Dead or Alive Movie Rights Picked Up
Zen reports Mindfire Entertainment has acquired the feature film and television rights for the videogame Dead or Alive. Production on Dead or Alive: Hardcore - The Movie will begin next year for an expected theatrical release in 2002.

And in other "video game turned movie" news, Michelle Rodriquez (Girlfight) is in final negotiations to join the zombie-fighting crew in the Resident Evil feature film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Warner Bros. Picks Up Option on Warren Ellis Series
Zen reports writer Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan) has announced his DC/Wildstorm comic book series Planetary has been optioned by Warner Bros. TV."

"[They] now have a period of time in which to develop Planetary as a TV show aimed at a 2002 release," Ellis wrote on his message board. "...The person behind this drive at WB is one of their VP's of drama development. Therefore, this is not an animated series they're looking at, but a live-action series...Understand, they've simply bought the rights to develop the show. There is no guarantee that a Planetary TV show would ever even get in front of a camera."

Zen describes Planetary as X-Files to the nth degree, about a three-person team uncovering the secret history of a 100-year superhero continuity the world never knew existed.

UPN Lines Up Horror for the Spring
UPN has a couple of new genre shows slated for the spring schedule. Special Unit 2 has no set premiere date, but will make its debut sometime in the spring, according to UPN. Set in Chicago, the series revolves around a secret team of detectives whose mission is to track and kill "missing links" that look like mummies, gargoyles, werewolves and the like. Variety reports there's no shortage of shooting amid a concurrent hail of humor designed to keep the show on the lighter side.

The other UPN show is All Souls, set in a haunted Boston hospital where ghosts roam the halls and strange experiments take place on patients who come in for otherwise routine surgery. Described as part X-Files and part The Shining the hospital's strangeness dates back to a past that includes a brilliant Civil War-era doctor who went crazy when his three sons died in the war.

"For a show like this, you'll get a lot of value out of the stories (from) the mood you create," said Mark Frost, the show's executive producer and co-creator of the cult series Twin Peaks, commenting on the distinctive other-worldly feel to All Souls.

According to Zen, the rest of UPN's development slate for the 2001-2002 season includes a series based on the Marvel Comics character Thor, a super hero series from Todd McFarlane entitled The Terror, a series based on the Stephen King novel The Dead Zone from Michael Piller (Star Trek: Voyager), and a Wes Craven series entitled Ghost in the Machine.

Whitley Streiber Vampire Flick Getting Movie
Zen reports Columbia Pictures has acquired the film rights to Whitley Streiber's upcoming novel The Last Vampire, a sequel to The Hunger. The film follows a female vampire on the run from a CIA agent.

First Official Shot from Harry Potter
The Official Harry Potter website has posted the first photo from the set of the film.

This image shows Harry in his Hogwarts school uniform with Hedwig the owl perched on his arm.

Valentine Stars Appearing at L.A. Convention
Corona reports Valentine stars David Boreanaz (Angel) and Katherine Heigl (Roswell) will be appearing at the L.A. comic Book and Sci-Fi Convention Sunday, Jan. 14, at the Shrine Auditorium in L.A. The two stars will participate in a panel and answer questions from the audience.

In other Valentine news, The Official Don Davis Website reports, Davis (The Matrix) will be scoring this film.

01.06.01

New Jade & Chastity Statues
Spooky Cid dropped us a line to tell us that Eternal Toys and Diamond Select Toys are releasing a two statue set sculpted by Sam Greenwell featuring Chaos! Comic's Jade and Chastity. Chastity poses on a cross gravestone while Jade "dematerializes from behind." Jade stands over 13 inches tall with clear resin "mist" details. This is the Regular Edition which is limited to 2,000 pieces. It costs $199 and should hit store shelves April 30, 2001.

The Special Edition statue set has a multi-colored clear gravestone, gold colored paint, and a hand-signed certificate by Brian Pulido and Sam Greenwell. It's limited to 300 pieces, costs $300, and ships later than the regular edition. [Thanks Spooky Cid!]

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