Summer movie season is soon upon us and this week’s SciFi Saturday has lots to talk about, even if Steven Spielberg says you shouldn’t believe everything you read in the Internets. In addition to Indy 4 news we got stuff on X-Files plot, Dark Knight’s Viral, Incredible Hulk critiques plus pics and vid from Iron Man, Speed Racer and more…and TV news too.
MOVIE NEWS
Indy4 is long + Lucas and Spielberg Discuss Spoilers + Ford talks Indy 5?
We haven’t even seen Indy 4 and yet Harrison Ford tells USA Today that he would consider doing a fifth installment. Regarding Indy 4, you better get an extra large soda because Hollywood-Elsewhere is reporting "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is 140 minutes long. Speaking of internet rumors, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg talked to Entertainment Weekly about internet spoilers:
Spielberg: It really is important to be able to point out that the Internet is still filled with more speculation than facts. The Internet isn’t really about facts. It’s about people’s wishful thinking, based on a scintilla of evidence that allows their imaginations to springboard. And that’s fine.
Lucas: Y’know, Steven will say, ”Oh, everything’s out on the Internet [in terms of Crystal Skull details] — what this is and what that is.” And to that I say, ”Steven, it doesn’t make any difference!” Look — Jaws was a novel before it was a movie, and anybody could see how it ended. Didn’t matter.
"The X-Files 2" Title + Plot Details and More
The title of the "X-Files" sequel, due out on July 25th, has been announced, "The X-Files: I Want to Believe", references the poster that hung in Mulder’s office during the series. Producer Chris Carter told AP “It’s a natural title. It’s a story that involves the difficulties in mediating faith and science. `I Want to Believe.’ It really does suggest Mulder’s struggle with his faith.” (more from Carter at MTV and an IGN video interview below). Speaking of the story, a preview of the film’s novelization has been leaked on the net, check it out at X-Files News (slight spoilers):
More Dark Knight Viral
The Warner Bros. "The Dark Knight" viral campaign continues to expand, with two new updates over the past week. First up there was a ‘Harvey Dent press conference’ scheduled which got interrupted when a disgruntled Gotham Police Sergeant took a girl hostage [listen to audio]. The events that transpired will surely lead to the election of Dent as Gotham District Attorney. The other update pertains to a note released by Lt. Gordon speaking on the police department’s struggles with corruption.
Edward Norton Releases Statement Responding The Incredible Hulk Criticisms
"The Incredible Hulk" star Edward Norton has released a statement responding to criticisms of the upcoming film:
It has always been my firm conviction that films should speak for themselves and that knowing too much about how they are made diminishes the magic of watching them. All of us believe The Incredible Hulk will excite old fans and create new ones and be a huge hit…our focus has always been to deliver the Hulk that people have been waiting for and keep the worldwide love affair with the big green guy going strong.
"Avatar" Dropped From Title of The Last Airbender
M. Night Shyamalan’s live-action Avatar film, now titled "The Last Avatar", has been given a release date of July 2, 2010, according to Variety. The director recently sat down with Empire to talk about what drew him to the material:
Obviously [there will be] some breathtaking visual effects. Just imagine if you saw a little girl bending water out of a glass into the air as an extension of her own personal discipline. It’s three movies about the hero learning three elements. Live action.
Kenneth Johnson Planning Big Budget "V" Film and Sequels
In a new interview with The Dead Bolt, "V" creator Kenneth Johnson talked about his plans to bring the 80s TV series to theaters, and the creator hopes the return will be for more than just one movie:
“… since I own the motion picture rights to ‘V’, we’re in the process to do a remake of the original mini-series first as a theatrical feature, which I’m so jazzed about because it will give me an opportunity to really realize it and execute it in a way that was impossible to do back then. Then that will lead to the obvious sequel, because it is a franchise, and then we’ll get into ‘The Second Generation’ and I’m hoping we’ll be able to do two movies, because there’s certainly enough material in the novel to warrant two separate sequels. That’s my goal at this point and that’s what we’re in the process of doing. I just literally came from a meeting, 15-20 minutes ago with a fellow in Beverly Hills who really says that we’re gonna do it.”
Del Toro Talks "Hobbit", Also Open to Doing "Bioshock" Movie
Director Guillermo del Toro is still in talks to bring him on board to direct the Peter Jackson-produced two-part The Hobbit movie, but that there still is nothing official to report. The director left the note on his official message board: "Whew. Not yet. But there has been a lot of movement. And for the last few weeks there has been a lot of creative/cast/crew/visual talks and agreements, and we have witnessed great progress in areas that I cannot disclose or that have already leaked from other sources." Del Toro also told fans that he would be open to doing a "Bioshock" movie: "If I found the right pitch on the material, who knows – the BIOSHOCK universe is indeed wonderful.”
"Wonder Woman" Still in Development, Writers on Board
At a press junket for "Speed Racer" at the Long Beach Speedway, producer Joel Silver told IESB that Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland (the duo behind the Wonder Woman World War II based script that WB picked up last year) were working on a new Wonder Woman script which wasn’t set in WWII. When asked if he’d look to "Speed Racer" directors the Wachowski Bros. to direct, Silver said he doesn’t have a director in mind, but did say that Andy Wachowski had an idea on how to open the film. Another tidbit that Silver revealed was that if "Justice League" were to go forward, the actress who plays Wonder Woman would be different between the two films. Speaking of "Justice League", in a separate article over at CHUD, Silver says that the film has been "tabled". Though it’s not officially canceled, it certainly seems like the film isn’t happened anytime soon.
NEW IMAGES
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (more here)
The Spirit (teaser movie poster-article link)
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Hellboy II: Curse of the Golden Army (New York Comic Con Poster – source)
G.I. Joe (source)
The Incredible Hulk (movie poster)
The Happening (more here)
The Dark Knight and The Watchmen Toys
NEW VIDEOS
The Spirit
Iron Man (Set Visit with Jon Favreau)
Speed Racer (featurette and International Trailer #3)
Iron Man (The Onion comedy piece)
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (NYCC Panel-two parts)
MOVIE BITES
- The new Muppet Movie will star Jason Segel, says director Nicholas Stoller: "There’s been a Muppet Diaspora, so the main Muppets need to go off with Jason and collect other Muppets from all around the world." [Defamer]
- Is Terminator 4 Dead? The UGO Movie Blog claims that a crew member “was recently overheard discussing his newfound free schedule due to the production shutting down.” Production is set to begin later this month, so we’ll find out soon enough if this rumor is true.
- "Friday the 13th" producer Brad Fuller told Bloody-Disgusting that the film will have a R-rating and that fans need not worry about the upcoming remake. In other news related to the film, actress Danielle Panabaker has replaced Amanda Righetti as the female lead. [THR]
- DreamWorks has acquired the rights to make a live-action "Ghost in the Shell" 3D movie after Spielberg took personal interest. [Variety]
- Early reviews of "Iron Man" are strong. Check a few of them out at AICN and Thompson on Hollywood.
- Warner Bros. has purchased the film rights to "The Rapture", an upcoming Sci-Fi novel by author Liz Jensen. [SCI FI Wire]
- "Jumper" star Max Thierot will replace Henry Lee Hopper as the lead in Wes Craven’s tentatively titled horror thriller "25/8" for Rogue Pictures. [THR]
- Sigourney Weaver says it’s too late for another "Alien" sequel: “To play someone who ages a couple hundred years was fascinating,” she added. “[But] let [Ripley] rest." [MTV]
- Stan Lee has inked a new deal with Rainmaker Entertainment to launch "Legion of 5", a new superhero property. [THR]
TV NEWS
Cuse and Lindelof Discuss "Lost"
Lost exec. producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse offered a some details in a teleconference with reports and bloggers. Here are some highlights (more here):
- The title of the season finale is "There’s No Place Like Home."
When asked how the extended season finale came about, Lindelof and Cuse said that they felt like a shorter finale would cheat some of the episode’s storylines and emotional moments. They already had to deal with a shortened season due to the writers’ strike, and did not want to condense the season any more.
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The conflict between and Jack and Locke’s personal philosophies will come into play in the season finale.
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Some "compelling" things will happen to Claire in the remaining episodes of season four.
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Fans of the Jack-Kate-Sawyer love triangle will have "a bounty of interesting romantic scenes" to discuss in the near future. We’ll also get more on Jack and Juliet’s relationship in the May 1 episode.
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Don’t expect a Lost spin-off to be announced anytime soon; Lindelof and Cuse want the series finale to be the end of the Lost story.
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The Black Smoke Monster will appear on the April 24 episode, and we’ll see Jacob again before the season’s end.
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The writers have every intention of revisiting the four-toed statue. They want to address questions about who built the statue, where it came from, and why it has only four toes.
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Danielle and Karl were, in fact, shot with bullets (as opposed to tranquilizer darts). Their fates will be addressed on the April 24 episode. If Danielle is dead, that doesn’t mean that the writers are done exploring her character’s back story.
"Dollhouse" Pilot Script Reactions, New Cast Member
Joss Whedon has announced on Whedonesque that Amy Acker has joined the cast of the Fox TV series. If casting news ain’t your thing, the pilot’s script has been released and reactions are very positive. E!Online: "The Bourne Identity meets Stepford Wives meets boarding school meets Los Angeles neo-noir meets the Whedonverse". Televisionary: "Dollhouse is a beautiful enigma wrapped in a riddle, a gripping conspiracy story for the ages filled with urban legends, memory tampering, and long-buried secrets coming to the fore. It’s a Shakespearean story of hubris and likely vengeance, filled with sound and fury and signifying, well, lots."
"Stargate: Continuum" Trailer Premieres Monday
Stargate SG-1 fans, the wait is nearly over. GateWorld.net has reported that the movie trailer for the upcoming DVD movie "Stargate: Continuum" (which releases on July 29th on DVD and Blu-ray Hi-Def–details here) will make its online premiere this Monday, April 21st on the site. The trailer will run 45 seconds, and features the cast of "Stargate SG-1", including Richard Dean Anderson, who returns as General Jack O’Neill in the movie.
TV BITES
- Once HD DVD exclusive studio, Universal is jumping into Blu-ray with a dual "Heroes" Season 1 and 2 set on August 26th. [SCI FI Wire]
- All signs point towards a renewal for Fox’s "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" [THR]
- Firefly’s Alan Tudyk may be returning to television. The actor, who played ‘Wash’ on the series, has been cast in a starring role for an untitled ABC comedy.
SCI-FI RATINGS
| Top 10 SF&F Broadcast Shows | HH Rating/Share |
| 1) Medium | 5.8/9 |
| 2) Eli Stone | 4.4/7 |
| 3) New Amsterdam | 3.8/6 (6.19M) |
| 4) Jericho | 3.8/6 (6.02M) |
| 5) Lost (R) | 3.6/6 |
| 6) Smallville | 2.4/4 |
| 7) Reaper | 1.8/3 |
| 8) Reaper (R) | 1.1/2 |
3/24/2008 to
3/30/2008 – Source: Nielsen Media Research
| Top 10 SF&F Syndicated Shows | Rating |
| 1) Stargate SG-1 |
1.2 |
| 1) Dead Zone | 0.8 |
| 1) Stargate Atlantis | 0.7 |
| 1) Star Trek | 0.7 |
3/24/2008 to
3/30/2008 – Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report via SCI FI Wire
| Top 10 SCI FI CHANNEL Shows | Rating |
| 1) Ghost Hunters | 1.7 |
| 2) ECW | 1.4 |
| 3) Maneater |
1.3 |
| 4) Resident Evil Apocalypse | 1.2 |
| 5) Blood Monkey | 1.2 |
| 6) Grizzly Rage |
1.1 |
| 7) Destination Truth | 1.1 |
| 8) The Hive | 1.0 |
| 9) Resident Evil | 1.0 |
| 10) The Insatiable |
1.0 |
3/24/2008 to
3/30/2008 – Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report via SCI FI Wire
Yes! I want a seven hour Indy movie, is that to much to ask?
soo much to see and do
People in my theatre laughed out loud during the trailer for ‘The Happening’ (horrible title, by the way). I think M. Night has burned a lot of bridges with his fans (especially after Lady in the Water). I wonder how many will see it?
I am looking foward to the indiana jones movie, as to a possible 5th movie,Hey why the hell not If Ford can pull it of, by all means. one more adventure.
Iron man looks like it could well be the major hit of the summer and Robert Downey JR looks and sounds the part of Tony Stark, coupled with the fact that he is one of finest actors ever to come out of Hollywood, perhaps one of the best that has ever been.
Shia hits Cate Blanchet in this movie? Holy Wow! I guess the whole gentleman thing won’t apply!
Awesome Article! Thanks I’m really looking forward to all of these movies and shows!
Karl can stay dead for all I care, but they better bring Danielle back in the here and now (whatever that means on Lost.)
Thanks, Yahoo, for putting the ad at the end. Very civilized, although I notice I can’t shut the damn thing down during that commercial. HA!
GI Joe? And we see a gal in black butt-huggers?
OK. Not gonna see the movie, but you can show me more of her.
Noones gonna watch ECW anymore now that Joey Styles has been removed from the announce team.
I’m really looking forward to Watchmen (no “The”), and though I’m skeptical of how successfully the story will work as a movie (though it’s one of my all-time favorite comics), I’m really liking almost everything I hear about the film.
I laughed when I saw the photo of the action figures above — at first it looked like Rorschach and Nite Owl were holding hands. It’s hard to picture Rorschach holding hands with anybody… :)
Have mixed feelings on The Spirit. Love the poster, love the look…..but the movie doesn’t look like it has the vibe of the comic. It seems to lack the heart of the comic, the FUN of the comic. The Spirit had noir and grit and it’s share of heartbreak…..but it was always a great adventure.
It was never a comic that it took itself as serious as, say, Batman. And it’s movie shouldn’t either. Plus I just don’t it to be “The Spirit in Sin City 300!” I loved Sin City. 300 was, outside of it’s visuals, something that would be perfect to see on MST3K because it just….funny more than anything.
“This……………….is………………..SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”
So I hope Frank does The Spirit and Will Eisner justice in this movie. I hope that my perception of the movie is based on the currently available material just not capturing the real feel of the movie.
As for Speed Racer, looks cool……but screw this Mach 6 I keep seeing. I wanna see the Mach 5!!!
G I Joe I should be asking why Hollywood is bothering to turn this abominable child toy product advertising vehicale into a a movie. But considering all the crap that is coming out of Hollywood nowadays, I should not be surprised that they are giving this piece of Cartoon drek the feature film treatment.
10
Pretty much for the same reason Transformers got made into a movie. It’s not like there was a big clamour for it outside of it’s fans.
The generation that was kids in the 80’s is feeling it’s age and is gettin all nostalgic for the things it grew up with. Regardless of the fact that they were season long, badly written commercials. >:D
That Onion bit on the Iron Man movie is hysterical. They have the fan base pegged.
Yes! The Justice League movie may not get made! Hooray!
LOST:
Karl can stay dead, but Danielle was a survivor and a good element to the story.
I am so addicted to this series.
ST:TOS-R: Conscience of the King
Good work on the star field in the Observation Deck scene. Big E looked great too! The plot was very relevant due to the wheat shortage occurring in Asia today due to a nasty wheat fungus/virus.
Star Trek should always speak to the future as well as the present and the past.
I think X-Files Deuce is going to be like ST: Insurrection. A quieter gentler film, that no one cares about. I mean how can you care about some monster of the week when you know for sure aliens are on their way to colonize your world. How can you not deal with the mythology arc when it is so salient to the series?
As for G.I.Joe, I wish they would have had Larry Hama involved more directly in the casting process. The cast, Ray Park not included, seems unimpressive. The costumes look goofy. The key to this movie, in my opinion was capturing the human condition so well exemplified in the comic books and grounding the movie in some kind of realism. Wait. Did I just say realism? My bad. At least Sienna Miller and Rachel Nichols look good in tight leather.
Dark Knight. Why so serious? Scary sh*t, man. I wonder how they are going to market this film. I will be first in line to see it though.
Indiana Jones I look forward to. Shia, not so much.
I hope V will be good. Used to love the series back in the 80’s. I hear Jane Badler is going to be in at least the first movie. YES!!!
If they don’t hurry up and do The Hobbit, we may lose our precious older actors. Hurry UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
kg
Seeing those two videos makes me look forwrd to TXF even more. By the way, IMDB is listing Mitch Pileggi among the movie credits.
They’re making an Avatar movie? Kewl!!! I loved that series!! A live-action version should be pretty interesting.
Can hardly wait for Ironman! After all his problems over the years, it’s nice to see Downey back in fightin’ form!
And please don’t let “The Hobbit” suck! I’d feel a whole lot better if Jackson was behind the camera for this outing.
Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|
Indiana Jones IV is not 140 minutes long!
This oft linked to misunderstanding stems from a recent comment made by John Williams: (“…the film is seven reels long, and each reel is twenty minutes, and we have mixed reel seven last night [April 9th].”) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRPxt_QYRJc
TheRaider.net has received official confirmation, directly from Paramount Pictures, that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be 2 hours long, including credits. http://www.theraider.net/news/fullstory_indy4.php?id=703
In addition, the Dutch Federation for Cinematography (NFC) site, which posts info from the European distributors of various films, says 123 minutes for Indy 4 (Source: Universal): http://www.nfcstatistiek.nl/rel.htm
Jeffery Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere sites no source and seems to be taking Williams’ comments on YouTube too literally. Just because seven reels of 35mm film can hold approx. 140 minutes + does not necessitate that the film must be that exact length. The first six reels could be packed and the seventh could be short (for instance, the end credits), hence 123 minutes.
Just sayin. No reason for you to know this, you’re a Trek centric site.
so, does it really matter how long the new Indy movie is? Quality is what I look for, not time. I expect this new installment to be great.
#3
In my opinion, M. Night Shyamalan is a really overrated director. The Sixth Sense was a masterpiece but the following works have gone down hill. The sense of mistery he wants to deliver is getting more and more blatant. Plus, I will never forget him for that mess called “Signs” ;-)
#24
I will never “forgive” him. Sorry for the misspelling.
So they want to bring back “V”, fine. They wanted to bring back another “Alien” sequel, fine. The only thing that I want is new original material in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. We’ve got to get better writers and producers in the studio offices and move forward.
I just don’t feel the need to even bother with the X files.Chris Carter and the Fox network kept the show on the air well past it’s effective shelf life and pretty much bled the series dry. In early years the X files was cool well written and hip, but when you come to the last 3 years the show got tired, Old and rather silly. Then on top of all this , they decide to do the feature film while the show is still on the air, X Files Fight for the Future was basically a big budget Episode, and not a very good one at that. The storyline was not standalone, so that the non X files fan would be put off by the story, because it would require you to actually be familiar with the whole X Files Mythos. I think the viability of the X files franchise may have been hurt by this approach so I doubt that the new X Files movie is not going to be a roaring success. This is one franchise that time has passed by. Also other then X Files and maybe Millennium Chris Carter has not had any other major success that I have ever heard about.. He is bascially a one trick pony much like director M Night Shyamalan. He’s probably going be spending the rest of his career living off of X files.
27# Chris Carter not a one trick pony, like do u remember his other fantastic shows like the Lone Gunmen & don’t foget about Harsh Reamels………….what no u don’t will me too!!! :)
#28 none of which lasted even a season, so that hardly qualifies them as successful.
The Lone Gunman did prefict the 9/11 plot, though…
#30 Coincidence really, Both the Bible Code and a Nostradamus prediction did the same thing after the fact. No Nothing that Chris Cater ever did other then Millennium lasted even a season. But Chris Carter is not alone on this score, Gene Roddenberry other then His Star Trek work had no other significant success as a producer. The majority of Chris Caters television work seems to involve the same old thing of conspiracies, It like he’s writing the same old thing over and over again.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I want Mr. Spielberg to get to work on “When Worlds Collide.” (pretty please)
I mean, he announced he was going to do this project in 2005 (I assume he is going to produce, not direct it).
I love the Indiana Jones franchise. But, despite the good buzz, the only way I can see a possible 5th movie would be one of two things; a passing of the action torch movie, with Jones becoming the “advisor” with a younger man doing the heavy-action chores, or….the death of Indiana Jones; give it a solid ending (it should at least be a significant event in Jones’ life). For me, the original trilogy ended on a high note; with the heroes riding off into the sunset. But, I welcome at least one more movie. I think a 5th might be one trip to the well too many. Hope I’m wrong. Also curious if the Terminator 4 movie really DID shut down. I liked the other Terminator movies; however, I was lukewarm (at best) on 3 (I DID like the nihilistic, “Beneath the Planet of the Apes”-style ending, though). But with the Sarah Connor Chronicles on TV (and not doing as well ratings-wise as it could; despite it being a decent show), is there REALLY an audience THAT hungry for this anymore? We’ll see. And Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse sounds VERY intriguing. Looking very forward to that one!
IT is nice that Josh Whedon is taking another stab at series television, and the whole concept of Doll as interesting it sounds, may not make it through a single season, Why ? its on Fox, and considering how the network treated his last creation Firefly, Well need i say More? If this series were on say HBO or maybe the Scif channel then it would probably stand a better chance of survival. Fox like its sister networks has demonstrated a total lack of patience with science fiction in general, especailly if said show does not generate large ratings really fast. Then there is on other problem lack of auduence interest in the whole concept.
why do we actually need to see Katara waterbend in live action? I really like the animated series, and I don’t beliebve that M. Night Shyamalan can pull it off. He should retire after he used his one idea a couple of movies too often…
#24
I actually think his masterpiece was Unbreakable. That movie is pitch-perfect from start to finish. Everything after has meandered too frequently. Maybe Bruce Willis was his good-luck charm?
Del Toro on Bioshock that I would love to see!!!!
Looking forward to:
Indy
Ironman
Hulk
Already tired of Batman and the hype. Tired of Heath and the hooplah. Too bad
What’s with The Untouchables soundtrack on The Spirit preview?
#35 fakesteve: like so many animated to live action movies, what’s the point. it’s as if animation is not ‘good enough’ for general audiences, so studios decide to make the same thing in live action, usually f’king it up in the process. Thankfully Bill Waterson, the artist who created Calvin and Hobbes, will never be anything more than a comic strip (of absolute awesomeness). I think, too, there is a stigma with animation that immediately says to the general audience member that it is ‘kid’s’ entertainment, when there is enough good quality animation that rises above such categories. Rataouille from Pixar, for example.
#36. sean: yeah Unbreakable was decent. the rest of them are repeats of his gimmick.
M night had one maybe two great films, The rest form the villiage ,to the really silly (what was Mel Gibson and Joquin Phoenix thinking ) movie signs> then ther is the even sillier movie the Villiage. Lady in the water A Grass wolf? time to break out the gardening tools and do battle. He went from Genius to Uwe Boll in the span of 4 films.
“Jaws was a novel before it was a movie, and anybody could see how it ended. Didn’t matter.”
I hereby declare a 1-month moratorium on my usual cracks about George Lucas, in celebration of this moment of simple wisdom.
J.J. Abrams: take note, kid.
Regarding the “V” adaptation; that could be a very promising film (and it speaks to this age more than ever). I found the sequel book, “V: The Second Generation” to be particularly relevant. Living in a gilded cage, accepting the “Great Lie”, the threat of environmental meltdown, etc. All these things are commented on in the book, as well as a few nitpicks left over from the first, original mini-series (of which V:SG is a direct sequel). And it wisely sidesteps the sequel TV mini-series (with the mystical “Star-child” hokum) and the failed one-hour TV show (which was abysmal). Creator Kenneth Johnson had NOTHING to do with either of those. Only catch is; if the remake of the original does NOT go over well, the adaptation of V:SG could die in the crib. At least the book is there as a potential consolation prize! Good luck, Kenny!
Re: Alien 5 — Sigourney Weaver is right…it’s too late now.
I always wanted to see a film where we get to see the “space jockey” aliens who piloted the derelict ship that carried the other Aliens, but I guess that’s not to be.
I guess Fox will just keep making those awful AvP films…
V the movie? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
#43 Fox ruined both the Alien and Predator franchises with this stunt. I would have preferred an AvP movie based on the Dark Horse Comics saga written some years ago, now that would have been cool. Butt hey handed the assignment to a bunch of hacks who really had no clue what good story telling is all about. Fox Studios most of the other is run by a bunch unimaginative chuckleheads who could care less about giving the audience a truly good film. Yeah Push it out if it fails at the box office, Oh Well, well recoup the losses when people go out and by the dvd..
As for the Speed Racer movie looks and sounds like crap with a capital C I cannot look at this without wondering what the Washowski brothers were thinking when they decided to turn this middlebrow cartoon into a feature film. Speed was an annoying one dimensional one note race obsesed moron in the series, it is comforting to know that at least they kept that aspect of the character . I am hopeful that this garishly colored cartoon of a movie will spin out of control and crash and burn at the box office and after the dvd release never be heard from again.along with the Live action Thunder birds movie
To this day it surprises me that en entire franchise has been created based on what amounted to an in-joke in Predator 2 (the Alien skull on the wall).
Apparently the peolpe who are doing the reboot of the friday the 13th movie series were oblivious to the what happened with Rob Zombies attempt to revitalize another cineramic tragedy of a movie series, The Halloween series .The First Halloween Movie was actually quite good , but then it was followed by progressively dumber and worse sequels. Friday the the 13th did not even have a good movie in the series, so really whats the point . how can you make this mind numbingly dismally bad slasher movie series into anything redeeming, the answer is you can’t. because the original concept like Jason Voorhees did not have a brain to begin with.
#47
Zombie’s Halloween was a missed opportunity. Instead of making a taut, visceral thriller, he decided to waste 45 minutes creating a white trash upbringing for Michael in a pointless attempt to ‘explain’ his motivations. That didn’t work, so in the end he might as well have done as Carpenter wisely chose to do, and merely introduce the character as a purely evil construct without reason. The only bright spot in that movie was his wife, Sherri Moon. She actually managed to be a fairly sympathetic character.
#48 The Halloween Sequel that had possibilities and was waisted, was Halloween 3 Season Of the Witch. The original screen play was written by none other the Nigel Kneal, who wrote the Quatermass series, the third of which Quatermass and the PIt aka Five Million Years to Earth. Carpenter took his script and did his own revisions which caused Neal to take his name off of the movie. The Halloween series might have gone in a better direction had they used Kneal’s script as written.
#49
Season of the Witch was indeed a debacle. I think part of the problem was Carpenter calling it Halloween 3, implying to most moviegoers it was a continuation of the first 2 movies. When they realized it wasn’t, they revolted. He might have done better had he called it something else entirely.
The basic storyline – a madman plotting to kill children by blowing up their masks on Halloween – wasn’t so bad. Part of the problem was the story got stidetracked with androids full of custard and a host of other issues, not the least of which was some spectacularly awful peformances.
I’ve never read or heard of the original script, but it sounds interesting.