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MOVIE & TV NEWS
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Hellboy 2, Night of the Living Dead: Surviors Cut, Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, Sirius TV, Simpsons Movie, Comic Previews
Flash, Loonatics, Sixteen Candles, H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, Watchmen, Comic Previews
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Chekov, X-Men 3, Kids' WB! Loses Toons, Berman Predicts Star Trek Return, The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang, Comic Previews
John Carter of Mars, Last Unicorn, Eating Fried Worms, Troma Film School, Comic Previews
Star Wars TV, Joan of Arcadia, Indy 4, The Crow, Rambo IV, Asterix, Comic Previews
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Perlman: Hellboy Was Heaven
Ron Perlman, who stars as the title
character in the upcoming comic-book adaptation Hellboy, told SCI FI Wire that
the finished film exceeded his highest expectations. "Wow," he said
in an interview while promoting the film. "How cool. You know, it's always a
pleasure to see a Guillermo del Toro film. It's more so when you're involved in
it. It's the most it can be when you're the title character." Perlman was the
first choice to play Hellboy for del Toro, the film's director, and Mike
Mignola, creator of the original comic book. Perlman said that he had no trouble
identifying with the big red guy. "Let's examine, if you will, what Hellboy does
in this film," Perlman said. "He drinks beer. He smokes cigars. He f--ks around
with the guys he works with to the point where he drives them up the wall. He's
a wiseass. He's a wisecracking dude. He trash talks the people that he's
fighting against for life or death. He's constantly in this kind of mode like,
'Is that all you've got?' There's nothing similar to him and me." In Hellboy,
Perlman plays a demon conjured by the Nazis, but raised by a kindly professor to
protect the world from evil as an agent of the Bureau for Paranormal Research
and Defense. For the actor, the character was not only personally gratifying,
but also reminiscent of one of his most notable roles: Vincent in the 1980s
television series Beauty and the Beast. "It's weird that I got to play the
Beast, and it's also weird that I got to play Hellboy," he said. "Although,
maybe not so weird, because, you know, there's my whole life, particularly the
real early years, growing up, finding a way to manage what I felt was monstrous
about myself. ... Grappling with what I thought was monstrous about me was
ultimately the most defining thing about who I ended up being in life. And I
have a true attraction to the people who are grappling with that problem."
Hellboy hits theaters April 2.
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New Programs on Tap for
Discovery Networks
Discovery Networks is heading into its
20th year with a promise of delivering hundreds of hours of new original
programming across its 14 channels. In its upfront presentation to
advertisers Tuesday, Discovery executives put the spotlight on new programs and
branding campaigns for existing channels. Among the new entries on the
flasgship Discovery Channel will be "N.O.W.," an acronym for No Opportunity
Wasted, with host Phil Keoghan surprising participants by making their
wishes a reality. Discovery Networks president Billy Campbell said this is
the show he is most excited about. It has several BBC co-productions
on tap for the coming year, including "The Last Days of Pompeii" and "Genghis
Khan: Rise of the Conqueror." "Alien Planet," from the creators of
"Dinosaur Planet," will look at what life may be like in other
galaxies. Discovery's TLC said it will have 850 hours of new programming.
Building on the success of its home decorating hit "Trading Spaces," TLC
will air in June "Trading Spaces: Unglued," a special looking at unseen moments
in spaces literally traded across the country. Another new series on
TLC is called "Plastic Surgery," a look into everyday happenings at a plastic
surgery practice. Smaller digital
networks like Discovery Times, will air a new series of documentaries called
"Discovery Times Screening Room," and talk show "The Political Dish" with
hosts such as journalist Thomas Friedman and Todd Purdum from The New York
Times.
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Latest "Fast & Furious 3"
Developments
For the past few months, rumors have
been flying around about what’s going on in regards to a third "The Fast &
The Furious" movie and now 'Furious O'Conner' weighs in with the latest gossip
he's heard from the studio and production companies involved:
"First off
things with F&F3 are not as clean-cut and smooth as being reported. Second,
NOTHING is set with F&F3. The project is in such an early stage of
development that its basically not anything but a hope-dream as of yet nor is it
being planned by Universal officially as of now. People who report these
BS rumors seem to forget one VERY important thing. Universal does not own the
F&F franchise, Neal Moritz Productions does. Some at Universal are pushing
for the project to happen and Vin Diesel has contacted both Universal and Neal
Moritz about returning for a third film. Paul Walker is NOT out of the picture
as reported. He wants to see how things develop. He just doesn’t want to be
typecast as his character Brian O’Connor forever. But he will not rule out a
third film, especially if the pay is good. Universal STILL considers him the
main human star of the franchise, as he was the top billed main star of the
original and the sequel. Universal also considers Paul a VERY bankable star,
even after the major failure of Paramount’s "Timeline". As for Tyrese, no one
knows. But many say since the two are close friends he will probably follow
Walker’s decision. So no one is contracted for a third film as of yet.
Screenwriters, (that’s right, more than one) have been hired to develop
storylines for a third film. Gary Scott Thomson (the story writer of the first 2
films) has a story in mind that involves Paul, Tyrese and Vin which he discussed
with Neal Moritz after 2 Fast’s successful box office take last year. Nothing
else is known about it. After Vin turned down 2F2F because of his paycheck,
Universal prepared itself if Vin ever came calling to make a third film. They
apparently offered him the following judging from the success of 2F2F without
him in it: Third Billing behind Paul Walker and Tyrese, no script control and NO
MORE than a $7 Mil paycheck. Let face it Vin has not turned out to be the
successful blockbuster star we all thought he would be and many are nervous at
the moment about Riddick’s box office potential this summer. So you can see why
Vin may want to jump back in the driver’s seat. Another problem might exist.
Neal Moritz has reportedly told Universal that if Paul Walker does not return he
may not either. Paul and Neal have a very longstanding friendship that goes back
years. So Neal MIGHT sell the rights to Universal if Walker walks. As for Rob
Cohen coming back on board as director, DON’T BET ON IT. Universal was not very
happy when Rob turned down 2F2F when Vin said no. And on top of that Cohen’s
schedule is extremely busy. He has about four films in development to direct.
But the real thing most people are forgetting here is that Paul and Vin are
costars in these films. The main stars are the cars and and the action. But
Universal seems that they would rather wager more money on another sequel with
just Paul and Tyrese rather than Vin, since they were always friendly, willing
and not money hungry for huge paychecks. Universal is also wary of Diesel
because of numerous reports from the Riddick shoot in Vancouver of which there
were problems with Vin and crew members including one of Vin’s stunt doubles who
has since quit working for him on a personal basis. So you could say nothing is
set. Only time will tell where this project goes.
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Fran Drescher Lands Hot-Mom
Role in WB Sitcom
Fran Drescher, best known for her
1993-99 run on the CBS sitcom "The Nanny," has signed on for a lead role in
the WB comedy "Shacking Up" The project, formerly known as "Robbing the
Cradle," is about a 24-year-old man who moves back home with his mother and
her boyfriend, who is six months younger than he is. Drescher will play the
mother. In other casting news, Ever Carradine has signed on to the ABC
comedy "Thank God It's Monday," which revolves around office-worker guys
who enjoy chewing the fat about their home lives at work. Carradine, most recently seen opposite John
Corbett in the FX comedy series "Lucky," will play the wife of one of the
main characters. Tamara Taylor has been cast as a wife. The male leads are
Ed Kerr and Louis Lombardi. Meanwhile, Stephen Root ("Newsradio") will play a befuddled dad in an
untitled Fox comedy where kids know the ways of the world as well as, or
even better, than he does. In UPN pilot casting news, the network has
decided on two of the three leads for its female buddy comedy "Me, Me, Me,"
which revolves around two self-centered young women who move to New York to
make it big. Julie Gonzalo
("Freaky Friday") will play the younger sister of one of the women who also
heads to New York to attend medical school. Ayda Field has been cast as one
of the flightier women.
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Sky Captain Crunches
The release date for the upcoming SF
live-action/animated film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow has already been
bumped once, and the production is now farming out post-production
visual-effects work to nearly a dozen other F/X houses, according to The
Hollywood Reporter. Production sources told the trade paper that the
movie is expected to contain 1,500-2,200 visual-effects shots, but as of
December, fewer than 500 had been completed by the Canoga Park, Calif.,
visual-effects shop that houses 65 F/X artists working under director Kerry
Conran's watch. Among those heeding the call for F/X assistance are Computer
C.A.F.E., Gray Matter FX, Luma Pictures, the Orphanage, Pacific Title & Art
Studios, Pixel Liberation Front, R!OT and Ring of Fire, all of which are working
under strict nondisclosure agreements, the trade paper reported. Industrial
Light & Magic has been in negotiations to work on the project, the trade
paper added. A Paramount spokeswoman told the trade paper that the studio had
always planned to outsource some of the effects work and noted that it was par
for the course on a visual-effects-intensive movie. The dozen facilities now at
work on Sky Captain, budgeted at a reported $70 million, have just two months to
deliver an estimated 1,000 shots, the trade paper reported. The film is slated
for a June 25 release, which was moved from June 11.
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Lifetime Snares 'Frasier'
Rights
Women's cable network Lifetime has
acquired the exclusive cable rights to "Frasier," which will end its
11-year network run on NBC this season. The network will begin airing the
venerable sitcom in March 2006, when the local stations currently airing it
lose their exclusivity. It is expected to air "Frasier" twice per weekday but
has not scheduled either run. Beating out bids from Turner Broadcasting, MTV Networks and Oxygen,
Lifetime landed "Frasier" for about $600,000 per episode, according to
sources, as well as a barter exchange that gives the program's distributor,
Paramount Domestic Television, 90 seconds of ad time per day. "As our
programming evolves into an even richer mix of original dramas, critically
acclaimed original movies, new reality series and off-net comedies, we
anticipate 'Frasier' will be one of the crown jewels of this strategy,"
said Lynn Picard, Lifetime's executive vp and general manager. "The
audience composition of 'Frasier' practically duplicates their audience
composition," Paramount Domestic Television president John Nogawski said.
"'Frasier' has very large female compositions of 18-49 and 25-54." "Will & Grace" will join Lifetime's
schedule in September 2005.
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Snicket Books Sell Best
Seven titles in the Lemony Snicket
series of children's books landed in the top 10 of the March 21 New York Times
Children's Chapter Book List, Zap2it reported. That feat was
duplicated by the Snicket series on May 5, 2002; Feb. 9, 2003; and April 13,
2003, the site reported. The March 21 list included The Reptile Room and The
Slippery Slope, the site reported. The first Lemony Snicket book came out in
1999. Each of the 10 titles released so far has reached the best-seller list.
The 11th book in the series, The Grim Grotto, is scheduled to hit bookstores
this September, the site reported. The first three books in the series are being
adapted as Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, a feature film
starring Jim Carrey, which is currently in production.
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Roman Polanski Plans
'Oliver Twist' Film
Oscar-winning director Roman
Polanski says his next film will be based on Charles Dickens' classic
novel "Oliver Twist." "I was playing with my children and I realized that I
would like to do a film for kids," Polanski told reporters. "I thought of books that I liked when I
was little and remembered `Oliver Twist,' which will be my next
film." Polanski spoke Monday night at a theater showing a
retrospective of his work. He said shooting will begin in the Czech
Republic some time in the middle of this year. He said the screen
adaptation had been written by Ronald Harwood, who wrote the screenplay for
"The Pianist." That film gave Polanski the Oscar for best director last
year. "The Pianist" also earned Oscars for best adapted
screenplay and best actor. Adrien Brody starred as Polish-Jewish
pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman, who eluded the Nazis in the Warsaw
ghetto. Polanski did not attend the awards ceremony in Los Angeles as he
faces arrest if he returns to the United States, resulting from 1977
charges of having unlawful sex with a minor. The 70-year-old director said
he didn't feel his legal problems tarnished his reputation as a filmmaker. His
movies include "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown." "There are in America a great many
filmmakers who appreciate my work and I am still very popular there. If you
watched (the Oscar ceremonies) I got a standing ovation. It has nothing to do
with my problems in California," he said.
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How Green Was My
Hornet?
CHUD has an interview with writer/director Kevin
Smith, where he briefly discusses
the adventures of Britt Reid. "I too expected that once that announcement was
made that people would say 'There's no way, this dude can't shoot his way out of
a paper bag.' The only criticisms I've read were things like 'Oh, I guess this
means Green Hornet and Kato are going to have some homoerotic relationship and
talk about 'Star Wars' a lot.' Whatever, I'll accept that. They haven't seen
'Jersey Girl' and they don't know what I'm going to do with 'The Green Hornet.'
It's the easy shots like that, nobody going like 'This dude is inept, don't give
him a movie like this.' It also helps that it's not a movie the whole world is
expecting. Imagine if I'd been given 'Superman' or something. People would have
gone apeshit. With 'Green Hornet,' the expectations aren't nearly as high as
with most comic book movies."
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'Stealing Sinatra' to
Appear on Showtime
"Stealing Sinatra," starring David
Arquette, William H. Macy and Thomas Ian Nicholas as Frank
Sinatra Jr., will premiere on Showtime on April 25. The Showtime
original film is based on trial transcripts and various public documents on the
1963 kidnapping of Sinatra, the only son of Frank Sinatra, the cable
channel said Monday. Frank Sinatra
Jr. was kidnapped Dec. 8, 1963, from Harrah's Casino in Lake Tahoe, Nev., and
held for ransom. The ransom was paid, he was safely released and the
kidnappers were caught and convicted.
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R.L. Stine Nightmare Hour Adapted for DVD Series
The Hatchery, the new
production venture of Margaret Loesch and former Mattel CEO Bruce Stein, has cut
a deal with author R.L. Stine and Universal Home Entertainment Prods. to produce
a series of direct-to-DVD features based on Stine's horror anthologies Nightmare
Hour and The Haunting Hour. Writer-producers Dan Angel and Billy Brown, Emmy
winners for the 2002 TNT telepic Door to Door, will adapt Stine's stories and
executive produce the productions along with Loesch and Stein. The deal marks a
reunion for Loesch, R.L. Stine, Angel and Brown. The foursome worked together in
the early 1990s on the successful Goosebumps TV series, based on a Stine
property, that aired on Fox Kids Network when Loesch was head of Fox's
children's programming division.
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Winslet for Fourth Potter
Movie?
English rose Kate Winslet is in talks to star in
the fourth Harry Potter movie - as a French wizard. The Titanic star, 29,
has been asked to play Fleur Delacour in the film adaptation of JK
Rowling's Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, by director Mike Newell.
Filming is set to begin next month and Winslet's director husband Sam
Mendes has been encouraging his stunning wife to accept, for the sake of
their son Joe and her daughter Mia. Mendes says, "Some weeks ago Kate had a
meeting with the director and some producers of the Harry Potter movies.
She was asked to have an important role as a young French wizard or
something like that in the fourth film. She is still thinking about it. I
told her to do it just for the kids. Mia and Joe will thank her in the
future." Winslet wouldn't be the first actress to star in the boy wizard
films for her offspring - Emma Thompson signed to play Professor Sybill
Trelawney in Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban to impress her
four-year-old daughter Gaia.
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Robots Rampage in
Independently Produced "Dalmarian Chronicles"
Jeff Haas's independent CGI feature The
Dalmarian Chronicles poses an interesting variation on the premise behind
Battlestar Galactica: What would happen if a society of sentient robots, after
years of believing that its creators were extinct, rediscovered its old masters?
But where Battlestar Galactica tells its story from the point of view of the
humans and paints the androids as genocidal automatons, Haas's story puts the
self-aware robots on the horns of the dilemma: Should they yield to the
returning creators, or will they try to preserve their freedom by turning on
them?
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An Official Clue About
'Episode III'
The official Star Wars website (www.starwars.com) has
provided the first authorized clues about the content of Episode III,
scheduled for release next year. LucasFilm has posted a teaser that
summarizes the story line. It reads: "After three long years of relentless
fighting, the Clone Wars are nearly at an end. The Jedi Council
dispatches Obi-Wan Kenobi to bring the deadly leader of the Separatist
droid army to justice. Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, Chancellor Palpatine
has grown in power. His sweeping political changes transform the war-weary
Republic into the mighty Galactic Empire. To his closest ally, Anakin
Skywalker, he reveals the true nature of power and the promised secrets of
the Force in an attempt to lure him to the dark side."
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It's Punky Brewster to
DVD!
Dave Lambert of TVShowsonDVD.com is reporting that the first
season of the hit '80s sitcom Punky Brewster is coming to DVD on Tuesday, June
1, 2004. Some extras include four episodes of the ANIMATED It's Punky Brewster!
Very well done by Shout! Factory, who is releasing the DVD set.
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Disney To Release
Japanese Anime Classics on Home Video
The Walt Disney Co., which has
been strongly criticized for its constrained marketing and distribution
schemes for the animated features produced by Japan's Hayao Miyazaki
(Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away), now plans to release three of
the director's earlier films on home video. The films are 1988's My
Neighbor Totoro, 1986's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds, and 1992's
Porco Rosso. Although the original Japanese-language track may be played on
the DVD version, the English language versions feature such voice talent as
Patrick Stewart, Michael Keaton, Brad Garrett, and Alison Lohman.
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24 Babe Reborn
on CSI
Although Claudia's sudden death on 24
this season ultimately freed up actress Vanessa Ferlito to take a plum gig
opposite Gary Sinise on CSI: New York, the Italian beauty is still haunted by
what coulda been between her and Kiefer Sutherland's Jack. "It depresses me
because we were so in love," she laments. "We were supposed to end up
together. It's really messed up." So, why did producers kill off Jack's Mexican
mistress? And what's the scoop on Ferlito's new CSI gig? Read on...
TV Guide
Online: How did you find out that you got the CSI: New York
job?
Vanessa Ferlito: [Exec producer]
Anthony Zuiker called me.
TVGO: Did
you have to audition?
Ferlito: No. It's
amazing. I read for him once, but not even for the role I got. It was for a
different role, an older CSI named Stella.
TVGO: What
role did you get?
Ferlito: Her
name is Abigail Martin, but I don't know if they're gonna change that. She's one
of four or five CSIs.
TVGO: Are
you excited about working with Gary Sinise?
Ferlito: Oh, God. That's what inspires me — working
with people like that. He's amazing.
TVGO: You
live in New York City, right?
Ferlito:
Yes. New York's my home. Born and raised. I'm a New Yorker to the bone.
TVGO: But
CSI: New York is going to tape in Los Angeles...
Ferlito: It's gonna be hard, I'll be honest with you.
There's nothing like New York. When I started in this business, my agents said,
"At some point you might have to move to L.A." And I looked at them and I said,
"Listen to me: If I'm going to make it, I'm going to make it in New York." And I
never left.
TVGO: Talk
about bitter irony: The project that ultimately forced you to leave New York
actually had "New York" in its title!
Ferlito: Yeah, it's kinda weird. I'm going to be
totally honest: It is probably going to be the hardest time of my life, up until
this point, leaving my home and my family.
TVGO: You
popped up on The Sopranos this season as Adriana's friend. Weren't you on
the first season?
Ferlito: That was my
first job ever four years ago. They brought me back [this season] for one
episode. It was written as a different character, but they knew I was on the
show before so they just made it the same again.
TVGO:
Adriana ratted you out to the FBI in the last episode. We won't see you go to
jail?
Ferlito: No, you don't see me go
to jail.
TVGO:
Switching gears, I was really bummed you got killed off 24.
Ferlito: I was supposed to be on the show as a regular,
but I was [not given] a permanent contract. It was more like a recurring
contract, where, if I got a movie, I had to let them know three weeks in
advance. So, I only shot two or three episodes and I then got a movie [Cheer
Up with Tommy Lee Jones].
TVGO: So,
the original plan was not for Claudia to die?
Ferlito: No. I was pretty upset about that.... I really
didn't want to leave but it was a big opportunity to play opposite Tommy Lee
Jones.
TVGO: What
would have happened to Claudia and Jack if you had stayed?
Ferlito: We would have went to the States and Kiefer
and I would have ended up together. It's sad. It's really messed up.
TVGO: Her
death did seem rather abrupt...
Ferlito: It didn't make sense.
TVGO: It's
all your fault.
Ferlito: It is
my fault. I was thinking of calling [the producers] and saying, "Why don't you
just pretend that I wasn't dead and Hector hid me somewhere." But now it's too
late. I was sick. When I saw my last episode I wanted to cry — I almost did. It
really depresses me because we were so in love.
TVGO:
Cheer Up better be good.
Ferlito: It
better be good, you're right — that's all I have to say.
TVGO: I'm
serious.
Ferlito: No, you're
right.
--posted by Marc Gunn
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
--posted by Marc Gunn Wednesday, March 24, 2004
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