Thursday, July 13, 2000

X-MEN MOVIE PREMIERE

(SEE PHOTOS BELOW)

The X-Men movie, carrying strong momentum and word of mouth into its Friday national release, celebrated its world premiere Wednesday night at Ellis Island in New York.

With the X-Men blimp flying overhead, the entire lead cast of X-Men was at the premiere: Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (Professor Xavier), Ian McKellen (Magneto), James Marsden (Cyclops), Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Mystique), Halle Berry (Storm), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Ray Park (Toad), Bruce Davison (Senator Kelly) and Tyler Mane (Sabretooth).

Director Bryan Singer, executive producer Tom DeSanto, executive producer and X-Men co-creator Stan Lee and producer Ralph Winter also joined the festivities.

The New York premiere was tied into the film's ending, which takes place on the Statue of Liberty.

Some 500 photographers and journalists flanked the red carpet on a breezy evening, scrambling for photo opportunities and quick questions as the stars walked into the theater after deboarding two boats.

Lee joked at the photographers, "What a waste of film! Where were you 50 years ago?"

While Berry, Romijn-Stamos, Paquin and Janssen all exposed nice amounts of flesh, Park actually wore the most unique skirt of all: a kilt.

"It's my family's colors," said Park, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland. "This is my first time to see the Statue of Liberty, and it's great."

Early buzz on the movie has been strong, and DeSanto told The Continuum on Wednesday night that preview screenings to comics fans drew "spontaneous ovations."

Asked if he knew what his next project would be or if an X-Men sequel is already in the works, DeSanto said, "I'm not sure. We'll see on Monday."

Other celebrities attending included Ashley Judd, Katie Holmes, Spike Lee, Stephen Baldwin, David Copperfield, John Stamos, Carol Alt and John Singleton.

The screening was accompanied by a barbeque and fireworks. Many of the invited guests were wearing Wolverine's dog tags.

Look for much more coverage on the X-Men premiere, including comments from the stars and more photos, in Friday's report.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

SINGLETON TALKS MARVEL MOVIES

Director John Singleton, fresh off the success of Shaft, told The Continuum Wednesday night that he remains interested in directing films based on Marvel Comics characters.

"I'd love to do the Daredevil movie," Singleton said at the X-Men premiere. "We'll see."

Daredevil has been set up at New Regency, with possibly New Line handling distribution.

Singleton has also been linked to Luke Cage and Black Panther movies over the past several years.

"I really wanted to do Luke Cage, but somebody else has the rights," Singleton said.

Singleton said he is "a big, big fan of X-Men."

And his favorite X-Men character? "Logan," he said. "I love Wolverine."

FIRST LOOK - VAMPI #2 COVER

Jae Lee has provided an alternate cover for Vampi #2, which ships in September from Harris Comics.

Lee becomes only the second artist to illustrate Harris Comics' new take on the character.

"Vampi is Kevin Lau's book and we weren't going to have other artist draw her -- ever," said Harris Comics editor-in-chief David Bogart. "But Kevin is a huge fan of Jae's and asked that we get him for a cover."

"Jae's artwork is incredible," Lau said. "I knew that he'd do an awesome Vampi. His artwork is really powerful and dark-I couldn't wait to see how he would draw my character. When I saw the finished piece, I was awed."

"When I first saw the new Vampiâ¤|I was very impressed," Lee said. "Kevin's artwork is so dynamic and the fight sequences are incredibly exciting and well choreographed. Some artists make a poor attempt at manga, but Kevin captures the look masterfully."

The Lee cover will be limited to 1,500 copies.

BRIEFLY