Biehn News Cherry Falls Cherry Falls is the latest MB project that we can look forward to. The movie is scheduled to begin filming in Virginia on March 8. MB will play Sheriff Brent Marken. Brittany Murphy is Jody, the daughter. Jay Mohr is also appearing in the film, which will be directed by Geoffrey Wright No word yet on a tentative release date. Here's the production company synopsis: In the idyllic town of Cherry Falls, Virginia, idealistic teen, Jody Marken struggles to maintain her virginity despite peer pressure to behave otherwise. In conflict over this issue with her longtime boyfriend, Kenny, she gives him his walking papers, despite the fact that she loves him, because she won't be pressured into a premature (aka pre-marital) sexual relationship. Supported by her parents, Sheriff Brent Marken, and her mom, Marge, a housewife, Jody bravely goes her lonely and righteous way. Meanwhile, a mad serial killer begins to target the teens of Cherry Falls. After the murder of two necking kids by an unknown assailant, Sheriff Marken, aided in his investigation by his old friend, school principal, Tom Sisler, and popular young high school teacher, Leonard Marliston, pieces together the shocking fact that the town's virgins, the bulk of their high school population, are at risk. Confronted with the prospect of death, the teens of Cherry Falls grapple with a set of circumstances counter to the norm: now school and parental authorities are encouraging them not to refrain from sexual relationships through threat of serious retribution, they are encouraged to make up their minds themselves. Some, like Jody's wayward friend, Sandy, choose to compromise themselves rather than face the struggle head on. Jody is attacked by the killer, but heroically survives. Eventually, with the help of her father, mother and boyfriend, Kenny, now more understanding of her behavior, Jody helps unmask the killer and in the process learns hard truths about her own family. Cherry Falls is a parable of the problems of teenage sexuality in modern America, and the dangers of prolonged and premature exposure to adult behaviors. A cautionary tale with a sense of humor, Cherry Falls poses a hyperbolic hypothetical in cinematic terms easily understood by young audiences, and ultimately communicates to teens the need to listen to one's inner voice and not be ruled by a crowd mentality which would have one engage in behaviors counter to one's own beliefs and the beliefs of one's parents. Susan's Plan- Still no word on foreign or domestic distributors for Susan's Plan. Bar Hop-Fox-Albert Management confirms that MB is "attached" to movie called Bar Hop. No date has been set for filming to begin. It is slated to co-star Jennifer Blanc and be directed by Hailey Fox. The Hanged Man-An MB project that's been talked about for quite a while; he was scheduled to be the star and the director, but decided not to direct when The Magnificent Seven was picked up as a mid-season replacement. Now he's listed as co-producer. Wondering Where Wonderland Is?-The latest information that we have on Wonderland, is that it is still in the developmental stages. Nick Vallelonga, the director, did say that the script was undergoing a re-write when last we communicated, and more recently, Michael Biehn himself stated in an interview on KLOS radio that the movie was in "pre-pre-production," so this one is still a long way off from hitting the big screen. Be that as it may, Nick still took the time to assure us that even though the movie is "a character study of John Holmes," the main focus will be on "the murders that took place in a house on Wonderland Avenue in Laurel Canyon," and not the porn aspects of John Holmes' life. However, the porn subject will almost certainly be touched upon, although it "will only be seen in a few flashbacks to help us understand the complexity of his character." After finding fame and fortune as a porn star, John Holmes soon found himself addicted to drugs, resorting to a life of crime to support his habit, and becoming involved with drug kingpin Mephistopheles (AKA Eddie Nash). The Wonderland Murders, or "The Four on the Floor" as the case became known, occurred on July 1, 1981. Although John Curtis Holmes was tried and aquitted of the murders on June 26, 1982, he still served 111 days in prison for contempt. He was released on November 22, 1982, after serving eleven months. In 1985, John Holmes was diagnosed with AIDs, and he died on March 13, 1988. Taking all of this into consideration, Wonderland will be "a deep, complex, dark, I repeat, dark film," Nick warns us, so it does have the potential for a truly gripping piece. Other films by Nick Vallelonga: In The Kingdom of the Blind, the Man With One Eye is King Corporate Ladder A Brilliant Disguise TIBERIAN SUN UPDATE – The latest news on Command and Conquer; Tiberian Sun, the video game starring Michael Biehn and James Earl Jones, is that a release date is set for late June 1999. This date is the latest delay in a series of delays that has plagued this game. The original date was set for 1996!! Even with production challenge after production challenge, this game has been much anticipated by the game world, not to mention legions of Biehn fans! Unfulfilled release dates include one as recent as March of this year and the much advertised and hoped for Oct/Nov release date last year. Software Etc., gave us the unfortunate news that; "with a June release on the game they will lose out on BIG bucks! So don't hold your breath! If they are smart and do what they've done in the past, they will push it back again until Sept/Oct and take advantage of the big Christmas dollars." So it seems that we will simply have to wait and see. The web sites aren't offering anything very optimistic, either. And Westwood is being quite tight lipped about the whole thing, as always.

The Original Michael Biehn Mailing List Update

I apologize to everyone who has been waiting with baited breath for the Biehn List website. Please have just a little more patience and it will be rewarded. I promise!!

In addition to that, The Biehn List is going to be doing a special birthday gift for Michael this year, and we are inviting all Biehn fans to join in.

We are going to be doing a Slam Book for Michael. This idea is thanks to Reesa (reesa's pieces) and JustReno. They both inspired this idea in me. I posted it to the list and the response was REALLY positive and encouraging!

This is what it is and how we will do it. The book is much like the Slam Books of our youth. There will be a question posted on the list each week. Questions will be about Michael and his projects – i.e. What was your first Biehn experience, what is your fav Biehn movie and why, who is your fav Biehn bad boy and why, and so on. All the responses to that question will be printed off and compiled in a nice professionally bound book for Michael. There will be artwork and a list of all the participating groups. As well, through the use of a specified size label, all participants can sign their name, send the label to me, and have the label placed in the book or card for HIS birthday.

To accommodate those not on the list, the questions will also be posted in the newsgroup each week, as well as a special email mailing to all those who ask to be included.

If you are interested in participating please keep an eye on the Biehn List and the newsgroup, or contact me personally at biehniebabe@hotmail.com . This email will be used EXCLUSIVELY for this project and I will be checking it constantly.

Thanks and hope to see you on the list.
Kathleen
MB Mailing List Listmom
Join The Original Michael Biehn Mailing List! @ www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/michaelbiehn or go to the Biehn Team© site and click on the icon!!

Biehnfest 1999!!!

The annual gathering of Michael Biehn fans is scheduled for the first weekend in August in Santa Monica, California, USA. This is always a fun event, so mark your calendar and plan on joining us this year!

The event will be taking shape in the coming weeks, so check the Biehn Team site for details. Updates will also be posted on the MB email list and the Michael Biehn newsgroup.

The annual Biehnfest is held either the weekend of or the weekend before or after July 31, MB's birthday. You can vote for the location of next year's Biehnfest at the Biehnfest Suggestion Page, and include your preferred weekend. Toronto and Houston came in second and third this year.

This is a great opportunity to meet other MB fans. Hope to see you there!

As always, suggestions and ideas are welcome. Email us at biehnteam@hotmail

2nd Anniversary for the MB Chat Room!!! The Chat Room at WBS started in March of 1997 as extension to the growing needs of the fans gathering in the newsgroup alt.fan.Michael-Biehn. WBS was selected as a chat format mainly because of the feature of displaying pictures to enhance our chat experience, also it is accessible to most computer systems. Some fans have biehn chatting since the very beginning. We have met and made some amazing friends here. The Biehnfest was born from the chat room when we gathered in Biehntown later that summer. People come and go as Real Life allows, but everyone comes away with the feeling that MB has some of the nicest fans on the web. WBS was recently bought out by Infoseek, which in turn was bought out by Disney. Now the chat is run through GO.COM. You may have to re-register if you have not visited the chat in the past few months. Due to the recent upgrades the chat has unfortunately biehn plagued by some glitches and slow responses. We appreciate your patience while the upgrades are in progress. As a reminder that the Michael Biehn private chat room meets every Friday night at 10 PM/EST. But you may also find people there at any given time each evening. Please stop by and give the room a spin, leave a message, check the messages there, and have a great time discussing our favorte actor!

In a recent CBS announcement,The Magnificent Seven wasn't listed as one of the shows that will be back for sure next season. To coordinate efforts to remind CBS of the viewer appeal of the show and to share ideas, a separate email list has been formed. It's called The Regulators. To sign on, send a message to
m7regulators-subscribe@egroups.com
No subject line is necessary.

You can also help by emailing and writing CBS. The email link is on the Biehn Team page and can be accessed through www.biehnteam.com

For snail mail, preferably handwritten, the address is:
CBS Television
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019

You can also address a letter to Mr. Ray Faiola, Audience Services, at the above address. Do not put Magnificent Seven on the envelope so it's not confused with fan mail for the show. You want to write to the network. Get your friends to write, too!

Good news for Australian fans! The Magnificent Seven pilot aired on a recent Saturday evening. No word yet on whether the rest of the episodes would be shown.

Jack Lilley is the head wrangler on the set of The Magnificent Seven. You may recognize some of his work if you have seen the movies: City Slickers, Bad Girls, Dead Man's Walk, Streets of Laredo, both Young Guns movies, and most recently a made for TV movie on TNT called Purgatory. He has also done stunt work and other "extra hand" work on many other projects.

He got the job with The Magnificent Seven through a recommend from Jeffrey Murphy who was the director of Young Guns. John Watson brought Jack in for an interview and that was all they needed. Watson said, "He had a tremendous reputation. Jack has more experience than most wranglers, and he takes incredible pride in his work. That's all I needed to know he was right for this project."

And it certainly was the right choice for The Magnificent Seven. "Jack is like a father figure on the set. Everyone looks up to him and respects him," said Watson.

There is a good reason that Jack Lilley is like a father figure on the set. He has his children and his grandchildren working closely with him. One of his granddaughters had a part on the show, his sons not only do the work of wrangling with Jack, but they also do a great deal of the stunt work. "It's a team. When you know who you are working with and you can trust them, then everything just comes together," Jack says about working with his family.

Jack also had wonderful things to say about the Magnificent Men. All the animals and equipment on the set, pertaining to the horses, belong to Jack and his movie production barn. The barn, fortunately, is located barely an hour's drive from The Melody Ranch where the show is filmed. This added convenience for Jack and his crew is also an added bonus for the stars of the show who often go to practice their riding skills at Jack's house. They even bring their children with them and it becomes a day of family and friends, good food, and laughter.

When I asked Jack specifically about Michael Biehn, he had one story that stood out in his mind. Jack had hired some extra hands to work during the first season's filming. At one point there was a scene where one of the hands was to ride a paint into a town and then Michael was to engage in a fight with him. However, the hand didn't read the script, nor did he take the direction that was given to him, and he got on the wrong horse. The actor extra who ended up with the paint found himself in a physical confrontation with Michael, and had no idea why. The result was some un-choreographed fighting in the way of self-defense and the entire scene had to be re-filmed at some expense to the studio.

Just before the interview was over I asked Jack the most important detail that everyone in the world wanted to know. What are the names of the horses, particularly Michael's? After some laughing and some good humor on his part, he told me Michael's horse's name is Pony.

Jack Lilley was a charming man who pulled no punches and was as direct as he was comfortable to talk to. I enjoyed my interview with him very much. And I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to talk with him.

One Day Out West

In an effort to assist the M7 with their riding, I decided to head out west to meet with Hollywood's top wranglers, Jack and Clay Lilley at their Movin On ranch. Much to my surprise, the ranch was right down the road from the Melody Ranch, which I toured the day before. For riding, one couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. There wasn't any smog or clouds in the sky. Robin, our female wrangler took us out for a long trail ride that lasted about 1-1/2 hours. I rode Quincy and a friend rode Segin.

When I first got on Quincy, he was very spunky...of course the last time someone rode him was Ron during the filming of the "Magnificent Seven" which ended in mid-December of last year. After such a long vacation, needless to say Quincy was feeling a bit energetic. At first he didn't want keep his four legs on the ground but once we got moving he was fine. You could tell the little habits he picked up while Ron was riding him...but all in all he listened well.

When we headed out on our trail ride, we had to first ride along a dried up riverbed for a ways and then we started to head up a mountain. After spiraling around the mountain we finally reached the top. The view was unbelievable and pictures, by no means do it any justice. From the top you could see two valleys one where the Melody Ranch was and the other held the tourist attraction Magic Mountain.

After we got to the top, Robin took us to the other side of the mountain where there was a tilled field and off to the distance was a worn path in a figure of a large circle. This is the practicing ring. When Jack is booked to do a movie or television show with his horses, any actors that are required to ride are welcome to come to the ranch and practice their riding. This is where they are led to practice. Why a circle? When you confine yourself to a small diameter it is much easier to gain and keep the attention of the horse and for the actor to concentrate on his/her riding. Needless to say this wasn't a day for relaxation for Quincy, he was worked hard.

Which actors of the M7 practiced...Prior to the Pilot episode airing Andy, Ron, Mike, Dale made a trip up to the wranglers ranch to practice once or twice. During production...Andy and Laurie have been noted to do some practicing between takes. As for Tony...per Jack and Davy, Tony's riding has improved considerably towards the end of these 13 episodes and in some scenes he looks awesome. Let's just hope those scenes don't get edited. Every now and then Tony would ask for a "check" on how he looked while he was on good ole Hemp. This season, Michael Biehn, who has mentioned his uneasiness around these four legged critters, seems to be a bit more comfortable with his "partner in crime" Pony.

Who's the best rider out of all of them? The wranglers and I agreed that if we were to judge them like they were in a show the placing would go as follows; I will name the top three. First would be Dale. Dale is the best despite his lack of experience with riding. You can tell that Beavis is quite relaxed and collected most of the time. Despite Dale's bad back he does use it to help maneuver his horse between transitions. Dale also leaves his horse alone and doesn't hang on poor Beavis's mouth. Second would be Andy; Third is a tie between Tony and Michael. All actors have doubles for much of the riding scenes.

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN HORSES
All are Registered Quarter Horses with the exception of Weasel who is half Thoroughbred and half Quarter Horse.

Pony and his other six cohorts live about six miles down the road from the Melody Ranch where the Mag 7 was filmed. The ranch where they are kept is privately owned by Jack Lilley who in the west is referred to as a "wrangler". In addition to owning the Magnificent Seven horses, Jack owns the select horses that are used for pulling wagons and for the "fall over" scenes where the horses literally fall over to the side.

You know you're a Biehnatic when....

We would like to offer fans the chance to add something of their own to the newsletter. Perhaps you'd like to comment on one of MB's movies, why you liked it, what kind of influence it had, what was particularly memorable for you. Please submit your thoughts to the Fan Forum by emailing biehnteam@hotmail.com with "Fan Forum in the subject. We'd all like to hear from you!