***IN THIS ISSUE***
CLUB NEWS 
1.OUR MARCH MEETING WAS FANTASTIC 
2.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: THE BASICS 
3.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: THE PUBLIC! 
4.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: THE FOOD 
5.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: LE' BAD 
6.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: THE SCARES 
7.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: THE AUCTION 
8.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: WE NEED GREETERS 
9.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: WE'LL NEED EXTRA CLEAN-UP HELP 
10.THE CLUB MATURES 
11.MEMBERSHIP FINALS 
12.THE FINALS ON THE OSCAR POOL 

TV NEWS 
13.THE GLASS TEAT 
With news on THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, FIREFLY, SPIDER-MAN, DARK ANGEL, THE DEAD ZONE, THE X-FILES and FORGOTTEN REALMS. 
14.DAVID BOREANAZ WAS LEERY OF THE ANGEL BABY 
15.THE ENTERPRISE CREW MEETS THE ENTERPRISE CREW 
16.LOOK FOR AN ENTERPRISE CLIFFHANGER 
17.DON'T LOOK FOR WESLEY CRUSHER ON ENTERPRISE 
18.IRWIN ALLEN'S NEW HOME IS FOX TV 
19.MUTANT X PUMPS UP THE VOLUME NEXT SEASON 
20.FANS FIGHT FOR ROSWELL 
21.THE WB QUIETLY SHOPS ROSWELL 
22.SALEM'S LOT GETS A FRESH COAT OF PAINT FOR TNT 
23.HBO GETS READY FOR SHADOW HOUSE 
24.NOW YOU CAN VOTE FOR THE BEST OF ST: TNG 
25.SHANKS WILL GUEST STAR ON A FUTURE STARGATE EPISODE 
26.THE TAKEN MINI-SERIES IS COMING TOGETHER 
27.TRACKER: NO, YES AND MAYBE 
28.GALE ANNE HURD AND THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE COMPANY 
29.WHY MULDER RE-OPENED THE X-FILES 
30.WHY CHRIS CARTER CLOSED THE X-FILES 

EVENT NEWS 
31.THINGS TO COME 
With news on  JOHNS HOPKINS FILM FESTIVAL, FILMFEST DC, CHILLER THEATER SPRING EXPO, THE MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL, BALTICON 36, CREEP CON and ASIAN FANTASY FILM EXPO 3. 

LITERARY NEWS 
32.THE RELEASE OF THE EPISODE II COMIC WILL BEAT THE MOVIE 
33.ASIMOV DIED OF AIDS 
34.BRADBURY GETS A STAR ON THE WALK OF FAME 
35.FORRY RECOVERS 
36.JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: THE NOVELS 
37.A BOOK TO HELP WITH CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE CELEBRITY KIND 
38.RECENT TITLES: BOOKS ABOUT MOVIES AND TELEVISION 
39.RECENT TITLES: MEDIA TIE-INS 
40.RECENT TITLES: OTHER BOOKS OF INTEREST 

MOVIE NEWS 
41.QUICK TAKES 
With news on DIE ANOTHER DAY, Robert Altman disses TITANIC and AMERICAN BEAUTY, THE OUTER LIMITS, I AM LEGEND, TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, DAREDEVIL, and ALIEN PRISON. 
42.THE WRATH OF RAZZIE 
43.THE SATURN NOMINATIONS ARE IN! 
44.THE CAT IN THE BEER-SOAKED HAT 
45.DEVLIN STUMBLED ON THE TITLE, "EIGHT-LEGGED FREAKS" 
46.FREDDY VS. JASON IS FINALLY GOING TO HAPPEN 
47.SCREENWRITER SAYS "NO" TO A KINDER, GENTLER GHOST RIDER? 
48.DEL TORO GOES FROM BLADE II TO HELLBOY 
49.EXPECT BIGGER F/X IN TWO TOWERS 
50.THE MARVEL MOVIE MACHINE IS READY TO CRANK 'EM OUT 
51.MEN IN BLACK 2 ALIENS REVEALED 
52.DEPP IN NEVERLAND 
53.POTTER PATTER 
54.MABIUS TALKS RESIDENT EVIL 2 
55.SPIDER-MAN 2 IS IN EARLY PRE-PRODUCTION 
56.THE FORCE COMES A CALLIN' TO MOVIE EXHIBITORS 
57.THE JIZZ-GUYS STRIKE BACK!
58.THE NEW TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE WILL BE LOW GORE 
59.ROBO-AHNULD TERMINATES HUMANS AGAIN IN WESTWORLD 
60.COPPOLA SAYS HOLLYWOOD'S MISSED THE BOAT ABOUT 9/11 
61.JOHN WOO WANTS HIS FELLOW FILMMAKERS TO STOP THE VIOLENCE 
62.TERRY GILLIAM ATTACKS EYE CANDY 
63.THE HEALTH OF HOLLYWOOD BY THE NUMBERS 
64.IMAGINATIVE CINEMA FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 
News on the premiere of HIGH CRIMES, CHANGING LANES, FRAILTY, THE SCORPION KING, MURDER BY NUMBERS and JASON X. 

INTERNET NEWS 
65.STUDIOS LOOK AT DivX 5.0 FOR MOVIES ONLINE 
66.A HIDDEN EPISODE II SITE OPENS 
67.SPIDER-MAN'S TRAILER DEBUTS ON THE WWW 

TECHNOLOGY NEWS 
68.SANYO SAYS THIN IS IN 
69.MAYBE WE'LL GET TO SEE THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE IN 70MM 
70.3-D TV IS IN THE CRYSTAL 

VIDEO NEWS 
71.BLOCKBUSTER WANTS TO BREAK THE WINDOW 
72.LEARN ABOUT DVD EASTER EGGS 
73.BORDER'S BOOKS SAYS GOOD-BYE TO VHS 
74.NEW LINE PLANS THREE RINGS VIDEO RELEASES 

FAREWELLS 
75.THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES 
We say good-bye to Billy Wilder, William Witney, Oskar Sala and Richard Sylbert. 

IN REVIEW 
76. APRIL CALENDAR 

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1.OUR MARCH MEETING WAS FANTASTIC 
    We had an excellent April meeting. We started out with our second round of our trivia game show, "ICS Academic." Thanks go to Charlie Wittig and his friend Rob Lees for constructing the amazing "Brainiac." For those of you not present, the Brainiac is a gaming console that enables a team to buzz in. The first team that buzzes ignites a light on the Brainiac, enabling the judges to see who got the answer first. In our latest edition of the game, "The Evil Dead" bested "The Giant Claws" and the "The Crimson Ghosts" to walk away with the championship. In our sudden death elimination Norman Prentiss took the grand prize. Thanks go to the entire club, those who played and those who watched, for making this a spectacular round of ICS Academic. 
    We followed up with a unique film done by our guest speaker, and newest member, Ed Hellman. It was called GENERIC MAN'S NOTEWORTHY EXCURSION. Ed is an innovative young filmmaker who was nice enough to come in and show us his work. We have high hopes that Ed will go on to a major Hollywood career. Thanks for coming and welcome to the club (it was also great to see out previous guest speaker and recent member, Tom Woodward, in the audience). 

2.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: THE BASICS 
    Our special April marathon-meeting will be held on Saturday April 27 with doors opening at 11:30 A.M. This is not a new regular time for us. This is a special event. As usual we'll be 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 Dave Henderson's cell phone at 410-598-8005 or my (David Willard's) cell phone at 443-570-6455. Either of us can talk you in. 

3.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: THE PUBLIC! 
    We've invited several people to drop by in April. We've sent public service announcements to local community newspapers. Notices were sent to the Baltimore Film Club, FanTek, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, the Star Trek Association of Towson and the Johns Hopkins Science Fiction Association. Fliers will be mailed to several individuals in the area. We're hoping to make this as big a meeting as possible. 
    If there's someone in your family or circle of friends that you've considered bringing to a meeting, this is the one to bring them to. It should be a lot of fun. 

4.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: THE FOOD 
    We've asked the club members to bring dishes with them. Below is a list of what we have commitments for so far. If you've committed to bring food, please bring lots of it. There should be a lot of mouths to feed. If you haven't committed to bring food please scan this list, consider what you'd like to bring and tow it along: 
    APPETIZERS (VEGETABLE TRAY, CHIPS): Regina V., Dava & Donna S., David W. [Potato Salad], John C. 
    MAIN COURSE: Charlie W. [Hot Dogs & Fixings], Dave H. [Hot Dog Rolls], David W. [Chili], Rick R. and Suzanne C. [Lasagna] 
    DESSERTS: Gary R. [Cheesecake], Tim & Heather F., Norman P. [Donuts/Brownies], Barry M. 
    SODA: Gary R., Barry M., Jeanne M. 
    UTENSILS: Andrew K. 

5.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: LE' BAD 
    We're starting the meeting off by putting our worse foot forward!. We'd like everyone to bring in the worst movie they've got. Grab your all-time crappiest VHS or DVD and tell us why they're so awful. We'll be voting (and suffering through) the single worst movie there. It should be fun. 

6.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: THE SCARES 
    Do you own any movies that just flat out scare you? Do you have anything in your collection that makes your skin crawl just to look at the box? Is there anything on VHS or DVD that gave you bad dream - maybe still gives you bad dreams? We want to see it in April. Our second feature will be the scariest movie available. Don your asbestos gloves, secure its collar and muzzle, and bring it with you in April. We'd love to meet it. 

7.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: THE AUCTION 
    April is the time to get some deals. From 5 to 7 we're holding (what promises to be) another very spirited auction. Bring cash. Bring some stuff to sell. This is going to be a lot of fun! 

8.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: WE NEED GREETERS 
    Because we hope to have a goodly crowd show up in April we're going to have the sorts of things we usually don't have to bother with - a table up front with programs, name tags and a guest book. We're going to need people to staff the table, greeting guests as they arrive. We don't expect to have anyone there for the day. We're hoping to have people on one-hour shifts. If you're available either see me at the meeting or phone or e-mail me in advance. 

9.NEWS OF OUR APRIL MEETING: WE'LL NEED EXTRA CLEAN-UP HELP 
    We're going to have a lot of food at the next meeting. We're going to have a lot of feet grinding that food into the carpet and dirtying up the premises. We're going to need a lot of help making the place look neat and presentable at the end of the meeting. Everyone's been great with clean-up. Please continue you're good behavior on April 27! 

10.THE CLUB MATURES 
    The Board of Directors, in an effort to fulfill our mandate as guardians of the club's funds, will be moving $500 from our checking account and investing it in a Certificate of Deposit (or "CD"). We'll probably do this after our auction when out funds are a little more flush. Our money will be able to earn more than the $1 or so a month it's generating now. The Board is very excited about this new measure to handle our money. If we do particularly well maybe we'll earn enough to pay for the room for a month! 

11.MEMBERSHIP FINALS 
    Our membership renewals are over. Everyone who joins from this point on will be a new member. Here is the final list of the forty-one names who now make up the Imaginative Cinema Society: 
JOHN CLAYTON                                    ROB PARR 
LINDA CONRAD                                    JOE PLEMPEL 
SUZANNE COOPER                              NORMAN PRENTISS 
DAVID DELLMAN                                 TOM PROVEAUX 
VINCE DILEONARDI                             RICK RIEVE 
SUE FEDER                                             GARY ROBERSON 
TIM & HEATHER FLEMING                  RUTH ROBERSON 
DIANE GERVASIO                                 MIKE SCHILLING 
RALPH & PEGGY GERVASIO               DAVA SENTZ 
MARTIN GRAMS JR.                              DONNA SENTZ 
ED HELLMAN                                         BRIAN & CINDY SMITH 
DAVE HENDERSON                              COURTNEY SPIES 
SCOTT HURD                                         JACK TYDINGS 
ANDREW KENT                                     REGINA VALLERANI 
MITCH & KELLY KLEIN                       JOHN WARD 
MIKE LAIRD                                           DAVID WILLARD 
LEITH LOMAKIN                                   CHARLIE WITTIG 
JEANNE MATCOVICH                          TOM WOODWARD 
BARRY MURPHY 

12.THE FINALS ON THE OSCAR POOL 
    We thank everyone who participated in our Oscar Pool. We have a winner. Here are the top five entries. Out of a possible 24 entries, John Ward got 12, Joe Plempel and yours truly tied at 13, Barry "The Skipper" Murphy got 14 right (twice with two different entries!) and SUE FEDER got a whopping 16 out of 24 categories correct. Congratulations Sue! The total pool came to $36. Sue will get $18 at our April meeting. 

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13.THE GLASS TEAT 
JUSTICE LEAGUE gets renewed. The Cartoon Network has picked up its JUSTICE LEAGUE animated series for a second season. The network ordered 26 new half-hour episodes. . . . FIREFLY casting change. We mentioned in the last issue that Rebecca Gayheart was a member of the new FIREFLY cast. At the time it was written that story was accurate. It no longer is. The folks at Fox are scrambling for a replacement. . . . SPIDER-MAN finds his voice. Neil Patrick Harris and singer Lisa Loeb will voice Peter Parker and Mary Jane in MTV's upcoming animated SPIDER-MAN series. Because of MTV's involvement, it's likely that more performers who are prominent in the music business will be involved as guest stars, possibly as villains. The show is targeted for an October debut. . . . Cameron will direct DARK ANGEL's season finale. James Cameron is about to make his television directing debut on DARK ANGEL, the show that he created and where he serves as executive producer. Cameron said that, "it will be good discipline for me to direct one hour on a TV-size budget when my last project was three hours for $200 million. . . . I love our cast and am looking forward to working with them in the mud and the blood and the beer." The episode will air on May 3. . . . Stiers enters THE DEAD ZONE. Three-time Emmy nominee David Ogden Stiers ("M*A*S*H") has joined the cast of the upcoming USA series THE DEAD ZONE, based on the popular Stephen King novel. Stiers will play the recurring role of Reverend Gene Purdy, Smith's legal guardian who doesn't have his best interests at heart. The series premieres June 3. . . . "The Truth" is out there on May 19. The title of the final episode of THE X-FILES has been leaked. The May 19 episode will be called "The Truth." All this time, every time we were reminded that "The truth is out there," perhaps the show was simply foreseeing its own demise. . . . FORGOTTEN REALMS is headed for television. Fireworks Television has bought the TV rights to the FORGOTTEN REALMS series of fantasy novels. Genre author R.A. Salvatore (known for his STAR WARS novelizations) will write the live-action TV pilot. FORGOTTEN REALMS will tell the story of a land filled with wizards and sorcerers. Wizards of the Coast, which owns the Dungeons & Dragons game property, will help Fireworks develop FORGOTTEN REALMS storylines. . . . BUFFY is planning a big season finale. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is in the midst of a lengthy mid-season hiatus. There won't be a new episode until April 30. There are still four new episodes to air. The final one, scheduled for May 21, should be a big one. It's going to be a two-hour episode. The second hour of the episode will be broadcast against the season finale of Fox's series, 24. . . . THE X-FILES goes to TNT and the Sci-Fi Channel. The Sci-Fi Channel has purchased the rights for THE X-FILES. It's a joint acquisition between Sci-Fi and TNT. Sci-Fi receives primetime off-network rights and TNT gets daytime rights of nine seasons of  THE X-FILES totaling 202 episodes. Sci-Fi is also close to signing a separate five-year exclusive deal for 62 episodes of  ROSWELL. 

14.DAVID BOREANAZ WAS LEERY OF THE ANGEL BABY 
    David Boreanaz confessed that he initially had mixed feelings about the Angel-as-daddy storyline, but that he now thinks the unlikely plot device worked well. "My initial reaction was one of excitement, because I knew it would be really strange and bizarre to have this child [on the show], but I wasn't really sold on the fact of how it was going to happen," Boreanaz said. "I was a bit nervous [about] that aspect." 
    Boreanaz was concerned that the baby plotline would hurt the pacing on the show. "Angel's relationship with Darla [Julie Benz] was really played out in the second season, and I was nervous about that. They told me [the Connor storyline] wouldn't be as lengthy a play-out [as feared]. And, you know, as it progressed, it became [clear] that it would be more of a success than a failure. It could have been a dangerous thing for the character, but it opened up many more doors, and I think [the ongoing effect] is going to be great. And where this child may end up again, I don't know." 
    As it turns out the story may have given Boreanaz some time to practice. In real life his wife, actress and former Playboy Playmate Jaime Bergman, is pregnant with the couple's first child, due in May. 

15.THE ENTERPRISE CREW MEETS THE ENTERPRISE CREW 
    Crew members of the U.S.S. Enterprise - the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, not the starship - will appear in an upcoming episode of ENTERPRISE. Aviation Electronic Technician First Class Robert Pickering, Aviation Electrician's Mate Second Class Timothy Whittington and Personnelman Third Class Sara Elizabeth Pizzo will play starship crew members in an episode tentatively titled "Desert Crossings," scheduled to air May 8. 
    Executive producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga extended the invitation to the three crew members, who were selected as "Sailors of the Year" by a Navy committee. Their scenes were shot on March 7. During a break in shooting, the sailors presented Berman and Braga with a specially designed plaque in gratitude for all the support and encouragement the cast, crew and actors of ENTERPRISE have given the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, which was one of the first vessels deployed in the Afghanistan war. 

16.LOOK FOR AN ENTERPRISE CLIFFHANGER 
    ENTERPRISE co-creator Brannon Braga told fans at this year's Grand Slam STAR TREK convention that the upcoming season-one cliffhanger finale will deal with the temporal cold war. Speaking at the annual convention in Pasadena, Calif., Braga said, "The final episode will deal a lot with that, as will the first episode of next year, and you'll learn a lot more about it. Over the course of the seasons, we definitely want to get into, how did [the Federation] come to be? How did this thing called the Federation happen? How did they become part of the intergalactic neighborhood? How did they earn respect? That's all going to be part of the show, for sure. We will be hinting at it early next season." 
    But don't expect Romulans anytime soon. "I don't think you're going to be seeing the Romulans this season," Braga said. "In the original series, it was established that no one had actually seen the Romulans. So it's tricky, because you want to see them. You don't want to just see a bunch of ships and not know what's going on. But we're thinking about ways we might do it." 

17.DON'T LOOK FOR WESLEY CRUSHER ON ENTERPRISE 
   After several Internet fansites published word that STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION cast member Wil Wheaton would be seen in a recurring role on ENTERPRISE, Wheaton confessed that he himself was the source of the story and that it was all an April Fool's joke. "I hope everyone takes this in good humor," he said on his website. "Lots of people sent really kind and sweet congratulatory messages, and I actually feel pretty badly for fooling such nice people." The truth is, he said, that he will not, as the stories suggested, be joining the cast of ENTERPRISE as Ensign Wesley Crusher, using his "time travel" abilities. 

18.IRWIN ALLEN'S NEW HOME IS FOX TV 
    Producers Kevin Burns and Jon Jashni have struck a deal with 20th Century Fox TV and Fox Television Studios to resurrect four classic Irwin Allen SF television series as movies or shows, including LOST IN SPACE, THE TIME TUNNEL, VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA and LAND OF THE GIANTS. Burns and Jashni run Synthesis Entertainment, which manages the interests of the Allen estate. 
    A new TIME TUNNEL series is in the works for the Fox network, as is a two-hour NBC backdoor pilot based on a new generation of LOST IN SPACE. The deal also calls for a renewal of 20th Television's rights to distribute the original 83 episodes of LOST IN SPACE; a production agreement to revive THE TIME TUNNEL, VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA and LAND OF THE GIANTS; and a new production agreement to revive LOST IN SPACE. 

19.MUTANT X PUMPS UP THE VOLUME NEXT SEASON 
    Victor Webster, who plays Brennan Mulwray in the syndicated series, MUTANT X, said that the next season will take the show even farther than it's already gone. "It's going to be a bigger, better deal, man," Webster said. 'Everything's going to be bigger. Everything's going to be faster. It's going to be darker. It's going to be fun. We were cutting our teeth in the first year, finding out what worked, what didn't work. Expect more good things. We're making some changes. We've got a new producer. We just want to take a great thing, which I believe we have now, and make it even better. We're going to have units devoted just to filming action, so that will be a little more intense. [We'll also have] more character-driven drama." 
    Webster plays Mulwray, a street-smart mutant who is able to generate electricity from his body. In real life, Webster practices a combination of eight martial arts. As to adapting his training to the show, Webster said, "You have to learn a whole new thing. You learn the basics, you learn the agility, you learn the coordination, but you didn't learn how to sell a punch and make it look real. When you're fighting in the street or a tournament, everything's tight and close. You've got to make TV big, things that are beyond reality, things that look good." 

20.FANS FIGHT FOR ROSWELL 
    Fans of ROSWELL are racing to sign on Online petition to keep the show alive for one more season. "ROSWELL is a great television program, and I am helping all ROSWELL fans to start early in the quest to have Roswell reach its fourth birthday," the petition reads. 
    Though official word won't come out about the low-rated series' future until later this spring, there are strong indications that UPN will cancel the show. Fan action has kept the show alive before. You might recall how at the end of the show's first season, a deluge of fan mail, and tiny Tabasco bottles, (the aliens' condiment of choice) persuaded The WB, to renew it for one more year. ROSWELL fans are hoping to do it again. It looks like they have an uphill battle in front of them. 

21.THE WB QUIETLY SHOPS ROSWELL 
    Jonathan Frakes, an executive producer of ROSWELL, said that the network hasn't officially canceled the series, but producers are nevertheless shopping the show to other networks in anticipation of the final ax's falling. "There is no official word, and we're trying to find another home for it on another network," Frakes. No deal has been struck. 
    Although no formal cancellation announcement has been made, the producers have relinquished their production space at 20th Century Fox and are distributing the show's props to other series shooting on the lot. There is little likelihood that the show will be picked up by other networks At this writing ROSWELL is ranked 99th out of 108 primetime network TV shows. 

22.SALEM'S LOT GETS A FRESH COAT OF PAINT FOR TNT 
    Stephen King’s SALEM’S LOT will come to life as a TNT original dramatic miniseries event, according to Steve Koonin, executive vice president and general manager of TNT. 
    TNT and Warner Bros. Television will co-produce the four-hour miniseries, with Mark Wolper (TNT’s THE MISTS OF AVALON, THE THORNBIRDS) executive-producing for The Wolper Organization, and Peter Filardi (FLATLINERS, THE  CRAFT) writing the script from Stephen King’s book. 
    "The epic works of Stephen King have always translated into compelling television, especially in long-form miniseries,” said Koonin. “We are proud to be continuing our association with Mark Wolper, who executive produced the highly successful miniseries THE MISTS OF AVALON for TNT last year. Under Mark’s guidance, Stephen King’s SALEM’S LOT will be a great fit with our positioning as the home of great dramatic television events.” 
    In SALEM’S LOT, King’s vicious take on the perfect All-American community, the seditious horrors and close-held secrets of small town life turn into unimaginable terror when a mysterious stranger arrives in town and ultimately reveals himself to be a vampire looking to sink his teeth into a new home. 

23.HBO GETS READY FOR SHADOW HOUSE 
    Writer David Goyer (BLADE II) announced that he's teaming up with Clive Barker to create a new series for premium cable. "I have a pilot at HBO with Clive Barker," Goyer said. "It's called SHADOW HOUSE. Clive and I did it with Francis Ford Coppola. We're writing it right now. We're trying to see if we can put the HBO spin on it. So it is genre, but what I like about the HBO shows is that they take things in a more intelligent direction. There aren't any special effects in it. It's scary and psychological." 

24.NOW YOU CAN VOTE FOR THE BEST OF ST: TNG 
    TNN will let fans pick their favorite STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION episodes, which the network will then air in a marathon on April 14. Fans will be able to vote for the top five greatest episodes of the series on TNN's official Web site from April 1-6, the network announced. The marathon will air April 14 from 2 PM to 7 PM. 
    Viewers will also be able to enter a sweepstakes to win TREK prizes from April 1 to May 4. The grand prize is a trip for two to Hollywood for a tour of Paramount Studios, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard's uniform from the upcoming STAR TREK: NEMESIS film and a copy of the new Activision STAR TREK: Bridge Commander video game. 

25.SHANKS WILL GUEST STAR ON A FUTURE STARGATE EPISODE 
    The Sci-Fi Channel confirmed that departing STARGATE SG-1 cast member Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson) will make a guest appearance during the show's upcoming sixth season. Shanks left the show at the conclusion of the fifth season, but will return in the sixth-season episode "Abyss," which sees Col. Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) tortured at the hands of the Goa'uld. 
    STARGATE started out on Showtime and will continue to air on the pay cable channel through the end of season five. The show will then move to Sci-Fi in June, when the all-new sixth season begins. Sci-Fi will also rerun the first five seasons in order, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2002. Reruns of STARGATE also air in various syndicated markets. 

26.THE TAKEN MINI-SERIES IS COMING TOGETHER 
    The equivalent of the Manhattan Project is underway at the Sci-Fi Channel. They're working on a very very big mini-series called TAKEN. This is a sweeping sci-fi adventure (told from the point-of-view of a young girl) that weaves together the story of three families over three generations and their crucial roles in the history of alien abductions. Set against the backdrop of actual history and UFO lore, TAKEN aims to create a powerfully emotional and evocative story of mankind's encounters with extraterrestrials. 
    TAKEN's been in production since last September. It's written and executive produced by Leslie Bohem (DANTE'S PEAK), with Steve Beers also executive producing. Sci-Fi's working on it with DreamWorks Television and Steven Spielberg. 
    So far the announced cast includes Matt Frewer (MAX HEADROOM), Desmond Harrington (WE WERE SOLDIERS), James McDaniel (NYPD BLUE), 8-year-old Dakota Fanning (I AM SAM) in the pivotal role of Allie, Gabrielle Rose (DOUBLE JEOPARDY), Heather Donahue (THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT), Adam Kaufman (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), Andy Powers (OZ), Chad Donella (FINAL DESTINATION) and Emily Bergl (THE RAGE: CARRIE 2), Steve Burton (THE LAST CASTLE), Joel Gretsch (MINORITY REPORT), Ryan Hurst (REMEMBER THE TITANS), Eric Close (NOW AND AGAIN), Catherine Dent (THE MAJESTIC), Anton Yelchin (HEARTS IN ATLANTIS), Julie Benz (ANGEL), Chad Morgan (PEARL HARBOR), Michael Moriarity (LAW & ORDER), James Kirk (DARK ANGEL) and Willie Garson (SEX AND THE CITY). 

27.TRACKER: NO, YES AND MAYBE 
    Conflicting reports have emerged about the future of the syndicated series TRACKER. "Tracker unfortunately is not coming back for a second season," a series spokeswoman announced. The spokeswoman added that the show has completed shooting the last eight episodes that will be airing, but that the series has not been renewed. 
    It ain't necessarily so according to Doug Friedman, senior vice president of worldwide television marketing for Lions Gate Entertainment. "TRACKER has not been canceled," Friedman said. "We're in syndication through September or October of this year. We are working on renewing the show. We're looking potentially for new homes for the show, but we still have the option to bring the show back. At worst, the future of the show is uncertain. At best, of course, it will be back. We don't know where it will be back, but it is definitely not canceled." 
    In case you've missed it TRACKER is a series about an alien bounty hunter who is tracking fugitives on Earth. It stars Adrian Paul (HIGHLANDER) and Geraint Wyn Davies (FOREVER KNIGHT). If you were considering starting to watch it, if I were you, I wouldn't delay much longer. 

28.GALE ANNE HURD AND THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE COMPANY 
    Gale Anne Hurd is no stranger to the world of imaginative cinema. She's the producer of THE TERMINATOR (1984), ALIENS (1986), ALIEN NATION (1988), THE ABYSS (1989), TREMORS (1990) TERMINATOR 2 (1991), ARMAGEDDON (1998) and the upcoming THE HULK (2003). So when she says she's getting into the TV business, it's big news. 
    She's about to launch THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE COMPANY, an upcoming syndicated supernatural series that she described as "kind of a RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK meets MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE." The series, for Tribune Entertainment and Fireworks, has received a 22-episode order and begins production in June in Toronto; Marseilles, France; and the United Kingdom. 
    "It's actually inspired by a friend of mine, who's a treasure hunter, and he's the kind of person who can find anything," Hurd said. "Because treasure hunting is one of those things where you raise a lot of money, and sometimes you find the treasure, and sometimes you don't, you actually have to take paying gigs in between. It's that kind of thing." The series will also flirt with the supernatural, she added. "Of course! It's got my name on it. There has to be a supernatural element. It's kind of a TWILIGHT ZONE supernatural [element]." 

29.WHY MULDER RE-OPENED THE X-FILES 
    It was David Duchovny himself who suggested a return to THE X-FILES, even though the actor had previously asserted that he had no interest in reprising the role of Agent Fox Mulder. Chris Carter initially approached Duchovny about directing the April 28 episode of the series, which wraps its nine-year run in May. 
    Not only was Duchovny interested, but "he had suggested that he act in the episode as well, which was a big surprise to us," according to executive producer Frank Spotnitz. "We certainly didn't expect that." When the decision was made to put Duchovny in the two-hour series finale instead, Spotnitz added, "what became uncertain at that point was whether David would still co-write, direct and act in [the April 28] show. So the final outcome, as you well know, is that he is going to act in the [series finale] and co-write, direct, but not act in, [the April 28] episode." 
    Spotnitz said he understands Duchovny's change of heart. "My impression from talking to him was that he still cares about the show," he said. "He's still invested in it and certainly cares about [Mulder]. And I think he recognized that it was the best thing for the show and the audience [for him] to come back and give closure to nine years of the series. I think we all agree on that." 
    There's no way of telling if this has anything to do with other issues for Duchovny - like his less than stellar movie career. This show could be his last chance to make some decent money for a while. 

30.WHY CHRIS CARTER CLOSED THE X-FILES 
    Chris Carter said that it was his decision to end the series after its ninth season as the show's ratings dropped. He made the decision over the Christmas break, as the show's ratings had already dipped following the departure of David Duchovny after season eight, and they declined further during the ninth season against savvy counter-programming. 
    "We were up against SAVING PRIVATE RYAN in our first week out," Carter said. "We were up against Britney Spears [and her HBO concert] the next Sunday night, so we took heavy flak and never really recovered from it for the next four episodes after those first two. . . . Our audience was just down from the year before, and they didn't seem to be coming back. So they had gone elsewhere, and I didn't know where they had gone. I thought we were doing great work, and all of a sudden I saw there was an opportunity for people to say, 'It wasn't the same old X-FILES.' I thought that was unfair, and I thought they would pin that on Robert [Patrick] and Annabeth [Gish], who I think are fantastic actors and are doing incredible work. I just didn't want to see that happen, and so I thought I wanted to see the show go out strong. I wanted people to come back to the show and see the good work we were doing. Ultimately, I really hope that people, when they see these final episodes - I think there are about 10 episodes left - or watch the finale, I hope they say, 'God, we'll really miss this show.'" 

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31.THINGS TO COME 
    JOHNS HOPKINS FILM FESTIVAL will take place from April 11-14 on the campus of Johns Hopkins University. The festival seeks to promote works by budding independent and student filmmakers. Documentaries, features, and short films that have been hitting the festival circuits as well as little  seen local, national, and international films will be displayed. The Johns Hopkins Film Festival will take place in screening rooms on the Homewood campus,  including Shriver Hall, the largest screening facility in Maryland. Displayed formats are 8mm, 16mm, 35mm and VHS. Tickets are $3 per show, $5 per day, and $15 for a festival pass. 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. Guests at this point include Ben Chapman (THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON), Beverly Washburn, (STAR TREK, SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE PEOPLE), Bill Moseley (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE II, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD-1990), Virginia Hey (FARSCAPE, THE ROAD WARRIOR), Richard Kiel (MOONRAKER, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME), Sarah Douglas (SUPERMAN, SUPERMAN II, CONAN THE DESTROYER), Charles Napier (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, SUPEVIXENS), Darlene Thompkins (BEYOND THE TIME BARRIER), David Carradine (KUNG FU), David Hedison (THE FLY, VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA) David Prowse (STAR WARS), Denise Crosby (STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION), Ethan Phillips (STAR TREK: VOYAGER), Deana Lund - Don Marshall - Don Matheson (all from LAND OF THE GIANTS), Ed Lauter (FAMILY PLOT, THE LONGEST YARD), Joe Turkel (THE SHINING, THE KILLING), Kathy Garver (FAMILY AFFAIR, THE EXORCIST II), Ken Foree (DAWN OF THE DEAD, FROM BEYOND), James MacArthur (HAWAII FIVE-O), Ken Weatherwax & Lisa Loring (THE ADDAMS FAMILY), Mark Goddard (LOST IN SPACE-TV), Ruth Buzzi (LAUGH-IN), Linda Blair (THE EXORCIST), Lou Ferrigno (THE INCREDIBLE HULK), Lynn Stewart (PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE), Paul LeMat (AMERICAN GRAFITTI), Julie McCullough (Playmate of the Year 1986, BLACK SCORPION), Remy Marks (model and Playmate), Bernie Wrightson (comic artist who created "Swamp Thing"), Jeff Pitarelli (illustrator), Ray Manzarek (founding member of The Doors) and Richie Scarlet (guitarist Ace Frehley's Comet, Leslie West Band). General admission tickets in advance are $10 per day, or $25 for all three days. At the door they're $15 per day. You can pick up pre-show tickets to give you access to the show one hour earlier than the general public on Friday night or Saturday morning. In advance (by 3/22) $20 per day. At he door they're $30 per day. You can get (in advance only) pre-show & VIP Tickets for the entire show plus one hour early on Friday or Saturday is $35. Pre-show both days, plus all day Sunday is $45 US Funds. To order by mail, send all payments to Chiller Theatre, Inc./ P O Box 23/ Rutherford NJ 07070. For room reservations, call The Sheraton at (201) 896-0500 and ask for the Chiller rate. 

    THE MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL will be held May 2-5 in Baltimore. At this writing details are a little sparse. Here's what we know so far. They have a growing number of celebrity guest hosts visiting the festival. NAACP Board Chair and legendary Civil Rights Activist Julian Bond will guest host s showing of SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAAD ASSSSS SONG. First year SURVIVOR finalist Colleen Haskell has chosen Terry Gilliam's THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN. As usual John Waters will host a Friday night film. This year, he's hosting a screening of FUEGO, which means "fire," an unusual softcore X-rated melodrama that was made in Argentina in 1969. Either visit the festival's website or keep your eyes on The ICS Files for further details. 

    BALTICON 36 will be held Memorial Day Weekend, May 24 - 27 at the Wyndham Inner Harbor Hotel in Baltimore. They offer activities and guests for a wide range of interests for science fiction fandom. Their literary programming will feature philosophical debates, story crafting tips and ideas, author readings and book signings. There will be separate poetry, academic, literary and media tracks, including an writer's workshop. Their science program continues with the kind of briefings you see for industry, academic and government leaders. Topics include NASA and space industry planning, launch systems, paleontology, DNA research and more. There will also be special sessions about art, costuming and children activities for kids 4-12. There'll be filking (science fiction-oriented folk music), a masquerade, a large dealer's room, a gaming room, a computer room, L.A.R..P. (Live Action Role Playing gaming), a gaming room and live theater (a LORD OF THE RINGS parody). Tickets are $40 until 3/17, $45 until 4/30 and $50 at the door (children 6-12 are $20/$23/$25). For tickets or answers to questions contact BALTICON 36/ P.O. Box 686/ Baltimore, MD., 21203-0686 or phone (410)JOE-BSFS [410-563-2737], e-mail: BSFS@balticon.org, fax # 410-879-3602 or go to the above link. 

    CREEP CON takes place at the Baltimore Convention Center from June 7-9. Guests include Anthony Head (Giles on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER); Adam Busch ("Warren" on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER); Robert Hall (Special Make-Up Effects for BUFFY, ANGEL and BLACK SCORPION); Warwick Davis (LEPRECHAUN, STAR WARS and WILLOW); Virginia Hey (FARSCAPE, THE ROAD WARRIOR); Kane Hodder ("Jason" FRIDAY THE 13th films); Alexxus Young (scream queen, star of the upcoming ARACHNIA); Muse Watson ("Fisherman" from I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER), David Carradine (KUNG FU); Ben Chapman (THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON); Bill Moseley (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2); Linnea Quigley, Miguel Nunez, Jewel Shepard, Beverly Randolph Hartley, Jules Brenner, Brian Peck, John Philbin, Don Calfa, Kenny Myers and William Stout (all from RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD); Leonard Lies and Marty Schiff (both from DAWN OF THE DEAD); Brian Penikas (special make-up effects artist); Jerome Blake (STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES); Mike Quinn (RETURN OF THE JEDI); Michonne Bourriague (STAR WARS: EPISODE I - PHANTOM MENACE); Shannon Baksa (STAR WARS RPG model); Debbie Rochon (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD); Dick Durock (SWAMP THING); Edwin Neal (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE); Reggie Bannister (PHANTASM series); Kevin Summerfield (director SLEEPY HOLLOW HIGH 1 & 2); Velvet Chain (L.A. band that's appeared on BUFFY); Darling Violetta (California band that did the theme for ANGEL); Frank Cho (comic artist); Virgil (WWF Superstar); Remy Marks (model and Playmate) and Nicole Wood (Playboy Playmate, Miss April 93). Scheduled events include a special Friday Night, Creep Con Opening Ceremony at The Vault on Baltimore St. The show is limited to only 200 Tickets. It starts at 6:00 and continues through the night. There will be open bar and food available. Doors open Saturday and Sunday at 10 AM for VIP ticket holders, 11 AM for everyone else. General admission at the door is $20 per day, or $30 for the weekend. General admission in advance is $15 per day, or $25 for the weekend. V.I.P. Gold are $125 each. These passes give you admission on Saturday and Sunday 1 hour earlier than the general public, access to the Friday Night Creep Con Opening Ceremony, one free autograph from most guests appearing on stage and best seating in the auditorium for the guests Q&A sessions and special events at the show. For further information or tickets either click on the link at the beginning or (for you snail mailers) contact FOD Entertainment/ C/O Creep Convention/ P.O. Box 2139/ Glen Burnie, MD 21060-2139. 

    ASIAN FANTASY FILM EXPO 3 is being held on June 15 & 16 at the Holiday Inn & Conference Center in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. This is THE convention for people who like their monsters large, aggressive and Japanese. Guests include  Shusuke Kaneko (director of GODZILLA • MOTHRA • KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK), Teruyoshi Nakano (special effects director of Godzilla films in the 70's and 80's), Shinichi Yokokawa (with Bandai, creator of Japanese monster character toys), Carl Craig (the American Boy Scout in DESTROY ALL PLANETS), Bob Eggleton (America's leading Godzilla artist) and Remy Marks (fantasy model and Playmate). One day passes are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Two day passes are $18 and are available only in advance. Children age 5 and under are free. To order click on the above link or contact P.O. Box 1614 Fort Lee, NJ 07024/ 201-587-8112/ fax: 201-587-8114. 

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32.THE RELEASE OF THE EPISODE II COMIC WILL BEAT THE MOVIE 
    Dark Horse comics will release an adaptation of STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES on April 24, three weeks before the film hits theaters. Henry Gilroy has adapted George Lucas' and Jonathan Hales' screenplay, with Jan Duursema and Ray Kryssing providing the artwork. 
    CLONES will appear as a trade paperback and as a four-issue series of comics. The four issues will feature covers by Tsuneo Sanda. Photographic cover versions will be available as well. 

33.ASIMOV DIED OF AIDS 
    Isaac Asimov's widow, Janet Jeppson, is producing a single condensed volume of her late husband's three-volume autobiography. It will be entitled It's Been a Good Life. In the book she reveals that Asimov's 1992 death was the result of AIDS. 
    There was a tragic time in the early eighties when the Red Cross and health care system knew than HIV was in the blood supply but felt that it wasn't "cost-effective" to bother screening it. Asimov acquired the disease through a blood transfusion during a 1983 bypass surgery. 

34.BRADBURY GETS A STAR ON THE WALK OF FAME 
    Ray Bradbury received the 2,193rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 1. Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn, actor Charlton Heston and other officials attended the ceremony. 
    The ceremony kicked off a month-long reading campaign called "One Book, One City L.A.," in which Los Angeles residents are encouraged to read Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury, 81, is a lifelong Los Angeles resident. 

35.FORRY RECOVERS 
    The legendary sci-fi editor and publisher, Forrest Ackerman (aka "Uncle Forry") is recovering from surgery after a massive blood clot was found on his brain. Ackerman was rushed to a hospital and was promptly operated on. He's due to leave the intensive care unit in early April. Cards may be sent to 2495 Glendower, Hollywood CA 90027. They will be given to him as they are received. 

36.JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: THE NOVELS 
    If you like to cuddle up with a good book in bed here's you'll chance to enjoy a bedtime nuzzle with the likes of Aquaman, Hawkman, Wonder Woman and Superman. Pocket Books will publish six paperback adult prose novels featuring Justice League of America superhero characters from DC Comics. The first novel, Justice League of America: Batman-The Stone King, by Alan Grant, will hit comic book stores this month. Longtime comic illustrator Alex Ross will contribute covers for the entire series. 
    Each book in the series will be told from the point of view of a specific Justice League member, except the last book, which will feature all heroes equally. The second book, Justice League of America: Wonder Woman-Mythos by Carol Lay, is slated for a September release. 
    Future books will include The Flash by Mark Schultz, Green Lantern-Hero's Quest by Dennis O'Neil, Superman by Kyle Baker and a finale by Christopher Golden. 

37.A BOOK TO HELP WITH CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE CELEBRITY KIND 
    Have you ever had a brush with a celebrity? If you attend conventions you're likely to. I have. I was once in the men's room at Sardi's in New York's theater district when a very vexed-looking Robert Goulet came rushing into one of the stalls. Once, while feeling weak from a 103° fever I found myself riding an elevator with Martin Sheen. And once, while at the symphony, friends dragged me backstage to meet the celebrity performing a recitation that evening - Claire Bloom. At least in her case I found something to say. I shook her hand and stammered, "Miss Bloom, I'm an enormous fan of yours. I'm enormous - and I am a fan of yours." 
    I may have benefited from a new book by Mike Sington, a trainer of guides for Universal Studios in California. It seems that there's a tendency for folks to forget their manners when they see a celebrity. To help alleviate the problem, Sington and his fellow guides have written A Visitor's Guide to Celebrity Etiquette, which sets out guidelines for making all "celebrity experiences" happy ones. 
    The book includes tips from celebrities themselves, such as this autograph-seeking advice from ONCE AND AGAIN star Sela Ward: "Skip the 'I know you don't like to be bothered' and go right to what you want graciously ('I'm such a big fan - do you mind giving me an autograph?'). Secondly, have a pen that works." 
    Another section deals with approaching a famous person who's eating. The guide advises doing so only "if you are pleased when telemarketers call your house during your dinner. If for some odd reason this does please you, then only interrupt a celebrity who is eating if you enjoy having a chainsaw used as a regular part of your dentist's check-ups." 
    Much of the advice in the handbook is common-sensical - don't stare, don't tell them their last movie stank, don't imitate their characters. It's included because when people meet a star, "common sense goes out the window," Sington says. 
    "You may feel like you know the person, but obviously you don't. And they don't know you," Sington says. "They're used to being approached, but you've got to do it in the right way." Celebs like to be complimented as much as the next person, and the handbook suggests doing so concisely, although "body parts are not acceptable." Still, advises Jamie Lee Curtis, "Don't say the celebrity looks better in person. Since they're supposed to look good on screen, it makes them feel like they're not doing their job well." Still, the book advises "don't tell the celebrity that they look better on screen, either. Please." 

38.RECENT TITLES: BOOKS ABOUT MOVIES AND TELEVISION 
    Ain't It Cool? Hollywood's Redheaded Stepchild Speaks Out by Harry Knowles, Paul Cullum (Contributor), Mark Ebner (Contributor), $23.95 
Harry Knowles is the guy behind the "Ain't It Cool News" Website (or the AICN to its initiates). This is a book about movies and the movies business from the perspective of a fan. Knowles writes some autobiographical things about himself and his famous site, but spends a great deal of the book on the movies and what's wrong with them. 
    Bad Blood : An Illustrated Guide to Psycho Cinema by Christian Fuchs, $19.95 
Mass-murderers, serial killers, human cannibals: 20th century history is awash with atrocious, apparently motiveless acts of violence. As the century progressed, the media coverage increased, and these psychopathic outsiders, such as Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and Charles Manson, directly inspired movie directors and producers. Detailed case studies and their related film(s) are illustrated with true crime photos and film stills. 
    Behind the Mask of SPIDER-MAN: The Secrets of the Movie by Mark Cotta Vaz, $20.00 
As you may have guessed, this is a book about the upcoming SPIDER-MAN movie. It's filled with interviews and photos. From script to soundstage, from costumes to visual effects, the book captures the creative energies of those responsible for this cinematic act of illusion. 
    English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby, $29.95 
From the silent era to HELLRAISER and beyond, this is a compelling illustrated history of the British horror film, featuring 100 key movies and 150 illustrations, stills, and photos. 
    FARSCAPE: The Illustrated Companion by Paul Simpson , David Hughes, Paul Simpson, $12.95 
If you’re a fan of the series and a behind-the-scenes junkie, this is your book. It gives a thorough episode by episode review of season one and a bit of season two. It covers the origin of the series, music, writing, directing, the characters, the stars, the effects and a lexicon of words and references. 
    The Grove Book of Hollywood by Christopher Silvester (Editor), $18.50 
This book gathers over 150 recollections taken from magazine articles, production logs, and oral histories alike, providing a decade-by-decade timeline of some of Hollywood's most colorful figures. We hear from movie moguls, ambitious starlets, embittered screenwriters, bemused outsiders such as P. G. Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh, and others. Their personal recollections range from the affectionate to the scathing, and from the cynical to the grandiose, and they offer a portrait of the city from its humble origins to the height of glamour. We encounter the first people to move to Hollywood, when it was a dusty village on the outskirts of Los Angeles in the first years of the twentieth century and eventually work our way to the 90's. 
    Horror: A Biography by E. Michael Jones, $17.95 
There's more to horror than cheap thrills. Beginning with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, tales of horror have consistently drawn a connection between transgressive sex and violent death. In this history from the French Revolution to modern Hollywood, E. Michael Jones reveals the origins of horror in the lives of its creators. We examine the life of Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Steven King, Anne Rice, and Wes Craven and a look at “what lies beneath.” contemporary horror cinema. 
    Making It Big in the Movies : The Autobiography of Richard "Jaws" Kiel by Richard Kiel, $24.95 
This is the perfect book for the obsessive/compulsive James Bond fan. Now that you know every major fact and minor nuance of Mr. Bond and the men who've played him get to know one of his most notorious nemeses - "Jaws" from MOONRAKER and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. Besides writing about his Bond experiences he tells the story of his career from his early extra, prop and stunt work, through his TV roles in THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., THE WILD WILD WEST, THE MONKEES and other classic series, as well as films as varied as THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, SILVER STREAK and PALE RIDER. 
    Science Fiction, Horror: A Sight and Sound Reader by Kim Newman (Editor), $19.95 
What in contemporary cinema is a horror film and what is a science fiction movie? BLADE RUNNER (1982) is as much film noir as science fiction, and it is a literary adaptation. The latest remake of THE MUMMY (1999) is more an effects fantasy or action/adventure than straightforward horror. This book provides a diverse overview of trends that have shaped sci-fi/horror in the last decade. It explores how recent films like THE FIGHT CLUB and THE TRUMAN SHOW have impinged on more traditional territory and have tested the limits of conventional understandings of these most central of genres. The book engages with a host of topics that have emerged over the last decade: vampire movies, body horror, the nuclear threat, childhood terror, artificial worlds, and postmodern horror. 
    A Skin For Dancing In: Possession, Witchcraft and Voodoo in Film by Tanya Krzywinska $24.95 
The cinema of the occult celebrates the irrational and the magical, and it offers powerful and seductive narratives of desire, transgression, and fantasy. Why are magic and demonology such attractive subjects for filmmakers? Is the cinema of the occult an expression of a cultural need for the experience of the sacred? What cultural meanings are invested in demons, witches, possessed nuns, and voodoo priests? Read this book and find out. 
    Slayer: An Expanded and Updated Unofficial and Unauthorized Guide to BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER by Keith Topping, $9.95 
A guide to the first five seasons of BUFFY. In a style that captures the unique humor of the show, Keith Topping provides a complete episode-by-episode guide, with each episode broken down into recurring categories. He unearths pop culture references and soundtrack information, serves up the best lines of dialogue, exposes continuity errors and includes a section on the BUFFY novels and Internet sites. 
    Smokin Rockets: The Romance of Technology in American Film, Radio and Television, 1945 to 1962 by Patrick Lucanio, Gary Coville, $32.00 
This new book from McFarland examines science and science fiction in American culture beginning in the year World War II ended and going to 1962, the year of John Glenn’s orbital flight and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The radio work of Arch Oboler and the significance of his “Rocket from Manhattan,” which aired only one month after the dropping of the first atomic bomb and asked serious questions about the use of atomic energy, are examined. Other topics are the conflict between the free world and the Communist world in the context of science fiction plot lines, the dangers of science as shown in films like GODZILLA, THEM!, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, and radio and television programs, the flying saucer phenomenon and the treatment of such stories in the media (with special attention given to the 1956 documentary UFO), the changing and more positive depictions of scientists, television programs like FLASH GORDON and SPACE PATROL, the shift in the balance of world power due to the successful launching of Sputnik I by the Russians in 1957, the “end of the world” theme in science fiction, and the American journey into space. 

39.RECENT TITLES: MEDIA TIE-INS 
    BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Classic by Glen A. Larson, Robert Thurston, $14.00 
This novelization is a re-release of a pair of novelizations from two of the series' episodes. It's set at the end of a bloody thousand-year war between humans and the Cylon Empire. Peace soon turns to bloodshed when the Cylons launch an unexpected attack against humanity's twelve Colonial worlds, wiping out most of the inhabitants. 
    BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: Tempted Champions by Yvonne Navarro, $6.99 
Buffy's shaken to learn that Celina, the new girl in town, is actually a vamp who's heard of Buffy's rep. She's here to challenge the Slayer. Even Angel - in L.A. - is concerned that this time, Buffy may be in over her head. Buffy learns Celina is not just any vamp - she was once a Slayer herself. Buffy has struggled with her own dark side enough to question the subtle distinction between "Slayer" and killer. If Celina turned Buffy, and Willow restored Buffy's soul, could she possibly find love with Angel at last? And, more importantly, would she still be a hero? 
    DOCTOR WHO: Anachrophobia by Jonathan Morris, $6.95 
A disabled TARDIS forces the crew to land on a planet in revolt, among colonists trying to escape from the clutches of the Plutocratic Empire. The principal weapon in this conflict is time itself: without protection, soldiers are aged to death in seconds. 
    DOCTOR WHO: Palace of the Red Sun by Christopher Bulis, $6.95 
Interstellar tyrant Glavis Judd has usurped the world-kingdom Esselven; however, his plans for total conquest are thwarted. The royal family have escaped the planet, taking with them the keys to vital archives and systems essential to Esselven's governance. 
    PANIC ROOM by James Ellison, $6.99 
This is a novelization of the new Jodie Foster film. 
    SPACE: 1999 Alien Seed by E. C. Tubb, $5.99 
This is a re-issue of a SPACE: 1999 novel written by British science fiction author, E.C. Tubb. It's a fast-paced, adventure novel that for followers of the television series. 
    THE SCORPION KING by Max Allen Collins, $6.99 
This is a novelization of the new film. 
    SPIDER-MAN by Peter David, $6.99 
This is a novelization of the coming film. Peter David held true to the script but he fleshed it out a lot. He says, "I added a framing prologue and wrote an entire sequence detailing a 5-year-old Peter Parker's arrival at Ben and May's home after his parents died. In short, you try and take a movie story, which is told in very visual terms, and try and convert it into the more literary requirements of a novel." The book will follow the film's story closely, David said. "No differences," he said. "Just additions. Plus some in-jokes for readers. For instance, I have Aunt May and Uncle Ben, upon first learning of the existence of our hero, reacting thusly: May incredulously says, 'Spider-Man? SPIDER-MAN?' And Ben replies with a shrug, 'Apparently he does whatever a spider can.'" 
    STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION: A Hard Rain by Dean Wesley Smith, $6.99 
The Starship Enterprise has lost power and control, its own momentum carrying it ever deeper into a dangerous zone of warped space and time. And the only way out is hidden somewhere in the mean streets and back alleys of old Frisco. But so is a cold-blooded murderer. Now Dixon Hill, alias Jean-Luc Picard, must get to the bottom of a tangled mystery that threatens the lives of everyone aboard the Enterprise ! 
    STAR WARS: Jango Fett by Ron Marz, $5.95 
This Dark Horse Comics graphic novel features Jango Fett and a glimpse of Boba Fett, the most mysterious and beloved of all the STAR WARS rogues. A bounty hunter and killer is looking for a lucrative big job. When Jango is hired to recover a rare and extremely valuable artifact, he thinks this could be his biggest score. Only one obstacle stands between him and his prize: a beautiful and deadly rival! 
    STAR WARS: Jedi Vs. Sith by Darko MacAn, Raul Fernandez, $17.95 
According to legend, the Sith are always two - a master and an apprentice. It was not always this way. A thousand years ago the Sith were many and they battled endlessly with the Jedi Army of Light. Lord Kaan ruled the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness and sought the destruction of Lord Hoth and his Jedi followers. Recruited into the war by a scout, three friends venture onto the battleground and march into destinies far greater and different than any of them could have ever imagined. 

40.RECENT TITLES: OTHER BOOKS OF INTEREST 
    Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales by Stephen King, $28.00 
We don't normally include non-media related fiction in The ICS Files, but since Stephen King is such a favorite of so many club members, here it is. This is the first collection of stories King has published in nine years. It includes one O. Henry Prize winner, two other award winners, four stories published by The New Yorker, and "Riding the Bullet," King's original e-book, which is making its print debut with this anthology. 

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41.QUICK TAKES 
JAMES BOND #20 IS NOW DIE ANOTHER DAY. The upcoming 20th James Bond movie finally has a name: DIE ANOTHER DAY. According to producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions, "DIE ANOTHER DAY carries on the tradition of the Ian Fleming stories and reflects the excitement and mystery of our latest script.". . . ROBERT ALTMAN DISCUSSES THE WORST FILMS EVER DONE. Robert Altman is known for directing films that no one has ever heard of. He seems to relish obscurity. He was asked recently about the all-time worst films. "TITANIC I thought was the most dreadful piece of work I've ever seen in my entire life. Another film that I think is equally bad was AMERICAN BEAUTY. So badly acted and directed. But people like that." And I thought he was going to say MONSTER PLANET. . . . THE OUTER LIMITS IS COMING TO THE BIG SCREEN. MGM has signed a deal with the family writing team Gerald DiPego and his sons Justin and Zachary to bring THE OUTER LIMITS to the big screen. There are hopes that the film will do well enough to become a franchise. . . . SCHWARZENEGGER AND THE ZOMBIE SHUFFLE. We reported, once upon a time, that Schwarzenegger would star in the remake of I AM LEGEND (the Richard Mathesson book has previously been filmed as THE LAST MAN ON EARTH and THE OMEGA MAN). Ahnuld won't be in it after all, but will stick around to produce it. Will Smith is being approached about the role. At one point the director was to be Ridley Scott. Now it might be Michael Bay. What could be a stark nail-biter about the last man on Earth fighting off death might mutate into a loud effects-plagued series of explosions and witty wisecracks. We'll see. . . . T3 CASTS A NEW JOHN CONNOR. Nick Stahl (IN THE BEDROOM) will take on the role of an adult John Connor in TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES. Stahl, 22, takes over the role originated by Edward Furlong. . . . GOOD NEWS/ BAD NEWS FOR LOTR'S OSCAR HOPES. First the good news - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING won four Academy Awards. Now the bad news - it lost nine. It got stuck in the technical-acheivement ghetto where imaginative films often find themselves - winning for best cinematography, best score, best makeup and best visual effects. It lost in the big categories like Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Oh well, we've got two more chances. . . . DAREDEVIL IS IN PRODUCTION. After years of rumors and false starts DAREDEVIL is finally becoming a reality. Principal photography began the end of March. Based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, DAREDEVIL stars Ben Affleck as blind lawyer Matt Murdock, who leads a secret life as a masked vigilante. The film also stars Jennifer Garner (ALIAS), Michael Clarke Duncan (THE GREEN MILE), Colin Farrell, Jon Favreau, Joe Pantoliano (THE MATRIX), David Keith and newcomer Scott Terra. . . . ROLAND EMMERICH IS HEADED FOR ALIEN PRISON. You are alone on an alien vessel. You have been studied. You meet five others treated the same way, and now your alien abductors plan to attack Earth and your group must stop them. This is ALIEN PRISON. Director Roland Emmerich (INDEPENDENCE DAY, GODZILLA) bought the script by Andrew Marlowe (AIR FORCE ONE and HOLLOW MAN). He is in negotiations with Columbia to direct and produce the script. So once again, the aliens are coming to a theater near you. 

42.THE WRATH OF RAZZIE 
    The Golden Raspberries have spoken. They have decided who was the worst of 2001. The big "winner" (if that's the right word) is Tom Green and his widely reviled "shock comedy" FREDDY GOT FINGERED. The film, slammed by CNN as "the worst movie ever released by a major studio in Hollywood history," won a total of 5 gold-spray-painted $4.79 trophies, including Worst Picture. Four Awards went to Green himself, who became the first on-screen talent in the Razzies' 22-year history to attend and accept his awards. The five awards ties FREDDY with MOMMIE DEAREST, THE POSTMAN and WILD WILD WEST. 
    "I'd just like to say to all the other nominees in the audience, I don't think that I deserve it anymore than the rest of you," said Green as he accepted the Worst Picture trophy. "I'd like to say that. I don't think that it would be true, though." 
    "Winners" were announced the now-traditional 24 hours before the Academy Awards (referred to as, simply, "that OTHER Award Show"). The show came complete with a tacky opening number ("Hooray for What's No Good!") tuxedoed presenters, envelopes and clips of nominated films. Here's a look at the results: 

Worst Picture: FREDDY GOT FINGERED  (20th Century-Fox) 
Worst Actor: Tom Green/FREDDY GOT FINGERED 
Worst Actress: Mariah Carey/GLITTER (20th Century-Fox/Columbia) 
Worst Supporting Actor: Charlton Heston/CATS & DOGS (Warner Bros.)  PLANET OF THE APES (20th Century-Fox) and TOWN & COUNTRY (New Line) 
Worst Supporting Actress: Estella Warren/DRIVEN (Warner Bros.) and PLANET OF THE APES 
Worst Screen Couple: Tom Green & any animal he abuses/FREDDY GOT FINGERED 
Worst Remake or Sequel: PLANET OF THE APES (20th Century-Fox) 
Worst Director: Tom Green/FREDDY GOT FINGERED 
Worst Screenplay: FREDDY GOT FINGERED, Written by Tom Green and Derek Harvie 
43.THE SATURN NOMINATIONS ARE IN! 
    The Motion Picture Academy usually pays little attention to the field of imaginative cinema each year. They aren't the only "Academy" and the Oscar isn't the only award. 
    Welcome once again to Saturn Nominations brought to you by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. This L.A. based organization will be giving out awards for excellence in imaginative cinema for the 28th year. 
    HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE topped the nominations with nine, including best fantasy film. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING tied with BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF for the next-highest number of nominations, with eight each. 
    The Saturn awards will be presented in June in Century City. Look for the results in our July issue. 

Best Science Fiction Film: A.I. ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE, JURASSIC PARK III, LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER, THE ONE, PLANET OF THE APES, VANILLA SKY 
Best Fantasy Film: HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, MONSTERS, INC., THE MUMMY RETURNS, SHREK, SPY KIDS. 
Best Horror Film: THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, FROM HELL, HANNIBAL, JEEPERS CREEPERS, THE OTHERS, THIRTEEN GHOSTS, 
Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film:BLACK HAWK DOWN, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, JOY RIDE, THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, MEMENTO, MULHOLLAND DRIVE. 
Best Actor: Tom Cruise-VANILLA SKY, Johnny Depp-FROM HELL, Anthony Hopkins-HANNIBAL, Guy Pearce- MEMENTO, Kevin Spacey-K-PAX, Billy Bob Thornton-THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE. 
Best Actress: Kate Beckinsale-SERENDIPITY, Nicole Kidman-THE OTHERS, Angelina Jolie-LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER, Julianne Moore-HANNIBAL, Frances O'Connor-A.I. ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE, Naomi Watts-MULHOLLAND DRIVE. 
Best Supporting Actor: Robbie Coltrane-HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, Mark Decascos-BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, Ian McKellen-THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, Eddie Murphy-SHREK, Jeremy Piven-SERENDIPITY, Tim Roth-PLANET OF THE APES. 
Best Supporting Actress: Monica Bellucci-BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, Helena Bonham Carter-PLANET OF THE APES, Cameron Diaz-VANILLA SKY, Fionnula Flanagan-THE OTHERS, Frances McDormand-THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, Maggie Smith-HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE. 
Best Performance by a Younger Actor: Freddie Boath-THE MUMMY RETURNS, Justin Long-JEEPERS CREEPERS, Alakina Mann-THE OTHERS, Haley Joel Osment-A.I. ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE, Daniel Radcliffe-HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, Emma Watson-HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE. 
Best Direction: Alejandro Amenabar-THE OTHERS, Chris Columbus-HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, Christophe Gans-BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, Peter Jackson-THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, David Lynch-MULHOLLAND DRIVE, Steven Spielberg-A.I. ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE. 
Best Writing: THE OTHERS, MONSTERS, INC., BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, SHREK, A.I. ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. 
Best Music: MULHOLLAND DRIVE, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, SHREK, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, A.I. ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE, VANILLA SKY. 
Best Costume: PLANET OF THE APES, FROM HELL, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, MOULIN ROUGE. 
Best Makeup: HANNIBAL, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE MUMMY RETURNS, PLANET OF THE APES, VANILLA SKY. 
Best Special Effects: A.I. ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, JURASSIC PARK III, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE MUMMY RETURNS, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF. 
Best Network Television Series: ANGEL, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, DARK ANGEL, ENTERPRISE, 
SMALLVILLE, THE X-FILES. 
Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series: ANDROMEDA, THE CHRONICLE, FARSCAPE, THE INVISIBLE MAN, STARGATE SG-l, WITCHBLADE. 
Best Single Television Presentation: EARTH VS. THE SPIDER, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK - THE REAL STORY, THE LOST EMPIRE, THE MISTS OF AVALON, SHE CREATURE, TEENAGE CAVEMAN. 
Best Actor in a Television Series: Richard Dean Anderson- STARGATE SG-l, Scott Bakula-ENTERPRISE, David Boreanaz-ANGEL, Ben Browder-FARSCAPE, Robert Patrick-THE X-FILES, Tom Welling-SMALLVILLE. 
Best Actress in a Television Series: Jessica Alba-DARK ANGEL, Gillian Anderson-THE X-FILES, Claudia Black- FARSCAPE, Yancy Butler-WITCHBLADE, Sarah Michelle Gellar-BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, Kristin Kreuk- SMALLVILLE. 
Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series: Christopher Judge-STARGATE SG-l, James Marsters-BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, Michael Rosenbaum-SMALLVILLE, Anthony Simcoe-FARSCAPE, Connor Trinneer- ENTERPRISE, Michael Weatherly-DARK ANGEL. 
Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series: Jolene Blalock-DARK ANGEL, Gigi Edgley-FARSCAPE, Annabeth Gish-THE X-FILES, Alyson Hannigan-BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, Amanda Tapping-STARGATE SG-l, Michelle Trachtenberg- BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. 
Best DVD Release: BRUISER, GINGER SNAPS, LADY AND THE TRAMP 2: SCAMP'S ADVENTURE, PANIC, RAT, WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY. 
Best DVD Special Edition Release: DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN, LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER, MOULIN ROUGE, PLANET OF THE APES, SHREK. 
Best DVD Classic Film Release: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (Director's Edition), STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE, SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, SUSPIRA. 
Special Award Recipients: The Dr. Donald A. Reed Award - Sherry Lansing, The Life Career Award - Stan Lee, Drew Struzan, Special Achievement Award - Anchor Bay Entertainment, The George Pal Memorial Award - Samuel Z. Arkoff (posthumously) 
44.THE CAT IN THE BEER-SOAKED HAT 
    When you think of Dr. Seuss's most popular character, the Cat in the Hat, do any movie images come to mind? Well they do if you're CAT IN THE HAT producer Brian Grazer. "I think of him like Bluto, the character [John] Belushi played in ANIMAL HOUSE," the producer said. "He took the characters on a ride more intense than anyone expected, and that's what the Cat does." Hmmmm. 
    Mike Myers will headline the live-action movie. "The blend of his irreverence works very well with the Seussian child sensibilities," Grazer said. He said that Seuss's widow, Audrey Geisel, approved of Myers' casting. "Having Mike puts the story on steroids," Grazer said. Myers replaces Tim Allen, who left the project to work on SANTA CLAUSE 2. 
    Myers will undergo prosthetic transformations from makeup guru Rick Baker. Unlike Jim Carrey's HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, CAT will be aimed more at adults. 
45.DEVLIN STUMBLED ON THE TITLE, "EIGHT-LEGGED FREAKS" 
    Dean Devlin, producer of the upcoming giant-spider movie EIGHT-LEGGED FREAKS, said that the film's title started out as a joke. Regular ICS Files readers might remember that producers changed the film's original title, ARAC ATTACK, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, to prevent people mistaking it for "Iraq Attack." "The studio re-titled the movie ATTACK OF THE KILLER SPIDERS," Devlin said. "I said, 'No, if you're going to go in that direction, you have to go much more campy. Do a title like BIG ASS SPIDERS or EIGHT-LEGGED FREAKS. Something like that.' A week later, I got a call from marketing saying, 'They love your title!' 'What title?' 'EIGHT-LEGGED FREAKS.' 'No! I was just kidding!'" Devlin said with a laugh. But he admitted, "I really like the title now. In the beginning, I was like, 'I was kidding,' but now I like it, because not only does it represent the time, it also represents the tone of the movie. This movie is that kind of silly." 
    EIGHT-LEGGED FREAKS is a low-budget, summer monster-movie homage to films like THEM and TARANTULA. It features a whole menagerie of arachnids, Devlin said. "There's the trapdoor spiders, which come from the ground, literally out of trapdoors and yank people and animals down into the trapdoors. There are the orb weavers, and the males web up their prey and drag them to the queen. The queen then sucks it dry from the inside out, while it's in the cocoon. Then there's the spitters. Those are the ceiling crawlers, and they spit this goo. Then there's the tarantula, which is like the big-muscled tank of the group. Then there's the jumpers. The jumpers can leap. There's a sequence, [which] I think is one of the most fun sequences I've ever worked on, where you've got a bunch of dirt bikers racing for their lives from these jumpers, who are jumping at 60 miles an hour! It's just a wild, fun sequence." 
    Look for EIGHT-LEGGED FREAKS this summer. It opens July 12. 

46.FREDDY VS. JASON IS FINALLY GOING TO HAPPEN 
    New Line co-chairman Bob Shaye said that he has green-lighted a script for the long-proposed FREDDY VS. JASON movie, based on characters from the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and FRIDAY THE 13th franchises. "The basic idea is how does Freddy come back after his banishment and how does he use Jason and eventually have to vanquish him, and then how do the children of Elm Street have to get rid of everybody?" Shaye said. 
    Shaye said the proposed movie makes one important reference to a tradition of both ELM STREET and FRIDAY THE 13th. "It acknowledges [them] to the extent that at the end of every one of the Freddy films and at the end of every one of the Jason films, the bad guys get sent back," Shaye said. "Now, I think one of the two characters is going to try to enlist the other in concert to come back again and maybe not have to leave. That's basically what the storyline is." The new script does not specifically address events in the latest NIGHTMARE movie, Wes Craven's NEW NIGHTMARE, in which Shaye and other New Line Cinema stars appeared as themselves. 
    Shaye said the new film also has a sense of humor. "It's funny in a sort of macabre, cynical way, which is what all of the Freddy scripts have been," he said. "It doesn't abuse the fan base or condescend [or say], 'We can make jokes, because this is really all bullsh-t.' It's scary, it's wry, and in fact even today one of the writers was alluding to the Renny Harlin ELM STREET [PART 4], where in the waterbed scene, he said, 'How do you like this wet dream?' That's funny, but it's nasty." 

47.SCREENWRITER SAYS "NO" TO A KINDER, GENTLER GHOST RIDER? 
    David Goyer (the sreenwriter for BLADE II) wrote the script for the proposed GHOST RIDER movie. He said that the on-again, off-again project will have to get by without him. "I'm hearing now they want a kinder, gentler GHOST RIDER," Goyer said. "The film that [director Stephen] Norrington and [Nicholas] Cage and I would have made was a very tough film. It would have been fantastic, but it was a dark movie. I'm hearing now that they want something with humor in it, too. I don't know, man. It's kind of an oxymoron to me. The guy's got a flaming skull. I guess you can do Happy Meals with that. [But] Norrington and I both said we didn't want to be involved with a PG GHOST RIDER." 
    The movie now goes into turnaround. It will hit the stack of potential Nicholas Cage movies. 

48.DEL TORO GOES FROM BLADE II TO HELLBOY 
    Director Guillermo del Toro said that his upcoming comic-based movie HELLBOY will differ from his latest film, BLADE II, despite their common comic book origins. "It's going to be a great comic-book movie, but it's going to be much more personal and very character-oriented, although it will have a big portion of action," del Toro said. 
    Where BLADE II has fast and furious martial-arts battles, del Toro promises a unique tone to HELLBOY's action scenes. "Very different, because Hellboy is not an agile, fast guy," del Toro said. "He must weigh 650 pounds of muscle and rock because of the hand. So it's basically a completely different direction." 
    As for casting, del Toro said, "All I know is Hellboy is Ron Perlman." HELLBOY is currently in development. 

49.EXPECT BIGGER F/X IN TWO TOWERS 
    Oscar-winning LORD OF THE RINGS visual effects wizards told reporters that the special effects in the second RINGS film, THE TWO TOWERS, will surpass those of the first one. "It has to top the first one in both quality and quantity of effects due to its sheer epic nature," effects wrangler Jim Rygiel said backstage at the Oscar ceremony. "There is going to be a completely [computer-generated] villain, huge battle scenes, and it's going to be much bigger. This one was sort of like a warm-up." 
    Orlando Bloom, who reprises the role of elvish archer Legolas in TOWERS said that the biggest challenge was the climactic Battle of Helm's Deep, which takes place entirely in the rain. "When it's overcast and raining, that just heightens all the dramatic tension. That was nine weeks of night shoots that pretty much broke most of us. It was physically very demanding. We were filming it on a quarry, so just the uneven ground was a challenge, and it was nights." 
    Richard Taylor, who won an Oscar for makeup and visual effects on the first RINGS film, said that the creatures in the second and third films echo the movies' metaphorical progression. "We tried very hard to create the analogous journey, from cottage-industry England right through to industrial-revolution northern England," Taylor said. "Through that transition, the worlds are populated by different creatures of very different organic feel. There's very much a humanoid feeling of the cave troll, the Ray Harryhausen-esque watcher in the water. More fantastical as we journey into film two. The Mûmak [an elephantine beast] stands as the biggest thing we've ever made. It was 14-and-a-half meters square, a massive structure, took 18 house-removal tracks to get it to location. You'll be seeing that in film two. The creatures just become more and more fantastical and more visceral and real and gritty as they take on the mantle of Sauron's world." 
    Unfortunately you've got a wait before you'll be able to see any of these splendid images. THE TWO TOWERS opens Dec. 18. 

50.THE MARVEL MOVIE MACHINE IS READY TO CRANK 'EM OUT 
    Marvel Comics studio chief Avi Arad announced that plans are already in the works to begin shooting a sequel to Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN movie, though the first film doesn't open until May. Raimi is on board to direct the proposed sequel, which is eyeing a January 2003 production start, the site reported. 
    Arad added that plans are underway for BLADE III and HULK 2 (HULK just went into production in March with a June, 2003 release target), which is in development and targeted for a May 2005 release, and an Elektra spinoff of the upcoming DAREDEVIL movie. Marvel still plans feature-film versions of Dr. Strange, Fantastic Four, Deathlok and Namor, based on its Sub-Mariner series. 
    For SPIDER-MAN 2, everything except the costume will change, Arad said. "He'll deal with new villains. He'll deal with new issues. It takes the first movie, the origin movie really, to tell the story to explain the world. It's tougher to deal with more than one villain. It's really easy in our universe to take our sequels and make them uniquely new from sequel to sequel." 

51.MEN IN BLACK 2 ALIENS REVEALED 
    "Men in MEN IN BLACK 2 make-up effect wizard Rick Baker said that “just trying to come up with something that you haven't seen a million times before” was his key challenge in concocting new creatures for the movie. From the looks of the aliens already revealed, like Split Guy, Spider Bunny, Tendrils, Robot Squid and Corn Face, Baker and his crew may have accomplished their mission. 
    To see for yourself what these strange creations look like, head on over to the official site for "MEN IN BLACK 2. They'll be revealing a new one every Friday. MEN IN BLACK 2 hits theaters July 3. 

52.DEPP IN NEVERLAND 
    Johnny Depp will play Sir James M. Barrie, the Scottish author of the play Peter Pan, in Miramax Films' NEVERLAND, to be directed by Marc Forster (MONSTER'S BALL). Shooting is set to begin in June in London. 
    David Magee adapted NEVERLAND from Allan Knee's play "The Man Who Was Peter Pan." It tells the story of how Peter Pan came to be staged, based on the author's relationship with four fatherless boys and their mother in turn-of-the-century London. 

53.POTTER PATTER 
    Actor Jason Isaacs, who played Mel Gibson's nemesis in THE PATRIOT, has signed on to play another slimy character - Lucius Malfoy, father of Harry Potter's antagonistic schoolmate Draco Malfoy. Isaacs will be in the HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, along with the casting of Miriam Margolyes as Professor Sprout and Gemma Jones as Madam Pomfrey. As mentioned in an earlier ICS Files, Kenneth Branagh will play the dashing (and useless) Gilderoy Lockhart. 

54.MABIUS TALKS RESIDENT EVIL 2 
    Eric Mabius, who co-starred in RESIDENT EVIL, said that he may appear in director Paul Anderson's proposed sequel - even before the first film hit theaters. The next one is tentatively titled RESIDENT EVIL: NEMESIS, with director Paul W.S. Anderson returning to write and produce the sequel. 
    In a possible spoiler for the sequel, Mabius said,  "This [film] brings us up to above ground in Raccoon City. I'm going to be Nemesis in the sequel. I'll be putting on 30 or 40 pounds and three or four hours a day in prosthetics. This guy has tentacles and all this crazy stuff going on." In the first film, Mabius plays Matt, a character who did not appear in any game. Matt gets infected with the T virus, and the evil scientists take him away, saying, "We want him in the Nemesis program." To play his mutated form in the sequel, Mabius said that he will study the game in which Nemesis appears. 
    "I prepare to an annoying extent usually, so I'll probably dissect every possible aspect . . . of the character," Mabius said. "Obviously, it will be predicated on where the character goes in the script, but I'll gather everything I can about the character [from the game]." Anderson denied that a script was completed. But Mabius suggested it was a done deal. "When Bernd Eichinger, the head of Constantin Films, saw an early cut in December, he wanted Paul to start writing the sequel," Mabius said. "Based on some of the pre-sales alone, Sony is demanding a sequel already. It's pretty exciting and wasn't really anticipated." 

55.SPIDER-MAN 2 IS IN EARLY PRE-PRODUCTION 
    Laura Ziskin, producer of Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN movie, announced that work is about to commence on a sequel, even though the first movie doesn't open until May. Tobey Maguire is set to reprise his role as Peter Parker in the proposed sequel. 
    "We're making the deal, so I don't think I can announce it," Ziskin said, but confirmed that director Raimi will be back behind the camera for any further Spider-Man adventures. "We wouldn't do it without him." Production on a second film could begin as early as January. 

56.THE FORCE COMES A CALLIN' TO MOVIE EXHIBITORS 
    Exhibitors who watched a 10-minute film featuring scenes from STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES at their big annual convention in Las Vegas indicated that they liked what they saw. Produced with digital cameras and screened with digital projectors, the film had what one attendee called "an atmosphere that just doesn't look like regular film. ... It just looks so impossible, some of the images that have been created here." Producer Rick McCallum told the exhibitors at the screening: "The one thing I can promise you is this EPISODE II will deliver and big time." 
    Let's hope this isn't just pre-release hype. It would be nice to go to a really fun STAR WARS film. 

57.THE JIZZ-GUYS STRIKE BACK! 
    Some time back we ran a story on a suit filed by Lucasfilm Ltd.(a company that has enough money to buy their own working model of a Deathstar) against an oddball porno company called Media Market Group over an adult parody called STARBALLZ. Seemed Mr. Lucas didn't care for the sleaze-by-association that the upstart gave their premium line. Lucasfilm Ltd. obtained a restraining order against Media Market Group last year after telling a California judge that STARBALLZ infringed on Lucas' intellectual property rights. The animated parody follows the adventures of a sex-starved rebel across the galaxy; several characters' names are bawdy takeoffs on those in STAR WARS. 
    A federal judge in Oakland, Calif., later threw Lucasfilm's complaint out, saying it was unlikely anyone would confuse Media Market Group's product with the STAR WARS movies. Judge Claudia Wilken also agreed with Media Market Group that the parody was protected by the First Amendment. 
    You might have figured that would be that. Media Market group should thrilled that they survived an encounter with George Lucas's legal wrecking crew. But no, they're not done yet. 
    Media Market Group is suing Lucas for $140 million, claiming that a spokesperson for the producer-director-mogul falsely accused the company of marketing its fare to kids. During the earlier proceedings, Lucasfilm spokeswoman Lynne Hale said that "We feel strongly that the law does not allow for parody to be a defense to a pornographic use of someone else's intellectual property, especially when that use is directed to children." 
    Media Market Group takes issue with the implication that it markets its products to children. Its filing in the libel suit states that the company "has never directed pornography to children; the cover of STARBALLZ states 'Adult Only' in three places." 

58.THE NEW TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE WILL BE LOW GORE 
    Michael Bay is remaking THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE without the meathooks and hammer to the head of its illustrious first incarnation. Bay (never accused of being "subtle" with movies like PEARL HARBOR and ARMAGEDDON) wants to replace the blood with psychological terror. Bay is involved with a director's committee against violence. He's taking a cue from such bloodless but scary smash hits as THE SIXTH SENSE and THE OTHERS. 
    He's looking for BLAIR WITCH style scares. He even mimicked BLAIR WITCH in the teaser he created to get the project off the ground, complete with a dark screen, loud footsteps and heavy breathing. 

59.ROBO-AHNULD TERMINATES HUMANS AGAIN IN WESTWORLD 
    The name "Schwarzenegger" once had a lush green sound to it - the sound of currency drifting into studio pockets. He made THE TERMINATOR, money rolled in. T2 - nice thick nine-digit sums of it came cascading into hungry studio accounts. CONAN, TOTAL RECALL, TRUE LIES - jeez, this guy poops gold, they think. Like a latter day King Midas, every film he touches turns to gold, doesn't it? Well, maybe not always. There was stuff like TWINS, KINDERGARTEN COP and JUNIOR, but heck, even THEY made money. Not a lot. But some. And when it came to action, he was Hollywood's ATM machine - shooting money out of every orifice. 
    Then came BATMAN & ROBIN in 1997. Then END OF DAYS in 1999. Then THE 6TH DAY in 2000 (ouch!). Then COLLATERAL DAMAGE in 2002. Suddenly the studios beautiful golden goose could only lay rotten eggs. 
    Schwarzenegger has listened to The Beatles' advice - he's gotten, "back to where he once belonged." He's revisiting familiar hits of the past in hopes of catching fire again. 
    We've discussed his work on TERMINATOR 3, the third CONAN THE BARBARIAN and TRUE LIES 2. Now Ahnuld is stepping out of the world of sequels for the world of remakes. He's about to star in a remake of Michael Crichton's 1973 hit WESTWORLD. In WESTWORLD Schwarzenegger will take on the role of the Old West gunman robot (played by Yul Brynner in the original) at a fantasy vacation spa where customers are allowed to "kill" him. However, when the robot's circuits go wacky, it's his turn to hunt down and kill the visitors (Michael Chrichton's story of a high-tech resort where the amusements kill the visitors got re-cycled into JURASSIC PARK). 
    "I am very excited to be working on WESTWORLD, " Schwarzenegger said. "I loved the original film when I saw it in 1973 and have wanted to remake it for several years. After following the project for some time, I am really thrilled it has finally come together at Warner Bros." 
    Seeing Schwarzenegger as an unstoppable killer robot again should do a lot to help him reclaim his momentum. We'll keep an eye on his progress for you. 

60.COPPOLA SAYS HOLLYWOOD'S MISSED THE BOAT ABOUT 9/11 
    Francis Ford Coppola has criticized Hollywood for failing to tackle subjects like terrorism and violence in bolder ways than it has in the past following the Sept. 11 attacks. Coppola said that he had been "hopeful that such a historical event would bring about films of greater content that tried to shed light on human contemporary life . . . [and] that would be more useful to people to try to understand how to live together." Coppola indicated that he had put his own film, MEGALOPOLIS, on hold following the attacks, since it dealt in part with a Soviet satellite falling to earth and demolishing a part of New York. "It took me a while to really scratch my head and think, 'well, how am I going to deal with this?'" he said. "I believe I've come up with a way to approach it now." 

61.JOHN WOO WANTS HIS FELLOW FILMMAKERS TO STOP THE VIOLENCE 
    The name "John Woo" has become synonymous with violence on the screen. If someone says the words "a John Woo film" we usually don't conjure the image of caring and compassionate people sitting down and reasoning together. His films celebrate the surreal quality of extreme violence. Lead characters tend to float through his films, both arms extended straight in front as their long jackets billow behind them while in each of their clenched fists high caliber pistols erupt with flame and death. 
    So it comes as something of a shock to hear that Mr. Woo has pleaded with Hollywood directors to cut down on violence in movies, after last year's terrorist attacks on America. The Chinese moviemakers believes September 11 has changed the American film industry. Woo says, "It's made us feel that when it comes to violent movies there should be some control. We should have some changes. We should instead make movies with encouraging stories, stories that give people hope and promote mutual understanding." 
    John Woo's next project is WINDTALKERS, starring Nicolas Cage. It's a World War II flick. It'll be chock-a-block full of extensive and graphic battle action. 

62.TERRY GILLIAM ATTACKS EYE CANDY 
    Veteran Hollywood director Terry Gilliam has laid into the modern cult of making movies which are all style and no content. The former Monty Python man and TIME BANDITS and TWELVE MONKEYS moviemaker says the industry needs to focus more on ideas and less on cute camera angles. He says, "The guys who are shooting films now are technically brilliant. But there's no content in their films. I marvel at what I see and say: 'God, I wish I could have done a shot like that.' But the shots are secondary for my films, and with some of these films, it's all about the shots. I watched TOMB RAIDER last night. Technically, it's brilliant, but it's just crap! Every shot is beautifully composed, the lighting is great, the sets are great. But what's the point? I'm not sure people know what points to make. I'm not sure how in touch with reality anybody is, everybody's too busy phoning each other." 

63.THE HEALTH OF HOLLYWOOD BY THE NUMBERS 
    Don't be fooled by MGM's logo, "art for the sake of art," Hollywood was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be (world without end - amen) driven by numbers. It's a business. If the numbers are there, they're elated. If the dollars are down - it's panic button time. As we steer our way through difficult financial times for much of the rest of the country, movie production and theatrical exhibition seem to be doing just fine, thank you. 
    The average Hollywood film cost $47.7 million to produce in 2001, down 13 percent from 2000 and the lowest level since 1996, according to Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America. However, he said, marketing costs per movie averaged $31 million, 14 percent above those for the previous year. The combined $78.7 million is 4.1 percent below the combined amount for 2000, Valenti observed. "This is a most welcome piece of fiscal arithmetic," he said. The MPAA chief also noted that while the Sept. 11 attacks may have dampened business elsewhere in the nation, he had little if any effect on movie attendance. He also observed that the rise in the number of admissions last year was partly driven by the average moviegoer attending more frequently than in previous years - not by an increase in the actual number of moviegoers. He said that 27 percent of all moviegoers bought 82 percent of the tickets. 
    John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), has indicated that the industry is well on its way to recovery following a year and a half that saw one theater chain after another seek bankruptcy protection. Fithian said, "We essentially had our recession before the country did. . . . The theater chains emerging from the bankruptcy process are leaner and meaner." 

64.IMAGINATIVE CINEMA FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 
    APRIL 5: HIGH CRIMES is about a San Francisco attorney (Ashley Judd)  who teams up with a former military attorney (Morgan Freeman) to defend her husband, (Jim Caviezel), in military court. The military has declared him a deserter, charging him with participating in a mass killing in El Salvador. Can she get him free? As the disturbing top secret details of the crime are revealed, will she want to? The director is Carl Franklin (DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS) The screenwriters are Yuri Zeltser (BLACK & WHITE, EYE OF THE STORM) and Cary Bickley (THE GUN IN BETTY LOU'S HANDBAG) 

    APRIL 12: CHANGING LANES is the story of what happens one day in New York when a young lawyer (Ben Affleck) and a businessman (Samuel L. Jackson) get their lives entangled in a minor automobile accident on F.D.R. Drive. Their mutual road rage escalates into a feud whose stakes spiral up to very dangerous levels. Toni Collette, William Hurt and Amanda Peet are also featured in the cast. The director is Roger Michell (NOTTING HILL). The screenwriters are Chap Taylor (a former production assistant making his debut as a writer) and Michael Tolkin (DEEP IMPACT). 
    One small note about the production - when the cataclysm of September 11 shook New York numerous movies were delayed or re-located. This was the first film to shoot in New York following that tragic event. It may seem trivial now. At the time it was a supreme show of confidence. No one knew if the terrorists intended to immediately return to further assault the city. 
    FRAILTY  is the story of an FBI hunt for a serial killer who calls himself God's Hands. A man, Fenton Meeks (Matthew McConaughey) comes forth to tell the FBI that he thinks his brother Adam may be the man they're looking for. The film uses flashbacks to tell the story of Meeks' disturbing childhood at the hands of a father (Bill Paxton) who believed he was on a divine mission to destroy demons that inhabit human bodies. Besides starring in the movie, Bill Paxton will be making his directoral debut. The movie's screenwriter, Brent Hanley, will be making his screenwriting debut with this film. 

    APRIL 19: THE SCORPION KING is the backstory to the recent MUMMY RETURNS. Set in very early ancient Egypt, this is the story of how a peasant (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) who wreaks revenge on a marauding army who pillaged his village eventually becomes the First Pharaoh of Egypt, known as the Scorpion King. The cast also features Michael Clarke Duncan and Kelly Hu. The director is Chuck Russell (BLESS THE CHILD, ERASER, THE MASK). The rather sizable writing staff includes Jonathan Hales ( STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES), David Hayter (X-MEN), Will Osborne (DR. JEKYLL AND MS. HYDE) and Stephen Sommers (the writer/director of THE MUMMY and THE MUMMY RETURNS). 
    MURDER BY NUMBERS centers on two gifted high school students (Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt) who commit a series of "perfect murders." They engage in a battle of wits with an police detective (Sandra Bullock) who is working with a green partner (Ben Chaplin). Through her investigation, the profiler discovers dark secrets in the teens' past that explain how the two could be capable of such cold, calculated crimes. The director is Barbet Schroeder (SINGLE WHITE FEMALE). The screenwriter is Tony Gayton (THE SALTON SEA). 

    APRIL 26: JASON X is set in the year 2455, long after humanity has abandoned Earth as a lifeless planet. An expedition of archaeological students discovers a research facility where two people are cryogenically frozen: one a young woman, the other a large male in a strange mask. The ice begins to thaw, and so the students bring the bodies back to their spaceship, having no idea what they just unleashed on the future, and of course, on themselves - Jason.  The director is James Isaac (who has mostly worked in other capacities in the business but did direct 1989's THE HORROR SHOW). The screenwriter is Todd Farmer (making his screenwriting debut). Todd Farmer based much of JASON X on ALIEN, even naming one of the characters (who he would incidentally play) Dallas, after Tom Skeritt's character in the Ridley Scott film. 
    This movie's been in the can for sometime. Its release has been delayed a half dozen times - usually not a sign of high confidence in a film. It's director says it was because of their complex post production visual effects that took so long to do. See for yourself and judge. 

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65.STUDIOS LOOK AT DivX 5.0 FOR MOVIES ONLINE 
    To begin with, just like old Jacob Marley, Divx is dead as a doornail. It's so terribly and totally dead that a young Dutch software designer, Jerome Rota, better known as Gej, has carved out a whole new way of downloading movies and in a mocking tribute has called his software DivX. 
    The irony behind the name was how the two formats were conceived. Divx was a means of setting up a toll booth and charging customers for every peak they took at a movie. DivX was designed to kick down those doors. DivX 5.0 is a compression technology that promises to be to video what MP3 is to music. DivX compresses unwieldy video clips into small files so they can be easily transferred over the Web. It's been the tool of choice among people looking to pirate movies Online. 
    Now, however, the DivX moniker may not be as ironic as it once was. DivX is striving to go legit. The company has struck a deal with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices to include the technology in upcoming chips. DivX 5.0 contains digital rights management, or DRM, technology, which would protect movies from being bootlegged. In a departure from its underground roots company is working closely with movie companies. The struggle to put movies Online may have just taken a great leap forward. 
    Studios, many of whom have been angry over the slow rollout of the cable industry's digital Video-On-Demand service through the country, are licking their lips over this new development. Their long-term dream has been to bypass video retailers (and theaters if possible) and go directly to the public. DivX, long considered a bootlegging nightmare, could be the means to help them realize their avaricious dreams. 

66.A HIDDEN EPISODE II SITE OPENS 
    Eagle-eyed viewers of the new trailer for STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES noticed an unusual link at the end of the credits. The link takes users to a mock news site, Holonet News, that is set in the universe of the prequel films. 
    The site features news stories about developments in the galaxy at the time of EPISODE II, including Senator Palpatine's efforts to create a clone army, a central plot point in the new movie. EPISODE II opens May 16. 

67.SPIDER-MAN'S TRAILER DEBUTS ON THE WWW 
    SPIDER-MAN's trailer has spun on the Web before it hits theaters. The new trailer debuted March 27 at www.sony.com/spider-man. It's presented exclusively in Apple's QuickTime format in three sizes, including full-screen, and will have English, French, Spanish, German and Italian versions. 
    "By placing this trailer exclusively Online, we are giving fans everywhere an opportunity to get caught in SPIDER-MAN's  world wide web," said Geoffrey Ammer, President of Marketing for Columbia TriStar Marketing Group. "This Internet exclusive is also our way of saying 'thank you' to the Online community that has so enthusiastically followed and supported the development and production of SPIDER-MAN over the past several years." 
    The trailer will mark the final glimpse of the movie for fans before it hits theaters May 3. The visual effects will be showcased, including shots of SPIDER-MAN swinging through the city with the use of his webshooters and crawling along buildings. 

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68.SANYO SAYS THIN IS IN 
    Imagine a TV screen that's really thin, I mean REALLY thin, I mean Callista Flockhart after a long fast thin, and you probably still can't envision a screen as wafer-thin as Sanyo's new TV. They've introduced a new TV with a screen about the thickness of a credit card (1 mm) and a crystal clear picture. 
    Traditionally, television sets have hogged space in living rooms all over the world, no thanks to the cumbersome cathode ray tube, the component that projects light and images onto screens now. So the bigger your screen, the more likely you will feel cramped in your own living room. Enter Sanyo's new technology for making super-slim TV sets - electro-luminescence. It lights up the screen by sending electric currents through it, eliminating the need for back-lighting. 
    This could change the way we watch TV. Think of a TV that you could put in a briefcase and then comfortably lift that case with one hand. It could travel to any room in the house or anywhere that had an electrical outlet. 
    If it sounds good to you then start saving now. The price of the screen alone is likely to cost about 10,000 yen ($137) a square inch. If I were to replace my 61-inch TV with the new Sanyo it would cost more than $200,000. Like early TV's, VCR's, calculators, DVD players, computers and other widely used consumer electronics, if there's apt to be a strong market for it the price will likely plummet. 

69.MAYBE WE'LL GET TO SEE THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE IN 70MM 
    IMAX has developed a method to digitally convert films shot on conventional 35mm film into the 70mm IMAX format. Brad Wechsler, co-CEO of IMAX said that the company had spent five years developing the digital remastering process because "we thought it was necessary for our long-term growth." The first film to be re-released in the format, he said, will be the 1995 film APOLLO 13, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard. No release date was announced. 

70.3-D TV IS IN THE CRYSTAL 
    Researchers at UCLA have devised a method to produce 3-D television by manipulating the molecular action of crystalline materials, according to the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The publication said that the advance could "do for television and computers what the transistor did for electronics." Although experiments continue to be conducted into producing 3-D images with laser light beams, the new process would cause solid images literally to project out of a TV set and change form rapidly. "We realized this could be a technological breakthrough. There are no examples that I know of of solids made to behave in this way," according to project leader Miguel Garcia-Garibay. 
    The research raises the prospect that information and images revealed by light passing through these crystalline materials could achieve virtually any shape, or a series of shapes one right after another, and very rapidly. Parts of the crystals can be brightened, darkened or change colors nearly instantly, in billionths of a second, in the presence of electric and magnetic fields that control the three-dimensional shaping. 
    In less than a decade, we might be able sit back and revel in solid-looking images that literally project out from a television-like device. In addition to the possibility of 3-D TV, the solid-crystal molecules could act as ultrafast switches in optical computers. Stacked in a cube several inches high, they could provide unprecedented storage potential, perhaps many billion times that of current devices. Speed of access would prove dramatically faster than is possible with current computer designs. 
    The crystalline materials could be eventually produced in bulk, similar in form to large plastic blocks. As more is learned, researchers expect to reduce costs and improve manufacturing efficiencies. The UCLA team is making rapid progress, Garcia-Garibay says, and holds out the prospect that commercial versions of the crystalline molecules could be available in a few years. 

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71.BLOCKBUSTER WANTS TO BREAK THE WINDOW 
    There's a technical term in the video business. It's called "rental window." Its fate could have a strong influence over how you buy and rent videos. 
    A rental window is the gap of time between a VHS (usually) film being released as a very expensive rental and its eventual re-release as a sell-through. Until recently its first release may have carried a retail of over $100. It's eventual pricing descent might lead it to around $20 or less. 
    Large sell-through minded retailers (led by Best Buys) have advocated doing away with the window. The video rental people (led by Blockbuster) have advocated its preservation. In a sudden reversal Blockbuster's CEO, John Antioco, said that based on their experience with strong dollars both on the rental and sale of the same DVD titles that, "it's in the best interest of everyone to eliminate [the rental window] altogether." 
    Blockbuster has a very loud voice in how studios direct their policies. With two of the largest customers, Blockbuster and Best Buys, on the same page it may not be long until every movie, regardless of format, releases to home video as an affordable title. 

72.LEARN ABOUT DVD EASTER EGGS 
    DVD designers are a fun bunch. They like to leave little surprises for viewers. They're called "easter eggs." They may be hidden images or words. They may add to your viewing experience, make you scratch your head in puzzlement or just make you laugh. Now there's a site that tells you where these hidden treats are lurking and how to unlock them. It's called DVDEasterEggs.com. Drop by there. You might find that you've been missing some of the best parts of your favorite films! 

73.BORDER'S BOOKS SAYS GOOD-BYE TO VHS 
    Border's is phasing out all of its VHS tapes except for children's, exercise and certain big theatrical new releases. DVD already accounts for over 80% of their video revenue so it's a logical move. 
    Much of the problem is competition. WalMart's devouring their competitors with low prices. Bookstores generally don't low-ball prices or offer special deals and discounts. Bookstore customers are already paying an average of $7.50 more for every DVD they buy compared to discounters like Best Buy, WalMart and Target. That same stubborn loyalty that prompts buyers to spend extra hasn't translated over to video cassettes. 

74.NEW LINE PLANS THREE RINGS VIDEO RELEASES 
    New Line is planning three different releases for THE LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. The first ones will be a PG-13 version. The last will carry an "R" rating. 
    The PG-13 version will be available Aug. 6. IT arrives on VHS and DVD. It'll be a straight transition of the movie that you saw on the screen. There will be a second double-disc DVD of that version that will include a 10-minute behind-the-scenes preview teaser of TWO TOWERS as part of two hours of supplemental material. 
    An second "special-extended-edition" will release on November 12 (five weeks before the sequel hits theaters on Dec. 18). The extended version on VHS and DVD will include more than 30 minutes of extra footage that likely will generate an "R" rating. A four-disc DVD version of the extended edition also will include more than six hours of supplemental material. 

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75.THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES 
    Imagine this: a young man is living in a small apartment in Berlin. The year is 1926. His landlady's beautiful daughter, Lulu, liked to pick up money as an occasional prostitute. When her outraged boyfriend suddenly appears at the apartment house, the young man agrees to help her out. He conceals her client in his room. He immediately recognized his naked guest as a man known only as Galitzenstein, the president of Maxim Films, and, introducing himself as a screenwriter, offered him a script to read. Hearing the raging boyfriend in the next room vow that he would slit the throat of any man he caught with Lulu, Galitzenstein hefted the script in his hand and said: "I'll buy it. It feels like a good story." 
    That marked the improbable beginning of the career of a man who would go on to change the look of Hollywood films. That was how Billy Wilder came to movie making. 
    Samuel Wilder was born June 22, 1906, in the town of Sucha, in a section of Poland that was then in the Austro-Hungarian empire. His mother, Eugenia, who died in Auschwitz during World War II, had lived in the United States in her youth and nicknamed her second son "Billy" because of her fascination with the American frontier hero Buffalo Bill Cody. 
    He fled Germany as Hitler came to power. He arrived in Hollywood in 1934, unable to speak English, and after a six-month contract with Columbia expired, he was out of work for two years. "I kind of starved for a little bit," he said. "I shared a room with Peter Lorre, and we lived on a can of soup a day." 
    Wilder taught himself English by listening to baseball games on the radio and going to movies, forcing himself to learn 20 new words a day. For decades, he instructed his collaborators - first Charles Brackett and later I.A.L. Diamond - to correct immediately any mistake he made in writing the language. 
    "Most of the refugees had a secret hope: 'Hitler will be defeated and I will go back home,' " said Wilder, who became a U.S. citizen in 1939. "I never had such a thought. This was home. . . . I had a clean-cut vision: 'This is where I am going to die."' 
    Frustrated by what other directors did with his scripts, Wilder made his solo directing debut in 1942 with the romantic comedy THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR with Milland and Ginger Rogers. 
    "I'm not a born director," he told Crowe. "I became a director because so many of our scripts had been screwed up."
    During his long career Wilder came up with classic images on film such as Marilyn Monroe's dress flying up over a subway grating in SEVEN YEAR ITCH and Gloria Swanson's dramatic crazed waltz down the staircase in SUNSET BOULEVARD as well as Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon's comedic role as men disguised as women in SOME LIKE IT HOT. 
    Known for delving into the dark side of American life, and working with some of the world's greatest screen legends, Wilder made dark dramas such as DOUBLE INDEMNITY, an alcoholic's struggle with his addiction in THE LOST WEEKEND, and comedies such THE FORTUNE COOKIE (the first film to pair Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau). 
    He worked with Greta Garbo in 1939's NINOTCHKA, Marlene Dietrich in A FOREIGN AFFAIR, Ginger Rogers in 1942's THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR, as well as the anti-Nazi drama FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO in 1943. 
    Wilder picked up two of his Academy Awards (for directing and writing) for THE LOST WEEKEND and for writing SUNSET BOULEVARD as well. He had a total of 21 Oscar nominations and 6 wins. 
    His razor sharp mind and his distinct personality were the frequent object of comment in the Hollywood community. The screenwriter Harry Kurnitz once quipped, "Beneath Billy Wilder's aggressive gruff exterior is pure Brillo." William Holden, a friend who won an Academy Award under Wilder's direction, called him "a man with a mind full of razor blades." Perhaps the best description came from his wife, Audrey. "Long before Billy Wilder was Billy Wilder, he behaved like Billy Wilder." 
    Wilder's screenplays sparkled with such lines as the one read by Robert Benchley in THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR: "Why don't you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini?" He once ordered a cameraman: "Keep it out of focus. I want to win the foreign-picture award." He once counseled an actor, "You have Van Gogh's ear for music." He advised Walter Matthau that "we're on the track of something absolutely mediocre." He wooed his wife by telling her, "I'd worship the ground you walk on if you lived in a better neighborhood." 
    That brilliant, burning mind - that mind that excelled in a foreign land and in another tongue - finally came to rest at the age of 95. His wife of 53 years, Audrey, was at his side. 

    William Witney, is a serial director who should be well-known to members of the Imaginative Cinema Society. You might remember him for having directed or co-directed 23 of Republic's best-known serials between 1937 and 1946, including "The Lone Ranger," "Spy Smasher," "Perils of Nyoka," "Drums of Fu Manchu," "Adventures of Captain Marvel," "Zorro's Fighting Legion" and "Mysterious Doctor Satan" If you love westerns you might associate him with having directed 27 Roy Rogers westerns from 1946 to 1951, a period in which he diminished the musical content of the Rogers films in favor of more serious story lines. Or you just might associate him with his final serial, a little thing he worked on called "The Crimson Ghost." During his career he changed the way movie fights are done forever. 
    Witney was always known as an action man. He made Republic's greatest cliffhanger serials during its B-movie heyday in the 1930s and '40s and introduced the now-standard practice of choreographing fight scenes. His Republic serials served as the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's INDIANA JONES movies. Quentin Tarantino, a Witney fan, has praised his rough and believable action scenes and visual style in films such as THE GOLDEN STALLION with Roy Rogers and STRANGER AT MY DOOR, a western starring Macdonald Carey. Tarantino said "I've found directors of some of these movies who I'm really into, but William Witney is ahead of them all, the one whose movies I can show to anyone and they are just blown away." 
    Witney learned to choreograph screen fights after watching choreographer-turned-director Busby Berkeley rehearse a dance 
number at Warner Bros. As related in his 1996 memoir, In a Door, Into a Fight, Out a Door, Into a Chase, Witney said he was never satisfied with the way movie fights were shot. In those days, the stuntmen more or less had a free-for-all as they mixed it up in front of the camera. "The fights always seemed to be OK for the first punch," Witney wrote. "Then the stuntmen were always out of place for the next punch. By the time three or four minutes had passed, the stuntmen were out of breath, scattered all over the set and seemed to be staggering around waiting for someone to hit them." Then Witney watched Berkeley at work filming a sequence with 40 dancers. "He was lining up all the girls for just one little movement," Witney recalled. "He got it perfect. Then he sent them back to rehearse another little movement, shot it, and then maybe a few close-ups later to put in between those shots." Borrowing Berkeley's method, Witney began filming fight sequences by breaking them into shorter segments, changing camera angles and including close-ups for greater audience impact. 
    When he wasn't doing movies he also worked steadily in television. His credits include SKY KING, ZORRO, BONANZA, TALES OF WELLS FARGO, LARAMIE, THE VIRGINIAN, THE WILD WILD WEST and THE HIGH CHAPPARAL. 
    Witney, was in ill health since suffering a stroke in 1995. He died in a nursing home in Jackson, California of complications from that stroke and several subsequent ones. He was 86. He's survived by his #1 fan, Barry Murphy. 

    Oskar Sala might liked to have been remembered as a great physicist. Perhaps he was. He might like to have been hailed as a great composer. Maybe, in time, he will. But Oskar Sala, to the extent that he's remembered at all in this country, is known not by his name but by the blood-chilling sound he was able to produce. 
    As a physicist/composer he was able to perfect the world's first synthesizer - the trautonium. He used it to great effect to produce the eerie bird sound effects for Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS. 
    Sala has gained some small measure of fame in his native Germany. His trautonium has been used in hundreds of that country's movies, TV shows and commercials. Sala not only perfected it - he became a master of it, appearing with the Berlin Philharmonic on several occasions. 
    Sala lived to 91. I'm happy to say that he died of natural causes - not being pecked to death by a flock of angry birds. 

    Richard Sylbert is a name you don't know. But if you ever saw CHINATOWN, DICK TRACY, ROSEMARY'S BABY, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, THE GRADUATE, CARNAL KNOWLEDGE, SHAMPOO, REDS, THE COTTON CLUB or the TV show CHEERS you've seen his work. In fact that's literally true - what you were seeing was his work. Richard Sylbert was not just a production designer - he was one of the greatest production designer working in present day cinema. 
    It was Sylbert who designed the cartoon world of DICK TRACY. In CHINATOWN he made all the buildings white to reflect heat and underscore the film's plot about drought. The famous 360-degree shot in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE from the hotel lobby in New Jersey with the ladies talking about the garden club to the amphitheater in Manchuria with the psychiatrist talking about the garden club was all Sylbert's design. He designed the bar for the set of CHEERS. 
    "No one has any trouble understanding what a costume designer does," Sylbert said. "But 'production design' is a title without any definition. I tell people that, just as a painter organizes pigment and a musician organizes noise, a production designer organizes visual material." 
    He was always known for his devotion to historical accuracy as well as his inventiveness, he earned six Academy Award nominations and won his two best art direction Oscars for the claustrophobic world in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLF in 1966 and for his amazing world of primary colors that made up DICK TRACY in 1990. Last year, Sylbert received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Motion Picture and Television Art Directors for his illustrious body of work. 
    Richard Sylbert was 73. 

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76.APRIL CALENDAR
WED 3: TV - WOLF LAKE debuts UPN 

FRI 5: MOVIES - HIGH CRIMES premieres. 
        TV - FARSCAPE new episodes for season three 

THURS. 11-SUN. 14: EVENT - JOHNS HOPKINS FILM FESTIVAL 

FRI. 12: MOVIES - CHANGING LANES and FRAILTY  premiere. 

MON. 15: TV - ANGEL new epsiodes resume

WED. 17 - SUN. 28: EVENT -  FILMFEST DC 

FRI. 19 - SUN. 21: EVENT - CHILLER THEATER SPRING EXPO 

FRI. 19: MOVIES - THE SCORPION KING  and MURDER BY NUMBERS premiere. 

SUN. 28: TV - FUTURAMA season finale. 

FRI. 26: MOVIES - JASON X premieres. 
        TV - LEXX series finale 

SAT 27: ICS MEETING