Simon's News (1998)

Update Nov. 13, 1998:

The episode of "Nightman" mentioned below, in which Simon will reprise his role of Jonathan Chase - "Manimal", will be aired on WGN, Nov. 15 at 10:30 PM Central Time. It will be also aired during that week on various independent stations, including WB Network channels.

Information taken by phone with Simon - Update 9/21/98:

At the moment Simon is in Vancouver, directing Episode #12 of "Nightman". He didn't have the title. Starting this coming Friday (the 25th), he will also be filming the first 2 of 6 episodes of "Poltergeist" in which he will play a recurring bad guy named Reed Horton. So he will be finishing his directing job while running back and forth for his filming of these. He says that in these first 2, his character will be "morphing" into another guy, so that most of his part for these will actually be played by the other actor. He will resume filming of the other 4 episodes in Jan.

Here is the news that some of you will "gasp" over. Episode #8 of the new season of "Nightman" is actually resurrecting "Manimal". Yes... it's true, Jonathan Chase is back! For one episode of "Nightman" anyway. They liked this episode so much, that they are planning to air it for November sweeps, so watch for this in Nov. Simon has always had a special interest in bringing back "Manimal", and he knows this show had an extreme cult following all over the world. He is actually trying to resurrect the show, so perhaps this "Nightman" episode will do that. Tell all your friends to watch for it... and then write letters.

After Oct. 10th, he will be going back to England for awhile, to finish preproduction and start filming, "The Albert Walker Story", or "The Rolex Murder Case" (not sure which title). Simon & Susie's production company, "Amy International" is producing this project in partnership with Fireworks Entertainment in Canada (Toronto). Simon wrote most of the script for this, but he doesn't star in it. This is a story of a famous murder case, in which a Canadian man went to the UK and committed a murder. Simon and Susie attended the trial in Canada to research this project. It is a planned TV Movie for Canada and other places.

Now on to Simon's finished projects:

1. "The Sands of Eden", a French/Canadian desert adventure film filmed in United Arab Emarites. This is a story of a boy who is trying to follow the legacy of his dead father. Simon has a small role as the boy's father in a flashback scene.

2. Yes, Simon did film "Running Wild" in Africa... actually Zimbabwe. This film will be airing on Showtime from time to time.

3. "The Way to Dusty Death" was originally filmed as a two part miniseries, and was also cut down to a 2 hour movie for television. Simon stars as an ex race car driver, opposite Linda Hamilton. Not sure if it will make it to TV in the U.S. or not, but it could be released on video.

4. "The House that Mary Bought" is a 1994 film starring Susan George, that was produced by "Amy" and shown on Showtime. It is also available on video.

5. Simon did a small cameo appearance with Gary Busey in "The Girl Next Door", another Canadian production for Fireworks. Filmed as a TV movie for Canadian television, it might actually be released as a feature film. Simon said that although this part was small, this is a "nice piece", and one that he is proud of.

6. Simon was asked by a friend to make a small appearance in a large budget feature film for FOX. Based on the popular video game, "Wing Commander" will have many appearances by various stars, including Freddie Prince. Simon appears briefly as "The Flight Boss".

7. "Amy also produced a feature entitled, "Such A Long Journey". It's an art film, done in East India, all about the Indian people, and everyone in the film is Indian. It has appeared recently in U.K. film festivals, and was just in the Toronto Film Festival. Now it's being shown at the Vancouver Film Festival.

8. "Mentors" is a children's television series in Canada, in which the little boy on the show uses real-life characters from history to help him with his daily problems. Simon guested in an episode as Oscar Wilde, the character he has played many times in his one-man show. Simon said he played this one very "campy", and had lots of fun with the humor.

On a personal note, he and Susie have moved from their previous home to a larger property. They now live on 12 acres in a 17th century farmhouse. Don't worry.... they have electricity and running water! (grin) They now have more room for their many dogs and horses.