Saturday, Nov. 11, 2000 - UPDATE

CONTINUUM INTERVIEW: X-MEN'S HUGH JACKMAN

With the X-Men movie arriving on home video and DVD on Nov. 21, The Continuum is presenting - for the first time in its entirety - an on-set interview with Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine.

Jackman talks about his character, coming in late on the X-Men production, fighting with Sabretooth, the popularity of Wolverine and his thoughts about a sequel.

For the complete interview, CLICK HERE.

Friday, Nov. 10, 2000

SUPERMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE ON BATMAN BEYOND

Christopher McDonald is doing the voice of Superman in the two-part episode of Batman Beyond titled "The Call," which will air the next two Saturdays on Kids' WB!.

"As Christopher voiced Jor-El (Superman's father) in our Superman series, Bruce Timm thought it would be fitting to bring him back to play the elder Kal-El," said Batman Beyond producer Paul Dini.

Saturday's first part of "The Call" finds Superman approaching Batman about helping out with a traitor in the Justice League Unlimited.

McDonald played Kirstie Alley's estranged husband in Veronica's Closet. His movie credits include The Iron Giant, The Perfect Storm, Lawn Dogs, SLC Punk, Leave it to Beaver, Happy Gilmore and Flubber.

The cast of the Justice League also includes Farrah Forke as Barda, Peter Onorati as Warhawk, Jodi Benson as Aquagirl, Wayne Brady as Micron and Lauren Tom as Green Lantern.

The episode was written by Rich Fogel and Hilary Bader from a story by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini. It was directed by Butch Lukic.

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SABRETOOTH VS. WOLVERINE ON X-MEN: EVOLUTION

Although this Saturday's episode of X-Men: Evolution on Kids' WB! features Shadowcat and Avalanche, it will also include a fight between Wolverine and Sabretooth.

"That was fun," director Gary Graham told The Continuum during an interview at Film Roman in North Hollywood, Calif. "When those two get together, there's trouble. They're on their motorcycles and we have Wolverine taking a slice and hacking up Sabretooth's motorcycle."

Graham said that Wolverine and Sabretooth have a way of "sniffing each other out."

"There's a conflict there. Wolverine has got mental blocks. His memories are fuzzy. He's been through something horrible," Graham said. "We never really resolve what's going on with him and what his past is. Obviously, some part of that has to do with Sabretooth."

Graham described the fight scene.

"We see Sabretooth come to town on his motorcycle, and Wolverines goes off to chase him. And they meet in the city of the rooftops," Graham said.

"Wolverine has gotten off his bike, and Sabretooth is charging at him. Sabretooth isn't on his bike for long because Wolverine takes the front end out of it with his claws and Sabretooth goes tumbling off the roof. Then it turns into this battle inside this parking garage where Sabretooth is launching these cars, throwing them at him."

Getting the right look for Sabretooth was not easy, one of the show's designers said.

"He went through a lot of different alterations," director Steve Gordon told The Continuum. "We went everywhere from extremely animal like to even more human looking than what we wound up with. This is what everyone seemed to feel comfortable with. Closer to human, but not."

"We wanted him to be a big guy," added director Frank Paur. "The comic book had all this goofy fur and he kind of looked like a big teddy bear. We just didn't want to deal with that. He looks like this big, mean wrestling kind of guy. One of the things we did with the costumes was straps and buckles with the villains."

The TV Sabretooth borrowed some of the X-Men movie Sabretooth with the overcoat.

"It's like what you see in The Matrix where it flies a lot behind him as a cape almost," Gordon said. "He's a very interesting character. He seems to play very well off Wolverine, design-wise."

The voice of Sabretooth voice is done by Michael Donovan, who did the voice of the Gray Hulk in the second season of UPN's The Incredible Hulk as well as Carnage in Fox Kids' Spider-Man Unlimited last year.

HUGH JACKMAN'S SCREEN TEST ON X-MEN DVD

The X-Men movie DVD, due in stores on Nov. 21, includes the screen test of Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine, as bonus.

Jackman was the last major member to join the cast, replacing Dougray Scott after Scott was tied to the filming on Mission: Impossible 2.

The screen test has Jackman sitting to the left of Anna Paquin, who is dressed in character with the green coat and hood Rogue wears. The idea is they are in Logan's truck. Jackman is clean shaven.

The dialogue between the two is considerably different than what eventually was seen in the movie.

At one point, Rogue looks to a picture of a woman and asks Logan if that's his wife. "She's pretty," she says.

Here's an outtake of the dialogue a little later:

Rogue: "How long have you known?"

Logan: "Known what?"

Rogue: "That you were like me."

Logan: "I'm not like you."

Rogue: "No, you're just an everyday claw guy."

The scene ends with Rogue's suggestion about wearing a seat belt and Jackman throwing his arms out like he's going through the windshield.

Look for a complete interview with Jackman here in The Continuum as part of a bonus Saturday report.

In other X-Men DVD news:

* A second, expanded X-Men DVD is expected next year, although Fox has yet to confirm this. A source at Fox told The Continuum that X-Men director Bryan Singer "has enough ideas to fill four or five DVDs."

Singer shot a lot of handheld material, including scenes where Wolverine gets his adamantium. Executive producer Tom DeSanto kept extensive notes throughout the X-Men process and told The Continuum he's interested in writing a book about the experience.

* Bill Jemas, president of Marvel Comics, said he hopes to have some Marvel content, possibly Ultimate X-Men, on the expanded DVD as well.

"We haven't been able to get the logistics worked out. At a minimum, we'd like to do these new Marvel.comics on the DVD," Jemas said. "We tried to get that done on the first version, but the math didn't work. We had held up the project because we searching for the perfect writer - we found Mark

Millar and then it worked.

"It was really only timing that it didn't get in the first. But we're trying to lock step with Fox to get the Ultimate content out there with it (the second DVD). So hopefully, you'll see that."

* Advertising has begun for the DVD's release, including a countdown in this week's TV Guide.

MILLAR TALKS ULTIMATE X-MEN, AUTHORITY EXIT

Mark Millar, who early Thursday announced that he and Frank Quitely are leaving WildStorm's The Authority with #25, revealed some of his plans for the upcoming Ultimate X-Men book.

According to Marvel Comics president Bill Jemas, it appears that Ultimate X-Men #1 will be the top-selling book in December, the biggest launch of 2000 and one of the biggest launches in recent years.

Millar is teaming with artist Adam Kubert on the second Ultimate book.

"Believe me when I say that I've just seen the first issue, and I'm very, very proud of it," Miller said during a chat on the WildStorm boards on Thursday night.

Millar said his X-Men will include Cyclops, Wolverine, Phoenix, Iceman, Colossus, Storm, Professor Xavier and Beast. The main villain for the first six issues will be Magneto.

"Want to see Magneto drag the new President out onto the White House lawn and rip the fillings from his mouth?" Millar asked. "Want to see him level half of Manhattan? Check out #1-6."

Millar said that Weapon X appears in Ultimate X-Men #2.

"But the big Weapon X story runs from 7-12," Millar said. "It's a good one, too. Wait'll you see the mess I have Wolvie in. I want to take that healing power of his to the limit."

Here's Millar's announcement regarding The Authority:

"Well, it's been an Internet rumor for months, but I'd just like to confirm that Frank Quitely and I are indeed wrapping up our year-long run on The Authority with #25. Our third and final arc, Brave New World, begins in #22 this December and caps what must surely have been the most creatively rewarding and critically acclaimed series either of us have ever been involved with.

"Just as Warren (Ellis) and Bryan (Hitch) threw every big and crazy superhero idea they ever had into the first 12 issues, Frank and I agreed from day one that our run would be equally finite. The huge jump in sales and the unprecedented media attention made it very tempting to hang around a little longer than planned, but we decided to stick to our principles and pass along the torch while the audience was clapping loudest. At the moment, the details of the new creative team have still to be finalized, but I'm delighted to say that DC Comics and WildStorm are on the verge of signing up our two big recommendations.

"All I can say for now is that the writer is the geezer behind what must surely be my favorite comic at the moment and the art is being handled by someone who is, quite simply, the best story-teller in the business. Trust me when I say that this book will be in very capable hands next year and this is more than just hyperbole. This is still going to be a bloody great book.

"... As for future plans, Frank and I are keeping mum for the moment, but details of a major new initiative will be announced in due course. We're still sticking with superheroes, but want to take them to the next level and are in serious discussions with WildStorm about a new, creator-owned thing aimed at Mature Readers which would be as distinct from our Authority run as this book was from my work on Superman Adventures. Again, details will be available once contracts are signed, but trust me when I say that this isn't going to be like anything you've ever read before."

JINGLE BELLE ANIMATED, IN COMICS

Paul Dini told The Continuum that a series of Jingle Belle animated shorts will be available on the Internet soon.

"The first in a series of animated two-minute Jingle Belle shorts will start running on Jing's web site (www.jinglebelle.com) on or about Nov. 15," Dini told The Continuum.

"There are plans for at least three more shorts which will run on the site from mid-November through New Year's. The cartoons will feature Jing, Santa, and other characters from the comics doing what most families do around Christmas, i.e. getting on each other's nerves and threatening to inflict

bodily harm. We're thinking of it as worthwhile counter-programming to the usual network holiday treacle.

"There's not much on the web site right this second, but Jingle's working on getting things up and running by next week. I say 'she' because it really is Jing's web site. The whole thing is constructed from her point of view, with Jing herself supplying all the info on her friends and enemies, as well as announcing up and coming Jingle Belle-related books, products and projects. In fact, you'll even be able to click on her special Jinglecam feature to see what she's up to every minute of the day. Granted, as Jing's usually grinding out toys in Santa's workshop, her activites might appear to be a tad monotonous, but keep watching for special surprises.

"All cartoons on Jing's site will be furnished by animator/director D. Campbell MacKinlay (AKA Cartuna) the mad genius who animates those insane images of Harry Knowles on the Aint It Cool News site. Campbell's a great guy with a deeply warped sense of humor. I've had a good time creating the Jing animation concepts with him."

Dini also spelled out plans for Jingle Belle in comic books.

"This week Oni Press is bringing out the Jingle Belle: Naughty & Nice trade paperback," Dini said. "The book reprints Jingle's first three appearances and is drawn by Stephen DeStefano. In addition, there is a brand-new color story, 'Jingle Belle Conquers the Martians,' which is painted by Lawrence Marvit.

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"On Nov. 15, Jingle Belle's All-Star Holiday Hullabaloo hits the stands. This was a lot of fun because it gave Jing a chance to jam with some great writers and artists.

"Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier contributed a very funny story about Jing's misguided campaign to clean up street corner Santas. Shane Glines, a terrific designer who worked with the Bat-crew at Warners, takes Jing on a sugar plum-induced nightmare. Bill Morrison contributes a tale about Jing's rivalry with a department store elf helper whom Santa much prefers to his own daughter. Jason Bone illustrates a meeting between Jing and the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, but it's not a Christmas Carol parody, strangely

enough. Speaking of chance encounters, Chynna Clugston-Major has her Blue Monday crew meet up with a runaway Jing for a wild Christmas Eve party. Rounding out the festivities is a poem illustrated by Bone's Jeff Smith detailing what exactly Jing does with all those lumps of coal Santa gives her every year. Wrap it all up with covers by Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows) and animator Lynne Naylor and we've got a pretty sweet package, I think."

GUY DAVIS' MARQUIS FINALE

The fifth and final issue of Guy Davis' The Marquis: Danse Macabre will ship on Feb. 16 from Oni Press.

The final issue sees the Marquis journeying into hell for a final confrontation with the demons who have been plaguing him and his sanity. In keeping with the themes of the character's journey, Oni will be printing the issue in black, white and red.

"When I first began developing the Marquis, I wanted it to be different from anything I'd ever worked on before," Davis said. "The descent of the Marquis is something that has been building since the first issue, and while the conclusion of Danse Macabre will bring a lot of answers and hopefully some surprises, it's only beginning of the Marquis' journey."

"Guy's artwork is already so detailed and evocative in black-and-white," said Oni Press editor-in-chief Jamie S. Rich. "We knew that it was going to take something really different to make the finale stand out. Adding the red isn't a cheap publicity trick; it's a natural outgrowth of the story and themes Guy is creating."

Davis said that the world of the Marquis is stark and dominated by tones of gray.

"For the scenes in hell, I wanted to add something that would set it apart from the other scenes in the book, similar to the way different scenes in silent movies would be tinted with color," Davis said.

Kelley Jones is providing a full-color cover to the issue, which will be 32 pages and cost $2.95.

WEINBERG TALKS CABLE

A day after Marvel declined to say which X-Men titles will be canceled, Cable writer Robert Weinberg told The Continuum he doesn't know the fate of the book.

"I read the Bill Jemas interview and was pleased to note that he mentioned the fan response on Cable," Weinberg said. "Since he didn't say anything about the fate of any book, I prefer not to say anything either. But as far as I know at the moment I am still working for Marvel. And I will have an announcement sometime soon about the new comic I will be writing for them (not an X-title) beginning next summer.

"I suspect everyone involved in the X-titles are staying pretty mum on what is happening with the X-books until some official announcements are made by Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas."

FIRST LOOK: IMPULSE #68

Impulse #68 will ship on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by Todd Dezago, with art by Eric Battle and Buzz and a cover by Ethan Van Sciver and Wayne Faucher.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"Green Lantern, Adam Strange and others guest-star in the first of a 2-part storyline spinning out of the events of Green Lantern: Circle of Fire -- paving the way for the next big storyline for the Fastest Youth Alive."

Impulse #68 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

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