Fox Exec Reveals Doe Secret
ail Berman, president of Fox Entertainment, revealed the secret of the network's canceled SF series John Doe to Zap2it.
The series, which starred Dominic Purcell as a man who knew everything except who he was, ended before uncovering the secret of his abilities.
But at Fox's fall press preview this week, Berman told the site that she had discussed Doe's underlying premise with creators Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson. The secret: Doe was just a regular guy. "[According to the show], when you're very close to death, when you're seeing the white light, God or a higher being gives you all the information of life to carry on to the next life," Berman said. Doe was about to die, but for whatever reason, he lived after being imparted with that knowledge, she said. The shadowy people who were after Doe knew what happened to him and were trying to keep him from discovering it himself, Berman added.
Watchmen Faithfully Adapted
loyd Levin, one of the producers of the upcoming sequel film Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, told SCI FI Wire that he is also producing a faithful film version of Alan Moore/Dave Gibbon's seminal superhero graphic novel Watchmen, adapted by X-Men screenwriter David Hayter, who may also direct.
"If you're familiar with the graphic novel, it's a great and challenging piece of work," Levin said in an interview. "I think we have a screenplay now that is a faithful adaptation of the graphic novel and does it justice, written by David Hayter, who wrote the X-Men movies."
Past efforts to adapt Watchmen for the movies—including one by producer Joel Silver, with Terry Gilliam directing—have stalled.
Levin—who is also producing Hellboy, based on Mike Mignola's comic series—added, "I really love comics, but I also really love movies about interesting characters. So sometimes they come from comics, sometimes they come from books. I place no restrictions." As for the current glut of comics-to-film, he said, "I think perhaps we're in a time when there are a lot of filmmakers who were big, big
fans of comic books [and who] are coming of age, and they're more impassioned about telling those stories." Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, based on the Eidos video game series, opens July 25.
De Bont Aims High In Raider 2
an de Bont, director of the upcoming action sequel Lara Croft Tomb
Raider: The Cradle of Life, told SCI FI Wire that he wanted to make a netter movie than the hit first film.
"I don't want to say anything negative about [the first film], but I felt that changes had to be made for sure, because there were a couple things I really didn't care for," de Bont said in an interview. "I think [Lara Croft's] character was way too one-dimensional. I think it needed to be really expanded on. And the story had to be much more coherent. It was not a brilliant story."
One thing that did appeal to de Bont was the lead character, played by Angelina Jolie. "I really believe in the character of Lara Croft—with my passion for female leads, for heroines—as an ideal personality to make a movie about," he said. "I was very eager to do it."
In the sequel, de Bont directed with a strong belief that action movie protagonists need to be complex characters. "You cannot just have a one-sided action hero," he said. "You have to make the hero able to show all facets of his or her personality, not just the tough edges, the adventurous side or the dangerous side. You also have to show the softer side, the vulnerable side. That, I think, is key. And if you don't do that, you will never create a real franchisable character." Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life opens July 25.
Jolie: Tomb 2 Is Better
ngelina Jolie, who returns as the title character in the upcoming sequel film Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, told SCI FI Wire that filmmakers wanted to improve on the hit first Tomb Raider and make Croft a more believable person this time around.
"We wanted to revisit Tomb Raider, because we all had fun with the first [film], but it was hard to go from the game to the first one, and I think we couldn't adjust too much," Jolie said in an interview. "With this one, we wanted a more solid story and to adjust [Lara]. We wanted her to be a real flesh-and-blood woman with relationships. There was so much we didn't feel satisfied with in the first one, so I did
the second one just because I wanted to finish it right, do it right."
Jolie once again plays Croft, the character first made famous in Eidos' best-selling video-game series. When asked how much longer she can see herself playing Croft, Jolie replied, "I don't know. I don't know if we'll do another one. I think we'll see how the audience responds. If they want another one, and if we can think of something great. There are so many great new things we can do. If not, we won't do it."
Jolie said that it's strange being so closely associated with Croft. "It's funny. It's all strange. Maddox [Jolie's 2-year-old son] sees the poster and says 'Mama!' But I like [Lara]. I really like her,
and I am flattered, because I think she is a cool lady." And there's another upside to her fame in this role, the new mother said. "I can travel the world now and go to the middle of Japan or Tanzania or wherever it is—and critics can say whatever they want about Tomb Raider—but I can go to these countries, and little kids will play with me, so it's great." Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life opens July 25.
Butler Pumped For Future Films
erard Butler, co-star of the upcoming Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, told SCI FI Wire that bulking up was part of connecting with his character, a mercenary who teams up with the film's heroine, Lara Croft.
"I often find that the technical training and physical training that you have to do for parts [like this] takes you a lot of the way towards establishing your character, and often the guys who train you are in the
field that you are pretending to be in, so they give you so much more," Butler said in an interview.
But Tomb Raider isn't the only movie for which Butler has had to get brawny. The Scottish actor bemoaned having to get big for another genre film, Timeline—the big-screen adaptation of Michael Crichton's medieval time-travel tale—only to be told to get rid of it. "I was pumped up a lot for Timeline, and then I
got [on set], and [the director, Richard Donner,] said, 'I don't see this character as big'! So I kind of let it go a bit."
Nor will this be the last film for which he'll be asked to work out. Butler is to star in the long-awaited film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, and he's been told he needs to be a bit huskier for the lead role. When asked what viewers can expect (aside from a well-built protagonist) in this cinematic take on the wildly successful musical (which is set to start shooting in September), Butler said that the movie will be somewhat less operatic. "There'll be more talking in it, and more of the singing will be [low-key]," he said. "The whole thing is just going to be more pulled down and filmic, where we'll be able to express more subtle emotions, rather than having to belt it out, like on stage. That will be one
big advantage of film."
When asked why it's taken so long for Phantom to make it to the screen, Butler said that, to his understanding, it's mostly been a matter of bad timing. "I think there's like 25 different stories,"
he said. "It was just always things cropping up—Andrew was busy, [director] Joel [Schumacher] was busy, it wasn't the right time. There was always just things going on, until everybody was in the right place at the right time." Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life opens July 25.
Pileggi Stretches In Tarzan
itch Pileggi, who spent nearly a decade playing Assistant FBI Director Walter Skinner on The X-Files, told SCI FI Wire that he's returning to series TV this fall in The WB's Tarzan, playing a character as unlike the straight-laced G-man as possible.
"Some people perceive Skinner to be complex," Pileggi said in an interview during The WB's fall press preview. "I just basically was trying to remember my lines, so I guess that's what they perceive as being complexity. But [with] this guy, ... there's a lot going on with him, you know? He's very layered. He's very complex. ... It's going to be very different, and it's going to be a real treat to play."
Pileggi plays Richard Clayton, the mysterious billionaire head of Greystoke Industries, who has captured his long-lost nephew, John Clayton Jr. (Travis Fimmel), and returned him from the jungles of Africa, where he was raised by apes, to his hometown of New York. Richard Clayton is a dark character, though Pileggi hesitates to call him the heavy of the show. "In his own mind, he's not," Pileggi said. "He has to believe—and I have to believe as an actor—that what he's doing is right. ... That's one of the things they're really stressing and putting a lot of emphasis on: The fact that they don't want him to be just a heavy. They want him to have a soul."
Pileggi added, "After I finished doing The X-Files, I had to go back to acting class to see if I could still act. ... And then this came about, and fortunately somebody thinks that I can still act ... and play something other than Skinner. And so, knock on wood, I'm really grateful and really fortunate to have the opportunity."
Meanwhile, more than a year after the end of his last series, Pileggi expressed ambivalence about reprising his most famous role in a proposed second X-Files movie. Would he play Skinner again? "I don't know," he said. "It's just a matter of ... You know, yeah, probably I would do it. It's like ... I owe a lot to The X-Files. I owe a lot to that whole nine years, you know? I met my wife. I had my daughter. ... So it was a big part of my life. But it's nice to move on. And having played that character for so long, and now, it's like a fresh start. It's a new chapter. It's a new adventure, and I'm really excited about this. And I don't know. You know, when you finish with something, it's like you don't want to go back?" Tarzan will air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, starting this fall.
Fimmel Swings Into Tarzan
ravis Fimmel, the Australian model who makes his acting debut as the title character in The WB's upcoming Tarzan series, told SCI FI Wire that the show will be a departure from previous big- and small-screen portrayals of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic fantasy character.
"I know the legend," Fimmel said in an interview at The WB's fall press preview. "The difference between the legend and this is that this is contemporary. And the legend's always been about Tarzan in the jungle, in his element, because he grew up there. And now he's out of his element."
The series sets the story of Tarzan in the present day, centering on John Clayton Jr., a young man who was thought lost in the jungle, but who was raised by apes and has now returned to New York. There, he is captured by his billionaire uncle, Richard Clayton (The X-Files' Mitch Pileggi), but escapes and encounters young NYPD detective Jane Porter (Sarah Wayne Callies). Fimmel plays Tarzan/Clayton as a man "getting used to a society," he said. "He hasn't been corrupted, so he's not used to it. ... All he's got to rely on is his primal instincts, you know? And, in a way, he's more evolved than the normal human being."
Until now, Fimmel was best known for his billboards for Calvin Klein underwear—a reputation that he's found a bit hard to overcome. "It is a bit weird," he said. "But it was great. It gave me an opportunity to stay in the country and pursue acting, which I've always wanted to do. And I appreciate it for that. It's certainly not what I want to do, but I'm happy I did it. I wouldn't be here today if I didn't do it. ... I just have to prove [myself] in my acting, and hopefully I can, and [will] be taken seriously." Tarzan (formerly Tarzan and Jane) will air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, starting this fall.
Revolutions Will Offer Answers
ona Gaye, who reprises the role of Zee in the upcoming sequel film The Matrix Revolutions, told SCI FI Wire that the conclusion of the trilogy will answer all of the questions raised by The Matrix Reloaded.
"People will be relieved when they see Revolutions," Gaye said in an interview. "I know a lot of people are like, 'What's going on?'"
Gaye promised that the film will still be philosophically complex and that viewers will still have to work to understand the film's answers. "I think it depends on your perception," she said. "When I read the script, it made sense to me." The actress added that she was not surprised to see so many skeptics speak out against Reloaded in reviews and Internet postings after its May release. "There are always going to be skeptics," she said. "You can't make everyone happy."
Zee was only featured in a few scenes of Reloaded, in the human city of Zion. But Gaye said that viewers will see more of her in Revolutions. "Number three is where I get down," she said. "I'm doing a lot of diving and running and jumping and stuff." The Matrix Revolutions opens Nov. 5.
28 Gets Alternative End
n an unusual marketing move to pump up the buzz surrounding its horror hit 28 Days Later, Fox Searchlight will attach the film's original, downbeat ending to all 1,400 prints now playing in theaters, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Although outtakes, filmmaker narration and alternative endings have become an expected part of DVD movie packages, Fox Searchlight says it is aware of no other instance in which alternative scenes were added to a film still in theatrical release, the newspaper reported.
The ending now in theaters was actually the film's original scripted ending, but was ditched by screenwriter Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle during production in favor of a darker coda, the Times reported. That grim ending was included in the first cut of the film and tested with preview audiences in theaters. But Boyle and his filmmaking team ultimately rejected the scene, set in a hospital, as simply too bleak, the newspaper reported.
The darker ending, which already appears as a feature on the British DVD of the film, will appear beginning July 25 at the conclusion of the credits.
McNab Joins Angel
oss Whedon, co-creator of The WB's Angel, told SCI FI Wire that former Buffy the Vampire Slayer supporting player Mercedes McNab (Harmony) will join the cast as a recurring player in the upcoming fifth season, one of many changes coming up.
McNab's Harmony and a second as-yet-uncast new recurring female character will join James Marsters' Spike on the show, Whedon added in an interview at The WB's fall press preview.
"Well, Spike and Harmony do have a history," Whedon said, referring to the vampire duo's steamy affair on Buffy. "But that doesn't mean they'll necessarily hook up. It just means we love Mercedes, and we want to see more of her."
As for how Marsters' character—who met a fiery end in the Buffy series finale last May—comes back, Whedon remained silent. "I can't really give you much of a hint [as to how Spike will be integrated into the show], except that badly would be the word," Whedon said. "Because he sticks out like a sore thumb, which is exactly what we always hire him to do. I see him not fitting in. And that's exactly what they need right now. Because, although they all have their separate agendas, to an extent, they're a team. And when you're a team, you need somebody to come in and f--k up the team."
In the coming fifth season, Angel will move out of its hotel set into a swanky, new set representing the Wolfram & Hart law firm, where Whedon said to look for West-Wing style camera movements. Whedon added that big changes are in store for the character of Charles Gunn, played by J. August Richards—a transformation that was foreshadowed in last season's finale. "Yeah, he's going to go through some interesting changes," Whedon said. "And again, we'll find out early on what it is, but not exactly what it means. But, yeah, you know, Gunn is somebody that we felt was a little underutilized. J.'s an amazing actor. And we thought Wolfram & Hart would be the perfect venue to find a new side of him. So we're shaking it up." Angel will return to its regular timeslot, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, in the fall.
Whedon Writes Firefly Film
oss Whedon, creator of Fox's canceled SF western series Firefly, told SCI FI Wire that he is close to a deal to write and direct a feature film based on the short-lived show.
"What's happening with that is that I'm writing a script," Whedon said in an interview. "And I have some interest. But I won't know really until I finish a draft whether or not it's genuine. ... We have a pretty decent shot. It's not a crazed pipe dream."
Whedon said that any deal for a Firefly movie would be contingent on getting the original cast back as the crew of the space transport ship Serenity. "Well, I can't just keep putting them on [The WB's] Angel," he joked. "So I have to make a Firefly movie so I can hang out with them more. Yes, the deal is contingent upon the cast." Firefly starred Nathan Fillion as Capt. Mal Reynolds. Whedon added, "I couldn't go so far as to jinx [the deal] and say it's in the bag. It's not. I still have to write it really well [groans]. But there's no pressure."
In the meantime, Whedon said that the upcoming DVD of Firefly will include three unaired episodes, plus "the gag reel, interviews with everybody, commentaries on most of the episodes by cast members and writers and directors and me. ... It's a huge package. It's b-lls-out deluxe, which I'm really proud of."
Brody Mulls The Woods
scar winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist) is the latest high-profile star to express an interest in joining the cast of director M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming supernatural thriller film The Woods, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Brody is in talks to join the ensemble that includes Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver.
Set in 1897, The Woods revolves around a close-knit community that lives near a mythical race of creatures in the woods around them, the trade paper reported. Shyamalan wrote the script and is producing, along with Scott Rudin and Sam Mercer.
Weaver Enters The Woods
igourney Weaver will play the female lead in director M. Night Shyamalan's next film, The Woods, for Disney, Variety reported.
Weaver joins a cast that includes William Hurt, Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard in the thriller that starts shooting Oct. 14 in Philadelphia, the trade paper reported.
The film is set in 1897 and concerns a close-knit community and a mythical race of creatures residing in the nearby forest, the trade paper reported. Weaver will play Alice, the mother of Phoenix's character.
Shyamalan, who penned the script, is producing with Scott Rudin and Sam Mercer, the trade paper reported.
German SCI FI Launching
he SCI FI Channel announced that it will launch the only SF TV channel in Germany on Sept. 1.
The German SCI FI network will have access to an extensive library of feature films, including 12 Monkeys, Apollo 13 The Astronaut's Wife, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Total Recall and The 6th Day, as well as television series such as Andromeda, Stargate SG-1 and Flash Gordon. The channel will also air anime.
The channel will be made available via the digital subscriber TV platform Premiere, covering both German and Austrian territories, SCI FI announced. The SCI FI brand has already had great success, with 80 million household subscribers in the United States and more than 9 million in the United Kingdom.
Sci Fiction Wins Sturgeon
he Theodore Sturgeon Award for best SF short story went for the first time to a story published on the Internet:
Lucius Shepard's "Over Yonder," which first appeared on SCIFI.COM's
Sci Fiction site, organizers said.
Second place was awarded to "Bronte's Egg" by Richard Chwedyk, published in Fantasy and Science Fiction; third place went to "Singleton" by Australian Greg Egan, published in the British Interzone.
The John W. Campbell Award for best SF novel of the year, meanwhile, went for the first time went to a previous Sturgeon Award winner: Nancy Kress, for her novel Probability Space. Kress' husband, the late Charles Sheffield, had won the Campbell Award a decade earlier, the first husband and wife to be so honored. Second place in the Campbell Awards went to David Brin's Kiln People; third place went to Robert J. Sawyer's Hominids.
The Campbell and Sturgeon Awards were presented July 11 at the University of Kansas.
Alias, Taken Get Emmy Nods
lias, Enterprise and the SCI FI Channel's original miniseries Steven Spielberg Presents Taken and Frank Herbert's Children of Dune topped the genre nominations for SF&F TV programs for the 55th annual prime-time Emmy Awards, announced on July 17.
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences will present the awards in a live telecast from the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium on Fox on Sept. 21.
ABC's Alias netted 11 nominations, including best actress in a drama series, for star Jennifer Garner; best supporting actor in a drama, for Victor Garber; and best supporting actress in a drama, for Lena Olin.
Taken got six nominations, including best miniseries. Enterprise snagged five technical nominations; Children of Dune got four. A full list of genre nominations follows.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
•Alias, Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
•Alias, Victor Garber as Agent Jack Bristow
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
•Alias, Lena Olin as Irina Derevko/Laura Bristow
Outstanding Miniseries
•Steven Spielberg Presents Taken
Outstanding Animated Program (Less Than One Hour)
•As Told By Ginger, "And She Was Gone"
•Disney's Kim Possible, "Crush"
•Futurama, "Jurassic Bark"
•SpongeBob SquarePants, "New Student Starfish/Clams"
Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series
•Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, "Sabrina in Wonderland"
Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series
•Alias, "Phase One"
Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series
•Alias, "Double Agent"
Outstanding Costumes for a Series
•Alias, "Phase One"
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
•Alias, "Phase One"
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or Special
•Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, "Episode 3: High
Hopes"
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series
•Alias, "The Counteragent"
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries, Movie or Special
•Frank Herbert's Children of Dune
Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Non-Prosthetic)
•Alias, "The Counteragent"
Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Prosthetic)
•Enterprise, "Canamar"
Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
•Frank Herbert's Children Of Dune
Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or Special (Prosthetic)
•Steven Spielberg Presents Taken
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)
•Enterprise, "The Expanse"
•Odyssey 5, "Pilot"
Outstanding Music and Lyrics
•The Fairly OddParents, "Love Struck," Song Title: "What Girls Love"
•The Fairly OddParents, "Love Struck," Song Title: "It's Great to Be a Guy"
•It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, Song Title: "Everyone Matters"
Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
•Miracles
Outstanding Children's Program
•Kermit's Swamp Years
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series
•Alias, "Phase One"
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or Special
•Frank Herbert's Children of Dune, "Night One"
•Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, "Episode 9: John"
Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or Movie
•Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, "Episode 1: Beyond the Sky"
Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series
•Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Chosen"
•Enterprise, "Dead Stop"
•Enterprise, "The Crossing"
•Enterprise, "The Expanse"
•Firefly, "Serenity"
Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or Special
•Frank Herbert's Children of Dune, "Night One"
•Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, "Episode 2: Jacob and Jesse"
Outstanding Stunt Coordination
•Alias, "The Telling"
Tron 2.0 Ready To Go
uena Vista Interactive announced that Tron 2.0, the highly anticipated first-person action PC game based on the 1982 movie Tron, is ready for manufacture and will hit stores nationwide Aug. 26.
The game's release comes 21 years after the premiere of the movie, which pioneered computer-generated visual effects.
Developed by Monolith Productions, Tron 2.0 is a story-driven action game that takes place in the present, about 20 years after the events of the film. Players assume the role of Jet Bradley, son of ENCOM programmer Alan Bradley from the film. Gamers are digitized into cyberspace and will race on light cycles, battle corruption both inside and outside of the computer world and explore locations, including the Internet Hub, Firewall, Corrupted Server and Light Cycle Game Grid, the company said.
Bridges Wants Tron 2.0 Script
eff Bridges told SCI FI Wire that he's interested in seeing a script for a proposed sequel film to Tron, entitled Tron 2.0.
Bridges heard about the proposed sequel while shooting an interview for the DVD edition of the 1982 SF movie. "I'd be interested in reading the script," Bridges said in an interview.
Bridges added that he was told the sequel deals with his Tron character, Kevin Flynn/Clu. The person interviewing Bridges for the DVD told him, "'You're like Kurtz in Apocalypse Now,'" Bridges said. "It would be interesting to read."
Disney is releasing a video game entitled Tron 2.0, which hits store shelves on Aug. 26.
Gaye Imagines Polar Express
ona Gaye, who appears in Robert Zemeckis' upcoming fantasy film The Polar Express, told SCI FI Wire that she worked entirely in a small, empty motion-capture room to create her computer-animated character.
Her character will be animated based on her actions and will appear in digital sets to be created in post-production.
"It's just like a closet, so small it's ridiculous," Gaye said in an interview. "We just run around this room and do all these crazy things and act like there were stairs and bridges and all kinds of things, when there's really nothing."
Gaye appears alongside Tom Hanks, who stars as the conductor of a train to the North Pole who teaches a young boy that Santa Claus is real. "My character's name is Hero Girl," Gaye said. "Tom is Hero Boy. We have this really exciting adventure in the North Pole, and I cannot say too much more than that." The Polar Express, based on Chris Van Allsburg's book, is scheduled for a Nov. 19, 2004, release from Warner Brothers.
Fuller Is Fully Charmed
rew Fuller, who returns as a regular cast member on The WB's witch drama Charmed in its upcoming sixth season, told SCI FI Wire that he's happy to be the new guy on the block.
Fuller's character, Chris Perry, appeared in last season's finale and returns as the new Whitelighter for the Halliwell sisters, played by Rose McGowan, Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs.
"It's really amazing," Fuller said in an interview during The WB's fall press preview. "Because the show is established, ... I've been given this gift of not having to worry about 'Is the show going to get picked up? And what night is it going to be on? Are we going to get an audience?' This show is getting better every year. The ratings are going higher. ... So it's actually been the best blessing."
Fuller (who last appeared in The WB's short-lived martial-arts drama Black Sash) added, "I am the new kid. But at the same time, it's like, that's never bothered me. I love going into new situations where I can meet new people and ... form strong bonds."
As for his character, Fuller remained coy. "I'm very mysterious," he said. "They're keeping me shrouded in secrecy the entire time. And I’m going to slowly reveal, throughout the season, my character and my motives. So sometimes I'm going to be really good. And sometimes I'm going to be evil. And it's all for the greater good of my purpose that I’m serving. And I'm the Cheshire Cat of Charmed." Charmed returns to its regular timeslot at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Sundays, starting in the fall.
Darabont Options Sternn
rank Darabont's Darkwoods Productions has optioned the comic-book character Captain Sternn, an interstellar con man who bowed in the pages of Heavy Metal magazine and then in Columbia Pictures' 1981 film Heavy Metal, Variety reported.
Darkwoods will develop the property as the basis for a computer-animated feature, animated TV series, comic book and video game, in association with Bernie Wrightson's Himani Original Productions, the trade paper reported.
In addition to creator Wrightson, writer David J. Schow (The Crow) and Himani president and founder Kevin Kutchaver will contribute to the project, the trade paper reported."
Catwoman Not Skinned
spokesman for Warner Brothers denied to SCI FI Wire a rumor on the Cinescape/Coming Attractions Web site that it was close to pulling the plug on its proposed Catwoman movie, which is to star Oscar winner Halle Berry as the costumed comic-book character.
"The Catwoman piece ... is pure rumor," the spokesman said. "Warner Brothers will begin filming as planned on Sept 10, 2003, in Vancouver. We are very excited about this film."
The Catwoman movie is based on the DC Comics character. Berry, who recently wrapped production on the supernatural horror film Gothika, is currently on her way to San Diego to appear at Comic-Con International.
Jenson Swims With Sharkslayer
icky Jenson, co-director of DreamWorks' upcoming computer-animated film Sharkslayer, told SCI FI Wire that the movie will do for the mafia—and fish—what her last film, Shrek, did for fairy tales and ogres.
"We took fairy tales and messed with them and kind of turned them upside down to find the tone of Shrek and the kind of humor there," said Jenson, who co-directed that fractured fairy tale. "That's kind of what we want to do with the genre of mob comedies and those kinds of icons for Sharkslayer."
Sharkslayer will feature Will Smith as the voice of Oscar, a small fish who aspires to great things. Working at a "whale wash," Oscar comes into conflict with a family of great white sharks, voiced by Robert De Niro, Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) and Jack Black. When one dies, Oscar inadvertently gets the credit, and finds himself a hero. "Everyone thinks he's the new Eliot Ness on the reef," Jenson said during a preview of DreamWorks animation. "And he milks that for all it's worth, until eventually, he learns there's consequences to building a house of cards on a little white lie like that. And he'll come clean, and become the hero he's pretending to be. But we'll have a lot of fun with him in the meantime."
Unlike the recent hit Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo, Sharkslayer combines the naturalism of the sea with a fantasy urban environment that Jenson called "New York meets Las Vegas meets Miami." The shark mob, for example, dwells in the ruins of a sunken Titanic-style ocean liner; Oscar lives in a brownstone topped with a coral reef.
As for comparisons with Nemo, DreamWorks principal Jeffrey Katzenberg told a visiting audience, "We'll let this film talk for itself. We're big fans of that really brilliant film. ... But we think they couldn't be further apart." Sharkslayer—which is currently in production and which will also feature the voices of Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Peter Falk, Ziggy Marley and Martin Scorsese—is slated for release on Thanksgiving 2004.
Disney Pens Pig
isney has bought the fantasy movie pitch Prince and the Pig from writer-director Rian Johnson, based on his own epic poem, to develop into an animated feature film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The fairy tale centers on the adventure of a boy and his pig as they set off against all odds to try to steal the moon, the trade paper reported.
Johnson wrote the poem when he was a student at the University of Southern California. He recently turned his attention to it again to develop into a feature film. In the process, he joined with producer and former Disney executive Jane Goldenring, who helped him shape it into a pitch, which they then took to Disney, the trade paper reported.
Del Rey To Publish Manga
el Rey Books, an imprint of Random House, announced that it will launch a line of manga titles in conjunction with Kodansha, Japan's leading publisher of manga, or Japanese graphic novels.
The line will begin with the simultaneous release of four titles in spring 2004, each the first volume of an individual series that is a top Kodansha property, Del Rey said.
Eight additional volumes will follow over the next 12 months. The titles will be released as trade paperbacks printed in the traditional Japanese format, reading right to left. The target audience for the program will be readers 13 and older, the company said.
Shrek 2 Goes Deeper
elly Asbury, co-director of the upcoming computer-animated sequel film Shrek 2, told SCI FI Wire that the movie will delve deeper into the characters and their relationships, while aiming its satire squarely at Hollywood.
"Like with any sequel, what I like to go to a sequel for is to see the further adventures of these characters that I've fallen in love with," Asbury said in an interview after previewing the movie at DreamWorks in Glendale, Calif. "And that's what we're trying to do with this. We're not just trying to recreate the first one. We're trying to take it to the next level emotionally."
With tongue in cheek, Asbury calls the second movie Shrek Meets the Parents, because it turns on the first meeting between Shrek (voiced by Michael Myers) with the parents of his new bride, Fiona (Cameron Diaz). The parents are the King (John Cleese) and Queen (Julie Andrews) of Far Far Away, which Asbury says is the "Beverly Hills of the fairy tale world." "We like to think it's bigger, better, funnier, everything," he said. "That's always the goal when you make a sequel, especially, is to give the audience more."
While the first Shrek lampooned the conventions of typical fairy-tale movies, such as those produced by rival studio Walt Disney Co., the sequel aims a little broader, Asbury said. "I think if we're parodying anything here, we're more making fun of the Hollywood, Beverly Hills aspect of things," he said.
Conrad Vernon, who is also a co-director of the sequel, added in an interview, "Again, we're dealing with beauty and, you know, it's only skin deep and everything. And we figured where her parents live in Far Far Away is a perfect place to do that."
Shrek 2 brings back Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and adds the new characters Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) and Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders). The movie, which is currently in production, is slated for release June 18, 2004.
Jurassic IV Draft Done
roducer Kathleen Kennedy told SCI FI Wire that novelist William Monahan has completed a first draft of the script for a proposed fourth Jurassic Park movie.
Kennedy added that the sequel will move off the islands of the first three Jurassic Park films. "Let's just say it takes place someplace else," she said in an interview. "It will not be green. We will not go back to the jungle."
Monahan makes his screenwriting debut on the upcoming Ridley Scott film Tripoli, which is what attracted Kennedy to the writer. "[Tripoli is a] very different genre than what we're talking about doing with Jurassic, which is why I'm excited about Jurassic, because I think he'll bring something to it that's going to make it feel fresh."
No director has been approached or even discussed yet for the project. Kennedy said that she believes she and Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg will act as producers, with plans for a 2005 release. Kennedy said that she feels some pressure from Universal Pictures to hurry a sequel, but added that she is determined to make a good film above anything else. "It's become personal," she said. "We're not going to spend two or three years of our lives working 12-, 14-, 16-hour days on something that we don't care about. And sometimes I think people think, 'Well, how can you go off and make Jurassic IV and care about it?' Well, you can if there's a good story. They're as fun to make as they are to watch, hopefully. So you're trying just as hard to put the ingredients into that. It's more difficult to make a really good Jurassic Park movie, sometimes, than it is to do a really good drama, because you've got so many combinations of things."
Universal Pictures is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Pirates Sequel Sets Sail
anking on the success of its Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Disney is already talking about a sequel to the theme-park-ride-inspired movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Disney has reportedly made sequel arrangements with key cast members Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, as well as with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the trade paper reported.
The studio has also begun talks with Pirates writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio about drafting a sequel, though no specific storyline has yet been set, the trade paper reported. Since opening a week ago, Pirates has taken in more than $78 million.
Area 51 Game Updated
ach Wood, producer of Midway's upcoming Area 51 video game, told SCI FI Wire that the first-person shooter will stand on its own, despite being based on the early 1990s light-gun arcade game of the same name.
"With Area 51, we're making a really good first-person shooter with a really deep story and a lot of lore and conspiracy theories that just so happens to be of the same name as the game that was a hit in the arcade," Wood said in an interview. "We never set out to just enhance the arcade game."
The player takes the role of a U.S. Army Hazmat inspector sent into Area 51, the legendary government lab where all alien landing evidence is stored. In trying to contain a biochemical outbreak, the player will uncover secrets of aliens and explore actual alien worlds. Wood promised that the game will provide fans of the arcade shooter with some of the same thrills.
"I think one of the things that the arcade game provided is lots of cannon fodder," Wood said. "There'll be a lot of things to shoot at. You'll have the standard machine gun, pistol, rocket launcher, things like that. But there's going to be a lot of other unique things that are on the horizon. I can't talk about them specifically, but we're going to do some fun stuff as an homage to the original, because I think fans expect it."
Wood added that Hollywood special-effects guru Stan Winston (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) designed the game's aliens and worked with game producers on creating unique monsters. "We went through a preproduction phase with our team and started getting the sketches from Stan Winston Studios, going back and forth discussing how these characters might interact in the environment, and we've come up with some really good stuff based on Stan's designs," he said. Midway will release Area 51 in the fourth quarter of 2004.
Fox Buys Velouria Spec
wentieth Century Fox has picked up the supernatural martial-arts film spec script My Velouria from new writer Marc Wolff, Variety reported.
The film centers on two FBI agents who investigate the death of an adult film star and discover that the murder is the handiwork of a sect of 2,000-year-old vampires, the trade paper reported.
Wolff, a 27-year-old Illinois native who moved west three years ago, said he decided to write his first spec in the action genre, because films like Lethal Weapon and Alien were among those that influenced him most, the trade paper reported.
Exorcist Suit Settled
arner Brothers and Exorcist director William Friedkin and author William Blatty announced that they had settled their lawsuit over profit participation on the eve of trial, Variety reported.
"We've settled," Warner representative Barbara Brogliatti told the trade paper. "It's done. All claims are being dismissed with prejudice."
Neither side would divulge any of the financial details of the settlement. Before trial, plaintiffs pegged damages at about $10 million, the trade paper reported.
The court had earlier dismissed Friedkin's and Blatty's breach of fiduciary duty claim, meaning a jury could not consider punitive damages. A companion federal copyright case is on appeal. That case was dismissed in 2002, the trade paper reported.
The state case, which was scheduled to begin July 15 in Los Angeles Superior Court, revolved around Friedkin's and Blatty's profit participation on The Exorcist—The Version You've Never Seen. The duo claimed that Warner reneged on a new deal for Friedkin and that the studio gave away cable rights to sister company Turner Broadcasting and undersold network rights to CBS, the trade paper reported.
Duchovny Voices XIII
bi Soft Entertainment announced that former The X-Files star David Duchovny will voice the lead character in XIII, an upcoming action-shooter video game.
XIII, set in a highly stylized graphic-novel world, is scheduled to be released on all game consoles and the PC in the fall, the company said.
Duchovny will voice the role of XIII, a secret agent with
complete amnesia who must discover clues behind his true identity while avoiding the FBI, who accuse him of assassinating the president, and a mysterious group called the Twenty, the company said.
Duchovny joins actress/musician Eve (Maj. Jones) and former TV Batman Adam West (Gen. Carrington).
Cast Squeezes Into Anacondas
ohnny Messner is in talks and Morris Chestnut and Nicholas Gonzalez are set to star in Anacondas, director Dwight Little's sequel to 1997's Anaconda, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Screen Gems film also stars Eugene Byrd, Salli Richardson, Kadee Strickland and newcomer Carl Yune, the trade paper reported.
Production begins in August in Fiji. John Claflin and Daniel Zelman wrote the script, which is a horror-thriller set in a primitive jungle in Borneo, the trade paper reported.
Iron Man Script Nearly Done
iles Millar, who with partner Alfred Gough is writing the script for a proposed Iron Man movie, told SCI FI Wire that he expects to deliver a completed screenplay by September.
"We're about halfway through the script," Millar said in an interview. "We spent, I guess, seven months developing the story. So we're happy. ... It's faithful [to the Marvel Comics series], but it's also very different from the original. And it's updated."
Millar and Gough—who also executive produce The WB's Superman series, Smallville—said that it was a challenge finding a way to update the story beyond simply that of a man in an iron suit. "That was our initial challenge," Millar said. "When we found a solution to that, we realized we could write the movie. Before that, we were skeptical. We played with the notion. But I think we found a really cool way, actually, to reinvent the suit, make it very high-tech, make it very cool visually. And yeah, we're really happy."
Like the comics, the proposed New Line Cinema film will center on billionaire Tony Stark, who in this case will be portrayed as a man with an alcohol problem who needs the high-tech suit to survive. "Tony Stark, I think, ... [is] a really interesting character," Millar said. "That's what I think really drew us to the character in the first place. It's that he had a depth and an originality that you hadn't seen in a superhero before. There's no character like this currently in superhero movies."
Millar said that the script will preserve Iron Man's trademark red-and-yellow color scheme, but with a twist. "Yep," he said. "But don't worry. It's going to be a very different suit. But, yeah, it will be a gold suit."
Hallmark Readies Minis
allmark Entertainment has given the green light to two four-hour miniseries: a remake of King Solomon's Mines, starring Patrick Swayze, and a new version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Variety reported.
Both miniseries are tentatively earmarked for a U.S. debut on the Hallmark Channel, but that's not a given: When production wraps, co-executive producer Robert Halmi Jr. reserves the right to pitch them to a broadcast or cable network with a bigger circulation than Hallmark's 52 million subscribers, the trade paper reported.
Frankenstein, directed by Kevin Connor, stars Alec Newman (the SCI FI Channel's Frank Herbert's Dune), Luke Goss (Blade II) and Julie Delpy (An American Werewolf in Paris). Location shoots include Austria and Slovakia.
King Solomon's Mines, based on H. Rider Haggard's novel, is directed by Steve Boyum. The hero of King Solomon's Mines, Allan Quatermain, is currently being played by Sean Connery in the feature film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Hyde Park Options Where
yde Park Entertainment has optioned Jo Lichtman's manuscript Where or When, a paranormal thriller novel, for adaptation into a movie, Variety reported.
Jack Robinson is adapting the book.
The book revolves around a young woman who believes a ghost she resembles has summoned her to correct a century-old crime of passion, the trade paper reported. Where or When goes out to publishers this week.
Briefly Noted
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Stan Lee has partnered with Playboy to develop a cartoon TV series starring Hugh Hefner as the leader of an elite crime-fighting team of various Playmates of the Month, called Hef's Superbunnies, Variety reported.
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Warner Brothers has decided to continue using its ESC Entertainment visual-effects company after it completes work on the upcoming sequel film The Matrix Revolutions, Variety reported. Initial plans called for the effects facility to shutter after its work on the SF sequel was done.
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Robin Furth has written a two-volume concordance to the characters, places and things in Stephen King's epic Dark Tower series of books, with the first volume due this month and the second in late 2003, the PW Daily for Booksellers newsletter reported.
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Midway president and chief executive David Zucker told SCI FI Wire that the psychic-power action video game ESPionage will be delayed until the spring of 2004 for further development. It was originally scheduled for fall of 2003.
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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl star Keira Knightley confirmed to Box-Office Magazine that she is under consideration for a role in the proposed fourth Jurassic Park movie, according to a report on Dark Horizons.
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Fans of Stephen King's Dark Tower series of books are invited to submit short films based on the series as entries in a
contest, whose grand prize is a meeting with King himself. The contest began July 15; winners will be announced Nov. 17.
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Marvel Comics has decided not to portray the late Princess Diana in an upcoming issue of X-Statix, the satirical X-Men spinoff series, Entertainment Weekly reported. "While Lady Diana was portrayed in a positive light in the comic book, upon reflection, the company has decided to remove Princess Diana and all references to the royal family," the company said in a statement.
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Former Xena: Warrior Princess star Lucy Lawless has joined the cast of the tentatively titled supernatural film Boogeyman for Screen Gems and Ghost House Pictures, the genre label launched by Sam Raimi; Lawless' husband, Rob Tapert; and Senator International. The project, shooting in New Zealand, is being directed by Stephen Kay and stars Barry Watson as a young man traumatized by memories of terrible events in his childhood bedroom.
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Fox is releasing a new version of its classic SF film Alien on Halloween in more than 1,000 theaters, with newly added footage that has never before been seen. The re-release of the 1979 movie is modeled on the successful theatrical re-release last year of an updated version of The Exorcist.
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MGM is including an apology in the Aug. 5 DVD of its spy spoof movie Agent Cody Banks in response to a furor over a scene in which one character asks another derisively, "Are you in special ed?" Variety reported. "Regarding the references to special ed in the movie, we in no way meant to be insensitive to kids with special educational needs," the apology reads in part.
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Joss Whedon, co-creator of The WB's Angel, told SCI FI Wire that he has spoken with former Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar about making guest appearances next season, and that "she's always been very open to the idea. ... She's said from the start, 'If I have the time, if the schedule is there, we'll do it.'"
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Disney will release the soundtrack to its hit film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl on July 22, featuring Klaus Badelt's score.
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The WB has bumped its upcoming SF-tinged series Fearless, about an FBI agent without the gene for fear, to midseason. The hourlong drama, starring Rachael Leigh Cook, had been slated for a fall start.
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E! Online reported that James Bond star Pierce Brosnan received an honorary Order of the British Empire award from Queen Elizabeth for his outstanding contributions to drama and the British film industry.
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New Line will release the DVD of Willard, starring Crispin Glover, on Oct. 7. A special platinum series edition of the DVD will include a feature-length making-of documentary and another film about rats and people.
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MonkeyBrain Books will release Jess Nevins' Heroes & Monsters, a book-length concordance to the Alan Moore/Kevin O'Neill graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, with annotations, essays, biographies, interviews and an introduction by Moore. Heroes & Monsters hits stores in July.
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Warner will release The Matrix Reloaded on DVD Oct. 14, three weeks before the third and final chapter in the trilogy, The Matrix Revolutions, hits theaters, Variety reported.
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The Ain't It Cool News Web site has posted a graphic trailer for Mel Gibson's upcoming religious-themed film The Passion, about the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life.
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The IGN FilmForce Web site has posted a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, which opens July 25.
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