Wonderfalls Completed On DVD
im Minear, executive producer of Fox's canceled Wonderfalls series, told SCI FI Wire that the upcoming DVD set will include nine previously unseen episodes, in the order they were meant to be seen, which tell a full story. "Wonderfalls has a very specific arc, which ends at episode 13, so people will feel like they've had a complete experience," Minear said in an interview while promoting his upcoming Fox series, The Inside. "[We wrote it as a complete show] in the event only 13 got made and it went to DVD. So that was the plan. That was a conscious plan."
Wonderfalls centers on Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas), a college graduate in a dead-end job as a souvenir clerk at Niagara Falls, who begins to hear inanimate objects talking to her. The show completed 13 episodes before it even premiered on Fox in March 2004, but was canceled after only four episodes aired.
But Minear said that fans of the critically acclaimed series will finally get a chance to see the entire series. "There are a lot of commentaries, extras, Andy Partridge's full music video [of the quirky theme music], behind-the-scenes [featurettes]," Minear said. "Great graphics and art on the actual package itself, and the DVDs. We actually had to go in and switch out some of the songs, because [they were] too expensive. But we got great alternative music that really ... kept the integrity of what we needed to do musically."
Minear also held out hope that the DVD set will sell well, allowing Wonderfalls to repeat the experience of his last, canceled series, Firefly. That show sold so well on DVD, despite being canceled by Fox in its first season, that Universal Pictures gave the green light to a movie, Serenity, based on the show.
"Maybe you'll see Wonderfalls: The Movie in a theater near you," Minear said. "I know it's something [series co-creator] Bryan Fuller's thought about." Wonderfalls: The Complete Series DVD hits stores on Feb. 1.
Berman Previews Enterprise
ick Berman, executive producer of UPN's Star Trek: Enterprise, told SCI FI Wire that upcoming episodes of the show will continue to tap into elements of Star Trek's past, from the original series to Deep Space Nine to the current show. "We're going to touch a little bit on Section 31, which has not been dealt with in a long time," Berman said in an interview. "We're going to touch on certain elements of the Augment experiments that Dr. Soong [Brent Spiner] had done. We'll see the launch of the Columbia, the next starship."
Berman added, "We're also going to deal, on a subtle basis, with the wondrous question of why the Klingons, starting with the first Star Trek film, didn't look quite like the Klingons from the original series. That's 'Affliction' and 'Divergence.' After that we've got 'Bound,' which deals with three Orion slave girls who come aboard Enterprise and wreak a bit of havoc. It's a really fun episode. And after that we have a two-parter dealing with a mirror universe, the same mirror universe that was visited in [the] original series, 100 years in the future, and also on Deep Space Nine, 200 years in the future." UPN has scheduled "Affliction" for Feb. 18 and "Divergence" for Feb. 25. Enterprise airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Moonves: A Break Good For Trek?
eslie Moonves—co-president and co-chief operating officer of Viacom, the parent company of CBS, UPN and Paramount—told SCI FI Wire that it may be time for Star Trek to take a break, though he added that no decision has been made on the future of UPN's ratings-challenged Star Trek: Enterprise. Speaking in an interview at the CBS/UPN winter press tour in West Hollywood, Calif., Moonves said: "It's hard to say right now. The ratings aren't great. It may be a franchise that should be rested a year or two. I know the die-hards are not in favor of that, but I think if we rested a year or two, it might be a better thing. But we'll see what happens the rest of the year."
Persistent rumors say the show is on its last legs, that UPN has cut its season order from Paramount, which produces the show, and that star Scott Bakula (Capt. Jonathan Archer) is ready to quit. All untrue, cast members told SCI FI Wire. "I'll be disappointed if we wrap up this year," Bakula said in a separate interview. "I'd hate to see it end this year. ... We're waiting to hear. It's a funny place to be in. I love the crew. I love the cast. The work situation has been tremendous. We're doing creative work, still, I think. And I know we have a lot of fans out there. So ... as a television gig would go, it's a great, wonderful gig. And I'm loving it. So I will be disappointed. But we'll see. It ain't over until it's over."
Bakula and other cast members told SCI FI Wire that they expect, if UPN decides to cancel the show, the network will give producers enough notice that they can write a finale to the series. But as the writers are currently writing the 21st of 22 season episodes now, that notice would have to come in short order. "We've got to know soon," Bakula said. "So I don't know. They're not under any obligation to let us know. They can do whatever they want to do, and they may. ... We don't call those shots."
Even so, Bakula said, "The indication was [and] has been often that this would be our last season. But then ... we were told we were going to get an early indication of that so we could wrap the show up in a nice way. And here we are, it's the end of January, and I know that they've broken stories through the 21st [episode]." Enterprise wraps production in March; an announcement about cancellation could be delayed as late as May.
Moonves said that a final decision will depend on how Enterprise performs in the ratings for the rest of the season, which will include new episodes exploring the "mirror universe" introduced in the original Star Trek series and a two-episode arc explaining why Klingons went from smooth foreheads to bumpy ones. How well would the show have to perform to be renewed? "I don't make predictions on what level," Moonves said. "It depends on what development is and what the rest of the schedule is like." But, he added, "I think the show this year has been much better [creatively] than last year. I like the changes that have been made. ... [As for the ratings,] when you're dealing with UPN, you're dealing with different expectation levels." Star Trek: Enterprise airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Berman Denies Trek Rumors
ick Berman, executive producer of all Star Trek films and series since the death of Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, denied to SCI FI Wire the validity of the rampant Internet rumors that suggest Paramount Pictures disliked his concept for a new movie, was sending him back to the drawing board and thus had put a proposed Star Trek XI on the back burner. "Unless there is something going on that I am not familiar with, the rumors are totally ficticious," Berman said in an interview. "Absolutely neither statement, that something has been scuttled and that I have been asked to redevelop something, is true."
Reports have circulated that Paramount was unhappy with a proposed new Trek film, which Berman has previously described as a prequel film set in the era before UPN's Star Trek: Enterprise, with a new set of characters not previously seen in any Trek incarnations.
Asked to provide an accurate update on the status of a new Trek next film, Berman replied, "The status of the next film is it's in an early state of story development, and the Paramount Motion Picture Group will announce personnel and whatever elements of the project when they see fit. If the project does develop as planned I think, of all the Star Trek movies I've been involved with and the previous regimes have been involved with, this one will undoubtedly have a larger scope and budget. It's a very ambitious project, and I'm hoping that it will get the support to come to fruition."
Playskool Unveils "Darth Tater"
layskool will introduce a Star Wars-themed version of its popular Mr. Potato toy, a Dark-Side incarnation of the walking spud called "Darth Tater," the official Star Wars Web site reported. Darth Tater comes with a lightsaber, cape, helmet, shoes, eyes, nose and teeth.
Darth Tater will be available in the spring, around the time Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith opens in theaters on May 19.
Episode III Fan Already In Line
eattle Star Wars fan Jeff Tweiten has already set up camp in line for the upcoming Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith at the Cinerama theater in this Northwest city, even though the movie doesn't open until May 19. And he's chronicling his wait on a blog, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
"I think Star Wars is the quintessential modern myth," Tweiten told the newspaper. "It's the hero story, the breaking away from home and family and proving yourself in the world."
Tweiten is a 27-year-old graphic artist who grew up on Bainbridge Island and attended the Art Institute of Seattle. Before moving to the street, he lived in a Belltown apartment. To make ends meet, he also makes ceramic raku masks, plays poker and picks up occasional odd jobs.
His friends bring him changes of clothes, snacks and their company. Nearby businesses offer a bathroom, a shower or a warm cup of coffee. Passersby might laugh in amusement, shake their heads in wonder or strike up a conversation, the newspaper reported.
"It's about freedom," Tweiten said about his decision to camp out. "To me, it's exercising my right as an American to do what I want to do, without hurting anybody."
Krumholtz Logs On Serenity
avid Krumholtz, who plays a key role in the upcoming SF movie Serenity, told SCI FI Wire that his character is called "Mr. Universe." "All I can say is that I do play a man who lives on a satellite moon, ... and I have transmitted to me all the satellite feeds from all over the whole universe, every planet," Krumholtz said in an interview while promoting his upcoming CBS TV series, Numb3rs, at the network's winter press tour in Hollywood. "So ... I'm a man with a lot of information that they need. ... I'm talking on a screen to the whole crew of the ship."
Krumholtz, who may be best known for playing Barry Schweiber in TV's Freak and Geeks, added that his character did not appear in the canceled Fox TV series Firefly, on which the Universal Pictures movie is based. "They were really sweet with me" for the two days Krumholtz shot his scenes, he said of the regular cast, led by Nathan Fillion. "It's great. I'm happy for them. They're a great group of actors. They really deserve it. The show was canceled abruptly and too early." Serenity opens Sept. 30. Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Laurie Flying To Superman
ugh Laurie (Fox TV's House) told SCI FI Wire that he's eager to play the role of Daily Planet editor Perry White in Bryan Singer's upcoming Superman Returns film—even though he hasn't read the script yet. "They won't let me read the script," Laurie said in an interview at Fox's winter press tour in Hollywood. "I have to read it in a room with an armed security guard, because they're terrified. These things get on the Internet." Laurie said he would be reading the script this week.
But Laurie's participation is certain, he said. "Everything's done. The deal's done. I mean, I haven't signed the thing, but ... the only thing we haven't done is, I haven't read it. They're understandably very cautious about letting people see it, so I can't speak about the script. I'm going to read it tomorrow or the day after."
As for his character, the British actor said, "I'm head of the Daily Planet. 'Goddamn it, Clark, where were you?' That's going to be my line." What about "Great Caesar's ghost"? "If I get a chance," Laurie allowed. "It may be only in the lunch hour, but I certainly will be planning on saying it."
Laurie was asked to take on the role by Singer, who also executive produces Laurie's Fox show. "He said, 'Do you want to do it? Are you interested in doing it?' [I said,] 'God, absolutely.' I love working with him. He's a fascinating guy. So, yeah, I'm very hopeful. I'm really looking forward to it." Laurie said he would likely shoot his scenes during his hiatus from House. Production on Superman Returns is slated to begin in March or April in Australia.
Judge Favors Lee In Spidey Suit
federal judge has ordered Marvel Enterprises Inc. to pay Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man, 10 percent of Marvel's profits from the Spider-Man movies, the Reuters news service reported. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered the comic publisher to pay Lee a share of proceeds it has received since November 1998 from movies, television shows and movie-related toys manufactured by Marvel. The judgment stems from a suit filed by Lee.
Marvel said it would appeal the ruling, Reuters reported.
Marvel said the court rejected a claim by Lee, who is now chief creative officer for POW! Entertainment, to share in proceeds from third-party licensees of movie-related merchandise. But the court left unresolved Lee's claim that he is entitled to a share of profits from Marvel's joint venture with Sony Corp. related to Spider-Man movie merchandise and to a share of Marvel's international profits from the Hulk movie merchandise licensing program with Universal Studios. Those claims will be heard in a forthcoming jury trial, Reuters reported.
Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Noxon Wants Marsters On Point
ormer Buffy the Vampire Slayer producer Marti Noxon told SCI FI Wire that she wants to get former Buffy and Angel star James Marsters on her new supernatural Fox series Point Pleasant. "Adam Busch, who was on Buffy as one of the super nerds, has a small role right now," Noxon told reporters at Fox's winter press preview on Jan. 17 in Universal City, Calif. "And I would really love to bring James Marsters [Spike] in at some point. We've been talking to him."
In a separate interview, Noxon said that she took on the job of executive producer of Point Pleasant because she liked the way it incorporated elements of Peyton Place, The O.C., Carrie and The Omen. "It's got all of that and, after the first few episodes, we'll be leaning even a little bit more toward Twin Peaks," Noxon said. "You've got a small town with lots of strange people with secrets, and the main character, Christina [Elisabeth Harnois], has this effect of drawing that out of everybody in this once-sleepy place."
Set in Point Pleasant, N.J., the show centers on Christina, an attractive teen who washes up on the shore of the well-to-do town. She's not just any teen, but rather the daughter of Satan and a mortal woman, and forces both good and evil will battle for her soul. The show also stars Grant Show, Dina Meyer, Sam Page, Brent Weber, Cameron Richardson, Aubrey Dollar, Susan Walters and Richard Burgi.
"Tonally, it's so different from Buffy that I was really eager to take a run at it," Noxon said. "It's hard to see the forest from the trees when you're in it, but I will tell you I always feel like a good indication of how something is going is if you're enjoying writing it. And every time I sit down to write [Point Pleasant] I get carried away by it. It feels like there may be something here." Point Pleasant debuted on Jan. 19 before moving to its regular timeslot Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Meyer: Pleasant Is Her Fave
ina Meyer, the veteran SF&F actress who co-stars in Fox's new supernatural series Point Pleasant, told SCI FI Wire that the show is her favorite so far, after having appeared in series including The WB's Birds of Prey and NBC's Miss Match. "This experience thus far has been probably my best experience on series TV," Meyer said in an interview. "I'm not saying that because that's what we say. I'm saying it because the cast and crew alike, ... they're not only easy on the eyes, but they actually have the talent and intellect and wit to back up the looks."
Meyer plays Amber Hargrove, a sexy, troublemaking single mother in Point Pleasant, which tells the story of a seaside New Jersey town and the mysterious girl who washes up on shore, upsetting everyone's lives.
Meyer, whose other shows have disappeared quickly, said that she doesn't view the supernatural series as a risky job. "I don't really look at what I do as taking a risk," she said at Fox's winter press tour in Universal City, Calif. "I look at it as being really fortunate to get paid to work with wonderful people on a really cool, interesting show. I don't think it's risky at all. I live in the moment, and for each day that I go to work and get to do what I love to do, I consider that a good day. It's not risky to me at all." Point Pleasant moved into its regular Thursday 9 p.m. ET/PT timeslot on Jan. 20.
Creator Blessed Appleseed Film
hinji Aramaki, director of the anime film Appleseed, told SCI FI Wire that writer and artist Masamune Shirow gave the filmmakers freedom to expand the universe he created in the comic book on which the movie is based. "Shirow was involved with working out the scenario, but he said that he was going to leave the movie to the staff," Aramaki said in an interview. "We met several times to exchange ideas, but he said he would not be giving us directions. He would let the schedule evolve on its own accord, and he would pretty much stay uninvolved."
Appleseed tells the story of Deunan Knute and Briareos, two survivors of an apocalyptic holocaust who are enlisted to preserve the tenuous balance between humans and their clone counterparts, called bioroids. Aramaki said that he took great care adapting Shirow's stories, but wanted to condense certain storylines to streamline the film.
"It's a matter of transferring the original story to a movie version," Aramaki said. "The comic books, I think, were four volumes and were still in the process of being created. But for the movie it would be one storyline. I wanted to emphasize the dramatic aspect of the relationship between Deunan and Briareos, so I began the story with them being separated."
Aramaki added that he feared Shirow's reaction after seeing the finished film, but that he was pleased to see the author enjoyed his interpretation. "I'm sure having seen what we completed, he may have had much to say," Aramaki said. "[But] he told me that he was satisfied with the work that I had done on it, so I am very happy to have gotten that evaluation from him." Appleseed is currently showing in limited release.
Appleseed Gestated A Decade
hinji Aramaki, director of the SF anime film Appleseed, told SCI FI Wire that he explored digital animation technology for years prior to making the actual movie. "The CG technology has been out there for the past 10 years," Aramaki said in an interview. "[But] the style that I came up with is ... where 10 years of exploration brought me. The only problem had to do with character expression on cel animation: 2-D technology and how the characters could be expressed using this new technology with the 3-D animation as a means."
Appleseed follows the travails of Deunan Knute (Jennifer Proud), a soldier who discovers that the war she's been fighting ended many years earlier. Returning to the utopian society of Olympus, she finds that she may be the key to preserving a tenuous foothold over militants who want to overthrow the government.
Aramaki said that his staff of animators overcame the challenge of creating lifelike characters by employing actors to mimic their actions. "It was a result of daily efforts by the people involved and the individual efforts of the staff involved," Aramaki said. "There's something called a 'facial-capture' part of motion-capture, where the actual faces of actors are used and digitally captured. A staff member by the name of Yamata was able to give us a great deal of advice how to get from 2-D to 3-D; there were a number of technical things that were incorporated to create the very satisfactory results that we were able to get in 2-D."
Aramaki also said he focused intensely on making sure the animation did not overwhelm the story itself. "There are many aspects to this," he said. "There's the scenario, the storyboards, and in animation there's something called animatics, where the overall movie is made in a rough form. That's where the editing takes place so there's an overview and a balance. We look at it with each cut, and we look at it overall as well. This is a very time-consuming process that needs to be done with great care. That's how we oversee the balance of the entire movie." Appleseed is currently showing in limited release.
Tru Is Dead, But Not Gone
ail Berman, president of entertainment at Fox, confirmed to reporters that the supernatural series Tru Calling won't be coming back—but she added that six as-yet-unaired second-season episodes will eventually see the light of day. "We finished six episodes of Tru Calling, and we anticipate putting them on air at some point," Berman told reporters at Fox's winter press tour Jan. 17 in Universal City, Calif.
Berman added that the supernatural series Point Pleasant was the deciding factor in pulling Tru Calling from the schedule. "What changed for us was when we saw Point Pleasant, we really felt we had a show that was incredibly compatible with The O.C.," Berman said. "So our thoughts changed, not so much about Tru Calling, but the possibility of not only having an exciting show and a winner at 8 o'clock, but also something that could really make headway for us at 9 o'clock in an incredibly competitive time period."
Tru Calling, starring Eliza Dushku and Jason Priestley, had been picked up for a second season, but the show was put on hiatus before the season began. Point Pleasant premiereed Jan. 18 and will air Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Gunn Sums Up In Stable
ileen Gunn, whose collection of short stories Stable Strategies and Others has been nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award, told SCI FI Wire she feels more visible than ever, despite not writing novels and not being as prolific as others. Her book is a collection of 12 stories, "the sum of my work to date," written over the last 25 years, she said in an interview. "When you write short stories, as I do, you get kind of accustomed to your work going out there into the void and vanishing without a trace, even when it's published in popular magazines such as Asimov's."
Among its entries is the title story, "Stable Strategies for Middle Management," an allegory of the changes one's job wreaks on a person. Other stories include "Fellow Americans," an alternate history tale in which Richard Nixon becomes the nation's most popular game show host, and "Nirvana High," a tale of the Cobain school for troubled telepathic teenagers. "I try to make sure that each of my stories holds special significance for me," Gunn said. "That's why it takes me so long to write them."
Gunn added the Dick nomination is special, because she was at Norwescon in 1982 when Tom Disch proposed the award. "Its existence is a political statement and an affirmation of the inherent value of the work itself, in defiance of the customary denigration—in the U.S. anyway—of paperbacks as being unworthy of serious notice," she said. "I am very pleased at my story collection being [nominated]."
Gunn said that her next project is a biography of SF author Avram Davidson. She also has three more short stories to complete.
The Dick award, named for the prolific SF author, is presented annually to distinguished science fiction published originally in paperback in the United States. The award is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society. First prize and any special citations will be announced on March 25 at Norwescon 28 in Seattle.
ABC OKs Night Stalker Pilot
BC has ordered a pilot of an updated Night Stalker series from former The X-Files executive producer Frank Spotnitz, Variety reported. The show will rework the classic 1970s ABC show Kolchak: The Night Stalker, which detailed a hard-boiled journalist's investigations into freakish occurrences, the trade paper reported.
Ironically, The X-Files creator Chris Carter has said he was inspired in part by the original Night Stalker series, which starred Darren McGavin.
Meanwhile, The WB is honoring its commitment to Supernatural, an hourlong drama from writer and executive producer Eric Kripke, the trade paper reported. Another X-Files alumnus, director David Nutter, has come on board as helmer and executive producer.
McG and Stephanie Savage's Warner Brothers TV-based Wonderland Sound and Vision is producing. Peter Johnson heads up Wonderland, the trade paper reported.
Leguizamo Talks Dead
ohn Leguizamo, who appears in the upcoming new George A. Romero zombie movie Land of the Dead, told SCI FI Wire that the sequel is the final installment in Romero's walking-dead series. "I'm hoping that it's [Romero's] masterpiece," Leguizamo said in an interview. "I have a lot of high hopes for that, because I love the man. He [is] 68 years old, and he's still building his career, and he's at the top of his game. We're doing all night shoots, exteriors, and he's smoking and drinking tons of coffee."
Leguizamo plays a zombie hunter named Cholo in the sequel to 1985's Day of the Dead. He said the movie has a lot of social and political undertones. "It's an apocalyptic world, and it's very political, too, but it's more of an action [movie]," Leguizamo said. "It's very operatic, too. It's a very ambitious piece. It's an action movie. It's political. It's got a little bit of comic relief as well. The zombies have taken over, and there are only certain patches of right-wing people controlling everything, and then the working-class people like me and Simon Baker come in and ... try to help get supplies from the zombies.”
Leguizamo said that he thinks the recent renaissance of zombie movies resulted from the current political climate, particularly in America. "It's a weird thing, [and] I've got my own hypothesis about that," he said. "I think it all has to do with the situation with the war in Iraq and all of that. I think it lightens things up when you can't take death so seriously. It lightens it up and plays with that anxiety. I think it has to do with a sort of right-wing, neo-conservatives controlling things and corporate power." Land of the Dead opens Oct. 21.
Jackson Options Lovely Bones
eter Jackson and partner Fran Walsh have put up their own money to option the film rights to Alice Sebold's supernatural novel The Lovely Bones in an unusual development plan that will exclude studio financing until the script is finished, Variety reported.
The rights were acquired from FilmFour, the movie arm of British broadcaster Channel 4, which will still serve as Jackson and Walsh's partner in developing the project. The Lovely Bones is the follow-up to Jackson's upcoming King Kong.
Jackson, Walsh and Philippa Boyens (The Lord of the Rings) will begin next January adapting the book as a spec script for a movie that likely won't be ready for release until fall 2007, the trade paper reported.
The spec strategy will allow Jackson and Walsh to operate without a studio deadline, something they said they've labored under for as long as they can remember, the trade paper reported.
Ventresca Kept Larva Light
incent Ventresca, who stars in the SCI FI Channel original movie Larva, told SCI FI Wire that the film is part monster movie, part buddy comedy and part social commentary. "What's great about the movie that I saw is that there's the tension of what is going on in this small town that is ever so lightly hinted at with a little comedy," Ventresca said in a phone interview. "And that's a real tough line to sort of toe."
Ventresca, whose previous involvement with the SCI FI Channel includes the lead role in the original series The Invisible Man, acknowledged director Tim Cox for achieving a balance in tone and giving him the freedom to play his scenes several different ways. "Every take I'll do differently," he said. "One take I'll play completely straight. One I'll play it sort of campy, and then I'll do one that's sort of in the middle. And what's great is, Tim really created an environment on the set where I had enough takes that I could play with it, because that's what I thought was going to make the movie sophisticated."
In Larva, Ventresca plays Dr. Eli Rudkus, a veterinarian who discovers a dangerous organism plaguing the genetically engineered cattle in a town ironically named Host, Mo. The discovery pits him against the meat-manufacturing corporation that owns the cattle, as well as the company's chief executive, played by David Selby. William Forsythe also stars as a rancher who takes Dr. Rudkus' side. Rachel Hunter rounds out the cast as a corporate lawyer with a conscience.
Ventresca said that Larva addresses contemporary issues in a fun, lighthearted way, without heavy-handed moralizing. "That's what I think is so great about sci-fi," he said. "You can sort of tell the truth, but maybe blowing the truth up or exaggerating the truth to some extent. And to me, this wasn't that far-fetched. ... The idea of corporations keeping information from the public in order to create greater profits, I mean, that doesn't seem so ridiculous. It maybe got a little weird that the worms were, like, turning into bats [laughs]. But if you take that leap, you'll really, really like the movie." Larva premiered on the SCI FI Channel on Jan. 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Classic SF Inspired Larva
im Cox, who directed the SCI FI Channel original movie Larva, told SCI FI Wire that the classic B movies of the 1970s inspired the look of the film. "It's definitely got those Piranha 2 elements that give it that sort of good old-fashioned B-movie vibe," Cox said in an interview. "And the way the cinematographer and I talked, I was like, 'This has to feel like we shot this in the '70s.' So we shot with tobacco lenses and used tobacco filters."
The film stars Vincent Ventresca as a veterinarian who discovers a wormlike parasite in a small Missouri town. David Selby, William Forsythe and Rachel Hunter also star. Cox said that he encouraged an atmosphere of creativity and playfulness on the set to match the energy in the script. "All of us just kind of bonded together," he said. "We were like, 'This is such a cool, fun, Roger-Cormanesque premise that we should totally just run with the ball and really do it as earnestly as we can so that we can make this fun, while at the same time kind of keeping our tongue in our cheek.'"
Although several scenes in Larva were directly inspired by some of Cox's favorite movies, he said that he wasn't always conscious of his influences during the filming. "I wasn't really aware of any particular film [homage] while we were in the process of shooting it," he said. "If I picked it apart, there's definitely shots in there that are reminiscent of various sorts of [films]. There's an homage scene to Friday the 13th. I'm laughing, because there's a lot of various homage scenes. There's homage scenes throughout the movie that hopefully fans will get into. But while we were shooting it, even though David Selby said that it was funny trying to keep up with my movie references sometimes, and my television references, I don't really realize I'm spewing them out." Larva premieres on the SCI FI Channel Jan. 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Pearl Author Grateful To U.S.
aren Traviss, whose book City of Pearl has been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, told SCI FI Wire that she's amazed she can't get published in her native England. Traviss hails from Portsmouth, where Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells lived for a time. As a result, she calls herself a “North American author” on her Web site. "It says something positive about the American publishing industry,” she said in an interview. "America is not only prepared to publish me, but also to treat me very kindly. City of Pearl is an uncompromisingly English book, too. I've been made very welcome by the U.S., and I'm grateful for that.”"
This is Traviss' first year as a published author, and City of Pearl is her first book, which she wrote in 12 weeks and which was released in March. Part of the "wess'har wars" series, it follows alien societies struggling to coexist on a remote planet similar to Earth and raises scientific and ethical questions about humanity's role in the universe. Traviss admitted it was a gamble that readers would like the characters, because they're not nice people. When it was published by HarperCollins Eos, she saw a leatherbound version, prompting Traviss to call her mother and say, "'Mum, I'm out in leatherbound, and I'm not even dead yet!' When you come from a dog-rough background like mine, leather is a 'real' book, and that makes you a 'real' author," she said.
Since City of Pearl was released, Traviss has had two other books released: a Star Wars book for Lucasfilm that came out in October and Crossing the Line, a sequel to City of Pearl, which was released in November.
Traviss said she has several projects upcoming. The most immediate is The World Before, the third book in the wess'har wars series, which is due out this November. She also will write more Star Wars books in the next three years.
The Dick award, named for the prolific SF author, is presented annually to distinguished science fiction published originally in paperback in the United States. The award is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society. First prize and any special citations will be announced on March 25 at Norwescon 28 in Seattle.
Galactica Scores Big Ratings
he two-hour Jan. 14 premiere of SCI FI Channel's original series Battlestar Galactica was the number-one cable program on that date in key demographics and ranked as the highest-rated January show in the network's history. Galactica ranked first among adults aged 25-54 and 18-49 and men aged 25-54, 18-49 and 18-34. The show earned a 2.6 household rating (3.1 million viewers), ranking second among all cable programs.
Galactica was also SCI FI's highest-rated first-quarter series telecast ever and its second highest-rated series telecast ever, behind only Stargate Atlantis' series premiere in summer 2004.
Galactica delivered 2.2 million viewers aged 25-54 and 1.9 million among those aged 18-49. The show won a decisive victory over UPN's Star Trek: Enterprise, outperforming its new episode in total viewers, among adults 25-54 (2.2 million vs. 1.7 million) and 18-49 (1.9 million vs. 1.5 million). Among men 25-54, Galactica delivered 1.5 million viewers, beating 16 of the top 20 programs on the six broadcast networks, including JAG and Fox's premiere of Jonny Zero.
Battlestar Galactica moved to its regular timeslot on Jan. 21, joining SCI FI's Friday-night lineup of original programming, "SCI FI Fridays." Galactica will air Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/PT, following Stargate SG-1 at 8 p.m. and Stargate Atlantis at 9 p.m.
Scott Talks Andromeda Strain
idley Scott, one of the executive producers of SCI FI Channel's upcoming Andromeda Strain miniseries, told SCI FI Wire that he's hoping to update the classic Michael Crichton SF novel and Robert Wise's 1971 movie of the same name. "It becomes progressively more difficult to do things such as science fiction and still make them original," Scott said in an interview while promoting his upcoming CBS TV series, Numb3rs, at the network's winter press tour in Hollywood. "So there's a great deal of thought going into 'How the hell do we make it look original?'"
Scott; his brother, Tony Scott; David W. Zucker; and Tom Thayer will executive produce the upcoming four-hour miniseries, about an extraterrestrial virus that infects an entire town, killing its inhabitants within seconds.
Scott added that the filmmakers will draw both from Crichton's original SF novel and Wise's movie. "I enjoyed the film originally," Scott said. "I think [visual effects supervisor] Doug Trumbull was involved in that. So you come back from that saying, 'How do I update it?' ... It was really quite intriguing. It was really rather well done." Still, he said, "It must be now 30, 35 years ago. ... Very few films don't look dated after 35 years. So it's 'How do we take that?' And it's even more relevant today, I think, the scientific capabilities." Scott offered no timetable for bringing the miniseries into production.
Scott, whose SF resume includes the films Alien and Blade Runner, said that he's eager to do more science fiction. "There's been such an abundance of science fiction genres that I like to think it's not used up," he said. "But, as I said earlier, it's all about the written word. It's all about what's on paper."
But Scott added there's one SF story he doesn't want to revisit: a fifth film in the Alien series. "No," he said with finality. "I think they've wrung it dry."
Zwick To Helm Al-Rassan
arner Brothers has attached Ed Zwick to direct the fantasy historical epic film The Lions of Al-Rassan, an adaptation of Guy Gavriel Kay's novel about the collision of religions in Spain during the Middle Ages that melds fact and fantasy, Variety reported.
Vera Blasi (Woman on Top) will write the script based on the book, a historical fantasy set at the beginning of the Christian re-conquest of Moorish Spain. A triangle forms between two warrior princes and a female doctor in the fictional locale of Al-Rassan. The author veils the faiths and introduces magical elements into the historical framework, the trade paper reported.
New Dead Is Old School
ohn Leguizamo, who stars in the upcoming zombie movie Land of the Dead, told SCI FI Wire that the sequel to Day of the Dead holds true to the mythology established in director George A. Romero's previous Dead movies. "[The zombies] are slow," Leguizamo said in an interview. "[Romero] will not do fast [zombies]. He has real strict theories on zombies. He created it, and he's part Cuban, and zombies and voodoo and all of that comes from the Carribbean."
Leguizamo said that he has no problem with the fast zombies in movies such as the recent Dawn of the Dead remake, but that he prefers ones that are more lethargic. "It has its own fascination, but zombies can't be fast, man," he said. "They're dead people, corpses. How are they going to move fast when they have rigor mortis and everything? There's a lack of logic in those movies. [But] they are still fun, because fast is scary."
Leguizamo added that Land of the Dead is the goriest project he has ever worked on. "It was [done by] Greg Nicotero of KNB, and it's crazy gory," Leguizamo said. "I've never worked on a movie where there was so much f--king [gore]. There's a lot of blood in [Assault on Precinct 13, his next movie], but not like that. I mean, they put real guts into mannequins and pull out spleens and intestines." Leguizamo said that Romero's approach, however, is comedic. "The beauty about Romero is that there's always been a sense of humor about things. I mean, there's always a little bit of a wink to it." Land of the Dead opens Oct. 21.
Yates To Helm Potter V
ritish television helmer David Yates (State of Play, The Way We Live Now) has been signed to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the proposed fifth film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's beloved novel series, Warner Brothers announced.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be produced by David Heyman from a screenplay by Michael Goldenberg (Where the Wild Things Are, Peter Pan). Production on the film is expected to begin in England in January 2006. Heyman is currently producing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which is in production in London under the direction of Mike Newell and is set for release on Nov. 18, the studio said.
Kelly Preps SF Southland Tales
irector Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko) told SCI FI Wire that he's set to make his sophomore film effort, Southland Tales, which should go into production this spring with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Seann William Scott in the leads. "Without giving too much away, it's a big social satire, but it's also a black comedy, and it combines elements of science fiction and thrillers and even musicals," Kelly said in an interview. "So it's a hybrid."
Kelly, who scored a cult hit with his big-screen debut, Donnie Darko, added, "When I try to explain [Southland Tales] to people, they kind of go, 'Whaaat?' They don't understand what I'm trying to do. Hopefully when people see it all assembled they'll get what I'm trying to do. But it's very hard to explain now. It's just a big, provocative epic story that's much more elaborate and complicated, I would say, than Donnie Darko, but in the same spirit of adventurousness, though on a completely different level. I definitely don't want to repeat myself. I'm done with teen alienation. I'm done with the '80s. I'm ready to move on to other eras now."
Elizabeth Was Cursed Twice
hannon Elizabeth, who plays a role in Wes Craven's upcoming werewolf movie Cursed, told SCI FI Wire that it was a new experience for her to shoot the same scenes twice: once with the original cast, then again, several months later, after a hiatus to rework the troubled movie. "I shot both times," Elizabeth said in an interview while promoting her new UPN series, Cuts. "[It was] like nothing I've experienced before. I wish I had all the footage from the first time I shot, because we did some really cool stuff, and I'll never get to see it now. So sad! They had to recast the person who was basically my love interest, so everything I shot had to be redone and rewritten."
Cursed, from Scream writer Kevin Williamson and Nightmare on Elm Street helmer Craven, centers on an ensemble of young people in Los Angeles whose lives are changed after encountering Elizabeth's character, Becky, in a car accident. The movie began production in early 2003, then shut down for several months while the filmmakers reworked the script. By the time the cameras were ready to roll again in November 2003, several of the movie's parts had to be recast. Joshua Jackson, Portia de Rossi, Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) and singer Mya joined original stars Christina Ricci and Elizabeth, among others. The movie, which was originally slated for release in early 2004, will now hit theaters on Feb. 25.
The musical casting chairs still has Elizabeth stumped, she said. "I honestly don't know who all is in the second one, much less the first," she said. "Like, ... I keep hearing names, going, 'Really? I didn't know they were in it.' Because I don't know who all got recast." Still, she said, "I think Kevin Williamson's really, really brilliant, and I love his writing. I know he writes really good scripts, and I loved working with him and Wes Craven and doing this project."
Minear's Moon Still Rises
im Minear, who is adapting Robert A. Heinlein's classic SF novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress for the screen, told SCI FI Wire that he just completed the latest draft of the screenplay. "I just actually turned in my next pass at it this morning [Jan. 17] to [producers] David Heyman and Mike Medavoy," Minear said in an interview while promoting his new Fox series The Inside. "The next step is they read it and maybe give me more notes or take it to a director or whatever."
It's been a pet project for Minear to adapt Heinlein's difficult Hugo-Award-winning 1966 book, about the rebellion of a former lunar penal colony against the Lunar Authority that controls it from Earth. "[It's] very difficult to adapt," Minear said. "It's interesting. I kept a lot more from the book than people may have expected. The light marriages are still there. The free trade with Earth is still there. The catapult is still there. And, you know, it's not a silly arm on a fulcrum or something. The idea is this sort of Ferris wheel thing that takes it up over the gravity well and drops to Earth. The thing that I changed from the book is that Mike, the computer, manifests himself visually, so he's not just a voice. But what I've done is I've given the citizens of Luna ocular 'ident stamps,' which are the equivalent of prisoner tattoos, and Mike finds a way into the personalized signature of people, so he can show himself to you, but no one else can see him. So that's maybe the thing I added."
Though The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress was revelatory at the time of its publication, so many years have rushed by that it's a challenge to make it fresh, added Minear, who is best known for writing for the TV series The X-Files, Angel and Firefly. "It's interesting," he said. "That book is very old. And it feels like it's been cannibalized by so many other films and books and comics or whatever. So it's interesting. It is an original piece, but some of those things in the story feel derivative. But they're really derivative of itself. So, yeah, it was a bit of a challenge to make sure they still seem fresh and not like you were ripping off Hal from 2001 or something."
Life Generates Controversy
wyneth Jones, a British author whose SF novel Life was nominated for the Philip K. Dick award, told SCI FI Wire that she remains surprised at the book's controversy. In the book, scientist Anna Senoz makes a major discovery about the X and Y chromosomes and provokes widespread sexual rage that severely affects her career, marriage and family. "I've been very surprised at the reaction some reviewers have had to my driven, genius scientist, who is a woman," Jones said in an interview. "She falls over a clue to something huge, something world-changing for biology, but she suffers the vicissitudes of being a woman in science. She has to work on her big idea in the chinks of her family life, her breadwinning, the troubles of a day-after-tomorrow world. She has a tough time. I didn't realize that would be unacceptable! I wanted her to be a hero. How can you be heroic without having a tough time?"
Life is special to Jones because it deals with biology, and if there weren't so much math in biology, Jones said that she likely would not have become a writer. "I loved doing the research. It was intense," she said. "I've said about Life that it's science fiction in street clothes. It's supposed to be a picture of what happens to a real mind-boggling weird discovery, as opposed to the 'world swiftly dissolves into gray goo' sort of scenario, which we favor in science fiction. You could also say I look on this novel as a way of paying back, giving honor, to the lab scientists in return for all the great ideas they've provided for my fiction."
The Dick award, named for the prolific SF author, is presented annually to distinguished science fiction published originally in paperback in the United States. The award is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society. First prize and any special citations will be announced on March 25 at Norwescon 28 in Seattle.
Helmer Likes Darko DVD Better
ichard Kelly, director of the cult SF film Donnie Darko, told SCI FI Wire that the upcoming director's-cut DVD works in ways the original 2001 theatrical version didn't. Darko starred Jake Gyllenhaal as the title character, a young man coping with the usual teen angst, whose life takes a turn for the surreal when a creepy, oversized rabbit informs him that the world will end in less than a month.
"There are certain story levels and also technical levels that are different in the director's cut," Kelly said in an interview. "The film now has more of a structure to it, a SF structure, which got lost when I had to cut the film" by 10 minutes in order to secure a distributor.
Kelly added, "Now the structure is as I intended, and we're able to go into Donnie's personal experience by seeing what is inside the time-travel book. In the [original] theatrical cut, they're discussing this book, but all you see are diagrams, and it was always frustrating for me not to be able to elaborate upon that idea. And the supporting characters, I was always frustrated by how some of them came across. I didn't feel Drew Barrymore's character made sense in the theatrical cut. She got cut out to the extent you didn't understand her motivations and why she was acting the way she was. I think the father didn't have a proper character arc designed for him, and in the director's cut I was able to reassemble the relationship between Donnie and his father, between the parents, between Donnie and his sister."
Extras on the DVD include audio commentary by Kelly and Kevin Smith, as well as a production diary that Kelly calls "fly-on-the-wall" in nature, and a storyboard-to-screen featurette. The filmmaker also made mention of "#1 Fan: A Darkomentary," which resulted from a prank played on Kelly by his cousin. "My cousin had one of his friends and a camera operator accost me at Comic-Con as a crazed fan of the film," Kelly said. "The guy was this sort of a Christopher Guest psychotic fan of Donnie Darko. I had no idea what was going on. They edited it together and showed it to me. I thought it was pretty amusing. And they wanted to put it on the DVD. But just to let everyone know, that is not real." Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut will be released on DVD on Feb. 15 via Fox Home Entertainment.
Fox Options Darkness Books
ox 2000 has acquired the film rights to U.K. author Michelle Paver's six-part children's fantasy book series Chronicles of Darkness for Fox-based Scott Free Productions, with Ridley Scott and Erin Upson attached to produce, Variety reported.
While representatives for Paver suggested she could receive nearly $4 million from the deal, Fox insiders told the trade paper that only the first book of the series, Wolf Brother, has been optioned, for $250,000 against $1 million, with the option fees on the other five books still to be negotiated.
HarperCollins Children's Books, which holds the U.S. publishing rights to the series, called the deal one of the biggest book-to-film pacts of the past six months, but it declined to give specifics. (HarperCollins and Fox are both owned by News Corp.)
Wolf Brother, a best-seller in the United Kingdom, where publisher Orion holds the rights, is scheduled to hit the U.S. market Feb. 15.
The series is set 6,000 years ago and follows the 12-year-old Torak as he and his wolf companion try to save the world from evil forces, the trade paper reported.
Kern Ponders Charmed's End
rad Kern, longtime executive producer of The WB's Charmed, told SCI FI Wire that he's still not received word as to whether or not the network intends to renew the fantasy show for an eighth season, and he added that if he doesn't hear by late February, he'll write a series finale. "They really want the right to hold off as long as they can, and they have that right," Kern said in an interview. "I only keep appealing to them on behalf of the fans, that the fans deserve a series finale if this is going to be the last season."
Kern added, "That means I need some advance notice. At the same time I don't want to hold a gun to their heads and bug them so much that they finally say, 'Listen, if you want us to tell you now then you're gone. So it's a balancing act. I'm trying to cajole them on behalf of the fans, so that I can write a series finale, if that's the way it's going to be. At the same time I don't want to force their hand prematurely and have it be bad news.
"Honestly, if I don't know by the end of February I'm going to write a series finale, and if they pick up the show late, I'll have to worry about how to get out of it next year," Kern said. "But I cannot, in good conscience, not do a series finale for the fans. I'm beholden to them. We all are. Seven years is a long time, a huge commitment on their part. So if I haven't heard from [the network] by the end of February I'm writing a series finale, and if we're lucky enough to do an eighth season I'll figure out how to get out of it." Charmed airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Bentley Rides Ghost
merican Beauty star Wes Bentley will play the villain Blackheart in Ghost Rider, the Columbia Pictures movie starring Nicolas Cage and based on the Marvel Comics series, Variety reported. Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil) will direct.
Ghost Rider deals with a motorcyclist who makes a pact with dark forces, gets double-crossed and battles the bad guys to protect the woman he loves. Johnson rewrote a Shane Salerno script.
Bentley is a pal of Colin Farrell, who played the memorable villain Bullseye in Daredevil. Farrell put Bentley and Johnson together, the trade paper reported. Ghost Rider begins shooting next month in Australia.
Painkiller Starts Up
roduction will begin this week in Vancouver, B.C., on Painkiller Jane, a two-hour original movie and pilot for a possible series on SCI FI Channel, starring Emmanuelle Vaugier, Tate Donovan (The O.C.) and Richard Roundtree (Shaft), SCI FI announced.
Based on the Event Comics series, Painkiller Jane tells the story of Jane Browning (Vaugier), who acquires self-healing powers and extraordinary physical and mental abilities after exposure to a biochemical weapon that alters her genes. On the run from a sinister organization determined to replicate her powers—or destroy her—Jane joins forces with unlikely allies to become an ultra-covert crime-fighting agent.
Donovan portrays Graham Knight, a professor who tries to help Jane figure out her new abilities. Roundtree co-stars as Col. Watts, her commanding officer and mentor. The cast also includes Eric Dane and Walker Howard.
John Harrison (Frank Herbert's Dune, Children of Dune), Greg Gold and Don Opper wrote the screenplay and will executive produce. Sanford Bookstaver (The O.C.) directed. Jason Netter (From Dusk Till Dawn 2 and 3) and Ken Levin will co-executive produce. Painkiller Jane comes from NBC Universal Television Studio, in association with MGM Television Entertainment.
Durance's Lois Back In Smallville
rica Durance, who plays a young Lois Lane on The WB's Smallville, told SCI FI Wire that the spunky college student returns in the upcoming episode "Pariah," which airs Feb. 2. "I'll probably end up being in about 13 [episodes] this year," Durance said in an interview at a party to celebrate 50 years of Warner Brothers television in Burbank, Calif., on Jan. 20. "That's what I'm thinking, or they're thinking for me, let's put it that way."
Durance added, "They find different kinds of interesting ways to weave me back in. Like in episode eight, where I came back for the birthday party, and then I kind of got involved in some stuff. And, you know, kind of other different things. Maybe some stuff with college happens, they kind of see me. And again, they're not giving me a whole lot of clues, but I believe that they're maybe bringing in more of my family ... to kind of flesh out my character a little bit more, so that's going to be really great."
One thing she doubts viewers will see is a budding romance between Tom Welling's Clark Kent and her Lois. "Well, you know what? Again, they pop all sorts of things on me. So I don't really know. I know that it's always a nice thing to kind of have that as an underlay. But as far as what they're actually going to let happen, it's always more interesting when there's a little bit of that banter always going on, and not the kind of actual 'OK, now we're together' or something. … It's got to be more of a natural process."
Though she doesn't know if producers plan on bringing Lois back for a fifth season, the Vancouver, B.C., actress said she's thankful to have won the role in the first place. "It's been wonderful," she said. "It's been a gift, and I'm very grateful for it. It's been a very fast ride, and here I find myself at this 50th anniversary [party], and it's lovely to see all the people that are here, and just having a really great time."
Durance said she was a fan of Lois Lane long before getting the role. "I always watched Lois and Clark before, with Teri Hatcher [as Lois], so I was fan of it," she said. "So I had probably that kind of buried in my mind. And, of course, Margot Kidder. ... You find a fine balance between that and also trying to bring your own kind of sense to a character." Smallville airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Lloyd Looks Forward to Monday
abrina Lloyd, who stars in the upcoming futuristic feature film The Girl From Monday, told SCI FI Wire that writer/director Hal Hartley successfully blended a wide variety of genres into an elegant whole. "It is a moving piece of poetry," she said in an interview while promoting her upcoming CBS series, Numb3rs, at the network's winter press tour in Universal City, Calif. "It's a sci-fi-action-drama-comedy-thriller. It's got so many elements. It's so crazy. It's so beautiful. He's a true artist. And I'm so honored to have been a part of the film. It's crazy to me that I'm a part of that film. I watch it, and I'm just in awe of it."
Monday depicts a dark future in which people are traded on the stock market. Lloyd said she believes that the film is a cautionary tale about where society is headed. "It's not quite off the mark," she said. "It's mostly, I think, a commentary on consumerism. And we need to kind of watch it." Hartley previously ventured into fantasy with the 2001 beauty-and-the-beast tale No Such Thing.
In Monday, Lloyd—who is best known to SF fans for her portrayal of Wade on two seasons of the TV show Sliders—plays a woman who is slightly out of step with her environment and tries to break free from the societal conventions of her world. "I find she's a woman who's found herself within the constraints of society and has gone along with what is considered proper," she said. "And she kind of finds her way out of that in the story and will end up kind of dancing to her own tune." The Girl From Monday will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 26 and opens in New York on Jan. 30.
Briefly Noted
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Sony and producer Steve Bing are spending more than $2 million on a script for a film adaptation of the medieval epic poem Beowulf by Richard Avary and Neil Gaiman, for Robert Zemeckis to direct, Variety reported.
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Warner Brothers Consumer Products announced that McFarlane Toys has been named the master toy licensee for Tim Burton's upcoming animated movie Corpse Bride, which is scheduled for release this fall.
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Clark Kent gets a superdog in an upcoming episode of The WB's Smallville—but it will be named Shelby, not Krypto, TV Guide Online reported.
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BBC News announced today that actor Stephen Fry has joined the cast the cast of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as the voice of The Guide, an electronic book that accompanies Arthur Dent on his travels around the galaxy.
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Mel Brooks' 1987 Star Wars spoof Spaceballs is being retooled for television as a three-way project involving the producer, MGM TV and German company BFC, Variety reported.
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Maggie Gyllenhaal will star opposite Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction, a comedy film about an IRS auditor (Ferrell) who finds himself the subject of narration that only he can hear, Variety reported.
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Former The X-Files star Gillian Anderson wed her fiance,
photojournalist Julian Ozanne, on Dec. 29 in a small ceremony in Kenya, her manager confirmed to E! Online.
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Paramount has enlisted Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, John Cleese, Steve Buscemi, Cedric the Entertainer, Reba McEntire, Kathy Bates, Thomas Haden Church and Andre Benjamin to voice characters in its upcoming film based on E.B. White's children's classic Charlotte's Web, Variety reported.
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Disney Feature Animation has committed to make Toy Story 3, without Pixar, basing the next installment on a script by young writer Jared Stern, who developed a story idea on spec while a member of Disney's Feature Animation Writing Program, Variety reported.
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Desperate Housewives won for best musical or comedy series, and star Teri Hatcher was named best actress in a TV musical or comedy, at the Golden Globes, Jan. 16, in Beverly Hills, Calif., the Associated Press reported.
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