November 2001

'Samurai Jack' DVD announced
Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2001, 7:20PM CST by Franklin Harris
According to Toon Zone, Warner Home Video Entertainment will release its first "Samurai Jack" DVD on March 19. The DVD, which will feature the series' movie-length premiere, will retail for $19.95.

Connelly, Nolte join Ang Lee's 'Hulk'
Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2001, 6:58PM CST by Franklin Harris
Variety reports that Jennifer Connelly has joined the cast of "The Hulk" as Betty Ross, the love interest of Dr. Bruce Banner. Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter says Nick Nolte has signed on as Gen. Ross, Betty's father and the man tasked with bringing in Banner's savage alter ego, the Hulk.

Eric Bana is playing Banner, and Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") is directing the film, which is based on the Marvel Comics character.

New 'Vampire Hunter D' on Feb. 12
Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2001, 6:51PM CST by Franklin Harris
Urban Vision has issued a statement saying that it will release the long-awaited "Vampire Hunter D' sequel, "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" on Feb. 12. The movie will be available on both DVD and VHS.

'Justice League' scores big ratings
Posted Wednesday, November 21, 2001, 11:39PM CST by Franklin Harris
"Justice League" is a ratings winner for Cartoon Network. The 90-minute pilot scored the largest adults 18-34 rating that the network has ever seen. The program pulled a 2.1 rating in over 1.65 million homes.

Source: Comics2Film

2 'Samurai Jack' movies in the works
Posted Wednesday, November 21, 2001, 11:35PM CST by Franklin Harris
According to Variety, two different movies based on Cartoon Network's "Samurai Jack" series are in the works. One is an animated feature to be overseen by the show's creator, Genndy Tartakovsky. Meanwhile, New Line Cinema is preparing a live-action version to be directed by Brett Ratner from a script by Tartakovsky.

'Clones' gets release date
Posted Wednesday, November 14, 2001, 1:16PM CST by Franklin Harris
According to StarWars.com, the official release date for "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" is Thursday, May 16. Yes, I said Thursday. Whatever.

Fox drops 'Galactica' revival
Posted Wednesday, November 14, 2001, 1:13PM CST by Franklin Harris
A report in Variety says that Fox is dropping plans for a revival of the TV series "Battlestar Galactica" following the departure of Bryan Singer from the project. Singer left due to scheduling conflicts with his directing duties on "X-Men 2."

New 'Avengers' writer
Posted Wednesday, November 14, 2001, 1:11PM CST by Franklin Harris
During a conference call today, Marvel Comics announced that Geoff Johns will replace Kurt Busiek as the writer for "Avengers" beginning with No. 56 of that title. There is no word yet what, if any, impact this will have on Johns' work for DC Comics, where he writes "JSA," "Flash," and an upcoming "Hawkman" series.

New 'Judge Dredd' films in the works
Posted Tuesday, November 6, 2001, 9:21AM CST by Franklin Harris
Two new films about the British comic-book character Judge Dredd are in the early stages of development, reports Comics2Film. "Judge Dredd: Reckoning" and "Judge Dredd: Possession" will totally ignore the previous Dredd film starring Sylvester Stallone. The producers plan to shoot the two films back-to-back at a cost of $15 million each.

'E.T.' DVD to contain both versions
Posted Tuesday, November 6, 2001, 9:16AM CST by Franklin Harris
According to a report in USA Today, the upcoming DVD release of "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" will feature both the original version of the film as well as Spielberg's new, politically correct revised version.

'Cowboy Bebop,' 'Big O' comics coming to America
Posted Thursday, November 1, 2001, 4:51PM CST by Franklin Harris
Anime Fringe reports that Viz will start publishing a monthly "Big O" comics series in February. This follows news that TokyoPop will publish a monthly "Cowboy Bebop" comic next year. Both series will be translations of Japanese manga series, and cartoon versions of both have aired on Cartoon Network.