Author: Robert Greenberger

As a Time Lord, David Tennant has managed to meet and work with famous historical figures from across the eras.  On stage, as Hamlet, though, he’s had an entirely different kind of close encounter.  The BBC reports that The Royal Shakespeare Company has allowed the actor to perform the famed “Alas Poor Yorick” scene using the skull of Pianist Andrew Tchaikovsky.

When the famed musician died, he willed his skull, saying it "shall be offered by the institution receiving my body to the Royal Shakespeare Company for use in theatrical performance".

The skull came into the RSC’s possession in 1982 and actors have only used it in rehearsals before Tennant used it for 22 performances in the current run. When not on stage, the famed skull was maintained in a tissue-lined box.

"It was sort of a little shock tactic,” director Greg Doran said of using the skull. “Though, of course, to some extent that wears off and it’s just André, in his box. I thought it would topple the play and it would be all about David acting with a real skull."

Twilight continues to count the money and so will the film’s stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.  Each received a reported $2 million for the first film in Stephenie Meyer’s four book series.  Now that New Moon has been put into production, each is looking at $12 million paydays according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

That alone will help push the budget towards to estimated $150 million before you add in the special effects for the werewolves and location shooting in Alaska and Italy.

Now if only the first movie was actually any good…

Production art for Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be seen on the DVD for Prince Caspian, due out on Tuesday, leading people to wonder if production is continuing on the third film in the series based on C.S. Lewis’ beloved novels.

Jim Hill Media did some speculating that Disney has not publicly mentioned the film for some time and it may need serious retooling before the project gets a green light.

The $200 million film earned tepid reviews and only $141,621,490 at North American box offices according to Box Office Mojo. Add in the $278,024,619 from overseas and the total take of $419,646,109 meant the film lost money, even with merchandising added in.

Hill notes that Disney thought the second film was a stronger production but audiences seemed to think otherwise and it got caught in the Iron Man love fest last May.  For a third film to happen at all, the $140 million budget is being scaled back closer to $100 million and the planned location shooting in Malta, Iceland and Praguehas will be shifted to the water tanks of Mexico.

Should the DVD sell well next week, the green light will be expected to follow shortly.  If so, the film can be ready for a Christmas 2010 slot, ceding the summer to the super-heroes.
 

ClarifyingWe reported earlier this week that Legendary Heroes was going to release Hercules and Xena on Blu-ray in 2009 but TV Shows on DVD received word from Davis-Panzer, the production company saying,  “We don’t have any plans for Xena or Hercules on Blu-ray; right now we are just doing pre-orders from Season One of Highlander on Blu-ray. And, depending on interest on that, we will move forward with the rest of the seasons. So far there has been a lot of great response, but pre-orders will really make it seem serious.”

After her successful co-directorial debut on Superman Doomsday, Lauren Montgomery takes full command of the helm for Wonder Woman, the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 films. Warner Premiere. The video event is  due out on March 3, 2009.

Montgomery has directed an origin story for Wonder Woman that remains true to the title character’s various incarnations while setting the tale in more modern times to allow greater accessibility for a wider audience. Working alongside producer Bruce Timm, Montgomery has brought to life Michael Jelenic’s entertaining script with an impressive balance of explosive action and well-timed humor. A talented artist with a lifetime of experience devoted to drawing and animation, Montgomery is proud to give Wonder Woman her first feature film treatment.

Warner Premiere provided the following conversation with the director.

Question:  You’ve gone from directing one-third of Superman Doomsday to helming the entirety of Wonder Woman. What’s that progression been like for you?

Lauren Montgomery: It’s mostly in scale of responsibility. On Doomsday, it was all about my one section of the film. Now, it’s everything from background design and color to character design and camera angles, helping select the voices for the cast and approving every storyboard for the entire film. So (she laughs) it was all a lot harder. It’s been an incredible learning experience, it’s probably the most hands-on I’ve ever been on anything, and it’s really prepared me for more of those responsibilities in the future.
 
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In addition to its new audio dramas based on Doctor Who, Big Finish Productions also handles original properties in addition to other licenses. Recently, Big Finish announced two new installments in their ongoing Dark Shadows adventures.

Quentin Collins (David Selby) and Angelique (Lara Parker) take center stage in November’s The Skin Walkers. Set in New York at the turn of the century, “Quentin is stalked by a mysterious cult, hell-bent on harnessing his werewolf powers.”

Next month’s The Path of Fate, “explores Angelique and marks the Big Finish debut of Stephen Mark Rainey, an author familiar to Dark Shadows fans from his acclaimed official novel, Dark Shadows: Dreams of the Dark.

“Series two of the full-cast audio dramas is on track for release in August 2009 and will be our most ambitious Dark Shadows project to date.  It’s a four-part epic, continuing our ongoing stories in grand fashion. We will be recording these new CDs once the last of our current run of Dramatic Readings are released.  The first of the new stories is tentatively called The Banished Creatures and picks up directly from the exciting final scenes of The Rage Beneath.”
 

Just the other day we were joining in the speculation for when Miyazaki Hayao’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea would hit North America.  Now we hear from Ghibliworld that Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall of DreamWorks will be handling the new edition.  They have assembled a stellar voice cast including Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, Betty White, Fankie Jonas, Noah Cyrys and Cloris Leachman.

Test screenings are currently being held in the states, with the final version expected around Easter.

McG spoke to Total Film to address and dispel the four major rumors surrounding his forthcoming Terminator Salvation.

In clear language, he said that Ain’t It Cool News’ rumored ending was a fake. “That is not the ending. John Connor is not the machine. We did discuss that idea, but that is not the ending, I can say that right now.”

As to whether or not James Cameron blessed someone else directing his baby, McG said, “I did go to see James Cameron. He didn’t give us his blessing, but he didn’t shit all over our movie. When Jim was making Aliens, he was following the great Ridley Scott, so he knows how we feel.”

There was the issue about lead actor Christian Bale’s doubts about taking on the role of an adult John Connor. “I met Christian when he was shooting The Dark Knight. He told me to fuck right off, he didn’t want to do it. He said, ‘Write it so that it could be read cold on stage and I’ll think about doing it.’”

And finally, last week’s rampant rumor about Arnold Schwarzenegger making a cameo appearance. McG remains noncommittal and sly on the issue.