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06-03-2006, 05:34 AM
NEWS OF THE WEEK FOR MAY. 29, 2006
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Blade Runner Final Cut Due
Warner Home Video will issue a new remastered director's cut of the classic SF movie Blade Runner in September now that it has cleared up rights issues, followed by a theatrical release of a version promised to be truly director Ridley Scott's final cut, Variety reported. Warner's rights to Blade Runner lapsed a year ago, but the studio has since negotiated a long-term license.
The movie has a troubled history. When Scott ran over budget, completion bond guarantors took control of it and made substantial changes before its 1982 theatrical release, adding a voice-over and a happy ending. That version was replaced by the much better-received director's cut in 1992, but Scott has long been unhappy with it, complaining that he was rushed and unable to give it proper attention.
Scott started working on the final cut version in 2000, but that project was shelved by Warner soon after, apparently because the studio couldn't come to terms with Jerry Perenchio over rights issues.
The restored "director's cut" will debut on home video in September and will remain on sale for only four months, after which time it will be placed on moratorium. Blade Runner: Final Cut will arrive in 2007 for a limited 25th-anniversary theatrical run, followed by a special-edition DVD with the three previous versions offered as alternate viewing. Besides the original theatrical version and director's cut, the expanded international theatrical cut will be included. The set will also contain additional bonus materials.
Hatcher To Voice Coraline
Teri Hatcher will voice a dual role opposite Dakota Fanning in Coraline, an animated film from Laika Entertainment based on Neil Gaiman's dark fantasy book, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) will direct the adaptation, which will also feature songs from They Might Be Giants.
Hatcher will play both the mother of the title character (voiced by Fanning) and her other mother in a parallel universe.
In the book, Coraline steps into a world that appears to be a much better version of her own reality, but discovers it's not.
Next Season's Lost Sneaked
Producers of ABC's hit series Lost, which aired its surprising second-season finale on May 24, told SCI FI Wire that it sets up the upcoming third season, which will focus more on romance—and on the mysterious Others. "The Others are an important part of season three, and there's a lot of mysteries and a lot of questions about the Others that the audience is going to be curious about going into season three," said executive producer Carlton Cuse in an interview. "And those are the things we're going to explore."
Cuse added: "There will definitely be some new characters on the show next year. ... Obviously, Michael Emerson, who plays Henry Gale, he's someone who's going to be very prominent in the show next year." Fans were also introduced to a new character who promises to figure in next season's storylines: Penelope Widmore, played by Sonya Walger.
In the finale, viewers find out where Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) was, what happens when the button doesn't get pushed, why the plane crashed and the fate of Michael (Harold Perrineau) and Walt (Malcolm David Kelley). At the end, Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) are prisoners of the Others. And Claire (Emilie de Ravin) gives Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) a kiss.
"I'm excited about love in season three," said executive producer Bryan Burk, adding: "Don't forget now the people have been on the island for 60-plus days. They're now obviously more familiar with each other. ... The concept of love [is there], and ... it weaves its way through all of our characters. It's going to be much more prevalent in season three."
Now that Lost has finished shooting, the season-three writers met recently for a "boot camp" in Hawaii, where they broke the main story arcs for next year. "It's fun, because we're still kind of following on a macro level the same trajectory that we talked about years ago," Burk said. "The details are changing on this, and new characters that we hadn't thought about are here, ... but what's fun is kind of the whole big journey is still kind of where we had originally talked about it. And it feels as I had always said from day one, when I was doing interviews in season one, I kept saying that the show doesn't really start kicking in for me until seasons two and three. ... Somebody smarter than me recently said in a TV Guide letter, ... 'If you think you're still watching a show about people who crashed on an island, you're watching another show.' There's a lot going on, and as we move forward, ... we're getting deeper into the center of the onion." —Patrick Lee, News Editor
Ghost, Lost Seek Women
CBS' Ghost Whisperer and ABC's Lost are looking to cast new women to replace characters who met their demise in recent season finales, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Ghost Whisperer is searching for an actress to fill the void left by the departure of Aisha Tyler, whose character died in the season finale.
Similarly, Lost is looking for two new actresses to join the cast in the wake of the demise of Michelle Rodriguez's Ana-Lucia and Cynthia Watros' Libby.
Lost 'Mobisodes' Feature Stars
Carlton Cuse, executive producer of ABC's hit series Lost, told SCI FI Wire that he and the show's creators are deeply involved in creating the upcoming "mobisodes," or mobile-phone episodes, which will feature the show's main cast of characters. "We were able to negotiate this deal, which is going to allow us to use our series regulars in these mobisodes," Cuse said in an interview at "Destination: L.A. 2," a fan charity party that took place in Glendale, Calif., over the weekend. "We don't want to do the 24 version, where you're dealing with characters you've never seen and have no relation to the central characters. We feel if we're going to do the mobisodes, they have to feature the characters that are part of the world of Lost that you know and love."
The mobisodes, available exclusively from Verizon in the fall, will be two- or three-minute segments spun off of the main series, Cuse said. He added that producers were able to incorporate the show's main characters, as played by the series' stars, as a result of special deals worked out with Touchstone Television, which produces the series, and the various unions representing the show's talent.
As for the mobisode storylines? "We have a concept for them," Cuse said. "You know, [series co-creator] Damon [Lindelof] and I have not written them yet, but we have a game plan." He added: "But the specifics of when they come on and how they'll be available and how you acquire them and everything, I think everyone's still trying to work all that out."
Meanwhile, game publisher Ubisoft announced a long-term worldwide licensing agreement with Touchstone TV to develop and publish a video game based on Lost. Developed by Ubisoft's Montreal studio, the game is slated to hit retailers in 2007 for home and portable consoles, as well as PCs. At the same time, McFarlane Toys will create a line of action figures based on the show's characters, timed for release this fall, when the third season premieres. The first batch of 6-inch figures includes Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) and Shannon (Maggie Grace).
The game, mobisodes and online alternate-reality game The Lost Experience all supplement the main show, Cuse said. "If you kind of liken it to an iceberg, you see the 20 percent of the iceberg above the waterline on the show," Cuse said. "I would say The Lost Experience is going to give you a view of a big chunk of the iceberg that's below the waterline. You don't need it to navigate the waters of the show, ... but it will really be rewarding for people who are more kind of deeply involved in Lost. ... You won't need any of that to go on watching the show, but it is part of the show mythology that we're going to be unveiling." The Lost second-season finale aired May 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
Lost Fans Party For Charity
Fans of ABC's hit series Lost raised about $5,000 for charity at "Destination: L.A. 2," the second annual fan party, at Solar Studios in Glendale, Calif. The money, from a silent auction of autographed memorabilia and other show-related items, went to the Children's Defense Fund, an organization favored by Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams, which works toward reducing the numbers of neglected, sick, uneducated and poor children in the United States.
About 130 fans—many denizens of the fan-run Fuselage message board—came to California from as far aways as Ireland and Wales, as well as Dallas and Philadelphia, for the party, which was put on by E.M.A. (One of E.M.A.'s principals, Allyson J. Beatrice, is the author of the upcoming Source Books title Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby?, a collection of essays about fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.)
The fans were joined by Lost cast members Daniel Roebuck (Leslie Arzt) and William Mapother (Ethan); producers Carlton Cuse, Bryan Burk and Adam Horowitz; writer Christina M. Kim; and other staff members. Series co-creators Damon Lindelof and Abrams sent greetings by text message. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
Burk: Team Abrams On Trek XI
Lost executive producer Bryan Burk told SCI FI Wire that he will be part of the team developing a proposed 11th Star Trek movie, along with Lost co-creators Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams, who will direct. Abrams' longtime writing colleagues Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who co-wrote Abrams' Mission: Impossible III, will also be involved.
Burk said that he will be an executive producer of Trek XI. "We're all very excited," Burk said in an interview at "Destination: L.A. 2," a fan charity event in Glendale, Calif., over the weekend. But Burk declined to discuss details of the movie: "We actually have this thing where we're just not talking about it outside of ... us right now. And to say I'm excited is the understatement of the [year]. ... It's going to be pretty great."
Burk also dismissed earlier rumors that the movie would center on Spock and Kirk's first meeting at Starfleet Academy and their subsequent early adventures. "I can tell you that that article leaked out prematurely, so there's no formal statement made from any of us, other than we all couldn't be more excited about it," he said.
Burk also smiled when asked if Abrams' longtime friend and frequent star Greg Grunberg would appear in the Trek movie, as either a Klingon or a member of the Federation. "First of all, there's no way Greg Grunberg knows what the Federation is," Burk said with a laugh. But, he added: "When is Greg Grunberg not in a project that we [do]?"
Burk, Kurtzman and Orci have worked alongside Abrams on many of his projects, including TV's Alias. Burk is also an executive producer on Abrams' ABC shows What About Brian and the upcoming Six Degrees. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
Dresden Gets SCI FI Pickup
SCI FI Channel has ordered 11 episodes of The Dresden Files, a supernatural detective series based on Jim Butcher's best-selling books, the network said. Nicolas Cage's Saturn Films and Lionsgate TV will produce the series, which kicks off with a two-hour pilot in January.
Paul Blackthorne (24) plays Harry Dresden, a Chicago-based private detective who has the powers of a wizard. The Dresden Files will shoot in Toronto.
David Carson directed the pilot, which was written by Hans Beimler (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Robert Wolfe (Andromeda); they will serve as executive producers of the series, along with Cage, Norm Golightly and Morgan Gendel.
X3's Phoenix Rises
NEW YORK—Famke Janssen, who reprises the role of Jean Grey in X-Men: The Last Stand, told SCI FI Wire that her character undergoes a transformation with digital visual effects, rather than makeup or prosthetics. (Spoiler information follows!) Janssen's Grey, the powerful telepathic mutant who appeared to perish at the end of X2, reappears in this third installment of the comic-book film franchise. But something isn't right with her, and she evolves into the Phoenix, whose dark powers pose a threat to all around her. Magneto (Ian McKellen) intends to exploit Phoenix in a battle with Homo sapiens and the X-Men aligned with Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart).
To accomplish her transformation from Grey to Phoenix, Janssen said, "Everything was done in post [-production] and experimented with. ... We did several tests before we started shooting—which, thankfully, didn't make it to the movie—where [director] Brett [Ratner] had this idea for a second to have me look like a mannequin, like the way Jude Law looked in A.I. [Artificial Intelligence], with that kind of plastic-y skin, which would have been a disaster for me, because I have really sensitive skin. So we tried, and it didn't work out. It just didn't work. It didn't look right. But he had some idea of that maybe being a concept to go with."
Janssen added: "I had a different idea, personally, because I thought there was never a clear moment [where Grey transformed into the Phoenix]. She would go back and forth so much, I think. As written in the beginning, they sort of had an idea that she was going to be Jean, and then she's going to be Phoenix, and then Dark Phoenix. And when I read it, I said, 'I don't think that's the way it's going work.' ... You could never do it with makeup. It has to be done with acting, because it's a struggle within her. Sometimes one wins. Sometimes the other wins." X-Men: The Last Stand made its stand on May 26. —Ian Spelling
Jackman Kills In X-Men 3
NEW YORK—Hugh Jackman, who reprises the role of Logan/Wolverine in the sequel X-Men: The Last Stand, told SCI FI Wire that he engages in more fights and kills more people in this installment than in the previous films—so many, in fact, that some of his victims got edited out of the final film. "It was fantastic, and there is a good 50 [more] on the cutting room floor, trust me," Jackman said in an interview here. "I was like, 'Where are all those other guys that I killed?'"
Wolverine fights human soldiers and enemy mutants alike in the third movie based on the Marvel Comics franchise, in which a company comes up with a drug to "cure" mutancy. "With those scenes, you film them at night, and you're forever slipping on gravel and whacking guys in the head," the Australian-born Jackman said. "These stunt guys are tough, and one poor guy I clocked right in the eye, and he actually had this prosthetic that made his eye go like this, and I took half of the prosthetic off, and so we kind of kept filming, ... and the poor guy is on the cutting-room floor. That guy is like, 'I took a punch from Wolverine, and I'm not even in there!'"
Jackman added that he was pleased to have scenes in which Wolverine argues with Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart). In The Last Stand, Wolverine clashes with Xavier when he learns that the X-Men leader may be restraining Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) from realizing the full extent of her powers, fearful that her dark side, called the Phoenix, may take over.
"Well, I loved that," Jackman said. "I think that it was always seen very clearly with Magneto [Ian McKellen], the ambiguities of his character. You can understand them, and in this one you can really understand why he takes the position that he does. And if you take that example, now there would be many people in this world who would just say, 'Let's just wipe [the mutants] out, because there are rogue elements there that are going to be disastrous. So let's just wipe them all out.' It's the easy fix."
Jackman said that Xavier's dilemma in The Last Stand brings to mind Nelson Mandela, the South African leader. "If you've ever read Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela's book, the last paragraph talks about, of everything that he had done, he still doesn't know if he did the right thing in his life, because by being the father to his nation and his cause he, in his words, was a terrible father to his children, and he sacrificed being a father to his children for the greater good. He still lives with that guilt and doubt as to whether he did the right thing. Xavier is Nelson Mandela. Xavier has got to have that ambiguity, too, and I think that it's explored really well in this one. He is going against nature, which is sort of against his philosophy, which is how he deals with Jean. He knows what's going to happen. He knows that people are going to die, and he knows that it's going to be apocalyptic." X-Men: The Last Stand opened on May 26. —Ian Spelling
X3 Magneto Shot Deleted
NEW YORK—Brett Ratner, director of the sequel X-Men: The Last Stand, told SCI FI Wire that he shot a scene featuring an Osama bin Laden-like Magneto (Ian McKellen) making threats in a tape recorded in an underground lair, but that the scene was deleted from the film's final cut. In the finished film, audiences will see a tape that Magneto recorded while in hiding, but the scene as it plays out differs from Ratner's initial conception.
"I think that was something that I came up with, which is because originally—and you will probably see this on the DVD—my original concept for Magneto was to have him like Che Guevara when we first saw him, ... in military fatigues with a long beard because he has been in hiding," Ratner said in an interview here. "I actually did a shot where he was in that underground lair with the long beard, and he's sitting there, and Pyro [Aaron Stanford] comes in and says, 'They've announced a cure.' That's the one scene that's not in the movie that I shot, which was fun. But that's how we came up with the tape." X-Men: The Last Stand opened on May 26. —Ian Spelling
X3's Paquin Faced Dilemma
NEW YORK—Anna Paquin, who reprises the role of Rogue in the upcoming sequel film X-Men: The Last Stand, told SCI FI Wire that she's pleased her character figures prominently in the story. In the third installment in the hit comic-book franchise, Rogue faces a decision whether to take a so-called "cure" to suppress her mutant gene, enabling her to enjoy a more normal relationship with her boyfriend, Bobby Drake/Iceman (Shawn Ashmore).
"How big or small or important or not my character, per se, is to the story is never really something that registers with me," Paquin said in an interview here. "I was just happy that I got some interesting scenes to do, that had an emotional job at hand [and] that [were] going to be somewhat challenging. Because there isn't always a lot of that in these kinds of movies. I felt really lucky that once again the writers hooked me up with some interesting stuff to do."
In the movie, battle lines are drawn between mutants who oppose a new drug that can suppress mutancy and those who would promote it. "I just thought it was a really interesting concept for a movie as far as what happens next," Paquin said. "You see different kinds of bickering and butting heads between the mutants themselves, and it's like, 'What if they are butting heads with the whole world? How does that really affect things?' I just thought it was a great new challenge to throw at everyone."
The Canadian-born, New Zealand-raised Oscar winner (for The Piano) added that she understood Rogue's situation. The character is firmly on the side of good and wants to remain a member of the X-Men, but it's a struggle, because she simply can't touch the people she loves without harming them. "I think that is a very natural thing," Paquin said of Rogue's emotional struggle. "I mean, babies that are left alone in orphanages to cry in their cribs have huge problems. You need physical contact. It is like the most basic thing. Literally, a child would die when they are very small without it. To be isolated like that is an incredibly painful thing." X-Men: The Last Stand opened May 26. —Ian Spelling
Da Vinci Begets Angels
In the wake of the success of The Da Vinci Code, Sony has signed that film's writer, Akiva Goldsman, to adapt author Dan Brown's first religious thriller, Angels & Demons, a prequel, Variety reported. Code has grossed $231.8 million worldwide in its first five days of release.
Development of Angels & Demons is still in the early stages, but the studio is planning to reassemble the Da Vinci Code producing team of Brian Grazer and John Calley for the project.
No deals are set yet for Code director Ron Howard or star Tom Hanks to return, but both would have first crack at the project.
Code was the second of Brown's novels centering on Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor who's an expert in religious symbols. Angels & Demons, published in 2000, introduced the Langdon character. Langdon tries to solve a murder and unravel a plot by an ancient group, the Illuminati, to blow up the Vatican during a papal conclave.
Da Vinci Defies Critics, Protests
Controversy and bad reviews didn't stop Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code from debuting on the May 19 weekend with the largest domestic box office of the year, taking in about $77 million, the Associated Press reported. The film's three-day opening worldwide take was even better: $224 million, second only to Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith. The film also was the best domestic opening for both star Tom Hanks and director Howard.
Over the Hedge, meanwhile, opened in second place for the weekend, with $37.2 million in domestic box-office receipts.
The Da Vinci Code, based on Dan Brown's best-seller, received mixed reviews, and protesters picketed outside a number of theaters, upset over the story's suggestion that Jesus Christ was married and had a child. But the controversy did little to deter moviegoers, who packed theaters in almost every country the film debuted, the AP reported.
Da Vinci Game Available
Game publisher 2K Games has shipped a video game based on The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown's controversial book and its film version, which opened over the weekend. In the game, players unravel clues to understand the story behind the movie; 2K previewed the game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles earlier this month.
"This game stands on its own," a 2K representative told SCI FI Wire at E3. "It has clever puzzles [and] a really cool grappling system and goes pretty deep into the story. So it definitely is a great game in its own right."
The Da Vinci Code is an action adventure game that doesn't retread the story of the book or film directly, but rather offers new adventures featuring protagonists Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu. Gamers will play each character at different times as they investigate an occult-related murder, encounter clues and unravel a mystery. The game doesn't have traditional weapons such as guns or knives, so players must look to items in the environment to use for fighting. A "grappling system" allows players and enemies to engage by grabbing each other's shoulders, and a cutscene minigame comes up that requires a well-timed, precise sequence of button pushing to start a successful attack.
Once players solve puzzles, the information is entered into a journal of sorts that players can access at any time. Players take turns between playing Langdon and Neveu, sometimes working together as a team. The game also features several unlockable bonuses, including two levels that open up once players solve all the puzzles. The Da Vinci Code is now available for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC. —Casey Lynch
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Blade Runner Final Cut Due
Warner Home Video will issue a new remastered director's cut of the classic SF movie Blade Runner in September now that it has cleared up rights issues, followed by a theatrical release of a version promised to be truly director Ridley Scott's final cut, Variety reported. Warner's rights to Blade Runner lapsed a year ago, but the studio has since negotiated a long-term license.
The movie has a troubled history. When Scott ran over budget, completion bond guarantors took control of it and made substantial changes before its 1982 theatrical release, adding a voice-over and a happy ending. That version was replaced by the much better-received director's cut in 1992, but Scott has long been unhappy with it, complaining that he was rushed and unable to give it proper attention.
Scott started working on the final cut version in 2000, but that project was shelved by Warner soon after, apparently because the studio couldn't come to terms with Jerry Perenchio over rights issues.
The restored "director's cut" will debut on home video in September and will remain on sale for only four months, after which time it will be placed on moratorium. Blade Runner: Final Cut will arrive in 2007 for a limited 25th-anniversary theatrical run, followed by a special-edition DVD with the three previous versions offered as alternate viewing. Besides the original theatrical version and director's cut, the expanded international theatrical cut will be included. The set will also contain additional bonus materials.
Hatcher To Voice Coraline
Teri Hatcher will voice a dual role opposite Dakota Fanning in Coraline, an animated film from Laika Entertainment based on Neil Gaiman's dark fantasy book, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) will direct the adaptation, which will also feature songs from They Might Be Giants.
Hatcher will play both the mother of the title character (voiced by Fanning) and her other mother in a parallel universe.
In the book, Coraline steps into a world that appears to be a much better version of her own reality, but discovers it's not.
Next Season's Lost Sneaked
Producers of ABC's hit series Lost, which aired its surprising second-season finale on May 24, told SCI FI Wire that it sets up the upcoming third season, which will focus more on romance—and on the mysterious Others. "The Others are an important part of season three, and there's a lot of mysteries and a lot of questions about the Others that the audience is going to be curious about going into season three," said executive producer Carlton Cuse in an interview. "And those are the things we're going to explore."
Cuse added: "There will definitely be some new characters on the show next year. ... Obviously, Michael Emerson, who plays Henry Gale, he's someone who's going to be very prominent in the show next year." Fans were also introduced to a new character who promises to figure in next season's storylines: Penelope Widmore, played by Sonya Walger.
In the finale, viewers find out where Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) was, what happens when the button doesn't get pushed, why the plane crashed and the fate of Michael (Harold Perrineau) and Walt (Malcolm David Kelley). At the end, Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) are prisoners of the Others. And Claire (Emilie de Ravin) gives Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) a kiss.
"I'm excited about love in season three," said executive producer Bryan Burk, adding: "Don't forget now the people have been on the island for 60-plus days. They're now obviously more familiar with each other. ... The concept of love [is there], and ... it weaves its way through all of our characters. It's going to be much more prevalent in season three."
Now that Lost has finished shooting, the season-three writers met recently for a "boot camp" in Hawaii, where they broke the main story arcs for next year. "It's fun, because we're still kind of following on a macro level the same trajectory that we talked about years ago," Burk said. "The details are changing on this, and new characters that we hadn't thought about are here, ... but what's fun is kind of the whole big journey is still kind of where we had originally talked about it. And it feels as I had always said from day one, when I was doing interviews in season one, I kept saying that the show doesn't really start kicking in for me until seasons two and three. ... Somebody smarter than me recently said in a TV Guide letter, ... 'If you think you're still watching a show about people who crashed on an island, you're watching another show.' There's a lot going on, and as we move forward, ... we're getting deeper into the center of the onion." —Patrick Lee, News Editor
Ghost, Lost Seek Women
CBS' Ghost Whisperer and ABC's Lost are looking to cast new women to replace characters who met their demise in recent season finales, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Ghost Whisperer is searching for an actress to fill the void left by the departure of Aisha Tyler, whose character died in the season finale.
Similarly, Lost is looking for two new actresses to join the cast in the wake of the demise of Michelle Rodriguez's Ana-Lucia and Cynthia Watros' Libby.
Lost 'Mobisodes' Feature Stars
Carlton Cuse, executive producer of ABC's hit series Lost, told SCI FI Wire that he and the show's creators are deeply involved in creating the upcoming "mobisodes," or mobile-phone episodes, which will feature the show's main cast of characters. "We were able to negotiate this deal, which is going to allow us to use our series regulars in these mobisodes," Cuse said in an interview at "Destination: L.A. 2," a fan charity party that took place in Glendale, Calif., over the weekend. "We don't want to do the 24 version, where you're dealing with characters you've never seen and have no relation to the central characters. We feel if we're going to do the mobisodes, they have to feature the characters that are part of the world of Lost that you know and love."
The mobisodes, available exclusively from Verizon in the fall, will be two- or three-minute segments spun off of the main series, Cuse said. He added that producers were able to incorporate the show's main characters, as played by the series' stars, as a result of special deals worked out with Touchstone Television, which produces the series, and the various unions representing the show's talent.
As for the mobisode storylines? "We have a concept for them," Cuse said. "You know, [series co-creator] Damon [Lindelof] and I have not written them yet, but we have a game plan." He added: "But the specifics of when they come on and how they'll be available and how you acquire them and everything, I think everyone's still trying to work all that out."
Meanwhile, game publisher Ubisoft announced a long-term worldwide licensing agreement with Touchstone TV to develop and publish a video game based on Lost. Developed by Ubisoft's Montreal studio, the game is slated to hit retailers in 2007 for home and portable consoles, as well as PCs. At the same time, McFarlane Toys will create a line of action figures based on the show's characters, timed for release this fall, when the third season premieres. The first batch of 6-inch figures includes Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) and Shannon (Maggie Grace).
The game, mobisodes and online alternate-reality game The Lost Experience all supplement the main show, Cuse said. "If you kind of liken it to an iceberg, you see the 20 percent of the iceberg above the waterline on the show," Cuse said. "I would say The Lost Experience is going to give you a view of a big chunk of the iceberg that's below the waterline. You don't need it to navigate the waters of the show, ... but it will really be rewarding for people who are more kind of deeply involved in Lost. ... You won't need any of that to go on watching the show, but it is part of the show mythology that we're going to be unveiling." The Lost second-season finale aired May 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
Lost Fans Party For Charity
Fans of ABC's hit series Lost raised about $5,000 for charity at "Destination: L.A. 2," the second annual fan party, at Solar Studios in Glendale, Calif. The money, from a silent auction of autographed memorabilia and other show-related items, went to the Children's Defense Fund, an organization favored by Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams, which works toward reducing the numbers of neglected, sick, uneducated and poor children in the United States.
About 130 fans—many denizens of the fan-run Fuselage message board—came to California from as far aways as Ireland and Wales, as well as Dallas and Philadelphia, for the party, which was put on by E.M.A. (One of E.M.A.'s principals, Allyson J. Beatrice, is the author of the upcoming Source Books title Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby?, a collection of essays about fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.)
The fans were joined by Lost cast members Daniel Roebuck (Leslie Arzt) and William Mapother (Ethan); producers Carlton Cuse, Bryan Burk and Adam Horowitz; writer Christina M. Kim; and other staff members. Series co-creators Damon Lindelof and Abrams sent greetings by text message. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
Burk: Team Abrams On Trek XI
Lost executive producer Bryan Burk told SCI FI Wire that he will be part of the team developing a proposed 11th Star Trek movie, along with Lost co-creators Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams, who will direct. Abrams' longtime writing colleagues Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who co-wrote Abrams' Mission: Impossible III, will also be involved.
Burk said that he will be an executive producer of Trek XI. "We're all very excited," Burk said in an interview at "Destination: L.A. 2," a fan charity event in Glendale, Calif., over the weekend. But Burk declined to discuss details of the movie: "We actually have this thing where we're just not talking about it outside of ... us right now. And to say I'm excited is the understatement of the [year]. ... It's going to be pretty great."
Burk also dismissed earlier rumors that the movie would center on Spock and Kirk's first meeting at Starfleet Academy and their subsequent early adventures. "I can tell you that that article leaked out prematurely, so there's no formal statement made from any of us, other than we all couldn't be more excited about it," he said.
Burk also smiled when asked if Abrams' longtime friend and frequent star Greg Grunberg would appear in the Trek movie, as either a Klingon or a member of the Federation. "First of all, there's no way Greg Grunberg knows what the Federation is," Burk said with a laugh. But, he added: "When is Greg Grunberg not in a project that we [do]?"
Burk, Kurtzman and Orci have worked alongside Abrams on many of his projects, including TV's Alias. Burk is also an executive producer on Abrams' ABC shows What About Brian and the upcoming Six Degrees. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
Dresden Gets SCI FI Pickup
SCI FI Channel has ordered 11 episodes of The Dresden Files, a supernatural detective series based on Jim Butcher's best-selling books, the network said. Nicolas Cage's Saturn Films and Lionsgate TV will produce the series, which kicks off with a two-hour pilot in January.
Paul Blackthorne (24) plays Harry Dresden, a Chicago-based private detective who has the powers of a wizard. The Dresden Files will shoot in Toronto.
David Carson directed the pilot, which was written by Hans Beimler (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Robert Wolfe (Andromeda); they will serve as executive producers of the series, along with Cage, Norm Golightly and Morgan Gendel.
X3's Phoenix Rises
NEW YORK—Famke Janssen, who reprises the role of Jean Grey in X-Men: The Last Stand, told SCI FI Wire that her character undergoes a transformation with digital visual effects, rather than makeup or prosthetics. (Spoiler information follows!) Janssen's Grey, the powerful telepathic mutant who appeared to perish at the end of X2, reappears in this third installment of the comic-book film franchise. But something isn't right with her, and she evolves into the Phoenix, whose dark powers pose a threat to all around her. Magneto (Ian McKellen) intends to exploit Phoenix in a battle with Homo sapiens and the X-Men aligned with Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart).
To accomplish her transformation from Grey to Phoenix, Janssen said, "Everything was done in post [-production] and experimented with. ... We did several tests before we started shooting—which, thankfully, didn't make it to the movie—where [director] Brett [Ratner] had this idea for a second to have me look like a mannequin, like the way Jude Law looked in A.I. [Artificial Intelligence], with that kind of plastic-y skin, which would have been a disaster for me, because I have really sensitive skin. So we tried, and it didn't work out. It just didn't work. It didn't look right. But he had some idea of that maybe being a concept to go with."
Janssen added: "I had a different idea, personally, because I thought there was never a clear moment [where Grey transformed into the Phoenix]. She would go back and forth so much, I think. As written in the beginning, they sort of had an idea that she was going to be Jean, and then she's going to be Phoenix, and then Dark Phoenix. And when I read it, I said, 'I don't think that's the way it's going work.' ... You could never do it with makeup. It has to be done with acting, because it's a struggle within her. Sometimes one wins. Sometimes the other wins." X-Men: The Last Stand made its stand on May 26. —Ian Spelling
Jackman Kills In X-Men 3
NEW YORK—Hugh Jackman, who reprises the role of Logan/Wolverine in the sequel X-Men: The Last Stand, told SCI FI Wire that he engages in more fights and kills more people in this installment than in the previous films—so many, in fact, that some of his victims got edited out of the final film. "It was fantastic, and there is a good 50 [more] on the cutting room floor, trust me," Jackman said in an interview here. "I was like, 'Where are all those other guys that I killed?'"
Wolverine fights human soldiers and enemy mutants alike in the third movie based on the Marvel Comics franchise, in which a company comes up with a drug to "cure" mutancy. "With those scenes, you film them at night, and you're forever slipping on gravel and whacking guys in the head," the Australian-born Jackman said. "These stunt guys are tough, and one poor guy I clocked right in the eye, and he actually had this prosthetic that made his eye go like this, and I took half of the prosthetic off, and so we kind of kept filming, ... and the poor guy is on the cutting-room floor. That guy is like, 'I took a punch from Wolverine, and I'm not even in there!'"
Jackman added that he was pleased to have scenes in which Wolverine argues with Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart). In The Last Stand, Wolverine clashes with Xavier when he learns that the X-Men leader may be restraining Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) from realizing the full extent of her powers, fearful that her dark side, called the Phoenix, may take over.
"Well, I loved that," Jackman said. "I think that it was always seen very clearly with Magneto [Ian McKellen], the ambiguities of his character. You can understand them, and in this one you can really understand why he takes the position that he does. And if you take that example, now there would be many people in this world who would just say, 'Let's just wipe [the mutants] out, because there are rogue elements there that are going to be disastrous. So let's just wipe them all out.' It's the easy fix."
Jackman said that Xavier's dilemma in The Last Stand brings to mind Nelson Mandela, the South African leader. "If you've ever read Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela's book, the last paragraph talks about, of everything that he had done, he still doesn't know if he did the right thing in his life, because by being the father to his nation and his cause he, in his words, was a terrible father to his children, and he sacrificed being a father to his children for the greater good. He still lives with that guilt and doubt as to whether he did the right thing. Xavier is Nelson Mandela. Xavier has got to have that ambiguity, too, and I think that it's explored really well in this one. He is going against nature, which is sort of against his philosophy, which is how he deals with Jean. He knows what's going to happen. He knows that people are going to die, and he knows that it's going to be apocalyptic." X-Men: The Last Stand opened on May 26. —Ian Spelling
X3 Magneto Shot Deleted
NEW YORK—Brett Ratner, director of the sequel X-Men: The Last Stand, told SCI FI Wire that he shot a scene featuring an Osama bin Laden-like Magneto (Ian McKellen) making threats in a tape recorded in an underground lair, but that the scene was deleted from the film's final cut. In the finished film, audiences will see a tape that Magneto recorded while in hiding, but the scene as it plays out differs from Ratner's initial conception.
"I think that was something that I came up with, which is because originally—and you will probably see this on the DVD—my original concept for Magneto was to have him like Che Guevara when we first saw him, ... in military fatigues with a long beard because he has been in hiding," Ratner said in an interview here. "I actually did a shot where he was in that underground lair with the long beard, and he's sitting there, and Pyro [Aaron Stanford] comes in and says, 'They've announced a cure.' That's the one scene that's not in the movie that I shot, which was fun. But that's how we came up with the tape." X-Men: The Last Stand opened on May 26. —Ian Spelling
X3's Paquin Faced Dilemma
NEW YORK—Anna Paquin, who reprises the role of Rogue in the upcoming sequel film X-Men: The Last Stand, told SCI FI Wire that she's pleased her character figures prominently in the story. In the third installment in the hit comic-book franchise, Rogue faces a decision whether to take a so-called "cure" to suppress her mutant gene, enabling her to enjoy a more normal relationship with her boyfriend, Bobby Drake/Iceman (Shawn Ashmore).
"How big or small or important or not my character, per se, is to the story is never really something that registers with me," Paquin said in an interview here. "I was just happy that I got some interesting scenes to do, that had an emotional job at hand [and] that [were] going to be somewhat challenging. Because there isn't always a lot of that in these kinds of movies. I felt really lucky that once again the writers hooked me up with some interesting stuff to do."
In the movie, battle lines are drawn between mutants who oppose a new drug that can suppress mutancy and those who would promote it. "I just thought it was a really interesting concept for a movie as far as what happens next," Paquin said. "You see different kinds of bickering and butting heads between the mutants themselves, and it's like, 'What if they are butting heads with the whole world? How does that really affect things?' I just thought it was a great new challenge to throw at everyone."
The Canadian-born, New Zealand-raised Oscar winner (for The Piano) added that she understood Rogue's situation. The character is firmly on the side of good and wants to remain a member of the X-Men, but it's a struggle, because she simply can't touch the people she loves without harming them. "I think that is a very natural thing," Paquin said of Rogue's emotional struggle. "I mean, babies that are left alone in orphanages to cry in their cribs have huge problems. You need physical contact. It is like the most basic thing. Literally, a child would die when they are very small without it. To be isolated like that is an incredibly painful thing." X-Men: The Last Stand opened May 26. —Ian Spelling
Da Vinci Begets Angels
In the wake of the success of The Da Vinci Code, Sony has signed that film's writer, Akiva Goldsman, to adapt author Dan Brown's first religious thriller, Angels & Demons, a prequel, Variety reported. Code has grossed $231.8 million worldwide in its first five days of release.
Development of Angels & Demons is still in the early stages, but the studio is planning to reassemble the Da Vinci Code producing team of Brian Grazer and John Calley for the project.
No deals are set yet for Code director Ron Howard or star Tom Hanks to return, but both would have first crack at the project.
Code was the second of Brown's novels centering on Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor who's an expert in religious symbols. Angels & Demons, published in 2000, introduced the Langdon character. Langdon tries to solve a murder and unravel a plot by an ancient group, the Illuminati, to blow up the Vatican during a papal conclave.
Da Vinci Defies Critics, Protests
Controversy and bad reviews didn't stop Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code from debuting on the May 19 weekend with the largest domestic box office of the year, taking in about $77 million, the Associated Press reported. The film's three-day opening worldwide take was even better: $224 million, second only to Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith. The film also was the best domestic opening for both star Tom Hanks and director Howard.
Over the Hedge, meanwhile, opened in second place for the weekend, with $37.2 million in domestic box-office receipts.
The Da Vinci Code, based on Dan Brown's best-seller, received mixed reviews, and protesters picketed outside a number of theaters, upset over the story's suggestion that Jesus Christ was married and had a child. But the controversy did little to deter moviegoers, who packed theaters in almost every country the film debuted, the AP reported.
Da Vinci Game Available
Game publisher 2K Games has shipped a video game based on The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown's controversial book and its film version, which opened over the weekend. In the game, players unravel clues to understand the story behind the movie; 2K previewed the game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles earlier this month.
"This game stands on its own," a 2K representative told SCI FI Wire at E3. "It has clever puzzles [and] a really cool grappling system and goes pretty deep into the story. So it definitely is a great game in its own right."
The Da Vinci Code is an action adventure game that doesn't retread the story of the book or film directly, but rather offers new adventures featuring protagonists Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu. Gamers will play each character at different times as they investigate an occult-related murder, encounter clues and unravel a mystery. The game doesn't have traditional weapons such as guns or knives, so players must look to items in the environment to use for fighting. A "grappling system" allows players and enemies to engage by grabbing each other's shoulders, and a cutscene minigame comes up that requires a well-timed, precise sequence of button pushing to start a successful attack.
Once players solve puzzles, the information is entered into a journal of sorts that players can access at any time. Players take turns between playing Langdon and Neveu, sometimes working together as a team. The game also features several unlockable bonuses, including two levels that open up once players solve all the puzzles. The Da Vinci Code is now available for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC. —Casey Lynch