Alias To Live On?
eff Pinkner, an executive producer of ABC's spy drama Alias, told TV Guide Online that the franchise may live on after the series finale this spring, either in a spinoff, a feature film or some other form. "I would say we haven't seen the end of all things Alias," Pinkner told the site. "There are versions of this show which could exist after this season. There are plenty of stories we'd love to tell."
Among the formats Pinkner and series creator J.J. Abrams have discussed: a spinoff series centering on villains Sark (David Anders), Peyton (Amy Acker) and Sloane (Ron Rifkin). "It's the triumvirate of evil!" Pinkner said. (No official discussions with ABC have taken place yet.) Producers have also toyed with the idea of a big-screen adaptation starring Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, the site reported.
Alias comes back in the spring and will feature the return of several familiar faces, Pinkner said. They include Greg Grunberg as Eric Weiss, Bradley Cooper as Will Tippin, possibly more appearances by Lena Olin as spy mommy Irina and even Merrin Dungey as the evil Francie.
Rowling To Start Last Potter
arry Potter creator J.K. Rowling wrote on her official Web site that she will begin writing the seventh and final volume in her best-selling series in January. "For 2006 will be the year when I write the final book in the Harry Potter series," Rowling wrote in a Christmas message. "I contemplate the task with mingled feelings of excitement and dread, because I can't wait to get started, to tell the final part of the story and, at last, to answer all the questions (will I ever answer all of the questions? Let's aim for most of the questions); and yet it will all be over at last and I can't imagine life without Harry."
Rowling added: "I have been fine-tuning the fine-tuned plan of seven during the past few weeks so that I can really set to work in January. Reading through the plan is like contemplating the map of an unknown country in which I will soon find myself. Sometimes, even at this stage, you can see trouble looming; nearly all of the six published books have had Chapters of Doom. The quintessential, never, I hope, to be beaten Chapter That Nearly Broke My Will To Go On was chapter nine, Goblet of Fire (appropriately enough, 'The Dark Mark')."
No title or publication date has been anounced yet for the final Potter book.
Craig Zeroes In On 007
aniel Craig, the British actor who will become the next James Bond, told MTV.com that the upcoming 007 film Casino Royale goes back to the beginning, but with an update for current times.
"It's going to be very different from anything else," Craig (Munich) told the site. "It will have certain elements that will make it a Bond movie," including Ian Fleming source material. But director Martin Campbell will make certain updates: for example, changing Bond's card game from baccarat to Texas Hold 'Em. "The cars are newer, too," Craig said with a laugh. "There's a lot of similarities with the book, but, yes, of course it's been updated. It has to be. It's a suspension of disbelief that we're renewing Bond and that this is the first time you see him."
Craig added: "Paul Haggis [Crash] has done a rewrite of the script and has written great dialogue. The lead girl part is fantastic. The characters are all fantastic. It's a Bond film. We're making a Bond movie first and foremost."
Casino Royale, the 21st Bond movie, opens in November 2006.
Studios Unveil 2006 Slates
he major studios have begun announcing their slates of releases for 2006, and they are full of science fiction, fantasy, supernatural thrillers and computer-animated movies. A rundown follows.
Paramount will offer the Tom Cruise sequel Mission: Impossible III, from director and Lost creator J.J. Abrams, on May 5; the computer-animated Barnyard, featuring the voices of Courteney Cox and Danny Glover, on Oct. 6; and the live-action and animated Charlotte's Web, starring Dakota Fanning, on Dec. 20.
Sony has the sequel Underworld: Evolution on Jan 20; Ultraviolet, a vampire thriller starring Milla Jovovich, on Feb. 24; Silent Hill, based on the video game, on April 21; Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code, based on the worldwide best-seller, on May 19; the Adam Sandler fantasy comedy Click on June 23; the computer-animated Monster House on July 21; The Return of Zoom, a comic-based superhero comedy starring Tim Allen, on Aug. 11; The Messengers, a supernatural thriller from the Pang brothers, on Aug. 18; the supernatural fantasy drama The Covenant on Sept. 8; the computer-animated Open Season, featuring the voices of Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher and Debra Messing, on Sept. 29; the horror sequel The Grudge 2 on Oct. 20; the offbeat Will Ferrell comedy Stranger Than Fiction on Nov. 10; and the 21st James Bond movie, Casino Royale, which introduces Daniel Craig as 007, on Nov. 17.
Fox will unveil the Lindsay Lohan comedy Just My Luck on March 3; the computer-animated sequel film Ice Age 2: The Meltdown on March 31; the mermaid movie Aquamarine on April 14; Brett Ratner's X-Men 3 on May 26; the horror sequel The Omen 666 on June 6; Garfield 2 on June 23; My Super Ex-Girlfriend, a comedy starring Uma Thurman, on July 14; and the film version of the fantasy best-seller Eragon on Dec. 15. Also coming from Fox in 2006 is the Mike Judge satire Idiocracy and the vampire SF movie Perfect Creature.
Warner will offer up the Wachowski brothers' V for Vendetta on March 17; the Keanu Reeves romantic fantasy movie The Lake House on June 16; Bryan Singer's hotly anticipated Superman Returns on June 29; M. Night Shyamalan's next creepy fantasy film, Lady in the Water, on July 21; the computer-animated fantasy movie The Ant Bully on Aug. 4; the Nicole Kidman alien invasion story The Visiting on Aug. 11; Hilary Swank's supernatural thriller The Reaping in October; and the computer-animated Happy Feet, with a voice cast of dozens, on Nov. 17. Also on Warner's docket for 2006 is the Darren Aronofsky SF epic The Fountain.
2005 Was SCI FI's Best Yet
he year 2005 was SCI FI Channel's highest-rated and most-watched year to date, the network announced. SCI FI ended the year with its highest average viewership ever in key demographics and its highest household rating ever (1.03) in prime time. For the fourth year in a row, SCI FI averaged more than 1 million viewers in prime time. The channel also delivered a 1.0 household average rating in 2005, marking the third straight year SCI FI has maintained a 1.0 rating in prime time.
Now distributed to 85 million homes, SCI FI scored with viewers in nearly every key demographic, ranking within the top 10 of all basic cable networks for ratings among adults aged 25-54, men 25-54, adults 18-49, men 18-49 and women 25-54. The channel also ranked 10th for household ratings among all measured, non-news, non-sports, ad-supported basic cable nets in prime time. SCI FI continues to attract younger viewers, with 2005 marking the channel's fifth straight year of growth among adults 18-34.
Incredibles Powers DVD Sales
he Incredibles was the top-selling DVD of 2005, with total sales to date estimated at 17.4 million units by Home Media Retailing, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith came in second, with sales of 10.4 million units, followed by Madagascar and Shark Tale, which tied for third place with sales of 10 million units each.
The Polar Express came in at number five, with estimated sales of 8.1 million units. Other top sellers of the year included a special platinum edition of Cinderella (6.56 million) and Batman Begins (6.15 million).
Episode III Topped 2005
tar Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith was the top movie at the box office in 2005, with $380 million in domestic revenues, Variety reported.
Other top-grossing films of the year included Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Batman Begins, Madagascar and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Overall, however, the 2005 domestic box office of about $8.75 billion was down 11 percent from the year before. The top 15 films of 2005—those with domestic total takes over $120 million—were on a par with the top films last year, but every film below 15 in the top 100 did worse than the one with the same rank in 2004.
Brits Miss Star Trek The Most
he original Star Trek is the show most Britons want to see returned to U.K. TV, according to the results of a survey reported by the BBC. The show, which premiered in 1966, topped a poll of more than 1,000 viewers commissioned by the British interactive TV firm Home Media Networks, the BBC reported.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer came in second, followed by the long-running sitcom Friends.
The rest of the list: 4. Fawlty Towers 5. Blake's 7 6. The X-Files 7. Babylon 5 8. Stargate SG-1 9. Seinfeld 10. The A-Team. Only SCI FI Channel's original series Stargate SG-1 is still in production and returns with original episodes on Jan. 6.
X-Men 3 Introduces Psylocke
ei Melancon has joined the cast of the upcoming third X-Men film in the role of the villainous mutant Psylocke, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Melancon previously appeared in Rush Hour 2, which was directed by X-Men 3 helmer Brett Ratner.
Psylocke has had several incarnations in the Marvel comic-book series on which the films are based; she is best known for her fighting and telepathic skills, as well as an ability to transport herself and others through shadows. In the film, she will fight against the X-Men as a member of Magneto's (Ian McKellen) Brotherhood of Mutants.
X-Men 3, from a script by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn, is set to premiere on May 26, 2006, Memorial Day weekend.
Ultraviolet Images Revealed
ew images have gone live on SCI FI Wire's Photo Gallery page for the upcoming SF movie Ultraviolet.
The images feature star Milla Jovovich as the title character, a woman in the late 21st century who is one of the humans who have been infected with a genetically engineered vampire-like disease called hemophagia, which gives them enhanced speed, incredible stamina and acute intelligence.
As the world is pushed to the brink of civil war between humans and "hemophages," Ultraviolet finds herself protecting a 9-year-old boy who has been marked for death by the human government.
The movie comes from writer/director Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium) and opens Feb. 24, 2006.
Lost Wins Entertainment Kudo
he cast of ABC's hit SF series Lost won the title of "Entertainer of the Year" from Entertainment Weekly magazine, which called the show one of the "biggest cult breakouts since The X-Files," the Reuters news service reported.
Naomi Watts, who plays the blond actress befriended by the title giant ape in Kong Kong, was a runner-up, as was boy wizard Harry Potter.
SF Encyclopedia Is Themed
F editor and critic Gary Westfahl told SCI FI Wire that he recently completed The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works and Wonders, a 1,612-page, three-volume work cataloguing science fiction and fantasy. "A few years ago, a senior editor at Greenwood Press approached me about editing a three-volume, 600,000-word encyclopedia of science fiction and fantasy that would, unlike previous encyclopedias, emphasize themes," Westfahl said in an interview. "After some thought, I developed a proposal for two volumes ... on 'themes' and a third volume ... on 'classic works.'"
For the purposes of the Encyclopedia, Westfahl defined a "theme" as any topic worth discussing in relation to science fiction and fantasy. "[This] included significant types of characters (aliens in space, elves, mothers, robots), settings (castles, heaven, Mars, mountains), narrative patterns (betrayal, quests, space travel, underwater adventure), fields of study (biology, cosmology, politics, psychology) and abstract concepts (courage, evil, progress, wisdom)," Westfahl said. "Each 'theme' entry emphasizes how [it] has figured in science fiction and fantasy of the last two centuries, although some entries also hearken back to ancient myths and legends and classical literature. The 'classic work' entries cover 127 novels, 52 films and 21 television programs, all deemed especially significant and/or especially revelatory in terms of their uses of themes."
Though Westfahl is the sole credited editor, a project as large as the Encyclopedia couldn't have been done without help. Westfahl had an "advisory board" to assist him, which consisted of notable scholars, authors and critics, such as John Clute.
An avid reader of science fiction and fantasy since early childhood, Westfahl said that it's hard to explain why he has always found the genres so appealing. "[Science fiction/fantasy] offers authors an unusual amount of imaginative freedom, even if they frequently fail to take advantage of it," he said. Part of the appeal is wish fulfillment. "Fantasy offer[s] the ideal past we wish humanity had had," he said. "Science fiction offer[s] the ideal future we hope humanity will achieve. Yet both genres can also be vehicles for savage critiques of humanity's foibles and grim, dystopian visions: the very antithesis of wish fulfillment. Overall, as I read more and more science fiction and fantasy, I find it more and more difficult to describe the genres with brief generalizations, which I suppose is why I still find them so fascinating."
Westfahl also recently published another major project: Science Fiction Quotations: From the Inner Mind to the Outer Limits. Both it and the $350 Greenwood Encyclopedia are available now. "Working on both projects more or less simultaneously was exhausting," Westfahl said. "But also stimulating."
Warcraft Hammers Bad Players
lizzard, developer of the hit massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft, has suspended 18,000 accounts for violations of the game's terms of use, the GameSpot Web site reported. That amounts to roughly 200 accounts per day, the site reported.
Most of the suspensions were of computer-run characters made to farm gold and items for resale in the real world. Blizzard is asking legitimate Warcraft players to report suspicious activity.
VU Games recently announced that the game had reached the 5-million player level.
Ice Age 2 Game Thaws
ivendi Universal Games announced that it is developing a video game based on Fox's upcoming computer-animated sequel movie Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, for release in the spring. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown Video Game will be available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance and PC, the company said. The game will carry a suggested retail price of $19.99 for PC, $29.99 for Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance and $39.99 for console versions.
As in the film, the game will take place as the ice age is ending and the heroes of the first Ice Age movie return, including Manny the Mammoth, Sid the Sloth and Diego the Saber-Toothed Tiger.
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown opens in theaters on March 31, 2006.
Shatner To Hawk DVDs
tar Trek star William Shatner announced that he will be selling DVDs of obscure SF movies in a new Web-based DVD-of-the-month club, focusing on what he calls "the best sci-fi movies that didn't come to a theater near you."
The Official William Shatner DVD Club promises a new DVD every month for an annual fee of $47.99, starting with a free copy of 2000's werewolf movie Ginger Snaps.
"I've chosen a select group of memorable and entertaining sci-fi movies that never got the exposure they deserved and made them available to fans everywhere at a great price," Shatner said in a statement.
Upcoming titles include 2002's Close Your Eyes (also released as Doctor Sleep), the 2004 French movie Immortal (Immortel ad Vitam) and the 2004 TV movie Dragon Storm, which debuted on SCI FI Channel.
Fantasy Films Make Registry
handful of fantastical movies, including the original Miracle on 34th Street and Toy Story, were among the 25 films selected by the Librarian of Congress for the National Film Registry, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
James H. Billington also selected 1960's House of Usher and 1975's The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the registry of films that have cultural, historical or aesthetic significance.
Billington made his selections from more than 1,000 titles nominated by the public after lengthy discussions with the library's motion picture division staff and members of the National Film Preservation Board, the trade paper reported.
Daniel Raises Ire
conservative watchdog group is taking issue with NBC about its upcoming midseason series The Book of Daniel for its risque depiction of a fictional Christian community, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The American Family Association, a longtime critic of irreverent broadcast television shows dating back to the 1970s, began urging people on its Web site last week to send e-mails complaining about Daniel to NBC Universal chairman Bob Wright, the trade paper reported.
The Rev. Donald Wildmon, chairman of the AFA, assailed NBC for the protagonist in the series, which he describes as a "drug-addicted Episcopal priest whose wife depends heavily on her midday martinis." Wildmon also criticizes portrayals of homosexual characters on the series, as well as its "very unconventional" inclusion of Jesus himself, who is depicted in Daniel as having regular conversations with the priest.
"The Book of Daniel is a fictional drama about an Episcopalian priest's family and the contemporary issues with which they must grapple," an NBC spokesman told the trade paper. "We're confident once audiences view this quality drama themselves, they'll appreciate this thought-provoking examination of one American family." Book of Daniel, starring Aidan Quinn, begins airing Jan. 6. NBC is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
Kingdom Hearts II Hits 1M
quare Enix announced that shipments of its sequel video game Kingdom Hearts II crossed the 1-million mark in three days, the IGN.com Web site reported. The game hit Japanese retail on Dec. 22.
The number is all the more impressive given that the first release of the original Kingdom Hearts never hit the 1-million mark in Japan.
Square Enix expects Kingdom Hearts II to reach the 10-million mark in worldwide sales.
Kingdom Hearts II is the sequel to the hit game, first announced in 2003, that combined Disney and Square characters into one massive action role-playing game.
Leung, Park Among AZN Finalists
atie Leung (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica) are among the four finalists for the Outstanding Newcomer Award to be presented during the 2006 Asian Excellence Awards sponsored by AZN Television, the network announced. Lynn Chen (All My Children) and Rex Lee (Entourage) round out the finalists for the award, which is one of several recognizing outstanding achievements by Asian Americans.
The 2006 Asian Excellence Awards, Featuring the Remy Martin X.O. Honors, will be broadcast from Los Angeles on AZN Television, Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Resident Evil 3 Casting Rumored
he BloodyDisgusting.com Web site reported rumors that Sienna Guillory and Milla Jovovich will return in the third Resident Evil movie, subtitled Afterlife. Guillory will reprise the role of Jill Valentine in the Sony Screen Gems sequel, and Jovovich will again play Alice. Mike Epps also returns.
Paul W.S. Anderson, who helmed the first Resident Evil film and wrote the second, will again write and direct, the site reported.
The site added that the third installment will introduce the characters of Leon Kennedy and Wekser from the Resident Evil video games, on which the movies are based. Resident Evil: Afterlife, which deals with a world overrun by mutant zombies, is aiming at a 2007 release.
Luck Moves To May
ox is moving Lindsay Lohan's fantasy film Just My Luck to May 12, 2006, from its original March 3 date, putting it directly opposite Warner Brothers' Poseidon, Variety reported.
Fox is reportedly hoping that the comedy will repeat the success of other small-scale films for young women that have fared well against summer blockbusters, such as last June's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Fox will move its upcoming children's movie Aquamarine into the March 3 slot from April 14.
March 3 will also see the premiere of Weinstein Co.'s supernatural horror film Pulse, starring Veronica Mars actress Kristen Bell.
Watts Up For Dueling Spy Roles?
he Australian Moviehole.net Web site reported a rumor that Aussie star Naomi Watts is mulling two similar roles: the 007-esque agent Daisy Scarlett in the upcoming British film of the same name and the Bond girl Vesper Lynd in the upcoming 21st James Bond film, Casino Royale.
Bond producers EON are reportedly interested in having Watts star opposite Casino Royale star Daniel Craig, the site said.
The site, quoting anonymous "insiders," said that it's possible Watts (King Kong) will pass on Casino Royale, fearing the so-called "Curse of the Bond Girl."
O.C.'s Brody Bites Into TV Vampires
he O.C. star Adam Brody is going behind the TV camera, teaming with Doug Liman and Dave Bartis' Hypnotic to develop a series about a vampire-hunting Los Angeles cop for NBC, based on Brody's idea, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Brody's as-yet-untitled drama for NBC centers on a rookie cop who joins a special unit of the L.A.P.D. that tracks the vampire population.
Separately, Hypnotic has set up the supernatural drama The Gift, from writers Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell, at The WB; it centers on a college freshman who discovers she has special powers.
Both projects are co-produced with the NBC Universal Television Studio, where Hypnotic has a first-look deal. (Both NBC and NBC Universal Television Studio are owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.)
Natalie Chaidez (New York Undercover) has been tapped to pen the Brody project, which has received a script commitment from the network. She is executive-producing with Brody, Liman and Bartis.
Brody most recently co-starred in the Liman-helmed summer hit Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Briefly Noted
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A new Web site has gone live for the upcoming vampire sequel film Underworld: Evolution, which opens Jan. 20, 2006.
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An Empire magazine readers poll voted War of the Worlds star Tom Cruise "the world's most irritating actor" in the magazine's 200th issue, which also named Cruise "the biggest actor of all time."
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The Scifiheaven.net fan Web site reported a wild rumor that Tom Hanks is under consideration to appear in a proposed 11th Star Trek movie written by Hanks' Band of Brothers writer Erik Jendresen, though Paramount hasn't made any announcement about the status of Jendresen's script or the future of the Trek franchise.
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The DVD of Joss Whedon's Serenity debuted in third place in total sales for the week ended Dec. 25, according to preliminary figures reported by Variety.
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Production has wrapped on Doctor Dolittle 3, a straight-to-video sequel to Eddie Murphy's hit movie, but Murphy won't be in it, the Moviehole.net Web site reported.
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Paramount confirmed to the Hollywood North Report Web site that it will re-release Star Trek: The Animated Series on DVD in mid-to-late 2006.
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Vincent Schiavelli, the character actor who appeared in scores of movies, including Ghost and Batman Returns, died Dec. 26 at his home in Sicily of lung cancer, the Associated Press reported. He was 57.
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Argentina Brunetti, a character actress best known for playing the worried wife of Mr. Martini in the classic fantasy film It's a Wonderful Life, died in her sleep Dec. 20 in Rome, the Associated Press reported. She was 98.
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Austin Powers star Mike Myers is splitting with his wife of 12 years, Robin Ruzan, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
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