Various News Items – 11/12/08

With the site being down today – one little traffic spike and it all falls down! – I thought one of these various news story mash-ups might be appropriate.

– Despite reports that there would actually be three new “Battlestar Galactica” telemovies in the future, actor Michael Hogan says there’ll likely be just the one – ‘The Plan’. ‘’Yes, that’s as far as I know. There are no rumours of any new films coming out. The rumours were gone when they tore the sets down.’’

– Aimee Teegarden (“Friday Night Lights”) has signed on to guest-star on “90210”. Is Teegarden’s impermanent emigration to the new series a sign that the acclaimed football drama is nearing its end?

– As part of his promotional tour for his upcoming film “My name is Bruce” Bruce Campbell
talked with the guys on the top rated BJ Shea Show in Seattle. During the interview, Bruce referred to the idea of a 4th ‘’Evil Dead’’ film as a ‘’Lose Lose Situation’’ and compared it to Indiana Jones 4. He mentioned how when you ask a room full of people if they want another Indiana Jones film only one person would raise their hand and that is how he feels about bringing Ash back. He also confirmed that Sam Raimi has agreed to do ‘’Spider-Man 4’’ and he’s hoping to get a part like a “Dogcather” or “Milkman”. At the end of the segment he says that he and Sam will have to see about future segments in the ‘’Evil Dead’’ series and said “Never Say Never, but there are reasons they have not done any more as they are very difficult to make.

– “Buffy” star Anthony Stewart Head has debunked rumours that appeared in The Herald-Sun suggesting a new film version of the vampiric series is on the way. “It’s long been rumoured. I talked to the writer Joss Whedon the other day because there were rumours on the internet there must be a ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ movie coming out after ‘Twilight’, but there isn’t. But he said he would still like to do this thing with me [Ripper] so it may or may not happen. I would do anything to work with Joss again, he is a really lovely guy and a great creative mind.”

– Fabulous character actor Robert Prosky, known for his roles in films like “Gremlins 2”, “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Dead Man Walking”, has died at the age of 77. His oldest son, Stefan Prosky, said the actor died Monday night of complications from a heart procedure.

– Oliver Stone’s next film will be about Venezuela’s controversial President Hugo Chavez. Stone has been working on the untitled doc for six months and is hoping to have it ready for next year. “It’s about Chavez and the South American revolution,” Stone told Daily Variety in a reference to the wave of leftist pols elected to office in Latin America in recent years.

– Actor, director, writer and producer Jerry Lewis has been voted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy President Sid Ganis announced today. The award, an Oscar® statuette, will be presented to Lewis during the 81st Academy Awards ceremony on February 22, 2009.

– A new photo from ”Terminator Salvation”, showing John Connor in the vicinity of a couple of seemingly immobile Terminators, can be seen here.

– “Smallville” fave John Glover is set to join the cast of “Heroes”. Glover will play Sylar’s father in episodes to air near the end of the show’s forthcoming “Fugitives” chapter.

– Noah Ringer, Jackson Rathbone (“Twilight”), Nicola Peltz (“Deck the Halls”) and singer Jesse McCartney will star in M. Night Shyamalan’s next film “The Last Airbender”. Ringer will play Aang the Avatar.

– Thor Freudenthal (“Hotel for Dogs”) is coming aboard to direct “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” the story of a junior high wiseguy that Nina Jacobson is producing for Fox 2000. “Wimpy” is a live-action story based on Jeff Kinney’s illustrated tales about the life of pre-adolescent Greg Heffley, a smart aleck who frequently gets caught up in escapades at school and with his family.

– Screenwriter Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump”) tells Collider what he’d like to do next. “The big project I’d like to do, I mean I think these other projects were big in some sense, but I’m going to do a big space…I don’t want to say odyssey…that’s been done, but a space movie for Warner Brothers and I want to start like in…I don’t know…sometime next year.”

– Ben Stiller is set to replace Mark Ruffalo on “Greenburg,” a comedy-drama Noah Baumbach is writing and directing. Amy Adams was set to star opposite Ruffalo, but she, too, is said to have fallen off; talks are being held with a number of other actresses.

– Collider has seen the trailer for X-Men Origins : Wolverine. The verdict? ‘’The action in the trailer looks ridiculous, with one scene in particular that had me laughing and then crying. Did you know Wolverine can fly?’’ says the writer. Eeek.

– Betty Thomas (“Doctor Dolittle”) has signed on to direct “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel”. Although plot details are being kept under wraps, the new Fox/Regency project will introduce the Chipmunks’ female counterparts, the Chipettes.

– Cynthia Nixon says there’s no confirmation on a “Sex and the City” sequel yet. “We don’t know if its coming up. We’re in negotiation. I’m very hopeful, but certainly nothing is for sure. I don’t think anyones deals are done, Nixon said.

– Evan Rachel Wood (“The Missing”) is set to play Mary-Jane Watson in the Broadway version of “Spider-Man”. The actress tells IESB that she’s trying to convince her “Across the Universe” co-star Jim Sturgess to play Spidey.

– Will Smith says although he’s up for another “Bad Boys” sequel – or three – he doesn’t see an “Independence Day 2” happening any time soon. ‘’Let me tell you, I would do up to Bad Boys 6 if I could, alright, I have so much fun working with Martin Lawrence. I love Miami, it’s like that little boy fantasy, it’s fast cars and girls and I got the gun and the bad guys always lose, you know! It’s like, I would make Bad Boys forever.’’ And if “ID4 2” did happen? ‘’I’ll consider all ideas’’.

– Terrence Stamp and Norman Reedus are circling “Zombie Breed”, a new horror pic from director Phil Claydon. According to Shock Til You Drop, the film tells of a reality TV show where contestants are pitted against zombies.

– Playmate Kendra Wilkinson (“The Girls Next Door”), Christopher Showerman (“Parfection”) and Kelli Wills are attached to the horror pic “Shalloween”. Due for release on 10-10-2010, the film tells of Luke Latham, a nutty young kid who, like Jason Voorhees, comes back to slaughter those who teased him as a youngster.

– AICN has the first photo of Christopher Mintz-Plasse (“Superbad”) in character as ‘Red Mist’ from the forthcoming “Kick-Ass”.

– Sean Penn and “Milk,” Gus Van Sant’s biopic about gay rights leader Harvey Milk, continued to gain awards momentum Wednesday, winning best film from the New York Film Critics Circle. Penn was chosen as best actor for his performance in the lauded film about Milk, the openly gay San Francisco politician who was assassinated in 1978. Josh Brolin won best supporting actor for his performance in the film.

– The St. Paul, Minnesota theater group behind the popular “A Klingon Christmas Carol” will soon be filming a special feature for the upcoming Blu-ray release of ‘Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country’, which is timed to coincide with the May release of the new “Star Trek” film. The group will perform Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, replacing the characters with Klingons from the series.