Hollywood star trek honors Patrick Stewart
atrick Stewart, who is best known for his portrayal of Captain Jean Luc Picard in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series and movies, received a star on the Hollywood walk of fame on Monday, Dec. 16. Stewart's star nomination came at the prompting of a grass roots efforts by his many friends and fans, reportedly spurred on by 1-800-TREKKER President David Blaise.
Currently 1-800-TREKKER is accepting contributions to offset the cost of the star, with "thank you" gifts offered to those who contribute at least $30. Those who pay $30 or more will receive a Patrick Stewart Walk of Fame commemorative lapel pin, while the first 200 people who contribute $70 or more will receive the pin plus an autographed photo of Stewart. For more information, call 1-800-873-5537.
Touchstone brings Snow Crash to the movies
eal Stephenson's landmark novel Snow Crash is headed for the big screen courtesy of Touchstone Pictures and writer/director Jeffrey Nachmanoff. According to Variety, Marco Brambilla has agreed to direct the project, which is being touted as a cross between Brazil and Blade Runner.
Nachmanoff is said to be writing the screenplay for the movie "from scratch" after a number of earlier drafts by other writers proved unsatisfactory. In Nachmanoff's version, a computer virus escapes from cyberspace into the real world.
SF play opens in New York City
ARP, a science fiction "epic adventure play" produced by Crystal Theater Productions, will be playing at the St. Clements Theater in New York, N.Y., from Dec. 3 - 22. The play, originally developed and produced at Chicago's Organic Theatre, is about a midwestern bank teller named David Carson who learns he is really Lord Cumulus, Avenger of the Universe, and he must embark on an inter-dimensional quest to save reality from destruction.
The play features state-of-the-art lighting, sound and special effects, with performances on Monday, Saturday and Sunday. For more information call 1-212-944-WARP.
Tomorrow preps for 1997 launch
lgis Budrys, the editor and publisher of the science fiction magazine Tomorrow, reported to Tangent magazine that the electronic version of Tomorrow will be available at www.tomorrowsf.com starting Jan. 15. The electronic edition of the magazine, which replaces the now defunct print version, will contain weekly updated fiction, an art gallery, a letters column, a science column, a book review column and more.
The first three issues of Tomorrow will be free, and after that readers will be required to subscribe on either a yearly or per-issue basis. Subscriptions can be paid by credit card and will give users password-protected access to the site. Current subscribers will have their subscriptions carried over to the new electronic format, or they may request a partial refund.
Tarantino "X"ed out by Directors Guild
oes Quentin Tarantino directing an episode of The X-Files sound like the perfect match? That's what Tarantino thought, until the Directors Guild of America ruled that the maverick film director would have to join the Guild before he could close the deal.
It seems the Guild was willing to let Tarantino direct an episode of ER last year without joining, but it won't grant the Pulp Fiction mastermind a second such waiver. So Tarantino decided to drop the project, even though he eventually plans on joining the Guild.
ID4 tops Toy Story in initial video orders
wentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment reported a record-breaking 22 million orders for the video release of Independence Day, the blockbuster hit that raked in $300 million at the box-office. That's a healthy cut above Disney's Toy Story, which earlier this year set a video release record when it racked up 21 million initial orders.
However, orders aren't the same thing as actual sales, and it's doubtful if ID4 will be able to surpass Disney's The Lion King, which holds the record for best-selling video ever with a staggering 30 million units sold. Keep in mind that Jurassic Park shipped 20 million units but sold less than 17 million of those.
Millennium episode delayed out of respect for Cardinal Bernardin
ast month executives at Fox delayed airing an episode of Millennium called "Kingdom Come" out of respect for Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, the 68-year-old senior U.S. Roman Catholic prelate who died of cancer on Thursday, Nov. 14. The episode, which would have aired on Friday, Nov. 15, deals with a serial killer who ritually murders prominent religious figures.
In place of "Kingdom Come" Fox ran the episode "The Judge," about an ex-con who kills officials in the judicial system.
Bryan Singer joins The X-Men team
ryan Singer, the director behind the movie The Usual Suspects, is getting set to close a deal to direct the silver screen adaptation of Marvel Comics' The X-Men, according to a report published in Variety. Singer was quoted as saying, "We're taking the subject matter very seriously. This will not be comic-book style film, for the X-Men are an ensemble of anti-heroes, and we've figured out a way to make the story accessible to fans and non-fans alike."
Singer went on to say that the movie would deal with the origins of the X-Men, but it will not be wholly based on the first comic book.
AnimEigo offers rare Anti-Mayhem cards
nimEigo, Inc., began two new consumer promotions last month that give customers a chance to pick up rare cards from the Anti-Mayhem collectible card game, which is based on characters from AnimEigo's Bubblegum Crisis as well as anime characters and series from both Pioneer and Viz. Starting Nov. 1, AnimEigo began inserting one rare card per unit in all outgoing consumer purchases of anime videos and laser discs, not including Samurai Cinema.
Also starting Nov. 1, each consumer purchase will earn points toward a drawing for an Anti-Mayhem uncut sheet, with one dollar equaling one point. At the end of each month, a winner will be randomly selected from the total number of points for that month.
1997 TAFF race cancelled
he 1997 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, which would have sent an American science fiction fan to Eastercon '97 in the United Kingdom, has been canceled due to a lack of candidates. TAFF co-administrators Dan Steffan and Martin Tudor -- from the U.S. and the U.K. respectively -- reported the cancellation will provide a "beneficial break for TAFF and will enable the Fund the necessary time needed to resolve recent problems of finance and public relations that have been plaguing it of late."
The decision was made with the consent of Luke McGuff, the only full-fledged candidate for the Eastercon race, who agreed to withdraw his name from contention after the situation was explained to him. In TAFFnews, Steffan reported that, "the lack of a second (and preferably, a third) candidate made it impossible to properly conduct any kind of legitimate competition at this time."
Readers can contact TAFF at:
Martin Tudor
24 Ravensbourne Grove
Willenhall, West Midlands WV13 1HX
England
or
Dan Steffan
3804 South 9th St.
Arlington, VA 22204
United States
