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Alien Legion Gets Big Screen Treatment
Hollywood Rporter revealed that Dimension Films has hired J.D. Zeik to write a screenplay based on Carl Potts' Alien Legion comic book series. The story follows a young man who joins a group described as "the French Foreign Legion in outer space" in order to prove himself. Zeik will serve as executive producer on the film, with Potts co-producing.
Potts created Alien Legion for Epic Comics, which published the series from 1984 to 1992 and in the past there had been discussions about a possible television series. The proposed live-action film adaptation will feature a combination of physical and CGI effects. "I like action-adventure projects that have something to say," Potts said in an inteview with The Hollywood Reporter. "The Alien Legion universe is a giant extrapolation of the US melting-pot society. Instead of just having dozens of different cultures and races living together, you actually have hundreds of radically different species coexisting, and you also have all of the strengths and weaknesses of that diversity. There are obviously going to be troubles on occasion, but the strengths of the society working together far outweigh the weaknesses."

Being the Green Goblin
Director Sam Raimi has confirmed that John Malkovich will portray the Green Goblin. Raimi told E!Online that while casting for Spidey's girlfriend Mary Jane Watson is still underway. More...

Live Action Scooby Doo Movie?
Writer James Gunn has told the Popcorn UK web site that he's working on a screenplay for a proposed live-action version of the animated television series, Scooby Doo. "The script is on the second draft," Gunn told the site. "It just went into Warner Brothers two weeks ago." Gunn added, "It looks like it's going to happen. There's a lot of momentum behind the film." Meanwhile, our info is that syoryboards and designs are being worked on for this totally idiotic idea, especially given the success of the first three straight-to-video animated Scooby Doo films, which provide strong evidence for the success of the original characters.
Jennifer Love Hewitt is rumoured to be in line for the role of Daphne. But Gunn denied a rumour that British actor Rhys Ifans would play Shaggy.
A Scooby Doo movie has been under consideration for a long time. Mike Meyers was once linked with the project. A series of Scooby Doo straight to video movies is doing well and the demand for ghost-hunting mutt remains high.

New SF film from Dreamworks may star Duchovny
Seann William Scott is set to star in DreamWorks' SF feature Evolution for director Ivan Reitman, alongside Julianne Moore and Orlando Jones who are in negotiations to join him, according to Hollywood Reporter. The X-Files lead David Duchovny continues to be in talks to also star in the film. The project should begin shooting by the end of 2000. The film reteams Scott with Reitman, who produced the summer film Road Trip, which featured Scott in an ensemble cast.
Evolution is described as a Ghostbusters for the new millennium in which a alien bug-carrying meteor hits the New Mexico desert and the fast-multiplying organisms threaten to take over the world. A local community college science professor (Duchovny), his eccentric geologist buddy (Jones), a wannabe fireman (Scott) and a government scientist (Moore) are brought together to deal with the Army's chief scientist and the alien organism.
External Link: Hollywood Reporter

Spider-Man Delayed
There's some nice artwork for the upcoming Spiderman movie out at the Cinescape web site. Unfortunately, word was received this week that the projected opening date for the movie has been moved from November 2001 to May 2002.
Link: VZSciFi Spider-Man DataFile

Soderbergh orbiting new 'Solaris' Helmer
Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich) is in talks with James Cameron to write an adaptation with plans to direct an English-language remake of Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 Russian SF epic Solaris, originally based on Stanislav Lem's novel of the same name.
Solaris, which will be produced by Cameron through his Lightstorm Entertainment for 20th Century Fox, is the story of an astronaut who travels to a space station orbiting Solaris and soon discovers that the commander of an expedition studying Solaris has died under mysterious circumstances.
Hollywood Reporter saysSolaris would have to come after Soderbergh's next directorial project, Ocean's Eleven, the all-star remake for Warner Bros. slated to start in January.
Matt Damon is circling for a role that was to be played by Mark Wahlberg, whose schedule with Planet of the Apes for 20th Century Fox and director Tim Burton conflicts with Ocean's.

Spielberg revives E.T. for 2002
Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment are planning to re-release E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in March 2002 in the US to mark the film's 20th anniversary. Hollywood Reporter says that the film will also be rereleased internationally, although no date for the rollout has been set. The anniversary edition of the Steven Spielberg-directed family classic is expected to include an as yet undisclosed amount of new footage and computer-enhanced special effects, as well as a digitally remastered soundtrack.
The 1982 film grossed more than $359 million in the US alone in its initial run. It has gone on to take in $702 million worldwide, becoming one of the 10 highest grossing pictures of all time. ET currently appears adverts for British Telecom in the UK.

Voicing the Grinch
The Movie Insider reports that after various auditions and searching, director Ron Howard has finally chosen Sir Anthony Hopkins as the narrator for The Grinch, who will be brought to life by Jim Carrey.

New Lines snaps up the Dragon
Hollywood Reporter has revealed that New Line Cinema has picked up US distribution rights to executive producer Joel Silver's feature film Dungeons & Dragons starring Jeremy Irons, Thora Birch and Marlon Wayans. The studio has agreed to release the film, currently in post-production, by the end of this year.
Based on the popular role-playing game, the plot of Dungeons & Dragons centres on the machinations of an evil wizard who attempts to dethrone a young, new empress because of her belief in equal rights between commoners and aristocrats. She becomes allied to a common thief and a young sorceress to find an ancient artifact that will help them save the kingdom.

Rising Stars optioned
Variety has reported a deal worth upward of $1 million in which MGM has optioned J. Michael Straczynski's bestselling comic book Rising Stars for a possible feature.Straczynski is attached to script. If Rising Stars goes into production, it will be Straczynski's first produced feature script, though he has penned scripts for Ivan Reitman and others. The studio will collaborate on the project with management/production firm Atlas Entertainment/Gold Miller/Third Rail and comic book publisher Top Cow. They are already envisioning a Rising Stars trilogy.
VZSciFi Links: Babylon 5 Datafile

Mage Film progresses
Comics2Film recently spoke with Mage creator Matt Wagner about the progress of the Mage movie, based on the stunning comic book of the same name. At this point the movie does not have the hoped- for green light from Disney. The studio has asked for a few minor script tweaks, which screenwriter John Rogers is currently at work on. Wagner told Comics2Film that the vibe is that the movie will go forward once these script adjustments are made. Disney has discussed a healthy budget for the film with the producers at Spyglass.

Stainless Steel Rat finally go?
Hollywood Reporter has revelead that Fox and Jan De Bont have completed a deal to forge the cult SF novel series Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat into a feature.
Based on the book series written by Harry Harrison, Stainless Steel Rat took a long twisting road toward the big screen. The Fox deal comes 16 years after it was optioned by producers Bill McCutchen and Frank Agrama, who resisted numerous offers before agreeing to terms with De Bont and his Blue Tulip partner Lucas Foster.
For Foster, the deal is the culmination of an eight-year quest to turn the book series into a film. "The best part of it for me is this Nick and Nora relationship he has with this beautiful woman who is so much smarter and dangerous than he'd ever thought of being," said Foster, who read the books while a teenager. "The first time she meets him, she shoots him and he falls in love with her."
External links: Hollywood Reporter

Macy joins Jurassic cast
William H. Macy is set to join the cast of Universal Pictures' Jurassic Park 3 for director Joe Johnston. The writing credits on the completed script, which is being kept under wraps, have not been finalised, but it is known that Macy will play the role of a wealthy businessman.
Sam Neill is reprising his role from the original Jurassic Park, and Alessandro Nivola is on board to play a graduate student.
Eight stages are being utilised for the film at at Universal. An 18-week shoot is expected to start late this month or in early August in Los Angeles and Hawaii.
Links: VZSciFi Datafile: Jurassic Park Datafile

Lord of the Rings: UK will see it first
Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings will be released in Britain before America, as a tribute to its English author, JRR Tolkien. The project, currently being filmed in New Zealand has an international cast including Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee and Ian Holm.
Source: The Guardian
See also: VZSciFi 2001 Film Schedule

Tomb Raider casting announced, shooting begins
Veteran screen charmer Leslie Phillips is to play a villainous sidekick in the movie based on computer game Tomb Raider. The Guardian reports that the 75-year-old star - best known as a foppish ladies' man in the Carry On comedies - will play Wilson, a treacherous ex-friend of the father of movie heroine Lara Croft. His character will join forces with evil mastermind Powell in the battle of wits against Croft, played by Oscar winner Angelina Jolie. A spokesman for Phillips said, "Leslie's delighted."
The role of Powell is being played by Scottish actor Iain Glen, who found fame appearing naked with Hollywood star Nicole Kidman in Sam Mendes's The Blue Room at London's Donmar Warehouse Theatre.
Hollywood Reporter revealed last month (July 2000) that a deal was being finalized for Mark Gordon and Gary Levinsohn's Mutual Film Co. to co-finance and co-produce the Paramount Pictures' film.
Jolie stars as the beautiful antiquities hunter for hire Lara Croft. British actor Daniel Craig (Elizabeth) has been cast in a lead role opposite Jolie as her love interest, CIA agent Theo Rooker.
Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin will produce the live-action adventure based on the best-selling video game. Stephen de Souza wrote the screen adaptation. Charles Cornwall, CEO at Eidos Interactive, which has sold more than six million copies of the game, will executive produce.
Links:The Guardian; Hollywood Reporter; Eidos

X-Men Success: Video Date Set
Going from comic book superheroes to box office superstars, X-Men stormed the North American box office with a $57.5 million launch, the fourth highest three-day opening ever, according to studio estimates. The latest in a string of summer movies targeted at young males, the $75 million-budgeted X-Men boasts an ensemble cast including Australian unknown Hugh Jackman, stage veterans Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, Oscar winner Anna Paquin and pinups Famke Janssen and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos.
• FOX Home Video are expected to release the X-Men movie on VHS & DVD on 21 November in the US.

Time for the Time Machine again
Variety reported 13 July 2000 that animation director Simon Wells (Prince of Egypt) is in negotiations to make his live-action directing debut on The Time Machine - based on the novel by his great-grandfather, H.G. Wells.
"It's getting the family hands back on the project," Wells joked to Variety, who noted that movie rights to the novel passed out of the family decades ago.
H.G. Wells died in 1946. "I missed meeting him by 15 years," Wells said.
The Time Machine was H.G. Wells' first novel,which focussed on one man's journey 80,000 years into the future, was published in 1895 and established him as one of the inventors of the science fiction. He went on to pen such classics as The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds''
The DreamWorks-Warner Bros. co-production will be a big-budget picture with plenty of digital effects. Wells is working on a new draft of the script for The Time Machine with Gladiator scripter John Logan.
Wells shared directing duties on An American Tail: Fievel Goes West and We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story,'' and was sole director on Balto. He steered DreamWorks' second animated film, biblical tale Prince of Egypt, with Brenda Chapman and Steve Hickner.
The director had been attached to make his live-action debut with Casper 2, but Universal looked at the cost, Wells said, and decided not to proceed.