Fans taking in the new Keanu Reeves thriller "The Watcher" this weekend will also catch a glimpse of what Rob Zombie has up his sleeve for his directorial debut.

Zombie's "House Of 1000 Corpses" doesn't open until early next year, but the first full-length trailer for the film will hit theaters this weekend, tacked on before "The Watcher" in most markets.

After helming videos during his White Zombie days and later handling the clips for his solo work, the rocker penned and directed the film himself. In an interview on the film's official Web site (at houseof1000corpses.com), Zombie explained that the film steers clear of the ironic approach to horror found in flicks such as "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer," which Zombie described as "big budget Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys mysteries."

For his entry into big-screen horror, Zombie said he pulled together elements of classic horror and '70s exploitation flicks. He also assembled a cast that includes Karen Black ("Nashville," "Capricorn One," "Five Easy Pieces"), Sid Haig ("Jackie Brown," "Foxy Brown," "Chu Chu And The Philly Flash"), and Jeanne Carmen ("The Devil's Hand").

• Famous Monsters
• White Zombie
• Rob Zombie

Macabre rocker Rob Zombie has signed on to write and direct a film called "The House Of 1000 Corpses."

Set to begin production by the end of this month, "Corpses" will mark the former White Zombie frontman's feature film writing and directing debut. Zombie's long-time manager Andy Gould will produce the film, according to Zombie's official Web site.

The film has not been cast yet, and Universal Pictures has slated the flick for an early 2001 release.

To hype the release of "The House of 1000 Corpses," Zombie will provide a sneak peek of the film by designing a maze based on the film for Universal Studios theme parks. The attraction will premiere during the month of October as part of Universal Studios' "Halloween Horror Nights 2000," in both the Hollywood and Orlando Universal parks.

Last year, Zombie designed a maze called "The Thrilling, Chilling World of Rob Zombie" for Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights series (see "Rob Zombie Finds Inspiration In Strip Clubs, Haunts Halloween Maze").

In 1997, Rob Zombie signed on to write and direct "The Crow: 2037," the third installment in The Crow film franchise (see "Zombie Will Write/Direct Next 'Crow' Flick"). That cinematic enterprise did not come to pass.

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The two-year-old dispute over a Rhode Island high school student's right to wear a $5 "White Zombie" T-shirt to school has already created upwards of $60,000 in legal fees, according to the Associated Press.

"This has gotten way out of hand," Parker's mother, Marianne Almeida told the AP. "It's just a $5 T-shirt. They've spent thousands of dollars fighting it."

Parker, who is now 18 and weeks away from graduating, was sent home in 1998 (his sophomore year) for wearing the shirt for the now-defunct band and was ordered not to wear it to school again.

The "Zombie" shirt, which had the number "666" on the back, "was disruptive and violated the dress code," according to officials at Parker's Westerly High School.

The AP reports that a state hearing pitting Westerly's School Committee against Rhode Island's American Civil Liberties Union has taken some odd turns.

At one point, the town requested that a Roman Catholic priest testify why the shirt could be viewed as satanic, while the ACLU asked local radio jock, Rudy Cheeks, to say that there was nothing to fear from heavy metal music.

"If they're concerned about people rioting in the streets, that didn't start with rock and roll," Cheeks said.

Thomas Grady, the lawyer for the town, refused to comment, according to the AP.

The ACLU has also filed a challenge with the state Education Department, claiming the school's dress code was vague and violated free speech rights. The ACLU is not charging Parker's family, but the town has run up at least $60,000 in legal fees.

The hearing has dragged on partly because Grady and the ACLU have been haggling over what testimony is relevant to the case, according to the AP report.

Joseph Terranova, a member of the School Committee who was elected several months after Parker's T-shirt incident, did acknowledge that the legal fees are high.

"It is kind of sad we've had to spend this kind of money, which could have been used for books and computers," Terranova said to the AP.

He also added that this is a matter of principle to the town. "If we lose this," he asked, "what is to stop kids from coming to school with shirts with ethnic slurs?"

Anyone interested in voicing an opinion on this case can do so by contacting the relevant party on its website. The Web site is located at www.aclu.org, while the Rhode Island Department Of Education is at www.ridoe.net.

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Todd McFarlane's corner of the American International Toy Fair could look more like a mutant wing of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year, as the toy giant plans to debut new figures of Busta Rhymes, Kid Rock, The Beatles, Rob Zombie, Kiss, Janis Joplin, and Alice Cooper, among others.

-- Robert Mancini

• Busta Rhymes
• Famous Monsters
• Kid Rock
• White Zombie
• Rob Zombie

Courtney Love of Hole is gearing up for a big Christmas week that will include the release of her new feature film, "Man On The Moon," as well as the debut of Hole's new video for "Be A Man."

-- David Basham

• Famous Monsters
• Hole
• R.E.M.
• White Zombie
• Rob Zombie

Everyone likes to spend quality time with the family over the holidays... even Rob Zombie.

• 12/1 - Las Vegas, NV @ Hard Rock Hotel - The Joint
• 12/2 - Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre
• 12/4 - Lubbock, TX @ Fair Park Coliseum
• 12/5 - Dallas, TX @ Bronco Bowl
• 12/7 - Kansas City, KS @ Memorial Hall
• 12/9 - Indianapolis, IN @ Conseco Fieldhouse
• 12/10 - Louisville, KY @ Louisville Gardens

-- Robert Mancini with additional reporting by Tina Johnson

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• Powerman 5000
• White Zombie
• Rob Zombie

After helping director Tim Burton make his "Sleepy Hollow" characters smaller than life, "Spawn" creator and toy magnate Todd McFarlane is turning his attention to the world of music with collectible figures of Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, and Janis Joplin in the works.

While in New York with Burton last week to mark the arrival of "Sleepy Hollow," McFarlane said that his McFarlane Toys has collectible versions of Zombie, Cooper, and Joplin in the works and is trying to secure the rights to do a Jimi Hendrix figure.

McFarlane should be no stranger to rock fans after bringing his animation to videos from Korn and Pearl Jam and supplying the cover art for Korn's "Follow The Leader" album. He has also cranked out collectible figures of Ozzy Osbourne as well as several lines of Kiss figures.

As we first reported in September, McFarlane's next music-related project will be a collectible Rob Zombie figure that is expected to surface next year (see ). McFarlane said that his association with Zombie actually grew out of his work with Korn, and a prototype of the figure has already been completed.

"What we're trying to convey with him, just like we did with Ozzy, is just to sort of go, 'Who is Rob Zombie?' He's a freak too, right? And you've just got to capture the freak part of it," McFarlane recently told MTV News. "He's got his costume with the big, long tentacles on it, and he has the prosthetics on there, and then the backdrop is part of the stage, and there's the dreadlocks, and he's sort of hunched over. He's not standing up sort of regal, like some of the covers I've seen on some of the magazines where he's sort of tall and imposing. [RealAudio]

For McFarlane and his in-house artists, the fact that Zombie himself is a strong visual artist presents a unique new challenge after dealing with subjects who are strictly musicians.

"Either we're going to butt heads a lot, we're going to have a difference of opinion, or we're going to actually get, hopefully, a better product out of it, because he'll be sort of pushing me and go[ing], 'Todd, you're missing this and this and this.' Those are things that only someone close to the inner circle can do," McFarlane noted.

The Zombie figure should hit stores in the first quarter of next year, while Cooper and Joplin are expected to follow later in 2000.

-- Robert Mancini

• Alice Cooper
• Famous Monsters
• Janis Joplin
• White Zombie
• Rob Zombie

The fickle flame of inspiration can spark in the strangest of places.