Tuesday, July 30, 2002

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN MOVIE UPDATE

20th Century Fox has announced that the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has been scheduled for a June 6, 2003 release.

The film, based on the comics series by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill, is currently in production in Prague under the direction of Stephen Norrington.

The cast includes Sean Connery as Allan Quartermain, Peta Wilson as Mina Harker, Tony Curran as the Invisible Man, Jason Flemyng as Dr. Jeykll/Mr. Hyde, Shane West as Tom Sawyer, Naseeruddin Shah as Captain Nemo and Stuart Townsend as Dorian Gray.

Look for more on the movie soon here in The Continuum.

GENE-FUSION'S NEW CREATORS, TV SHOW

This week's Comic-Con International in San Diego will mark the promotional debut of Becket Entertainment's Gene-Fusion Vol 2, with a new creative team.

At the convention Beckett will offer a free full-color Gene-Fusion poster with art by Michael Avon Oeming and colors by comics and animation artist Kelsey Shannon. The publisher will also host signings of the poster by Oeming and members from the creative team.

Beginning with Vol. 2 Issue 1, a new four-issue issue story arc will include writer Ivan Brandon, penciler Neil Vokes, inker Jay Geldhof, letterer Thom Zahler and colorist Scott Cohn.

Jeff Amano is the creator and artistic director of Gene-Fusion. During the '80's Amano started his company Severe Reality Productions, Inc. around his first comic-book property Taolando.

Gene-Fusion follows the traveling exploits of the group of media darlings known as the World Fusion Fights as they tour the environmentally bizarre authoritarian world of 2310 A.D. In Gene-Fusion, star Fusers do battle using incredible genetically fused beasts - Fusimals, in massive coliseum-like arena settings.

Beckett Entertainment and production partner Banjax, an Ireland/UK development, production, distribution and licensing company, have joined to develop Gene-Fusion into 26 half-hour doses of an action adventure computer animated TV series for 9-14 year olds.

HUMANOIDS GRAPHIC NOVEL TO BECOME FILM

Humanoids Publishing announced that its new graphic album, Ante Genesem Book One: The Prophet, is to be adapted into a feature film.

Marco Weber, producer of 13th Floor and the upcoming Igby Goes Down, and Atlantic Streamline are financing the project that was brought in by Atlantic Streamline Executive Vanessa Coifman.

Fabrice Giger and Justin Connolly of Humanoids are executive producers for the movie that will be called, Prophet, based on the book's subtitle. Jason Marx and Ben Loory are adapting the screenplay, having just finishing Enoch's Portal for Alex Proyas.

"This is the first of many tent-pole movies which Humanoids plans to bring to the big screen based on its outstanding catalogue of properties," said Connolly. "And Prophet is a great way to start because the source material in the book is so good, it really lends itself to being an exciting movie."

Here's how Humanoids describes the book:

"Ante Genesem Book One: The Prophet tells the story of Jack Stanton, the sole survivor of an expedition gone horribly wrong. Against all odds, he has returned with proof of a monolith, 1,500 feet tall, built 20,000 feet above sea level. Inside this monolith is proof that an advanced civilization walked the Earth before man. A civilization of immense power, and incredible evil. As he prepares to promote his new book about the monolith, Jack is haunted by visions and attacked by religious zealots warning of the danger of his findings. Before Jack has time to assess his situation, a supertanker runs aground in New York. This catastrophe somehow causes Jack to be stranded in another dimension. Could this dimension actually be Hell? And if Jack is in Hell, what forces are now free on Earth? Ante Genesem is a must read for fans of the supernatural and the surreal."

Ante Genesem Book One: The Prophet is a full-color 46-page hardcover album, retailing for $15.95. It goes on sale on Wednesday.

BRIEFLY