2:21 pm ET, 31-Oct-97
Midnight Graffiti The Next Twilight Zone?
Midnight Graffiti, a cult SF/horror/fantasy magazine, may be headed to the small screen courtesy of Mandalay Television Pictures, according to Variety. Mandalay picked up the film and TV rights to the publication and plans to turn it into either a one-hour TV drama or a series of telefilms, which Mandalay partner Tom Patricia called "a Twilight Zone for the '90s," Variety reported.
Midnight Graffiti has published writers such as Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison and Neil Gaiman, and it reportedly has commitments from several contributors to write and direct episodes of the show.
2:07 pm ET, 31-Oct-97
Sidney Newman, Doctor Who Producer, Dies
Sidney Newman, the man who produced Doctor Who as well as the popular TV series The Avengers and The Forsyte Saga, died Thursday, Oct. 30. He was 80 and had suffered a heart attack two weeks earlier.
Newman was considered a giant of early Canadian television, and during his 50 year career he worked with Canada's National Film Board, as well as CBC-TV, BBC Television, and Thames Television. According to the Toronto Star, he was predeceased by his wife Betty McRae in 1981.
11:42 am ET, 31-Oct-97
Star Wars Exhibit Opens
A new, 5,000-square-foot exhibit called "Star Wars: The Magic of Myth," opened today at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The exhibit, which is scheduled for a one-year run, features costumes, models and artwork from the original Star Wars movie trilogy, and includes characters such as Chewbacca, Darth Vader, R2D2 and C-3PO.
Admission is free, but officials said tickets are required to enter the exhibit due to the large crowds expected.
11:02 am ET, 31-Oct-97
Bats In The Belfry For Black's Barrys
Barry Sonnenfeld and Barry Josephson, the behind-the-scenes duo that powered this summer's box-office hit Men in Black, have acquired the rights to Jeff Rovin's upcoming novel about giant mutant bats, Vespers. Vespers will be adapted for the screen by The Rock scriptwriters Doug Cook and David Weisberg. It focuses on two bats with 30-foot-long wingspans that try to take over New York City.
Sonnenfeld, who is currently in line to direct Vespers, was also behind the lens for Men in Black, while Josephson was in charge of the picture during his executive stint at Columbia. Rovin is the ghost writer who penned the bestselling Tom Clancy Op-Center books.
4:35 pm ET, 30-Oct-97
Earth Shows Strong In Nielsens
Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict is the number one new weekly syndicated television series, according to recent Nielsen reports, which showed Earth grabbed a 4.9 household share for the week of Oct. 12-19. That put Earth behind only the veteran shows Xena: Warrior Princess and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the syndicated market, and eighth overall in the Sci-Fi Wire weekly top 20 list of speculative fiction shows.
Below is our entire top 20 list for the week ending Oct. 19, based on the Nielsen Galaxy report. The HH Rating is the average number of households viewing a specific show expressed as a percentage of all television households.
NETWORK/
SYNDICATOR |
PROGRAM |
HH RATING |
| CBS |
Early Edition |
8.7 |
| FOX |
X-Files |
7.3 |
| NBC |
3rd Rock from the Sun |
6.6 |
| FOX |
Millennium |
6.0 |
| Universal TV |
Xena |
5.6 |
| Paramount/Premier |
Star Trek: DS9 |
5.2 |
| FOX |
The Visitor |
5.1 |
| Tribune |
Earth: Final Conflict |
4.9 |
| Universal TV |
Hercules |
4.8 |
| ABC |
Timecop |
4.2 |
| WB |
Buffy |
3.5 |
| UPN |
The Sentinel |
3.3 |
| UPN |
Star Trek: Voyager |
3.3 |
| Tribune |
Night Man |
3.1 |
| MGM |
Outer Limits |
3.0 |
| Buena Vista TV |
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids |
2.8 |
| Universal TV |
Team Knight Rider |
2.5 |
| Rysher |
Highlander |
2.5 |
| Warner Bros. TV |
Babylon 5 |
2.3 |
| Paramount/Premier |
Viper |
2.3 |
| Source: Nielsen Galaxy 10/13-10/19/97. Nielsen data subject to qualifications to be supplied upon request. |
10:33 am ET, 30-Oct-97
Strange Universe May Get Good Vibes
Rysher Entertainment's ailing paranormal/pseudo science show Strange Universe may get a ratings boost from an unlikely source: Sinbad, the new host of the talk show Vibe. According to a story in The Hollywood Reporter, Strange Universe was gaining momentum in the ratings until it was moved to the timeslot just before the underperforming Vibe.
But when Sinbad took over as host of Vibe on Monday, Oct. 27, the ratings for that show improved dramatically, and now Rysher is hoping that will translate into better ratings for Strange Universe. The help could not come at a better time, since Strange Universe is facing cancellation unless it can put up some better numbers during the November sweeps.
9.47 am ET, 29-Oct-97
Scream Scribe, Dusk Director Team Up
From Dusk Till Dawn director Robert Rodriguez and Scream writer Kevin Williamson will be teaming up on an as-yet untitled and unwritten SF/horror flick for Miramax's Dimension Films, according to The Hollywood Reporter. So far all that is known about the film is that it will be a thriller about a group of Texas high school students.
Rodriguez will earn a reported $2 to $3 million payday for the project, which is tentatively set to start shooting in March 1998 for a Christmas release later that year. Williamson, who also scripted I Know What You Did Last Summer, recently signed an exclusive deal with Miramax/Dimension and will make his directorial debut on the upcoming film, Killing Mrs. Tingle.
12:27 pm ET, 28-Oct-97
Erector Sets Go Intergalactic
This year the build-it-yourself toy Erector Sets will be launched into the space age with a new line of products called Erector Mission XR, designed "for kids who dream of blasting off into outer-space," according to the manufacturer, Meccano Inc. The interstellar kits will range in price from $19.99 to $99.99 and include sets for a Titan Base, Space X-Plorer, Power Probe, Meta-Cruiser and Defender.
Meccano says, "Erector sets are still made of the same nuts, bolts and strips that kids have traditionally used to build bridges and skyscrapers, but...they've taken on a whole new look." Erector Sets were first introduced in 1913.
9.45 am ET, 28-Oct-97
MicroProse Announces Next X-COM
The fourth installment of the popular SF game X-COM will include 3-D, real-time space combat and support for multiple players, MicroProse Inc. announced Monday, Oct. 27. The company said the new game will be called X-COM: Interceptor and will include a "deathmatch" mode that will allow players to fly against one another using custom-designed spaceships.
Despite the addition of space combat, Interceptor will primarily be a strategy game that includes resource management, scientific research, and construction. MicroProse has not announced a ship date for the game.
10.02 am ET, 27-Oct-97
Will Patton Joins Armageddon
Will Patton, who just finished a stint as the bad guy in Kevin Costner's upcoming science fiction flick The Postman, has joined the cast of Disney's SF movie Armageddon, according to Variety. Patton will play the best friend of Bruce Willis (The Fifth Element, Twelve Monkeys), the film's protagonist.
Armageddon is a disaster movie about an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. The film, which will finish shooting in January, also stars Billy Bob Thornton and Liv Tyler.
11.27 am ET, 24-Oct-97
Toronto Theater Honors Judith Merril
The Artword Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, will be performing an adaptation of the late Judith Merril's story "Whoever You Are" from Nov. 12-30. The play is being presented in honor of Merril, a long-time friend and supporter of the theater as well as a noted SF writer and anthologist, who died Sept. 12 at the age of 74.
The story, which was adapted by Ronald Weihs, was chosen as being representative of some of Merril's most important themes, including her lifelong opposition to political and sexual repression. The theater has planned a "science fiction night" performance for Thursday, Nov. 13, with a special one-time ticket price of $10 for members of the SF community. For more information contact Weihs at rcwdoc@interlog.com.
10:59 am ET, 24-Oct-97
William Rotsler, Noted SF Fan Artist, Dies
William Rotsler, a five-time winner of the Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist, died suddenly on Oct. 18 at the age of 71. Rotsler had recently had surgery for throat cancer and was staying at a friend's house in Southern California when he died in his sleep, according to reports.
Rotsler was born July 3, 1926, in Los Angeles, Calif., and published his first SF story, "Ship Me Tomorrow," in Galaxy in 1970. His many career interests included art, writing, sculpting and photography, although he is probably best known in SF circles for his cartoons, which earned him the Hugo in 1975, 1979, 1996, and 1997, as well as a Retro-Hugo for 1946.
Rotsler's first novel, Patron of the Arts (1974), is widely considered his best, although he published several other fiction, nonfiction and tie-in novels, including a 1980 collaboration with Gregory Benford titled Shiva Descending. According to Locus, Rotsler's most recent book was Science Fictionaries, a collection of sayings and quotes from SF writers that was published in 1995.
5:10 pm ET, 23-Oct-97
Bigfoot Film A Hoax...Probably
Thirty years ago Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin were hunting Bigfoot in the woods of Northern California when they caught on film what they thought was their creature. The famous footage, which appears to show a large, hairy, humanoid figure walking across an open patch of land before disappearing into the woods, has long stood as one of the most compelling pieces of evidence that the mysterious Bigfoot might exist.
But on Sunday, Oct. 19, the London Sunday Telegraph reported that a group of Hollywood make-up artists had come clean about the film, admitting publicly what they said they've known for years...that the creature was a hoax. The Telegraph quoted Hollywood Director John Landis as saying, "That famous piece of film of Bigfoot walking in the woods that was touted as the real thing was just a suit made by John Chambers."
Chambers is the man who created the ape masks for the Planet of the Apes movies, and he is considered the only person who could have pulled off the stunt at the time, but he has refused to confirm or deny his involvement. In the meantime, the Telegraph said a forthcoming study by the North American Science Institute will report that the film is legitimate, based on an analysis of the way the skin of the creature appears to move over muscles, something the institute says cannot be faked.
4:07 pm ET, 23-Oct-97
Stiller To Direct Mystery Men
Ben Stiller, the man behind the camera for The Cable Guy, has been tapped by Universal Studios to direct the offbeat superhero film Mystery Men, which is based on the Dark Horse comic by Bob Burden. Danny DeVito had originally agreed to star in and direct the film, but when his Jersey Films was unable to secure the soundtrack rights, he backed out of the project, and a paycheck reportedly worth more than $11 million.
Although Stiller, like DeVito, is also known for his talents in front of the camera, he reportedly has no plans to appear in the film. Mystery Men focuses on a group of bizarre superheroes whose talents range from channeling anger to wielding forks and shovels.
1:28 pm ET, 23-Oct-97
Duchovny Named To "Men Of The Year"
David Duchovny, the co-star of Fox's hit TV series The X-Files, has been named one of GQ's "Men of the Year." Duchovny, along with Nathan Lane, Peter Jennings, Pat Riley, Wolfgang Puck, Grant Hill, Tom Cruise, Michael Graves and Jason Alexander, is featured in the November issue of the magazine, which is on sale now.
Duchovny was honored in the Television: Drama category for his work on The X-Files. He is one of the three "Men of the Year" featured on the cover of the magazine, along with Cruise and Hill. Also notable to SF fans was the award for courage that Superman star Christopher Reeve received from Robert Kennedy Jr.
12:33 pm ET, 23-Oct-97
Merlin Lands Magical Cast
The upcoming NBC miniseries Merlin, which is scheduled to air in May 1998, will feature an all-star cast that includes Sam Neill, Isabella Rossellini, Rutger Hauer, Martin Short and Helena Bonham Carter, according to Variety. The four-hour series will begin filming Oct. 27 in Wales, with additional shoots in England and Scotland.
The series is based on the King Arthur legend and focuses on the infamous magician Merlin, who will be played by Neill. Variety also reports that Bonham Carter will play Morgan Le Fay, Rossellini will play Merlin's love interest, Nimue, and Hauer will star as the evil Lord Vortigern.
16:59 pm ET, 22-Oct-97
Film Group To Make Three SF Titles
A new film group headed by producer Edward Pressman and two principals from Quadra Entertainment is pushing a line-up of movies that includes three SF titles, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The SF films are The Crow 2037, The Tenth Victim and Mutant Chronicles, which will all be budgeted between $25 and $45 million.
The films are scheduled to be shot within the next two years, and while all have been scripted, none have as yet been cast. The most prominent title of the three is The Crow 2037, which will be the third installment of The Crow franchise and which was written by and will be directed by Rob Zombie, the frontman for the rock group White Zombie.
The Tenth Victim is a remake of a 1965 Italian SF film by Elio Petri, which is about the legalized hunting of humans. Mutant Chronicles is based on the game of the same name from Target games. It was scripted by Event Horizon writer Philip Eisner and Stuart Hazeldine.
11:23 am ET, 22-Oct-97
ABC Cancels Timecop
Timecop became the first of the new SF shows to get the axe on Tuesday when ABC announced that it had cancelled the series. The sixth and final episode of Timecop will air Monday, Oct. 27, and then the show will be replaced by various special broadcasts for the month of November.
Timecop was based on the Jean Claude Van Damme movie of the same name and starred T.W. King. However, it never found its niche in the 8 p.m. timeslot prior to ABC's popular Monday Night Football, averaging just 4.9 share, according to Variety.
4:52 pm ET, 21-Oct-97
Warner Bros. Eyes New SF Projects
A day after Warner Bros. paid $2.5 million for the film rights to Philip Kerr's SF novel The Second Angel, the company optioned an SF script called The Mercury Effect from Alexander Torres for $250,000, according to reports in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Warner is apparently eyeing The Mercury Effect as a possible "summer picture event," Variety said.
The Mercury Effect is a story about two chimpanzees who return to Earth after having been launched into space aboard the original Mercury missions of the '50s and '60s. The chimps turn up in a small town, where they use their newfound abilities, including the power of speech, to begin a crusade that will forever alter the human and animal kingdoms.
The Second Angel is set 100 years in the future, when most of the world's inhabitants have become infected with a fatal flu virus. The remaining, uncontaminated blood supply is kept in orbital facilities, and one of the designers of these blood banks becomes the target of a corporate hit when his daughter is discovered to have a rare blood disease.
1:15 pm ET, 21-Oct-97
GT Plans Duke Nukem Kill-A-Thon
Next month GT Interactive plans to release the ultimate Duke Nukem collection in the form of a three CD-ROM set that includes every authorized Duke title published for the PC. The collection, called Duke Nukem 3D: Kill-A-Thon, is designed to satiate hungry Duke fans who will have to endure what GT is calling a "dry spell" before the next Nukem title, Duke Nukem Forever, appears.
The Kill-A-Thon collection features all three Duke Nukem games, plus the Plutonium Pak, Duke it Out in DC, Duke Extreme, Duke! Zone II, Duke Nukem - Unlock the Secrets and Duke Nukem Windows 95 desktop themes and screen savers. The suggested price for the collection will be $54.95.
Duke Nukem has been one of the most enduring SF titles for the PC since its release as a shareware game in the early 1990s.
