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Tuesday, June 5, 2001

BRYAN SINGER TALKS X-MEN SEQUEL

Bryan Singer, director of X-Men and its upcoming sequel, discussed the sequel during the closing credits of Cinemax's premiere of X-Men.

"I'm working very diligently on the sequel to X-Men," Singer said. "I'm doing some science-fiction programming stuff for television. I'm shepherding some small projects that interest me on a producorial capacity and I'm just looking at other things that interest me.

"I try to focus on one picture at a time and not attach myself to dozens of things and then see whichever thing is ready and jump on it. I really try to focus on a few things and whatever it is I'm really involved in at the time. Right now, I'm sort of at the development stages of a few different things, X-Men 2 obviously.

"A lot of characters will be back and there will be a couple of new characters, but beyond that I couldn't really tell you anything - anything you can't read on the Internet in two weeks, anyway."

Cinemax.com will stage an online chat with Singer on Monday at 9 p.m. (ET), one hour before the network's next airing of X-Men. The site is also sponsoring a sweepstakes with DVD and DVD players as prizes.

MUTANT X CASTING

Tribune Entertainment on Monday confirmed the casting of John Shea as Adam, along with four other leads, for the Mutant X television series.

Philip Segal, senior vice-president, scripted programming and development at Tribune Entertainment, made the announcement.

"This cast represents a unique collection of actors who will provide Mutant X with the specific skills and presence required to portray these five diverse characters," Segal said.

Shea will play Adam, the strategist, tactician and moral center of the series, which details the exploits of human mutants who are the products of genetic experimentation gone wrong. The five Mutant X characters find themselves on the run from a secret agency which carried out a tightly concealed operation to alter humans genetically. Now, the agency has set out to retrieve its experiments, whose whereabouts are unknown.

Shea is best known to comics fans from playing Lex Luthor in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. He recently starred in the feature film Bombshell featuring Charles Durning, John Savage and Jerry Stiller. Shea wrote and directed the 1998 drama feature Southie, which starred Donnie Wahlberg, Rose McGowan and Amanda Peet

In addition to Shea, Mutant X's cast will include:

* Forbes March as Jesse Kilmartin, a sweetly naïve and good-nature man with the ability to alter his body's density.

March, originally from England and raised in Nova Scotia, most recently starred as Scott Chandler in the ABC soap opera All My Children. His credits also include the independent feature films Off Broadway and Campfire Stories. March began his career as a model, appearing in numerous advertising campaigns for such companies as Tommy Hilfiger, Armani and Marlboro Clothing.

* Victoria Pratt as Shalimar Fox, a fiery, feral and stunning woman whose body possesses both human and animal DNA giving her the strength, speed and cunning of the animal kingdom.

A former fitness trainer, Pratt last year starred as Sarge in the weekly syndicated sci-fi program Cleopatra 2525. Her television debut was as an on-air trainer for the Discovery Channel's program Go for It, and she also had a recurring role as Cyane in Xena: Warrior Princess. Pratt, who graduated summa cum laude from York University in Toronto, also starred opposite Kristin Davis and Meat Loaf in the HBO original movie Blacktop and in the television series Once a Thief from director John Woo.

* Lauren Lee Smith as Emma DeSalvo, a mischievous knockout able to communicate and receive feelings with others.

Smith's credits include the title role in Christy: Return to Cutter Gap, a three part mini-series for the PAX TV network; a featured role in Sylvester Stallone's recent action film Get Carter and in Fox's Dark Angel series. A native of Vancouver, she also appeared in MTV's boy band parody 2Gether.

* Victor Webster as Brennan Mulwray, a tough yet vulnerable street-smart wise guy with the capacity to generate extraordinatry amounts of electricity within his own being.

Webster, who owns a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, has appeared in such television shows as NBC's Sunset Beach, as Nicholas Alamain on NBC's Days of Our Lives, Baywatch and 7th Heaven. He can also been seen in the USA television movie The Chippendale Murders and had a starring role in the AMC series The Lot. Webster has modeled for Dolce Gabbana, Coca-Cola, Secret, Scope, Vidal Sassoon and Levi's.

In addition, The Toronto Sun has reported that Tom McCamus will play Marcus Eckhardt, the mutant-hunting head of the Genetic Security Agency. A Tribune representative on Monday could not confirm McCamus' involvement in the show.

To date, Tribune Entertainment has cleared Mutant X in 146 U.S. markets, including 95 of the top 100 markets, representing 93 percent of the country. Filming of the series begins this month in Toronto.

AVENGELYNE/SHI IN OCTOBER

Avatar Press has announced that its Avenelyne/Shi: Tenshi crossover will reach stores in October and will feature covers by Sean Shaw, David Finch, Billy Tucci, Rob Liefeld and Al Rio.

The one-shot is written by Robert Lugibihl, with art by Shaw.

"Any indy character who has crossed over with the likes of Wolverine and Witchblade has got something special going on," Avatar Press editor-in-chief William Christensen said. "That something special is the care and detail Billy has put into growing the character and telling her story. I'm pleased to be able to combine that singular quality with the exceptional work Robert Lugibihl and Sean Shaw have done on their respective Avengelyne projects at Avatar."

"An Avengelyne/Shi crossover is an event that the fans have requested for years," Liefeld said. "And Avatar looks to deliver a tremendous experience for both characters loyal fan bases."

Said Tucci: "William Christensen has been a friend for years, and we've always wanted to work together. Avengelyne is one of the most thought-provoking, and well-researched books out there. And because they share some similar themes, Shi and Avengelyne are two indy comics vehicles on a collision course to making one the most enjoyable and visually exciting crossovers of the summer!"

Here's how Avatar describes the book:

"Entitled "Tenshi", the Japanese word for angel, the Avengelyne/Shi saga cuts across history to feature two different incarnations of each character. In 17th century Japan, Yuri Ishikawa -- ancestor of the modern day Shi - calls upon the fully angelic Avengelyne to help her battle a samurai warrior possessed by the demon lord Akuma. In 21st century New York, the now mortal Avengelyne is captured by a descendant of that samurai who offers her body as a vessel for the his new master...the vengeful Akuma! Meanwhile, Ana Ishikawa -- a.k.a. Shi -- is visited by a mysterious old woman who compels her to save the fallen angel that once aided her ancestor, but even Shi's incredible skill may not be enough to stop a rampaging Angel of Death."

Said Lugibihl: "For those who have never read either Avengelyne or Shi, this book will be a completely reader-friendly experience and the perfect introduction to both of these great characters. But for those who have been longtime fans of one or both of them, it's definitely not your typical throwaway crossover. There are events and revelations in this story that have lasting significance in the mythos of Avengelyne and Shi. This one's got everything: history, mythology, angels, demons, samurai...and two beautiful, strong-willed protagonists who do some major butt-kicking."

Avengelyne/Shi: Tenshi will also have an issue * prelude story.

CROSSGEN'S NEW TITLES

As part of its plans for the next nine months, CrossGen Comics will release Ruse #1 in October, Negation #1 in November and The Path #1 in February.

Ruse, a detective story, is written by Mark Waid, penciled by Butch Guice, inked by Mike Perkins and colored by Laura DePuy.

"Ruse, set on a world reminiscent of -- but subtly different from -- Victorian England, chronicles the adventures of the era's greatest and most brilliant criminal analyst (a man with the mind of a genius and the emotion of a coffee table) and his fiery aide-de-camp (whose job it is never to let her boss lose sight of the human element when it comes to the art of investigation)," Waid said.

"Over the years, our detective has found true and worthy challenges harder and harder to come by...until a new criminal mastermind arises from parts unknown, spreading tendrils of darkness and chaos. His victims are the innocents of this world. His target is the detective. And his birthplace...is Negation space. Why is a Negation agent after the detective? What possible threat could a single mortal man pose to an entire dimension of alien warmongers? If the detective -- and his worldwide network of operatives -- don't find out soon, the balance of the entire CrossGen Universe will be forever altered."

Initially to be written by Waid before being turned over to a new writer that will be announced shortly, Negation will be penciled by Paul Pelletier.

"For months, the Negation aliens have secretly been collecting a sampling of humans, Sigil-Bearers, Atlanteans, and First, imprisoning them on a harsh world deep inside Negation Space," said Waid.

"By now, the Negation leaders believe they have a fair assessment of their capabilities and their limits...but they have underestimated their courage. At a cost almost too horrible to contemplate, a small band of captives has escaped this hellish prison -- only to find itself still trapped within Negation Space itself. Now these former 'prisoners of war' roam from world to world inside this mad dimension, slowly carving themselves into a band of freedom fighters against the Negation Empire as they search long and hard for the only thing that truly matters to them: a way back home."

The Path will be written by Ron Marz and drawn by a creative team that is in place but not announced. The Path will be simultaneously released in Japan and the United States. The world on which The Path is set has already been previewed in The First #1 and #2.

"At face value it's a samurai epic with a setting very much like medieval Japan," said Marz. "But underneath that it will get at the heart of some questions that are very integral to what's going on in Japanese society right now, and to some extent, even in American society. The underlying conflict in The Path will be that of tradition vs. individualism, but at the same time it will be an action-oriented epic, and the first American comic that's dealt with this milieu in any sort of long-term fashion."

"We are starting to hit on all cylinders now," said Mark Alessi, CrossGen CEO. "These three titles each play a significant role in the overlying back-story of the CrossGen Universe. As much as we thought we could wait to release these titles, the available talent and the want to establish our base framework made releasing these now a necessity."

FIRST LOOK: THE SPECTRE #6

The Spectre #6 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by J.M. DeMatteis, with art and cover by Ryan Sook.

Here's how DC describes the issue, which is part one of three-part "The Redeemer" story arc.

"With the ghost of Hal now officially revealed to his friends and loved ones, his new afterlife must change dramatically. Meanwhile, in New York, a smiling shadow of a man named Stigmonus is leaving misery in his wake. Why is he disturbingly familiar to the Spectre? Plus, the first appearance of the Spectre's new eldritch headquarters."

The Spectre #6 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: X-MEN: THE HIDDEN YEARS #21

X-Men: The Hidden Years #21 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by John Byrne, with art by Byrne and Tom Palmer and a cover by Byrne.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"Namor's Fish-Men attack Manhattan. Magneto kidnaps the Invisible Woman. And as the world edges closer to war, the X-Men find out the hard way that the streets are not safe. All this, plus a melee with the Mole Man."

X-Men: The Hidden Years #21 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK



BRIEFLY

  • DIC Entertainment has purchased the assets of Golden Books Family Entertainment.

  • Fox will have the network premiere of the Mortal Kombat movie on Thursday, June 21.

  • Fox's Dark Angel moves to Fridays at 9 p.m. (ET) beginning July 20.

  • Coming Wednesday: Spider-Man news - and much more!!!
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