Wednesday, June 13, 2001

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE UPDATE

Avi Arad, executive producer of the Spider-Man movie, told The Continuum he has been impressed with the diverse work of Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin.

"The Green Goblin, as we all know, is a schizophrenic character, and it takes a helluva actor to be able to be Norman, the father, who befriends Peter," Arad said. "He sees someone in Peter who is closer to him than his own son. And then this man becomes an insane villain, and these kind of scenes are very tough to pull off. And Willem has the chops to pull it off."

Glimpses of the Green Goblin have revealed that the character will look more different from its comics version than Spider-Man does.

"It's classic, but updated," Arad said. "The Goblin is quite different. We love the new Goblin."

In other Spider-Man movie news:

* A new image of Spider-Man has been issued at the Licensing Show in New York City.

* Visual effects supervisor John Dykstra told The Continuum that he expects the movie to come under scrutiny from Spider-Man's pre-existing audience.

"We're going to have an awful lot of people who are angry for making a mistake for what they consider to be their favorite super-hero," Dykstra said. "I think he has a huge following in a broad range of age groups and is probably, as a household name, more prominent than any of the others."

* Arad said Spider-Man couldn't have been made in its current form five years ago.

"This movie shouldn't have been made until now. There wasn't the technology to make the movie what it is today," Arad said. "It's very complicated to make Spider-Man fly and swing and shoot webs. It's very complicated to make the (Green) Goblin fly through the skies and have the kinds of action scenes it dictates. Spider-Man's powers are such that it's really not well covered by normal physics."

* Bruce Campbell, who plays a wrestling announcer in Spider-Man, appeared on CBS' The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn on Tuesday, promoting his book, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor.

"I can either get big parts in small films or small parts in big films," he said. "I have figured out how to do the whole A thing."

Campbell was coming off three book signings last weekend in his native Michigan, where he drew long lines in Dearborn, Ann Arbor and Clarkston.

* Look for more on Spider-Man soon here in The Continuum.

BATMAN: THE MOVIE DVD

Fox Home Entertainment will release Batman: The Movie 35th Anniversary Special Edition DVD on Aug. 21.

Theatrically released in 1966, Batman: The Movie features the original caped-crusaders, Adam West and Burt Ward, battling the evil alliance of The Penguin, The Joker, The Riddler and Catwoman, who are scheming to take over the world and destroy the Dynamic Duo once and for all.

The DVD includes an all-new 16-minute featurette with interviews with stars West and Ward, running commentary with West and Ward, an exclusive tour of the original Batmobile, a behind-the-scenes stills gallery, never-before-seen shots from West's private photo collection, the original theatrical trailers and more.

The film also featured Cesar Romano as the Joker, Burgess Meredith as Penguin, Frank Gorshin as the Riddler and Lee Meriwether at Catwoman.

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YU-GI-OH! TO KIDS' WB!

Kids' WB! and 4Kids Entertainment announced on Monday that Japan's anime series, YU-GI-OH!, will be part of its Saturday morning lineup this fall.

The announcement was made by Donna Friedman, executive vice-president, Kids' WB!, and Al Kahn, chairman and CEO of 4Kids Entertainment.

"We are thrilled to be working once again with the creative team that brought Pokémon to Kids' WB!," Friedman said. "4Kids Entertainment and the YU-GI-OH! consortium in Japan are bringing us - and kids in the U.S. - the next hit animé-adventure series. YU-GI-OH! will make a great addition to our top-rated fall line-up."

Here's how Kids' WB! describes the show:

"YU-GI-OH!, based on the comic book series, follows the adventures of Yugi, a smaller than average high school student - and an easy target for bullies. When his grandfather, a local game shop manager, gives him an ancient Egyptian riddle called the Millennium Puzzle, and Yugi pieces it together, he unexpectedly becomes the powerful Game King, an alter-ego. When Yugi gets into sticky situations, the Game King takes over and protects Yugi and his friends. The game is on -- as Yugi plays games to defeat his monster rivals."

The network has not announced a time period for the show.

AVATAR PRESS FOR SEPTEMBER

Following are Avatar Press' September solicitations, with information coming from the company.

AVENGELYNE: SERAPHICIDE #1

Written by Robert Lugibihl, art by Rick Lyon, covers by Lyon, Al Rio, Carrie Hall and Matt Martin.

seraphicide n. to kill an angel. Avengelyne is caught in the cross hairs of the deadliest assassin on the planet, the luscious Onyx. Raised since a child to master one thing, killing, Onyx brings a fury of firepower and slicing swords to bear against Avengelyne. So who would want the Earth Angel dead? And will Avengelyne live long enough to find out why?

32 pages, $3.50.

RAZOR: BLEEDING HEART #1

Written and art by Patrick Fillion; covers by Fillion and Matt Martin.

Razor is unleashed in this frenzied one shot special. As her blood lust finally takes over, Razor fulfils her vampiric destiny to become a powerful daywalker. But this special trait has not gone unnoticed by a very powerful satanic cult who promptly dispatches their most powerful minion to capture Razor, the long-missing Hellina. This book serves as the re-launch of Hellina now firmly in the Avatar universe and back in touch with her heart-ripping roots.

32 pages, black and white, $3.50 (Wraparound cover, $4.95).

THRESHOLD #44

Written by Mike Wolfer, Robert Lugibihl and Angelo Furlan; art by Wolfer, Clint Hilinski and Mike Delaney.

Mike Wolfer concludes his adventure of the Spider-Razor as Widow and Razor have it out in all-arachnid action. But even if Widow prevails, can she stop the spread of the spider virus? Writer Robert Lugibihl and newcomer Clint Hilinski conclude the Pandora tale of her lost memory and the closest her magical box has come to being opened again! Rounding out the stellar lineup is a new Medora tale featuring the return of Sinnamon and drawn by Mike Delaney. With this issue Threshold switches to a bi-monthly format.

48 pages, black and white, $4.95.

FIRST LOOK: RISING STARS #15

Rising Stars #15 will arrive in stores on June 20 from Top Cow Productions and Image Comics. The issue is written by J. Michael Straczynski, with art by Brent Anderson.

Here's how Top Cow describes the issue:

"What makes the Hottentot so hot; What do the specials got that I ain't got?; The power revealed at last; The secrets of the Peterson Flash."

Rising Stars #15 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

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BRIEFLY