Weekly Entertainment & Music News

[FH]

New Line to Adapt Gaiman's Death
Source: ComingSoon!
New Line Cinema has picked up feature rights to Neil Gaiman's graphic novel "Death: The High Cost of Living". According to Variety, Gaiman is in talks to make his directorial debut on the film.

Gaiman wrote the script based on his own work. The project is currently titled Death's Day.

The story involves a teenager named Sexton who's been contemplating suicide. He is rescued by a mysterious teenager who claims she is Death herself, spending one day every 100 years on earth to learn the value of the lives she takes.

The film takes place over 24 hours as Sexton learns to love life by spending a day with Death.

[FH]

Transformers Coming the Summer of 2006
Source: ComingSoon!
DreamWorks is teaming with Paramount and toy company Hasbro to develop a live-action film based on Transformers, the car-robots that spawned a comic book series, TV show and animated feature in the '80s.

Variety reports that Steven Spielberg will executive produce the film, which is aiming for a summer 2006 release. Hasbro will work with the production team on all aspects of the film's creative development, marketing and merchandising.

DreamWorks will handle the film domestically. Paramount will distribute to international markets.

[FH]

Aronofsky Directing Watchmen at Paramount
Source: ComingSoon!
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount Pictures has picked up feature rights to DC Comics limited series Watchmen. Darren Aronofsky will develop and direct the project, which is being written by David Hayter.

Watchmen, created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, was released as a 12-issue comic book in 1986 and is one of the most critically acclaimed series in the genre.

The comic is a crime-conspiracy story that provided the first realistic look at the behind-the-heroics lives of superhero archetypes.

[FH]

Are You Ready to Meet the Fockers?
Source: ComingSoon!
Universal Pictures launches the highly-anticipated Matt Damon sequel The Bourne Supremacy into 3,162 theaters tomorrow, and with it comes the first teaser trailer for the studio's comedy sequel, Meet the Parents. The Jay Roach-directed film opens Decembe 22.

Now that Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is "in" with his soon-to-be in-laws, Jack (Robert De Niro) and Dina (Blythe Danner) Byrnes, it looks like smooth sailing for him and his fiancée, Pam (Teri Polo). But that's before Pam's parents meet Greg's parents, the Fockers (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand). The hyper-relaxed Fockers and the tightly-wound Byrneses are woefully mismatched from the start, and no matter how hard Greg and Pam try, there is just no bringing their families together—which all adds up to a disastrously funny time of "getting to know you."

Watch the teaser trailer in Windows Media format by clicking this link.

[FH]

Matt Damon Joins Scorsese's Departed
Source: ComingSoon!
Matt Damon (The Bourne Supremacy) is set to star opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's police thriller The Departed previously known as "Infernal Affairs" at Warner Bros.

Based on the Chinese-linguage Hong Kong gangster film of the same name ("Wu jian dao"), "Infernal" will be reset in Boston amid Irish-American mobsters and the cops who are their nemeses. The film was written by William Monahan.

Damon would play a gangster who has infiltrated the Boston police department as part of its cadet class and has been steadily rising through the ranks. DiCaprio will play a cop who's been deep undercover inside the mob and is starting to come unglued. Each side works feverishly to flush the mole out, with deadly consequences.

[FH]

Zombie Making El Superbeasto Animated Film
Source: SuperheroHype!
The Hollywood Reporter says DPS Film Roman and Rob Zombie ("House of 1000 Corpses") will produce an animated feature based on his Spookshow International comic book El Superbeasto.

The story will follow the adventures of the titular crime-fighter, an over-the-hill masked wrestler who has more interest in strippers than adventure.

Zombie will executive produce and write the story. Anchor Bay Entertainment will handle domestic video distribution.

[FH]

Odd Lot Takes The Spirit Rights
Source: SuperheroHype!
Rights to Will Eisner comic-book The Spirit have been purchased by financier Odd Lot Entertainment, which is planning a live-action feature adaptation, reports Variety.

Odd Lot's Gigi PritzkerGigi Pritzker and Deborah Del Prete will produce along with Batfilm's Michael Uslan, who is an executive producer on Batman Begins and Constantine.

Created in 1940, The Spirit is the story of a detective who thwarts an attempt to release a substance that will leave the inhabitants of Central City in suspended animation. He is exposed to the goo, giving him the ability to withstand any beating. He battles crime and a slew of femme fatales.

[FH]

The Year Without Sopranos
Source: E!
For anyone planning a Sopranos premiere party for next year, fuhgeddaboudit.

HBO honcho Chris Albrecht has confirmed that the mobster drama, which wrapped its fifth season last month, will not unspool its sixth, and final, lineup of new episodes until 2006.


And the network is none too worried that the long delay will whack fans' enthusiasm for the show, which just racked up 20 Emmy nominations last week to lead all series.

"It's like the Harry Potter books," Albrecht told journalists gathered at the annual Television Critics Association meeting in Los Angeles on Thursday. "You'll wait for the sequel and be very happy to get it."

Note to Mr. Albrecht: We may have to wait, but we don't have to be happy about it!

Of course, Sopranos fans are quite accustomed to the long holdup between seasons. Eight months separated seasons one and two, and the gap between new seasons continued to grow: 11 months between seasons two and three; 16 months between seasons three and four; and 15 months between seasons four and five. Following the June 6 fifth-season finale, rumors suggested that the swan-song season wouldn't begin before the end of 2005.

This latest test of viewers' patience will be the longest yet. Albrecht confirmed a 2006 premiere plan, but didn't pin the final season debut to a specific date. So, at best, a January 2006 premiere would mean an 18-month lag for fresh adventures with TV land's favorite famiglia.

Fans should be grateful there will even be a sixth season. Sopranos creator David Chase had planned to bump off the show after season five, but agreed to let Tony (thrice Emmy'd James Gandolfini) and family--well, some members of the family--live another year.

"Look, this past season was going to be the last season," Albrecht said, per the New York Post. "We [told Chase] it doesn't have to be unless you think that it is. And he got into it and arrived at the place himself where he said, �You know what? I have found that there's more stuff to tell here. There's more things I can say about these people and these situations.' "

HBO, meanwhile, will fill its Sopranos-less schedule with Entourage, the new Mark Wahlberg-produced comedy that was just renewed for a second season, despite lackluster premiere ratings; the upcoming third season of Emmy-worthy cop drama The Wire, which premieres Sept. 19; a sophomore season of Emmy-nominated western series Deadwood; an upcoming George Clooney-Steven Soderbergh-produced comedy about a group of struggling L.A. actors; Family Bonds, an upcoming reality series about a family of bounty hunters; and a comedy based on former New York Post entertainment editor Steve Garbarino's adventures covering Hollywood and the fashion industry.

And there might be a silver lining for long-suffering Sopranos fans: HBO is negotiating with Chase to expand the final season from 10 episodes to 13. And, ongoing talk about a post-HBO run big-screen movie aside, that would mean the godfather of all things Sopranos would have an additional three hours to wrap-up hanging story lines. Among them:

The fate of Tony's nephew Christopher (Michael Imperioli, who ended season five frightened and hiding out at a hotel after he revealed to Tony that fiancée Adriana (Drea de Matteo) had given the FBI info on the Soprano crew.
The real deal with mob coot Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese), who, though not a major player in season five action, still faces a federal trial for his days as Soprano capo. Uncle Jun continues to get a reprieve because of the sudden memory lapses he's experiencing, which may or may not be Alzheimer's.
The ire of mob madman Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico), who has been seething at Tony for seasons now. Psychopathic Paulie may have reached the end of his rope with Tony's latest offense: bursting into Paulie's house and angrily snagging the horse-and-general painting Paulie so proudly displayed.
The planned marriage of Tony's daughter, Meadow (Jamie-Lynn DiScala), and her doofy boyfriend Finn (Will Janowitz). Finn is the only eyewitness to closeted gay mobster Vito Spatafore's (Joseph Gannascoli) fling with a security guard, and we know how mobsters feel about eyewitnesses.
The state of affairs in Casa de Soprano. After a bitter row that ended season four, and supposedly their marriage, Carmela (Edie Falco) and Tony have reconciled. But will Tony's purchase of a $600,000 piece of real estate that Carm plans to build on keep her happy, especially when Tony, inevitably, can't live up to his vow to remain faithful?
And does hapless aspiring event planner A.J. (Robert Iler) really have the right stuff to become the next Christopher Lowell? Or, given his thug tendencies, is A.J. more likely to join the family business and end up behind bars, like a certain other ill-tempered guru of party planning?
"I think it will be well worth waiting for," Albrecht says of the final season.

Maybe. But we're still not happy about it.

[FH]

Rodriguez and Miller Show Sin City!
Source: ComingSoon!



Anyone who knows anything about Robert Rodriguez or Frank Miller can tell you that the pair, in there own separate mediums, are innovative rebels unwilling to compromise their visions for mass consumption. Thankfully, in collaborating with one another, compromising was never an issue that needed to be explored as was proved today when they presented a ten-minute rough cut of their film Sin City, which is based directly on Miller's comic books of the same name, to 6500 lucky attendees at the San Diego Comic Convention.

When all was said and done, viewers were left with little doubt that Miller's spectacular style translates well into motion picture. Do take into account that Sin City is not a Hollywood movie, but instead a flawlessly crafted reenactment of the tomes that inspired it. The preview itself, based on the short story "The Customer's Always Right", was virtually a frame-by-frame study on Miller's layouts. This was a huge sigh of relief for fans who doubted that the film could flow with the same rhythm readers have grown to appreciate.

Rodriguez, as it turns out, was not the first filmmaker to approach Miller about adapting Sin City, but after being burned by Hollywood more than once Miller was not eager to put his baby into the hands of a studio that would water down everything that made the book so intoxicating for readers. Thanks to his tenacity however, Rodriguez was able to bend Miller's ear just enough to convince him to give it a shot, and with that the film was unofficially in production.

Pulling in a favour from actor Josh Hartnett, who starred in the director's underrated film "The Faculty," Rodriguez pushed out a rough cut to show Miller what Sin City could be. Needless to say, that's all it took. Very quickly, other names came up, including Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Benicio Del Toro, Jessica Alba, and Rosario Dawson; and in all cases the actors were very excited to be a part of the film.

Though not as recognizable as other comic book-cum-movie currently making headlines, Sin City is the most faithfully executed adaptation. In addition to the dialog, which is almost word for word, Sin City is full of perfectly cast characters that, through the used of prosthetics where needed, interact perfectly with digital sets behind them.

From what was shown, Rodriguez and Miller have created a film with such amazing visual design that it was no surprise the all-star ensemble cast jumped at the chance to work on the ground-breaking project. From the scar on Hartigan's (Willis) forehead, to Gail's (Dawson) costume, to Marv's (Rourke) excessive use of bandaids (read the book), Sin City took the ball and ran with it. Anyone doubting this needs to see nothing more than the Yellow Bastard played by Nick Stahl compared to the comic version to see this is perfect.

The film, for the most part is a combination of three Sin City books: 'The Hard Good Bye' (renamed from simply 'Sin City'), The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard. Even though the film has to be cut down to flow as one feature film, Rodriguez promises that the DVD will also feature the complete, longer versions of each story.

Click here to view more posters from Sin City show at Comic-Con!

[FH]

Revamped RETURN OF THE JEDI leaked to internet
EPISODE VI from the STAR WARS TRILOGY DVD set
Source: Cinescape
It appears that at least one of the movies from the forthcoming STAR WARS TRILOGY (SWT) DVD set has been leaked to the internet. A ultra high quality divx copy of RETURN OF THE JEDI, featuring new effects and inclusions not seen in any prior released versions of the movie, has been placed online. So far no sightings of the SWT versions of A NEW HOPE or THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK have been reported online.

Several message forums of video and STAR WARS websites have confirmed that Sebastian Shaw has been removed from the "ghost trio" at the end of JEDI and replaced by Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker. As well, a scene showing the citizens of Naboo, consisting of both humans and Gungans, celebrating the death of the Emperor has been included in the montage of locations after the destruction of the second Death Star.


In recent years the online proliferation of bootleg copies of films has become a growing concern for Hollywood, with illegal copies of blockbusters sometimes available for download even before the opening night of the picture. With demand expected to be high for the September release of the STAR WARS TRILOGY DVD set, it may have been inevitable that one, if not all, of the movies would show up online before their street date.

[FH]

Courtney Crumrin Lands at Fox 2000
Source: SuperheroHype!
Variety reports that Fox 2000 Pictures has optioned Ted Naifeh's Courtney Crumrin series of Oni Press comic books to develop as a potential fantasy franchise.

The series follows a teenager who must contend with being a social outcast at a snobby new school while simultaneously moving in with her warlock uncle and learning how to harness magic.

Makeup and creature f/x maven Stan Winston will produce the film with Brian Gilbert. Sheryl Longin, who wrote Columbia's 1999 Nixon-themed teen comedy "Dick," has been hired to write the script.

The trade says the deal includes Naifeh's comic books "Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things," "Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics" and "Courtney Crumrin in the Twilight Kingdom."

[FH]

Details on the Hellboy Director's Cut
Source: SuperheroHype!

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment releases the 2-disc Hellboy DVD today (Tuesday), and fans can also expect a director's cut later this year. USA Today has more details...

But just in time for Halloween, an even spiffier version arrives. It's a three-disc director's cut with 15 minutes of extra footage sliced from the theatrical release, as well as improved bonus materials. The first, del Toro says, "is for the fan of the movie; the second will be for the collector."

Del Toro was motivated by both vision and viewer. Hellboy's deluxe version will include not only more plot details, but also unusual bonus materials, such as a ROM feature that will allow fans to read and download the screenplay.

Says del Toro: It has "a lot of extras I felt would be really great to have as a collector. ... It's really loaded."

[FH]

COMIC-CON: Fantastic Four Details
Source: SuperheroHype!

The F4 panel consisted of Avi Arad (Producer), Ralph Winter (Producer), Tim Story (Director), Ioan Gruffudd (Reed Richards), Jessica Alba (Sue Storm), and Michael Chiklis (Ben Grim)...who came out proudly displaying a Marvel Legends "Thing" figure.

The panel didn't go on for too long, somewhere in the ballpark of 30min, but here are a few key points that were brought up during the discussion...

- The production team has already completed designs for the costumes that the F4 will wear during the movie. Tim Story and Avi Arad were both quoted as saying "these are VERY COOL designs that we think you'll all like...a cross between the early Kirby designs, and the new Ultimate books."

- Tim Story said that The Thing WILL NOT be entirely done in CGI like The Hulk. He said that he doesn't want his actors to constantly have to interact with props, he wants the heart of Chiklis' Ben Grimm to really show through the tough exterior of The Thing, and the only way to do that is to have Chiklis actually there as The Thing. He also went on to say that Chiklis would be in the makeup chair, and would be in full "Thing gear" whenever possible....other shots would of course be CGI, but either way you will really get a feel for The Things power.

- Chiklis said "I can't wait for you guys to see what they've come up with for The Thing...it's so amazing...I wish you would see it right now!". He went on to say that unlike The Hulk, he would be in the make up chair for "many, many hours". To prepare right now, he is reading to his children with his "Thing teeth" in his mouth to practice sounding out different words.

- Tim Story added that ontop of the designs for the F4, the look they've decided on for Dr. Doom was "awesome." Story said that in keeping with the original look, it is much more "sinister" looking, which he said was fitting for one of the greatest villains of all time.

- One fan asked if Dr. Doom's real name would be "Victor Von Doom" (like it is in the original books), or Victor Van Damme (like it is in the Ultimate F4 books). Tim Story replied by saying "our characters name is Victor VON DOOM"....the crowd seemed to like that a lot.

- Ioan Gruffudd said that although he wasn't a fan of the original F4 books, he has been reading A LOT of them in order to get a better feel for exactly who Reed Richards is, and how he goes from being a brilliant scientist to the leader of the F4. Jessica, and Michael also added that they have been reading the F4 books to better prepare for their roles.

- Avi Arad and Tim Story both said that the set for the Baxter Building is "simply amazing."

- A fan asked if they had found their Dr. Doom yet, to which Tim Story replied "you'll be hearing an announcement in about a week"...no hints as to who it is other than that "the fans will be pleased."

- Ralph Winter, Avi Arad, and Tim Story addressed the question of whether or not the story would be based on the classic books or the new Ultimate books by saying..."both are great books, the classic has so much heart and feeling to it, while the new Ultimate book gives the story a fresh new feeling, and brings it into today's setting"...basically it'll be a mix of both.

No footage was shown (since there isn't any), and no designs were unveiled, but you could see Avi Arad wearing a "Fantastic 4" hat with a new "updated" logo...no word on if this was the official or not. The logo was very simple, think Spider-Man the Movie style writing with the number 4 being punched out of a circle.

- Avi Arad did mention that F4 was initially supposed to come out before Blade, Spider-Man, X-Men...etc, but due to some "problems" that obviously didn't happen. He said he is glad they waited since their goal is to present the F4 the in a way we all would expect..."with Fantastic FX!"

Overall the panel was good. Production is set to begin in the next few weeks over in Vancouver for a summer 2005 release date. Everyone seemed very excited about the movie, and their respective roles, but the absolute best part of the entire panel was when Michael Chiklis came out (with figure in hand) and said "It's clobberin' time!"...the voice sounded great, and the fans went NUTS! (myself included).

[FH]

Two different VAN HELSING DVDs in October
One will be a Collector's Edition with more bonus features...

Source: Cinescape
Universal Home Video will bring Stephen Sommers' VAN HELSING to home video on October 19, 2004. Considered the first movie of the 2004 summer season, VAN HELSING stars Hugh Jackman as the legendary monster hunter; Kate Beckinsale as Anna, his ally; Richard Roxburgh as Count Dracula; and David Wenham as Carl, Van Helsing's holy right-hand man.

Universal will be offering two different DVD editions of the film, with one being a limited Ultimate Collector's Edition that will include additional bonus material and the three classic Universal monster movies that inspired Sommers' film: DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN and THE WOLF MAN.


Both VAN HELSING DVD editions will feature the following bonus material:



"Explore Dracula's Castle": take a 360-degree interactive tour of the forboding home of the Count.

"You Are in the Movie!": Experience what it was like to be on the set through the lens of minature cameras giving the actors' perspective on the filming of a scene.

"Bringing the Monsters to Life": See how Industrial Light & Magic developed the monsters from the movie, from initial sketches to realized form.

"The Legend of Van Helsing": A look at Bran Stoker's character through stories and films.

Commentaries with director Sommers, producer Bob Ducsay and actors Richard Roxburgh, Shuler Hensley and Will Kemp.

A look at the VAN HELSING Xbox video game.

Outtakes.

These additional bonus features will be included on the VAN HELSING Ultimate Collector's Edition DVD:



"Explore Frankenstein's Lab": Venture through Dr. Frankenstein's bizarre laboratory in a 360-degree interactive tour.

"Van Helsing: The Stort, the Life, the Legend": Short documentaries examine all of the characters from the movie.

"Track the Adventure: Van Helsing's Map": Unlock the secrets behind each locale that Van Helsing visited in the picture through this ancient monster map.

"The Music of Van Helsing"

"Darkness Falls: Dracula's Lair is Transformed": Time-lapse photography shows how Drecaula's coffin room is changed to his laboratory through this sequence.

Additionally, the VAN HELSING DVD will hold a coupon for $5.00 off any of Universal's six Monster Legacy Collections. The studio will promote the DVD through a partnership with Carl's Jr. restaurants and Pumpkin Masters, manufacturers of the Pumpkin Carving Kit.


The VAN HELSING DVD carries a suggested retail price of $29.98. A price for the Ultimate Collector's Edition will be released at a later date.

[FH]

Joel Schumacher to Wake the Dead
Source: Moviehole
"Batman" eradicator Joel Schumacher - ok, so he's redeemed himself since then, with "Tigerland" and "Phone Booth" - has signed to direct Dimension's "Wake of Death", according to Freeze Dried Movies

The film reportedly tells of four college kids who attempt to re-animate the dead. It is based off of a comic book series written by "30 Days of Nights" scribe Steve Niles and published through IDW Publishing, says the site.

Schumacher's next flick is "Phantom of the Opera", due out for Christmas.