Stanley Kubrick Dead At 70
cclaimed filmmaker Stanley Kubrick died Sunday, March 7, at his Hertfordshire home in the north of London at the age of 70.
Kubrick is best known to SF fans for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he co-wrote with Arthur C. Clarke and also directed.
Kubrick was born in the Bronx section of New York in 1928 and began his movie career in 1950 with a 15-minute documentary called Day of the Fight. His first SF film was the 1964 satire Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
After scoring a box-office success with 2001 in 1968, Kubrick's next SF movie was the controversial 1971 flick A Clockwork Orange. Kubrick also filmed Stephen King's book The Shining, which was his last genre-related project.
Kubrick recently completed work on the Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman film Eyes Wide Shut, which is due to be released in July.
Rowan Atkinson To Star In Dr. Who
omedian Rowan Atkinson will star in a U.K. Comic Relief presentation of Doctor Who and the Curse of the Fatal Death, a comic tribute to Dr. Who that will air in the U.K. on March 12.
According to the Outpost Gallifrey Web site, Jonathan Pryce will play the Master, Julia Sawalha will star as the Doctor's companion, and the show will even feature a few Daleks.
The skit will last about 20 minutes and will include three short "episodes" of Dr. Who, with cameo appearances by former Who actors. The show was described as a "raucous parody" that will be fun without making fun of Britain's most famous SF series.
X-Files, 3rd Rock Renewed
he major networks have announced some early renewals for next season, and not surprisingly both The X-Files and 3rd Rock from the Sun have made the cut.
Both of these award-winning shows have continued to perform reasonably well in the ratings, though 3rd Rock has had a hard time regaining its audience since moving to a new time slot.
Meanwhile, CBS is reportedly on the fence about renewing its popular SF series Early Edition.
Shrunk Grows To 3rd Season
uena Vista's weekly syndicated TV series Honey, I Shrunk the Kids has been picked up for a third season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The show has been cleared in 72 percent of the United States, including 18 of the top 20 markets.
Shrunk is based on the popular Disney movie of the same name that starred Rick Moranis as Wayne Szalinski, an inventor who accidently shrinks his children. The series stars Peter Scolari and follows the entire Szalinski family through a series of adventures sparked by Wayne's various inventions.
Minority Report To Get 4th Release
he upcoming Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise SF movie Minority Report will hit theaters on June 30, 2000, the Friday leading into the ever-popular 4th of July weekend, according to Variety.
In recent years SF films have fared spectacularly well on July 4, with Armageddon earning $54.2 million during its opening in 1998, Men in Black scoring $84.1 million in 1997, and Independence Day pulling in a whopping $96.1 million in 1996.
Aside from its top-shelf headliners and prime opening date, Minority Report also has another ace in the hole: it's based on a Philip K. Dick story, which in the past has meant big returns for flicks like Total Recall and Blade Runner. The film is being scripted by Jon Cohen and has been budgeted at $80 million, with both Cruise and Spielberg forgoing upfront fees in favor of back-end profits.
Billy Idol To Voice F.A.K.K.2
ock star Billy Idol has agreed to lend his voice to the animated SF film Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.2, according to Variety.
The movie is based on a graphic novel called The Melting Pot, which was created by Kevin Eastman, Simon Bisley and Eric Talbot.
The flick tells the story of an immortal female warrior known as F.A.K.K.2, which stands for Federation Assigned Ketogenic Killzone. Idol will lend his voice to a character named Tyler, whom F.A.K.K.2 is bent on destroying.
Fox Readies Aliens Vs. Predator Promo
ox Interactive announced an unusual promotional gimmick for its upcoming PC game Aliens Vs. Predator.
In conjunction with the retail chain Big Dogs, Fox plans to give the first 10,000 people who purchase the game a coupon for free undergarments, using the tag line "A game so scary, we're giving you a free pair of underwear."
On a more conventional note, Fox is also going to distribute 2 million Aliens Vs. Predator demo disks in a special "collector series" format. The game itself is a first-person shooter that pits the famous extraterrestrials from the Aliens and Predator film franchises against one another.
Aliens Vs. Predator is due to hit store shelves in April.
Renny Harlin Making T.R.A.X.
irector Renny Harlin has struck a deal with Pearson Television International and Muse Entertainment to develop a half-hour weekly TV series called Terror t.r.a.x.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show centers around a group of cops who died in the line of duty and then were brought back to life in order to fight evil.
The series is based on a CD-ROM game where "t.r.a.x." stands for "trace, research, analyze, exterminate." The show will likely go into production this summer, and it's rumored that Harlin may direct the pilot.
Sony, Marvel To Film Spider-Man
ust days after Marvel Entertainment won a summary judgment dismissing claims that MGM had the rights to a Spider-Man film, the comic book company announced a joint TV/movie deal with Sony Entertainment.
According to Variety, Sony and Marvel have agreed to create both a Spider-Man film and a TV series together, as well as participate in promotions for Spidey merchandise.
Under the terms of the pact, Marvel will retain the intellectual property rights to Spider-Man, while Sony will foot all the risk for the motion picture.
Briefly Noted
- Pleasantville writer/director Gary Ross and X-Files creator Chris Carter were honored with the Producers Guild of America's Vision Award, which recognizes imagination and artistic achievement in film and television.
- Maverick Recording Co. will release the soundtrack to the upcoming Warner Bros. SF flick The Matrix on March 30. The disk will feature artists such as Marilyn Manson, Prodigy, Deftones, Rob Zombie, Ministry, Rage Against the Machine and Rammstein.
- Sliders star Jerry O'Connell has sold a romantic comedy script called First Daughter to New Regency, which marks his first sale as a screenwriter. He will also star in the film.
- Showtime Online has acquired the Stargate SG-1 Web site that was created and maintained by Stargate fan Ryan Peters.
- Miramax has announced that it will release Scream 3 on Dec. 10, with Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette starring.
