Uncut Rings In Theaters
he official Lord of the Rings Web site has announced that select theaters will host limited screenings of the extended editions of all three films in their entirety during the month of December.
During the week of Dec. 5-11, audiences will be able to see the full-length version of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, previously only available on DVD. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers will follow from Dec. 12-15. The screenings will culminate on Dec. 16 with the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which will be shown back to back with the extended versions of the first two installments.
Dungey Returns to Alias
errin Dungey, who played the evil roommate of CIA operative Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) on ABC's Alias, will return for the sixth episode of the season, a source on the set told the Ain't It Cool News Web site.
The episode, entitled The Nemesis, will find Sydney traveling to a club in Milan on an assignment where she will unexpectedly encounter Dungey's character attempting to assassinate a diplomat. It is unknown at this point whether Dungey will appear in subsequent episodes. The source also reported that Kelly Donovan, the twin brother of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Nicholas Brendan, was present on the set, but was uncertain as to his role. Alias airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
Downey Caused Gothika Injury
obert Downey Jr., who co-stars with Halle Berry in the supernatural horror film Gothika, admitted that he was responsible for the broken arm Berry suffered while filming, according to the Zap2It.com Web site.
"It was an accident," Downey said in an interview while promoting his latest film, The Singing Detective. "And I was at fault. Yes."
Gothika tells the story of Dr. Miranda Grey (Berry), a criminal psychologist, who awakens to find herself a patient in her own mental institution with no memory of the murder she's apparently committed. Downey plays a psychiatrist in the institution. The actor described the incident on the set as an unfortunate miscalculation on his part. "Look, let me put it this way," he said. "If you're the person pushing the other person's arm back onto the cot, and you feel her ulna snap in your hand, and you've been pumping iron for six weeks because you weren't in every scene so you're getting all [restless] ..."
The site reported that Downey was sorry, but he put the injury in perspective. "She's got bigger fish to fry than a broken arm right now," he said, presumably in reference to Berry's troubled marriage to singer Eric Benet. The couple announced on Oct. 1 that they are separating.
Revolutions Opens Really Wide
arner Brothers announced that it will release The Matrix Revolutions in regular and IMAX theaters worldwide simultaneously on Nov. 5.
The unprecedented distribution will make the sequel available to audiences at 6 a.m. in Los Angeles, 9 a.m. in New York, 2 p.m. in London, 5 p.m. in Moscow, 11 p.m. in Tokyo and at corresponding times in more than 50 additional countries worldwide, the studio said.
"We received such an overwhelming response to [the previous movie in the film trilogy, The Matrix] Reloaded, from audiences around the globe that the Wachowski brothers wanted to give our fans the chance to experience the final piece of the Matrix puzzle at the same time in every major city worldwide," producer Joel Silver said in a statement. "It's an incredibly complex and exciting venture that furthers the Wachowskis' vision and underscores the trilogy's theme of integration."
The Matrix Revolutions: The IMAX Experience will debut at IMAX theaters in the United States on Nov. 5. This marks the first time a major Hollywood live-action event film has been released concurrently in 35mm and IMAX's 15/70 format, the studio said.
Tarantino Blasts Comic Fans
irector Quentin Tarantino, whose latest film is the action-thriller Kill Bill: Volume One, told the Zap2It.com Web site that he avoids comic-book adaptations because of the genre's traditionally zealous fans.
"The reason I'll never do a comic-book movie with, like, The Flash or something like that is f--- those comic-book geeks, man." Tarantino told the site. "You can't please them. I might do a comic-book movie, but I'd come up with my own characters where I'm God and I'm the expert and not you guys."
The outspoken Pulp Fiction director was also quoted as saying, "The thing is, film geeks can be your best friend, but man, they can be your worst enemy." Kill Bill: Volume One opens in theaters Oct. 10.
Biel Bulks Up For Blade III
essica Biel, who stars in the upcoming vampire action sequel Blade: Trinity, told SCI FI Wire that she's been training intensely for her role as the vampire-fighting daughter of Kris Kristofferson's character, Whistler.
"I'm like a master archer," Biel said in an interview while promoting her latest film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. "I've been working really hard. My character shoots arrows, and she does all these martial arts. She knows boxing. She just kicks people's butts all over the place."
In Blade: Trinity, Biel plays a member of a team of vampire hunters who step in to help Blade (Wesley Snipes) when his base of operations goes offline. "The second their station gets infiltrated, it completely automatically shuts down," she said. "And when that station shuts down, our station comes up. Me, Ryan Reynolds and Natasha Lyonne. ... So we have this cool young group of people who have been training without Blade knowing. And since his computer is shut down, ours are up and ready to go, and we come and we rescue him, basically."
The former 7th Heaven star said she will be doing most of the fighting and stunts herself and wanted to look as realistic as possible doing them. "What was important to me was to see a woman as an action star or playing a part that requires a lot of physicality who is not just skin and bones," Biel said. "I don't believe that. I don't believe that this woman could pick up these two guns and realistically shoot this guy, shoot this guy, then side kick and roundhouse kick this guy if there's no muscle. So I thought that the character needed to really be built so the audience could be like, 'Wow, this girl looks like she can really do this stuff.'" Blade: Trinity is now shooting in Vancouver, B.C. Biel's upcoming film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, opens in theaters on Oct. 17.
Superman Ready To Fly?
he Ain't It Cool News Web site reported a rumor that a proposed new Superman movie could begin production at Fox's Sydney studios within two months.
Citing an anonymous source, the site reported that set construction will begin within the month and that a crew is being assembled.
Warner Brothers has been developing a new Man of Steel movie for months, based on Alias creator J.J. Abrams' draft script. So far, there has been no official word about a production start.
Hulk Pirate Sentenced
New Jersey man who pleaded guilty to illegally copying and posting a digital version of summer SF movie Hulk on the Internet received a three-year probation and was fined, the Reuters news service reported.
Kerry Gonzalez, who was 25 when he pleaded guilty in June, was ordered to serve six months' confinement in his home along with the probation. He also must pay a $2,000 fine and $5,000 in restitution to Universal, the company that produced and distributed the movie, the wire service reported.
Gonzalez was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where he pleaded guilty to one count of copyright infringement, the news service reported.
Universal is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
New Wonder Writer Hired
aeta Kalogridis (TV's Birds of Prey) has signed on to write a new script for the proposed Wonder Woman movie, based on the DC Comics character, Variety reported.
Joel Silver, Leonard Goldberg and Warner Brothers are producing the live-action film, which has no start date yet, the trade paper reported.
Kalogridis will write a story that goes back to the roots of the famed comic, updated to the present day, the trade paper reported.
Kalogridis is completing a new movie version of Something Wicked This Way Comes, based on Ray Bradbury's classic supernatural book, for Disney, the trade paper reported.
Captain America Suit Settled
arvel Enterprises announced that it has settled a legal dispute with Captain America creator Joe Simon over rights to the comic-book franchise, clearing the way for the publisher to develop films and other projects based on the iconic character.
Marvel didn't release the terms of the settlement, but said that Simon had agreed to assign Marvel all copyrights he held to Captain America.
Marvel said it "will focus its attention on aggressively building the Captain America property across a variety of mediums. This will include feature film and television deals, licensing/merchandising, promotional programs and exciting new publishing initiatives."
Marvel To Produce Own Films?
arvel Enterprises is exploring a move into film production to develop more projects based on its library of about 4,700 comic-book characters and retain equity in the resulting movies, Variety reported.
Marvel will roll out an agenda that includes producing its own mid-budget films and direct-to-video productions revolving around some of its lesser-known characters, financed primarily by third parties, the trade paper reported.
In addition to next summer's Spider-Man 2, Fox is due to open Fantastic Four in December 2004, though the movie may miss that date because it has yet to find a director or final script, the trade paper reported.
Lucas To Get Lifetime F/X Prize
tar Wars creator George Lucas will receive a lifetime achievement award from the Visual Effects Society at the second annual VES awards ceremony, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The award is the first of its kind to be given by VES and represents, for the visual-effects industry, the equivalent to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, given to feature film producers whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality, the trade paper reported.
The board of directors of the 850-member effects society selected Lucas for its highest honor in recognition of the contribution that Willow, his five Star Wars films and three Indiana Jones movies have made to the art and science of visual effects, the trade paper reported. The second annual VES awards are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles on Feb. 18.
Ling Moons Over Episode III
ai Ling, who plays a small but key role as a senator in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode III, told SCI FI Wire that she worked on the film for more than three weeks this year in Sydney.
"It's a very cool part, and ... I think everyone will be surprised," the Chinese-born actress said in an interview.
Ling added, "I was there for over three weeks [working with the main cast]. But every day, whether I worked or not, I was on set, because I just don't want to miss that experience."
Ling said that the production, which wrapped principal photography earlier this month, filled several sound stages at Fox Studios in the Australian city. "[When] I was in Sydney, I was calling everybody all over the world to share the experience," she said, sounding like the Oz fan she is. "I felt like [I was] in heaven. I called everybody and said, 'I'm in beautiful Sydney and working with George Lucas!' What else can you ask for?"
"The experience itself was just fascinating," Ling said. "The experience working with [Lucas] is fascinating. He's so simple and down to earth. A normal man. But incredibly talented as a director." Star Wars: Episode III is aiming for a 2005 release.
It's Ling Vs. Law In Tomorrow
ai Ling, who plays a mysterious woman in the upcoming retro-SF movie The World of Tomorrow, told SCI FI Wire that her character has to battle star Jude Law.
"I kick his butt," the Chinese-born actress said in an interview.
At one point, Ling admitted, she accidentally made contact with Law, who plays a pilot helping reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) investigate the disappearance of scientists in 1939 New York. "I did actually hurt him when we were rehearsing," Ling said. "He's so delicate and so handsome, I was so afraid. And when we were training from the beginning, the dynamic, we don't know each other. ... One time I hurt his forehead. I heard a sound, and I said, 'Are you OK?' He's like a stud, though. ... He said, 'Yeah, I'm cool.' He's very professional."
In the movie, which mixes fantastical computer-generated backdrops with live actors, Ling has to wear a leather catsuit and big hat, she said.
"I have all this very chic black leather," she said, adding "I do a lot of kung fu in it, and I don't want her to be just a kung fu character, because you can never beat Bruce Lee. I gave her a characteristic which is my own, like how she walks and fights. It's very sexy. ... I have a hat and sunglasses, and I also have this jacket. The clothes are very tight to my body and I was suffering when we were shooting. I look great—everybody said, 'You look great!'—but inside I couldn't see properly, I couldn't hear properly, I couldn't really move properly. I was suffering. And I was sweaty. They had to hang me there a few meters ... in the air. When you couldn't see [and can't] hear, you can't really act. I was struggling. I feel like I'm in the microwave or something. But they said you look great and sexy. I said 'OK, that works. I can suffer.'"
World of Tomorrow, written and directed by Kerry Conran, is in post-production, with an eye to a summer 2004 release.
Yuzna Goes Beyond Re-Animator
rian Yuzna, who produced and directed the upcoming SCI FI Pictures original presentation Beyond Re-Animator, told SCI FI Wire that it wasn't just financial concerns that caused 13 years to pass between Re-Animator sagas.
"I went through a lot of different ideas and took a lot of suggestions for a sequel, but there wasn't anything that really grabbed me," Yuzna said in an interview. "The idea that I kept coming back to was the notion of trapping the soul upon death and dealing with why zombies act so weird."
At one point, Yuzna considered revisiting both of the central characters in Re-Animator and Bride of Re-Animator, Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) and Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs). That fell by the wayside when Yuzna realized Beyond Re-Animator would become a movie "about a couple of middle-aged doctors, when Re-Animator is really more about young doctors, medical students." Yuzna then developed a script in which an imprisoned Dr. West befriends Howard Philips (Jason Barry), a medic at the prison where he's incarcerated. Philips is an admirer of Dr. West's handiwork, and it's not long before zombies start acting weird again.
Yuzna acknowledges that Combs is the key figure in the Re-Animator saga. "I've always seen Jeff as essential," the filmmaker said. "I knew we needed him and Dr. West. He was involved with noodling out the story and coming up with ideas [when ideas for a sequel were first bandied about more than a decade ago], but because there was such a long period of time where it lay fallow, he wasn't so much involved as we developed the version that we shot. Once the script went to him, Jeff certainly had a lot of ideas about how West should be treated, and a whole lot of his ideas are taken to heart because he is sort of the expert on West. I used our previous discussions. What we did with West, our interpretation of West, coincides with Jeffrey's." Beyond Re-Animator airs Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the SCI FI Channel.
Tensions High On Stepford
rank Oz, who is directing the remake of the 1975 classic The Stepford Wives, told the New York Daily News that the atmosphere on the set is far from the tranquil setting seen in the film.
"Tension on the set? Absolutely!" he said.
According to the newspaper, the conflict stems from clashes between the director and two of the film's stars, Bette Midler and Christopher Walken. A representative for Midler told the paper, "Bette has been under a lot of stress lately. She not only has been filming a very large production, but she's had to finish her record [Bette Midler Sings Rosemary Clooney], which came out yesterday. She's also been rehearsing for her tour. She made the mistake of bringing her stress on the set."
Oz confirmed reports that he'd "had words" with Walken and Midler, but the two have since resolved their differences. "At the end of the day Chris was fantastic. This is like kids fighting for turf and then they're friends again." The Stepford Wives, which also stars Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick and Glenn Close, opens in June of 2004.
Hoffman High On Neverland
ustin Hoffman, who co-stars in J.M. Barrie's Neverland, told SCI FI Wire that he filmed most of his role in a morphine-induced daze after injuring his finger on the first night of shooting.
"I cut off the tip almost to the first joint after the first day of work," Hoffman said in an interview. "I came home, had a drink and I sat down in one of those deck chairs, and that thing came up and just sliced my finger off. I went and spent the night in the hospital and they did surgery. They couldn't sew it back on, but did what they could and I came the next day. I didn't miss any work. It was the best experience that I've ever had because I was on morphine and I couldn't remember two lines in a row."
Hoffman also bonded with co-star Johnny Depp's father, who could sympathize with his injury. "I come into [Depp's] camper and the next day his father is visiting him—he's a coal miner or something—and I'm showing my finger and his dad comes up to me and says, 'Join the club.'" J.M. Barrie's Neverland is currently scheduled for a November 2004 release from Miramax.
UPN Captures Teen Wolf
PN is developing a drama series loosely based on the 1985 Michael J. Fox feature Teen Wolf, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The network is angling for a Buffy the Vampire Slayer-esque vehicle about a college student who discovers that he's a werewolf, the trade paper reported. UPN and producer Warner Brothers Television are reportedly looking to depart from the comedic bent of the original feature and emphasize the fantasy elements and black humor.
Warner Brothers acquired the rights to use the Teen Wolf title from MGM, which owns the original feature. UPN has given a script commitment to the project, which will be helmed by veteran TV director Terry Hughes (Friends, 3rd Rock From the Sun) and scribe Ron Milbauer (Idle Hands), the trade paper reported.
Nolan Hired For Exec
ritish filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman: Intimidation Game) has signed on to direct a film adaptation of the cult comic book The Exec for Warner Brothers, Variety reported.
Nolan's brother Jonathan will write the screenplay, while his wife and frequent collaborator, Emma Thomas (Memento, Batman: Intimidation Game), will produce alongside David Heyman (the Harry Potter films).
The comic is a slightly futuristic look at a society where corporations govern and business is waged like warfare, the trade paper reported. "It has the elements of the tension Chris created in Memento and Insomnia," Heyman said. "But it is also a major-sized film, and it will be useful for Chris and Emma to apply the lessons they are learning in mounting the Batman film."
Core Scribe Adapts Frame
ideo-game distributor Tecmo announced that screenwriter John Rogers (The Core, Catwoman) is adapting the Japanese horror game Fatal Frame into a theatrical film for DreamWorks.
"I was attracted to the idea of doing a classic, old-school haunted house picture," Rogers said in a press release. "By focusing, too, on cool Japanese cultural additions and different ghost mythos most North American audiences are unfamiliar with, we can do something unique. None of the rules about the supernatural, the characters or our audience apply in the Fatal Frame world."
The popular game centers around a female photographer whose camera can take pictures of ghosts. No decisions have been made as to who will star or direct the film adaptation. A sequel to the game, entitled Fatal Frame: Crimson Butterfly, is set for release in November.
Paycheck's Woo No SF Fan
erence Chang, producer of John Woo's upcoming SF thriller film Paycheck, told SCI FI Wire that neither he nor Woo read the Philip K. Dick story on which the movie is based.
"We came onto the project when there was already a script, so we [didn't] have to do the adaptation," Chang said in an interview on the film's Vancouver, B.C., set. "John Woo doesn't like science fiction. And this is a science fiction story. So we've got to change the script. I mean, we keep the essence of the story, [as well as] the science fiction element, but also made it into something that John feels comfortable with, meaning this will be an action thriller, [a] suspense thriller."
Woo (Face/Off) is directing Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman in Paycheck, about a man hired by a high-tech corporation to perform a top-secret project. After his work is done, his memory is wiped, and the man (Affleck) must discover where he was for the last three years as federal agents pursue him and the people he once worked for seek to kill him. Writer Dean Georgaris (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life) adapted Dick's story.
Though Woo doesn't like science fiction, Chang said, the director was attracted to the movie because the story was strong. "The story stands on its own," Chang said. "It's just like Face/Off is science fiction, for instance. On Face/Off the original script was very, very sci-fi. But [Woo] just stripped the script of all the sci-fi elements, but kept the face-swapping part and made it an emotional suspense thriller."
Chang added that the Paycheck script works on two different levels. "One is technology versus humanity. How far do you go with technology, at what price? And the other is when [Woo] came onto the film, he built up the love story part of it and made it more of a love story. Like if people know the future, then [they] would be afraid to love, to live, basically. So you don't want to know about the future. You have to live in the present. Every little mundane thing counts." As for Dick's original story? "I'll read it after we finish the film," Chang said. Paycheck is in post-production, for a Christmas release.
Connelly Stars In Dark Water
razilian director Walter Salles will helm and Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly will star in Dark Water, a U.S. remake of the 2002 Japanese supernatural movie by director Hideo Nakata (The Ring), Variety reported.
The movie is set to begin shooting in January in New York and Toronto, the trade paper reported.
Dark Water tells the story of a mother and daughter who escape from an ugly custody battle to a dilapidated apartment building, where they find themselves haunted by the ghost of a young girl, the trade paper reported.
Meanwhile, Nakata is about to make his English-language debut with True Believers at MGM.
Spielberg Mulls Akhnaten
teven Spielberg may produce or direct a film adaptation of The Akhnaten Adventure, based on Philip Kerr's supernatural children's book of the same name, Variety reported.
DreamWorks, of which Spielberg is a partner, is negotiating a deal to acquire the film rights to the book, the trade paper reported.
The Akhnaten Adventure, the first book in the Children of the Lamp series, is thriller novelist Kerr's first attempt at writing for kids, the trade paper reported. The book has not yet gone out to U.S. or U.K. publishers.
Akhnaten centers on a pair of rich Manhattan twins whose new wisdom teeth hold secret powers understood only by their eccentric Uncle Nimrod, who explains that the adolescents are actually genies, the trade paper reported.
Clarke Award Seeks Funds
rganizers of the Arthur C. Clarke Award are seeking alternative funding now that Rocket Publishing has stopped all financing for the award, except payment of the prize itself.
Rocket Publishing is the British representative of the legendary SF author, in whose name the award is presented annually to the best British science fiction novel of the previous year.
Rocket has provided all funding for the award since its inception in 1986. The funding cut is part of wider cutbacks at Rocket Publishing, organizers said.
Heinlein Prize Established
he Heinlein Prize, a cash award of $500,000 to one or more individuals for practical accomplishments in the field of commercial space activities, was announced at the 54th International Aeronautical Congress underway in Bremen, Germany, the Locus Online Web site reported.
The prize, which will be given as often as annually, is for effort by an individual, not government or corporate-sponsored activity, and is intended to be worldwide in scope, organizers said.
The prize will be awarded on July 7 of those years in which it is given. The Heinlein Prize honors the memory of SF author Robert A. Heinlein and was established after his death in 1988 by his widow, Virginia Gerstenfeld Heinlein, whose estate will fund the prize, Locus reported.
British Fantasy Nods Announced
rganizers announced the nominations for this year's British Fantasy Awards, given by the British Fantasy Society, Locus Online reported.
Winners will be announced at the British Fantasy Convention (FantasyCon) on Nov. 23 in Stafford, England. A list of nominees follows.
August Derleth Award (Novel)
•The Darkest Part of the Woods by Ramsey Campbell
•The Devil in Green by Mark Chadbourn
•The Facts of Life by Graham Joyce
•The Scar by China Miéville
•White Apples by Jonathan Carroll
Short Fiction
•"Cape Wrath" by Paul Finch
•"The Fairy-Feller's Master Stroke" by Mark Chadbourn
•"Firing the Cathedral" by Michael Moorcock
•"Open the Box" by Andrew Humphrey
•"The Tain" by China Miéville
Anthology
•Art of Imagination: 20th Century Visions of Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy, Frank M. Robinson, Robert Weinberg and Randy Broecker, eds.
•Dark Terrors 6, Stephen Jones and David Sutton, eds.
•Fantasy: The Best of 2001, Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber, eds.
•Keep Out the Night, Stephen Jones, ed.
•The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror: Volume Thirteen, Stephen Jones, ed.
•The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fifteenth Annual Collection, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds.
Collection
•The Emperor of Dreams: The Lost Worlds of Clark Ashton Smith by Clark Ashton Smith
•Everything's Eventual by Stephen King
•Ramsey Campbell, Probably: On Horror and Sundry Fantasies by Ramsey Campbell
•Tales From Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
•The Virtual Menagerie by Andrew Hook
Small Press
•PS Publishing
•Roadworks
•Telos Publishing
•The Alien Online
•The Third Alternative
Artist
•J. K. Potter
•Laura Bandilla
•Randy Broecker
•Bob Covington
•Les Edward (aka Edward Miller)
•Dominic Harman
•Chris Moore
PC Halo Now On Sale
icrosoft Game Studios, Bungie Studios and Gearbox Software announced the release of a PC version of their best-selling Halo video game, which is now available at retailers.
The PC version of the SF battle game carries an estimated retail price of $49.99.
The PC version of Halo supports as many as 16 players online and has new multiplayer features, the companies said. Halo was originally designed for Microsoft's Xbox game system and has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.
Bamarre Moves To Screen
iramax Films and producer Jane Startz (Ella Enchanted) are developing a fantasy movie based on Ella author Gail Carson Levine's next book, The Two Princesses of Bamarre, Variety reported.
Mark Friedman has been tapped to write the screenplay, the trade paper reported.
Bamarre is an epic adventure about a timid young princess seeking to free her kingdom from a mysterious and deadly illness that threatens to take the life of her older sister, Meryl, the trade paper reported.
Bamarre is Friedman's second project for Miramax, after I Create the World, an adaptation of the Didier van Cauwelaert novel The Education of a Fairy, the trade paper reported.
Fox Enchants Ella
ivica A. Fox, who plays fairy godmother Lucinda in the children's fantasy film Ella Enchanted, told SCI FI Wire that visual-effects technicians showed her some computer-animated footage on the set after she filmed scenes against green screen.
"There were times that you were doing scenes with nothing there, and later they would go over on the computer and show you what you were acting with and what it would look like," Fox said in an interview. "My character always enters through a cloud, and so it was very magical. It was cool."
Fox joked that Miramax, the film's producers, gave her the physically undemanding role in Ella because they put her through three months of training to shoot one single fight scene in Kill Bill. "That was like Harvey [Weinstein]'s way of looking out for me," she said. "I got to go to Ireland and film, and it was pretty and pink and glitter and sparkling and magical and green screens and no fighting. It was just great."
Ella Enchanted, based on the novel by Gail Carson Levine, centers on Ella (Anne Hathaway), who falls under a spell that compels her to obey anyone. Ella goes on a quest to undo the curse, on which she encounters ogres, fairies and elves. The film is slated for release on April 23, 2004.
Urban: Riddick Is Dark
arl Urban, who plays the sinister Vaako in the upcoming Chronicles of Riddick movie, told Empire magazine that the follow-up to Pitch Black takes SF to a dark place, according to a report on the Dark Horizons Web site.
"It's about time we reclaimed science fiction and made it dark," said New Zealand-born Urban, who is best known as Eomer in the Lord of the Rings movies. "It's gotten a little candy on us lately, but we are going to flip that."
As Vaako, Urban is the nemesis to Vin Diesel's Riddick in Chronicles, which is envisioned as the first in an epic SF trilogy of films. "[I'm] a deadly enforcer of a dark place," he said. "Vin is prey for my part. I mean, in this film you're either the hunter or the hunted." The Chronicles of Riddick is currently in production, with an eye to a June 2004 release.
Who Returning To BBC
he British cult SF TV series Doctor Who is on its way back to the U.K. airwaves 14 years after it was canceled, the BBC reported.
Writer and avowed Who fan Russell T. Davies (Queer as Folk) is behind the revival, the British network reported.
The new Doctor Who will be produced by BBC Wales, whose head of drama Julie Gardner said that the show is in its early stages and likely wouldn't be on screen for at least two years, the BBC reported.
The first Doctor Who, played by William Hartnell, was first seen on Nov. 23, 1963. He was followed by seven more, before the series was axed in 1989, the news service reported.
Davies told the BBC that the new show "will be fun, exciting, contemporary and scary. ... Although I'm only in the early stages of development, I'm aiming to write a full-blooded drama, which embraces the Doctor Who heritage, at the same time as introducing the character to a modern audience."
Henriksen Vs. Alien Vs. Predator
ance Henriksen, who played an android in Aliens, has become the first actor to sign up for Fox's upcoming Alien vs. Predator, Variety reported.
Henriksen will portray a billionaire industrialist who finances an expedition to the Antarctic that discovers two alien races engaged in the ultimate battle, the trade paper reported. The film combines creatures from the two popular SF franchises.
Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) is directing Alien vs. Predator; Anderson and Shane Salerno wrote the script. John Davis, Lawrence Gordon, Joel Silver and Walter Hill will produce, the trade paper reported. The movie begins shooting in late October in Prague, with an eye to a summer release.
Henriksen is a well-known SF&F fixture, having starred in TV's Millennium and appeared in countless movies.
Spirits Haunts U.S.
reamCatcher Games announced the North American release of its video game Spirits & Spells for the GameCube, the GameSpot Web site reported.
The game has players journeying into a spooky world of magic to collect enough sparks to reverse an evil spell that has turned their friends to stone, the site reported.
Players can switch between two characters named Alicia and Greg as they progress through the game. Spirits & Spells will also be released for GameBoy Advance next month, the site reported.
Briefly Noted
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The official Spider-Man 2 Web site has been updated with new content including a "Webisode" in which director Sam Raimi discusses changes to Spidey's costume, a characters section, new behind-the-scenes images, an "Ultimate Quiz" and a new desktop wallpaper featuring star Tobey Maguire.
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British tabloid The Sun has posted pictures from the Vancouver set of Catwoman which show star Halle Berry in a costume much different than the poorly received version pictured in a recent issue of TIME magazine.
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The Comics Continuum Web site posted a new image of Halle Berry as the titular character in the upcoming Catwoman movie, from Warner Brothers.
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Selma Blair, who co-stars in the upcoming comic-book adaptation Hellboy, has announced her engagement to Ahmet Zappa, son of the late Frank Zappa, according to E! Online. The couple have been dating for just three months and have yet to set a wedding date.
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According to the Superhero Hype Web site, Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro announced on the film's official message board that famed Star Wars artist Drew Struzan will be creating the poster for the film.
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Dark Horizons reported a rumor that X-Men director Bryan Singer is eyeing a big-screen remake of the 1976 SF movie Logan's Run.
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Dark Horizons reported that the upcoming animated movie Madagascar will open May 27, 2005, while the toon Rapunzel is slated for 2007.
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The IGN FilmForce Web site has posted images of new posters, as well as behind-the-scenes video clips, from the upcoming third Matrix movie, The Matrix Revolutions, which opens Nov. 5.
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Publisher and editor Bill Rupp has announced publication of a new magazine, Continuum Science Fiction, scheduled to debut in early 2004, with a run of three issues per year, Locus Online reported. A Web site is also planned.
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Writer/director Mick Garris told Fangoria that he has received a green light to make a movie adaptation of Stephen King's supernatural e-novel Riding the Bullet. "We got the go-ahead for Bullet. We'll be shooting in Vancouver in November," Garris said.
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The publishers of Fangoria magazine are soliciting fan-made horror movies in a competition called the Fangoria Blood Drive. Aspiring moviemakers can submit films of less than 13 minutes for possible inclusion on an upcoming DVD.
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Underworld slipped to third place in the box-office rankings in its second weekend of release, taking in about $9.4 million, the Hollywood trade papers reported. The vampires vs. werewolves movie has made about $37 million after 10 days of release.
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CBS' new 8 p.m. supernatural drama Joan of Arcadia premiered Sept. 26 to the network's best timeslot ratings in three years and won its first face-off against NBC's Miss Match, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
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