Star Wars Sets New Record
tar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace took in $28,542,349 during its first day of release, setting a new record for the largest single-day box-office gross in history.
The previous record was held by Jurassic Park: The Lost World, which earned $26.1 million on its opening day back in 1997.
"We're thrilled and overwhelmed that so many people went to see Episode I yesterday and enjoyed the movie so much," Gordon Radley, the president of LucasFilm Ltd., said in a prepared statement. "As we've said before, whatever the box-office records, Star Wars is about having a great time at the movies with your friends and family."
The Phantom Menace opened on May 19 in 2,970 theaters, and more than 2,000 of those began showing the film at 12:01 a.m.
Star Wars Starts With $7.5 Million
tar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace earned an estimated $7.5 million during its first six hours of release on May 19.
Variety reported that Fox came up with that figure based on a sampling of the 2,011 theaters that showed advance screenings of the film from 12:01 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. on its opening day.
Patrick Stewart Joins The X-Men
atrick Stewart is finalizing a deal to play the role of Professor Xavier in Fox's upcoming film X-Men, according to Variety.
Xavier, also known simply as Professor X, is the telepathic leader of a group of mutant superheroes called the X-Men.
Although Xavier is confined to a wheelchair, his abilities as a telepath as well as his incredible intellect make him one of the most powerful men on Earth. Stewart will star opposite Ian McKellen, who will play the super-villain Magneto, Xavier's former friend and now arch enemy.
Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly is reporting that professional wrestler Tyler Mane will play the role of the evil mutant Sabretooth, the arch nemesis of the X-Men's Wolverine. The film, which is being directed by Bryan Singer, is scheduled to begin shooting on July 19 in Toronto, Canada.
McKellen To Play Magneto
scar nominee Sir Ian McKellen has agreed to play the role of super-villain Magneto in Bryan Singer's live-action film The X-Men, according to Variety.
The Fox flick is based on Marvel's long-running comic series of the same name and is due to begin shooting in Toronto, Canada, this August.
The X-Men are a group of outcast mutant superheroes led by the brilliant Professor Xavier, who hopes that mutants and humans will one day live in peace. Magneto, the Master of Magnetism, leads a rival cadre of evil mutants who want to conquer humanity and rule the planet by force.
No other cast members have been signed.
Van Dien, Bell Join Timeshifters
tarship Troopers headliner Casper Van Dien and JAG star Catherine Bell will play the lead roles in the TBS Superstation original movie The Timeshifters.
The telefilm, previously called Thrill Seekers, is being directed by Mario Azzopardi from a script written by Gay Walch and Kurt Inderbitzin.
Timeshifters tells the story of a tabloid journalist named Tom Merrick (Van Dien) who discovers that the same man appears in photos of major historical disasters, ranging from the sinking of the Titanic to the destruction caused by Hurricane Hugo. Merrick and fellow magazine researcher Elizabeth (Bell) learn that the man is a futuristic tourist, knowledge that leads them to put their own lives on the line in an attempt to divert an imminent disaster.
Timeshifters is scheduled to air on TBS in October.
Kilmer Joins Mars Expedition
atman Forever headliner Val Kilmer is in final negotiations to star in the Warner Bros. film Mars, according to Variety.
Kilmer would play an astronaut on the first manned mission to the Red Planet who becomes stranded on the Martian surface after an accident.
As the astronaut tries to find a way out of his predicament, he learns some startling truths about his mission that make his rescue all the more important. The film, previously titled Alone, is being directed by Antony Hoffman from a script by Chuck Pfarrer and Jonathan Lemkin.
The film is scheduled to begin shooting in late August or early September.
McTiernan May Remake Rollerball
ast Action Hero director John McTiernan is in talks with United Artists to remake the 1975 SF classic film Rollerball, according to Variety.
The original movie was based on the William Harrison novel Roller Ball Murders and featured James Caan as the star player of a violent, roller derby-like sport.
McTiernan recently finished shooting the United Artists remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, and both sides are said to be pleased with the outcome. The Die Hard with a Vengeance director is also considering making a movie based on the Quiller series of mystery books.
MIT Students Make Giant R2-D2
tudents at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., have turned the college's hallowed dome into a giant version of R2-D2.
The students used red, white, black and blue panels of a lightweight fabric to carry out their caper, which was discovered by campus security on the morning of Tuesday, May 18.
Variety reported that the security guards also found a dozen doughnuts waiting for them, along with instructions on how to disassemble the giant R2 unit. College officials said they plan to leave the prank in place until Thursday, May 20.
TSR Puts StarCraft On Paper
ungeons & Dragons creator TSR Inc. announced a deal to port Blizzard Entertainment's best-selling science fiction PC game StarCraft onto paper.
The StarCraft RPG will be based on the Alternity game rules, while TSR also plans to develop a StarCraft title that utilizes the D&D Fast-Play system.
As part of the deal, TSR plans to create paper games based on Blizzard's fantasy PC title Diablo. StarCraft was released last year and went on to sell more than 1.7 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling game of 1998, according to PC Data.
Briefly Noted
- The official Web site for the Battlestar Galactica movie being developed by Glen A. Larson and Todd Moyer is now online.
- City of Lost Children co-director Marc Caro has signed on to helm the SF adventure film Snark for Pathe Pictures, according to Variety. The film is loosely based on Lewis Carroll's poem "The Hunting of the Snark."
- Camryn Manheim will star alongside Gary Shandling and Annette Bening in the SF comedy What Planet Are You From, according to Variety. The picture is about an alien equipped with a mechanical penis who is sent to mate with an Earthling in order to take over our planet.
- Total Recall 2070 has now been sold in more than 75 countries worldwide, according Recall producer TEAM Communications. The series, which currently runs on Showtime, has also been cleared in 84 percent of the United States for its syndication run, which begins in January 2000.
