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

November 11, 2002

October 7, 2002

Jones Back As Vader

ames Earl Jones told the Toronto Sun that he will reprise the voice of Darth Vader in the upcoming third Star Wars prequel, Episode III, in 2005. Director "George Lucas says, 'When Anakin goes bionic—that will be in the last five minutes of Episode III—they will hear you."

Jones also expressed approval of Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones. "Aren't you impressed with him?" Jones asked the newspaper. "I like his whole bearing, the spine, the neck. ... He's like a snake."

Firefly Features Blogger

n upcoming episode of Fox's SF series Firefly will feature a cameo appearance by Kelly Wheeler, the producer's assistant who takes care of the Web log on the show's official Web site, the Zap2it site reported. The episode, "Ariel," airs Nov. 15. Wheeler, an assistant to producer Gareth Davies, offers fans a running commentary on what's going on in the show.

Meanwhile, the SyFy Portal Web site reported a rumor that Fox may announce the cancellation of the series as early as next week. Firefly, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, has been struggling in the ratings, and producers have been waiting for word on whether or not the network will order up the final nine episodes of the show's first season. Fox has already picked up the "back nine" of the genre series John Doe, which follows Firefly on Fridays. SyFy based its report on an anonymous source at Fox, and the report is not confirmed, the site said. Firefly airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fridays.

Fans Auction Firefly Items

ans of Fox's struggling SF series Firefly are auctioning collectibles to raise funds for an ad in Variety urging the network to keep the show alive. Fans and collectors can bid on shooting scripts from Firefly episodes, a crew T-shirt and other collectibles, including items from Firefly creator Joss Whedon's other shows, UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The WB's Angel.

Campaign organizers hope to buy a full-page ad in Variety and want to raise $3,000 before Dec. 2. Firefly airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Fox Makes Doe A Dear

he Fox network gave a full-season pickup for its SF series John Doe, ordering up nine more original episodes for the year, according to The Hollywood Reporter. John Doe, starring Dominic Purcell as a man who knows everything except his own identity, is produced by Regency TV, with Brandon Camp, Mimi Leder and Mike Thompson executive producing, the trade paper reported.

But Fox made no decision on whether to pick up a full season of Joss Whedon's SF series Firefly, which has nevertheless been given an order for six additional scripts.

Stargate Cast Returning

he SCI FI Channel confirmed that Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge and Don S. Davis will return as regular cast members of the channel's original series Stargate SG-1 in the show's upcoming seventh season. Corin Nemec also returns in the recurring role of Jonas Quinn. Tapping reprises the role of Maj. Samantha Carter, Judge plays Teal'c and Davis returns as Gen. George Hammond.

Earlier, the SCI FI Channel confirmed that Michael Shanks was coming back as a regular cast member, playing Dr. Daniel Jackson and joining series star Richard Dean Anderson as Col. Jack O'Neill. The network earlier this month announced that it had renewed the show for a full 22-episode new season.

Production on the new season is slated to begin in Vancouver, B.C., early next year, for a summer 2003 launch. The remaining original sixth-season episodes will resume on SCI FI on Jan. 10, 2003.

Head: Buffy Ending Soon

nthony Stewart Head, who plays Giles on UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told SCI FI Wire that he believes the show will end at the end of the current seventh season. "It's not winding down. It's coming to an end," Head said in a telephone interview. "It's gone its full [course]. ... [Creator Joss Whedon has] brought it really neatly back into a full cycle. It's come back to the high school. And in terms of telling Buffy's story, in terms of saying how she has learned to deal with her gifts, if you like, and how it's affected her life and also the lives of all around her, it's ... reached the end of the story. ... It's not a surprise to anybody who's working on the show that it feels absolutely right."

Speculation has been running high that the popular series will end this year, especially since it's thought that star Sarah Michelle Gellar might not come back after her contract ends at the end of the current season. Publicly, Whedon and UPN have said that a decision about an eighth season remains up in the air, with or without Gellar. For her part, Gellar has said it's too early to say whether she'll be back.

But as far as Head is concerned, the creators of the show are ready to wind things up, and he doesn't think the show could continue without Gellar. "We've all talked about it," he said. "Who knows? In the world of TV land and network studios, nothing that the creative team ... wants always necessarily happens. ... Somebody may slap a wad of cash on the table and say, 'It must not end.' But at the same time, you know, as far as the creative team is concerned, this was the way it's always been perceived. ... It's good to get out on a high. It's not something you want to drag on. Now, at the same time, there are many plans afoot for how [a] franchise can be developed and be extended. So ... it may be the end of Buffy's story, for the moment. Now who knows? Somewhere down the line, we may pick up Buffy's story in another space or another form. I don't know. I would love ... that [Whedon] gets to make the movie that he always wants to make. That depends on a number of factors. I don't know."

Head is back in Los Angeles to shoot several episodes in which his character returns to Sunnydale. It's unclear how many more episodes Head will do, though he's believed to have committed to at least 10 this season. "We're in debate at the moment ... because I've got to go back ... to England," he said. "And we're just ... looking at whether they need me to come back before Christmas or not. ... People keep asking me how long I'm here for, and I keep saying, 'I haven't the vaguest idea.' And it's true. ... Sometimes it's useful for me to withdraw and not be here to help out. And sometimes it's useful for me to help out. I do know that my first big scene back, I had all the exposition. Give the English guy the big words." Buffy airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Buffy Mom Dead Again

ristine Sutherland, whose character made a surprise reappearance in the Nov. 12 episode of UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told SCI FI Wire that she wasn't surprised to get the call to come back to the show. Series creator Joss Whedon "is always commenting that death is relatively meaningless in Sunnydale," Sutherland said in an interview. "And I knew that I would be coming back at some point this year. So it wasn't a surprise, but I was certainly delighted."

In the episode, "Conversations With Dead People," Sutherland reprises the role of Joyce, Buffy's mother, who died suddenly during the show's fifth season. "It's a wonderful episode for the character of Dawn [Michelle Trachtenberg], and it's very, very scary," Sutherland said. "I'm going to have to have somebody sit and watch it with me, that's for sure." She added, "Terrible, terrible evil things happen to Dawn while she is alone, and she calls upon the forces that love her, and her mother is somewhere in the mix of all of this evil that is terrifying her [and] threatening her."

For Sutherland, coming back for two days to shoot her part was like old times. "It was like putting on an old shirt," said Sutherland, who has been busy traveling and taking photography classes since leaving the show. "Because the relationships are so strong that it's as though no time passed at all."

As for whether viewers can expect to see more of Joyce, Sutherland hinted, "I think there might be another [episode]. It's hard to tell. Because sometimes you find out about things in advance, but in terms of where the story is going, ... we read the scripts and find out what is happening ... not too far in advance. So honestly, I can't even tell where [Whedon is] going with it. And even if I thought that I could absolutely tell where he was going with it, he would do something I hadn't thought of. That's one thing about Joss. He always pulls the unexpected." Buffy the Vampire Slayer airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

SF TV Writer Bader Dies

wo-time Emmy-winning TV writer Hilary Bader, known for her Superman, Batman and Star Trek scripts, as well as numerous books, died Nov. 7 in the Los Angeles area from breast cancer, Variety reported. She was 50.

Bader won Emmys for The WB's animated Superman and Batman series, as well as for Batman Beyond. She earned another four Emmy nominations and wrote episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Xena: Warrior Princess and Lois and Clark, the trade paper reported.

Bader also wrote 38 books for DC Comics and dozens of Web episodes of Gotham Girls and Red Knuckles Gym, the trade paper reported.

Bader is survived by her husband, Jay Broad; her mother; and a sister.

SF Author Sohl Dies

F author Jerry Sohl, who also wrote scripts for the original Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, died Nov. 4 at a hospital in Thousand Oaks, Calif., of undisclosed causes, the Associated Press reported. He was 88.

Los-Angeles born Sohl wrote the SF books The Transcendent Man and The Altered Ego, the AP reported. Sohl dropped out of college for a career in journalism. He worked as a photographer, police reporter, critic and reviewer for several Midwest papers after World War II. During the war, he served in the Army Air Forces.

Sohl's books included The Mars Monopoly, The Lemon Eaters, The Resurrection of Frank Borchard and The Spun Sugar Hole, the AP reported. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Nathan Butler, Sean Mei Sullivan and Roberta Jean Mountjoy.

As a television writer, Sohl worked on episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Naked City, The Outer Limits, Route 66 and The Invaders.

Pirate Potter 2 Online?

arner Brothers is worried that a pirate copy of its upcoming sequel film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets may have already hit the Internet, though the movie doesn't open until Nov. 15, the Associated Press reported. The studio said in a statement on Nov. 12 that an illegal copy of the film had appeared on the Internet, then retracted the statement after saying that it had not yet substantiated a report that the bootleg was actually there.

Still, the AP reported that it had discovered what appeared to be the movie available on a site hosted in Europe, which the site said had been downloaded more than 500 times.

"The illegal copying and distribution of movies is theft," the studio said. "Warner Brothers takes the threat of Internet piracy very seriously and employs all legal means to contain the unauthorized copying and distribution of our films on the Internet." News of the availability of the film online first appeared at the Slashdot.org Web site, the AP reported.

Potter V Done?

as Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling completed the much-anticipated fifth Potter book? That's the rumor on the IMDB Web site. The site contained a quote attributed to the British author saying, "At the moment, it's 38 chapters. I'm really pleased with it. I'm just going to tweak it a tiny bit more, then the publishers will have it."

If true, the fifth book, reportedly titled Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is longer than the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by one chapter. The site added that Phoenix will come out within five months.

A film based on Rowling's second Potter book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, opened Nov. 15.

Berry Ready For Jinx

scar winner Halle Berry told SCI FI Wire that she is eager to star in a proposed film series based on Jinx, the character she plays in the upcoming 20th James Bond movie, Die Another Day. "Jane Bond? Jinx Bond?" Berry joked in an interview. "If [Bond producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli] asked me, if I could play Jinx and continue on with this character—I really love her, and I love what she embodies—I would do it in a heartbeat."

MGM has already announced plans to spin Jinx off into her own movies, and Wilson and Broccoli have reportedly given the go-ahead. "I would just have to somehow work it out," Berry said. "I love [Wilson and Broccoli]. I love working for them. I haven't worked for a company or two people that were more supportive, just in terms of the movie-making in general. But I got [Oscar] nominated [for Monsters Ball] on their show, and they changed their schedule probably 100 times so that I could get back to L.A., go to New York, to do interviews. [If a Jinx franchise panned out] it would reflect the evolution of women. Ten years ago there were no female action heroes. So to be a part of that, sure, it would be really exciting." Die Another Day opens Nov. 22.

Berry Storming For X2

alle Berry, who reprises the role of Storm in the upcoming X-Men sequel, X2, told SCI FI Wire that production went as smoothly as it did on the first installment. "If you know anything about the last time, this is pretty much like it," Berry said in an interview. "It's going to be really good. [Director Bryan Singer] has done a great job."

But Berry added that, despite attempts to beef up Storm's part, she has no more screen time this time around than she did in the first X-Men. "I think they may have initially tried, but there are so many characters to deal with," she said. There are "all the [characters] from the past, plus five new ones. So I think it's very much an ensemble. You don't really get into the mind of Storm in this movie. You don't really get to know where she comes from, what makes her tick. I don't think that's what this one is about."

Berry said that she is not yet signed for any more X-Men sequels. But she added that if she were to sign up again, she'd want a bigger role. "I do think they should use her powers a little bit more," she said. X2 opens May 2, 2003.

Poll: U.S. Wants To Believe

new national poll, commissioned by the SCI FI Channel, found that more than half (56 percent) of respondents said that they believe UFOs are real, the network announced. Two-thirds (67 percent) responded that they believe that there are other forms of intelligent life in the universe.

RoperASW conducted the poll of a scientific sample of 1,021 adults, aged 18 and older. Telephone interviews were conducted from Aug. 23-25. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3 percent, the network reported.

Other findings:
•Almost half (48 percent) of respondents believe that UFOs have visited Earth in some form.
•More than half (53 percent) would like to encounter extraterrestrial life forms here on Earth.
•More than one in three believe that humans have already interacted with extraterrestrial life forms.
•One in seven said that they or someone they know has had some type of experience involving a UFO.
•For 88 percent, an official announcement confirming the discovery of extraterrestrial life would have no effect on their religious beliefs. Almost three-fourths (74 percent) responded that they are at least somewhat psychologically prepared for such an announcement. More than four in 10 (42 percent) say that they are very prepared.

The poll was conducted in anticipation of the SCI FI Channel's upcoming original miniseries Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, which premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT Dec. 2.

Frewer Probes Taken

att Frewer, who stars in the SCI FI Channel's upcoming original miniseries Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, told SCI FI Wire that his character, Dr. Chet Wakeman, doesn't suffer fools gladly. "He heads up this government-sponsored program to investigate the aliens," Frewer said in an interview. "It's a fun part to play, because I think the tendency with these things is to gloomily go where no man has gone before, and this character is sort of a wild card in that he views everyone as a guinea pig, or as a potential stepping stone, to further his knowledge [of] the aliens."

Frewer added, "I wouldn't say he's an out-and-out bad guy. It's just that the peons that are sort of around him are serving this purpose of achieving this higher goal, and so the way he treats people is a very dismissive way, because intellectually, they're not in his ballpark."

Frewer, who first gained wide fame for his portrayal of Max Headroom in the 1980s, said Taken is his biggest project to date. "It's 20 hours of television," he said. "I don't know who has done anything that big. I mean, it's huge. It's a massive undertaking. [Writer and executive producer] Les Bohem, God bless him, wanted to do the whole thing, ... following all these intersecting storylines and all these different people and the way they're affected by the abductions or not. The envy and the jealousy and all that. ... It's a pretty amazing thing to be part of. ... The fact that ... Spielberg [is executive producer] is certainly an added [bonus] to want to be part of it."

As for whether he believes in UFOs or alien abductions himself, Frewer said, "You know, I'm kind of from the Show-Me State. Unless I've been on the wrong end of an alien probe, it's not happening for me. I've got to be walking funny the next day after the abduction to know that something happened."

Taken premieres on SCI FI at 9 p.m. ET/PT Dec. 2.

Benz Gets Real In Taken

ulie Benz, who stars in the SCI FI Channel's upcoming original miniseries Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, told SCI FI Wire that playing Kate, a normal human being, represented a departure from her recent genre roles. Benz is perhaps best known as the vampire Darla on UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The WB's spinoff series, Angel.

"I'm used to being the odd one," Benz said in an interview. "Kate is just a woman, not a vampire. It was a challenge to play a regular person. Kate has no spin on her. There's no flair to her. She just is. She just exists as a full, living and breathing woman. Most characters are just regular people, and maybe that's why I do so many of these genre shows. The human characters [in Taken] have to deal with the aliens or the monsters at some point. Kate doesn't, though. She's just a woman whose husband [Steve Burton] is telling her about these strange things that happened. I just tried to play her as real. I always approach my roles in these fantasy shows as real as possible."

Benz added, "In real life, I think people ask every day if there are aliens out there somewhere, if we're alone in the universe. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't ask that kind of question. Kate asks those questions, so even within the context of this sci-fi story, she's a real person. I didn't deal with aliens. I didn't deal with special effects. A lot of the other people had to, but I didn't. That was kind of refreshing."

Taken premieres on SCI FI at 9 p.m. ET/PT Dec. 2.

Donahue Is Taken Bad Girl

eather Donahue, who stars as Mary Crawford in the SCI FI Channel's upcoming original miniseries Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, told SCI FI Wire that her character is not very nice. "I'm a very bad egg," Donahue (The Blair Witch Project) said in an interview. "The Crawford family is, well, basically ruthless, ambitious, shameless, evil. ... And I'm the third generation of the Crawford family, so the evil has become more refined over the generations, and I'm super evil, if you will. She's basically sort of sociopathic, I guess one could say. She pretty much has no shame, knows no bounds, has very little feeling for her fellow man or any other creatures, for that matter."

In the 10-part miniseries, Donahue plays a modern-day member of one of three families whose stories play out against the backdrop of 50 years of UFO lore. "It's epic," she said. "This show is just so huge. ... I think the only way you can really deal with a show like this is just taking it on an absolute moment-to-moment basis. In a way it's good that I don't even know what episode 10 is yet, because I can't deal with it right now. ... It spans three generations. ... It goes so far beyond any sci-fi that I've ever seen, like way beyond, 10 times further, in terms of characters and relationships."

In part of the series, Donahue appears with 8-year-old Dakota Fanning, who plays Allie, a mysterious little girl whose story is at the heart of Taken and who narrates the entire miniseries. "She's such a brilliant little girl," Donahue said of Fanning. "She really is. She's just an extraordinary little girl. It's so odd. ... She brings a gravity to Allie that I didn't think they were actually going to find. When I was reading it, I was like, 'How are they possibly going to cast this?' And they did. ... She has this sort of ethereal quality, because ... her behavior is so adult. Like there's such a gravity to her. There's such a level of professionalism that frankly puts us all to shame. She'll be the one to correct our continuity. I'm like, 'Oh my god, she's 8!' I really have to be on the ball. I'm so impressed with her."

Taken premieres on SCI FI at 9 p.m. ET/PT Dec. 2.

Benz Swings Into Jungle

ulie Benz (Angel) told SCI FI Wire that she recently finished shooting a role in the upcoming George of the Jungle 2, a sequel to the 1997 comedy-adventure starring Brendan Fraser. "I play George's wife, Ursula," Benz said in an interview. "I was looking for something a little more lighthearted for my next project, so that's what I chose to do."

Benz added, "George of the Jungle 2 is a comedy. I'd played these very dark and emotional characters for the last three years, and Ursula isn't dark and emotional. It's hard not to take home the roles where your character's heart is ripped out and stepped on. It really is. So this was just fun, and it got me back into what I originally got into this business to do, which was comedy. We did it for Disney, and we shot it in Australia. Ursula is funny. She's not the straight man. In the story, she and George [now played by Chris Showerman] have been married for five years, and they have a son. So it's about how George balances being king of the jungle with being a husband. It's in the same vein of the first one, with very broad comedy and a comic-book look to it. I got to fall a lot and do these pratfalls. I was very excited. Right now it's up in the air how they're going to release it," on TV, as a DVD/video or perhaps even theatrically.

Benz will also appear in the SCI FI Channel's upcoming original miniseries Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, which premieres on SCI FI at 9 p.m. ET/PT Dec. 2.

Affleck Cashing Paycheck

en Affleck is in talks to star in Paycheck, a Paramount Pictures movie based on Philip K. Dick's SF short story of the same name, Variety reported. John Woo is attached to direct the futuristic story of an amnesiac trying to piece together his past, the trade paper reported.

Dick's 1953 story centers on an electrician who wakes up to discover his employer has erased his memory of the past two years as a security measure. When he tries to collect his paycheck, he finds he had previously signed a release replacing the money with a bag of random objects, the trade paper reported. Dean Georgaris is adapting the story for the screen.

Affleck recently completed work in the title role in Fox/Regency's upcoming Daredevil movie, adapted from the Marvel Comics series of the same name.

F/X House Chosen For Cat

hythm & Hues has been tapped as the lead visual-effects house for the live-action movie version of Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, Variety reported. Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures and Imagine Entertainment are developing the fantasy film, which will star Mike Myers.

R&H (Cats & Dogs) will create an estimated 270 shots for the movie, in which Myers will play the famous feline visitor in a striped stove-pipe hat, the trade paper reported. The effects work will include set extensions and computer-animated characters, such as Fish, the talking goldfish, voiced by Will & Grace's Sean Hayes. The company's Douglas Smith will serve as the visual-effects supervisor on the movie. He won an Oscar for best visual effects in 1997 for Independence Day. The Cat in the Hat is in production, with a Nov. 21, 2003, release date.

Universal Pictures is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.

Englund Ready For Freddy

obert Englund, who reprises the role of Freddy Krueger in the upcoming Freddy vs. Jason movie, told MTV.com that it's a relief finally to be shooting the long-awaited matchup. "I've been signed, sealed and delivered on this for a couple of years," Englund told the site. "And it went through a lot of incarnations, both with scripts and with directors."

Ronny Yu (Bride of Chucky) is directing the film, which pits Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy against Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees. The plot concerns the parents on Elm Street, who have fed their teens pills to prevent them from dreaming. Freddy uses Jason to get around all that, the site reported. Freddy vs. Jason, which also features Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland, is aiming at a summer 2003 release.

TBS Eyes Deprivers Film

BS is developing the SF thriller book Deprivers as a potential two-hour pilot, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Andy Wolk will direct and co-adapt the Deprivers script with author Steven Altman, the trade paper reported. Mandalay Pictures and Sony Pictures Television are producing the pilot.

Deprivers, which will be published in the spring by Putnam, is set in the near future and details an epidemic known as Deprivers Syndrome, the trade paper reported.

Sabrina Disses The WB

elissa Joan Hart, star of The WB's Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, complained to TV Guide Online about what she says is the lack of network support the show's received this year. Among other things, The WB ordered fewer than a full season's worth of episodes to begin the show's seventh season.

"First, we got 13 episodes, we just got another six and we're waiting on the back three," Hart told TV Guide Online. "I guess we have a really expensive show, and for the price of our show, The WB could put two other shows in pilots. The WB doesn't care about us at all, because no one there created the show. They kind of just bought it to make their money. Because nobody there backs our show, nobody there is fully supporting it or putting their neck out for it."

Hart, who also produces the series, added, "It's a price thing, and it's a pretty crappy way to treat a show, as old as we are, but it happens. They've tried putting other shows in our timeslot and failed miserably. It's us, along with Reba, holding up Friday night now, but for a long time it was just us, even though they're ignoring us and not giving us any promotion."

For its part, The WB denied that it is treating the show poorly. "The WB has been supportive of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch since the day we acquired it," a WB spokesman told TV Guide. "Promotional priorities shift from week to week and season to season at a network, and we're always looking for good comedy to highlight in our spots. Sabrina remains an important show for The WB." Sabrina is awaiting word on whether it will be picked up for an eighth season. Sabrina airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Monsters, Inc. Suit Filed

poster artist is suing the makers of Monsters, Inc., charging that Disney/Pixar stole the computer-animated hit film's two main characters from his idea, the BBC reported. Stanley Mouse, whose real name is Stanley Miller, filed his case against Disney and Pixar in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the news service reported.

The suit claims that the Monsters, Inc. characters of Mike and Sully were derived from Miller's one-eyed creature Wise G'Eye and a larger monster, who often appeared together in his cartoons going back to 1963, the BBC reported. According to the suit, Mike (voiced by Billy Crystal) strongly resembles a character from Miller's proposed film Excuse My Dust, which the artist unsuccessfully tried to sell in Hollywood in 1998.

Excuse My Dust was reportedly set in Monster City, where the animated monsters worked for the Monster Corp. of America. In the Disney/Pixar film, Mike and Sully live in Monstropolis and work for Monsters, Inc.

Pixar made no comment about the lawsuit and referred all inquiries to Disney. Disney told the BBC that the characters in Monsters, Inc. were "developed independently by the Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures creative teams and do not infringe on anyone's copyrights."

Taylor Digs Tomb 2

oah Taylor, who reprises the role of Bryce in the upcoming Tomb Raider sequel, Lara Croft and the Cradle of Life, told SCI FI Wire that he serves the same function as before: exposition. "It's pretty much the same as before," said Taylor, who again plays Lara Croft's (Angelina Jolie) assistant. "Different films have different requirements. I think you should approach them all with the same level of professionalism, but it's a fairly clear-cut, defined purpose that my character fulfills in a film like that. My job is just to carry that out."

Taylor, who just finished playing Adolf Hitler in the film Max, appreciated the clarity of the Tomb Raider job. "I kind of like how simplistic it is on one level, kind of an old-fashioned adventure film," he said in an interview. "It's not something I've done a lot of before, and I kind of like not going home wracked about 'what's my character really thinking?'" Tomb Raider 2 opens July 25, 2003.

Exorcist IV Starts Filming

arner Brothers announced that principal photography has begun in Morocco on Exorcist: The Beginning, the upcoming fourth installment of the supernatural film franchise. Morgan Creek Productions is producing the prequel to 1973's The Exorcist. After completing work in Morocco, the production will move to Rome for the remainder of the schedule, the studio said.

The prequel tells the story of Father Merrin and his first encounter with the devil in post-WWII Africa. Stellan Sk�rsgard stars as a young Merrin. The film also stars Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar and Billy Crawford. Paul Schrader is directing. William Wisher (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) wrote the screenplay. Exorcist: The Beginning will be released in 2003.

Bounty Ready For PS2

ucasArts announced that the PlayStation 2 version of its Star Wars Bounty Hunter video game is ready to manufacture and will hit stores on Nov. 22. Players assume the role of Jango Fett, the bounty hunter from Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones, and have to fight their way through 18 levels.

A GameCube version of the game is also in development and should arrive in stores the first week of December.

Kaufman Walks In Sunshine

riter Charlie Kaufman told SCI FI Wire that production will begin early next year on his mind-alteration fantasy film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. "It's in preproduction," Kaufman said in an interview. "It's going to shoot in January, with Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, [directed by] Michel Gondry, director of Human Nature."

The story takes place inside the mind of a man (Carrey), who is having a procedure that will erase his ex-girlfriend (Winslet) from his memory. Halfway through, he decides he wants to keep some memories and must protect her from the erasure device within his head.

Kaufman has previously explored mind portals in Being John Malkovich. He explained why he likes mind stories so much. "It's fun," he said. "I'm in my mind a lot, I think. I live a lot there."

Adams' Who Hits Web

he BBCi Web site announced that it has been recording an audio version of late SF author Douglas Adams' never-before-produced Doctor Who script, "Shada." The episode will be posted to the Web site in honor of the franchise's 40th anniversary in spring 2003.

Originally planned to conclude Doctor Who's 17th season, the original version of "Shada" began filming in 1979, but production was halted by industrial action, the site reported. Since then there have been several unsuccessful attempts to remount it.

The new version will feature Paul McGann, who played the eighth Doctor in the 1996 Who TV movie, as well as Lalla Ward (Romana) and John Leeson as the voice of K9. The story concerns a quest to track down the most dangerous book in the universe, the site reported. The episode will be directed by Nicholas Pegg. Other cast members include James Fox (Professor Chronotis), Andrew Sachs (Skagra), Harry Potter star Sean Biggerstaff (Chris Parsons), Susannah Harker (Clare Keightley) and Hannah Gordon as the voice of Skagra's spaceship.

The new production will feature animated illustrations by artist Lee Sullivan. The BBC said it worked with Adams' estate to make the minor changes necessary to adapt the script to Paul McGann's Doctor and the new format.

Me And My Monster Develops

aura Ziskin Productions is developing the fantasy film Me and My Monster at Columbia Pictures, Variety reported. Oscar-winning visual effects guru Stan Winston is also on board in a producing role and will create the creature.

Dan Milano and Matthew Huffman will write the film, which will tell the story of a young boy who has a friendship with an extraordinary creature that changes the course of his life as he becomes an adult, the trade paper reported.

Stan Lee Sues Marvel

tan Lee, who co-created Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk and Daredevil, filed a $10 million lawsuit against Marvel Entertainment, charging that the comic publisher cheated him out of millions of dollars in profits from films based on the comic franchises, the Associated Press reported. Lee's attorneys filed court papers in Manhattan federal court, claiming that Marvel signed a deal to give Lee 10 percent of any profits from his characters used in films and television shows, the wire service reported.

"Despite reaping enormous benefits from Mr. Lee's creations, defendants have failed and refused to honor their commitments to him," the lawsuit charges. The film version of Marvel's Spider-Man has been the year's biggest hit, grossing more than $400 million domestically, the AP reported.

Lee hopes to gain a percentage of profits from that film and the upcoming film versions of Daredevil, which is scheduled for release in February, The Hulk and the upcoming X-Men sequel, X2, which opens in May.

For its part, Marvel issued a statement saying Lee "continues to be well-compensated" for his contributions to the industry, the AP reported. Marvel added that the company is "in full compliance with and current on all payments due under terms of Mr. Lee's employment agreement."

Anderson Joins League

evin J. Anderson, the genre author who will write the novelization of the upcoming League of Extraordinary Gentlemen film, told SCI FI Wire that he'll refer both to the film script and Alan Moore's original graphic novel. The film and Moore's graphic novel both tell the story of a team of 19th-century heroes drawn from literature who take arms against a fiendish villain, Anderson said in an interview.

"Whenever I consider tackling a media project, my main criterion is that I am already a big fan of the underlying work," said Anderson, who has written books in the Dune, Star Wars and X-Files franchises. "When Pocket asked me if I'd be interested in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, my immediate answer was 'I'm a HUGE fan of Alan Moore!' I have been reading and enjoying his graphic novels ever since Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Pandora, Top Ten, Tom Strong and, of course, League."

Anderson also seemed like a natural fit to adapt League, having just completed a novel, Captain Nemo, based on Jules Verne's famous skipper of the Nautilus. Nemo is a character in League. As for a book that adapts a script that adapts a graphic novel, Anderson said, "I can't reveal anything about the script, of course, but it's been widely reported in the media that the film will be quite different from the graphic novel in many respects. My job as a writer is to take 120 pages of very airy script format and turn them into novel of around 300 pages or so. That entails a lot of plumping and expansion on my part, getting into the characters' heads, fleshing out their backgrounds, maybe adding other things. Wherever possible and appropriate, I intend to go back to Moore's original graphic novel for that material and use what I can. The object of novelizing a movie is to give the audience something more. Since I don't have the advantage of actors or special effects or soundtracks, I need to go in other directions. If a novelization is nothing more than watching the movie all over again with no 'added value,' then there's not much point to it."

League, starring Sean Connery, is in production and will be released in late summer 2003. Anderson's novelization is being edited by John Ordover at Pocket Books. Anderson's novel Captain Nemo comes out in paperback in December.

Cooper Reveals Ring Scenes

hris Cooper told SCI FI Wire that he acted in two scenes in the supernatural thriller film The Ring, but that the scenes were deleted during the test-screening process. "It was what they call a bookend," Cooper said in an interview. "I opened the movie and closed the movie. It was two scenes, and I was a serial rapist or a murderer who deserved everything that was coming to him. Because [Naomi Watts' character] was a journalist, I was trying to convince her that I had found God and I had straightened my ways and rehabilitated myself. I was looking for an out, and she didn't buy it, correctly so. Then in the tail end, she pays me a visit and gives me the tape."

The film as released ends ambiguously. Cooper said his bookends caused too many questions in test screenings. "What I hear is when they ran the screenings, it was more a disruption than anything. They said, 'Well, where's Cooper? We want to see more of him.' So they cut it all." The Ring is currently in theaters.

Spidey 2 Rumors Denied

ruce Campbell denied on his official Web site a rumor reported by E! Online that he has been cast as the Lizard in the upcoming sequel film The Amazing Spider-Man. "Despite rumors and what is posted on the Internet Movie Database, Bruce is not cast as the Lizard in the upcoming Spider-Man sequel," the site reported.

Separately, the IGN FilmForce Web site disputed a rumor by E! that either Robert De Niro or Billy Bob Thornton is under consideration to play Doctor Octopus in the sequel, which is being directed by Spidey helmer Sam Raimi. Amazing Spider-Man producer Laura Ziskin told the site that she "can safely deny all of those rumors."

Smallville Cards To Fly

nkworks announced that it will release a premium trading-card set based on the first season of The WB's Superman series, Smallville, on Nov. 20. The 90-card set includes episodic coverage, character cards, "Welcome to Smallville" cards, "Smallville Torch" cards, "Heir to LuthorCorp" cards, "Amazing Abilities" cards and "Destiny" cards.

In addition, some packets will include randomly inserted bonus cards, including cards autographed by John Schneider (Jonathan Kent), Allison Mack (Chloe Sullivan), Eric Johnson (Whitney Fordman), Kelly Brook (Victoria Hardwick), Hiro Kanagawa (Principal Kwan) and Joe Morton (Dr. Steven Hamilton).

CBS Orders Jekyll Pilot

BS has ordered a TV pilot for a modern-day take on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from Sam Raimi, Shaun Cassidy and David Eick (American Gothic), Variety reported. Cassidy will write and executive produce the project from Universal Network Television, the trade paper reported. Spider-Man director Raimi and Eick also will serve as executive producers.

No director has been set for the pilot. The untitled pilot concerns a forensic psychiatrist who has an alternate personality as a result of a traumatic childhood event, the trade paper reported.

Universal Network Television is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.

Lillard Gets Looney

atthew Lillard told SCI FI Wire that he appears in the upcoming live-action/animated sequel film Looney Tunes: Back in Action, lampooning his Scooby-Doo role of Shaggy. "I play me talking with [an animated] Shaggy, so it's kind of funny," Lillard said in an interview. "He's giving me the business, and I'm giving it right back."

In an interview, Looney Tunes producer Larry Doyle added, "Matthew Lillard is actually having an argument with Shaggy, who feels he portrayed him as an idiot in the movie, and [threatens] that he'll take him out if he does it again." Looney Tunes: Back in Action is scheduled for a November 2003 release.

Genre Film Rewrites Ordered

niversal Pictures and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment have hired two writing teams to rewrite a couple of genre franchise films, Curious George and The Incredible Shrinking Man, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Dan Gerson and Robert L. Baird (Monsters, Inc.) will rewrite George, a computer-animated film based on the children's book series of the same name, to be directed by Monsters, Inc. co-helmer David Silverman, the trade paper reported.

Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, meanwhile, will rewrite Shrinking. Keenen Ivory Wayans is attached to direct and Eddie Murphy to star, the trade paper reported. The movie is based on the original 1957 film of the same name, which in turn was based on Richard Matheson's SF novel.

Universal Pictures is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.

Microsoft Release Genre Games

icrosoft Game Studios announced the release of a slate of PC game titles for the holiday season. The titles include fantasy, SF and other genres. A list of games follows.

•Age of Mythology is a real-time strategy game that immerses players in a world where heroes battle mythological creatures from Greek, Norse and Egyptian history. (Suggested retail price $54.95.)
•Dungeon Siege combines elements of fantasy role-playing with action. (Suggested retail price $49.95.)
•Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings is the sequel to the popular fantasy multiplayer online role-playing game and plunges players into new quests and adventures. (Suggested retail price $49.95.)
•MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries takes gamers into the 31st century, where they can pilot 100-ton robots in a quest for riches in distant universes. (Suggested retail price $49.95.)
•Impossible Creatures, coming in January 2003, is a real-time strategy game that allows gamers to create an army of creatures from various animal parts.

Briefly Noted

Kermit the Frog was honored Nov. 14 with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, TV Guide Online reported.

The Dark Horizons Web site reported that Peter O'Toole is the latest actor rumored to be in line to replace the late Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore in the upcoming third Harry Potter movie, The Prisoner of Azkaban.

The 23rd annual Mid-Ohio Con, highlighting comic books and pop culture, takes place in Columbus, Ohio, on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 30-Dec. 1, organizers announced.

The MPAA has given Steven Soderbergh's upcoming SF film Solaris a PG-13 rating, reversing an earlier R rating because two scenes revealed star George Clooney's naked backside, TV Guide Online reported. Soderbergh reportedly persuaded the panel to change its rating without cutting the film.

The Producers Guild of America has awarded one of its 2002 honorary awards to Star Wars creator George Lucas. The trophies will be presented at the 14th annual PGA Awards on March 2, 2003.

The Ain't It Cool News Web site reported new casting for the upcoming film adaptation of Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic series. Ron Perlman and Selma Blair will be joined by John Hurt as Professor Broom, Karel Roden as Grigori Rasputin, Larry Miller as Dr. Manning, Doug Jones as Abe Sapien.

Variety reported that the DVD of Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones sold about 4 million copies in its first 24 hours of release on Nov. 12, an estimated $75 million in retail value.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Prophecy, a game for the GameBoy Advance, has shipped to stores across North America, the GameSpot Web site reported.

Lord of the Rings star Ian McKellen denied to the OneRing.net Web site a rumor that he has been tapped to replace the late Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore in the proposed third Harry Potter movie. McKellen denied being asked about the part, being approached or even being considered for the role, the site reported.

Mark Canton's Artists Production Group has optioned the film rights to Jane Heller's fantasy novel The Secret Ingredient, about a wife who uses a magic potion to transform her husband, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

BBC Worldwide has inked a multiyear pact with CBS to bring the award-winning British Robbie the Reindeer franchise of Christmas specials to the network, starting in December, Variety reported. Two Robbie installments will be revoiced with U.S.-friendly voices, including Ben Stiller, Hugh Grant, Britney Spears, James Woods, Brad Garrett, Jerry Stiller, Jim Belushi and Leah Remini.

Roberto Benigni's Pinocchio is Italy's official candidate for the foreign-language film Oscar, the country's motion picture association, ANICA, said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

James Frenkel, senior editor at Tor Books, told SCI FI Wire that a recent news item from the Alien Online Web site incorrectly reported that David Hagberg would write two spinoff novels based on the upcoming Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines sequel film. Hagberg will write only the first novelization of the film's script, Frenkel said; other as-yet-undecided writers will pen the subsequent books.

Lord of the Rings co-star Sean Astin and newcomer Joanne Kelly will join the cast of Showtime's SF series Jeremiah in its second season, Variety reported.

The Kids' WB has given early renewals to its hit animated series Ozzy & Drix, Mucha Lucha and What's New Scooby-Doo? for fall 2003, Variety reported.

New Line has updated the official Lord of the Rings Web site with video about the sound editing of the upcoming sequel film The Two Towers, which opens Dec. 18.

Fox will release a second special-edition DVD of X-Men and a new DVD set of Angel early next year, Variety reported.

Back to the top.