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The original sets from Star Wars, costumes from Superman and the iconic Rank gong are all part of an ambitious new museum devoted to cinematic history.

The "Movieum" will open today in a sprawling 30,000 sq ft (1,860 sq m) space in County Hall, London.

Visitors will be taken behind the scenes of the British film industry with a display of more than 4,000 original props and sets from films such as Gladiator, Thunderbirds and Elizabeth, as well as classics made in Britain in earlier decades.

The exhibits will trace the history of Pinewood Studios - where Dirk Bogarde, Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and David Lean made some of their finest films - as well as bring to life the specialist departments working behind the camera, such as special effects, make-up and wardrobe.

The organisers are expecting between 250,000 and 500,000 visitors a year, to judge from the success they had with an earlier County Hall exhibition on Star Wars, which attracted about 200,000 people over eight months.

The opening comes almost a decade after the British Film Institute closed the doors of the Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI), primarily because of rising costs. A BFI spokesman expressed interest in the new museum, particularly as MOMI's collection is languishing in a storeroom. It is believed that some of the objects could now be lent to the Movieum. Jonathan Sands, one of the Movieum's directors, said that he had the lease on the County Hall space for 25 years. "The Star Wars exhibition proved to us the fact that that location could work," he said.

Exhibits draw on film props and sets owned by Weird & Wonderful, Mr Sands's production company, which claims to own one of the largest such collections in the industry, hiring some of them out to other productions for film and television.

Many more exhibits are being lent by artists who were involved with making them, as well as the studios. Although films such as Star Wars and Batman were made possible by Hollywood studios, they feature in the Movieum because they were made in England.

Mr Sands said: "We want to illustrate the 'Bet you didn’t know this was made in England' angle . . . The American industry is actually produced by British talent "This is an exhibition about the industry by the industry. There's nothing like this."

The museum's emphasis is on interactivity. Mr Sands said that visitors would have a chance to make a mock film and actors would help people to take their own screen test.

The original throne from Elizabeth, which starred Cate Blanchett as the monarch, will be displayed for visitors to sit on within a setting of the sumptuous palace that they saw on screen.

The technology that allowed Superman to fly over London will be adapted for the 250 different film titles in which visitors to the Movieum can choose to star.

Mr Sands said: "It puts the visitor in the actual film using special effects."

He added: "The display will trace how a film is made from A to B, from the concept of an idea and the script to editing and the distribution of a film, the special effects and the model-making."

source: www.timesonline.co.uk, Times Online

Super Celebrities; Ned Beatty, Allison Mack and Noel Neill Coming to Metropolis

Metropolis, IL - Ned Beatty, Allison Mack and Noel Neill will be the featured celebrities at the 30th Annual Superman Celebration to be held in Metropolis, Illinois June 12th thru 15th, 2008. The Superman Celebration consistently tries to feature celebrities from all Superman genres and this year is no exception. "We wanted to have outstanding celebrities for our 30th year and I do believe we have accomplished that goal," stated Karla Ogle, chairperson for the Superman Celebration.

The legendary actor who was once called "the busiest actor in Hollywood" by Daily Variety; Ned Beatty will make his Superman Celebration debut in 2008. Beatty became affiliated with Superman in the 1978 motion picture playing Otis, Lex Luther's evil henchman. Beatty's career spans over 4 decades and includes over 150 motion picture credits, as well as numerous television roles.

Smallville sensation Allison Mack will also be in Metropolis for the first time during the 30th Annual Superman Celebration. Mack portrays Chloe, Clark Kent's best friend in The CW's acclaimed Smallville. Smallville is a wildly successful series that gives a new interpretation to the classic Superman mythology focusing on the life of a young Clark Kent and Lex Luther.

Noel Neill, the official First Lady of Metropolis, will return to Metropolis to celebrate her 60th Anniversary of portraying Lois Lane on the television series Adventures of Superman. Neill first portrayed Lane in 1948. In honor of Noel Neill's 60th Anniversary, a "1940's Hollywood Ball" has been added to the event schedule for the Superman Celebration. "We are so excited to be able to honor Noel this year with a ball designed to relive the glitz and glamour of the 1940's," Ogle said.

Superman fans will have the opportunity to meet the celebrities during the autograph sessions held during the Celebration. There will also be question and answer sessions allowing fans to get their most pressing Superman questions answered by the stars. For more information about the 30th Annual Superman Celebration held June 12th through the 15th, 2008 please call the Metropolis Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-949-5740 or visit www.supermancelebration.net.

Metropolis, Illinois located at the Southernmost tip of Illinois is celebrating it's 35th Anniversary of being the official "Home of Superman" an honor given to the city by DC Comics January of 1973. Heroes, Heritage and High Rollers is the tourism slogan for Metropolis. Not only is Metropolis the "Home of Superman" it is also the home to Fort Massac State Park and Harrah's Hotel and Casino. For more information about Metropolis, please visit www.metropolistourism.com or call 618-524-5025.

source: www.supermanhomepage.com, Superman Homepage

Wizard Universe has published an interview with writer Geoff Johns to ask him about "Justice Society of America", including details on the Kingdom Come tie-in and where that's headed, and what the story is with Gog. Here's an excerpt from the interview...

Q: The ending of the issue #13 was rather interesting. We have the guy we know as Gog kneeling before a giant head incased in a stone wall. Does this mean the person we believed to be Gog isn't the actual Gog?

JOHNS: You could interpret it like that, sure.

Q: Being a little mysterious, are we? Well, according to solicitations, the first part of the Kingdom Come storyline ends with April's issue #15. May's issue #16 starts off a new storyline; will this arc be moving away from the Kingdom Come aspects?

JOHNS: Well, [the current arc] is pretty much its own story right now. [The next arc] involves, obviously, Superman from [Earth-22] and the themes from it and Gog will play a part into it. It's delving into the mythology of Gog. It's totally not what people think it is. It's exploring what Gog really is, who he really is, and what he really wants. Really, it's all about "What would you do, what would you sacrifice, to make your dreams come true?"

Earlier in the week Brandon Routh spoke with Fanboy Radio and mentioned that the sequel to "Superman Returns" was still happening...

"They've still been working on because of the writer's strike. They're gonna get that figured out here soon", said Routh.

Meanwhile, the young actor has just signed on to star in an upcoming NBC series titled "Fear Itself", where he joins Shiri Appleby (Charlie Wilson's War) to form a young couple that move to an eerily idyllic subdivision.

source: www.supermanhomepage.com, Superman Homepage

The CW have confirmed that the next new episode of "Smallville" will air on Thursday, January 31st in the U.S. at 8pm.

Meanwhile, according to GinaHolden.net, actress Gina Holden started filming her role in "Smallville" this past week. KryptonSite.com speculates that Holden will be playing Patricia Swann, daughter of Virgil Swann (played by Christopher Reeve in past seasons).

While AaronDouglasFans.com lists the Battlestar Galactica actor Aaron Douglas as appearing in the up-coming 14th episode of season 7 titled "Traveler" as a character by the name of "Pierce".

Finally, the CW has released another online interview, this time talking with Allison Mack via phone. Allison Mack talks about why Chloe has unique insight into Clark/Bizarro's behavior, what's up with her relationship with Jimmy, and more.

source: www.supermanhomepage.com, Superman Homepage

Diamond Comics has released the list of comic books and other items shipping this week. Here are the Superman related items in that list...

Shipping This Week: March 5, 2008

The following products are expected to ship to comic book specialty stores this week. Note that this list is tentative and subject to change. Please check with your retailer for availability.

• COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 8
• INFINITY INC #7
• JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #43
• SUPERGIRL #27
• JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER SPECIAL
• SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL VOL 6 TP

This week marks a changing of the superhero guard on Kids' WB, the CW's Saturday-morning cartoon block. Swinging into the picture is The Spectacular Spider-Man, which makes its debut with back-to-back episodes (airing March 8 at 10 and 10:30 am/ET).

That's followed at 11 am/ET by the hour-long series finale of The Batman. In his final adventure, Batman and Robin team up with Green Arrow to battle the Joining, an alien menace introduced in last year's season finale. This time around, the Joining steals the abilities of the superpowered Justice League members - Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and Martian Manhunter - and transfers them into robotic androids.

Though The Batman is ending its five-season run, Batfans still have plenty to look forward to: In addition to this summer's live-action theatrical The Dark Knight, rumor has it that a new Batman TV 'toon modeled after the comic book The Brave and the Bold is in the pipeline. - Rich Sands


source: www.supermanhomepage.com, Superman Homepage