Wednesday, July 25, 2001

DAREDEVIL MOVIE UPDATE

Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige told The Continuum that a Daredevil movie, written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, could go before the cameras as early as this year.

"We have one of the strongest comic scripts we've ever had, and if we can get all the ducks in a row, we're going to start doing it as soon as possible," Feige said of the film, which will come from Fox and New Regency.

Who might play Daredevil? Feige is non-committal.

"It's a wide-open field right now," Feige said. "We don't feel we need a giant star for that part. We feel we need a great actor for that part.

"Obviously, this is not your typical super-hero part in that he's blind and, acting blind alone, you need a strong actor to pull off that part so it doesn't look bad. If we were just doing a movie about a blind lawyer named Matt Murdock, you'd need a strong actor, not necessarily a big movie star. We'd just need a strong actor. But it's Daredevil, and we need as good of an actor as we can find."

In terms of any stars being approached, Feige said: "There have been scattered talks. Once we move into full pre-production, all that will come together."

While names such as Ed Norton and Matt Damon have been bandied about, The Continuum has learned from independent sources that Guy Pearce, right, whose credits include last year's Memento and this year's The Time Machine, is among those definitely in the mix.

Feige said that Marvel has spoken with James Acheson, who designed the Spider-Man movie costume, to design Daredevil's.

"One of the things we really want to do is to make sure it doesn't look just like Spider-Man, and Jim knows the Spider-Man suit better than anyone and can avoid falling into similar ground," Feige said.

Sources told The Continuum that Bob Ringwood, who has worked on the Batman movies, has also been considered.

Daredevil's story includes Elektra and the Kingpin. Marvel, which has launched an Elektra comic, is heavily promoting her appearance in the film.

Look for more Marvel movie news here in The Continuum on Thursday.

X-MEN SEQUEL UPDATE

Two writers, David Hayter and Zak Penn, are currently working on the script for the X-Men sequel.

Hayter was the screenwriter for X-Men and also penned a draft of the Hulk movie with which director Ang Lee is now working. Penn produced this summer's Osmosis Jones.

The two writers are working on the same basic story, developing their own beats.

Fox is looking to begin production on X-Men 2 early next year for a holiday 2002 release. "We hope to have a definitive draft by the end of the summer," Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige told The Continuum.

Look for more from both Hayter and Penn soon here in The Continuum.

ANIMATED HAWKGIRL

At Saturday's Justice League panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego, producer Bruce Timm explained why the show's creators chose Hawkgirl as a member.

"We felt that we need to have another woman in the group. We like women," Timm said. "We felt that the Hawk-family had to be represented, being the icons that they are. So we decided that we didn't want to have both of them, so let's just have Hawkgirl

"I, personally, always loved that Hawkgirl design, as a kid. I think her mask is cooler and she's got a better shape."

Timm said that the show's producers wanted to make sure that Hawkgirl was set apart from Wonder Woman in character development.

"Wonder Woman's a little bit aloof," Timm said. "It's not that she's arrogant or snotty. It's just that really arrogant or snotty. It's just that she's used to being like a princess. So she's a little bit like, 'What's up with these weird humans? They don't treat me right.'

"Hawkgirl, even though she's from another planet, she actually does fit in with the rest of gang better. She's kind of like one of the guys. Wonder Woman's a super-model, but Hawkgirl is like the girl next door. She's approachable."

Timm said that Justice League story editor Rich Fogel contended to keep a hawk element to the character.

"He came up with this great gimmick for her," Timm said. "For the most part, yeah, she's sweet, she's warm and she's friendly, and everybody likes her. But the minute she goes into battle, her Thanagarian instincts kick in and she turns into Wolverine."

MUTANT X TV UPDATE

Tribune Entertainment announced on Tuesday that it has cleared the weekly hour-long series Mutant X in 146 United States markets, including 95 of the top 100 markets, representing 93 percent of the country.

Mutant X is scheduled to begin in syndication the week of Oct. 1.

Here's the official show description:

"Filled with action, suspense and state-of-the-art visual effects, Mutant X is set in contemporary America and opens with the revelation that a covert branch of U.S. intelligence has been secretly sponsoring a human genetics program for years. The front for this operation is Genomex, a biotech firm that serves as a cover for the Genetic Security Agency. A few hundred men and women have been the unwitting subjects of the program's experiments and they are discovering that genetic mutation has given them astonishing, and sometimes deadly, powers.

"As the extraordinary abilities genetically implanted in these Children of Genomex begin to surface, they find themselves caught between two opposing forces. On one side is Mutant X, a core group of powerful mutants led by the brilliant and mysterious multi-millionaire Adam (John Shea), who strive to help other new mutants master their abilities and protect them from those who would exploit or harm them. On the other is the Genetic Security Agency, the secret intelligence service under the command of Genomex security chief Mason Eckhart (Tom McCamus, whose mandate is to keep the existence of these anomalies and the research that produced them hidden from the public. The GSA's mission is to hunt down the new mutants and remove them from society."

Shea's Adam is the strategist, tactician and moral center of Mutant X and the only member of the team who is not a new mutant. Formerly the chief biogeneticist at Genomex, Adam was an unwitting participant in its human genetics program who believed his research was being applied to agricultural science studies and only in the abstract, to the possibility of human genetic enhancement. It was only when he confounded an attempt at industrial espionage that he learned the dark truths behind Genomex. Horrified by the knowledge of his complicity, as innocent as it might have been, he rolled his substantial fortune into a blind trust to finance the mountain stronghold called Sanctuary - the headquarters of Mutant X. Adam is a visionary genius, a supremely charismatic and confident leader who has thoroughly prepared himself physically, mentally and emotionally for the arduous mission that lies ahead.

Also starring as members of the Mutant X team are Victoria Pratt as Shalimar Fox, a fiery and feral beauty with both human and animal DNA, giving her the strength, speed and cunning of the animal kingdom; Victor Webster as Brennan Mulwray, a tough street-wise rebel with irresistible charm whose body can generate enough electricity to power a small city; Forbes March as Jesse Kilmartin, the cocky and idealistic son of a corrupt multi-millionaire, who can alter the density of his body at will to become solid as a stone wall one minute, and able to walk through a stone wall the next; and Lauren Lee Smith as Emma deLauro, a beautiful and mischievous "telempath," who can transmit and receive feelings telepathically and affect the behavior of those around her.

The creative team includes executive producers Avi Arad, Rick Ungar, Jay Firestone and Adam Haight; executive consultant and head writer Howard Chaykin; producer Jamie Paul Rock; production designer Rocco Matteo; costume designer Laurie Drew; stunt coordinator Marco Bianco; and stunt/fight coordinator Paul Rapovski. The series' visual effects are produced by Spin Entertainment.

BOB SCHRECK TALKS DARK KNIGHT 2

DC Comics' Bob Schreck, editor of Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, gave fans at Comic-Con International an update on the project last weekend.

"Frank is hard at work on Dark Knight 2," Schreck said of Miller, who is also helping develop a Batman: Year One movie.

Schreck said he recently saw the first coloring work of Lynn Varley on the book.

"She is approaching this book for the first time with a computer," Schreck. "All she was was a bag of nerves for a year-and-a-half, going 'Oh, my God.' And we all said, 'No, it's a tool. You know how to work with color, so once you understand the mechanics of this thingâ¤|'

"I've seen five or six pages, and I've never seen anything like it. Between what she's doing and he's doing, it's going to be a fun, fun time."

When will Dark Knight 2 come out? "I'm not answering that question," Schreck said, laughing.

Schreck said the exact release date and format have yet to be worked out, but DC Comics will try to make it as affordable as possible. He also said not expect a rehash of the first series.

"Pretty much everything about it is going to be unique and different," he said.

DC Direct will be offering a statue from Dark Knight 2 featuring Batman and Catgirl, but has no release date planned. "It will come out with the book," DC Direct's Georg Brewer told The Continuum.

The statue was sculpted by William Paquet, based on Miller's designs.

Look for more DC Direct news soon here in The Continuum.

MARVEL COMICS FOR OCTOBER

Marvel Comics has released its solicitations for October.

For a complete rundown, CLICK HERE.

MIKE ALLRED TALKS X-FORCE

X-Force artist Mike Allred said that he is glad that Marvel Comics has left the Comics Code Authority.

Allred's first issue on X-Force, #116, was rejected by the Code and went to press without its approval, which started Marvel adopting its own ratings system.

"The Code is the most inconsistent, hypocritical thing I've seen," Allred said. "It's a stamp that just goes on any book, and I've seen books that are far more violent or far more sexy than our book. Honestly, I had no intention of eliciting that response.

"But I was thrilled when it got bounced. If we've taken out the Code, then great. I think people need to be more responsible for what they take into their lives, be it television or movies. They don't need the Code to give them some vague idea of what is in there.

"When I go to a comic-book store, I've never ever, ever, ever seen anybody look to see if the Code is on it. I see people look through it and either put it back on the shelves or they go and take it to the cash register. And then the decide if they're going to buy the next issue or not based on the quality of the issue they just bought."

Allred said that there were no requests from Marvel for either he or writer Peter Milligan to change anything or tone anything down after the issue was rejected.

"They just let it go. So if the second issue was less so than the first issue in regards to sex and violence, it wasn't because of any response from anybody," Allred said. "It was just the way Pete wrote it and I drew it."

Allred said that X-Force is definitely set within the realm of the Marvel Universe and is part of the X-Men office's broadening approach to mutantkind in the Marvel Universe.

"They're there," Allred said. "They've just managed to grab a little bit of acceptance like all the other celebrities like Joey Ramone, God rest his soul, and the like who are misfits and mutants who are accepted somehow because they're celebrities."

Allred praised the work of Milligan.

"I wish you all knew what I know," Allred said. "There are so many wonderful surprises in Peter Milligan's scripts. Every time I get one and I realize I get to draw it, the surprises are amazing. The characters deepen with each issue. It's one of the most beautiful, expanding pieces of writing I've ever experienced. If it doesn't become one of your very favorite comic books, it's my fault. Peter's scripts are stunning, and I love these characters so much.

"Alex Alonso, Peter and myself are having the best time."

BRIEFLY