Bale Lifts Batman's Cowl
hristian Bale, who stars as Bruce Wayne in the upcoming Batman Begins movie, told SCI FI Wire that he's taking a fresh approach to the iconic character, playing him with a feral duality that adds reality to the comic-book mythology.
Bale even uses one voice for Wayne and a different, coarser baritone for the caped crusader, who comes into being after Wayne vows to avenge the murders of his parents. Bale spoke in an interview Sept. 14 during a break in filming on the movie's massive Gotham City set outside London.
"I just saw it as a way of him being able to channel the clarity of mind that he must have had as a young boy when he first declared that he would get revenge," Bale said. "It's very difficult to maintain that throughout your life. It becomes a memory, and you know it takes a great deal of energy to maintain that sharpness of emotion. So I just felt that everything about him should become different [when he becomes Batman]. The look. The voice. And also see that he's able to have his own life, somewhat [when he's Wayne]. Because it seemed to me that if he was just going to be Bruce Wayne in a batsuit, first of all, that seemed a little bit ridiculous to me. It would have been as ridiculous as any of us getting into a batsuit and genuinely thinking we could go out on the town and intimidate people. I think most people would probably laugh, you know? So you have to kind of really go for it in every way. And for me that kind of, you know, involved taking on a slightly beastlike voice, as I hear it."
As for the newly designed suit, Bale said that it helped him get a feel for the caped crusader, whom he characterizes as "a creature" that is not quite human. "I felt like a panther the first day, you know?" Bale said, referring to the first shooting day he strode onstage in full Batman regalia. "I did feel like some kind of wild animal. I don't know if anybody else was looking at me like that way [laughs]. I don't know if I appeared quite as ferocious as I felt that I did. But I really felt like everybody was kind of looking at me [mimes backing away in fear], you know, jumpy. And ... it makes you feel, you know, like that, you want to kind of run and jump at people and beat the crap out of them. And ... you know, it just gives you this great neck and this physique that just looks intimidating. It's all kind of aggressive. It's all pointing forward. It's very much like a predator. And that was a thrill, doing that."
Bale demurred when asked about the suit's comfort. "No, I'm not going to bitch about the suit," he said. Last month Bale was quoted in the British Daily Telegraph saying that the suit was uncomfortable, prompting some of the U.K.-based wardrobe crew to create T-shirts with a joking reference to his quote. "There's a quote from me that some of the people have on the back of their T-shirts that says, 'It's hot, dark, ... sweaty, [claustrophobic,] and it gives me a headache.' Which is absolutely true, but there's nothing more annoying than hearing actors bitch about their work and stuff like that, you know? I'm playing Batman, for God's sake. That's pretty fantastic. I'm not going to complain about getting a little bit sweaty. And also, they've changed it so much, ... so I hear, from the first movie that they made. And so even though it may not feel like the most comfortable outfit to me, I know that others have had it worse." Batman Begins, which was on day 126 of a 128-day shoot, also stars Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon, Katie Holmes as Rachel, Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane and Ken Watanabe as Ra's Al Ghul. Batman Begins, from director Christopher Nolan, is slated to open next summer.
Two Composers Mull Batman
ames Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer, two of the film industry's most prominent composers, are in discussions to collaborate on Warner Brothers' upcoming movie Batman Begins, which Christopher Nolan is directing, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
While it is not uncommon for multiple composers to write the score for a movie, those efforts are not typically collaborative, the trade paper reported.
In this case, longtime friends Zimmer and Howard are looking to join forces. A spokeswoman for Howard (who wrote the score for Nolan's Memento and Insomnia) confirmed to the trade paper that the co-composing plan for Batman is "very likely to happen," but that exact plans will be formalized closer to January, with scoring set to begin in April or May.
A spokesman for Zimmer (Shark Tale) would not comment to the Reporter on the possibility of the collaboration, saying only that Batman is a sensitive project and that the composers' schedules are hectic. Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale, is scheduled to be released domestically June 17, 2005.
Superman Script Leaked
he Superman-V.com Web site posted details of the first draft of the script for the upcoming Superman film from Warner Brothers.
The 140-page script, which the site obtained from one of its "most trusted sources," goes back to the Kryptonian roots of the Man of Steel, the site reported.
The script includes several familiar names, including John Corben (though not necessarily his alter-ego Metallo), and of course Lex Luthor. According to the site, Superman will face an additional nemesis in the film, but the identity of the second villain was not revealed. There is still no official word on the casting of the lead, but the site reported that unknown Justin Baldoni is the latest actor under consideration.
Four Could War With Worlds
ox's Fantastic Four and Paramount's War of the Worlds could face off in the same week next summer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Four, based on the Marvel Comics series, is eyeing an opening on July 1, 2005, the start of the July 4 holiday weekend.
But War of the Worlds, from Steven Spielberg and based on H.G. Wells' classic SF novel, may open on the previous Wednesday, June 29. And so far, neither studio is backing down, the trade paper reported.
Fox's Four has already withstood a similar challenge from Paramount, when Paramount shuffled the opening dates for Mission: Impossible 3 due to production issues.
New Tech Enhances Ghost 2
amoru Oshii, the writer and director of the upcoming anime sequel film Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, told SCI FI Wire that the advent of computer technology actually made the sequel to the 1995 animated film more challenging to create.
"There wasn't a single thing that has been easier as a result of a technological advancement," Oshii said in an interview. "All of the animation techniques that have arisen have added to the amount of work. Animators have this tendency of always doing the best they can, and with digital technology, they could keep repeating the level of effort."
Oshii said that computer technology in particular made his work significantly more difficult to keep track of. "The animators had done a scene 10 times more [carefully] than they did with the last movie, and it translated into me having to check 10 times more carefully," Oshii said. "When I made the first movie, it took overnight to render one scene. But now they have a lot more materials to render. Each person had two or three computers working at the same time, and that also added to the amount of the work. Digitalization didn't actually lessen the amount of work."
Oshii said that the finished film features many computer-generated images, but that all of them began as hand-drawn images. "Whatever is the process of putting one picture over another, any combination is possible now, so the source material itself has increased tenfold," Oshii said. "Most of the [textures] were done at the source—hand drawn—because if I had used all of the textures that came with the software, then the film would have looked the same as other films. That's my credo: that textures should be done at the source by hand." Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence opens in theaters Sept. 17.
Ghost 2 Mined Old Sources
amoru Oshii, writer and director of the upcoming anime sequel film Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, told SCI FI Wire that the follow-up to 1995's hit animated movie was inspired by old crime stories and a museum exhibition half a century ago.
"I was convinced about the outcome of this film when I visited a museum in New York, the International Center of Photography," Oshii said in an interview. "They exhibit the dolls made by Hans Bellmer, and those are the dolls depicted in the movie. Those dolls were made by [Bellmer] about 50 years ago, and [they] are famous for the balls they have for [arm and leg] joints. I based the idea of the gynoids [pleasure robots] on them."
Ghost in the Shell 2 continues the story of the first film via its survivor Batou (voiced by Akio Ohtsuka), who is still a detective hunting criminals for the government. Oshii said that he found further inspiration for the film in detective stories. "The Long Goodbye was actually my origin for the film, and Chinatown, by Roman Polanski." Oshii said. "I'm also aware of the hard-boiled movies, and I think those hard-boiled elements are just essential. I cannot make a film without those [elements]." Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence opens Sept. 17.
Fox Hangs Up Tru Calling
he Fox network has delayed the premiere of Eliza Dushku's supernatural drama Tru Calling, originally scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 4, until mid-season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The network may also cut its original order of 13 episodes to six, putting the future of the struggling series in doubt.
Last spring, Fox executives said that their decision to bring the show back for a second season demonstrated their willingness to be patient and give shows with potential time to find an audience, the trade paper reported. But budgetary concerns and the popularity of the network's reality programming may have become a factor. The Hawaii-based drama North Shore will now air on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT instead.
Jeremiah May Live On
cott Mitchell Rosenberg, executive producer of Showtime's SF series Jeremiah, told SCI FI Wire that his company, Platinum Studios, has big plans for the show after it ends its 35-hour saga with a two-episode finale on Sept. 24.
"We here at Platinum have many things in the works to keep giving the fans exactly what they want," Rosenberg said in an interview.
Rosenberg even held out hope for a renewal, though Showtime has made no indications that it will pick up the show for a third season. "None of us have given up on there being a third season, and many of the actors are dying to come back and do more," Rosenberg said. "We are, however, not seeing it as a third season, but the start of a new saga after the first 35-hour 'maxi-saga.' There is definitely a possibility of more being made. If the ratings are good, if there is a large fan support shown, all of these things will contribute to the future. Trust me, though, that no matter what decision that is, the Jeremiah universe will continue to expand."
Rosenberg said the company is preparing an electronic Jeremiah comic book, to be released online biweekly starting in January 2005. Some preliminary artwork is already available at the official Web site, Jeremiah Portal.
The comic will expand the show's scope without the constrictions of a TV budget, Rosenberg said. "I read a quote by Gene Roddenberry, where he talked about one of the reasons he started the Star Trek animated series was because there were stories that were too big and too amazing for live action," he said. "In the world of live action, there are always going to be budget and technology concerns, whereas in comic-book form, the only limits are our imagination. We get to explore peoples and places that the live-action series simply couldn't."
Rosenberg confirmed that Platinum is in development of a prequel Jeremiah feature film, but he added that he doesn't know if it will ever get made.
Enterprise Seeing Green
obbi Sue Luther, who plays a green Orion slave girl in an upcoming episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, told SCI FI Wire that she had fun bringing back an iconic alien species not seen since the original series.
"I felt really honored to be on the set that day," Luther said in an interview. "And everybody really gave me props because it was the first time in 30 years that they've seen a girl like me. So everyone was really excited about that."
The race was first introduced in the pilot episode of the original Star Trek series, "The Cage," and memorably reprised by Yvonne Craig in the later episode "Whom Gods Destroy." Luther said that her character is reminiscent of the Orion slave girls of the past. "[The producers] wanted the original feel to my character," Luther said. "That kind of animalistic, predatory nature. I feed off of men."
The landmark episode, titled "Borderland," will also show male Orions for the first time. "Orion males are slave traders," Luther said. "They're green and they're huge and they've got piercings. They're really magnificent-looking creatures. There was The Big Show [aka Paul Wight], a wrestler. These guys are six, seven feet tall. They're just enormous. And then you have little me next to them."
For the role, Luther was airbrushed with multiple coats of green makeup, an arduous process that took nearly five hours. But it was nothing new for the model-turned-actress. "My fiance is a creature effects guy, so he's made me up before," she said. "A lot of people on the set were like, 'Oh, this must be new to you.' And it wasn't. So that was cool. I'm familiar with the process of airbrushing and prosthetics and things like that. I had no prosthetics on, myself. I was wigged, I had beauty makeup on and a lot of green makeup on my body. ... But it really was so much fun and I really would do it every single day. It's a little different than just putting on a little foundation, but it's definitely well worth it."
A relative newcomer to acting, Luther said the cast and crew were very accommodating and made her feel welcome on the set. "I just want to thank all the cast members and crew members who were on the set that day for all their support and the things they taught me and how wonderful it was," she said. "It's not easy being green, but it's really easy being on Star Trek." The new season of Star Trek Enterprise premieres Friday, Oct. 8, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. "Borderland" is scheduled to air Oct. 29.
Anderson Honored By Air Force
ichard Dean Anderson, star and executive producer of SCI FI's original series Stargate SG-1, will be recognized at the Air Force Association's 57th Annual Air Force Anniversary Dinner in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 14, the Air Force announced.
The service's chief of staff, Gen. John P. Jumper, who made a cameo appearance in the seventh season finale of Stargate SG-1, will be on hand to participate in the special recognition.
The Air Force Association is an independent, nonprofit, civilian organization promoting public understanding of aerospace power and the role it plays in national security. Anderson and Stargate SG-1 will be recognized for the show's continuous positive depiction of the Air Force. In addition to receiving the award, Anderson will tour the Pentagon and visit with wounded troops at Walter Reed Hospital, the Air Force said. Stargate SG-1, currently in its eighth season, airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Stargate Winner Named
athan Flamino of Wausau, Wis., was the winner of the SCI FI Channel's third annual Stargate "Get in the Gate" sweepstakes promotion, which concluded Aug. 6, the network announced.
This year's promotion was the biggest sweepstakes in the history of the channel, with nearly 700,000 entries, for a whopping 1,150 percent increase over last year's entries.
Flamino will travel to Vancouver, B.C., for walk-on roles on both SCI FI hit series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. This year's "Get in the Gate" promotion was run in partnership with SCIFI.COM and Yahoo!, which hosted Stargate production stills, behind-the-scenes photos and video and also sponsored fan events in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis air their summer finales on Sept. 17, starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Cooper Talks Alias Return
radley Cooper, who will reprise the role of Will Tippin in the upcoming fourth season of ABC's spy series Alias, told SCI FI Wire that the new season will restore the balance between character and plot that was lost last season.
"The cliffhanger thing has sort of stopped," Cooper said. "The first season was constantly 'How's she going to get out of this one?' And the second season was not as much. The third season really didn't do that much in terms of the relationships and the lines through the relationships. In season four, it's more like, 'Is she trusting her father or not?'"
Cooper was not a regular cast member last season, though Tippin appeared in a couple of episodes. Similarly, Cooper said that he will show up in a few fourth-season episodes. "Maybe [he'll be] in a couple of episodes," Cooper said. "The character is in witness protection."
Cooper spoke at a preview of Alias' third-season DVD set, which is now on store shelves. He said that he feels that the show's continued success can be attributed to a combination of interesting characters and a story that keeps viewers riveted to their seats. "It's a serial, and it's the kind of show you need to see all together," Cooper said. "That's sort of the ideal way to watch the show, because I think its shortcoming is that it's never been a show where you could watch, like, the second episode and then the 10th. You really have to watch them in a succession, so the DVD is the best way to watch the show."
Season four of Alias is currently in production and will return to the air in January.
Alias Scribes Board M:I 3
lias creator J.J. Abrams, who will direct Mission: Impossible 3, will team with Alias writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to work on the movie's script, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Several writers have previously taken a stab at the project, including Dean Georgaris, Dan Gilroy, Robert Towne and Frank Darabont, the trade paper reported.
M:I 3 will star Tom Cruise and is being produced by his Cruise/Wagner production company, with Paramount aiming to release the movie in summer 2006, the trade paper reported.
Daniels Parts With C-3PO
nthony Daniels—who played C-3PO in the original Star Wars trilogy and the recent prequel films—got emotional last week after filming his last scene in the franchise's final installment, Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, Reuters reported.
"Oh yes, it was with moisture," Daniels said. "This was very much a fond farewell."
Daniels, the only actor to have appeared in all six Star Wars films, said that the first, Star Wars: A New Hope, is still his favorite. He was less enthusiastic about the prequels. "[George Lucas'] devotion to digital effects overbalanced the films," Daniels said. "Too many digital funky characters become a little bit wearing. The storytelling always gets subsumed."
For his last scene in the golden droid costume, Daniels walked down a blue-screen corridor talking to "someone who wasn't there." Though Daniels' schedule is still filled with Star Wars conventions and special appearances, he says he will miss playing the persnickety robot. "He has been a best friend for me," he said. "He is going to live forever in the ether." The Star Wars trilogy will be released on DVD for the first time Sept. 20. Revenge of the Sith opens in theaters in May 2005.
Star Wars Fan Films Sought
tomFilms and Lucasfilm will again sponsor the Star Wars Fan Film Awards in 2005, they announced.
The 2005 competition will come in the same year the last prequel film, Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, hits theaters.
Creator George Lucas will again select the top award winner. The
submission deadline is March 8, 2005. The 2005 winners will all be announced at Celebration III in April. Episode III opens May 19.
Star Wars Art Benefits MD
limited-edition Star Wars poster goes on sale to benefit charity, the official Homing Beacon newsletter reported.
Artist Paul Jorden created the poster print to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Jorden himself suffers from mitochondria myopathy, a form of the disease. Lucasfilm licensed Jorden's art for the sale. The full-color poster is available in a limited edition of 1,000.
Sith Lords Due In December
ucasArts announced that it will release the Xbox version of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords in December 2004, two months earlier than planned, according to a press release on the company's Web site.
"We were hoping we could bring the Xbox platform into December but didn't want to make the formal announcement until we knew an earlier ship date would not compromise the quality of The Sith Lords," producer Mike Gallo said in a statement. "We recently completed a very important milestone which confirmed we can confidently do this."
Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the highly anticipated follow-up to the popular Knights of the Old Republic video game, will feature a new and perilous storyline set approximately 4,000 years before Star Wars: Episode I, the company said. Players will be able to choose from three different classes of Jedi to start the game and can follow the light or the dark side of the Force based on their character's actions. Memorable characters from the first game will make cameo appearances to enhance the continuity and story flow. The PC platform and international versions will still launch in February of 2005, as originally announced.
De Niro Swims With Shark
obert De Niro, who plays a Godfather-inspired great white shark in the upcoming CG-animated film Shark Tale, appeared Friday in Venice, Italy, where the movie was screened for thousands in the city's famous St. Mark's square, Reuters reported.
"This is incredible," De Niro told Reuters, adding he thought he'd found his "inner shark," the wire service reported.
Director Martin Scorsese also lends his voice to the comedy and is reunited with De Niro as the mobster sidekick Sykes, the wire service reported. "They've made nine films together, but this was the first time they've ever acted together," said executive producer Jeffrey Katzenberg. "They were able to spark things off each other that got both of them crazy and funny and silly."
Also on hand for the premiere was co-star Will Smith, who serenaded journalists with a rap Shark Tale theme song, the wire service reported. "I was working for two years on the process," Smith said. "It was great. You get to shape it, you actually get attached to the character, you start to fall in love with it." Shark Tale opens in theaters Oct. 1.
Group Bites Into Shark
he Columbus Citizens Foundation attacked DreamWorks's upcoming animated Shark Tale movie as painting an unflattering portrait of Italian-Americans, Zap2it reported.
Shark Tale centers on a small fish named Oscar (Will Smith), who tangles with the shark Mafia, which includes mob boss Don Lino (Robert De Niro) and Frankie (The Sopranos' Michael Imperioli), the site reported.
After a recent viewing of Shark Tale at the Toronto Film Festival, CCF President Lawrence Auriana released a statement saying, "In Shark Tale, bad guys are identified also by ethnicity. They have Italian and Italian-American names, such as Don Lino, Luca, Giuseppe and Gino, and [use] Italian-American phrases of speech and slang, such as 'capeesh,' 'consigliere,' 'maronne' and 'agita.' ... They are creatures of rage and revenge. The movie introduces young minds to the idea that people with Italian names—like millions of Americans across the country—are gangsters ... [and] to associate Italian-Americans with violence and vengefulness."
Auriana demanded several changes to make the film acceptable before it opens in the U.S.:
•Removing Italian names from characters
•Eliminating Italian and Italian-American phrases and slang
•Removing physical gestures and customs found in Italian and Italian-American culture
•Removing from bookstores DreamWorks' Shark Tale titles.
In response, DreamWorks spokesman Andy Spahn told the Reuters news service, "It's a family comedy that pokes fun at a number of film genres. It doesn't demean anyone; there are no negative stereotypes. There is nothing mean-spirited in the film." Shark Tale opens Oct. 1.
Novice Scribe Sells Isis
aramount-based Grammnet Productions, headed by Kelsey Grammer, has acquired novice writer Ali Russell's Isis, a fantasy pitch with feature-film and TV potential, Variety reported.
The family action-adventure story centers on a young girl who finds the bracelet of Isis and inherits her powers—but also awakens a dark force, the trade paper reported. The project is based on the Darren Davis comic book of the same name.
Grammer and Joanne Asquith Weiss will produce through Grammnet, along with Brooklyn Weaver of Energy Entertainment, who manages Russell, the trade paper reported.
The 21-year-old Russell recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting and was scouted by Weaver out of the UCLA writing program.
Tekken Still Taking Shape
harles Stone III, director of the upcoming SF action movie Tekken, told SCI FI Wire that the video-game adaptation is in early stages of development and that he wants to do more research before locking down the script.
"We got the writers going on it," Stone said in an interview. "But I do want to investigate K-1 fighting—it's out of Japan—and then the ultimate fighting competitions that are sprouting up all over the place. I want to investigate those and just look at the history of the gladiator world through the past."
Based on the best-selling Namco video game, Tekken is an action movie about a young man who discovers he holds a great power and must battle a team of elite fighters who will stop at nothing in order to get it from him. Stone said that he wants to borrow as much from real life as he does from previous martial-arts films. "I'm kind of interested [in] getting back to the whole sports super-conglomerate, Nike thing, and also drugs and steroids and the whole anabolic madness," Stone said. "Right now I'm framing it after sort of Enter the Dragon as a backdrop, but again, more realistic and more accessible. I want it to seem like it can really happen in today's society, despite how grand and superhuman the characters are."
Stone added that in the interest of creating a believable world for audiences unfamiliar with the game, he may not use some of the more outlandish fighters. "We're probably not even using some of the more special-effects-laden characters," Stone said. "We'll see how that all comes together. It's all open right now."
Appleby Saw Much In Darklight
hiri Appleby, who stars in the SCI FI original movie Darklight, told SCI FI Wire that she enjoyed playing the various aspects of her character in the film.
"It was almost like two different characters," Appleby said in an interview. "In the beginning, she's like questioning and a bit fragile. And as the film progresses and she starts going on her journey, she starts standing up for herself and becoming a lot more tougher and a lot more aggressive. And she really learns to stand up for herself."
Appleby, best known as Liz Parker in the teen alien series Roswell, said that her character is a departure from the kinds of roles she's played in the past. "I thought it would be fun to play someone tough, not quite as vulnerable as I usually play," she said. "Someone who's more aggressive about things. ... There's tons of fight sequences and special effects and things blowing up and fire. It was new and it was really fun. I was wearing very tough, kick-ass kind of clothing. So it was cool."
Darklight follows the journey of a mysterious woman (Appleby) who must help a secret religious order stop an ancient demon. Richard Burgi (The Sentinel), John de Lancie (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and David Hewlett (Stargate Atlantis) also star. Appleby said she was attracted to the script because of the originality of the story. "I just think it's a really interesting story," she said. "It's definitely unique and special and something that I don't think has been done before. Hopefully people will find it an enjoyable watch." Darklight premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Sept. 18.
Darklight Bends Genre
ill Platt, director of the upcoming SCI FI Channel original movie Darklight, told SCI FI Wire that his SF superhero movie combined his love of comic books with his interest in the ancient Jewish myth of Lilith.
"I love supernatural stories, all the comic books drawn by Gene Colan in the '70s and '80s, like Tomb of Dracula, Nightforce, Daredevil and Dr. Strange," Platt said in an interview. "They had an amazing, eerie quality. [I] also loved Damian Hellstrom, aka Son of Satan, comics in Marvel Premiere: the dark character portrayed as hero."
Platt added: "Being Jewish, I'd read up on Kabbalah [Jewish mysticism]. I've long been aware of Lilith's role as a scary, demon queen you don't want to mess with. I wanted to take Lilith's mythology (first wife of Adam, cast out of the Garden of Eden, cursed for eternity) and update her into a bad-ass antiheroine, someone trying to reconcile her dark past."
Darklight stars Shiri Appleby (Roswell) as a young woman with a mysterious past who is enlisted by
a rogue agent (Richard Burgi of The Sentinel) of an ancient religious order to stop a rampaging demon monster. John de Lancie (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and David Hewlett (Stargate Atlantis) also star. "In developing Darklight, first and foremost, I wanted to create a new, kick-ass superhero," said Platt, who also wrote the independent film. "The superhero genre—particularly the female superhero characters ... [starting with] Yvonne Craig as Batgirl and Lynda Carter as Wonder
Woman—are closest to my heart. I wanted to take my best shot at creating an original heroine."
Platt added: "I tried to recreate many classically 'comic-book' moments: Lilith in cool, fighting crouches; her demon form flying, phoenix-like, from the wreckage of an exploding car; Jack Kirby-type super-
technology; the training sequence, ... reminiscent of [Daredevil's] Stick showing Matt Murdock
the ropes." Darklight premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Sept. 18.
Urban Embraces Doom
arl Urban (Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Riddick) has signed on to star in the upcoming futuristic action-adventure film Doom, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Urban will play John Grimm, the leader of a special ops team, who crosses paths with the organization responsible for his parents' deaths while battling alien demons, the trade paper reported.
The film, based on the popular video-game series developed by id Software and published by Activision, will be directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak (Cradle 2 the Grave), who recently replaced Enda McCallion. The Rock will also star. The film is scheduled to begin production in late October for release in August 2005.
Majesco Ships Guilty Gear
ajesco announced that the Xbox debut of Guilty Gear X2 #Reload, the popular two-dimensional fighting game, shipped to retailers on Sept. 14.
Available for a suggested retail price of $19.95, Guilty Gear X2 #Reload features Xbox Live support, offering players head-to-head competition, real-time global rankings and community support, the company announced.
The game centers around a newly discovered form of energy which has been used to create devastating bio-weapons from fused human and animal DNA. It features more than 20 characters, each with signature moves, and a variety of game modes, including story mode, mission mode and versus mode. "Guilty Gear X2 #Reload takes the classic fighting game franchise to an exciting new level with enhanced anime-style visuals and compelling multiplayer support via Xbox Live," said Ken Gold, vice president of marketing for Majesco. "This offering of a highly entertaining product at an attractive price point appeals to both hardcore fighting fans as well as the casual, mass-market audience."
EverQuest Expansion Here
ony Online Entertainment announced that EverQuest: Omens of War, the most recent expansion for its massively multiplayer online game EverQuest, is now available in stores and online, the GameSpot Web site reported.
Players who've thoroughly explored the existing realms of Norrath can now venture into uncharted territory for the suggested retail price of $29.99.
Omens of War opens up several new areas in the region of Discord, where players can explore the war-torn Bloodfields, the Nobles' Causeway and the ancient Muramite Empire. The expansion will also feature new levels, items and spells, as well as a faster-paced task system, the site reported. An improved graphics engine will give the game a new look as well. The expansion can be purchased in retail outlets or via digital download from the official Sony Online Entertainment Web site.
Raimi Puts Up Scarecrow
am Raimi, director of the Spider-Man and Evil Dead films, and partner Rob Tapert are set to produce the horror film Scarecrow, directed by brothers Oxide and Danny Pang (The Eye, Bangkok Dangerous), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film will be the first English-language feature for the brothers from Hong Kong.
Scarecrow follows the lives of a family moving into a run-down sunflower farm who begin to notice uncomfortable and alarming changes in their father's behavior. The screenplay was written by Stuart Beattie (Collateral), from an original script by Todd Farmer. "I'm thrilled that the Pang brothers have agreed to direct Scarecrow," Raimi said. "I've been a big fan ever since The Eye. Danny and Oxide have an exciting and unique vision and are at the forefront of the neo-horror movement in Asian filmmaking." Production is scheduled to begin this spring.
Tabula Rasa Delayed
ichard Garriott, executive producer of the massively multiplayer online game Tabula Rasa, announced that the game will not be released this winter as planned, and could be delayed until well into 2005.
In a statement posted on publisher NCsoft's Web site, Garriott said that some noteworthy modifications and refinements to the game have taken longer than estimated to complete. "I want people who play Tabula Rasa to have a unique and fun experience," Garriott said. "And I don't want to ship it until it fully meets the lofty expectations that the Destination Games team and I have for it."
Tabula Rasa takes place in an futuristic world known as Sanctuary, where players will be able to combat alien creatures with customizable weapons and team up for cooperative missions. Garriott, best known for creating the Ultima series and Ultima Online, assured gamers that his team is taking the time to make the game as good as possible. "I want you to know that our dedicated team is working diligently to get Tabula Rasa to you as soon as possible and can't wait to get it in your hands so you can try it yourselves," he said. "In the future, I hope you'll come back to the Tabula Rasa site as we keep you abreast of what these changes are all about and ultimately when you'll be able to join us in Sanctuary."
Aliens Invade CBS
BS has committed to a pilot for an alien-themed series from executive producers David Goyer (Batman Begins), David Heyman (Harry Potter) and Bragi Schut, Variety reported.
Paramount Network Television will produce the hour-long SF drama, tentatively titled Threshold, about the government's response to an alien threat.
Goyer, who wrote the currently filming Batman Begins for director Christopher Nolan and will direct the upcoming vampire sequel Blade Trinity from his own script, is attached as director and executive-producer of the pilot, with Bragi set to write and co-executive produce. Heyman also will serve as executive producer.
Don't Call Polar A Toon
om Hanks, star of Robert Zemeckis' upcoming fantasy movie The Polar Express, cautioned reporters that the computer-generated film is not an animated movie, at least not compared to films like Toy Story.
Unlike more conventional computer-animated movies, Polar draws its characters directly from the movements and performances of the voice actors through a new process called "performance capture," Hanks said. "Everything performed [in the film] by a human being is performed by a human being on a soundstage," the actor told a group of journalists at a special sneak peek last week.
Performance capture has previously been used for sports-based video games, but Polar Express marks the first time the technology has been applied in a feature film, said Hanks, who also executive produced the movie. In the process, the facial movements of the actor are captured in a computer and used as the basis of the computer-generated images. Director Zemeckis said that the result is a movie, based on Chris Van Allsburg's best-selling children's book, that is more aptly described as a live-action film. "We realized the emotion of the book was in the paintings, so the question for us was how do we make a movie out of oil paintings, basically?" Zemeckis said. The solution: digitally rendering the film based on the actors' live-action performances.
"We acted every scene, every individual moment, and that becomes the basis for what you see." said Hanks, who plays five roles in the film (a young boy, his father, a hobo, the train conductor and Santa Claus).
Initially, there was talk about making Polar Express as a conventional live-action film, but Zemeckis
said the cost was prohibitive. "It was virtually impossible to do this live-action," he said, adding jokingly, "It would have cost about $1 billion." In the end, performance capture and computer animation gave Zemickis a movie closer to the look he wanted from the book. "It was really about fitting art into the
story, and that's why we did it this way," he said. He added: "We didn't want it to be photo-real, and we didn't want it to be animated or CG-animated, like a Pixar movie. We wanted it to be somewhere in between, and hopefully we accomplished that." The Polar Express opens in theaters Nov. 10.
Forgotten Blends SF, Thrills
roducers of the upcoming movie The Forgotten told SCI FI Wire that their challenge was blending classic thriller elements with an SF twist.
"There was a lot of discussion of how many effects to use," producer Bruce Cohen said in an interview. "One of the examples that we kept going back to, although it couldn't be more of a different movie, was Jaws and the famous story about how the shark kept breaking, so [director Steven] Spielberg came up with the idea to show very little of the shark and concentrate much more on the emotional terror of the characters. We definitely went with that philosophy in The Forgotten."
The Forgotten centers on Telly (Julianne Moore), a woman grieving over the death of her son, who is suddenly told that her son never really existed. "You don't need to show a lot of special effects, and sometimes showing more effects can make it even less scary," Cohen said. "We've tried to keep it much more from within Telly's imagination and her worst nightmares. What she might see is hopefully scarier and more of a thrill than if we just showed things right from the beginning. We definitely tried to toe that line to show just enough at the end of [the] movie for optimal suspense."
Cohen's producing partner, Dan Jinx, said in an interview that they tried to avoid the current trend of shocking audiences with an unexpected twist ending. "I think that we've seen a number of [such] movies in recent years, like The Sixth Sense, and now audiences are almost expecting a surprise, which I think dilutes things," Jinx said. "When I first read The Forgotten, I had no idea where it was going, and it surprised me along the way. I think it's more fun for an audience than a twist in the last minute, so we kept the twists throughout. And I'll say it takes you in many unexpected directions." The Forgotten opens on Sept. 24.
Sabrina Film Materializing
aramount Pictures has signed a deal with Archie Comics Entertainment to co-produce a live-action film based on the Archie Comics character Sabrina, the teenage witch, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Paramount produced the long-running TV series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, starring Melissa Joan Hart, which aired on ABC and the WB Network from 1996-2003, the trade paper reported.
Sabrina is the second motion-picture deal for Archie Comics Entertainment, which was founded last year by Archie Comics Publications chairman Michael Silberkleit and president Richard Goldwater to develop the company's comic-book characters, the trade paper reported. "While the movie will be empowering for girls, it is going to have the action and science-fiction fantasy that appeals to boys," said Archie Comics Entertainment president Allan Grafman, who will serve as a producer.
McG Gets Spooky For WB
he WB network has ordered a supernatural-themed pilot from McG, director of the Charlie's Angels films and executive producer of Fox's teen drama The O.C., and Eric Kripke, executive producer of the short-lived WB series Tarzan, Variety reported.
The untitled project, described as X-Files meets Route 66, will be produced by Warner Brothers Television and McG and Stephanie Savage's Wonderland Sound and Vision.
The show will revolve around a pair of brothers on a road trip who encounter unusual ghosts and local creatures straight out of American folklore and urban legends, the trade paper reported. "They're all specifically American, be it a windigo, a Native American creature, or Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at a crossroads," Kripke said. "It's a show about the bloody, beating heart of America."
Is Scott Next Bond?
ritish tabloid The Sunday Mirror reported a rumor that Scottish actor Dougray Scott (Mission: Impossible 2) is the latest contender for the role of 007 in the 23rd James Bond movie.
A source told the paper that the producers have been looking for an actor with the broody, sexy quality of former Bond star Sean Connery and that Scott had won the role after talks with executive producer Barbara Broccoli.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Confidential magazine reported that the current Bond, Pierce Brosnan, is not officially out of the running yet. Brosnan told Los Angeles Confidential that his earlier statement to Entertainment Weekly that Bond was behind him was misquoted. "There was no announcement," Brosnan said. "I think the reporter heard it wrong. I think what I said was, 'I've had my fill of talking about Bond.' ... It was not an official announcement."
Briefly Noted
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Charles Stone III, director of the upcoming video-game-based movie Tekken, told SCI FI Wire that he isn't sure if the film will be his next project. "Hopefully it will be, but they say it's never green-lit until the person calls 'Action,'" he said.
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Jeffrey Tambor and David Alan Grier have joined the cast of ABC's original movie The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Tambor will play the wizard in the project; Grier will play Uncle Henry.
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ComingSoon.net has posted a new clip and trailer from David Goyer's upcoming Blade: Trinity movie, featuring Jessica Biel's Abigail character. Blade: Trinity opens Dec. 10.
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Entertainment Tonight correspondent Maria Menounos will play a nurse and the romantic interest of Chris Evans' Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, which is currently shooting in Vancouver, B.C., according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD in the United Kingdom, packaged in a limited-edition leather-boxed set priced at £199.99 ($358), BBCi reported. The Complete DVD Collector's Edition will feature 39 discs, including commentaries, featurettes, outtakes, easter eggs, trailers and cast biographies, as well as a booklet and letter from series creator Joss Whedon.
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Musician and composer Danny Elfman will provide the singing voices of the Oompa Loompas in Tim Burton's upcoming remake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, according to a report on the Ain't-It-Cool-News Web site.
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Monica Bellucci (The Matrix: Reloaded, The Matrix: Revolutions) and her husband, French actor Vincent Cassel, became parents over the weekend to a baby girl named Deva, the Associated Press reported.
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Fox is developing a theatrical film featuring the adventures and musical stylings of Alvin and the Chipmunks, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film will combine live-action and real actors with CG-animated chipmunks.
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British activist Jason Hatch scaled the walls of Buckingham Palace dressed as Batman and unfurled a banner on the queen's balcony with a message in support of single fathers, Agence France-Presse reported. Hatch ultimately descended after a five-hour standoff with police.
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Rogue Pictures has released a new trailer and images from the upcoming horror sequel Seed of Chucky on the film's official Web site. The company also announced that the release date has been moved up to Nov. 12.
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HBO's eerie 1930s drama Carnivale won five Emmys Sept. 12 during the Creative Arts portion of the 56th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series won in the categories of cinematography, art direction, hairstyling and costumes.
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Fox has ordered 12 episodes of the supernatural soap opera Point Pleasant from Buffy the Vampire Slayer executive producer Marti Noxon, Variety reported.
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The Comics Continuum Web site has posted images from the new Blade: Trinity trailer, which premiered on E! News Live last week.
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