Thursday, March 15, 2001

THE CROW: SALVATION'S BHARAT NALLURI

Bharat Nalluri, director of The Crow: Salvation, talked with The Continuum about the movie and The Crow mythology during an on-set interview.

For the complete interview, CLICK HERE.

KIRSTEN DUNST TALKS SPIDER-MAN

Kirsten Dunst, who plays Mary Jane Watson in the upcoming Spider-Man movie, appeared on CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn on Wednesday night, and made several references to the film.

Here's what she had to say:

* On her red-dyed hair: "I got some red in it for Spider-Man. They put a red wig on me, so they color the front of my hair."

* Asked if the movie will have the classic 1960s cartoon theme: "I don't know, I think we're going to have somebody who re-does the song."

* After an audio clip from her current film Get Over It, in which she sings: "I'm a triple threat, man. I dance, I cheer, I sing a little. I do my own stunts in Spider-Man. I do like Mission: Impossible/Tom Cruise stuff, like hanging down and falling and all this stuff. It takes skill."

SPAWN SEQUEL UPDATE

Michael Jai White, who starred in the first Spawn movie, has expressed interested in the sequel, but has not been cast yet.

"We are working on the first draft of the Spawn 2 script as we speak, so any discussion on talent is way too premature," said Terry Fitzgerald of Todd McFarlane Entertainment, who will produce the film with McFarlane.

Early this year, the Spawn sequel rights were acquired by Columbia Pictures. The deal also involves producer Don Murphy's Angry Films.

McFarlane and Steve Niles are writing the script, which will be much darker and R-rated, with elements of horror.

White has said that darker aspects of Spawn appeal to him.

"To me, Spawn deals with contemporary times," he said. "Superman and The Phantom were cool way back in their day, but Spawn reflects more of what society is now. It's more interesting to see the dark hero, the duality of human beings to the core."

It's doubtful production of the Spawn sequel would begin before next year.

Meanwhile, the original Spawn movie - after airing to strong ratings on TBS last October -- will have its network premiere on Fox on Thursday, March 22.

BATMAN BEYOND GETS EMMY NOMINATIONS

Batman Beyond was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards on Wednesday.

The series was nominated in the following categories: Outstanding Special Class Animated Program; Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition; Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Special Class; and Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing - Special Class.

"It's great that so many of the talented people who worked on this show are getting the recognition they deserve for their incredible contributions," Rich Fogel, one of the show's writers, told The Continuum.

In the Outstanding Special Class Animated Program category, Batman Beyond's competition will be Angela Anaconda, Disney/Pixar's Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Roughnecks: The Starship Trooper Chronicles and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century.

Another Kids' WB! comics-based show, X-Men: Evolution, was nominated in Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Special Class.

CRUX #1 EXPANDS STORY COUNT

CrossGen Comics announced on Wednesday that Crux #1 will contain a 28-page story while the cover price will remain at the 22-page standard of $2.95.

"There was just too much to tell in 22 pages," said Crux writer Mark Waid. "We didn't want to cheat our fans by squeezing it in. We wanted to be sure we were presenting readers with the best possible story, no matter what. At 28 pages, Crux #1 is the best possible story."

The issue is the first CrossGen work for Waid, penciler Steve Epting and inker Rick Magyar. It is due in stores on April 11.

Waid describes Crux like this:

"Without warning...without preparation...a small band of pre-humans finds itself the galaxy's first, last and only line of defense against a plague of alien invaders known as the Negation," Waid said. "Victory - or death - will depend on how quickly these seven strangers can unlock the answer to the universe's greatest mystery: Whatever happened to the human race?"

TIM BRUCKNER EXCLUSIVE WITH DC

DC Comics on Wednesday announce thatd Tim Bruckner -- sculptor of some of DC Direct's most popular statues -- has signed a one-year exclusive contract.

"We are very happy to have such a versatile and talented artist working exclusively with DC," said DC design director Georg Brewer. "His unique talent has already made a dramatic impact on the DC Direct line, as I'm sure fans have noticed. Having someone of his caliber on our team will help us continue to grow the business in new directions, and we'll look good while doing it."

Bruckner said, "I've been working for DC steadily for the last few years; the real lure to signing on with DC has been getting to work with Georg Brewer and the DC Direct team. The biggest challenge for me, and the one I love, is trying to find the essence of DC's characters and translate them into three dimensions, and to make three-dimensional sense of things that were never necessarily meant to be seen that way. The aesthetic and subsequent engineering challenges that this work affords is the biggest draw for me."

Bruckner's most recent work, the Batman and Robin: Detective Comics #38 Large Statue, is due in stores on Oct. 24.

FIRST LOOK: BATTLE CHASERS #8

Battle Chasers #8 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Cliffhanger Productions and DC Comics. The issues is written by Joe Madureira and Munier Sharrieff, with art and cover by Madureira.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"The intrepid heroes are battling for their lives against the awesome power of the Harvester. In the aftermath, Gully comes face to face with the mysterious man who's been pursuing her since the very first issue."

Battle Chasers #8 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

The book is moving to Image Comics, with the next issue due in June.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: JSA #22

JSA #22 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by David S. Goyer and Geoff Johns, with art by Buzz, Rags Morales and Michael Bair and a cover by Bair.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"A prologue to the return of Hawkman. A special 'split screen' issue featuring two parallel stories -- one in the distant past and one in the present -- as the truth about Hawkgirl's troubled origins begins to reveal itself. Guest starring Nabu the Wise and Prince Khufu Kha-taar."

JSA #22 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: AMERICAN CENTURY #1

American Century #1 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by Howard Chaykin and David Tischman, with art by Marc Laming and John Stokes and a painted cover by Chaykin.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"A decorated WWII vet bails on the trappings of suburban America rather than serve in the Korean conflict, hijacking a plane to begin an extraordinary life of action and adventure that spans the entire globe."

American Century #1 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #112

Superman: The Man of Steel #112 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by Mark Schultz, with art by Doug Mahnke, Dale Eaglesham and Tom Nguyen and a cover by Lee Bermejo.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"There's been a breakout at Stryker's Island. This looks like a job for...Superdog!? Krypto's powers are growing under Earth's yellow sun and now he's more than ready to strut his stuff alongside his powerful master: Superman."

Superman: The Man of Steel #112 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

BRIEFLY