News from Nan Dibble of the Helpers' Network US for fans of Beauty

and the Beast (with apologies for recent mail delays, Steff)...

"Ron's got it. Strange that there's no comment on Ron's background,

roles, etc. (i.e., Vincent) or prior connection to Rick Baker (who

created the Vincent makeul). Here are the clippings from Scifiwire:

Nan"

9:00am ET, 23-April-02

• Hellboy Gets Green Light

Variety confirmed rumors that Sony-based Revolution Studios has given

the green light to Hellboy, the feature-film version of the Dark

Horse Comics series of the same name, to be directed by Guillermo del

Toro (Blade II). The Mike Mignola comic tells the story of a

red-skinned giant with a metallic left hand who looks like the devil;

Ron Perlman is being eyed to star as the title character, as

previously reported.

Hellboy, created by the Nazis, has become a force for good, an

investigator for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development,

who battles werewolves, vampires and other creatures. Del Toro will

make Hellboy his next project, the trade paper reported.

______________________

9:00am ET, 23-April-02

• Reedus Readies Zombie Western

Actor Norman Reedus, who played Scud in Blade II, told SCI FI Wire

that his work on that vampire-hunter sequel would lead directly to

his next genre effort. "I started a production company and wrote a

script in Spain with a great up-and-coming director," Reedus said in

an interview, referring to Blade II assistant director and storyboard

artist David Barto. "He's really popular over in Spain."

Reedus added, "He and I wrote the script, and we're going to make the

movie at the end of the year. It's a western with zombies. It's like

you get two kids together, have a pint of Guinness and say, 'What's

the ultimate movie you want to write and make?' And we came up with a

zombie western! I like horror. I like suspense. The zombies in this

movie aren't so much 'Arghh.' It's not that type of thing. It's about

going underground in an imaginary city that you find out is not

imaginary. There's a sense of claustrophobia. It's a little

different. We've got some of the guys who did some of the bullet

stuff in The Matrix working on our zombies. One of them had worked on

Blade II. So this zombie western is basically a lot of our friends

who just want to make a movie. Hopefully, Mickey Rourke will be in

it. I've been trying to wine and dine him to do this part he'd be so

great for. Kris Kristofferson and Ron Perlman will be in it, and

maybe Leonor Varela. We're basically stealing from [Blade II

director] Guillermo del Toro in trying to make this movie. We're

going to shoot it in an abandoned hospital in Barcelona and then down

where Sergio Leone did his spaghetti westerns.

________________

12:00pm ET, 25-April-02

• Perlman Set For Hellboy?

A source in director Guillermo del Toro's office confirms for SCI FI

Wire that Ron Perlman has won the lead role in del Toro's upcoming

Hellboy movie, based on Mike Mignola's Dark Horse comic series of the

same name. Mignola has also gone on record approving Perlman as his

top choice for the part, the source said.

Hellboy is slated to begin shooting in January in Prague, with

Guillermo Navarro as cinematographer and Rick Baker in talks to do

the Hellboy makeup, the source said. Jurassic Park dinosaur wrangler

Phil Tippet's company is also in talks to handle visual effects, the

source added. Del Toro (Blade II) also wrote the introduction to the

upcoming Hellboy: Conqueror Worm trade paperback, which was published

in February by Dark Horse.