Jessica Steen News & Notes Jul-Dec 2000

December 30, 2000

Eat Chocolate, Save a Whale! [4:35 PM ET]

As part of a nice Christmas gift, Jessica sent me yummy chocolate bars from The Endangered Species Chocolate Company. There are 16 different kinds of bars each with a beautiful animal painting on them. You can check them out here. So if you are a chocolate lover (as well as an animal lover!) be sure and buy some of their products and help support endangered animals and their habitats!

Jessica on movieTELEVISION This Week [3:30 PM ET]
Scoop Courtesy Of Dawn Arnold

As I mentioned on December 21st, 2 of Jessica's films "Society's Child" and "Judgment" are being featured on the show movieTELEVISION. Well, I just saw the episode with Jessica this morning here in the US on the BRAVO! cable channel. The episode should be aired again this Tuesday (Jan 2nd) at 3:30PM (ET) and again the following morning at 5:30AM (ET) on BRAVO!. Jessica is featured at the end of the show when they talk about "Society's Child" (she isn't mentioned in the "Judgment" segment however.)

New Q&A's Posted! [3:30 PM ET]

I posted another batch of Jessica's answers to fan questions to the Ask Jessica page 2 days ago. Check them out if you get a chance. I believe Jessica answered 18 questions in all. Please be aware that these questions are from early June of this year, so if you sent your question in after that, it might be included in the next batch of questions.

New Screen Captures [3:30 PM ET]
I have posted new screen captures from Jessica's 1994 movie To Save the Children on its page in the Photo Gallery. These new screen captures were taken from the European DVD and are of a much higher quality than the ones I had up previously.

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR & MILLENNIUM!! [3:30 PM ET]
This will probably be my last post this year (and millennium for that matter) so I will wish everyone a Happy and prosperous New Year and Millennium. On to 2001!!

December 23, 2000

Screen captures from Judgment Added [4:10 AM ET]

I have added a page of screen captures and information from Jessica's upcoming film Judgment to the Photo Galllery. Click here to check them out.

December 21, 2000

Jessica on movieTELEVISION This Week [5:20 PM ET]
Scoop Courtesy Of Dawn Arnold

For those in Canada (and perhaps in a few weeks in the US) 2 of Jessica's projects will be featured on the weekly entertainment show movieTELEVISION this week (the one I appeared on in the summer of 1999 in fact). In an interesting coincidence, this weeks show will feature segments on both Jessica's projects Society's Child and Judgment. If you go to the movieTELEVISION page they mention them at the bottom of the page under "Also this week." movieTELEVISION is shown in Canada, USA, Japan, New Zealand and a few other countries. Click on the link below to see where it is shown in your area.

List of stations that show movieTELEVISION around the world

December 19, 2000

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA!

December 18, 2000

Judgment trailer [1:55 AM ET]
Scoop Courtesy Of Judy Harper

For those curious what Jessica's upcoming movie Judgment might be like, there is a trailer for the movie on the video for the movie Left Behind which is now available in video stores such as Blockbuster. You would think that the studio would have the trailers online, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I noticed though that Cloud Ten Pictures (who produced the movie) has reserved the www.judgment-themovie.com domain name, although nothing is there now, I expect we will see an official website sometime in the next month or so to promote the movie.

Jessica's new Outer Limits episode in January [1:55 AM ET]

The 3rd episode of The Outer Limits that Jessica has done to date titled "The Grid" (that aired on Showtime this past July), will air in syndication in the US and Canada during the week of January 16th to the 29th. The episode will air again during the week of May 22nd through June 4th. Check the Outer Limits Station Listings for a list of channels and showtimes to find out the station in your area.

December 12, 2000

The Ride Home Info [7:30 PM ET]

Sam Hoffman, the writer/director of the short film "The Ride Home" (that Jessica has a part in) was kind enough to send me a copy of the film. I think the film is really good and hopefully all of Jessica fans will get a chance to see it. The short is currently making the rounds at film festivals. The director tells me that he is working out a deal to make the short available online as well as offline. I will post the information if and when that happens. I will also try and get some screen captures from the film and post those soon.

An Interview with Sam Hoffman [12:00 AM ET]

I just posted an interview I did with director Sam Hoffman last month via email. Sam Hoffman is the director of "The Ride Home" which is a short film that Jessica did earlier this year.

November 6, 2000

To Save The Children DVD in the U.K. [8:50 PM ET]
Scoop Courtesy Of Burak

Jessica's 1994 Movie To Save the Children is now available in the UK on DVD. The DVD (like most DVD's) is "Region Encoded" which means it will not work on any DVD player outside the U.K., Japan or the Middle East. The DVD is available for £9.99 through Amazon.co.uk at this link. This DVD (or the VHS for that matter) isn't available in North America.

October 20, 2000

Smart House comes to Home Video [7:25 PM ET]

Jessica's 1999 Disney Movie Smart House will be hitting home video on November 21st. Like Jessica's movie Principal takes a Holiday (which was released on video on August 15th of this year,) it appears that the video for Smart House will initially be priced for rental only which means if you want to buy it, the tape will cost you around $100. As with many videos, after the tape has been on the rental market for about 6 months or less the price will usually drop down. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger version of the box cover art. Unfortunately it appears that Jessica isn't shown or mentioned at all on the video box cover.

New Poster Art for Judgment [7:25 PM ET]

Cloud Ten Pictures, has posted a new version of the advertisment/poster for Jessica's new movie Judgment. Hopefully I will be able to obtain a larger version of the artwork and post it later. The credits at the top of the poster read "Corbin Bernsen, Mr. T, Jessica Steen." You know Jessica has "arrived" when she shares top billing with Mr. T. (grin) For more info on the movie Judgment see the September 8, 2000 news entry below.

October 5, 2000

Jessica and her 7 Kids [6:55 PM ET]
Scoop Courtesy Of Elyse Dickenson

I just received a link to an article that appeared in today's Winnipeg Sun about Jessica's current project titled Society's Child. In the movie, which just started shooting in Winnipeg, Jessica plays a single mother of 7 kids! (Talk about your demanding roles!) The story is about a young mother (played by Jessica) that responds to her daughter Nikki's (Kyley Statham) battle with Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder that severely limits her movement and speaking ability and leads many to believe the girl is mentally handicapped. Told from Nikki's point of view, the story follows the mother-daughter struggle to have Nikki's voice heard in decisions about the kind of care she'll receive, and whether she'll eventually choose to live or die. Here is the full article.

Unfortunately, as is usually the case with CBC TV movies, only those who have access to CBC stations (which pretty much only means Canadians and a few US residents near the Canadian/US border) will be able to see the movie.

October 4, 2000

"Young Again" Japanese Video Cover [1:15 AM ET]

While searching eBay I came across an interesting item. There is a dealer from Japan auctioning off a Japanese copy of Jessica's 1986 Disney TV movie Young Again which also starred Keanu Reeves, Lindsay Wagner and Robert Urich. I don't believe this movie was ever released on video in the USA, so this item is pretty rare over here. In any case, the seller was kind enough to send me a good scan of the video cover for use on the site. Click on the thumbnail on the left to see a larger version of the image. You can also click here to see a closeup of Jessica and Keanu on the back cover. Here is the auction for those interested. Thanks to Noriko for the scan.

October 1, 2000

Site Overhaul in Progress [2:15 AM ET]

I am currently in the process of revamping the JSP with a new web development package I started using called Dreamweaver). The first major change to the site I made is to make all the articles listed on the Articles page look consistant. The text articles now should have pretty much the same layout, formatting and font styles (thanks to Dreamweaver's excellent "Template" feature.) The next step is to redo all the pages in the Photo Gallery but that will take a while as I have to decide on a standard layout. As I am making changes to the site there may be some problems, so please email me with any typos, bad links or other problems). Dreamweaver will make managing this site a lot easier as it keeps track of every page (including every link) on this site and will allow me to make site-wide changes in a matter of seconds. I also plan to totally redesign the site and take advantage of some of the newer technologies in the coming months and I think Dreamweaver will make that a lot easier (no I am not getting paid everytime I mention the name Dreamweaver although this post sounds like an advertisment doesn't it?).

September 21, 2000

I received some more information on Jessica's new short film "The Ride Home" today. I created a page about the film that now has a synopsis, cast & crew details and info on the director and writer of "The Ride Home" Sam Hoffman. There is also a photo and a press release about the film as well. The 12 minute long short is "A cinematic journey into the failing mind of eighty year old Clara Kaufman. Shot completely from her point-of-view, the movie is a visual stream-of-consciousness, in which the boundaries between memory and reality melt away as her son, Josh, drives her to the nursing home." In the movie Jessica plays Clara Kaufman in the 40's, 50's and 60's. The film will screen at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival in October.

I guess you can call today "Judgment Day" since we have a bunch of info on Jessica's new movie Judgment....

Here is an article that recently appeared in Playback Magazine (a Canadian movie production magazine). The article gives us a few more details about Jessica's project that she completed recently called Judgment. Special thanks to Elyse Dickenson (co-author of the best Due South site on the web) for bringing it to my attention.

Cloud Ten Pictures, based in St. Catharines, Ont., has gone to camera on its newest high-budget Canadian feature, Judgment, starring a host of American talent and shooting in and around Toronto from Aug. 14 to Sept. 9.

Produced by Nicholas D. Tabarrok (Left Behind), directed by Andre Van Heerden (Revelation) and exec produced and written by Cloud Ten principals Peter and Paul Lalonde, the $11-million thriller brings a modern-day court drama to new heights, wherein edgy dialogue is interlaced with powerful performances by two lawyers representing God and the devil.

It's the biggest trial in history and things will never be the same once the renegade group of resistance fighters called "The Haters" led by Mr. T (A-Team) decide it's time to take action.

"This is another example of the way Christian filmmaking is breaking into the mainstream," says Peter Lalonde.

The film features well-known talents including Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law), Jessica Steen (Armageddon) and Nick Mancuso (Revelation).

Peter Lalonde says he's excited about the film, which is shooting just two months after the wrap of production on Left Behind, a $17.4-million coproduction with Kentucky-based Namesake Entertainment.

"This film is completely different from Left Behind. Instead of explosions and airplanes, we've got multi-layered drama testing every inch of human reason while questioning the true goodness of God, a God who lets pain and suffering exist. The script is filled with difficult issues and tough decisions and that is what makes a truly interesting film," he says.

Judgment is to be released on video in early 2001 followed by a theatrical release in the spring. A distributor is yet to be attached.

It is the imminent future. The world follows one government and one man. It is a world of peace, yet some still fight the authorities.

To crush the dissent, the ruler arranges a trial of unprecedented proportion. A trial in the world court to be televised to a global audience. A trial that would see Helen Hannah, a Christian and a champion of the resistance, convicted and executed for hatred of the human race.

Everything is prepared and only humiliation and death await the accused. There is only one small problem… Mitch Kendrick, the defense attorney, has been tricked into representing Hannah, and now hunts for any way out.

In a clever twist he puts not Hannah, but her leader, the real scourge of this new world, to the test. Suddenly it is the biggest trial of history with the guilt or innocence of God himself hanging in the balance.

While appearing loyal to the new world order, Kendrick at first defends Hannah's God for his own pride. But as he listens to her, he realizes that she might be telling the truth.

Threatened by a hired assassin and the world leader himself, Kendrick still fights for more answers . Memories of a misunderstood father, the love of a tortured woman, and the glare of the world all bear down, as the trial rushes to a conclusion.

Within the final verdict lay the lives of the innocent, the ruling against God, and the destiny of a lost soul.

And last but not least here is the official "press release" from Judgment, which has some info that was the in the above articles, but anyway...

L.A. Law's Arnie Becker (Corbin Bernsen) never had a client like this! In the new thriller from Cloud Ten Picture, Bernsen is defending God himself against charges brought by the world's self proclaimed messiah (Nick Mancuso). It's the biggest trial in history and things will never be the same once the underground Christians led by Mr. T. decide it's time to take action.

The film is aptly called Judgment and it is currently in production. Producer, Peter Lalonde notes that, 'this is another example of the way that Christian filmmaking is breaking into the mainstream.' And no one has been more at the forefront of this revival than Lalonde's Cloud Ten Pictures.

Since the release of Apocalypse in 1997, Cloud Ten has had tremendous success and developed a substantial following for it's apocalyptic end times action packed thrillers. To date, over a million copies of the three previous thrillers in the series have been sold. The films have starred such notables as Gary Busey, Howie Mandel, Jeff Fahey, Carol Alt and Margot Kidder.

True to Cloud Ten's hip and savvy form, Judgment brings a modern-day court drama to new heights where edgy dialogue is interlaced with powerful performances by two lawyers (Corbin Bernsen and Jessica Steen) representing the world's most famous clients, God and the Devil.

The story unfolds in a united world ruled by Lucifer, as the self-proclaimed messiah. On the surface all is well. Lucifer has in fact brought world peace and prosperity to all that have taken his 'mark'. But a select band of resistance fighters are wreaking havoc with his plans in an attempt to show the world that all is not as it seems. The film features well know talents including:

Corbin Bernsen: best known for his suave playboy character Arnie Becker on the hit legal drama series L.A. Law and his recurring starring role in Major League I, II and III.
Mr. T: a former wrestler, cancer survivor and Christian, best known for his role as Sergeant Bosco 'B.A.'Baracus on the A-Team and his famous line ' I pity the fool!'
Jessica Steen: with a series of films to her credit, she is best known for her roles in Armageddon (Bruce Willis) and Trial & Error (Charlize Theron and Seinfeld's Michael Richards).
Nick Mancuso: best known for his roles in Under Siege 1&2 and once again in a recurring role as Lucifer (Revelation and Tribulation).

The film is budgeted at a total of $11 million and is set to film exclusively in Toronto, Canada. Peter Lalonde is excited about the film which is shooting just two months after the wrap of production on LEFT BEHIND: The Movie. 'This is one of the most dramatic and layered Christian films ever made. God is put on trial and we let both sides make their very best arguments. No punches are pulled. At the same time, within the Christian underground a rift is developing over the question of how much physical action Christians should take to battle tyranny. The film is full of difficult issues and tough decisions and that is what makes a truly interesting film.'

Judgment is set to release on video in early 2001 followed by a theatrical release in the spring.

It's Hunting Season in Finland! [2:00 AM ET]
Scoop Courtesy Of Pekka Eloranta

The Finnish TV-Channel YLE TV1 (www.yle.fi/tv1/) is showing Jessica's Due South episode "Hunting Season" on Saturday (September 9, 2000) at 15:20 hours (or 3:20 PM).

I got an email from someone a few days ago wanting to know why I haven't mentioned a short film that Jessica did this year called The Ride Home. I told them it was because I never heard of it and I just figured they were mistaken. Well, after doing some research on the web I found that Jessica along with her Homefront co-star John Slattery did indeed do a short film this year called The Ride Home. The short had its World Premiere on August 3rd at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival which is where I found the information. The 12 minute long short is described on the site as "A cinematic journey into the failing mind of eighty year old Clara Kaufman. Shot completely from her point-of-view, the movie is a visual stream-of-consciousness, in which the boundaries between memory and reality melt away as her son, Josh, drives her to the nursing home." I will try and get some information as to what other festivals this might be playing at. I haven't a clue as to what part Jessica plays but I will try and get more information on this as well.

I created a web page of the items I was the highest bidder on during the Amazon.com Outer Limits auction recently. The folks at The Outer Limits decided to auction off 500 plus items that were used on the show over the 6 seasons that it has ran. The proceeds go to The Variety Club childrens charity. I got 7 props that were used in 2 of Jessica's OL episodes ("Essence of Life" and "The Grid".) The props included a note pad and pen that Jessica used in "Essence of Life", a few vials of the "Ess" drug that were used in the show (including one in an evidence bag), the actual device that was used to create the "Ess" drug (the one that Jessica was going to shoot and destroy and it was also the one that Daniel Baldwin was shown using at the very end of the episode). I also got the newspaper clippings shown at the end of the episode (including the one that shows Jessica's picture with the article about her characters death). I also got 2 items from "The Grid", one of them being the medical files (including the MRI's) that Jessica's character referred to in the episode with DB Sweeney and also the journal DB Sweeney's character's brother kept that tells him how to disable the computers (not really a item directly related to Jess but it was a major prop in the episode and I got it cheap). Check out the page.

After I receive the items (within 2 weeks hopefully) I will take detailed pictures of them with my cool new digital camera and post them in the Photo Gallery.

Jessica is currently filming a movie in Toronto titled Judgment. In this movie Jessica plays a lawyer by the name of Vicky Thorne. But not just any lawyer... she plays one that works for the devil! Eeek!!! (Don't all lawyers worked for the devil?) Anyway, no word on when this will be released, if it is made for TV or not, or any plot details, or who else stars in it, but stay tuned as usual.

On July 29th (see below) I mentioned that the video for Jessica's 1998 TV movie Principal Takes a Holiday is coming to home video and that she was featured and credited on the cover. Well, the video has indeed hit video stores but for whatever reason the cover of the box no longer has Jessica's name at the top (it only has Kevin Nealon's and Zackery Ty Bryan's). The artwork on the box that features Jessica along with the other 2 stars is the same however.

Principal takes a Holiday coming to Home Video [3:15 AM ET]
Scoop Courtesy Of Kim Lay

Jessica's 1998 TV movie Principal Takes a Holiday is coming to home video in the USA on August 15th. What's cool is that Jessica is featured and credited on the box cover even though the movie was promoted featuring only Kevin Nealon and Zackary Ty Bryan when it appeared on TV. The video will initially be priced for rental only which means if you want to buy it the tape will cost you around $100. As with many videos, after the tape has been on the rental market for about 6 months or less the price will usually drop down. (Click on the thumbnail on the left to see the box cover art.)

Over the past few days I have added some new screen captures from a number of old as well as new projects that Jessica has worked on. First up is the latest episode of The Outer Limits she did titled "The Grid". Next up is a humorous short film titled Showtime Gospel that Jessica did for the Canadian Centre for Advanced Film Studies. Also, some screens captures from an episode of the Canadian TV series Hangin' In, a pilot for the CBC called Home Free! as well as an episode of the series True Confessions have been added to the Photo Gallery. (wheew!!)

NP2000 Photos [5:45 PM ET]
Although Jessica couldn't attend the convention, I thought some people might be interested in seeing the photos I took from New Pacificon 2000. Click here to check em out!

Hopefully those who have Showtime were able to catch Jessica's newest episode of The Outer Limits ("The Grid") that aired Friday night. The next airing of that episode is on Showtime Beyond (Showtime's Sci-Fi/Fantasy Channel) on August 13th at 11:50PM ET/PT. Once again, those who don't have Showtime will have to wait until early 2001 when the episode hits syndication. I also added a few screen captures from "The Grid" to the Photo Gallery.

As part of the advertising campaign for Jessica's movie On Hostile Ground, there was a billboard sign posted on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles, CA. For those in the LA area, the billboard is located at the intersection of Sunset Blvd. and Sweetzer Ave. Click on the thumbnail image below to see a shot of the billboard. Special thanks to actor Clancy Brown for the heads up about the billboard when I was in LA. (Sorry Kirk, it took me longer than a few days. (grin)