Sci-Fi Saturday: Transformers, GI Joe, The Thing, Green Hornet, V, Heroes, Caprica, Stargate + more

There is a ton of news in our weekly wrap up of genre entertainment. We have the latest (including some video) on Up, Land of the Lost, GI Joe and Tranformers Super Bowl spots, plus news on remakes and reboots of The Thing, Predator, Tomb Raider as much more movie news and and previews. In TV news V is coming back, plus there is news and previews from Caprica, Heroes, Doctor Who and much more. 

MOVIE NEWS

New Super Bowl Spots
Tomorrow’s Super Bowl will have a number of commercials for genre movies, including JJ Abrams "Star Trek." And some of the commercials are already online. Here they are.

Land of the Lost

Up

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (HD: 480p, 720p, 1080p)

Director Michael Bay reveals on his official blog that the Super Bowl spot for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" will be shown during the third quarter of the game and that the full-length teaser trailer will be attached to "Friday the 13th", which hits theaters on February 13th. In other Transformers news, Bay continues the one-sided feud between "Terminator Salvation" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" with a new post on his message boards: “I would love to see my robots take on Terminators,” writes Bay after admitting that he’s “excited to see Terminator [Salvation]” and “really loves this whole franchise”, especially “the work of Bale.” [Shoot for the Edit] While we wait for the new commercial, here are some new images of new Transformers:

UPDATE: Transformers Spot now online

Ron Moore writing Thing Remake For Uni
Bloody-Disgusting’s scoop from earlier in the month that Universal Pictures was updating John Carpenter’s 1982 classic horror film, "The Thing" has been confirmed by the trades.  Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. is attached to direct from a script written by "Battlestar Galactica" (and former Star Trek) writer/producer Ron Moore. According to Variety the new "Thing" borrows heavily from the John W. Campbell Jr. short story "Who Goes There," (the basis for the original 1951 Howard Hawks film and of the 1982 John Carpenter remake).

Predator Reboot next?
Bloody-Disgusting was right about "The Thing" so it could be worth paying attention to their new rumor: That Robert Rodriquez and his Troublemaker Studios will be producing a "Predator" reboot for 20th Century Fox.  The pitch for the film centers around the reboot having more than one predator: "In the reboot a team of commandoes face down a mysterious race of vicious monsters."

WB Working on Tomb Raider Reboot
Speaking of reboots, Warner Bros. and producer Dan Lin are in early development on a new "Tomb Raider" movie.  According to THR, the project will re-imagine the origins of the character, her love interest and the main villain. Casting for the film, including for the lead Lara Croft (played by Angelina Jolie in the 2001’s "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and 2003’s "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life"), will likely come after a writer and director are attached.

Andrew Stanton Talks John Carter of Mars
Andrew Stanton, who’s directing the live-action "John Carter of Mars", spoke with Ain’t It Cool News about the project.  Here are some highlights of the chat:

• “It is huge, it is exciting, it scares the crap out of me. It’s either going to make me or break me.”
• The style is going to be very real, not highly stylized. He said that 20 some years ago that version could have been made, but since Star Wars and a whole glut of science fiction and fantasy films have ripped off giant portions of JCOM over the years the only option he sees is doing a straight up, realistic version of the story. He described it as if it was a National Geographic crew that stumbled across a preserved civilization while exploring a cave. Very real, but awe-inspiring.
• He’s not planning nor wanting to shoot it 3-D, but thinks, but thinks Disney might want to push him towards it.
• He has his second draft done and will be casting soon.
• John Carter WILL be a Civil War soldier.

Jamie Bell and Daniel Craig Join Tintin
Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment have announced the addition of Jamie Bell and Daniel Craig and the start of principal photography for the 3D motion capture film "The Adventures 0f Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn".  Bell and Craig join Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Gad Elmaleh, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook. Bell will play the lead character Tintin, described as an intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, while Craig will play Red Rackham.  The screenplay was written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, and the movie will be produced by Steven Spielberg, — who will also direct — Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy. It’s due for release in 2011.  The second film is scheduled to be directed by Peter Jackson, with the possibility of there being a third film as well.

Rogen: Green Hornet On Track for 2010 + Adam Sandler to Cameo
Last week during the Sundance Film Festival, news spread that Seth Rogen’s "The Green Hornet" was in danger of getting the axe by Sony Pictures.  But Seth Rogen was quick to respond, telling CHUD that the project is still very much a go:

“[The studio heads] have every intention on making it, and assuming we’re able to hire a new director in the upcoming weeks, which seems like a distinct possibilty [sic], it should still hit the release date.”

In other ‘Green Hornet’ news, AICN is still insisting that former director Stephen Chow will still play the role of sidekick Kato, despite reports to the contrary.  And lastly, there’s a bit more casting news to report.  According to the LA Times Hero Complex blog, Adam Sandler has a "brief but key role in the movie as a certain surprise superhero…I heard which one, too, but I don’t want to ruin it".  "The Green Hornet" is scheduled to hit theaters on June 25, 2010.

Fox To Co-Finance/Co-Produce Next Narnia
As was widely expected when Walt Disney opted out of co-production duties for "The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader", 20th Century Fox has signed on to split production and P&A costs of the film with Walden Media.  ‘Dawn Treader’ will reportedly cost $140 million which is significantly lower than the $215 million budget of last year’s ‘Prince Caspian’ and the $180 million of 2005’s ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’.  Fox/Walden hope to shoot the film by the end of summer and release it in time for holiday 2010.

NEW IMAGES

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (more here and here + file cards here)

Knowing (more here)

Land of the Lost

Terminator Salvation (Concept art–more + interview with McG here)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (more reshoot set photos here)

Watchmen

Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter & Under the Hood (more here)

World War Z (concept art–details here)

Wonder Woman (more here)

NEW VIDEOS

Coraline (more here and here)

Dragonball Evolution

Fanboys (more here)

Friday the 13th (more here and here)

Race to Witch Mountain

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (another here)

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Watchmen

MOVIE BITES

• Imagi has debunked reports that production on "Astro Boy" is shutting down. [Animation Magazine]
• Producer Jerry Bruckheimer talked about the live-action "Sorcerer’s Apprentice" and the animated feature "G-Force" in a new interview with SCI FI Wire.
• "Dragonball Evolution" will feature "fist-cams", allowing for a "kind of point of view of the fist", says director James Wong. [via DBTheMovie]
• Chris Evans again re-iterated his belief that there won’t be any more "Fantastic Four" movies: "I think we’re done. I think if they were going to do another one, you would have heard something." [SCI FI Wire]
• "The Dark Knight" took home two Actors at last week’s "Screen Actors Guild Awards".  One for Best Supporting Actor (Heath Ledger) and another for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble. [SAG]
• Dakota Fanning confirmed that she’s in negotiations to play a vampire in "New Moon" and is hopeful about landing the role: "I hope that it does work out," Fanning said . "It’s not 100 percent for sure. I can’t say it’s for sure yet. It would be really cool if it does work out. I’m a big fan." [SCI FI Wire]
• Director Len Wiseman says that the "Gears of War" movie is actually a trilogy and is "basically a harder-edged Lord of the Rings." [Bloody-Disgusting]
• Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to "Samson", a futuristic retelling of the Samson and Delilah story. [Variety]
• Director Kyle Neman ("Fanboys") said that his upcoming film adaptation of Stephen Edmond’s superhero comic "Emo Boy" is at the top of his list of projects to take on next. [SCI FI Wire]
• Columbia Pictures and MSN have launched a new contest for "Angels & Demons" called the "Path of Illumination".  Winners will become a finalist and the finalists will be flown to the Rome premiere.  The Grand Prize winner wins a prize package from Sony Electronics themed to the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. [AngelsAndDemons.MSN.com]
• Scott Derrickson ("The Day the Earth Stood Still") has been tapped by Warner Bros. to direct "Hyperion Cantos". The project is being written by Trevor Sands and incorporates Dan Simmons’ two SF novels "Hyperion" and "The Fall of Hyperion". [Variety]
• Author Neil Gaiman ("Coraline") announced that Neil Jordan ("Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles") will write and direct a live-action adaptation of the award-winning novel "The Graveyard Book". [Geeks of Doom]
• Rumors are circulating that the Weinstein Co. is making serious plans to begin shooting Robert Rodriquez’s highly anticipated "Machete".  Starring Danny Trejo, "Machete" was introduced via a faux trailer in Dimension Films’ "Grindhouse". [Bloody-Disgusting]
• Sony Pictures Entertainment won the rights for "Angelology", the first novel by Danielle Trussoni about a 23-year old nun who teams with an angelologist named Verlaine as they race to thwart a group that tries to corral the destructive powers of a race of angel/human hybrids called Nephilim. [Variety]
• Latino Review’s scoop from back in November that Warner Bros. and producer Joel Silver had tapped "Kung Fu
• The 7,800 sq. ft. mansion featured in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is on sale for $2.85 million. [via /Film]
• Panda" co-director John Stevenson to direct the live-action "Masters of the Universe", the studio’s re-imagining of the Mattel toy character and 1980s cartoon series and film, has been confirmed by the trades. [Variety]
• Matt Johnson has been tapped by Relativity Media to adapt the Red 5 Comic "Afterburn" for Neal Mortiz’s Original Films and Toby Maguire’s Maguire Entertainment banner. [THR]
• Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer have reportedly begun working on the screenplay for the third "Batman" film. [IESB]
• Meanwhile, "The Dark Knight" producer Michael Uslan tells the Courier-Post that the sequel could come out as soon as 2011.
• And finally, producer Charles Roven says he’s not bothered by the TDK Oscar snubs: "To me, it’s all great," Roven said, adding: "I hope Heath [Ledger] wins the Oscar [for his portrayal of the Joker]. I’m so pleased that the brilliant technicians and talented people who work behind the camera were nominated. It’s all good." [SCI FI Wire]
• Director Alex Proyas ("Knowing") says that he’s working on an adaptation of John Christopher’s "The Tripod" stories as well as "Dracula: Year Zero", which he notes he’s particularly excited about because it is "kind of reinvention of that character". [ComingSoon.net]
• Daniel Radcliff’s stunt double was seriously injured in a film set explosion. [Daily Mirror]
• There’s a rumor that "Resident Evil" producer Paul Anderson has written a script for a fourth installment of the video-game-based franchise that will move the action to Tokyo and Alaska. [Arrow in the Head]
• Check out a great run-down on story details for McG’s "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo" over at IESB.net.
• Columbia Pictures is moving forward with a sequel to "Ghost Rider", and is on the lookout for a writer for the project. Star Nicolas Cage is already signed on to reprise his role as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider. [Bloody-Disgusting]
• Screenwriter Dan Mazeau ("Johny Quest") has reportedly been tapped by Warner Bros. to pen a draft of DC’s "Flash".  [IESB]
• Death Ray Films and Maya Entertainment have announced that Kevin Munroe ("TMNT") will write and direct an adaptation of the 2005 Dark Horse comic "El Zombo Fantasma".  Check out the teaser poster art below.

CASTING BITES

• Emily Blunt, who was recently offered the role of Black Widow in "Iron Man 2" by Paramount, may be forced to abandon that project.  Turns out that 20th Century Fox has an option on the actress and they want her to star in "Gulliver’s Travels", causing a potential shooting conflict with "Iron Man 2".  Her reps, however are feeling more optimistic that both studios may be able to accommodate Blunt’s schedule. [Variety]
• Samuel L. Jackson says that he’s still not signed for the role of Nick Fury: "Contract negotiation. … It’s like life. Nick Fury’s negotiating," Jackson told reporters. [SCI FI Wire]
• Jennifer Beals is joining the cast of "The Book of Eli", the Denzel Washington SF action thriller from Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment from directors Albert and Allen Hughes. [THR]

TV NEWS

Caprica Creative Lineup Revealed
While "Battlestar Galactica" creator/executive producer Ron Moore will be running the writers’ room for the beginning of "Caprica’s" first season, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that Jane Espenson will take over "at some point" during the season:

"She’s a great writer," said Moore. "[A]nd in the last season of ‘Galactica,’ I started handing over more and more responsibility to Jane on the production side and in post[-production]… [Upcoming Galactica TV movie] ‘The Plan’ was something that she wrote and executive-produced and saw all the way through. She was the showrunner on ‘The Plan,’ in essence. She did a great job and she stepped up and I have a tremendous amount of faith in her."

Shooting on the series begins this July and Moore hopes to have "a bunch of scripts" for the series finished ahead of that date.  Espenson will be joined by Michael Taylor and Ryan Mottesheard, while the composer, production designer and special effects supervisor will all be carried over from "Battlestar Galactica".  The show is expected to premiere on SCI FI in 2010.

Heroes Returns This Monday
"Heroes" returns with new episodes this Monday.  The episode, titled "A Clear and Present Danger", kicks off the show’s fourth volume "Fugitives".  Here’s what star Masi Oka told SCI FI Wire about the upcoming episodes, which he believes will return the show more to its roots:

[W]e’re going to go back to the fundamentals that made the show really great and what’s kept it grounded, with it going back to the central characters and trying to tell smaller stories, but with big action. There’s going to be more character-based [stories] as we see them finally come together towards the end to try to save themselves.

Volume four, "Fugitives," is another completely [new arc]. We’re going back to the grounded characters and the central characters, [and] people trying to live their ordinary lives being hunted now. And that’s a completely different story than we’ve been trying to tell. So it might take a while to get us accustomed to the "usual heroes," but it still has the core ensemble drama. So I’m not sure if it’s lost its way, it’s just always different. Some people will respond to the way the story is told in the one volume and maybe not to another.

And here are some images and videos from the series:

(more here–set photos here and here)

(another here + set video here)

Doctor Who Easter Special Will Introduce New Villains + Casting News
A double-decker bus, similar to the one seen in set images for the upcoming "Doctor Who" Easter special "Planet of The Dead", was damaged in an accident when it was being shipped over seas.  It’s unclear at the moment how the accident will be reflected in the rewriters that are currently ongoing.  Meanwhile, Digital Spy is reporting that a new monster called Tritovore will be unveiled in the special:

They are disgusting and will last long in the memory… Everyone remembers the Daleks and the Cyberman, but not a lot else if they’re honest. The Tritovore will change that. Scriptwriters are confident they’ll make a huge impact.

In other "Doctor Who" news, Freema Agyeman, who played Martha Jones, revealed that she’s going to be returning to the series by the end of the year, as her character is set to appear in one of the upcoming specials being prepared by Russell T. Davies and his team.  Check out some new images and a new video from the series below.

(more here and here)

ABC Orders New V Pilot
ABC has given a pilot order to a new take on the 1980s miniseries "V". The new adaptation was written by "The 4400" co-creator/executive producer Scott Peters, and will center on a female Homeland Security agent with an aimless son whose interaction with the aliens causes tension within the family.

Red Dwarf Official Title Revealed [SPOILERS]
The "Red Dwarf" special episodes have been given their official title, and it’s basically a spoiler.  According to BBC, the episodes will be titled "Red Dwarf: Back To Earth".  If the title wasn’t clear enough, two-part Easter weekend special will see the crew of the mining ship finally return home.  "Red Dwarf: Back To Earth will air in the UK on the station Dave in April.  It was written and directed by series co-creator Doug Naylor.

Michael Shanks to Cameo on Stargate Universe
Michael Shanks told SCI FI Wire that he was offered a cameo role on "Stargate Universe" by executive producer Brad Wright.  Shanks also talked about the upcoming ‘Atlantis’ and ‘SG-1’ movies, revealing that neither of them have been filmed yet and that the ‘SG-1’ movie will focus extensively on O’Neill:

"There will be a Stargate SG-1 movie [for DVD], probably filmed around the same time the Atlantis movie is filmed this coming summer," he added. "So that’s all going to be going on….as far as I know, is pretty Rick-heavy [Richard Dean Anderson, thank god], pretty O’Neill [Anderson]-heavy," Shanks said. "So I don’t know much more than that, but I will most definitely be involved in it.""

NBC Picks Up Futuristic Drama From Heroes Writer
NBC has picked up a new futuristic drama titled "Day One" from "Heroes" writer/producer Jesse Alexander.  The description via THR sounds a lot like "Jericho":

The project, produced by Universal Media Studios, chronicles the aftermath of a global event that devastates the world’s infrastructures when a small band of survivors strive to rebuild society and unravel the mysteries of why the event took place and what the future has in store.

TV IMAGES

Batman: The Brave and the Bold (more here)

Dollhouse (more here)

Lost (more set photos here and here)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Supernatural (more here)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

TV VIDEOS

Batman: The Brave and the Bold (another here)

Fringe

Kyle XY

Lost (more here and here)

Smallville

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

TV BITES

• Serinda Swan will play the DC Comics character Zatanna on The CW’s "Smallville".  She will be in an episode that will air later in the year titled "Hex" [TV Guide]
• Joss Whedon will be at the 2009 New York Comic-Con to premiere his new Fox series "Dollhouse". [Convention Fans]
• Also at the New York Comic-Con is BBC America, who will be bringing their series "Torchwood" and will be showcasing a sneak peek at the show’s upcoming third season, "Torchwood: Children of Earth".  There will also be a panel discussion with actor Eve Myels and director Euros Lyn. [SCI FI Wire]
• Preston Jones has landed a recurring role on HBO’s Alan Ball drama series "True Blood". [Variety]
• Mark Valley, who plays FBI agent John Scott on Fox’s SF drama "Fringe", promises closure to his storyline in upcoming February episodes: ""They do answer some questions that have been lingering in my mind, like who he’s been working for, exactly," Valley said. "It sort of confirms the verity or the truth of his feelings toward Olivia [Anna Torv]." [SCI FI Wire]
• "Heroes" won the Actor for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series at last week’s "Screen Actors Guild Awards". [SAG]
• Nestor Carbonell, who plays Richard Alpert, understands viewer confusion over his character on the ABC series "Lost": "I’m a little dizzy," Carbonell admitted. "Initially, it took me, in the first episode, [a moment to figure out] ‘OK, when am I exactly? Where are we, and when am I?’ But, no, it didn’t take long. I think the viewers, after this episode [that aired Jan. 28], the show very much settles down, and you get the gist of the season, that you’re going to be dealing with some elements of time travel." [SCI FI Wire]

MISC NEWS

Nominees for the British Science Fiction Association Awards
Here are the nominees for this year’s British Science Fiction Association Awards:

Best Novel: "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson, "Flood" by Stephen Baxter, "The Gone Away World" by Nick Harkaway and "The Night Sessions" by Ken Macleod

Best Short Fiction: "Crystal Nights" by Greg Egan, "Evidence of Love in a Case of Abandonment" by M. Rickert, "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang and "Little Lost Robot" by Paul McAuley

Best Artwork: cover of "Flood" by Stephen Baxter; cover of "Swiftly" by Adam Roberts; cover of "Interzone" 218; cover of "Subterfuge", edited by Ian Whates; and cover of "Murky Depths", Issue 4

Best Non-Fiction: "Physics for Amnesia" by John Clute, "Rhetorics of Fantasy" by Farah Mendlesohn, "Superheroes!: Capes and Crusaders in Comics and Films" by Roz Kaveney and "What Is It We Do When We Read Science Fiction?" by Paul Kincaid

MISC IMAGES

Watchmen (Vinyl Record–details here)

MISC VIDEOS

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Video Game)

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (Video game)

OBIT

• Director Kim Manners ("Supernatural" and "X-Files") passed away last Sunday after complications from lung cancer.  He was 58. [Ain’t It Cool News]

SCI-FI RATINGS (1/5/2008 to 1/11/2009)