Elektra Sneak Peek Online
"first look" video of the upcoming Elektra movie, starring Jennifer Garner and based on the Marvel Comics series, has gone live on the MovieBox Web site.
The video features clips from the movie, behind-the-scenes footage and an interview with Alias's Garner, who plays red-leather-clad assassin Elektra Natchios.
Meanwhile, Ben Affleck—who starred in Daredevil, Elektra's predecessor movie—told the Sydney Morning Herald that he was on his way to Vancouver, B.C., to shoot a cameo in the spinoff film. "They haven't even told me what it is," Afflect told the Australian newspaper. "I guess it's some kind of fantasy. I shouldn't say fantasy. It's a dream sequence." Elektra is slated for release on Jan. 14, 2005.
Li Talks Hero's Director
et Li, star of the upcoming action film Hero, told SCI FI Wire that he enjoyed director Zhang Yimou's (Raise the Red Lantern) unique approach to the martial-arts genre.
"He made a lot of great films, but not action films," Li said in an interview. "He's an artist, so he wants something that we never think about that way, like working with your co-star, but you can't see your co-star on the set. He knows shooting the man in the morning is better, because if he waits until the sun is shining, the light is smoother, and the girl is more beautiful. He had a very unique way of seeing things."
Hero tells the 2,000-year-old story of the violent start of the Qin dynasty in China, centering on the loyal subject (Li) who stands in the way of three opponents determined to assassinate the king.
Li said that Zhang's approach to filmmaking was a new experience for the action star. "I think all the actors and actresses in this film are acting much better than me," Li said. "Everybody [else] is a great actor and actress, but they spent a lot of time learning martial arts on this film. In the beginning, I knew all the co-stars were great actors, and I'm not, and the director just told me every day, 'Jet, forget acting. Your character goes to the end of the movie, and he still doesn't know how to [behave], so just do it naturally and forget it.' So I just listened to him and did my best." Hero opens in theaters Aug. 27.
Paltrow Sees Future In Sky
wyneth Paltrow, who co-stars in the upcoming retro SF adventure-fantasy film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, told SCI FI Wire that the film marked her first experience performing entirely against blue screens, which she added will hold her in good stead as filmmaking technology continues to evolve.
"I hadn't done that before," she said in an interview. "It was weird, but I really just embraced it, and I thought it was so much fun."
As the gutsy and ambitious reporter Polly Perkins, who joins the heroic Sky Captain (Jude Law) on his mission to save the world from a mysterious scientist and his massive flying robots, Paltrow pretended to fly in a fighter plane, dodge rampaging robots, glimpse magnificent creatures and ride in a runaway rocket. But none of it was really there; her surroundings were inserted with computer animation in post-production.
"It's like another skill, and I thought, 'Well, you know, this could be the way that movies go,'" Paltrow said. "It's not necessarily always [going to be], 'Watch out for the robots!' But it might be easier in five years, and less expensive, to go into a blue room and shoot a scene instead of flying everyone to Paris and doing a scene in front of the Eiffel Tower. They can just make it [on a computer]. So there is a sense that this could be happening, and it is happening in film. And I think it's an important skill to learn, to learn how to conjure what you need to conjure without actually having it there. It's an extension of what we do anyway." Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow opens Sept. 17.
Law Pilots Sky Captain
ude Law, star of the upcoming SF epic film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, told SCI FI Wire he signed up to star in and produce the film on the spot after viewing writer-director Kerry Conran's six-minute demonstration reel.
"I saw an incredible filmmaker in those six minutes," Law said in an interview. "I saw an incredible understanding of filmmaking in the script that he had written."
Sky Captain stars Law (A.I. Artificial Intelligence) as the title character, a heroic and womanizing 1930s flyboy who must race to the rescue when an evil scientist unleashes giant flying robots in his plot to destroy Earth. By the hero's side are his friend and gadget guru Dex (Giovanni Ribisi), ex-galpal and ambitious journalist Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) and former paramour and amphibious forces ace Franky Cook (Angelina Jolie). Conran shot the entire movie against blue screens, meaning that neither sets nor locations were a factor in realizing the ambitious SF fantasy-adventure.
"It seemed clear that he had amazing vision and also an understanding that a vision isn't enough to carry a film through, because in the script there was this hilarious though strong central relationship," Law said, referring to the sparring between Sky Captain and Polly. "So the film as a film was harking back, not just in its visuals, but also in its heart, to these films I? always loved. It had the banter of His Girl Friday or Bringing Up Baby, but also the visual [power] of Metropolis or Citizen Kane. And because I knew that world and loved that world, and because I understood all those references, whether it was those films or the comic strips or serials like Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers, I felt like I had an opinion."
Law recalled that he was, in fact, told that lending his name to Sky Captain would ensure, first, that it got made as Conran saw fit and, second, that it would receive a wide release. "That's a huge compliment, and, to me, if it's something that you really recognize yourself in or really think, 'OK, I can do this. I can offer an opinion here and help heighten something,' then do it," he added. "I took that as something I hold very dear to me, actually, still, and am very proud of. As far as the role goes I loved that he was true all the way to the end to the tone of the film, that it's non-cynical, that it doesn't exist in [a time] where there's a coke-dealing, drug-smuggling lunatic. I think family adventure films have slightly lost their way recently and even the summer blockbusters seem to be a little closer to the real world and a little more away from the world of make-believe and fantasy than they used to be. The old swashbucklers, you can still sit down and watch them and be romanced by the romantic side and excited by the fighting, but never necessarily pushed to have to explain to your kid what a semi-automatic AK-47 is." Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow lands in theaters on Sept. 17.
Conran Courts Princess
riter/director Kerry Conran (Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow) told SCI FI Wire that his next project, a proposed
film based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars, is one of the classic SF tales that has influenced many other books and movies.
"I think Burroughs
was sort of the father of the pulps, or at least one of them," Conran said in an interview. "If
you read the whole John Carter series, in particular A Princess of Mars, you can see a lot of
what came from it."
Princess is based on the first book in Edgar Rice Burroughs' 11-volume John Carter of Mars series and centers on an American Civil War veteran who is mysteriously transported to Mars, whose inhabitants call it Barsoom. Mark Protosevich (The Cell) wrote the script. Conran stepped in after original director Robert Rodriguez had to drop out after he resigned from the Directors Guild of America in a dispute over his upcoming film Sin City.
Conran added that Princess of Mars has been influential. "I think George Lucas was certainly inspired by that story for Star Wars," Conran added. "And
I think [J.R.R.] Tolkein, to some extent, was inspired by that for Lord of the Rings. You can see the references in there. So there's a little bit of everything in the story. The ingredients and the
world that Burroughs created is pretty rich. What intrigues me as fun is [that] the scale is
almost unimaginable. Just the complexity that's involved in trying to bring this to screen is
enormous. So from that challenge and just building this very classic story from it, it's very
appealing. It sounds like a lot of fun." A Princess of Mars will be released in 2006. Conran's Sky Captain, starring Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow, opens Sept. 17.
Jeremiah Gets New Ally
anadian actress Enid-Raye Adams, who will guest star in Showtime's Jeremiah, told SCI FI Wire that she'll join series star Luke Perry as a new ally in the upcoming final eight episodes of the SF series.
Starting with the Sept. 10 episode, "The Question," Adams will play Gina, Jeremiah's (Perry) aide and liaison in the town of Millhaven. She will appear in five episodes.
"We first meet Gina as a hungry drifter, with an attitude," Adams said in an interview. "She has had to do things you wouldn't want to think of to survive in this world. At first, she joined [Thunder] Mountain to get three square meals and shelter. Then she found a purpose with Jeremiah and Kurdy [Malcolm-Jamal Warner]. And, more importantly, somewhere to finally belong."
Series creator J. Michael Straczynski tapped Adams for the role, she said. "I was very lucky to have him offer me the part of Gina in the show," she said. "He would take me aside on set, and with great excitement, show me what he had in store for me in the following episode. There is a scene in 'The Past Is Prologue' where I stomp around in the rain and mud yelling the 'F' word over and over. Joe was so stoked about it that he actually acted it out in front of me like a kid at Christmastime with a new toy."
An adaptation of Hermann Huppen's post-apocalyptic French comic book, Jeremiah will complete its second season after initiating a run of seven episodes in October 2003.
Zero Plays Off Of Fear
. Elias Merhige, director of the upcoming paranormal thriller Suspect Zero, told SCI FI Wire that he wants audiences to ask themselves whether or not the perpetrators of the film's crimes could actually exist in reality.
The film centers on the concept of "remote viewing," a combination of clairvoyance and mind-reading.
"You have Ben Kingsley, who's 'remote viewing' all of these serial killers, but is there really just one monster that becomes a mirror of what he becomes, you know, in hunting this [suspect]?" Merhige asked in an interview. "I think that question is a healthy question that the audience should be allowed to ask themselves."
Merhige added that he and screenwriter Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) carefully developed the atmosphere of fear that pervades not only their film, but also the world climate that in part inspired it. "One of the things that Billy and I were discussing is this idea of how to create this cloud of fear," Merhige said. "We wanted to ask, 'Who in our ordinary world is not ordinary at all and is out to malevolently destroy a lot of innocent people?' And get at that melancholy and sadness and fear. We wanted to take poetic license [with that] and create that feeling in the story, without making it literal, like, 'OK, this is the guy.' That's why there's such a use of the truck and the facelessness of Suspect Zero. He's a force kind of moving and insinuating himself through the entire ordinary world, but he's not somebody you can nail down."
Merhige said that the film exploits the audience's collective feelings of insecurity. "I think those questions are relevant to all of us," he said. "I don't think they're too lofty or philosophical. It isn't just about serial killers or victims that have been abducted, because we've all been abducted by our own fears. I don't care what walk of life or what economic strata you're in; everybody is looking at the periphery of their vision for that awful shoe to drop, and I think it's an important element in the film." Suspect Zero, released by Paramount Pictures, opens Aug. 27.
Zero Star Wants To Believe
aron Eckhart, star of the upcoming paranormal thriller Suspect Zero, told SCI FI Wire that he came away from the movie believing in the psychic phenomenon of "remote viewing."
"I didn't have training sessions, because I didn't need to know how to do it in the movie, but I went out and spent time with [a supposed remote viewer], and he remote-viewed in front of me," Eckhart said in an interview. "He took me through a couple of cases and got me believing in it, but I actually never tried it myself."
In Suspect Zero, Eckhart plays a troubled FBI agent who teams up with his former partner, played by Carrie-Anne Moss, to track down a rogue agent (Ben Kingsley), who is hunting serial killers by using remote viewing, a combination of mind-reading and clairvoyance. Eckhart said that his remote viewer experienced some of the same pressures as those Kingsley's feels. "I think the burden that was on his shoulder was the burden of knowing things that he couldn't convince other people of, because it was [acquired] in a way that was unconventional," Eckhart said. "I talked to the FBI after I was with him, and they said, 'We do not condone that. We don't use these guys. I don't know what he is talking about. The guy is a lunatic.'" Eckhart added: "It's interesting to see how law enforcement is much more meat-and-potatoes, and these guys are over here working in truffles."
Eckhart added that he understands the real FBI's skepticism about remote viewing. "It's that whole question about intuition and not being able to trust something you can't see," Eckhart said. "If you're having delusions or having any sort of confusion, the first thing to do is to distrust that, and that's what I think is happening here. I think the FBI or law enforcement in particular is very apprehensive about condoning anything like that, because of the way [the] public takes remote viewing. They're not going to accept that. If you say to the wife or the mother of a kidnapped victim, ... 'We're going to go remote-view,' they're like, 'What the f--k are you talking about? Get some officers out there!' In this movie, the wonderful thing is that our two worlds do coincide to get the man." Suspect Zero opens Aug. 27.
Star Wars Rumor Denied
spokeswoman for Lucasfilm has denied to E! Online persistent rumors that a third trilogy of Star Wars movies is planned.
TheForce.net, citing an anonymous source, had reported that employees at Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic visual-effects house had been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements concerning work on proposed episodes VII, VIII and IX.
Not so, company spokeswoman Lynn Fox told E! Online. "The rumors are absolutely untrue," she said. No non-disclosure was ever signed pertaining to future episodes. "Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith is our last and final installment."
Ultimate Matrix DVDs Due
10-disc "ultimate edition" of the three Matrix movies comes to retailers on Dec. 7, Warner Home Video announced.
The Ultimate Matrix Collection features all three films, with a remastered picture and sound for the first film; The Matrix Revisited; and the series of animated shorts The Animatrix.
The set will also include five DVDs of new supplemental materials that encompass every aspect of the Matrix universe, including two new audio commentaries on each film, Enter the Matrix video-game footage, more than 100 featurettes and documentaries and more, the company said.
The Ultimate Matrix Collection will carry a suggested retail price of $79.92. A special The Ultimate Matrix Collection Limited Edition will also include a Neo mini-bust figurine and an 80-page collector's book, with a suggested retail price of $129.92.
Amazing Editor Sought
aizo Publishing is looking for a new editor-in-chief for its magazine Amazing Stories.
As the top creative and business leader for the world's oldest science fiction magazine, the editor-in-chief oversees all aspects of the development and production of Amazing Stories, the company said. The editor-in-chief works closely with the publisher and with Paizo's business team, including circulation, marketing, accounting and advertising sales.
The publisher is seeking someone with three to five years' experience managing a monthly magazine or other deadline-driven periodical; a college degree; in-depth knowledge and passion about science fiction, fantasy, horror fandom and related media; and a proven track record managing a team of deadline-driven professionals.
Amazing Stories is the new incarnation of the magazine first published in 1926 and was relaunched earlier this year. The new magazine combines fiction with features, reviews and previews of movies, TV, DVDs, books, comics and story-driven electronic games, as well as interviews with the creators of these stories.
Hauser Rocked By Cave
ole Hauser, star of the upcoming SF film The Cave, told SCI FI Wire that he both embraced and worried about the opportunity to work on the project in Romania and play a cave diver.
"It was pretty insane," Hauser said in an interview. "In a studio right outside of Bucharest, they built about six stages that are just enormous underwater caverns. It was just amazing; the stuff they put together was incredible."
In The Cave, Hauser leads an expedition into the Carpathian Mountains that is trapped in an underground cave, only to find itself fighting off mysterious creatures. Hauser said that the role required a combination of diving and climbing, which proved a difficult challenge. "It's underwater for the first part of it, and then it's basically climbing rocks inside of caves," Hauser said. "I don't know how much you guys know about underwater cave divers, but they really are Earth's astronauts. It's one of those things where they do s--t that would absolutely scare the living bejesus out of any of us."
Hauser said that there were several moments when he became overwhelmed by the experience. "I'm not a big underwater person, to be honest, but they had this one sequence where this thing kind of crumbles behind me, and they are actually dropping live rocks on top of me," Hauser said. "I was in a few situations where I was on a re-breather, which is what the astronauts use, and I had a helmet on, but it was intense. I've seen about 30 minutes of it, and it's one of those movies where you're holding your breath [while you watch it]." The Cave is set for release in 2005.
Hauser Explores The Cave
ole Hauser, star of the upcoming SF creature feature The Cave, told SCI FI Wire that the movie juxtaposes fictional monsters and real-life thrills.
"It's about an underwater expedition with cave divers who go into the Carpathian mountains in northern Romania," Hauser said in an interview. "They get inside the cave, and they go about a mile and a half in and about three miles underground, and one of my divers gets in a situation where he blows a scooter up—a scooter pulls you through the water while you swim—and basically the exit gets blocked, and it's about finding a way out."
Hauser, who appears in the upcoming thriller film Paparazzi, added that The Cave's depiction of the cave divers getting trapped is so effective that the monster they find is almost unnecessary to intensify the suspense. "It's scary," Hauser said. "There? a creature in the film, which I don't even think you need, because the rest of the film is so scary on its own. I mean, that just adds to the next element of trying to get out of this situation." The Cave is tentatively slated for release in March 2005.
Wayans Raise The Munsters
eenen Ivory, Shawn and Marlon Wayans have made a deal with Universal Pictures to write and produce a modern-day take on the classic TV series The Munsters, Variety reported.
Rick Alvarez will also produce through Wayans Brothers Productions. The brothers won't star in the movie, the trade paper reported.
Keenen Ivory Wayans suggested a contemporary take on the TV series, about a family of monsters and their normal-looking niece. It's possible that he will direct the film, but no deal has been made, the trade paper reported.
Universal Home Entertainment is releasing The Munsters: The Complete First Season on DVD and VHS on Aug. 24. Universal Pictures and Universal Home Entertainment are owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Eddie Munster Returns
utch Patrick, who gained fame playing Eddie in TV's The Munsters, told TV Guide Online that he will host a new syndicated series called Macabre Theater, due in late September.
Patrick, 51, who spoke while promoting the upcoming first-season DVD set of the classic 1960s Munsters, said that his co-host on Macabre Theater would be a woman named "Ivonna Cadaver," and added: "We're hosting monster movies."
The Munsters DVD will include 38 episodes, plus the [never-before-seen] pilot, Patrick said. "The first 13 episodes are the ones with Beverly Owen, the first actress to play Marilyn [before Pat Priest assumed the role]," Patrick told the site. "She was my favorite, because I had a real big crush on her. The shows will also have their original full length of 24 minutes. Over the years in reruns, it's been cut back to sometimes as low as 19 or 20 minutes for commercials."
Johansson Sails To Island
carlett Johansson is in final talks to team with Ewan McGregor in the SF thriller film The Island as her next project, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Michael Bay (Armageddon) will direct for DreamWorks, with an Oct. 25 start planned, the trade paper reported. Caspian Tredwell-Owen wrote the script.
The Island centers on a "harvested being" (McGregor) who suddenly becomes self-aware and tries to escape the utopian facility where he and others are being kept. Johansson will play a woman who is the only one that McGregor's character can trust, the trade paper reported.
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci also turned in a draft for producers Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Ian Bryce. Johansson also signed on to star opposite Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 3, which will start shooting in June 2005.
MirrorMask Images Posted
uthor Neil Gaiman has posted five images from the upcoming fantasy film MirrorMask, which he wrote for director Dave McKean and the Jim Henson Co.
MirrorMask centers on Helena, a 15-year-old girl in a family of circus entertainers.
Helena (Stephanie Leonidas) dreams that she is in a strange world with two opposing queens, bizarre creatures and masked inhabitants. All is not well in this new world: The white queen has fallen ill and can only be restored by the MirrorMask, and it's up to Helena to find it, according to the synopsis on the film's official Sony Pictures Web site.
On Gaiman's blog, the author has also posted descriptions of the fantastical images. MirrorMask is slated for release Nov. 30.
Area 51 Details Released
idway Games released more details about its upcoming SF video game Area 51, which will feature the voices of shock rocker Marilyn Manson and The X-Files' David Duchovny, as well as Powers Boothe (HBO's Deadwood).
The UFO-themed game is due for release in the first half of 2005 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, the company said.
Duchovny will voice the lead character of Specialist Ethan Cole, a Special Forces
soldier specializing in hazardous materials investigations. Boothe plays Maj.
Bridges. As previously reported, Manson gives voice to Edgar, a gray alien.
In the first-person shooter game, the U.S. Army has received a distress signal from Area 51, where a viral
outbreak has shut down the research facility, and the automated quarantine
procedures have locked all scientific and military personnel inside. A small Special Forces unit, including Cole, is sent to investigate. As Cole, players will descend into the facility's levels, discovering a mutagenic side effect of the virus that controls the minds of those infected,
as well as an ancient alien colony buried below. Area 51 features online capabilities for up to 16 players.
Manson Voices Area 51
hock rocker Marilyn Manson will lend his voice to an alien called Edgar who acts as narrator in Area 51, a new video game, the NME.com Web site reported.
Manson will be joined by former The X-Files star David Duchovny in the game, a first-person shooter that takes place in the government's supposed alien research facility in Nevada, the site reported.
"The thing about Area 51 that was interesting to me was that I'd be portraying an alien who shares a lot of similar feelings that I do, such as a distaste for mankind in general," Manson told MTV, the site reported. "It's a game for people who don't necessarily trust the government, who don't trust everything they're told or taught in school."
Fanning May Play New Alice
akota Fanning (Steven Spielberg Presents Taken) is close to a deal to star in new live-action film versions of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Taken writer Les Bohem will adapt the books for DreamWorks, the trade paper reported.
Bohem came up with the idea to adapt Carroll's classic novels and immediately pitched it to Spielberg with Fanning in mind to play Alice, the trade paper reported. Bohem told the Reporter that his mother had "the premier collection of Alice books in the United States. I grew up loving it and buried in it. My mother would collect any edition: She even had one in Swahili. It was all there my whole life and so right in my face, but it never really occurred to me to think, 'How about a movie with Alice?'"
Carroll's beloved books have been adapted several times, most notably in Disney's 1951 animated film and 1933's live-action version from Paramount Pictures. More recently, Hallmark Entertainment and NBC teamed for a 1999 television special that featured Tina Majorino as Alice, the trade paper reported.
For DreamWorks' version, Bohem will adapt both books, which are in the public domain, for the big screen as separate features, and he plans to stick extremely close to Carroll's original work.
Taken, which aired on SCI FI Channel in 2002, won the Emmy for outstanding miniseries.
McKellen, Serkis Get Flushed
ord of the Rings stars Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis may join McKellen's X-Men colleague Hugh Jackman to voice Flushed Away, the upcoming next film from stop-motion animation company Aardman Animation and DreamWorks Animation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
McKellen and Serkis have signed on, and Jackman is in early talks to join the cast.
Flushed centers on a pampered British rat who accidentally gets flushed from his posh penthouse flat into the slimy London sewers. McKellen voices the story's antagonist, a villainous frog, while Serkis plays his hench-rat, Spike. Jackman would play Roddy, the pampered rat, the trade paper reported.
Henry Anderson, David Bowers and Sam Fell are directing, with Aardman topper Peter Lord executive producing. Dick Clement and Ian LaFrenais wrote the script, the trade paper reported.
Meyjes To Helm Martian
enno Meyjes, who wrote and directed the John Cusack film Max, will reteam with Cusack on The Martian Child for New Line Cinema, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook) was slated to direct, but fell out because of creative differences, the trade paper reported.
Meyjes will rewrite and direct Martian, about an SF writer (Cusack) who, wanting to be a dad, adopts a 7-year-old boy who may be an alien, the trade paper reported. The film is based on a short story by David Gerrold. Jonathan Tolins and Seth Bass wrote the original script. Martian is tentatively slated for a late fall shoot, the trade paper reported.
Carpenter Rules Out Angel
ormer Angel star Charisma Carpenter told TV Guide Online that she's not interested in reprising the role of Cordelia Chase in any proposed Angel TV movies or feature films.
"You know, I'm not interested," she told the site. "Not because of [star] David [Boreanaz] or anyone I worked with. I think we're all just done. I don't think my fans should be offended, because they're not Angel- or Buffy-specific. They've proven over time that they'll follow me no matter what I do, so I'm not afraid of taking anything away from them, and I hope they wouldn't feel that way." Boreanaz has also said he's not interested in doing a TV movie, but might consider a feature film.
Carpenter will guest-star this fall as a clairvoyant in at least two episodes of The WB's witch series Charmed. (Her first appearance airs Sept. 26, TV Guide reported.) As with Cordelia, Carpenter agains plays "another psychic!" she said. "At least I'm not in a coma on this show. They're both sassy girls, but this character is more of a temptress than a smartass. She's toying with Leo [Brian Krause]."
As for whether her character, simply called "Seer," appears in more episodes, Carpenter said: "I'm happy to do more. It would depend on whether my pilot is picked up. I'm thrilled to be here, because I have a relationship with Holly Marie Combs [Piper]. We did my ABC Family movie See Jane Date together, and we're both new moms. It's also interesting to be back doing this supernatural genre. I know it, and it's familiar."
Carpenter's pilot is for a midseason replacement for UPN. "It was called Play Nice, but now it's called Like Cats and Dogs," she said. "I'm the girl on the show, and it's about my life with my fun-loving brother [played by Canadian actor Tyler Labine]. I'm an uptight lawyer, and he comes to live with me and my houseful of dogs."
Self To Rewrite Deathlok
avid Self (The Haunting) will rewrite the big-screen version of the Marvel Comics Deathlok series for Paramount and Marvel Studios, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner wrote the first draft of the script, which follows a suburban family man who becomes the test subject for a technology research lab that transforms him into a living computer, the trade paper reported.
Marvel Studios' Avi Arad is producing, with Steven Paul and his Crystal Sky Productions. The studio is looking for a director. Paul McGuigan, who directed Wicker Park, appears to be one possibility, although no negotiations have begun, the trade paper reported. Lee Tamahori was previously attached to direct.
Barnyard Cast Fills Out
ickelodeon Movies has tapped Courteney Cox, Danny Glover, Sam Elliott and Wanda Sykes for the voice cast of its upcoming computer-animated comedy film The Barnyard, Variety reported.
They join Kevin James in the movie, written, produced and directed by Steve Oedekerk (Bruce Almighty), the trade paper reported.
Barnyard centers on a farm where the animals walk, talk, sing, dance and party. James will voice the lead character, a carefree cow named Otis, the trade paper reported.
Cox lends her voice as the pregnant cow Daisy, Otis' love interest; Glover will voice Miles, an older and wiser mule; Elliott will voice Ben the cow, barnyard patriarch and Otis' father; and Sykes will handle the voice of Bessy the cow, Daisy's protective friend, the trade paper reported. Glover stars in SCI FI Channel's upcoming original series
Earthsea in December.
Battlefront Site Opens
he official site
Web site has opened for the upcoming video game Star Wars Battlefront, LucasArts announced.
The Web site features a developer's diary, screenshots of the game, streaming clips from the soundtrack by John Williams and other elements of the game.
Star Wars Battlefront will allow players to take part in battles from the original Star Wars trilogy of films, including the Battle of Hoth and the fight on Endor. Star Wars Battlefront hits stores on Sept. 21.
Lois Flies Into Smallville
rica Durance, who will play Lois Lane in at least 13 episodes of The WB's Smallville in the upcoming fourth season, told SCI FI Wire that the character will arrive on the scene to investigate her cousin Chloe's (Allison Mack) death.
But Lois won't take any serious interest in Clark (Tom Welling) or his true identity, at least for the foreseeable future, Durance said in an interview. "Lois comes in for that purpose, because her cousin has been killed," she said. "She's not happy with the investigation, and so she wants to find answers for herself."
Durance, a Canadian actress, has previously appeared in episodes of Tru Calling, Andromeda and Stargate SG-1, all of which shoot in Vancouver, B.C. As Lois, she will play a younger version of the spunky Daily Planet reporter who is Superman's true love from the DC Comics series.
"I don't know how the writers are going to do everything and carry it all out, but right now she's not really aware of necessarily putting together Clark and Superman, as to knowing that it's all connected," Durance said. "They haven't really touched on that yet. She's experienced some interesting things, but she's going, 'Wow, what's going on?' But as for connecting them, she hasn't yet." Durance will debut as Lane in "Crusade," the Smallville season opener, which airs on Sept. 22.
Hercules Production Starts
roduction began Aug. 23 in New Zealand on NBC's upcoming four-hour miniseries Hercules, from Hallmark Entertainment and starring Sean Astin, Leelee Sobieski, Elizabeth Perkins and Timothy Dalton, NBC announced.
Paul Telfer (USA Network's Spartacus) plays the title role of the legendary Greek hero, the network announced.
Emmy Award winner Robert Halmi Sr. (SCI FI Channel's upcoming Earthsea) is executive producer of the epic tale. The production will follow Hercules, who, after killing his three sons, is compelled to redeem himself by performing 12 heroic labors.
Astin (The Lord of the Rings) will portray Linus, Hercules' music instructor and best friend. Sobieski (Joan of Arc) will play Deianeira, Hercules' lover. Perkins (Big) will play Hercules' mother, Alcmene, and Dalton (Licence to Kill) stars as the strongman's stepfather, Amphitryon.
Roger Young directs, from a screenplay by Charles Edward Pogue (Dragonheart). Hercules is a production of Hallmark Entertainment. NBC, USA and SCI FI are all owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Muppets Invade Oz
inger-actress Ashanti is set and Queen Latifah is in final talks to star in ABC's original movie tentatively titled The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Also set to appear in the Muppet take on the classic L. Frank Baum novel is Quentin Tarantino, who will play himself, the trade paper reported.
Kirk R. Thatcher, who directed NBC's successful It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie in 2002, is on board to helm the family film, which will air as part of the Wonderful World of Disney franchise, the trade paper reported.
The Muppets' Oz centers on aspiring performer Dorothy Gale (Ashanti), who works at the diner of her Auntie Em (Latifah) in a small Kansas town while dreaming of hitting the big time. One day, a tornado sweeps up the trailer where Dorothy lives, and she finds herself in a Muppet version of Oz, the trade paper reported.
Oz will feature several music numbers, but will not be a musical. It is produced by the Jim Henson Co., in association with the Muppets Holding Co. and Touchstone TV, the trade paper reported. Lisa Henson and Brian Henson, co-chairmen and co-chief executives of the Jim Henson Co., are executive producing.
Widow's Broom Gets Helmer
am Weisman has signed on to direct the supernatural family comedy Widow's Broom for Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Chris Van Allsburg is adapting the feature from his book of the same name.
The story revolves around a New England family suffering the loss of its father. When the family stumbles upon a witch's broom, it springs to life, sweeping away the neighbors, teaching the kids magic and helping to heal the family, the trade paper reported.
The studio is looking at an early 2005 start date. Van Allsburg's other books include The Polar Express, Jumanji and Zathura, each of which has been adapted for a film.
Japan's Seiun Winners Named
rganizers announced winners of the 2004 Seiun Award winners, honoring the best science fiction in Japan, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Web site reported.
The foreign-language winners will be presented awards at the beginning of the Hugo Award ceremony in Boston on Sept. 4. A list of winners follows.
Japanese long fiction
•The Sixth Continent by Issui Ogawa
Japanese short fiction
•"Unaccepted Death" by Shinji Kajio
Foreign long fiction
•Heaven's Reach by David Brin, translated by Akinobu Sakai
Foreign short fiction
•"Hell Is the Absence of God" by Ted Chiang, translated by Yoshimichi Furusawa
Media
•The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Comics
•From Far Away by Kyoko Hikawa
Art
•Daisuke Nishijima
Nonfiction
•Passport to the Universe 2 by Yuichi Sasamoto
Free
•The Royal Museum of Science Series
Aladdin DVD Revives 'Proud'
lan Menken, the Oscar-winning composer of Disney's animated movie Aladdin, told reporters that the upcoming DVD will feature a brand-new song he composed with the late Howard Ashman.
The song, "Proud of Your Boy," was written for a scene in which Aladdin attempts to reassure his mother that he'll turn out all right. The song was scrapped when the character of Aladdin's mother was deleted from the movie, Menken said at a press preview for the two-disc DVD set.
"'Proud of Your Boy' ... was really special to Howard and me," Menken told reporters. "It was, I think, one of the best ballads we'd ever written. It was a song that Aladdin sings to his mom about how he's going to make good. ... And we thought that was going to be the single."
The DVD will feature a music video of the song, performed by original Aladdin musicians and sung by American Idol's Clay Aiken. The video is one of several special features on the DVD set, which hits store shelves on Oct. 5.
DeGeneres Headlines Oh, God!
roducer Jerry Weintraub and Warner Brothers have set Ellen DeGeneres to star in a remake of the 1977 fantasy comedy film Oh, God!, playing the title character originally performed by George Burns, Variety reported.
Weintraub produced the original Oh, God!, which also starred John Denver and spawned two sequels.
Weintraub was recently approached by DeGeneres and was impressed by her take on the movie, and received the blessing of the original film's director, Carl Reiner, and writer, Larry Gelbart, the trade paper reported.
Weintraub will look to hire a writer and director so they can shoot the film during DeGeneres' talk show hiatus next summer, the trade paper reported.
Briefly Noted
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Amelia Warner will appear as the sister of Charlize Theron's title character in Paramount Pictures' upcoming SF movie Aeon Flux for helmer Karyn Kusama and producer Gale Ann Hurd, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Actor Danny Glover, who will appear in SCI FI Channel's upcoming original miniseries Earthsea, was arrested Aug. 25 on the steps of Sudan's embassy in Washington during a protest against the humanitarian crisis in the country's Darfur region, the Reuters news service reported. Earthsea premieres in December.
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Kevin Sorbo, star of SCI FI Channel's original series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, has signed a holding deal with ABC that calls for the network to develop a comedy project for the actor, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The fifth season of Andromeda kicks off Sept. 24.
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The company behind Siegfried & Roy's Las Vegas magic show has refused to turn over video to federal authorities investigating Roy Horn's tiger attack, the Associated Press reported. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is probing the show for possible violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
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Miramax's Dimension unit has delayed Terry Gilliam's fantasy movie The Brothers Grimm to Nov. 23, 2005, from February, Variety reported. Dimension's schedule currently consists of Wes Craven's Cursed (Feb. 25), Sin City (April 1) and Shark Boy and Lava Girl (June 10).
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Gwyneth Paltrow, star of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, will give her first interview since giving birth in May to her daughter, Apple, on the syndicated The Oprah Winfrey Show on Sept. 13, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Former The X-Files executive producer Frank Spotnitz has signed a deal with Touchstone Television to develop TV series, Variety reported.
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A trailer for SCI FI Channel's upcoming miniseries Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars debuts on the Apple Movie Trailers Web site at noon PT on Aug. 25. The miniseries, which picks up the story of Farscape from its series finale, premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Oct. 17.
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