Tuesday, April 8, 2003
MUTANT X UPDATE
Actor Freddie Prinze Jr., who wrote an upcoming episode of the syndicated Mutant X episode, said it was an opportunity to deal with material he hasn't had in his movies.
"I wrote all the dialogue that I wish would have got, but never did," Prinze said during an appearance on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday.
Prinze, whose episode "One Step Closer" deals with Brennan's powers going out of control, cited a line he wrote for Victor Webster's character.
"This guy's starting to mess with him and his power's been out of control and he looks this dude in the eye and says something cool and the guy says, 'Are you threatening me?'
"And he goes, 'I've never threatened anybody in my entire life. Don't make the mistake of thinking that I'd start with you.'
"And that's a sweet line, right? It's just like the sweet, Sylvester Stallone line. You want those lines as an actor, and I never get them. I always get like (meekly), 'I love you' or 'Why did you do that to me?'"
Prinze has long expressed an interest in the super-hero genre. He is a friend of Mutant X's Seth Howard of Tribune Entertainment.
"I met with his writers and with his people and we talked about some ideas. And I wrote this idea up and they seemed to think it was pretty sweet," he said.
"And then I wrote the script. And I wrote it really fast. I wrote it in like three days. It sort of flowed."
Howard told The Continuum: "Freddie is a huge comic book fan as well as a fan of the show. He is a tremendous writer and I look forward to him writing another one for Season 3. Unfortunately, he doesn't make an appearance on the show, but his take on our characters is refreshing and exciting. He's a real class act and don't be surprised if he becomes more known for his writing in the future."
"One Step Closer" airs the week of April 21.
In other Mutant X news:
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A new episode, "Final Judgment," airs this week in syndication. In the episode, a secret agency forces Adam (John Shea) to stand trial for allegedly trying to take over the world with his super-powered mutants.
For 20 photos and a complete synopsis of the episode with spoilers, CLICK HERE.
WEAPON X UPDATE
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Weapon X writer Frank Tieri told The Continuum that a member of the X-Men will join the Weapon X program.
"Let the speculation begin!" Tieri said.
The new member will happen after "The Underground," a six-issue story arc that began in Weapon X #7.
"Here Nathan Summers, fresh from his Soldier X series, and his underground movement -- Meltdown, Blaquesmith, Domino and Maverick -- have been introduced as a significant thorn in Weapon X's side-one that may even threaten to topple the Program altogether," Tieri said.
"As we climb towards the arc's conclusion in issue 12, fans can expect a build up of the inevitable confrontation between these two groups. And I can promise you, when it does finally hit, that confrontation will be accompanied by some major ramifications. How major? Let's put it this way… as a result, not only will we see a new status quo for the book with some cast members coming and going -- at least two of them won't survive the experience.
"And what can fans look forward to beyond 'The Underground?' The two most prominent things that come to mind are a) the fallout from an Earth-shattering revelation -- and trust me when I say this is no exaggeration -- at the end of #12 and b) when a member of the X-Men joins the Weapon X Program."
Tieri said he has been pleased with Weapon X's run so far.
"A fellow creator told me recently that Weapon X was his favorite book," Tieri said. "His basis for this being that while, yes, it was a 'villain' book, it had the look and feel of a more 'traditional' X-book. I think that aspect, along with the unpredictable nature of the book, is largely what fans have enjoyed most about the series."
The first trade paperback, Weapon X: The Draft has been released.
"It's a pretty nice package, if I do say so myself," Tieri said. "If you've been looking to get into this series, now would be a perfect time as the trade not only collects all the Weapon X: Draft one shots that led up to the series, but also the elusive Weapon X # ˝, our first arc, 'The Hunt for Sabretooth,' issues 1-4 and even the controversial mutant death camp story from issue #5."
HULK MOVIE LICENSEES
Marvel Enterprises and Universal Studios Consumer Products Group have announced a roster for more than 300 licensees worldwide for The Hulk movie.
The licensees includes Toy Biz Worldwide, Harper Collins, Upper Deck Entertainment and Vivendi Universal Games.
"The Hulk is one of the most highly anticipated movies for this summer and certainly one of the most high-profile Marvel movies ever to be released. The merchandising program already established for The Hulk is larger than the licensing program that was in place for Spider-Man last year, making it our largest licensing program for a theatrical release to date," said Russ Brown, Executive Vice President, Consumer Products, Promotions & Media Sales.
"The potential success of this program has already started to be realized with the overwhelming sales of Toy Biz Worldwide's Hulk toy line, which continues to track as well or better than last year's top-selling Spider-Man merchandise. We are optimistic that all of the Hulk-based merchandise will have similar success."
Tim Rothwell, SVP, Universal Studios Consumer Products Group added, "From a retail perspective, The Hulk has dominant positioning at every major retailer worldwide kicking off this summer and moving through Holiday 2003. Not often does a brand have such an unprecedented global appeal and worldwide acceptance as The Hulk does, from licensing to promotions to retail."
The Hulk licensing program is one of the biggest campaigns in Marvel's history and follows on a year in which the company's licensing division had a net sales increase of 99 percent to $79.6 million from $40 million in 2001.
BRIEFLY
Copyright © 2003, The Comics Continuum