Adding Sawyer To League
hane West—who plays Agent Sawyer in the movie adaptation of the Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill comic-book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen—told SCI FI Wire that his character is new to the franchise, which presented a challenge.
Sawyer (a grown-up version of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer) "wasn't in the comic book, so
that helped me out," West said in an interview. "I didn't have to duplicate anything. But
at the same time what goes along with that is the baggage of all these fans that love the [graphic] novel. And I'm not in the novel, so how dare I even be created? So there was some places to relax and some places to get a bit antsy."
When asked if he'd known about the cult comic before taking on the role, West admitted, "I'm not going to lie—I had no idea. I'd heard of Alan Moore, for sure. I'd heard of Watchmen, actually, and I'd heard of From Hell [the graphic novel] and had seen From Hell [the movie]. But when I read the script I just did not get it at all." After getting more familiar with the material, though, West got much more excited about the prospect of doing the film. "I thought [the script] was cool, because it was just strange, and I like strange. I like out there. I read it two or three times and really got into it after that. And once I read the comic book and knew that my character wasn't in it I actually got more interested, because I took this as an opportunity to create something that I could pretty much guarantee nobody else was going to create in film."
When asked about the decision to include his character—an American Secret Service agent—in what was originally a story with an all-British League, West (the youngest actor in the cast) said he thought it was not just a matter of appealing to a certain nationality, but also to a certain age. "They added the character, I think, not just necessarily for an American appeal," he said. "I think it was that, although the comic book has a massive amount of fans, at the same time, this was an $80 million dollar budget. And with something like that I think they felt—to appeal to kind of everybody, to the younger audience as well—they needed to add this character. I don't know if it necessarily had to be American, but I'm sure, you know, Hollywood was thinking in those terms." The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen opened July 11.
Wilson In League Of Her Own
eta Wilson—who plays Mina Harker in the steampunk action fantasy The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen—told SCI FI Wire that her character is quite different from the Mina of Bram Stoker's Dracula, as well as the incarnation which appears in the Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill comic-book series on which the movie is based.
"The thing about Mina," Wilson said in an interview while promoting the film, "is she's not like the character in [Stoker's] book. It's past the book, which is what's interesting [about the movie]. There's all these literary characters, and it's past their stories. My Mina Harker is not Winona Ryder's Mina Harker."
The statuesque Aussie, best known for her lead role on the television series La Femme Nikita, said that the restrictions of the time period depicted in the film interested her. "To be at the end of the 19th century and play a woman who's really repressed and closed and shut-down and, on top of that, a vampire's ex-girlfriend—what a great part to do," she said. "It was harder to be repressed and Victorian for a contemporary woman like myself than it was to be vampiric and in a flight of passion."
Comparing the blood-sucking dark side of her character to that of the other anti-heroes in the film, Wilson took some pride in the fact that Mina's demon is the worst of them all. "The demon that lives inside of her is so much more ugly than all of theirs," Wilson said. "Hyde's pretty rough, but Mina's vampire is really terrible. It's a big challenge for her to control that demon and suppress it, keep it down. It's almost like someone who likes too much chocolate, likes to drink or do drugs or gamble. You can't do what you want to because you know it's going to feel great for 10 minutes and then you're going to feel guilty and terrible."
Wilson said that she had some inspiration while playing the challenging role—her infant son, who traveled with her for the shoot. "When I was doing the part, the irony was, here I am playing this blood-sucker who can't have blood," Wilson said. "She wants it but she can't have it, and there was my crying baby. And I'd be like, 'Darling, I know you want a drink, but you just had a feed 10 minutes ago. You just have to wait another hour. I'll just do this scene and I'll be back.' So the irony was, I was his life force. My son really kind of helped me enjoy being a vampire. I saw how happy he was just getting that basic need of survival met, and for a vampire, blood is that basic need." The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen opened July 11.
Stars Downplay League Strife
eta Wilson and Shane West, two of the stars of the fantasy adventure film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, downplayed to SCI FI Wire widespread reports of on-set strife between lead Sean Connery and director Stephen Norrington.
But Wilson (Mina Harker) and West (Agent Tom Sawyer) confirmed in interviews that there was tension between Norrington and Connery, who also served as an executive producer.
During production, Entertainment Weekly and other publications reported that the pair nearly came to blows while shooting one of the more difficult scenes in the big-budget adventure. (The production also suffered major setbacks when Prague, where the film was shooting, was hit by its worst flood in 200 years.)
But Wilson dismissed the reports. "Oh, that was very funny," she said. "That was nothing. They weren't ready to come to blows. It was never that. It was 5 o'clock in the morning. We'd been shooting 18 hours. [There was] a lot of pressure to get the film done. Floods were coming. Sean Connery's a little tired. Stephen's trying to make things
safe. ... It's something like that that the press has blown up."
Similarly, West characterized news reports of the Norrington-Connery conflict as "a gross exaggeration of everything that happened." And while he said that he did not witness the incident in question, the young actor did confirm the tension at the time. "We were shooting two months of nights, and it was pretty much the hardest shoot for all of us in general," he said. "Whether anybody hated each other? That wasn't the case. And whether anybody hit each other or anything? That wasn't the case, either. I don't necessarily believe Steve and Sean hate each other, but I don't think they probably love each other, either. But I didn't witness what I felt like I read."
Wilson described the dynamic between Norrington and Connery as having "moments of—how should I say?—not tension. Passion.
Passionate spirits." She added that Connery's involvement in the
film was one of the production's big selling points for her. But she had even higher praise for the film's director. "I think he's a genius," she said. "I think he's wonderful." As for reports that Norrington was difficult, she said, "You know, let's give the guy a go. Let's see his film. He's a vegan. Sean Connery's a meat-eater. There you go: There's the difference." League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which is based on Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's graphic novel, opened July 11.
Clarion Losing MSU Funding
ichigan State University will cut funding for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop, throwing the venerable program's future into question, workshop director Lister Matheson told SCI FI Wire.
"We're going to find some way to keep it going, but it may not be at Michigan State," Matheson said in an interview. The Provost of Michigan State University has stated that the university will no longer be able to fund or support the workshop.
Clarion is a yearly summer program that's considered a boot camp for new science fiction and fantasy writers. The writers spend six weeks writing and critiquing and working with seasoned writers and editors. Founded in 1968, Clarion has resided at Michigan State University for more than 30 years. Past graduates include Ed Bryant, Octavia Butler, Vonda McIntyre, Kim Stanley Robinson, George Alec Effinger and James Patrick Kelly.
Funding for this year's workshop, which just ended, was not affected. But next year's workshop will likely not be funded by MSU. "Michigan State's got a big budget crisis at the moment, and their state appropriations have been slashed enormously this year."
Matheson said that he can see two possibilities to continue the workshop. The workshop can relocate to another college, preferably in the Midwest or the East (Clarion West operates in Seattle), or turn independent, like Clarion West. "But we haven't looked into those things absolutely yet," he said. "Clarion West is going to kindly share its current budget with us, so we can see how they have managed to arrange things. ... I have no idea whether the university is going to come up with some kind of alternative suggestion. I'd say at the moment that's not looking terribly hopeful."
Clarion graduates have begun a letter and e-mail campaign to save the workshop.
Mayhew Spills Episode III Points
eter Mayhew, who reprises the role of Chewbacca in the upcoming prequel film Star Wars: Episode III, revealed plot spoilers in an interview with the British LOK magazine, according to a report on TheForce.net.
"As you know, none of the actors get the full script of Episode III, but they do get the pages for what scene they are working on," Mayhew told the magazine. "Therefore, I have not read the full script yet, just a few pages with my character."
As for the spoilers, Mayhew reportedly said, "I was told by [director] George Lucas that I would be playing a large part in the story, including the delivering of two twin babies and playing a role in a major battle scene that involves many war machines. Sadly, I have not read those sequences of the script yet."
Mayhew added, "Lucas has really changed his writing style from back when he wrote the original trilogy. He is much bolder and willing to push the envelope in both settings and dialogue. In fact, the opening action scene involving many Wookiees takes place on one of the many new planets seen in this movie." Episode III is currently in production in Sydney.
Producers Address Indy IV Budget
roducer Kathleen Kennedy told SCI FI Wire that she expects star Harrison Ford, director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas to defer their usual salaries in lieu of so-called "back-end points" (i.e., a percentage of the film's gross receipts) to ensure a reasonable budget for Indiana Jones IV.
"First of all, they don't need [the money]," Kennedy said in an interview. "If they all want to do it, they're going to do it because they really, really want to go work together again and make another Indy movie. That would be the only motivating reason."
Executive producer Frank Marshall, meanwhile, told SCI FI Wire that screenwriter Frank Darabont is still writing the script, despite reports in June from Ford that the script was completed. "That's Harrison," Marshall said in the same interview. "He's hopeful. It's in the process of being done."
Marshall added that the filmmakers are working hard to make sure it is not just a halfhearted sequel. "It's basically the same kind of story that we had in the first three movies," he said. "It's up to us to maintain the integrity of the project. That's why it's taking a long time on the script. We want the story to be good enough."
Kennedy acknowledged Sean Connery's suggestion to Entertainment Tonight that he'd like to reprise his role as Henry Jones Sr., saying that it was a possibility. "He might show up," she said. But Marshall dismissed Connery's statement that his office had heard Spielberg would not direct. "No, Steven's doing it," Marshall said. "There's a lot of rumors out there that we've dispelled, but we haven't locked in on the script yet. It's not finished, and when it's finished, we'll go forward." Indy IV is still scheduled for a summer 2004 start and a summer 2005 release.
Ford's Solo In Indy IV
rank Marshall, producer of the upcoming fourth Indiana Jones film, told Entertainment Weekly that Harrison Ford, 61, doesn't need a younger sidekick.
"We're sticking with Indy on his own," Marshall told the magazine. "He still gets around pretty good."
Marshall also praised Indy IV writer Frank Darabont (The Green Mile). "Frank understands who the characters are," he said.
For his part, Darabont told the magazine, "I'm the world's biggest Indiana Jones fan. I'll trip all over myself to work for Spielberg." Darabont wrote for ABC's The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Shooting on the fourth Indy starts in mid-2004 for a 2005 release.
Scorsese Comes To SCI FI
scar-nominated filmmaker Martin Scorsese and producer Barbara De Fina have signed on to executive produce The Twelve, a miniseries premiering exclusively on the SCI FI Channel, the network announced.
The project, which marks Scorsese's first foray into scripted long-form television, will be developed through Cappa/De Fina Productions, in conjunction with Adrian Bate and Zenith Entertainment Ltd.
Based on a concept originated by David Pirie (Murder Rooms), The Twelve chronicles a rash of mysterious and unexplainable events around the world which lead an FBI agent to suspect that Armageddon is set for the twelfth day of Christmas. The miniseries is slated for debut in December of 2005.
The Twelve follows a number of high-profile projects in development for the network. Dean Devlin (Independence Day) and Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2) have agreed to co-executive produce Triangle, an eight-hour miniseries exploring the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle, while Gale Anne Hurd (Hulk) is currently overseeing the six-hour miniseries Red Mars, based on the Kim Stanley Robinson novel. In addition, another large-scale project from the producers of Steven Spielberg Presents Taken is in the works. Taken garnered record ratings for the network during its initial run in December of 2002, making the SCI FI Channel the number-one-rated basic cable network for the first time in its 10-year history.
SCI FI Unveils Film Slate
he SCI FI Channel announced a new slate of original films set to premiere in 2004-'05, as the network increases its production to 22 originals per year, with about two premiering each month.
The channel calls the films "a blend of special effects, bone-crunching fight scenes and out-of-this-world creatures." The SCI FI Saturday Action movies are a ratings success story for the channel: Since SCI FI introduced them in 2002, they have averaged a household rating of 1.4, 40 percent higher than the channel's average.
Among the upcoming productions:
•Dead Rail. A detective on board a bullet train on its inaugural run to Las Vegas must overcome his haunted past to destroy hostile aliens. Written by Brian Smith, founder of SCIFI.COM's Seeing Ear Theatre, and produced by Glow Worm.
•Darklight. Lilith, a superhuman warrior cursed with immortality, must battle an escaped genetically engineered creature carrying a deadly virus. Directed by Bill Platt, former development executive for the SCI FI Channel's Exposure. Production begins in Sofia, Bulgaria, with UFO Films in July.
•Chupacabra. The mythical beast is captured and smuggled aboard a cruise ship en route to America, but escapes, and Navy SEALs are brought in to destroy the monster. Produced by Regent Films.
•Raptor Island. Raptors are discovered on a remote island when an elite team journeys deep into the jungle to rescue a kidnapped scientist. Produced by 100% Entertainment.
•Mansquito. A scientist trying to find a cure for the West Nile Virus accidentally transforms herself and a junkie into mutant mosquito creatures. Produced by Nu Image.
•Alien Blood. An alien army invades Earth, demanding the sacrifice of 1 million humans, and a small band of human prisoners rebels. Produced by UFO Films.
•Larva. A dirty meat-packing company sells meat contaminated with larvae, and the larvae begin to growing inside the customers. Produced by Nu Image.
•Hammerhead. While working on stem-cell research, a scientist transforms his subject into a mutant shark-beast. Produced by Nu Image.
Hollywood Treks To Comic-Con
ollywood stars, including Oscar winner Halle Berry and fan favorite Hugh Jackman, will appear at the upcoming Comic-Con International in San Diego, July 17-20, organizers announced.
The convention, which is expected to draw as many as 70,000 fans this year, has become a regular stop on the studio publicity trail, where fans can get a sneak peek at upcoming genre films.
This year will be no exception. July 18 will feature panels with Stan Lee and Chase Masterson, Rob Zombie, cast members of the SCI FI Channel's defunct series Farscape and Edward James Olmos and other stars of SCI FI's upcoming miniseries Battlestar Galactica. Stars of Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Kill Bill, including David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen and Michael Jai White, will also show up, as will SF author Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean from The Jim Henson Company to talk about their upcoming film MirrorMask.
On July 19, Berry will talk about her upcoming supernatural horror film Gothika. Angelina Jolie will preview Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, and Robert Englund will discuss Freddy vs. Jason. Director Sam Raimi will take part in a session about his upcoming sequel film Spider-Man 2. Stars Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman and director Len Wiseman will preview their upcoming vampire vs. werewolf film Underworld. Beckinsale will then join co-star Jackman and director Stephen Sommers to sneak-peek their upcoming monster mash Van Helsing.
Universe Has Lee Animated
tan Lee, co-creator of such legendary comic-book characters as the Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man, has joined with children's entertainment company DIC to produce a series of animated television programs under the title Stan Lee's Universe, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The first project to emerge from the partnership will be Stan Lee's The Secret of the Super Six, a cartoon series that will feature the former Marvel Comics chairman as an animated character. The series centers on a group of super-powered alien teens who are chased to Earth by their enemies and are discovered by a reclusive cartoonist voiced by Lee. Lee's character will join the group and help them "learn what it means to be human" as they adjust to life on this strange new planet, all while powerful forces from Earth and their home planet seek to attack or exploit them, the trade paper reported.
Spider-Man Suit Stalled
arvel Comics' lawsuit against Sony Pictures Entertainment over the merchandising rights to the popular Spider-Man franchise hit a snag July 9 when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that the case be delayed to allow time for a decision on an appeal filed by the comic-book publisher, the Reuters news service reported.
Marvel had requested a jury trial, but the judge ruled May 20 that the licensing pact in question calls for such litigation to be handled via judicial referee, the news service reported.
The publisher sued the studio in February seeking at least $50 million in compensatory damages and termination of their Spider-Man licensing agreement. According to the news service, Marvel accused Sony of essentially trying to hijack the Spider-Man brand by claiming exclusive merchandising rights to the character and "cross-promoting" the superhero with other Sony features, in alleged violation of their partnership. Sony counters that Marvel sought to cheat the studio out of millions of dollars through shady accounting practices and was using its litigation as leverage to pressure the studio into renegotiating the terms of their licensing deal, the news service reported. A sequel to Spider-Man, starring Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, is currently in production and remains unaffected by the litigation for the time being.
Four Gets Closer
alph Winter, producer of a proposed Fantastic Four movie, told the Comics Continuum Web site that preproduction work could begin as early as this summer.
"Fan Four is heating up," Winter told the site. "[We] just got a new outline, and we will probably start some concept work this summer."
Peyton Reed is attached to direct the film, based on the Marvel Comics series. The movie is tentatively targeted for a holiday 2004 release.
Blade III Moves Forward
third installment in the Blade film franchise is set to begin filming Sept. 22 in Vancouver, B.C., the Filmjerk Web site reported.
Wesley Snipes will reprise the title role of the half-human, half-vampire warrior based on a popular Marvel Comics character. Kris Kristofferson will also return as his mentor, Whistler. Casting is currently underway for the other key roles, which include a pair of powerful vampire hunters and an ancient vampire known as Drake.
The story finds Blade teaming with a group called the Nightstalkers as they battle evil vampires intent on waging war on mankind, the site reported. David Goyer, who wrote the script for both previous Blade films, will assume directing duties as well this time around. The film is tentatively set for release in late 2004.
Angel Seeks New Babe
roducers are seeking to cast a new female character in the upcoming fifth season of The WB's Angel, TV Guide Online reported.
The new character will work at Wolfram & Hart, and possibly be a romantic interest for one of the show's main men, the site reported.
An Angel representative, however, insisted that the new addition will not be a replacement for ex-leading lady Charisma Carpenter, who could make an appearance or two next season, the site added.
Gellar Talks The Doo 2
arah Michelle Gellar, who reprises the role of Daphne in the upcoming sequel film Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, told SCI FI Wire that her character goes through a process of discovery that sounds almost like her own.
"I think the first story sort of revolved around Daphne finding her place, that same in-between [place] that I think a lot of teenagers and young adults find [themselves in], which is: Where do I fit in? What's my place? What's my purpose? What am I good at? Because everything to her was, she was the pretty one, she never really fit in," Gellar said in an interview during a break in filming on the movie's Vancouver, B.C., set.
Gellar, who won worldwide fame for her starring role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, added about her Scooby role: "This one is more about public image, and how in the beginning, you find Daphne, and she is confident. She's confident because she's deriving her strength from what other people think, the press and the fans, and it's about public image. And what she soon realizes is that the public image can change. It's fickle, and you have to find your strength from within before you worry about how everyone else perceives you."
Beyond that, Gellar said that the sequel, which wraps its 71-day production schedule in about 10 days, is also more confident about what it is trying to be. "I think ... we weren't exactly sure what our niche was the first time," she said. "Were we a movie for kids? Were we going to be a little more esoteric and go for a little bit of an older, more satirical audience? And we shot everything both ways. And it was really put together in the edit and really made for a family film. Now, coming in, you know we're coming in to make a family film. We know our characters. The story is set. And it makes it much easier to just jump into a story."
In the sequel, Gellar and co-stars Freddie Prinze Jr. (Gellar's real-life husband, who plays Fred), Linda Cardellini (Velma) and Matthew Lillard (Shaggy) take on a mystery in their hometown of Coolsville, which will feature the return of several well-known monsters from the classic Scooby-Doo animated TV series. Mystery, Inc.'s adversaries this time around will include the Black Knight Ghost, the Pterodactyl Ghost, the Tar Monster, the 10,000-Volt Ghost and others in an adventure that also marks the return of Jeremiah Wickles (Peter Boyle) and new characters played by Alicia Silverstone and Seth Green. Scooby-Doo 2 is in production with an eye to a March 26, 2004, release.
Enterprise Has New Course
rekWeb has posted a report from a recent visit to the set of Enterprise which reveals some of the new directions the series will be taking in its third season.
According to the site, new standing sets include a brig, a command center and an alien planet of mysterious origin. The site also hinted that prior to the set visit, scenes had been filmed using "black-suited actors who will later be replaced, whole or in part, by interactive computer-generated characters."
Stars Connor Trinner and Scott Bakula were on hand to film scenes for the second episode of the season, entitled Anomaly. The actors had reportedly been up late the night before "shooting a water sequence" in a small chamber on a stage referred to by the cast and crew as "Planet Hell." Other details included "cryptic mentions of floating props [which] suggest that promises of toying with the laws of physics may begin to come true in this second episode."
T2 Inspired Sackhoff's Starbuck
atee Sackhoff—who plays a female Starbuck in the SCI FI Channel's upcoming original miniseries Battlestar Galactica—told SCI FI Wire that her performance was inspired by Linda Hamilton's portrayal of Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
"I think that was the one character that I kind of looked to as far as body image and strength," she said during an interview at the fall TV press tour. "I think I looked to her character and said, 'OK, that's kind of what you need to embody.'"
Like Hamilton, Sackhoff said she did a lot of intense physical training to get in shape for the role. "I trained with a trainer once a day for two months before, and then I went to boot camp," she said. "My character's extremely physical. I think every other scene I would turn around, and she'd be running a mile or doing push-ups or doing sit-ups. And I was like, 'When is it going to end?'"
Sackhoff said that she admired, but didn't want to emulate, the performance of Dirk Benedict, who originated the role of Starbuck in the original 1970s television series. She was initially taken aback by the strongly voiced opinions of fans upset with the character's gender change, but hopes they will appreciate her performance on its own merits. "There are many similarities between the two characters, between Dirk Benedict's portrayal and my portrayal," Sackhoff said. "But that's exactly what it is, a portrayal of a character. And it's always going to be a little different from person to person. So I just hope that they give me a chance. And I might win them over, I may not. But you can't win them all." SCI FI's Battlestar Galactica premieres Dec. 7.
New Doctor Is In
ichard E. Grant (Gosford Park) will lend his voice to a new animated adventure based on the popular Doctor Who franchise, which is set to air on British network BBCi in the fall, the BBC news service reported.
Grant will become the ninth actor to take on the role of the Doctor, who travels through space and time in a ship disguised as an old-fashioned police box. The British actor told the news service that his interpretation is something of a "Sherlock Holmes in space," and said he immensely enjoyed recording the story.
The script was written by Paul Cornell, who has some experience with the franchise, having authored several well-received Doctor Who novels. "Just wait until you hear Richard," Cornell told the BBC. "He is the Doctor." The timing of the project is set to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the original Doctor Who series, the news service said.
Depp Flies To Neverland
ohnny Depp—who stars in the upcoming biographical film J.M. Barrie's Neverland—told SCI FI Wire that the film depicts the real-life experiences that inspired the beloved children's story Peter Pan.
"I play J.M. Barrie, who wrote Peter Pan," Depp said in an interview while promoting his latest film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. "It's the story of how J.M. Barrie came up with the idea to write Peter Pan, how he was inspired by the boys of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, and their relationship."
Depp said that the film will continue his current trend of family-friendly projects, a direction that was inspired by his 4-year-old daughter, Lily-Rose. "I haven't seen it, but I think it's kind of a family-oriented film," Depp said. "There's some fairly sad stuff that goes on in there, but it's kind of family-oriented. It was a nice story. A really nice story." The film, based on a play by Allan Knee, will be directed by Marc Forster (Monster's Ball). Kate Winslet and Dustin Hoffman also star.
Cats 2 In Works
ohn Whitesell is in talks to direct Warner Brothers/Village Roadshow Pictures' live-action/computer-animated feature sequel Cats & Dogs 2: Tinkles' Revenge, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Andrew Lazar's Mad Chance Productions is producing, the trade paper reported.
The sequel to 2001's Cats & Dogs is expected to be in theaters by summer 2005. The original film's writers, John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, penned the sequel. Tab Murphy is revising the script, which will continue the wars between canines and felines, the trade paper reported.
Arthur Gets Real
erry Bruckheimer—who is producing King Arthur, a new movie based on the Arthurian legend—told SCI FI Wire that the film will be very different from, and much darker than, previous cinematic incarnations.
"We're doing King Arthur, but not the King Arthur that you're familiar with," Bruckheimer said in an interview while promoting his latest film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Bruckheimer said the film will in part be based on Le Morte d'Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory's 15th-century romance, which distilled many of the earlier Arthur legends into one narrative and formed the basis of subsequent retellings of the myth. Bruckheimer argued that Malory's story is based on a real figure. "We're taking what Malory researched—that was the real King Arthur, who was a Roman. His name was Arturius," he said. "Rome had conquered the world, and they had their legions in Britain. The British didn't want them there." (In fact, scholars doubt that Arthur existed or argue that, if he did, he was a Celt, a Welshman or a Roman who battled Germanic tribes that overran the British islands in the fifth or sixth centuries.)
In any case, Bruckheimer said his film—directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and written by David Franzoni (Gladiator)—will carry a "hard R" rating and will concentrate on epic battles, rather than the fantastical elements of the story. "There is [some magic], but it's going to be real." Bruckheimer said. "In other words, the Picts used to paint themselves from head to toe, either blue or green, to blend into the trees, just like the special forces. So you're going to look at the trees, and you're not going to see anything. And all of a sudden, these men are going to come out of the trees. So that's kind of Merlin's magic."
Pirates of the Caribbean star Keira Knightley will play Guinevere in the film. In a separate interview, she told SCI FI Wire that King Arthur is aimed at a mature audience. "I don't think it's going to be a family film," she said. "I think we're just going for reality. So don't think Camelot or Excalibur. Think kind of more Gladiator. So it's going to be fascinating."
Harris Flies With Thunderbirds
ritish actress Naomie Harris (28 Days Later) told SCI FI Wire that she co-stars as an American news reporter in the upcoming family fantasy film Thunderbirds.
"I'm sort of on the scene and reporting live about what's happening," Harris said in an interview. "They're basically doing it as a live-action version of the [British TV] show [which was realized with marionettes]."
Harris added that the film would retain the basic premise of the Gerry
Anderson-produced 1960s television series. The story follows the Tracy family, whose patriarch (Bill Paxton) relocates to a secluded island and forms a high-tech rescue team following his wife's death.
"The idea is that he doesn't want anyone else dying in a tragic accident like his wife," Harris said. "His sons are the people who man the Thunderbirds, these huge rescue vehicles that travel ... around the world to wherever they're needed. Everyone wants to know who they are, but they're a secret operation, and they never reveal their identity or location."
Ben Kingsley co-stars as Aristotle Spode, aka The Hood, a villain trying to destroy Tracy's operation. "I'm in the middle of all that," Harris said. "I don't have a clue, really, in terms of [the Tracys'] world and the baddie trying to sabotage everything. I'm just trying to uncover who they are and what their identity is. I'm a plot device, the eyes of the audience, to keep you informed about what's going on." Thunderbirds, from Star Trek: First Contact director Jonathan Frakes, is tentatively scheduled for release in the summer of 2004 from Universal Pictures. Universal is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Cameron Eyes Alien 5
liens director James Cameron told BBCi that he's open to doing a fifth movie in the SF franchise—maybe even with a surprise crossover from his other famous franchise, the Terminator series.
"To an extent, yes," Cameron told the news site. "We're looking at doing another one."
Cameron added that he envisions "something similiar to what we did with Aliens: a bunch of great characters and, of course, [star] Sigourney [Weaver]. I've even discussed the possibility of putting [Arnold Schwarzenegger] into the Alien movie."
Leary Up For Ice Age 2
enis Leary told Empire Online that he's returning for a sequel to his hit computer-animated film Ice Age and that the movie is "definitely happening."
"Truth is, I said to these guys we should make the sequel at the same time we make the original," Leary told the site. "But studios hate to spend money until they have a guarantee in their hands. So now they'll have to pay twice as much to get it done, and it'll take twice as much time. But in principle we've all agreed that if it worked, we'd all go back in."
Leary voiced sabre-tooth cat Diego in the first film. He added that he will rejoin his two Ice Age co-stars, John Leguizamo and Ray Romano, in the sequel. "It'll be the three of us," he said. "Without the baby, obviously!" As for a story, "I think there's a story. ... The people at Fox are working on one right now. I think they're talking about going back into the studios something around late fall."
Grammer's A Rat In Gary
elsey Grammer, who voices a suave rodent in the TNN series Gary the Rat, told TV Guide Online that the show plays off the bad rap of lawyers.
"I think anyone that's ever lived or worked in Hollywood has had a bad run-in with a lawyer," said Grammer, who also serves as a producer. "Unfortunately, the stereotype about [lawyers] is not very favorable, so we thought we'd take advantage of that and use it for the good of entertainment."
Airing Thursdays at 10:30 p.m. ET as part of TNN's new animation block, Gary the Rat originated on the Web as a series of 13 three-minute shorts, the site reported. The extended 30-minute format "allows us to be funnier and really establish character," said Frasier star Grammer, who compares the popularity of Gary to a certain cartoonish TV shrink. "[Gary and Frasier] play up to the audience a little bit more; they're smart."
New Line Launches Planet
ew Line Cinema bought the SF action-comedy film pitch Planet Terry by comic creator Rob Liefeld, Variety reported.
Liefeld is the co-founder of Image Comics, the third largest publisher after DC and Marvel, the trade paper reported. Liefeld also founded the X-Force franchise for Marvel Comics.
Planet Terry concerns a middle-aged family man in extraordinary circumstances, the trade paper reported.
T1, T2 Graphic Novels Due
ew-York-based ibooks inc. announced that it will issue a line of graphic novels featuring characters from the Terminator film series.
The line kicks off in October with the manga softcover Terminator 2: Judgment Day—The Official Graphic Novel, an adaptation by writer Gregory Wright and artist Klaus Janson of James Cameron's 1994 film. The edition will include never-before-collected follow-up comics Terminator 2: Cybernetic Dawn by Dan Abnett, Rod Whigham and Jack Snider.
In late November, The Terminator: The Burning Earth will go on sale, with illustrations by Alex Ross. Featuring some of Ross' first professional work, the novel collects comics originally released by NOW Comics and will feature an introduction by longtime Ross collaborator Jim Krueger, the publisher announced. Ross' original cover art will be adapted into a graphic design by Steranko.
Wish Beta In Works
ame developer Mutable Realms and the Themis Group will sponsor a closed beta test of Mutable Realms' upcoming fantasy game Wish, the companies announced.
Wish is described a "a new category of online game, the ultra-massive multiplayer online role-playing game," meaning that it can support tens of thousands of simultaneous players in a single shared world, the companies said.
Wish will begin a limited closed beta in November, expanding to 10,000 users by early next year. The game is planned for release in the fourth quarter of 2004.
Sabara Grows In Kids 3
aryl Sabara, who reprises the role of Juni in the upcoming sequel film Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, told SCI FI Wire that his character is growing up.
"He's gotten a lot more brave, and he's more self-confident," Sabara said in an interview. "In the first one, we were saving our parents. Then [in the sequel], our parents were saving us. And now I'm saving Carmen. So that's kind of different. [And] he's up to the challenge."
Spy Kids 3-D finds Carmen (Alexa Vega) trapped in a video game by the villainous Toymaker (Sylvester Stallone), and Juni must come to the rescue. Sabara performed many of his own stunts in front of a green screen, so he could be added into the video environment later. "I loved the stunts," Sabara said. "Jumping, lots of flying, going backwards, racing."
Sabara was coy about whether 3-D is the final chapter in the Spy Kids saga. "Well, you never know what to expect," he said. Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over opens July 25.
Gilliam's Grimm Shoots
irector Terry Gilliam's fantasy movie Brothers Grimm began filming in the Czech Republic on June 30 at the medieval Krivoklat Castle outside Prague, Variety reported.
The film will shoot for 17 weeks, mostly on stages and the backlot at Barrandov, the trade paper reported.
Matt Damon and Heath Ledger play the fairy-tale authors as a pair of con men who travel from village to village and experience a series of adventures that inspire their tales, the trade paper reported.
Jonathan Pryce and Peter Stormare play French antagonists, and Lena Headey is cast as the female lead.
Locus Winners Named
he 2003 Locus Awards were presented July 4 at Westercon in Seattle, Locus Online reported.
The awards are given to winners in Locus Magazine's annual poll. Complete Locus poll results will appear in the August issue of the magazine. A list of winners follows.
SF Novel
•The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
Fantasy Novel
•The Scar by China Miéville
First Novel
•A Scattering of Jades by Alexander C. Irvine
Young Adult Novel
•Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Novella
•"The Tain" by China Miéville
Novelette
•"The Wild Girls" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Short Story
•"October in the Chair" by Neil Gaiman
Collection
•Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Anthology
•The Year's Best Science Fiction: Nineteenth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed.
Nonfiction
•Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next Fifty Years by Bruce Sterling
Art Book
•Spectrum 9: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner, eds.
Editor
•Gardner Dozois
Magazine
•The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
Book Publisher
•Tor
Artist
•Bob Eggleton
Special Award
•Tom Doherty, for winning the Locus Award 15 years in a row
Special Award
•Eileen Gunn, best acceptor
Special Award
•Bob Eggleton, for artistic contributions to Locus
Special Award
Special Award
•Connie Willis, best toastmaster
Galaxies Draws Big
ucasArts reported that Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, its new massively multiplayer online game, drew more than 125,000 users in its first week of operation.
To celebrate the game's launch, the development team held its first coordinated in-game community-building event on July 4, in which players set off fireworks in the game itself, the company said.
"As evidenced by the incredible player turnout during the first week, the launch of Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided was the single most successful introduction of an MMO to date," Simon Jeffery, president of LucasArts, said in a statement. "The game has broken all previous records for first-week subscription totals, which bodes very well for the ongoing success of the game."
The Star Wars Galaxies development team is working on a variety of new features, including player-owned ground vehicles and player cities, along with new content to be added on a regular basis throughout the coming months, the company said.
Next-Gen Potter Game Due
lectronic Arts announced that it will develop a video game based on J.K. Rowling's best-selling Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube platforms.
EA's UK Studio—the team behind the original Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets games for the PC, PlayStation, GameBoy Advance and GameBoy Color—joins Warthog Games in developing the title for the next-generation platforms.
The PS2, Xbox and GameCube titles are scheduled for release in the fall under the EA Games brand, the company said.
League Game Is On
oftware publisher Midway has announced that it will be bringing the characters of the Cartoon Network television series Justice League to console gaming platforms in 2004.
"We're excited to bring this hit animated television series to life and give gamers the chance to play as their favorite Justice League heroes on next-generation consoles," Helene Sheeler, Midway's vice president of marketing, said in the announcement.
The games will feature DC Comics superheroes such as Batman, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern using their super powers, skills and special weapons to battle the combined forces of their greatest foes. It will be the first time the characters have appeared together on next-generation consoles.
Briefly Noted
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William Hurt has been added to the cast of The Woods, the upcoming supernatural thriller from director M. Night Shyamalan, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Disney film, which also stars Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard, begins filming in the fall for release in the summer of 2004.
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Brothers Owen and Luke Wilson have signed on to appear in cameo roles as the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, in the upcoming remake of Around the World in 80 Days, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The film, starring Jackie Chan, will also have appearances by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathy Bates, Johnny Knoxville and Rob Schneider.
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New Line Cinema announced that the stars of its upcoming horror film Freddy vs. Jason will appear at Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas on July 15 in a boxing-style press conference. Freddy and Jason will take part in the traditional weigh-in and take questions from the audience. The event will be emceed by fight announcer Michael Buffer, known for coining the pre-fight exclamation "Let's get ready to rumble!"
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Walden Media has tapped writer Ed Neumeier (Robocop, Starship Troopers) to write the feature adaptation of author Lois Lowry's science-fiction novel The Giver, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Jeff Bridges is set to produce and will also likely star.
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A new Web site has gone live for Artisan's upcoming feature Alone in the Dark. The film, based on the popular video game of the same name, stars Christian Slater and is set to open October 2003.
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A former stripper is suing Pamela Anderson and comic-book icon Stan Lee, claiming she is the "true creator" of TNN's new animated series Stripperella, TV Guide Online reported. Janet Clover alleges that she pitched Lee the idea for Stripperella a year ago during a private dance session.
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For screenings of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Hollywood's El Capitan Theater was decked out in a pirate theme, with a re-creation of the film's environment, a specially designed marquee, oversized skull and crossbones above the stage, a display of the film's costumes and props and a live show preceding the film, which opened July 9, the Zap2it Web site reported.
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The SCI FI Channel announced that it will air a special one-hour Halloween edition of its reality series Scare Tactics in October. Shannen Doherty will host the event, which will serve up the show's scariest and funniest pranks, as well as some that never made it on the air.
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The Zreview Web site posted images from the production of King Arthur, starring Clive Owen, Ioann Gruffudd and Ray Winstone.
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The Moviehole Web site has posted images from the upcoming straight-to-video sequel film Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, directed by visual-effects maven Phil Tippett, which is slated to hit retailers in the new year.
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Peter Keefe and Brian Lacey have formed a new partnership to produce, market and distribute the new animated adventure series Z-Force, about 12 young men who are selected to become power animals of the Asian Zodiac, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Production on the 26-episode half-hour animated series began this week.
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Kevin Lima (Tarzan) will direct Cat and Mouse for Fox, about a cartoon mouse and cat zapped into the human world to become flesh-and-blood people, Variety reported. Chicken Run writer Karey Kirkpatrick is redrafting the script.
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A new Web site has gone live for Disney's upcoming Haunted Mansion movie, the Eddie Murphy film based on the theme park ride, which is slated to open Nov. 26.
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Dark Horizons reported that screenwriter James Dale Robinson (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) will pen the proposed live-action film adaptation of the anime classic Akira.
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Fox hyped League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie by flying a series of superhero banners over Southern California beaches over the July 4 weekend, a first for the studio, Zap2it reported. The banners featured characters from League, which opened July 11.
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Tilda.net, an entertainment news Web site, has changed its domain name and is now Neoncrossing.com.
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