Clarke Praises E-Mail
elebrated SF author Arthur C. Clarke told the BBC that he foresees a time when e-mail will unite the entire globe.
"I cannot imagine life before e-mail," Clarke told the news service. "Our ancestors live in a tiny limited world, knowing nothing about what was going on beyond the horizon. We do live in an infinitely richer world and are definitely better for it."
Clarke acknowledged that the spread of technology has divided the world. "It is true that we are getting two different worlds now," he said. "Some people have access to information, and I am sure a few yak herders in Mongolia do have access to e-mail, but the bulk of the world does not. This is something that will be slowly rectified, just as, after all, there was a time when there were hardly any newspapers. When printing was invented, somebody said, 'This is very interesting, but what good is it when nobody can read?'"
Potter Blitz Coming
cholastic, Inc., the U.S. publisher of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth book in the popular series by J.K. Rowling, is preparing for a massive media campaign to accompany the launch of the book, according to the Associated Press.
Just in case there is anyone left who has not yet heard of the famous boy wizard, the publisher's plans to promote the upcoming book include billboards, baseball parks and a special event in New York City. Timed to the midnight June 21 release of Order of the Phoenix, the show gets rolling on what could be called "Harry Potter Eve," Friday night June 20, with a countdown in Times Square. A billboard on Sunset Strip will announce the news in Los Angeles, the wire service reported.
National promotions are also underway. The publisher already has distributed 3 million bumper stickers, 400,000 buttons, 50,000 window displays and 24,000 stand-up posters with countdown clocks. Scholastic has also sent more than 15,000 "event kits" to bookstores and other retail outlets, where parties are planned all over the country. The kits include stickers, buttons, a trivia quiz and suggestions for how to handle long lines of impatient fans, the service said.
Rowling Talks To BBC
BC's Newsnight anchor Jeremy Paxman has landed an exclusive interview with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, in which she will reveal details about the upcoming fifth Potter novel, Variety reported.
The interview will air on BBC2 on June 19 at 7:30 p.m., ahead of the publication of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on June 21, the trade paper reported.
Rowling will offer details of the new book and provide an insight into the inspiration behind the novels, as well as discuss the effect her books have had on children's literature, the trade paper reported.
MCG To Helm Superman?
ccording to The Hollywood Reporter, director McG (Charlie's Angels) is once again interested in directing Warner Brothers' upcoming Superman film.
The director was initially attached to the production, but was replaced by Brett Ratner last fall.
Since Ratner's departure in March, however, McG is rumored to be considering a return to the project. According to the trade paper, he told an British interviewer he was "this close" to signing on and already has "three choices for the role." McG is expected to make a final decision on the project in about two weeks, the trade paper reported.
Bana Impressed By Hulk F/X
ric Bana, who plays the Hulk's alter ego, Bruce Banner, in Hulk, told SCI FI Wire that he was blown away by the film's special effects and the humanistic quality of the title character.
"When I saw the film, that was the thing that I was most thrilled about," Bana said in an interview while promoting the film. "I felt like they had totally managed to drag character into that [computer-aniamted] figure. That was what blew me away. Not only was it beautiful—I thought the effects were actually beautiful in the film—but I thought that they had really actually put character into it."
So much character was put into the Hulk, Bana said, that he noticed elements of his own likeness in the big green guy. "It was kind of eerie," he said. "There's a couple of moments there on those close-ups, especially when he's face to face with Betty [Jennifer Connelly], I think, out in the woods. There's a couple of moments where I went, 'Yeah, I can see Bruce Banner in there.'"
Bana, who is contracted to return for two potential sequels, said that he's not worried about being typecast as a comic-book character. "The Hulk is the Hulk, and I get to kind of share the limelight significantly with a lot of different elements," he said. "It's not like you just see me the whole time. So I see it as something quite different from the Superman kind of thing, where whoever is Superman is kind of Superman. So I wasn't that concerned. And then when I saw the film I was suitably happy about how [much of an] ensemble it is." Universal Pictures' Hulk opens June 20. Universal is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Film Changes Hulk Origins
arvel Studios honcho Avi Arad, executive producer of the upcoming comic-book adaptation Hulk, told SCI FI Wire that the film changes the character's origin story to bring it closer to reality.
"We just take the science fiction and bring it closer to science," Arad said in an interview while promoting the film. "It's very much in the origin that Bruce Banner actually had contamination, so something triggered this. And what we wanted to do is take it to the next level of intelligence. It's not that he got his toe in the door and, 'Oh my God. I'm the Hulk.'"
Arad, who has overseen such page-to-screen projects as Spider-Man, X-Men and Daredevil, said that there have been several origin stories and incarnations of the Hulk during the comic series' long run. "There are many origins," he said. "When you publish for 40 years, there are a lot of stories. There's a gray Hulk, there's a green Hulk, there's a speaking Hulk, there's a singing Hulk." According to Arad, any one of these incarnations may appear in a potential Hulk sequel, which is currently being developed by screenwriter James Schamus. Hulk opens June 20.
Report: Connery Usurps League?
tar Sean Connery is rumored to have taken over the would-be summer blockbuster The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen after clashing with its director, Stephen Norrington, the Zap2it Web site reported, citing a story in the London tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail.
Connery has reportedly been overseeing the editing process of the film from locales in the Bahamas, New York and Los Angeles, the site said.
Connery and Norrington (Blade) reportedly had numerous arguments on the set and at one point almost came to blows during production, which occurred in Eastern Europe and Malta, according to the story. The two have supposedly not exchanged words since the movie finished filming earlier this year, the Mail reported.
A spokesperson for Connery did not address the rumors of on-set tension, but denied to the Mail that there was anything unusual about Connery's presence in the editing room, the site reported. "Sean often sits in on the editing of his films," the representative told the Daily Mail. "He's simply living up to his responsibilities." League opens July 11.
Garner Eyes Elektra
ennifer Garner told Access Hollywood that a film is planned to begin next summer based on her Daredevil character, Elektra, according to a report on Dark Horizons.
"We still need to read the first draft of the script, and if it isn't great, then none of us wants to do it," Garner told the show. "I am hoping that it will be done. I had a really great time playing that role."
Garner is currently shooting the fantasy film 13 Going on 30, in which she plays a girl who wakes up as an adult. "This young girl at age 13 is so dissatisfied with her life," Garner said. "She is at her 13th birthday party and is kind of dissed by people that she would hope to be popular with. She makes a wish, of course, to be older and to be someone else. Suddenly, she wakes up in her apartment, and she is 30. It is very reminiscent of what we know of as Big."
Marvel's Cage Heads To Film
opular black superhero Luke Cage will be the next Marvel comic-book character in line to make his way to the big screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Columbia Pictures, the studio behind the wildly successful Spider-Man, has optioned the rights and tapped Ben Ramsey to write the script. Marvel's Avi Arad will produce, along with Neal Moritz's studio-based Original Films, the trade paper reported.
Cage is about a former gang member who is framed for a crime. In prison, he volunteers for a medical experiment that goes awry, giving him super strength and bulletproof skin. Using his newfound powers, Cage escapes and becomes a hero for hire. The comic book, initially titled Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, debuted in the 1970s and ran until the mid-'80s, the trade paper reported. The film will be the studio's third collaboration with Marvel.
Indy IV Script Is Done
arrison Ford told SCI FI Wire that Frank Darabont has completed his script for a proposed fourth Indiana Jones movie.
"Steven [Spielberg]'s quite happy with it," Ford said in an interview. "I'm expecting to see it in a couple of weeks."
Ford added that he worked closely with director Spielberg, Darabont and executive producer George Lucas on the story. "The way the process works is that George and Frank work together, then Steven gets the script, then I get the script, and we all work together. We all met together and talked about it before they started writing."
Ford said that he remains eager to reprise his most famous role because of fans' demands for a fourth installment in the franchise. "It pleases me to play a character that audiences want to see," he said. "I know that it's eagerly anticipated, and I want us to do a good job, make a film at least as good as the ones we've made before." The fourth as-yet-untitled Indy movie is slated to begin filming in the summer of 2004, with an eye to a July 2005 release.
Black Takes On Rad Brad
ctor Jack Black and screenwriter Philip Stark (Dude, Where's My Car?), have signed a deal with New Line Cinema to develop a feature about the world's greatest video-game player, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Black will produce and possibly star in the film, entitled Rad Brad, Modern Warrior.
The trade paper reported that the premise of the film centers on the title character being recruited to save the world from a rogue military faction that has developed a robot with superhuman destructive powers. This marks the third project Black has in development with New Line, joining a feature based on his band Tenacious D and a Judd Apatow-directed untitled motorcycle cop comedy to co-star Black and Will Ferrell, the trade said.
Hurd Goes To Mars
roducer Gale Ann Hurd (Hulk, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) has signed a deal with the SCI FI Channel to produce the six-hour miniseries, Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars.
The announcement closely follows another high-profile deal made recently by the SCI FI Channel with filmmakers Dean Devlin (Independence Day, Stargate) and Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2) to develop The Triangle, an eight-hour miniseries centered around the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle.
Based on Robinson's best-selling novel of the same name, Red Mars
chronicles the epic adventure of the first hundred colonists on Mars and
their perilous mission to create a new world. Author Robinson, a member of NASA's Mars Committee, will consult on the project, which will be written by Gregory Widen (Highlander, Backdraft). Currently in development, the project is slated to air in late 2004.
Two Towers Is MTV's Best
he Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers won the MTV Movie Award for best movie and was one of several genre movies honored in ceremonies at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on May 31, according to the Associated Press.
The awards ceremony, based on a poll of MTV and MTV2 viewers, will be broadcast June 5 on MTV.
Spider-Man co-star Kirsten Dunst won the award for best female star. Mike Myers won for best comedic actor for the title role in Austin Powers in Goldmember. Jennifer Garner's butt-kicking role as Elektra in Daredevil took the award for best breakthrough actress. Twelve-year-old Daveigh Chase won as best villain for playing the evil little girl in The Ring.
Gollum (Andy Serkis) from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers won for best virtual performance and for best on-screen team for his performance alongside human co-stars Elijah Wood (Frodo) and Sean Astin (Sam).
Yoda's light-saber duel with Christopher Lee in Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones won the award for best fight scene. The rain-drenched upside-down smooch between Spider-Man Tobey Maguire and Dunst won for kiss, the news service reported.
Sunburst Short List Announced
rganizers announced the short list of nominees for the third annual Sunburst Award, honoring the best in Canadian fantasy literature.
The award, consisting of a cash prize of $1,000 and a medallion, will be presented in September. The list of nominees follows.
•Talon by Paulette Dubé
•Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson
•Salt Fish Girl by Larissa Lai
•Permanence by Karl Schroeder
•Dead Man's Gold by Paul Yee
Aurora Finalists Named
rganizers announced the finalists for the 2003 Aurora Awards, given by the Canadian SF and Fantasy Association.
The awards will be presented at Torcon 3, the 61st World Science Fiction Convention, to be held Aug. 28-Sept. 1 in Toronto. A full list of finalists follows.
Best Long-Form Work in English
•To Trade the Stars by Julie E. Czerneda
•Warchild by Karin Lowachee
•Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer
•Permanence by Karl Schroeder
•Martyrs by Edo van Belkom
Best Long-Form Work in French
•Les Sources de la magie by Joël Champetier
•Piège pour le Jules-Verne by Michèle Laframboise
•L'Aigle des profondeurs by Esther Rochon
•Horizons blancs by Guy Sirois
•Le Revenant de Fomalhaut by Jean-Louis Trudel
Best Short-Form Work in English
•"Just Like Being There" by Eric Choi
•"Prism" by Julie E. Czerneda
•"Rain, Ice, Steam" by James Alan Gardner
•"Ineluctable" by Robert J. Sawyer
•"By Its Cover" by Isaac Szpindel
Best Short-Form Work in French
•"La Guerre sans temps" by Sylvie Bérard
•"Fractures" by Mehdi Bouhalassa
•"Les Femmes viennent de Mars et les hommes de Vénus" by Michèle Laframboise
•"La Trajectoire du poisson" by Yves Meynard
•"Les Navires de Saint-Elme" by Jean Pettigrew
•"Un Port dans la Tempête" by Mark A. Rayner
Best Work in English (Other)
•"Bat's Life," Rescue Heroes, Cycle III, TV script by Isaac Szpindel
•Explorer: Tales from the Wonder Zone, Julie E. Czerneda, ed.
•"Faster Than Light," radio drama pilot by Joe Mahoney, Robert J. Sawyer, Barbara Worthy
•Stardust: Tales from the Wonder Zone, Julie E. Czerneda, ed.
•Edo van Belkom, editing Be VERY Afraid!
Best Work in French (Other)
•Due to insufficent nominations, no award will be presented for this category
Artistic Achievement
•Andrew Barr
•James Beveridge
•Lar deSouza
•Michèle Laframboise
•Jean-Pierre Normand
•Ronn Sutton
•Mel Vavaroutsos
Fan Achievement (Publication)
•Ailleurs, Pierre-Luc Lafrance, ed.
•Filking from C to C, Peggi Warner-Lalonde, ed.
•Made in Canada Newsletter, Don Bassie, ed.
•Opuntia, Dale Speirs, ed.
•Pubnites & Other Events, Yvonne Penney, ed.
Fan Achievement (Organizational)
•Georgina Miles
•Martin Miller
•Barb Schofield
•Marah Searle-Kovacevic
•Joan Sherman
•Brian Upward
Fan Achievement (Other)
•Eric Layman, fan writing
•Lloyd Penney, fan writing
•Gord Rose, masquerade emcee at Toronto Trek and Ad Astra
•Larry Stewart, entertainer
•Jason Taniguchi, one-man SF parody shows
•Alex von Thorn, fan writing
New V In Works?
creator Kenneth Johnson told the Ilana's V Page fan Web site that a new version of the 1980s alien-invasion miniseries is in development for NBC.
"TV Guide will break the story about the project being in development in their June 14 issue," Johnson told the site. "But ... there is absolutely no shooting date planned at this time."
Johnson added, "I have only just delivered the first story treatment to Warner [Brothers] and NBC. They must approve it, I must write the screenplay, go through as many drafts as they want, determine what the budget will be, have NBC order it to production, and Warners elect to pay the necessary cost in concert with NBC. Many, many, many, many, many, many, many bridges yet to cross."
Goyer Will Helm Blade III
avid Goyer, who wrote all three Blade movies, will get his chance to direct with the upcoming Blade III, Variety reported.
Goyer and star Wesley Snipes haven't met to sign off on dates, but the studio expects to begin production in Vancouver, B.C., this summer, the trade paper reported.
In the third installment of the franchise, which is based on the Marvel Comics series, Blade the vampire hunter must reverse an apocalyptic event that threatens to bring Earth under the vampires' control, the trade paper reported.
Goyer is also writing Batman for Warner Brothers. He also co-wrote New Line's upcoming Freddy vs. Jason, which is slated for an Aug. 15 release.
Rise of Power Announced
he GameSpot Web site reported that a small team of independent developers, led by Britton LaRoche of Amped Labs, is currently working on an online, first-person RPG to take on Sony Online Entertainment's PlanetSide.
The upcoming game, entitled Rise of Power, is set in the year 2056 and will see players entering an ongoing battle between the police and the forces of the underworld, the site said.
According to the site, players will have the option to switch sides at will, but their statistics will be tracked at all times, enabling them to advance through ranks as they develop new skills and gain experience. The game will end when one player achieves the rank of Emperor, the site said. No release date has been announced.
Devil May Film
apanese film distributor Gaga Communications has optioned the rights to the popular Capcom video-game series Devil May Cry, Variety reported.
This will be the second Capcom title owned by the distributor, which picked up the exclusive film rights to the company's Onimusha less than six months ago.
The film version of Devil May Cry will have a $40 million budget and is slated for a 2005 production and release the following year, the news service reported. The game, which has sold 4.27 million copies worldwide, features a hero named Dante who must protect humanity against the devil.
Fairytale In The Works
roducer John Wells has teamed with independent writer-producer Nick Davis and screenwriter J.J. Simone to develop a family action comedy about three grumpy fairytale femmes, Variety reported.
The untitled live-action script will feature Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty transplanted by a fairy godmother from Happily Ever After Land to modern-day New York in order to grow up. While coming to grips with metropolitan life, they unlock their inner action-heroines and set about saving the universe from evil, the trade paper said.
More Aliens On The Way
he Zap2it Web site reported preliminary details of the fifth and sixth films in the popular Aliens franchise, which will feature Sigourney Weaver's character, Ripley, defending the Earth from colonization by the evil aliens.
According to the site, Weaver has said that she would be interested in reprising her role for the sequels.
The site revealed that the fifth film will find the Earth "under attack from alien warrior drop ships," while the sixth will force Ripley to "turn to the dark side in order to save civilization." No directors or cast have been attached to the as-yet-untitled sequels.
Star Wars Enters Hyperspace
tarWars.com, the official site of the Lucasfilm franchise, announced June 5 that it will offer a free sneak preview of its new Hyperspace subscription service until the official launch on June 10.
Hyperspace subscribers will be able to access premium content in a members-only area of the site.
Members will be able to spy on the filming of Star Wars: Episode III via a Web cam on the set at Fox Studios Sydney and read daily reports from an inside correspondent, the site said. Other features of the premium service will include access to archived materials and exclusive bonuses such as personalized Star Wars e-mail addresses and enhanced customization. The preview is available for free until June 9, after which a subscription fee of $19.95 will be required to access the Hyperspace area of the site.
Incredibles Slays Shark Date
n a bold move, Disney has announced Nov. 5 as the release date for its upcoming Pixar-animated film The Incredibles—the same date set previously by Dreamworks for its underwater mob comedy Sharkslayer, Variety reported.
A spokesperson from Disney told the trade paper, "It looks like the moviegoing public will have lots to choose from on Nov. 5, 2004."
According to the trade, the move has caused speculation that CEO Michael Eisner has a "possible personal agenda in blocking Jeffrey Katzenberg's animation efforts." Neither studio had a comment on the subject, but Dreamworks told the trade paper it was amazed "that its diplomatic efforts to be the date's sole animated player were met with what appeared to be an abrupt and aggressive response."
Buffy Comes To GameBoy
ame developer THQ will be releasing a title based on the popular television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the GameBoy Advance, the GameSpot Web site reported.
The game will be largely combat-based, with a few puzzle-solving elements. It will see players assuming the titular role of Buffy as she goes up against the Gentlemen, the site reported. The Gentlemen appeared on the television series during its fourth season in the Emmy-nominated episode Hush.
According to the site, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wrath of the Darkhul King will consist of 16 levels in total, and as players progress through the game, they'll be able to make use of weapons and change into different outfits given to Buffy by friends such as Giles, Willow, Xander and Riley.
Balfour Feels Fearless
ric Balfour, co-star of The WB's upcoming series Fearless, told SCI FI Wire that the show dispenses with many of the SF elements in Francine Pascal's young adult novels, on which it is based.
"It's not so much fantasy," Balfour said in an interview.
Rachael Leigh Cook stars as Gaia Moore, an FBI agent born without the gene for fear, and Balfour and Bianca Lawson co-star as Gaia's partners. (Balfour's genre credits include episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Freakylinks and the SCI FI Channel original series The Chronicle.)
"We pick up about five or six years after the novels," Balfour said. "She's joined the FBI and teams up with me. It's pseudo-SF in that sense. We don't get that much into it. We allow it to be a factor in what goes on, but it's a jumping-off point more so than a gimmick we want to bury to death every episode."
Balfour explained that Gaia's secret is revealed and dealt with before the pilot ends. "We accept it and move on," the actor said. "Now that we know maybe she's not doing something that's irresponsible or unsafe, maybe it's the right move, but because we have the idea in our heads that she doesn't respect these things because she's fearless, there is a conflict there." Fearless, from executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, debuts in the fall.
Fans Can Win SG-1 Role
ans will get a chance to win a walk-on role on the SCI FI Channel original series Stargate SG-1 in a sweepstakes that starts June 6.
The "Get in the Gate" sweepstakes, from the channel, SCIFI.COM and MGM Home Entertainment, runs through July 6.
To enter, fans must register on the show's official Web site. In addition to actually appearing in an episode of SG-1, the grand prize winner will also receive air and hotel accommodations for two to Vancouver, B.C., where SG-1 is produced; $400 spending
money; and transportation to and from the set.
The sweepstakes is being launched in conjunction with MGM Home Entertainment's release of the Stargate SG-1 season-three DVD set, which hits stores June 17. The first "Get in the Gate" sweepstakes took place in 2002, drawing 25,000 entries, and the winner had a character named after him.
Stargate SG-1 is currently in production on its seventh season, which opens with a two-hour premiere, featuring the return of Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson, at 9 p.m. ET/PT June 13.
MGM Ships 16M Die Vids
GM shipped its largest ever initial retail order of DVDs and videos for the June 3 North American release of Die Another Day, Variety reported.
The studio shipped 8 million copies of the biggest 007 movie ever, with another 8 million expected to be shipped overseas by the time orders from all countries come in, the trade paper reported.
The studio is already taking re-orders for Die in the U.K. and other parts of Europe, where the DVD was released in late April. The title also marks what is believed to be the highest percentage of DVDs for a major release, with 93 percent of all copies being delivered in the U.S. and Canada on the digital format, compared with just 7 percent on VHS, the trade paper reported.
If the studio sells all 16 million copies, consumer spending worldwide, including rental, could reach close to $300 million, according to industry estimates. Box-office receipts for the movie, released in theaters last fall, have reached $160 million in the U.S. and $430 million worldwide, Variety reported.
SCI FI Orders New Tactics
he SCI FI Channel has ordered an additional nine episodes of its hit original series Scare Tactics, which premiered in April.
Shannen Doherty will continue to host the reality hidden-camera series, the network announced. New episodes will begin airing June 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
In Scare Tactics, people set up their friends and loved ones to be unwitting victims in elaborately staged SF-themed hoaxes designed to tap into their fears, from a mock alien encounter to babysitting in a haunted house. Since the show launched, Scare Tactics' producers have received more than 5,000 requests from people wanting to set up their friends and family in future episodes. Scare Tactics was created by Scott Hallock and Kevin Healey and will be produced by Hallock Healey Entertainment.
T3 Scribes Go Westworld
riters Michael Ferris and John Brancato (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) will pen Warner Brothers' proposed remake of Westworld, to be produced by Jerry Weintraub and T3 star Arnold Schwarzenegger, Variety reported.
The writers have already drafted a script for Catwoman, a Pitof-directed film at Warner to star Halle Berry, the trade paper reported.
Warner and Weintraub are eyeing Westworld as the next star vehicle for Schwarzenegger, who will not be playing Yul Brynner's role of the robotic gunfighter, but will instead play one of the virtual resort's guests. The original 1973 SF movie was based on Michael Crichton's script.
Ross May Helm Button
ilmmaker Gary Ross is in final talks to direct the fantasy film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button for Paramount Pictures, Variety reported.
The film adapts F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, about a man who begins aging backward from the age of 50.
Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, who worked with Ross on his upcoming Seabiscuit, are producing Button with Ray Stark and Marykay Powell, the trade paper reported.
At one time, Spike Jonze was attached to direct. Jim Taylor originally adapted the story for the screen, and Ross came aboard after reading a new draft by Eric Roth. The two are now developing the movie together. The studio has yet to green-light the project, and there is no start date yet, the trade paper reported.
Galactica Site Updated
CIFI.COM has updated its official Web site for the channel's upcoming original miniseries Battlestar Galactica.
The update features a new Quicktime VR of the Galactica's Combat Information Center and a new downloads section that includes desktops and the first images of a colonial Viper and of cast members Edward James Olmos as Cmdr. Adama, James Callis as Baltar and Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck.
The redesign also includes a new cast and crew list and bios of Olmos and Mary McDonnell, who plays Laura Roslin. Galactica, a "reimagination" of the classic 1970s TV series, is currently in production in Vancouver, B.C., and will air in December.
Tamahori Talking Deathlok?
he IGN FilmForce Web site reported a rumor that Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day) is the front-runner to direct Paramount's live-action adaptation of the Marvel Comics series Deathlok.
Stu Zickerman and Raven Mentzner have written the screenplay for Marvel Studios and Crystal Sky Productions. The site based its report on anonymous sources.
Deathlok will be about a man who is made a test subject for research that turns him into a living computer, the site reported.
Spiderwick Film Due
aramount and Nickelodeon have tapped David Berenbaum (Elf, Haunted Mansion) to pen the family fantasy movie Arthur Spiderwick's Guide to the Fantastic World Around You, Variety reported.
The movie is based on the first three titles of a proposed six-book series by fantasy writer Holly Black and writer-illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi. Simon & Schuster has published the first two Spiderwick Chronicles books, The Field Guide and The Seeing Stone.
The books center on twin boys and their teenage sister, who discover an alternate world of fairies and goblins in their great-uncle's rundown house, the trade paper reported.
Berenbaum is also writing Disney's remake of The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
Briefly Noted
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MSN subscribers will be able to watch a live Web broadcast of J.K. Rowling reading from her latest book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, on June 26th in London. Rowling will take questions from an audience of 4,000 children and many more worldwide.
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A new trailer for Disney and Pixar Studios' upcoming animated superhero feature The Incredibles has gone live on the Web. The film opens Nov. 5, 2004.
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Josh Hartnett told Zap2it that he turned down the title role in the upcoming Superman movie four times despite an impassioned appeal from the film's former director, Brett Ratner. "I just didn't want to play Superman, and I've turned down all of the other superhero movies too," Hartnett said.
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Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly, who stars in Universal's Hulk, is expecting a baby boy with husband Paul Bettany. Bettany, who co-stared with Connelly in A Beautiful Mind, told the Associated Press that their son is due in August.
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The soundtrack for the Hulk movie will be released on June 17, three days before the movie hits theaters. The CD will feature Danny Elfman's score and the song "Set Me Free," performed by Scott Weiland, Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner.
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Amazon.com said that advance orders for the upcoming fifth Harry Potter book now top 1 million copies, the Reuters news service reported. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, already the fastest-selling new product ever to appear on the site, comes out June 21.
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Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and James Bond (Sean Connery) made the American Film Institute's list of top five movie heroes, and the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) and Darth Vader (David Prowse) made the list of top five villains, the Reuters news service reported.
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Cinescape Online reported that Keira Knightley, one of the stars of the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, will narrate the upcoming video game based on the Disney film.
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Moviehole reported that Tim Blake Nelson (Holes, Minority Report) has joined the cast of the sequel film Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, which is currently shooting in Vancouver, B.C.
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Grant Show and Vivian Wu star in the upcoming SCI FI Channel original movie Encrypt, directed by David Wu, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on June 14. In the movie, storms have ravaged the world, and a former Army captain (Show) agrees to go on a reconnaissance mission for a powerful overlord, with the future of the world in the balance.
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Robin Williams and Brittany Murphy have joined the voice cast of the upcoming computer-animated film Happy Feet (previously called The Kingdom), about a young penguin (Elijah Wood) with an unusual gift who finds the heart to pursue his dream, Variety reported.
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Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame over the May 31 weekend, although he believed for years that one already existed, Zap2it reported. But a marker bearing his name in front of the Hollywood Boulevard restaurant Musso & Frank actually belongs to a silent-film star who died in 1957.
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Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) voices the unabridged audiobook version of Marc Scott Zicree and Barbara Hambly's SF novel Magic Time, the Cinescape Online Web site reported. The book is the first in a trilogy about a post-apocalyptic fantasy version of America.
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The Ain't It Cool News Web site reported what it purports to be spoilers about Spike's return on next season of The WB's Angel.
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The Matrix: Reloaded and X2 helped propel national box-office revenues in May to $962.1 million, the second-best numbers ever, Variety reported. That represented a modest 5 percent drop from the $1.01 billion taken in during the same month last year.
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The first full images of Hellboy and Abe Sapien from Guillermo del Toro's upcoming Hellboy movie have gone live online. The film, based on Mike Mignola's comic series, is currently in production in Prague.
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