Bell Talks Buffy And Angel
effrey Bell, who co-wrote and directed the finale of The WB's vampire series Angel, told SCI FI Wire that scheduling conflicts and story concerns were the main reasons why Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar won't appear in Angel's final episodes.
Angel co-creator Joss Whedon had asked Gellar to appear while Gellar was busy. But when Gellar was available for the final episode, producers opted not to include her, because they didn't want the show's finale to be about Buffy, said Bell, the series co-executive producer.
"Buffy [Gellar] is an aspect of Angel," Bell said in an interview. "It would have been great if she could have come in for one of the last couple of episodes, but not the finale. But Sarah was in Japan shooting her feature [The Grudge] right up until we were shooting our last episode. Joss had asked her if she was available for number 20 ['The Girl in Question'] or number 21 ['Power Play'], and she wasn't. So we wrote number 20 [as] a story that dealt emotionally with Buffy, even though she wasn't in it."
Bell added that the finale, "Not Fade Away," "is about our people and everything we'd been through. And we'd already written about Buffy in number 20. So the ship had sailed and there wasn't a lot we could do about it.
"It would have been great to have her," Bell added. "It would have been a huge ratings boon. The fans would have loved it. But not for the finale. That's not what Angel ultimately is about. We struggled so much to get as many of our stories resolved anyway. I can't imagine having added that to the mix as well." The WB will air "Not Fade Away" on May 19.
Angel TV Movies Planned?
he MediasharX Web site reported rumors that The WB will order several standalone TV movies based on the canceled vampire series Angel, including a two-hour movie that will air tentatively in September.
Citing an anonymous source, the site added that the film will be the first of a series of new telefilms that will tie in with the events of the series' final episode, which is slated to air in May.
Eliza Dushku is rumored to be in talks to appear in the telemovies as Faith, the site reported. Dushku currently headlines the Fox TV series Tru Calling, whose fate remains up in the air.
Buffy's Brendon Enters Rehab
icholas Brendon, who played Xander for seven years on TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, announced that he has voluntarily entered an alcohol treatment center, his official Web site reported.
"After realizing that I had a disease that was taking control of my life, I decided that the best way for me to regain my health was to enter a treatment facility," Brendon said in a statement. "I'm grateful for the love and support I've gotten from my wife, Tressa; my entire family; my business associates; and my friends."
Brendon added, "Over the past eight years I've discovered that Buffy fans are the most caring and supportive fans in the world. Knowing that they will be behind me, rooting for me as I go through this process, makes everything that much easier. I'm looking forward to leading a happy, sober life."
In addition to his seven seasons on Buffy, Brendon has appeared in the feature film Psycho Beach Party and most recently starred in the ABC Family Channel movie Celeste in the City.
Village Kept Its Secrets
udy Greer, who co-stars in director M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming supernatural thriller film The Village, told SCI FI Wire that the film's biggest secrets were kept even from the actors who portray the movie's besieged settlers.
"A lot of stuff that we were sworn to secrecy about was shot after everyone pretty much left ... Pennsylvania," Greer said in an interview. "We got to read a draft of [the complete script], but things change a lot."
The Village, from the director of The Sixth Sense, tells the story of a group of settlers who leave society to start their own utopia, but become threatened by creatures living in the surrounding woods. "My character's name is Katie Walker, and I play William Hurt's daughter and the sister to Bryce Howard," Greer said. "I'm the first child, basically, born of the village, so my character is kind of like the incarnation of what they were going for when they moved out of civilization."
Greer is currently on view playing Jennifer Garner's best friend, Lucy, in the fantasy comedy 13 Going on 30. Meanwhile, Touchstone Pictures, which is releasing The Village, has posted the full trailer for the movie, which premiered during ABC's airing of The Sixth Sense on April 26. On May 3, during an airing of Shyamalan's Unbreakable, the director will host the unveiling of several minutes of scenes from The Village, as well as interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. The Village opens July 30.
Hellboy Sequel Planned
ellboy director Guillermo del Toro confirmed to fans on the movie Web site's official bulletin board that plans are in the works for a sequel and other projects based on the film.
"Yes, we are talking about a second movie," del Toro wrote. "The [box-office] numbers make perfect sense, since we were a relatively 'inexpensive' movie at under $70 million, and we will make enough domestically."
Del Toro added that he and Mike Mignola, creator of the Hellboy graphic novels on which the film is based, "are fleshing out ideas and storylines we've been discussing for some time now. Mike thinks there will be no Lobster (sob), but Roger is in for sure," referring to popular comic characters Lobster Johnson and Roger the Homunculus. Del Toro said that the sequel could contain plot elements from the Hellboy graphic novels Almost Colossus and Conqueror Worm.
Del Toro added that there are plans for a Hellboy anime series, from Gonzo Anime, and that producers are seeking possible video-game publishers. "Mike Mignola and I will be involved in the plotting of [the game] to make sure that it flows with the mythology of the movie, anime, comic, etc.," he said.
Look Anew At Helsing Monsters
huler Hensley (Frankenstein's monster) and Will Kemp (Wolf Man) told SCI FI Wire that their performances in the upcoming monster movie Van Helsing don't incorporate much from previous movie versions of their iconic characters.
Kemp, who comes to film from the world of ballet, said in an interview that he "watched all the old [werewolf movie] classics, which were fantastic," but added that he was "very keen to not use anything from or be swayed by anyone else's performance." What was really important was focusing on "things like lycanthropy and working out where it comes from, the actual folklore," in order to get a sense of "what it would actually be like to change into a wolf," he said.
Kemp added that previous depictions of the Wolf Man's transformation—such as that in the 1941 George Waggner film The Wolf Man—were "all about the makeup. And so during that transformation [Lon Chaney] hardly
moves," he said. "Whereas we were able to do the opposite. I was
able to move, to flail around and portray that transformation very
physically."
Hensley, whose background is mostly in musical theater, echoed Kemp in saying that he wasn't influenced by previous film incarnations of his famous character. "My first and lasting impression of Frankenstein's monster was not a film, it was the book [Mary Shelley's original SF novel]," he said. "It was one of the first books I read as a
kid."
Hensley added that he didn't think it necessary to do much more research than that. "These monsters are such a part of our culture," he said. "We all grew up with them. We all dressed as Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man at Halloween. They're so ingrained in us, such a part of all our lives in unique ways. So Frankenstein was a part of me, which is why I didn't do much film-watching."
Van Helsing, from Universal Pictures, opens May 7. Universal is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Van Helsing Stars Nailed Stunts
ugh Jackman, star of the upcoming summer monster movie Van Helsing, told SCI FI Wire that co-star Kate Beckinsale was more than up for all of the film's demanding stunts.
"She's one of five kids, and [she has] all elder brothers, so occasionally [she does] the English rose thing," Jackman said in an interview. "But then as soon as 'action!' is called, [she's] tougher than all of us."
In Van Helsing, Jackman plays a monster hunter who roams 19th-century Europe with Beckinsale's gypsy princess in search of Dracula and other creatures. Jackman described one particularly difficult stunt. "I'm grabbing Kate's feet, and we're on wires, about 40 or 50 feet up in the air," he said. "Then, as close to real speed as possible, we had to land down on this mat. [I'm supposed to] land down on my back, and Kate [is supposed to land] astride me, with her knees on either side [of my head]. So I did it once with her stunt double, and she missed and landed on my shoulder. And at that moment I thought, 'Wow, just a few inches more, and I'm going to get a knee in the face.' And then with Kate, we did three takes, and she stuck it every time, like an Olympic gymnast. Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Beckinsale said that working on Underworld, which she filmed before joining Jackman on Van Helsing, was excellent training. "Well, that's the nice thing about English girls," Beckinsale wryly added. "Someone asks for a crotch in the face, they get a crotch in the face."
Van Helsing, from Universal Pictures, opens May 7. Universal is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Van Helsing Stars Love Sommers
ugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale, co-stars of the upcoming monster-filled summer movie Van Helsing, told SCI FI Wire that they had a great time working with the film's energetic writer-director, Stephen Sommers.
"I think it was the most fun I ever had on a set," Jackman said in an interview, adding that Sommers "really led the way, he made it really easy. It was almost a frighteningly easy set. There were no tantrums. There were no breakdowns. Every department worked well. It shouldn't work this easy."
The Australian actor described Sommers as "an old-fashioned director." "He sets the tone," Jackman said. "He starts the day at 7:30 [in the morning] with exactly the same energy as he finishes with at 7:30 [that evening]. He never goes a minute past 7:30. He's, like, the only director in the world who does it, particularly in action. He does 12 hours, and he goes 100 percent all day." Jackman praised the extra effort Sommers made to check in on his actors. "He pops in every day into your makeup trailer to see you. 'How you doing? Any questions?' And, trust me, this doesn't always happen."
Beckinsale echoed Jackman's assessment. "There [were] really good people [involved]," she said in a separate interview. "And because Steve is this highly enthusiastic, childlike, excited person, the people that he chooses all have an element of that as well. He's totally goofy and fun, and I think we all responded to that in Steve."
In Van Helsing, Jackman plays a monster hunter in 19th-century Europe, and Beckinsale plays a gypsy princess on the trail of Dracula. The film features several classic Universal Studios monsters, including Frankenstein and the Wolf Man. Sommers also created the hit Mummy films.
"You've got to look at him when he's by the [playback] monitor," Beckinsale said of Sommers. "You watch him watching the monitor, and he's twitching and moving, and he's saying everybody's lines. It's extraordinary. He's so into it. He's like a kid with his very expensive Barbie and Ken." Van Helsing opens May 7. Universal is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
NBC Eyes Van Helsing Spinoff
ob Ducsay, producer of the upcoming monster movie Van Helsing, told SCI FI Wire that NBC is developing a spinoff television series called Transylvania, set in the universe of the summer movie.
Transylvania "is related to the film, [but] it's not the movie for television," Ducsay said in an interview. "It's the world of
Van Helsing. It takes place in the late 1800s, like Van
Helsing, and it takes place in Transylvania. But none of the characters intersect. It's actually a new idea that just takes place in the world [of the movie]."
Stephen Sommers, writer-director of Van Helsing, told SCI FI Wire in a separate interview that he got the inspiration for the proposed TV series on the movie's elaborate Prague set. "One day we were just sitting on the set, which [production designer] Allan Cameron had built this fantastic village for, and I'm like, 'I'd hate to tear this down,'" Sommers said. "I mean, it's so fantastic, and I'd hate to bulldoze it. 'We ought to do something with it. Let's do a television show!' And that's when my wheels start spinning."
Van Helsing stars Hugh Jackman as a vampire hunter in 19th-century Europe. Kate Beckinsale co-stars as a gypsy princess. The film features several classic monsters from the Universal Studios film vault, including Frankenstein's monster, Dracula and the Wolf Man. Sommers and Ducsay are executive producing Transylvania for NBC, which is in the process of buying Vivendi Universal, the parent company of Universal and SCIFI.COM.
NBC had great enthusiasm for Transylvania and brought on board
TV veteran David Fury, one of the executive producers of UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to help out. "I wrote the pilot about five months ago, and NBC got all excited," Sommers said. The network ordered six more episodes and asked Sommers to start writing them right away. But Sommers was still in the middle of making Van Helsing and told the network, "'Well, um, I've got this movie called Van Helsing that's kind of big and is taking up a lot of my time, so, ah, no.'" Van Helsing opens May 7.
Third X-Men In Works
ugh Jackman, who will likely reprise the role of Wolverine in a proposed third X-Men movie, confirmed to SCI FI Wire that the sequel is in the works, but that the story has yet to be locked down.
"I know they're in discussions about it," Jackman said in an interview while promoting his next movie, Van Helsing. "They're trying to work out schedules and things like that."
The last film in the Marvel Comics-based franchise, X2, ended with the death of Jean Grey and the hint of the comics' Dark Phoenix storyline, in which Grey transforms into a powerful and evil mutant. Will the third X-Men movie pick up that thread? "There's no script yet, so I'm not sure," Jackman said in reply.
Beckinsale Up For Scarlett
alks are underway with Kate Beckinsale (Van Helsing) to take the lead role in Daisy Scarlett: Semper Occultus, described as a female James Bond movie, the ComingSoon.net Web site reported.
The film was reportedly written for the British actress by Ben Trebilcook and will be directed by Michael Hurst, the site reported.
Jet Li is attached to the project, the site added. Newcomer Iris Bahr is under consideration for the role of the villainous Special Agent Josephine Mackenna. The action spy thriller is set in London, South Africa and Paris, the site reported.
Stahl Entering Sin City
ick Stahl (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) is in final talks to join the cast of Sin City for Dimension Films and co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film, composed of three intertwining vignettes in a corrupt town, is based on Miller's graphic novel series and is shooting in Austin, Texas, the trade paper reported.
Stahl, who will also be seen in the upcoming second season of HBO's Carnivale, would play the dual roles of Junior and Yellow Bastard, sources told the trade paper. Stahl's co-stars include Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jaime King, Jessica Alba, Elijah Wood and Brittany Murphy. Rodriguez and Miller co-wrote the script and are co-directing and co-producing the film.
Alba Enters Sin City
essica Alba (TV's Dark Angel) is in final talks to join the ensemble cast of director Rober Rodriguez's film adaptation of Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novel series, Variety reported.
The Dimension Films crime drama adapts the storylines from three of the seven graphic novels in the long-running cult series created, written and illustrated by Miller, the trade paper reported.
Set in the world's grimiest, toughest town, the tales of vengeance and redemption are taken from Sin City, which launched the series, as well as That Yellow Bastard and The Big Fat Kill, the trade paper reported. Miller is co-directing with Rodriguez, in addition to sharing producing duties with Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellan through their Troublemaker Studios label.
Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood and Carla Gugino also star. The film went into production late last month at Rodriguez's studio facility in Austin, Texas, the trade paper reported.
Gosnell Brings Up Baby
aja Gosnell (Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed) is in final talks to direct the fantasy comedy film Big Baby for Warner Brothers, Variety reported.
Neal Moritz and Richard Suckle will produce the film through their Original Films and R&R Entertainment banners with Gosnell, the trade paper reported. Laura Lichstein will serve as executive producer.
Adam Mazer and Gregg Lichtenstein wrote the screenplay, about a career-obsessed man who becomes cursed to act like an infant after he dismisses his wife's desire to have a baby, the trade paper reported.
Milano: Charmed Could Go On
lyssa Milano, who plays Phoebe Halliwell in The WB's witch series Charmed, told TV Guide Online that the cast still doesn't know if they'll return for an eighth season after next year.
"We're all contracted for eight years," Milano told the site. "But I think we all feel like we want to go out on top. So if our ratings are as strong as they are this year, we'll probably go for an eighth season. And if it starts to slip, we'd all decide to end after the seventh season. It's a tricky thing to know when the right time to end a show is."
Charmed was recently renewed for its seventh season. Milano added that she still has ideas for her character. "She's been through so much with love that, clearly, I'd love some sort of storyline where she's in a stable relationship," Milano said. "And that's so much fun for me to play, as far as just the romantic-comedy stuff. We did an episode this year where we saw Phoebe's future, and she was pregnant, so I don't know what they're going to do with that. Although I would not be looking forward to wearing that weird latex belly. Holly Marie Combs wore that belly and it was stinky! It didn't matter what you had on as far as perfume or clothes on top of it. You could smell it a mile away." Charmed airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Mutant X Canceled?
aren Cliche, who plays Lexa Pierce on the syndicated SF series Mutant X, posted on her official Web site that the show has been canceled, according to a report on the Comics Continuum Web site.
"Just thought I would be the first to let you know before it has been officially announced that Mutant X is canceled," Cliche reportedly posted. "We are all very sad. Don't know when they will make it official, but we [the cast] have been advised that we aren't going [for] another season. We are all now trying to go on with our lives and careers, and who knows? This could be an opening of wonderful opportunities for many people. Always look at the bright side!"
Tribune Entertainment, which produces the show, previously signaled that the show would be picked up for a fourth season, but has since made no official announcement about the series' fate. A representative at Tribune told the Continuum on April 23 that the state of the show hasn't been formally decided yet. The third season of Mutant X will end next month with a cliffhanger, the site reported.
Tomorrow Stirs Debate Today
he upcoming SF disaster film The Day After Tomorrow, which deals in part with the consequences of global warming, has become a political football in recent days, as environmentalists embrace it as a warning about the perils of greenhouse-gas emissions and the Bush administration looks to avoid being tagged with accusations about its ecological policies, Variety reported.
A rally featuring former vice president and environmental advocate Al Gore will take place a couple of blocks away from the film's May 24 premiere in New York, hosted by MoveOn.org, the trade paper reported.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, meanwhile, told the trade paper that it briefed Tomorrow star Jake Gyllenhaal about global warming.
The New York Times reported that NASA ordered its scientists last month not to speak about Tomorrow because of fears it could politically injure President Bush. The space agency has since relaxed that ban, the trade paper reported.
Fox spokeswoman Florence Grace told Variety that the movie "is meant to entertain audiences with a mix of spectacle and emotion. If it also increases awareness and inspires audiences to take an interest in some of the issues raised in the film, then all the better." The Day After Tomorrow, starring Dennis Quaid, opens May 28.
Fox Previews Tomorrow
he Fox broadcast network will promote sister studio 20th Century Fox's summer film The Day After Tomorrow via a 10-minute trailer set to air May 12, Variety reported.
The trailer will air from 8:44 to 8:54 p.m., with scenes from the SF disaster movie that opens May 28. The airing is part of a trend of studios airing extended trailers for upcoming movies on TV and on the Internet.
To accommodate the trailer, Fox has shuffled the night's schedule, starting with an extended edition of That '70s Show, from 8 p.m. to 8:44 p.m., and an expanded version of American Idol from 8:54 to 10 p.m., the trade paper reported.
Malthe Cast In Elektra
GN FilmForce reported that 26-year-old model-actress Natassia Malthe has been cast as the villainous Typhoid Mary in the upcoming spinoff movie Elektra.
Citing an anonymous source, the site reported that Malthe will appear opposite Jennifer Garner in the Daredevil spinoff, which is based on the Marvel Comics series.
Malthe has previously appeared in Disturbing Behavior, Lake Placid and 40 Days and 40 Nights. She is sometimes credited as "Lina Teal," the site reported.
Malthe joins a cast that includes Garner and Terence Stamp in the movie that is to be directed by The X-Files vet Rob Bowman. Production kicks off next month in Vancouver, B.C. ER's Goran Visnjic is reportedly in talks to join the project.
Visnjic Mulls Elektra Part
R hunk Goran Visnjic is in talks to star opposite Jennifer Garner in the upcoming Elektra, the spinoff of Daredevil, for director Rob Bowman, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Regency Enterprises/20th Century Fox film is due to start shooting in early May in Vancouver, B.C., the trade paper reported.
Garner reprises her Daredevil role as Elektra Natchios, a beautiful and deadly assassin who was trained by the Hand, a clan of mystical ninjas, the trade paper reported. Elektra is assigned to kill Visnjic's character by the Hand over something his grandfather did, but ends up falling for him instead. Terence Stamp rounds out the cast, the trade paper reported.
Indy IV Likely Delayed Again
fourth Indiana Jones movie may be further delayed as principals Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have committments that fill their schedules well beyond the planned July 4, 2005, release date, E! Online reported.
The fourth installment in the beloved movie franchise was initially targeted for release next year, but the script was sent back for a rewrite after Lucas decided he was displeased with the material, the site reported. Production is now slated to begin in 2005, with a release date in 2006.
Ford has signed on to star in The Wrong Element. Spielberg, meanwhile, will helm a movie dealing with the terrorist attack on the 1972 Munich Olympics and the subsequent films The Rivals, about the rivalry between 19th-century stage divas Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse, and The War of the Worlds, an adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells alien invasion tale, the site reported.
Lucas has been keeping himself occupied with Star Wars: Episode III, which is slated for release in May 2005.
Dragon Ball Z Sequels Due
tari confirmed that it plans to release three Dragon Ball Z video games during 2004, including the previously unannounced Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury role-playing game for GameBoy Advance, the GameSpot Web site reported.
The other two titles scheduled for release this year are Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors, also for the GBA, and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 for the PlayStation 2, the site reported.
Atari worked with FUNimation to develop the sequels, the site reported.
Cursed Shot Over And Over
udy Greer, who stars in Wes Craven's troubled horror film Cursed, told SCI FI Wire that the movie faced numerous reshoots, many of which required her participation.
"I'm probably going to do them forever," she said in an interview. "Cursed had a major rewrite. We shot a lot of movie, and there were some problems with the ending, so they went back to try to finish the ending."
Greer—who is currently on view as Jennifer Garner's best friend in the fantasy comedy film 13 Going on 30—added that the revised werewolf-themed Cursed now has more heart than it did before. "The first version had a lot more blood in it or a lot more action, but the second version seems like it's more of a fable, like more of a [fairy] tale," Greer said. "It seems to come from a more real place."
Greer said that each change seemed to push the film further away from its original idea and eventually altered not only the shooting schedule, but also the characters. "Everything kept getting changed, and it got to the point where the movie was completely different," she said. "In the first version, I played Scott Baio's assistant, and I was in love with him. In the second version, I'm Scott Baio's publicist, and I'm all business."
Greer said that a number of cast members' schedules simply could not be accommodated, and they were eventually excised from the final film. "Because they were having a hard time with the ending, they decided to take a little break shooting the movie for a couple of weeks, and in that time a lot of the actors—myself included—became unavailable." Greer eventually wound up in the movie, but the actors who dropped out included Omar Epps and Skeet Ulrich, who was replaced by Joshua Jackson. The much-delayed film now has an Oct. 1 release date.
Serkis Gets Blessed
ndy Serkis (13 Going on 30) told SCI FI Wire that his next project will be the supernatural suspense thriller Blessed.
"It's a modern-day retelling of the Rosemary's Baby story," Serkis said in an interview.
Serkis, who is best known for playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films, said that Blessed was not a literal update of the 1968 Roman Polanski classic, but that the film explored many of the same themes. "I play this Italian priest who's sort of a bit of a detective," Serkis said. "It takes place in this community in which there's an in-vitro clinic, and this couple can't have a baby, so they go to this community. Everybody's working for the people who run the center."
Serkis added that the film's title—which has appeared on the Internet Movie Database and other Web sites as Samantha's Child—was changed because it was deemed too similar to the title of Polanski's film. "The original was called Rosemary's Baby, and I think if they called it Samantha's Child it would have been a little bit too on the nose, perhaps," he said. No release date has been set for Blessed.
Hayter To Helm Widow
-Men screenwriter David Hayter will write and make his directorial debut with The Black Widow, based on a Marvel Comics series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Lions Gate Entertainment (The Punisher) will distribute the movie, which will be produced by Marvel Studios' Avi Arad, the trade paper reported.
The Black Widow, an early supporting character in the Marvel Comics universe, is also known by her other identity: Natasha Romanova, a Russian spy who made her debut in The Invincible Iron Man, the trade paper reported. She also was part of the superteams assembled in the Champions and Avengers comics series. She ultimately became a love interest of Daredevil.
Hayter is such a fan of the character that he named his daughter Natasha when she was born this month, the trade paper reported.
In Hayter's version, at birth the Black Widow is given to the KGB, which grooms her to become its ultimate operative. When the U.S.S.R. breaks up, the government tries to kill her as the action moves to present-day New York, where she is a freelance operative, the trade paper reported.
Riddick Prequel Trailer Live
trailer has gone live for the upcoming animated video prequel The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury.
The straight-to-video release deals with events just before those in the upcoming theatrical movie The Chronicles of Riddick and features the voice of Vin Diesel. Peter Chung (The Animatrix) directed the animated video.
Dark Fury is due in stores June 15. The Chronicles of Riddick, the follow-up to Pitch Black, is due in theaters June 11. Both are produced by Universal Studios, which is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
DC Gets Rebellion Rights
C Comics has acquired the North American publishing rights to existing and future comic-book material from Rebellion, the British publisher of 2000 AD and Judge Dredd comics, the Comics Continuum Web site reported.
Rebellion has also published graphic novels by Garth Ennis, Simon Bisley, Frank Quitely, Mark Millar, Chris Weston, Sean Phillips and Glenn Fabry, among others.
Rebellion plans to publish 36 books per year for distribution in the North American comics specialty market and in trade bookstores, the site reported. DC's current plans are to focus primarily on graphic novels and trade paperback collections.
The first books from DC are scheduled for September, beginning with The Batman/Judge Dredd Files, written by John Wagner and Alan Grant, with art by Simon Bisley, Carl Critchlow, Dermot Power, Glenn Fabry, Jim Murray and Jason Brashill; and Sinister Dexter: Gunshark Vacation, written by Dan Abnett, with art by David Millgate, Anthony Williams, Charles Gillespie, Simon Davis and Henry Flint, the site reported.
Future plans include such projects as Devlin Waugh: Swimming in Blood, written by John Smith, with art by Sean Phillips, Siku and Michael Gaydos; Red Razors, written by Mark Millar, with art by Steve Yeowell and Nigel Dobbyn; Judge Dredd: Judgment Day, written by Garth Ennis, with art by Peter Doherty, Dean Ormston, Carlos Ezquerra and Chris Halls; Nikolai Dante: The Romanov Dynasty, written by Robbie Morrison, with art by Simon Fraser, Chris Weston, Charlie Adlard and Henry Flint; Robo-Hunter: Verdus, written by John Wagner, with art by Ian Gibson; and Shimura, written by Robbie Morrison, with art by Frank Quitely, Colin MacNeil, Robert McCallum and Fraser, the site reported.
Garfield Game Coming
ip Games announced that it is working on a Garfield video game for the PC and PlayStation 2, the GameSpot Web site reported.
The game is currently scheduled for release this fall, a few months after the release of the upcoming live-action/computer-animated Garfield movie, which is based on Jim Davis' comic strip, the site reported.
Garfield, about a lasagna-loving orange cat and his hapless companions, is currently the most syndicated comic strip in the world, appearing in 2,570 different newspapers, with an estimated total of 263 million readers, the site reported.
Brosnan Talks More Bond
ierce Brosnan told TV Guide Online that he was in talks to return as James Bond in a proposed 21st 007 movie when, "in the middle of negotiations, a paralysis set in [among the producers].
They don't know how to go forward. So I'm not sure [if I'll be back]. ... They know where to find me if they want me."
The site reported rumors that MGM may be looking to re-energize the franchise with a new, younger Bond, someone on the order of Hugh Jackman, Orlando Bloom, Heath Ledger or Jude Law. "Honest to God, I don't know what is going on here," Brosnan, who is 50, told the site. "Someone's playing a game, and it is very hard to find the truth in [this business]. As far as I'm concerned, I did what I was employed to do, [and] that was play James Bond to the best of my abilities, make some good money for myself, make a lot of money for the studio and the producers, and, hopefully, above all else, make something for the public to see and say, 'Bond is back, and Bond is good,' and to be part of that legacy."
Brosnan added, "It is such an iconic character, so [if] I do another one, that will be that. If I don't, it will be somebody else—one of the lads on that 'list.' I was on that list years ago. [Eventually], it is just your time to move on and become another number."
Fantasy XI Expansion Due
quare Enix U.S.A. announced Chains of Promathia, a new expansion pack for its massively multiplayer online role-playing game Final Fantasy XI.
Chains of Promathia is scheduled for release this fall in both Japan and North America.
Chains of Promathia adds a new chapter to the story of Vana'diel, expanding the world with new areas and new legends. The expansion will be available on CD-ROM and will not be available for download, the company said.
Final Fantasy XI boasts a community of 500,000 players and 1.2 million active characters from Japan and North America combined. The game launched for the PC in October 2003 in North America, followed by a PlayStation 2 version last month.
Branagh Takes On M:I 3
aramount Pictures has tapped Kenneth Branagh to star opposite Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 3, Variety reported.
The British actor joins Carrie-Anne Moss and Ving Rhames in the cast of the action franchise sequel, expected to start shooting this summer for a May 2005 release, the trade paper reported.
Joe Carnahan (Narc) will direct M:I 3, to be produced by Cruise and Paula Wagner via their Paramount-based C/W Productions. Cruise will again portray agent Ethan Hunt, the trade paper reported.
Writers on Mission: Impossible 3 have included Dean Georgaris, Robert Towne, Dan Gilroy and Frank Darabont.
Johansson On A Mission
aramount Pictures has tapped Scarlett Johansson for its Tom Cruise franchise sequel Mission: Impossible 3, Variety reported.
The Lost in Translation star is set to portray an ally of Cruise's Ethan Hunt character, the trade paper reported.
Joe Carnahan (Narc) is helming M:I 3, which will be produced by Cruise and Paula Wagner. Shooting starts this summer for a May 2005 release. Other cast members include Kenneth Branagh, Carrie-Anne Moss and Ving Rhames.
Ditmar Winners Named
he winners for the 2004 Ditmar Awards, honoring excellence by Australians in science fiction, fantasy and horror, were announced April 25 at Conflux, the 43rd Australian National Science Fiction Convention.
A full list of winners follows.
Professional Categories
Novel
•The Etched City by Kirsten Bishop
Novella
•"La Sentinelle" by Lucy Sussex
Short Story
•"Room for Improvement" by Trudi Canavan
Collected Work (Tie)
•Agog! Terrific Tales by Catriona Sparks
•Forever Shores by Peter McNamara and Margaret Winch
Best Artwork
•Agog! Terrific Tales by Catriona Sparks
Fannish Categories
Fan Writer
•Bruce Gillespie
Fan Artist
•Les Petersen
Fan Production
•Elsewhere Launch, CSFG
Fanzine
•The Australian SF Bullsheet, Edwina Harvey and Edwin Scribner, eds.
Special Award Categories
The William Atheling Jr. Award
•Bruce Gillespie
Best New Talent
•Kirsten Bishop
EA Preps Rings Game
lectronic Arts announced the development of The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age, a video game for all current-generation consoles and the GameBoy Advance, the GameSpot Web site reported.
Currently scheduled for release this fall, the title is described as a role-playing game in which players assume the role of new characters embarking on a quest in Middle-earth, the site reported.
The game is based on New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson's film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The console versions of Lord of the Rings, The Third Age are being developed by EA's Redwood Shores studio. The GBA version is in development at Griptonite, the site reported.
Christian 'Potter' Hits U.S.
hadowmancer, the best-selling British fantasy novel dubbed the "Christian Harry Potter," hits U.S. bookstores on April 27, USA Today reported.
The book by G.P. Taylor is described as a classic fight between good and evil, the dark tale of a devilish English vicar, Obadiah Demurral, who tries to control the world using demons and the dead in 18th-century England. Three teens set out to stop him: Thomas, Kate and Raphah, the newspaper reported.
Based on Taylor's proven overseas success in 2003, G.P. Putnam's Sons, a division of Penguin Group, paid Taylor an impressive $500,000 for Shadowmancer and his next two books, Wormwood (out in September) and Tersias (due in fall 2005). More than 330,000 copies of Shadowmancer have been sold in the United Kingdom, and the book is available in nearly two dozen languages, the newspaper reported.
Curtis Likes New Shadows
ongtime TV producer Dan Curtis, who is developing a new version of his classic vampire soap opera Dark Shadows for The WB, told an audience at the Beverly Hills branch of the Museum of Television and Radio that the new series "looks pretty good," the Zap2it Web site reported.
Curtis is developing the updated show with ER producer John Wells and Smallville writer Mark Verheiden, and The WB will announce in May whether it has picked it up as a series, the site reported.
Curtis recalled that the show originated in the '60s with a dream about a girl on a train, hired to be a governess in a remote locale. The new version will feature Scottish actor Alec Newman as the vampire Barnabas Collins, a part originated by Jonathan Frid.
CBS Raises The Dead
BS has given the green light to The Dead Will Tell, a two-hour supernatural TV movie based on one of self-styled psychic James Van Praagh's beyond-the-grave readings, Variety reported.
Anne Heche will star in the follow-up to Living With the Dead, the 2002 CBS miniseries based on a Van Praagh book, the trade paper reported.
Heche will play Emily Parker, who, after getting an antique engagement ring from her fiance, begins to see images of a long-deceased soul named Marie, the trade paper reported.
The TV movie will shoot in New Orleans later this year for broadcast on CBS during the 2004-'05 season. Barbara Lieberman and Van Praagh will executive produce for Barbara Lieberman Productions, in association with Robert Greenwald Productions. Mark Kruger (Tru Calling), Nancy Fichman and Jennifer Hoppe are set to write the script, the trade paper reported.
EverQuest II Beta Coming
ony Online Entertainment announced that signups for the June beta test of the much-anticipated EverQuest II online game will start in one week, the GameSpot Web site reported.
Signups will begin at 10 a.m. PT on May 3 at the game's official Web site.
Longtime subscribers to SOE's EverQuest Legends service will be given top priority in the application process, followed by qualified applicants of the Lords of EverQuest special offer, the site reported.
EverQuest II comes five years after the original EverQuest, the popular PC-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, which spawned eight expansion packs, two PlayStation 2 iterations and a real-time strategy spinoff, the site reported. The sequel will feature an all-new world with 100,000 lines and 130 hours of dialogue, equal to about 65 feature films. The game will let players choose from 16 races and 24 branching classes. EverQuest II will be released later this year.
Resident Evil Star Sued
he Firm, a Hollywood management company, has sued actress Milla Jovovich for allegedly failing to pay a 10 percent commission on her $5 million in gross earnings from the upcoming film Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Variety reported.
In a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the Firm said it had an oral management agreement with Jovovich that lasted from November 1999 until August 2002, the trade paper reported.
According to the complaint, the Firm could commission all of Jovovich's entertainment projects that were "substantially negotiated" while the agreement was in effect, the trade paper reported.
Jovovich allegedly negotiated her deal for the Resident Evil sequel before she terminated her relationship with the Firm, the trade paper reported. The actress is now managed by Industry Entertainment.
Jovovich has not commented on the suit. Screen Gems is slated to release Resident Evil: Apocalypse on Sept. 10.
Briefly Noted
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Zoic Studios will handle the visual effects for Joss Whedon's upcoming SF movie Serenity, based on the canceled TV show Firefly, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Culver City, Calif., F/X house previously handled Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
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The SuperheroHype! Web site has posted two new images of the caped crusader from the upcoming Batman Begins film, which opens June 17, 2005. The images appear in an upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly.
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Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander on TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told conventioneers in Cleveland that a Buffy movie is still a possibility, according to a report on the Ain't It Cool News Web site.
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Brian Van Holt, Emma Lung and Damon Herriman are joining Elisha Cuthbert, Jared Padalecki, Paris Hilton and Chad Michael Murray in the remake of House of Wax, now shooting in Australia, the Moviehole Web site reported.
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TheForce.net Web site reported a rumor that Lucasfilm will mount a Star Wars television series in 2006, after the last Star Wars movie, Episode III, premieres in theaters in May 2005.
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Looney Tunes: Back in Action opened the 2,200-seat eight-plex movie theater in China's Jiangsu province on April 29, Warner Brothers' third theater on the mainland, Variety reported. Warner is the first Western investor to be allowed a majority stake in a Chinese cinema.
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A third behind-the-scenes featurette has gone live for the upcoming SF monster movie Alien vs. Predator, which hits theaters in August.
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Mike McCafferty (SCI FI 's The Invisible Man) has joined the cast of the 20th Century Fox film 3001, starring Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph as a guy and a prostitute who awake 1,000 years in the future, the Dark Horizons Web site reported.
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David Greenwalt, who co-created The WB's vampire series Angel before leaving the show, returns to direct one of the last episodes, "The Girl in Question," which airs on May 5, Zap2it reported.
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Catwoman star Halle Berry filed for divorce from her husband, Eric Benet, in Los Angeles Superior Court on April 26, her publicist, Karen Samfilippo, told the Associated Press.
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Lord of the Rings star Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) gave birth to a second son on April 23, her publicist told the Reuters news service. Blanchett, who is married to writer Andrew Upton, gave birth in London to a boy named Roman Robert.
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The new poster for Warner Brothers' upcoming Catwoman movie, starring Halle Berry, has gone live on the official Web site. Catwoman opens in July.
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Connor Trinneer, a star of UPN's Star Trek: Enterprise, took part in a live chat at 2 p.m. PT April 28 at the official
Trek Web site.
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