2.JULY MEETING: THE BASICS
    Our July meeting will be held on Saturday July 28th at 6:00 P.M. at the church hall behind the Perry Hall Presbyterian Church located at 8848 BelAir Road. Take Baltimore Beltway exit 32 north on Belair Road. Turn left onto Joppa Road. Immediately past the miniature golf course turn left into the parking lot. If you miss it there are ample turn-around opportunities. If you get stuck call 410-598-8005. That's Dave Henderson's cell phone. He'll talk you in.

3.JULY MEETING: FORGOTTEN HORRORS
    John Clayton will be bringing in the movies for July. The theme is "forgotten horrors." For a fan as knowledgeable as John, for many of us, these may be movies that we've either never heard of or know about but haven't seen. It should be fun!

4.JULY MEETING: SON OF STORY TIME
    A couple of meetings back, many of us brought in stories and poems that we've written and shared them with the club. We're doing a sequel to that in July. Bring in your favorite story or poem by another author and share that with the club. try to keep it short, no more than 10 minutes in length. You can also read an excerpt of a favorite novel or story. Try to keep it on a science fiction, fantasy, horror or mystery basis. It should be fun!

5."READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?"
    That's a question we'll be asking for, at least, the next few meetings. When you read a book, novel, biography, interview, short story, poem or article that may be of interest to the club, some prepared to tell us about it. Tell us why you liked it (or hated it) and why we should either grab it or avoid it at all costs. Knowing the interests of club members, try to restrict yourself to material that may be on a topic that would appeal to, at least, a portion of them. That mean that something like a romance novel may not be a natural to discuss, unless of course the heroine is a giant crustacean from Uranus and her lover gets pulled inside out and his vital organs eaten by carnivorous slugs. Then, by all means, tell us all about it.
    If  the question results in some lively discussion we'll make it a permanent fixture at the meetings. If, on the other hand, it's met with an embarrassed silence and eyes darting about the table then, after a respectable trial, we'll take it out back and shoot it.

6.WEAR YOUR BADGE!
    All of our brains are wired differently. That's very true when it comes to varying capacities to remember. Like some of you in the club, I have very good recall on movies. Even if I saw it once, decades before, I can often pull up details and dialogue. My wife forgets a movie 15 minutes after she's seen it. But she only has to hear a birthday once and she'll remember it forever. One thing that plagues many of us is that little abstraction known as a "name."
    I always say, "I lousy with names but I always forget a face." We have some people who've been members for some time, who never wear a badge, and who are anonymous to many other members. A request was made at our last meeting. When we join the club we're offered a badge with our choice of favorite movie characters on it. Please, for the sake of all of our over-worked brains, wear your badge to meetings.

7.WELCOME TO THE WELCOMING COMMITTEE
    Vince DiLeonardi, Sue Feder and Diane Gervasio have agreed to serve on a new committee to welcome new members into the club. They'll review a welcoming pack with new members that contains our "Code of Conduct" and constitution. They'll get their basic information for roster purposes. They'll also get their preferences for what character they'd like to appear on their name badge (which we hop they'll wear).

8.GET WELL RALPH!
    Club member Ralph Gervasio recently had some very serious surgery. He had his spleen removed (ouch!). Whenever we're forced to say so long to body parts its generally a messy affair with a slow recovery. Reports are that Ralph is scampering around like a mountain goat, to the astonishment of friends and family. Ralph, take the time you need to heal. We hope to see a whole, healthy, spleenless you at an upcoming meeting.

9.WELCOME TO THE NEW "ICS FILES"
    No, this does not signify a major re-tooling of the magazine that you're currently reading. It will continue to be the big, slow, lumbering behemoth that it's always been. However there will soon be a slimmer print version geared for mass distribution called "THE IMAGINATIVE CINEMA SOCIETY PRESENTS THE ICS FILES." It will be four pages of news designed to inform the reader and tickle their collective curiosities to check us out. We'll keep you updated on how it goes.

10.DESIGNATED TAPERS
    Many of our members are without cable or satellite service. They're forced to rely on broadcast television. Unfortunately their are always things that appear exclusively on cable that these members have had to miss - until now.
    Each month that some highly significant shows get broadcast on cable we'll discuss them at the club. Assuming that we've found out about it in advance, we have members who will tape the shows and begin to circulate them through the ranks of members who wanted to see them but didn't have the technology to catch them. We hope to start up a circulating library among the club's members of these tapes.

12.ANDROMEDA WILL OFFER SOME FAMILIAR FACES NEXT SEASON
     Next season's episodes of ANDROMEDA will offer fans of other series a chance to see some of their favorite actors in unfamiliar roles. James Marsters, aka the vampire "Spike" on BUFFY, will play the villainous Nietzschean archduke Charlemagne Bolivar, a decadent yet intelligent nobleman. THE X-FILES' William B. Davis (Cigarette-Smoking Man), will play a scientist obsessed with ripping the veil of secrecy from alien Trance Gemini and her race. LONE GUNMEN star Bruce Harwood will play a defense contractor protected by Rommie and FIRST WAVE's Roger Cross will play a government agent tracking Harwood down.

13.BABYLON 5: LEGEND OF THE RANGERS PROGRESS REPORT
    SCIFI.COM has unveiled the official Web site for the upcoming Sci-Fi Channel original telefilm BABYLON 5: LEGEND OF THE RANGERS. The site contains preliminary information about the movie, message boards, a cast and crew list and the first RANGERS trailer.
    Later this summer SCIFI.COM plans to create a more expansive site for RANGERS that will include weekly updates, exclusive on-set photography by BABYLON 5's papa, J. Michael Straczynski, interviews, feature stories, sketches, images and more. Stayed tuned.

14.ROSE McGOWAN'S CHARMED LIFE
    Rose McGowan is in negotiations to replace Shannen Doherty on CHARMED. As regular readers know, Ms. Doherty, who directed the season finale, will not be returning next season. The show that's based around a trio of witch sisters is looking to bring in McGowan as the new third sister. CHARMED has been a ratings winner for the WB, coming in as its second-highest-rated show. The official reason for Doherty's departure is to pursue other opportunities, though scuttlebutt has it that her co-stars, Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs, were not too unhappy to see the famously hot-tempered actress leave (there's a rumor that Doherty may occasionally pop up on BUFFY since her and Sarah Michelle Gellar are close friends).
    McGowan would play a long-lost sister. There's no word as to how Doherty's character's absence will be explained.

15.THE CHRONICLE DEBUTS THIS MONTH
    THE CHRONICLE premieres on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 14th. New episodes are scheduled for Saturdays at 9 P.M. This is a new one-hour drama about a former Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist named Tucker Burns, played by Chad Willett. His career takes an unfortunate detour leading him to join the staff of one of the world's least reputable tabloids – The Chronicle. This sensationalized supermarket tabloid investigates reports of paranormal phenomena.
    Fans of STAR TREK will recognize a couple of the guest stars scheduled to appear. George Takei will play Mr. Shen, the father of a young Chinese woman, in the episode "Here There Be Dragons," which will air July 28. It's suspected that he might be involved with a dragon inhabiting the sewers of Chinatown. Casey Biggs, who played Dumar on STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, makes a guest appearance as a cable man hunted by a headless biker in the episode "Bring Me the Head of Tucker Burns."

16.EARTH CHANGES PEOPLE
    Fans of the show, EARTH: FINAL CONFLICT are about to experience some personnel shake-ups in the cast. Leni Parker (Da'an) and Anita La Selva (Zo'or) will be leaving the show. One of EARTH'S original stars, Kevin Kilner, will return as William Boone in the upcoming fifth season. The status of the current series star, Robert Leeshock, hasn't been made clear but he's rumored to be leaving. Apparently Leeshock has been hitting the audition circuit, looking for work, including over at Paramount for their latest TREK, ENTERPRISE.
    Fans, meanwhile, have been upset with the series' continuing cast and story changes. They've been petitioning The Sci-Fi Channel to restore the cast and original storyline should the network take over production of original episodes in the future. They've begun a stream of protest letters to the show's production company, Tribune Entertainment. They're enclosing envelopes filled with blue glitter. The campaign is reminiscent of the successful Tabasco-mailing effort by ROSWELL fans that resulted in that show's second-season renewal.

17.BAKULA GETS ADVICE FROM THE EXPERTS
    Scott Bakula is about to go where a whole lotta actors have been before. Two of them, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION stars Jonathan Frakes (Commander William T. Riker) and Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data) visited the set of the upcoming fifth TREK series, ENTERPRISE, and offered advice to the newest captain. Bakula received advice on the tricky techno-babble he would be facing and on the world of STAR TREK in general.
    Frakes and Spiner also admired the new uniforms, ones that the site described as having more of a contemporary look, rather than one from an imagined future several hundred years from now. Among other things, the new uniforms are looser, are made with natural fibers, lack foot stirrups and have zippers and pockets. At least some of the crew's uniforms resemble navy blue jumpsuits with colored yoke and shoulder piping and shoulder patches with the ENTERPRISE logo.

18.BRADBURY ADAPTS THE ILLUSTRATED MAN FOR SCI-FI
    The folks over at Sci-Fi have discovered the written word. Since they've done so well with last year's adaptation of DUNE, they've committed to bringing us Kim Stanley Robinson's RED MARS; A TALE OF TWO CITIES; Clive Barker's SAINT SINNER; TAKEN, a 20-hour miniseries from DreamWorks Television and Steven Spielberg; and the Ursula Le Guin's works (mentioned below). They've now asked one of the all-time masters to step up to the plate. The Sci-Fi Channel has announced that it will produce a two-hour television film based on Ray Bradbury's book THE ILLUSTRATED MAN. Bradbury's classic short-story collection, first published in 1951, centers on a carnival man whose body is covered with tattoos that depict the stories of people with whom he comes in contact.
    Bradbury has adapted and updated his own book for the screen. "I'm very happy that my muse has given me a lot of new ideas to go along with the old ones," Bradbury said. "It's exciting to be working with [Sci-Fi President] Bonnie Hammer again, and I'm looking forward to seeing THE ILLUSTRATED MAN being done right on The Sci-Fi Channel. . . . For the first time in many years, I wrote the script by hand, with pen and pad, a total of 160 pages." Bradbury will use the book's framework of a traveling man with tattoos that tell stories and will incorporate two of his more famous tales: "The Veldt," which is from the book, and "On the Orient North," a story from a collection titled The Toynbee Convector.
    THE ILLUSTRATED MAN was previously adapted as a 1969 feature film, directed by Jack Smight and starring Rod Steiger. Bradbury said, "I hated it. The movie was adapted by a real-estate agent from New Jersey."

19.THE SCI FI CHANNEL BRINGS LEFT HAND TO THE SMALL SCREEN
    The Sci-Fi Channel announced a deal to develop an original miniseries based on Ursula Le Guin's groundbreaking science-fiction novel, The Left Hand of Darkness. Alan Jacobs will produce the four-hour miniseries. Earlier, Sci-Fi announced a deal to develop Le Guin's Earthsea trilogy of novels into a six-hour original miniseries. Both projects are slated for 2003.
    The Left Hand of Darkness, first published in 1969, tells the story of a human ambassador sent to persuade the inhabitants of an arctic planet to join a multi-planet alliance. The ambassador encounters a society with an ancient culture, whose members possess the ability to become male or female. Left Hand won both Hugo and Nebula awards.

20.THE LOST WORLD MAY BE A LOST CAUSE
    Jennifer O'Dell, star of the syndicated series SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S THE LOST WORLD, says that's she's not sure if the show will be back on the air in the fall. "I'm still waiting to hear from the executive producers. I don't think our Canadian production company is involved anymore, and they're trying to get American backers now. Believe me, you know as much as I do. They don't tell me s**t. It's incredibly frustrating. It's really quite ridiculous, but that's how the business goes."
    O'Dell plays Veronica, who grew up on the strange plateau inhabited by apemen, dinosaurs and other bizarre creatures. Clad only in a skimpy loincloth, Veronica is kept company by the human members of a scientific expedition gone astray: Professor Challenger (Peter McCauley), Marguerite (Rachel Blakely), Malone (David Orth) and Roxton (Will Snow).
    "If the show goes, we're going to explore a lot more about Veronica and why I'm so close to the plateau and why I know things I shouldn't know," O'Dell said. "There's a side of me that loves being very sexual and very va-va-voom. And there's the tomboy in me, too. If you put me in my costume, I'm like, 'Let's go!' Plus, there's a lot of me in Veronica. She's got a lot of different, diverse sides. So I hope it goes."

21.THE MISTS OF AVALON COMES TO TNT THIS MONTH
    The four hour miniseries THE MISTS OF AVALON based on the Marion Zimmer Bradley novel will debut on TNT with Part 1 on Sunday July 15th and part 2 on Monday July 16th.  Each part will air three times starting at 8 P.M.  TNT will also air both parts in a four hour block on Friday, July 20th at 8 P.M., Saturday, July 21st at 12 P.M., and Monday, July 30th at 8 P.M.. TNT will re-air the four-hour AVALON at 10 p.m. July 15 and 16, 12 a.m. July 15 and 16, 8 P.M. July 20, 12 P.M. July 21 and 8 P.M. July 30.
    The miniseries stars Angelica Huston as Viviane, the High Priestess of Avalon, Julianna Margulies as Morgaine, Joan Allen as Morgause, Caroline Goodall as Igraine, Edward Atterton as Arthur, Michael Byrne as Merlin, Michael Vartan as Lancelot, Samantha Mathis as Gwenhwyfar, and Hans Matheson as Mordred.  In a nutshell, it retells the legend of King Arthur from the point of view of Morgaine, who is a victim of the manipulations of Viviane and Merlin. It looks like fun!

22.MUTANT X DETAILS REVEALED
    The official Web site for the upcoming syndicated television series MUTANT X has posted detailed story and character descriptions. The series centers on a group of genetically enhanced humans who have developed unexpected powers and are being hunted by the people who engineered them.
    John Shea stars as Adam, the smartest man alive and a strategist, tactician and moral center of MUTANT X who takes responsibility for the salvation of the mutants. Victoria Pratt plays Shalimar Fox, who has both human and animal DNA and the strength, speed, cunning and tempestuous nature of an animal. Victor Webster is Brennan Mulwray, a street-smart wise guy with the ability to generate electricity from his body. Forbes March plays Jesse Kilmartin, who can alter the density of his body at will. Lauren Lee Smith is Emma DeSalvo, a "telempath" who can communicate her own feelings and receive the feelings of others around her. Tom McCamus plays Markus Eckhart, the head of the Genetic Security Agency and the man who is hunting down the mutants.

23.PRODUCERS HAVE NIGHT VISIONS
    Dan Angel and Billy Brown, producers of Fox's upcoming anthology series NIGHT VISIONS, have said that they were influenced by previous series and movies. "Being fans of THE TWILIGHT ZONE and kind of classic horror films, a la ROSEMARY'S BABY, THE OMEN, REPULSION, we've always loved the kind of metaphysical horror film, psychological horror, and also the kinds of twists and turns that a show like THE TWILIGHT ZONE used to have," Brown said in an interview. "We really felt like there hadn't been anything like that on TV in a long time."
    NIGHT VISIONS will be a 13-episode, one-hour series comprising two half-hour stories each week, the producers said. Angel and Brown, previously known for Showtime's JOHN CARPENTER PRESENTS: BODY BAGS and Fox's GOOSEBUMPS series, enlisted top-notch talent for the various episodes, including actors Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Thora Birch, Randy Quaid and Jack Palance and directors Tobe Hooper and Joe Dante. "They were very excited about doing anthology," Angel said. "They were very excited about the scripts and the stories. And there were even times when they didn't initially say yes until they read the script, then they changed their minds."
    Angel said, "The myth out there in the television world and the network world is that anthology doesn't work. And to be honest with you, we've loved anthology. We were very successful with GOOSEBUMPS for kids. All the anthologies we grew up on and loved, from NIGHT GALLERY to TWILIGHT ZONE to the syndicated anthologies, like TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE and THE HITCHHIKER, for the most part, they've been very successful. So when you're dealing with a genre anthology, I think the good news is we were able to convince Fox that this could work. I think the audience is ready for this." NIGHT VISIONS premieres with a special two-hour episode on July 12 and will air Thursdays at 9 p.m.

24.ROSWELL PREPS FOR SEASON 3
    Ronald D. Moore, one of the producers of ROSWELL, said that the show's staff is back at work on its third season. ROSWELL makes the move to UPN from The WB on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m., right after fellow WB expatriate BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. This should prove an interesting test for both shows. The WB always classed BUFFY as a show whose appeal was composed almost entirely of young teens. If that's so, ROSWELL will do well (though, personally, I have my doubts). Moore doesn't seem to share those doubts. "We're in a good place. BUFFY's a tremendous lead-in for us, that's for certain. We're in the perfect slot in the schedule at the moment."
    Not returning are Colin Hanks, whose character Alex died last season, and Emilie de Ravin, whose pregnant character, Tess, left for the aliens' home planet in the season finale. "We sat down and plotted out the opening episodes for season three before the season was over," even though ROSWELL's fate was uncertain right up to the end. The template for what we want to do is where we ended up in the last six episodes of season two. That's the groove where we want to be. The character relationships were up front. The mystery was there, but it wasn't too complicated." Next season, the human and alien teens will be seniors in high school, except for Isabel (Heigl), whose brainy character has graduated early. Will she be going to college? "We're talking about that," Moore said. "She'll hang around. The show is ROSWELL, so she's going to be in Roswell, by hook or by crook."

25.THERE'S NO POLICE LIKE GNOME
   For those of you who haven't seen it, UPN has an interesting new show called SPECIAL UNIT 2. The premise is that there are numerous evolutionary offshoots that are covertly among us. A special unit of the police (the one in the title) pursues them when they break the law. Danny Woodburn,  who plays a resident gnome and snitch named Carl, has some ideas for his character for next season. "Carl does a lot, but you see him on the phone a lot or hear about things he's done, but they're actually done out of sight," Woodburn said. "I want to see more of these things on camera, because I think it'll help fill in a lot of the details about the character. I'd like to see him interact more with the other 'links.' It'll be cool to see who Carl's contacts really are. It'll be cool to see him conduct another armed robbery. I've heard that [series creator] Evan Katz wants to have Carl do more MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-type of stuff. He loves those little bits of me coming through air vents and breaking into places. I think fans will dig seeing more of that stuff." SPECIAL UNIT 2 will air at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays.

26.FANS TO WRITE NEW ADVENTURES FOR VOYAGER
    A group of STAR TREK: VOYAGER fans, in denial about the death of their favorite show, has come together on the Internet to shepherd fan fiction carrying on the story of the errant starship and its crew. Voyager: Virtual Season Eight  feature 26 new weekly stories based on the show's characters. It started on June 20. The "episodes" will feature book covers and Flash-driven video and will also be translated into German for international fans.

27.TO BOLDLY RENT WHERE NO ONE HAS RENTED BEFORE
    A British STAR TREK fan has spent $11,300 to convert his one-bedroom apartment into a replica of the interior of the U.S.S. Enterprise from THE NEXT GENERATION series. Tony Alleyne, 48, of Hinckley in central England modified his living quarters to include a command console and windows that look like portholes. Alleyne based the remodel on magazines and information from NASA. He's got a cardboard cutout of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in his "crew quarters" (because nothing turns a chick on more than being stared at by a cardboard bald guy).
    Gee, if I were living in a studio apartment and had a disposable $11,300 what would I do? Well, I suppose I could redecorate my rental unit to look like the command ship in PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE. Or maybe, just maybe, I could use my money TO BUY MY OWN HOUSE THAT I COULD REMODEL ANY WAY THAT I WANTED. But then, that's just me.

28.WITCHBLADE IS A MAXI MINI
    Up to now, I've used the words "maxi" and "mini" in conjunction with women's fashions of the sixties and whatever reference that I may make (and believe me, those references are generally spaced apart by decades) to feminine pads. Those clever puppies in the cast of WITCHBLADE have just contributed to our vocabularies by offering us new connotations for those words. They say that the creators have envisioned the show as sort of a long miniseries, or a "maxi-mini." According to cast member, Anthony Cistaro (aka "Kenneth Irons"), "The reason they're calling it a miniseries is they want everybody to know that there is a definite beginning, middle and end. "You're watching an 11-hour movie. You've got that two-hour pilot and 11 hours of new material, 13 hours all together. It stands from beginning to middle to end."
    That doesn't mean that TNT won't order more episodes if ratings hold up. "That's up to the viewers," said Yancy Butler (Sara Pezzini). "Hopefully, our numbers will be that good. I hope it will be picked up. I plan on it." See the article in "Glass Teat," above about the show's ratings drop.
    Cistaro added, "Let's be practical. If it gets the ratings, they're not going to end it." WITCHBLADE is based on the Top Cow comic series of the same name. If you'd like to contribute to the maximization of this mini, check it out this summer. It airs on Tuesdays at 9 P.M.

29.BIG CHANGES STIR UP WOLF LAKE
    In TV, series-creators get very attached to their shows. Roddenberry stayed connected to STAR TREK throughout his life and its still connected to his estate and his widow. Jack Webb was always associated with DRAGNET. Stracynski will be forever linked to BABYLON 5. That's just the way television works - usually. When a creator is separated from his show, that's big news. When that show hasn't aired a single episode yet, that may mean trouble.
    So it's very big and troubling news that John Leekley, the creator and executive producer of CBS' upcoming series WOLF LAKE, has stepped down, and Alex Gansa has come aboard as an executive producer and show runner. No reason was given for the change at the series, which is due in the fall. To refresh your memory this would be a big-three network one and only foray into the world of imaginative television (not counting THIRD ROCK) in years.
    Rick Kellard also joins the show as an executive producer, and Toni Graphia (ROSWELL) will co-executive produce. Stacy Edwards has left the cast, leaving star Lou Diamond Phillips and cast members Tim Matheson and Graham Greene.
    CBS has apparently requested a tweaking of the WOLF pilot to ensure the sustainability of the series' plot line, and the new creative team is reportedly eyeing a new direction for the show. The pilot's main concept remains focused on a string of strange events in a small Northwest town that coincides with an influx of bizarrely behaving wolves in the area.

30.DUCHOVNY DISSES HIS "X"
    David Duchovny shares fans' disappointment with this season's finale episode, which had his character, Mulder, kissing Gillian Anderson's Scully. "We were doing the last two episodes, and I felt like, 'This isn't a resolution for my character,'" Duchovny said. "We're resolving things that had nothing to do with Mulder. I felt like it was a lost opportunity. I felt like the last two episodes could have been a real send-off for Mulder."
    Duchovny added that he had very little warning that the season would end with a kiss. "They have this idea over at THE X-FILES that stuff might get stolen and put on the Internet," he said. "It pisses me off, because I'm an actor, and I'd like to have the scenes more than two hours before I play it. It's all a big mystery. I think it was written that Scully gives Mulder a kiss on the forehead. I was so confused at that point that I didn't trust my feelings about it. I have so many personal feelings about it; it was eight years of my life. I didn't know what would be an appropriate ending. [Director] Kim Manners and I were discussing it, and he said, 'We've done that a hundred times, the whole hand-holding and kiss on the forehead. We should do a real kiss.' And I thought, 'Yeah, that feels right. At least it's something different at the end.'"
    And Duchovny left open the door for a reappearance on the show, though he has said he's through with it for good. "If they wrote a good X-FILES script, I would look at it the way I look at any script, which is, I would really want it to be good," he said.

31.SCULLY'S LAST BOW
    Gillian Anderson has proclaimed that THE X-FILES' upcoming ninth season will be her last. Anderson said that she wants to spend more time with her 6-year-old daughter, Piper.
    After the show wraps next year she wants to appear on stage in London's West End next summer, "The stuff I am going to do is as far from Scully as humanly possible," she said. As for whether she will be typecast as the brainy FBI agent (she was considered for a Clarice Starling replacement in HANNIBAL, for example), she added, "I hope I will be able to act my way out of that. Sometimes I am struck dumb by the narrow thinking with casting directors. Some actors won't audition, but I have to. Having been Scully for such a long time, I have to prove myself in other roles."

32.LUCY LAWLESS CAN'T GET XENA OUT OF HER SYSTEM
    Lucy Lawless finds it difficult to leave behind her XENA character behind now the XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS series has ended. The actress, whose real name is Lucille Francis Ryan, admits she's been at a loose end since the fantasy show finished. The New Zealand-born actress says, "I think I'll still be getting up at 5 a.m. and putting on my leather corset and sitting in my car. I'll sit there for an hour or two and realize that there is nowhere to go. Or I'll drive out to one of the old movie ranches and sit at the gate until the farmer sends me away. I think I'll have to be rehabilitated back into normal society."

33.XENA'S CREATOR DEFENDS THE SERIES' END
    Rob Tapert, co-creator and executive producer of XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, defended the series' finale in which the titular heroine (played by Tapert's wife, Lucy Lawless) met her demise. Fans have criticized the finale, in which Xena was shot with arrows and eventually decapitated to save the inhabitants of a Japanese village.
    Tapert said that the reaction was "exactly what we thought it would be. We certainly have taken the heat. I have a friend who sends me e-mails, and I've gotten some faxes from people and letters. And people have had a very mixed reaction. But the finale was really based on where the series started, and it seemed to complete her journey looking for redemption."
    Tapert, who wrote the finale with co-executive producer R.J. Stewart, added, "I thought Xena dying in the midst of battle worked for me. People would say it was too ignominious to have her dragged around like a slab of beef, but I think it was what fueled Gabrielle to take the steps to be motivated. I really thought Xena's death was appropriate. You don't really want to upset people, but we knew it would be emotional for the right reasons."
    As for the future of the Xena franchise after six years of syndicated television, Tapert said, "This is about the fifth time that Xena has died in the series, so I'm not worried about the franchise ending."

SLANTED FEDORA is being held on August 3-5 at the Doubletree Hotel-Crystal City, 300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA 22202. This is described as a weekend of autographs and guest talks. Guests include STAR TREK: VOYAGER stars Jeri Ryan, Roxann Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo and Ethan Phillips. >From STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE they've got  Armin Shimerman and Max Grodénchik. From the original STAR TREK they're featuring George Takei and Walter Koenig. Other guests include Jerry Hardin ("Deep Throat" on THE X-FILES), Judson Scott (Khan's son in STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN), Claire Stansfield (Xena's evil counterpart in XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS), Tracy Scoggins ( Captain Elizabeth Lochley in BABYLON 5) and shuttle astronaut Rick Searfoss. Most of these guests will only be available for portions of the show. Either check the link for this Web Site or use the contact information below for a detailed schedule. General admission tickets are $20 each per day, sold at the convention only. GA tickets will not include autograph options, but offer access to the entire convention excluding the autograph lines. Convention reserved seating is $100 each offering holders to come and go as much (or as little) as they like, all weekend long.  Reserved seating includes guaranteed autographs with all guests. You can buy a dinner with the stars for an additional  $100 that allows participants to hobnob with the "Fab Four" of VOYAGER on Saturday night and see Jerry Hardin in his one man Mark Twain show. Finally, you can buy a combination dinner and weekend reserved ticket for $150.00. The convention hours will be Friday from 2 till 10 PM, With a special  theatre production starring Jerry Hardin. Saturday, 10 AM till 6, with a special dinner with the four VOYAGER stars. Sunday, 10 AM till 6, with a special theatre production starring Max Grodénchik and Armin Shimerman called "The Brotherly Love Tour." To order tickets call (913) 327 - TREK(8735) if you're using Visa/MC. For mail, a check or money order or for more information contact Slanted Fedora Entertainment/ 11916 W. 109th Street   Suite #125/ Overland Park, KS 66210. When ordering your tickets be sure to include your complete mailing address, which day you are ordering tickets for (Saturday, Sunday or for the weekend).

OTAKON is being held on August 10-12 at the Baltimore Convention Center. This is the East Coast's largest Japanese animation and East Asian cultural convention. This convention started as a small affair in a Day's Inn near Penn State in 1994. Now they're renting out the whole Baltimore Convention Center! Last year they had 7,500 attendees. This year should top that. Guests include Fred Perry (best known for his work on the "Gold Diggers" and "Legacy" manga series'), Scott Frazier (who describes himself as an "animation director, artist, storyteller, libertine, Princess of Canada, TG, Extreme Con Guest, fashion disaster, lunatic"), Gilles Poitras (an anime lecturer who has written much about anime, including the Anime Companion and Anime Essentials), Scott Houle (operates Coastal Carolina Studios, which produces anime), Pamela Wiedner (editor, director and voice artist), Adam Warren (comic book artist), Steve Bennett (founder of Studio Ironcat), Ian Kim (anime artist) and Shin Kurokawa (anime artist). Otakon's got seven video theaters offering a variety of anime in all genres, and a full video theater dedicated to live action films from all of Asia. There will also be a variety of panels and workshops on topics such as cel-painting, drawing, music video editing, modeling, voice acting, and more. They'll be holding MYSTERY ANIME THEATER 3000, with a special appearance by Crow and Tom Servo. There will be a large and lavish masquerade on Saturday evening and late night dances on Friday and Saturday. They'll have Live Action Role Playing (LARP) going on that could take you any where from a few hours to all weekend. They'll also have a special karaoke room, an anime music contest, video gaming and an anime trivia game show. If you're considering going registration lines can be very lengthy. Pre-registration for the weekend can be done until July 21. The cost for the weekend is $45. The admission remains the same at the door, but there you'll have the option of Friday only for $25, Saturday for $30 or Sunday for $15. To register or for more information contact OTAKONTM 2001 Registration/ 491 Baltimore Pike #689/ Springfield, PA 19064-3810. 

HORRORFIND takes place on August 24-6 at the BWI Marriott located at 1743 West Nursery Road Baltimore, Maryland 21240. The hotel is five minutes from BWI Airport, 12 minutes from downtown Baltimore. There is a broad range of guests appearing. Actors include Bruce Campbell (of the EVIL DEAD movies), Lou Ferrigno (tentatively scheduled), Brinke Stevens: (classic scream queen, star of NIGHTMARE SISTERS), Linnea Quigley: (classic scream queen. star of PUMPKINHEAD 2), Dick Warlock: (HALLOWEEN's Michael Myers), Tom Morga (FRIDAY THE 13TH's Jason Voorhees), Michael Berryman (THE HILLS HAVE EYES), Doug Bradley: ("Pinhead" in the HELLRAISER movies), Ben Chapman: (the Gill-Man in THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON), Lara Parker (Angelique in DARK SHADOWS), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans in DARK SHADOWS),  Tom Savini (make-up artist and actor) and Dick Dyszel (Count Gore De Vol, TV's CREATURE FEATURE Horror Host). Authors appearing include Douglas Clegg (author of Mischief), Jack Ketchum (author of The Girl Next Door), Barry Hoffman (author of Born Bad), Jack Passarella (author of Wither), Mark McLaughlin (author of Shoggoth Cacciatore), Gerard Houarner (author of The Beast That Was Max), Karen Taylor (author of The Vampire Legacy series)  J. F. Gonzalez (author of Shapeshifter), Weston Ochse (author of Natural Selection), Holly Newstein & Ralph Bieber (authors of Out of the Light), Brian Keene (author of No Rest for the Wicked) Mason Winfield (paranormal investigator, occult writer and the author of Shadows of the Western Door), Linda Addison (author of Animated Objects), Feo Amante (creator of feoamante.com),and short story writers Geoff Cooper, Michael T. Huyck Jr., Michael McCarty, Eoghain O'Keefe, Michael Oliveri and John Platt. Special events include a haunted house in the hotel, a live seance conducted by paranormal investigator and occult writer Mason Winfield, ghost stories, non-stop horror movies, a costume ball, a hearse show, Ouija tables, haunted attraction seminars and author readings. There will also be numerous prize giveaways such as a standup of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON autographed by creature-actor Ben Chapman and a trilogy of EVIL DEAD DVD's autographed by Bruce Campbell. The show's hours are Friday August 24 (evening events to be scheduled), Saturday August 25 dealer's and celebrity Rooms Open 10:00am - 6pm followed by special events, shows, movies and party from 6pm on and Sunday August 26 with the dealer's rooms open from 11am to 5pm. Tickets prices are $15.00 for a single day or $25.00 for the entire weekend. Advance ticket can be purchased either by clicking on the link (for those of you reading this on an HTML-capable computer) or mail your payment and make it payable to HORRORFIND.COM LLC/ 9722 Groffs Mill Drive PMB 109/ Owings Mills, Md 21117. 

THE MILLENNIUM PHILCON, which is the 59th World Science Fiction Convention, will take place August 30, 2001 - September 3, 2001 (Labor Day weekend) at the Pennsylvania Convention Center & Philadelphia Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia, PA. It's impossible, in the space that we have, to list and describe all of the guests and participants. This is after all a World Con! I reviewed what was noted as a partial list of names and their accomplishments. Their were over 260 people listed! Among them are some of the best and brightest in the field of science fiction. Like many conventions this will have a strong literary bent, but not to the exclusion of film. There will also be scientists on panels discussing science-based approaches to favorite sci-fi topics like space exploration. At this writing the schedule is still being ironed out but a few of the highlights include the opening ceremony, continuous film showings, auctions, presentation of the Hugo awards and the RetroHugos, a dance, a masquerade and something called the "Million Wizard March" (!?). The cost to attend, at this point, is $170 (that price will go up before the convention). To attend, or for more information either write to The Millennium Philcon/ P.O. Box 310/ Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006-0310 or email: phil2001@netaxs.com.

CAPCLAVE will be held on September 28 - 30 at the Sheraton College Park, located at 4095 Powder Mill Road, Beltsville, MD 20705. It's sponsored by the Washington Science Fiction Association. This is their first of what they hope will be many years. Their theme for their inaugural year is "Celebrating the Short Story in Science Fiction." Capclave's Guest of Honor is Gardner Dozois, the editor of "Asimov's Science Fiction" and The Year's Best Science Fiction as well as the winner of several Hugo awards. Their "Ghost" of Honor is Joseph Mayhew, Hugo-winning cartoonist, author, librarian, and fan. He passed away last year. Capclave will have a tribute to him and provide a chance for people to share the many things they've learned from him. Other participants include authors Roger MacBride Allen, Brenda Clough, Alexis Gilliland, Peter Heck, Jane Jewell, Mindy Klasky, Nancy Kress, Charles Sheffield, Michael Swanwick, Lawrence Watt-Evans and editor Gardner Dozois. Activities include literary discussions with authors; readings by authors; a dealer's room; exhibits by a few artists; a presentation by NASA scientists with the latest rocket and space station news, pictures from outer space, and plans for future exploration; parties and numerous chances to interact with fellow fans in a relaxed atmosphere. Registration is $30 through August 15th. $35 at the door. To register, or for more information, either go to  http://www.wsfa.org. or drop a note to Capclave 2001/ c/o Alexis Gilliland/ 4030 8th St. South/ Arlington, VA 22204

36.ANALOG SERIALIZES NEANDERTHAL
    "Analog Science Fiction and Fact" magazine will serialize the first of Robert J. Sawyer's upcoming Neanderthal Parallax trilogy of novels. The first book, Infinite Faculties, will appear in full text in four monthly installments, starting with the January 2002 edition. Tor will publish Infinite Faculties in June 2002, followed by Noble Reason in February 2003 and Quintessence of Dust in October 2003.
    The Neanderthal Parallax tells the story of a gateway opening between our universe and a parallel one in which Neanderthals survived to the present day, but we did not. The Neanderthals in the parallel world have developed a technologically sophisticated culture, but have made very different use of Earth and its resources over the 40,000 years since the timeline split.

37.THE PUBLIC FALLS IN LOVE WITH TOLKIEN ALL OVER AGAIN
    Are you one of those people who don't know an "Orc" from an aardvark? Do you think that a "Gandalf" is an exotic wrestling hold? Do you blush when you hear about a "Bilbo," imaging the speaker is referring to a product sold in a naughty bookstore? Relax. You're not nuts. You just need to read (or brush up on) your basic Tolkien. Lots of folks are.
    Anticipation for Peter Jackson's upcoming LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy has spurred renewed interest in J.R.R. Tolkien's original books, on which the movies are based. Houghton Mifflin has reprinted another 100,000 copies, up to 350,000, of a new, one-volume movie tie-in edition of Tolkien's trilogy. Del Rey/Ballantine, which publishes the mass-market paperback editions says that "sales are going through the roof." Del Rey reported shipping 1.7 million copies of Tolkien's books since last June, triple the total two years earlier.
    You have until December 19 to acquire a new "Tolkiensian" vocabulary. That's when the first film, THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, opens.

38.THE DEATH AND REBIRTH OF CINESCAPE
    Things looked pretty bad for the future of "Cinescape," both the magazine and the Web Site. They have been forced to declare both the magazine and its sister Site dead. Fandom Inc., which bought "Cinescape" last year, attempted to spin off assets and close its Online operations. The company was completely out of business. The entire staff was fired.
    Things have since improved for their future outlook. Mania Entertainment has stepped in to purchase the magazine. Their new editor, Anthony Ferrante, has experience as a former editor-in-chief of "Eon" magazine and at  Mothership.Com, as well as a contributor to several other magazines that deal in imaginative entertainment. The Site is back Online and is going through various upgrades. The print version of the magazine will be have a one-issue gap, but will be back this fall.

39.THE LATEST TREK NOVEL IS HISTORY
    The current Star Trek: The Eugenics Wars, The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh mixes real history with Trek history. Novelist Greg Cox returned to events in the original series episode "Space Seed," which first aired in 1967 and alluded to a war that took place in the 1990s. According to the backstory established in "Space Seed," Khan was exiled from Earth in 1996.
    Cox built on his previous Star Trek novel, Assignment: Eternity, which reprised the original series characters of Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln. "At the end of the book, Kirk is wondering whether they should let Seven and Roberta just run around through time playing with the fate of one society or another; Spock replies that his research shows that they have no choice, because Seven and Roberta were instrumental in the overthrow of Khan Noonien Singh," Cox explained. So we have a chance to read a Trek novel set in our recent past instead of our far-away future. Eugenics Wars is in bookstores now.

40.BLACK IMAGINATIVE FICTION MOVES CENTER STAGE IN DARK MATTER
    Warner Aspect is publishing Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora, by Sheree R. Thomas, in a trade paperback edition. The book is the first anthology of science-fiction from African-American writers. It was chosen as a New York Times notable book of the year. The collection includes works by W.E.B. Du Bois, Samuel R. Delany, Octavia E. Butler, Amiri Baraka and Ishmael Reed, as well as by new writers.

    Science Fiction Film: X-MEN/ Fantasy Film: FREQUENCY/ Horror Film: FINAL DESTINATION/ Action/Adventure/Thriller Film: CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON/ Actor: Hugh Jackman, X-MEN/ Actress: Téa Leoni, FAMILY MAN/ Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE/ Supporting Actress: Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, X-MEN/ Performance by a Younger Actor: Devon Sawa, FINAL DESTINATION/ Director: Bryan Singer, X-MEN/ Writing: David Hayter, X-MEN/ Music: James Horner, DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS/ Costume: Louise Mingenbach, X-MEN/ Makeup: Rick Baker, Gail Ryan, DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS/ Special Effects: Scott E. Anderson, Craig Hayes, Scott Stokdyk, Stan Parks, HOLLOW MAN/ Genre Home Video Release: PRINCESS MONONOKE/ Network Television Series: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/ Syndicated/Cable Television Series: FARSCAPE/ Single Television Presentation: FAIL SAFE/ Actor on Television: Robert Patrick, THE X-FILES/ Actress on Television: Jessica Alba, DARK ANGEL/ Supporting Actor on Television: James Marsters, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/ Supporting Actress on Television: Jeri Ryan, STAR TREK: VOYAGER.

42.STOP THE BASIC INSTINCT 2 COUNTDOWN
   Bad news for obsessed fans who've fashioned BASIC INSTINCT 2 advent calendars to count the moments until we could see if Sharon Stone actually DID get arrested for smoking. MGM has decided not to proceed with plans to produce the  sequel. The decision has touched off a lawsuit by Sharon Stone, who contends that the studio has reneged on an agreement to pay her $14 million dollars to star in the film. In her lawsuit, Stone claims that she had a verbal pay-or-play deal with producers Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar. She also maintains that she "relied to her detriment upon the acting contract, including rejecting offers to perform in other films and preparing for her performance in the picture by learning her lines, attending wardrobe and makeup sessions and moving to a health and fitness spa to achieve the physical effect requested by defendants." Vajna and Kassar have declined to discuss the lawsuit.

43.THERE'LL BE NOTHING ROMANTIC ABOUT THE VAMPIRES OF BLADE 2
    BLADE 2's director, Guillermo del Toro, has said that the sequel to the 1998 hit will be a lot creepier than the first film. "I was attracted to the idea of making vampires scary again," del Toro said. "They have become almost gothic romance heroes, a la Anne Rice." Del Toro is rejecting the image of doomed anti-heroes. "I wanted to find the animal component again: something that just wants to drink your blood and kill you. The style I like is a more contemplative and atmospheric approach. But in BLADE 2, I am doing action and horror, so it's a good combination. I'm making the camera much freer."
    BLADE 2 is currently in production. Look for it some time next year.

44.PRODUCERS SAY "BROSNAN, PIERCE BROSNAN"
    There's been a lot of speculation about who the next Bond will be. A strong rumor's been drifting about that the forthcoming Bond flick will be Brosnan's final Bond appearance. Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have now officially denied the prevailing speculation. They've affirmed that, "Pierce Brosnan will play James Bond in the forthcoming production and for the foreseeable future." Brosnan is due to start filming the next Bond film at London's Pinewood Studios in January.

45.DISNEY ANIMATORS GRUMBLE ABOUT PRODUCING INFERIOR FILMS
    A number of Disney animators are expressing strong dissatisfaction with the direction of the studio since the departure of Jeffrey Katzenberg and his replacement by Tom Schumacher, with several saying that the current emphasis has gone from featuring character and story to showing off whiz-bang graphics. Disney animator Tom Sito remarked that Katzenberg "doesn't give notes like 'That character's hair is the wrong color.' He says, 'I don't believe he loves her, and without a love story you don't have a movie.'" Another animator said that recent Disney films may be "technically proficient but very deficient in terms of storytelling and character." The publication also quoted from a note posted on the Motley Fool website by 20-year Disney veteran animator Dave Pruiksma who, referring to Disney's latest release, remarked: "With ATLANTIS, it was more about filling the screen with action than developing characters and story. And that's what makes SHREK popular - the writing and the vocal performances."

46.A FANTASY STAR GENERATES INTEREST IN HER DIGITAL KISSER
    "Teen People" and "Cosmo Girl" magazines have asked for the beauty regimen of Dr. Aki Ross, the star of the upcoming FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN movie. The problem: Ross is a computer-animated creation, not a real person, though she is voiced by real-life actress Ming-Na.
    "No one's claiming we did photo-real, but we have done it closer than anybody's done," producer Chris Lee said. "She's building a virtual life," said Lee, who added that the film's director wants to do another movie with Ross playing a totally different character.
    It's not the only time people have mistaken Ross for a real woman. "One art director said, 'I recognize her. She's Australian,'" Lee said with a laugh. And "Maxim" magazine wanted to feature Ross on the cover of its Hot 100 special issue. "Maxim" even touched her up, and Lee's artists agreed to give Ross French nails. But, he added, "we refused to increase the size of her breasts." Hmmm, let's see now. Real women can have phony breasts but phony women . . . aw, forget it!

47.DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH FOR GHOSTBUSTERS 3
    Ivan Reitman has said that he's not likely to shoot a third sequel to his 1984 film GHOSTBUSTERS. Reitman said, "we did two GHOSTBUSTERS, and it's really tough to keep doing that. There were economic issues with Sony in doing a third, but the real big problem was creative. We could never get the script right. It's not like doing a fourth LETHAL WEAPON, where you create a new bad guy, knock him down, tell a few jokes and then you're out."
    Dan Akroyd has been forced to come to the same conclusion. "It's a rights issue, actually," he said. "Essentially, it's not something that Billy [Murray] wants to do again, and for some reason, he feels that it's really a vehicle that should remain with the two first movies, and he has one-fifth of the rights, and so he's locking off his rights and saying, 'I think we should just leave that period of our time alone, and I don't think we should revisit that.' And he's got the power to do that, and so we'll move on and do something else. It's tremendously liberating. You know, sometimes in life, your goals and dreams, they have to change by nature of just the way life is and circumstance."

48.HOPES FOR A HITCHHIKER FILM ARE NOT DEAD
    Director Jay Roach has said that he's still determined to bring Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to the big screen, despite Adam's recent untimely death. Adams' death at the age of 49 was "a bit of a tragedy for the project," Roach said in a classic British understated fashion.
    At the time of his death, Adams had completed a screenplay for the proposed feature-film version of his satiric science-fiction novel. The movie is now "a little bit up in the air, because we were all looking forward to doing it with Douglas," Roach said. But Roach added that he still hopes to bring the novel to the big screen. "It remains one of the great humorous sci-fi things of all time, so we're still fighting for it."

49.THE JPIII CAST DIGS THEIR DINOS
   Sam Neill, who reprises the role of Alan Grant in JURASSIC PARK III, says that he believes the third installment in the ongoing dinosaur epic will surpass its predecessors. Neill said that the new dinosaurs are better than before. "The animatronic creatures that we were working with were extraordinary - not just realistic, but the things you can do with them was incredible," he said. "If a 44-foot high creature . . . is looming over you bigtime, it's not difficult to feel fear, if that's what's required in the script. . . . There was a remarkable day when one dinosaur mortally wounded another dinosaur. That was more terrifying than you could imagine."
    Téa Leoni loved her tall, green and ugly co-stars.  "The dinosaurs are a whole new bag," she said. "I was prepared that I would be working a lot with a blue screen, and the truth is, we didn't work with a blue screen nearly as often as I would have thought. For the most part, we were face to face with some of the most terrifying puppets [imaginable]. The raptors stand about our height on back legs. We had probably about six of them, and they each had such different looks. You could see the difference between the males and females, not just in their physical design, but their behavior. I have to say, I can't remember the last time I've been so impressed by an effect and had it help me so much in my work."
    Producer Kathleen Kennedy was reluctant to discuss the details of the dinosaurs that will appear in JPIII. "The one thing I'm concerned about is that there's an overemphasis on wanting to dissect the logistics on how we create these dinosaurs," she said. "It also was this way on the other two [films]. And this always distresses me, because it strips away the magic that people are going to the movies for." Even so, she conceded, the realism that the first JURASSIC PARK brought home, and the strides that film made in special-effects wizardry, are core components of what keeps people coming back for the further adventures.

50.CHRISTOPHER LEE UNDERGOES A SERIOUS DEMOTION
    Christopher Lee has played many parts in his long career. Perhaps none of them as famous as that Transylvanian Count with a sanguine predilection. Lee has just been busted down from a villainous Count to a "C.B.E." He was named a Commander of the British Empire in the queen's Birthday Honors List on June 16. The award is one of Great Britain's highest civilian honors and recognizes valuable services to the state. Despite going from Count to honored citizen, Lee wasn't heard to complain.

51.TOM CRUISE AND STEVEN SPIELBERG CROON CARRY ME BACK TO OL' VIRGINIE
    No, this isn't a Stephen Foster biopic. Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg's upcoming thriller, MINORITY REPORT  is shooting in and around the Virginia hamlet of Gloucester, around the the Hampton Roads area. The film, based on the Philip K. Dick short story of the same name, has shot in a local park and a private residence in Ware Neck, Va.
    Set secrecy is reportedly so tight that parks and recreation officials have not been allowed entrance into Beaverdam Park, and local residents have been told that the park was closed for "renovations." Cruise and Spielberg are commuting by helicopter from another location.
    So, if anyone's headed to around Norfolk, Newport News or anywhere in that vicinity, drop by Beaverdam Park. See if you can get Tom and Steve to drop by an I.C.S. meeting. Any volunteers for putting them up for the night?

52.JOHN WOO AND THE SIGN OF THE TURTLE
    OK, it's word association time. I say the name "John Woo." What image pops in your noodle? A stop action 360 degree shot of Tom Cruise flying off his motorcycle in MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2? John Travolta and Nicholas Cage mixing it up in FACE/OFF? Maybe Chow Yun-Fat firing away in A BETTER TOMORROW? All of these would be accurate. None of them would prepare you for his next project.
    John Woo and producer Terence Chang's Digital Rim Entertainment have signed a deal with Mirage Studios to develop and produce a new, computer-animated feature film based on the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES franchise. The plan is to return the franchise to its darker, edgier comic-book roots, TURTLES co-creator and Mirage Licensing owner Peter Laird said.
    Digital Rim has already produced a new animated TURTLES TV pilot, which inspired the company to pursue the film rights. The pilot is currently being shopped at the networks. The third and last TURTLES film was released in 1993.

53.DISNEY'S PEARL HARBOR  DREAMS ARE SUBJECTED TO A SURPRISE ATTACK
    Disney thought they had a sure-fire blockbuster on their hands with PEARL HARBOR. Prior to its release Michael Eisner boasted, "I've been telling anybody who would listen that this will be our biggest live-action film ever." (Disney's biggest live-action hit is THE SIXTH SENSE, which earned $662 million worldwide). They weren't ready for the nearly unanimous attack of critics and the apathy and bad word-of-mouth from patrons. After barely six months on the job, Peter Schneider, the chairman of Walt Disney Studios, has been forced to resign because of poorer than expected box-office for both PEARL HARBOR and ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE.
    Ben Affleck and others involved in the production of PEARL HARBOR  were willing to forego their regular fees for a piece of the profits from the film. Affleck received just $250,000 up front to appear in the film but is due to earn 7 percent of the profits. Given the quick downturn in business for the film and its iffy status abroad, it will likely take a long time to recoup its $135-million cost, if it does so at all. Disney continues to maintain that the film will be a success.

54.PEARL HARBOR OPENS IN TOKYO
    One place where they don't seem to hate the movie PEARL HARBOR is in Tokyo. Expected protests in Tokyo did not materialize as PEARL HARBOR opened in the Japanese capital. Demonstrations by right-wing organizations have generally accompanied the opening of any film in which Japan's role in World War II is depicted negatively. A special screening of the film was held at the Tokyo Dome, Japan's largest indoor stadium, where about 30,000 people watched the movie on a giant screen.

55.PEARL HARBOR WILL LIKELY BE A HIT IN MALAYSIA
    There's a video bootleg copy of PEARL HARBOR that seems to be very well received on the streets of Malaysia. The video only contains five minutes of the actual film. The rest of the video contains hard porn material featuring Caucasian and Asian actors. This may actually be an answer to those critics that complained the original had too much love story and not enough action. This version combines the two in each scene!
    The government of Malaysia has issued a warning about the film. "Parents should be careful and make sure they are buying the original version of  PEARL HARBOR." They don't seem to be very concerned that there are no legal copies of the movie on video anywhere in the world.

56.ROLLERBALL ROLLS INTO 2002
    Those of you anxiously waiting for ROLLERBALL as a summer hit will have a little longer to wait. The John McTiernan's remake of the 1975 film will be pushed back to a first-quarter 2002 release from its original Aug. 17 premiere date. New MGM president Bob Levin said, "I want the time to set this up right. In marketing terms, I want to do things with the film that are different than what has been done to date." MGM was still scrambling to complete a trailer; so far, audiences have only seen a teaser.

57.SCARY MOVIE 2 WAS MADE ON A SCARY SCHEDULE
    Keenen Ivory Wayans, only finished working on SCARY MOVIE 2 just over three weeks before its debut. The whole crew had to work round the clock to get the sequel complete in time for its Independence Day release. Regina Hall, who reprises her role in the sequel, says, "Keenen was working non-stop doing post-production and shooting the movie at the same time. We worked longer hours and on weekends. It definitely wasn't you five-day-a-week shoot." The production schedule tightened considerably after Marlon Brando dropped out of the movie, due to bad health. Regina continues, "We had to take a little break to regroup, recast and rewrite - and everything that comes with that. It slowed us down a little." Brando was replaced by James Woods in his priest role. Regina says of SCARY MOVIE 2, "It's definitely just as funny as the first one. It has as much edgy, raunchy humor. It'll be an R (adult-rated), definitely don't bring out the toddlers, but for a good time, you'll want to come and see it."

58.CONFLICTING REPORTS ABOUT GEORGE LUCAS AND THE ROGUE EDITS
    There have been conflicting reports about George Lucas and his reaction to some guerilla editing done on his recent STAR WARS film. In case you haven't heard, a copy of a reedited (and unauthorized) version of STAR WARS: EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE that has been making its way around the Internet, under the moniker of THE PHANTOM EDIT. An editor of the revised film said that he is one of three former film students (two from New York and one from Los Angeles) who "corrected" what they perceived as weaknesses in the film. "We completely re-contextualized Jar Jar Binks' character, and altered dialogue and subtitled it," the editor said. "We gave him dialogue more akin to a Jedi character; he sounds more intelligent. We also beefed up Anakin's character." (Another revision of the film that reportedly is circulating on the Internet virtually eliminates the Jar Jar character).
    One report has it that a copy was sent to George Lucas after the director expressed interest in seeing it.  Surprisingly, blessed the efforts. "The Internet is a new medium," he commented. "It's all about doing things like that."
    Later, Jeanne Cole, a spokesperson for Lucasfilm, said that Lucas has not seen either of the re-edited versions and he isn't planning on watching them any time soon. She said that some fans have gone too far. "I think what we've come to realize is that when we first heard about the [re-edits], we realized that these were fans that were having some fun with STAR WARS, which we've never had a problem with. But over the last 10 days, this thing has grown, and it's taken on a life of its own, as things do sometimes when associated with STAR WARS. And, when we started hearing about massive duplication and distribution, we realized then that we had to be very clear that duplication and distribution of our materials is an infringement. And so we just kind of want to put everybody on notice that that is indeed the case."

59.THE PHANTOM EDITOR LAMENTS THE ERROR OF HIS WAYS
    Perhaps he's genuinely contrite. Perhaps he never understood that his basement efforts would escalate into a worldwide sensation. Perhaps he's terrified that the lawyer retained by Lucasfilm Ltd. can snap him like a dry twig. In all likelihood it's some combination of those motives that have prompted the "Phantom Editor" of the wildly popular rogue edition of  the STAR WARS film to plead with fans to stop the insanity. He's written the following statement:
    "My re-edit of George Lucas' THE PHANTOM MENACE was simply an innocent exercise and editing challenge that has now escalated into a worldwide topic. . . . Although I definitely appreciate all the unexpected attention and support the 'THE PHANTOM EDIT' has received, I also respect and understand the discontentment of Lucasfilm Ltd. . . . I sincerely apologize to George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd. and the loyal STAR WARS fans around the world for my well-intentioned editing demonstration that escalated out of my control. To anyone who is involved in the illegal sale or distribution of THE PHANTOM EDIT, I make this plea: Please stop. Let's all respect the public wishes of Lucasfilm Ltd."

60.VIN DIESEL IS CO-WRITING A PITCH BLACK SEQUEL
    Vin Diesel has said that he's co-writing the upcoming sequel for PITCH BLACK with director David Twohy and that the new film will focus on his convict character. "We should have a script in the next few weeks or month," Diesel said in an interview. "It will be called THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK."
    Diesel confirmed that the sequel would not deal with the same aliens as the original film. "It will not be another PITCH BLACK situation," Diesel said. "We're going to follow Riddick through this universe, more like a futuristic Conan, coupled with a Harrison Ford attitude and STAR WARS. It's going to be dope (that's street for "pretty gosh-darn tee-rific").
    Diesel's character, Riddick, is an ex-convict in the future, with an eye condition that makes him vulnerable to light but able to see in the dark. In PITCH BLACK, Riddick used his ability to fend off a species of nocturnal aliens when his prison transport shuttle crash-landed. It'll be interesting to see how they'll work that into the new script.

61.TIM BURTON IS ALL APED OUT
    Tim Burton has had enough of working with monkeys after filming PLANET OF THE APES. He said the simian stars of the forthcoming film were far harder to deal with than their human counterparts. "They would start humping my leg, and if I didn't pay attention to them, they'd spit at me or throw sh*t at me. They have an insane, psycho quality. One day I caught one of them staring at me . . . and I thought, man, if a human ever looked at me like I that I'd run in the other direction. I felt like I was in some weird gay bar and some sleazy person was checking me out." The movie, which stars an assortment of sapiens, homo and otherwise, debuts July 27.

62.TREK X MAY BE THE END OF TNG?
    Michael Dorn and Marina Sirtis have said that the upcoming 10th TREK film plays like the final chapter in THE NEXT GENERATION saga. Speaking at the STAR TREK & Sci Fi Media Convention in Durham, N.C., Sirtis said that she hoped the TNG movies will continue.
    TREK X will be "better than Insurrection," Sirtis said. She also denied a long-standing rumor that a main character will die in the film. She declined to comment on rumors that she and Cmdr. Riker will tie the knot in the film's opening. Dorn said the film will feature a character cameo from another TREK series (both Jeri Ryan and Kate Mulgrew have been approached to appear).

63.OVERSEAS REVENUE WILL CONTINUE TO DWARF AMERICAN BOX OFFICE
    Ever wonder whatever happened to those small, intimate dramas, the tense tight thriller, the simple pieces of exquisite film making that loom in our memories but not on our screens? It's all in the numbers. In the old formula, films made their money back with American box-office revenue, with foreign and TV sales as frosting on the cake. American box-office has been diluted with auxiliary markets like video, DVD, cable, satellite and people being busy with the Internet and other diversions. In the meantime American movies have pounded other country's homegrown cinema into oblivion. Europe, Central and South America, Asia, Africa and Australia are generating more money than U.S. audiences. And they don't want small and cozy. They want loud and explosive. That's why a remake of a quiet ghost story (such as THE HAUNTING) has to have $100 million effects budgets.
    If you've been waiting for this trend to abate, you've got a long time. According to recent British study the importance of the international exhibition market to filmmakers will continually rise over the next decade with gross revenue reaching $24 billion by 2010, a 36-percent advance over this year's expected take of $18 billion. The Informa Group survey, "Global Film: Exhibition & Distribution," also concluded that the U.S. share of the global box office is likely to drop from 45 percent to 41 percent by 2010.
    Oh well . . . cue the exploding zombie-Nazi. It's time to remake CASABLANCA.

64.THE WRITER'S GUILD CONTRACT WINS APPROVAL
    After the nail-biting negotiations that took place during special contract negotiations, the actual ratification of the 2001 Minimum Basic Agreement between the guilds, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), ABC, CBS and NBC took place with very little fanfare and no surprise. The guilds represent 11,000 motion picture, broadcast, cable, Internet and new media writers. There were 4,128 total votes cast with 92% (3,785) approving the new agreement and 8% (343) voting against it.

65.THERE WILL BE NO ACTOR'S STRIKE THIS YEAR
    Actors and studio executives, both lacking the stomach for a strike, breathed a collective sigh of relief after negotiators for actors' unions and movie and TV producers reached tentative agreement on a new three-year contract. The final hurdle was overcome when a solution was found to address studio concerns that the cable arrangement that actors wanted was too pricey. When the 26-member negotiating team of actors voted, a roar of jubilation filled the conference room. Some of the actors wept. Others laughed and hugged each other. Cheers continued to ripple among the emotionally drained group.
    It wasn't just actors who were breathing a sigh of relief. For the past year, the prospect of dual strikes had consumed Hollywood guilds, studio executives, agents and filmmakers as well as tens of thousands of blue-collar production workers who toil behind the cameras hauling equipment, driving trucks, setting up lighting and making costumes. Anxiety also extended well beyond the studios to companies that supply and service productions, such as equipment rental firms, costume houses and caterers. Also worried were scores of other businesses that depend on entertainment dollars, from restaurants to dry cleaners.
    The chief beneficiaries were the lower paid rung of stars. Journeymen working actors will get another boost through increased minimum pay for guest stars on TV shows. The contract was revised to give lower-paid actors with limited roles in movies an additional $5,000 per picture.
    The studios held the line on residuals. Actors will get no increase in payments for video and DVD sales. Studios resisted changing the current system, under which they can claim 80 cents of every $1 of video or DVD sales as a manufacturing and marketing cost, then allocate 5.4% of the remaining money to actors. The basic residuals formula remains when shows air on foreign TV channels, although actors will receive additional payments when shows sell for a high price. The writers agreed to a similar deal.
    By the third year of the contract, the Fox television network will pay actors the same residual rates as NBC, CBS and ABC, ending a discount the 14-year-old network negotiated when it was a fledgling operation. Writers received the same deal.
    Even though there were no walkouts, Hollywood was beginning to feel the effects of a de facto strike because studios stopped putting into production any film that carried even the slightest risk of being shut down in the event of a strike. Even with the contract settled, production could take months to return to normal levels because so many projects had been accelerated to beat potential strike deadlines.
    The contract is expected to be ratified by actors. The SAG and AFTRA bargaining committees unanimously recommended the tentative agreements.

66.IMAGINATIVE CINEMA FOR THE MONTH OF JULY
    JULY 4TH: SCARY MOVIE 2 is another trip to the toilet for gross-out humor from the Wayans brothers. The tagline for the original SCARY MOVIE was "No Mercy. No Shame. No Sequel." The tagline for this film is "We lied."

    JULY 6TH: KISS OF THE DRAGON features Jet Li and Bridget Fonda in a thriller that revolves around a Chinese intelligence officer (Li) who goes to Paris on assignment, and becomes embroiled in a deadly conspiracy. He's betrayed, hunted and compelled to rely on the assistance of an American prostitute (Fonda). The two of them are forced to confront a remorseless adversary. The film was directed by the French director, Luc Besson (THE PROFESSIONAL, THE FIFTH ELEMENT).

    JULY 11TH: FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRIT WITHIN is a much-publicized Japanese computer-animated feature with ultra-realistic character drawings. It's based on a popular computer game. It's set on Earth in the year 2065, amid destruction and confusion. An alien invasion threatens to extinguish the remains of an already weakened mankind and possibly every living creature on the planet. The fate of all life on Earth relies on one woman's determination. Aki Ross, with the help of those around her, holds the key to stopping the invaders without harming the planet. She has to find the solution while racing against a military madman who'd destroy the aliens and the Earth along with it.

    JULY 13TH: THE SCORE stars Robert DeNiro as an aging thief who has retired to live off his riches, running a Montreal jazz lounge . . . until he's blackmailed into doing one more heist. The young upstart who forces him back is played by Edward Norton. The object of their felonious intent is a centuries-old scepter. Marlon Brando plays DeNiro's fence. Angela Bassett plays DeNiro's girlfriend.

    JULY 18TH: JURASSIC PARK III is the sequel that needs no introduction. Anxious to fund research for his new theory of velociraptor intelligence, paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) is persuaded by a wealthy adventurer (William Macy) and his wife (Téa Leoni) to accompany them on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. This island, once InGen's site B, has become both a primordial breeding ground for John Hammond's creations and a magnet for thrill-seekers eager to encounter them. When a tragic accident maroons them, Grant discovers the true reason his deceptive hosts have invited him along. The dwindling group encounters terrifying new creatures undisclosed by InGen, and Grant is forced to learn the dreadful implications of his raptor intelligence theory firsthand.

    JULY 27TH: PLANET OF THE APES is about those damn dirty apes. A U.S. astronaut (Mark Wahlberg) crashes on an alien world (yes, the number of moons tells this ain't our ol' third planet out). Apes are in charge and humans scavenge for subsistence living and serve as slaves. The Earthman's appearance serves as a challenge to the present order and a catalyst for revolution. The movie was directed by Tim Burton. Look for Charlton Heston in a cameo appearance as a senior ape.

68.TOUGH TIMES FOR VIRTUAL HOLLYWOOD
    Hollywood has a dark legacy that most of its boosters don't like to mention. It's got a century-long history of fleecing unsuspecting suckers out of their money. With the cloud that's descended over would-be Internet empires, that old history has come home to roost.
    Investors have become wary of piping money into pioneers looking to hoist the "HOLLYWOOD" sign on a digital beach head. At a recent "iHollywood Forum" the complaint of fields of timid investors echoed through the halls. Studios and companies have secured celebrity spokespersons to serve as pitchmen but forgot to formulate business plans along the way.
    Movies WILL establish a presence on the Net. That is a certainty. However, the model of major studios taking over the Net by storm may give way to the current model of small and midsized concerns slowly evolving at a slower pace. We'll have to wait and see.

69.THE BBC'S SITE WILL POST THE DR. WHO PILOT
    The BBC's official Web site will post the previously unheard pilot for a new Doctor Who audio series, originally produced for Radio 4. The site will post the episode "Death Comes to Time" on July 13; it will be the first new BBC Who episode in five years.
    Radio 4 turned down the option to develop the pilot into a radio series, but if interest in the Webcast is strong enough, BBC Online may develop it into a six-episode miniseries exclusively for the Web.
    The BBC site will soon unveil a trailer for the episode. The episode reunites the seventh Who actor, Sylvester McCoy, and Who's '80s series companion, Sophie Aldred. The episode also stars Stephen Fry, John Sessions and Jacqueline Pearce and was produced by Dan Freedman.

70.THE MAXIMUM EFFORT FOR THE MINIMUM RESULTS
    Usually in the Internet and Technology News sections we like to talk about cutting edge advances that will make us all smarter, sexier and give us better breath while they take care of "the heartbreak of psoriasis." Every now and again something comes along that reminds us that technology can be a foolishly complex maze of poorly met challenges and diminished expectations. The Rube Goldberg Gallery is just such a Site. Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a young engineer who became a cartoonist. He became legendary for the lavishly complex inventions that he drew to accomplish simple tasks. Check out his method for remembering to mail his wife's letters, for instance. Step number one starts with a hook at a shoe repair shop causing a large boot, hung outside,  to swing. Step number fifteen is a shade that lowers with the message, "YOU SAP, MAIL THAT LETTER." If you'd like a smile and a twentieth century nudge in the ribs, check this Site out.

71.RADIUS DEBUTS ONLINE
    K2films.com will debut the full-length sci-fi action film RADIUS, featuring DAYS OF OUR LIVES' Paul Logan. The 93-minute film tells the story of a pilot who crash-lands during an assignment to blow up an enemy vortex. Logan plays the leader of the enemy.
    "I'm not a nice person," Logan said in an interview. "I'm sent by our side of the war to go stop the bomb from going off, and I end up killing a lot of people. It was filmed in Death Valley, so it was about 128 degrees when we filmed it, and I was wearing a black leather suit. I lost about 10 pounds of water weight."
    The film enlists the talents of ARMAGEDDON's visual-effects cinematographer Philipp Timme and MATRIX sound designer Dane A. Davis, under the guidance of first-time feature director Helmut Kobler, a video-game director for Cyclone studios.
    Logan said Radius offers a social commentary with all the battles. "This is basically saying that there's no real winner in war," he said. "[If] either side wins, there's always losses, always casualties, and if you can avoid that at all costs, that's the way to go."

72.SONY LAUNCHES SCREENBLAST
    Sony is preparing Screenblast, an interactive online entertainment project that will feature the talents of former BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER star Seth Green and others. Green and Matthew Senreich are executive producing Sweet J Presents, a series of 12 stop-action animation shorts that are each four to five minutes long; Green will also write and provide voice characterizations. Screenblast is designed to be a home for amateur and aspiring content creators. The site will launch in the fall.

74.HE NOSE ABOUT THE NEXT BIG THING IN MOVIES
    Munich-based designer Stefan Reutz has developed a system to provide moviegoers with the actual odors of scenes. The system sprays out an appropriate fragrance synchronized to the scenes of the films. "Imagine it in a film like JURASSIC PARK where dinosaur dung would really let you get creative I bet it would smell like bogs and rain forests." He added: "We are entering the third dimension of cinema here. It's as exciting as when films got sound. It opens up a completely different way of making films."
    In 1960, Mike Todd Jr. produced a feature called SCENT OF MYSTERY using a similar process called smell-o-vision, in which smells provided clues to the movie's mystery. It was the only film ever produced using the system; it has never been reshown or released on home video. And of course there was hometown favorite John Waters' use of "Odorama" in POLYESTER.
    I dunno about this. The inventor is comparing this to when films got sound. Would it really be that exciting to smell Al Jolson in THE JAZZ SINGER?

76.CONSUMERS ARE GRABBING DVD PLAYERS
    The number of DVD players installed in U.S. households continues to grow at an astonishing rate, according to figures released by the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. The number of installed players is expected to reach 27 million by the end of the year, versus 8.6 million at the end of 2000 and only 150,000 when DVDs first hit the market in 1997. The report forecasts that the number will rise to 52 million by 2005.

77.THE RACE BETWEEN WIDESCREEN AND PAN-AND-SCAN
    Most real movie lovers turn up their collective noses at a full-screen picture given the choice between a pan-and-scan, with its images cropped to fit TV sets, or a letter-boxed widescreen with an image much closer to what an audience might have seen on a theater screen. At this point, consumers are still choosing widescreen options over the alternative. However, as the DVD revolution spills out of the ranks of fervent cinema-lovers and to the widescale public, pan-and-scan is gaining ground. An MGM exec figured that letterbox beat full screen by a ratio of 80/20 when DVD was new. Now that margin is more like 55/45. Look for more DVD's to be hitting the streets with both options on a single disc.

78.EPISODE I DVD IS DUE OUT ON OCT. 16
    STAR WARS: EPISODE I will become the first STAR WARS movie released in the DVD format when it comes out Oct. 16. The two-disc DVD release will feature more than six hours of additional material, including exclusive documentaries and never-before-seen footage. It will be priced at $29.98.
    The DVD will feature a digitally mastered edition of the movie, with THX for superior sound and picture quality. Special features will include the first-ever running commentary by Lucas, a deleted-scenes documentary with seven new sequences completed just for the DVD, and an hour-long documentary culled from more than 600 hours of behind-the-scenes footage.
    The DVD will also include an interactive featurette, with a glimpse into the process of creating scenes from storyboards to animatics to final film composites; original theatrical trailers and TV spots; a gallery of never-before-seen cast and crew photos; the 12-part Web documentary series; and five featurettes that offer an insider's look at the movie's storyline, design, costumes, visual effects and fight scenes.

79.VIDEOCY
Rental titles releasing 7/3: GONIN is a Japanese action film. Five men plot to steal a large sum of money from the local yakuza. Everything does not go as planned. The men find themselves hunted down by contract killers. This movie blends complex story telling and beautiful camera work with scenes of intense violence. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $19.95. . . . DRACULA 2000 is a retelling of the Dracula saga, this time throwing some interesting new backstory behind the Count's origins and vulnerabilities. If you ever wanted to see Jeri ("Seven-of-Nine") Ryan suck the fluid out of a man, this is you movie. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $29.99. . . . THE BODY, an extremely controversial film, received extremely limited theatrical play in April and has now gone direct to video. An archeologist played by Olivia Williams (Bruce Willis' wife in THE SIXTH SENSE) uncovers a crucified body, dated back to 1st century A.D in an ancient cave in Jerusalem. A Vatican-appointed Jesuit priest and New Testament researcher, played by Antonio Banderas, arrives at the scene to examine her findings. As word of the discovery spreads, trouble follows. The body is thought to be the corpse of Jesus. This film took took 15 years to get to the screen - because film-makers were worried it would offend religious groups. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $24.95. . . . SNATCH may be the hippest movie of the past several years. The movie, from director Guy Ritchie, is about a diamond heist that goes way, way, WAY wrong. The movies that this film is closest to are PULP FICTION and LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS (also from Guy Ritchie). The violence is hard. The script is fast and tight, not a second is wasted. Don't bother trying to anticipate the plot twists - believe me, you'll never see them coming. The dialogue is sharper than a vampire's grin. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $27.95.

Rental title releasing 7/10: THIRTEEN DAYS, the film that goes inside the Kennedy White House during the dangerous days of the Cuban Missle Crisis, releases today. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $26.98. . . . BEYOND SUSPICION stars Jeff Goldblum and Anne Heche. An insurance salesman's humdrum existence takes a turn when a stranger, ex-con Auggie Rose, unexpectedly dies in his arms. Assuming the identity of the dead man, the salesman embarks on a double life, keeping it secret from his live-in girlfriend. The film deals with the increasingly complex life that results and what happens to a man in middle age whose life is in desperate need of being jump started. This movie was made for Cinemax and aired under the title AUGGIE ROSE. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $34.99. . . . If you loved the 1941 film, HERE COMES MR. JORDAN or the 1978 Warren Beatty remake, HEAVEN CAN WAIT, we'll leave it to your discretion concerning watching its newest incarnation, DOWN TO EARTH with Chris Rock. Rock plays a struggling comedian who dies suddenly before his time. The impossibility of being back to Earth in his own body leads to him occupying the body of a wealthy old white man until a more suitable body can be found. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $29.99. . . . MONKEYBONE Stars Brendan Fraser, Chris Kattan, Whoopi Goldberg and Bridget Fonda. It's a mixture of real life and animation in the story of a cartoonist who is sent into a coma after a car crash. Together with his horny alter-ego, his character "Monkeybone," they get stuck in a way station for lost souls and must escape "Downtown" before his sister pulls the plug. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $26.98. . . .

Rental titles releasing 7/17: ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA 3 stars the amazing Jet Li in this popular high-budget Chinese series. Wong Fei-Hung (Li) must defend hi secret fiancee against a romantic rival and face of against a ferocious martial arts foe. As with all the finest martial arts films, the combat choreography was done by Woo-ping Yuen. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $24.95. . . . THE GIFT stars Cate Blanchett as a fortune-teller in a small Southern town. Her life becomes dangerous and complex when the soul of a recent murdered girl reaches out to her for help. This under-valued film boasts terrific performances from Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi as one of Blanchett's troubled clients, Hilary Swank as a battered woman who reaches out to Blanchett, Keanu Reeves as Swank's violent husband and Greg Kinnear as the town's not-so-nice nice guy. It also has an excellent script from Billy Bob Thornton and crackling good direction from Sam Raimi. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $29.99. . . . MIMIC 2 gives us the return of the killer bugs. For those of you not familiar with the first outing, a genetically engineered bug has wiped out a danger that was threatening to kill the children of the Earth. When it was done its task it was engineered to die off. Most did. Some stuck around and leapt through numerous evolutionary hoops with each generation. Like many critters in nature, the bugs learned to mimic what it perceived as its chief predator - in this case, us. This time out a New York detective (Bruno Campos) is on the trail of a killer that rips off the faces of his victims. When he suspects that the bugs are back he teams up with a reclusive entomologist (Alix Koromzay) to track them. One problem that she discovers is that the big bad bug thinks the bug expert would make a perfect mate. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $29.99. . . . EVIL SISTER II has a young woman and her father traveling through the Mojave in search of her evil twin sister who's been stalking her dreams. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $19.95. . . . THE FAMILY MAN stars Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni and Don Cheadle in this fantasy of a Wall Street trader who's living the high life in New York City. He wakes up one snowy Christmas morning in a New Jersey suburb with a brand new family and life. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $26.98. . . . WITCH HUNTER is the story of a group of college students who go on a search for treasure deep in a primeval forest. They unknowingly trespass on an ancient Native American burial ground and awaken a 6,000 year old evil spirit that is thirsty for blood. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $19.95.

Rental titles releasing 7/24: VALENTINE is the story of a love-sick serial killer who decides to get revenge on the girls who mocked him. The VHS is a rental. The DVD sells for $19.98.

Rental titles releasing 7/31: TIGER CLAWS 3 is about a force that wreaks havoc in New York City. The question is, would the citizens of New York notice? Maybe, if instead of the usual death-wish cabbies and corrupt pols the source was the 2000 year-old spirits of the deadly Three Chinese Masters. Who'll make sure that Bronx stays up and the Battery down? Cynthia Rothrock, that's who. Cheer CR as she chews dead Chinese butt in the Big Apple on your choice of a rental VHS or a DVD for $19.98. . . . THE TOMORROW MAN is set in the 1970s. A blue collar dad happens upon a group of time travelers from 2000 who send him into the future to find out he's the reason why his grown son becomes a gangland murderer. It stars Corbin Bernsen, Beth Kennedy, Morgan Rusler and Zach Galligan. The VHS is a rental. the DVD is $24.95.

Sell through titles releasing 7/3: The BRUCE LEE COLLECTION releases today. This collection includes some of Bruce Lee's greatest films. It contains FISTS OF FURY, THE CHINESE CONNECTION, GAME OF DEATH and RETURN OF THE DRAGON. The VHS individually at $9.98 or as a box-set sells for $39.98. The DVD individually sell for $19.98, and as a collection go out at $79.98. . . . GORMENGHAST is a four-part BBC miniseries that adapts Mervyn Peake's epic fantasy novels for the small screen, with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as the backstabbing upstart looking to gain control over the odd, timeless kingdom of Gormenghast, by any means necessary. If you like fantasy and adventure stories (particularly if you thought the movie DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS should have been much much better), then GORMENGHAST may be for you. Instead of relying on big-budget f/x, this low budget production has to resort to good acting and good writing. The VHS is $29.95. The DVD sells for $34.95. . . . THE HORROR OF HAMMER is the perfect DVD for fans of England's famous Hammer Films. This is a collection of trailers from films such as THE CREEPING UNKNOWN; 1,000,000 YEARS B.C.; PREHISTORIC WOMEN; and many more. It even has that unique combination of kung fu and vampires, THE 7 BROTHERS AND THEIR ONE SISTER MEET DRACULA. It also contains audio commentary about the history of Hammer by genre scholars Ted Newsom, Gary H. Smith and Stuart Galbraith. The disc sells for $24.99. . . . TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN is a DVD for the discerning Frankenstein collector. It includes trailers, TV appearances and original films which portrayed the Frankenstein monster. The Monster and his maker are featured in the original Universal films, the Technicolor terrors of Hammer, and a selection of the most off-beat Frank-flicks ever seen. For the first time on DVD, you'll see the half-hour pilot for a TV series, TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN, produced by Hammer films in 1959, directed by Curt Siodmak (author of THE WOLFMAN) , plus hysterical appearances by Lon Chaney and Glenn Strange with Abbott and Costello, and a clip from Chaney's ill-fated broadcast of Frankenstein on the early live TV anthology TALES OF TOMORROW. It also has audio and filmed interviews with Boris Karloff; filmed interviews with Hammer producer Michael Carreras, Glenn Strange, and "Baron Frankenstein" himself, actor Peter Cushing; and a DVD-ROM with Mary Shelley's complete original novel. This disc sells for $24.99. . . . "V" comes to video today. This story of human freedom fighters waging war against an alien threat sells for $19.98. . . . HOWLING 3: THE MARSUPIALS is the story of a werewolf colony that has descended from now-extinct marsupial wolves. This race of human-like creatures roams the outback, feeding its need. The race for survival is on as the humans struggle to contain these creatures. This DVD sells for $29.95.

Sell through titles releasing 7/10: Today is Dario Argento day at Anchor Bay. They have three Argento double features coming out. Volume 1 is INFERNO/ PHENOMENON. Volume 2 is DEMON/ DEMONS 2. Volume 3 is DEEP RED/ TENEBRE. The three are exclusively on DVD. They sell for $39.98 each. . . . A quartet of quality martial arts films release today. CRYSTAL FORTUNE RUN, DRUNKEN MASTER III, THE KUNG FU CULT MASTER and THE LAST HERO IN CHINA release today. The last two star the amazing Jet Li. They're all exclusive to DVD and sell for $24.95 each. . . . OK, now be honest, tell me if this has ever happened to you. There's this guy, see, and he doesn't have any luck with women. So what's he do? Well, naturally, he forces a doctor to transplant his deceased friend's genitalia with the hopes of inheriting his prowess with women. I mean, come on, we've all either done it or dreamed about it, haven't we? Well what do you think happens to this guy? Naturally, he gets a little unexpected surprise. He didn't expect to also inherit his friend's homicidal tendencies. If this is the story of your life then you're the inspiration for, THE AMAZING TRANSPLANT (SPECIAL EDITION no less). This nasty little piece of business comes to us from the queen of basement-budget nudies, Doris Wishman. This 1970 charmer can be yours, on DVD, for just $24.99. . . . DEF CON 4, from 1985, rolls our way today. A group of astronauts returns to Earth to find it decimated and run by sleazy punks. This is another maple-leaf-scented stinker that came oozing our way from our "friends" to the North. Oh well, Travolta made 'em pay for their crimes with BATTLEFIED EARTH. The VHS is $9.99. The DVD sells for $24.99. . . . DIE HARD, DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER and DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE all release today.  You can watch this franchise start off with a bang in 1988 with the bristlingly good first movie, stumble around in 1990 with the dim-witted sequel, then devolve into brain death with the nasty 1995 final (to date) entry. These are special editions, so we get to see everything the directors did right and wrong that result in the films on sale today. The VHS are $14.98 each, a three pack for $39.98 . The DVD sell for $79.98 as a collection. . . . DRESSED TO KILL is director Brian DePalma's chilling 1980 masterpiece about a psychotic killer who begins attacking women connected to a fashionable Manhattan therapist, killing them with a razor stolen from the doctor's office. It stars Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen and Dennis Franz. This DVD release sells for $29.99. . . .  HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN is, easily, the stupidest premise for a film ever done (well, ok, there was DRACULA'S DOG, FRANKENHOOKER and BATTLEFIELD EARTH, but this little beauty's in contention!). WWF star Rowdy Roddy Piper stars in this apocalyptic tale as Sam Hell, one of the last pure humans on the Earth (wouldn't you know it, the guy expected to carry the torch of civilization is a WWF maniac - a man whose idea of fine music is hearing ribs snap under the impact of a folding chair!). He must do battle in a town ruled by humanoid frogs. Someone thought this was a classic that deserves to live forever - so far there've been two sequels to it! This 1987 cult-stinker can be yours, on VHS for $9.99 and on DVD for $24.98. . . . HOW TO GET AHEAD IN ADVERTISING is a very dark surreal 1988 comedy from England. Richard Grant plays a cynical British advertising executive who is obsessing on how to get a pimple cream promotion going. He worries so much he sprouts a pimple on his shoulder. No big deal. Well then the pimple becomes a boil. Then the boil develops an eye and a very mean disposition. Our ad man discovers that he's spontaneously growing a second head! The only thing the two heads agree on is that that body has one head too many! Check it out, on DVD, for $29.95. . . . JURASSIC PARK DVD COLLECTION This collection containing JURASSIC PARK and THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK features special behind-the-scenes footage on both DVDs, as well as exclusive interviews with the cast and crew. This collector's set will run $43.98. . . . SAFE HOUSE is a unique thriller about a man battling enemies, both from within and without. It stars Patrick Stewart as a former government covert operative has some highly sensitive information which implicates a Presidential front-runner. He must get to the right people all while he battles the onset of Alzheimer's disease. His family think that his very real fears of assassins are due to his oncoming dementia. The VHS is $9.98. The DVD sells for $24.98. . . . STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE has five episodes coming to VHS today. Episode 101 is "Looking For Par`Mach in All the Wrong Places." Episode 102 is  " . . . Nor the Battle to the Strong." Episode 103 is Trials and Tribble-ations." Fianlly, episode 104 is "The Assignment." Episode 105 is "Let He Who is Without Sin . . . ." They're selling for $14.95 each. . . . . TERROR IN THE MIDNIGHT SUN - INVASION OF THE ANIMAL PEOPLE SPECIAL EDITION is a DVD with extra cheese. John Carradine is narrator and our American link for this  Swedish-made 1959 production about a rampaging monster who escapes from a spaceship and terrorizes Lapland. It's the perfect counter-argument to those people who insist that PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE is the worst movie ever made. It comes to us by way of Jerry Warren. If you are unfamiliar with Jerry Warren films, his films are paste-together jobs, usually bought from other countries, and reedited with unrelated footage of Americans, sitting around talking. This little stinker sells for $24.99. . . . CAT O' NINE TAILS is from Italian director Dario Argento. This 1971 film is one of his earlier outings. A blind man (Karl Malden) teams up with a reporter (James Franciscus) on the trail of a killer. The VHS sells for $14.98. The DVD goes for $29.98.

Sell through titles releasing 7/17: Co-inciding with the release of ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA 3 (see rental titles for 7/17), Columbia/Tri-Star is now offering a ONCE UPON IN CHINA DVD 3-pack. Buy all three entries of this classic series for $67.95. . . . BASKET CASE is a low-budget creepy movie from 1982. It's about a man and his little deformed brother, a formerly attached Siamese twin named Belial. Belial is a deformed creature that lives in the wicker basket. He's described as looking like "a squashed octopus." They embark on a journey to kill all of the doctors that were responsible for their operation of being cut apart. This DVD special edition sells for $19.99. . . . THE STEPFORD WIVES: SILVER ANNIVERSARY EDITION hits the sale bin today. A woman reluctantly moves with her husband and children to the suburban community of Stepford, Connecticut. When life in Stepford begins to seem too perfect, she investigates a mysterious conspiracy among the town's husbands. The VHS is $9.99. The DVD sells for $19.98. . . . Today we've got seven new Chinese titles coming to DVD. A CHINESE TORTURE CHAMBER STORY II, from 1989, is a grueling story of a young woman who is stripped naked and her flesh cut off piece by piece in front of a magistrate. This is not for the feint of heart. DRAGON LORD is a 1982 Jackie Chan film. A sleepy Chinese town is turned upside down when treasures from the Forbidden City are put up for sale. INHERITOR OF KUNG FU is a 1984 film about a martial artist who teams up with a sect to fight off the evil clan who wants to rule the martial arts world by possessing a mythical kung fu manual. DVD $19.95
NINJA HUNTER, from 1986, features a warrior and his fellow Ninjas who must face a group of killers sent to destroy the Shaolin Temple. SPIRITUAL LOVE is a 1987 Chow Yun Fat film. A tough cop finally meets the perfect woman. The only problem is she's a ghost. WAR OF THE UNDERWORLD, from 1996, is the story of gang warfare that explodes when an overzealous member of the Hung Hing triad offends a rival gang leader's son. WHERE'S OFFICER TUBA, from 1988, stars Sammo Hung in a comedy-action film. A Hong Kong cop set in his ways of playing tuba in the police band receives a visit from his partner's ghost. He must set down his tuba to help battle his former partner's killers. Each of these DVD's sell for $19.95.

Sell through titles releasing 7/24: AKIRA is the pioneer of fast-moving, violent Asian high-action anime.There's a  DVD special edition that comes in a metal case and is chock-o-block full of supplemental features. The VHS is $19.98. The regular DVD is $24.98. The special edition DVD sells for $39.98. . . . HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II gives a fresh look at those wacky Cenobites and that kooky puzzle thingy. The VHS is $14.98. The DVD sells for $29.98. . . . BLOOD SUCKERS/ BLOOD THIRST DOUBLE FEATURE is a Drive-In Double Feature that releases today. SUCKERS is a 1972 flick that portrays vampirism as a sexual obsession. It enslaves Oxford scholar Richard Fountain when he visits Greece and falls in with a drug-crazed cult of homicidal swingers. THIRST is a1971 "classic." Filipino women who are found with their blood drained brings American sex-crime expert Adam Rourke to Manila in search of the killer. Armed with a lisp and a mannequin named Harvey, Rourke soon becomes prey to a "Golden Goddess" possessed of eternal youth, and a creature whose face looks like melted flesh. This DVD sells for $24.99. . . . FLESH AND THE FIENDS is a 1959 Hammer-like production (even down to Peter Cushing in the lead). The film is an aggressive recounting of the notorious real-life Burke & Hare horrors, in which a pair of "procurers" aren't satisfied with robbing graves to sell to medical science. They decide to take a proactive approach by dispatching fresh victims to the hereafter and benefiting from corpses-to-be without all that nasty digging. The production is filled with with rats, stabbings, decaying corpses and shrieks of "murder!" through the midnight streets of fog bound Edinburgh. See this atmospheric chiller on VHS for $19.98 or DVD for $24.99. . . . SILENT PREDATORS is about a herd (pride? school? swarm? gaggle?) of aggressive hybrid rattlesnakes converging on a sleepy California desert community. This story was originally written by John Carpenter. It's got just about every "capitalist-vs.-nature" cliche' in it, but that doesn't mean that it's not fun. This VHS sells for $39.98. . . . THE GIANT GILA MONSTER / THE WASP WOMAN comes out as part of the DRIVE-IN DISCS double feature series. This DVD series includes various Drive-In extras: the concession stand ads, the countdown clock, the cartoons, the wacky ads, the previews and more. But what's most exciting about DRIVE-IN DISCS is DISTORTO sound. Now you can relive those warm summer nights at the Drive-In in complete comfort in your very own home theater. When selected, the patented DISTORTO process will deliver the film's soundtrack to only the front left speaker of your sound system (just like the famed Drive-In window speaker). Other Drive-In "sounds" will fill your room from the remaining channels: a car pulling into the spot next to you, friends walking by your car, crickets chirping, guys howling and whistling at the girls in the movies and forgotten friends pounding on the inside lid of your trunk reminding you to let them out. This can be yours for $29.95. . . . DEMONICUS is the story of a good walk gone bad. A man hiking in the Italian Alps stumbles on a mysterious cave. He uncovers an ancient artifact that houses the spirit of a demon. This DVD sells for $19.98. . . . THE MASK, from 1994, gets re-released today. Jim Carrey plays a shy guy who finds an ancient mask with special powers. When he puts it on he becomes a larger-than-life character with special powers. The movie also features a little-known (at the time) actress named Cameron Diaz. It's on VHS for $9.94.

Sell through titles releasing 7/31: POPCORN (1991) tells the story of a film student who's been dutifully recording her nightmares, only to discover that they exist as a 60's cult film. Her professor's determined to show the movie as part of a fund-raising "horrorthon" at an abandoned art deco theater. She has to decode the mystery behind the movie, her teacher and her dreams. This DVD sells for $24.95. . . . ATTACK OF THE 60 FOOT CENTERFOLD is a movie about very big women with very big egos. A woman competing to become Centerfold of the Year enlists the help a doctor whose beauty secret goes wrong. Thanks to an overdose she grows to gigantic (but shapely) proportions. Her rival is jealous of all the attention and decides to get a taste of the overdose herself. This little gem was directed by Fred Olen Ray and stars J.J. North, Raelyn Saalman, Tim Abell, Tammy Parks and (local star) George Stover. Both the VHS and the DVD are $9.98. . . . CYBERCITY stars C. Thomas Howell and Roddy Piper in a post-Armageddon story. It's the year 2017. The Earth's surface is destroyed and it's citizens flee to an underground wasteland ruled by warring religious cults. Both the VHS and the DVD are $9.98.

    How do you come up with your favorite Jack Lemmon memories? It would be fun to come up with a top-five, but how do you limit it to five? There was the ensign who matured from mousy compliance to manhood in MR. ROBERTS, the musician on the lamb from the mob in SOME LIKE IT HOT, the husband who has seen alcohol explode his life and his marriage in THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES, the businessman facing oblivion in SAVE THE TIGER and all of those great performances with his life-long friend, Walter Matthau. The memories go on and on. Sadly, his life did not. He was a true original. We'll never see his kind again. Thanks Mr. Lemmon . . . thanks for the memories.

FRI. 6TH: MOVIES - KISS OF THE DRAGON debuts.

TUE. 10TH: VIDEO RENTALS: THIRTEEN DAYS, BEYOND SUSPICION and DOWN
                    TO EARTH, becomes rentable today.
           VIDEO SELL-THOUGH: DIE HARD,  DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER, DIE
                    HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, SAFE HOUSE, STAR TREK DEEP SPACE
                    NINE (five episodes) and CAT O' NINE TAILS hit sale bins today.
           DVD SELL-THROUGH: THIRTEEN DAYS, BEYOND SUSPICION,
                     DOWN TO EARTH, DIE HARD,  DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER, DIE
                    HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, DIE HARD ULTIMATE COLLECTION,
                    DEF-CON 4, HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN,  INFERNO/ PHENOME-
                    NON, DEMON/ DEMONS 2, DEEP RED/ TENEBRE, CRYSTAL FORTUNE
                   RUN, DRUNKEN MASTER III, THE KUNG FU CULT MASTER, THE LAST
                   HERO IN CHINA, THE AMAZING TRANSPLANT (SPECIAL EDITION),
                   DRESSED TO KILL, HOW TO GET AHEAD IN ADVERTISING,  JURASSIC
                   PARK DVD COLLECTION, SAFE HOUSE, TERROR IN THE MIDNIGHT
                   SUN - INVASION OF THE ANIMAL PEOPLE SPECIAL EDITION and
                   CAT O' NINE TAILS go on sale today.

WED. 11TH: MOVIE - FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRIT WITHIN debuts

THU 12TH: TV - NIGHT VISIONS debuts on Fox.

FRI. 13TH: TV - LEXXX season debut on the Sci-Fi Channel.
           MOVIE - THE SCORE debuts

SAT 14TH: TV - THE CHRONICLE debuts on the Sci-Fi Channel.

SUN 15TH: TV - DOCTOR WHO movie airs on the Sci-Fi Channel at 9:00.

SUN. 15TH - MON. 16TH: TV - TNT shows THE MISTS OF AVALON miniseries.

MON. 16TH - THUR. 19TH: TV - The Sci-Fi Channel shows ROBO-COP: PRIME
                                               DIRECTIVE miniseries every night at 9:00 P.M.

TUE. 17TH: VIDEO RENTALS: ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA 3, THE GIFT,
                    MIMIC 2, EVIL SISTER II and WITCH HUNTER become rentable today.
           VIDEO SELL-THOUGH: THE STEPFORD WIVES: SILVER ANNIVER-
                    SARY EDITION goes on sale today.
                     DVD SELL-THROUGH: ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA 3, ONCE
                    UPON IN CHINA DVD 3-pack, THE GIFT, MIMIC 2, EVIL SISTER II,
                    WITCH HUNTER, BASKET CASE, THE STEPFORD WIVES: SILVER
                    ANNIVERSARY EDITION, A CHINESE TORTURE CHAMBER STORY
                    II, DRAGON LORD, INHERITOR OF KUNG FU, NINJA HUNTER,
                    SPIRITUAL LOVE, WAR OF THE UNDERWORLD and WHERE'S
                    OFFICER TUBA go on sale today.

WED. 18TH: MOVIE - JURASSIC PARK III debuts

TUE. 24TH: VIDEO RENTALS: VALENTINE becomes rentable today.
           VIDEO SELL-THOUGH: AKIRA, HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II, FLESH
                    AND THE FIENDS, SILENT PREDATORS and THE MASK go on sale today.
                     DVD SELL-THROUGH: VALENTINE, AKIRA, HELLBOUND: HELL-
                    RAISER II, BLOOD SUCKERS/ BLOOD THIRST DOUBLE FEATURE,
                    FLESH AND THE FIENDS, THE GIANT GILA MONSTER / THE WASP
                    WOMAN and DEMONICUS  all go on sale today.

FRI. 27TH: MOVIE PLANET OF THE APES debuts

SAT 28TH: ICS MEETING

TUE. 31ST: VIDEO RENTALS: TIGER CLAWS 3and THE TOMORROW MAN hit
                    rental shelves today
           VIDEO SELL-THOUGH: ATTACK OF THE 60 FOOT CENTERFOLD
                    and CYBERCITY go on sale today.
           DVD SELL-THROUGH: TIGER CLAWS 3, THE TOMORROW MAN,
                    POPCORN, ATTACK OF THE 60 FOOT CENTERFOLD and CYBERCITY
                    go on sale today.