Kutcher First For Batman?
ark Horizons posted speculation about the rumor that Ashton Kutcher is the front-runner for a proposed fifth Batman movie.
The '70s Show star is Warner Brothers' first choice, but not that of director Christopher Nolan, the site reported.
Citing an anonymous source, the site also reported that Nolan will make his choice in late August or early September from a list of as many as 20 actors.
The site added that Christopher Lloyd has been spotted on the Warner lot in the company of Nolan, fueling speculation that he may be in the running to play a villain called the Scarecrow.
Princess Di Reborn In Comic
arvel Comics will resurrect the late Princess Diana as a mutant superhero in an upcoming issue of the satiric X-Statix comic, Entertainment Weekly reported.
Diana will be depicted as a heroine in September in a story called "Di Another Day."
Written by Englishman Peter Milligan and drawn by Mike Allred, X-Statix is a satire on celebrity culture starring the media-savvy mutants formerly known as X-Force. In Issue No. 13 of X-Statix, Marvel said, "Everyone's favorite royal, Princess Diana, is back from the dead and on her comeback tour ... and it's up to the X-Statix to keep her alive!" EW reported.
Diana turns out to be a mutant, though Marvel won't divulge what her super power is. She's targeted by "a nasty crew of mutant Eurotrash dead set on sending her back where she came from," Marvel told the magazine. Milligan added, "Diana may not resemble the flying, lethally oscillating characters that populate my comic, but the strange power she exerts from beyond the grave certainly makes her a valid subject to explore." And, he said, "She looks great in Spandex!"
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace, meanwhile, told the British Daily Mail newspaper, "This is utterly appalling. It appears to be a cheap attempt to cash in on Diana's fame."
Knightley Dives Into Pirates
eira Knightley, who plays spirited beauty Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, told SCI FI Wire that one of the most difficult scenes required her to walk the plank.
"I'd been standing on the plank for, like, two days. It took two days to film that scene," she said in an interview while promoting the film. "And I don't really have a big height problem. I don't have vertigo or anything like that. It was only about 15 feet up, but when you're standing there it's like a diving board, so it's wobbling the entire time. The whole boat's moving, because you're out at sea. It freaked me out. It completely freaked me out. And for the first time in my life I really got scared of heights."
At the end of the scene, Knightley had to jump from the high platform into the water. She said she gathered the courage to perform the stunt herself once she'd seen her stunt double do it. "My stunt girl Sonja [Munsterman]—who's wicked, she's my hero—she jumped in first," Knightley said. "After Sonja jumped in, I thought, 'Bloody hell, I've been standing out here. There is no way I'm not going to do this.' So I was like, 'Gore, can I?' And [director Gore Verbinski] went, 'Yeah, go on, man.' And actually, it's the shot in the movie. So they've used me."
Knightley said that the physicality of the role was only one of the difficult elements she had to overcome while shooting the film. She also had to learn to use her imagination in the scenes where computer-generated images would be added later. "There's a scene where she first sees all the skeletal pirates, which was really bizarre, because there weren't any actors there," she said. "It was just me running around the big ship, screaming a lot, completely on my own. That was kind of difficult, and it took two weeks to film as well. And by the end of it, I was completely black and blue, because I'd just been beating myself up, basically. Some people can get institutionalized for that. But there you go." Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl opens July 9.
Depp Overboard In Pirates
ohnny Depp—who stars as Capt. Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl—told SCI FI Wire that he had to persuade skeptical Disney executives to trust his instincts when it came to his idiosyncratic performance.
"There were some in positions of power who weren't greatly enthusiastic about the choices I made for Capt. Jack early on," Depp said in an interview. "And I just had a very, very strong feeling and opinion about the guy. And I thought that if they left me alone and let me do my work and create this character that I could do something. I could make something that kiddies would like. I could make a character that kiddies could have fun with and maybe want to imitate."
Executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer explained in a separate interview that it was merely one overly cautious junior executive who objected to Depp's performance and alerted his superiors. "What happens at a studio, the [senior executives] are so busy they can't watch dailies," Bruckheimer said. "So they have a junior executive sitting there watching dailies. ... Here's this kid, who's 26 years old, and sees Johnny's flamboyant character right out there, and he says, 'Oh, my God, I'd better tell somebody. This is outrageous.' Because he doesn't know what they're going to accept. And then when they look at it, they're fine with it. So [we got] a call from him saying, 'Oh, Jesus, can you tone him down?'"
Depp went so far as to have his own dentist implant real gold teeth—some of which Bruckheimer asked him to remove before shooting began. "He had a few more gold teeth, which really freaked them out," Bruckheimer said. "So I was the one chosen to convince him to pull a couple gold teeth out. In truth, they were right. Because what happens is you start looking at his mouth rather than his performance. And it's very subtle now, but it's there. You know they're there. I mean, he had two big gold teeth in front. The light hits it, you're watching the gold teeth. And they didn't want you to do that."
Depp kept the remaining gold teeth for months after production was over, he said. "When I left Los Angeles right after the film completed shooting, I suddenly realized that my dentist was 5,000 miles away. There's no turning back at that point." Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl opens July 9.
Pirates Invades Disneyland
he Disneyland Resort hosted its first movie premiere since opening in 1955 when 1,500 guests stormed the Magic Kingdom on June 29 for the new Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Attendees included the film's stars Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, who arrived on a 900-foot-long red carpet that ran down Disneyland's Main Street. The park closed to the public early for the first time in its history to accommodate the gala.
The film—based on the park's popular pirate ride, created under the supervision of Walt Disney in 1967—was projected onto a giant screen set up in an area known as Tom Sawyer's Island. The audience viewed the film from specially constructed grandstands across The Rivers of America. The screening was followed by a fireworks show.
The event featured pirate-themed food, entertainment and activities, such as sifting for treasure in sandboxes and decorating eye patches and hats. Several of the Southern California theme park's rides were open for guests to enjoy before and after the screening, without the typical queues. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl opens July 9.
Arnold Heads To Gulf
he USO and Armed Forces Entertainment hosted Arnold Schwarzenegger's July 4 visit with members of the U.S. armed forces in the Persian Gulf to screen his new film, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
Schwarzenegger met with troops and dined with them on MREs (meals ready to eat), as well as toured duty stations at several locations in the region, the organizations announced.
Schwarzenegger, a long-time supporter of the American armed forces, visited troops on a USO/AFE tour last year, when he previewed his movie Collateral Damage for service members in Bosnia. He recently returned from a visit with wounded soldiers at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland and surprised more than 1,500 marines at Camp Pendleton with the first public screening of the highly anticipated film.
T3's Arnold Coy On Politics
rnold Schwarzenegger, who reprises his most famous role in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, remained coy in an interview with SCI FI Wire about his political plans as the much-anticipated sequel film opens.
But Schwarzenegger denied that he postponed a decision on running for the governorship of California until he finished T3.
"To be accurate, I thought about running. And then I realized that I already have this contractual obligation, so I didn't even get further into it," Schwarzenegger said while promoting the film. "So I didn't postpone anything, because I was only thinking about running. I wasn't really announcing a candidacy or anything like that. I was not at that place."
As Schwarzenegger travels the world on a publicity blitz for the film—including, he said, a stop in Kuwait to meet U.S. troops—he added, "I think it was the right decision, because the fans demanded another Terminator. I signed a contract, and you have to stay with your commitments. And I'm very happy with the way it turned out."
With the film opening July 2, will Schwarzenegger revisit the issue of a run for the California governor's mansion? "When it comes time where I have to make that decision, then I will have that conversation with my wife to see how she feels, and how the children feel, and what kind of an impact it will have on our family. ... When you have four children, when you have a wife, you have to be a team player. And so I have to take the gauge of that, of what our conversation is, and like I said, I never step ahead or try to jump over my shadow. The time is not yet ... here that I have to have that conversation with her. But when it is, then I will have that conversation." T3 opened with sneak previews in select cities, starting at 8 p.m. July 1.
T3 Swag Rolls Out
roducers of Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines have retained the licensing rights to the sequel film, ensuring that filmmakers receive a percentage of all related product sales, Variety reported.
Altogether the second sequel boasts 32 licensees for action figures, comics, calendars, bobbleheads, T-shirts, screensavers, trading cards, lunchboxes, pinball machines and skateboards, the trade paper reported.
But the merchandising campaign also will include more high-end products, including 850 T3-themed Toyota Tundra trucks, with $5,600 accessory packages; 50 limited-edition Indian motorcycles, going for $27,000; three models of leather jackets, designed after the one worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film, selling from $200 to $4,000; $175 Sama Eyewear sunglasses; and $20,000 Audemar Piguet watches, Variety reported.
T3 Guys Develop Evermere
roducers Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) are developing Evermere, the first of an envisioned trilogy of fantasy films, based on a script by David Goyer (Blade) and James Robinson of DC Comics, Variety reported.
John Herzfeld has signed on to direct for Sony, the trade paper reported.
The producers bought the idea in 1998. Evermere centers on a 17-year-old orphan, who discovers he is the heir to the throne in an alternate universe. He's called back there to battle his evil uncle, who has declared himself king, the trade paper reported.
'Alien' Plays Carnivale Lizard
ohn Fleck—who plays the scaly alien Silik on UPN's Enterprise—takes on another reptilian role in HBO's upcoming supernatural fantasy series Carnivale, TV Guide Online reported.
"It's weird. This guy's a lizard, too!" the 52-year-old actor told the site. "And one of the assistant directors on Carnivale said, 'I met you 20 years ago. We worked on this low-budget movie called Mutant on the Bounty.' I had played Lizardo, another lizard. Dang, I guess I'm reptilian."
Fleck plays Gecko the Snake Man in Carnivale, which premieres on the premium cable network in the fall. He co-stars with Nick Stahl (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) in the new series, about a 1930s traveling freak show.
As for Silik, Fleck said, "He's a Suliban. They're shape-shifters—even though they don't shape-shift that much, because it's not in the budget. But that's what they're supposed to be!"
Report: Spielberg Drops Indy IV
ean Connery told Entertainment Tonight that director Steven Spielberg may drop out of the proposed fourth Indiana Jones film, according to a report on Empire Online.
Speaking at the press junket for Connery's upcoming League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Connery reportedly said, "All I know is that someone called the office and said that Steven was not doing the movie."
Connery added, "Harrison [Ford] had in fact verbally agreed to do another one, and would I be interested? And I said of course I would. I had a very good experience with him. [I was] disappointed to hear that Steven wouldn't be doing it, but in the end it all comes down to how good the script is, if it's really workable."
Galactica DVDs Due
niversal Studios Home Video announced that it will release a complete DVD set of the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica TV series on Oct. 21, in advance of the Dec. 7 premiere of the SCI FI Channel's upcoming original Battlestar Galactica miniseries, inspired by the original show.
Universal will also release a Battlestar Galactica video game this September for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
Timed for release during the 25th anniversary of the original Galactica TV series, the six-disc Battlestar Galactica—Complete Epic Series DVD box set will feature all 24 hour-long episodes of the original series in their air order, remastered with enhanced sound. The set will also include newly produced and never-before-seen bonus features, including interviews with series creator Glen A. Larson and stars Richard Hatch (Apollo), Terry Carter (Col. Tigh) and Anne Lockhart (Sheba). (The DVD set will not include episodes from the later Galactica 1980 series.)
The Complete Epic Series DVD collection carries a suggested retail price of $119.98. Universal Studios Home Video is a unit of Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Harris Ensnares Spidey
eil Patrick Harris, who voices the title character in MTV's upcoming animated Spider-Man series, told TV Guide Online that he had definite ideas about how to play the iconic superhero and his geeky alter ego.
"I wanted it to be faster-paced and kind of snappy," he told the site. "I mean, Peter Parker's got a bit of a higher voice than Spider-Man, and he stammers a bit more and stutters. Spider-Man is the antithesis of that."
Harris added, "It's kind of fun to play both extremes, to have Peter unsure of what to say around Mary Jane and then Spidey completely confident in his banter with Dr. Octopus." Spider-Man premieres July 11 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Duncan Reprises Kingpin
ichael Clarke Duncan, who played the Kingpin in the Daredevil movie, is reprising the role for MTV's upcoming Spider-Man animated series, the Comics Continuum reported.
"When they called me and asked me to do the animated cartoon, I said, 'No problem,'" Duncan told the site. "I couldn't see anybody else doing the Kingpin but me. This is my guy right here."
The latest animated version of the Kingpin is African-American, unlike the comics version, the site reported. Duncan said that after an initial vote of confidence from Daredevil director Mark Steven Johnson, he didn't worry about any differences from the comics.
"Mark Steven Johnson took me to lunch, and I said, 'Are you certain that you have all your research? Because I don't want nobody marching outside my trailer. I don't want all this black and white stuff. I want to come to work and not be bothered.' ... And he told me that the people at Fox, [New] Regency and himself had complete confidence in me as being the best actor for the job. And once he sold me on that, I never thought about the color thing again." Spider-Man launches on MTV on July 11.
Marvel Sues Spidey Partner
arvel sued its Spider-Man partner Sony on June 27, alleging interference with licensing of the comic-book character, Variety reported.
In a suit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Marvel alleged that Sony's electronics unit refused to license Spider-Man for use on its consumer electronic products and that it instructed its sister company, Sony Pictures, not to license Spider-Man to any of Sony Electronics' competitors, the trade paper reported. The suit seeks in excess of $10 million in damages.
Meanwhile, Variety reported that Sony hasn't yet released an image of the upcoming sequel film Spider-Man 2, which began production in New York in April. The sequel's first trailer isn't timed to hit until November.
Buffy GBA Game Ships
HQ has shipped Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wrath of the Darkhul King, a video game for GameBoy Advance, to stores in North America, the company reported.
Players assume the role of Sunnydale's Slayer, Buffy Summers, as she battles vampires, using deadly fighting tactics and customizable Slayer weaponry, the company said.
Based on the just-wrapped UPN TV series, the game features characters from the show, including Giles, Xander and Willow.
Brosnan Voices Bond Game
lectronic Arts announced that 007 star Pierce Brosnan and the cast of the James Bond films will voice their characters in the upcoming video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, to be released under the EA Games brand.
Brosnan, as Bond, will lead a voice cast that includes John Cleese as Q, Dame Judi Dench as M and Richard Kiel as legendary henchman Jaws, the company said.
New cast members will include Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) as Bond's new nemesis, Nikolai Diavolo; Shannon Elizabeth as new Bond girl Serena St. Germaine; and Heidi Klum as the malevolent Katya Nadanova. All cast members will provide their likenesses for their game counterparts through EA's electronic "cyberscanning" process, the company said.
Veteran Bond screenwriter Bruce Feirstein wrote the script for the game, which offers gamers missions that span exotic locales in four continents, in a third-person view that showcases the Hollywood cast playing out a real-time cinematic action adventure, the company said. James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing is scheduled for release this fall for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance.
Tomb Delay Shakes Eidos
hares of video-game maker Eidos Interactive fell on June 27, after the company announced that it won't make profit forecasts for the year because of delays in delivering its latest Tomb Raider title, Variety reported.
Eidos said it wouldn't be able to ship Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness completely by June 30, the final day of its current financial year, the trade paper reported.
Eidos met the deadline in the United States, but not in Europe, affecting its 2003 pretax profits. The game is expected to ship in Europe sometime in early July, the trade paper reported.
Angel of Darkness is the ninth installment in the Tomb Raider game franchise. The title has already been delayed by seven months.
Slater Enters The Dark
hristian Slater has been tapped to star as supernatural detective Edward Carnby in Artisan Entertainment's Alone in the Dark, a movie based on the video-game franchise, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Filming is scheduled to begin July 14 and run through Aug. 2 in Vancouver, B.C., the trade paper reported. Producer Uwe Boll (House of the Dead) will also direct.
The $20 million film will bow next year, in conjunction with a new video game from Atari, the fifth in the best-selling game franchise, the trade paper reported. Launched in 1993 for the PC, Alone in the Dark is considered the first horror video-game franchise.
The movie will introduce an original story, but borrow elements from the franchise's last game, 2001's Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, in which Carnby journeys to Shadow Island to uncover the mystery of his close friend's death, meets up with an intrepid female anthropologist named Aline Cedrac and discovers a gate into hell.
Trek Blasts Activision
iacom, which owns the rights to Star Trek, issued a public statement in response to a suit by game publisher Activision, calling the lawsuit a ploy to renegotiate a 10-year licensing agreement to produce Trek-themed games.
Activision alleged that Viacom had allowed the Trek franchise to "stagnate and decay"; in response, Viacom said in a statement that "Activision's allegations are without merit; indeed, Activision appears to be trying to use the courts in an effort to renegotiate a deal it made in 1998 to secure the rights to the valued Star Trek franchise for interactive games."
Sources at Viacom's Paramount Pictures also denied to SCI FI Wire a claim that Viacom told Activision it had no plans for further Trek feature films. "We have every intention of continuing the movie franchise," the sources said.
Activision filed a breach-of-contract suit in the Superior Court of the State of California on June 30 and is seeking unspecified damages. "Activision cannot successfully develop and sell Star Trek video games without the product exploitation and support promised by Viacom," the suit alleged. "A continuing pipeline of movie and television production and related marketing is absolutely crucial to the success of video games based on a property such as Star Trek."
But in its own statement, Viacom said that it was "disappointed by Activision's filing of a lawsuit yesterday in light of the fruitful collaboration the parties have enjoyed for the last nearly five years. During their collaboration, Activision has produced 14 Star Trek-themed products, including a tie-in to the release of the 10th Star Trek film, Nemesis, just last year."
Viacom added that "Star Trek continues to enjoy widespread popularity and success throughout the world. Activision's assertions and claims in its filing are manifestly unfounded, as one can learn by simply turning on a television set or walking into a book, game or video store."
Activision Ends Its Trek
ame publisher Activision announced that it is ending its deal to publish Star Trek video games and has filed a breach-of-contract suit against Viacom, owner of the Trek franchise, for letting the franchise "stagnate and decay."
The publisher filed suit in the Superior Court of the State of California on June 30 and is seeking unspecified damages.
"Activision cannot successfully develop and sell Star Trek video games without the product exploitation and support promised by Viacom," the suit alleged. "A continuing pipeline of movie and television production and related marketing is absolutely crucial to the success of video games based on a property such as Star Trek."
Activision signed a 10-year licensing deal with Viacom in 1998 to create Trek games. Since then, the company said, Viacom has let the franchise languish. "Viacom has released only one Star Trek movie since entering into agreement with Activision and has recently informed Activision it has no current plans for further Star Trek films. Viacom also has allowed two Star Trek television series to go off the air, and the remaining series suffers from weak ratings. Viacom also frustrated Activision's efforts to coordinate the development and marketing of its games with Viacom's development and marketing of its new movies and television series."
A Viacom spokesperson was not immediately available to answer SCI FI Wire's calls seeking comment on the suit.
Grimm Starts In Prague
roduction began June 30 in Prague on director Terry Gilliam's Brothers Grimm movie, the ScreenDaily Web site reported.
The 17-week shoot brings together stars Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Lena Heady, Peter Stormare and Jonathan Pryce in the main roles, the site reported.
The shoot will travel around the Czech Republic for the next two weeks, with the country doubling for 19th-century Germany.
The site also reported that Robin Williams and Nicole Kidman won't have cameos, as hoped.
More Episode III Roles Cast
he official Star Wars Web site reported more casting news for the upcoming third prequel, Episode III, which began shooting in Sydney this week.
Silas Carson will again play the dual roles of the Jedi master Ki-Adi-Mundi and the trade federation's Nute Gunray, roles he played in the previous two prequels, the site reported.
Chinese-born Bai Ling joins the cast as a senator, the site reported. New Zealander Bodie Taylor, who appeared in Episode II as the helmetless clone troopers, returns as a clone in Episode III.
Meanwhile, the site reported that principal photography commenced on time, starting at 8:07 a.m. June 30 at Fox Studios Australia. The first scenes were shot in a new set environment, featuring returning stars Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) and Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi).
Episode III Begins Shooting
eorge Lucas began 12 weeks of production on the last Star Wars prequel film, Episode III, on June 30 in Sydney, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
A crew of 1,000 and the main cast have returned to Fox Studios in the Australian city, where the previous two prequels were also shot.
Producer Rick McCallum told the newspaper that Episode III would be shot almost entirely inside the studios. Lucas will return for additional filming over the next 18 months, the newspaper reported.
The only shooting outside Sydney will be some "plate photography"—backgrounds for visual effects—in Italy, New Zealand and Switzerland, the newspaper reported.
Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits and Christopher Lee return, and Peter Mayhew reprises the role of Chewbacca for the first time since Return of the Jedi, the newspaper reported. McCallum described the tone of the movie—which deals with Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader—as "dark." Episode III is slated for a 2005 release.
New Spy Kids Join Up
aryl Sabara, who reprises the role of Juni Cortez in the upcoming sequel film Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, told SCI FI Wire that several new characters will join him and the rest of the returning cast.
"Everybody helps everybody," Sabara said in an interview. "Bobby Edner plays Francis the Brain, Ryan Pinkston plays Arnold the Strong, and then Robert Vito plays a leader [Rez]."
In a separate interview, Edner described his character. "I help Juni through the virtual-reality game," Edner said. "We're trying to find his sister Carmen, who is trapped by the Toymaker." Sylvester Stallone plays the Toymaker.
Sabara added that his character shares scenes with the Toymaker, but Sabara himself never worked directly with Stallone. "I wasn't in any scenes with him, except it looks like [I was]," Sabara said.
The film's visual effects have the kids performing seemingly dangerous stunts while in the safety of a soundstage. "Lava surfing was my personal favorite," Edner said. "We were hanging out on wires and doing some surfing on surfboards."
The film was shot in 3-D, and the actors had to adjust to the restrictions of cameras with two lenses. "We couldn't look in [just] one camera lens, or our eyes would look crossed," Sabara said. "So we had to look dead straight in the middle." Spy Kids 3-D opens July 25.
Potter Fakes Hit Pakistan
irated editions of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix hit the Pakistani market this week, and booksellers told the Reuters news service that author J.K. Rowling's original blockbuster stands little chance of competing against the cheaper version.
"At least five different pirated editions of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix are being sold in the market," bookseller Jameel Hussain told Reuters.
The pirated books sell for $5-$8.50, compared to $29.99 for the authentic book, the news service reported. Book piracy is rampant in Pakistan, where laws for the intellectual property rights exist, but are hardly ever implemented, Reuters reported.
Writers Rework Alien Prison
riters Mike Werb and Michael Colleary (Face/Off) will rework the script for the proposed SF film Alien Prison, Variety reported.
Columbia Pictures and Red Wagon's Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher are producing.
Werb and Colleary will be reworking a draft by Air Force One writer Andrew Marlowe. Alien Prison tells the story of a gang that plots an escape from alien captors to prevent an invasion of Earth.
Riddick Starts Up
rincipal photography commenced July 1 on The Chronicles of Riddick, the sequel to David Twohy's SF sleeper hit film Pitch Black, Universal Pictures announced.
Universal is producing the film in association with Radar Pictures and One Race Productions.
Vin Diesel reprises the title role, antihero and convicted killer Richard B. Riddick. He is joined by Colm Feore, Alexa Davalos, Karl Urban, Linus Roache, Thandie Newton and Dame Judi Dench.
The sequel takes place five years after the events in 2000's Pitch Black. Riddick winds up on the planet Helion, home to a progressive multicultural society, which has been invaded by the Lord Marshal (Feore), a zealot who targets humans for subjugation with his army of Necromongers. In prison, Riddick encounters an old friend, Kyra (Davalos), and together they try to free themselves and take on the Lord Marshal in a battle that could determine the fate of humanity.
Twohy wrote and will direct the film, which is produced by Scott Kroopf and Diesel. Ted Field, George Zakk and David Womark executive produce.
Universal is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Disney Buys Stiltskin
riting duo Bill and Cheri Steinkellner have sold their animated feature film pitch Uncle Stiltskin to the Walt Disney Co., according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film, which will be penned by the Steinkellners, is described as a story that begins where the famous Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Rumpelstiltskin" leaves off, the trade paper reported.
In Uncle Stiltskin, the fabled aspiring babynapper Rumplestiltskin again tries to fulfill his dream of being a father, but this time he discovers the true meaning of family.
Passion Subtitled
el Gibson, director of the upcoming Passion, told Empire Online that he's changed his mind and will add subtitles to the movie about the last 12 hours of Christ's life, which was shot in the ancient languages of Latin and Aramaic.
The movie stars James Caviezel and Monica Bellucci.
Gibson, a devout Catholic, added that he attended Mass every morning while shooting The Passion. "I'm not a preacher, and I'm not a pastor," he said. "But I really feel my career was leading me to make this. The Holy Ghost was working through me on this film, and I was just directing traffic. I hope the film has the power to evangelize. Everyone who worked on this movie was changed. There were agnostics and Muslims on set converting to Christianity."
SCI FI Has Record Ratings
he SCI FI Channel reported that it drew record ratings in the second quarter of the year, finishing in the top 10 of all non-news cable networks in key demographics.
The ratings were the best second-quarter prime-time ratings in the channel's history, marking a record 14th consecutive month of year-over-year ratings growth and the longest current prime-time growth streak in television.
SCI FI ranked in the top 10 among all non-news basic cable networks for ratings and deliveries this quarter for persons 25-54 (0.6 rating, sixth-place ranking, 572,000 viewers), males 25-54 (0.7, sixth place, 327,000), males 18-49 (0.6, seventh place, 310,000) and females 25-54 (0.5, 10th place, 244,000), the channel announced.
SCI FI reported its best June ever, with a 1.0 prime-time average rating (787,000 households and 1.07 million viewers), an 11 percent increase over the same month a year ago. Second-quarter ratings average a 0.9 household rating (728,000 households and 994,000 viewers).
The channel's SCI FI Fridays block of original programming made it the highest-rated network on all basic cable for the night among males 25-54. The block featured the seventh-season launch of Stargate SG-1 and new first-season episodes of Tremors: The Series and Scare Tactics.
SCI FI's Saturday Original Movies delivered a 1.3 average rating this quarter, outperforming non-original Saturday movies by 18 percent. This year, SCI FI became the largest producer of original movies in television, beating out all cable and broadcast networks, the channel announced.
Briefly Noted
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Arnold Schwarzenegger visited U.S. troops inside Saddam Hussein's former summer vacation palace in Iraq on July 4, joking with and praising hundreds of soldiers before a screening of his film Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the Reuters news service reported. "I play Terminator, but you guys are the true terminators," he reportedly told the soldiers.
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James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will guest-voice the villainous Sergei, leader of Pterodax, in MTV's upcoming Spider-Man animated series, the Comics Continuum reported. Other guest villain voices will include Eve, Harold Perrineau, Tara Strong, David DeLuise, Gina Gershon, Kathy Griffin, Jeremy Piven and Spidey co-creator Stan Lee.
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Jonathan Frakes told radio station SW19 2BT in the United Kingdom that he hasn't been asked to direct a proposed Superman film, despite rumors that he's on board, according to a report on Dark Horizons. "No one asked me," Frakes said. "Of course, I'd be interested. Who wouldn't? It's Superman."
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The ComingSoon Web site disputed a report that Steven Spielberg has dropped out of a proposed fourth Indiana Jones film. The site quoted an anonymous Lucasfilm source saying that "there is no truth to the rumor."
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Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines took in a whopping $4.04 million in sneak-preview showings on July 1, Variety reported. The film began screening at 8 p.m. in 2,569 theaters.
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Warner Brothers has posted a teaser Web site for its proposed Wonder Woman movie, in which it solicits ideas for casting, story, costumes and other elements of the comic-to-film.
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New line has relaunched the official Web site for its upcoming horror film Freddy vs. Jason, which opens Aug. 15.
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Warner Home Video will host an exclusive four-day theatrical run of the complete Animatrix in conjunction with the San Diego International Comic-Con in San Diego, Cinescape Online reported. All nine short Animatrix films will screen in 35mm format at the Pacific Theaters Gaslamp, July 17-20.
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The half-hour animated superhero series Stripperella, Starring Pamela Anderson, averaged 2 million total viewers in its June 26 premiere on the rebranded TNN, Variety reported.
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Richard Attenborough, John Mills, Lynn Redgrave and Adrian Paul are set to star in The Snow Prince, a British holiday movie about a snowman come to life, with Charles Jarrott directing for Matador Pictures, Dark Horizons reported.
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Emily Bergl (Steven Spielberg Presents Taken) is tipped to play Claire Redfield in the upcoming sequel film Resident Evil: Apocalypse, with filming loosely scheduled for a mid-August start, Dark Horizons reported.
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Storyboards for the sequel film Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines have gone up on the official movie Web site. T3 opened July 2.
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Fans can view the teaser poster, featuring Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, for the upcoming third Lord of the Rings film, The Return of the King, on the official Web site. King opens Dec. 17.
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