Sci-Fi Monday: Wolverine, Terminator, Iron Man, Transformers + Fringe, Lost, Smallvile, SG: Universe + more May 4, 2009
by Rosario T. Calabria , Filed under: Sci-Fi , trackback
The summer movie season kicked off in a big way over the weekend with a big opening of Wolverine and there is already sequel talk, and Terminator 4 isn’t open yet but they are talking T5 too. In our somewhat late wrap-up of last week’s genre news, we also have a look at Iron Man 2, lots on Transformers 2 and tons more movie news. In TV Land we have a look at Nimoy in Fringe, updates on Lost, SGU, Chuck and much more.
MOVIE NEWS
Wolverine Opens Huge + Jackman on Potential Sequel
According to studio estimates, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" opened to a very strong $35 million on Friday (including $5 million from midnight shows) and is estimated to have taken in $87 million over its opening weekend. That tally puts the film well above initial internal expectations by 20th Century Fox ($70-75 million) and even above numbers rival studios were expecting ($80 million). Looks like that leaked work print wasn’t so big a deal after all, nor were the mixed reviews (Rotten Tomatoes rating of 37%). On a personal note, and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, I actually thought the movie was pretty good. It wasn’t amazing or anything, but wasn’t terrible like many made it out to be. Meanwhile, looking towards the future, star Hugh Jackman told MTV News that he’s been talking with the writers about a potential sequel and says that wants it to be based on the Japanese saga in the comic book. Here are some excerpts:
“I won’t lie to you, I have been talking to writers,” Jackman said. “I’m a big fan of the Japanese saga in the comic book.”
“However, it was also another one of my goals that you could see the end of this movie parlaying straight into ['X-Men'], finding that guy in the bar, fighting, drinking, with not much recollection of what’s going on,” added Jackman. “I thought that was important. However, we’ll find out beginning of May if there’s still an audience for it, if people still like the character. There’s no point in telling the story if no one wants to hear it.”
Rounding out this week’s ‘Wolverine’ news, Shawn Ashmore (Bobby Drake/Iceman) tells SCI FI Wire that he’s signed on for another "X-Men-related" film and game:
"I still have another film contracted," Ashmore said. "As far as an X4, that’s been debated and talked about forever. I don’t think an X-Men 4 will happen, and that’s my opinion. That’s not anything I’ve heard from anybody official. I just know how tough it was to get everybody together scheduling-wise for [X-Men: The Last Stand]. There’s just so many major actors involved. I think that’s just such a challenge."
McG Talks Terminator 5
"Terminator Salvation" is only about two weeks away from release (May 21st), but director McG is already talking about the proposed sequel. Here’s what he told Film Journal [could be considered a SPOILER]:
I strongly suspect the next movie is going to take place in a [pre-Judgment Day] 2011. John Connor is going to travel back in time and he’s going to have to galvanize the militaries of the world for an impending Skynet invasion. They’ve figured out time travel to the degree where they can send more than [just] one naked entity. So you’re going to have hunter killers and transports and harvesters and everything arriving in our time and Connor fighting back with conventional military warfare, which I think is going to be fucking awesome. I also think he’s going to meet a scientist that’s going to look a lot like present-day Robert Patrick [who famously played the T-1000 in Terminator 2], talking about stem-cell research and how we can all live as idealized, younger versions of ourselves.
In other "Terminator" related news, Comic Book Resources scored an interview with stars Common and Moon Bloodgood. Check it out here. Meanwhile, Sony, who has the international rights, has been forced to postpone the film’s release in Mexico until July 31st, due to the Swine (H1N1) flu, reports THR. And lastly, /Film has confirmed with the Writers Guild of America that Jonathan Nolan is not credited as a writer in "Terminator Salvation" (the "Written by" credit goes to John Brancato and Michael Ferris, who wrote the original script). BoxOffice.com got more on this from director McG, who credits Nolan as “the architect of the picture,” and admits that he “never met Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato”:
“I thought we changed the script a great deal. But Jonah did some, Shawn Ryan [The Shield] did some, Anthony Zuiker [CSI] did some and Paul Haggis [Casino Royale ] did some. I guess they can only credit so many people, but it’s not like the Ferris and Brancato draft deserved that writing credit. That’s a decision of the WGA which I have no part in.”
New images [more at Total Film]
Concept art [more + video at flylyf via /Film]
Storyboard (more at SCI FI Wire)
Three new TV spots
Three more TV spots: 1 || 2 || 3
Transformers 2 Updates From Cast and Crew
Here’s an interview with writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci discussing the new robots in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen":
In another interview, Orci confirmed to UGO Movie Blog that Frank Welker will voice Soundwave. In other "Transformers" news, Linkin Park band member Mike Shinoda revealed on his blog that he and the band "have been offered the unique opportunity to help score the film. The song we wrote is being used as one of the themes, and we will be writing various interpolations on that theme, and trying out some other thematic ideas as part of the (very large) team scoring the film." [via Latino Review]. Here what Steve Jablonsky, the composer on the film, told Sci Fi Scoop:
"In a nutshell, Michael Bay sent the new Linkin Park song over to my studio. Hans and I had a listen, and we both thought it was really cool, and it might be interesting to try incorporating some of those elements into the score. So we got the guys from the band down to the studio and talked about how to do that. They’re all really cool guys and really excited about adding some of their sounds to the score."
Rounding out this week’s "Transformers" news, Josh Duhamel (Captain Lennox) will be driving a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro (Bumblebee) at the Indy 500 on May 24th and you can check out a new interview with Tyrese Gibson (Sergeant Epps) over at SCI FI Wire.
New images [Yahoo! Movies and USA Today]
New trailer
First Look: Iron Man 2
Paramount Pictures has released the first official image of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in "Iron Man 2". Director Jon Favreau told USA Today that the second film takes place six months after Stark revealed his identity at the end of the first movie:
"How many superheroes are open about their true identities?" he asks. "We wanted to play with that idea. But it obviously has consequences — in his relationships, on the team. There are a lot of areas we can explore."
Favreau says that he plans on keeping most other details about the film under wraps, telling USA Today: "It’s never easy with summer movies, but we’re trying to keep as much a surprise as possible."
Zoe Saldana on Cameron’s Avatar + Soderbergh: "It’s the craziest sh*t ever"
In addition to "Star Trek", actress Zoe Saldana is in another high-profile sci-fi film; James Cameron’s epic 3-D film "Avatar". While very little is known about the tight-lipped project, Saldana talked about her role and offered some behind-the-scenes tidbits [via SCI FI Wire]:
SCI FI Wire: What do you play?
Saldana: I play a character that lives on a planet that humans are inhabiting and are sort of ravaging. She’s there with her family, and she’s trying to fight to protect what belongs to them.
Saldana also had nothing but praise for director James Cameron:
"Jim is just an amazing director, and he’s never ceased to impress every time. He’s known for being a true perfectionist, and he will not deliver a story until he feels really proud of it."
Director Steven Soderbergh also has great things to say about the film, telling ComingSoon.net: "I’ve seen some stuff and holy sh*t. It’s the craziest sh*t ever." "Avatar" hits theaters on December 18, 2009.
Kenneth Branagh: Thor Will Begin Shooting in January 2010
"Thor" director Kenneth Branagh revealed in an interview with IGN that his upcoming adaptation of the Marvel Comics property will begin shooting in January 2010:
“Well, I’m working currently on Thor for Marvel and we’re planning that one. We’re having a great time at the moment. We’re in intense pre-production,” Branagh said. “I shoot Thor in January of next year…”
Branagh also confirmed the rumor that his "Wallander" co-star Tom Hiddleston is up for a role in "Thor", telling IGN: "Tom Hiddleston is a great actor and he, amongst a number of others, has been part of the group we’ve spoken to and all that’s still a work in progress.” "Thor" is scheduled to hit theaters on May 20, 2011.
Robert Rodriguez Talks Predators
Last week 20th Century Fox announced that they were moving forward with a new installment in the Predator franchise called "Predators". Producer Robert Rodriguez recently discussed the project with AICN. Here’s a bit of what he had to say:
AICN: The original John McTiernan PREDATOR is a brilliant action/ science fiction film. What is it that you’re hoping to bring to fans of that film that will revive the franchise?
Robert Rodriguez: PREDATOR is a masterpiece of the action/science fiction genre. Its been borrowed from so much in other movies and even video games (that will now probably be turned into movies themselves) that I liked the idea that we could have PREDATORS made relatively quickly. What I’d like to do with it is expand on ideas I dreamt up back in the original treatment, that had really expanded on the universe both the Predators and other species live in. We’d create new otherworldly characters while not taking away from the draw our main Predator has. I think another reason I called it Predators was to mark it as a project that should be taken seriously by a filmmaker to make a worthy follow up to a classic, much in the way Cameron made Aliens a compelling work on its own, following Ridley Scott’s Alien.
Alex is passionate about re-inventing the series to a new and exciting level, and as a fan myself I’m all for it.
Be sure to head on over to AICN to read the rest of the interview.
Fox Open To Ridley Scott Alien Prequel
20th Century Fox’s co-chairman Tom Rothman tells IESB that an "Alien" prequel film from director Ridley Scott is a possibility:
“There’s been some talk. Ridley Scott, Ridley is right now working on Robin Hood, but I think he’s toying with the idea and that would be great for us. I mean, it’s always been a matter of, really, if you can get the originator to do it that would be the greatest thing, so I’ve got my fingers crossed, all of them.”
Watch the interview with Rothman — where he also discusses other upcoming, and potential projects, including "Predators", "Daredevil" and "Avatar" (which he heavily hints will be featured at Comic-Con) — over at IESB.
NEW IMAGES
Dead Snow [EW]
District 9 [ComingSoon.net and EW]
Drag Me to Hell [EW]
Final Destination: Death Trip 3-D [EW]
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra [EW]
H2 [/Film]
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince [EW]
New character banner [more at Cinematical]
Dumbledore and Snape
Jonah Hex
Set images of Megan Fox in costume [more at MovieGab]
Land of the Lost [EW]
Moon [EW]
Surrogates
Viral teaser poster [SpoilerTV-Movies]
Universal Soldiers III
Behind-the-scenes images from the Bulgarian set [more at quietearth.us --watch a video here]
Up [EW]
NEW VIDEOS
Angels & Demons
New TV spot
Battle for Terra
New TV spot
New clip [Moviefone]
Blood: The Last Vampire
U.S. trailer
The Cell 2
First trailer
District 9
Teaser trailer [HD Version]
G.I. Joe
New trailer
Land of the Lost
Set visit video: Will Ferrell [ComingSoon.net]
Set visit video: Danny McBride & Anna Friel [ComingSoon.net]
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
New trailer [MSN]
Universal Soldiers III
Behind-the-scenes footage of the Bulgarian set
MOVIE BITES
- Without talking specifics, Robert Zemeckis says that he has "a new idea" for a sequel to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" "buzzing around" in his head. [MTV]
- Producer Lauren Shuler Donner says that while some characters may show up in the Josh Schwarz-penned prequel "X-Men: First Class" (if it gets off the ground), the film would actually focus on the first class of Xavier’s school of the gifted (SPOILERS: If I were to guess, I suppose the class would consist of those shown at the end of ‘Wolverine’). [IESB]
- Warner Bros. has announced that principal photography on Louis Leterrier’s "Clash of the Titans" has begun. Check out some set images at Loque Pasa En Tenerife [via /Film]
- Mike Newell ("Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire") is in talks with Disney to direct Terry Rossio & Ted Elliot’s big screen adaptation of "The Lone Ranger". [Production Weekly]
- Producer Frank Marshall has confirmed on his Twitter page that the teaser trailer to M. Night Shyamalan’s "The Last Airbender" will be attached to "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" in theaters on June 24, 2009. [Frank Marshall]
- Comic book artist/writer Todd McFarlane says that he’s in talks to make a new "Spawn" movie. [IESB]
- John Hillcoat’s long-delayed adaptation of "The Road" has been given an October 16, 2009 release date, nearly a year after Dimension Films originally scheduled it for release. [Bloody-Disgusting]
- Due to the Swine/H1N1 flu, Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group has delayed the Mexican release of "Angels & Demons". The film has been pushed back by four weeks, from May 15th to June 12th. [Reuters via Washington Post]
- Sony Pictures has picked up the North American rights to "Blood: The Last Vampire". [via Screen Daily]
- Warner Bros. has acquired the film rights to the Japanese manga series "Death Note", and has plans to turn it into a live-action film. [Variety]
- Universal-based Illumination Entertainment will be adapting Ricky Gervais’ children’s book series "Flanimals" into a 3-D animated feature film. [Variety]
- Josh Peck discusses his role in the Ahsley Tisdale sci-fi film "They Came from Upstairs" in a new interview with MTV.
- The June 12th "limited opening" of Sony Pictures Classics "Moon" will occur in just two markets: LA and NYC. Not sure why they’re limiting the film’s opening weekend to so few markets (Sony probably plans to expand in additional markets shortly thereafter, but still…). [io9]
- Universal Pictures is remaking the 1983 David Cronenberg-directed thriller "Videodrome". Ehren Kruger has been tapped to write the script, and will produce with Daniel Bobker. At the moment Cronenberg has no involvement. [Variety]
- Marlon Wayans says that "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" "is serious, action and some comedy – but not all comedy”. [MTV Movies Blog]
- Director Marcus Nispel ("Friday the 13th") is in talks to join "The Last Voyage of Demeter". The story of the film is based on a chapter in Bram Stoker’s "Dracula", which has Stoker recounting the story of the count Dracula’s arrival in England on a cargo ship via the captain’s log of the voyage. [Variety]
- Lionsgate has released the official synopsis for "Saw 6", which has already begun shooting. [ShockTillYouDrop]
- David Slade ("The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"), has been tapped to direct the island-set horror/psychological thriller, "Cold Skin". [Variety]
- Director Joe Dante says that if asked, he would not be involved in "Gremlins 3": "They made that mistake once. Its a moot point, they won’t be coming to me." (Laughs) "I can tell you that for a fact." [ShockTillYouDrop]
- Universal Pictures is remaking "Drop Dead Fred". The project will be developed as a potential starring vehicle for Russell Brand. [THR]
- Christian Bale says that for there to be a third "Batman" there has to be "the right story", but admits he’s committed regardless, even if Christopher Nolan isn’t. [Total Film]
- J.J. Abrams and his producing partner Damon Lindelof say that they hope to soon get started on a film adaptation of Stephen King’s classic series "The Dark Tower". Watch the video below [IGN]
CASTING BITES
- Speculation has it that Michael Sheen has joined the cast of "Tron 2" as a villain. [via /Film]
- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been cast in McG’s "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo". I guess Will Smith, McG’s desired choice, wasn’t available…[Production Weekly via /Film]
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been cast in Christopher Nolan’s original sci-fi thriller "Inception". Gordon-Levitt will play an associate to star Leonardo DiCaprio’s character. He’s replacing James Franco, who had to bow out over scheduling issues. [THR]
- Danny Huston has been cast as Poseidon in "Clash of the Titans". He will play opposite Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. Sam Worthington, Mads Mikkelsen, Gemma Arterton, Jason Flemyng and Alexa Davalos. [THR]
- Amanda Peet has joined the cast of Fox’s "Gulliver’s Travels", opposite Jack Black. Peet will play Black’s editor and potential romantic interest. [THR]
- Johanna E. Braddy and Kyle Gallner have joined the cast of "Unicorns". [Dark Horizons]
- Lizzy Caplan, Crispin Glover and Sebastian Stan have all signed on to star opposite John Cusack and Rob Corddry in the time-travelling comedy "Hut Tub Time Machine". [THR]
- Alexandre Aja’s upcoming film "Piranha 3-D" has added the following cast: Dina Meyer (Paula), Brooklynn Proulx (Laura), Quinn Lord (Zane) and Riley Steel (Crystal). Elizabeth Shue will play Sheriff Julie Forester, while Ving Rhames will play Fallon and Adam Scott will play Novak. [ShockTillYouDrop]
- Bill Murray reportedly has a cameo in "Zombieland" as a zombie. [ShockTillYouDrop]
TV NEWS
NBC Expected To Renew Both Chuck and Medium + Reflection on Chuck Finale
Ahead of NBC’s infront presentation tomorrow (Monday), Nikkie Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting some absolutely great news for "Chuck" fans: the show has been renewed for a third season! Finke also reports that fellow Monday night sci-fi series "Medium" has also been picked up for another season, its sixth. As noted above, the network will make their official announcements tomorrow. Getting back to Chuck for a minute, creator Josh Schwartz gave an interview with TV Guide post-finale (note this was before the possible renewal news came down). Here are some highlights (SPOILERS):
- Given what happened in the finale, will Chuck still be the underdog?: "What I will say is that people who are concerned that these new powers will somehow change the tone of the show or of our guy, don’t be. There is a plan in place, and the tone of the show and Chuck’s underdog quality will remain intact."
- Bryce is really dead this time.
- They would love to have Scott Bakula — who had a three-episode guest-starring turn as Chuck’s dad — back next season.
- Season three is already mapped out.
Producers Talk SGU: Stargate Universe + Shanks On His Cameo
"SGU: Stargate Universe" creators/producers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper spoke at length about the upcoming series at last week’s official Stargate convention on Stargate. Here are some highlights of the answers they gave to fan questions [via Gateworld]:
- Cooper on the show’s aliens: "They’re not going to be human beings wearing prosthetic make-up, or speaking English. They are going to be as alien as you would hope to find out there in the far reaches of the universe."
- Even though the Destiny (the ship the crew will be travelling on) is locked on course in another galaxy, SGU will still feature Earth-based stories with the help of a piece of Ancient technology: “There’s a component to the new show that allows our characters, even though they are trapped on the ship, to still relate back to Earth and to people on Earth,” Cooper said. “It’s going to allow us to tell stories about them interacting with their loved ones, and essentially tell Earth stories.”
- The gate will be very different from what we’ve seen in the past: “We don’t want to give too much away, but I do think this is the coolest gate ever,” he said. “I will spoil one thing: There is a shot of the Earth gate in which you see a chevron lock you’ve never seen locked before.”
- The style of the show will also differ, and Cooper says that while they didn’t intend to emulate any other show, "Firefly" is one that it’s styled after: "That’s how Firefly was shot. There’s a lot of hand-held stuff. Cameras were placed in places that were non-traditional or [not] typical of film-making. But we examined that quite closely and looked at other dramatic shows that are shot like that, as well.”
Read more at Gateworld. Unrelated to ‘SGU’, Wright confirmed that the previously announced special edition DVD release of the "Stargate SG-1" pilot movie "Children of the Gods" is finished and waiting for MGM and Fox’s release schedule and that Richard Dean Anderson joined Wright to do an audio commentary–the first for Anderson. Moving back to ‘SGU’, Michael Shanks chatted with SCI FI Wire about the show, which he says is "not your father’s Stargate," adding "It’s a very different kind of show. ‘It won’t be quiet on the bulletin boards’ is the best way to put it." Shanks also confirmed that he’s only making a cameo appearance, but won’t spill any details about it. "SGU: Stargate Universe" airs on SCI FI/Syfy in October. In other news, consulting producer Joseph Mallozzi told fans on his blog [via Gateworld.net] that episode 12 is titled "Faith" and series co-creator Brad Wright has written what may be a two-part set for the second half of the season: "Darkness" and "Light". And lastly, Mallozzi has launched a blog to share insider secrets about the show. Here are some recent set images [more here]:
More Details on The Lost Season Finale
"Lost" executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse talked to TV Guide about the show’s upcoming two-hour season finale (May 13th at 9:00pm). Here’s some of what they said. First up, while they intend to "leave a lot of things up in the air", some things will be discussed, including a discussion — but not reveal — of the whereabouts of Oceanic 815 survivors Rose and Bernard. Also, Vincent the dog will make a reappearance and we’ll also get an answer to how Hurly got out of L.A. County jail: "That’s a question we owe an answer to before we wrap up the season," says Cuse. Here are some more highlights [via Lyly Ford]:
- We’ll learn how Hurley got his guitar case.
- The title of the finale, "The Incident", refers to the cataclysmic event viewers first heard about in season 2: "By calling the episode ‘The Incident,’ says Lindelof, "we are giving a clear indication to the audience the direction the show is moving in."
- We’ll see the face of the four-toed statue in the finale.
Meanwhile, executive producers Lindelof and Cuse talked with Variety about the show’s series finale, telling the site that while the endgame is set in stone, there’s wiggle room in the path they ultimately take to reach it: "The path that we take to the end still has some room for surprises and changes and discoveries along the way (in terms of) the characters’ journeys and how their relationships evolve." And while the duo won’t spill any details about what they have planned for the show’s end, they did share some goals: that it be fair to the characters, delivers on promises they’ve made to the fans and leaves them wanting for more (but thankfully not in the form of more questions):
"When we say more, we don’t mean answers," clarifies Lindelof, "because hopefully, the show will wrap up in an incredibly satisfying way, both mythologically and emotionally."
Also related to the finale, E! Online reports that we’ll see the following characters in the season finale: Sayid’s wife Nadia, young Kate, young Tom, young Juliet, young Rachel (Juliet’s sister) and young Sawyer. And finally, Yunjin Kim (Sun) gave an interview with Variety in which she discusses her favorite episode, what she likes most about her character and her choice for what was the most shocking twist in the storyline. And here’s an early look at the synopsis for the episode (via Spoilers-Lost):
Jack wants to set things right on the island but is met with strong resistance by those close to him, and Locke assigns Ben a difficult task.
Promotional images from episode 15, "Follow the Leader" [more at Doc Arzt]
Promotional images from the two-hour season finale, "The Incident" [more at SpoilersLost]
Promo for episode 15, "Follow the Leader"
Abrams Confident Fringe Will Return For Second Season
J.J. Abrams, co-creator of the Fox sci-fi series "Fringe", told SCI FI Wire that although the network hasn’t made a decision about a second season, he’s confident it’ll get a pick up:
"It should be returning," Abrams said. "I’m really happy with so much of what we did this year. And I feel like we have barely gotten going. There’s so much that we know we want to explore and knew we did from the beginning. A lot of it is yet to come."
Interestingly enough, the cast and crew have actually already shot a second season episode, but Joshua Jackson (Peter Bishop) says not to read too much into that:
"[It's] for boring reasons," Jackson said. "They only had 22 airdates for our show this year, but they ordered 23 episodes, so we shot one for next year, which is just silly TV network stuff. It’s not for any cool reason like we had something we needed in New York that we couldn’t shoot elsewhere. It’s just an accounting issue."
Even still, there are good indications that a second season will happen, with producer Jeff Pinkner saying they "have every reason to believe" it’s "going to happen". And speaking of season two, Abrams says he and the producers have already come up with some "cool ideas" and thinks "season two should be pretty great, pretty dynamic." Meanwhile, star John Noble (Walter Bishop) expects to that his character will come face-to-face with William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) in the second season:
"Next year, oh, absolutely, it’s critical," Noble said. "It’s critical that they get together. I can’t wait. Nothing this season, but I imagine there will be some fantastic scenes between Bell and Bishop. Bishop’s never been in the room with his intellectual equal so far. Suddenly there’s Bell, who’s as smart as him. That’s going to be fascinating. The writers will have a ball with that."
More from Pinkner and Jackson, as well as from star Anna Torv (Olivia Dunham) at SCI FI Wire. And speaking of Nimoy’s appearance in the finale, here’s how the actor describes the scene to SCI FI Wire:
It’s one scene. It’s the final scene of the episode, in which I appear with Olivia, with Anna Torv’s character. It’s very brief, but I think interesting, entertaining and there’s enough given in the scene to whet your appetite, that you’ll want to see more of this relationship and what it’s all about. You’ll want to know what it is he has in mind with Olivia, what he wants or needs her for, why he wants to see her, what their past history is about and where they’re going together. What are they planning to do? What are his intentions? All of that is yet to come, and I think there’s going to be some very interesting storytelling.
If that wasn’t enough "Fringe" news, here’s some more [via E! Online, unless noted]:
- Writer Roberto Orci on the final episodes: "We were saving so many juicy secrets for years and years, and we’re actually going to stick a bunch of them in the finale. That may be the worst idea ever, but we’re doing it."
- Orci also says that Nimoy’s character William Bell is "a bigger part of the story than you can even imagine," regardless of how many episodes Nimoy is in.
- Interview with Jasika Nicole (Astrid), where she discusses the shows season finale. [Fringe Television]
- Read the official plot synopsis of the season finale at Fringe Television.
- Watch interviews with the cast and crew at SCI FI Wire.
Promotional images from the season finale, "There’s More Than One of Everything" [more at Fringe Television]
Promo for episode 19, "The Road Not Taken"
CTV promo for the episode
More On Smallville Season Finale
Asked to describe the season finale in three words, Erica Durance (Lois) responds to TV Guide with the following: "heartbreaking, surprising .. and magical.". Meanwhile, executive producer Kelly Souders told TV Guide (via Spoiler-TV) that its Clark who ends up causing Davis Bloome to turn into Doomsday. Souders also revealed that there will be two departures and one arrival shown in the finale:
The finale "is a good push-off for next year, Souders says. "Clark’s decisions forse him on path he wasn’t expecting…everything he’s working toward this season kinda gets turned on its head."
Here’s the synopsis for the finale:
CLARK AND DOOMSDAY FACE OFF — Oliver (Justin Hartley) tells Clark (Tom Welling) he must kill Davis (Sam Witwer), as Doomsday is a serious threat and must be stopped at all costs. However, Clark struggles with taking a human life, so the Green Arrow and his team decide to take matters into their own hands. Lois (Erica Durance) takes on Tess (Cassidy Freeman), but the fight takes a shocking turn. Meanwhile, Chloe (Allison Mack) gets caught in the middle of Oliver and Clark’s battle over killing Davis.
Promotional images from episode 20, "Beast" [more at OSCK]
Promotional images from the season finale, "Doomsday" [more at Kryptonsite]
Promo for episode 21, "Injustice"
Synopsis for Torchwood: Children of Earth Episode 1 + New 10-second Teaser
Here’s the synopsis for the first episode of "Torchwood: Children of Earth", the five-episode third season/miniseries of the "Doctor Who" spinoff (via io9):
1965: Twelve children are gathered on a deserted moor, before being surrounded by a harsh, bright light …. and then they are gone! Today: all over Earth, children stop moving. Stop playing, stop laughing. Then, as one, they begin to speak with the same voice, announcing the imminent arrival of a new alien threat. "We are coming…." As the British government closes ranks, it issues a death warrant against Captain Jack and Torchwood…
Meanwhile, star John Barrowman wrote on his official site that the first episode will be previewed at an event on June 12th at the National Film Theater. And finally, a new 10-second teaser trailer has begun airing on television. Watch it below:
More Supernatural Season Finale Details
Eric Kripke, executive producer of The CW series "Supernatural" spoke with TV Guide about the show’s upcoming season finale (May 14th at 9:00pm). Here’s some of what he told the magazine [via multipleverses]:
"Dean and Bobby learn about Sam’s demon-blood addiction and, not wanting to forfeit Sam’s soul, they’ll take drastic action that will drive a wedge between [the Winchester brothers]."
Also, Kripke says the finale will feature a huge confrontation and "a seemingly insurmountable chasm between the guys," and that it’ll end on a cliff-hanger that will set the stage for season 5 "and it ain’t good." Meanwhile, writer-producer Ben Edlund spoke extensively about the finale with E! Online. Here are some highlights:
- On Sam’s demon-blood addiction: "The model of an addict bottoming out and becoming basically something else, almost a creature of reflex, is one of the things he’s going to have to face."
- While Castiel (Misha Collins) will be a regular in season 5, viewers need not worry about him throwing off the balance between the two brothers: "I don’t imagine that it’s going to be three guys in a car with a baby."
- "This season is a stage-setting season for next season…Look at this season as buildup to something even bigger [than the war between dark and light]."
- Discussing whether Ruby and/or Anna will play a larger part in season 5: "For my own two cents, I don’t feel like this is a story about either of these two guys finding love…It’s about two guys gearing up for and hoping to avert the Apocalypse. So dating is not utmost."
Here’s the synopsis for the season synopsis:
"Lucifer Rising"
THE BATTLE BEWTEEN HEAVEN AND HELL BEGINS — The apocalypse is coming, and Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) prepare for the fight in very different ways. Sam joins Ruby (Genevieve Cortese) on a final run to kill Lilith (guest star Katherine Boecher), while Castiel (Misha Collins) and Zachariah (guest star Kurt Fuller) tell Dean it’s time to play his part in stopping Lucifer.
Eric Kripke wrote and directed the episode.
Promotional images from the season finale, "Lucifer Rising" [more at SFUniverse]
Promo for episode 21, "When The Levee Breaks" and episode 22, "Lucifer Rising"
Clip from "When The Levee Breaks"
Terminator: TSCC Wins E! Online’s Save One Show Poll
Every year, E! Online runs an online poll for fans to select which of their favorite shows are in most need of saving. Many years sci-fi shows are at the top of the list, and this year was no different. Three of the five final contestants were sci-fi shows, and Fox’s "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" finished #1 with a whopping 53% of the final vote (out of more than 300,000 total votes). It beat out "Chuck" (25%) and "Dollhouse" (10%). E! Online contacted ‘TSCC’ executive producer Josh Friedman for a comment, here’s what he said:
"I think I speak for everybody who works on the show when I say thank you to the fans for their tireless work to save our show. I think it really goes to show that there’s a really hard-core, emotional, passionate fan base for Terminator that is larger and more widespread than people give us credit for."
As for what Fox has to say about the status of the series, here’s what Friedman told E! Online:
"They have given me no signs in either direction. I actually haven’t spoken with Fox in weeks. They said they’re going to make all their decisions when they get the pilots in, and I don’t think they have any of their pilots in yet. Things are just starting to come in from the other shows."
Friedman says that he doesn’t expect a final decision by Fox until the upfronts (which for Fox takes place on May 18th).
TV IMAGES
Doctor Who
Images from the set [more at the Flickr accounts of Alun Vega and Scooty -- via Planet Gallifrey]
Dollhouse
Images from episode 13, "Epitaph" (which Fox has said they will not air) [more at Dollverse]
Reaper
Promotional images from episode 10, "My Brother’s Reaper" [more at Pizquita]
TV VIDEOS
Caprica
Cast and crew discussing the show
Ghost Whisperer
Promo for episode 22, "Endless Love"
Legend of the Seeker
Promo for episode 20, "Sanctuary"
Reaper
Promo for episode 10, "My Brother’s Reaper"
True Blood
Musical sneak peek at season two
TV BITES
- While Zachary Quinto (Sylar) will be back next season on "Heroes", the producers are reportedly planning to introduce a new villain. Also set for next season, more with Tracy, whose revenge arc will serve as a major piece of the next volume, "Redemption". [EW]
- Sasha Roiz has been upped to series regular status on SCI FI’s "Caprica". He guest starred on the pilot as Sam Adama, brother of lead Joseph Adama (Esai Morales). [THR]
- Effective with this past Saturday’s episode, "Harper’s Island" will now air on Saturday night. [THR]
- Bernard Cribbins will return to "Doctor Who" as the companion to David Tennant in the actors final two episodes of the series this Christmas on BBC. [Unreality Primetime]
- Consider the source when reading this RUMOR about "Doctor Who": The Telegraph is reporting that Claire Bloom will be playing the Doctor’s mother in David Tennant’s final episode of the BBC series. [via io9]
- ABC has launched a viral web site, TheMosaicCollective.com, which is tied to the sci-fi series "Flash Forward". Watch the teasers that ran during last week’s 100th episode of "Lost" below:
MISC IMAGES
Batman Forever
DIY Batman Forever Batmobile –watch a video here [Dullam Casey via Gizmodo]
Star Wars
Posters for Disney’s "Star Wars Weekends" [StarWars.com]
MISC VIDEOS
Batman Forever
DIY Batman Forever Batmobile [Dullam Casey via Gizmodo]
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Opening intro sequence
The Hunt For Gollum
Lord of the Rings fan film [TheHuntForGollum.com]
Twilight
Twilight with Cheeseburgers [via /Film]
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Is this the leaker?
MISC BITES
- Ian R. MacLeod’s "Song of Time" has won the 2009 Arthur C. Clarke Award… [The Guardian via io9]
- …Meanwhile, the nominations for the Locus Awards have been released and you can check them out the complete list of finalists here.
- "Battlestar Galactica" writer/executive producer Ronald D. Moore will be at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills as part of the Writers guild Foundation’s Writers on Writing series on Tuesday, May 5th. [SCI FI Wire]
- The "Twilight" series is getting its own convention, TwiCon. The convention will take place from July 30 to August 2 at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel. [ET Online]
- Famed comic book writer Alan Moore talks about the League, Watchmen and more in a new interview with Newsarama.
SCI FI RATINGS
More bad news for fans of "Dollhouse". According to preliminary data, this past Friday’s episode hit yet another series low among adults 18-49, drawing just a 1.1 A18-49 rating (-8% from the week prior 1.2 rating). Overall, the show was up slightly among viewers to 3.09 million (from 2.92M the week prior).
CHART (4/20/2009 to 4/26/2009)
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Comments»
Too much information to read during a lunch hour. You guys are amazing!
Anyone else get a weird feeling in the pit of their stomach when they see that Nimoy as Bell picture?
Whew! A lot packed in one edition, awesome!
Saw Wolverine: I’d rank it excellent in the “Sci-Fi channel made-for-TV” genre. . . .
3 freakin’ days folks-forget the rest of the cinematic world, show me some Trek!!!!
Fair Play, Loads of Stuff there…
On the Wolverine thing though, I cant agree, I found it awful…but thats only my opinion.
Some characters deserved a LOT more time in the movie but I wasn’t impressed myself….made X-men 3 look like a masterpiece…….
……………and x-men 3 was no masterpiece…..
It was like going to see Shaft with Samuel L. Jackson, you were only going because it was Shaft, and Shaft is cool.
That’s right, no other review will ever draw comparisons with Shaft so there you have it!
But again, thats all just my opinion!
^^^^ agree!
I managed to see an advance screening of Land of the Lost. I now can say that I got the worst movie of the year out of the way.
I swear, there’s nothing more painful to sit through than a bad comedy.
Wow, Megan Fox must have a 21″ waist, hot!
There is a regular program on Reelzchannel called “At The Movies”. This week the two critics reviewed 4 films—-Star Trek, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Obsessed, and Battle For Terra.
Of the 4 reviewed films, only Star Trek avoided the “skip it” tag. Both critics said “see it”. Those two guys are rather harsh sometimes, so that was impressive to see.
With so much criticism of Wolverine, I most likely will skip it….at least until it is available on dvd. Taking the whole family to a movie that I have no real reason to believe is any good is too expensive
#2 Yeah, it’s sort of like they were reimagining the “In Search Of…. with Leonard Nimoy” series of the 70s! Hmmm, perhaps they could bring that back and have Zach Quinto take on the role. (But not until he’s re-envisioned the Ballad of Bilbo Baggins!)
5. If you are responding to my post, sorry, I was being sarcastic: I’d rather watch static or a loop of the Emergency Broacast System than a Sci-Fi made-for-TV movie.
Let me rephrase, Wolverine is a great movie to have on TV in the background when you’re concentrating on something else…
I might buy it at Big Lots for $3 in a couple of years (if not sooner,) just to keep the X-Men collection intact.
Land of the Lost was cool to watch on Saturday Mornings, but a feature-length film, come on! Hollywood (or the public for that matter) just doesn’t learn, there is a REASON why these were HALF-HOUR shows….
Not sure if Wolverine doing so well is a bad thing or good thing for Star Trek. The review for the movie weren’t too hot, but the movie made a ton of money.
In this tough economy, will people spend their money on Wolverine and then pass on Star Trek? Or does the big box office take mean that people are wanting to go to the movies, and will be in the seats next weekend, too?
By the way, our Burger King will only let us buy the Kirk glass. I stopped into our Best Buy, and they won’t have the soundtrack until tomorrow.
This was like Christmas morning after being veeeeeeeeeeeery good! So many presents to unwrap! Thanks for the treat!
#10 – I was actually responding to, in the main article – “On a personal note, and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, I actually thought the movie was pretty good. It wasn’t amazing or anything, but wasn’t terrible like many made it out to be.”
But I totally agree with your sentiments, it’ll be bought when it’s on sale!
My brother and I saw Wolverine over the weekend and we both enjoyed it a lot. Much like X-Men 3, it avoids the moral and social ambiguities of the first two mutant movies (and the comics upon which they’re based) in favor of a high-octane action movie with some pretty cool characters and some memorable set-pieces. The actors are quite solid for the most part and though the size of the roles varies from mutant to mutant, they all have their moment in the spotlight.
There are some missteps, plot holes and a few WTF moments along the way and some mutants have more to do than others, but the character interactions and pacing make up for any shortcomings in the plot.
The critics have been maligning this movie because it simply dares to try to be an entertaining summer popcorn film without bashing some message over your head. Some have harped on being disappointed by the ending, but since this is a prequel to the prior mutant movies, it really has to end the way that it does in order to fit into the films’ continuity.
If you’re looking for a fun and entertaining summer action film and can get past the fact that this probably isn’t 100% faithful to the comic material, then you’ll have a good time. I’m really looking forward to seeing it again and eventually adding it to my BluRay collection.
BTW, if anyone does see the movie, don’t leave until after all the credits have rolled. As is often the case with these Marvel movies, there is a bonus scene after the credits. I’ve read that this movie actually has several different bonus scenes attached to different prints.
Next up for us: Star Trek!
I can’t believe people liked Dollhouse less than the last week, it’s getting better and more intense as it goes but it did start very flat. Shame if it doesn’t get renewed but who expected Fox to support and nurture it? :-)
Lots of other good stuff in there to mull other, thanks for the updates.
I think more people are going to the cinema because compared to other recreational activities – it’s still pretty cheap.
Wolverine hasn’t done that well – if you compare it to last year’s Iron Man – i think Wolverine will probably drop off very quick and over all, not do very well in the long run.
Trek has a lot of support behind it and i think Star Trek could be one of the biggest films this year – Wolverine is pretty forgettable.
I saw wolverine…and as much as I hate to admit it,it was a thoroughly enjoyable two hours of entertainment. I noticed a couple small discrepancies, but I found them to be pretty easy to overlook. That said, I am PUMPED for trek this weekend!!!!!
I saw Wolverine Saturday night. I am not sure what movie some of the critics saw, but I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.
Dollhouse has been getting better and more interesting. Too bad it started off really weak. They took too long fleshing out the shows over all story.
Does anyone know the expected opening weekend box-office for the new ST movie? I suppose the studios have a projected number by now, right? Last month I heard something around 50 million, but now I see some websites saying 70~80, even 100. Does anyone have a more official number? Just curious…
@11
Thanks for the note, I am going to be picking up the glasses (all if possible) but I just hate fast food, it’s so bad for you but they won’t sell you the glass w/o buying a value meal (ugh). I’d really like to go and just pick up all for at once so I don’t have to go back.
Does anyone know what the story with the glass promotion is (I checked the article’s on the subject here, but the following information I was curious about is not in them): The promotion started today, but 1) when are they cycling through the available glasses (or is it a different one per store location)? 2) Has anyone found a place selling them without selling the value meal? 3) Has anyone seen a placing that has all 4 different glasses and is willing to sell them all now?
Thanks for the info if anyone has it.
Sorry guys, I love Nimoy and will watch anything with him on it.
So much, in fact that I catch myself singing “In the middle of the Earth, in the land of the shire….”
Forget Wolverine: we’ll watch it on a local affilate station one Sunday 6 months from now.
. . . just keep busy for the next few days, before you know it, Thurs/Fri will be here, woo-hoo!
My hats off for this Trekmovie post: it was, informative and killed several minutes, putting us several minutes closer to this weekend :-)
I really hope Reaper gets renewed for another season. Also, it would be pretty cool if CW used the actor that plays the devil on Reaper over at Supernatural.
Wow! If Wolverine can open with $80 million, Trek should do about. . .?
$200 million. We hope, if not more… :D
That leaker is an idiot. Just by watching him I can tell that. He couldn’t really answer questions and he said the same thing over and over.
“What are you going to do about it?”
Mock you, that’s what.
I am nowhere nearly as big a fan of Terminator as I am of Star Trek, but dear lord I LOVE terminator, this movie looks fantastic, and the first in a new trilogy…please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times because this going to be one hell of a ride!
If Trek opens with $200M, that would be a record, I think?
Aw, I don’t want David Tennant to leave Doctor Who. D: Sad.
But I’m SO excited for Fringe! If it doesn’t come back for a second season, I’ll probably raise all hell. xD
Battle for Terra looks interesting. Maybe I’ll check it out…
True Blood looks so stylish. Pity the scripts got boring by the end of the first year. Hope they can fix that.
I have a feeling, even if Star Trek doesn’t open to the same box office take as Wolverine, it will be around longer. Star Trek is looking to be a critical success as well as a box office success. I think that might translate into a film with staying-power. We’ll see. I could be completely wrong.
=A=
Ok, not having seen Wolverine yet (but I will), I can’t comment on the film. But, since I WILL see Wolverine, and see it in the theater, the Dweeb With the Ski-Mask gets the following answer:
DWSM: “I just posted your film online, Hugh Jackman. What are you going to do about it?”
HJ: “Laugh all the way to the bank, I think.”
(Personally, I don’t think this guy did it. However, if he did, he’s totally nailed — blacklisted in Today’s Hollywood, never going to work there again. Next time we see him employed, it’ll be while wearing a smock for the local grocery store, while pushing carts around the parking lot.)
Oh yes.
According to the site below, the highest grossing film was The Voyage Home, with $109M. In terms of the opening weekend, it was First Contact, with $30M. I think it’ll be a record. Quite easily. I don’t think people have been excited for a Trek film. Although I wouldn’t know – I was 14 when Nemesis came out, and that’s the only Trek film I have seen at the cinema.
I found something interesting: JJ said today that he expects the movie to open at around 50 millions, while Howard Stern thinks the movie should do around 80 millions.
http://enewsi.com/news.php?itemid=15055
I agree with #30. Trek will have more staying power than Wolverine due to good word-of-mouth.
Wouldn’t it be great if Trek makes the Billion-dollar club like Titanic!
I’m seeing Trek this Thursday at the only IMAX theater in the Baltimore area showing the film. As of this writing, the film is NOT sold out. I am surprised by this.
Wolverine wasn’t bad, but is wasn’t great. And what was up w/ some of the special effects? There were several CGI scenes that were just plain embarassing.
In my area, Natick, MA, some shows on Thursday and Friday are sold out but not all of them.
It’s not official that ‘Chuck’ will get a 3rd season yet according to a report from TV Guide…
“Series lead Zachary Levi told E! Online at a Friday event, ‘I just got an email from [Chuck executive producer] Josh Schwartz, and he said stay positive, [but] we’re not going to find out on Monday. It could be another week or two.’”
I hope it does renew officially soon!
@21
The BK near work (Southcenter, in Tukwila, WA) has a banner advertising the ability to buy the full set of 4 for $6.99 with any value meal, and individual glasses for $1.99.
It is a pre-printed card/banner, so, at least some areas appear to have an option to do all 4 as a set.
Of course, the manager hadn’t brought them in for today’s start of promotion… So, I guess that I’m BK’ing lunch tomorrow.
I like the TERMINARTOR : SALVATION conpept art.
Think I’m maybe going to buy this one with the money I saved due to the nonexistence of THE MAKING OF / THE ART OF STAR TREK
#21 Elwood -I got all four glasses at once at my local Burger King….You did have to buy a Value Meal, any one so choose the Whopper Jr its the cheapest and smallest least bad for you too….then they give you a special price of 7.96 for all 4 glasses….but I already read from others that some of the BKS are only selling one glass a week and not altogether so it depends on where you live I guess….or even who owns which Burger Kings….
The glasses and boxes they come in are great…best glasses ever…
I hope Star Trek does at least as well as Wolverine or better….Almost 90 million opening weekend is very good for Wolverine considering the lukewarm reviews…..
btw:
WOLVERINE was mediocre. Time to sharpen them old blades again….
I agree that Wolverine was mediocre. And this is coming from an X-Men fan. Trek is definitely the better film.
Thor filming in January and out in May? 4, 5 months later. That’s pretty ambitious eh? I thought this was going to be huge. Epic!
And the Wolverine ‘leaker’ should be drawn and quartered. What an @#$hole!
Thanks all for the info on the four-pack buying option. picked mine up today, they all look great, nice solid glasses too (not like some of the cheapy plastic ones I’ve seen before). Let’s hope between a big take opening weekend and lots of BK glasses (and other tie-ins) sold Trek becomes a hot marketable property that ensures we have many more voyages to come. Can’t wait til Thursday.
Man, I was really looking forward to seeing The Road. Hopefully it’s not being pushed back because it, you know… sucks.
And as for Chuck, I suspect if nothing else they’ll keep it around as a mid-season replacement show (since you know most of those new dramas are probably going to fail).
26
I have to agree. I had ZERO interest in a new Terminator movie at first (esp one without Arnold), but I gotta admit this one is looking cooler and cooler the more I see of it.
Dear Fox:
I’ll be back…
yours truly,
Sarah Connor
xoxo
Wolverine blew chunks.
Way worse than expected. (But Gambit was very cool!)
After seeing “The Last Stand” again, I realized how much that film REALLY didn’t deserve to be maligned the way it was.
Dollhouse needs to be put out of its misery.
It’s premise locks it into not being able to get better. Not to mention, it pales compared to any other Joss effort (obviously.)
Wow! I met John Noble at the Grand Slam Con this weekend…he announced that Fringe is coming back for a 2nd season.
He was not what I expected…a class act and very personable guy!
HOLY MACARONI!!!
Megan is SO HAWT!!!!
She should be fined for being so damned hot. It should be illegal to be that hot!
Aaaaargh! Is anyone else miffed at how the GI Joe movie manages to look MORE cartoonish than the friggin’ cartoon did?!?!? Movie studio: wtf – seriously guys – acceleration suits?!?!? The director of The Mummy?!?!?!? Gods!!!
I’m really trying NOT to rant here, I promise – I just hope to hell that
Hollywood gets over trying to hump the Wachowski brothers at every turn.
What the hell happened to action movies???
Whatever happened to the days when you simply ducked behind something to avoid enemy fire? Noooooooo – now everyone and their grandmother can shoot enemy ordinance out of the sky, or chop bullets in half with swords, or dance The Macarena around waves of artillery fire, or deflect rockets with restaurant pans (a la The Transporter).
Someone needs to make a movie where the action hero deflects bullets with some stale breakfast pancakes while doing his taxes and listening to Moby – seeing as gunfire just isn’t that threatening anymore.
Maybe someday someone in the echelons of the movie-making process will realize that it at least has to SEEM like your characters are in some kind of mortal danger (or by some means legitimately threatened) for an action sequence to have any real dramatic impact (ie. we actually care what happens) since safety and plot resolution are just a slow-motion salsa and tango away – and an old-fashioned bullet in the skull just isn’t as scary a prospect as it used to be.
Everybody mambo!
- 24thCRS!
I’m sorry, but that idea for T5 sounds really, really stupid. Fanwanky fantasy bullsh*t – the film franchise jumped the shark with T3, and T4 shouldn’t even have been made. T5 will just be really retarded if they make it how this stupidly-named “McG” guy gets his way.
I’m glad to hear that T:SCC won that online poll – here’s hoping it gets renewed!!
Lordy, I ended up ranting – sorry guys!
-24thCRS!
#49
“Wolverine blew chunks.
Way worse than expected. (But Gambit was very cool!)
After seeing “The Last Stand” again, I realized how much that film REALLY didn’t deserve to be maligned the way it was.”
I liked X3 from day one and always felt it was unfairly maligned in its time. Brett Rattner was practically vilified as the antichrist back then, yet it amazes me how many of those same fans are now saying that it wasn’t as bad as they remember .
Believe me, when Fox releases their X-Men: First Class prequel with the teenage mutants a few years down the road, you’ll be saying the same thing about Wolverine that you just said about X3.
I came across this article:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/news426316.html
It claims it’s source is the L.A. Times and says that Paramount has spent over 300 million on the ST09 film. If true, I think Paramount has lost their minds. This can’t be true.
Can anyone verify this?
I am in awe of how consistently well written and informative this series is every week.. How do you stay on top of it all? Keep up the good work!
Some quick notes:
Wolverine
Just want to expand on what I said above. I went in expecting a total joke of a movie (it was hard not to after seeing all the negative reviews) but ended up being pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t the “best movie ever!” and there were definitely issues, but I guess I benefited from low expecations because for the most part I was entertained.
Fox officially renewed Fringe
Agree on Terminator Salvation comments. Really looking forward to it. Probably my second/third most-anticipated movie of the summer after Trek.
Trek Box Office
Still sticking with my prediction of around $50-60 million. It’s just so tough to predict because if you look at past Trek movies they weren’t blockbusters. It’ll be interesting to see where the estimates that’ll show up in a few days have the movie opening at. Based on what Wolverine did, $70+ million certainly seems like it’s in reach. But in the end I don’t think if it opens smaller than Wolverine it’ll be looked at as a disappointment (by the way, the FINAL weekend number for Wolverine was $85.1 million).
Wish I had an IMAX theater near by but the closest is HOURS away. Gonna have to sttle for regular, or perhaps Digital. Planning on seeing it more than once though…
Terminator: TSCC/Prison Break Ratings Analysis
In last week’s SFS, Steve Rogers asked about how Prison Break fared in Terminator’s old time slot. I meant to respond to it, but forgot, so I’ll respond here. Terminator averaged 3.54M viewers and a 1.3 A18-49 rating in the Friday 8:00pm time slot. As for Prison Break, through two weeks in the time slot (the show’s first Friday premiere actually aired at 9:00pm, so I won’t include that) the show has averaged just 3.13M viewers and a 1.0 A18-49 rating (second week based on final data, third week based on preliminary data). So it’s down 12% among viewers and a considerable 23% among adults 18-49 from what Terminator was averaging in that time slot. To note, Terminator was relatively consistent on Friday nights and ended its season at 3.59M viewers and a 1.3 A18-49 rating.
23. Mike Ten
I’m a big fan of the show too, but its ratings are likely way too low–even for The CW–to warrent a pickup. Biggest factor is that while it does “okay” in the A18-49 demo, it doesn’t rate very well in the network’s other key demos (A18-34, and the various women demos).
38. joel
You are correct. Finke seemed confident about the renewal of Chuck, but NBC’s infront presentation only showcased a partial schedule reveal. Still waiting, and hoping, on Chuck…
44. Andy Patterson
Look closely at the date for its premiere, Andy. That would be 2011, not 2010. ;)
And finally. Thanks for all the great comments everyone. This column may be a lot of work, but seeing the weekly reaction to it makes it all worth it. :)
I wont be bothering with Transformers 2, it looks as bad as the first !!!!
I was waiting for that “leaker” video to be a joke. And was disappointed when it wasn’t. I’m not entirely convinced it wasn’t some tool who had nothing to do with the movie sitting by himself with a webcam pretending to be interviewed. Where’s Vreenak when you need him?
55
I still think X-3 was an abomination.
58
Ah,…..
And Rosario you do a good job on this. It’s always fun.
Holy crud- Harper’s Island out performed Lost? And that is with CBS relegating it to Saturday night……
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