Thursday, March 28, 2002

CAPTAIN AMERICA IN X-MEN: EVOLUTION

"Operation: Rebirth," the X-Men: Evolution episode featuring Captain America, will air this Saturday on Kids' WB!.

The episode, which airs at 10:30 a.m., is written by Bob Forward from a story by Greg Johnson and Boyd Kirkland. It is directed By Gary Graham.

The "Operation: Rebirth" story was one of the standalone episodes developed after the second-season episode order of X-Men: Evolution went from 13 to 17.

"Something very dangerous has been stolen from a highly secured government facility, and there are strong suspicions that a mutant was the perpetrator," Johnson told The Continuum about the episode. "So Wolverine is approached in a very unofficial capacity, not only because he's the most capable of finding the thief, but because he has a past with the stolen object. A past that stretches back to his association with a most unique soldier, the famed war hero, Captain America."

Captain America is the first super-hero who isn't from the X-Men Universe to appear in the series.

"We still maintain the idea that, for Evolution, there are no known super-heroes out there saving the world with amazing abilities," Johnson said. "With this story, we wanted to flirt with that rule without breaking it. Boyd was the one who first suggested to me that Cap might be a good choice because there is an established connection between him and Wolverine. It also helps that their association is tied to a military past, where secrecy is the order.

"But this wouldn't be an Evolution episode without the involvement of some of our young X-Men, so you can expect to see two of the students recruited to his cause."

The story marks the return of Forward to X-Men: Evolution. He was a story editor on the show for the first season.

"He'd been tied up producing another series (Dan Dare - Pilot of the Future) and when he became available, I quickly hired him for the job," Johnson said. "No one handles action stories better than Bob Forward."

Steve Gordon, a director and the character designer on X-Men: Evolution, described how he designed Captain America for the show.

"Captain America was one of my favorite characters when I read comics as a kid, so I was definitely intrigued with the idea of getting a crack at him," Gordon told The Continuum. "My initial thought was to go a little off-center with him. Do the unexpected. I thought it would be interesting to go 'retro' and not make him so super hero-like. Make his costume seem more like something the military might have put together. I tried losing the 'A' on his head, giving him more of a helmet -- like the original Cap -- and adding a thick, leather, military gun belt.

"Boyd (Kirkland, X-Men: Evolution producer) and I sat with this idea for awhile and eventually went with what you see now. I eliminated the 'jockey shorts' and changed his sleeves to be more compatible with some of the other characters in the show. I also played with his body type and face. His upper torso is huge -- even compared to Wolvy's -- and his face is very strong and expressionless. He reminds me more of Frazetta's Conan design than the typical Marvel Captain America."

Another Wolverine-centered episode, "Grim Reminder," will Saturday at 8 a.m.

THE HULK BEGINS PRODUCTION

Universal Pictures announced Thursday that it has begun principal photography on The Hulk, a feature film directed by Ang Lee as his follow-up to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

According to Universal, the screenplay is by James Schamus. The film's producers are Gale Anne Hurd, Marvel Studios Chief Executive Officer Avi Arad, James Schamus and Larry Franco. Stan Lee, co-creator of the character, and Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige are the executive producers.

Eric Bana (Chopper, Black Hawk Down) stars as scientist Bruce Banner, whose inner demons transform him into The Hulk in the aftermath of a catastrophic experiment. Bana plays both the human Banner and -- through groundbreaking visual effects technology provided by the Oscar-winning Industrial Light + Magic -- the superhuman Hulk.

Jennifer Connelly, who just received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Alicia Nash in the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind and won rave reviews for her performance as a hapless Coney Island resident in Requiem For A Dream, portrays Betty Ross, whose scientific genius unwittingly helps unleash The Hulk, and whose love for Banner finds its impossible resolution in the film's denouement.

Sam Elliott, who recently starred opposite Mel Gibson as the no-nonsense Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley in Randall Wallace's We Were Soldiers, plays Betty's father, General Ross.

Josh Lucas, who appeared opposite Connelly in A Beautiful Mind as Professor Martin Hansen, plays Glenn Talbot, a romantic and professional rival of Bruce Banner's.

Academy Award nominee Nick Nolte, whose recent credits include Affliction and The Thin Red Line, plays a sinister figure who returns from Banner's past to haunt him.

Lee's behind-the-camera team includes cinematographer Fred Elmes (The Ice Storm, Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet), Academy Award-winning production designer Rick Heinrichs (Planet of the Apes, Sleepy Hollow, The Big Lebowski, Fargo), costume designer Marit Allen (Ride with the Devil, Eyes Wide Shut, Smilla's Sense of Snow) and editor Tim Squyres (all of Ang Lee's films and Robert Altman's Gosford Park). ILM's Dennis Muren, an eight-time Academy Award winner for films including E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, The Abyss and Jurassic Park, will supervise visual effects.

Here's how Universal describes the movie:

"Ang Lee's concept for the film combines all the elements of a blockbuster visual effects-intensive superhero movie with the brooding romance and tragedy of Universal's classic horror films -- for The Hulk is at once a superhero and a monster, a wish fulfillment and a nightmare. Lee and his team have gone back to the moving, early incarnations of the character created in May 1962 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, staying true to the subversive spirit of the early Marvel years, while completely updating and projecting The Hulk into the dangers and aspirations of contemporary times."

SCARY GODMOTHER ANIMATED UPDATE

Jill Thompson, creator of Scary Godmother, told The Continuum progress continues on a Halloween television special at Vancouver-based Mainframe Entertainment.

"We're preparing a new animation clip for the MIPcon and still working on the Halloween special," Thompson told The Continuum. "The animation is rockin'. It's really wild to see this come to life in 3D.

"I've been doing set design, writing, painting and various other cool forms of art direction. What the animators and modelers have done is wonderful."

Thompson said that she has written and drawn a new promotional sales piece for the sales conferences with which she is very pleased.

"Hopefully that will help us sell a series after the Halloween Special and get the special a U.S. broadcaster," she said.

Some voice talent for the special has been chosen.

"We've chosen some voice talent for Hannah and some of the kids and it looks like we'll be using the talented young lady who portrayed Scary Godmother in last fall's play as our Scary Godmother," Thompson said. "I don't have final say in such things and Mainframe is tied to Canadian content rules, but it looks like we'll be able to use Renee Prince, who I really feel is the perfect voice for Scary Godmother. I'd use all of the actors who were in our play if I had that kind of control, but I'm happy that I'll get one of them, to be sure."

Once the MIPcon is over, Thompson said she expects to be going to Vancouver for voice recording.

"It's fairly difficult working on this long distance, but we're making great progress," she said.

"I'm very excited about what we have ahead of us and what we're producing. I can't wait to have a clip to show the fans of the 3d, movin', talkin' Scary Godmother!"

SMALLVILLE'S "STRAY"

The WB has announced that "Stray," a new episode of Smallville, will air on Tuesday, April 16.

The network also released four images from the episode, featuring stars Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk, and guest-star Ryan Kelly

"Stray" is the 16th episode of the first season. Kelly plays a runaway who can read minds.

In other Smallville news, the new issue of Toy Fare magazine includes a short segment on Rosenbaum.

WITCHBLADE TV UPDATE

TNT is promoting June 10 as the premiere date for the second season of Witchblade television series.

During its programming, TNT is flashing the date in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

In other Witchblade news:

* Witchblade executive producer Ralph Hemecker told The Continuum that Gallo - played by George Jenesky - will return in the second season. Gallo was the mobster responsible for the death of Sara's father who committed suicide in the first season. His return is made possible by Sara using the Witchblade to turn back time in last season's finale.

* This Monday's episode from the first season is "Convergence."

In the episode, Sara is investigating a crime surrounding the missing daughter of a congressman and is thrown for a loop when she finds herself in the middle of a deal being brokered by a band of crooked cops who know she is on to them. Pez is astonished when the Witchblade reveals clues that suggest Jake might be on the dark side.

Keir Dullea guest stars as Dr. Immo.

DC COMICS FIRST LOOKS

For first looks at DC Comics titles arrive in stores on Wednesday, CLICK HERE.

Titles include Detective Comics #769, Hawkman #2, Superman #181, Superman & Savage Dragon: Chicago, Young Justice #44, High Roads #1, Doom Patrol #7 and The Spectre #16.

BRIEFLY