anderson), the Children's Hospital of New Mexico (Gish) and the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation (Patrick), Zap2it reported. Although it hasn't been decided definitely yet, the extra proceeds for the cast and crew ad will more than likely go to the Jim Engh Memorial Fund, the site reported. Engh was a crew member who was accidentally electrocuted in an accident on the set that injured six others in 2000. So far, fans have raised more than $20,600.
X-Files Wraps Gunmen
n upcoming episode of The X-Files will wrap up the storyline of its ill-fated spinoff series The Lone Gunmen, bringing back Gunmen cast members Zuleikha Robinson and Stephen Snedden as guest stars, the official X-Files site reported.
The episode, "Jump the Shark," also brings back the recurring X-Files character of Morris Fletcher, played by Michael McKean.
Fletcher runs afoul of the Gunmen (Bruce Harwood, Tom Braidwood and Dean Haglund) and their pal, Jimmy Bond (Snedden), as he searches for the secret background of Yves Harlow (Robinson). Gunmen producers Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz wrote the script, which is directed by Cliff Bole. "Shark" is tentatively slated to air April 21.
Meanwhile, not to be outdone by fans of The X-Files, fans of The Lone Gunmen are also planning to buy an ad in The Hollywood Reporter's special edition commemorating The X-Files upcoming series finale.
Cambyses Optioned For Film
cott Steindorff and his Stone Village Productions have optioned Paul Sussman's adventure book The Lost Army of Cambyses, with Danny Davids producing and Luis Mandoki directing, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Cambyses, published in February in the United Kingdom, tells the story of an unlikely sleuth who teams up with the daughter of a murdered archaeologist to investigate a series of grisly murders in Egypt that are linked to one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world, the trade paper reported.
No screenwriter is yet on board to adapt the project. Cambyses was Sussman's first novel.
Van Praagh Lives With Dead
elevision psychic James Van Praagh told SCI FI Wire that he had a close connection with Ted Danson, who plays Van Praagh in the CBS supernatural biographical miniseries Living with the Dead.
"Ted knew me before he was even signed on for the movie," Van Praagh said. "I had done [psychic] readings for him, and he knew how I worked, so he really gleaned from me to portray me. He also has a very strong spiritual sense, so he used that as well to help the part."
The miniseries details Van Praagh's story of the discovery of his psychic powers, particularly what he described as his visions of the deceased. Van Praagh said the telefilm was "very much like The Sixth Sense, with an edge. It describes my childhood very well, the visions I used to see and the trouble I used to have at school when I used to see spirits and tell people about them. Also, my Catholic background plays into it. As I became an adult, [I learned] how to deal with it. I think it's an incredible series. I've seen it five times, and it's a wonderful depiction of the beginning part of my life and also a mystery and a story about forgiveness and eternal life, that life goes on. It was a great experience watching it be filmed, because it's based on my first book, Talking to Heaven."
The miniseries' central theme is Van Praagh's personal conflict with what he called the burden of psychic visions. "How I had to come to grips with doing this sort of thing, it's something that's much easier to say no to than yes to, but it was something I had to do, because I felt it was a mission from God or whatever," he said. "It was something I could not ignore, as much as I tried to. The miniseries deals a lot with the conflict I had about coming to terms with doing this, a career, going out in public about this sort of thing or not." Living with the Dead premieres April 28.
Gaye To Play Zee In Matrices
onfirming rumors, Variety reported that Nona Gaye (Ali) will play Zee, the role originally intended for late pop singer Aaliyah, in the upcoming sequels to The Matrix.
Gaye, daughter of Motown legend Marvin Gaye, will fill Aaliyah's shoes in The Matrix Reloaded, a role that will expand considerably in the third film, The Matrix Revolutions, the trade paper reported. Gaye begins shooting in Sydney next week.
Aaliyah died in a plane crash last August after completing initial shooting for Reloaded in Los Angeles, the trade paper reported. The singer was scheduled to wrap principal photography on both films early this year. Reloaded is slated for release May 23, 2003, with Revolutions to follow in November.
Gaye made her feature debut in Ali as Belinda Ali, the second wife of the boxing great, played by Men in Black star Will Smith.
Thunder To Shoot In Prague
Sound of Thunder, a time-travel movie based on Ray Bradbury's classic short story of the same name, will shoot this summer in Prague under director Peter Hyams, Variety reported.
Moshe Diamant is producing the independent film, with Yoram Barzilai as line producer.
Filming begins June 24 in Prague for seven weeks, followed by an additional seven weeks in Luxembourg, the trade paper reported.
New Line Goes It Alone
ew Line Cinema has bought the spec script Alone, a ghost story by first-time writer Kevin Taft, Variety reported.
Phantom Four Films, the company run by Blade II writer David S. Goyer, will produce the film, the trade paper reported.
Alone tells the story of an agoraphobic high school student who learns her home is haunted and must overcome her phobia to escape, the trade paper reported. New Line executives Lynn Harris, Michelle Weiss and Stephanie Striegel will oversee the movie.
Katims Bids Roswell Farewell
ason Katims, executive producer of UPN's just-canceled teen alien series Roswell, bid farewell to the show's cast and crew in a memo, a copy of which was posted to the Crashdown.com fan Web site.
"Barring the unlikely event of another network change, Roswell will not be returning for a fourth season," Katims said in the memo.
UPN announced on April 10 that Roswell would broadcast its series finale on May 14, a story first reported on SCI FI Wire. "I am writing to let you know that this is about to happen and to once again thank you all for your invaluable contributions to the show," Katims told his staff. "I am very proud of the work we have done on Roswell and am honored to have had the opportunity to work with, and get to know, all of you. I wish you all the best of luck in the future and sincerely hope we get the chance to work together again soon."
UPN Cancels Roswell
t's official: UPN has announced that it will cancel its teen-alien series Roswell. The network will air the series finale at 9 p.m. ET/PT on May 14.
"I would like to thank 20th Century Fox Television, UPN and especially our fans, whose combined efforts helped get us a third season for Roswell," series co-creator Jason Katims said in a statement. "[Executive producer] Ronald D. Moore and I had the fans very much on our minds when we were writing this final episode. We felt they deserved a great ending."
Roswell's fate has been in doubt all season as the series' ratings have dropped against stiff competition from The WB's Superman series, Smallville; Fox's 24; and other shows. Roswell wrapped production on the current third season in March. UPN took over Roswell this year, after The WB dropped it after two seasons. Roswell has never been a strong ratings contender, but The WB renewed it after its first year as the result of a vigorous campaign by fans that included the mailing of thousands of tiny bottles of Tabasco, the teen aliens' condiment of choice.
The SCI FI Channel will begin airing reruns of all three seasons of Roswell starting this fall.
Asaro's Sky Is Falling
atherine Asaro told SCI FI Wire that she recently sold Skyfall, a new Skolian Empire novel, to Tor Books. Asaro's earlier Skolia tales focused on the Ruby Dynasty generation that includes Soz, Kelric, Althor and their assorted siblings, while the upcoming Skyfall tells the story of how the parents of all the current characters first met.
"It includes both space and planetary adventure and all sorts of political intrigues and scheming," Asaro said in
an interview.
Asaro added, "Right now, Tor is bringing out about one Skolia book a year. I'm hoping to increase the frequency a bit and have the books come out every nine months or so, if they are willing. The plan right now is to explore the
previous generation of the Ruby Dynasty, starting with Skyfall. I [also] just finished a novella for an anthology [Irresistible Forces] I'm editing for Roc/NAL. The novella is called 'Stained Glass Heart,' and it takes place on the same world as Skyfall. Actually, the name Skyfall refers to that world. In the language of the characters, the name is Lyshriol, but it means Skyfall." Skyfall is tentatively scheduled for publication in fall 2003.
Hall Enlivens The Dead Zone
nthony Michael Hall—who takes on the role of psychic Johnny Smith in USA Network's upcoming supernatural series The Dead Zone—told SCI FI Wire that the show goes beyond the Stephen King book and 1983 movie.
"I really responded to Stephen King and [to] the film," Hall said in an interview. But the series is "very different," he added.
In addition to removing some of the political elements of the story, at least for now, the show deepens the characters, who remain from both the book and the film. "We take the same setting," Hall said. "You know, Stephen King writes a lot of his books that are set in Maine. ... And we took some of the key characters. The [Sheriff] Bannerman character, the Sarah character, who was his high school sweetheart. The fact that he's a high school teacher is very important. It's also really interesting to play as an actor. I'm in my 30s now, and I started as a teenager. And for me to be playing a guy who's teaching teenagers, it's interesting. I was challenging myself. So we took the sort of core characters, and we're really expanding on it from there."
Hall co-stars in The Dead Zone with former Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor Nicole de Boer as Sarah and Chris Bruno as Bannerman. The series, currently in production in Vancouver, B.C., premieres in June.
Duncan Bulks Up In Daredevil
ichael Clarke Duncan—who stars in the upcoming Daredevil movie—told SCI FI Wire that the producers wanted the massive actor to gain even more weight for the role of Kingpin, Daredevil's nemesis.
"They told me I was too small," Duncan said in an interview while promoting his latest film, The Scorpion King. "I've got to get up to 340 [pounds]. I'm at 325 right now, so I have to gain weight."
Although production on Daredevil has already started, Duncan won't be filming any of his scenes until June 17. The reason for the delay, he said, is to give him more time to put on the pounds. "They're giving me a little leeway so I can get this weight together," Duncan said. Even with the weight gain, Duncan will wear some extra padding in his suits, a prospect that doesn't sit well with the actor. "I don't want it. I don't want a pad!" he insisted. "They are putting some pads on me, and I really hate that. They got my shoulders padded a little bit, and I'm like, 'Grr. Hate pads.'"
Duncan said that his girth won't inhibit his action scenes, which feature plenty of hand-to-hand combat. "Kingpin is a big guy, but he's very agile. And he knows, like, karate and stuff, but you wouldn't think it unless you see him. In my first scene I have my assistant time me, and he brings in these, like, four karate masters, and I have to beat them within 15 seconds." Daredevil, starring Ben Affleck and based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, is scheduled to open in early 2003.
Mummy 3 All But Wrapped Up
ean Daniels, who co-produced the two Mummy films, told the Calgary Sun to expect a third installment in the hit franchise.
"The Mummy Returns grossed $431 million U.S. worldwide," Daniels told the newspaper. "I'd say that's a pretty good indication audiences around the world want the adventure to continue."
Brendan Fraser, who played adventurer Rick O'Connell in both films, has said he would be willing to return for a third adventure, as has Arnold Vosloo, who played the mummy Imhotep, the Sun reported. Rachel Weisz, who played Rick's archeologist wife, Evie, has previously told the press that she isn't interested in reprising her character. But Daniels held out hope. "Rachel hasn't said anything to us one way or another, because we haven't made any specific offers," Daniels said.
A Mummy prequel, The Scorpion King, opens April 19, and the Sun reported expectations that it could break $100 million in its 10-day opening window before Spider-Man premieres May 3. In the prequel, The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson, reprises his role from Mummy Returns. To get Johnson in the proposed Mummy 3, Daniels said, "One thing we know for certain is that we won't get him for $5 million this time, but we know The Rock is very much interested in future adventures of his Scorpion King character."
Kasdan Tightened Dreamcatcher
homas Jane—who plays Henry, a suicidal psychologist, in the upcoming SF film Dreamcatcher—told SCI FI Wire that writer/director Lawrence Kasdan has tightened or eliminated the loose ends from Stephen King's novel.
"Stephen King is getting very diaphanous in his approach to novels—a lot of loose ends, a lot of threads, a lot of wormholes that lead into nowhere—and the main thrust of the plot tends to get a little more spread out than a conventional film would," Jane said in an interview. "The film streamlines the story, pares down all the unnecessary stuff, yet tries to squeeze in what's original and great about the book." Among other things, Kasdan co-wrote the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back.
Jane said that he felt that his character had more in common with other Kasdan films than with King's other works. "Henry is a typical Larry Kasdan guy, the kind of guy that Larry Kasdan uses as his leading men," Jane said. "Things happen to Larry Kasdan characters, like The Accidental Tourist or Body Heat. Things happen to the main character, and the main character's main action is to negotiate everything that's being thrown at him. That's how Henry is in this film. He's a normal guy who has his own set of personal problems. He's suicidal, he has a slightly telepathic link with his other friends, and I think that he spends the movie negotiating all this amazing stuff that's being thrown at him—aliens, his friends being possessed, taken over by aliens, and all this other stuff."
Jane did read the book, but relied more on the script for his performance. "In this particular case, I read the book, and it was informative just with what kind of story we were trying to tell. But then I threw the book away and went with the script, went with Lawrence Kasdan's vision of the kind of movie that he wants to make." Dreamcatcher is currently in production.
Freeman Caught Dreamcatcher
organ Freeman, star of the Stephen King SF film Dreamcatcher, told SCI FI Wire that he originally passed on the movie, but reconsidered because of director Lawrence Kasdan's reputation.
"When I read it, I said, 'I don't think so,'" Freeman said in an interview. "My agent said, 'Well, I read it again, and it's interesting. Larry Kasdan wants to have a meeting with you.' I said, 'Who?' He said, 'Larry Kasdan's the director.' I said, 'Why didn't you say so?' So I did it."
Freeman plays an alien hunter in the adaptation of King's novel of the same name. He said the film's aliens are all computer-generated creations that he had to imagine and not people in suits. Despite his character's serious disposition, Freeman made a lighthearted comparison. "We're dealing with aliens, ALF. I'm an ALF hunter, a little weird, a little burned out. Twenty-five years of hunting aliens. I'm a little strange."
Dreamcatcher is Freeman's second King adaptation, after 1994's The Shawshank Redemption. But he said there were no similarities between the experiences. Dreamcatcher is scheduled for a 2003 release.
Jones Nominees Announced
rganizers announced the short list of nominees for the second annual Diana Jones Award for
Excellence in Gaming, chosen by a committee of gaming-industry professionals.
The award goes to the individual, product, publication, publisher, distributor, retailer, club, organization, convention, event, trend, innovation or concept that best demonstrates excellence in the field of gaming, organizers said.
The award will be presented Aug. 9 at Gen Con 2002 in Milwaukee. The award is not named for anyone—"Diana Jones" is the only visible portion of an Indiana Jones logo that is part of the award trophy faceplate. The short list follows.
•De Profundis by Michal Oracz (role-playing game)
•The Dying Earth by Robin Laws, John Snead and Peter Freeman (role-playing game)
•Robin D. Laws, game designer
•Sorcerer by Ron Edwards (role-playing game)
Fans Protest Galactica Plans
ome fans of Battlestar Galactica have taken to the Internet to challenge the SCI FI Channel's plans to produce a four-hour miniseries based on the 1970s TV show.
At least two petitions have gone up, signed by about 700 fans, protesting the channel's announcement that it will "re-imagine" the show and asking for the channel to involve either original star Richard Hatch (Apollo) or X-Men producer Tom De Santo, whose previous attempt to revive the series failed.
The first petition asks producers to "embrace the original series by including core members of the original cast in their original roles," among other things. The second says fans "will not support any new production of Battlestar Galactica that drastically changes the series format and re-imagines it to something different than what it originally was."
Earlier this month, SCI FI announced that it would produce the miniseries, to be written by longtime genre writer Ronald D. Moore (Roswell, several Star Trek series) and directed by Breck Eisner (Steven Spielberg's Taken). David Eick (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, American Gothic) will executive produce. The miniseries is slated for a 2003 premiere.
Davison May Return in X2
ruce Davison, whose Senator Kelly expired in the first X-Men movie, told SCI FI Wire that he could be back for the upcoming sequel, X2.
"Possibly," Davison said in an interview. "It's sort of happening a little bit here and there. I think I probably will be in a little bit."
Davison's character was turned into a mutant and liquefied in X-Men. Whether or not Kelly would be solid or liquid in X2, Davison could not specify. "That's debatable," he joked. Even whether Kelly would remain a senator, Davison could only say, "Possibly." X2 is shooting for a 2003 release.
Kaufman Has Carrey In Mind
harlie Kaufman—who wrote the upcoming fantasy comedy Human Behavior and the Academy-Award-nominated farce Being John Malkovich—told SCI FI Wire that his next film will take place largely inside the mind of the main character, to be played by Jim Carrey.
"A friend of [Human Behavior director Michel Gondry] had an idea, which was you get a card in the mail that says you've been erased from someone's memory," Kaufman said in an interview while promoting Human Behavior. "And Michel came to me with that, and we developed a pitch based on that one thing, and we went out and pitched it."
The film—enigmatically entitled Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind—stars Carrey
as a man who undergoes a surgical procedure to erase his girlfriend from his mind. "He finds out that his girlfriend of two years has had this surgical procedure," Kaufman said. "[He's] trying to figure out how to live with this and realizes that he can't. So he decides to have the same procedure." Kaufman added that the story will be told in
reverse chronological order, a la Memento. "Most of the movie takes place inside his brain as she's being erased. ... You see their relationship moment by moment backwards from the sort of bad end to the sort of better beginning. And halfway through, when the memories start getting better, he decides he doesn't want it to happen anymore. So he's trying to hide her from this thing," Kaufman said. When asked whether he worries about a
comparison to Memento, Kaufman answered, "[It's] pre-Memento. I just want
to point that out. It took me three years to write this thing, because it's very complicated." The film will start shooting this November and is set for
release in 2003.
Radar Develops Wraith
adar Pictures will develop a film based on British author Graham Joyce's supernatural thriller novel The Tooth Fairy and has tapped Joyce to adapt the screenplay, which will be titled The Wraith, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The project is on the fast track, the trade paper reported.
The Wraith tells the story of a boy who learns that the tooth fairy is actually a menacing presence that both torments and seduces him as he battles his way through a supernaturally charged youth, the trade paper reported.
Radar senior production executive Tom Engelman, who brought the project to the company, will oversee development and production of the film. Radar chairman Ted Field will executive produce, with president Scott Kroopf and Engelman producing.
Stockwell's Enterprise Teased
PN has released spoilery details of the upcoming Enterprise episode that reunites Scott Bakula (Capt. Jonathan Archer) with his former Quantum Leap co-star Dean Stockwell.
The episode, "Detained," is slated to air April 24.
In the episode, Archer and Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) are detained in an internment prison by an alien race called Tandarans, who are at war with the Sulibans. Stockwell guest-stars as Col. Grat, a Tandaran military commander who clashes with Bakula's Archer.
Nebula Disqualifies Declare
im Powers' SF novel Declare was ruled ineligible for the 2001 Nebula Awards final ballot because an edition was published in 2000, according to a report on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Web site.
The Nebula novel jury, believing Declare to have been first published in 2001, had recommended that it be added to the ballot.
HarperCollins/William Morrow & Co. published an edition in January 2001. But Subterranean Press published an earlier limited edition in May 2000. Upon learning of the book's ineligibility, Powers reportedly accepted the ruling graciously and thanked jury members for considering the book.
Briefly Noted
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Production wrapped April 9 on the first season of UPN's Enterprise, the official Star Trek Web site reported. Cast and crew celebrated with a wrap party on April 10, after which they have 10 weeks of hiatus before reporting back to duty for season two in June.
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The owners of 2 Times Square in New York sued Columbia Pictures for using visual-effects technology to block out a neon Samsung sign on the building in the studio's upcoming Spider-Man movie, the New York Daily News reported. The suit charges that Columbia, which is owned by Samsung rival Sony, replaced the sign with an ad for USA Today, the newspaper reported. A spokesman for Columbia had no comment.
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Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment will release Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels, a DVD/VHS package produced by Creative Light Entertainment, on May 14, timed to coincide with the theatrical release of Columbia's Spider-Man movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The video features a conversation between Spidey co-creator Lee and comic writer/director Kevin Smith.
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Eclectic DVD Distribution will release The Phandom Menace, a DVD documentary that looks at Australian Star Wars fans as they await the opening of Episode I. Phandom Menace hits store shelves April 23 with a suggested price of $19.95.
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DreamWorks' upcoming animated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron will screen out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, enhanced by live musical performances, Variety reported. Singer Bryan Adams and composer Hans Zimmer will perform music to accompany the tale of a wild stallion in the Wild West. Spirit opens May 24.
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Young actor Dakota Fanning (I Am Sam) has signed to star opposite Mike Myers in Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Principal photography begins in the fall at Universal Studios in Los Angeles.
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Horror actor John Agar (The Mole People, Revenge of the Creature), who was married to former child star Shirley Temple, died of complications from emphysema in Burbank, Calif., the Reuters news service reported. He was 81. He is survived by two sons and two daughters, two brothers and four grandchildren.
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The X-Files creator Chris Carter told Cinescape Online that a sequel feature film is very likely. "It's definite, [in so far] as everyone has expressed their desire to do it, including the studio," Carter told the site. "I hope to write it over the summer, prep it over the fall and spring and shoot it late spring and next summer. I think you would end up seeing it in 2004. ... I have rough ideas, and I'm sort of deciding what to do."
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James Venable will score The Cartoon Network's upcoming first feature film, The Powerpuff Girls Movie, directed by Craig McCracken. Based on the television series The Powerpuff Girls, the movie chronicles the adventures of the mutant girl superheroes Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup. It opens July 3.
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The Moviehole Web site reported a rumor that Nona Gaye (Ali) will play Zee, the role originally intended for late pop singer Aaliyah, in the The Matrix Reloaded. Gaye, the daughter of legendary R&B singer Marvin Gaye, reportedly arrived in Sydney on April 8 and will start filming her scenes next week.
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April 20 editions of TV Guide will feature 35 different covers commemorating Star Trek's 35th anniversary, which will create a huge mosaic image when laid side by side, according to a report on the TrekWeb site. The covers will feature cast members from all five Trek series.
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Ellen Pompeo and rapper-actor Coolio have joined the cast of Daredevil, Variety reported. The movie, based on the Marvel Comics franchise, also stars Ben Affleck, Jon Favreau, Jennifer Garner, Joe Pantoliano and Michael Clarke Duncan.
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Khalil Kain (Bones) has secured a role on UPN's pilot Legacy, which stars Matthew Marsden as a young man who becomes a superhero after he inherits a wristwatch, Variety reported. The one-hour drama pilot is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer TV Productions in association with Warner Brothers Television.
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The
Coming Attractions Web site reported that there is no feature film in development based on the Silent Hill video game series, contrary to a report on the Bloody Disgusting Web site. The initial report, based on an interview with someone purporting to hold the rights to the game, was not based in fact, Coming Attractions reported.
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GNP Crescendo Records announced that it will release a soundtrack for UPN's Enterprise on May 14, featuring original music by Dennis McCarthy, as well as full-length and TV versions of the Star Trek series' controversial theme song, "Where My Heart Will Take Me," sung by Russell Watson.
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AMC will air reruns of HBO's Tales From the Crypt, starting in January, Variety reported.
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The Moviehole Web site reported that a sequel to Jean-Claude Van Damme's 1994 SF hit Timecop is in the works, but that Jason Scott Lee (Dracula Resurrection) will step in for the Muscles from Brussels.
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Images from the Iceland production of the 20th James Bond movie, Die Another Day, have gone up on the CommmanderBond.net Web site, courtesy of the Dark Horizons site.
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Dark Horizons reported that Gina Phillips (Jeepers Creepers) and Natasha Henstridge (Species) may take part in a proposed Resident Evil 2 movie.
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The KillerMovies Web site reported that Britney Spears confirmed in a British television interview that she will play herself as the girlfriend of Verne Troyer's Mini-Me in the upcoming Austin Powers 3.
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Panic Room director David Fincher hinted to the DavidFincher.net Web site that he may be considering helming Mission: Impossible 3.
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Sophia Bush will play the romantic lead opposite Nick Stahl in the upcoming Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Ashley Judd told E! that she's still holding tight to a proposed Catwoman movie, according to a report on Cinescape Online. "Catwoman is very good. ... I'm extremely possessive of that part now. I'm just like a dog hiking my leg all around that script. I'm like, 'You people back off. It's mine!'"
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