EdwardKnoxII

And don't forget you gotta love how that had former Batman Adam West do the voice of the Grey Ghost. A very fitting choice if I do say so myself. I also love how this episode was referenced in an episode of Batman Beyond, when Bruce Wayne dons the Grey Ghost's mask in order to help Batman but keep his true identity a secret.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/07/12...n.ap/index.html Cache of child porn found at seminary Monday, July 12, 2004 Posted: 4:06 PM EDT (2006 GMT) VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- A vast cache of child pornography and photos of young priests having sex has been discovered at a Roman Catholic seminary, officials said Monday, leading politicians and church leaders to demand a criminal probe and the resignation of the bishop in charge. Bishop Kurt Krenn, who oversees the diocese, refused to step down, however, dismissing the images as a "childish prank." Leaders of the Catholic diocese of St. Poelten where the seminary is located, about 50 miles west of Vienna, spent much of the day in an emergency meeting. The seminary's director, the Rev. Ulrich Kuechl, resigned along with his deputy, Wolfgang Rothe, the diocese said after the meeting. It did not elaborate. As many as 40,000 photos and an undisclosed number of films, including child pornography, were found a year ago on computers at the seminary, the respected news magazine Profil reported. It published several images purportedly showing young priests and their instructors kissing and fondling each other, and said others showed them engaging in orgies and sex games. The child porn came mostly from Web sites based in Poland, the magazine said. Hannes Jarolim, a spokesman for the opposition Socialist Party, urged the Interior Ministry on Monday to launch a criminal investigation. Public prosecutor Walter Nemec said police were examining the material, which he said showed seminarians "in perverse situations together with their superiors." The Austrian Bishops Conference issued a statement pledging a full and swift internal investigation. "Anything that has to do with the practice of homosexuality or pornography has no place at a seminary for priests," it said. Krenn, a conservative churchman, told Austrian television he had seen photos of seminary leaders in sexual situations with students, but he described the images as part of an elaborate prank that "had nothing to do with homosexuality." His nonchalance drew swift and scathing reaction across the overwhelmingly Catholic nation. "Collecting child pornography cannot be dismissed as a prank," said Thomas Huber, a Green Party politician. In the mid-1990s, Austria was stung by allegations that Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, who died last year, had molested students at an all-male Catholic boarding school two decades earlier. The affair had prompted Groer to step down. A group of St. Poelten Diocese officials planned to ask the Vatican to remove Krenn as bishop, Austrian radio reported Monday. Martin Walchhofer, who supervises the alpine country's seminaries, said Krenn ultimately was responsible and "must answer before the church and before God for all of this." Asked whether he intended to resign, Krenn said bluntly: "No." The Vatican said it had no comment. Krenn, 68, issued a statement calling the accusations groundless while conceding that he "may have made some wrong personnel decisions" at the seminary. Rothe, the former deputy seminary chief, was a legal adviser to the bishop.

In my opinion, the "Lana falls for another guy" thing is getting pretty old. I kinda hope Jason doesn't end up as another psycho with a superpower. No kidding. I swear I think Lana is the dumbest person in Smallville. Everytime she dates a man, he turns out to be a superpowered psycho. Clark then tries to tell her about it but, Lana doesn't believe him and thinks that he is jealous. Ok, never mind the fact that Clark has been right about it the last HUNDRED times or so and had to save her ass because of her being a dumbass, you would think Lana would get a clue and believe Clark for once. At least, Chole has a clue and believes him, more or less, no matter how off the wall things Clark tells her.

BTW, any questions about anything Spider-Man head on over to this website. The guy has pieces on all types of Spier-Man history, storylines, TV shows, etc. And gives his views on them to. This is a great site. http://www.spideykicksbutt.com/

Don't forget during the reboot there was a story with Venom were Brock and suit were apart. Brock know that Parker was Spider-Man but, when the suit and Brock bonded and became Venom he wouldn't have any idea who Spider-Man really was and the suit made no effort in telling Brock.

Speaking of NOES. Does anybody remember the show Just The Ten Of Us about the fat coach and his teen daughters? It was a spin off a Growing Pains and it last 2 seasons I think. Anyways, out of his 4 teen girls 3 of them were in Elm Street movies. One of them was Heather Langenkamp.

I guess it's the editing to that makes her look that way but, here's the thing. Her dad is the executive producer and has alot of say in what is shown. So am I the only one thinks it's messed up that her dad is editing the show to make her look like a dumbass? Even if it's getting them ratings? Of course, I do wonder about her dad. Remember the ep were they were filming the video for Sweetest Sin and they're doing the love making and her dad is standing RIGHT THERE like a few feet away watching very closely. Hell even Nick said something about it in a joking manner but, even he seemed not to like it.

Yeah and they didn't really do much of not besides get there asses kicked by Brock for months on end.

Yeah he did and I remember him doing it a few times during the later days of Johnny B. Badd. You know when Badd started looking less and less like a queer.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5410738/ In radio address, president says ‘our nation has no other choice’The Associated Press Updated: 10:34 a.m. ET July 10, 2004WASHINGTON - President Bush says legalizing gay marriage would redefine the most fundamental institution of civilization and that a constitutional amendment is needed to protect it. A few activist judges and local officials have taken it on themselves to change the meaning of marriage, Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address. Leading the chorus of support for an amendment, Bush said, “If courts create their own arbitrary definition of marriage as a mere legal contract, and cut marriage off from its cultural, religious and natural roots, then the meaning of marriage is lost and the institution is weakened.” Opening of debate His remarks follow the opening of Senate debate Friday on a constitutional amendment effectively banning gay marriage. Reflecting the election-year sensitivity of the issue, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Republicans are using the constitutional amendment as a bulletin board for campaign sloganeering. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, accused Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry of holding inconsistent positions. Kerry and running mate Sen. John Edwards oppose gay marriage, but support civil unions. Bush singled out Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court, which called marriage an evolving paradigm. “That sends a message to the next generation that marriage has no enduring meaning, and that ages of moral teaching and human experience have nothing to teach us about this institution,” he said. Bush: ‘Our nation has no other choice’ The president urged the House and Senate to send to the states for ratification an amendment that defines marriage in the United States as a union of a man and woman as husband and wife. Senate Democrats signaled they will not throw barriers in front of the resolution, paving the way for a vote on the amendment as early as next Wednesday. A constitutional amendment should never be undertaken lightly, Bush said, “yet to defend marriage, our nation has no other choice.” The vote puts some Democrats and Republicans in a difficult position. One senator acknowledged the political risk in trying to walk a line supporting both traditional marriage and gay rights. “I intend to be your champion on many issues in the future, if you want me,” Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., said in remarks directed at gay and lesbian voters. Smith is a leader in efforts to make attacks against homosexuals a federal hate crime. © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,14470,00.html UPN: Amish Next Hot Thing by Lia Haberman Jul 8, 2004, 1:30 PM PT Bondage babes, horny bachelors and bug-crunching fame seekers need not apply for UPN's newest reality series. Indeed, the network's tapped into a large pool of previously unjaded participants for its latest TV experiment, Amish in the City. UPN announced today that the fish-out-of-water series, starring the horse-and-buggy set, would premiere in less than three weeks, with back-to-back episodes airing July 28. The Real World-style series pairs five Amish youths with six of their big-city counterparts, including a party girl and a club promoter, in a swanky Hollywood Hills home and tracks the ensuing culture clash as the housemates take a helicopter ride to a resort island, work with the mentally disabled and walk the red carpet at a movie premiere. Casting for the Amish youths was conducted mostly in the Midwest during the coming-of-age period known as rumspringa (Pennsylvania Dutch for "running around"), when the Amish are allowed to experience more "normal" teen activities, such as dating and driving, before deciding if they want to join the church. But "running around" is a relative term for the simple-living Amish. When the concept was first announced in January, it provoked an uproar from TV critics, advocacy groups and political types, with 51 members of Congress lending their John Hancocks to an anti-UPN petition. But network execs denied any allegations of exploitation. "Foremost in our minds as we went forward was to treat with the highest respect the young Amish people who were entering a world they had never before experienced," said a statement from UPN prez Dawn Ostroff. "In working with our producers, two of whom produced The Devil's Playground, a film that touched on many of these same issues, we believe we have succeeded in developing a program that is both serious and entertaining and ultimately very thought-provoking." As such, the series had to be filmed in secrecy and wasn't touted on the network's upcoming schedule at its upfront presentation to advertisers in May. The secrecy paid off for the network--CBS was forced to indefinitely postpone a similar series, the Real Beverly Hillbillies, after critics accused the Tiffany net of conducting a "hick hunt" through the Appalachians.

I remember back in WCW Kidman, more times then not, did kick ass shooting star presses. Hell he even pulled out a few springboard to the outside ones. Hell it was because of Kidman's SSP that I made it the finisher for my e-wrestler when I first started e-feds. But, ever since he came to WWE his SSPs have been pretty sad and shitty. I don't know why it is. Age, injury, the WWE style, or Kidman just isn't happy and thus isn't trying anymore but, it's real sad watching him do the SSP now.

I was an Ahmed fan to and I still think he was very over after he came back from injury. But, I think what killed his overness was joining the NOD out of nowhere while he was still feuding with them. And the thing is they never really explained why Ahmed joined them. I do remember JR saying something like Ahmed joined them because of his past as a youth he was in gangs. But, even then it was half-assed explained.

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,14482,00.html Lindsay Lohan: Pop Star by Josh Grossberg Jul 9, 2004, 2:15 PM PT Just call her L.Lo. Lindsay Lohan, Hollywood's latest It Girl thanks to sparkling performances in such hit flicks as Mean Girls and Freaky Friday, is officially a multihyphenate, having just inked a record deal with Tommy Mottola's Casablanca Records. "I can confirm Lindsay has indeed signed with Casablanca," Peter Lofrumento, a rep for Casablanca's parent company, Universal Music Group, told E! Online. No further details were disclosed, but it's believed Lohan has locked up a long-term, multi-album pact. Lohan, who turned 18 a week ago, does have a musical pedigree--and we're not talking about her role as a rocker in Freaky Friday or as girlfriend to popster Aaron Carter. Her mom was once a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall and Lindsay knows her way around a studio. In 2002, she signed a five-album production deal with producer Emilio Estefan Jr. with the idea that he would shop her around to a major record label. She also sang the song "Ultimate" on last year's Freaky Friday soundtrack and contributed three tracks this year to Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. It was her made-for-soundtrack cuts that caught the attention of Mottola, the former boss of Sony Music. "I'm thrilled we have her," Mottola told the New York Post. "I think she's the next big star on the horizon. She has the potential--if not more--of any of the big ones I've worked with." That would put Lohan in some elite company. Mottola is known for nurturing the mega-successful careers of Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, and ex-wife Mariah Carey (they divorced in 1998), while heading Sony's music label for a decade and a half. After leaving Sony, Mottola linked up with Universal Music Group and formed his own label, Casablanca Records. According to the Post, Casablanca recently signed a deal to distribute all of Miramax Films' soundtracks, including Shall We Dance?, an upcoming musical starring Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere. The Post says Mottola wants to put Lohan on the same musical trajectory as Lopez. Lohan's first album on the Casablanca imprint is expected to hit record stores by the end of the year. Besides recording, feuding with Hilary Duff, partying with Paris Hilton and purportedly dating That '70s Show's Wilmer Valderrama, the Parent Trap star has several high-profile flicks in the pipeline, including Herbie: Fully Loaded, an update of Disney's Love Bug; Dramarama, in which she plays a rich kid forced to attend public school after her family suffers economic misfortune; Gossip Girl, a comedy about dueling rich girls; and Fashionistas, in which she plays a young fashion designer out to exact revenge on a former editor.

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,14487,00.html Stone Kills "Basic" Lawsuit by Joal Ryan Jul 9, 2004, 7:45 PM PT Sharon Stone is surrendering the ice pick. The star has dropped her multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the producers of the long-planned, as-yet-unmade Basic Instinct sequel, she confirmed to E! Friday. Stone even hinted that the project itself was being freed from the depths of development hell. "Supposedly we are now back in the process of making Basic Instinct 2," Stone said. "You never, ever know, but it would be fun." The actress' comments came as she was promoting Catwoman, the Halle Berry-in-leather excuse in which Stone costars. The comments also came amid a tough PR week for the actress--a week in which the Smoking Gun ratted out Stone as both a perk-seeking diva and an overtime-denying boss. Per the document-downloading Website, Stone's three-year-old Basic Instinct 2 lawsuit finally was to go to trial this month. Stone filed suit against producers Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna in June 2001, shortly after the sequel was scrapped by MGM. Complaining she'd lost jobs while waiting around to reprise her role as ice pick-wielding author Catherine Tramell, Stone sought the $14 million she said Kassar and Vajna had agreed to pay her up front. She said the producers orally agreed to the contract; they maintained nothing was official. If Stone didn't get her paycheck specifics in writing, it appears she gets her perk requests in triplicate. As a marked-up, five-page document leaked last week to the Smoking Gun shows, Stone requires many things during the movie-making process, including: dibs on wardrobe and jewelry; caterer approval (a private chef's okay, too); a first-class motor home with such first-class amenities that "no one receives [will] better facilities"; and a Pilates Cadillac--a piece of exercise equipment, not an SUV. While lengthy contract riders are the rule, not the exception among Hollywood stars, Stone's may have become an issue if her lawsuit had gone to trial. The producers reportedly were ready to argue her demands were among the project's sticking points. In addition to requesting motor homes and the like, Stone also uses her contract to set boundaries: No cigar smoking on the set; no commercial tie-ins involving firearms or "feminine hygiene products"; and no nudity of the unplanned variety. (Nude scenes she's already read about, and approved, are okey-dokey.) It was Stone's lack of wardrobe in the original Basic Instinct that lifted her up from costarring and B-movie roles, and helped establish the film as a Top 10 box-office hit of 1992, with $117.7 million in domestic ticket sales. Stone was the only major Instinct player slated to return for the sequel. Star Michael Douglas, director Paul Verhoeven, and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas were long ago out. Names of potential leading men were floated--Pierce Brosnan and Harrison Ford, included--but no name ever landed. This week, Stone told the Australian newspaper the Advertiser that if the new movie went ahead her love/hate interest would be wrinkle free. "Somebody should be younger," the 46-year-old Stone said in the Advertiser. "We are discussing it now." There were no details on the lawsuit settlement. Owing to the ever-watchful Smoking Gun, however, there were details this week on the nearly $20,000 California labor officials ordered Stone to pay a former personal assistant, who complained the celeb stiffed her on overtime and vacation pay. With legal matters settled, Stone on Friday sounded as if she was looking forward to rediscovering her Basic Instinct. "I'm good at being the villain," she told E!

I know this doesn't count. But, when I heard the story about how Phil Collins "In The Air Of The Night" was a story how Phil was trying to save his brother in the lake while a guy watched and did nothing. Then years later Phil finds the guy and sends him tickets to a concert and then sings the song right in the guys face. The guy figures out who Phil is and runs out and kills himself. Hearing that story and then hearing "In The Air Of The Night" was kinda creepy. Yeah it was just rumor and the song was about Phil getting a divorce but, it's still kinda creepy.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5402763?GT1=4244 Fast-food giant accused of failing to reduce fat in cooking oilThe Associated Press Updated: 9:00 a.m. ET July 09, 2004SAN FRANCISCO - McDonald’s Corp. was hit with a lawsuit Thursday accusing the fast-food giant of failing to reduce fat in the cooking oil used in its french fries and other foods. Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s pledged in September 2002 to switch to a lower-fat oil by February, 2003. The suit, filed in federal court on behalf of a California woman, says McDonald’s has not disclosed “to the public in an effective manner that it had not switched to a new, healthier cooking oil.” The restaurant chain had announced it planned to cut the trans fat levels in its fried foods. But McDonald’s has delayed the plan, citing concerns of product quality and customer satisfaction. McDonald’s spokeswoman Lisa Howard said the company could not comment on the complaint’s specific allegations because it had not seen the lawsuit. Howard said McDonald’s has reduced trans fatty acid levels in its McNuggets and other chicken dishes. “In February 2003, we made a broad public statement that the change in our cooking oil was taking longer than anticipated and would be delayed,” she said. “We continue to work hard to achieve our ambitious goals for reduction of TFAs in our cooking oil.” Heart-clogging trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil — a process called hydrogenation. © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The thing that gets me is if she is casted you just know that they're going to have Dazzler make a chicken of the sea joke or a bufflao wings joke. And when they do I'm so going to throw something at the screen or punch it out.

Which means Tripe H will be going over all of us in the e-fed world.

Maybe they're mad that E-feds can book better angles and shows then they could ever hope for SD.

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/07/Hillsbor..._be_facto.shtml Trauma might be factor in sex case The tragic loss of her sister may have affected the teacher accused of intercourse with a 14-year-old male pupil. By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER, Times Staff Writer Published July 7, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TAMPA - In the weeks after a drunken driver killed her pregnant older sister, Debra Beasley Lafave could not sleep. Lafave had nightmares about the man who ran through a stop sign in April 2001 and rammed into 24-year-old Angela Beasley's 1998 Nissan. "I have been depressed," Lafave testified during the August 2001 court-martial for Joseph Piotrowski, the former Army captain now serving 30 years in prison for Beasley's death. "It's hard to concentrate on anything but that," she said. "Angry. I'd snap at my family for no reason. I've been sick. I've lost a piece of me." Lafave was almost 21 and close to graduating from college, yet her mother testified that she called for her in the night. She couldn't stand being alone. "Debbie is pretty much a basket case," Joyce Beasley, told the military court. While the research is mixed, some psychologists who specialize in sex crimes committed by women believe there's a link between past trauma and criminal sexual behavior. Three years after her sister's death, Lafave has been arrested for having sex with a minor, a former student at the school where she was teaching. She and her family have not spoken publicly since her arrest, and attorney John Fitzgibbons will not discuss his defense strategy. But as the case makes its way through the courts, it's possible the death of Lafave's sister and its effect on Lafave will be addressed. Local defense attorneys say the shock o f the sister's death won't hold up as a defense, but it could be used as a mitigating circumstance to reduce the jail time Lafave faces if convicted. Lafave, now 23 and newly married to Owen Lafave, 26, was arrested in Hillsborough and Marion counties last month. She is accused of having oral sex and intercourse with a 14-year-old male student who graduated in May from Greco Middle School, where Lafave has been a reading teacher for two years. She is charged with four counts of lewd and lascivious battery against a minor and one count of lewd and lascivious exhibition. The charges are felonies, with maximum sentences of 15 years each. Records from the Piotrowski court-martial portray a close-knit southern Hillsborough family crushed by the loss of a daughter and sister and unborn grandchild - a family that only three years later finds itself facing the nationally publicized allegations against Lafave. "To say Debbie was devastated by the sudden traumatic death of her sister would be an understatement," Fitzgibbons, her attorney, said Tuesday. "It was a horribly difficult experience that had a very significant impact on Debbie." The research on female sexual offenders is limited, in part because women make up only a small percentage - estimates range from 6 to 10 percent - of known sex offenders in the United States. Some experts who have studied female offenders say personal tragedy alone does not prompt a woman to do such things. "Things like that are horrific, no question," said psychologist and researcher Anna Salter, who wrote a book about female pedophilia. "But ... the vast majority of people who lose a relative don't go out and have sex with a student," said Salter. "To tell you the truth, female sex offenders aren't a group we understand very well." Yet other researchers and psychologists believe female offenders seek sexual relationships they can control as a way to satisfy emotional needs - needs that can be triggered by a great loss. Alison Tarlow, a licensed clinical psychologist at the Renfrew Center in Coconut Creek, said Lafave has experienced "a significant loss, and certainly that might contribute to some sort of emotional instability. "When we're in that state, we're not thinking like you would expect a teacher to think," said Tarlow, who specializes in treating sexual abuse. "We're not making the choices a teacher should make. She may be seeking to fill the void of the loss of her sister, and doing that with inappropriate relationships." * * * For Lafave, the loss of her older sister and confidante in April 2001 came as she prepared for happy milestones. She was finishing up her bachelor's degree at the University of South Florida, and after 21/2 years in a serious relationship, she was beginning to think about a wedding, with her sister as maid of honor. Lafave had been looking forward to early June of that year, when Angela was planning to take time off from her job as a credit union loan officer in Riverview for the family's to join the family for their annual beach vacation. Lafave had felt her unborn niece kick, and she told the court she cooked dinner for her pregnant sister with all the salty things she craved, like extra olives on her salad. "She was the person that I looked up to, that I confided in, that I admired," Lafave told the court. "She had a smile that would light up a room. She was, she was - me and mom said that she was a butterfly." For Beasley's grave, Lafave bought a statue of a butterfly, her mother testified. Lafave also has two butterfly tattoos on the small of her back, according to authorities. And Temple Terrace police last month seized from Lafave's Riverview townhouse two belly rings. Both were in the shape of a butterfly. Could that type of evidence be used in the trial to suggest Lafave is still deeply affected by her sister's death? Defense attorney Brian Gonzalez said it likely wouldn't be enough to argue mental instability during a trial. "Obviously she's not insane," Gonzalez said. "So I don't think it (the sister's death) would be a jury-friendly fact to try." Florida statutes allow a convicted person's prison sentence to be less than what's laid out in the law if certain factors, called mitigating circumstances, are proven. "Potentially, using that tragedy in mitigation might lessen the sentence," said Gonzalez. "Now you can't come in and say, "She was grieving for her sister and that's why this happened.' The defense could suggest that her ability to conform to the law was impaired by this, or they could suggest she should get some specialized treatment instead of prison." * * * During the court-martial, Lafave and her parents recalled memories that suggested they were a closely bonded but unremarkable nuclear family, one that reveled in the holidays and summer vacations together. Lafave and her sister were born four years and two months apart, but they were close. They grew up in the Ruskin home their parents moved into in 1970. Their father, Larry Beasley, was a water fuels analyst for Tampa Electric Co. for 27 years before retiring in 2002. Their mother was a hairdresser. The family made a big deal out of birthdays and holidays, and Lafave loved it when her sister helped make a bonfire so they could roast marshmallows and cook hot dogs. At Christmas the two baked cookies together, and they woke up together Christmas morning to open their stockings. Every year at the beginning of June, to celebrate their wedding anniversary, Joyce and Larry Beasley would vacation with their daughters at the beach. During Piotrowski's court-martial, Lafave recalled those summers with her sister. "We'd play together and watch the sun set, and we'd fish with my dad," Lafave said. "And we like to dig for these little critters in the sand called sand fleas, and she would put them down my pants. Then we'd run along and, and we'd just look silly. "It was our time, even though we had all veered our separate ways, to get back together." Beasley had promised her little sister a cruise to celebrate her 21st birthday. "I miss, I, I'm graduating college, and I was really excited when I found out that I was going to graduate early, and - and my natural instinct, I wanted to call my sister," Lafave said. "So I miss calling her for the little things and talking to her about my problems, things that only she would understand probably." - Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3373 or [email protected]

Well we may have lost Berry but, we could get Jessica Simpson. Which is much worst. http://www.x3movie.net/UX3/xnews/news77 (07.06) Jessica Simpson Might Be Dazzler in X3 & Spinoff Is it a little nutty news? Or is it the truth? A scooper at Dark Horizons reports to the site: ...what took me off guard is how our paper goes on to say how Jessica is possibly auditioning for a role as a superhero called Dazzler. The article goes on to say that producers were impresses with a small audition tape that the singer-actress sent them upon request, and will possibly give her a small role in the 3rd X-MEN movie as a lounge-singer, to introduce the character of Dazzler, in hopes to extend the character's role in future films. Don't take this all with a grain of salt. There are a couple X spin-off projects that Marvel and 20th Century Fox have been putting in the early stages and Dazzler might very well be one of those. We previously recieved word from a source that the studio was hoping to debut certain characters in the third film, to spin them off into other franchises featuring solo characters and teams. While we were never given the specifics as to who these characters were, Dazzler seems to be a strong possibility, and there could actually be truth to the story. But can Jessica Simpson, a singer with barely any real acting experience pull off starring in her own film? And if producers are accepting audition tapes for the Dazzler character, then what other actresses have tried out? Stay tuned for more on this possible true story.

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040702f.php "X3" & "Fantastic" Casting Talk Posted: Friday July 2nd, 2004 11:29pm (Au-EST) Author: Garth Franklin Handbag.com reports that Halle Berry will not be back for a third "X-Men" movie because her character, Storm, isn't going to be in it enough. According to their insider, "Halle was ready to do X-Men 3, but only if Storm was given more storyline, but the studio sees the third movie as a means to wrap up the trilogy, and that means Storm won't be featured more than Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Halle has now passed on the third movie because she's not into bit-parts. She's an Oscar winner and she wants roles that test her". As a result, producers are now apparently looking to singer and actress Christina Milian as a possible replacement In more solid news, Latino Review has learned that "Not Another Teen Movie" & "Cellular" star Chris Evans has been offered the role of Johnny Storm (aka. The Human Torch) in Fox's "The Fantastic Four". Tim Story wants Evans and that he loved him so much that he apparently offered him the role right there on the spot. The final list now according to the most solid rumours seems to be Ioan Gruffodd ("Horatio Hornblower", "King Arthur") as Mr. Fantastic, Rachel McAdams ("The Notebook", "Mean Girls") as Susan Storm, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, and Michael Chiklis (TV's "The Shield") as Ben Grimm. An official announcement is due any moment. Thanks to 'Pat' & 'Kellvin'

http://www.newsarama.com/pages/Marvel/Austen_Leaves.htm Austen Leaves X-Men by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean Chuck Austen has confirmed for Newsarama that he is leaving the X-Men and Marvel. In an exclusive interview with the writer, Austen talked about his Marvel-lous days, the X-Men and more. Newsarama: Let's get this out straight and ironed out first... Did you decide to leave the X-Men and Marvel voluntarily or did you get the boot? Did you finally realize that enough is enough, or was it a case of "the grass is greener elsewhere"? Chuck Austen: Obviously, no matter what the facts are, a lot of people are going to form their own opinions. Speculation is the lifeblood of the industry, in more ways than one [laughs]. And there will be room for speculation, since I don't want to get into any real details. Those specifics are between me and Marvel, really. But the simple answer is: I chose to leave, and it was a tough decision. I didn't "finally realize" anything, I was clear on the situation from very early on, and had discussed it privately many times. I just don't talk about my employment situation publicly, so very few people knew. NRAMA: You'd mentioned before that you were having some editorial disputes. Did that play a role? The reality is, what I said in the press release for Marvel is absolutely true. The people of Marvel were great, and I enjoyed working with them, and am grateful, especially to Joe, for giving me such a tremendous break in comics with the first US War Machine, Elektra and eventually the X-Men. It was an enormous risk to give an unknown such breaks, and I appreciate them giving me those breaks. I think it paid off for both of us. I left because, as I and Joe Q. and others have said in recent interviews, Marvel has changed its internal policies about what is, and is not acceptable in their comics, and I was finding it very difficult to write that way. Not that I couldn't scale back, and not that Mike Marts and the rest didn't want me to try and felt I couldn't. But I'm not naturally geared that way as a creator, and so it took a lot more work, and that work became less enjoyable. Eternal and US War Machine are my true north, so anything less adult and intense from there is harder for me to write. My favorite show on television is Deadwood [laughs]! So, more re-writes, and heavier notes from editorial are less fun, more time consuming and less cost-effective. It's just a business decision, really. I can write the way I'm inclined elsewhere than Marvel, and Marvel can find writers who write the way they want, so why not do it? So I asked off the books Marvel had given me. Mike Marts and I discussed my staying, trying to find a way to work it out. Mike even asked if another editor might work better with me, but that's just another example of how great Mike is, willing to remove ego from the equation in an effort try to make things work. I think he's one of the best people I've ever known or worked with, and I doubt I could work more easily with another editor, outside of Tom Palmer or Eddie Berganza. It was just time for me to move on from Marvel. So in the end, I left and they asked me to give them time to find replacements, and I agreed to stay for at least that long. It was a mutual decision to end it the way we did. NRAMA: When did this happen? CA: About four months ago, now. But the decision had been building for some time. NRAMA: How do you feel about this decision? CA: Great. I miss the characters and the books, and Mike Marts and many of the other people I worked with up there, but it was really best for all of us. I can't say Marvel is wrong for their policies. Well-established super-hero characters like the X-Men, Spider Man and Captain America, really should be "all-ages." NRAMA: Looking back, you got your first big break when you did US War Machine, the first volume. You're an artist too, but more recently, you’ve found your calling in writing comics instead. Lots and lots of them as the months went by. Two volumes of US War Machine, Elektra, Eden's Trail, Captain America, Exiles, Eternal, Uncanny X-Men, New X-Men, X-Men, Avengers ... as well as Action Comics, JLA , the Catwoman movie adaptation, Flywires, and your creator-owned WorldWatch. How'd you manage all the projects? At one time, you were like working on, what, five titles a month? CA: Actually, I never worked on more than four titles a month, or one script a week, except when I was scripting Captain America, and that was a special occasion to help Joe. That was the only time I was burning it at both ends, and truly exhausted. It just seemed like more because when I had an opening in my schedule, I would slip in another fill-in script that would not be used for months, and then seven things would be on the stands on the same day. I was, at one point, really far ahead on a lot of my series work, and people at Marvel wanted to work with me on other, open projects, so it just worked out. Remember, I come from a television background, where the material has to be done or it doesn't go on air, and it can't not air, or the networks go insane. So it gets done. Somehow. I've also learned a pretty healthy work ethic over the years. I get up, shower, work, and write about six hours a day, every weekday, and add an hour or two if things are behind. It seems like a lot of work, in the context you talk about, but it's just an average workload, mostly, that happened to come out in a small timeframe. NRAMA: In your opinion, what would you label as your finest achievements with Marvel Comics? How have you put your stamp on the comics scene with your Marvel projects? CA: Oh, I don't know. I think those things are judged over time, by other people. I have my personal favorites, but on some level I liked every script I worked on, or I wouldn't have turned it in. Winning the Genesis award for "Can They Suffer" in X-Men Unlimited was certainly a high point. And having the award presented by Kelly Hu with C.B. Cebulski there was icing on the cake. US War Machine is a perennial favorite of mine, and we legitimately produced it on a weekly schedule, so I'm extremely proud of that. Elektra with Bendis was great fun. The Gambit story in Ultimate X-Men. My Exiles stuff was a blast. Several Uncanny stories will always be my favorites, particularly my first Northstar story, Juggernaut coming onto the team, Sammy. Giant Jan in the Avengers, Captain Britain, who evolved way beyond what I originally intended. I ended up loving that character. The new Invaders. The Eternal, of course. I loved working on that book. I was even really proud of the work on Eden's Trail, in the end, though I know Steve Uy hated it. It's hard to be specific. Let other people decide. They usually do, anyway [laughs]. NRAMA: If you could turn back the clock and change one thing, would you? CA: Nothing. I'd do nothing different. I rarely have regrets about what I decide to do. It was a blast playing with all the childhood toys. You do your best to entertain, and not everything is as successful as everything else, but you try to make it surprising and fun, which is difficult with fifty years worth of history and story in these characters. I have no regrets. And how can you, anyway, really, in an industry that can reset itself? NRAMA: Of all the projects at Marvel, you've worked on the X-Men titles the longest. How does it feel like to leave the mutants behind after all these years? CA: It's tough. And because of the double shipping, there's been a lot of material I've worked on, a lot of characters I've played with. I'll miss them all. Even though you know they're not yours, they're the product of a corporation and many, many diverse hands in the stew -- you grow to love them. They become a part of you, and it's hard to let go. NRAMA: What's going to be your last issue of X-Men? CA: #164. NRAMA: Who'll you miss the most? CA: That's a tough one. Annie. Sammy. Alex. Warren and Paige. Bobby. Juggernaut, definitely. Perhaps him more than the others. But I wound up really loving Archangel, in the end. Hell, I even miss Stacy. She was fun. I wish I could have kept her. Jubilee. Josh Guthrie. Lorna. Loved Lorna. NRAMA: What's in store for the x-fans in the remaining issues of your run? CA: Big stuff. Lots of shocks and surprises, and this time, all the fans will love it. Guaranteed. Either because it catches them off guard, or because I'm leaving [laughs]. NRAMA: What plans did you have for them that the readers would not see in the pages of the monthlies, or sometimes, bi-weekly comics? CA: So many. Soooo many. I even have a few scripts that Marvel owns that will probably never see print. I had a lot of plans for Warren and Paige, more emerging angels, and Warren becomes reclusive as a world of infirm and cripples make pilgrimages to him for him to attempt to heal them. The return of Azazel. Sinister's death camps. Big things for Havok and Annie and Carter. Some surprises with Polaris. Some twists with the new Xorn. A relationship for Northstar. Josh Guthrie was going to have a lot happen to him. Mindee, one of the cuckoos, had a growing role. There's a few jolts coming with Juggernaut, that would have played out differently if I'd stayed. My head was loaded with X-stuff for years. I loved all the characters, really, and had plans for them all. As I said, this was a tough decision, and I had to remove my personal feelings from it. In the end, it's business. NRAMA: So, who's taking over the X-Men? CA: No idea. I don't want to know, and never ask those questions just in case it's someone who's going to make me look bad [laughs]. First I had to follow the brilliant Geoff Johns. Then imagine how hard it was to learn Bendis was taking over the Avengers after me. The man's a genius, and you just can't look good in comparison [laughs]. NRAMA: Looking ahead, what do you have planned? What's next for Chuck Austen? Are you going to make DC your new home as much as Marvel was your former one? CA: Doubtful. Although never say never. I like having a certain amount of freedom, and I'd like to explore more things outside of mainstream superheroes. I'm working on a baseball comic. Science Fiction. There are some pitches in at DC. A men's adventure thing for Humanoids. We're batting ideas around. I'm keeping an eye on WorldWatch to see if self-publishing can pan out for me. Strips may re-emerge in some form, along with Hardball. I'm looking into the viability of that, and drawing again. NRAMA: So you’re looking at self-publishing as an alternative? Are you going to do more of such projects, or is this going to be sort of something like a part-time job? CA: Depends on the sales [laughs]. If the sales stay strong, I'll be doing more of it. If they increase, I may even expand the publishing empire a bit, and add another title or two, if there's money in it. Right now, it breaks even, and I'm doing it for fun and freedom. NRAMA: Any parting words for the people that you'd worked with at Marvel, specifically EiC Joe Quesada, X-editor Mike Marts, Tom Brevoort, Steve Uy, the artists, etc? CA: Only that I enjoyed working with all of them. Even when there may have been tension, I was pleased with the results, and still liked them all personally. I'll miss them all. Ralph, Nick Lowe, CB Cebulski, Tom, Mike Marts. Guys who already left, like Brian Smith, and Mike Raicht. I loved those guys. Marvel has a lot of good people, and I wish them nothing but success. The comics industry needs it.

I remember reading a report that Russo was suppose to have the limo have fake brake away glass but, Russo decide to keep the real glass to make the breaking look real for whatever reason. Russo didn't tell Goldberg which is why GB punched out the windows. But, don't quote me on that.