And Now, The News: Update for August 1999

The Hollywood Reporter and Mr. Showbiz say it's true, so it must be. Irish actor Stuart Townshend, 26, was selected for the role of Aragorn in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies.

Aragorn, AKA Strider, is described by Tolkien as a weatherbeaten man of middle years. He is the last descendant of a race of kings and has an ongoing love affair with an Elven maiden. Apparently, New Line and/or Jackson don't think that age group is going to be romantic enough. His considerable acting talents notwithstanding, Townshend is likely going to have a hard time convincing Tolkien fans he's the right man for this part.

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Sci-Fi Wire announced the untimely passing on August 7 of veteran character actor Brion James. James, 54, died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles of an apparent heart attack.

Perhaps best known for his role as the replicant Leon in Blade Runner, James's filmography included more than 100 television and 120 movie roles. His most recent appearance was as General Munro in The Fifth Element.

Burial was held August 14 at Mountain View Cemetery in his home town of Beaumont, CA.

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Selection of Phantom Menace's Jake Lloyd for the title role has given author Orson Scott Card new enthusiasm for adapting his classic novel Ender's Game for the big screen.

According to Sci-Fi Wire Card's orginal script downplayed the child's role out of fear the actor chose for the part would "culkinize the character." Now, however, he plans to rewrite and put Ender back as the main protagonist, just as he is in the novel.

The change will also allow Card to replace some elements, such as the original ending and the fantasy game sequence, that his first concept had forced him to drop. He says he would also like to see the sequel book, Ender's Shadow filmed concurrently with Game so they could be released serially in consecutive summers.

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There's a battle brewing over Battlestar Gallactica.

Actor Richard Hatch and producer Glen Larson both say they're planning to make a movie version of the 1970's SF series. Hatch is lobbying Universal, where the series was made, for $60 million for his project, titled Battlestar Gallactica: The Second Coming According to Sci-Fi Wire, he and several of his BG costars amassed $20K to make a three-minute trailer to show at Comic-Con this year.

However, Larson, who was executive producer of the series, and his follow producer Tony Moyer, say Universal can't help Hatch because Larson still owns the rights to the show. They are scheduled to begin production on their own BG flick early next year on a budget of $40-$50 million.

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