Discuss the horror version of the Romeo & Juliet story about werewolves & vampires.


Underworld Sequel
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?category=10/

You're joking! :blink:
I have to see it. I saw the first one & cried. It's just so sweet that a lycan werewolf is willing to kill anyone & anything for his lady love. :wub: I wish I had a guy like that. :(

Beckinsale Fights For Underworld 2
Kate Beckinsale, who returns in the role of vampire warrior Selene in the upcoming sequel film Underworld: Evolution, told SCI FI Wire that it was much easier for her to prepare for the film, having done the role before. "That really helped," she said in an interview at Comic-Con International in San Diego. "I mean, I was so unviolent the first time around. I really had to change a lot. And I did Van Helsing, which was part of my training, actually, for this film. So we still had a training period, but everybody was much more aware of what our strengths and weaknesses were."
The film will continue to explore the relationship between Selene and Michael (Scott Speedman), a hybrid werewolf-vampire, while the war between the two species continues underground. "We've got a lot more fighting this time," Beckinsale said. "It's easier to just fire a few guns than it is [to] actually choreograph this huge, great big fight sequence. But this time we had a bit more money. We have got a lot more fistfighting and running about and all that."
But Beckinsale, who married director Len Wiseman after meeting him on the first film, said that it wasn't the action sequences that were the most difficult for her in the film. "The sex scene was quite hard, actually," she said. "Doing a love scene was hard with my husband there. I had a little trouble." Underworld: Evolution opens Jan. 20, 2006.

Underworld 2 Is Evolved
Len Wiseman, who directed and co-wrote the vampires-versus-werewolves film Underworld in 2003, told SCI FI Wire that he only agreed to do the upcoming sequel on the condition that it bear as little resemblance to the original as possible. "The fact that I wasn't doing it all over again is what excited me," Wiseman said in an interview. "I sat down with the studio and said, 'Look, I'd love to do Underworld 2 if it's a completely different movie. And I want a whole different tapestry and environment.' And I had no interest whatsoever to just do the first movie over again with different effects and different settings and all that. And I was able to do that, and they were really behind me in going a lot of different directions than maybe they even felt comfortable with, but I wanted to make such a different type of film. That's what interested me."
One of the most noticeable differences will be in the designs of the creatures, and the werewolves in particular, which will appear in flashback sequences looking more wolf-like and feral than before. Wiseman, who made his directing debut on the first film, said he relished the chance to go back and do things better a second time. "It's great to actually revisit, because of course there's things that you discover that work better or things that didn't work [and] you want to improve on them," he said. "Right down to the creatures we had, some things that you'll notice, some things that you won't. Some of the things that you won't notice were a huge help for me just in terms of the technology involved."
Underworld: Evolution once again stars Scott Speedman and Kate Beckinsale (who met Wiseman on the first film and married him last year). In a separate interview, Beckinsale told SCI FI Wire that she worked with Wiseman to make her character-the vampire warrior Selene-more emotionally evolved as well. "Len and I both felt that she was very repressed in the first one and we wanted to open her up, to [be] just a tiny bit more human," she said. "I mean, it's not like gags and all that stuff, but just to have a little lightness, a little bit more fun with it this time. But in terms of her relationship with Michael [played by Speedman], that's kind of opened her up a bit as well." Underworld: Evolution opens Jan. 20, 2006.

Underworld Evolution Site Lives
A new Web site has gone live for the upcoming vampire sequel film Underworld Evolution, notable for being the first site created with Macromedia's Flash Professional 8 tool, Sony announced.
Sony has partnered with Macromedia, which is rolling out Flash 8, an authoring tool for designers and developers to create interactive content for sites, interactive presentations and mobile devices.
Underworld Evolution, directed by Len Wiseman and starring Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman, opens Jan. 20, 2006.
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/underworldevolution/

Spouses Bite Into Underworld
Len Wiseman, writer/director of the upcoming vampire sequel film Underworld: Evolution, told SCI FI Wire that he and his star (and real-life wife) Kate Beckinsale set rules about how they would work together-then promptly ignored them. "We're s--t on that," Wiseman said with a laugh in an interview at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention. "We would say that we have rules about it, but we're both very invested in [the work], and ... we're also a fairly close couple. So on set after a take, if she's sitting on my lap or something, you know, there's a lot of just jokes going around about [it]."
Wiseman met Beckinsale on the set of the first Underworld and began a relationship with her that culminated in their marriage in 2004. Underworld: Evolution marked the first time they worked together as man and wife as well as director and actor. And Wiseman said it was impossible to draw a line between work and life. "We set up rules, but it's difficult, as you know, [to] just shut off and [not] talk about work the next day," Wiseman said. "I would say, yes, we definitely set up rules like everybody else. We just don't follow them."
But Wiseman said working with his spouse has been mostly positive. "We had ... on the first [movie] a very common vision of things, and that has definitely transferred over into this film," he said. "But in terms of being married, what does help is that you can direct in shorthand. You know, ... we're a bit like an old married couple. [I can say,] 'You know that thing that you do with your head?' [And she'll reply,] 'Yeah, yeah, where I turn my eyes?' 'Yeah, and you look up.' 'Yeah, when I turn around and do the thing?' ... So that type of thing is great. The downside is that you're personally invested in that person, so if they feel like they're not doing a good job, or ... if she feels that she's not pulling off a certain take the way that I want it as a director, well, I'm also her husband. So it's 'Well, was I disappointing? Was it what you wanted?' And then vice versa, same thing. That ... if she's in a situation where I feel like I didn't quite pull it off the way that she was thinking about it, ... then there's that personal thing. ... And ... you bring work home, also. ... You go home after a really long day, and it's 'How do we work on this scene for tomorrow?' But for the most part it's such a comfort level, ... because we see eye to eye on so much of this stuff. It takes a lot of that tension [away]. ...I think it's a director's job to make the actors feel comfortable. ... If it's your wife, then it's just easier to do."
Underworld: Evolution, which also stars Scott Speedman, opens Jan. 20.

Wiseman Looking To Underworld 3
Len Wiseman, writer/director of the upcoming sequel film Underworld: Evolution, told SCI FI Wire that he's already got plenty of ideas for a third installment in the werewolves-vs.-vampires franchise, which was originally conceived as a trilogy. "Yeah, we have piles and piles of notes and everything," Wiseman said in an interview at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention over the weekend. "We sort of mapped out an entire history and story that we then went into and decided which ... one will embody the first film, second film, third film. ... What it is, more so than three scripts, it is a massive collection of ideas and stories that we're putting out at certain times."
Wiseman came up with the story of the first film with writing partners Kevin Grevioux and Danny McBride; McBride and Wiseman also wrote the screenplay for the upcoming second film, which takes the story of the age-old blood feud into the future and into the past.
When will Wiseman begin drafting a script for number three? "If I feel like there is a desire and a ... reaction from the audience that they want to see more, then, of course, you really get into it," he said. "And also just seeing how the movie does. ... [When] the studio comes knocking on your door and says, 'OK, we need to start going right now,' [that] puts pressure on as well."
In Evolution, Wiseman said, he had a budget of about $48 million, more than twice the $22 million for the first Underworld. "We had more action, more sets, more effects," he said. He added: "There's a lot more going on and fun things to watch. ... And I think [the audience will] find a bit more of an emotional pull with the characters. I think they will be on board with them more, invested with them more. ... [In the] first movie, ... Selene [Wiseman's real-life wife, Kate Beckinsale,] is quite cold throughout the whole thing. And she's now at a point where she's having to rethink everything, and she's now tapping into a little bit of feelings that she hasn't gone to since she has been human, which was ages and ages ago. So it's a bit more of an emotional movie, too."
Underworld: Evolution, which also stars Scott Speedman, opens Jan. 20.
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Wiseman Develops Shell Game
Writer/director Len Wiseman (Underworld) told SCI FI Wire that he's developing a new SF movie called Shell Game, which he hopes to set up at Lakeshore Entertainment (Million Dollar Baby, The Exorcism of Emily Rose). "That's a project I wrote with a couple other screenwriters, before [2003's] Underworld, actually," Wiseman said in an interview at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention. "And it's great. It's set about 50 years in the future, and it's about the illegal selling of immortality on the black market. And it's a really cool character piece, and it's quite an exciting project."
Wiseman is currently rewriting the script before prepping the movie for production, which he hopes to begin in Los Angeles next year. "If everything else ... goes well, and I'm happy with the script and everything comes in OK, then I would ... probably [be] getting into prep ... maybe about summertime," Wiseman said. He added: "I'd love to shoot in L.A. It would be a big stage film. It's a full-on science-fiction future world, so it's all constructed and fabricated."
Wiseman said he hasn't begun thinking about casting, but that he won't be casting his Underworld leading lady, Kate Beckinsale, who also happens to be his wife. "No, Kate wouldn't be in that one," he said. "Castingwise, we haven't even started yet."
Wiseman's next movie, the sequel Underworld: Evolution, opens Jan. 20, 2006.

A new Web site has gone live for the upcoming vampire sequel film Underworld: Evolution, which opens Jan. 20, 2006.
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/underworldevolution/

Sony has launched an online game to promote its upcoming sequel film Underworld: Evolution, which opens Jan. 20.
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/underworldevolution/game/

Are you going to see the movie? ^_^ I am going to try. :)

Oh please let the sequel be good... Oh please Satan, please

If I can find someone to go with me. Here are some Underworld stuff I found:

Blood, Sweat And Fur - 'Underworld: Evolution' Mysteries Explained
Director Len Wiseman and star Kate Beckinsale shed light on various oddities from the Lycan and Death Dealer universe.
by Larry Carroll
When not chomping at the bit for "Underworld: Evolution" to finally land in theaters on January 20, die-hard fans of the vampire (or Death Dealer) and werewolf (or Lycan) thriller spend a lot of time debating the seemingly ambiguous rules of the "Underworld" universe. Here, writer/director Len Wiseman and leading lady (and real-world wife) Kate Beckinsale shed light on some of the films' murkier details, including who, exactly, is evolving, what happens when hybrids gnaw on one another and why focusing on furry women might be too frightening for even hardcore fans.
MTV: Do the film's immortals age physically?
Len Wiseman: No, they're immortal in the traditional sense. They stop aging once they become immortal. Selene became immortal when she was bitten, and she was as we see her. The elders were older when they became immortal.
MTV: How old was Selene when she was bitten?
Kate Beckinsale: She was, I suppose, in her early 20s, so I related to her very well.
MTV: Is the Corvinus family responsible for the creation of both the Lycan and Death Dealer armies?
Wiseman: Yes. The original source was Alexander Corvinus (Derek Jacobi), who possessed a special [trait or genetic makeup] that spawned the first vampire and the first werewolf. Michael (Scott Speedman) was the human strain of that bloodline.
MTV: Since Selene bit Michael [in the first film], does he have all her memories?
Wiseman: Yes.
MTV: If Michael now has Selene's memories, and Selene was originally bitten by Lucian (Michael Sheen), does Michael have Lucian's memories, too?
Beckinsale: You get much more adept at controlling the genetic memories as you go along. Michael has Lucian's memories, but it's much harder for him to sort of rifle through that Rolodex and really know how to access all of them. There are other people in the movie with Lucian's memories who can access them much faster. Michael is a bit glitchy and slow.

Wiseman: Michael started to get Lucian's memories in the first one, and he continues to have those [in the sequel].
MTV: So if a vampire bit five people, the sixth would have all five of those peoples' memories?
Wiseman: They do, although what we're establishing is that not everybody has the capability to really file these things away and has the ability to use these memories the right way. You know, it's only the elders who have the capacity to make this memory thing work. With the younger ones, it can get a bit more chaotic. It's kind of like shuffling through a DVD but knowing exactly when to press "pause" and when to press "play." But the older and the more powerful you are, like Viktor (Bill Nighy) and Marcus (Tony Curran), you're able to file these things away and access them in a heartbeat.
MTV: These vampires break some traditional rules - they can see their reflections, they aren't afraid of crosses. Why?
Wiseman: It's just my personal taste, really. I feel like there are realistic vampires and there are fantasy vampires, and I could never understand or get my head around a vampire who cowers at a cross or at a bunch of garlic. I know I get slammed for it all the time, but I like to approach things as realistically as possible, and if I treat it more like it's a genetic anomaly or something that just happens in the blood, then it seems a bit more grounded for me.
MTV: Could Michael start his own army and create other hybrids by biting them?
Wiseman: If Michael got hold of somebody who had the same bloodline of the Alexander Corvinus strain, he absolutely could. But only those in the family line have the ability to turn into a hybrid.
MTV: So if Michael bit an average guy, that guy would just drop dead from the conflicting blood entering his body?
Wiseman: Possibly. Michael hasn't done that yet. That's an interesting question.
MTV: When Selene bit Michael in the first one, did she get any of his blood?
Wiseman: She didn't get his blood.
MTV: If she had taken in his blood, would that turn her into a hybrid?
Wiseman: There's a lot of speculation about what Selene could become. You have to have the right genetic makeup to actually be able to house the blood of a vampire and the blood of a werewolf and not die. It's established in the first movie that most people die if they're bitten by both [a werewolf and a vampire]. But because of Michael's lineage, he has the genetic makeup that allows [him to absorb] the two. That's why he was so special in the first film.

MTV: Lots of fans suspect that when Marcus wakes up, he'll be ticked off that he's a hybrid.
Wiseman: We'll just have to find out. All I can say is that some fans are right on the mark, and they know what's going on. The ones that really dialed in to every word of what's said in the first one, some of them are getting quite close.
MTV: Are you thinking about a third movie?
Wiseman: We are. There's been a lot of talk about doing a prequel, as well, because there's a lot of history I was dying to tell in the first one and that I'm trying to squeeze into this one. Bring back Bill [Nighy], bring back Lucian and Alexander Corvinus and William, the other brother, and there's a lot still to be told. So [the idea of a prequel] has been tossed around, as well as talk of a third one.
MTV: The title, "Underworld: Evolution." Who, exactly, is evolving?
Wiseman: That would be Selene.
MTV: The first movie said that both sides of the war could have offspring. But why don't we ever see any kids? Why don't we see Lycan women?
Beckinsale: Because that could be really horrifying. Hairy, thuggish women.
Wiseman: And you don't actually want to see little furry children. I've seen furry women.
Beckinsale: [Laughing] Not here!
http://www.vh1.com/movies/news/articles/15...equestid=256781

For director Len Wiseman and actress Kate Beckinsale, Underworld: Evolution was a labor of love
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By Cindy White
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The original Underworld was the project of a lifetime for director Len Wiseman. Not only was it his first feature film, but it also brought him together with his future wife, star Kate Beckinsale. Though the film was only a modest success in the theater, it has steadily gained fans in its second life on DVD and cable. It was perhaps inevitable, then, that a sequel film should follow. Two years later, Wiseman's low-budget, high-concept brainchild has become a bona fide franchise.
Underworld: Evolution, which opens on Jan. 20, reunites Wiseman with his on- and off-screen muse and the sleek alternate universe in which vampires and werewolves continue to wage war on one another. Scott Speedman also returns as Beckinsale's love interest, Michael Corvin, now a hybrid of vampire and lycan who may help bring the two enemies closer to peace. But the real key to ending the ancient hostilities is in the hands of Beckinsale's vampire warrior Selene.
Last year, Science Fiction Weekly toured the sets of the sequel during production in Vancouver, B.C., where Wiseman, Beckinsale and Speedman talked about returning to the world of Underworld.
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Was there anything that you particularly enjoyed about the first movie that made you say yes to this?
Beckinsale: No [laughs]. No, it was a very big change of direction for me. I had never done a film where I'd actually been sort of tough and active. I'm a very un-athletic sort of rather wet, frightened person in life. It was quite a challenge for me to play an action heroine and pull off all that training when I can't catch a ball if it's coming my way, and that kind of thing. So that was really interesting. I mean, it does seem to have slightly spiraled out of control now.
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You've done a few action films since then.
Beckinsale: I've done quite a few more, yeah. And it's still extraordinary to me that anybody will actually buy that, which is absolutely credit to Len and to the stunt team and to everybody else. But it was really fun. It was such a fun movie. We all had such a lovely time. I had never done an action movie, and Scott hadn't either. And Len had never done a movie, and the writer had never written a movie. So everybody was really very excited to be making this thing for not very much money and make the best thing that we could do. And, you know, I think we really pulled it off.
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After the surprising success of the first one, did you feel pressure doing a sequel?
Wiseman: It's really strange, because the first one was something that was just developed in my living room. Nobody was peeking through the windows and all that, so we were kind of left alone. ... And now everybody, I mean, on the sites and everything, there's a lot of interest there [and] also speculation about what the movie's going to be, which is really strange for me because I'm not used to working on a project that so many people have an opinion about, and hopes for and speculation and different things. So it's odd. It's a weird experience for me.
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What's it like to be working together again?
Beckinsale: It's unusual in this business. You are such gypsies that you don't often get to work with the same gang. You may get the odd one person every 10 years that you've come across before, but it was such a lovely group, and the sequel idea is a cool idea too. So it was a nice story to tell.
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Can you talk about working with a director who is also your husband? How did your personal relationship affect your working relationship?
Beckinsale: I'm not scared of him now, as I was.
Wiseman: That's a shame. Yeah, actually there's no intimidation factor, unfortunately. To be honest, it's, it's fantastic because there's a lot of stuff that you're kind of nervous about that you can't really discuss with your actress.
Beckinsale: "Could you hold your stomach in, please?" ... Which you can say to your wife.
Wiseman: Yeah. So there's a lot of things like that. It's more comfortable, and you can have discussions about certain things where you're not nervous about how they're going to take your comment. And we are on the same page so often that it helps just to cut through a lot of the tiptoeing around that a director has to do.
Beckinsale: You still have to do it with him, though.
Wiseman: Yeah. But it cuts down on a lot of that. And I find it makes it much easier.
Beckinsale: It means we also get to be in the same country. It's quite difficult conducting a relationship in this business, where you're separated for months and months. And so that we were both able to work and were able to actually sleep in the same bed is a miraculous treat.
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Scott, how does your character fit into the sequel?
Speedman: Oh, crap, I don't know [laughs]. Jeez, I don't know. What would you say?
Beckinsale: What are we allowed to say?
Wiseman: Your major role has some things we don't want to give away. ... But he's one of the puzzle pieces, I guess would be [the best way to] put it, I think.
Beckinsale: He provides most of the nipples in the movie.
Speedman: I'm naked a lot, which is good.
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How did the makeup process change for you?
Speedman: From the first one, I really enjoyed it. This one, it's a little more intricate. We won't say too much, but it's a little more detailed, so it's a little longer. But for whatever reason, I really like that process. The guys that I get to work with are amazing, and they're very nice, and they are like artists. They work really hard. ... And in terms of just physically, I love that you kind of get to-it sounds kind of corny-but you can kind of disappear into the whole makeup thing, and I love that. And I love jumping around in it and being kind of crazy.
Beckinsale: Plus, you look hot.
Speedman: Yeah, I look pretty good in it.
Wiseman: He becomes a different person when he's on set with the makeup.
Beckinsale: It's the mask.
Speedman: It's the mask. But it is really fun, and they've been letting me do a lot more of the stunts and stuff like that. So I love that.
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How did you approach the physical aspects of this movie-the fight scenes and the action sequences?
Wiseman: The action scenes and such are much bigger. There's a lot more going on. It's just, scale-wise it's a much bigger movie. There's not a lot more fighting.
Beckinsale: I think there is. There is for me. There is more.
Wiseman: There is actually more for you, yeah. Actually, I'm lying. There's more for [Scott] as well. There's less fighting for me.
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Can you give any specifics on that?
Wiseman: [In] the end sequence there's a lot more transformations with-God, I don't want to give [it away]. [There are] things going on with a bigger battle for Selene. We've got this intense helicopter action. We've got people jumping out of helicopters. A big scene with that.
Beckinsale: [There's] a whole medieval sequence.
Wiseman: Yeah, in the opening we go into this medieval sequence, and we get to see Viktor and his team of death dealers, and there's quite a big opening battle that takes place. ... We've got a little of the werewolf versus the vampire action in medieval times.
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What did you learn from making the first movie that you wanted to do differently on this one?
Wiseman: Everything, really. I mean, Underworld was my first film, so there's a lot of things I had never experienced before. I'm finding this one about, about 70 percent less stressful. It was shot in Budapest as well, and I had about maybe 15 people that spoke English. I'm exaggerating a bit, but most of the crew did not speak English. So it was just a tough experience for me to battle through all that, being the first film. So there's a lot that I learned from that one. I mean, I could go on and on about what you learn from a first film. And budget-wise, it helps to have a bit more to do a bit more. And so we can scale it up.
Beckinsale: It's still not an enormous budget. It's still fairly modest for the kind of movie, isn't it?
Wiseman: Oh, yeah. No, I mean in terms of like Van Helsing size.
Beckinsale: We decided not to have an enormous red cartoon monster in this one, so we saved [money].
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You've done a lot to modernize the traditional mythology of vampires and werewolves in these films. Was that always the goal?
Wiseman: I'm not a huge fan of a lot of the older films and the older legends. I actually approached Underworld as doing horror characters in more of an action film, and actually changing it up. I mean, the whole thing about just modernizing it, I wanted to see something different. So it was my attempt to kind of approach it as almost a straightforward action film that happens to have these horror characters in it.
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What didn't you like about them?
Wiseman: I'm not into the, I guess what I would call the religious vampires, that you can hold up a cross and, and they cower. The reflections in the glass and a lot of [those] things. ... I see it as there's a category of fantasy vampires, and then there's reality vampires in my world. And ours is more based in science. It's about a rare blood disease, and treated more like a plague than anything that's too fantastic. The cross stuff, the not seeing your reflection in the mirror, that's just a bit too out there for me.
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As actors, how did you approach the characters the second time around?
Speedman: For this one, it just seems more fun for me this time. It's a lot more dynamic, and I feel [there's] less watching the action going on around me and reacting and being kind of a pedestrian in all the action, but a lot more dynamic of a character. So it's a lot more fun that way.
Wiseman: Yeah, you got kind of pulled around a lot in the first one.
Speedman: Yeah, which was cool, which was fun, but this is a lot more part of the story, it feels like.
Beckinsale: I was in a slightly different position than I've ever been in before, because obviously I've not been married to the director. So I started being involved in the process, just in terms of hearing about the development, very early on, which was a great treat. It doesn't usually happen. Not that I had any kind of, you know, Yoko Ono sort of input at that point [laughs].
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And how has the relationship between the two main characters changed?
Beckinsale: In the first movie, they obviously they met up and they were in very different positions; he was human and she was vampire. And she was doing a lot of bringing him up to speed with what was happening, and he was just generally sort of confused and not really knowing what was going on. And by the time they start this movie, obviously he's no longer just human, and they just got a little bit more time to get to know each other. So they're much more partners than they were before.
Speedman: Yeah, there's just more of a connection, too.
Wiseman: I mean actually, I was intending that the first film ended with the relationship beginning. I know a lot of people [thought] there was this Romeo and Juliet sort of aspect to it, and it wasn't necessarily that. There was the story between Lucian and his love that was the parallel to the more traditional Romeo and Juliet story. ... Selene hated humans from the get-go, so that relationship was really not given a chance to start until the film was kind of closing. So I felt like, if I had done my job, at the end of the movie people would speculate, will there be a relationship? What will that relationship be like? Will it build? And so this one, now we get into what happens to that relationship.
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At what point did you know that you could do a sequel?
Wiseman: The theatrical numbers were impressive to the studio. We made $100 million worldwide. So for a $19 to $20 million film, that's quite a huge success. So once that happened I got calls from the studio. I mean, they wanted a sequel right away, and so we started developing from that point. And then just the DVD sales was another, another spike. ... It did over what the box office did, which rarely happens. ... It was impressive to them and a big deal, and so it just kind of fueled the fire for it.
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When you were developing the story, did you think about putting in any elements that might lead to a third film?
Wiseman: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot there. Yes, there's actually a sequel, as well as prequel ideas.
Beckinsale: What?!? [Laughs.]
Wiseman: Yeah. I'm still seeing how this one goes. But there's no set plan in terms of ideas for either.
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Did you put anything in the first one that was intended to lead to a sequel?
Wiseman: We did for the first one.
Beckinsale: They had a whole plan the first one.
Wiseman: You'll find that in this film, whether the characters have died in the first film or not, there's a lot of stuff that's still being discovered and uncovered about them that's in this film that we always knew we were going to do in the first one. So yeah, and there's aspects of this one that ... absolutely could carry over, yeah.
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Some critics were excited by the idea of vampires versus werewolves, but were disappointed in the original film. Do you hope to win them back with the sequel?
Wiseman: I think the second movie will impress a lot of people, and it'll upset the same amount of people.
Beckinsale: Everyone's always disappointed in some way.
Wiseman: Some people will love it. Other people will hate it. And that will be the case for any movie anybody ever makes.
Beckinsale: Well, can I just say something? I do think that the way that the trailer [was edited], the trailer was very impressive, and I think people were expecting a movie that had a much bigger budget than ours did. And I think that the expectation from the trailer was to see something that could compete with The Matrix or any other $80 to $100 million movie. It was made for $19 to $20 million. So I think there may have been a slight [reaction] like, "Ooh, there's not quite as much action as I would have expected of a movie of this scale." And it wasn't a movie of that scale. So possibly it'll be a little bit more realistic with people sort of maybe getting what they think they're going to get this time.
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What experience do you think the audience will have as they're watching the movie in the theater?
Wiseman: Oh, God. Their reaction?
Beckinsale: Profound change.
Wiseman: Yes.
http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue457/interview.html

Underworld 2 Squeezed Budget
Len Wiseman, director of the upcoming vampire sequel film Underworld: Evolution, told SCI FI Wire he's shocked and confused when hears about the budgets of films essentially competing for the same box-office dollars as his relatively low-budget vampire pictures. King Kong, for example, cost a reported $207 million, while the upcoming Superman Returns is rumored to have a price tag between $250 million and $300 million. By comparison, the first Underworld movie cost about $22 million, and its sequel was produced on a budget of $48 million.
"It's kind of amazing and frustrating at the same time," Wiseman said in an interview. "I can understand where the money goes, because I understand how expensive things are. ... [But] I don't think movies need to be that expensive. But it's a strange thing for me, because I'm trying to make a movie that I know is promoted and presented as [being as] big as some of those other movies."
Wiseman, who is married to Underworld star Kate Beckinsale, added: "[People in the film business and in the media] all know about budgets, but the average audience doesn't really pay attention to budget. I would love to say, before they show Underworld, that there's a picture of me there on screen saying, 'Um, OK, so this movie is actually $48 million. Just so you know, that's the [cost of the] chase sequence in Matrix 2. Just the chase sequence that lasted 12 minutes. That's our budget for this entire film. Thank you. I hope you enjoy it.' So it's a weird place to be in when it's presented as big as those movies. But I think it's reaching a point where it's getting insane. We're going to reach a point where it's going to be so hard for the studios to make their money back. I guess they do. If they're putting the money out, they're getting it back." Underworld: Evolution opens nationwide Jan. 20.

'Underworld: Evolution' Takes A Bite Out Of The Big Bad Wolf
Vampire sequel tops 'Hoodwinked' by over $16 million.
by Alyssa Rashbaum
Kate Beckinsale in "Underworld: Evolution" (Sony)
With pointy teeth bared, vampires and a hungry wolf battled it out for box-office supremacy with the creatures of the night reigning supreme.
"Underworld: Evolution" was the only new release to debut in the upper half of the box-office top 10 this week, bowing at #1 with $27.6 million, according to early estimates. In the sequel to 2003's "Underworld," the history of the feud between the Death Dealers and the Lycans is revealed, with vampire warrior Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and werewolf hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman) at its crux (see "Scott Speedman Says 'Underworld' Vampire Sex Scene Sucked").
"Hoodwinked," the retelling of the classic children's story "Little Red Riding Hood," came in at #2 with more than $11 million. In the animated film - which features the voices of Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close and Anthony Anderson - a bear police chief and a stork detective are dispatched to find out just what happened at Granny's cottage.
"Glory Road" slipped to #3 with more than $9.1 million this week. The sports drama based on a true story follows the all African-American Texas Western basketball team on the road to winning the 1966 NCAA title (see " 'Glory Road' Cast Learned History As Well As Hoops").
Queen Latifah's "Last Holiday," in which she stars as a woman who radically changes her life after being told she has three weeks to live, fell from #3 to #4 with $9.1 million. LL Cool J co-stars as Latifah's crush-object, sales clerk Sean Matthews (see "LL Cool J And Queen Latifah Finally Hook Up - In 'Last Holiday' ").
"Brokeback Mountain" is the only film to climb within the box-office top 10 this week. The drama, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as a ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy who fall for each other, rose from #9 to #5 with more than $7.8 million (see " 'Brokeback' More Than Just 'The Gay Cowboy Film,' Cast Says").
"Fun With Dick and Jane" stuck to the #6 spot for the second week in a row. The film that stars Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni as a couple that turns to a life of crime after Dick loses his job, earned $6.1 million.
Rounding out the box-office top 10 are "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which slips from #4 to #7 with more than $6 million; "End of the Spear," which opens at #8 with more than $4.7 million; "Hostel" which tumbles from #5 to #9 with $4.3 million; and "The New World," which debuts at #10 with more than $4.2 million.
Overall, ticket sales were up slightly from the corresponding weekend last year.
Next week, look for "Big Momma's House 2," "Nanny McPhee" and "Annapolis" to debut on the box-office top 10.
http://www.vh1.com/movies/news/articles/15..._requestid=7626

Underworld 2 A Family Affair
Kate Beckinsale, star of the vampire-vs.-werewolf sequel film Underworld: Evolution, told SCI FI Wire that her real-life daughter, Lily, played the younger version of her character, the vampire Selene, in flashback sequences. The movie was a real family affair in other ways as well: Her husband, Len Wiseman-whom she fell in love with while shooting the original Underworld-returned to co-write, executive-produce and direct the sequel. And Lily is Beckinsale's child with her former boyfriend and Underworld co-star Michael Sheen.
"We were quite worried, because we didn't think she would take either of us that seriously as authority figures on the set," Beckinsale said of herself and Wiseman in an interview. "It would just be like a situation, like trying to get her into her snowsuit, which is like, 'No, I won't!' And everybody would be terribly embarrassed. [But] she suddenly became highly professional to the point of even asking Len to call her Selene, which is really cute, because I certainly don't insist on being called Selene. So she didn't get that from me."
Wiseman, meanwhile, had the unusual and potentially awkward task of directing his wife in a love scene with another man, namely Scott Speedman, who reprises his Underworld role as Selene's soulmate Michael, a vampire-werewolf hybrid. "It wasn't too bad," Beckinsale said. "We were able to block out the moves together, obviously, because he was allowed to touch me at home, Len was. And then we sort of put it off a bit, because Scott's become quite a family friend, so I think it would have been easier to do something like that with somebody you haven't had 4th of July barbecues with. We kept postponing it until the following week, and actually, when we came down to it, Len and I were all right, and Scott was just tortured. I think it was much worse for him. He's the one who has the movable part." Underworld: Evolution is now playing.

Star Helped Shape Underworld 2
Kate Beckinsale, who reprises her role as the lycan-hunting vampire Selene in the sequel film Underworld: Evolution, told SCI FI Wire that she helped shape the character. That, she acknowledged, had much to do with the fact that she was married to director, co-writer and executive producer Len Wiseman, whom she met while making the first film.
"I've never been involved with a movie from the moment it's a germ of an idea right through the whole editing process and the special effects, so it was a great thing for me," Beckinsale said in an interview. "Right when we started to talk about story, I was definitely a part of that. I wasn't like a Yoko Ono, sort of controlling things going on, but I was definitely consulted and involved. I couldn't not be, really, since it was all taking place in my living room most of the time. I really wanted, if we were going to have a second strike at it, to open up Selene's character a little bit. So I was glad that was what Len had in mind as well."
In the new film, Selene and Michael (Scott Speedman), a werewolf-vampire hybrid, deal both with their feelings for each other and with the threat posed by Marcus (Tony Curran), the powerful king of the vampires. Marcus aims to kill Selene, free his long-imprisoned twin brother, William, and rule the world.
"It was a difficult job, acting-wise, the first movie, because what you're trying to achieve with that character is that basically the whole thing is sold on her being this badass Death Dealer, but she's actually quite low on the food chain," Beckinsale said. "Above her is Kraven [Shane Brolly], and above that is Viktor [Bill Nighy], and she's always a little bit subordinated. In a movie like Blade or Terminator, they're not usually below 17 other people, having to toe the line all the time. It was actually quite difficult to make her as strong as a character, but at the same time, not overbalance where her role in the pecking order was."
The sequel was easier, Beckinsale said. "Selene and Michael have struck out much more on their own, and you do get a little bit more of a sense of what's happening," she said. Underworld: Evolution is now playing.

Beckinsale Clicks With Sandler
Kate Beckinsale told SCI FI Wire that she hasn't quite figured out a way to explain the plot of Click, the upcoming fantasy-comedy in which she co-stars with Adam Sandler. "It actually is really fun, and every time I try and describe it, it sounds really lame," Beckinsale said in an interview while promoting her current film, Underworld: Evolution. "But it's actually very fun."
In Click, Beckinsale plays the wife of Sandler's workaholic architect, who is constantly blowing off camping weekends and family dinners to get ahead at work, Beckinsale said. "And then he goes in through the back door of Bed, Bath & Beyond and [encounters] creepy Christopher Walken, who gives him this universal remote that's going to change his life," she said. "And it works. Basically, he can speed through anything tedious in his life, lots of which is me. Then it starts to actually sort of have a memory and take on speed for him and fast-forward through things. And so he finds that he'll get into bed with his wife and suddenly it gets to the end of it before he wants it to. Everything starts to get out of control, and he misses decades and all that. It's very funny and very moving and sweet as well. It's a cool movie."
Beckinsale added that she clicked with Sandler. "He's fantastic," she said. "He's literally, like, this far behind my husband [Underworld: Evolution director Len Wiseman] in [the] how-much-I-like-a-man stakes. He's just the best. I think it probably helps that I grew up with four brothers. It was a vibe that I'm used to. He didn't give me as many wedgies as I had at home. Actually, he didn't give me any, fortunately. That would have shocked me. But he looked like he was always about to." Click opens on June 30.

Underworld’s Kate Beckinsale: http://boloround.wordpress.com/2006/11/22/kate-beckinsale-2/

Kate Beckinsale planning a baby - but not just yet
Kate Beckinsale has revealed she's love to have a baby with film 
director husband Len Wiseman.

Kate already has a seven year old daughter, Lily, from a previous 
relationship but she wants to get the timing right on child number two.

She said recently: "I want another child but I'm not ready to stop my 
career and look after a baby for a year."

"I need to work a few more years before I get to that point, but I 
could always change my mind." 


Kate Beckinsale's fatal fear
Kate Beckinsale says she was scared of dying from the same genetic 
disease that killed her father. 

The 'Pearl Harbour' actress's father, actor Richard Beckinsale, died 
aged just 31 from a heart attack caused by an inherited gene. 

Kate, 33, has revealed she lived in fear while shooting the 
movie 'Click' in case she suffered the same fate. 



She said: "I was very aware that I was the same age as when my 
father died when I started shooting this film. It was a strange 
feeling. 

"Making it past that age has made it easier to look forward to 
things and not have anything nagging you at the back of your mind." 

Kate, who is married to film director Len Wiseman, says she can't 
wait to extend her family. 

The brunette, who has a daughter Lily from a previous relationship, 
said: "I want another child soon. I need to work for a few more 
years, but I could always change my mind." 


Kate Beckinsale to appear in 'Whiteout'?
Joel Silver is producing a heist-come-chase film called White Out. 
It's apparently a bit like Hard Rain, but instead of being set amidst 
torrential floods, it all goes down in the middle of a calamitous 
snowstorm; and it's also a bit like Insomnia in that the Antarctic 
setting is about to be plunged into months of darkness as the story 
gets underway.

Kate Beckinsale is reportedly set to star as US Marshall Carrie 
Stetko, our heroine in pursuit of the robber-killers.

These plot details may be a little off the mark, I'm afraid, but 
here's the easy way to check them out: the film is an adaptation of 
Greg Rucka's 1999 Eisner Award-winning comic book miniseries of the 
same name.

I think this is a film ick exclusive.


Kate Beckinsale the lead in 'Whiteout'
British actress Kate Beckinsale has confirmed her deal to star in 
the action thriller "Whiteout," shooting in Canada, reports 
Production Weekly. 

"Whiteout" is based on Greg Rucka's comic book miniseries, and is a 
thriller that features Beckinsale playing the lone U.S. marshal 
investigating the Antarctica's first murder. 

With only three days until winter, she must figure out whodunit 
before the continent is plunged into 24 hours of night, and she is 
stranded with the killer.

Action pro Dominic Sena will direct. Sena directed the Silver-
produced "Swordfish" as well as 2000's "Gone in Sixty Seconds."

Principal photography on "Whiteout" is scheduled to begin March 12th 
in Montreal per the production offices. 

Variety reports that Warner Bros. will distribute for producer Joel 
Silver's Dark Castle Entertainment.

Beckinsale last year was one of the stars in the Adam Sandler 
comedy "Click" and the horror sequel "Underworld: Evolution."

Ex-Boyfriend Doesn't Blame Kate Beckinsale for Break Up
Michael Sheen has forgiven his ex-girlfriend Kate Beckinsale after she 
left him for the director of the film they were working on together. 
The British actor was in a relationship with the actress for nine 
years before she left him for director Len Wiseman while they were 
both filming the 2003 movie Underworld. 

But Sheen, who has young daughter Lily with Beckinsale, insists he 
bears no grudges. He says, "The honest, truthful way of looking at it 
was that our relationship had come to an end, and the only option was 
for Kate to meet somebody else. I was never going to leave my 
daughter. And Kate would never have just said, 'Right, this is over, 
goodbye.' It became inevitable that there would have to be a third 
person involved. I've always tried to resist being the victim because 
that's just not true."


Beckinsale jumps aboard Creatures'
Kate Beckinsale will join the cast of the drama "Winged Creatures." 

Variety.com reports the "Underworld" actress will star alongside 
Forest Whitaker (nominated for Best Actor at this year's Academy 
Awards for his portrayal of Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland"), 
Guy Pearce ("Ravenous") and Dakota Fanning ("Hounddog") . 

Rowan Woods ("Little Fish") is set to direct and Robert Salerno ("21 
Grams") will produce. 

The story revolves around survivors a brutal restaurant murder who try 
to understand their own mortality. 

Production is set to being March 19. 


Kate Beckinsale Says Hollywood Look Is Ridiculous
Kate Beckinsale has heralded the physical attributes of Hollywood 
stars as completely unattainable and unrealistic. The actress believes 
normal women shouldn't aspire to look like A-list stars, because no 
amount of surgery or stylist could make them look like celebrities.

She says, "I don't think you can aspire to it, nor can I. Everybody is 
retouched, stretched, lengthened, slimmed and trimmed. I could look at 
a picture of myself from the past and think, 'Why don't I look like 
that now?' It's because I never have."

Underworld’s Kate Beckinsale: http://boloround.wordpress.com/2007/04/10/kate-beckinsale-3/

Kate Beckinsale regrets anorexia admission
Kate Beckinsale has said she regrets admitting to her past eating 
disorders because she is constantly asked about them in interviews.

Kate developed anorexia as a teenager after the aftermath of the 
sudden death of her father, actor Richard Beckinsale when she was 6.

She told Glamour magazine recently: "The only reason I ever brought it 
up in the first place is because I was young, I read a lot of 
misinformation about eating disorders."

"But, because I picked the wrong magazine to tell my story to, I 
wished I'd never said anything. It was totally sensationalised and 
that's been a real drag. I felt terribly violated."

"I believe anorexia, alcoholism and drug abuse in teens are more about 
what is happening in the home than a problem with images in the media. 
It's the nice girl's way of becoming a crack whore."

"It means they're in some kind of pain that needs to be addressed."

Will Beckinsale be the new Barbarella?
The latest buzz doing the rounds is that actress Kate Beckinsale 
will be the next ultimate science-fic adventure heroine in the 
contemporary version of Barbarella.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, which touted Sienna Miller 
as the frontrunner for the role a few days ago, the "Underworld" 
babe is being considered to play the "smart, strong, funny and sexy" 
modern Barbarella.

Earlier Drew Barrymore was also reported to be under consideration 
to play Babs in the remake.

Producers Dino and Martha De Laurentiis have concluded a rights deal 
that will permit them to remake 'Barbarella' .

According to the Variety magazine, current James Bond writers Neal 
Purvis and Robert Wade will pen the modern Barbarella.

"Barbarella is the ultimate science-fiction adventure heroine: 
smart, strong funny and sexy. I'm excited to reintroduce Barbarella 
to a new generation of moviegoers," Moviehole quoted De Laurentiis, 
as saying.

In the original film, Jane Fonda played the title character of a 
young woman, who has numerous adventures, often involving sex, while 
journeying around a galaxy.

The remake will show Barbarella as a free, modern girl surviving in 
an ultramodern world on the strength of her intelligence, fighting 
skills and sexual prowess.


Kate Beckinsale: Hollywood beauty is unattainable for everyone
Kate Beckinsale thinks it's dangerous for people - even size zero 
celebrities - to aspire to look like the images produced by 
Hollywood and fashion magazines.

Kate told Glamour magazine recently: "I don't think you can aspire 
to it, nor can I."

"Everybody is retouched, stretched, lengthened, slimmed and trimmed. 
I could look at a picture of myself from the past and think, `Why 
don't I look like that now?' It's because I never have!"

She added that it's distressing to see how many people have surgery 
and cosmetic procedures to try to attain the unattainable: "This is 
what's sick about living in LA. My 8-year-old daughter [Lily] will 
point to a woman and say, `Look! That woman's had too much Botox.' 
She spots them because they all look a bit like Lord Voldemort from 
Harry Potter."

She also revealed that she was surprised by how much weight she 
gained when she was pregnant with Lily at the age of 26: "When I was 
pregnant, everyone told me, `You're going to be one of those women 
with a little football in front.' And then this … thing, this Scooby-
Doo monster belly arrived.

"I gained 65 pounds (four and a half stone). Every single part of my 
body was thicker - even my scalp! But that's the advantage of being 
young - it went right back."