Renaissance Man
Ali Rasul, Renaissance Pictures' Director of Marketing, brings Xena Magazine up to speed on the latest going-ons at Xena's production company.
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 10
XENA MAGAZINE: What are your thoughts on the departure of Ted Raimi as Joxer from Xena: Warrior Princess at the end of season five, and is Ted likely to make any return guest appearances?
Ali Rasul: I really liked Joxer a lot and will be a bit sad to see him leave. But it is very possible we will see Joxer again in season six.
Sam Raimi is no doubt currently busy with Columbia's upcoming film adaptation of Spiderman, which he directs. How are things progressing on the film?
Sam is currently in post-production on the supernatural thriller The Gift as well as in pre- production on the Spiderman movie. So as you can imagine, he’s one busy guy right now.
For your information, at the time of writing the lead role for Spiderman is still up for grabs. The best and brightest of Hollywood's young actors have all been vying for this most coveted role, but as of yet, no one has been cast. Does anyone have any suggestions?
What’s the latest news on Renaissance Pictures’ upcoming series, South Camelot?
It’s currently in rewrite. That’s Hollywood for you: rewrite, rewrite, rewrite... No word yet as to when we go into production.
How are things shaping up for the new seasons of Jack of All Trades and Cleopatra 2525? Are there likely to be any major conceptual or cast changes for the second years of the shows?
There will be some changes in both shows, but at this time I can’t say a thing! Stay tuned!
Things have been fairly quiet on the Xena merchandise front of late. Is there anything we can look forward to seeing soon which you can tell us about?
Well the big news on the merchandising front is Davis Panzer's release of The XENA Chronicles, a CD ROM catalogue of the entire Xena Universe (seasons one through three). It contains five fact-filled categories and more than 300 different screens to activate; you can go in-depth on everything from production info to individual bios on your favourite Mortals, Gods, Creatures, and even Treasures; and there’s a fascinating compilation of photos and facts on Xena's outstanding props and special effects. It will also feature synopses and behind-the-scenes notes on every episode from seasons one, two and three.
In late October 2000, THQ will release its much anticipated interactive game Evil Dead: Hail to the King on SEGA Dreamcast, Sony Playstation and PC platforms. Both Xena and Evil Dead fans alike are going to love this. THQ was able to get Bruce Campbell - who as most of you guys know played Ash in all three Evil Dead films, and who has a recurring role on Xena as Autolycus - to do the voice-over for the game! I got a sneak peak at it, and it totally kicks ass.