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Stuff On Which Batman Begins Christian Bale gave some info on his work to Empire Online. "I believe that there's an opportunity with that character to do things that I, personally, have never seen done," Bale said. "There are choices you can make with such a character. You can go very camp with it, like the TV series, but that's been done. You can't outdo Adam West with that kind of deal. So what else do you do? There's a really interesting character there, and that's what I'm aiming for." In the meantime, Rutger Hauer wrote on his own site about his cameo on the Christopher Nolan set. "The cameo has a good solid structure but lacks character and I was able to drift to a horizon I saw in the back of my head because the director pushed me to explore and go there. Which is always exciting & scary. Exciting because you are allowd to go there and scary because your are not that secure. I found the 'key' to my position/part at the end of the second day. That is so great as well. It's one of the things I enjoy with vigour. 'The key' is all you need, after that it is about balance and refinement. Big,sensational grand sets. Moody, art deco, impressive. Art department worked miracles for the great visual richness. Had some smirkyness going with Christian Bale. We have one big problem that occurs. Noise. It interferes. It seems to be coming from a natural cause and I'm not talking about rain/hail/or broken limbs. We are inside. On the studio sound stage in Shepperton. It's a beautiful day outside. About to become spring here. That's what it is. We'd try shooting with the noise but the sound department has problems. It's too loud. Seems to come from high up somewhere. Stage-hands climb up to the ceiling, between cables, lights and set-pieces. I turns out that way above us, under the same roof, pigeons are having a little foreplay. This can stretch into days as thousands of dollars keep 'flying' away. One of the boys figures that a blast of the loud heaters may bring a momentary halt in 'loverslane.' At least long enough to get a few takes! We try and finally we get what we need in the can. The pigeons may have heard the producers prayers." And, by the way, here is another view of the new Batmobile!

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The Blob Being Remade! Again!
We hope this is not another April Fools joke. In the middle of a Variety story about screenwriter Joe Ballarini selling an urban comedy script called "F+" to MGM is a mention that he also just wrote a remake of The Blob for Warner Bros. Like the new Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, it is yet another remake of a film that was already made and then remade pretty well in recent memory; while the remake of The Blob was fairly boiler plate, we shudder to think what the new one might be like.
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Toon Zone April Fool's Edition
There are a couple of legit laughs over here.
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Special Effects Team Sells Itself
A team of motion picture special effects artists (Mission Impossible, The Matrix, and The Last Samurai) is actioning itself off on eBay after their jobs were outsourced overseas by their company, Discreet. Britain's Guardian newspaper reported Wednesday that in their eBay ad, the group members said, " "We've been like a family for more than a decade so we are focusing our energies on keeping our team intact. ... Now you have the opportunity to negotiate a contract with the most cohesive and passionate people in the industry."
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Broadcasters And A Code of Conduct
Broadcasters met Wednesday to discuss indecency and said they would consider instituting an industry code of conduct. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell said that if the industry lets the government set strict standards for broadcast decency, no one will like the result. "You do not want to ask the government to write a `Red Book' of dos and don'ts," Powell said to the gathering organized by the National Association of Broadcasters. "I understand the complaint about knowing where the line is, but heavier government entanglement through a `dirty conduct code' will not only chill speech, it may deep-freeze it. It might be an ice age that would last a very long time." NAB President Eddie O. Fritts Jr. agreed that a code was mentioned by most speakers at the daylong seminar, and would be seriously considered. The discussion would continue at the NAB's annual meeting later this month, Fritts said . The original code was dropped in 1982 under Reagan administration pressure, on both First Amendment and antitrust grounds.For more, check out:
National Association of Broadcasters summit:
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Ghost of a Chance UGO.com published an interview with Shane Salerno, who's writing the screenplay for the Nicolas Cage "Ghost Rider Marvel adaptation. "Ghost Rider has had a long and tortured development history. If 'Ghost Rider' is executed at its full potential, it could take special effects to another level as 'T2' did. Almost no film has had to use character based CGI on the level that 'Ghost Rider' would require. It's thrilling to consider the sheer 'look' of 'Ghost Rider.' It could really be amazing and I am sure that it will be because the folks at Marvel (Avi, Kevin and Ari) are so meticulous in every detail in the making of their films that they will not settle until it's absolutely right. Avi Arad really doesn't get the credit he deserves. He produces these movies and is really the man behind so many of Marvel's films working so well. People forget how bad some early incarnations of Marvel movies were in say the Eighties before Avi took over. He's a master showman and also a terrific storyteller. Honestly, I think that he is a more valuable Marvel asset than Spider-Man, and the people that have worked with him know this."
------------ Liberal Talk Radio Network On The Air America
Is this radio business, or politics? The two seem inextricably entwined on Air America Radio, the liberal talk radio network that launched on just five stations around the country Wednesday. (It can also be heard at the link above.) As a startup media business, they need to draw listeners fast. Air America Radio is betting that left-leaning political commentary, current affairs talk and lots of satire will resonate with those opposed to the Bush administration. Al Franken, who is headlining the network with his own daily three-hour talk show, has made no secret of his intention to use his platform to influence the election in November. "We are flaming swords of justice," Franken told the cheering crowd at a party to launch the network Tuesday night. "Bush is going down, he is going down, he is going down. And we're going to help him." Franken's show went live at noon on Wednesday with co-host Katherine Lanpher, who is a longtime host of a public radio show in Minnesota. At the opening, Franken said that they were broadcasting from a bunker 3,500 feet below Vice President Cheney's own secret bunker. Franken will actually be broadcasting his show, dubbed "The O'Franken Factor" in his latest jab at Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, from the slightly shabby studios of New York City station WLIB, on the 41st floor of an office tower just a few blocks from the Empire State Building. "I don't think of it as a business, but I know it has to make money to be sustaining," Franken said, "A lot of it is mission."
------------ The Batman: The Animated
Comics Continuum has announced an update from Eric Canete, the storyboard artist for the new series. "We have just finished off the first season," Canete told them,. "There are two concurrent seasons going on at the same time, 26 episodes. And we have finished off the first 13. It's based off of Jeff Matsuda's artwork, and he's basing a lot of the designs, I would hazard to guess, on the (David) Mazzuchelli Year One stuff. This is Batman Year Three, to a certain degree. In my opinion, it looks great. The only thing I'm worried about is the fact that we have the old legend Bruce Timm Batman stuff that we're competing against. We have to do something visually exciting, but also separate enough to have its own identity. We're working against that ghost."
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Eastwood, Swank, Freeman Have Platonic 'Baby'
Clint Eastwood will follow up his Oscar-winning drama "Mystic River" by directing, producing and starring in "Million Dollar Baby." Sources said Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman are negotiating to star alongside Eastwood. Production will start in June in Los Angeles. Warner Bros., where Eastwood's Malpaso Prods. company is based, will distribute domestically. "Baby" is a tragic and platonic love story about a woman in her early 30s who is determined to begin a boxing career. It is also about her fighter-turned-trainer. It is based on two short stories from a collection called "Rope Burn" by F.X. Toole.
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Son of the Mask
Ready for a look at the Jim Carrey-free sequel's somewhat disturbing look? Superhero Hype has a scan from the Daily Telegraph Australia, showing Jamie Kennedy wearing the Mask of Loki and the car driven by the protagonist. Here's a picture of Alan Cumming as Loki

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A Gay Western?
Anne Hathaway and Randy Quaid are joining Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Based on a story by E. Annie Proulx ("The Shipping News"), the Focus Features picture centers on two men (Ledger and Gyllenhaal) who meet one summer as sheepherders in Wyoming and realize a bond and love that spans 20 years. Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove, Terms of Endearment ) and Diana Ossana wrote the script. Hathaway will play the strong-willed ex-rodeo queen wife of Gyllenhaal's character, and Quaid will play the hard-bitten foreman who employs the two cowboys. Michelle Williams has already gotten the part of the wife of Ledger's character. "Brokeback" brings veteran actor Quaid full circle as his first credited film role was in 1971's "The Last Picture Show," which was co-written by McMurtry.
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Deadwood Gets Early Renewal
Deadwood has earned its spurs early at HBO, since the channel is notching a second-season renewal after just two episodes on the air, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The premium channel has ordered a full 12 more episodes to begin production in July in anticipation of airing next year.

I Knew That! Question #810
(Thursday, April 1, 2004)
Question #810: Captain Klutz shares a common
bond with both Flaming Carrot and Supersnipe -
all three became superheroes by reading massive
quantities of comic books. And he has a second
bond with Supersnipe, this one shared with
Forbush Man and The Red Tornado - all wear
red flannel long johns as major elements of
their costumes. Who created Captain Klutz?

Answer #809: Old-time radio stars Freeman
Gosden and Charles Correll took that as a
cue to revive their once-popular Amos & Andy
concept - but this time, to populate it with funny
animals instead of racial stereotypes, which
had by then gone very much out of fashion.
Calvin & the Colonel debuted on ABC, on
October 3, 1961.
Pam got it first, followed by Duane, Max,
Mr. Mike & Scott

You can join in the fun, Subscribe Here to get the question
the night before it shows up here, if you answer, your name
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Serendipity Cinema: (This is a Once A Week Feature)
A Recommended Film You May Never Have Heard Of,
But Really Ought To See.
#2. The Enchanted Cottage.
Some will call it a "Chick Flick," others just
a "Romantic Love Story" and some might even call
it "Fantasy," but this film is about the power of
hope, the magic of love. With magnificent performances
and simple honesty, it paints a picture that would
never be attempted today. It is glorious, and will
leave no one who sees it unchanged. If you have a
romantic bone in your body seek it out, and you will
thank me for pointing you in its direction.

--posted by Wayne Wednesday, March 31, 2004

--posted by Wayne Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Lemony Snicket Is Coming
Here is the Plot (As seen in Dark Horizons): This is the story of the Bauedelaires, three young orphans, Violet (Browning), Klaus (Aiken) and Sunny, looking for a new home, who are taken in by a series of odd relatives and other people, including Lemony Snicket, who narrates the film, and starting with the cunning and dastardly Count Olaf (Carrey), who hopes to snatch their inheritance from them. Violet is the oldest of the Baudelaires at 14, and is their brave and fast-thinking leader. The only boy is middle child Klaus, 12, who is intensely intelligent and obsessed with words. The youngest is infant Sunny, who speaks in a language only her siblings can understand, and she has a tendency to bite. ------------
"Trek" May Be On Its Last Legs
SyFy Portal reports that UPN has decided to give the Star Trek spinoff series "Enterprise" just an initial 12-episode commitment for a fourth season, could renew to a full 24 episodes. Despite competing with "American Idol" and a newly timeslotted "Smallville", "Enterprise" has managed to hold steady and even improved slightly ratings wise compared to its performance the previous year, but as "Angel" fans know, that might not be enough. It's unclear whether or not executive producers and co-creators Brannon Braga and Rick Berman will continue to helm the series after it wraps its third season in May. Meanwhile Marina Sirtis appeared at this past weekend's United Fan Con outside Boston where according to IGN Filmforce, she told fans on Saturday not to anticipate any further "Star Trek" films: "It's over. There's not going to be another one". The reason was the box office drubbing endured by "Star Trek: Nemesis" and suggested it's time perhaps for "Star Trek" to retire for at least a decade before it's ressurected.
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Hollywood Video Sold for $888 Million
Hollywood Video, the nation's second largest video chain behind Blockbuster, has been acquired Leonard Green & Partners and the video chain's founder, Mark Wattles. They will pay $14 a share for the company -- about $888 million. The sale comes when the video chains are facing increasing competition from DVD sales, Internet downloading, and DVD mail-order operators. But Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research in Carmel, told Tuesday's Los Angeles Times, "The worst is over as far as the impact of sales on rentals." John Baumer of Leonard Green said that the risky times in the business had in fact created the opportunity to buy the Hollywood Chain.
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More "Kong" Casting
Adrien Brody is in negotiations with Universal Pictures to be added the cast of Peter Jackson's "King Kong." Brody would take the role of Jack Driscoll, a former World War I fighter pilot and the love interest for archaeologist Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts). Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are set to produce the film under their WingNut Films banner.
------------ "South Park" Mulls "The Passion of the Jew"
The controversy over Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ creates more controversy at Comedy Central Wednesday night when the ever controversial South Park offers an episode labeled The Passion of the Jew. A news release from the channel on Monday summed up the episode this way:
"After weeks of pressure from Cartman, Kyle finally sees The Passion and, much to Cartman's delight, is forced to admit that he has been right all along. Inspired by Kyle's change of heart and a powerful love for Mel Gibson, Cartman incites many of the film's hardcore fans to band together and carry out its message. Meanwhile, Stan and Kenny also see the movie and embark upon a quest to find Mel Gibson."
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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Lives On

Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and son John Goldwyn are teaming up to produce the remake of the 1947 Samuel Goldwyn production "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" for Paramount Pictures. DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg are not involved in the project any more, but Jim Carrey is retaining his first-look option to follow Danny Kaye in the role.
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Michelle Pfeiffer Set To Star in Agatha Christie Remake
Michelle Pfeiffer is in discussions to star in the remake of the 1957 version of Agatha Christie's Witness For The Prosecution. Pfeiffer would take on the role of Christine Helm Vole in the courtroom drama. Her husband, David E. Kelley, is writting the screenplay for the film, which was last adapted almost 60 years ago by Billy Wilder. Agatha Christie's grandson Mathew Pritchard said, "The role of Christine was written for someone like Michelle Pfeiffer. She'd be perfect in it. She's gorgeous, sultry and superbly talented. Would my grandmother approve? Definitely. It'll be one of the biggest films ever based on an Agatha Christie work." Pfeiffer and Kelley are also collaborating on the film "Chasing Montana," a drama penned by Kelley set up at Focus Features.
------------
How Many Togas Are Enough?
Mediasharx reprots that Harold Ramis has spoken for publication that he intends to remake Animal House.
------------ 'Simpsons' Creator Makes Debut
Matt Groening will, 15 years after the first episdoe, finally make a guest appearance on his show. While a host of celebrities have guest starred on the hit cartoon Groening has will now be seen for the first time, in an episode set to air on American screens on April 4. Groening says, "The writers wrote it in as a goof. I thought, 'I'll show them. I'll do it.'" But Groening, who plays himself in the episode, will be introduced as the creator of not the Simpsons, but Futurama, as he insists he shouldn't be identified as the creator of the Simpsons on The Simpsons because "the whole universe would implode".
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You Say They Never Ask YOU?
Now you can vote for which classic TV show you want to see on DVD over at Sony Pictures. Go, do so. Don't forget the following great shows: "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," "The Invaders" & "Salvage One" (Just asuggestions, you understand)
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Smith's Ranger Danger
Kevin Smith, who is in the process of developing the original SF comedy movie Ranger Danger and the Danger Rangers, told SCI FI Wire that the project will be delayed, along with several other projects, now that he is helming The Green Hornet. "Fletch got pushed back for after Green Hornet and then after that we'll get to Ranger Danger sooner or later," Smith said. Smith added that he wanted more practice making big-budget movies before doing the proposed space opera. "It'll probably be nice to work up to Ranger Danger a little more," Smith said. "I think Green Hornet is a nice rehearsal for it, because Ranger Danger is a big-budget sci-fi movie. But it'd be nice to try out a big-budget movie before that so I don't f--k up my own." Scott Mosier, Smith's longtime producer, added that he thinks the writer-director is ready to handle big-budget projects. "Any time you start spending money, working on stages a lot [with] all the CGI and stuff like that, it's all just a matter of taking the experience and allowing it to get bigger without getting overwhelmed," Mosier said.
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Practice Makes More Spinoffs?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, David E. Kelley is selling ABC a half-hour comedy centered on Camryn Manheim's Practice attorney, Ellenor Frutt. The series, set to debut in early 2005, would follow Ellenor as she returns home following the demise of her law firm. ABC has already bought a Kelley-produced Practice spinoff starring James Spader. The Practice finishes its eight-year run in May.
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Keanu Reeves To Star In A Scanner Darkly
Variety reports that Keanu Reeves will star in A Scanner Darkly for Warner Independent Pictures, with School of Rock director Richard Linklater in talks also. Linklater wrote the most recent draft, of many, for the script. George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh's Section 8 would produce the film, an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick novel. A Scanner Darkly would employ the same effects technology Linklater used in Waking Life. It will be shot live-action, then animated. In the future, where undercover agents change their faces along with their identities, Reeves would play one such officer, and his liberal ingestion of a drug called Substance D leads to his developing a split personality. Warner Independent is preparing the film to start in May.
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Television Casting All Over The Map
*Keith Carradine, currently playing Wild Bill Hickok on HBO's "Deadwood," will also star in "Savages," an ABC comedy pilot loosely based on Mel Gibson's family life. Carradine will play a fireman who takes care of five teen aged sons. Gibson's Icon Prods. is developing the project.
*Steve Hytner has has been cast in a lead role in NBC's comedy pilot "D.O.T.S.," about a team of meter maids. Hytner ("The Haunted Mansion," "Forces of Nature"), will play the team's lieutenant.
*Sam Page will be the male lead in Fox's drama pilot "Point Pleasant," about a beach-side community that turns where a girl (Elisabeth Harnois) washes ashore. Page will play a lifeguard who saves her. He played Meg Pryor's (Brittany Snow) love interest on NBC's "American Dreams." 'Cheers' Leading Ladies in Sitcom Projects
*Kirstie Alley is in negotiations to play Ricki Lake's mother in an untitled CBS comedy pilot, while her "Cheers" predecessor, Shelley Long, has joined an untitled NBC sitcom project. The CBS pilot is about a young widow and her mom, running a "cop" bar, while raising the widow's two sons after the death of her policeman husband. The pilot would reunite Alley with the show's creator/executive producers Dan Staley and Rob Long, who worked on NBC's comedy series "Cheers" for the show's last four seasons.
*Shelley Long's NBC comedy tells the story of the relationship between an adult son (Mitch Rouse) and his newly divorced father (Tom Conti). Long would play the mother. Beverly D'Angelo, who was initially cast in the role, has left the project by mutual agreement.

I Knew That! Question #809
(Wednesday, March 31, 2004)
Question #809: We know that "The Flintstones"
was based on "The Honeymooners," and, likewise
most TV cartoons were foster children of network
TV sitcoms. What show was the parent idea for
"Calvin & the Colonel?"

Answer #808: Not only did he play the first
Frankenstein monster on film, he was the
first Ebenezer Scrooge of the movies.
Who was he? Charles Ogle Max got it first,
and added: "btw...according to IMDb, Ogle
appeared in 275 films between 1908 and 1926."
Then Mr. Mike got it and said, "Who was this
guy?" Well you might ask. An actor who
happened to know Edison and get in on the
ground floor of the history of films.

You can join in the fun, Subscribe Here to get the question
the night before it shows up here, if you answer, your name
will be listed for the world to see.

--posted by Wayne Wednesday, March 31, 2004

--posted by Wayne Wednesday, March 31, 2004

If you're interested in what's happening in the entertainment world, then signup for this newsletter. Wayne scours all the top websites for the latest entertainment news and sends them out every day for your pleasure. There's a particular emphasis here on Science Fiction and Fantasy. Big news items like Star Wars, Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and just about anything by Steven Spielberg.

MOVIE & TV NEWS

· Brobdingnagian Bards Free Music Downloads · Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers · Celtic Music MP3 Downloads Magazine · Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Music · Free Music Blog · Directory of Free Music Downloads ·

· Brobdingnagian Bards Free Music Downloads · Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers
· Celtic Music MP3 Downloads Magazine · Tolkien's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Music · Free Music Blog · Directory of Free Music Downloads ·