Friday, April 26, 2002

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE UPDATE

Doctor Octopus and the Lizard appear to be the leading candidates as villains for the Spider-Man sequel.

"They were thinking of two (villains) in the next one, which is a good idea," Kirsten Dunst, who plays Mary Jane, says in the upcoming, May 3 issue of Entertainment Weekly.

Both Dunst and Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire are signed for two sequels, and director Sam Raimi is returning for the second installment.

Spider-Man 2 is being written by Smallville executive producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.

In other Spider-Man movie news:

* Spider-Man: HBO First Look premiered on the cable network on Thursday night. A comprehensive preview, the half-hour special included interviews with Maguire, Dunst, Raimi, executive producers Avi Arad and Stan Lee, producers Laura Ziskin and Ian Bryce, special effects supervisor John Dykstra and actors Willem Dafoe and James Franco.

The special repeats next on HBO on Saturday at 4 p.m. and on HBO2 on Sunday at 6:15 a.m.

Give the thumbnails above a click for larger images from the special.

* Robby Gordon and Richard Childress Racing's No. 31 Cingular Wireless team will be driving a car with a Spider-Man paint scheme for the NASCAR Winston Cup events at California Speedway and Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

"It's so cool that Cingular has put one of my favorite superheroes on our race car," Gordon said. "I grew up reading and watching Spider-Man and am really excited about being able to show him off on the Cingular Wireless Chevy. Hopefully, Spider-Man can give us some extra powers on race day and we can take him to Victory Lane."

* Kellogg's on Thursday announced that its Spider-Man cereal has now reached stores.

* Look for more Spider-Man movie news on Saturday here in The Continuum.

HULK MOVIE UPDATE

Eric Bana, who stars as Bruce Banner in the in-production Hulk movie, said he will contribute to the likeness of the Hulk.

"I am able to influence the green guy significantly, but I can't tell you how," Bana said during a press conference this week for the Universal Pictures production.

"Ang (Lee, director) made it very clear that it wasn't just about playing a scientist, that I'd have to inform the performance of the CGI character greatly."

A 30-second Hulk trailer will appear before the Spider-Man movie.

Look for more on the Hulk movie, including images, later on Friday here in The Continuum.

X-MEN SEQUEL WRITERS

Two new writers, Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty, are currently working with director Bryan Singer on the latest draft of X², the X-Men sequel.

David Hayter, who wrote X-Men, and Zak Penn worked on previous drafts for the film.

Production is scheduled to start on June 17 in Vancouver. The first movie was shot in Toronto.

The X-Men sequel is scheduled to be in theaters on May 2, 2003.

MARVEL COMICS FIRST LOOKS

For covers and four-page previews of Marvel Comics titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, CLICK HERE.

Titles include Ultimate X-Men #17, Uncanny X-Men #406, Spider-Girl #47, Ultimate Spider-Man #22, Exiles #13, Thor #49, Ultimates #4, Avengers: Celestial Quest #8, Deadline #2, Fantastic Four #55, Citizen V and the V-Battalion #4.

NEW JEREMIAH EPISODE

A new episode of Jeremiah, "The Red Kiss," will air on Friday at 10:45 p.m. on Showtime.

Here's how the episode is described:

"When their vehicle is carjacked, Jeremiah and Kurdy find themselves in an abandoned amusement park. There, a group of children is convinced that Jeremiah is the chosen one, sent to thwart the killer who has been preying upon them."

The episode was written by Sam Egan and directed by James Head.

"The Red Kiss" will have an encore on Showtime Beyond on Sunday at 10:45 p.m.

ONI PRESS' JASON & THE ARGOBOTS

Jason & The Argobots, a four-issue, monthly mini-series from writer J. Torres and fan favorite artist Mike Norton, will launch on Aug. 7 from Oni Press.

The story follows a young boy who stumbles across a mysterious robotic giant buried near his desert home.

"The wave of nostalgia that's washing over the comics industry is fine for some people," series editor James Lucas Jones said. "But Oni has always been about blazing new trails. With Argobots, J. and Mike are taking the giant robots, strange new technology, and sinister villains that fascinated us as kids and making it their own."

Here's how Oni describes the series:

"Set in the desert oasis of Shimmer City, Argobots is a world filled with hoverboards, holographic schoolteachers, and mutant criminals eager to wreak mayhem on a city already plagued with devastating earthquakes. Living outside the city on his grandpa's robot ranch, Jason and his little sister Jomi dream of a life of adventure while gramps tinkers away on his newest invention. But when Jason's fantasies become a reality will he have what it takes to save the city and his family from the threat of superpowered bad guys?"

"Luckily, Jason's not alone," Torres said. "He's got a giant robot that should help even the odds. And lucky for you, I'm not alone either. I've got Mike Norton and he's about as cool as a giant robot. People who've only seen his stuff on The Waiting Place are in for a big kick in the pants. With Argobots, Mike is showing exactly what kind of versatile artist he really is."

JUSTICE LEAGUE MAQUETTES SELL OUT

Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter, the first in DC Direct's line of Justice League Animated Maquettes, have already sold out.

The maquettes, sculpted by Karen Palinko, are based on the World's Greatest Super-Heroes as they appear on the hit Cartoon Network series Justice League.

"These maquettes have been met with even more enthusiasm than we were expecting," said Vince Letterio, DC's Manager - Direct Sales. "We sold out the entire run of Martian Manhunter maquettes a week before the in-store date, and the most popular heroes in the team are still to come. If anything, consumer demand for these maquettes is going to increase."

Upcoming release dates for future maquettes include Superman on May 22, Green Lantern on Aug. 21, Hawkgirl on Sept. 18, Flash on Nov. 6 and Batman on Dec. 4.

BRIEFLY