Saturday, March 16, 2002

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE ROUNDUP

HBO will show its Spider-Man: HBO First Look, followed by a rebroadcast of the X-Men movie on Friday, May 3, the opening day of the Spider-Man film.

The unique Marvel block starts at 7:30 p.m.

The half-hour Spider-Man special will premiere on the pay cable network on Friday, April 19 at 10:45 p.m. Other showings will be on Thursday, April 25 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, April 28 at 4 p.m.; Wednesday, May 1 at 12:30 p.m.; and Saturday, May 4 at 1:45 p.m.

Other showings of X-Men on HBO will include Friday, May 3 at 10 a.m.; Tuesday, May 7 at 6:45 p.m.; Sunday, May 12 at 9:30 a.m. and 6:15 p.m.; Thursday, May 16 at 5:15 p.m.; Wednesday, May 22 at 2:45 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.; and Monday, May 27 at 3:30 p.m.

In other Spider-Man movie news:

* Sony has announced that the next trailer for the film will premiere on the film's official website on Wednesday, March 27. It will then accompany the new Jodie Foster movie, The Panic Room, on Friday, March 29.

* Kirsten Dunst, who plays Mary Jane, is featured on the cover of Vanity Fair's annual Hollywood issue. Also on the cover is Jennifer Connelly, who will be playing Betty Ross in Universal's Hulk movie.

* Harper Collins has begun releasing its youth-oriented books based on the movie.

They include:

Spider-Man: The Movie Story Book, which has many color photos from the film; Spider-Man: The Adventures of Spider-Man, a junior novelization by Michael Teitelbaum, with photos by Zade Rosenthal and Peter Stone; Spider-Man: Spider Bite, written by Leslie Goldman, with photos by Rosenthal; Spider-Man: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, written by Kitty Richards, with photos be Rosenthal and Steve Kahn; and I Am Spider-Man and Spider-Man Saves the Day, both written by Acton Figueroa, with illustrations by Ron Lim.

Click the thumbnails below for first look images from the books.

* Look for more coverage of Spider-Man, including a feature on Kirsten Dunst, in Comics Continuum #1, on sale May 1. You can order the magazine now through your local retailer or by CLICKING HERE.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

SMALLVILLE UPDATE

The Tuesday, April 2 episode of Smallville on The WB will be a repeat of "X-Ray."

Here's how the network describes the episode:

"Clark (Tom Welling) reels from his first flashes of x-ray vision and the shock is compounded when he witnesses an inexplicable bank robbery by his friend, Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum). Unsure how to control this new power, Clark discovers the reason for its arrival as a Smallville teen who has developed shape-shifting abilities threatens Lana (Kristin Kreuk)."

In other Smallville news:

Last Tuesday's episode, "Zero," placed first in its time period in men 12-34 (3.6/11), tied for No. 1 in men 18-34 (3.9/12) and was No. 2 in its time period in adults 18-34 (4.1/12), women 18-34 (4.3/11), persons 12-34 (4.0/12) and women 12-34 (4.3/12). Smallville was also No. 1 in its time period in teens (3.6/13) and female teens (4.4/15).

FIRST LOOK: CAPTAIN AMERICA #1

Captain America #1 will arrive in stores on April 24 from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by John Ney Rieber, with art and cover by John Cassaday.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"In the aftermath of 9/11, Cap must deal with the way America - and the world - has changed. From the ruins of the World Trade Center to the horrors of a small town shaken by terrorism, this is one double-sized first issue you'll never forget - and neither will Marvel's star-spangled champion."

Captain America #1 will be 48 pages and will cost $3.99.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

BRIEFLY