Sci-Fi Saturday: Hobbit, Indy 4, Iron Man, Machete, Heroes, Knight Rider, Caprica…and Short Circuit? April 5, 2008
by Rosario T. Calabria , Filed under: Sci-Fi , trackback
The world of sci-fi movie news has "The Hobbit" looking realer, Indy 4 getting realer, Batman and Transformers 2 details, and a remake for "Short Circuit"? Plus new images including Hellboy 2 and DragonBall. Also there’s lots of new video, including Iron Man and Indy 4 TV spots. And we got NBC’s new genre shows, details on Ron Moore’s Caprica and lots more TV news
MOVIE NEWS
Guillermo Del Toro ‘eager to move forward’ on The Hobbit
While promoting "Hellboy II: The Golden Army", director Guillermo Del Toro told EW that although he’s still in "protracted negotiations" for "The Hobbit," he expects things would get moving soon and that there are no issues on the creative side: "I will be involved, and so will the original team in some capacity. There’s no discussion about that. It’s more the planning of it, the calendar, but nothing as major as that." In other Hobbit news, Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore has been confirmed to be scoring "The Hobbit." [Ain't It Cool News]
Indy 4: Mostly CGI-Free
The recent trailer for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" looked to be heavily reliant on CG, but production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas ("Superman Returns", "X2: X-Men United") told io9 that most of the sets were built with little or no greenscreen, "There really wasn’t much CGI. We built all the sets… We built all of the [moving stone staircases, converging stone pillars and other pieces] so it was very nice." ‘Indy 4′ hits theaters on May 22nd. Think we’ll get that promised new trailer before then?
Whip, check – hat, check – what else do I need?
Mark Verheiden on Teen Titans
It’s been a while since we last heard something about the live-action "Teen Titans", but writer-producer Mark Verheiden tells ComicMix the project is still going, "I’m back full into writing the "Teen Titans" movie. I turned in a pass to Warner Bros. right before the strike and we’ve talked about that and I’m going to get back into it." Because the script still isn’t 100% Verheiden can’t reveal too much but he did say there "will be a Nightwing story and Robin is in it, too". Verheiden also added that the focus of the film will be on the core group of characters, "We’re going to have some strong adversaries, or antagonists, but really, I’m trying to concentrate on the core group of these characters, who we meet at a point when they’re at the cusp of adulthood."
Johnny 5 reborn: Short Circuit getting a remake
Dimensions Films feels it isn’t too soon to remake the 1986 military-robot-turned-cuddly movie "Short Circuit." According to Variety Dimension has acquired the rights and has brought back the original writers S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock to pen their own remake. David Foster, who produced the original and is producing the remake, says the film will be similar in theme to the original, but it "will factor in advances in technology."
I’m getting an upgrade
New Dark Knight Official Synopsis
Warner Bros. has released a new synopsis for "The Dark Knight":
“The Dark Knight” reunites director Christopher Nolan with star Christian Bale, who returns to continue Batman’s war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as the Joker (Heath Ledger), who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces the Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante.
Danny Trejo Updates Machete
Weak box office results for "Grindhouse" hasn’t dampened the appetite for a full version of the mock-trailer of "Machete". Danny Trejo told Bloody-Disgusting that the "Grindhouse" spin-off movie is still happening and that there’s even been talk of a trilogy. Trejo didn’t elaborate much but did say that Robert Rodriquez would direct and produce the first film.
Trejo…Ginsu’s best salesman
Transformers 2 Character Breakdowns Plus New Decepticons
Last week there was a report on the possible start of filming for "Transformers 2". This week we’ve got some spoilerific rumors pertaining to which new heroes and baddies will be in the sequel. According to IESB.net, the Decepticons will be getting some help in the form of the Constructicons. The members of that group are Scrapper, Bonecrusher (who will obviously have to be changed since the character was already used in "Transformers"), Scavenger, Mixmaster, Hook and Long Haul. And true to tradition, they will combine to form Devastator. The site also got their hands on human character/casting breakdowns. Head here for the list. "Transformers 2" hits theaters on June 26, 2009.
NEW IMAGES
The Spirit (outdoor posters and set photos)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (more here)
Dragonball (set photos–more here)
NEW VIDEOS
Iron Man (SCI FI Clip and UK TV Spot)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (theatrical trailer)
The Incredible Hulk (promo)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (TV Spot)
War of the Worlds 2 (sequel direct to 2005 direct-to-DVD movie, not Spielberg movie)
War Games: The Dead Code (direct-to-DVD)
MOVIE BITES
- Chris O’Donnell has landed a role in "Max Payne". [Entertainment Weekly]
- "G.I. Joe"’s cast of characters is expanding. Latino Review is reporting that Brendan Fraser recently filmed a cameo in the film as Gung-Ho, while an offer has been made to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for the role of Hector Delgado, aka Shipwreck.
- Derek Mears is in final talks to play Jason Voorhees in the remake of "Friday the 13th". [Bloody-Disgusting], while Amanda Righetti is in final negotiations to play the film’s female lead. [Variety]
- Three projects from Stan Lee have been set up by Disney: "Nick Ratchet", "Blaze" and "Tigress". All are based on stories by Lee. [Variety]
- Turns out Keanu Reeves isn’t against a "Bill & Ted’" Sequel as he originally led us to believe. There’s also talk of a straight-to-DVD remake.
- Stuart Beattie has penned a spec screenplay for "Halo" [Latino Review]
- Writing/directing partners Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor told SCI FI Wire that they’ve completed a script for "Jonah Hex", a big-screen adaptation of the DC supernatural western comic franchise.
- Jason Segel, who’ll be co-writing the new Muppets movie along with director Nick Stoller, told Empire that the script is about halfway done and that the film will be "a classic story," adding "It’s the Muppets needing to get back together to save the show…It’s going to take place all over the world."
- With some of the "Superman" rights transferring back to the heirs of Jerome Siegel, the future of the franchise may be tied up in court. [NYTimes]
- David Goyer confirms that "Dark City" is getting a special edition with new visual effects, music and a re-edit. [Bloody-Disgusting]
TV NEWS
NBC Unveils Genre-Heavy Slate
NBC’s recently revealed 2008-09 programming slate is heavy on Sci-Fi and horror. Here are summaries of the new shows/miniseries.
- "Fear Itself" (fall): A horror anthology series from the makers of "Masters of Horror". It will feature such stars as John Billingsley and Shiri Appleby and showcase the talents of directors including Brad Anderson, Mary Harron, Ernest Dickerson, Ronny Yu, John Carpenter and Stuart Gordon.
- "My Own Worst Enemy" (fall): Christian Slater makes his television series debut as Henry Spivey, an efficiency expert and married father of two who learns that he has an alter ego named Edward Albright, an operative who speaks numerous languages and can kill with his teeth. The network says to think "Jekyll and Hyde meets Jason Bourne."
- "Knight Rider" (fall): The series picks up where the February two-hour movie left off. K.I.T.T., the supercar with a mind of its own, returns, as do stars Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Bruce Davison. "Fast and the Furious" writer Gary Scott Thompson to serve as the showrunner.
- "Merlin" (winter 2009): A fantasy series set in Camelot but inspired by 21st-century storytelling, Merlin stars Colin Morgan ("Doctor Who") as the title character and Bradley James as Arthur, and it explores the characters’ lives before they became legends. Co-stars include Anthony Head ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), Richard Wilson and Angel Coulby.
- "Kings" (winter 2009): A modern-day spin on the King David tale, the show stars Christopher Egan as David and Ian McShane as the king. Michael Green ("Heroes") penned the pilot and will executive-produce. "I Am Legend" helmer Francis Lawrence directed the pilot and will executive-produce the series as well.
- "The Listener" (summer 2009): Toby Logan ("Thirteen Ghosts") is a 24-year-old paramedic and telepath who’s always ignored his ability to hear people’s thoughts … until now. Having changed his mind, he uses his unique gift to help others.
- "The Last Templar" (2009): Four-hour miniseries. Four horsemen dressed as knights crash the New York Metropolitan Museum during the opening of an exhibition of Vatican treasures and swipe an arcane medieval decoder, thereby sending an archaeologist (Mira Sorvino) and an FBI agent (Scott Foley) on a wild chase for the secrets of the Knights Templar. Co-stars include Victor Garber and Omar Sharif.
NBC unveils the ‘next generation’ for Knight Rider
NBC also announced that returning shows "Heroes", "Chuck" and "Medium" will each air through December without repeats.
Smallville Creators Out
After 7 years and 152 episodes, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, creators and executive producers of "Smallville" are exiting the series at the end of this season. "After much heartache and debate we have decided it is time for us to move on." The show has already been renewed for an eighth season. Executive producers Darren Swimmer, Todd Slavkin, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson will take over the show running duties. You can read the entire open letter to the fans at KryptonSite.
Heroes returning big in fall; Origins Dies
Cut short due to the writers strike, we will have to wait until next fall for more "Heroes". NBC has announced the show will premiere its third season with a special three-hour event on September 15th. “We consciously chose to rest ["Heroes"] this spring so that [creator] Tim Kring and his team could get ahead of the creative and build up to a massive event–a three-hour "Heroes" night,” co-chairman of NBC Ben Silverman said. The three hours will be comprised of a 1 hour clip show and 2 hour season premiere. NBC also confirmed the death of the Heroes Origins spinoff series, “We wanted 35 "Heroes" [episodes] and 12 "Heroes: Origins", each of which was supposed to be a mini-movie and backdoor pilot, Silverman said. "We reached far and challenged our people, and we decided it was better to focus on keeping the" Heroes" mothership as strong as possible.” [SCI FI Wire]
Back sucking brains next September
Special edition of SG-1 pilot episode in the works
11 years after it premiered on Showtime, the "Stargate SG-1" pilot movie "Children of the Gods" is getting a make-over. Why you ask? Well, series co-creator Brad Wright tells GateWorld that he believes it can be improved upon, "I saw it on television, and I thought, ‘We can do better than this," Wright said. The goal is to make it a stand-alone movie rather than remaking it as a pilot, "We spent a week or so recutting, editing, pulling some stuff out, updating the visual effects in many cases, [and] cutting out things I thought never belonged there (like the nudity)." The movie will be ready for DVD release by the end of 2008, but could air in HD on SCI FI HD or MGM HD before then.
The Force Is with Deal or No Deal + Clone Wars To Air on Fridays
A special two-hour "Star Wars" themed episode of "Deal or No Deal," complete with characters and models dressed as Imperial storm troopers and Princess Leia, will air on Monday, April 28 on NBC at 8 PM/ET. In the episode, two contestants will compete in a winner-take-all edition of the hit gameshow. [TVGuide] In other "Star Wars" TV news, George Lucas was at Cartoon Network’s upfront presentation where it was revealed that the upcoming animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" will air on Friday nights, and 30 episodes have been ordered by the network. No further details were revealed.
I find your lack of prizes disturbing
Caprica Pilot Preview, Plus Mark Verheiden and David Weddle Talk BSG
Intrigued by the "Caprica" spinoff? E! Online has the scoop:
- Caprica is the story of two families, the Graystones and the Adams (better known to us now as the Adamas), and we’ll be meeting the man who fathered and grandfathered Bill and Lee Adama (Edward James Olmos and Jamie Bamber).
- The Graystones include father Daniel, a computer genius; mother Amanda, a brilliant surgeon and unfaithful wife; and their daughter, Zoe, who is martyred to her boyfriend’s religious fanaticism—but not before she installs the rudimentary elements of her personality and DNA into a machine, creating a digital twin of herself, Zoe-A.
- After the human Zoe’s death, Daniel uses these raw materials, some stolen technology and his own grief to cobble together "a robotic version of his dead daughter." This robot version, known as Zoe-R, is a Cylonic Eve, the first of her kind. (Dun-dun-dun!)
If the spinoff ain’t your thing or you’re more interested in the currently running series, there are two interviews up on the web with Mark Verheiden and David Weddle. There’s also a feature up at the TimesOnline about which Sci-Fi show is the greatest; "Battlestar Galactica" or "Doctor Who". Join in on the discussion.
TV BITES
- "Fantastic Four’s" Ioan Gruffudd has been tapped to star in CBS’ supernatural pilot "The Meant to Be’s", opposite Amy Smart. Takes Lead In Be’s [THR]
- Olivia Williams ("X-Men: The Last Stand") has been added to the cast of Fox’s Joss Whedon series "Dollhouse" [Variety]
- Fans of CBS’s "Moonlight" are teaming with the Red Cross to mount a nationwide blood drive to save the vampire drama, which is still on the bubble. [THR]
- Amanda Tapping’s web series turned TV series "Sanctuary begins production this month. [SCIFI]
SCI-FI RATINGS
| Top 10 SF&F Broadcast Shows | HH Rating/Share |
| 1) Lost | 7.5/12 |
| 2) Medium | 6.4/11 |
| 3) New Amsterdam | 5.5/8 |
| 4) Eli Stone | 4.5/8 |
| 5) Ghost Whisperer (R) | 4.0/7 |
| 6) Jericho | 3.8/6 |
| 7) Lost ("Enhanced" Repeat) | 3.6/6 |
| 8) Smallville | 2.4/4 |
| 9) Reaper | 1.6/3 |
3/10/2008 to 3/16/2008 – Source: Nielsen Media Research
| Top 10 SF&F Syndicated Shows | Rating |
| 1) Star Trek | 1.0 |
| 2) Stargate SG-1 | 0.9 |
| 3) Stargate Atlantis | 0.8 |
| 4) Dead Zone | 0.7 |
3/10/2008 to 3/16/2008 – Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report via SCI FI Wire
| Top 10 SCI FI CHANNEL Shows | Rating |
| 1) Ghost Hunters | 1.8 |
| 2) Ghosts of Mars | 1.5 |
| 3) Hybrid | 1.3 |
| 4) ECW | 1.2 |
| 5) King of the Lost World | 1.2 |
| 6) Destination Truth | 1.2 |
| 7) Cursed | 1.1 |
| 8) Beast of Bray Road | 1.0 |
| 9) Watchers 3 | 1.0 |
| 10) Haunted Prison | 0.9 |
3/10/2008 to 3/16/2008 – Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report via SCI FI Wire
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Comments»
Other than a few movies this spring and summer, sounds like the same old rehash from Hollywood.
OMG Short Circuit!! I love that movie, and I’ve just been getting back into it lately…interesting coincidence!!
I can’t wait for Ironman, Hellboy, and Indy IV… I love these entries!! Thanks!!
If Hollywood actually had some reHash, they might come up with something inventive.
I’m really looking forward to The Hobbit.
I hope they use Ironman from Black Sabbath in the film like they did in the first trailer.
2.
“Did she stick her tongue down your throat?”
Short Circuit was amusing the first time i saw it and afterwards it was annoying. I think i will be skipping this remake. Iron man which I have seen previews to looks like a must see movie, Hey its Robert Downey Jr in the Lead role and He is one of the finest actors in Hollywood and of this generation.
Knight Rider!! W00T
I was wondering if they were making a DragonBall movie, and now I’m kind of excited.
For Short Circuit, will they keep the original design of the robots?
Woah woah, wait… they’re making a Dragonball movie? I’m – not sure what to think about that.
Considering Dragon Ball the series the number of episodes and the multiple storylines. Trying to do justice to it in 2 hour movie sounds like an impossible task , at best.
imdb added 2 on the star trek cast list
Sabrina Morris as ensign Slater (rumor)…
and
Pavel Lychnikoff (rumor)
um………..another Bill & Ted adventure?!? (plays air guitar)
now it’s time for Wayne’s World 3…….somebody call up Mike Meyers.
I guess the Sci-Fi channel has found that “reality” shows get a bigger audience than actual science fiction shows. Why pay for scripts and acting and special effects when you can send some guys into a “haunted” house looking for spots to show up on camera?
The Stargate “remake” isn’t really a remake, then. It’s a re-edit. A re-mastering. A “special edition”.
I think it’s kinda cool that they’re doing it: a re-edit can dramatically lift the quality of rather average programming (for example, the re-edit and re-scoring of “Babylon 5: The Gathering”.
Doesn’t NBC’s new show called “The Listener” sound like a spin-off from Heroes? There’s a character on Heroes, a cop, who can hear people’s thoughts. This sounds like the same premise.
I do enjoy the weekly updates on what’s happening in the world of sci-fi and fantasy in addition to Star Trek. Good job by this website.
That Knight Rider movie was god awful! They had a real opportunity to make something cheesy into something gritty, i.e. Battlestar Galactica.
they took the nudity out of SG1 pilot ;-(
#16 – I want no effin’ gritts in my cheese! :-P
They better not be using a CGI Johnny 5 – (except only when absolutely necessary)
#9 “Woah woah, wait… they’re making a Dragonball movie? I’m – not sure what to think about that.”
They fight. They die. They get stronger. They resurrect.
They fight. They die. They get stronger. They resurrect.
And so on… over and over again… ;-)
I dunno about all the rest of you, but it’s been quite the sci-fi Saturday for me.
Season premiere of Battlestar Galactica, Season 4
Season finale for Torchwood, Season 2
Season premiere of Doctor Who, Season 4
I so love BitTorrent.
whoops! Dr Who was on last night?
I think Iron Man looks mad… Can’t wait.
Caprica sounds better than I first thought though. Lawyers in Space wasn’t really floating my boat. Mad Religious Robots In Space seems much better.
Wargames was one of my favourite films as a young computer owner, not that I could hack into NATO with ZX Spectrum …. and I suppose thats another part of my childhood moved to a crap remake ….
And I dunno, I have a soft spot for 80’s trailers …… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAcEzhQ7oqA
# 23 the fact that this Wargames movie is being made for dvd rather then the theater, to me does not bode well ,I think quality level or lack there of ,will be on par with War of the Worlds 2 which number one was also a really bad movie
I think that the summer movie season will have some good flicks but I am sick of the remake trend which has taken hold in Hollywood. Most of the remakes that i have seen are of vastly inferior quality to the original. I am contemplating with dread, the up coming Day the Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves in the role of Neo Klaatu, a matrix sight gag might help some. Could someone tell me why they are remaking Friday the 13th? The scary part is this badly acting brainlessly written one trick pony of a movie actually spawned so many shockingly dimmer and increasingly improbable sequels And now some director thinks thats this train wreck of a franchise needs a reboot? Why?
I’m pretty sure that “Fear Itself” is coming at the end of next month, not in the fall.
I didn’t realize that Muppet movies were sci-fi, but I didn’t know there was going to be a new movie, either, so thanks for including that. :D
Here’s hoping it’ll be better than the Muppet Wizard of Oz, which I really didn’t care for at all.
And it makes me smile every time I see that Star Trek (TOS-R, I’m assuming, since those numbers being for the TV Land reruns wouldn’t make sense at all) is one of the most watched syndicated sf shows, even against all the other good stuff out there. Now that’s some serious staying power. :)
transformers2?!?!
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!!!!!!!
#13 Its sickening what they are doing to the scif channel with all theses idiotic shows like Ghost Hunters. The scif fi element of the channel is being crowed out by the drek. On top this we get really bad sci movies like Ogre and Rock Monster and SS Doomtrooper on the bright side there are snake or Dino Croc movie sequels on the horizon. It would be nice if they could find some writers that could actually pen some decent stories that are actually scif stories and scripts for these movies.
LOL 27 posts and no one has talked about the coolest news in this item – a MACHETE movie! I guess the young Trekkies thought Grindhouse was a bit too intense for their tastes and gave it a wide berth ROTFLMAO
“Where’s my wife and daughter???”
MACHETE!!!1
Indiana Jones looks like it might be an entertaining romp although it does have that been there done that look to it. Hey its Indiana Jones and that’s what ive come to expect from those movies. Hellboy same problem, Ive seen this before, but I think it will be an entertaining film, at least, Ron Perman rocks as Hellboy
Fear itself may be a good series but it has several potential Strikes against it first of its an anthology series which is not a popular format with audiences. second it is an anthology series on one of the big networks and in order to survive it has to pull large numbers that it may in the end not be able to deliver. 3rd wring on anthologies tends to be very unveve at best and that alone can be an audience killer.
Hey we got summer to look foward to and fall and Don’t forget we have Gort and Klaatu’s Excellent Adventure to lok forward to.
Yeah? Well, they made Bionic Woman gritty and it sucked BAD! You’re telling me those idiots couldn’t even find a way to get in the old ‘bionic sound?’ You can sell and IBM computer 30 years later based on that sounds alone, but they can’t get it into the new series? Maybe with Knight Rider they just decided for ONCE to forget gritty and just have fun for Pete’s sake. Sometimes the bad guys can be idiots, they don’t have to always be Muslim masterminds and not everyone has to be slaughtered in a bloodfest. It can just be a talking car and a driver who are friends. Soudns silly but it works. They’ll never remake most of the shows now…Jericho was a great show and they canceled it twice!
Beautiful Stephanie!
Hopefully, Fisher Stevens won’t still be pretending to be that Indian/Pakistani who invented “Number Johnny 5″. Even back in the ’80s, a white guy putting on that accent was ever so slightly non PC.
#32
Totally agreed. Some things have to remain light hearted and funny.
I don’t see why Short Circuit should be remade. It’s already a pretty, lovely movie from the ’80s. Do we need a new CGI Number Johhny 5? If so, that would mean that every movie has to be remade every 20 years to update the SFX. Quite silly indeed.
I have a story line for Short Circuit, the Remake.
In the Remake, Johnny is not a cute, lovable robot, but more of a taciturn female who looks exactly like a human, except that her spine glows when …
Ahhhhh … on second thoughts, forget it.
;-)
I’m still trying to figure out how ghost hunters and wrestling equal “science fiction”…
The only idea I can come up with is USA Network 2!!!
Be seeing you…
Wow with a widow’s peak like that, Goku looks more like Vegeta!
realer is not a word. Something may be real or more real. But realer is incorrect.
After the human Zoe’s death, Daniel uses these raw materials, some stolen technology and his own grief to cobble together “a robotic version of his dead daughter.”
does she fly, too? can you say “astro-girl”?
Can’t understand who would have greenlit that Knight Rider show. Awful, awful, awful. I just hope they don’t continue to dig through Glen Larson’s rather spotty TV vault for more shows. Otherwise, we’re going to start getting remakes of Automan or BJ & the Bear.
I don’t see the point in remaking Short Circuit either, though maybe they’ll dig up Steve Guttenberg in his post-Dancing with the Stars surge. Fisher died on Lost, so they can get him some work too. Why not remake Cocoon while they’re at it? Wilford Brimley can teach a whole new generation about The Diabetus.
The robot kind of reminded me of Et the Extra terrestrial and kind sounded like him too. you know, annoying Why are they waisting film on this type of project, short circuit was a one note one joke film that spawner ever weaker sequels, why would any one want to see a reboot of this? It would be bad as a reboot of Et. does anyone want to see a reboot of that god awful sacriny sweet movie to?
The Caprica Pilot sounds interesting but Im not at all convinced that this one will be successful, Galactica’s numbers have been erroding though out is entire run and I cannot see the scif channel pouring money into a series that is based off of Galactica .
Johnny 5!! Butterfly!
It appears as though years after he ‘died’ in the comics, Superman might truly die for most intents and purposes. The court ruling restoring some of the rights to 2 of the creators’ heirs was so vague that the next Superman movie may not roll cameras until Bryan Singer and Brandon Routh are very old men.
By the by, it doesn’t look as though playing Big Blue has been much of a boost to Routh’s career. I thought it was a mistake to cast this guy instead of Tom Welling.
#43
I actually have a very warm spot in my heart for Short Circuit, but I think it is a product of its time and certainly not something that needs to be remade. And hey, E.T. is a great film! Why the hard feelings towards friendly aliens? ;)
#46
Nooooooo! Sorry, but Tom Welling needs to stay on the boob tube. Routh wasn’t perfect, but I could do without the Welling Puppy Dog Stare on a 70 ft screen!
#44 — It depends on the quality of the acting, IMO. I know quite a few non-Sci-Fi types who were impressed enough by the caliber of the actors on BSG-R to give it a whirl. I would give Caprica one good season if it can deliver on the acting front, and has the same strength in dramatic writing that BSG-R has.
#30.
Re: Machete
I just saw the Machete trailer for the first time. It was AWESOME! I’d watch that flick in a second. Danny Trejo rocks.
Re: G.I.JOE
Brendan Fraser as Gung-Ho & Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Shipwreck. WTF? That might work if the movie were a comedy.
But then again…they do have Marlon Wayans as Ripcord, and Tommy from 3rd Rock from the Sun as ol’ Chrome Dome – so yeah, I guess it must be a comedy.
Re: Transformers Duece
I hope Devastator isn’t all FUBARed when they realize him on screen. I am really looking forward to TF2.
Plenty of good must-see genre offerings for big screen impact this year. Still would have liked the new ‘Trek’ Movie to have opened in the run up to Christmas though…
I too hope that the ‘Machete’ feature gets made, as those ‘Grindhouse’ fake trailers included were very entertaining.
#47 Sean Im sorry Im just not a fan of the the Short Circuit franchise, that and the fact Im rather disappointed by the quality of so many of the reamkes that the studios have been pumping pout.
#48 Honestly Ii would love to see this one take off but I think the ratings number on Galactica may have bearing on wheter this series has a Chance. hey i would be happy to be wrong on this one.
I thought WALL-E was the sequel to Short Circuit, that danged robot looks so much like #5.
In honesty, I think that WALL-E will be a neat flick.
Movies that don’t need to be remade:
Batteries not Included
Hudson Hawk
Over the Top
Every Chuck Norris movie (Now in danger of being drop-kicked into the past)
Ishtar
The last bunch of Woody Allen flicks
#51
No, I understand the Short Circuit thing. I was talking about ET. You seemed to not like it much.
#52
Oh god! Batteries Not Included! I had completely forgotten about that movie. Good old Jessica Tandy. I agree, it is (much like Short Circuit) such a distinct product of the 80’s that I think it should be left there. And man, Hudson Hawk! I don’t even know how that movie was made in the first place. You could probably add Last Action Hero to that list as well.
Here is another couple to add to the list:
Mannequin
Xanadu
Cannonball Run
OK, that’s three.
Remember the sequel to Mannequin? With Kristy Swanson? Oh the MST3K-like memories…
#53 sean here some more
Ghoulies 1 and 2
King Solomon’s mines
Alan Quartemain and the city of gold
Meteor
Jake speed
American Ninja
Con anthe destroyer
Red Sonja
the entire friday the 13 series
Well, Conan being remade without Arnie would be a horrible failure. And Red Sonja without the pre-Surreal Life Brigitte would also be an abomination.
A movie I happen to love, but that should NEVER be remade is Buckaroo Bonzai.
#57 Sean they are talking Dwayne the Rock Johnson as a possible choice, for Conan as to the script I hope they use the script that was written by the late Fantasy great Karl Edward Wagner. He created one of the greatest dark fantasy Characters of all time, The Immortal anti Hero swordsman Kane. He alo wrote an execellant Conan novel called Conan Road of Kings and a Bran Mak Morn Novel titled Bran Mak Morn legion of the Shadows based on an other Robert E Howard character. The Kane saga consists of five books Bloodstone, Darkness weaves,Dark Crusade,Death Angle’s Shadow and Nighwinfds. Frank Frazetta did the covers for these books.
The Rock? Blah. Very bland guy with one dimension (not that Conan is a terribly deep character). I’d almost rather see someone like Vin Diesel in the part, if they feel the need to do it. I just think Conan is an 80’s product that shouldn’t be retrofitted for the Aughts.
#44 — BSG’s ratings have not been eroding. Viewers have been timeshifting more and more. For some reason (perhaps they’re more geekish), sci-fi fans are the worst timeshifters. Once same day plus one week was looked at, the industry realized that the ratings for shows like BSG weren’t dropping. That’s why Heroes and Lost both were renewed when they were facing cancellation. Besides the fact that BSG is one of the top downloaded shows on the web.
BSG is undeniably one of the best TV shows ever made, not to mention, sci-fi shows. The writing, acting and overall production has continually maintained and gained in its quality. In fact, it has become somewhat of a modern cultural icon.
Learn…before you speak.
CE
#60 Colony Earth yes the numbers have been going down otherwise they would have commissioned a 5th season of BSG . BSG is very good show but Best ever No way in hell and I don’t care if its won the Peabody award! The best scif show and show of all time and still undisputed champion is Babylon 5, its storytelling is far superior to BSG .Number 2 and a very strong number 2 is DS9. Remember one other fact without Babylon 5 and what it achieved no there would no shows like Lost and there certainly would not be a BSG series. Another thing Yes I do know what I am talking about here!
60 # colony Earth Im Sorry I am very passionate about Babylon 5 to the point of excess where i sometime loose objectivity. I am convinced that Im right on the numbers issue with BSG, i don’t know. There are a number reasons why I cannot call BSG the best show on earth and they are technical and have to do with certain aspects of BSGs whole premise. The show is a verya good scif show one of the best, I will give it that easily. It is light years better then the original no question at all.Watching it make really think about things, who is Cylon and what does it mean to be human and what is the nature of god and religion for both man and machine. what is at journey end and do we really want to know the answer to that question, because Season 4 looks damned unhealthy if you ask me.
#60 – I agree that BSG-R is one of the best *Sci-Fi* TV shows ever made. Even for people who don’t agree, however, I do hope BSG-R has shown at least one thing conclusively to the world of Sci-Fi: that a stable of fine dramatic actors and a narratively strong script should always take precedence over everything else (although BSG-R’s special effects are also amazing).
BSG-R has spoiled me in this regard. I can no longer stomach Sci-Fi shows that subsist on “Wow” factor alone, with crappy acting and worse storytelling. It’s time the world stops treating Sci-Fi like a garbage bin of plots.
#61
Ron Moore said right from the start he wanted the show to have a beginning, middle and end. Sure, they may have had a 5th Season had viewership been larger, but he never wanted it to go for the typical 7 years. You also have to remember that BSG is one of the most highly praised TV shows currently running, by both critics and average folk alike. Our own beloved Trek hasn’t always been ratings king either.
I respect your admiration for Babylon 5, even if it was never my cup of tea. I do admire them for being pioneers of CGI, even though its spotty nature tended to take me out of the story a bit.
#63 for that to happen a scif film needs to win the Acadamy award for best picture. I don’t think that winning a Peabody award alone is enough to change the attitude toward science fiction , but it is a start in the right direction .Hey Lord of the Rings made the breakthrough on the Fantasy end, so what you hope for might be possible and in our lifetime.
Yay for the Hobbit! I love Howard Shore’s music on Lord of the Rings!
Looking forward to Indiana Jones, too!
:)
#46. 7 of 5
“By the by, it doesn’t look as though playing Big Blue has been much of a boost to Routh’s career. I thought it was a mistake to cast this guy instead of Tom Welling.”
Was he one of the auditions? Anyone know who was up for the part before they picked Routh? (Just curious. I finally broke down and saw it last week. Reeve still wears the crown as far as I’m concerned.)
kg