CBS Wraps Batman Telefilm
BS has wrapped production on a new television movie that reunites the stars of the campy '60s Batman TV series, Zap2it reported.
Adam West and Burt Ward star in the new comedy adventure as themselves, investigating a plot to steal the original Batmobile from a charity benefit.
The film reenacts behind-the-scenes drama of the Batman production, including on-the-set explosions and real-life encounters with fans, the site reported. Frank Gorshin (The Riddler), Lee Meriwether (Cat Woman) and Julie Newmar (Cat Woman) will also appear in the movie, tentatively titled Back to the Batcave. No official air date has been set, the site reported.
League Moves To Malta
he IGN FilmForce Web site reported that production on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie has shifted from flood-ravaged Prague to the Mediterranean island of Malta, at least temporarily.
Malta will double for several key locations in
the story, including Africa, and for exterior scenes aboard Capt. Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus, the site reported. The Nautilus set in Prague was reportedly inundated by flood waters.
The Malta Media Web site, meanwhile, reported that League star Sean Connery was seen in the Maltese town of Gozo in the last few days. Connery is playing literary adventurer Allan Quatermain in the big-screen adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel. The site added that filming has taken place in Xlendi Bay.
League Delay Detailed
on Murphy, producer of the upcoming League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie, told the Comics2Film Web site that devastating floods in Prague will delay production for at least a week, if not longer.
Torrential rains washed over the Czech capital last week.
"We had to shut down shooting Tuesday at 10:45 Czech time," Murphy said. "Sixty percent of the crew were in the Hilton, which was evacuated after the lobby became filled with a foot of water. The Nautilus set, quite possibly the most beautiful set I have ever laid eyes on, was very close to the river, and we cannot get to it, but [it] is likely to be waterlogged. Many of the actors were in beautiful apartments by the river that had to be evacuated on Monday. The remaining actors were in the Four Seasons, which was evacuated late Monday. The rains continue. The film is definitely not shooting until next week at the earliest."
Connery Laments Prague Flood
ean Connery, who was in Prague to shoot a starring role in the upcoming League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, told the Associated Press that he has witnessed flood devastation in the Czech capital firsthand.
The 71-year-old actor has been in Prague since June to shoot the movie, which is based on Alan Moore's fantasy SF graphic novel.
"I don't know if the world realizes the depth of the disaster," Connery told the wire service. "The magnitude of it won't be complete until you see the destruction. I have to just say how sorry one is to see all this [damage]." Connery, who is set to play literary adventurer Allan Quatermain in League, added that he was impressed by the international response to the disaster. "What's been really wonderful I think is the response," he said. "There were so many people volunteering."
Franco Goes Bad In Spidey 2?
ames Franco, who played Harry Osborn in this year's hit film Spider-Man, told SCI FI Wire that he expects his character to become a full-fledged villain in the upcoming sequel.
"All I can say is the first film was pretty loyal to the storyline in the comic book, and I assume that the second will be, and that Harry does take a turn for the dark side," Franco said in an interview. "Maybe that'll be developed in the second one. I don't know the specifics."
Franco can next be seen playing a drug addict in City by the Sea, and he would like his narcotics research to pay off in a Spider-Man 2 subplot. "There were three episodes of Spider-Man that were banned by the comic board, where Harry indulges in some form of narcotic," he said. "It didn't specify, but I think it was during the '60s or '70s, and it looked a little like LSD. That might happen in the second one." Spider-Man 2 is slated for a May 7, 2004, release.
Superman 5 Lives?
he Coming Attractions Web site reported rumors that writer J.J. Abrams (Alias) has turned in a 200-page script for Superman 5 to Warner Brothers, and that the buzz on the script is great.
The site reported that Abrams' script for a proposed fifth Superman movie is so good that it may bump the proposed Superman vs. Batman movie out of the way.
Citing an anonymous source, the site added that the only impediment to Superman 5 is the willingness of director Joseph McGinty Nichol, aka McG, to helm the project. Abrams reportedly wants only McG in the director's chair, so until that can be worked out, the movie may remain in limbo.
Warner is trying to persuade McG to hand the reins over to another director. The site added that Warner is eyeing several other directors, including David Fincher, Michael Mann, Rob Bowman and Steven Soderbergh.
Buffy Musical CD Due
ounder Records formally announced that it will release a CD soundtrack from last season's critically acclaimed musical episode of UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Sept. 24.
Rounder is releasing the CD with Mutant Enemy Music and Twentieth Century Fox Music.
The episode, "Once More With Feeling," was first broadcast on Nov. 6, 2001. The soundtrack will feature lyrics and music written by series creator Joss Whedon and performed by the show's cast, including star Sarah Michelle Gellar.
The CD's 10 tracks will contain the entire original soundtrack to the show, as well as an unreleased demo version of "Going Through the Motions," sung by Whedon and his wife, Kai Cole, as well as score segments from three other "Buffy" episodes, "Restless," "Hush" and "The Gift," Rounder announced.
Montgomery Enters 'Minefield'
nterprise co-star Anthony Montgomery (Travis Mayweather) told SCI FI Wire that his character's piloting prowess will be tested in an upcoming second-season episode entitled "Minefield."
"That's a really, really great flying episode for Travis," Montgomery said in an interview. "Travis has to steer the Enterprise through a live minefield. And there's a mine attached to the ship."
Montgomery added, "That was a lot of fun for me to do, a lot of fun for me to do. It was incredible to shoot and really intense. It's my favorite episode for Travis so far this season and maybe going back to last season. I'm at [my post], and any shaking that was done was minor. We [the actors] did some shaking, and the camera did some shaking—but what are we talking about? Travis didn't hit any of the mines! Of course not. You don't have to worry
about that. He pilots that thing nicely, if I can speak on behalf of Travis, as only I can." The episode was the third produced for Enterprise's second season, which kicks off Sept. 18. "Minefield" also marks the first
teleplay by new writer-producer John Shiban, who joins the show's writing staff following seven years with The X-Files.
Combs Not Blue About Trek
effrey Combs—the longtime Star Trek guest star most recently known for playing Shran in UPN's Enterprise—told SCI FI Wire that he thinks his blue-skinned Andorian character may reappear in the upcoming second season.
"The only thing that I know is that they've said some nice things in different interviews that they've done for different magazines and stuff and intimated that the Andorians will certainly be back, and, of course, they were founding members in the Federation and all that," Combs said in an interview at the Fangoria Weekend of Horror in Pasadena, Calif.
Combs added, "But as far as anything at this point solid and clear and definite, no. Just maybe a kind of a general feeling of likelihood." Combs, who played Shran in the episodes "The Andorian Incident" and "Shadows of P'Jem," said he'd jump at the chance to reprise the role. "I would love to do it, are you kidding? Star Trek is the gift that keeps on giving. I love doing Star Trek. It's really a great world, great camaraderie, and I just ... would jump every time they would want me to come back."
Combs also played the Ferengi named Krem in the Enterprise episode "Acquisition." Combs will also appear as a corrupt detective in the upcoming supernatural horror film Feardotcom, which opens Aug. 30.
New Enterprise Site Up
n updated Web site has gone live for UPN's Enterprise, with details of the current second-season production.
The site reported that production has just wrapped on the six-and-a-half-day schedule for the upcoming episode "A Night in Sickbay," which has Capt. Archer (Scott Bakula) overnighting in sick bay to watch Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) care for his pet beagle, Porthos.
The site revealed that it takes not one, but two dogs to portray Porthos—"Breezy" and "Windy," who are trained by Cathy Pittman of Performing Animal Troupe. David Straiton (last season's "Desert Crossing") directed the episode.
Barbeau Runs With Carnivāle
drienne Barbeau told SCI FI Wire that her upcoming HBO supernatural series Carnivāle has been given the green light.
"That is a go," Barbeau said in an interview. "It's happening. I think you can think of it as The X-Files meets David Lynch meets Marjoe Gortner. It's also been described as The X-Files meets Star Wars."
Barbeau added, "It's sort of an epic good-versus-evil story, as personified by satanic evangelists and carny workers during the Depression in the Dust Bowl. It's great. I play a tattooed snake charmer. I think they will start with an exploration of the characters, and then move more into the conflict of good versus evil. We've got the dwarf, and we've got the giant, literally, and the Siamese twins and the lizard man and the strong man and the bearded lady and the psychic. It deals a lot with metaphysics and the supernatural. The pilot was directed by Rodrigo Garcia. Rodrigo had a film at Sundance two years ago that was called Things You Can Tell by Looking at Her. He's doing a lot of Six Feet Under episodes, and he was wonderful."
Carnivāle will also star such familiar SF and horror faces as Nick Stahl (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines), Clancy Brown (Earth 2), Michael Jay Anderson (Twin Peaks), Patrick Bauchau (Kindred: The Embraced), Clea DuVall (Ghosts of Mars) and John Fleck (Enterprise). Production is underway now, with the series set to debut in 2003.
Superhero Pitch Flies
ormer development executives-turned-screenwriters Lauren Iungerich and Brad Follmer have sold the SF movie pitch Superhero Summer Camp to Warner Brothers through Akiva Goldsman's Weed Road Pictures, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Iungerich and Follmer will now write a screenplay that follows a group of misfit kids who go to summer camp and discover that it's a training ground for superheroes, the trade paper reported.
Goldsman will produce and Weed Road vice president Stephanie Gisondi will help oversee. The deal marks the pair's first writing assignment.
Regency Options Creature
ox-based Regency Enterprises has bought the movie rights to Doug TenNapel's upcoming SF graphic novel Creature Tech, Variety reported.
TenNapel's (Earthworm Jim) novel tells the story of an evil wizard who uses the Shroud of Turin to conjure a giant space eel in an attempt to destroy the world, with only an atheist with an alien strapped to his chest in his way, the trade paper reported. Wendy Finerman will produce.
The Creature comic is due out next week from Top Shelf Productions.
Witchblade Auctions For Charity
itchblade co-stars Eric Etebari (Ian Nottingham) and Anthony Cistaro (Kenneth Irons) are hosting a charity auction sponsored by their official Web sites, kicking off Aug. 26, in conjunction with the airing of the TNT series' second-season finale, fans announced.
The Hollygrove & Habit—Champions for Charity Auction kicks off at 7 p.m. PT and will run for four weeks. The auction will feature 70 autographed items from Etebari and Cistaro, including photos, trading cards, comic books, clothing, storyboards and more.
Etebari's charity of choice is Los Angeles-based Hollygrove, which provides abused and neglected children a safe and nurturing environment. Cistaro's charity is Habitat for Humanity, Los Angeles, which provides the opportunity to own a safe, affordable home.
Auction organizers include Jessie Smith, president of the EtebarIAN Fan Club, along with Tamara Tsang and Heather Tsang. Bidders will need to register for an online account prior to accessing the auction Web site.
Mainline Acquires Descendant
ainline Releasing has picked up worldwide rights to Del Mar Productions' supernatural thriller film Descendant, Descendant, starring Jeremy London, Katherine Heigl and Nick Stabile, Variety reported.
Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, the movie tells the story of a young novelist tormented by his family's history and haunted by the specter of his long-dead, more famous ancestor, the trade paper reported.
Del Mar partners Kermit Christman and Del Tenney directed the film, which was produced by Joyce North and Christman and executive produced by Tenney.
Earth 2150 Set For Release
trategy First announced that the latest game in the Earth 2150 real-time strategy series is complete and will ship next month, the GameSpot Web site reported.
Earth 2150: Lost Souls is expected to hit retail stores in early September.
Lost Souls is the third PC game in a series that includes Earth 2150 and The Moon Project, the site reported. The futuristic real-time strategy series has detailed the consequences of a cataclysm that devastates Earth in the year 2150. Lost Souls tells the story of the struggle of Earth's remaining residents to gather enough resources to survive.
Combs To Re-Animate Again
effrey Combs, who gained cult fame as the star of two Re-Animator movies, told SCI FI Wire that he may be starting production on a third, Beyond Re-Animator, as early as this month.
"I [will] probably—probably—be on a plane next week" to Barcelona for eight weeks of shooting, he said in an interview while promoting his next film, Feardotcom. The Re-Animator films are based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft.
"It's been a trial," Combs said. "But we're, I think, on the final, final little bits and bobs of the contractual stuff. ... I've always hesitated in saying that it was the case, but it's been a long, long process of denial. ... Finally, I think that things are getting squared away to the point where I can say, yeah, I think that we're real close to doing it."
If the film goes forward, Combs would reprise the role of Herbert West, the deranged scientist who developed a revivifying serum to reanimate corpses. Brian Yuzna, who helmed 1990's Bride of Re-Animator, will again direct. "The premise of [Beyond Re-Animator] is that ... Dan Cain turns state's evidence, and that Herbert West has been in prison this whole time," Combs said. "But on the night that he's been taken by the police at the end of the last movie, there was a young boy in a campout in his backyard, and, without giving too much away, ... I surreptitiously dropped some of my ... reanimating fluid on the ground before I'm put into the police car. ... You jump cut, and [the boy] is now grown and has gone to medical school and has pulled some strings to be assigned to be the physician at said prison, so that he can connect up with the infamous Dr. West and get to the bottom of exactly what this is." Beyond Re-Animator would be the final film in the Filmax/Fantastic Factory series of movies, Combs added. The hope is for a theatrical release in the United States, he said.
Feardotcom, in which Combs breaks type to play a burned-out police detective, opens Aug. 30.
Gryphon Options Thunderhead
ryphon Films has picked up the rights to the supernatural thriller novel Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Relic), with plans to put the film into production next year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The 1999 book tells the story of an expedition to find a lost Anasazi city of gold in the American Southwest, led by archaeologist Nora Kelly.
Preston and Child's Relic was made into the SF film The Relic by Paramount Pictures in 1997, the trade paper reported.
Teens Choose Genre TV And Film
enre entertainment scored well in the 2002 Teen Choice Awards, sponsored by Seventeen magazine and held Aug. 19 in Los Angeles.
A list of genre winners, chosen in a magazine poll, follows.
Movies
Choice Drama/Action Adventure
•Spider-Man
Choice Actor: Action/Adventure
•Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man
Choice Actress: Action/Adventure
•Natalie Portman, Star Wars: Episode II—Attack Of The Clones
Choice Actress: Comedy
•Sarah Michelle Gellar, Scooby-Doo
Choice Breakout Performance: Actor
•Matthew Lillard, Scooby-Doo
Choice Liplock
•Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man
TV
Choice Actress: Drama
•Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Choice Sidekick
•Alyson Hannigan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Choice Breakout TV Star: Actor
•Tom Welling, Smallville
Bui Raises Lazarus
ony Bui will write and direct Lazarus, a supernatural film that was once envisioned as the fourth installment in the Crow franchise, Variety reported.
Warner Brothers will produce the film, which will now tell the story of two friends who become mortal enemies because of an ancient Asian curse set in motion after they commit a crime together, the trade paper reported.
Ed Pressman and Jeff Most will produce the film, with Alessandro Camon as executive producer.
Turok Prequel Nears Release
cclaim Entertainment announced that Turok: Evolution, a prequel to the popular first-person-shooter video game, is ready for manufacture and will ship on Sept. 1.
The game is being published for all next-generation gaming systems, the company said.
Featuring a new game engine specifically designed for the next-generation gaming systems, Turok: Evolution is described as an epic adventure of exploration, treachery and war set against a backdrop of lush jungles, mysterious temples and the most realistic and deadly array of dinosaurs ever to be created in a video game. Turok: Evolution will carry a suggested retail price of $49.99.
Slick Voices Witchblade
race Slick, lead singer of the Jefferson Airplane rock band, will provide the voice of the titular weapon in the second-season finale of TNT's supernatural series Witchblade.
The finale, "Ubique," airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT Aug. 26.
In this episode, a former bladewielder named Lucrezia Borgia (Kate Levering) steals the Witchblade from Sara Pezzini (Yancy Butler) just as people across New York City are being lured to a Web site by a contest, only to be brainwashed into committing murders, TNT announced.
Cut Scenes Shine On DVD
ick Garris, who directed the 1997 ABC TV miniseries based on Stephen King's ghost story The Shining, told SCI FI Wire to expect 11 deleted scenes on the upcoming DVD version of the movie, including one featuring author and producer King himself.
The DVD is due from Warner Brothers Home Video on Jan. 7, 2003, Garris said.
"We've got 11 deleted scenes that we've put on as a supplement," Garris said in an interview at the recent Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in Pasadena, Calif. "Some of them are good, some of them are less than good. Probably most notable is a scene we cut out, where Stephen King, as the bandleader, melts down at the stroke of midnight. It's a big makeup-effects gag. So there's a lot of really fun stuff on it."
The DVD also features commentaries by King; Garris; star Steven Weber; Garris' wife, Cynthia, who played the Ghost of Room 217; visual-effects supervisor Boyd Shermis; and makeup artist Bill Corso.
The DVD will feature the original cut of the five-hour miniseries. "Frankly, if there was a director's cut, it would be a little shorter than it is," Garris said. "But because of television, it's very specific lengths you have to deal with. But I like the way it is now. I would rather have it this way. If anything, I'd shorten part one a little bit."
USA Orders More Dead
SA Network has picked up its hit series The Dead Zone for a second season, the company announced.
Production on the second season will resume in Vancouver, B.C., in mid-September, with the season debuting in early 2003. All primary cast members will be returning, including star Anthony Michael Hall, who is also a producer.
With a 4.7 household rating and 6.4 million viewers, The Dead Zone became USA's highest-rated and most-watched original dramatic series debut and earned a place as the top basic-cable original dramatic series of all time.
USA Network is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Petty To Helm Sentinel
.T. Petty (Soft for Digging) has signed on to write and direct the low-budget SF sequel film Mimic Sentinel for Dimension Films, Variety reported.
The films is a follow-up to 1997's Mimic, about giant mutant cockroaches.
The sequel tells the story of a sickly 24-year-old man, confined to a bubble apartment room due to his severe asthma, who learns that the roaches are back with a vengeance and preying on the inhabitants of his apartment complex, the trade paper reported.
Sentinel is scheduled to start shooting in October for about four weeks in Romania. A straight-to-video sequel, Mimic 2, was made in 2001, but Sentinel apparently ignores the continuity of that film.
Wilkes Adapts Wolfenstein
ich Wilkes (XXX) will adapt the Activision video game Return to Castle Wolfenstein for the big screen for Columbia Pictures, Variety reported.
The game tells the story of an Army Ranger whose team returns to the notorious Castle Wolfenstein, where occult and genetic experiments are creating an unstoppable Nazi army, the trade paper.
Mark Gordon, John Baldecchi and Mikkel Bondesen are producing, with Jason Hoffs expected to produce in some capacity as well, the trade paper reported.
Wolfenstein Comes To Xbox
ctivision and Id Software announced that Return to Castle Wolfenstein will launch an online multiplayer warfare system for the Xbox video-game system on Nov. 15.
The game will be presented with platform-specific multiplayer features, including squad-based and co-operative Internet and split-screen modes, as well as a single-player mode.
Nerve Software, creators of the multiplayer feature in Return to Castle Wolfenstein for the PC, is developing the Xbox version, with Id Software serving as executive producer.
Set against the backdrop of World War II, Return to Castle Wolfenstein centers on an American soldier infiltrating the heart of Nazi Germany and coming up against Nazi stormtroopers, undead Teutonic knights and the products of genetic experimentation.
Tokyopop Contest Starts
okyopop, the manga publisher, announced the "Rising Stars of Manga" talent competition.
Local U.S. artists will be able to submit original stories in English for the chance to win cash prizes and get their work published worldwide, the company said. The competition kicked off Aug. 15 and runs through Dec. 16.
The grand-prize winner will receive $2,500 and the chance to pitch a full-length manga series to Tokyopop. The second-place winner will win $1,000. Eight runners-up will each receive $500. All 10 prize winners will be published in a Tokyopop manga anthology, scheduled for publication in spring 2003. Details are on the publisher's Web site.
Gross Joins Tremors Series
ichael Gross, who has appeared in all three Tremors movies, has signed on to reprise his character in the SCI FI Channel's upcoming original series based on the film franchise.
In the show, which is also called Tremors, Gross (Family Ties) will again play Burt Gummer, a survivalist and monster hunter.
The series, which is set to debut in January 2003, takes place in Perfection
Valley, home of giant, worm-like Graboids and other mutant monsters. David Israel, Brent Maddock, Nancy Roberts and Steve Wilson will executive produce, with Edward Ledding serving as producer.
Phooey Goes To Movies
rett Ratner's Rat Entertainment will produce a live-action/computer-animated film version of the 1970s animated TV show Hong Kong Phooey with Alcon Entertainment, Variety reported.
Based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon about a clumsy, kung-fu detective dog, the movie will reportedly tell the origin story behind Phooey's supernatural talents.
Robert Ritger will write the screenplay. Alcon will release the movie through its distribution agreement with Warner Brothers, the trade paper reported.
Dunst Takes The Pulse
pider babe Kirsten Dunst is set to star in Pulse, Wes Craven's upcoming remake of the Japanese supernatural horror film Kairo, Production Weekly reported.
The original film tells the story of mysterious and lethal computer virus that may be the remnants of the dead.
Craven wrote the script for Pulse with The X-Files alumnus Vince Gilligan. Pulse is set for an Oct. 1 start, after which Dunst will segue into the January production of Spider-Man 2, the site reported.
Hubbard Winners Named
ylan Otto Krider of Houston won the grand prize in this year's L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest, named for the late SF writer and founder of the Church of Scientology, Locus Online reported.
Irena Yankova Dimitrova from Bulgaria won the illustrators grand prize.
The prizes were announced at the 18th Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards, held Aug. 17 at the L. Ron Hubbard Gallery in Hollywood, Calif., the site reported. The contests are held quarterly, and are open to writers with no more than three published stories or one novelette in any medium, and illustrators with no more than three story illustrations or one color piece in a nationally distributed medium.
Simpons/Futurama Comic Coming
ongo Comics released a Simpsons/Futurama crossover comic book, which brings together characters from two of Matt Groening's popular TV shows, on Aug. 21, the Comics Continuum Web site reported.
The Simpsons/Futurama Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis is written by Ian Boothby, who also writes the regular Simpsons comic, and is drawn by James Lloyd, the site reported.
"I pitched Bill Morrison—my editor at Bongo and also the art director for the Futurama TV show—the idea for a crossover comic with The Simpsons and Futurama," Boothby told the Continuum. "He didn't think Matt Groening would go for it. Matt has always had a firm rule that the two shows could never meet, because Futurama was the real world, and the Simpsons were just a TV show in the Futurama reality—the show is still on in the year 3002." So how did Boothby bring the characters together? "I suggested to Bill that if the TV show was still on the air in the year 3002, the comic book might still be published as well," he said. "There was an episode where giant brains tried to take over, and sent Fry and Leela into different books to trap them. Well, comics are books, so why not have the Futurama cast trapped in a Simpsons comic book? Matt liked the idea, and we got the go-ahead."
Ghost Ship Isn't Virus
teve Beck, director of the upcoming supernatural horror film Ghost Ship, told fans at the Fangoria Weekend of Horror that his film bears little resemblance to the similarly themed Virus from 1999.
Both films deal with a salvage crew that stumbles across a seemingly abandoned vessel on the high seas, boards the ship and encounters unexpected terrors.
The similarity "was an initial concern of ours as well," Beck told the Fangoria audience in Pasadena, Calif. "That was my initial fear. With the initial story of [the script, which was originally titled] Chimera, it was even closer. With [the revised and retitled script] Ghost Ship, essentially the only real true comparisons you can draw between the two films is that they both take place on a ship. But then so does Titanic, and so does The Poseidon Adventure, etc., etc. After that point, you just kind of leave it aside. It turns into something of a supernatural Usual Suspects, if you really want to kind of put it into a box, which is a lot different than you can talk about with Virus."
Beck added, "Ghost Ship is, in its essence, not so much a horror film as it is actually a thriller. It's existential. It's 'who's doing it?' Because there's constant illumination of the crew as we go through the story, and there's a surprise twist at the end of who's doing it." Ghost Ship, which stars Julianna Margulies and Suspect's Gabriel Byrne, opens Oct. 25.
Crypt 3 Awaits Release
roducer David Giler told SCI FI Wire that a third Tales From the Crypt movie has been produced and is awaiting distribution.
"Miramax owns it," Giler said in an interview. "They bought it from Universal."
The third Crypt film will be called either Ritual or Revelation and deals with a satanic cult in Jamaica. A doctor visiting her patient is plagued by visions that may hold the key to solving a series of murders. The cast includes Jennifer Grey, Craig Sheffer and Tim Curry. It is directed by Avi Nesher (Doppelganger, Timebomb).
The first two Crypt films, Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood, were produced by Universal as part of a planned trilogy, but they never proceeded with part three. "Universal was supposed to make the three, and Universal didn't really do what they were supposed to do with the Tales From the Crypt movies," Giler said. "They were supposed to be tied to come out on traditional horror-movie weekends, like Friday the 13th or Halloween. But they ran out of movies one summer and put [Bordello] out in August. It didn't really work out at Universal." Miramax has announced no plans for releasing the third Tales From the Crypt.
Universal is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Rowland Joins Freddy, Jason
elly Rowland, one-third of the pop R&B band Destiny's Child, told MTV.com that she will start shooting scenes this fall as one of the stars of the upcoming supernatural horror movie Freddy vs. Jason.
Rowland will join cast members Brad Renfro and Robert Englund, who reprises the role of Freddy Krueger in the film, which pits the knife-fingered villain against Friday the 13th's hockey-masked Jason Voorhees. Director Ronny Yu (Bride of Chucky) is set to begin production in Vancouver, B.C.
Englund told MTV.com that he's troubled that Kane Hodder, who has starred in the most recent Friday the 13th movies, has not been cast as Jason. "Kane is a friend of mine, and it makes this difficult," Englund told the site. "'Because I think of Kane as Jason. Nobody does the killing machine like Kane. The only thing I know is, they're looking at people. ... One of the things that may be in the rewrites is that there may be a sequence in a flashback, we may see Jason young. Given that, they may be forced to hire somebody younger."
Englund added, "We're going to revisit the backstories of both characters. It's a real imaginative, wonderful, E-ticket ride of exposition. On Jason, you get the exposition, and you get a Jason nightmare. My only problem is that we're working on a real lake, outside, for a month of nights in Vancouver. My genitals are going to go up inside me to live—it's going to be so cold!"
Hodder Out As Jason?
ane Hodder, who played hockey-masked Jason Voorhees in the most recent Friday the 13th movies, told Fangoria that he won't be reprising the role in the upcoming Freddy vs. Jason movie.
Robert Englund will fill the role of Freddy Krueger in the film, which is set to begin filming in Vancouver, B.C., on Sept. 9, the site reported.
Hodder and an anonymous New Line executive told Fangoria that filmmakers are rethinking the Jason character to make him more sympathetic and a closer physical match to Freddy. The idea is to make Jason a "sad, pathetic, Phantom of the Opera-type character," the New Line source told the site.
Hodder did meet with director Ronny Yu, but said that filmmakers want a different body type for the film. New Line added that Hodder is still under consideration for the job.
Access Hollywood, meanwhile, reported that Jason Bateman, Lisa Wilcox and Brian Thompson are all in talks to join the production.
AICN Scribe Sells SF Pitch
evolution Studios has bought Post Human, an SF movie pitch from first-time writers Scott Swan and Drew McWeeny, better known as Moriarty on the Ain't It Cool News Web site, Variety reported.
Post Human is described as an SF action movie set in the real world, centering on military research to create metabolically enhanced soldiers, the trade paper reported.
Swan and McWeeny are currently tackling the script. They also have other projects being set up at production companies.
As Moriarty, McWeeny covers the movie business for AICN. Now that he's dealing with the studios he writes about, McWeeny may have to watch just how many exclusive early reviews of film scripts and test screenings he submits to the site, the trade paper reported.
Doom III Set For Xbox
d Software executive John Carmack said that the upcoming Doom III first-person shooter game will come out for the Xbox gaming platform as well as for the PC, the GameSpot Web site reported.
Carmack reportedly made the comments at the QuakeCon convention over the weekend.
Carmack said that the Xbox is the only console platform that Id is "completely committed" to. Carmack added that the Xbox version of the game will have the "full graphics fidelity" of the PC version, which made a major debut at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, where it won a number of awards.
Work on the Xbox version won't start until the PC game is complete, hopefully before next year's E3 in May, the site reported.
Bochco Readies SF Cop Show
he Fox broadcasting network has picked up an as-yet-untitled drama from NYPD Blue creator Steven Bochco and Paramount Network Television that will follow New York cops in the year 2069, Variety reported.
Nick Wootton and Matt Olmstead will write the script with Bochco, the trade paper reported.
Set for fall 2003, the show revolves around a present-day cop who suddenly fast-forwards to 2069, the trade paper said. Bochco said the show won't have a post-apocalyptic feel to it, unlike most features and series set in the future.
Briefly Noted
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The WB Network announced that affiliates covering about half of the United States will transmit five hours of HDTV programming each week, beginning Sept. 12, including Smallville, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Actress Salma Hayek will make her directorial debut with the Showtime original family film The Maldonado Miracle, starring Peter Fonda, Mare Winningham and Ruben Blades, about a small town whose residents' faith is tested when a statue of Jesus seems to be shedding tears of blood, Variety reported.
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New Line Cinema reported that Austin Powers in Goldmember is poised to outperform its two predecessors at the box office. The sequel has grossed more than $185 million to date and is set to cross the $200 million mark over the weekend, becoming the biggest comedy of the year, the studio announced.
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Director Guillermo del Toro (Blade II) told the Creature Corner Web site that he will remake the classic 1950s horror movie Creature From the Black Lagoon. Del Toro said that he hopes to set his film in the late 1800s.
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The tentative program schedule for ConJosé, the 60th World Science Fiction Convention, is now available online. The convention takes place in San Jose, Calif., Aug. 29-Sept. 2.
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The Parents Television Council rated UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer the worst show in prime time for graphic violence and sex and an element of the occult, the Associated Press reported.
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In anticipation of the Nov. 15 opening of the sequel film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Warner Brothers has updated the official Potter Web site, starting with the Weasleys' flying Ford Anglia.
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Footage from the upcoming X-Men sequel, X2, which originally screened at Comic-Con International in San Diego, went live on the official Web site at 2 p.m. ET on Aug. 21.
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The Dark Horizons Web site reported that Hallmark is going ahead with a new miniseries based on Terry Gilliam's 1981 fantasy film Time Bandits.
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The Dark Horizons Web site reported that the delayed Christian Bale SF movie Equilibrium is now set for a Dec. 6 release.
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Cinescape Online reported that a trailer has gone up for Disney's upcoming English-language version of Hayao Miyazaki's classic anime Spirited Away.
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The Australian newspaper The Courier Mail reported that the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers will take place in Paris before the general release on Dec. 19, according to the OneRing.net Web site.
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The sixth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation will be released in a boxed DVD set on Dec. 3, and the seventh-season set comes out on Dec. 31, the DVD File reported. A first-season DVD set for Babylon 5, meanwhile, is due Nov. 5.
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Squaresoft hosted a Kingdom Hearts consumer demo day from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 23 at the PlayStation Store in San Francisco. Consumers got a chance to play the upcoming fantasy game before it ships to retailers on Sept. 17.
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NBC has ordered a pilot from Emmy-winning writer-producers Rob Greenberg and Suzanne Martin for an as-yet-untitled romantic comedy with magical overtones, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The two will co-write and executive produce the pilot.
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TheOneRing.net reported that Sean Astin (Sam from The Lord of the Rings) will direct an upcoming episode of The WB's vampire series Angel, which starts its fourth season in a new 9 p.m. Sunday timeslot on Oct. 6.
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Fantasy artist Greg Hildebrandt will join Dynamic Forces president Nick Barrucci on Home Shopping Network to sell artwork, starting at 10 p.m. ET Aug. 27.
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Ving Rhames, who voiced social worker Cobra Bubbles in Disney's animated SF film Lilo & Stitch, told SCI FI Wire that he is working on two follow-up projects. "We're doing part two," Rhames said in an interview. "I'm doing a TV show, and then we're going to do a feature film."
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The Dark Horizons Web site reported that filmmakers will move production of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen from flood-ravaged Prague to Malta.
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The FilmJerk Web site reported a rumor that Warner Brothers is now calling its upcoming Exorcist prequel film Exorcist: Dominion.
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Universal Pictures has optioned Philip Pullman's fantasy novel Clockwork for children's television producer Ilene Staple to develop for the big screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Pullman's novel revolves around three stories that collide into a complex fairy tale on the nature of fate and destiny with fantastical elements, the trade paper reported.
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