'Star Trek' Goes Digital
Remastered original series adds CGI effects
The original "Star Trek" series is going back into syndication next month, but the show may not look quite the same as fans remember it.
CBS Paramount Domestic Television, which syndicates the series, is remastering the old episodes to include computer-generated effects and re-recorded music, in hopes of offering a vision of the future that doesn't look quite so dated. All 79 episodes of the show will eventually get the digital treatment, with several fan favorites undergoing the retouches first.
"'Star Trek' redefined science fiction and constantly pushed the envelope with concepts that were ahead of their time," says John Nogawski, president of CBS Paramount Domestic TV. "By giving the series a digital upgrade using the best technology available today, it will continue to be a leader in cutting-edge television programming as we introduce the series to a new generation of viewers."
Lest visions of the "special edition" "Star Wars" films that offended purists start dancing in your head, fear not: The remastering won't be inserting any new scenes into the episodes. Instead, CGI artists will be updating the relatively low-tech special effects available in the late 1960s with present-day technology.
Exterior shots of the Enterprise and other spaceships will be replaced by CGI-created ships, with the new Enterprise based on precise measurements of the original model, which is now housed in the Smithsonian. Battle scenes and shots of space from the bridge of the Enterprise will be redone, and matte paintings used in exteriors will be replace with computer-generated backgrounds that give a better illusion of depth.
The episodes will also feature a re-recorded score and a remastered version of William Shatner's opening narration.
"Star Trek" returns to syndication on Saturday, Sept. 16 on 200-plus stations across the country.
Cage set to lead box office with "Wicker Man"
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The summer box office season officially wraps this Labor Day holiday weekend, during which three wide releases will open in theaters. None is likely to cross the $20 million mark for the four-day period.
The highest hopes ride on "The Wicker Man," writer-director Neil LaBute's update of the 1973 British cult film that starred Edward Woodward. Nicolas Cage stars as a Scottish police officer investigating a girl's disappearance.
In terms of ticket sales, the film looks to come in closer to Cage's "Lord of War" than to his "National Treasure." But if industry expectations hold, the film will exceed "War's" $9 million opening gross, with a four-day take likely to fall in the midteen millions.
"The Wicker Man" comes from Warner Bros., which has had a difficult summer with such bombs as "Poseidon" and "Lady in the Water."
Lionsgate is hoping to replicate Jason Statham's success with last year's "Transporter 2," which also opened during Labor Day weekend. But it will be nearly impossible for the adrenaline-fueled, R-rated "Crank" to match the sequel's $20 million bow. Industry watchers put the box office in the low teens.
Disney's reigning champ, "Invincible," should stand up well in its second week. The Mark Wahlberg vehicle also should be in the teen millions for the four-day period, likely good enough for second place at the box office.
Sony Pictures' "Crossover" is the other wide release of the weekend. The urban drama stars Anthony Mackie and Wesley Jonathan as best friends and talented basketball players who become involved in an underground street game.
Targeting a black audience, "Crossover" is unlikely to break $10 million for the four-day period but should take business away from Universal Pictures' "Idlewild." The 1930s-set musical starring the OutKast duo of Andre Benjamin and Antwan A. Patton opened to modest sales of $5.7 million last weekend, though the per-screen average was decent.
The Yari Film Group is expanding its well-received period drama "The Illusionist" to national release. The PG-13 picture, starring Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti and Jessica Biel, has done well in limited release, grossing more than $3 million in two weeks.
Bowing in limited release is Fox's "Idiocracy." The sci-fi comedy from writer-director Mike Judge ("Office Space," "Beavis and Butt-head Do America") stars Luke Wilson as a man who wakes up 1,000 years in the future and discovers that the world is so dumbed down that he's the smartest person on the planet.
IFC Films will bow Kirby Dick's "This Film Is Not Yet Rated." Opening at two theaters in Los Angeles and New York, the documentarian takes a close look at Hollywood's opaque ratings system.
Roadside Attractions will bow Samuel Goldwyn's "Lassie" in 170 theaters. The PG remake of "Lassie Comes Home" stars Peter Dinklage, Samantha Morton, Jonathan Mason and Peter O'Toole. Charles Sturridge wrote and directed the film, an effort to reintroduce the beloved collie to a new generation.
..."90210," "Melrose" Coming to DVD
Brandon, Brenda, Billy, Amanda...it's been too long.
In news that will send Peach Pit-obsessed Gen-Xers racing to Amazon.com, the powers-that-be at Paramount have announced that Beverly Hills, 90210 and its spinoff, Melrose Place, are finally headed to DVD.
The iconic shows, from the factory of the late, great Aaron Spelling, catapulted Fox to major network status in the '90s, became major trendsetters and unleashed Shannen Doherty on the world, and prepared the TV landscape for such coming-of-age dramas as Dawson's Creek, Felicity and The O.C.
Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD will release Beverly Hills, 90210: The Complete First Season and Melrose Place: The Complete First Season to stores on Nov. 7, with a retail price of $62 each. The two series will also be packaged in a combo set, The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful, for $108.99.
Following the lives and loves of a bevy of spoiled rich kids attending West Beverly Hills High, 90210 made Tiger Beat fodder of its cast. The forthcoming six-disc set contains all 22 episodes of the inaugural 1990-91 season, with commentary on select episodes from writer and executive producer Darren Starr (who went on to launch Sex and the City) and behind-the-scenes featurettes. There are also profiles of all the main characters: Brandon ( Jason Priestley), Brenda (Doherty), Dylan ( Luke Perry), Kelly (Jenny Garth), Donna ( Tori Spelling), Steve ( Ian Ziering), Andrea ( Gabrielle Carteris) and David ( Brian Austin Green).
The older-skewing Melrose Place, which focused on a group of twentysomethings residing in a Los Angeles apartment complex, premiered July 8, 1992 and initially focused on the story lines of the likes of Alison ( Courtney Thorne-Smith), Billy ( Andrew Shue), Jo ( Daphne Zuniga), Jake ( Grant Show), Matt (Doug Savant), Jane ( Josie Bissett) and medical student/future psycho Michael (Thomas Calabro).
With ratings sagging, the brain trust decided to jettison a couple of weak characters-- Amy Locane's Sandy and Vanessa Williams' Rhonda--and Spelling brought in his former T.J. Hooker/Dynasty vixen Heather Locklear to wreak havoc as conniving advertising exec Amanda Woodward. Melrose subsequently evolved into one of the '90s biggest soap operas replete with stunning cliffhangers and monumental plot twists that kept fans coming back for seven seasons. It even spawned its own spinoff in 1994, the short-lived Models Inc..
The Melrose set includes all 32 first-season episodes on eight discs, along with features on the show's music and style, behind-the-scenes footage and character profiles, but no commentaries.
Both series have been among the most requested DVD titles, but their release had been hung up while producers resolved music-rights issues (many of the songs featured on the show weren't originally cleared for DVD distribution).
According to Variety, the DVDs were fast-tracked following the breakup of Viacom and CBS, the latter of which ended up with control of the shows' home video rights.
"With [CBS chief Leslie Moonves'] blessing, we quickly scoured the library to see what hadn't been released," Ken Ross, CBS DVD's executive vice president, told the trade. "What caught my eye immediately was Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose...We recognized these jewels had to come out post-haste."
In order to expedite their release, the company tapped one of Spelling's former music supervisors to find substitute tracks for the early episodes.
Said Ross, "The majority of viewers won't even know the music has been changed."
Normalcy continues at MTV video awards
NEW YORK - Where are Eminem and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog when you need them?
Despite Shakira's ever-gyrating hips, Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" and the obscured image of a naked midget, the first hour of the annual MTV Video Music Awards had about as much spontaneity as an episode of "Cribs."
"This show has been lame farts for the past 20 years and I'm going to light the match!" host Jack Black vowed before he took the stage Thursday night for his opening sketch.
Instead, Black continued a trend.
After a perfunctory performance by Timberlake to kick off the show, Black had a promising bit that poked fun at the show's increasingly staid reputation. Painting himself as the man to inject life back into the VMAs, he took to the stage in a moonman outfit — which caught fire. But Black's shtick quickly got old. Even Lil' Kim — who once appeared at the VMAs wearing a pasty on one breast — failed to get the party started. Recently released from prison after serving time for perjury, she stripped off an orange jail suit to reveal ... something that resembled a funky business suit. Hillary Clinton has worn more revealing outfits.
Though the MTV Awards have never lacked star power — last year, Diddy acted as host and stars ranging from Eva Longoria to Jessica Simpson and then-hubby Nick Lachey squeezed themselves into the spotlight — that water-cooler MTV moment that once was its trademark hasn't materialized recently, like Eminem punching out a puppet.
This year, the disturbing trend of normalcy continued. Shakira and Wyclef Jean performance a colorful but rote performance of her smash "Hips Don't Lie"; there were no profanity-filled acceptance speeches from impaired winners.
The night's hottest new couple, new buddies 50 Cent and LL Cool J, introduced one of the awards. But 50, perhaps with no more foes to beef with, was almost Zen-like onstage, offering no fun disses to get the crowd excited.
The lack of outrageousness almost made you long back to the days when Michael Jackson was making out with Lisa Marie Presley — that was creepy, but at least it kept us talking.
Oh yeah — the awards.
In the early going, Best Male Video went to James Blunt for "You're Beautiful" and Best Hip-Hop Video went to the Black Eyed Peas for "My Humps." Kelly Clarkson was not on hand to accept Best Female Video for "Because of You," but all six Pussycat Dolls accepted the Best Dance Video award for "Buttons." And Pink took Best Pop Video with "Stupid Girl."
Summer Box Office: "Dead Man's" Best
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Poseidon both star big boats. The comparisons end there.
With one more weekend to go at the summer box office, Dead Man's Chest has clinched the season's title with a $407.5 million booty through Sunday. Arguably more impressive, it has moved up to sixth on the list of all-time moneymakers--any season, any year.
Poseidon, meanwhile, appears to destined to be the summer's, if not the year's, biggest bust. Made for a reported $160 million, the disaster remake sunk with $60.7 million.
On paper, the panned Poseidon will go down as the 17th "biggest" moneymaker of this beach season, according to stats released Tuesday by the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.
And while the movie has taken in $181.2 million worldwide, per BoxOfficeMojo.com, Poseidon also will go down as the redo that got shown up by its 24-year-old predecessor, The Poseidon Adventure, which grossed $84.6 million domestically back when movie tickets cost less than $2 each.
This summer, movie tickets cost, on average, $6.61 a pop--an all-time high, per Exhibitor Relations. Undeterred, audiences nudged up attendance about 3 percent, from 564.9 million admissions last summer to an estimated 582.5 million. And they pushed up revenue more than 6 percent, from $3.6 billion to an estimated $3.9 billion.
Up from summer 2005, the box office still was way off from summer 2003, when 17 movies, including the first Pirates of the Caribbean adventure, made at least $100 million
This summer, 11 movies will cross the Labor Day finish line with at least $100 million, the Exhibitor Relations estimates show. Of those, four are bona fide blockbusters grossing at least $200 million each: Dead Man's Chest; Cars ($240.6 million); X-Men: The Last Stand ($234.2 million); and The Da Vinci Code ($217.5 million). And one is a relative blockbuster: The Devil Wears Prada, which was produced for a reported $35 million, made an estimated $120.6 million, and became the biggest hit of star Meryl Streep's nearly 30-year screen career.
For box-office purposes, the summer began in early May with the release of Mission: Impossible III. With a $133.4 million take (eighth place), it was Paramount's second biggest hit of the season, and former studio associate Tom Cruise's seventh straight $100 million-plus performer. Worldwide, it's made $394.6 million, per BoxOfficeMojo.com, covering its reported $150 million budget, and delivering many dollars directly to Cruise--as Viacom chieftain Sumner Redstone likely could attest.
Here's a look inside some of the other numbers of summer, per Exhibitor Relations and BoxOfficeMojo.com stats:
- Though maligned of late, movie stars did their thing, and sold tickets. Six of the Top 10 summer movies were headlined by red-carpet fixtures: Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks, Adam Sandler, Cruise, Will Ferrell and Streep.
- So far, Sandler's Click ($135.9 million, seventh place) is the biggest comedy not starring cartoons--well, the animated kind anyway.
- Before its run is over, Ferrell's Talledega Nights ($127.8 million, ninth place) could lap Click for the human comedy title.
- Over the Hedge ($154.8 million, sixth place) was the biggest talking-animal comedy, topping Barnyard ($54.9 million, 20th place) and The Ant Bully ($25.7 million).
- Clerks II ($23.6 million) made $2 million less than perceived Kevin Smith flop Jersey Girl, but cost $30 million less to make than that 2004 comedy.
- Snakes on a Plane ($26.3 million) wasn't all that.
- Step Up ($50.4 million) was all that. The teen dance movie without big stars or big buzz ended up in the same league with the likes of Keanu Reeves' and Sandra Bullock's The Lake House ($52.1 million).
- Together, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson made $209.2 million last summer with Wedding Crashers. Separately this summer, Vaughn made $118.6 million with The Break-Up (11th place); Wilson, $73.9 million for You, Me and Dupree (13th place). Combined, they grossed a Crashers-esque $192.5 million.
- Well, at least M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water ($41.7 million gross; estimated $75 million budget) made for a good book...
- Superman Returns ($195.4 million, fifth place) couldn't crack $200 million; My Super Ex-Girlfriend ($22 million) couldn't crack anything.
- Depending on which production estimate is closer to the truth, should such a thing exist in Hollywood accounting departments, Superman Returns either almost made back its $205 million budget in U.S. theaters, or it almost fell a Poseidon-esque $65 million short.
- Standouts on the art-house scene included: Little Miss Sunshine ($22.9 million); A Prairie Home Companion ($20 million); and, Al Gore's feel-bad-and-guilty movie of the summer, An Inconvenient Truth ($22.8 million).
Finally, here is a complete view of the projected Top 10 summer money-makers, per Exhibitor Relations. Figures are current as of last weekend:
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, $407.5 million
2. Cars, $240.6 million
3. X-Men: The Last Stand, $234.2 million
4. The Da Vinci Code, $217.5 million
5. Superman Returns, $195.4 million
6. Over the Hedge, $154.8 million
7. Click, $135.9 million
8. Mission: Impossible III, $133.4 million
9. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, $127.8 million
10. The Devil Wears Prada, $120.6 million
Actor Glenn Ford dead at 90 57 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Glenn Ford, a handsome and quiet character actor who made his mark in big films like "Gilda" and "The Big Heat," died on Wednesday in his Beverly Hills home, police said. He was 90.
The Beverly Hills Police Department said in a statement that paramedics were called to Ford's home in the afternoon and found the actor dead.
The cause of his death was not immediately known.
The Canadian-born actor, who starred in five movies with Rita Hayworth, never quite attained the superstar status he sought, but nevertheless won the hearts of moviegoers in a variety of roles.
Many critics thought he was underrated and one, David Shipmann, wrote, "He is a good -- if not the best -- example of that second-string group, the dependable and efficient actor."
Ford made low-key appearances in more than 200 movies, and became one of the most enduring stars of the silver screen.
Away from the cameras, Ford led an intensely private life, shunning nightspots in favor of a quiet home life. He was set to make his first public appearance in 15 years at a 90th birthday tribute in Hollywood four months ago, but was unable to attend because of ill health. In his place, former co-stars such as Debbie Reynolds and Martin Landau sang his praises.
Although most frequently appearing in Westerns, Ford played a variety of quietly intense heroes and villains and is best remembered for his non-Western roles.
His career began in 1939 and was highlighted by starring roles in director Fritz Lang's "The Big Heat" in 1953, in which he played a cop out to avenge his wife's murder; Richard Brooks' "The Blackboard Jungle" in 1955, in which he played a teacher; and "The Teahouse of the August Moon" in 1956, in which he played a U.S. soldier in Japan.
After his first movie, "Heaven With a Barbed Wire Fence," Ford made a number of low-budget dramas before joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942.
After returning from World War Two, he starred in his first big budget film, the romance "Gilda," with Hayworth in 1946. The movie was a hit and Bette Davis confirmed his leading-man status by picking him to star with her in "A Stolen Life," released the same year.
Ford teamed with Hayworth again for "The Loves of Carmen" (1948) and "Affair in Trinidad" (1958) and played one of his best villains, a sadistic lawman, in "The Man From Colorado" (1948).
POPULAR DESPITE CAREER DECLINE
Ford remained a top box-office draw through the 1950s but even when his career declined in the 1960s, his popularity with audiences remained as fixed as his reserved screen personality and wry smile.
The unsuccessful remake of "Cimarron" in 1960 started his career slide into B-movies and low-budget productions such as "A Pocketful of Miracles" (1961), "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (1962), "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (1963) and "The Money Trap" (1964).
Ford himself compared his enduring popularity to that of other strong-but-quiet stars of his generation, such as Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda.
"It's the way we say our lines," Ford said. "We don't memorize them, but take the sense and alter the lines to fit our own personalities."
Ford was born Gwyllyn Ford in Quebec, Canada, on May 1, 1916. At age 7, he moved with his family to Santa Monica, California, where he worked as a stable boy for cowboy humorist and actor Will Rogers. After high school, he drove buses and worked as a salesman while planning an acting career.
Ford was married four times -- most notably to actress Eleanor Powell, from 1943 to 1960.
He is survived by his son Peter, 61, also an actor.