Tuesday, April 30, 2002

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE UPDATE

With the Spider-Man world premiere on Monday night, talk has quickly turned to the sequel.

During E!'s Spider-Mania special on Monday, key figures in the franchise commented about the sequel, which is being written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar with hopes of starting production early next year.

Following are their comments:

Tobey Maguire, who stars as Peter Parker/Spider-Man: "I'm excited about it. I'm looking forward to seeing where the character goes.

"There's a great place for it to go. Now that we've done the origin story, on the second one we can hit the ground running."

Returning director Sam Raimi: "The second script is starting to be written, but I haven't had a chance to work on it yet."

Stan Lee: "The sequel, which they're working on now, and the following sequels, they will all have visuals that will be breathtaking."

Producer Laura Ziskin: "I think Sony, to their credit, believes in our movie. It just makes sense to try to put the team back together and make another one.

"We're just starting to write the script. One of the hardest things, I think, with 40 years of comic books, is to know what part of the story to tell."

Kristen Dunst, who stars as Mary Jane: "Sam and I are discussing where we want Mary Jane to go, what should be happening. I'm always of thinking of things I'd like maybe to happen in the script.

"And to be able to work with Sam again is so wonderful because he was a dream to work with."

James Franco, who plays Harry Osborn: "I guess in the comic books Harry Osborn does become the Green Goblin, but I don't know if you want the same villain in two consecutive movies."

Below are photos from the premiere, including Willem Dafoe, dressed in all green in conjunction with the Green Goblin; Lee, who said he was "thrilled" with how the movie turned out; Maguire, being interviewed by Extra; Franco, with his girlfriend, actress Marla Sokoloff of The Practice; Raimi, who brought his sons; Dunst, responding to the crowd's singing "Happy Birthday during her interview with E!'s Jules Asner; Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, which performed the Spider-Man theme for the film's soundtrack; actress Amy Smart; and actor Jon Favreau, who is playing Foggy Nelson in the Daredevil movie.

Click on the thumbnails for fuller, larger images.

In other Spider-Man news:

* On Monday, Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment and eBay began offering a chance to bid on exclusive items, including many props and costumes, from the film. The first round of items will be available for 10 days, with additional items listed through May 14.

Over 75 items will be available for bidding. Some of the exclusive Spider-Man items to be listed for sale include: Mounted and framed pieces of an authentic Spider-Man costume, worn by Tobey Maguire with certificate of authenticity signed by Maguire and Raimi; posters signed by Maguire, Raimi and Dunst; director chairs signed by Maguire, Raimi and Dunst; Spider-Man webshooter; Mary Jane Watson's dress from Unity Day worn by Dunst; Peter Parker lab research outfit.

* Look for more Spider-Man coverage and photos from the premiere soon here in The Continuum.

DAREDEVIL MOVIE UPDATE

20th Century Fox on Monday provided The Continuum with a photograph of Stan Lee's visit to the set of the Daredevil movie.

The studio has yet to confirm that Lee actually appears in the film, but sources told The Continuum that he does appear and will be in a scene involving the accident that blinds a young Matt Murdock and gives him his powers.

The photo, shot by Zade Rosenthal in Burbank, Calif., shows, from left, executive producer Kevin Feige, producer Avi Arad, producer Gary Foster, director of photography Ericson Core (rear), director Mark Steven Johnson and Lee.

In related news, Daily Variety reported on Tuesday that MGM and Cheyenne Enterprises have signed a first-look deal for new movie and TV projects from Lee's new company, POW! Entertainment.

Cheyenne already has three projects up for consideration: The Femizons, with writers Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman attached; The Double Man, which is being developed with director Antoine Fuqua and scripted by Alan McElroy, who wrote the Spawn movie; and Nightbird, with discussions under way to sign a writer.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON FINALE

UPN has released four images from the upcoming, two-part season finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The episodes are titled "Two to Go" and "Grave" and will air on Tuesday, May 21.

Here's how the network describes them:

"The climatic four-episode arc leaves one of the friends dead and another looking to exact ultimate revenge on the killer."

The images show a transformed Willow (Alyson Hannigan) confronting Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) as she turns to dark majicks to avenge a "friend's death." Click on them for larger, fuller images.

X-MEN: EVOLUTION UPDATE

Kids' WB! will show two repeats of X-Men: Evolution on Saturday, May 18.

Episodes scheduled are "The Cauldron, Pt 2" at 8 a.m. (ET) and "Shadow Dance" at 10:30 a.m.

Episodes for other shows scheduled for that morning include "Sunspots" on Static Shock and "Eye of the Storm" on The Zeta Project.

Kids' WB! will start its summer schedule on May 25.

KEVIN VAN HOOK JOINS FILM ROMAN

Kevin Van Hook, a prominent writer for Valiant Comics, has had his visual effects house, Van Hook Studios, acquired by animation company Film Roman.

VanHook and his staff, including top effects artists Chadd B. Cole and Vince Di Meglio, will form a new division, Forum Visual Effects, which will be based out of Film Roman's North Hollywood studios.

Film Roman is the company behind such shows as The Simpsons and X-Men: Evolution.

The acquisition will provide Film Roman with the highly successful services, expertise and technology of VanHook Studios as well as serving as an excellent complement to Film Roman Digital. The addition of VanHook Studios at Film Roman will enhance all areas of animation production, including television, commercials, feature films, special projects and music videos. Currently, the two entities are working on promos for "Night Out on SHO TOO" for the Showtime Networks.

"We are continually looking to expand our creative capabilities to provide the best and most extensive animation services to our clients. We look at Film Roman as a place where animation, art and technology come together," said John Hyde, president and CEO of Film Roman. "Kevin VanHook and his outstanding group are well known as innovators and will further expand Film Roman's animation and digital reach. We are proud that VanHook Studios chose us as their partner, and we are extremely pleased to welcome Kevin and his experienced staff to our growing family."

After his career in comic books, VanHook set up VanHook Studios in 1994, designing trading cards and collectibles for products like Godzilla, Pokemon, WWF, X-Men and Dragonball Z. Soon, his visual Effects and Post-Production company was working on such major television shows such as Ally Mcbeal, Xena: Warrior Princess and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. Their feature films credits include work on Disney's My Favorite Martian, The Thirteenth Warrior, Miss Congeniality, Hart's War and Hellraiser: Hellseeker.

VanHook Studios also created many of the 3D environments and vehicles for the such series as Max Steel and NASCAR Racers. The studio is currently creating special effects sequences for Dimension Films' Dracula: Resurrection.

"Our studio has always tried to keep the quality of our work as the ultimate goal," VanHook said. "That same dedication to quality has made Film Roman the leader in their field. Together, I think we'll be able to create something truly special."

JUSTICE LEAGUE VIDEOGAMES

Midway Games announced Monday that it has secured the license from DC Comics and Warner Bros. Consumer Products to publish videogames based on the Justice League comic book franchise and animated television series.

Midway plans to feature the characters in videogames slated for development on next-generation systems and the Nintendo Game Boy Advance.

The agreements grant Midway the rights to publish Justice League videogames, with at least one based on the DC Comics' comic book series JLA and another based on the current Cartoon Network animated series.

"DC Comics' compelling characters and storylines create unique properties that are ideal for the videogame experience," said Helene Sheeler, Vice President of Marketing, Midway. "We look forward to bringing these iconic characters to gamers everywhere."

"The videogame platforms are a perfect fit for the ever-popular Justice League super heroes as their interactive adventures will reach new and existing fans," said Philippe Erwin, Vice President of Interactive Entertainment for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "We look forward to working with Midway's experienced developers to create engaging and entertaining games."

BRIEFLY