Heroes News (Page 11)

We already know Americans love Heroes. The show has been nominated for eight Emmy Awards and television critics here named is Program of the Year recently.

But our favorite sci-fi adventure is now also officially a hit in England.

The show drew an audience of 4.3 million on British channel, BBC Two, in its series debut this week. That's a lot viewers for that country; it was the second most-watched program of the week, only beaten by ITV1's Wire In The Blood.

The entire first season of Heroes previously aired on the UK's digital Sci-Fi channel earlier this year.

First, trading cards.

Then, a video game.

Now? A graphic novel.

This fall DC Comics will offer a hardcover collection based on a series of 43 comic-book vignettes that appeared on the Heroes website last season.

The book, which will be the first time the stories have been available in printed form, will be announced this week by Universal Studios and DC Comics at the International Comic-Con in San Diego.

In addition to the online strip by artists including Michael Turner, Marcus To, Mitch Gunnell and Phil Jimenez, USA Today says the book will feature new covers by comic-book superstars Alex Ross and Jim Lee.

For true comics fans, there's also art by Batman and Superman artist Tim Sale, whose prophetic and apocalyptic paintings are used as story devices for many of the show's cliffhangers.

"It works best when the painting on the show looks creepily like the scene you've just seen," says Sale, who has provided more than 50 paintings for the series.

Sale says he provided illustrations early on to help the series' creator sell the show to NBC. "Tim Kring is not a comic-book guy," Sale says. "For all I know, he has never read one. But he has surrounded himself with a number of people who are immersed in it."

Kring, in a statement, called the DC book "a dream come true."

It would be wrong - and possibly a felony - to say too much about how lovely 17-year-old Heroes star Hayden Panettiere looked yesterday, when NBC arranged a visit to the show's sets.

The blog TV with Meevee was there, commenting on how this young actress was batting her eyelashes and making sure reporters get a good look at the assets. The site said Hayden seemed more like a perfect-attendance, student-council-president type who just happens to be magazine-cover pretty.

As she strolled around the set, Panettiere made very clear that we won't be seeing her in any Paris Hilton-style misadventures.

"I have an allowance that I get, the money was never made apparent to me, it was just, 'This is what you love to do.' ... I was raised completely as a normal kid," she said. "I take out the trash, I walk the dogs, I make the bed, I vacuum. ... I'm not allowed to leave the house unless I make the bed and everything in my room is put away."

Sounds like Hayden and Jansen Panettiere were raised the proper way.

The actress does have a generous 1 a.m. curfew, however. And, besides, the fans yelling "The cheerleader!" and pointing at her, there are some tough angles to being a pretty young star. Such as the paparazzi waiting outside her house for her to leave.

"You usually have cameras following you, which makes it more of a scene," she said. "I went to try to go to Venice Beach the other day, you can sort of blend in with people, which is kind of nice. But then they see 10 cameras, and they're like, 'Who are they looking at? Who are they looking at?' "

She sighed and shook her head, and someone asked if she could understand what has happened to Lindsay Lohan and to other young starlets, and if it could happen to her. The answer to the latter was an emphatic no.

"I'm not surrounded by those kinds of people they're surrounded by. You understand how it happens, you understand what they did wrong," she said. "But it's so, like, controllable. When you're putting nasty white powder up your nose, that's you putting it up there, no one else is putting it up there."

Panettiere, of course, plays the cheerleader Claire Bennet, whose superpower is healing.

Meevee about halfway through the tour when they visited with the prosthetics guys, who had a selection of fake body parts laid out on a long table. Bryan Blair of Optic Nerve Inc. demonstrated the cable controls on a prop head used after Claire had her head bashed against some lockers by Sylar. The head's crumpled, bloody temples and pushed-in face seemed to reinflate like a balloon until they were once again, well, head-shaped.

"Is that my body parts?" Panettiere said, walking up and grabbing a small prosthetic with two pieces of "bone" sticking out. "I love the ribs because they actually move! These were used in the first season. They go back in and then they squish back out."

But she was most interested in something that the FX guys referred to as "the autopsy piece," a silicon torso simulating Claire's flayed chest, with skin flaps pulled back to show the bloody rib cage. Hayden bopped right over and started playing with it, flipping the skin flaps open and closed.

"This is my chest cavity when I was chopped open, fileted on the table last season," she said. "This was not fun to have on. They kept having to come over and spray it down with water. The blood would literally run off under my arms and get stuck under there. It was creepy. I was in almost nothing on the table with this thing on, on a freezing cold metal table. I kept wanting coffee and I couldn't get up to get it."

Heroes is spawning more than just a hit television show.

We've already mentioned the trading card set due out soon. Now, a video game adaption of the series is planned by French gamemaker Ubisoft.

The deal gives Ubisoft the rights to build a third-person superhero action game that brings the series characters, locations and story lines to next-generation game consoles and the PC. The untitled game could be in stores as soon as late 2008.

"We're very excited to be making the Heroes video game with Ubisoft," said Tim Kring, executive producer and creator of Heroes. "Time and again, Ubisoft has proven they can turn licensed properties into fantastic games."

The deal, according to The Hollywood Reporter, represents Ubisoft's second big licensing announcement of the week, coming on the heels of Tuesday's a partnership with filmmaker James Cameron and 20th Century Fox on a game for the 2009 sci-fi film Avatar.

This game is the latest addition to a rapidly expanding canon of Heroes-related brand extensions including graphic novels, the Heroes 360 Web site, a mobile game by GameLoft, and Heroes: Origin, a spinoff show set to begin airing in 2008.

Like other elements of the Heroes canon, Kring and his creative team have long been planning how the game will tie into the over-arching franchise.

"From Day 1 we've all been thinking about the game," said co-executive producer Jesse Alexander, who first hinted about it during an online podcast in May. "All along we've been writing some of our stories in ways they can tie into the eventual video game."

Instead of highlighting a specific character's heroic journey, the game will focus on the entire ensemble cast. The game also is expected to play a crucial role in how the show's writers explore cross-platform storytelling for future seasons.

While Ubisoft likely will hire its own writer to pen the game script and develop the game at one of its internal studios, the TV series writers will supervise and consult on game design and story.

But with the show's evolving cast and fast-moving story lines, spending two years developing the game still poses a creative challenge for Ubisoft. To ensure its relevance, the Heroes game won't retell a specific volume's story or be used as a bridge between seasons.

"We want it to have a lasting shelf-life and tell a distinctive story that gives you enhanced insight into the entire franchise," said Alexander, an avid gamer.

Top prizes went to four NBC shows at the Television Critics Association Awards in Los Angeles, including outstanding program of the year to the freshman hit Heroes.

Heroes also took the best new drama prize at the People's Choice Awards in February and is up for an Emmy this year.

Ali Larter, Hayden Panettiere and Masi Oka - among others - celebrate the success of Heroes.

Another first-year show, Friday Night Lights, was handed the award for outstanding new program while fellow NBC series The Office took home the comedy trophy.

Alec Baldwin of 30 Rock, also on NBC, won best actor in a comedy while Michael C. Hall picked up the best actor in a drama category for Dexter.

The Sopranos, which bowed this year after six seasons, nabbed outstanding achievement in drama and the Heritage Award, which honors long-running programs with a "lasting cultural or social impact."

Another day, another new actor on Heroes.

Dana Davis has joined our favorite showas a regular, playing a new hot young hero whose powers are not yet known. Her name, though, is Monica.

Davis joins Dania Ramirez, who plays another beautiful young hero named Maya, as an addition to the cast. Also new in season two will be Nick D'Agosto, Barry Shabaka Henley, Holt McCallany, David Anders, Eriko Tamura, Lyndsy Fonseca and Dianna Agron.

This past season, Davis co-starred on ABC's critically praised The Nine and the CW's Hidden Palms.

Stars from our favorite show will be in Toronto next month to mark the release of the Season One DVD and to generate some buzz for season two of Heroes.

Global, which broadcasts the NBC hit in Canada, announced Tuesday that several cast members will meet fans on Aug. 31 in Yonge-Dundas Square. It's part of a whirlwind tour that will stop in eight cities around the world.

"We are thrilled to be embarking on this exciting venture," said Heroes creator and executive producer Tim Kring, in a release. "The theme of Heroes has been about people from all over the planet coming together to do great things. About making the world a smaller, more inter-connected place. This tour is the embodiment of those ideals."

The list of cast members coming to Toronto hasn't been announced, but Adrian Pasdar, Milo Ventimiglia, Hayden Panettiere, Masi Oka, Ali Larter, Greg Grunberg and six others are participating in the tour.

The Heroes World Tour, presented by Nissan, kicks off Aug. 27 in Munich and Tokyo with stops in New York, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Singapore and Tokyo.

Heroes: Season One will be released on DVD on Aug. 28 and the second season premieres Sept. 24 on Global and NBC.

Guess those Emmy Award rumors held true:

Heroes has been nominated for Best Drama. It faces some stiff competition, but you know what everyone says: it's an honor just to be nominated.

Here are the five shows up for this trophy:

1. Heroes
2. The Sopranos
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Boston Legal
5. House

Meanwhile, congratulations to Masi Oka for his nomination in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.Here are those nominations:

1. Masi Oka
2. Michael Emerson
3. William Shatner
4. T.R. Knight
5. Terry O'Quinn
6. Michael Imperioli

The Envelope recruited three groups of Emmy experts to predict who'll nab nominations when bids are unveiled at 5:35 a.m. PT on Thursday.

Two actual voters who judged episode samples submitted in the races for best drama and comedy series squared off against top TV journalists and two of The Envelope's message board moderators known for their Emmy expertise.

There's strong disagreement over many of the contenders. The Emmy voters, for example, don't believe "Lost" or "Friday Night Lights" will make the list for best drama, but both shows have strong support among journalists and Envelope moderators. As for Heroes? Read below.

Here's the breakdown:

2 EMMY VOTERS (Anonymous)

Judges agree in both drama and comedy series categories:

BEST DRAMA SERIES
"Grey's Anatomy"
"Heroes"
"House"
"The Sopranos"
"24"

BEST COMEDY SERIES
"Entourage"
"The Office"
"30 Rock"
"Two and a Half Men"
"Ugly Betty"

*******************

TV JOURNALISTS

Marc Berman, Mediaweek
Robert Bianco, USA Today
Hal Boedeker, Orlando Sentinel
Michele Greppi, TV Week
Tom O'Neil, Gold Derby, TheEnvelope.com
Ray Richmond, Hollywood Reporter
Matt Roush, TV Guide
Mo Ryan, Chicago Tribune
Diane Werts, Newsday
David Zurawik, Baltimore Sun

BEST DRAMA SERIES
"The Sopranos" -- Berman, Bianco, Boedeker, O'Neil, Richmond, Roush, Ryan, Werts, Zurawik
"Friday Night Lights" -- Berman, Bianco, Boedeker, Richmond, Roush, Ryan, Werts, Zurawik
"Heroes" -- Berman, Boedeker, Richmond, Roush, Ryan, Werts, Zurawik
"Lost" -- Berman, Bianco, Boedeker, O'Neil, Richmond, Roush, Ryan
"House" -- Bianco, Boedeker, O'Neil, Roush, Ryan, Zurawik
"Grey's Anatomy" -- Berman, Bianco, O'Neil, Roush, Zurawik
"24" -- O'Neil
"Brothers and Sisters" -- Werts
"Rescue Me" -- Richmond
"The Shield" -- Werts

BEST COMEDY SERIES
"30 Rock" -- Berman, Bianco, Greppi, O'Neil, Richmond, Roush, Ryan, Werts, Zurawik
"Ugly Betty" -- Berman, Bianco, Boedeker, O'Neil, Richmond, Roush, Ryan, Werts, Zurawik
"The Office" -- Berman, Bianco, Boedeker, O'Neil, Richmond, Roush, Ryan, Werts
"Entourage" -- Berman, Bianco, Boedeker, Greppi, Richmond, Werts
"Scrubs" -- Berman, O'Neil, Richmond, Roush, Ryan
"Two and a Half Men" - Greppi, O'Neil, Roush, Ryan
"Desperate Housewives" -- Boedeker, Werts, Zurawik
"My Name Is Earl" -- Boedeker, Greppi
"Extras" -- Zurawik
"The New Adventures of Old Christine" - Bianco
"Weeds" -- Zurawik

ENVELOPE FORUM MODERATORS

Chris "Boomer" Beachum, Robert "Rob L" Licuria

DRAMA SERIES
"The Sopranos" -- Beachum, Licuria
"Grey's Anatomy" -- Beachum, Licuria
"Lost" -- Beachum, Licuria
"Friday Night Lights" -- Beachum, Licuria
"24" -- Beachum, Licuria

COMEDY SERIES
"The Office" -- Beachum, Licuria
"30 Rock" -- Beachum, Licuria
"Ugly Betty" -- Beachum, Licuria
"Two and a Half Men" -- Beachum, Licuria
"Scrubs" -- Beachum, Licuria

** We'll have the official word on whether or not Heroes make the cut as soon as it's announced.

Yes, you read that headline correctly.

Before season two of Heroes hits the airwaves in September, you can relive season one with a collection of Heroes trading cards. Pre-order them today.

And don't worry about breaking that Hayden Panettiere card. It'll regenerate.