Weekly Entertainment & Music News

[FH]

Mattel Reveals Fox's Robots Characters! Source: Coming Soon!
Sunday, February 22, 2004

Action-Figure.com has posted a great look at the characters from 20th Century Fox's Robots, from director Chris Wedge (Ice Age). The CG film is targeted for a March 11, 2005 release date and Mattel will be creating various games and toys for the film.

Ewan McGregor plays as a young robot named Rodney, "who grows up on the outskirts of a huge metropolis and wants to work with the most influential character in the city, an inventor," Wedge said recently. Halle Berry is Cappy, the hot executive 'bot who catches Rodney's eye. Stanley Tucci and Dianne Wiest speak for Rodney's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Copperbottom. Mel Brooks is the inventor known as Big Weld. Drew Carey and Amanda Bynes are part of the Rusties, a gang of obsolete robots.

Check out the pics by clicking on this link and scrolling down.

[FH]

Harling's Exorcist Won't Include Schrader's Footage Source: Coming Soon!
Sunday, February 22, 2004

Variety reports that Renny Harlin's reshoot of Exorcist: The Beginning wrapped filming February 22 after 13 weeks on Rome's Cinecitta Studios backlot, where word is that not a single frame of the footage shot by Paul Schrader will be included in the bedeviled prequel's new cut.

Harlin's 13-week effort equals the amount of time spent by Schrader on his original shoot. Schrader dropped out of the Morgan Creek production last year due to creative differences. Still, his name is reportedly meant to stay on the film.

Originally budgeted at $25 million, the antecedent to the 1973 horror classic is now jokingly being referred to in Rome as "the sequel to the prequel."

Three original key cast members - Clara Bellar, Gabriel Mann and pop star Billy Crawford - are not likely to appear in the final version, since they didn't return for reshooting. A new writer, Alexi Hawley, was brought in to rewrite the William Wisher and Caleb Carr script, and a new editor is working only with Harlin's material for the recut.

Exorcist: The Beginning, which is scheduled for release via Warner Bros. this year, recounts the tale of Father Merrin's journey as a young missionary priest to post-WWII Africa, which led to his first encounter with demonic forces. The young Merrin is played by Stellan Skarsgard who, after working with Schrader, returned to Cinecitta to reshoot with Harlin.

While Schrader's footage is thought to have been considered too tame, the new footage is said to generously feature revolving eyeballs, spinning heads and loads of projectile vomit.

[FH]

Elisha Cuthbert to Get Covered in Wax Source: Coming Soon!
Saturday, February 21, 2004

24 and The Girl Next Door star Elisha Cuthbert is in final talks to join Dark Castle Entertainment's House of Wax for Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures. Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis and Susan Levin are producing, while commercial helmer Jaume Collet-Serra is making his feature directorial debut.

The film is a remake of the 1953 classic horror film House of Wax 3-D, which centered on a mad professor who used human bodies covered with wax in his wax museum. The new version, written by Chad and Carey Hayes, will depart from the original but will retain the gruesome "human bodies in wax" element and focus on a group of teens who fall prey to demented killers who have a penchant for encasing their victims in wax.

Cuthbert plays one of the teens, joining the already cast Chad Michael Murray. The film will shoot in April in Australia.

[FH]

Dark Horse Signs Broken Saints Deal Source: Superhero Hype!
Sunday, February 22, 2004

Award-winning online saga Broken Saints has caught the attention of the world's leading publisher of licensed comics. Brooke Burgess and the creators of this innovative online anime series have just signed a multi-year deal with Dark Horse Entertainment to develop Broken Saints on multiple fronts - including a live-action feature film.

Dark Horse Entertainment wants Broken Saints to be one of their next studio collaborations, following Revolution Studios supernatural adventure Hellboy, and New Line's Son of the Mask (The sequel to the $100 million Jim Carrey comedy smash). A Dark Horse comic version of Broken Saints will be available by the end of the year, either in monthly release or as a graphic novel collection.

Burgess' Budget Monks Productions - thanks to a grant from Telefilm Canada - will also be producing a DVD collection of the series featuring upgraded art, voice narration and 5.1 Surround. Future incarnations include high-end collectibles and the design and early demo for a next-generation videogame console title.

Visit the official Broken Saints website for more.

[FH]

Ken Watanabe to Star in Batman!? Source: Superhero Hype!
Friday, February 20, 2004

'The Unconquered' pointed us to Batman on Film who have received an awesome scoop which, if it turns out to be true, would definitely make this camp very happy! The site says that Ken Watanabe, who is Oscar-nominated for his supporting role in "The Last Samurai," may be part of Chris Nolan's Batman cast...

According to a new BOF scooper, actor Ken Watanabe (THE LAST SAMURAI) will soon be announced as a member of the BATMAN cast. And it is a major character--one that I won't reveal right now. This same source has revealed to BOF that a young Harvey Dent is indeed in the script as speculated. BOF has long reported that Dent may be in the script. So, who is playing him? Well, if the guy they wants takes the gig, at least he's worked with Nolan before.

Sounds like Larry Holden ("Memento," "Insomnia") may be starring as Dent then. Also, the site was recently send a possible description of the costume...

It is made of silicone and a material similar to the "Spider-Man" costume. It has a armored look to it around the chest area. There is no yellow oval--the Bat symbol is like it is in the current comics. It may be part of the chest armor. The suit is dark, but not totally black. From the description that I got, it's dark gray. The cape, cowl, boots, and gloves are black. I've heard two descriptions for the ears. One report said that they are shorter than they were in the previous films. Someone else told me that they are "Kane-style;" based on the orginal look of Batman back from 1939. I've also heard two reports on the eyes. I've heard it had lenses, and I've heard it didn't. I'm sure that costuming experienced with both. The utility belt will have pockets, but with a sleek look to it (nothing like what Adam West wore).

This is of course all unconfirmed, but stay tuned for more on the above bits.

[FH]

SCOOP: BATMAN`s devil is in the details
So much good stuff that we're censoring ourselves

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Dateline: Monday, February 23, 2004

By: PATRICK SAURIOL
By: News Editor
Source: Cinescape
By now comic book fans are daring to believe that Warner Bros. new BATMAN movie has all the ingredients of success: a new actor to play the Dark Knight (Christian Bale); a supporting cast that suggests substance will play as important a part as style; a script from a screenwriter (David Goyer) that's had success with previous comic book adaptations, and who also happens to be a successful comic book writer; and a director (Christopher Nolan) with credits that both critics and fanboys can appreciate (like MEMENTO and INSOMNIA). So how much better can it get?

We're here to tell you that it does get better. A lot better. So good that we're going to have to do something we rarely choose to do and not tell you everything that we know.


We have a good reason for this rule and that has to do with things we call "key spoilers". Every film has them, those moments where a major plot point will happen that twists or reveals something that can change the entire film. Remember what happened when Luke Skywalker confronted Darth Vader in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, or what happened shortly after Kane sat down to eat dinner in ALIEN, or when the Nazis opened the Ark of the Covenant in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK? Did you really want to know what was going to happen all those months before you saw those films -- especially now when you consider that these films are considered classics of their genres? Of course not. And that's why we're here to raise your expectations for BATMAN BEGINS (which may shortly be the new title for Nolan's BATMAN film) and to tell you that there are some things best left unsaid for the moment.


But there are things that can be told, and if you find yourself growing more excited as the days progress, give us (and the BATMAN filmmakers) a little of your trust. You just might be handsomely rewarded when the lights dim and the Batman logo comes up on the big screen next summer.


A longtime scooper has filled us in on many of the secrets left unaccounted about BATMAN: INTIMIDATION GAME (still the working title of the BATMAN project.) We trust this source, as they have told us many things in the past that we've reported on first, only to see them be officially announced elsewhere. And what they tell us about the new BATMAN movie gets our blood racing and wishing that the summer of 2005 were here already.


Here is what we can share with you at this time:



Dennis Quaid is "close" to being signed for the part of Jim Gordon, the Gotham City beat cop that will one day become police Commissioner. Gordon has an important role to play in the picture. One might even say that fate will deal him -- and subsequently the Dark Knight -- a card that sets the course for their future and that of Gotham City.


Cillian Murphy is playing The Scarecrow, but you already know that.


At present, the concept for this film's Batmobile is unlike the looks of Batman's wheels from the four earlier films. Instead, this incarnation of the Batmobile -- at least at this stage of development -- might look like it has more in common with the behemoth depicted in Frank Miller's legendary THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS comic book series. As our source tells us, "the Batmobile will be big and bulky, like an urban tank."


There is talk about changing the working title of the project to BATMAN BEGINS.


One of the film's major action scenes will take place inside a Tibetan palace and will not involve Batman -- but a pre-Batman Bruce Wayne. Much ass-kicking will take place inside that palace, and it will be upon the film's main villain, or more specifically, his henchmen.


When you see the way Goyer and Nolan choose to end their movie, you'll be wishing that the sequel will be coming out tomorrow. And that's all we'll say about that.

As we said, the summer of 2005 now can't get here fast enough.


[Our thanks to the source for conveying this and other items of interest, and our hopes that they will contact us again soon.]

[FH]

ERIK LARSEN IMAGE'S NEW PUBLISHER
Source: Comics Continuum

Erik Larsen, the new publisher of Image Comics, said he hopes to take the company into a new direction.

Image Comics on Friday night announced that Larsen is replacing Jim Valentino, who stepped down this week.

"When we formed Image, the group of us had all come fresh off of superhero comics, so doing more of what we loved was a natural progression," said Larsen. "Over the years, things have gradually shifted and the emphasis has been more on doing cutting-edge, alternative comics. Jim's roots were there, after all, so it was only natural that he would help Image expand in that direction during his tenure as publisher. I've aided him in that regard over the years, having brought in A Distant Soil, Age of Bronze, Liberty Meadows and Kabuki, among others, but my roots are in the more mainstream camp. We'll continue to do these types of books, but I'd like to see us broaden our scope a bit.

"Image Comics has always been a creator-friendly place. It's the only company I'm aware of where the publishers don't grab a piece of the rights for themselves. All Image titles are 100% creator-owned and keeping that is important to me. We're the premier publisher for top-flight creators to come to in that regard. Reaching out to the creative community and bringing in more creators who want to build something for themselves is job number one."

In addition to redefining the company's creative profile, Larsen also has plans to tighten Image's schedule, ensuring that the publisher's books hit retailers' shelves in a more timely fashion.

"Retailers and fans are the true backbone of the industry and providing them with more on-time, high-quality books is a huge priority. I've had extensive talks already with Todd McFarlane about Spawn and together we've cooked up some ideas that will please fans, retailers and Todd alike. I'll be talking to others as well. Getting the trains to run on time is important -- and we'll all sleep easier once that Image Comics Anniversary Hardcover goes on sale."

Larsen will continue work on the long-running Savage Dragon, the only original Image book written and drawn by its creator. Larsen will oversee Image from his drawing desk in Northern California, while day-to-day operations of the Southern California office will be handled by new managing editor Eric Stephenson, formerly Image's director of marketing.

"I've known Eric Stephenson for years and have worked with him professionally on several occasions," Larsen said. "He was Jim's right-hand man and he'll be my right-hand man. I can think of no one better for the job."

Valentino remains an Image partner. and may play a more creative

"I'm hoping Jim can do some more creative stuff instead of being the guy sitting behind the desk. I hope we'll see some good stuff out of him," Larsen said.

[FH]

Grohl Looks Ahead To Next Foos Album

Source: Billboard




With the long-festering self-titled debut from his metal-worshipping Probot project finally out in stores, Dave Grohl is looking ahead to the next Foo Fighters album. "We've got a couple of songs," he tells Billboard. "The thing is, we always get excited to make a new record, because it means we'll go back out on the road and have a good time for a year-and-a-half."

Unlike past albums that have been recorded in Grohl's Virginia basement, he says the upcoming RCA set will be captured in more upscale accommodations. "We're going to make the best balls-out record we've ever made, and we're going to make it in a studio. We're not used to studios, only basements."

The album will be the follow-up to 2002's "One by One," which debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 1.05 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. It was named best rock album earlier this month at the 46th Grammy Awards.

"It doesn't really even matter that you win," Grohl told Billboard in January. "It's just the fact that you've been nominated. I've got enough of these things. Spread the love. Winning is great, but it's just being there. I fly my family in, we go to the parties afterward. It's really about being recognized that we worked hard on this thing."

For now, two members of the group are focusing on other projects. Bassist Nate Mendel is touring with two ex-Sunny Day Real Estate mates in the Fire Theft through April 17 in Los Angeles, while guitarist Chris Shifflet is on the road with Jackson United through March 8 in Anaheim, Calif.


-- Melinda Newman, L.A.

[FH]

Blind Melon's Last Slices

Source: Rollingstone

Rarities compilation and live album on horizon

Many Blind Melon fans figured that the last of the band's music was released in the form of Nico, an outtakes collection issued a year after singer Shannon Hoon's 1995 drug-related death. However, former guitarist Christopher Thorn recently stumbled across some lost gems while going through the Capitol Records vaults, and he's planning another rarities set.
"I got turned onto stuff that I just completely forgot about," he says. "Shannon playing by himself -- acoustic versions of 'Galaxie' and 'Vernie' -- really cool songs that I'd never heard before acoustic."

As well as unheard versions of previously released songs, Thorn found several previously unissued full-band songs, including "Frosting a Cake" and "Ever Had the Feeling." "It's a really dark song," Thorn says of the latter. "It's about killing yourself. It's sung in -- which only Shannon could do -- this tongue-in-cheek voice. I think maybe it scared people. I don't know, maybe it's something that we still don't release."

While Thorn would like to get the other surviving Blind Melon members involved in the song-selection process and maybe even add a missing part or two if needed, he's not looking to stray too far from the songs' current state. "There's just nothing like hearing songs stripped down," he says. "You really get a sense of the band and the songs, and you really hear Shannon's voice. It's going to be raw. For me now, it's kinda charming -- I hear it and I can smell the room from hearing the recordings."

Thorn would also like to assemble an accompanying live disc. "I was given a box of A-DATs," he says. "For a while, we were recording every live show -- right around the time that 'No Rain' hit, when we were playing bigger places. I'd like to have the stuff get out. I don't feel good about it just being in a box somewhere."

GREG PRATO
(February 20, 2004)

[FH]

NEAL SCHON AND JEFF SCOTT SOTO FRONT NEW SUPER-PROJECT:
Guitarist Neal Schon has recruited vocalist Jeff Scott Soto for a brand new supergroup project.
The as yet unnamed band are right in the middle of writing and recording tracks which will be shopped to prospective record labels over the coming weeks.
The line-up was born out of the demise of the Planet Us project which featured vocalist Sammy Hagar. Featured in the project are: Jeff Scott Soto (vocals), Neal Schon (guitars), Deen Castronovo (drums) and Marco Mendoza (bass).
Jeff had this to say to me about the project - "Things are going beyond well here. The talent is ridiculous in this line-up. I'm working my ass off!"
And Neal is equally excited. He added: "We are working on some of my song's and it is sounding very cool to say the least. I've got some great new stuff coming."

Jeff has issued a press statement today:
It's official, Jeff is now working with Neal Schon, Deen Castronovo (Journey) & bassist Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Blue Murder) on a new band that is an extension of a project called Planet Us, featuring Neal, Deen, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony & Joe Satriani that disbanded late last year. Jeff & Neal met for the 1st time at the Winter Namm Convention in LA. After jamming together with Jeff's band, Alex & Gary, immediate plans were set to write & record together which has now flourished into the new band. 6 songs were recently recorded recently in San Francisco at Jonathan Cain's studio & will be mixed for shopping this month. Look out for potential live dates in the US soon to present the new band...as of yet, the band is unnamed but this will change in the next days as the guys are making final decisions on their choices.
Melodicrock

[FH]

Eddie Murphy to Return as Axel Foley? Source: Coming Soon!
Monday, February 23, 2004

Moviehole reports that Eddie Murphy won't be back for Dr. Dolittle 3, as it's going straight-to-video, but he might still return as Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop 4...

'SirG' tells us Fox has decided to go ahead and make "Doctor Dolittle 3" a straight-to-video title, which – and not surprisingly, it'd do nothing for Murphy's fledging career - hasn't fared well with Eddie Murphy's camp. Now they're on the hunt for a new Vet who can talk to the animals, hoping he'll be quite happy to continue the franchise, indefinitely on a direct to black box basis.

"Kids are the way to go apparently, and the direct to video market is proving to be just as worthwhile as theatrical releases when it comes to sequels like this," we're informed.

The $71 million dollar "Dolittle" remake consequently made $63,382,444 on home video.

Fox are reportedly looking at a number of recognizable, near-name actors to headline the second sequel.

Meantime, Murphy's "busy at work on the Daddy Day Care sequel, Daddy Day Camp" with the studio. Then, according to the scooper, Axel Foley might be making a comeback. "Jason Richman's draft for "Beverly Hills Cop 4" has also been met favourably, and that's likely to be on Murphy’s slate for later this year".

[FH]

Old School sequel bites the dust
Source: Moviehole
Posted on Mon, 23-Feb-2004

Talking to CHUD, "Starsky and Hutch" director Todd Phillips said he no longer wants to do an "Old School" sequel.

"No, we're not going to do Old School 2. I had a little fall-out with DreamWorks over this movie Eurotrip. I felt like they really marketed it off of my two movies even though I had nothing to do with it and it looked like the worst movie ever, but somehow I got dragged into it and it made me crazy. I said, 'If you do this, I won't do Old School 2.' And they said, 'Well, this is business and we've got to worry about this movie right now.' So, I said, 'All right."

Phillips touched on his plans for a Six Million Dollar Man movie. "I don't have this goal as a filmmaker to turn seventies shows into movies, but I did have this plan to always work with great comic actors - Ben and Owen being two of them and Jim Carrey, obviously, is another. So, I really want to work with Jim and we've been talking about doing The Six Million Dollar Man. I don't have the approach yet figured out. We're starting our draft - we actually started it entirely on our own. I haven't looked at other drafts that existed. There have been different talks and different combinations of actors and directors, but certainly if you had me and Jim Carrey doing it, we were going to set out and do something funny."

[FH]

Universal Hints Firefly Movie is a Go
Source: Coming Soon!
Monday, February 23, 2004

The Cinescape, Fireflyfans and Fireflymovie website all have discovered signs of life in a Firefly movie at Universal Pictures which Joss Whedon has already written the script for.

The studio has quietly added 'Serenity' to the Coming Soon section on the its official website, which is the working title for the film and the name of the crew's vessel. The studio has also already registered the Serenitymovie.com domain name.

The first meeting on the film apparently took place the second week of February and they are targeting a May production start for the big screen version.

[FH]

Cash's Songs of "Life" Due
Source: RollingStone

New set follows successful thematic collections


The late Johnny Cash will again have his catalog tapped for a thematic compilation, Life, due March 23rd on Columbia/Legacy.
The eighteen-song Life will include Cash favorites like "Man in Black" "Ballad of Ira Hayes," "Wanted Man" (written by Bob Dylan) and "Ragged Old Flag" along with "I Can't Go On That Way," a previously unreleased original from 1977. Life arrives four years after the popular Love, God and Murder albums (also released together as a box set), which included some of Cash's best-known songs shuffled onto categorical CDs.

As with Love, God and Murder, Cash was involved with the song selection on Life prior to his death last September of complications from diabetes. He actually emailed the final track listing to his manager just four days before passing. "I just [pick] some titles," Cash said of the original compilations. "I don't listen to my records except for when I'm making them. I keep going back to a line of Dylan's: "I will know my song well before I start singing."

Despite being plagued by ill health for several years, Cash remained true to the title of the new collection during his last year. "I don't think about death at all," he said in his final interview with Rolling Stone. "What's to think about? I enjoy my life."

Life track list:

Suppertime
Country Trash
The Night Hank Williams Came to Town
Time Changes Everything
I Talk to Jesus Every Day
You're the Nearest Thing to Heaven
I'm Ragged, but I'm Right
These Are My People
Ballad of Ira Hayes
Oney
Man in Black
I'm Alright Now
Ragged Old Flag
I Wish I was Cray Again
Where Did We Go Right (with the Carter Family)
Wanted Man
I Can't Go On That Way
Lead Me Gently Home

ANDREW DANSBY
(February 20, 2004)

[FH]

Owen Wilson on Pixar's Animated Cars
Source: About.com
Monday, February 23, 2004

About.com talked to Starsky & Hutch star Owen Wilson who confirmed there are no humans in Pixar and Disney's Cars, driving into theaters late 2005.

"It's a world of cars. That's the hook," Wilson tells the site. His character is "a race car that is kind of cocky and is going to learn his lesson." Expect the character to sound familiar. "It's a voice kind of similar to my own," Wilson added.

Visit the link above for more on the film's animation.