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A Weekly Digest Of Sci Fi Wire

RECENT NEWS

November 17, 2003

October 6, 2003

O'Connor Defends Timeline

rances O'Connor, who plays Kate in the upcoming time-travel movie Timeline, told SCI FI Wire that she knows the movie alters Michael Crichton's original novel, but that it works for film. "I'll be interested to see what people think, because I know there's a lot of Michael Crichton fans, and there are quite a few difference from the book to the film," the Australian actress said in an interview. "So some people might be upset about that. But I think it serves the purpose of the film very well, the changes that they made."

Both book and movie tell the story of a group of modern-day archaeology students who travel back in time to 14th-century France to rescue their professor. But O'Connor said that her character's relationship with the book's hero, Chris (Paul Walker), is different. In addition, many of the book's technical elements were streamlined for the sake of cinematic storytelling. And the movie dispenses with the book's narrative device of having the medieval characters speak in ancient tongues.

"I don't think it's as detailed as the book, but you can't really put all those details in a film, because you've only got like 90 minutes to do it," O'Connor said. Timeline opens Nov. 26.

O'Connor Active In Timeline

rances O'Connor, who co-stars in the upcoming time-travel movie Timeline, told SCI FI Wire that the she had to train for her first action-heroine role. "I did rock climbing," the Australian actress (A.I. Artifical Intelligence) said in an interview. "I worked with this guy, this French-Canadian guy, who's a brilliant climber. And we went to climbing studios and worked every day. It's really addictive and lots of fun."

In the movie, which is based on Michael Crichton's SF novel of the same name, O'Connor plays Kate Ericson, a modern-day archaeology student who must travel back to 14th-century France to help rescue her professor. The movie, which shot in Montreal, required O'Connor to clamber up and down the thatched roof of a tall medieval building, fight an armored soldier and run a lot. O'Connor, a yoga enthusiast, added that she does much of her own climbing in the movie. "Pretty much all," she said. "There's like one little bit that I didn't do, because it was too tricky. But most of it I did, yeah. ... That climbing sequence was pretty tough, because I was actually that high up. And I just had this tiny little cable attached to me, and they're like, 'It's so strong. It's going to be fine.' And I'm like, looking down, 'Is someone going catch me down there?'"

But, O'Connor said, "It was fun, because I haven't really done a lot of that kind of stuff. I've kind of concentrated on doing serious stuff or whatever, and I just wanted to have ... fun. And I did." She added with a smile, "I've got my own action doll!" Timeline opens Nov. 26.

Baldwin Tips Hat To Myers

lec Baldwin, who co-stars in the Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, told SCI FI Wire that he was very impressed with Mike Myers, who plays the title role. "I had only a couple of scenes with Mike," said Baldwin, who plays a scheming next-door neighbor who looks on in shock as the Cat (Myers) disrupts the lives of siblings Sally (Dakota Fanning) and Conrad (Spencer Breslin). "The days I was there, Mike was outrageous and funny."

Baldwin added, "I'm a fan of his other films, so of course I wanted him to do all kinds of lines from Austin Powers. I'm a fan, so when I was doing a film with him, I wanted to enjoy myself."

Baldwin said that that Myers pulled off the difficult feat of creating a character in the Cat that would appeal to both adults and children. "I think Mike did a great job, because it's very tough to be as witty and funny as Mike is and yet still keep the movie safe for children," Baldwin said. "There's got to be a lovability to that character. It's like Bugs Bunny cartoons. Bugs would rip off a few lines that were funny to the parents, but he didn't lose the affection of the kids in the audience. And that's Mike's great skill in this movie. He holds on to the children throughout." The Cat in the Hat opened nationwide on Nov. 21.

Berry Stretches In Gothika

alle Berry, who stars in the supernatural thriller film Gothika, told SCI FI Wire that the active, emotional role took a lot out of her, but it was worth it. The Oscar winner plays a criminal psychologist who awakens to find herself a prisoner in her own institution, with no memory of a murder she's supposedly committed.

"It's draining at the end of the day, but on some other level, it's also really cathartic," Berry said in an interview. "So although physically I would feel exhausted and tired—my back would hurt, my arms would hurt and my feet would be raw from running through all the stuff—there was still something about it that felt good. ... At the end of the day, I felt like I had a really cathartic experience. I got a lot of stuff out of me that was pent up in little corners of myself. So I felt good at the same time."

In the movie, Berry mixes intense emotional scenes with action sequences, including running from prison guards and scaling the side of a wall. On top of that, she broke her arm midway through filming. "That was a challenge for me on this," she said. "Like every movie, I realize I learn something new about what I can and can't do, and I'm forced to stretch and grow and that was a big area for me, to keep that level of emotion. ... Once she wakes up in that institution, every moment is sort of at a heightened level. It was a stretch. I had to work really hard to keep it up all the time." Gothika opened Nov. 21.

Downey Contrite Over Berry's Arm

obert Downey Jr., who co-stars with Halle Berry in the supernatural thriller film Gothika, told SCI FI Wire that he was mortified when he accidently broke the Oscar-winning actress' arm during shooting in Montreal. "I felt like, 'Oh, God!'" Downey said in an interview. "Well, stupidly, I felt like, 'I'm so glad that I was sober when it happened, or everything on Earth would be my fault.'" Downey has a history of drug problems, though he has professed sobriety since his release from jail and subsequent treatment in a live-in drug rehabilitation facility.

The accident occurred when Downey grabbed Berry badly earlier this year while shooting a scene set in a mental ward. Downey plays a psychologist grappling with Berry, another psychologist who has awakened to find herself a prisoner in her own institution. "It was just a really weird thing, because things had been so tense on the set for days before, and I had been saying, ... 'You don't have to injure yourself to [play] injured,'" the actor said while promoting the film. He added, "So when it happened, I felt two things. A, I was right. And B, what I couldn't have imagined was that it would've been at my hands that it happened, so I don't know how to explain it. It's so difficult to figure out why events occur."

Berry was sidelined for about a month, interrupting shooting on the movie. Coming back was hard for everyone, Downey said. "Well, it was hard for her," he said. "The difficulty was her physical recuperation. And the worst thing of all—and of course I'm always ready to accept guilt and blame and everything for anything that happens within 50 miles of me— ... I knew she was going into Catwoman after [Gothika], and I was like, 'Wow.'" Gothika opened Nov. 21.

King Accepts Book Award

tephen King accepted an honorary National Book Award in ceremonies in New York on Nov. 19, the Associated Press reported. Weakened by pneumonia, still limping from a 1999 road accident, King received a long, standing ovation as he approached the stage to accept the award, the news service reported.

King, 56, acknowledged in his acceptance speech that some thought him unworthy of the prize, the AP reported. He also urged the book foundation not to make his award an isolated tribute to commercially successfully writers. And he called on the industry as a whole to pay more attention, saying he had no "use for those who make a point of pride in saying they have never read anything by John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Mary Higgins Clark or any other popular writer."

ABC Schedules King's Kingdom

BC has slated a Wednesday 10 p.m. timeslot for Kingdom Hospital, its upcoming midseason limited series from horrormeister Stephen King, Variety reported. The 15-hour series will launch with a two-hour premiere March 3, 2004, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, the trade paper reported.

The Sony Pictures TV/Touchstone drama is executive produced by King and Mark Carliner and stars Andrew McCarthy, Diane Ladd, Bruce Davison and Ed Begley Jr.

Helfer High On Galactica

ricia Helfer, who co-stars in the SCI FI Channel's upcoming original miniseries Battlestar Galactica, told SCI FI Wire that the miniseries will appeal to both SF and non-SF fans alike. "I think it's going to be fantastic," Helfer said in an interview. "I was never a science fiction fan before this. I like realism. Those are the kinds of films and shows I'm attracted to, and science fiction can sometimes be too over the top for me. But I like what they've done with Battlestar Galactica, which is make it as real as possible."

Model-turned-actress Helfer plays Number Six, a sexy humanoid Cylon, from the race of cyborgs that sets out to destroy the human race. "I love what [director] Michael Rymer did in terms of directing the actors," she said. "He made it a character piece and gets you invested in the people. It's not just funny aliens running around and, 'Oh, isn't that special effect cool?' [But] the effects are cool, too. So I think sci-fi fans will be there anyway. But the character development will draw in other people who aren't sci-fi fans."

Helfer added that she is committed to reprising her role on a weekly basis if Battlestar Galactica becomes a series. Battlestar Galactica debuts Dec. 8 on SCI FI.

Two Towers DVD Sells Well

he extended-version DVD of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers sold 750,000 to 1 million units during its first 24 hours in release on Nov. 18, video industry and retail sources told the Reuters news service. But the DVD did not set a record, as was expected by several national video buyers, Reuters reported. New Line Home Entertainment executives declined to discuss sales or shipment numbers.

The Two Towers Special Extended Edition carries a suggested retail price of about $40, but most national retail chains are selling the set for about $30, the wire service reported. Besides containing an additional 43 minutes from the original feature, two of the special edition's four discs sport all-new extras.

Rowling Works On Potter VI

.K. Rowling has started work on a sixth Harry Potter book, Rowling's agent, Christopher Little, told the Reuters news service. Little added that Rowling's best-selling Potter books set a new record, with the first five titles having sold a quarter of a billion volumes in more than 200 countries.

"J.K. Rowling has begun work on the sixth book about the boy wizard," Little told the news service. "As yet no date is fixed for its release." He added, "We look forward to introducing Harry Potter to yet more readers in the furthest parts of the globe."

Anakin Offers Episode III Hints

ayden Christensen, who again plays Anakin Skywalker in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode III, offered the Toronto Sun a few spoilers about the upcoming last prequel. Among other things, Christensen confirmed that fans will recognize a key sound.

"Yes," Christensen told the newspaper. "You'll hear the breathing." He added, "I might get in trouble just for saying that. I do get to finalize my character arc, and where that ends up most people know."

Christensen added, "There's an amazing light-saber fight that'll knock people's socks off. Geographically, it covers the most distance of any other swordfight on film. And depending on the way they cut it, it should be the longest swordfight, timewise, that's ever been on film." Christensen wrapped production on the film two months ago in Australia. Episode III is slated for a 2005 release.

Portman Up For Lois Lane?

atalie Portman is rumored to be the front runner to play Lois Lane in the proposed new Superman movie, Zap2it reported. The Star Wars star has been named Warner Brothers' first choice to play the feisty journalist, according to industry reports cited by Zap2it.

The site also reported a rumor that Timeline helmer Richard Donner, who directed the first Superman movie, has replaced director McG (Charlie's Angels) and production has been pushed back to 2006.

Angel Fans Benefit Charity

ans of The WB's vampire series Angel will gather for a "Wolfram & Hart Annual Revue" in Los Angeles to raise money for charity, organizers said. The charity fund-raiser ball will take place Feb. 21 at the Century Plaza Hotel and Spa and will benefit the Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center, a neighborhood organization dedicated to the revitalization and empowerment of the South Los Angeles community.

Darling Violetta, a Los Angeles band that recorded the Angel theme music, will perform. Organizers said they hope to raise $10,000 for the Wooten Center through a charity auction, sponsorships and gifts-in-kind. Registration deadline is Nov. 25.

Landau Bites Back In Angel

uliet Landau, who played the kooky vampire Drusilla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, reprised the character in the Nov. 19 episode of The WB's Buffy spinoff series, Angel. Landau played Drusilla in "Destiny," which featured a series of flashbacks to the 19th century establishing the enmity between Angel (David Boreanaz) and Spike (James Marsters).

"It's always fun to visit London 1880," Landau told the Zap2it Web site. "I have some different wardrobe that's really gorgeous. I'm always excited to go back and work, and this is a particularly fun episode, because I'm back with the boys." "Destiny" aired at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Brandis' Death Confirmed

ap2it confirmed rumors that Jonathan Brandis, the young star of TV's SeaQuest DSV, died Nov. 12 at the age of 27. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office confirmed to the site that Brandis died and that his death was reported as a possible suicide. Final determination of a cause of death will depend on the results of an autopsy and other tests.

Brandis, who was born in Danbury, Conn., in 1976, made appearances on L.A. Law, Full House and Who's the Boss before getting his big breaks with The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter and the telefilm Stephen King's It, the site reported.

As Lucas Wolenczek on SeaQuest, Brandis developed a large fan base and was a prominent figure in teen magazines.

Regency Mulls New Twist

egency Enterprises is in talks to acquire Ernie Altbacker's spec script Twist, an SF comedy about a man who goes on a vacation in the body of another person, a CIA agent, according to The Hollywood Reporter. John Davis will produce the script, which Altbacker developed with Freaky Friday director Mark Waters, who is attached to direct for Regency, the trade paper reported.

Davis will produce through his Davis Entertainment, along with Jill Bernheimer and Keetgi Kogan. Waters is currently directing Mean Girls for Paramount Pictures and Broadway Video, the trade paper reported.

Fox Options Weasel

ox Animation has optioned film rights to Wainscott Weasel, a children's book by Tor Seidler, for a computer-animated movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Fox, Blue Sky Studios and director Chris Wedge (Ice Age) will make the movie version of the book, which was illustrated by Fred Marcellino and published by HarperCollins, the trade paper reported.

Weasel is an interspecies love story about the residents of Wainscott Woods, Long Island, including Bagley Brown Jr., an eccentric weasel who wears an eye patch, and Bridget, a beautiful bass who lives in a nearby pond, the trade paper reported.

Seidler is likely to serve as one of the screenwriters, though writers have not yet been lined up for the project, the trade paper reported.

Wedge is completing the computer-animated movie Robots, which is in production and slated for a spring 2005 release, and Ice Age 2.

Galaxy Reborn As Nexus

msterdam-based game publisher HD Interactive announced that it has picked up CDV's mothballed Galaxy Andromeda SF strategy PC game and will publish it under a new name, Nexus, the GameSpot Web site reported. Nexus was originally scheduled for release in 2001, when it was called Imperium Galactica III and was being developed by Philos Laboratories, the site reported.

Despite the changes, the game remains largely the same 3-D real-time strategy title, the site reported. The game has a futuristic theme and is set in outer space, with vast fleets of starships battling each other in epic space battles. Players take the role of a fleet officer who is thawed out after 70 years frozen in a state of suspended animation on a derelict spacecraft. The first mission, in the vicinity of Jupiter, begins a long adventure involving alien technology, wormholes and a forgotten empire, the site reported.

Stargate Atlantis Spins Off

CI FI Channel will spin off its hit Stargate SG-1 series into Stargate Atlantis, a weekly series set to premiere in the summer of 2004, the network announced. Production on 20 hourlong episodes of Stargate Atlantis is set to start in early 2004. The series is the result of an agreement between SCI FI and MGM Television Entertainment. The new series will debut alongside the upcoming eighth season of SG-1.

Stargate Atlantis will center on a secret Earth base left by the originators of the Stargate, buried among the ruins of the legendary city of Atlantis. A new team of explorers will travel to a distant galaxy, where a primitive human civilization is threatened by a sinister new enemy, SCI FI announced.

Stargate Atlantis will debut as a two-hour movie event on SCI FI and will feature crossover appearances by members of the SG-1 cast. Atlantis' regular timeslot will accompany SG-1.

Atlantis will be distributed by MGM Worldwide Television Distribution. Brad Wright and Robert Cooper will serve as executive producers on the new series. Cooper is currently executive producer on Stargate SG-1; Brad Wright is co-creator of Stargate SG-1 and served as the series' executive producer for six seasons.

Rendlesham Probes U.K. UFOs

CI FI Channel will air another original documentary special, UFO Invasion at Rendlesham, hosted by Bryant Gumbel, which deals with a series of bizarre events near two American military bases in Rendlesham Forest, England, in 1980. The two-hour documentary special premieres Dec. 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT as part of the SCI FI Declassified series of specials.

In Rendlesham, SCI FI brings together key eyewitnesses and high-ranking military officials who go on the record for the first time with new evidence about the events. At the time, American servicemen investigated strange lights that maneuvered and appeared to be intelligently controlled. The incident was then covered up and eyewitnesses were forced to change their stories, SCI FI said. In 2002, the British government acknowledged that it had classified documents regarding the Rendlesham incident.

The special is directed and executive produced by Jim Milio of MPH Entertainment. Melissa Peltier and Mark Hufnail of MPH also serve as executive producers. Milio and Kelly McPherson serve as co-writers.

The most recent Declassified special, The New Roswell: Kecksburg Exposed, was the highest-rated nonfiction program to air on SCI FI in 2003 and was the highest-rated documentary program in prime time on basic cable for the month of October, SCI FI reported.

Astro City Heads For Screen

roducer Ben Barenholtz, comic-book author Kurt Busiek and screenwriter Jonathan Alpers have acquired the film rights to the Astro City comic series, Variety reported. First published in 1995 by Image Comics, Astro City is the brainchild of Busiek, with interior artist Brent Anderson and cover artist Alex Ross. The series is now published by Wildstorm/Heritage, the trade paper reported.

The comic is set in a fantastic world in which superhumans are the norm, along with monsters, aliens, supervillains and mad scientists. Alpers is the main screenwriter, the trade paper reported. Busiek will be involved in all creative decisions.

Post Screens Bootleg Passion

he New York Post raised industry eyebrows after reporting in its Nov. 17 edition that it had obtained an unauthorized video copy of Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ and screened it for its movie critic, a priest, a rabbi, a religion professor and a "Post reader" selected at random, Variety reported. Each panelist focused on whether the depiction of Jews in Passion, which is due to be released on Feb. 25, 2004, is anti-Semitic, the trade paper reported.

It is virtually unprecedented for a news organization to write about a film using a bootlegged copy, the trade paper reported. A Post spokesman would not tell Variety where it got the tape, which the paper described as "a grainy, second-generation videotape." "A source provided us with the tape, no copies were made, and we have returned the tape to Mr. Gibson's representatives," the spokesman told the trade paper.

Jeff Berg, chairman and chief executive of ICM, which represents Gibson, told Variety that he was disturbed the Post managed to get a bootleg copy of the film.

As for the panel's verdict on the film's depiction of Jews? The rabbi: "Painful." The priest: "Very bad." The professor: "Unfair." The critic: "Deeply troubling." The reader: "Fair."

Toons Make Oscar Short List

leven animated movies have made the short list for the 2003 feature-animation Oscar, Variety reported. The final three nominees will be unveiled Jan. 27, 2004.

The eligible films include Brother Bear, Finding Nemo, The Jungle Book 2, Pokemon Heroes, Piglet's Big Movie, Millennium Actress, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Rugrats Go Wild!, The Triplets of Belleville, Tokyo Godfathers and Jester Till (Till Eulenspiegel).

Jester Till (Till Eulenspiegel) and Tokyo Godfathers are both slated to premiere in Los Angeles on Dec. 5. Triplets of Belleville debuts Nov. 21. The 76th Oscarcast will be held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Feb. 29, 2004.

New Writer To Spin Exorcist

riter Alexi Hawley has been tapped to do a rewrite of Exorcist: The Beginning, for which director Renny Harlin will helm six weeks of reshoots, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Harlin was brought in after original director Paul Schrader turned in his version of the prequel, then quit over creative differences with producers Morgan Creek, the trade paper reported.

Warner Brothers is scheduled to release the film next year. Stellan Skarsgard, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar and Billy Crawford star, from a script by William Wisher Jr. and Caleb Carr, the trade paper reported.

Arad Updates Marvel Slate

arvel Studios chief executive Avi Arad updated financial analysts on the company's upcoming slate of comics-to-film and TV projects, the Dark Horizons Web site reported. A summary of projects follows.

•Nick Fury and Tales of the Zombie are being developed as feature films.
•Werewolf by Night will be directed by John Fasano.
•Mort the Dead Teenager will be Marvel's first comedy film.
•Fantastic Four has been pushed back until summer 2005. 2005 will also see the release of Iron Man and Ghost Rider, and Daredevil spinoff Elektra is eyeing a 2005 release.
•X-Men 3 and Hulk 2 are set for release in 2006, as are Namor, Captain America, Nick Fury and Iron Fist.
•Brother Voodoo is in active development for a live-action television show, as is 1,000 Days for the SCI FI Channel and Night Thrasher at UPN.
•Two new TV animated series, Blade and Hulk, will premiere.

Dimension Mulls Merlin

imension Films is in talks to acquire film rights to The Lost Years of Merlin, T.A. Barron's best-selling young adult novel series that traces the boyhood and coming of age of the Arthurian magician, Variety reported. Lorenzo di Bonaventura will produce the movie, which is the start of a possible fantasy franchise, the trade paper reported.

Screenwriter Simon Kinberg will adapt the first of Barron's series of five books, which follow the young Merlin from the moment the wizard washes up on the shores of ancient Wales to his quest to find his real home and identity, his friendship with King Arthur and his travels in enchanted lands, the trade paper reported.

3001 Starts Odyssey

roduction is about to start on 3001, a live-action movie about a man who awakes a thousand years in the future to discover that the world is so dumbed down that he is its smartest inhabitant, Variety reported. Mike Judge (creator of TV's King of the Hill) will direct, from a script by himself and King writer Etan Cohen, the trade paper reported.

Cohen, meanwhile, has made a deal with Twentieth Television that keeps him on as a writer and co-executive producer of King of the Hill for two seasons and will allow him to create a pilot, the trade paper reported.

Scary, Underworld Cut TV Deals

BS and Comedy Central paid $15 million for the first rights to air Scary Movie 3, Variety reported. TBS will get the first batch of runs of Scary Movie 3 in a one-year window beginning in March 2006. TBS and Comedy Central will share the title over the following six years, the trade paper reported.

TBS and its sister network TNT also bought the first play in the network window of Underworld, the trade paper reported. TBS/TNT gets the movie in the summer of 2006, for an initial term of one year.

Ring 2 Gears Up

alter Parkes, who is executive producing the upcoming supernatural sequel film The Ring 2, told SCI FI Wire that the movie will likely begin shooting in March 2004. "We're actively trying to do our first pre-production right now," Parkes said in an interview.

Parkes said the production has hired a "very interesting" but unknown director of commercials to helm the movie, which is written by Ring scribe Ehren Kruger. Naomi Watts and David Dorfman will reprise their roles as Rachel Keller and her young son, Aidan.

As for the plot, Parkes said, "It will come out of the issues raised in our first movie," but will not be based on the sequel to the Japanese horror film Ringu.

Disney Nabs 80 Days

isney has acquired North American distribution rights to Walden Media's Around the World in 80 Days, a film starring Jackie Chan and based on Jules Verne's SF book of the same name, Variety reported. Budgeted at north of $110 million, 80 Days is one of the most expensive movies ever to go into production without a U.S. distributor in place, the trade paper reported. Release is planned for the summer of 2004.

Paramount looked to be the front-runner to acquire domestic distribution rights and a number of foreign territories to 80 Days, but then broke off talks over budget and cast, the trade paper reported.

80 Days is set during the Industrial Revolution and emphasizes Chan's Passepartout character, who, after stealing a valuable jade Buddha, seeks refuge with London inventor Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan), the trade paper reported. It also stars Owen and Luke Wilson, Kathy Bates, Jim Broadbent and Cecile de France and is directed by Frank Coraci.

Dead Awakens For Film

ichael Dougherty (X2) has been tapped to write Wake the Dead, a film adaptation of the horror comic, for Dimension Films, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The story follows four college kids who set out to reanimate objects and raise the dead, the trade paper reported.

The Dead comic was originally written by Steven Niles and distributed by IDW Publishing, the trade paper reported. Niles' vampire comic 30 Days of Night is set up at Columbia Pictures, the trade paper reported.

Niles and IDW head Ted Adams are executive producing Dead, with Brad Weston, Andrew Rona and Michael Zoumas overseeing for Dimension, the trade paper reported.

Lifetime Picks Up Coven

ifetime is in final talks to pick up The Coven, a TV pilot centered on a group of witches, from executive producers Charlie Craig and Gale Anne Hurd (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines), according to The Hollywood Reporter. Lions Gate TV and Hurd's Valhalla TV are producing the pilot, to be directed by David Wu, the trade paper reported.

Wendy Grean (Lifetime's What Makes a Family) also will produce. Casting is under way and production will begin soon in Toronto.

Barnes, Rusch Win Endeavours

ashington writer Steven Barnes and Oregon writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch jointly won the fifth Endeavour Award, honoring science fiction or fantasy works by a writer from the Pacific Northwest, organizers announced. The awards were presented Nov. 14 at OryCon in Portland, Ore.

Rusch won for The Disappeared; Barnes won for Lion's Blood. Each received an etched glass plaque produced by Seattle artist Ashley Harper and a grant of $500.

The award is based on judging by fans and by professional writers and editors of science fiction and fantasy.

Rifkin To Draft Zoom's

evolution Studios has tapped writer Adam Rifkin (Small Soldiers) to draft Zoom's Academy for the Super Gifted, an SF movie based on the graphic novel by animator Jason Lethcoe, Variety reported. The film centers on an unpopular high school girl who is whisked away by her father to a school for burgeoning superheroes, where she discovers that she also has hidden talents, the trade paper reported.

Team Todd executives Suzanne and Jennifer Todd will produce.

Rifkin most recently wrote movie adaptations of the book Where's Waldo for Nickelodeon Films and Paramount, as well as the cartoon Underdog for Spyglass and Disney, the trade paper reported.

SF Films Cross Thresholds

he Matrix Revolutions and Scary Movie 3 became the 22nd and 23rd films released in 2003 to make more than $100 million, meaning that 2003 will probably break 2002's record year of having 24 films crossing that threshold, Zap2it reported. Finding Nemo, meanwhile, has taken in more than $339.6 million at the box office, moving it closer to seventh place on the list of all-time moneymakers, the site reported.

Nemo is closing in on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which grossed $339.7 million.

EverQuest Pack Ships

ony Online Entertainment announced that it has shipped EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers, an expansion pack for the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game, for the PlayStation 2. Frontiers carries a suggested retail price of $29.99.

Frontiers features new graphics enhancements, dedicated in-game customer support, a friendly player community and easy plug-and-play features, the company said.

Frontiers, the second edition of EverQuest Online Adventures, expands the fantasy world of Norrath with uncharted territories, new items and spells to acquire, creatures to battle and a new playable race, the company said.

Cruise Has M:I3 Doubts

om Cruise told SCI FI Wire that he hasn't committed to a third installment in the Mission: Impossible film franchise, though one is in development. "Mission is always tough to do," Cruise said in an interview. "If I don't feel that I can do it, [then I won't]."

Cruise added, "I hope I can, because I like producing those movies. They're just fun to produce." In the previous two Mission: Impossible movies, Cruise has headlined as superspy Ethan Hunt and has also worked behind the scenes with producing partner Paula Wagner.

Cruise said that he and Wagner are working with writers on the script for a third film now, but declined to name them. A spring production start is eyed.

Elfman Tunes Into Toons

enna Elfman, who co-stars in the animated/live-action film Looney Tunes: Back in Action, told SCI FI Wire that she studied castmate Brendan Fraser's performance for tips on acting with animated characters. "I started pulling dailies of some of Brendan's work with Daffy to see what he did, because he's so good at it," she said in an interview. "I wanted to see what his successful maneuvers were that made it so good, and I realized a lot of it was physical interaction with the characters—to physically grab them or flip their ear or what have you—but to physically inject yourself into the scene. As soon as I started doing that, I felt I was interchanging with them, as opposed to me over here and them over there."

For Elfman, who had never worked with green-screen special effects before, the first few weeks on the set were intimidating, she said. But her professionalism eventually outweighed her self-consciousness. "I got past the embarrassing part, because it didn't help me act better, and it didn't help me be funnier, I'll tell you that," she said. "I got rid of the embarrassing thing, thinking, 'OK, I don't have room for embarrassment right now. Let's figure out how to make it work.' That was a self-discipline thing in knocking out the stupid embarrassment part. I just didn't have all the information at the beginning, so I thought, 'Let's learn it.'"

One of the most difficult aspects, Elfman said, was adjusting her comedic timing in each scene to accommodate the animated characters, a process that she likened to dancing without a partner. "This comedy was so broad that I sometimes asked, 'Am I being too big right now?' And actually, no, because when I viewed dailies, and I didn't infuse enough energy into it, it looks wrong. It looked like the actor was intimidated by the process, and it didn't work. So you just have to give everything and believe in the most ridiculous scenarios, and the more you believe, the more it works." Looney Tunes: Back in Action is now playing.

Boris Rings In Epoch: Evolution

ngel Boris, co-star of the upcoming SCI FI Channel original movie Epoch: Evolution, told SCI FI Wire that the sequel to Epoch, SCI FI's highest-rated original movie to date, features the return of the monolithic Torus that threatens to destroy Earth's life-support system. "Evolution is about these two Toruses, which are these cylinder-shaped objects that appear in two different spots in the country," Boris said in an interview. "I am an anthropologist, Sondra, and I'm part of this team that's trying to investigate the Toruses, what they want, why they're here and how we can stop them from destroying the planet."

Boris, an actress and former Playboy Playmate, added that she enjoyed working alongside Epoch: Evolution co-stars David Keith and Billy Dee Williams. Keith reprises his role as Mason Rand, leader of the scientific team. "It was very exciting," Boris said. "Billy Dee and I just had one scene together, but he's wonderful. David you've seen in so many movies, and he's just an interesting guy and a really good actor. It makes you a better actor working with people of that caliber. So I tried to watch them and learn as much as I could. I think [Epoch: Evolution] is going to be pretty good. I hope it's as good and as successful as the first one was." Epoch: Evolution premieres Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

MGM Conjures Up Witch

GM has acquired Bragi Schut Jr.'s spec script Season of the Witch, a medieval tale about a group of knights escorting a woman accused of witchcraft, Variety reported. Mosaic Media Group will produce the proposed movie, the trade paper reported.

In the movie, a group of knights in 14th-century France must transport a woman accused of witchcraft to a mountain abbey, where the monks will seek to understand and destroy her powers, believed to be the source of the Black Plague, the trade paper reported.

Last year, Schut's script The Last Voyage of the Demeter, about the ship that carried Dracula's coffin from Transylvania to England, was set up at Phoenix Pictures. Robert Schwentke is attached to direct, the trade paper reported.

Briefly Noted

Yahoo! Movies has posted a new trailer for Guillermo del Toro's upcoming Hellboy movie, based on Mike Mignola's comic series, which opens April 2, 2004.

SCIFI.COM has updated the official Web site for its upcoming original miniseries Battlestar Galactica, which premieres Dec. 8, with new sweepstakes information, a background feature on executive producer Ronald D. Moore and a photo of the new Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) having coffee with the original Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) at Starbucks.

The Nov. 19 episode of UPN's Star Trek Enterprise delivered its largest audience in nine months, with 4.6 million viewers, the network announced.

Margaret Armen, 82, one of the first successful female television writers, who wrote episodes of the original Star Trek TV series, died Nov. 10 of heart failure at her home in Woodland Hills, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The online science fiction magazine scifidimensions announced that L. Sprague de Camp won a lifetime achievement award as part of the 2003 SESFA Awards. Robert R. McCammon's Speaks the Nightbird won for best novel, and Andy Duncan's "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" won for best short fiction.

The IGN FilmForce reported that the DVD of The Matrix Revolutions is slated for release on Jan. 6, 2004, only two months after the movie premiered in theaters. The third Matrix movie has seen its box-office performance drop sharply.

Yahoo! Movies has posted a trailer for the upcoming fantasy comedy movie Ella Enchanted, starring Anne Hathaway, which premieres in the spring of 2004.

Ticket and hotel information for the upcoming 2004 Nebula Awards is available on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Web site.

Warner Brothers has posted a new Web site for its upcoming third Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which opens next year.

The WB may again postpone Fearless, its upcoming drama about an FBI undercover agent born without the gene for fear, Zap2it reported. Fearless was originally slated for this fall, then pushed to midseason and now may not show up on the network's schedule until fall 2004.

Kellie Waymire, an actress best known to SF fans as Elizabeth Cutler on UPN's Enterprise, died of unknown causes on Nov. 13, Zap2it reported. She was 35. Waymire also appeared in episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and Fox's Wolf Lake.

Pirated DVDs of The Matrix Revolutions hit the streets of Malaysia within two days of the Nov. 5 global release of the sequel movie, despite Warner Brothers' best efforts to thwart pirates, Variety reported.

Disney will display the sets, costumes and effects from its upcoming supernatural horror film The Haunted Mansion in an exhibit accompanying the release of the film at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. The movie opens Nov. 26.

Halle Berry told USA Today that Jinx, the proposed James Bond spinoff movie based on her Die Another Day character, is still in development, despite reports that MGM has pulled the plug. Berry called the script "wonderful," the newspaper reported.

Ubisoft has updated its Web site for the upcoming Matrix Online massively-multiplayer online role-playing game, which is set in the time period after the events in the movie trilogy.

Paramount Home Entertainment will release the first DVD set of Star Trek: Voyager on Feb. 24, a five-disc collector's set with 15 episodes and bonus features, Variety reported. New sets will be introduced every couple of months throughout 2004.

For the fanboy on your gift list who has everything, Cartoon Network is selling a fully equipped replica of the desk and chair from its animated spoof talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The price? A spooky $39,995.

Universal Studios Networks has inked a deal with German license trader EM.TV, under which all four seasons of the SCI FI Channel's defunct series Farscape will air on its new German Sci Fi channel, Variety reported. Universal is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.

Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Anthony Stewart Head was voted in a poll of readers of the British Radio Times as the favorite to play the next Doctor Who, the Reuters news service reported. The BBC has not announced who will play the SF legend, but British media say Richard E. Grant, Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard are being considered when Doctor Who returns to TV in 2005.

The Day of the Dead, the Mexican holiday devoted to the deceased, is to serve as the setting for a horror project that Paramount Pictures and MTV Films have conjured up together, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Diego Gutierrez (TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer), who pitched the project, will write the screenplay.

Wes Craven's supernatural horror film Cursed will resume production this week, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film, from Scream writer Kevin Williamson, went on an unusual mid-production hiatus this summer so that filmmakers could plan for more special effects than originally anticipated and further develop the ending.

Disney has shut down production on its animated movie A Few Good Ghosts, due to "creative differences," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The supernatural fantasy film was to have mixed traditional with computer animation.

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