The new number two man at MGM, Chris McGurk, is moving forward with hopes of securing a split rights deal on several films currently in the works or the can at the studio, including the delayed SuperNova and the supernatural horror film Stigmata. According to the Hollywood Reporter, MGM is looking to split the costs on the two films as well as Cold Mountain giving up international distribution rights in the process. MGM would retain domestic. Profits would be split 50/50. The trade suggests that the big item of interest in the package deal is Cold Mountain, a film version of Charles Frazier's Civil War-era novel to be directed by Anthony Minghella and produced by Sydney Pollack. In related news, Variety reports that SuperNova's release date has been pushed back again. The new release date is December 17th.

February 18, 1999:

Walter Hill (48 Hours) has reportedly left his position as director of MGM's struggling sci-fi flick Supernova, even though principal photography on the pic has been completed for some time. According to Michael Fleming of Variety, the split between Hill and the studio came because the helmer felt it was necessary to film more sequences, while MGM wanted to test screen the movie to see if that was necessary. Hill will likely retain the director's credit when the film hits theaters on October 8th, however.

November 18, 1998:

The Insider hears that Supernova, the long-awaited sci-fi thriller directed by Walter Hill, has been pushed back once again. Originally slated for a Thanksgiving release, the picture was rescheduled for a March debut. Now comes word that the film won't make it into theaters until fall of 1999 at the earliest. Doesn't sound like MGM/UA has much faith in this one.

September 3, 1998:

An early on-set look at MGM's Supernova was highlighted on yesterday's edition of Showbiz Today on CNN. The sets were heavily inspired by the cold steel sets of similar sci-fi like Alien and Event Horizon with particular attention paid in the report to special hibernation chambers used during faster-than-light travel. "If it's like 30 light years away we have to get there through these pods," explained Wilson Cruz while showing off the glass and metal caskets. "We come in here and it gets us there within 30 seconds… which is better than the freeway system in L.A." Cruz also told CNN that during these warp jumps the crew were placed in the pods naked. "I don't know how they came up with that," Cruz pondered, "but basically it sells tickets."

The set visit also highlighted the architecture of the 22nd century medical ship Nightingale 229 and its long corridors with three-piece lens-like doorways. The medical bay, where Angela Bassett filmed her first sequence on the film were missing the huge screens and flashing lights one might expect. "I had to pick out the liver and the heart and just all kinds of strings and intestines," Bassett reveals.

August 5, 1998:

The upcoming September/October issue of Cinescape contains, among other things, a detailed plot description for Supernova in the mag's feature article focusing on the James Spader's latest sci-fi endeavor. The tale is set 150 years in the future and follows the medical starship Nightingale 229 as it gets called off to a distant moon while cruising the space lanes. As it turns out, that moon houses an evil artifact with supernatural powers. As the Nightingale moves in to investigate, ship and crew meet up with trouble in the form of the sinister relic and the gravitational pull of the system's star, which is about to go nova. For more details and comments from the film's director, check out the article "Black Hole Sun" in the upcoming issue of Cinescape.

From the pictures we've gotten our hands on, Supernova looks like a cross between Alien and Event Horizon, with a little Stargate thrown in via the presence of star James Spader. Spader plays a space medic endangered by an evil alien artifact. The September/October CINESCAPE has more behind-the-scenes details.

June 25, 1998:

Tor books has signed Steven E. McDonald to write the novelization of UA's upcoming outer-space thriller Supernova. A representative of Tor Books confirms this move which will put the author of Event Horizon's novelization in front of his word processor once again. (Thanks To Major Bloodnok For the Info)

May 11, 1998:

Mark Stetson will oversee the visual effects of United Artists' upcoming sci-fi thriller Supernova. Digital Domain was awarded the contract to produce the film's 200-plus FX shots, according to a report in Variety.

April 14, 1998:

Variety reports that Supernova has signed Lou Diamond Phillips to star as a 22nd century medical technician. The film is scheduled to start filming later this week.

April 7, 1998:

As production continues to lumber forward on UA's sci-fi rescue mission story, the Hollywood Reporter reports that Cathy Rabin, Dan Chuba and Thomas Wheeler are joining David Campbell Wilson behind the typewriter to polish off Wilson's original script.

April 6, 1998:

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly contains a quote from someone associated with Geoffrey Wright, who was previously attached to the sci-fi thriller Supernova. According to the unnamed source, "[Wright] wanted a sci-fi dramatic action thriller. They wanted a lighter version." A lighter version? The story has evidently undergone a re-write since the last time we saw it if the studio's objective is to make Supernova "lighter."

April 2, 1998:

Fresh from his star turn in Jackie Brown, Robert Forster has signed on to Walter Hill's Supernova. The actor joins Angela Basset and previously announced cast members James Spader, Robin Tunney in the science-fiction thriller.

March 30, 1998:

The haggard sci-fi adventure Supernova appears to be back on track now that Walter Hill is at the helm. Variety reports that the film has brought Peter Facinelli, Wilson Cruz and Robin Tunney on board to join previously signed lead James Spader. Facinelli fills the important role of a disturbed freighter occupant who is rescued by a medical spaceship responding to a distress signal. Cruz has apparently landed the role of a computer engineer who's smitten with his handiwork -- the role originally though to go to Vincent D'Onofrio. Tunney rounds out the latest cast additions as a paramedic working on the rescue ship.

March 4, 1998:

The outer space thriller Supernova remains on schedule now that genre veteran Walter Hill has accepted the helm of the spaceship-in-distress flick. Hill, who has recently devoted more time to producing films such as the recent Alien: Resurrection, replaces Geoffrey Wright, who was reported mid-February to have left the production over creative differences. Variety reports today that the film is being described as Dead Calm in space, a reference to the Sam Neill/Nicole Kidman movie about a couple terrorized by a killer while stranded on the high seas.

February 18, 1998:

Geoffrey Wright has jumped his first big-budget studio job as director of United Artists' upcoming Supernova film. According to Variety, the director cited "creative differences" as his reason for leaving the James Spader-led sci-fi film. The studio is reportedly looking hard for a replacement so that it can maintain its April 13 start date.

February 5, 1998:

Vincent D'Onofrio, last seen as the bugged-out villain in Men In Black but best known for his role as a good guy turned psychotic in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, has hopped on board the United Artists sci-fi action flick Supernova, according to a report in Michael Flemming's column in today's Variety. Starring as the inhabitant of a space ship that is operated via a computer interface, D'Onofrio lines up opposite James Spader when filming begins in April. D'Onofrio told Variety that a key plot point is his character's relationship with the ship's computer. "I play a guy who runs a ship through a computer," he explained, "but [he] actually falls in love with that computer. Imagine HAL is a woman and you get the picture."

January 28, 1998:

Variety reports that actor James Spader is in "advanced negotiations" to star in Supernova for United Artists. The outer space thriller tells the tale of a rescue ship that comes to the aid of a space freighter and is then placed in jeopardy by the freighter's inhabitant. According to additional rumors collected by Cinescape Online, the damaged freighter will be in orbit around an unstable star which is on the verge of exploding. Ash Shah, Dan Chuba and Ralph Singleton are producing. Geoffrey Wright (Romper Stomper) will direct the production, which is scheduled to begin filming in April. (From Variety With Additional Material From 'DT').