Sci-Fi Blast

Seven of Nine was almost whacked—and more!

2010-08-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

Writer/producer Brannon Braga is one of the more controversial figures in Star Trek. (Hey, the guy actually received death threats after killing off Capt. Kirk in Generations.) But if he'd had his way—metaphorically speaking, of course—with Jeri Ryan's Star Trek: Voyager character Seven of Nine, believe us, things would have gotten even WORSE.

In a recent interview with SFX magazine, the former Star Trek: Enterprise and Voyager show runner shared his belief that Seven of Nine should have been killed off:

"It was my feeling that Seven Of Nine should have died. If you watch the episode 'Human Error' written by Andre Bormanis, it was not only a heart breaking episode in that Seven Of Nine learns, as she begins to explore her human emotions, that she can't experience them. There's a Borg chip inside her that will kill her if she tries to do so. First of all, that's kind of an interesting 'rape victim' analogy or whatever you want to call it, about a damaged woman who can't get past what happened to her, but I also always saw it as a crucial episode that would set up the finale.
"This was a woman who knew she was neither here nor there. She couldn't go back to the Borg, nor would she want to, but she could never be fully human, so she was doomed. And I wanted to have her sacrifice herself to get her shipmates home."

sci-fi wire...

Sigourney: James Cameron told me I'll be back in Avatar 2

2010-08-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

It was great to see Ripley herself, Sigourney Weaver, back in a kick-ass sci-fi movie like Avatar. Too bad they killed her off, though. (Sorry for the spoiler, but it's like the biggest movie of all time—haven't you seen it already?)

Dr. Grace Augustine took a bullet in her human form, so the Na'vi tried to permanently transfer her into her avatar. From what it looked like in the film, Grace didn't survive the transfer, so there's no way she'll be in Avatar 2, right?

"Darling, that's not true," Weaver assured fans in an interview on Aug. 27 in Beverly Hills, Calif., where she was promoting the comedy You Again. "She didn't maybe die. Maybe she's just in the tree."

We can certainly take Weaver's word for it if she was suggesting Grace could come back as a tree. And she's not just guessing. James Cameron's been plotting ideas for a sequel, and they still include Weaver.

"I'm not allowed to say anything, but he certainly made a lot of notes over the last year of where to move on," Weaver said. "I think he really wants to keep the team together as much as he can."

This is Pandora we're talking about, so Grace could come back as pretty much anything Cameron wanted. That suggestion must have struck a nerve. "You stop there," Weaver teased. "I'm not allowed to say anything."

One thing's for sure, it would still be Grace. With the performance-capture technology Cameron invented for Avatar, he could just recast her as a different character and change her look. That would be cool to bring Weaver back, but she's positive it's still going to be Grace.

"I think that would be odd [to play someone else]," Weaver said. "But it's not clear if Grace could have the possibility of coming back in a different form."

If you can't wait to see Grace's return, there is a little more of her in the new extended cut of Avatar released this weekend. "There's a lovely scene where Grace brings Jake and Norm to her old schoolhouse, which is now deserted, when they first meet her. Then there's a little added delight in the Jake/Neytiri love scene."

Wait, they put the Na'vi sex back in? They kept going back and forth about that one. "It's back, it's back," Weaver said.

Weaver saw all the additional scenes and raved about one that doesn't even involve her. "In this version, which Jim took me through, I was able to see all this footage that's going in. There's the most amazing thing called the sturmbeasts. It's like a big buffalo hunt, and you're really in this hunt with these gigantic wonderful creatures called sturmbeasts with the other Na'vi with your bow and arrow. That's the longest sequence, and it's so visceral. You are there."

Then there will even be more Grace in the special-edition DVD. "In the DVD there's a whole series of scenes between Grace and Jake talking about the Na'vi and her relationship with them and his relationship with them. Really, for the original movie I think you didn't need it. It was done without all that dialogue, but it's cool to see. If not in this one, it's going to be in the DVD."

sci-fi wire...

Doctor Who producer promises 'game-changing cliffhanger'

2010-08-30T07:30:00.001-07:00

Shocking news in the world of Doctor Who today: The BBC just announced that series six will be split in two for the first time since it started in 2005, with one block of episodes airing over the spring of 2011 and the second one airing in the fall.

Steven Moffat claims that the move will essentially turn series six into two separate series, but more importantly, that there will be a GAME-CHANGING cliffhanger separating the two.

That's what the show runner revealed while speaking during the Edinburgh International Television Festival. And that game-changing cliffhanger—whatever that will be—is what will lead to the series being split in two.

Steven Moffat said:

"Looking at the next series I thought what this show needs is a big event in the middle.
"I kept referring to a mid-season finale. So we are going to make it two series—seven episodes at Easter building to an earth-shattering climax, a cliffhanger we could never normally do because it would be too long before it came back. An enormous game-changing cliffhanger that will change everything.

"The wrong expression would be to say we are splitting it in two. We are making it two separate series."

So what do you think about this news? Any guesses as to the kind of "earth-shattering climax" Moffat could be coming up with? And—what do you think of the idea of having a season split into two separate series?

Inception's dream sequences force X-Men: First Class rewrites

2010-08-04T16:05:00.000-07:00

You may have been thrilled, puzzled, moved, bewildered, excited or confused by Inception, but one thing we're willing to bet is that your heart didn't sink when you watched Christopher Nolan's latest hit. No, only one person felt that way—director Matthew Vaughn, who suddenly realized he'd have to make massive changes to the script for X-Men: First Class.

Vaughn, who's working on the X-Men prequel film in London, took a break yesterday to catch a showing of Inception, and was horrified to discover that the film's dream sequences meant he'd have to scrap at least a dozen pages of the script for First Class.

"I saw Inception, which I loved," Vaughn said today. "But my heart sank when I saw that a few of the ideas we had were up [on the screen]. So it's either leave it in and look as if you're copying or change things. We completely ripped out about 12 pages of the script and the storyboards."

According to herocomplex:

The jettisoned sequence was a sort of dream-space combat, according to Vaughn; that reminded me of "psi war" scenes like the one ... from The Uncanny X-Men No. 117 way back in 1979, but the filmmaker said for the film the fight involving Professor X (James McAvoy) and some other mutants was to going to be presented with spinning rooms and other physics-bending imagery—visions that he felt drifted too close to signature moments in "Inception."
Do you think Vaughn was right to react this way? Or should he have left his planned storyline intact?

X-Men: First Class is due to be released June 3, 2011.

sci-fi wire...

Quentin Tarantino may (or may not) direct The Shadow

2010-08-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

Remember that 1994 movie about The Shadow? We do, though we wish we didn't. (Sorry, Alec Baldwin!) Luckily, a new big-screen adaptation is coming, one we've known about for a while. But the latest news on the project—one that might be nothing more than a rumor—could bring aboard a new director who'd wipe that earlier film from our minds.

According to pajiba, Quentin Tarantino is currently in discussions to direct:

... the person that is now attached to the project is none other than Quentin Tarantino, who is also attached as co-writer. ... The Shadow has never been mentioned among the 27 dozen projects that Tarantino has always been obsessed with. Maybe he loved original radio show and the pulps (which do seem up Tarantino's alley), and maybe he saw Siavash Farahani's script and decided that, if anyone could erase the memory of Alec Baldwin's atrocity, it'd be him. Maybe Tarantino just loves the challenge. Or maybe he's just added this to the huge pile of future possibilities and has no intention of ever directing. All I know is that, for the moment, he is being discussed (and this is a two-way discussion) and or already attached as the future director of The Shadow.
This is one rumor we're hoping turns true. Whether it does or not, what do you think about a Tarantino-flavored Shadow?
sci-fi wire...

Details about DC's epic Justice League movie you'll never see

2010-08-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

Everyone's been talking about the big-screen Avengers movie Marvel managed to pull together. But what about that other epic supergroup movie, the one that couldn't get off the ground? An actor who was going to appear in DC's Justice League tells us about the $300 million blockbuster that might have been.

Jay Baruchel, most recently seen in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, explained what "the single most expensive movie in the history of movies" (his words) would have been like:

"I'll just say this, if we had been able to make the movie that we had gone down [to Australia] to rehearse, if you had seen the production art I'd seen ... it would've been the coolest thing ever. It would have been the neatest vision of Batman and the coolest vision of Superman you've ever seen. It would have been dark and fairly brutal and quite gory and just $#%@-ng epic."
Now that you've heard what Baruchel had to say about the movie that would have been directed by George Miller, are you glad the high pricetag got the project cancelled? Or would you have wanted to see what sounds as if it would have been a Watchmen-like Justice League?
sci-fi wire...

Eureka's SARAH smart house is almost here. Want to test it out?

2010-07-28T08:28:00.001-07:00

What if your house knew how you liked your coffee? Could anticipate what kind of music you'd want to hear given the situation? That's exactly the kind of technology a team at the University of Essex in the UK tests in their iSpace apartment and lab.

It's the kind of easy livin' that's been the driving vision behind stuff such as SARAH from Eureka, pictured above.

The Essex crew use what they call "ambient intelligence" to tie the whole home together. The occupant's patterns are identified: What time do you make coffee? How often do you do laundry? How bright do you keep the lights? The iSpace home would be able to do all these things for you based on your behavior.

It's a wonder if we'll ever get to live in houses like this one day, or if it'll be reserved only for the very rich. For what it's worth, if you're planning a trip to the UK the iSpace team is actually looking for volunteers to stay in the dorm.

sci-fi wire...

New Battlestar Galactica series about the Cylon War coming!

2010-07-28T08:23:00.001-07:00

Syfy is working on a new Battlestar Galactica series that will follow the exploits William "Husker" Adama during the Cylon War. According to the Chicago Tribune, the show is called "Blood and Chrome" and will be an online series with about 10 episodes, each around 9 minutes long.

According to Mark Stern, Syfy's executive vice president of original programming and the co-head of original content for Universal Cable Productions, "Battlestar Galactica" and "Caprica" co-executive producer Michael Taylor will write the the script for the new venture.
"Blood & Chrome" is "about a young man's initiation into war: both the realities of war as fought by soldiers on the ground (and in Battlestars and Vipers), and the somewhat less real version portrayed in the media," according to Taylor.

"Blood & Chrome" would consist of nine or 10 episodes of nine or 10 minutes each, and it would make use of cutting-edge digital technology and special effects to depict the Cylon War. If it is greenlit to production, it will be filmed using green screens and virtual sets, not unlike Syfy's "Sanctuary" or James Cameron's "Avatar." Before "Battlestar Galactica" ended, high-tech scans were made of all the show's sets, so that the special-effects team will be able to re-create them (possibly even in 3D).

Taylor revealed some other details to the Tribune:

"I've seen the virtual, 3D version of CIC ['Battlestar's' Combat Information Center] and it's pretty damn cool," Taylor said. "And yet the movie isn't confined to Galactica. Far from it. It's a story that will take us to new corners of the 'Battlestar' world (or worlds), and yet it aims to be a very contemporary war movie in a lot of ways. I would say I'm thinking as much of Afghanistan and Iraq--the reality of 'Hurt Locker,' Sebastian Junger's 'Restrepo,' and similar movies--as I am about about the largely implied past of 'Battlestar.'"
If the series is successful, more could follow.

sci-fi wire...

The final scene of Smallville? We WILL get to see that Super suit!

2010-07-28T08:17:00.001-07:00

Whether you're addicted to Smallville or your interest in the Kryptonian farmboy waned a long time ago, you'll want to watch as the series says goodbye—because executive producers Kelly Souders and Brian Wayne Peterson told us that its 10th and final year will get to pay off on that long-promised money shot. Yes, that one—Clark Kent putting on the Superman suit for the first time.

"We have all known images and pieces of the finale for years and years and years, starting back with [co-creators] Al [Gough] and Miles [Millar]," Souders said at a small roundtable after their San Diego Comic-Con panel Sunday. "They had ideas that they always talked about being in the final episode, and we love those ideas. We want to also honor the creators of the show, so there will be some images that literally come from Al and Miles, some from us and some from just years of our own wish lists. In a strange sense it's easy, because you know in that final moment he's going to be Superman. We know where he ends, so the pieces just fall into place."

Now just what that final shot will exactly look like—and, more importantly, which suit Tom Welling will adorn himself with—depends on what DC Comics has to say as Souder and Peterson pen the final episode script in spring 2011.

"There are a lot of different factors in that decision," Peterson said. "I think it will literally come down to the last two weeks of the show and if we know what the new movie is doing. There is every intention to get there, but the mandates really change depending on movie or TV developments."

However, Souders said that each episode of the 10th season will really create a purposeful journey to the transformative moment of Clark Kent's life.

"When we sat down to talk about this season, we asked, 'Why isn't he Superman today?'" Souders said. "We really looked at his character, and he's been a leader and certainly developed his skill set as Superman, but he's not Superman. If you watch the episodes right now, he's not that guy yet, so it was about moving him to that final point, and figuring what are the stumbling blocks and the obstacles, which is what we are going to be seeing. And one of the things we talked about was his past, so we'll see some ghosts from his past so he can have his final lessons from them and move on out of the dark mode into the light."

One of the more compelling of those ghosts will be in the form of James Marsters, who has played Clark's archenemy Brainiac on and off over five years. Souders confirmed he will be back in the 200th episode as Brainiac 5.

"It will sort of be an old villain and a new villain all in one," she teased. "There were things that we really wanted to encapsulate in the 200th, and we literally sat around for days trying to bring it together, and suddenly Brainiac 5 popped in and it all fell into place."

Peterson added, "It's the touchstone for the bigger theme this year, which is where we explore the past, the present and a little bit of the future. We get to touch on some memories and nostalgia, but as soon as we do that we explode into something nobody has ever seen on the show. There are some epic moments, but it's also really fun and romantic. I don't think people will be disappointed ... at least, I hope not!"

sci-fi wire...

Two new Superman rumors: One good, one that's just plain ugly

2010-07-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

According to the Superman Homepage, it looks like the new Superman reboot currently scheduled for December, 2012 might have a director attached.

The new superhero epic, which will be produced by the filmmaker who was the guiding force behind Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan, has reportedly been offered to Harry Potter and Percy Jackson director Chris Columbus.

The script is by comic book adaptation vet David Goyer, who wrote the scripts for Nolan's two Batman epics and well as other genre mini-classics like Alex Proyas' Dark City.

The downside is that Goyer wanted to direct the Superman reboot, which will be a joint venture by Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures. An unnamed studio insider says, "[N]obody from either studio thinks he's good in that arena.... He's great at coming up with story and ideas, like George Lucas. It's his execution where he's weak which is why people like Chris and Jonathan Nolan [of the Batman movies] and Guillermo Del Toro [who directed Goyer's Blade II screenplay] have had the best results with his scripts."

Given Goyer's lackluster results in the director's chair, which include Blade: Trinity and the badly received horror movie The Unborn, maybe Warner and Legendary are playing it safe.

sci-fi wire...

Darth Vader actor David Prowse BANNED from Star Wars cons

2010-07-12T09:41:00.001-07:00

The actor behind the mask of Darth Vader has been banned from the Star Wars Celebration V convention and any other Lucasfilm-associated events, he said on his site:

"It is with regret that I have been informed by my friends at C2 Ventures, Ben and Phillip, that I am not to be invited to C5 this year or any other Lucas Film associated events. After enquiring, the only thing I have been told is that I have 'burnt too many bridges between Lucas Film and myself' - no other reason given...I have also been advised by the promoter of Paris Manga in September that LFL (Lucas Film Limited) have requested no photo opportunities with the 501 Squadron, even though I am commander in chief of the 501"
There is a lot of speculation online about what "burnt too many bridges" means, but no one seems to know and Lucas and Prowse aren't saying. If we find out more, we'll let you know.
sci-fi wire...

Johnny Depp rumored to star in Doctor Who big-budget film

2010-07-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

Johnny Depp as a lizard with an identity crisis? That we can get behind. But Johnny Depp as a Time Lord ... that we're not so sure of.

And yet that's what we might be seeing on the big screen a few years from now if the info uncovered by tor.com is correct.

An article at pubarticles presented the project as fact and reportedly passed on the following news:

Long-time producer of the television series Russell T. Davies reported that the reason he moved on from the show was due to the opportunity to transform the Doctor to the big screen. "Bringing the Who franchise to the theaters is a regeneration for the character beyond the usual one. A theatrical release has a greater range and can reach millions of more people than just the fans. There will be brand new concepts and the film will be just as adventurous, scary and humorous as the television programme. But none of us working the film will forget what makes the character great and interesting and the long-time fans will not be disappointed because yes, the Daleks make an appearance."
We'd love to provide you with a link to the original article so you can check it out for yourself, but we can't, because it has since been taken down. Which by itself would lead us to believe that this is nothing more than one big, fat rumor.

But the trustworthy tor.com did some digging on its own, reaching out to studio sources who said that "the casting of Johnny Depp as the Doctor for a 2012 film is confirmed."

Even though we're not sure what to make of it all, we thought you'd want to know about it. But whether or not it's true, would you be ready for a Johnny Depp Doctor Who?

sci-fi wire...

It's official! Andrew Garfield IS the new Spider-Man!

2010-07-07T22:49:00.000-07:00

Star Trek's Anton Yelchin? Percy Jackson's Logan Lerman? Jumper's Jamie Bell? Sorry those screen tests didn't pan out for you, guys. But after teasing us for months, director Marc Webb and Sony Pictures have FINALLY made up their minds, and the new Spider-Man will be Andrew Garfield, best known for 2009's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Here's the studio's official announcement:

After a comprehensive worldwide casting search, Andrew Garfield has been chosen to portray Peter Parker when Spider-Man swings back onto the screen in 3D on July 3, 2012. The new film will begin production in early December directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt. Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad will produce the film from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios.
Today's confirmation culminates what has been one of the most eagerly anticipated casting announcements in recent memory. Bloggers, pop culture speculators, and everyday fans have pored over and analyzed every conceivable online rumor in an attempt to discover the identity of the next actor to play Peter Parker. Garfield will immediately begin preparing for the coveted role.

The Spider-Man franchise is one of the most successful in film history and the three previous motion pictures have collectively grossed more than $2.5 billion in worldwide box office.

On selecting Garfield, director Marc Webb said, "Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor's work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker."

Commenting on the announcement, Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Matt Tolmach, President of Columbia Pictures said, "Spider-Man is a classic superhero—a young man who balances his responsibility to serve humanity and crush evil with the shyness and normalcy of someone struggling to find himself. The role demands an extraordinary actor. You need someone who can magically transform himself from Peter Parker into Spider-Man. An actor who will depict the vulnerability of youth and the strength and confidence of a legendary figure at the same moment. We have found that actor in Andrew Garfield. From the first time we saw him in the upcoming film The Social Network, to his glorious screen test, which floored all of us, we knew that we had found our new Peter Parker."

Producer Avi Arad added, "I'm incredibly excited about Andrew Garfield. In the Spider-Man tradition, we were looking for a smart, sensitive, and cool new Peter Parker who can inspire us and make us laugh, cry, and cheer. We believe we have found the perfect choice to take on this role and lead us into the future."

Producer Laura Ziskin said, "We are thrilled to have Andrew Garfield for this new incarnation of Spider-Man under Marc Webb's direction. We were fortunate enough to meet with a group of fantastically talented young men. In the end, we all agreed that in addition to being an extraordinary actor, Andrew had the right mix of humor, youth, and pathos, along with an underlying sense of strength and power necessary to bring Peter Parker and Spider-Man to life on screen."

The selection of Garfield was revealed at a press event in Cancun, Mexico for international journalists attending a media tour promoting upcoming films from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Garfield is fast becoming one of the most respected and sought-after young actors working in the industry today. In a short career, spanning only five years, he has already been directed by, and starred alongside, some of the greatest names and received a BAFTA for a role that won him international praise.

Garfield most recently worked with director David Fincher on the upcoming film The Social Network. He previously starred for Spike Jonze on his robot love story I'm Here, which premiered at Sundance this year. He plays the lead male opposite Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan in Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go, due for release later this year.

Other notable screen credits include Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus playing opposite Christopher Plummer, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law and the late Heath Ledger, Robert Redford's Lions For Lambs, where he starred alongside Redford, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep; Revolution Films' "Red Riding Trilogy - 1974" directed by Julian Jarrold, where he lead a stellar cast including Rebecca Hall and David Morrissey, and his unforgettable portrayal of a young ex-con in John Crowley's "Boy A," for which he earned the best actor BAFTA in 2008.

Garfield's career began in theatre and in 2006 his performances in "Beautiful Thing" (Sound Space/Kit Productions), "The Overwhelming," and "Burn / Chatroom / Citizenship" (Royal National Theatre) won him the Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard awards and the Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer at the Critics Circle Theatre Awards. Other notable theatre credits include "Romeo and Juliet" (Manchester Royal Exchange) and "Kes" (Manchester Royal Exchange), for which he received the Most Promising Newcomer Award at the Manchester Evening News Awards 2004.

sci-fi wire...

Jonathan Frakes wants to do a Star Trek: Titan miniseries

2010-06-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is more wishful thinking than anything else, but one enterprising fan is pushing for a Star Trek Titan miniseries that would star Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis. It would follow the adventures of Frakes as a captain of the U.S.S. Titan, a ship that was mentioned in Star Trek: Nemesis but never seen.

Although there is nothing officially happening around this that is known, the fan personally asked Frakes about it at a recent Phoenix Comic-Con and reported that Frakes "must have said 'I WISH' about seven times." Now this writer is wishing too.

The adventures of the Titan already exists as a series of novels that take place in the world of Star Trek after the events of Nemesis. They feature Comander Deanna Troi as Riker's wife and the ship's chief diplomatic officer/counselor, and also Comander Tuvok as a tactical officer.

V's Valerie on lizard babies, mouse-eating and more!

2010-04-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

What's a mother-to-be to do when she finds out her baby daddy has been lying to her from the start of their relationship and, beyond that, he's not even human? Actress Lourdes Benedicto (ER/24), who plays Valerie Stevens on ABC's V, told us in an exclusive interview that everything her character has been going through will come to a head in tonight's episode, "Heretic's Fork."

"What happens in tonight's episode is the climax of the relationship between her and Ryan and is what the audience has been waiting for, 'cause the audience has known all along that Ryan is a V and he has been keeping it from her," said Benedicto. "She's going to find out the truth of many truths tomorrow night. I think that's going to be really exciting and seeing her have to make decisions and deal with those decisions and repercussions. It is a good episode."

One of those truths involves the fact that Ryan (Morris Chestnut) actually slipped Valerie phosphorus from the mothership that was needed to insure the survival of the baby hybrid ... a pregnancy that wasn't supposed to be possible. And the baby's growing at breakneck speed, and the ultrasound pics show a tail.
"She won't be able to go back from [what he did], no," said Benedicto.
Trust may be a hard thing to come by when Valerie discovers what he's done, she admitted. "It's a sci-fi show, but ultimately what's great about it is that it really focuses on and tries to deal with real human emotions and real human situations," she said.
According to Benedicto, while Valerie's innocence will be lost, she'll gain something else. "I think what's great about this situation is that we'll get to see her really take command of her own fate, as much as she can, and really become a part of her own destiny and decide what she's going to do with this baby. And is she going to forgive Ryan? Is she going to trust him again? We'll see her struggle with those choices, and we'll see her make those decisions and the repercussions of that. I think that's the beauty of it. That's what we really want to see with our characters is how they deal with everything that life throws at them—especially lizard babies," she said with a laugh.

In the promo for tonight's episode, when High Commander Anna (played by Morena Baccarin) discovers that the pregnancy exists, Anna orders that the human woman carrying the "mongrel" baby and the Visitor who impregnated her be found and dissected. Then Anna releases one of her new supersoldiers to go after them.

Yes. They're pretty badass. The stakes are getting higher for everybody ... all the characters, the stakes are getting higher. The life-and-death situations are getting a lot more real and scary. These soldiers, they mean business. And there's going to be some pretty cool special effects in this episode, too. So it should be really fun to watch," said Benedicto.

Something else that was fun to watch this season was pregnant Valerie's ravenous appetite and her reaction to a dead mouse. In what was likely a nod to the original series, where the Visitors downed rodents as snacks, Valerie sees the dead mouse in a trap, picks it up, and for just a moment we think she might eat it.
"My character has definitely been the one that plays a lot of homage to the original, being that she has the alien birth and then with the rat and everything. So it is kind of nice to serve that purpose. ... As far as doing the scene, I was really afraid they were going to use a rat, as opposed to a mouse, and that I don't know if I could have actually, physically picked it up without probably hyperventilating. So once they decided it was a small mouse and a little mouse, it was lot easier to shoot," said Benedicto with a laugh. "And I just sort of had to jump in with both feet and not think about it too much."

V airs on ABC on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

sci-fi wire...

Iron Man 2 cast reveals behind-the-scenes secrets!

2010-04-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of Iron Man 2's May 7 opening, the entire cast and director Jon Favreau met the press over the weekend in Beverly Hills, Calif., and we were there.
Following is an edited transcript of the entire press conference, which featured stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke and Don Cheadle, director Favreau, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and writer Justin Theroux.

For Robert and Jon, I wanted to ask what pressure you felt doing a sequel to the first, which was such a blockbuster?

Downey: Do you mean, like, feel like it's past tense? I didn't sleep last night. Jon?
Favreau: I've never done a sequel before, unless you count me being ... on Batman Forever as a sequel, as an actor. For me, there wasn't the same pressures that you're used to feeling, especially coming up with smaller movies ... where you're throwing a party and you don't know if people are going to show up. Here we knew people were going to show up. We just wanted to make sure everybody that showed up had a good time and this was going to be as fun or more fun than the last party. So, different kind of pressure. ...

Jon and Kevin, can you talk about the timeline for Iron Man 2 and how it fits in with Thor, Captain America and Avengers?

Favreau: I'll let Kevin field that one.
Feige: The second question, and it's about that? That's nifty. I think Jon has already revealed on his Twitter that Iron Man 2 takes place [before] or slightly concurrently with The Incredible Hulk. But other than that ... It takes place before, but if you're paying attention towards the end of the film, you'll see a little clue that tells you that it's happening before The Incredible Hulk.

Favreau: The whole idea of an easter egg is you don't talk about it. ...
Mr. Favreau, there was a snippet in the trailer where Pepper was in the plane with Tony. Was that meant to be a part of the Stark Expo scene where he's flying down from the plane?

Favreau: Yes. We had different versions of things that we tried. That was something that we tried, that was something that was a great image and a scene that's gonna be on the DVD. But we had two different versions of it, and because of the pacing and the way we reveal Tony Stark, it felt really good to flow into the drop down and reveal him for the first time on the stage. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, this doesn't make any sense. But oftentimes, in the editing room, we figure out what combinations of scenes ...

Downey: Gwyneth is just finding out that that scene was cut, Jon. You might be a little more sensitive.

Cheadle: You're in for a big surprise.
Paltrow: Nothing would surprise me.

Gwyneth and Scarlett, I think the Tony character is surprised that you guys can work together quite well later in the movie. Who do you think can work together better to save the world, you two girls or Tony and Rhodey? And why?
Paltrow: Well, if Scarlett and I were doing it, the body count would be different. Less bloody.

Johansson: More organized. We'd just stack them. I don't know, I mean, I think that we, with the brains and the muscle and the beauty and the blond, I feel like we'd have maybe a better chance, but you guys can fight for yourselves.
Paltrow: We're unstoppable.

Johansson: We are. It's true. Unstoppable. I don't know. I feel like if I could wield the guns and the karate-chop movements and you can, like, be the brains behind the operation. That's your one superpower. I will out-think you. ...
Mickey, that was an electrifying performance. Can you talk about what it was like to play that character and how much fun you had?
Rourke: I had a lot of fun.

Can you elaborate?
Rourke: I just woke up. It was great because I worked with some great people and he's, this one here [indicates Favreau], is real easy to work with, makes it fun. It was nice because I'd just come off working on a film that was no budget and I didn't have a chair to sit in. I remember the first day, I asked for a cappuccino and they said, 'What kind would you like?' ...

Justin and Jon, you guys discovered a lot on set on the first movie. How much did you discover this time, and Justin, how much of your script are we seeing on screen and how much is the group coming together and changing things?

Theroux: It's a heavily improvisational script in that everyone gets to sort of chime in. So my job as the writer was to really just stay on the dance shoes of Robert and Jon and Gwyneth and everybody and just sort of try and rewrite things on the fly. So we did have an extensive development process, obviously, sort of where we actually had a script. And then that ball just keeps rolling into production, and then once we're on set, it gets very frenetic and very fast.

Favreau: The story is very well fleshed out, the actual story; what has to happen in each scene we understand. We leave a lot of room within those scenes and try to do multiple cameras sometimes or stay up and rewrite. And Justin was doing multiple passes, sometimes double-digit passes on scenes, because we learned things from each scene that we shoot. We try to shoot pretty much in order. And what's nice about having the actors you see up here is they're all very good stewards of their characters emotionally and they're used to being in films where you don't have the safety net of all the high technology and the explosions. And so, if they have an issue with something we're asking the character to do for the story, we discuss it and we figure out a way so that it can work for them as a performer and also for the movie.
Don Cheadle, your character was played by Terrence Howard in the first movie. How did you feel when the opportunity arose to play the role in this movie, and how cool was it for you to put on the War Machine suit?

Cheadle: Well, I don't know why the War Machine suit is actually made of metal and his [indicates Downey] was made of light fiberglass material. (Laughs.) Maybe it was just an initiation. But, you know, I felt very fortunate to be given the opportunity to work in a film like this. Terrence is a friend, and I've known him for a long time. I was one of the producers on Crash, put him in that, so it was good to also kind of see him and put anything to bed that people may have been thinking was a problem. It wasn't. We're cool. Look, it's a lot of fun. We get to play with the best toys and the best technology. It's just kind of doing what you liked to do as a kid, but all fleshed out. A lot of fun.

Downey: The reason Don's suit was heavier is that it's almost impossible to get that mirror-like look of a polished metal with CGI. I would not wish it on an enemy. ...

For the three gentlemen on the end, you've got a rogue's gallery with Iron Man, but it's not as well known as something like Batman or Spider-Man. Were there other villains considered? And talk about the decision to go with Whiplash and Mickey's casting.

Favreau: I met with Mickey at this hotel. Remember? I brought him some artwork and we thought, Whiplash in the comic book is a guy wearing tights with a big plume, big purple feather coming out of the top of his head. That wasn't what we wanted. But what's the tech version of that? ... And so we were thinking of, we were concocting a version of a Russian, thinking of Viggo [Mortensen] in Eastern Promises and the tattoos. That could be a cool in. So it's going to be a Russian, and then we're like, Marv [from Sin City] and The Wrestler, between those two, between the fan boys and the independent film community, he was back with a vengeance. It was like, "My God, there's a lot of people, we're not going to have a tremendous amount of screen time. Who's going to be able to be there, make an impression and you feel like this guy's in trouble?"

So Mickey brought a lot of intensity to both those roles. We did some artwork, and then I met with him, sat down with him, and we talked about everything. It was before all the awards started to happen. We had a nice little connection, and I talked to people that worked with him, and they said great things about him. His talent is undeniable. And so, that started, that conversation ended, and then Robert was on the road with him doing the tour, because he was on the Tropic Thunder awards tour, and he, I think, was lobbying every time they sat together to try to get him to join the movie.

Downey: I really worked you like a rib, didn't I? It was embarrassing. I was literally begging you in public. ...
Rourke: We had a great time. We had a lot of fun. I think we were, we were doing this improvisation where I said, 'Bring me some vodka. This wine is s--t.' And I just moved the wine over, and [Sam Rockwell] took his glass and said, 'Yeah, this is s--t.' (Laughs.) He was fun to work with.

Downey: Mickey, I think we've waited long enough. Can we please talk about the parrot already? (Laughs.) I don't know why the parrot is not on the poster personally.
Rourke: He's home.

Favreau: Yeah, he bought one after. It's the one that's in the movie. ...
For the two of you [Robert and Gwyneth], there's a real Moonlighting thing going on between the two of you, the banter between you is great. But the kiss was, of course, very highly anticipated. How was it shooting that scene?
Downey: I couldn't get her off me. It was embarrassing.

Paltrow: It was great, because both my husband and his wife were right there.
Downey: She said to me that I didn't know what I was doing, like it didn't feel good. And I'm like, you know what? First of all, we're all friends. So what would be creepy would be if I was coming off all sexy to you while we're shooting. ... By the way, I've done that in movies, and it creeps them out. So what am I going to creep you out for? ... Despite what she said on set, she still thinks about it. [Laughs.] ...
And finally, Scarlett was fantastic as Black Widow. There was talk of a spinoff movie. Is that still a possibility?

Favreau: Hell yes.
Feige: Yes. Absolutely.
Jon, we heard about a few of the scenes that might wind up on the DVD. What other cool extras do you have planned?

Favreau: Well, we have, there's a lot of featurettes. We were running cameras behind the scenes all the time. We don't like to really show too much of it before the movie comes out, to keep some surprises. But everything was very well documented, as you can see, a very interesting group of people. And so, between the interviews, you get a really good sense of ... We're fans of these movies, Kevin and I are always swapping back and forth books and things about the movies that we grew up loving. And so we document it very well, and so there's going to be pretty extensive featurettes and then commentary this time around, and then also deleted scenes that we thought would be interesting for people to see. So it's more a movie-fan set of extras, people who really want to immerse themselves. If you don't, it's going to be boring. If you don't like that kind of thing, it's going to be ... We did overkill on this one.

Gwyneth and Scarlett, can you tell us more about your specific roles in this movie and how, in this movie, you have strong, intelligent women? You aren't just sex symbols.
Johansson: Well, I think that I've never really seen a film of this genre where the female characters were, that they're kind of, that their sex appeal kind of came second. I mean, of course they're sexy characters. When you have a sexy secretary or a girl swinging around by her ankles in a catsuit, that's innately sexy, but these characters are ... They're intelligent, they're ambitious, they're motivated and calculated in some, to some degree. It leaves ... I probably would have, to be just a pawn in a story of a whole bunch of men just fighting it out and, you know, rolling around and getting down and dirty, and there you are to be sort of the vision in a tight catsuit is sort of a boring thing to me. I think that Jon made that really clear in the beginning, that he felt, as far as Black Widow or Natalie was concerned, that she was, you know, mysterious and nuanced and something to kind of peel back the layers to, that there was something there. He wanted that. I think that's why this film is so much more dynamic to me as an audience member. I've never been a huge fan of this genre, really. I think because it was always sort of one-note and very explosive. I think this, because Gwyneth and I are able to be the brains behind the operation in some aspect, there's kind of a happy medium there. It kind of adds to the charm, the charisma, of the finished project.

Paltrow: Oh. I agree with Scarlett. (Laughs.) I think it's a very smart decision, actually, to have women that are capable and intelligent, because it appeals to women. So it's not only a film for 15-year-old boys, it's a film that can relate to a lot people on a lot of levels. Like, a lot of my girlfriends like it because of the romance or Scarlett, the trailer, it's appealing. "Oh, who is she?" It doesn't look like, it doesn't look gratuitous. It looks like there are interesting women in the movie. Certainly from the first one, too. My character is quick, and she's articulate. It makes it so that, when you take your kid, if you're a mom, it's really fun for you to watch as well. It's really fun to see women who are kind of aspirational and smart, sexy all at the same time.
Cheadle: I think 15-year-old boys are going to like that too.

Johansson: It's awfully kind of old-fashioned, actually, in the best sense of the word. These characters are like those fabulous femme fatales of the golden age of Hollywood. That Bette Davis, more than the Jayne Mansfield, you know, which I think is so much more dynamic to watch. ...

Mr. Downey, I'm wondering about the physical challenges and perhaps the emotional and intellectual of this as well and what the boundaries of that were for you. ...
Downey: ... We just labored really hard to say, "OK, we're audience members who made the first Iron Man successful, and we're smart, which is kind of why we were drawn to it, so what do we expect?" We kept putting ourselves into audience seats. So, for me, the mental and emotional aspects and development of Tony were, to me, it's strange to say personal, because it's not necessarily relating to my life, so to speak, but just the mythology of saying you're something and being that thing are something entirely different.

And also this whole idea of Howard Stark and the legacy and the shadow of that legacy that we were always talking about, Mickey and I, about being kind of two sides of the same coin. One who was kind of able to escape that captivity and one who saw his father die in the ruins of improper recognition and having to reckon with that. So really all of the characters, you know, Black Widow/Natalie is bringing me back to an extended family I've always had, and Mickey, as Anton, is telling me that all is not well and people have vendettas for reasons I might not understand but I need to understand. And Rhodey is there saying, "Hey, you've always had me there on your wing, so why won't you really let me help you?" And obviously the Pepper thing is really about love. ...

(At this point, the Iron Man poster backdrop falls off its support frame, and Downey, Feige and Theroux begin clowning around with it until the press conference ends.)

sci-fi wire...

A surprise director for the controversial final Twilight

2010-04-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

Summit Entertainment has officially confirmed rumors that Bill Condon, screenwriter and/or director of films such as Gods and Monsters, Kinsey and Dreamgirls—not to mention '80s genre fare such as Strange Invaders and Strange Behavior—has been hired to direct The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, the final entry in the massively successful film franchise based on Stephenie Meyer's novels.
Summit president of production Erik Feig said in the official press release, "Bringing Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn to the screen requires a graceful and intelligent hand, and we believe Bill Condon is exactly the right steward, having shown equal and abundant talents of immense creativity and subtle sensitivity."

Meyer herself chimed in, adding, "I'm so thrilled that Bill wants to work with us. I think he's going to be a great fit, and I'm excited to see what he does with the material."

The press release did not indicate whether Breaking Dawn would be subject to either of the trends that studios are currently enforcing on their tentpole pictures, i.e. being filmed in or converted to 3-D or broken up into two parts, although the latter has also been rumored for the Twilight finale.

The hiring of Condon comes following recent rumors that 30 Days of Night's David Slade—the director of the third installment in the series, Eclipse (out June 30)—had run into trouble with Summit over the tone of his film, with reports of reshoots and a change in editors on the project. The studio has sought to dispel those rumors, telling E! Online that it is "very happy with Slade."

Condon himself said in Summit's press release, "I'm very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen. As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book—and we're hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience."
The filmmaker is perhaps understating the case. Breaking Dawn is the most controversial book in the series, and as reported by CHUD.com last November, its many outrageous plot points—Bella and Edward violently consummating their relationship, Bella's monster baby nearly tearing her apart during childbirth, and werewolf Jacob's unnatural relationship with the child—would present a challenge for David Cronenberg, let alone a more mainstream director like Condon (no word on whether he'll get a crack at writing the thing—regular Twilight screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg is back again).

Condon, however, did start out in genre work and has a feel for it, while his efforts on Kinsey and Dreamgirls also show a flair for the sexually provocative and the theatrical, respectively. He'll get a chance to bring all that to the table for Breaking Dawn, while juggling the demands of Summit, Meyer and, most important, the fan base.

sci-fi wire...

Resident Evil: Afterlife: New monsters, new heroes, new FX

2010-04-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

♦The new film, shot in high-def 3-D with the same cameras used in Avatar, will be heavily influenced by the Resident Evil 5 video game, with Wesker as the main villain and brother-sister team Claire and Chris Redfield (Ali Larter and Wentworth Miller) joining Alice (Milla Jovovich).
♦Forget the crappy 3-D back conversion of Clash of the Titans; this film was conceived from the ground up as a 3-D feature, and it looks fabulous.
♦The new movie will feature new costumes, new locations and new music and will be more global in scope, with a story that ranges from Alaska to Japan to Los Angeles and onto a massive Umbrella Corp. ship.
♦There will be familiar creatures from the games, as well as some new ones, including underwater zombies, burrowing zombies and split-headed zombie dogs.Following the report of our set visit is an edited Q&A with director Paul W.S. Anderson, who steps behind the camera again.
On a day in November of last year, we visited a set that was a giant white room with walls that appear to be braced steel, apparently aboard the Umbrella ship. There are vertical man-sized glass cylinder pods, as well as examination tables on which lie "bodies" of the undead in white jumpsuits.

There's a giant white door at one end.
We're watching the action unfold on a high-def 3-D video monitor; the action is actually being shot in 3-D. "Wesker," played by Shawn Roberts, is in a chair, wearing a black Matrixy-looking outfit. His black profile pops against the stark white background.
In the shot, Wesker dodges something thrown at him (knives, which will be inserted in post-production) by Alice (Jovovich).
In another scene, we watch a fight scene between Bennett (a henchman played by Kim Coates) and Alice. In one shot, Coates—who is dressed in a battered black suit —trains a pistol on Alice. Alice does a roundhouse kick to knock the gun out of Bennett's hand, then kicks him square in the chest.
After one take, Coates shakes his hand: Jovovich has apparently kicked his hand instead of the gun. "That was just the finger," he says with a smile.
In another take, she misses the gun and hand entirely. "I missed the gun. ... It was too high. ... Can you hold it a little higher?" She laughs good-naturedly.

In another take, she nails both the gun and Coates square in the chest. After the cut, she flashes that big famous smile.
Another scene: Jovovich has to act as if snarling vicious zombie dogs have just entered the room, ready to attack. They're not really there, but she acts as if they are: She freezes, backs up slowly, a sharp intake of breath, a narrowing of the eyes, looking around, primed, then quickly dodges to the left, as if something has leaped at her, and quickly runs out of frame.
Later, as a lighting reference for the visual-effects guys, crew members bring in models of the dogs themselves and place them in the white room, then move them around. The zombie dogs are black and bloody, and their heads split open vertically to reveal large ranks of nasty teeth.
To lampoon this activity, Jovovich later brings in a small piece of plastic dog poop, places it on the floor, then moves it around. The crew laughs heartily.
We also toured the art department, where we saw concept sketches and designs of the various locations and props in the movie, as well as the props themselves, including shiny bladed weapons in a leather wrap and a mockup of an Umbrella Corp. nuclear weapon.

Paul W.S. Anderson, talk about coming back to this franchise as a director and what you brought you back and what you want to do with it that's different.
Anderson: I never really thought I went away, because I've written all of the movies, and I've produced them all and certainly provided services above and beyond the average producer on two and three. I was on set most of the films and called "action" and "cut" a lot of times and did all that good stuff. And so I was excited about the fourth movie, I guess, conceptually, because what I felt we should do with it, we should try to make it a conceptual jump, like Terminator did [with] T2. It was still the Terminator franchise, but it was something kind of bigger and grander. That was our idea with this Resident Evil, to make that kind of conceptual jump. It will still be Resident Evil, it will have all the really cool Resident Evil things in it—the characters from the game, the dogs that you've seen—but, you know, the dogs on a new level. These dogs are a massive improvement on the dogs before. I think some of the sets we're building, the locations we're using, are giant. Again, like a big conceptual jump to try and make the movie kind of a bigger and grander event than the first trilogy was.
Was there a particular game? It seems like there's an aura of Resident Evil 5 over this one.
Anderson: Yes. ...
I kind of knew they would tell me that Wesker was in the game, kind of, but they would never really confirm it. And, sure enough, he was the main villain. He was the main villain in the movie as well. And completely by coincidence, a large chunk of this movie takes place on a big ship, and there was the ship from Resident Evil 5. We had the dogs in already. We had an awful lot of stuff that they had already put into Resident Evil 5, so what I did was, I just did a whole big pass on the script to kind of bring it more in line with the imagery of the latest game, because I thought the latest game was fantastic. ...
There's a whole fight scene that we're about to shoot that we start next week with Ali Larter and Wentworth Miller, which is taken almost—well, is taken—shot by shot from Resident Evil 5. ...

It's where Chris is fighting Wesker, ... the two of them are fighting Wesker, and the character from the game, we're putting Claire in there, so it's brother and sister fighting against Wesker.
What's great in the game is it's one continuous shot, where the camera rotates around Wesker fighting the two, and he just kicks their asses. But they never cut, which of course you can do in animation. It's a bit more difficult in live action. So what we're going to do is we're probably going to shoot the fight in 10 different segments and then seam it together in visual effects so the finished effect will be as though the camera never stops rotating around.
It's really cool, because you go around them and then you kind of go underneath. It's going to be a nightmare, and everyone's tearing their hair out on set trying to figure out how to do it, especially with the 3-D rigs, which are huge. You've probably noticed that.
It's a very different experience shooting in 3-D, because the camera rigs are so large. Everything we've become accustomed to in the last 10 years as filmmakers, which is cameras getting smaller and smaller and you can just throw them on your shoulder and stick them in a car and do whatever you want, you can't do any of that now. You're forced to put things on dollies and track and cranes. It's kind of like a throwback to an old-school way of filmmaking. So for this kind of very flexible shoot, we're having to reinvent the wheel a little bit.
In terms of the story, how do you re-conceptualize the Resident Evil movie for 3-D with this change in the way you have to shoot it?
Anderson: I wrote a script that I felt kind of emphasized depth, because I think that's very suitable to 3-D, obviously. But I kind of feel like I've always directed movies a little like they were ride films anyway. ...

sci-fi wire...

Chris Evans doesn't know jack about Captain America

2010-04-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

You may have read something, somewhere about this little movie called Captain America and who might be playing the lead role: former Fantastic Four co-star Chris Evans. Did you know he's not even much of a fan?

"I'm not a big comic-book reader," Evans told a news conference at WonderCon in San Francisco on Saturday, where he was promoting the upcoming

The Losers. "You know what I mean? I don't really have a history and a love for comics. I didn't grow up reading them. But they're fantastic for films."

Evans beat out a host of young Hollywood actors for the coveted role, including The Office's John Krasinski.

"The beautiful thing about comic books, even movies based on novels, you have a blueprint," Evans added. "You have a tangible thing to say, 'Listen, this is the story we're going to work.' Especially in comic books. You have a color palette. You have a visual home base to kind of root yourself in. So, as an actor, it's nice knowing the people behind the visual elements of the film have this kind of blueprint to work off of."

So why Captain America? "I don't know," he stammered, as the gathering of reporters laughed. "I don't know. It's just, ... it was, ... I don't know." He chuckled.
"I think Marvel is doing a lot of good things right now," he said. "And it's a fun character. Even if it wasn't a comic book. I think the story of Steve Rogers is great. He's a great guy. Even if it was just a script about anybody, I would probably want to do it. So it wasn't necessarily about the comic itself. It was about ..."
At this point, Evans' Losers co-star Zoe Saldana chimed in: "It was about the tights."
Evans laughed. "Anytime I can get in blue tights. ... He's a great character. He's a great character to play. He just happens to be a comic-book character."

Not sure how comic fans are going to feel about that. Especially after the casting drama. But it certainly doesn't hurt to have the lead character working on, well, the character and not the franchise.

The First Avenger: Captain America will be released on July 22, 2011. The Losers opens April 23.

sci-fi wire...

Cool! New Buck Rogers to get the Iron Man treatment

2010-04-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

Resident Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson next takes on the classic sci-fi franchise Buck Rogers, and he told reporters at WonderCon that he's going back to the original concept—a man thrust 500 years into the future (in this case, the 26th century)—with the help of the guys who put the spark in Tony Stark.

Screenwriters Art Markum and Matt Holloway are working on a Buck Rogers script, and that's a good sign: They worked on the script to the first Iron Man movie, so they've done well by comics before.

The writers have hashed out a storyline going back to the original concept. "You take a relatable modern-day man, you put him in the far-flung future," Anderson told a group of reporters in San Francisco on Saturday, where he was promoting Resident Evil: Afterlife. "I think what Markum and Holloway will do—which they did with Iron Man—which is bring a lot of kind of humanity and character to the story. So I think they're going to write a great Buck character in the way that they wrote a great Tony Stark character."

"I always start with a love of the source material," Anderson said. "That's the thing all of those things have in common. I love Aliens and Predators. I used to play and love Mortal Kombat. I love Resident Evil. I love Buck Rogers. I read the comic strips as a kid, the old comic strips. I watched the TV show. I love the source material, and then I take that love and knowledge of the source material and then try and put my own spin on it."

Anderson added: "In the case of Buck Rogers, I'm going to have the help of Markum and Holloway, who wrote the original Iron Man [and] who are terrific writers. It's not just going to be me. They're going to be bolstering my visual vision of what Buck should be with, I think, some tremendous character work."

Buck Rogers was last adapted as a television series in 1979, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Anderson promises a serious sci-fi epic adaptation from his team. "You're dealing with Earth in 500 years' time, so your imagination can run rampant as to what that is," Anderson said. "We're going to do it straight. There won't be the kind of camp factor that you had in the '70s show."

sci-fi wire...

Star Wars: Clone Wars to reveal Boba Fett's mysteries

2010-04-05T10:41:00.001-07:00

An upcoming series of Star Wars: The Clone Wars episodes promises to fill in the backstory of the young Boba Fett, the bounty hunter introduced in The Empire Strikes Back, the show's creators told us at WonderCon. (Spoilers ahead!)

"I wanted to ask the question: How does he become that guy?" supervising director Dave Filoni said in an exclusive interview in San Francisco over the weekend. "Much like George [Lucas] did with Darth Vader, but Boba's path is already set kind of in a much more direct way than young Anakin, because he saw his father die firsthand at that very early age [in Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones]. How did that affect him? How does that raise questions about the clones that are around him, because they look like his dad? He's a clone, but does he feel like a clone?"

Attack of the Clones explained that Boba was a clone of Jango Fett, with aging slowed down to appear as his son. Now the animated series shows how female bounty hunter Aurra Sing became an important figure in Boba's adolescence. "How does Aurra come in, and what is she doing mentoring him, and what is she asking of this kid?" Filoni said. "Why does she want to work with the kid? Does she see something of herself in him? These are all things that we discussed when we were building to the characters to put into the story."

To voice the animated form of Boba Fett, Filoni got Daniel Logan, the young actor who played Boba in Attack of the Clones. Logan's a little older now, but he's still young Boba. "It was kind of like putting on a pair of boots that you haven't put on for a long time, and trying to fit an 8-inch foot into an 7-inch boot is kind of different," Logan said. "My voice got a little bit [deeper]. I started getting hair on my chest and all the rest of my body, and something happened."

Filoni said Logan's voice still preserves the qualities he needed to portray young Boba Fett. "The voice worked well, though, I think," Filoni said. "When you listen to Daniel as young Boba, it's still young Boba. I think that's the cool thing. Boba Fett iconically is the helmet. We know the helmet. We don't know the guy underneath. So Boba Fett in the prequel era is Daniel. He is that boy. I think that's why it was so important to get him back. If you had somebody else do it, it would just look like him. This time, I think, it really just feels like him, because Daniel's portraying the character."
As bounty hunter Aurra Sing, voice actress Jaime King got to play a vital role in the creation of a Star Wars legend. "Just imagine a very intense bounty hunter like Aurra Sing mentoring Boba Fett as a dark, motherly figure," King said. "That's where it gets really interesting. It's kind of like Mommy Dearest. I grew up with movies like that. Then, all of a sudden, I come across Aurra Sing, who has this dark, motherly quality about her. You get to see that it's really not about taking care of someone at all. It's really just about taking care of herself. It's very fun as an actor to explore those kind of weird things that I don't necessarily relate to but in a way I can explore and understand just through delving into the character. She has very clear intentions on what it is that she wants, and it's not bound by emotions, and it's not bound by things that most females get bound by. It's just really about money, and it's about power. She'll basically do anything to get that. It's fun to be able to play a character like that, that's so single-minded but so manipulative in achieving her desires."

Mommy issues were the way to go with Boba. He had a father figure in Jango Fett, and he's surrounded by male clones. "I mean, he's a clone, so that sets Boba in a different light," Filoni said. "He's one of millions of kids who look just like him, but in his mind, he's his father's only son. He's the one that's special. He's the one that grows differently. In that way, too, with Aurra, she takes him on. Why? Was she a friend of Jango's? What's in it for her? We ask that. It was important that she be somewhat motherly to him, but also she is an adult and she has her own motives. I think she sees a bit of herself in Boba when she was young, when she was kind of on her own, abandoned."

Filoni doesn't answer all the questions. He still wants to keep Boba Fett a little mysterious, like Clint Eastwood in his Man With No Name westerns. "I think it still maintains the mystery of the Man With No Name that Boba Fett's very much based on, because there aren't really definitive answers, I think," Filoni said. "Boba Fett in Empire seems different to me. Even as a kid, I thought Boba's a villain, because he's taking down Han Solo with Vader, but he's paid. He probably needs the money. Jango Fett has a famous line: 'I'm just an ordinary man trying to make his way in the galaxy.' You kind of get that Jango feels that justifies what he's trying to do, trying to make a means to an end, trying to pay the bills. He's that guy. How did Aurra influence Boba for good or for bad to become the Man With No Name, with kind of his own sense of justice, his own sense of law at a time when the Empire is the law? Those are some interesting questions."

Boba Fett first appears in the April 23 episode of The Clone Wars, then again in a two-part season finale on April 30 on Cartoon Network.

sci-fi wire...

How Johnny Depp made his Hatter mad ... and what's 'futter-wacking'?

2010-02-25T01:51:00.000-08:00

We love when Johnny Depp plays a weirdo, and the weirder the better—a dude with scissors for hands, a sun-fried pirate—and give Depp a character with the word "Mad" in his name and he could go anywhere. But as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland, Depp said he actually imposed some restrictions on himself.

"The great challenge [was] to try to find this guy and not just be a rubber ball you heave into an empty room and watch it bounce all over the place," Depp said in a press conference over the weekend in Hollywood. "Just to find that part of the character, but also a little bit more of history or gravity to the guy."

Depp, in bizarre whiteface makeup, plays the character from Lewis Carroll's Alice stories.
Doing a little research, Depp found out why old-time hatters actually did go mad. It wasn't just an expression. "There's the whole hatter's dilemma, really, which was where the term 'mad as a hatter' came from," Depp explained. "The amount of mercury that they used in the glue to make the hats and everything was damaging."
Carroll knew this, too, and he buried hints in his text, which Depp uncovered behind passages. "Like, 'I'm investigating things that begin with the letter M,'" Depp quoted. "That took me through a whole stratosphere of possibilities, and doing a little research, [I] discovered that the M is mercury."

So what does this all mean? It means that the Mad Hatter contains the full spectrum of emotion that any bipolar patient has, Depp said. "He can go from one second being very highfalutin' and a lot of levity, and then straight into some kind of dangerous potential rage, and then tragedy," Depp said. "It was interesting. Trying to map it out was really interesting."

It wasn't just the Lewis Carroll legacy or the actual plight of hatmakers that Depp explored. He also had his own legacy of memorable movie characters to keep in mind, and his Mad Hatter couldn't be too much like Edward Scissorhands or Willy Wonka. "Especially because I've played English a number of times, I've used an English accent a number of times, so it becomes a little bit of an obstacle course to go, 'Oh, that's teetering into Captain Jack-ville' or 'This one is kind of teetering over into Chocolat or Wonka.'"

Depp went to great lengths to make sure the Mad Hatter looked and sounded different from any character he's ever played before. He also moves like no one else. The Mad Hatter does a dance that could exist only in a surreal Wonderland, moving his legs and feet in unnatural rhythms. They call this futter-wacking.

"The happy dance was something that Tim had a very curious vision for," Depp said. "I can futter-wack with the best of them."

Futter-wacking is no freestyle exercise. The movements were carefully choreographed, even more so than a standard dance number. "We had to treat that like a stunt," he said.
Alice in Wonderland opens March 5.

sci-fi wire...

Wanna see the Ghost Hunters live? Here's how

2010-02-25T01:46:00.000-08:00

Want to help Syfy's Ghost Hunters find spooks in Alcatraz? Well, you can't do that, but if you live in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut, you can join them and host Josh Gates for a live broadcast of Ghost Hunters: Alcatraz Live Event on March 3.
Details are here, and you can read the full announcement below.

Join Syfy, the stars of Ghost Hunters and host Josh Gates in 30 Rock's legendary Studio 8H for an exclusive live broadcast of Ghost Hunters: Alcatraz Live Event.

♦Where: Studio 8H, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
♦When: Wednesday, March 3
♦Guests must arrive no later than 7:45 pm and will be released after 11:20 pm.
♦Attendees must commit the entire duration of the event as the studio audience is a key element of the show.
♦Seating is limited, and is only reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
♦To attend, please enter your name, phone number and email address in the form here as soon as possible.

Only residents of the New York Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) are eligible to attend this event. No one under the age of 16 will be admitted. Photo ID with birth date is required for all guests. Audience members must comply with all security procedures.

Please do not bring any unnecessary baggage or electronic devices, including cameras, backpacks and large shopping bags. Small purses are permitted.

EATING, DRINKING, SMOKING, CAMERAS AND RECORDING DEVICES ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

sci-fi wire...

Which of your favorite shows could live, which could die

2010-02-25T01:29:00.000-08:00

With The CW officially renewing Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries for next season, it's time to take a look at some of the shows that haven't gotten as much love this early in the TV renewing game. Several of our beloved sci-fi/fantasy/supernatural shows are "on the bubble"—at risk of cancellation—and may not see another season.
Here's our list of already renewed shows and canceled shows and a report card on how your favorite shows are doing.

ALREADY RENEWED

The Big Bang Theory (CBS) Renewed for a fourth season.Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime) Renewed for a second season to air in early summer.Eureka (Syfy) Renewed for a fourth season.Sanctuary (Syfy) Renewed for a third season.Saving Grace (TNT) Renewed for a fourth and final season premiering March 29.Spartacus: Blood and Sand (Starz) Renewed for a second season.Stargate Universe (Syfy) Renewed for a second season.Supernatural (The CW) Renewed for a sixth season.True Blood (HBO) Renewed for a third season premiering in June.The Vampire Diaries (The CW) Renewed for a second season.Warehouse 13 (Syfy) Renewed for a second season.

CANCELED OR ENDING

Updated:: Past Life (Fox) CanceledDollhouse (Fox) CanceledEastwick (ABC) CanceledLost (ABC) Series finale airs May 23.

UP IN THE AIR

24 (Fox) In its eighth season, this popular series could either see another day or end its run with the currrent one. One reason the series might not make the cut is that, by its very nature, 24 episodes must be made to follow the format. Also, it's got a huge cast and doesn't perform well in syndication. What we do know is that a 24 movie has been pitched; it would star Kiefer Sutherland and might be made in addition to or in place of a ninth day and season for hero Jack Bauer.
James Hibberd's Live Feed reported: "24 is pricey to produce and has little syndication value. Producer Twentieth [Century Television] is exploring the option of spinning off 24 into a theatrical movie, signaling that this might be the Bauer's final, real-time day-long adventure. Another long-shot option would be shopping 24 to another network."
Latest ratings: 8.49 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 50-50

Better Off Ted (ABC) It's so NOT looking good for our favorite sci-fi mad-scientist office comedy. ABC stuck Better Off Ted on Tuesdays and burned off episodes over the holidays. Why it never got a chance on Wednesdays with ABC's other well-performing comedies is a mystery. What we do know is that two episodes of this hysterical comedy have never aired—and we may have to wait until the DVD comes out to see them.
Another sign of its impending doom: Stars Jay Harrington and Andrea Anders have already signed to appear in new comedy pilots, though they are committed to Ted first if it comes back.
Variety's Michael Schneider stated: "Scrubs and Better Off Ted soon will likely learn that resurrections don't happen twice."Latest ratings: 2.55 million viewers

Chances of renewal: Less than 15 percent

Chuck (NBC) For once, Chuck is in the Likely-to-Return category. The coolest superhero nerd show ever is actually the top-rated Monday night drama for NBC, and considering the shambles that NBC's schedule has become since The Jay Leno Show was removed, the network needs good reliable performers like Chuck.
Alan Sepinwall interviewed co-creator Josh Schwartz about his thoughts on coming back after being off several weeks for the Olympics: "Every time you go off for a couple of weeks, you've gotta self-start again when you come back. We always knew coming back in January would be great for us, but it also meant other things would be premiering. NBC's been incredibly supportive of the show in getting us launched, but I would not expect to see a lot of promotion for us during the Olympics."
Latest ratings: 6.61 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 80 percent

FlashForward (ABC) Remember all those ratings everyone was all worried about when the series begin last fall? Well, forget about them. They don't matter one bit considering the long, long break for new episodes to return. The good news is that the series has 13 episodes to prove itself. The bad news is that there's been some trouble behind the scenes with rotating show runners. FlashForward is starting from scratch in more ways than one.
TVbytheNumbers.com's Bill Gorman reported: "If FlashForward keeps falling when it returns, it has no future. We'll now have to wait until mid-March to see its next ratings."
Latest ratings: 7.29 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 50-50
Fringe (Fox) Despite low ratings, Fringe has managed more or less to hold its own in the most difficult timeslot on television, Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. This has been especially noticeable since Past Life has taken over the timeslot to the tune of 2 million fewer viewers while Fringe takes a break. All things considered—the rabid fan base, the terrible timeslot, the excellent showing in DVR ratings—and it adds up to a solid performance.
James Hibberd's Live Feed wrote: "Boy, this show took a beating on Thursdays this fall, yet along with Bones has given Fox a foothold on TV's most competitive night and recently shown improvement."
Latest ratings: 7.76 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 70 percent

Ghost Whisperer (CBS) Friday's top-rated show so far this season has taken a bit of a hit this year, along with all the Friday shows. But it's very unlikely CBS would be willing to cancel more than one of its Friday shows, and NUMB3RS looks likely to take that hit. It's likely Melinda Gordon will be able to continue her ghostly social work for another season.
CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler stated: "It's clear we have two shows there with Ghost Whisperer and with Medium that have a good flow from one into the other, so we will continue to program there for Friday night. For us, we still see opportunities."
Latest ratings: 8.77 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 75 percent

Heroes (NBC) Believe it or not, despite terrible ratings, Heroes has a chance at fifth season. The ratings have stabilized, and the series gains another million-plus viewers when DVR ratings are counted in. NBC is trying to rebuild its schedule thanks to The Jay Leno Show debacle, and Heroes at least brings in a loyal audience, it does well overseas and it's a high-profile, original series. That said, a very strong case could be made for the show's cancellation as well.
James Hibberd's Live Feed commented: "This season, Heroes continued its decline and is now at a level—around a 2.0 adults 18-49 rating—that would warrant cancellation under most circumstances. The deciding factor here is NBC's internal balance sheet for the production. Don't be surprised if NBC announces a 12-hour 'final chapter' for next fall."
Latest ratings: 4.41 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 40 percent

Human Target (Fox) This new midseason replacement is finally leveling off to some decent ratings. While it's certainly getting a bump from American Idol, the last couple of episodes have been very entertaining, and the series seems to be finding its feet. And considering the series will most likely do well in reruns, given its episodic nature, we're liking its chances for a second season so far.
Media Week's Marc Berman said: "On Fox was recently introduced drama Human Target at a distant second-place finish in both total viewers (7.14 million) and adults 18-49 (2.1/ 6) from 8-9 p.m. Considering Human Target faced The Winter Olympics, this is still a respectable showing."
Latest pre-Olympic ratings: 8.92 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 45 percent

Medium (CBS) This very compatible Ghost Whisperer companion show has done as well as could be expected on Fridays, capturing almost all of its lead-in audience and sometimes outperforming Ghost Whisperer by a smidge. NUMB3RS looks likely to be canceled at this point if anything goes on Fridays, and it's doubtful CBS will cancel more than one Friday show. But with new series Miami Medical taking over NUMB3RS' slot on April 2, there's the unlikely possibility that Miami could do well enough to make a case for Medium's exit. Still, at this point, we're guessing Allison DuBois will likely have a home for one more year.
Variety's Michael Schneider writes: "With Numbers the most likely to exit—so much so that star David Krumholtz has already been cast in a new pilot—it's doubtful Eye would want to drop a second Friday night series, so Medium (which CBS swiped from NBC last year) is probably safe."
Latest ratings: 9.10 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 0 percent

Smallville (The CW) When The CW moved Smallville from Thursdays to Fridays, it looked like it could be the end of this reliable performer. Certainly Smallville didn't quite seem to fit with the younger-skewing shows the network was banking on, such as The Vampire Diaries. Then something strange and wonderful happened: Apparently the fans weren't ready to let Smallville die. The producers are still doing fine creative work, and the series has finally given The CW some ratings on Friday nights. While Smallville didn't get an early pickup like Vampire Diaries or Supernatural, it's looking very good for a 10th season, with Super Clark and his friends. And BTW, don't be surprised if it does get another season and we see one or two additional Smallville movies along the lines of Absolute Justice.
Media Week's Marc Berman comments: "While Smallville, of course, is down year-to-year from its former Thursday performance, it is unlikely anything else would perform better for The CW on troubled Friday."
Latest ratings: 2.48 million viewers

Chances of renewal: 90 percent

V (ABC) Those beautiful alien invaders are in the same boat as the FlashFowarders. The series returns on March 30, and it's airing after Lost in the 10 p.m. timeslot, which is a good thing. With Lost in its final season, V's likely to grab a few viewers, which should help its bottom line. But V is pretty much starting over, and it will only have eight episodes to get you caught up in the revolution.
TVbytheNumbers.com's Bill Gorman stated: "V's future entirely rests on how its ratings do on its return in March. Its fall episode ratings are meaningless now. No guesses from me."
Latest ratings: 9.20 million viewers

sci-fi wire...

Confirmed: New Spider-Man will be 3-D

2010-02-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

In case anyone doubted it, Sony confirmed that its proposed reboot of Spider-Man will be in 3-D and will hit theaters on July 3, 2012.
Here's the full announcement:

Spider-Man will swing into theaters worldwide in 3D beginning July 3, 2012, it was announced today by Jeff Blake, Chairman of Sony Pictures Worldwide Marketing & Distribution. The new film which is still untitled, will begin production later this year directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt. Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin will produce the film from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios.

Commenting on the announcement, Blake said, "Spider-Man is the ultimate summer movie-going experience, and we're thrilled the filmmakers are presenting the next installment in 3D. Spider-Man is one of the most popular characters in the world, and we know audiences are eager and excited to discover Marc's fantastic vision for Peter Parker and the franchise."

sci-fi wire...

Medusa, Kraken, scorpions: New Clash of the Titans!

2010-02-11T19:43:00.000-08:00

The posters give us a great new look at some of the creatures in the new 3-D fantasy movie, which opens April 2, including Medusa, giant scorpions, the Kraken, Pegasus and the Stygian witches.

sci-fi wire...

Could Stan Lee's new superheroes be the next X-Men?

2010-02-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

Stop me if you've heard this one before—a wise older man takes a group of misunderstood outsiders under his wing and teaches them to become superheroes. Is that Professor X and the X-Men? Not necessarily. According to today's Hollywood Reporter, it's Stan Lee and the Super Seven!

Lee has teamed up with Archie Comics and A Squared Entertainment to tell the story of seven aliens who are stranded on Earth after their spaceship crashes and are then befriended by none other than The Man himself. Lee becomes their leader and helps turn them into heroes.

"Although I've briefly appeared in other comics, Super Seven is the first time that I'll actually be a continuing character in a far-out, original superhero series," Lee said.
If all goes as planned, Archie Comics will publish the print version of Super Seven in the fall, and A Squared will develop the project as a TV series and online property.
So what do you think? Will lightning strike again? Can Stan Lee still deliver?

sci-fi wire...

Caprica's Alessandra Torresani is HOT in NSFW Maxim pics

2010-02-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

Alessandra Torresani may play a teen fembot in Syfy's Caprica, but as you can plainly see from these new images from Maxim magazine, she's really a full-grown woman.

The 22-year-old posed for a series of risque images for the current issue of the men's magazine; click over to see more.
Torresani is only the latest of Syfy's girl robots to be featured in the pages of the mag.
So does Alessandra make you feel all funny inside?
Check her out on Caprica, Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Syfy.

sci-fi wire...

Why fans and non-fans alike will love Caprica

2010-01-20T20:51:00.000-08:00

The stars of Syfy's upcoming Battlestar Galactica prequel series Caprica say you don't need to be a fan of that show to like the new one, but if you are, you'll love it even more, in these exclusive video interviews.

Alessandra Torresani—who plays Zoe Graystone—says fans will get "a kick out of it." "There's certain things they're going to love," she says in this interview at the Television Critics Association winter press party last week in Pasadena, Calif.
Co-star Magda Apanowicz—who plays Zoe's best friend, Lacy Rand—adds that non-fans—such as her friends—will also like it because of the family drama. "They watch it and they love it," she says.

Watch the rest of our interviews, including one with Sasha Roiz, who plays Sam Adama.
Caprica premieres this Friday at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

sci-fi wire...

Fox develops U.S. Torchwood: John Barrowman could star

2010-01-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

Bad news with some good news: Fox—the TV network that killed Firefly and Dollhouse and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles—is developing a U.S. version of the hit Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood.
The good news is: Doctor Who revitalizer and Torchwood creator Russell T Davies is writing the script for the pilot. And Capt. Jack Harkness himself—John Barrowman—might star!

sci-fi wire...

U.S. version of Being Human to have Supernatural tie-in

2010-01-17T22:56:00.000-08:00

Remember that Syfy Americanized version of Being Human we told you about last October? Well, it turns out the series, about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost who end up as roommates, is one step closer to your TV screen.

Mark Stern, Syfy's EVP for Original Programming, revealed the names of the show's writers at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour—husband-and-wife duo Jeremy Carver (Supernatural) and Anna Fricke (The CW's Privileged).
"[He's] kind of got the genre cred, and Anna comes out of a more character-based drama world, so between them they'll be really interesting," Stern told The Futon Critic. Stern also indicated that he hoped the series would be ready for a summer launch.

Syfy has ordered 13 episodes of the new series.

sci-fi wire...

Awesome! Supernatural could have a season 6

2010-01-17T22:52:00.000-08:00

Throughout Supernatural's run, creator Eric Kripke has been saying he had a "five-year map" with plans for the CW series to go out with a bang at the end of this season. That would seem on par with the whole angels-vs.-demons-with-a-heaping-of-Lucifer-and-hell-on-Earth-thrown-in thing.

Well, now CW prez Dawn Ostroff thinks Kripke might just be considering the possibility of a season six. "I think he's in that state of mind," Ostroff told Entertainment Weekly. "I had lunch with Eric the other day, and he's really excited about the show right now. I think he feels this season has been really satisfying for him. He's certainly not running out of ideas by any stretch of the imagination."
While Kripke's contract ends this year, stars Jared Padalecki (Sam) and Jensen Ackles (Dean) have six-year contracts. So if the CW decides they want to renew Supernatural, and if they can make a deal with Kripke (which seems like their plan, since Ostroff is taking him to lunch and all), we could see another season of the apocalyptic demon-hunting series.

There's no denying Supernatural has been doing well in the ratings and is highly compatible with the CW hit The Vampire Diaries. The vamp series has led more young women than ever before to tune in for the adventures of the hunky brothers. "There aren't a lot of shows that you can say are doing better in their fifth year," said Ostroff.
To which we say, awesome! One of the best, most underappreciated shows on the air. Are you with us?

sci-fi wire...

Hobbit to start shooting this summer

2010-01-09T00:56:00.000-08:00

Looks like Guillermo del Toro's Hobbit movies are moving ahead as planned: Production Weekly now reports that they will begin a 14-month production schedule in June.

The publication's Twitter feed @prodweek also posted that the films will shoot as expected in New Zealand.

The news comes after word that casting had begun in earnest.
Last month, producer Peter Jackson told us exclusively that he and his co-writers were working on scripts for two Hobbit films, based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien.

"We're still working on the script, and of course it's going to be directed by Guillermo [del Toro]," Jackson said. "That's going really well, and in fact we've already delivered the first script to the studio, and they really liked it, so now we're working hard on the second script, and that's going to keep us pretty busy until the end of this year [2009]."

The first film is slated to come out sometime in 2011 if all things stay on schedule, so yay!

sci-fi wire...

Confirmed: Script problems may push Spidey 4 back

2010-01-09T00:51:00.000-08:00

Before Christmas, the big rumor was that Spider-Man 4 had been shut down indefinitely because of problems with the story, which was first reported by our pals at IESB.net.

Well, despite studio denials that this was anything more than the usual holiday hiatus, now comes news (from Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood blog, followed later in the day by Variety) that it is indeed true.
Finke posts what she says is an e-mail that was sent out to the visual-effects crew on Dec. 11:

Hey there--
We were just notified that our schedule is pushing. We will NOT be starting as planned. I'm terribly sorry for this news, and I hope this email reaches you in time to find other options. We do not know how long we are pushing, and we will not know until mid-January. By mid-January, we will be told how long the push is, whether it be 2 weeks, 2 months, or something else. The studio has every intention of making the movie, but we no longer have a confirmed start date.

Again, I'm terribly sorry, but Sam Raimi has story issues [that] need to be resolved before we are ready to shoot.

Feel free to call me if you have any questions.
VFX Team

Director Sam Raimi and Sony are reportedly at odds over the film's story, particular the choice of villains.

Here's what Finke said:
Now Raimi and Sony are anxiously waiting for still another version from screenwriter Alvin Sargent, who wrote Spidey 2 & 3 and is married to Spidey franchise producer Laura Ziskind. "It is unlikely that May 11, 2011, date will be made," a Sony insider just told me today. "It depends on how quickly the script can get in." However, agents have told clients in the movie to already expect the film to be pushed back.

Raimi supposedly wants John Malkovich to play the villain, the Vulture, but Finke adds that "it's now unlikely Anne Hathaway will be cast" as another female villain.

sci-fi wire...

Why the vampire film Daybreakers is the anti-Twilight

2010-01-09T00:48:00.000-08:00

If you've had it up to your eyeteeth with sparkly swoony teen vampires, then you're going to love Daybreakers, Ethan Hawke's upcoming supernatural sci-fi horror movie.
Hawke plays a vampire in the new film, which takes the old-school approach to bloodsuckers. You know, when they actually have pointy teeth and don't talk about their feelings.

"I think what's good about this movie is it's the first post-adolescent vampire movie in a long time," Hawke said in a group interview Monday in Beverly Hills, Calif. "It's an R-rated vampire movie. I remember being a kid and sleeping over at my friend's house and staying up late and watching the Isabelle Adjani Nosferatu. Vampire movies are supposed to be secret and bad. They should be rated R."

In Daybreakers, vampires have so overrun the world that humans are in scarce quantity, and the blood supply is dwindling. Hawke plays Edward Dalton, a vampire scientist working on a synthetic blood substitute. Writer/directors the Spierig brothers satirize human environmental movements from this perspective, but it's still all about the fangs.

"I made a joke that this could be the number-one movie for PETA advocates," Hawke said. "It could be a huge animal-rights champion film, in a certain way of thinking. Maybe in another way, oil is the most obvious [analogy]. Sucking the blood dry. But the movie wouldn't be good at all if that's the only thing that was interesting about it. The movie works as a flat-out genre movie. It just happens to have something else at play. Gattaca was a similar way, too. It works as just a basic sci-fi movie, but there was obviously all these themes at work underneath it."

Dalton winds up fighting off vampire mutants (a nasty side effect of drinking their own blood) and teams up with a group of rebel humans who may have a better alternative to his fake blood. To Hawke, though, what makes all the fun violence work is that you care about the people, alive or undead. Actors like Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill help sell it.

"That's the Spierig brothers," Hawke said. "They wanted us. That's the kind of actor they wanted. I mean, go figure. A lot of these kind of people who make these kind of movies, they don't care about the acting. They're so interested in their shot or their thing, and they just want somebody to do this thing. Claudia [Karvan]'s a very accomplished actress as well. And even the young people, Isabel [Lucas] and Michael Dorman, are incredibly good. I always think that that's what makes a good genre movie. Obviously the movies aren't really oriented around performance the way that a movie like Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is, but if at least the acting doesn't stink, it goes a long way. I mean, Wesley Snipes is great in Blade. The first one, he was awesome. That's what separates it."

sci-fi wire...

Prequel to Carpenter's The Thing is happening!

2010-01-09T00:42:00.000-08:00

Proving once and for all that Hollywood is an amorphous, shape-shifting, evil, alien intelligence with no form, structure or integrity of its own, Production Weekly has tweeted that Universal is going ahead with its prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 SF/horror classic The Thing.Now it's true that Carpenter's The Thing—about members of a U.S. scientific research team in the Antarctic fighting off an alien menace that can assume the form of any living being—was itself a remake of Howard Hawks' 1951 The Thing From Another World.

But what made both versions of The Thing—based on John W. Campbell's classic short novel "Who Goes There?"—great was the fact that both movies were made by the sure hands of ballsy cinematic auteurs. Even though Hawks gave directing credit to his editor, Christian Nyby, the 1951 and 1982 versions demonstrate the hard-hitting styles of both Hawks and Carpenter at the height of their powers. This new Thing prequel—reportedly about what happens at the Norwegian camp that found the Thing before it infiltrated the American camp—will be directed by yet another commercial director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

The screenplay is by the writer of the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, Eric Heisserer. The only hint of a real innovator's hand of the Hawks and Carpenter stripe comes from the fact that BSG's Ronald D. Moore did the first draft of the screenplay. So what do you think? Is this yet-another-remake? Or does the presence of Moore hint at a BSG-like re-invention?

sci-fi wire...

New preview of Matt Smith as Who's 11th Doctor

2010-01-09T00:39:00.000-08:00

As we Yanks ready our tissues for the farewell of David Tennant as the 10th Doctor in tonight's episode of Doctor Who on BBC America, a preview has surfaced featuring a better look at the upcoming 11th Doctor, to be played by Matt Smith, below.
Here's the BBC's description:

The new series of Doctor Who starts later this year. It stars Matt Smith as the Doctor and Karen Gillan as his new companion, Amy Pond. This stunning preview offers a first glimpse of their adventures.

sci-fi wire...

More Spider-Man 4 villain rumors: Vulture?

2009-12-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

People have been speculating for months about which villains will appear in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 and who will play them, and now comes the latest batch of rumors: Movieline reports that John Malkovich is in talks to play the Vulture, with Anne Hathaway up for a new villain role.

Previous rumors centered on the Lizard (possibly played again by Dylan Baker, who has had cameos as Dr. Curt Connors) and the Black Cat (with Rachel McAdams, Julia Stiles and Romola Garai rumored for the part).

Now, though, Movieline has confirmed with sources close to the film that Raimi's sequel is circling John Malkovich and Anne Hathaway to play Spider-Man's adversaries, and neither evildoer is quite what you might have expected.

If negotiations proceed according to plan, Malkovich will be playing Spider-Man's nemesis the Vulture, who packs a punch despite his advanced age. The Vulture is able to fly through the air and brandish his sharp wings to attack Spider-Man.
As for Hathaway, the site reports that she's the top choice to play Felicia Hardy, but not as the Black Cat:

Instead, Raimi's Felicia will become a brand-new superpowered figure called the Vulturess.

sci-fi wire...

Will Disney's Fallen angels be dreamier than vamps?

2009-12-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

What could be dreamier for a young girl than having sparkly vampires and cute werewolf boys fighting over her? How about having two fallen angels fighting over her for centuries?

Disney's betting on the latter, having just optioned Young Adult author Lauren Kate's novel Fallen, the first in a projected four-volume series, that has just that premise, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The novel, which just came out this week from Delacorte Books for Young Readers, centers on a 17-year-old girl named Lucinda, who just like Isabella "Bella" Swan from Twilight has a name that is shortened to something nice and Latinate with an implied deeper meaning, "Luce." Luce goes to the Sword and Cross School, where she meets "Fallen" cuddle muffins Daniel and Cam.

Mark Ciardi, known for sports movies like The Rookie, Miracle, Invincible and The Game Plan, will produce along with longtime partner Gordon Gray.

So what do you think is next, folks? What could be even dreamier than the premise of Fallen? Leprechauns fighting over you? Pixies? Warring factions of Santa's elves?

sci-fi wire...

How will Batman return? The guy who "killed" him explains

2009-12-13T20:12:00.000-08:00

Superman? Killed, but brought back. Captain America? Killed, but brought back. Batman? Not really killed, but thought to have been killed in the series Final Crisis last year, written by comic-book icon Grant Morrison. But, yeah ... about to be brought back.

Morrison recently told USA Today about his plans to bring back the original Batman, as Bruce Wayne got a big dose of time displacement courtesy of supervillian Darkseid's infamous Omega Beams at the end of Final Crisis and the original Robin, Dick Grayson, has been filling in as Batman since. Wayne also had his memory wiped, so getting him back from the depths of time is going to be tricky.

The centuries-spanning story will begin in 2010 in a six-issue series titled Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. According to Morrison, "It's Bruce Wayne's ultimate challenge—Batman vs. history itself!" Batman will be making stops through time in the Late Paleolithic as a caveman, a witch hunter, a pirate, a cowboy and others.
Remember the Simpsons episode in which Milhouse says of comic-book hero Radioactive Man that he and Bart "both have a special limited-edition issue where he and Fallout Boy get killed on every page!" What other superheroes could stand to be axed, and how should they be brought back?

sci-fi wire...

Smallville, Heroes and Fringe? They just might survive

2009-12-13T20:06:00.001-08:00

Just after the fall television season started, we begin agonizing over the fates some of our favorite shows. Considering that at one time NBC's Heroes garnered more than 16 million viewers, the CW's Smallville more than 8 million, and Fox's Fringe more than 13 million, this year's numbers were startling and terrible, not to mention being at an all-time low!

What happened? Could all our sci-fi shows end up canceled like Fox's Dollhouse? How can we have so many of our shows be in trouble and on the bubble? What about the DVR ratings? Sure, we've got ABC's V and FlashForward to carry on, but Lost is in its last season. Could this be the end of sci-fi as we know it on network TV?

According to TVbytheNumbers.com and other media ratings analysts, things might not be as grim as they appear at first glance. In fact, according to that site, Smallville and V are looking likely to get picked up, while Fringe, Heroes and FlashForward are on the bubble, with FlashForward in the most danger right now.

Here's how it all shakes out for your favorite shows up to this point:
TIME-SHIFT VIEWING:

Our shows do great in DVR and other time-shift ratings (meaning viewers watch the show after its original air time in some way). According to TVbytheNumber's Bill Gorman, "In the last full week before Thanksgiving, Fringe (43%), Smallville (40%) and The Office (34%) posted the largest % ratings increases in Live+ 7 day DVR viewing from their Live+Same Day adults 18-49 ratings (November 16-22)." Heroes, V and FlashForward also added 30% or more to their numbers.

NBC:
Heroes: On Dec. 2, E!'s Kristin Dos Santos had all but written off Heroes' future when "a well-placed source" told her, "Everyone is expecting this to be the last season. The cast, the crew, everyone." However, on Monday, Dec. 7, she wrote, "So you're saying there's a chance it might stick around?! That's the latest word coming out of camp Heroes, now that NBC has recast Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes' Mohinder) in the net's own pilot Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, giving the role to Jerry O'Connell instead. An NBC rep said Ramamurthy pulled out of Rex because of a scheduling conflict with Heroes, which was in first position." (First position means he couldn't accept another role if Heroes got picked up.)

Considering NBC's poor ratings for Jay Leno, if the network decides (as many have speculated) to cancel the series, they're going to need scripted and reality fare to fill up the five hours a week Leno is now on. And, sad as the ratings are, with fewer than 6 million viewers watching most Mondays, Heroes is their second-best-performing drama, after Law & Order: SVU. It's still a bubble show, but there is hope.

Coming up: Chuck, Day One

ABC:
V: HitFix's Daniel Fienberg commented, "After two straight weeks of falling ratings after its blockbuster premiere, ABC's V stabilized on Tuesday night, joining the Dancing with the Stars finale to give the network a win in the 18-49 demographic."

MediaWeek's Marc Berman added: "On ABC was V at a consistent 9.20 million viewers (#2) and a third-place 3.1/ 9 among adults 18-49 at 8 p.m. Four episodes into its run and V is going on hiatus until it returns later in the season in a miniseries format. Bad programming move, ABC!"
Both V and FlashForward will be off the air until spring, and both had their episode order cut by one episode. While ratings were going up for V and down for FlashForward, it doesn't mean much. What's going to count for ABC is what the ratings are when they return come spring.
FlashForward: Cliqueclack's Brett Love wrote, "ABC has now announced that FlashForward will be taking a little break, with new episodes returning March 4th. And that really couldn't have come at a worse time. Television is not usually a place where absence makes the heart grow fonder. More likely, viewers forget what you were up to and can't be bothered to return. If that wasn't bad enough, the show took its fall bow with its worst performance yet."

Gorman added, "FlashForward ended its fall run on a down note, scoring just a 2.1 rating for adults 18-49. Short of a miraculous reversal in its ratings trend when it returns in March, it's not coming back next fall."

Already canceled: Eastwick (however, the network ordered additional episodes after the cancellation)

And: Better Off Ted just started its second season, while Lost premieres its sixth and final season Feb. 2.

CBS:
Likely to be renewed: Medium, Ghost Whisperer

THE CW:
Smallville: It certainly looked like the end when the CW moved Smallville to Fridays AND it dropped about half its viewers. Note to fans... Ratings on Friday nights suck. TVbytheNumber's Gorman commented, "For most broadcast shows, exile to Friday means your network thinks the show is past its time and should peacefully fade away without damaging the ratings of shows on Sunday-Thursday. That's likely the idea that the CW had when it put Smallville on Fridays this season. But defying conventional wisdom (and to many fans, the wishes of CW chief Dawn Ostroff), not only has Smallville refused to go quietly, it was tied for second best adults 18-49 rating on the CW last week. I know that the CW targets women 18-34, but be certain they sell advertising based on whatever attractive demo ratings they get. Those results cannot be ignored."

Likely to be renewed: The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural

Fox:
Fringe: Regarding last Thursday's episode, TV Guide's Adam Bryant wrote, "Fringe pulled in its highest ratings since the season premiere, according to early Nielsen estimates... The supernatural Fox procedural pulled in 6.9 million viewers and climbed in the adults 18-to-49-demo."

TV Overmind's Jon Lachonis added, "Good news for Fringe fans. If you are worried about how FOX might feel about Fringe's waning ratings, turn your frown upside down. FOX celebrated its seventh straight week as a winner (by FOX math), and had no qualms about parading Fringe as part of its lineup of ratings winners. It's not surprising to see FOX celebrating Fringe's performance though, as last week's episode matched the Fringe season 2 premiere numbers—a feat any show would be hard pressed to pull off ... If Fringe can hold onto those numbers—or even improve on them—the prospects for a third season are better than ever. Considering the fact that the Fringe episode that aired last week, titled 'Snakehead', was one of the best of the season, you'd have to think that hopes are running high."

Already canceled: Dollhouse (with half the season remaining to air)
And: Human Target and Past Life are headed our way for mid-season.
What do you think about the ratings game? Will your favorite show survive?

sci-fi wire...

Who kills FlashForward's Demetri? Our favorite theories

2009-11-19T12:05:00.001-08:00

Some of the most tantalizing mysteries about ABC's FlashForward concern where, when, why and how—or if—John Cho's excitable FBI agent, Demetri Noh, will die, and Cho himself confirmed that tonight's episode will begin to reveal major answers to some of those questions.
"In the next two episodes, there's a very major revelation on who my murderer is," Cho told us at the Star Trek DVD/Blu-ray launch party in Los Angeles on Monday. "It's really shocking."
While we wait for the answers to unfold, we've scoured the Web for theories on who will kill Demetri, and when, and why, and how. Here are some of our favorite theories. FlashForward airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

sci-fi wire...

Fringe's Observers cross over into our reality

2009-11-19T12:01:00.001-08:00

Remember we told you that Fox was going to be placing Observers (from its sci-fi show Fringe) in the real world?
They're here!
The Facebook page The Observer Trackers has posted a bunch of images from fan sightings of the first phalanx of the bald, suited, alien-like guys in Los Angeles and Atlanta. We've put some of them in the gallery below.
Is it a coincidence that they are appearing in the section of L.A. a stone's throw from the Fox studios? Or in Atlanta near the headquarters of CNN? Probably.
This all in advance of tomorrow's Fringe episode, "August," which promises to answer many of the questions about these weird guys. It airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.

sci-fi wire...

V deathwatch: ratings drop another 18%

2009-11-19T11:58:00.001-08:00

Wow, looks like ABC's V is definitely in trouble.
Last night's third episode saw ratings and audience drop significantly again, down 18 percent to 9.3 million (3.1 rating among adults 18-49), according to The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed blog.

That after a precipitous 29 percent drop in week two from the blockbuster premiere.
We're going to go out on a limb and say that the lizard aliens won't be on Earth for very long. Remember, ABC is airing only four episodes now (the last one airs next week) and was planning on returning to the air next spring with the final episodes of season one.

We don't know, but we've always thought this was ABC's way of not committing to the production of the show before they had a good sense of which way the audience would go; as the production was slated to start up again next month or so, we're thinking they'll just go ahead and pull the plug once the four eps have aired.

It's kinda too bad. The show was starting to grow on us, and we love the actors and the franchise. And we were eager to see how a change behind the scenes was going to affect the direction of the show.

sci-fi wire...

Why New Moon kicks Twilight's butt

2009-11-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

Fans clamored for the first Twilight movie despite its shortcomings (lighting, vampire makeup, etc.), but even those who aren't Twi-hards are in for a much better time with the second film, New Moon, which opens Friday.

At least that's the feeling of the stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, as well as director Chris Weitz. All agree that the sequel, based on the second Twilight book by Stephenie Meyers, improves upon the original. (And check out our exclusive gallery of images from the film's world premiere in Hollywood on Monday, below this story.)

"When I read New Moon, it gave me ideas about how to play the first one," Pattinson said. "It's the one I connected to the most, and the one that humanized Edward for me the most as well. In the first one, he still does remain, from beginning to end, an idealistic character. But in the second one he makes a mistake that's acknowledged by everybody, including himself. Also, he is totally undermined by more powerful creatures, and he's undermined emotionally by people as well. I think that's what humanized it."

New Moon brings back the same characters, but with a new vision from a different director: Chris Weitz, who stepped in for Catherine Hardwicke. Weitz didn't want to do the same thing over again.

Weitz had ideas for different lighting, different visual effects, different camera moves and more. He gave the actors a 40-50-page syllabus full of his new directorial ideas. "What I really didn't want was sequelitis or the idea that we're just cranking out a franchise," Weitz said. "I wanted everyone to know what sort of movie we wanted to make."

Stewart, who plays Bella, said that Weitz's prep in part gave her a better idea of what to expect. "A lot of the effects movies are hard to do, because you don't know what you're reacting to," Stewart recalled. "So he had a full rundown of how he planned on making the movie. He was so sorry that so much of the movie was going to be CGI stuff that we were going to have to react to, but he was always going to make us aware of what we were acting with, that he was never going to leave us high and dry."

As for the romance in the new film, as fans know, it marks the breakup of Edward and Bella. "Just playing a scene where you're breaking up the ideal relationship, I felt a lot of the weight behind that," Pattinson said. "Also, it took away a fear of melodrama as well, because it felt kind of seismic, if that's the right word, even when we were doing it."

The torment challenged Stewart, too. "It was really hard to go back and forth, because you don't shoot a movie in sequence, obviously," she said. "I had to do stuff with Jacob where I was alive and happy and out of this depression thing, and then after lunch go back and scream in my bed for six hours. So that was difficult."
As for Jacob, it's been well documented how Lautner had to put on the muscles to play a bigger, badder Jacob for New Moon. "Jacob transforms a lot in New Moon, not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well," Lautner said. "So it was a matter of getting to the gym and eating the right food and a lot of it, but also reading and studying the book and my character over and over and over again so I could have his character down as well. He changes in many, many different ways. Basically, my job was to continue what I started in Twilight, which was this extremely happy, friendly, outgoing guy, best friends with Bella. I had to continue that for the first half of the film, but as soon as I transform, I snap, and I become a completely different person. I'm dealing with my issues, and it's really hard for me."

The big new effects in New Moon are the werewolves, and Lautner himself says they delivered. "I was blown away," Lautner said. "When I'm filming, the famous trailer shot where I'm running through the field, and I jump up and try and transform in midair, I'm attached to wires, and I'm running, and I let the wires pull me up in the air and jerk me to a stop, and I just have to freeze there and let them convert my body into a CGI wolf. The whole time I'm like, 'I hope I look cool.' After I saw the final version last week, after I saw the wolves, it was amazing. The fight scene that comes right after that, the fight between Jacob and Paul wolf was so cool. I thought they were extremely powerful and looked very real."

"The physical side was really fun," Lautner added. "Some of it was challenging. I'd never ridden a dirt bike before. I rode the dirt bike for a total of about five seconds in the film, but for those five seconds I had to look as cool as possible. So it did require a lot of practice, just for safety-wise, so they'd let me do it. The wirework, like when I run up the side of her house, the wires were there just so if I slipped and fell I didn't face-plant into the ground. That stunt was really complicated. You need to be 'on.' I'm using a little plug in the side of the wall to take off from and jump. Every single weekend I would practice that stunt for three hours a day. It was the last thing we filmed."

If that's not enough, New Moon has a much better soundtrack. "There were these incredible pickings on offer: Thom Yorke, The Killers, Bon Iver, Lykke Li," Weitz said. "I genuinely think it's one of the best soundtrack albums that's ever been done. The reason I will make this outrageous claim is that it's not music that was already completed. It's kind of easy to do that, but to be able to risk asking somebody to do a track and four weeks later or so a song comes back, to have it work as many times as it did was really extraordinary. I think that if any one of those artists had done a track for our soundtrack, I would have been really proud, but to have all of them is absolutely extraordinary."

sci-fi wire...

'Very good news' for Torchwood fans!

2009-11-12T07:53:00.001-08:00

If you watched Torchwood's last season, the Children of Earth miniseries, it felt a lot like the end of the whole thing.
Well, that may not be the case, TV Guide reported (mild spoilers ahead):

Torchwood might not have concluded its run at the end of the thrilling miniseries Children of Earth after all—Ianto's tragic death not withstanding. The new year could bring some "very good news" for fans of the sexy sci-fi series, creator Russell T. Davies tells TV Guide Magazine.

"The recession has hit British television, but fingers crossed, it will be a go. We expect things to start to move in January. We've got great ideas for the show. I think there's a further lease on life for many years to come, but certainly for a [fourth season]," Davies says.

No word on when or where we'd likely see this new season of the Doctor Who spinoff, who might return or how long it might run, but any news is good news, right?

sci-fi wire...

Spider-Man 4 villains allegedly revealed: Black Cat and Lizard

2009-11-12T07:47:00.000-08:00

Two top Spider-Man villains have allegedly been nailed down for Spider-Man 4, and it's rumored that one more bad guy (or gal) will join them.

Our friends at Mania.com are reporting that Rachel McAdams, soon to be seen in Sherlock Holmes, has been meeting with the film's producers. She's said to be in the running for the role of the Black Cat, a costumed antihero who in the comics has been both a cat burglar and romantic interest for the webslinger.
That's not all—the source also indicates casting is still ongoing for an additional villain. And since the role of the Lizard has already been filled in the previous films by Dylan Baker, that means that there's yet another villain to come.

We know who we'd like to see Sam Raimi and company come up with. How about you?

sci-fi wire...

Fringe audience falls, FlashForward fades

2009-11-12T07:45:00.001-08:00

Thursday night is shaping up as the biggest night in sci-fi TV, but viewers of Fox's Fringe and other series apparently didn't get the memo.
A new episode of Fringe last night saw its ratings fall to a series low, possibly because many fans didn't realize that no World Series game seven meant a new episode of their favorite show.

Fringe ratings fell 23 percent, to 5 million viewers, The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed blog reported:

ABC won the night, with its lineup slipping about 4% across the board: "FlashForward" (8.5 million viewers, 2.6 preliminary adults 18-49 rating) ...
Returning after a two-week hiatus, Fox's drama lineup had "Bones" (8.5 million, 2.5) down 11%. At 9 p.m., "Fringe" (5 million, 1.7) hit a serious low, falling 23%.
Things were also bad for the boys at Supernatural, whose audience fell 14 percent.
But there was good news for fans of The CW's Vampire Diaries: The show boasted 4.2 million viewers, maintaining its recent gain in audience.

So ... have you stopped watching Fringe? FlashForward? Supernatural?

sci-fi wire...

What really happened to Sanctuary's Ashley

2009-10-31T04:45:00.001-07:00

Syfy's Sanctuary did it: Last Friday's episode killed off Ashley (Emilie Ullerup).
Or did it? "Nobody dies in sci-fi," creator Damian Kindler said with a laugh. "No body. Habeas corpus."

In last week's ep, "Eulogy," Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and Will (Robin Dunner) failed to find Ashley's body after she apparently gave her life to avoid killing her mom, and everyone accepted that Ashley had truly gone to that big abnormal zoo in the sky.

But why kill her off? Did Ullerup want more money? Have another job waiting in the wings? Were there personality conflicts behind the scenes? Maybe she wanted to go off to college or work for Obama?

"To be very honest about it, it was a decision we arrived at with our two major networks in the U.S. and Canada creatively, and we really felt it would have the deepest, most dramatic impact on the series and the characters," Kindler said. "We felt it was a very bold, kind of brave choice to make, and the more we looked at it, the more we felt it was a really strong choice, ... the strongest choice. We did it. We are also very aware that people don't necessarily have to die in sci-fi, the characters. But we felt one of the things that makes shows so attractive is when their characters' journey are hard, but they continue to strive no matter what."

As for Ullerup, Kindler vows that he adores her. "Emilie did an amazing job, embracing the direction and in playing that part in that scene so well," he said. "It wasn't easy for anyone, least of all Emilie, but it definitely was handled with the utmost grace and professionalism. Hats off to her for that."

As we all know by now, there's a new girl taking Ashley's place: Agam Darshi's Kate Freelander. Kindler acknowledges she may rub some people the wrong way. And he wanted that. At least so he says.

"I absolutely know there will be a backlash of people who will not like Kate," Kindler said. "I think people already don't like Kate, and it's absolutely by design. She's not likable yet. But I can absolutely guarantee you that 99 percent of the people who don't like Kate, by the end of the season will like Kate." Her moment to shine will be in the episode called "Penance," which guest-stars Stargate SG-1's Michael Shanks.
Tonight's episode, "Hero," deals with a man who thinks he's a crime-fighting superhero (it was written by Alan McCullough and directed by Martin Wood). And it's funny.

"It's an absolutely heartwarming and hysterical, action-packed tale, with the wonderful Chris Gauthier from Eureka in the guest-starring role," Kindler said. "I'd like to say you're going to see a new tone of humor in Sanctuary, and that's good. It's important. It's just as important as the heavy epic stuff. It's very heartwarming, too. Ryan Robbins [Henry] is lovely in this episode. I think there's just some lovely, funny and touching moments, and also a f'in great monster. A really great monster."
What about Ashley?

"Once we know for sure about a third season, there is definitely an Ashley story in there that we're developing, and I think it's very true to what we've done with the character," Kindler said. "The intention was to never kill her off with any finality. It was always to kill her off in a way that was dubious at best and fraught with inconsistencies and fraught with mystery and isn't completely solved even when they have to put her to rest and move on. I didn't want to milk that horse more than three episodes. I think that gave that arc its due, and then we had to move on to business as usual. We only have 13 episodes."
sci-fi wire...

'Hannibal Lecter' will be Thor's daddy

2009-10-31T04:42:00.001-07:00

The cast of director Kenneth Branagh's upcoming Thor movie just gets more interesting: Captain Kirk's dad is going to play Marvel's hammer-wielding Norse god, and now comes news that Hannibal Lecter himself, Anthony Hopkins, will play Thor's big daddy: Odin, king of Asgard, Variety reports.

Makes sense: Hopkins has played kings before, notably Hrothgar in Bob Zemeckis' cartoon Beowulf.

According to Variety, Hopkins will pay father to both Thor (Star Trek's Chris Hemsworth) and his brother, the trickster god Loki, played by Tom Hiddelston. Queen Amidala, Natalie Portman, is Thor's love interest, the mortal human Jane Foster.

The film tells the story of Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior of Asgard. After his reckless actions reignite an ancient war, his father banishes him to Earth to live among humans. He learns the meaning of heroism when he stands tall as his arch-enemy from home sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.
The script was written by Mark Protosevich and Fringe writer/producers Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller.

The Mighty Thor, his hammer and winged helmet will arrive in theaters on May 20, 2011.

sci-fi wire...

ENTIRE MOVIE of The Wolfman (J.K. Sort of.)

2009-10-21T11:11:00.001-07:00

A bunch of new stuff for Universal's upcoming reboot of its classic horror movie The Wolfman, including a new trailer at Apple.com and an image from EVERY SINGLE FRAME OF THE MOVIE!

(Not really ... but it sure feels like it. Click on the images below for larger versions.)
Here's how Universal describes the movie:

Inspired by the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror, The Wolfman brings the myth of a cursed man back to its iconic origins. Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro stars as Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Reunited with his estranged father (Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins),Talbot sets out to find his brother ... and discovers a horrifying destiny for himself.

Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III) directed The Wolfman, and six-time Oscar-winning special-effects artist Rick Baker brings his design and makeup talents to transform Del Toro into the fearsome title character. The Wolfman opens Feb. 12, 2010.

sci-fi wire...

What will ABC put in the skies over New York to promote V?

2009-10-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

Anyone think a large airborne sci-fi stunt over New York post 9/11 is a bad idea?

Well, that was the consensus after Air Force One buzzed Manhattan. So ABC is making sure everyone knows that they are planning something silly in the skies over the Big Apple to promote the upcoming miniseries V.

No, not the arrival of giant UFOs hovering over Central Park, though that would be very cool. Here's how the

New York Post reports it:

Starting Friday, the giant red letter V—written by skywriting planes—will begin to appear over New York landmarks like the Statute of Liberty, the network says, to promote V, a remake of the 1980s miniseries, that begins next month. ...

ABC won't specify which landmarks will be getting the giant V treatment, but it will go on for several days, it says.

New Yorkers can expect to see the sky graffiti overhead early Sunday and again on Halloween.

Four episodes of V will air starting on Nov. 3 before taking a break and returning early next year.

sci-fi wire

Which Stargate star will play Hawkman in Smallville?

2009-10-21T11:03:00.001-07:00

You can't keep a good Stargate actor down: First, Atlantis' Jason Momoa gets cast in HBO's Game of Thrones, and now SG-1's Michael Shanks has landed a role as Hawkman in an upcoming episode of The CW's Smallville!

Shanks, whom you know as Dr. Daniel Jackson, is one of two actors cast in the fledgling Justice Society episode on the before-Clark-was-Superman series, according to IGN:

We've known since this summer that the Justice Society would be coming to Smallville, in an episode written by comic book writer Geoff Johns, but so far the exact characters who would be part of the team were not revealed. ...

As it turns out, Hawkman and Doctor Fate will both be part of the Smallville incarnation of the Justice Society. This goes hand in hand with DC Comics, where both characters have notable histories with the team and its various incarnations, dating back to the 1940s.

Another Stargate player, Brent Stait, who guested on Atlantis and appeared in the Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods video game, will play Doctor Fate, the site reported.

The episode is slated to air in January. Not clear whether Shanks will have to put on the beaked cowl/winged hat of the classic Hawkman, but we'd pay money to see it.

sci-fi wire...

Atlantis' 'Ronon' to play a new fantasy warrior king

2009-10-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

Last we saw Jason Momoa, he was landing in San Francisco Bay along with the entire crew of Atlantis in the finale of Stargate Atlantis. The good news for fans of the strapping Hawaiian-born actor is that he will appear soon in HBO's upcoming Game of Thrones pilot, based on George R.R. Martin's fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire.

Momoa is reportedly being cast as Drogo, according to the Winter Is Coming blog. Momoa supposedly announced the casting at Armageddon Expo in Melbourne, Australia:

He just got the call the other day, and he said it hadn't been announced. He'll be filming in Morocco and doesn't like horses, so isn't looking forward to the horseback scenes. He also said that it'll be his first nude scene and first sex scene. ...
He also said when he went in for the audition he did a haka, as he thought it would be perfect for Drogo.

(A haka is a traditional Maori dance, so we've just learned.)
Here's how Wikipedia describes Momoa's character:
Drogo is a powerful khal, or warlord, of the Dothraki people, a tribal nation of expert riders and raiders in the steppes beyond the Free Cities. He is an accomplished warrior and has never been defeated in battle.

We're just spit-balling here, but it sounds like a good fit for the man who was Ronon.
The large ensemble cast also includes Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Kit Harrington, Jennifer Ehle, Jack Gleeson, Peter Dinklage and Harry Lloyd.

sci-fi wire...

Syfy's Alice will premiere Dec. 6!

2009-10-11T02:51:00.001-07:00

Syfy's new four-hour movie event Alice has been given a Dec. 6 airdate. Here's the official announcement:

Syfy's contemporary re-imagined spin on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland will premiere on Sunday, December 6th @ 9-11pm ET/PT and air over two consecutive nights. In this modern day spin on the classic stories by Lewis Carroll, Academy Award winner Kathy Bates (Misery) stars as the Queen of Hearts and Caterina Scorsone (Crash television series) as Alice.

Rounding out the stellar cast are Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Dodo, Colm Meaney (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as the King of Hearts, Philip Winchester (Crusoe) as Jack Chase, Matt Frewer (Watchmen) as the White Knight, Andrew Lee Potts (Primeval) as Hatter, Harry Dean Stanton (Big Love) as the Caterpillar, Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica) as 9 of Clubs, Timothy Webber (Taken) as Carpenter, Alex Diakun (Sanctuary) as Ratcatcher, Zak Santiago (Kingdom Hospital) as 10 of Clubs, and Eugene Lipinski (Animorphs) as Doctors Dee and Dum.

For this re-imagined adaptation, writer/director Nick Willing mines the bizarre ingenuity and twisted logic of Carroll's work to create a daringly different, boldly colorful and delightfully skewed dreamscape of his own. Willing also directed the record-breaking, Emmy-winning miniseries Tin Man for Syfy in 2007. Serving as Executive Producers for this ambitious new event are Matthew O'Connor and Lisa Richardson from Reunion Pictures, Jamie Brown from Studio Eight and RHI Entertainment's Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr.

Using the classic Lewis Carroll books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass as a jumping off point, writer/director Nick Willing has created the modern-day story of Alice Hamilton, a fiercely independent twenty-something who suddenly finds herself on the other side of a looking glass. She is a stranger in an outlandish city of twisted towers and casinos built out of playing cards, all under the rule of a deliciously devilish Queen who's not very happy about Alice's arrival.

sci-fi wire...

Leonard Nimoy says Star Trek doesn't need him anymore

2009-10-11T02:44:00.000-07:00

Leonard Nimoy may have made his final appearance as Spock in the Star Trek reboot. He says he doesn't think the series needs him anymore. As plans for a sequel develop, Nimoy does not expect to be involved.

"I frankly, frankly doubt that I will be called upon again," Nimoy said in a conference call on Oct. 7 while promoting his appearance on Fringe. "I think I was useful in his last film to help bridge between the original characters, the original actors, and the new cast. They have a wonderful new cast in place, and I'm sure they'll move ahead with them."

Nimoy also joked about the new moniker, Spock Prime, meaning he is the Spock from the original timeline but clearly different from the Spock that Zachary Quinto will grow to be.

"That's right, I'm in the prime of my life, right," Nimoy laughed.
Still, the original Spock's appearance in Star Trek meant more than just passing the torch. Longtime trekkers choked back tears as Spock Prime confessed his friendship to young Kirk. Even though the Quinto, Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, etc. cast is now established as the Enterprise crew, no one would object to another appearance by Spock Prime.

"I don't see, at the moment, why they would need me in the next film, although if they called me, I'd be happy to have a conversation about it," Nimoy said. "My understanding is they're working on a script right now. I expect there's going to be some time before they really know exactly who they need and what they need."

sci-fi wire...

J. J. Abrams may bring back Peter Graves for M:I 4

2009-10-11T02:41:00.000-07:00

J.J. Abrams was shocked to learn that original Mission Impossible TV series star Peter Graves was interested in a part in the movie series. Three film adaptations have gone by without him, but now that Abrams is developing a fourth, Graves' representatives have reached out to the producer/director.

"I just got a call that Peter Graves is in great shape, which would be a very bizarre bend in the space-time continuum, for obvious reasons," Abrams said in a press conference in Santa Monica, Calif., on Oct. 8, where he was promoting Star Trek on DVD.
Jon Voight played Jim Phelps in Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible, in a plot that strayed from the canon of the TV series. In addition to addressing whether Graves would be a version of Phelps, Abrams would also have to address his comedy legacy as Captain Oveur in the Airplane movies.

"I almost feel like you could make him serious again and bring him back," Abrams said.
Abrams brought Leonard Nimoy back as Spock Prime in his Star Trek reboot. Nimoy also played Paris on the Mission: Impossible TV series, so Abrams has an "in" with two series favorites.

"Whether it's Nimoy, who I have an incredible affinity for, or Graves, or anyone, we'll see."

As director of Mission: Impossible III, Abrams had reached out to Martin Landau, who played Rollin Hand in the original series. So he's been open to including original cast members since he took over the series.

"I actually tried to get Martin Landau in Mission 3, in a very small little moment just for fun, and was told that he had no interest in doing it," Abrams shared. "But then, when I met him after the movie came out, it was the greatest thing. We were at this restaurant in New York, for one of the TV up-front parties, and someone introduced me to Landau. They took me over and Martin Landau came over to me, extended his hand and [pretended to lift his face off]. That was the greatest thing I'd ever seen."
Abrams has signed to produce the fourth Mission: Impossible with Tom Cruise. He has not announced whether he would direct it.

sci-fi wire...

We've got juicy details on Sanctuary season 2

2009-10-11T02:37:00.000-07:00

Season two of Sanctuary kicks off tonight on Syfy at 10 p.m. ET/PT, and we've got some juicy information for you that comes straight from the set in Vancouver. Executive producers Amanda Tapping (also the star, of course), Damian Kindler and Martin Wood answered a bunch of questions during a press visit, and we learned quite a bit about where the show is going. Warning, some of this is spoiler-ish:
How season two starts and where it goes: "The idea was to definitely wrap up the amazing corner we painted ourselves into in the first season," Kindler said. "Beyond that, the mission was to deepen things and really let the show find its feet."

Meet Kate Freelander: Kate is a new character who joins the Sanctuary team this year. She's played by Agam Darshi and Tapping described her as "this con artist, rough-around-the-edges, swindler, grifter. She knows enough about the abnormal network, knows enough about the Cabal, knows enough about the Sanctuary, to be dangerous."

Tesla is back! And not just as his sarcastic, wisecracking self. Kindler said everyone's favorite inventor/vampire will have some kinder, gentler moments with the rest of the characters on the show. As well as being his sarcastic, wisecracking self, of course.
Something gets out of hand: "We do get a little teleportation-happy in season 2," Kindler admitted. He jokingly justified that by saying it's a really cool special effect, although the consequences of using it get a little glossed over this time around. (Remember, this is the ability that drove John Druitt mad.)
Get ready for Henry: "You'll see a lot more of Henry this year," Tapping said. "He is huge in season two."

Don't expect cookie-cutter bad guys: "I think one of the traps that some TV shows find themselves in is that they create a big bad guy or an organization that can breed more bad guys, and they keep going back to "Oh, now we're back to the bad guy factory. There's a new version." Kindler promised that won't happen with Sanctuary.

Amanda Tapping and Helen Magnus both go crazy: Tapping said she's directing an episode in which Magnus is accused of murder and is slowly going insane. "I was slowly going insane, so no acting was required!" she said about trying to balance her duties as producer, star, mother and director.

Expect more CGI characters: Now that the Sanctuary team has mastered creating computer-generated backgrounds and locations, Wood said they're trying their hands at more 3-D characters. "You have a new character every week," he said.

Going global: You'll get to see other Sanctuaries in exotic locales like Tokyo and Mumbai. Oddly enough, unlike most of Sanctuary's locations, the Tokyo footage is real and not a green-screen effect. Kindler, Wood, Tapping and co-star Robin Dunne were visiting Japan for the launch of the show there, and they decided to shoot some footage.

How the season ends: There's going to be a Bollywood dance number, a 50-foot spider and a situation Kindler compared to being on the tip of the prow of a sinking ship. "We knew we wanted to get to a very very, dire place at the end of season two."
And just a hint about season three: "Should there be a season three, we have a much longer view of where we want things to go for the characters," Kindler said.
And finally, Tapping joined Dunne (@robindunne) and Kindler (@damiankindler) on Twitter. You can follow her at @AmandaTapping. We are.

sci-fi wire...

Primeval saved! You'll get to see at least 13 more episodes

2009-09-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of the Brit walking-with-dinosaurs sci-fi adventure series Primeval, you're in luck: Three months after ITV canceled the show, BBC America and U.K. pay channel UKTV are rescuing it from extinction.

Impossible Pictures will make another two runs totaling about 13 episodes, Variety reports:
Under the new funding arrangements, BBC Worldwide, responsible for licensing the show to around 45 countries, replaces ITV as the program's biggest investor.
Meanwhile, BBC America, which airs Primeval in the U.S., has joined Germany's ProSieben as a co-production partner on the show.

As part of the deal, ITV will premiere the fourth season of the show in early 2011, while UKTV premieres the fifth season later the same year. It's not clear when Primeval will cross the pond, but we expect it'll be sometime the same year.Primeval follows a team of five scientists who chase down nasty creatures—including dinosaurs from the past and giant batlike "future predators" from the, um, future—who appear in the present via temporal anomalies across Great Britain. Why is it always Great Britain? And where's the Doctor when you need him?

sci-fi wire...

Riverworld miniseries

2009-09-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

Tahmoh Penikett dies! And that's just the beginning of Syfy's Riverworld, in which everyone who has ever lived on Earth is resurrected simultaneously in an unusual afterlife.

The miniseries, based on the books by Philip José Farmer, won't air until next year, but you can check it out today, thanks to the trailer below, released by producers RHI Entertainment.

sci-fi wire...

First look at Robert Rodriguez's bloody, violent Predators

2009-09-30T14:49:00.001-07:00

We're as interested as you are in any info about the plot of next summer's Robert Rodriguez-scripted Predators reboot. Today we got some tidbits from our friends at the Latino Review, who got a chance to read a 90-page script dated July 12, 2009 and shared some of that insider info with the rest of us.

The draft is a "bloody, violent, Hard-R script" that pits a team of seven kidnapped humans against Predators on the aliens' home planet. Reportedly, the team of seven are:

Royce, a Steve McQueen type
Cuchillo, a Mexican enforcer for a drug cartel who has twin uzis strapped to his back
Nikolai, a bear of a Russian armed with a four-barrel gas-powered rotary machine gun
Isabelle, a French woman armed with a sniper rifle
Stans, a San Quentin prisoner with a shaved head, armed with a prison-made knife
Mombasa, an African member of the Sierra Leone death squad
Hanzo, a Yakuza enforcer

Edwin, an unassuming man who was formerly on the FBI's most-wanted list.

sci-fi wire...

All the odd Fringe stuff you need to remember for season 2

2009-09-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

Fringe is back tonight, and there's some stuff you'll probably need to know—or at least need to be reminded about—before the new season starts. We've done our best to compile a Fringe 101 list to help refresh your (and our) memory below.
This is also a "quick start" guide for new viewers. If you think we left something important out, let us know in the comments.

[Warning: Spoilers ahead.]
Walter Bishop has a cow. It's in his lab at Harvard, her name is Jean, and he's delighted about it. He's a genius scientist, who usually solves the mystery at the heart of each episode. He has significant mental crackage, and not just because he was in a mental institution for years. He worked on a portal to an alternate universe and even took his son Peter from it.

Peter Bishop has a murky, off-the-radar past. Turns out he died as a boy in this, our universe. Walter, heartbroken, replaced him with the boy Peter from the alternate universe, who is the Peter we have come to know and love. It's unclear at this point what happened to alternate-universe Walter.

OK, let's talk about this alternate universe. It's the mainspring of Fringe—not time travel, not faster-than-light travel, but alternate universes. In the not-our-universe once inhabited by the alternate Peter who is now in our universe, John F. Kennedy is alive and aged, Len Bias didn't die of cocaine, and the World Trade Center towers are standing proud and gleaming.

There is a bald guy who is in every episode, mostly briefly. He's usually around when something significant happens. He and Walter know each other. He's called The Observer. I tend to think of him as the eternal bald observer, because a fair amount of this kind of science fiction has a bald observer.

Are there any crimes going on here? Yes, of course, but I wanted to tell you about the cow first. Olivia Dunham is an agent on a special FBI team tasked with investigating strange deaths and the like. In this, Fringe is a successor to The X-Files. But some crimes—especially those involving teleportation—connect to the alternate universes. They also connect to Olivia, who realizes she was treated as a child with a special drug. Indeed, she was experimented upon by Walter.

A little more about teleportation—when was the last time you saw it in a contemporary television series? You've of course seen it in Star Trek beaming, but the teleportation in Fringe is more ragged around the edges, more desperate, and feels more like the novel The Stars My Destination (highly recommended, by the way).

Olivia has enlisted Walter and Peter to help. She and Peter haven't hooked up yet, but I'd say it's just a matter of time. Broyles is the head of her team—you'll recognize the distinctive actor, Lance Reddick, from The Wire and Lost. The team has some good guys and bad guys—a lot more interesting than the FBI team from Numb3rs.

Olivia's former lover was her former FBI partner, John Scott. He's former in both pursuits because he's dead. Walter had a way of getting Olivia into his dead mind. But it was too dangerous for her, so they stopped that, and it's not clear what role, if any, John will play in the second season. Just keeping you posted in case he does come back (though the actor has moved on to another series), or in case you wanted to know. Charlie is Olivia's current partner, and they're just good friends.

Astrid's also FBI and works in the lab with Walter and the cow. Olivia's sister and beloved little niece live with her. The sister seems to like Peter, but they are mostly there as vulnerabilities that Olivia's deadly opponents can exploit.

And make sure you keep an eye on the glyphs—leaves, half apples, seahorses, and the like—on the screen when Fringe breaks for commercials. The glyphs provide clues. Some of them have been decoded on the Web.

And who are Olivia's opponents? Who are the ultimate villains in Fringe? Again, not completely clear. But William Bell, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the genius scientist who used to work with Walter. Bell now straddles both universes as head of the mysterious, powerful, Massive Dynamic. He also has some connection to ZFT (Zerstorung durch Fortschritte der Technologie, or destruction through the advancement of technology), the terrorist group that's behind the crimes, which may have been founded either by Bell or Walter.

And then there's Nina Sharp, played by Blair Brown, who's Bell's chief assistant. She's the current head of the company in our universe, and knows a lot more than she lets on.

The last scene of the last show of the first season found Olivia—our Olivia—in Bell's office, with Bell, in the alternate universe, in his Massive Dynamic office, in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, 2009.

Paul Levinson, Ph.D., is professor of communication and media studies at Fordham University in New York City. His eight nonfiction books include The Soft Edge (1997), Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003) and Cellphone (2004). New New Media, exploring blogging, Twitter, YouTube and other "new new" modes of communication, will be published by Penguin Academics in the summer of 2009. His science fiction novels include The Silk Code (1999, winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel), Borrowed Tides (2001), The Consciousness Plague (2002), The Pixel Eye (2003) and The Plot To Save Socrates (2006). His short stories have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar and Sturgeon Awards. He reviews the best of television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog and was listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education's "Top 10 Academic Twitterers" in 2009.

sci-fi wire...

The devilish Ray Wise is moving into the Dollhouse

2009-09-17T00:39:00.000-07:00

If the devil is in the details, then the Devil is in the Dollhouse: Reaper's Ray Wise is joining the cast of Joss Whedon's sci-fi series, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello.

In addition to playing the Prince of Darkness on The CW's much-loved but short-lived Reaper, Wise is well known to genre fans as the murderous father of Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks and the crazed farmer in Jeepers Creepers 2, among a host of other roles.
Dollhouse returns for a second season on Friday at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Guest stars previously announced include Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber, Keith Carradine, Angel's Alexis Denisof and Firefly/Terminator's Summer Glau.

sci-fi wire...

News briefs: Wicked comes; Silent Hill sequel

2009-09-17T00:36:00.000-07:00

Universal Pictures has acquired screen rights to Wicked Lovely, the best-selling first book in a fantasy series written by Melissa Marr that will see its fourth installment published next year by Harper Collins, Variety reported. ...

David Henrie of the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place will pair with Platinum Studios to develop its comic-book series The Weapon into a feature film he'd star in, according to The Hollywood Reporter; it follows martial-arts inventor Tommy Zhou, who has developed a ground-breaking portable innovation that an evil order will stop at nothing to steal....

Roger Avary (Beowulf) and Samuel Hadida of Davis Films have signed on for a sequel to their 2006 video-game adaptation Silent Hill, according to The Hollywood Reporter; the original centered on a woman who travels to a desolate town to seek help for her ailing daughter only to find supernatural occurrences taking place there.

sci-fi wire...

Trek writer will adapt a vampire tale for Ridley Scott

2009-09-17T00:33:00.000-07:00

Star Trek: Nemesis writer John Logan has been set by Fox 2000 to adapt The Passage, the Jordan Ainsley vampire novel being developed for Ridley Scott to potentially direct, Variety reported.

It marks the first time that Logan and Scott have collaborated since the Oscar-winning Gladiator, the trade paper reported:
Fox 2000 acquired the book two years ago, paying seven figures for the three-book series right after its publishing rights sold to Ballantine for $3.75 million. ...

Ainsley—pseudonym for PEN Hemingway Award-winning author Justin Cronin—sold the book based on the first 400 pages and an outline, but the film adaptation awaited his completion of the book, which is nearly 1,200 pages.
In the novel, terminally ill patients become healthy after they are bitten by bats in South America, and the government conducts secret tests on human subjects to see if the virus can cure illness. The result is an apocalyptic unleashing of bloodthirsty vampire test subjects that include death row inmates.

sci-fi wire...

What's the big surprise behind the return of Eureka's 'Taggart'?

2009-09-14T02:19:00.000-07:00

The rumors are not true—Matt Frewer did NOT agree to reprise his role as Jim Taggart on Syfy's Eureka just so people would finally stop saying, "Hey Matt, when are you going to be back as Taggart on Eureka?"

"That wasn't my M.O., but if it's achieved that, it's worked," Frewer said during a conference call with reporters earlier this week. "Well, that's it, it's a double-edge sword, isn't it? You can kind of leave 'em wanting more, but if you leave 'em for too long then they just forget."

Fan favorite Frewer—whose credits include everything from Max Headroom, PSI Factor and Watchmen to the Syfy miniseries Taken—returns as Taggart in "Have an Ice Day," which will premiere tonight on Syfy at 9 p.m. ET/PT. In the episode, an ice core threatens to bring with it a new ice age. The manager of the ice core project is none other than Taggart.

But wait a second—we thought Taggart was Eureka's erstwhile veterinarian and biological containment specialist?

"Yeah, so did I," Frewer said, laughing. "I guess in the overall storyline the notion for this was that he was going to complete his walkabout back to Australia. And the whole deal with Taggart is that he always gets waylaid somewhere interesting. And this was his next port of call, to take ice core samples in the Arctic. So there you have it."
Frewer took direction during his time back on the Eureka set from series regular Joe Morton. The actor gives his temporary boss a thumbs-up. "Actually, it was great," Frewer said. "He's an extremely bright and gifted fellow anyway, and it was a pleasant surprise to see how savvy he was directing. Obviously, being an actor, you have somewhat of an immediate rapport with him anyway, and there was kind of a shorthand, but on top of that he was just great fun. We both agreed that for Taggart's return that was the key to the thing, to have fun with it. And he definitely facilitated that."

The episode airing tonight is a one-off. Frewer won't be back as Taggart this season. But Syfy has renewed Eureka for a fourth season, and Frewer said he'd like to return again at some point. "We're pretty much right back into the flow of the character interaction," he said. "There's definitely possibilities there for more stuff, and hopefully they take up the challenge."

sci-fi wire...

What's this mysterious letter from Fringe's second season?

2009-09-14T02:14:00.000-07:00

Fringe is on its way back from that alternate reality, and we've got a few cool tidbits to share with you as we get ready for the second season of Fox's ubercool sci-fi procedural.

For starters, Fox sent along this mysterious paper with its second-season premiere screener for the sci-fi series, which returns next Thursday at 9 p.m. Check out the close-up below for the message it contains. (Possible spoiler ahead!) What could it mean??

Executive producers J.J. Abrams, Jeff Pinkner, Joel Wyman and Akiva Goldsman, meanwhile, promise that the second season will build on the tantalizing promise of the first:

"As we said last year, Fringe is a procedural, but unlike most procedurals, it's driven by character. Last season we met Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), Walter Bishop (John Noble) and Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) as well as the characters who support them while they tackle insane problems. And we discovered that at least some of the problems they face were put in motion by the work of Walter and his former lab mate, William Bell (guest star Leonard Nimoy), who in an alternate reality occupies an office in the (still standing) World Trade Center.
This year, the problems of Olivia and the Bishops face will worsen and become more personal."

You're gonna see more than one—this is an exclusive! You are going to see many Observers," Orci told the magazine about the new season's eighth episode. "[It's] going to tell you a lot about the Observers. You're going to find out their role in the world, what they're named after, and their connection to some of these characters."
Orci added: "One of the things we're doing, which we've been doing since season one, is that every four episodes or five episodes, if you've been watching the show and you're a fan, you're gonna get bigger answers than you ever got before. If you stay tuned to the fourth show, that eighth show, that 12th show, you will start to see a continuity that begins with the Observers."
Check back on SCI FI Wire for more Fringe news in the coming days, leading up to the season premiere and beyond.

sci-fi wire...

How did Amanda Tapping produce, direct and act in Sanctuary?

2009-09-14T02:09:00.000-07:00

Amanda Tapping directed one episode of Stargate SG-1 and always told us she wanted to helm another but never got the chance. So it helps that she's the executive producer of her own show now—Syfy's Sanctuary—and can finally step behind the camera again for an upcoming episode.

Besides producing, Tapping also stars as the creature-loving immortal scientist Dr. Helen Magnus, and she'll direct the seventh episode of the new second season, called "Veritas."

"It was an appropriate episode for me to direct; I think that they must have planned it that way," Tapping said in an exclusive interview. "It was perhaps [director and executive producer] Martin's [Wood] way of torturing me."

"Veritas" was written by Alan McCullough, who scripted three of last year's 13 Sanctuary episodes and also wrote for Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1. In the show, Tapping's normally stable and aloof character seems to slowly slip into insanity and becomes more and more crazy.

"I guess I felt like I was going a little crazy," Tapping said with a laugh. "I kept thinking, 'Am I nuts wanting to direct this?' I didn't want to mess it up. It's about Magnus going crazy, going completely off the rail."

Tapping's first directing gig was SG-1's "Resurrection." "I learned a lot on Stargate," she said. "I had a great experience directing that show, and I've been shadowing Martin for so long."

Wood said he would let her direct every other episode if he could. "She does some incredible work, and I find that her style is very close to mine," he said.
The original plan was for Tapping to helm a Magnus-light storyline, but as the filming grew closer, the focus on her character grew. "We forced her to do perhaps one of the hardest things to do, because if she was just playing her character regularly, it would have been easy, but this time she had to lose it, and she was doing it without supervision," Wood said. "No one was telling her if it was far enough or too far, or how much she should push it."

Wood was prepping the next episode and dropped in when he could, and the show's co-creator and executive producer Damian Kindler watched when he could, too. But when they asked Tapping if she needed help, she'd say, "No, I'm good."
"She just turned in her episode after editing it herself, too, and it just blew us away. It was magnificent," Kindler said. "She did an absolutely first-class job and proved she is a skillful shot-maker, a good director and editor and a clever and intuitive person. If she every wanted to do a career shift, she would make a great director."
Like one of the creatures the Sanctuary houses, Kindler added, "If we could clone Amanda, we would need four of her."

Co-star, Robin Dunne, who plays Dr. Will Zimmerman, said, "Amanda continually surprises me. As an actor she's someone to look up to, but as a director she was equally passionate and generous."

Dunne and Tapping are known for cracking each other up during their most intimate scenes together, but for her Sanctuary directorial debut, Dunne was on his best behavior. "There was no goofing off on that one, I believe," Dunne said.
After all, she is the boss.

Sanctuary returns Oct. 9 and airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

sci-fi wire...

Greg Grunberg reveals more of Sylar's Heroes plans

2009-09-07T18:32:00.001-07:00

When we last saw Matt Parkman on Heroes, he had used his psychic powers to help vanquish Sylar. The preview of Vol. 5 suggested that Sylar is already starting to emerge from the body of Nathan Petrelli, despite Parkman's best efforts. As season four, Vol. 5 continues, Sylar lingers on in Parkman's mind, too, said actor Greg Grunberg.

(Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
"When we come back in season four, you see that this transfer of brains or whatever didn't go smoothly, and remnants of Sylar are left behind in me," Grunberg said in an exclusive interview on Aug. 5 in Pasadena, Calif., as part of the Television Critics Association fall press tour. "He's in my subconscious and I can't control him. Then he starts to control me, which is very, very cool."

Sylar's already got Nathan's body. Does he get Parkman's, too? "Well, he's in my head," Grunberg explained. "No one else can see him but me, so he's in scenes with me. It's very cool."

Zachary Quinto continues to play Sylar, in Parkman's vision of Sylar's presence. Grunberg also revealed some of Sylar's dirty deeds. "[He] kidnaps my child to get his body back. It's that kind of stuff, and it's very personal and much more relatable, I think."

That must mean Sylar uses Nathan's body to kidnap Parkman's daughter, right? No, said Grunberg. That's a separate thing while Sylar plays the brain game with Parkman. Don't worry about following the complicated storyline. Grunberg said it all makes sense.

"It's very easy to follow, actually, my storyline," Grunberg said. "It's cool how it's done. I love it because it's more character-based. The show became all about saving the world, and it's very abstract. It's kind of hard to grasp that. What does that mean? It's very spectacular, and it's fun, but then if you do it every week, it doesn't mean anything. And if everybody has powers, it doesn't mean anything. So this year it's kind of getting back to season one, where it's all about the characters just wanting to be real and normal. I don't want this power, I don't use it, and I'm forced to use it because Sylar's doing anything [he can]."

Grunberg has been enjoying the team-up with Quinto so much that he hopes Sylar never gets out of Parkman's head. "I went to the writers, I was talking to them tonight, and I was like, 'Guys, please don't end this. Don't resolve this, because we're having so much fun.' What's cool is that my powers evolve, and I start this year so regretting what I did last year that I have absolutely cut it cold turkey. I refuse to use my powers, and Sylar wants me to, so he's constantly on my shoulder going, 'Use your powers, you p-ssy.' It's great. It's really cool."

Too bad Parkman doesn't have a good angel on his shoulder telling him not to listen to Sylar. "No, that's me, but I'm not strong enough. It's pretty great."
Heroes returns Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. on NBC.

sci-fi wire...

30 Days of Night sequel has director

2009-09-07T18:28:00.001-07:00

Ben Ketai has been named the director of 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, the sequel to the 2007 vampire thriller 30 Days of Night, according to Bloody Disgusting.

Previously, Kentai had co-written, with original 30 Days of Night graphic novel writer Steve Niles, the Web-based and on-demand prequel to the first film, 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails. The 30-minute Blood Trails had been shown on FEARnet.com and FEARnet on Demand just prior to the theatrical release of 30 Days of Night. Kentai then went on to co-write with Niles and Ed Fowler the Web-based and on-demand sequel to 30 Days of Night entitled 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust.

The sequel will focus on the character of Stella Oleson, the wife of Sherriff Eben Oleson, who has published a book on the vampire attack on the Alaskan town of Barrow and who subsequently draws the attention of a vampire clan in Los Angeles.
Melissa George played Stella in the first film, but the part will be recast for the sequel.
Filming in Vancouver will begin this October.

sci-fi wire...

The Green Hornet actually starts shooting

2009-09-07T18:26:00.001-07:00

After many delays and set backs, including the loss of a director, the search for a new one, an extensive search for a new Kato and a release date pushed back from the summer of 2010 to the winter of 2010, principal photography has actually begun on The Green Hornet, according to a press release from Columbia Pictures.

The Seth Rogen vehicle, which Rogen scripted with his Superbad and Pineapple Express co-writer Evan Goldberg, had originally been set to be directed by Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer helmer Stephen Chow. Chow dropped out, to be replaced by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep director Michel Gondry. The role of Kato finally went to Taiwanese pop singer and star of Curse of the Golden Flower, Jay Chou.

In addition to Rogen, The Green Hornet stars Cameron Diaz, and Edward James Olmos. War of the Worlds, The Quantum of Solace and Revolutionary Road vet David Harbour has recently joined the cast, as has Tom Wilkinson, who played Boss Carmine Falcone in Batman Begins and who has worked with Gondry before on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

The Green Hornet is now scheduled to open December 17, 2010

sci-fi wire...

Underworld star heads to Antarctica in Whiteout

2009-09-07T18:21:00.000-07:00

Whiteout uses the extreme cold of Antarctica to put a twist on the mystery thriller genre. U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) discovers a murder at the end of her last tour at a South Pole research station. If it's hard to find clues in the blizzard, imagine trying to hit your mark on the set.

"In terms of being challenging, coming out of the trailer that very first day, I really was worried I wasn't going to be able to speak at all, or say a line ever," Beckinsale said at a press conference on Aug. 28 in Beverly Hills, Calif. "My whole throat closed on that first breath. Luckily, Gabriel [Macht] told me to keep my passages open. Aside from that, the cold was really great. It was probably worse in the studio with the heat. Trying to stop [co-star] Columbus [Short] from sweating was the biggest challenge there."

Macht plays U.N. investigator Robert Pryce, joining the investigation with Stetko. He's also out in the snow in heavy winter gear, which is fine for exteriors, not so much under studio lights. "The challenges that we came up against were when we shot in the studio," Macht said during the press conference. "We were in 80-degree weather, in late spring/early summer, and we were having to wear extreme weather gear. It was probably the hottest set I've ever been on, so I was sweating bullets and probably lost 35 pounds by the end of the movie."

Manitoba, Canada, doubled for the South Pole. Don't make light of shooting in Canada. The actors had to be just as prepared for freezing temperatures when they shot outside. Beckinsale recalled the frightening safety manual.

"When we arrived, they put a thick telephone directory under our hotel room doors the night before we started shooting," she said. "That said, 'These are all the different ways it's possible to die here: of being too cold or of being too hot, if you keep your clothes on too long, when you go inside, or if you've ever had an alcoholic drink, or if you breathe in a westerly direction.' We all panicked. The most I remember was putting on and taking off 15 layers of clothes about 70 times a day. When we first went out, all the men had beards full of ice that I thought were makeup department tests, but it wasn't. It was real. And my hair froze into a point just from breathing on it. I thought, 'Well, I'm from England, I'll know how to handle the cold,' and it wasn't anything like that."

All bundled up, Macht toughed out the cold just fine. "My experience in Manitoba was that it was definitely freezing, and the environment was as close to the [Antarctic] environment as I would think is possible," he said. "But we were in extreme weather and I wasn't that cold. The stuff they got us to wear was very warm. I was fine, and I expected it to be a lot worse."

Producer Joel Silver chose Manitoba for its harsh conditions, but they weren't so harsh that he could not control it. Having learned his lesson from shooting in real snow back on Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Silver utilized modern-day visual effects to enhance location footage. Even creating the whiteouts, where fierce snow blocks visibility beyond a few feet, required digital trickery.

"Some of the way that we did the whiteouts couldn't have been done except for the CGI today," Silver said during the press conference. "You couldn't shoot in that situation. You couldn't possibly shoot in an environment like that. We were able to make it where you can actually see the people, but you sense that you really can't see anything else. With this, we did have some harsh environments, but a lot of that was created in a way that you could believe what you were seeing. There was verisimilitude. We did augment a lot of the climate and weather with visual effects, which makes it harsher than it really was. It was cold, and we were shooting on a frozen lake bed, [but] it wasn't treacherous. The ice was many, many feet deep."
Whiteout opens Sept. 11.

sci-fi wire...

Get a sneak peek at the Stargate Universe press kit

2009-09-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

The Syfy PR department has started sending out press kits for Stargate Universe, so we thought we'd grab one and show you what it looks like

sci-fi wire...

Elizabeth Mitchell kicks visitor butt to protect her son in V

2009-08-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Mitchell plays FBI agent Erica Evans on ABC's new, revamped version of V. Spoiler alert: In the very first episode, she faces off in a battle between humans and visitors. Further spoiler alert: she'll kick even more butt as the series continues.
"I just read [the next script] and there is more kick-ass action," Mitchell said in a group interview on Aug. 8 in Pasadena, Calif. as part of the Television Critics Association fall press tour. "I've said this and I don't know if they want me to say this, but I like it even better than the pilot. I was happy to have read it before I came here, because when you just do a pilot, you're talking about unknowns. You're talking about something ephemeral and you can't quite get there. I've read it. It's active. It's not cerebral. It's so active that you find yourself caught up in it, and it made me very happy."

Mitchell was also getting ready to reshoot the fight scene from the pilot. Previously, SCI FI Wire reported that producer Scott Peters wanted to add more elements to the visitors' combat. Mitchell will get to improve her technique as well.

"I wasn't as skilled a fighter as I am now, so my punch looked a little bit like a 12-year-old girl's," she joked. "I don't think that's why [they're reshooting] but they wanted it to be more dangerous, they wanted it to be higher tech. They wanted the guys to look sincerely terrifying when they were coming after us, and they wanted them to have more gadgets and they do."

V still tells the story of aliens who visit earth and at first offer to be humanity's allies. They cure our diseases and offer free tours of their spaceship. Fans of the '80s series already know the visitors turn out to be lizard creatures under their attractive exterior. Agent Evans is onto them early on and pursues a human resistance, while other characters explore the religious and media implications of the visitors.

Playing an action heroine has also improved Mitchell's performance, the actor added. She's relishing her turn as the action heroine. "I love strong women," she said. "I love, love, love it. I find when all of that is happening, you don't think that much and not thinking as an actor is really good. I tend to overthink things, so when I'm running around gasping for air and beating people up, whatever is happening in my face I have no control over."

Erica has bigger problems than just saving the world though. Her own son, Tyler (Logan Huffman), defies her parenting rules. Now she's actually warning him about falling in with the alien threat, not just coming home before curfew.

"I just read the next episode and she tries very hard to do that," Mitchell said. "She makes herself incredibly clear and believes all is well. He, I think, has been a kid who has in the past listened to her, so I think that she thinks that that's going to be the case again. She's a good mom, a single mom and it was nice playing a mother. I did it before in Frequency, but to do it to this magnitude, where my son is in grave danger, is fascinating to me."

The new V differs from the original in many aspects. They get to the big reveal quicker and have a longer term plan for the invasion than the 1984 miniseries. There are new characters and modern updates, but Mitchell holds the original in high regard.
"I also feel a tremendous obligation to the people who watched before, to not mess it up," she said. "So yes, the memories do come back. However, my character didn't really exist, is a compilation of other characters, therefore I'm given a little bit of a gift in not having to fill the footsteps that Morena [Baccarin] is having to do. Which by the way she does really beautifully and completely differently, which is so nice. But, I have a little bit of a gift here. I'm able to really love the old and not feel bad about being in the new, so it's good."

V premieres Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. on ABC.

sci-fi wire...

Meet Stargate Universe's resident geek, David Blue

2009-08-31T05:55:00.000-07:00

Brad Wright, the co-creator of Syfy's upcoming Stargate Universe, told a Comic-Con audience that the show got not only an actor in the person of star David Blue, but also a technical adviser: Blue—who plays Eli, a genius slacker—has been a fan of the franchise from the beginning and has seen every episode of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.

"Our first day of weapons training, actually, we did it on the Atlantis set, in front of the Atlantis gate," Blue told us in an exclusive interview, adding: "It's hard when your castmates were not as huge fans beforehand, because you can't geek out in front of them without feeling like an idiot. I kind of had to wait for lunch, when everyone walked away, and go to the Stargate and touch it and take pictures of myself in front of it."

Blue added, "I love any scene the Stargate is in. ... When you see on Eli's face that he's really excited about the gate, that's actually me. ... I keep telling people that this place seems far too real, and the place is so cool, there's no way we're not government-funded. It's just to throw people off the scent that this actually exists. ... Somewhere up there, there are people on spaceships, and they're going through Stargates, and these things are actually happening."

SGU, from Wright and Robert C. Cooper, follows a band of soldiers, scientists and civilians who must fend for themselves as they are forced through a Stargate when their hidden base comes under attack. The desperate survivors emerge aboard an Ancient ship, the Destiny, which is locked on an unknown course and unable to return to Earth. Faced with meeting the most basic needs of food, water and air, the group must unlock the secrets of the ship's Stargate to survive. The danger, adventure and hope they find on board the Destiny will reveal the heroes and villains among them.

"Stargate Universe takes place in the same world and the same universe as SG-1 and Atlantis, but essentially it's a group of people who are brought on to do some research," Blue said. "Scientists brought in to figure out this mythical ninth chevron address, ... a nine-digit phone number, and nobody knows where it goes. And through a course of events, [he] ends up having to pick up and go, and the right people who are supposed to go on this mission to explore don't necessarily end up going."

Blue added: "You end up with a group of people who weren't supposed to be there, ... counting on each other, who aren't necessarily the ones with the skill sets for survival ... on the far side of the universe, trying to figure out how to survive. How to not die. How to not kill each other. And genuinely having to deal and cope."
The show differs from previous installments in the popular franchise. "Unlike past shows, where you have rubber-faced, British-speaking aliens, it's more about the ensemble cast," Blue said. "The people you become invested in. Who you get to relate to and find catharsis in, ... it's great, because you can see all these new layers and levels to situations you normally get the chance [to see] in shows these days."

SGU has been described as darker in tone then its predecessors, but Blue has a different way of looking at it. "I tend to say it's not as much darker as it is more real," he said. "And maybe that's a pessimistic way of looking at the world, but I think that ... reality itself is darker. It's not just shiny, 'Hey, we survived again! Woo-hoo!' There are more levels, where you look at the person sitting next to you, and you start thinking to yourself, 'Do I trust them today?' And you look at someone sitting next to you and start to see a spark and go, 'How do I really feel about that person?' And when your life is being threatened, you tend to actually, in a weird way, find humor to make yourself cope. You can say 'darker,' because in some ways it is, ... but when you really get down to it, it's like everyday life. That's kind of what I like about it."

Blue said the show is part of a greater trend in television for shows to reflect the world around them. "Look at reality shows," he said. "They want to feel like they're a fly on the wall, watching a situation happen. So when you can do that with something that's also sci-fi-related, I think it's even cooler for the fans. Because it makes you feel more like the gate actually exists. Like it's Wormhole Extreme, and these people are going to come and kidnap you any minute because they need your help."

When I told him that I'd certainly be OK with that, he laughed and said, "Me too! And it happened! I'm actually calling you from a real spaceship."

At Comic-Con, the show's creators told the audience that viewers of SGU don't have to be familiar with the earlier shows to watch. Blue agreed. "I think it's great, because the truth is, a lot of my friends and family do not watch a lot of sci-fi, or specifically Stargate," he said. "They keep asking me, 'Should I watch it all?' And I say, 'Feel free to.' It's almost like easter eggs. But the truth is, you don't need to. That's one of the things I really love about Eli, my character. I'm there to be the audience. I'm there to be the heart and the eyes and the ears of the audience who are thrust into this situation they weren't expecting to be in and have to go, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are the Ancients?' And have it explained to them."

But loyal fans will find plenty of references to earlier series, with familiar guest stars, inside jokes and "little tidbits" of information, Blue promised. "You can feel special on that note," he said. "I hate to make this reference, but for some reason it's sticking out. It's kind of like The Muppets. You know how as a kid you watch, and you think it's great and funny? ... And then you grow up and watch and you go, 'Oh, that's a lot dirtier than I thought it was?' It's kind of like that."

Stargate Universe debuts Oct. 2 with a two-hour premiere at 9 p.m. ET/PT; it will air Fridays at 9 on Syfy

sci-fi wire...

Watch the history of sci-fi visual effects in five minutes

2009-08-31T05:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP_hAszQPgk

Here's how he describes the clip, above:

A "5th-grader-friendly" collection of clips and making-of footage from notable visual effects films of the past century.

Originally intended for educational use as an introduction to a classroom lecture.The music track is "Rods and Cones" from the album "Audio" by Blue Man Group.
1900 - The Enchanted Drawing1903 - The Great Train Robbery1923 - The Ten Commandments (Silent)1927 - Sunrise1933 - King Kong1939 - The Wizard of Oz1940 - The Thief of Bagdad1954 - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea1956 - Forbidden Planet1963 - Jason and the Argonauts1964 - Mary Poppins1977 - Star Wars1982 - Tron1985 - Back to the Future1988 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit1989 - The Abyss1991 - Terminator 2: Judgment Day1992 - The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles1993 - Jurassic Park2004 - Spider-Man 22005 - King Kong2006 - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest2007 - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End2007 - The Golden Compass2008 - The Spiderwick Chronicles2008 - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

sci-fi wire...

Eureka stars completely different in Warehouse 13

2009-08-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Wanna see Eureka stars Erica Cerra and Niall Matter doing something really, really different? Then check out tonight's episode of Warehouse 13, in which they play married scam artists. (Spoilers ahead!)

"Niall heard about it before I did, and he called me up and he goes, 'So are you going to do Warehouse?'" Cerra recalled last week during an exclusive telephone interview. "I said, 'What?' He goes, 'Well, apparently they'd like us to do a Warehouse 13 episode as a couple,' and I thought, 'That sounds like fun. I'll let you know when I hear about it.' Then I got a call, and they said they'd love me to do an episode with Niall. And it was fun. It was neat for us to do something else together. Niall and I have a really good chemistry. We work really, really well together. So it was easy for us to go, 'OK, now we're husband and wife.'"

The episode, "Duped"—which will premiere at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Syfy—features Cerra and Matter as Jillian and Gary Whitman, the aforementioned scam artists. The Whitmans seem to be enjoying way too much luck in Las Vegas, and Pete (Eddie McClintock) and Myka (Joanna Kelly)—or a reasonable facsimile of Myka; that's a whole other story—arrive in town to grab and go with the artifact that's bringing the couple such good fortune.

"Gary is a bit more involved in the scams than Jillian," Cerra said. "The idea that we came up with is that she's very much in love with her husband, and he was a crook, and she goes along with what he does because she loves him, she loves the money, and they've now come across this really cool artifact. And they're utilizing it. They want to make as much money as they can, bank it and move on with their lives and start a family."

Cerra added, "So, they're not really hardened, evil criminals. They're just people who have found a way to make some quick cash, and they're taking advantage of it. Where they're coming up with a bit of a problem is this artifact is quite addictive."

Eureka airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

sci-fi wire...

10 ways District 9 will change sci-fi moviemaking forever

2009-08-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

District 9, the sci-fi action drama from director Neill Blomkamp, spun an alien invasion tale that managed to entertain while delivering a message about how horribly we can sometimes treat each other—and anyone or anything that's different.
But that wasn't the only message the film delivered. Its box-office and (for the most part) critical success delivered a message all its own, one that Hollywood heard loud and clear.

And since the movie business sometimes seems to live and die by the rule that everyone wants to be the first to be second, it means that D9's success will forever change the way films are made and marketed.

Some of the changes will be huge, while others will be relatively small, but still, that massive spaceship hovering over downtown Johannesburg in South Africa heralds a shift in sci-fi moviemaking.

Here's how we think future sci-fi films will try to copy this surprise hit (warning: spoilers ahead):

1. It will force the studios to come up with viral marketing campaigns that are actually intriguing. You saw the buses, you saw the billboards, you saw the benches that said "For Humans Only." (And you saw how some of the people sitting in those benches didn't look quite human after all.) The viral sites and the ubiquitous signage all helped set up the buzz that launched District 9. Marketers will get the hint that being viral isn't enough--campaigns will also have to be interesting.

2. It will cause Hollywood to start looking outside the system for creators. Before Neill Blomkamp was plucked from relative obscurity to work with Peter Jackson on that aborted movie adaptation of the video game Halo for a few hundred million dollars, he was known primarily for his alien invasion mock-umentary short Alive in Joburg. The success of District 9 sends a message that money can be made when you look beyond the usual suspects for talent.

3. It will result in more films with no-name casts. Starring Sharlto Copley? Who? Before District 9, Copley's biggest credits were the acting and directing he did in his own shorts from age 12. He also had a cameo in Alive in Joburg, the inspiration for District 9. This movie proves that you don't need Tom Cruise, Will Smith or Keanu Reeves to make money with an SF film, and this summer's box office—during which Johnny Depp failed to make Public Enemies a hit, and Julia Roberts couldn't save Duplicity—has handed Hollywood yet another lesson.

4. It will lead to more storytelling that's original and not based on a comic book, pop novel, children's toy, video game, TV show or a previous movie. Imagine that! This movie could encourage more risk-taking in terms of story, and it proves that a good, original idea can succeed. Now if only someone could come up with one. (And yes, we know that technically the feature film is based on a short film, but to us D9 seems like the fully realized version of Alive in Joburg, rather than an expanded adaptation of some other piece of content.)

5. It will lead to more multiracial and multicultural casting. Most of the cast and crew were non-American, and a lot of the cast was non-Caucasian. It's nice to know that this time the aliens were color-blind when they landed. (The upcoming Clash of the Titans remake, with its international cast that has only a couple of Americans, and none in major roles, is joining in this trend.)

6. It proves that accents aren't a bad thing, which is especially useful in sci-fi. South Africans, Nigerians, prawns and multinational business executives from a mysterious conglomerate—all of them are characters in this movie. Some of them may have needed subtitles, even when they spoke English, but it certainly added to the authenticity. It will give the studios license to allow more multicultural casting.

7. It will encourage lower-budget filmmaking. District 9 cost about $30 million to make, but the realistic lasers, alien weaponry and alien creatures look much better than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which cost more than $200 million

8. It proves that getting the fans excited about the film is more important than getting critics excited. When District 9 screened at last month's San Diego Comic-Con, press seating was cut way back to make sure that more fans could get in to see the film, a move which helped generate even more fan buzz. In the future, more marketing campaigns will target the core audiences who actually shell out for tickets rather than the professional journalists.

9. It will lead to more location filming. What? Aliens land somewhere besides New York, Tokyo or Washington, D.C.? This story needed to take place in the Johannesburg of Blomkamp's youth. The crew used remnants of an actual township near Soweto, so they didn't have to spend extra bucks to make things look old artificially. That suggests more real locations, less green screen. And it's better for the environment.

10. It will result in more main characters that are morally complex and conflicted, extremely unusual in a sci-fi blockbuster. No one could be more conflicted than D9 hero Wikus Van De Merwe, who in one scene is trying to get the insect-like aliens to sign their own eviction notices, and in other scenes is growing a bug arm and helping a "prawn" make it to his spacecraft. Maybe we'll see more nuance and less bravado in sci-fi.

sci-fi wire...

New Warcraft details from Blizzcon!

2009-08-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

World of Warcraft players got some seriously huge news from Blizzcon in Anaheim, Calif., today: There is a brand-new expansion pack called World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Fans screamed as some of the rumors floating around the Internet were proved to be true. SCI FI Wire just sat in on the World of Warcraft panel at Blizzcon, and we got you some serious deets on the new features.

The trailer showed us exactly why the expansion pack is called "Cataclysm." An ancient evil has resurfaced in the land and changed the face of the classic Warcraft realms. The entire world has changed, and destruction has overtaken familiar landscapes. Fire, cliffs, ruins ... and, strangely enough, grass in Tanaris. The lost islands have become a refuge for the Goblins, and the maelstrom is churning. The level cap was raised to level 85, not 90, as some had speculated. It was suggested that Blizzard wants to push off level 100 as long as possible. We will be seeing new playable races, guild leveling, a new secondary profession, and the ability to transfer from Alliance to Horde and vice versa, creating a new character on the same level within your server. And the biggest announcement of all, the return of the World of Warcraft Big Bad himself, the black dragon Deathwing.

Deathwing debuted in Warcraft II. He was originally one of the five dragon aspects, warding Earth and protecting Azaroth. Some 10,000 years ago, during the War of the Ancients, he began to hear the voices of the old gods, and they drove him insane. He had himself covered with metal plates to replace his scales. Recently the whispers of the old gods have gotten stronger, and Deathwing has awoken from his slumber and erupted into the world. His explosion into the world is the cause of the Cataclysm. Tsunamis, storms, violent eruptions have destroyed the Earth. He actually draws up the elemental planes. Titans created the planes to contain the elementals and bring order to the nascent planet. Elementals weren't exactly happy about that.

The new playable races were met with cheers, though each faction thought the other should have been theirs. The Worgen class is the new race for the Alliance. The developers felt that the Alliance needed a monster race, and these certainly qualify. They were formerly human, but as the Scourge marched south, the people of Giltheas got antsy. A spell was called down, but it was every bit as dangerous as the Scourge itself. The Worgen are a sort of a werewolf-style creature and appear to be quite a bit larger than humans. We were told that the big question in the expansion is whether the Worgen are from somewhere else or somewhen else. We were told that the Worgen starting point is badass, and we'll update you as soon as we check it out.
The new playable race for the Horde is the Goblin. Goblin society has broken up between factions and is now ruled by trade princes. The Goblins have been neutral in the past, but the playable Goblins are a specific group from Kezan in the Lost Islands, a new playable area in the world of Azaroth. The Cataclysm has hit the world hard, and these Goblins have been shipwrecked on Kezan. They begin as a neutral race even on the island but are forced to become allies of the Horde. They were also referred to as the comic relief of the game.

Upheaval comes in the form of tidal waves, tsunamis, volcanic explosions and unending storms. Every zone in the game has been changed. Barrens has been split into Northern Barrens and Southern Barrens. Desolace is now a green and lush area after the Cataclysm allowed water to enter. A place you know as a 25-35 area may now be 45-55, and the Alliance has finally lost Southshore. New pieces of land have appeared as well. Darkshore has been completely redesigned, and the people of Aberdine have been forced north to a brand-new camp to the north. The Stonetalon barrier has been blown open, and Azhara is now a Goblin 10-20 zone. The cities were also revised (Undercity is now rebuilt), and they're all flyable.

There are seven new playable zones in World of Warcraft; Mount Hyjal, Uldun, Lost Isles, Isle of Kazan, the Sunken City of Vashj'ir, Deepholm, Twilight Highlands and Gilneas. The Sunken City is an underwater level, but the developers promised us that it wouldn't be annoying to play. It was originally the home city of the evil high elf Lady Vashj, which sunk under the sea after the Sundering. There will be new tech, allowing combat on the sea floor to be exactly as it is on land, and there will be seamless movement between swimming and floor fighting. It also holds the Gateway to the Abyssal Maw. Underwater mounts were also announced. Deepholm is in the elemental plane of earth and where Deathwing broke through to Azaroth. It's also the central hub of the new zones, with portals allowing quick travel between them.
Uldun, off the coast of Tanaris, was described as an Egyptian-style landscape. Uldun has always been rumored to hold a super weapon, and it will be revealed through questing. There is also a brand-new creature class in Uldun called the Tol'vir, stone creatures created by the Titans. Mount Hyjal is a zone under siege, and the World Tree is in danger of being burned. But ... the Night Elf Malfurion Stormrage is back from the Emerald Dream, and he and the forest god are here to protect it.

The designers said that they've finally been able to do with Hyjal what they always wanted. Finally, the Twilight Highlands. Grim Batol, which was here before, has been sheared in half by Deathwing's super heat. It's the headquarters of Twilight's Hammer, which has become super-powerful since the Cataclysm. There are two new port towns, one for the Alliance and one for the Horde, and the red dragons, having been pushed back, have their headquarters here.

There will also be plenty of new dungeons and raids in the new world, including the Firelands, Uldum, Blackrock Caverns, Grim Batol and Skywall. (The final two include both a raid and a dungeon.) And there are two Heroic Dungeons in Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep. Guild leveling will include a "mass resurrection," and new race/class combos will include Tauren Paladins, Gnome Mages and Dwarf Shamans. There will also be Phased Terrain. Phasing was added fairly recently, and they're taking it up a notch to help make the quests more compelling. The shot we saw was as a coastline and it looks stunning.

We also got a look at the new secondary profession, Archaeology. There are now a ton of ruins in the world, and you can explore them at archaeology nodes. Talent trees are not going to be expanded, but there will be new talents to explore. The just-announced Paths of the Titans will allow you to choose your path without being limited by class, adding a new dimension to your game. A new Mastery System will streamline your talents, which will now give your character bonuses.

For you PvP players, some new zones were announced as well. Tol Barand features a dungeon and extra-profitable daily quests. There is the Battle for Gilneas Battleground and some brand-new arena maps. The major PvP feature is the Rated Battlegrounds to get your rating up and get access to the same types of gear you can get through the arena system.

No word yet on a release date. Blizzard's line is "it will be released when it's ready."

sci-fi wire...

Avatar teaser trailer goes live

2009-08-21T00:27:00.001-07:00

The trailer for James Cameron's eagerly awaited 3-D epic Avatar has gone live at the Apple QuickTime Movie Trailers site. (Update: Apple seems to be having problems with the launch, but keep checking back until it's there—that's all we'll be doing this morning! Meanwhile you can see the trailer here—in French—discovered by Cinematical.)

Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who is thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an "avatar," a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people.
Avatar opens Dec. 18.

sci-fi wire...

New images for The Wolfman

2009-08-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

Here's how Universal describes The Wolfman:
Inspired by the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror, The Wolfman brings the myth of a cursed man back to its iconic origins. Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro stars as Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Reunited with his estranged father (Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins), Talbot sets out to find his brother ... and discovers a horrifying destiny for himself.

Lawrence Talbot's childhood ended the night his mother died. After he left the sleepy Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor, he spent decades recovering and trying to forget. But when his brother's fiancee, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), tracks him down to help find her missing love, Talbot returns home to join the search. He learns that something with brute strength and insatiable bloodlust has been killing the villagers, and that a suspicious Scotland Yard inspector named Aberline (Hugo Weaving) has come to investigate.

As he pieces together the gory puzzle, he hears of an ancient curse that turns the afflicted into werewolves when the moon is full. Now, if he has any chance at ending the slaughter and protecting the woman he has grown to love, Talbot must destroy the vicious creature in the woods surrounding Blackmoor. But as he hunts for the nightmarish beast, a simple man with a tortured past will uncover a primal side to himself: one he never imagined existed.

Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III) directs The Wolfman, and six-time Oscar-winning special effects artist Rick Baker brings his design and makeup talents to transform Del Toro into the fearsome title character.

The Wolfman opens Feb. 12, 2010.

sci-fi wire...

Angels and dust on the set of the supernatural Legion

2009-08-21T00:08:00.001-07:00

SCI FI Wire took a trip to the New Mexico about a year ago to the set of Legion, the upcoming supernatural thriller about God's having enough of the 6 billion ape descendants roaming this planet and sending, ... well, ... legions of angels to wipe us out.

BAFTA-nominated actor Paul Bettany plays the Archangel Michael, who decides to go AWOL (that's Angel Without Leave) against God's orders and defend humanity from the seraphic onslaught. Other cast members include G.I. Joe's Dennis Quaid, Transformers' Tyrese Gibson, Friday Night Lights' Adrianne Palicki and genre fave Doug Jones. Visual-effects expert Scott Stewart makes his feature directing debut with Legion, after years of heading up effects house The Orphanage.

"My objective in this film is to save the human race," says Bettany in his trailer, addressing how one goes about playing an archangel. He's covered with tattoos crafted by the makeup department in the Enochian language of angels devised by the 16th-century necromancer John Dee. "Which is impossible to play [as an actor], so you have to come up with substitutes. I have two children and a wife who I'm, you know, quite fond of," he says with profoundly British understatement. "I simply wouldn't want anything awful to happen to them. So I mix my fascination with the mythology of angels with my real-life objective to keep my children safe, to keep them as happy as possible, ... with the attitude of a warrior. One can only deal with one's fantasies of what an angel is. I began to sort of ... create something a little more concrete."If T.S. Eliot said he could show you "fear in a handful of dust," then the makers of Legion seem to be taking that notion to heart. The set, off in the desert outside Albuquerque, is coated with fine sand like red flour. The stuff gets into everything, and you can't help but pity the freaky-looking extras huddling around heaters during down time on the night shoot, who have to endure the impossibly fine dust while wearing spooky contact lenses.

Bats swoop, eating bugs attracted by the lights surrounding the set of the off-the-beaten-track diner where Michael and a small group of human survivors are holed up for an apocalyptic siege. The unreality of the set is accentuated by flashes of dry lighting on the horizon, making everything feel apocalyptic without the benefit of special effects.Which might be exactly what effects-specialist-turned-director Stewart might be going for.

"[I'm trying to] build sequence after sequence, which hopefully just sort of ratchets up the suspense and which doesn't necessarily do it with visual pyrotechnics, but which tries to do it quietly in an increasingly brooding kind of way, and then we have all hell break loose," Stewart says during a break in filming. "There's Paul Bettany running around with machine guns trying to kill bad guys. He said something really funny the first day. He had an MP-5 and an M-16 in his hands, and he's running out of the diner firing away, unloading full magazines. And he said, 'I was in the Royal Shakespeare Company, but THIS is why I became an actor!'"Legion opens Jan. 22, 2010.

sci-fi wire...

Rumor: Is Bryan Singer attached to a Battlestar movie?

2009-08-16T02:32:00.000-07:00

HitFix's columnist Drew McWeeny reports a tantalizing rumor: that Universal Pictures is nearing a deal with filmmaker Bryan Singer to produce and possibly direct a new movie version of Battlestar Galactica.

Singer and producing partner Tom DeSanto were originally developing a Syfy original series based on the old Battlestar series about the time the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks occurred, and the plan fell apart. It was later that Ronald D. Moore and David Eick developed their own take on the material for a Syfy series that went on to critical acclaim, earning the admiration of a loyal if somewhat small audience.
Here's what HitFix reported:

The question this raises, of course, is how close will [Singer's new movie] be to the plans that Singer had for the material before Ron Moore's show aired? Right now, my sources indicate that the big decisions haven't been made yet. Singer is the first major creative element to be approached, so once they sign him, they'll go find a writer and they'll figure out exactly which story they're telling. It seems like he'd want to get back to the ideas he originally loved about the piece, but since that was developed with another studio, I'm not sure that would work.

And I'm not sure I buy that Singer's going to come in just to direct a big-screen version of the show that just finished its run. The series wrapped up pretty conclusively, with The Plan and Caprica already in motion as extensions of that story in different directions.

So is this going to be yet another all-new take on the premise? In February of this year, the announcement was made that [Battlestar creator] Glen Larson had signed a deal with Universal to develop a Galactica film that was not tied to any previous version. This has got to be that same project, right? So I guess that means Singer and Larson are going to be sitting down to figure out what take they want to pursue.

sci-fi wire...

Review: District 9's aliens give sci-fi a social conscience

2009-08-16T02:28:00.000-07:00

Given the thoughtless action epics that populated theaters this summer, it should come as little shock that District 9, an alien occupation story with actual ideas and racial overtones, drew gobsmacked reactions from critics and audiences alike, even before it was properly released.

At the same time, it's also this sense of unlikely triumph that obscures some of the film's shallowness, if not outright shortcomings; but because Neill Blomkamp's emphasis is on humanistic rather than cultural relevance, the writer-director's feature debut is a genuine triumph nonetheless.

The film stars newcomer Sharlto Copley as Wikus, a corporate-owned social worker in South Africa who is enlisted by his boss—and, not coincidentally, his father-in-law—to help relocate a population of alien beings called "prawns" who descended to Earth after their ship ground to a menacing but seemingly inert halt over downtown Johannesburg. Facing a thankless, confrontational job with indefatigable cheer, if also naïve optimism, Wikus eagerly explores the creatures' shanties, only to accidentally be sprayed with a mysterious fluid from an alien device.

But when he begins to partially transform into one of the prawns, Wikus finds himself a pawn in the corporation's plan to harness the power of the alien technology, and soon he forges a tenuous pact with Chris, a prawn who offers to return him to normal in exchange for help returning to the ship.

For a first-time filmmaker, District 9 is a real achievement: Seeded with great, profound ideas, Blomkamp's story works as a conventional piece of entertainment and social commentary simultaneously, and effectively. But its obviousness—and its occasional superficiality—undermines a sense of deeper cultural resonance, even if it teaches lessons that are important and quite frankly more relevant than ever. Thankfully, however, Blomkamp's emphasis is not on deconstructing race relations, but in telling a meaningful story, and he finds many if not most of the right details that bring its emotional core to life.

Shot documentary-style, which gives the material palpable real-world weight, not to mention a certain kind of geographic authenticity, there's an interesting irony to many of the contrasts struck between the South Africans' solidarity as a species against the prawns; black and white citizens alike express their contempt for the creatures, who are described as little more than unthinking drones. (Because it's unclear how far Blomkamp intends to take his metaphor, it's hard to know where his representations of actual black Africans end and the fantasy-other of the prawns begins, although suffice it to say this transparency on the story's surface suggests any deeper connections are likely unintentional.) But the relationship between Wikus and Chris, the one prawn who seems to be capable of cogent thought, is remarkably sensitive and powerful, and it mostly compensates for (if not excuses) some of his conceptual inconsistencies.

For example, Wikus is perhaps best defined as a liberal racist, the kind of person who claims a sense of altruism and benevolence but whose beliefs are mired in ignorance and condescension, however well-meaning are his intentions. But the intellectual and emotional awakening that Wikus endures is profoundly painful for him, sometimes even self-destructive, and he makes progress in half-measures that sometimes backfire but almost always prove relatable or at least recognizable.

Further, there's a key moment in the film when Wikus accidentally interrupts an intimate conversation between Chris and his son, and tenderly knocks on the door frame to acknowledge it; that Blomkamp uses an otherwise insignificant gesture to signify Wikus' evolving respect for these alien creatures serves as a testament to his abilities as a storyteller, and his attention to the universal but oft-overlooked details that define human connection—even if one of the people connecting isn't one.
Of course, with such weighty issues at the forefront of the story, much less this review, one might be tempted to assume that the film is all polemic and no propulsion. But Blomkamp doesn't skimp on the set pieces, and he crafts a truly exciting thriller whose deeper resonance exists there but doesn't distract you: Wikus becomes an unlikely action hero in the service of saving his own life, infiltrates a fortified military compound and at one point dons a metal suit resembling a hollowed-out Robocop ED-209 to battle the military men who wish to turn him into a lab rat just like the poor prawns before him. Like Children of Men, its nearest tonal predecessor, it operates on a hard-science level of authenticity, and while one might be hard pressed to simply call it an action film, there's plenty of it in there to make sure that you're entertained even as you contemplate its other, less visceral elements.
Ultimately, Blomkamp's debut doesn't quite sustain (much less support) the weight of the concepts that reside on its surface, but he does such a good job making sure that what's underneath them works that it's almost impossible not to be charged up afterward. So while the fact that it has ideas at all may indeed be suitable cause for celebration, what's really exciting is that they show real promise and suggest the arrival of a formidable new filmmaking talent.

Be it as a breakneck action-filled thriller or a thought-provoking cultural critique, District 9 truly is one of the best movies of the summer, because it reminds audiences that physical and intellectual stimulus need not be mutually exclusive when it comes to potential blockbusters—especially when there's something emotional there to tie the two together.

sci-fi wire...

V producer on who might return and other homages

2009-08-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

Scott Peters, executive producer of ABC's upcoming V series, confirmed that producers have spoken with Jane Badler, the actress who memorably played the evil alien leader Diana in Kenneth Johnson's original V miniseries, on which the new show is based, about possibly playing a role in the new series.

"Jane Badler has approached our producers and has been in touch here and there," Peters (The 4400) said in an exclusive interview over the weekend at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Pasadena, Calif.

Badler is one of the original cast members whom the producers are considering putting in the new show as an homage and tip of the hat, Peters said. "And I haven't had a chance to actually sit down or talk to anybody face to face, but I would love to," Peters said about the original stars, who include Marc Singer and Faye Grant. "And as we move forward in the writers' room, ... we're just getting up on our ... feet. We start shooting Monday [Aug. 10], and so once we sort of get that first one under our belts, I think we'll be able to take a bit of a sigh of relief and really sort of look a little bit more broad stroke, a little bit more big picture. ... I don't want somebody to just walk by in the background and then feature them for a second. ... I want to find a really interesting role for somebody."

That might include role that are 180 degrees different from the parts they played in the 1983 miniseries. "Yeah," Peters said. "I mean, just somebody who can come in, and ... it's either a really ironic role for them, based on what their old role was, or just something really fun or interesting. I want them to have fun doing it. I want the fans to be excited about it. And I think it's just a fun thing to be able to tip your hat to the old show."

The new V is a re-imagining of the original miniseries, about the world's first encounter with an alien race, in which the aliens call themselves the Visitors and have a seemingly friendly agenda that may or may not be a cover for something more malevolent. The new show stars Elizabeth Mitchell as Erica Evans, Morris Chestnut as Ryan Nichols, Joel Gretsch as Father Jack Landry, Lourdes Benedicto as Valerie Stevens, Logan Huffman as Tyler Evans and Laura Vandervoort as Lisa, with Morena Baccarin as Anna and Scott Wolf as Chad Decker.

Peters also promised that the new series will nod to the original in other ways as well, though it tells a new story in the present day with new characters and new situations. (Possible spoilers ahead!)

"Whenever we would audition actors or bring writers in to ... interviews, ... we would ask, 'What do you remember of the show? What's like the big [thing]?' And the big things were the huge ships, the red uniforms, ... eating the hamster and [the] alien baby. You know, universally, that was what everyone came up with. It was like our top four or five. So definitely, we are well aware of those moments and looking to put our own little spin on them to tip our hat to the old audience."

What about the famous reveal of the Visitor's face ripped away to reveal that lizard countenance?

"That was the other one, of course," he said, adding: "We tried to put our own [spin on it]. We're ... a little bit different than their execution of it. It wasn't so much latex mask as it is real flesh and blood."

V will premiere Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

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