![]() |
1.JANUARY'S MEETING MAY HAVE BEEN THE BEST YET
January was, by all accounts, an amazing meeting. We started with our first ever guest speaker, Dr. Tom Woodward, talking about "The Economics of the STAR TREK Universe." A guest speaker is when someone who is not a club member comes and speaks. As you'll see below, that's no longer the case for Tom Woodward. We had our annual election (see below) and audit (see below). We got to watch I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, thanks to Andrew Kent. We celebrated our third anniversary with not one, but two cakes (thanks go to Regina Vallerani and Charlie Wittig). In our business meeting we talked about our new starting time, buying a VCR, calendars, coming attractions, signing up for movies, some other possible guests at our meeting and the coming CreepCon convention. 2.NEWS OF OUR NEXT MEETING Our February meeting will be held on Saturday February 23 at 5:30 PM 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.WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBER: TOM WOODWARD The Board of Directors gave a year-long membership to Tom Woodward in thanks for his excellent presentation on "The Economics of the Star Trek Universe." In a note to the club Tom said, "I appreciate how warmly I was welcomed and received. . . . I have already learned a number of new things just by attending the meeting (about zombie movies if nothing else). And I feel like I met a number of new friends. I certainly hope to attend some future meetings." Tom, we certainly hope you do too. Welcome to the club! 4.WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBER: SCOTT HURD You may have seen Scott Hurd at our last meeting. He's the brother to Donna Sentz and uncle to Dava. January was his first meeting. He joined on the spot. He had a great time. Scott, I'm sure I speak for the club when I say we're looking forward to getting to know you. Welcome aboard! 5.THE ICS VS. WAGNER You may have met our recent member, Tom Proveaux. Did you know he's an opera fan? He had a choice to make. Our club meeting nights were falling on his opera nights. For those of us who don't know the beauty of Bizet, the value of Verdi or the marvels of Mozart you may not understand the dilemma. So suppose there were club meetings fell on nights when there was another event that you really loved? Suppose, also, that you'd only just started coming to the meetings? Well, for Tom, the ICS won. He's arranged to keep a Saturday night a month open for us. Thanks Tom. It's dedication like that that has made our last three years such a success and will see us well into the future. 6.BARRY INTRODUCTION OF THE FEBRUARY MEETING What follows is Barry Murphy inimitable introduction of his serial presentation and his movie selection. Here, in his own words, is Mr. Murphy. "The last chapter is titled The Skipper's Last Stand. It's kinda like a potpourri of stuff that I haven't touched on that includes my favorite plot device (the villain guessing game), imaginative use of stock footage and best cliffhanger endings. Also have some interviews with some serial folks such as writer (Barry Shipman), director (William Whitney) and actresses (Linda Stirling & Peggy Stewart). "The movie theme could be called The Good, The Bad And The Absurd.
Titles planned so far include . . .
"Good grief, I have the serial presentation, I bring a bunch of serials
to choose from for the next 12 months chapter per meeting and I have the
movies for the night. I think after the February Meeting, ICS members
might be a little tired of seeing my pretty face. Perhaps I should take
a few months off."
10.THREE YEARS IN THE DARK
We have an exciting year ahead of us in 2002. Here's a look at what's coming up. In March we've got our next round of our fast-paced trivia show, "ICS Academic." Regina will bring movies in that month. In April we've got an extravaganza planned. We'll have our first-ever "All-Dayer." We'll start showing movies at 12 noon. At 4:00 we'll hold an auction that day. Later, following a brief business meeting we're attempting to set up a guest speaker who'll be showing a feature film that he directed. In May we have part one of my presentation and films. It will be entitled "Martial Arts Cinema I: The World of Wuxia," looking at classic Chinese martial arts cinema. In June Tim and Heather Fleming will be bringing movies. The topic is to be determined. We're still working on July but it should be fun. In August Donna and Dava Sentz will be doing a presentation and movies featuring Hammer Studios. In September I'll be back with "Martial Arts Cinema II: The World of Bushido," looking at classic Japanese samurai movies. Dave Henderson's got a surprise for us at our Halloween blowout in October. Charlie Wittig will be talking about "Computers in the Movies" in November. We'll end the year with our annual Yankee Swap and films by Mike Schilling. Besides all of that, they'll be trips to conventions and gatherings at movie premieres. After our membership renewal is over in March I'll be submitting our membership list to a company for everyone to receive special sneak preview movie passes for upcoming films. This year will be an exciting year. Thanks for joining us! 12.CONSIDER SIGNING UP FOR MOVIES What you're about to read may sound silly but please think about it. Even though our next available open month for bringing in movies is April 2003 (!) consider signing up to bring them in. We'd especially like to hear from someone who hasn't brought them in before. This is your chance to dazzle us with your collection. If you'd like to sign up for doing a presentation the same night you'll be bringing titles in, it's not mandatory, but it would be terrific. If you don't sign up now then, come April 2003, you'll be thinking about doing it, but you'll have to wait until July 2004. If you'd like to sign up, see our secretary Dave Henderson at a meeting, e-mail him at imhendo@hotmail.com or call him at (410) 529-0726. 13.A POOL OF OSCARS At our next meeting John Ward is going to walk us through an Oscar betting pool. The winner(s) will get half the pot. The other half will go to benefit the ICS. Look for John's announcement at our next meeting. 14.WANTED: A FOOD COORDINATOR We've created a new position that needs filling. We need someone to oversee the snacks. We'll need to have somebody pull duplicate or similar snacks (like chips) off to the side and, when the food's getting low, place them back out. We want to avoid opened bags when only one handful of chips is removed from a large bag by the end of the night. There may be a few other things for juggling and coordinating snacks that we'll need for you to do. It's not tough, it won't take much time, and it would help the club. Please consider serving as our new food coordinator. We'll talk about this at our February meeting. |
15.THE GLASS TEAT
Mr. Spock makes sure we keep watching the skys! Leonard Nimoy and his wife, Susan, donated $1 million to the renovation of Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory. The massive remodel, which began Jan. 7, will include construction of the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater, a 200-seat proscenium-arch-style auditorium for special events. The three-year renovation is the first in the 66-year-old landmark's history and will be completed in 2004. . . . NBC contemplates Carrie White and Dr. Smith. NBC is mulling a remake of the classic Stephen King horror film CARRIE and a new two-hour TV movie update of LOST IN SPACE as pilots for possible series. MGM Television will produce the new CARRIE, and Fox TV Pictures will produce LOST IN SPACE. While NBC has so far ordered only scripts for both projects, they are likely to end up on the air. Bryan Fuller will write the new CARRIE, which will closely follow the plot of the original 1976 Brian De Palma movie. The update will be set in the present and feature greatly enhanced special effects. LOST IN SPACE will receive a complete makeover, but will include references to the original 1960s series. It can only be better than its 1998 theatrical incarnation. . . . Swords, sandals and HBO. HBO's next epic miniseries will be the 10-part drama ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Produced by Mel Gibson & Bruce Davey's Icon Productions, the 2004 event will be based on Mary Renault's best-selling novels Fire From Heaven and The Persian Boy, chronicling the rise and fall of Alexander. Production is scheduled to begin in mid-2002. . . . ANDROMEDA has a new executive producer. You might remember the story that the syndicated program GENE RODDENBERRY'S ANDROMEDA was left without an executive producer when the show's creator, Robert Hewitt Wolf, left. A replacement has been found. Veteran writer-producer Robert Engels is the new boss. Engels worked on David Lynch's TWIN PEAKS, co-wrote the film TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME and served as co-executive producer on the series SEAQUEST DSV. Supervising consultants Matt Kiene and Joe Rienkemeyer and consultants Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz are returning for the series' third season. . . . ANDROMEDA gets renewed. Tribune Entertainment has locked up its series ANDROMEDA for at least two more seasons. The series has been cleared on 39 of the top 40 stations through the 2003-2004 season, covering 78 percent of the United States. The show's 2.9 average weekly rating is the highest rated for any first-run syndication hour this season followed closely by another Tribune distributed series - MUTANT X. . . . The WB Renews SMALLVILLE. The WB is picking up its series SMALLVILLE for another full season. It's The WB's highest-rated program this season among adults 18-34, men 18-34, men 18-49, males 12-34 and male teens. It has improved in ratings among adults 18-34 and over 35 and in ratings among adults 18-49 year-to-year. . . . Corin Nemec joins STARGATE SG-1. Corin Nemec (PARKER LEWIS CAN'T LOSE) joins the cast of STARGATE SG-1 when the series begins its sixth season on the Sci-Fi Channel in June. Michael Shanks, who played Daniel Jackson, leaves the show at the end of the current season. Nemec will play Jonas Quinn, a human leader from another planet, who visits Earth and becomes entangled with the SG-1 team. Quinn is introduced in the season-five finale. . . . HISTORY OF THE 21ST CENTURY. Glenn Morgan and Jim Wong (FINAL DESTINATION, THE X-FILES, MILLENIUM) are developing an NBC drama entitled HISTORY OF THE 21st CENTURY, based on former JPL mission director Gentry Lee's upcoming book of the same name. HISTORY chronicles the 21st century from the perspective of a historian in 2112. . . . A BUFFY/ANGEL crossover is not out of the question. Joss Whedon said recently that a crossover between BUFFY and ANGEL may still be in the works, even though the two shows air on rival networks and producers have previously downplayed the likelihood of a pair-up. "It's not something we're pursuing this year, but it's something we might get into next year if things have cooled down between the two networks." . . . Odo's on ENTERPRISE. STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE regular René Auberjonois (who played Security Chief Odo) will guest-star in an upcoming episode of ENTERPRISE. Look for it later this season. . . . SHEENA is toast. Sony has canceled the low-rated syndicated series SHEENA, which starred Geena Lee Nolin. . . . Sci-Fi Shelves OUT THERE. You might remember a report on a coming show on the SCi-Fi Channel to be titled DAN AYKROYD'S OUT THERE. Well, the smart alec response to that title is, "no he's not." the Sci-Fi Channel has shelved it. They say they'll overhaul the show before rolling it out. Whether they will or the show is simply aborted remains to be seen. OUT THERE was to have featured Aykroyd hosting an informal round-table discussion about the paranormal. 16.ABC DISCOVERS IMAGINATIVE TV ABC has ordered up several genre pilots as potential series for the 2002-'03 season. They include THAT WAS THEN, an hour-long drama about a 30-year-old man who longs to go back in time to relive a week in high school and an as-yet-untitled drama about a family that fights for justice with martial arts skills. They're looking to develop series that may stand as long-term franchises. Among the others there are: VERITAS, From Touchstone/Storyline Productions, an Indiana Jones-style
two-hour backdoor pilot about a father-son team of archeologists.
|
35.THINGS TO COME
FARPOINT will take place February 15, 16 & 17 at Marriott’s Hunt Valley Inn on 245 Shawan Road, Hunt Valley, MD. Guests include STAR TREK's George Takei (Sulu), STAR TREK III and IV's Robin Curtis (Lieutenant Saavik ) and STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE's Philip Anglim (Vedek Bareil). Activities include a Dealers’ Room, panels, Vic’s Place on Friday night for Karaoke, a Saturday night masquerade, Ten Forward lounge, an art show, a charity auction and Klingon Jail. Registration is $45 for the full weekend, $30 for Saturday and $25 for Sunday. You can either follow this link (for Online readers) or contact Farpoint Enterprises, Inc./6099 Hunt Club Road/ Elkridge, MD 21075. KATSUCON 8 will take place February 15-17, 2002 at the The New Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore located at 700 Aliceanna Street. This is a major Anime convention. Guests and activities will fit that theme. Pre-registration is $45.00 if postmarked by December 31st. After that registration will be cash-only at the door. All three days are $50.00. Friday or Saturday only is $30.00. Sunday is $15.00. For more information either follow this link (if you're loking at this Online) or drop a note to Katsucon Entertainment, Inc./ ATTN: [The department you want to reach]/ P.O. Box 222691/ Chantilly, VA 20153-2691. JOHN CON is an annual gaming convention held on the Johns Hopkins University campus in Baltimore. Hosted by the university's anime and science-fiction/fantasy clubs, JohnCon runs 48 hours NON-STOP beginning at 4 PM on March 1 and ending at 4 PM on March 3. They offer a dealers' room, plenty of games (everything from board games to LARPs), a B-movies theater and 48 non-stop hours of yummy anime goodness. If you pre-register before February 14 the cost is $9. After that both pre-registration and the at-the-door charge is $12. If you need further information you can drop a note to JohnCon '02/ c/o SAC/ Johns Hopkins University/ 3400 North Charles Street/ Baltimore MD 21218 or send an e-mail to JohnCon@jhu.edu. CREATION CON is an annual STAR TREK and sci-fi media convention. It takes place on Sat. & Sun, March 9-10, at Valley Forge, Pa. at the Valley Forge Convention Center. The show hours are from noon - 6 PM Daily. Guests signing autographs for a fee include Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Janice Rand of the original STAR TREK) Scott MacDonald (who has portrayed various characters on NEXT GENERATION, DEEP SPACE 9 and VOYAGER) Michael Forest (Apollo from the original TREK epsiode, "Who Mourns for Adonais") Peter Woodward (Galen from CRUSADE) and Robert Curtis-Brown (Vedek Sorad on DEEP SPACE 9 and Ledosian Ambassador on VOYAGER). JOHNS HOPKINS FILM FESTIVAL will take place from April 11-14 on the campus of Johns Hopkins University. Stand by for further details as they become available. FILMFEST DC will hold its fifteenth annual festival beginning on April 17, running to the 28. They'll be bringing thirteen days of outstanding new cinema from around the world to the nation's capital. The screenings will take place throughout the city. The list includes theaters, clubs, museums, the French Embassy and the World Bank. Details of the festival will be posted on the festival Web site as they become available. The complete catalog will be distributed as an insert in The Washington Post on Friday, April 13. Tickets are moderately priced at $8.00 for most screenings. Advance ticket sales will be available starting April 5 through Tickets.com at (703) 218-6500. If you'd like more information go to the link provided. You can also contact Diana T. Kaiser via e-mail at kaiserd@hisaokapr.com, or by phone at 202-466-6286. CHILLER THEATER SPRING EXPO will take place April 19 - 21 at the Sheraton Meadowlands, Rt. 3 East in E. Rutherford, NJ. It's too early to give you a guest list and ticket details, but it's not too early to book a room at the Sheraton if you plan to attend. For reservations, call: (201) 896-0500 and ask for the Chiller rate. |
movienewsmovienewsmovienewsmovienewsmovienewsmovienewsmovienewsmovienewsmovienews
40.QUICK TAKES:
EVEN THE FREAKIN' CAST MEMBERS DIDN'T GET IT. Paul Giamatti, who played a wisecracking orangutan in Tim Burton's PLANET OF THE APES, when asked to explain the film's "strange ending," replied, "Strange is a nice word for it. I don't know what it was supposed to mean. I can't lie to you. I have no idea. It was cool. I liked it, but I don't know what it was supposed to mean." . . . A STAR TREK SANDWICH.STAR TREK: NEMESIS, the tenth TREK film, will open on Nov. 22. It will be sandwiched in between HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS and LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS. We hope, for their sake, that, despite the sandwiching, the big boys aren't going to eat TREK for lunch. . . . FAMILIAR VOICES RETURN FOR SHREK 2. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz have all agreed to return to voice characters in the SHREK 2. Myers will again voice the green ogre, Murphy will play Donkey and Diaz will voice Princess Fiona. John Lithgow's appearance is unlikely. . . . MATT HELM IS BACK! DreamWorks has optioned the movie rights to a series of 27 Matt Helm spy novels by Donald Hamilton. Australian director Robert Luketic (LEGALLY BLONDE) is attached to the project. We can only hope that they'll be better than the (now) unwatchably kitschy 1960's movies that starred Dean Martin. There was also a short-lived 1975 TV show on ABC. The Helm books were published as pulpy paperbacks from 1960 to 1993. . . . WANTED - NEW BOSLEY. For the moment CHARLIE'S ANGELS have no Bosley to help them with their missions. Bill Murray has refused to appear in the film's sequel. Murray turned down millions of dollars to reprise his role and crew members have blamed his rift with Lucy Liu during filming of the original movie. Both Murray and Liu have "creative differences" and Liu is alleged to have punched the actor leading to one day's filming being canceled. A crew member says, "Once Bill knew Lucy was coming back, he wasn't interested in the sequel." . . . REDFORD AND PORTIER WILL RECEIVE HONORARY OSCARS. This year Robert Redford and Sidney Portier will receive honorary Oscars. Redford's will be in recognition of his work on both sides of the camera, and as founder of the Sundance Institute, which encourages aspiring film-makers. Portier's will be for his "extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen." . . . CHICKS IN SANDALS. After surviving THE MUMMY twice and the German army in ENEMY AT THE GATES, Rachel Weisz has her eyes on a new target. She's taking on a new tough-girl role - as Roman Queen Boudicca. Weisz will team up with fellow British star Dougray Scott for the movie - WARRIOR QUEEN. The actress will play rebellion leader Boudicca, with Scott taking the role of her macho lover. It will tell the story of the first-century uprising against the Romans led by Boudicca, the head of the Iceni tribe who revolted against the occupying forces after her husband died and her daughters were raped. 41.THE BLAIR WITCH LIVES! A proposed BLAIR WITCH 3 sequel film may still have momentum. Artisan met with Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, writers and directors of the 1999 THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, before the New Year and reaffirmed its commitment to the project, eliciting a commitment from them to begin work on a script, the trade paper reported. The new project comes in the wake of Artisan's merger with Landscape Pictures. The first sequel, BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2, went into production without Myrick and Sanchez's participation. Directed by feature documentary maker Joe Berlinger, BLAIR WITCH 2 grossed a disappointing $26 million. 42.JERRY BRUCKHEIMER IS THINKING OF TACKLING 9/11 Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of the action extravaganzas ARMAGEDDON, PEARL HARBOR and CON AIR, is said to be considering making a film on the tragedies surrounding September 11. "I love making pictures that make a difference, about people who make a difference," Bruckheimer said. When asked if this meant that he could make a movie about the terrorist attacks he replied: "Sure. I think there will be stories that will come out of [the terrorist attacks on the United States] and they will be very heroic and worthwhile telling and somebody is going to have to sit down and write it." There was a sense in Hollywood (if there can be said to be any sense in Hollywood) that no one wanted to make money off the misery generated by those terrible attacks. It will be interesting to see if this is the beginning of a paradigm shift, or if this is Bruckheimer being an insensitive idiot. 43.RIDLEY SCOTT PONDERS ALIEN 5 Director Ridley Scott is seriously considering making a new ALIEN film - explaining where the terrifying creatures came from. He says, "I'm seriously mulling it over. I think it would be a lot of fun, but the most important thing is to get the story right. We should go back to where the alien creatures were first found and explain how they were created. No one has ever explained why. I always figured a battleship carrying bio-mechanical organisms that could be weapons was sent into space with some space jockey who didn't last." 44.AUSTIN POWERS 3 IS NO LONGER A GOLDMEMBER The Motion Picture Association of America has ruled "inadmissible" the title AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER, following a protest by MGM/UA, which owns the James Bond franchise. MGM and Bond producer Danjaq Productions had argued that the title of the New Line sequel was an unauthorized parody of 1964's GOLDFINGER. New Line quietly took down its online promotional sites and began rescinding marketing materials the day after the ruling was handed down by the MPAA's three-member title administration arbitration panel. However, they've vowed to appeal the decision. Until the issue is resolved, New Line said that it would refer to the film as "the third installment of AUSTIN POWERS." They'd better move fast. The movie is scheduled for a July 26 release. 45.TARANTINO MIGHT HAVE HAD THE BOND FRANCHISE SHAKEN AND STIRRED Quentin Tarantino is bummed out. He's lamenting his chance to write a James Bond movie. The man who gave us PULP FICTION and RESERVOIR DOGS was desperate to write one of the Bond adventures. It seemed he'd get the chance when Bond producers Eon approached Tony Scott to direct a film. Scott directed Tarantino's TRUE ROMANCE, and was keen to have his buddy write the potential 007 flick. Scott said, "I actually got involved in the latest Bond film for a minute. I'd love to do it and I'd love to get Quentin Tarantino to write it, but then they got cold feet. If you had Quentin writing something like Bond it would be brilliant, but I think they were worried it would shift too far from the marketplace. But Quentin would be great for that stuff. He'd love to write a James Bond." The Bond franchise, after THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, looks flabby and flatulent. It's gone from cutting edge action to a safe paint-by-the-numbers formulaic middle age. I think Tarantino is just what this franchise needs. 46.A CONAN SEQUEL IS ON THE WAY . . . EVENTUALLY Ahnold Schwarzenegger said that writer/director John Milius is working on a new draft of the proposed KING CONAN, the sequel to CONAN THE BARBARIAN. Schwarzenegger explained, "He's rewriting it as we speak, because he has written it, and it was a 168-page script." Schwarzenegger said it was the advice of the MATRIX creators, the Wachowski brothers, that prompted Milius to cut his script down. "One of the Wachowski brothers called and told him the script would take too much time and be a three-and-a-half-hour movie, [that] he should cut it down to 120 pages and take certain things out. And that's what he's doing right now." There is no finish date in sight yet for the script. "As you know, with John, things take time," Schwarzenegger said. "He's not the quickest guy in town." 47.THE ADVENTURES OF HARRY POTTER AND THE FATIGUED BUTTOCKS A January issue of "Entertainment Weekly" looked at the page-to-minute ratio of HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, and what it could mean for the sequels, which have a higher page count. With the 309-page STONE resulting in a 149-minute movie, the 341-page CHAMBER OF SECRETS would turn into a 164-minute movie, while the 435-page PRISONER OF AZKABAN might be 210 minutes in length, and the 734-page GOBLET OF FIRE could run as long as 354 minutes. POTTER producer David Heyman has said "Christopher Columbus and I have talked about making two films [from the fourth novel]." The November release would then likely have a cliffhanger ending which would continue in a theatrical sequel released the following month. 48.INDIANA JONES IS A GO Steven Spielberg has confirmed that he will produce a fourth Indiana Jones movie starring Harrison Ford and Spielberg's wife, Kate Capshaw. Spielberg said that the Indiana Jones film will be his priority once he completes CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, set for release in December. "We have a title, but we're not ready to announce it," Spielberg said. "I will give you one clue, though. Kate is in it." (Capshaw co-starred in INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM in 1984.) Harrison Ford said, "It was always about getting the right script, and now we have it." 49.THE MATRIX SEQUEL MAKES ONE HELL OF A BLAST Producers of THE MATRIX RELOADED have filed for a permit to set off an enormous explosion at a power station near Sydney, Australia that ceased operations in 1983. The filmmakers plan to build a $200,000 set at the White Bay station, then explode it with such force that it will create a 65-foot fireball and a noise reaching 110 decibels (the maximum sound level permitted for a rock concert). The application states that the producers intend to set off the explosion at midnight ("to ensure maximum darkness") on Feb. 14. 50.ROBOCOP REVISITED The original ROBOCOP director, Paul Verhoeven, has unveiled plans to bring the cyborg cop back to life. Verhoeven made the first movie of a three-film series in 1987 - with Peter Weller as the crime fighting cyborg. Two sequels were later made by other directors, one with Weller as Robocop. And now the Dutch movie-maker says he wants to bring Weller back to make a proper sequel, and he has a 95 page petition collected by an internet fan site to help convince movie giant MGM to back the project. Verhoeven says, "About four weeks ago I was having lunch with Ed Neumeier, writer of ROBOCOP and STARSHIP TROOPERS, and during our conversation we got into ROBOCOP again and we both felt that it would be interesting to do something again, especially that we are now 15 years later in time. I would not redo the first one, I would probably do a sequel, the first real sequel. I think if you were to do it now you would have to reflect the world we live in now. I would start from scratch and find an innovative story, that would satisfy all the people that are basically longing, like me, for a good sequel." 51.SCHWARZENEGGER BLAMES HOLLYWOOD MOVIE VIOLENCE FOR 9/11 Ahnold Schwarzenegger thinks violent movies are partly to blame for the September 11th terror attacks on America. He told the German magazine, "Hoerzu," that he thinks some action films inadvertently pass on ideas to criminals. He said, "Hollywood has no moral code when it comes to violent films." Gee Mr. Schwarzenegger, if you really think that violent movies are the cause of violence, than stop making those kinds of movies. 52.LUCAS WAS DRAWN TO THE DARK SIDE OF VADER George Lucas said that the upcoming STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES will set the stage for Anakin Skywalker to become Darth Vader. "The issue . . . becomes, what is it in Anakin's personality that makes him turn bad?" Lucas pondered. "What is his flaw? He has a couple. The groundwork is put forward in this movie much more clearly. What brought me back to finish the whole thing off was the question of why, and how, Darth Vader became evil. The whole reason for going back and doing the backstory on STAR WARS is that there is an evolution from this very good person, very kind person, very loving person, into something that one would describe as evil." Lucas also offered a few spoilers for the plot. Amidala (Natalie Portman) is now Senator Padme. Anakin (Hayden Christensen) falls in love with Padme while serving as her bodyguard. His loyalties are torn because the Jedi oath forbids romantic love. "Like Anakin, we all have to make choices, following instinct, reasoning and our heart," Christensen said. "We're continually being presented with influences, sometimes very opposing ones, that motivate us and affect our decisions. Hopefully we choose wisely." 53.C-3PO SHOWS HIS FACE BUT LOSES HIS VOICE After playing the droid C-3PO since 1977 STAR WARS actor Anthony Daniels is finally showing his face in the next episode. In ATTACK OF THE CLONES he gets to play Lieutenant Faytonni. This is the fulfillment of a long-held dream of his. As you know, C-3PO is known for his non-stop chatter. Ironically the role of Faytonni is a non-speaking part. 54.LOOKING FOR EPISODE II SPOILERS? If you're looking for plot spoilers for STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES then I have just the place for you to go. A reviewer on the Dark Horizons Website is claiming to have seen the script and has posted a glowing review. I'll give you a couple non-spoiler things from his write-up. He writes, "The difference between the second prequel and its lackluster predecessor is the return to a sense of adventure. The second main asset of the second prequel is the introduction of a new theme in to the STAR WARS series: that of the Chandleresque detective story. . . . This script delivers: it delivers all the things that Lucas promised to with THE PHANTOM MENACE but failed. An old fashioned and sometimes cheesy adventure and love story, it was an immensely enjoyable read and I can not wait to see it on the big screen! Well done George, you have, at last, excelled yourself!!!!" With apologies to readers getting the snail-mail edition, if you want any more of this review, with a very detailed plot summation, you'll need to go to the Website. Some of us still want to be surprised. 55.AHNOLD TALKS T3 Ahnold Schwarzenegger has said that the upcoming TERMINATOR 3 sequel film will begin shooting on April 15 under the direction of Jonathan Mostow. T3 begins with John Connor in his early 20s, with a new actor replacing Edward Furlong - a role that has yet to be cast. Sarah Connor (played by Linda Hamilton in the previous two TERMINATOR films) will have died prior to the sequel's opening. T3 is subtitled RISE OF THE MACHINES. Schwarzenegger explained "[Sarah Connor] is in the movie as flashbacks and stuff like that [Linda Hamilton will reprise her role], but I think they felt like they didn't want to have the exact same cast and have them be limited with the story, but really take certain people out, and just let's assume that she has died already. John is on his own, rather than having still [with] the mother there, whining away, saying, 'Get it straight. You have to be the savior. You can't do this, and you can't date this girl.' Jonathan was very adamant [that] he wanted the kid now to be 22 or 23, the mother's died, and let's move on. Let's have him be on his own. Let's have him have a girlfriend. And let's go to the next level. So that was the idea." Schwarzenegger said that he was confident about turning the series over to Mostow after James Cameron declined to participate. "First of all, Cameron was not interested in doing the movie, because he felt like he does not want to tie himself down to any time schedule, period, on any movie," Schwarzenegger said. "He just finished shooting an IMAX movie, and he will be finished editing it this summer. Then he will be thinking about the next thing, whatever that is. So when you buy something like that, a movie like that, I think you have to move on, because the amount of money you put out is extraordinary. So the next thing was, let's find someone that is young and that has this young spirit of new ideas and all that. And when we saw the submarine movie Jonathan did, U-571, we all felt that he had the kind of talent and patience and know-how to work with special effects, visual effects and all of that. Then when we met him and had subsequent meetings with him, it became more and more clear that he has the right personality and calmness to do the film. And he has since then proven that by hiring the best of the best people around him, from [Industrial Light & Magic] to stunt coordinators to cameramen. He's been extremely good at prepping the movie and reworking the script." 56.A TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY Michael Bay (PEARL HARBOR) is working on a remake of the 1974 horror classic THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE for his Platinum Dunes film company. Tobe Hooper, who directed the original film (as well as 1982's POLTERGEIST), is working with his original co-writer Kim Henkel on a draft of a new script. There were three TCM sequels, the last in 1994 starring Renée Zellweger, Matthew McConaughey and Robert Jacks. It earned a ghastly $94,558. That wouldn't make me want to remake the movie. Maybe that's just me. 57.TRUE LIES 2 MAY HAVE TO WAIT Jim Cameron has completed his script for TRUE LIES 2, which has been approved by Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the actor has indicated it may not go before the cameras before next year. Schwarzenegger said, "I'm going to go away for a long time to do TERMINATOR 3, and it's not my style to go away again so quickly and do another huge movie. I like to do one movie a year at the most." Schwarzenegger said that while "we have a good script," some changes will need to be made "because it deals with some terrorists' act of some sort." Asked about repeated reports that he intends to run for office in California, Schwarzenegger remarked: "Do you honestly think I could run for office while I'm doing TERMINATOR 3 and then TRUE LIES 2. Be honest. I can't do all of it! I'm only human." 58.TREASURE PLANET IS IMAX-BOUND Disney announced that it will release its upcoming animated movie, TREASURE PLANET, on Nov. 27 in both regular and IMAX formats. TREASURE PLANET will be the first major studio feature specifically formatted for the giant screen to be released at the same time as the regular film. Based loosely on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, PLANET comes from John Musker and Ron Clements, the creative team behind THE LITTLE MERMAID, ALADDIN and HERCULES. The movie features the voices of Emma Thompson, David Hyde Pierce, Martin Short, Brian Murray and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. 59.THE ICS SPEAKS: THE BEST AND WORST MOVIES OF 2001 We presented a list of 59 titles and asked members to select their favorite and most disappointing titles for 2001. Following is the pick of the litter - the best of 2001: 1. LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING 2. SHREK 3. CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON 4. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE 5. HANNIBAL 6. MONSTERS, INC. 7. THE GIFT 8. SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE 9. A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 10. PEARL HARBOR What follows is the bottom of the barrel. You'll
notice some familiar titles on here (some of our titles share time on the
best and worst list). Again, as in the TV list, there were several ties.
They're reflected in the ranking. So, from most to least hated:
Most of the titles on the best list also received
votes on the worst list. Only six titles received no votes at all. They
were THE AMERICAN ASTRONAUT, BONES, HEIST, JUST VISITING, OSMOSIS JONES
and SOUL SURVIVORS.
FEBRUARY 22: DRAGONFLY
is described as a "supernatural thriller." A man (Kevin Costner) believes
that his deceased wife is trying to communicate with him through the near-death
experiences of her patients and the mysterious dragonflies (in various
forms) that haunt him, reminding him of her. The film was directed by Tom
Shadyac (PATCH ADAMS; LIAR, LIAR). It was written by David Seltzer (PROPHECY,
THE OMEN) and first-timers Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson.
|
69.CUTTING THE TAPE
Some studios are already beginning to cut back on their VHS tape inventory. Columbia TriStar has reduced their deep catalog titles by 500. Anchor Bay has eliminated a couple hundred titles from their catalog. Only about a quarter of Anchor Bay's new releases will be offered on cassette. MGM Home Entertainment will only replenish their top 200 catalog titles on VHS. Other studios are pledging their support for VHS, as well they should. Despite the recent upsurge in DVD players, VHS tape is still the dominant format. Last year over 1/2 billion VHS tapes were sold. Even Anchor Bay had to admit that they're still seeing growth in children's and fitness videos and older film titles from the 30's and 40's. We'll have to see if VHS will be the star player in a high tech version of "Premature Burial." At this point, that looks likely. 70.SAY GOOD-BYE TO THE BIG BLUE SHACK Several months ago we reported that Blockbuster Video (aka "Big Blue") went into a trial marriage with Radio Shack. Ten million bucks went into 130 locations in four test markets to see how consumers would react to having Radio Shack stores available inside Blockbuster stores. If the test was successful Radio Shack was prepared to spend between $200 to $300 million to roll out locations in all 5,000 Blockbuster locations. Don't hold your breath. Radio Shack c.e.o. Leonard Roberts wouldn't say that the test was a bust, but simply, "There are more cost-effective ways to extend our reach." Blockbuster, on the other hand, was ecstatic. While not everything did well, some things did. Based on the test look for Blockbuster to start offering DVD's, VCR's, cellular phones, surround-sound systems and accessories like cables and connectors. They'll probably be doing more things like the promotion they ran on Thanksgiving Day that awarded a free DVD player to anyone that bought a $199 52-week DVD rental card. The more of those deals they sell the more customers they lock in and the less they need to spend on marketing and promotions. 71.RIDLEY SCOTT IS REDOING BLADE RUNNER FOR DVD Some movies just never seem to be done! Ask Ridley Scott. He's overseeing production of a definitive director's-cut DVD of BLADE RUNNER, which will be released later this year. "What we're doing is re-mixing digitally and reprinting off the original negative," Scott said. "So we'll have a new version." However, don't look for any cataclysmic changes. "It won't be dramatically different, but it will be as beautiful as it should be. BLADE RUNNER was a beautiful-looking film, and what most of this generation has seen are bad tapes. Thank God for DVD, because DVD at least resurrects the thing to the original sound and picture quality. I'd love people to be able to see it big, and that's what I'm doing." The happy ending and Harrison Ford's voice-over, both forced on Scott in 1982, will vanish. "He is a replicant," Scott said, referring to Ford's character, replicant hunter Deckard. Scott acknowledged that he would consider revisiting the world of his other classic, ALIEN. Word is that he's already met with Sigourney Weaver to discuss Ripley's next possible (and likely final) adventure. "Oh yeah," he said. "I would do it." 72.THE RINGS DVD WILL ADD UNSEEN FOOTAGE Peter Jackson said that the upcoming DVD edition of his first RINGS film will include an extra 30 minutes of footage. The new FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING footage will include a performance by New Zealand actor Ray Henwood as a man from Lake-town in the scene at Rivendell. "I don't really want to call it the director's cut," Jackson said. The new footage is "all drama. There is this thing on the [Internet] about all this gory stuff I was supposed to have shot, but I didn't. We were going for a PG-13, and you can't waste time shooting stuff that you know is going to get cut." The DVD release "will tee everybody up before the release of THE TWO TOWERS" in December, Jackson added. 73.SHREK SEES GREEN SHREK was only released on November 2. In that relatively short time in managed to secure a place on the top 50 best rental title list for 2001. The 21 million VHS and DVD's that have sold have raked in $420 million, maybe in the second biggest selling title of all time, behind LION KING. In just four weeks it has rocketed to the best selling DVD of all time, surpassing GLADIATOR. Not bad, especially for what was considered a troubled production that was nearly abandoned several times. 74.THE BEST OF 2001 ON VIDEO The year just past was a big one for video. Stores that were hanging on by their fingernails have suddenly become robust thanks to the DVD revolution. Following are some lists to give you an idea of just what's happening out there. THE OVERALL BEST OF THE YEAR: What follows is a combination of VHS and DVD as well as sales and rentals. These were the biggest money makers of 2001: (1) SHREK, (2) DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, (3) PEARL HARBOR, (4) DINOSAUR, (5) REMEMBER THE TITANS, (6) MEET THE PARENTS, (7) THE MUMMY RETURNS, (8) CAST AWAY, (9) THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE, (10) JURASSIC PARK III. THE OVERALL TOP RENTERS OF THE YEAR: Once again, this combines VHS and DVD: (1) MEET THE PARENTS, (2) WHAT WOMEN WANT, (3) CAST AWAY, (4) MISS CONGENIALITY, (5) WHAT LIES BENEATH. THE OVERALL TOP SELLERS OF THE YEAR: Combining VHS and DVD: (1) SHREK, (2) DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, (3) PEARL HARBOR, (4) DINOSAUR, (5) THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE. A conspicuous absence from any of these lists is STAR WARS I: PHANTOM MENACE. On the overall list it only scored #30. It doesn't register on any of the top rental lists. It's #16 on the top sales figures. Its DVD release rescued it from obscurity. It was the sixth biggest selling DVD of the year. 75.UPCOMING RELEASES As mentioned in the prior issue, I will not be doing the awesomely detailed "Videocy" section any more that gave a blow-by-blow of upcoming video releases. With apologies to those of you who rely on a snail mail version of "The ICS Files," in place of the old "Videocy" section, here's links that will give you a title by title breakdown or coming video attractions. The main link is for Hive4Media. They're at http://www.videostoremag.com/. Click on "calendar." They're great for title and pricing. The descriptions for the films listed tend to be notoriously inaccurate or incomplete (my favorite one of their mistakes is for the David Duchovny film EVOLUTION - they provided the description for a PBS series about Charles Darwin that had the same title). If you're in doubt about a release, cross check it on the Internet Movie Data Base. If it's a special DVD set, try Amazon.com. If it's Chinese, you might want to try the Hong Kong Movie Data Base. And finally, if all else fails, type (or copy/paste) the title into Google.com. |