This Week’s Sci-Fi Saturday brings news of Star Wars headed back to the big screen, a Hobbit lawsuit, Transformers 2 news, a new time slot for Lost, the return of Battlestar Galactica , plus first look images from G.I. Joe, The Incredible Hulk and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. check it out below.
MOVIE NEWS
"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" Debuts In Summer
A feature length version of the computer-animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars will be debuting in theaters on August 15th, followed by a television premiere on TNT and the Cartoon Network in the fall. "I felt there were a lot more Star Wars stories left to tell," executive producer George Lucas said in a statement. "I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the art of animation forward." [StarWars.com]
LaBeouf and Bay on "Transformers 2"
Describing the film as "massive", Shia LaBeouf told Empire Magazine: "I’ve seen pre-vizes of the action scenes and I just saw Michael yesterday. It’s going to be bad-ass. We’re not making another one unless it is, and Mike is definitely not resting on his laurels — he’s doing insane shit again. And the pre-vizes that I’ve seen… it’s just massive." In a separate report at Rotten Tomatoes director Michael Bay said he’s "been writing Transformers 2. We’ve got our characters all designed. I always write all my scripts, my movies, anyway, so at least I’ve got something to give the writers. It’s like a template. We have a really good outline, so I worked on that".
"The Incredible Hulk" Trailer Description and Hulk Design
A description of what could be "The Incredible Hulk" trailer has found its way online: "The scene opens with Edward Norton meditating. We see images of a lab, experiments, Banner escaping from the (Russian?) military (led by William Hurt and Tim Roth)…" Aint’ it Cool News has the rest of the description. Also, some promotional photos of the Hulk have been released [Cinematical]:
Del Toro on "The Hobbit" and New Lawsuit Against New Line
Director Gullermo del Toro told Empire Magazine that he’s not fully signed up for "The Hobbit" and its sequel: "I wish it was definite, but it isn’t," he said. "It’s still in talks, there are still a lot of ‘T’s to cross and ‘I’s to dot. It’s certainly not certain yet" For more, including his thoughts on casting "Lord of the Rings" actors, and the new lawsuit filed by the Tolkien trust against New Line Cinema head to Empire Online.
First look "Wolverine" prequel
We are now getting the first glimpses of "Star Trek’s" biggest competition next summer, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (which opens May 1 2009). Star Hugh Jackman tells USA Today that Wolverine’s nemesis Sabretooth "is going to play a big part in it. And there will be a good bit of cameos of new and familiar mutants." They also have a photo:
"Justice League of America" Pushed Back, Plus No Batman and Superman?
Though the start date has been pushed back to 2010, we have a possible synopsis which hints at no Batman or Superman in the film:"The film is about Green Lantern, Green Arrow and others of the Justice League of America, an organization made up of the world’s greatest superheroes. They must deal with the expulsion of Batman and the death of Superman at the hands of the monstrous Doomsday”. [Blockbuster Australia]
"G.I. Joe" First Look
Hasbro revealed that filming on "G.I. Joe" started this past Monday and the film has been penciled in by Paramount to hit theaters on August 7, 2009. The image below is of Dennis Quaid’s character General Hawk. In an interview with Collider, Quaid reveals he is signed for three films and Paramount are hoping they have a new franchise. Chris Eccleston ("Doctor Who", "Heroes") was also added to the cast as the villain Destro. [The Hollywood Reporter].
QUICK MOVIE BITES
- MGM and 360 pictures have hired Sean Hood to write the direct-to-DVD sequel "Stigmata 2" Shock Till You Drop
- Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman’s new supernatural horror film "Jennifer’s Body" has added Amanda Seyfried ("Veronica Mars") to its cast. The Hollywood Reporter
- Hank Azaria ("Godzilla") has joined the cast of Fox’s "Night at the Museum 2: Escape From the Smithsonian". He’ll play an Egyptian pharaoh. The Hollywood Reporter
- Three more images from the upcoming new Indy picture have been released from the Italian magazine L’espresso.
- David Goyers’ still un-titled supernatural thriller has a cast. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gary Oldman, Odette Yustman and Cam Gigandet are in negotiations to star in the Rogue Pictures film.
- On a recommendation from franchise creator James Cameron, Sam Worthington has been cast to star in "Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins" Variety
- Heath Ledger’s last film "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" will be completed. According to Ain’t it Cool News, director Terry Gilliam will cast Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to finish the film.
- Hasbro has revealed their toy figure of the monster from Paramount’s "Cloverfield". The figure stands 14" toy and retails for $99.99. Check it out here.
TV NEWS
"Battlestar Galactica" Returns in March
It’s about fraking time. SCI FI has set a return date for the final season of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning original series "Battlestar Galactica" for April 4 (10:00 p.m. ET/PT). The network will also air two specials the week prior; "Battlestar Galactica: Revisted" at 10:00 p.m. followed by "Battlestar Galactica: The Phenomenon" at 10:30. [SCI FI Wire] Check out the Season 4 preview:
"Lost" Finds Post-Grey’s Berth
ABC is planning on moving the final six (post-strike) episodes of "Lost" to the 10:00 p.m. Thursday time slot in late April. The show will get a boost following all new episodes of "Grey’s Anatomy", ABC’s top-rated scripted series. [TV Guide]
`4400′ fans send network sunflower seeds
Here comes another Roswell/Jericho themed "save our show" campaign. Fans of "The 4400" have shipped nearly 6,000 bags of sunflower seeds to the USA Network in hopes of reviving the canceled series. "The `4400′ fans have taken their loss with grace and dignity and, with this campaign, quite a bit of ironic humor," says Jeffrey Combs (who is at the center of the sunflower reference). A USA Network spokesperson tells the AP it would be "very difficult logistically to bring the show back." (translation ‘we destroyed the sets and released the actors from their contracts’) [AP]
OTHER TV NEWS
- ABC Family has picked up "Samurai Girl" as a six-hour miniseries. The series is from "The X-Files" executive producer Frank Spotnitz. Variety
- NBC renewed "Heroes" and the sci-fi spy drama "Chuck" for the fall 2008-09 season.
MINI REVIEWS (slight spoilers may follow)
Short reviews of the latest movies and episodes
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – "Queen’s Gambit" – Monday, February 11
Not the best, but solid entry none the less. Writers are already showing they are already interested in continuity with call backs to earlier episodes (like the girl who committed suicide). The introduction of Reese’s brother adds a nice twist and we’ll see where the show heads now that John’s step-father knows Sarah is alive and well. 7/10
Lost – "The Economist" – Thursday, February 14
Sayid an assassin? Couldn’t ask for a more shocking opening sequence than that. And the ending was good enough to overcome what was otherwise a rather confusing episode (even for Lost). So Sayid is the fourth member of the "Oceanic Six", time goes by about a half-hour slower on the island and Ben made it off the island and has Sayid assassinating targets? OK lets go with it. Things seem to be heading in that direction, but the show sure is getting weirder and weirder. 8/10
Supernatural – "Mystery Spot" – Thursday, February 14
A groundhog episode with elements of "Final Destination" = awesome. Sam was stuck for 100 days in a loop that saw his brother Dean get blown away by a shotgun, hit by a car, smashed by falling piece of furniture, electrocuted and more. Very cleverly pulled off, and incredibly enjoyable. But in the end, it all comes down to realization that with each passing day, Dean comes ever closer to forever leaving his brother. 9/10
Stargate Atlantis – "Midway" – Friday, February 15
Another new hairstyle for Teal’c huh? It was nice seeing that character again. Overall, there were a couple good action set pieces, but nothing we really haven’t seen before. In honor of Teal’c: A bit above average episode? Indeed. 6/10
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- Weekend: Remastered "The Trouble with Tribbles" [repeat] (Syndication)
- Sunday 9PM: Two-hour TV movie "Knight Rider" (NBC)
- Monday 9PM: new episode of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (FOX)
- Tuesday 10PM: new episode of "Jericho" (CBS)
- Thursday: New episodes "Smallville" (8PM, CW), "Supernatural" (9PM, CW) and "Lost" (9PM, ABC)
- Friday: New episode of "Stargate Atlantis", which according to the promos, "you won’t believe what happens in the last five minutes. (SCI FI)
SCI-FI RATINGS
| Top 10 SF&F Broadcast Shows | HH Rating/Share |
| 1) Medium | 6.5/11 |
| 2) ‘Terminator’ | 5.3/8 |
| 3) Ghost Whisperer (R) | 4.6/8 |
| 4) Chuck (8PM) | 4.4/7 |
| 5) Chuck (10PM) | 4.2/7 |
| 6) Smallville (R) | 1.4/2 |
| 7) Supernatural (R) | 1.2/2 |
| 8) Reaper (R) | 1.1/2 |
1/21/2008 to 1/27/2008 – Source: Nielsen Media Research
| Top 10 SF&F Syndicated Shows | Rating |
| 1) Stargate SG-1 | 1.0 |
| 2) Star Trek | 1.0 |
| 3) Dead Zone | 0.9 |
| 4) Stargate Atlantis | 0.7 |
1/21/2008 to 1/27/2008 – Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report via SCI FI Wire
| Top 10 SCI FI CHANNEL Shows | Rating |
| 1) Blood Monkey | 1.5 |
| 2) Ghost Hunters International | 1.4 |
| 3) Ghost Voyage | 1.3 |
| 4) ECW | 1.3 |
| 5) Thirteen Ghosts | 1.2 |
| 6) Stargate Atlantis | 1.2 |
| 7) Jeepers Creepers 2 | 1.2 |
| 8) Ghosthunters | 1.1 |
| 9) Haunted Prison | 1.0 |
| 10) Marabunta | 1.0 |
1/21/2008 to 1/27/2008 – Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report via SCI FI Wire
Hulk looks cool
Here’s another picture of The Hulk statue.
http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=81737180iz5.png
Nice to see that BSG will be back soon, too bad it will be the last season :-(
Someone still hasnt learned the lesson about Hulk movies..history will repeat itself!..and no I’m not saying Lou Feriggno should reprise his role…
The only way that a CG hulk will work, is if the entire movie was CG too..Duh.
the Hulk looks too CG,but this may be sort of a previsualization,still it would be better with a real person.about this being battlestars last season,maybe now that it will be over they can make a real battlestar galactica movie.I did give this show a chance,and although I love the blonde cylon woman,and there may have been good plots,it severely lacks sci fi imagination,and all the cool stuff that made the original great.give me a chrome cylon any day
Michael Bay wrote the script, huh? Suuuuure… Mr. Orci, care to confirm? :-D
Anyways, great job, Rosario!
“I always write all my scripts, my movies, anyway, so at least I’ve got something to give the writers.” –Michael Bay
*breathes huge sigh of relief that Orci and Kurtzman don’t write like that on a regular basis*
I’m eager for BSG too. I really like the fact that they’re ending it this season — they actually get to wrap up the story without having gone off the rails the way most longer-running series eventually do. And this is a series that really deserves not just to have a good finale, but an entire final act.
“SCI FI has set a return date for the final season of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning original series “Battlestar Galactica””
Final? What? Final???? Well, maybe #8 is right. But BSG is the best TV I’ve seen since TNG. And that’s saying a lot for me, I’m picky.
Maybe they can do some BSG movies?
The only way I’d believe it was a G.I Joe movie was if all the characters were moved around by giant hands.
Come to think of it, that would’ve improved the Transformers movie, too.
Wow. I read that Clone Wars blurb over on the SW website. It is written in “Corporate Drivel” language, which states “we have studied our demographic, and will now milk this franchise and dumb it down, making Star Wars appeal to yet a younger generation.”
I hope all the kids watching know that Anakin will soon become a mass murderer of sandpeople and children. I wonder if his cute new Padawan was in the temple when he brutally murdered all the kids inside. “Sorry, Ahsoka. Remember when I said I would kill you last? I lied.” (Decapitates Ahsoka, blood spurts as body falls, twitches, etc.).
And then, kids, after systematically killing all the children, he’ll go to the volcanic mining planet, betray and kill another few dozen people, and, as he agonizes over his betrayal of his wife and unborn children, will have most of his limbs removed by his lifelong teacher!
Anakin/Darth Vader is ultimately a pathetic loser who gets duped by older people who are simply out to exploit him. Then he becomes a mass murderer, and is finally “redeemed” when he kills the Emperor in Ep6. Instead of calling 911, Luke allows his dad a dignified death, and his spirit gets to hang with the good guys. WTF?
I remember seeing a cardboard cutout of Darth Vader in a supermarket over a pile of six-packs of Pepsi when Ep3 came out. Might as well be Hitler or Idi Amin. “Buy Pepsi Now or I Will Kill You, and Your Children.”
re SGA
trailer has mcay gettin rescued ?
y am i reminded of the ds9 ep?
is that the last 5 min bit they’re warning us if?
sorry i havent been up on stargate in a while.
The interview with Shia just gives more proof at the lack of intellegence and low maturity level of the idiots who ruined the first “Transformers” movie. The second one sounds like it’ll be even more of a mindless travesty than the first one…
The Hulk looks like claymation.
Is is possible the term “bad-ass” has been used up yet?
I would think Lucas has tarnished Star Wars enough with the prequels, but apparently not.
I think Lucas has handed SW off to the profit machine. To portray Anakin as a role model/teacher is extremely sick IMHO.
He killed his teacher, so Ahsoka’ s goal should be to kill him. Oops, his son managed that. And now Anakin’s soul sits with Obi-Wan and Yoda. I don’t recall seeing where those two massacred a building filled with children. Vader’s soul deserves no rehab IMHO.
Wrong forum for this, but Jeez Loise, how can there be an animated series about a psycho mass murderer and his pupil which will resonate with all demographic groups?
WOW… Star Wars is a FANTASY people. Its not the real world. Anakin is possessed by the dark side of the force. That is what makes him evil in the end. The Emperor is the one who twists him and turns him to the darkside. He turns Darth Vader into his puppet. When he kills the children, he is possessed by the darkside. If you watch the movie, you see how he physically transforms, with the yellowish red eyes. Under the influence of the Emperor he becomes more and more evil, but there is a scene where he is crying after killing all of the people on the lava world. There is still good in him trying to get out, but it gets supressed by the darkside.
Star Wars is a fairytale.
#9 totally agree.
LOVE BSG!
It truly is the best series on TV.. when it is actually on that is.
Do we know yet if the fourth season will all be aired together? Or will the writers’ strike result in the second half of the season being shown in 2009?
#15 A J as bad as the notion of a second Michale bay installment of Transformers is, word is that he will be involved in the relaunch of the Nighmare on Elm stree, Hey they can call it NIghtmare on Elmageddon Street. The Clone wars begs the question of why bother, didn’t they already do a cartoon series produced by the people who brought us Sumari Jack? The new series is only going to be a rehash of that one only with better animation. I am not a big Star Wars fan anymore especaily after the last Trilogy in which he just substituted special effects for good story telling. I think that I and the vast majority of Star wars fans can never forgive him for Jar Jar Binks, A character that lives in scif infamy.
Lucas should never be forgiven for those last three lousy movies. All that time and money. Oh yeah- as long as he MADE money, that makes it ok to put out crap. Silly me!
The Clone Wars cartoons were far better, but why push it too far with this redundant venture?
I’ll pass.
That Hulk looks much better than the first- and thankfully not neon green!
Ever thought about making the Scifi Report a daily column? This could still be a Trek site doing it that way right? They way you guys do Trek news great, I know you guys could do Scifi news great.
100 bucks for the Cloverfield critter? Uh…. nah.
Can’t wait til March/April for BSG’s final push.
Can’t quite seem to get into Terminator: TSCC. It’s not like the movies had a lot of plot. Hard to see it drawn out into a series, with (let’s face it) inferior chase sequences and special effects.
Christopher Eccleston as Destro? Do you think that London’s Royal Shakespeare Academy warns its budding thesbians that all their work is really going so they can become the villains in American pulp crap?
#21 Christopher Eccleston as Destro, now that I would love to see. its amazing how all these great actors from England are rushing to get into these big Hollywood productions, Hey it our gain. I think I may actuall go see this GI joe film. Eccleston is a really cool actor.
Man, I cannot fathom who would want to watch a GI Joe movie. Maybe it’s because when I was a kid I never had a desire to own or play with them, but I think I’d rather sit through another He-Man trainwreck. As long as they are mining our childhood for ideas, why not make a Danger Mouse movie? Ooh carrots!
Terminator: TSCC is shaping up to be a terrific show. Anything that helps erase T3 from my mind is a welcome distraction. I love Claire Danes, but man, what a mess!
Michael Bay might actually make good movies if he stopped being under the delusion he can write them.
I actually thought that first Hulk wasn’t too bad. I mean, how often do we see Nick Nolte hamming up the screen that badly?! Really, no one besides him was bad in that movie, which was the problem. It was a collection of very good actors acting very bored.
So would Ben be counted as one of the Oceanic Six? I realize he wasn’t on the plane, but how else could he be rescued and his presence be explained sufficiently for him to go free?
Hugh Jackman definatley using Roger Clemens special vitamins
well thats ruined Cloverfield for me, thanks man! lol
oh and LMFAO @ 11
whys the hulk got purple hair? I liked the Ang Lee movie it had a great sub theme with the father/son relationship that I really got into
#23 Sean I am not Michael Bay greatest fan, I know that most likely this film is going to be what ive come to expect from a typical Bay film but hey i am Christopher Eccleston fan, If he going to play Destro that ive got to see and that alone should have some entertainment value. Iquite agree the movie will probably be crap. as for Terminator the Sarah Connors Chronicles agin I agree its much better then I thought it would be, It combines very smart writing and lots of action, I only hope that Fox Network has enough brains not screw this one up like they did with Firefly, I am still steamed over that one.
WTF? I have been waiting until the DVD release of “Cloverfield” to watch the movie and see the monster. THANKS A LOT FOR SPOILING IT, TREKMOVIE.COM!! At least AICN and other sites have treated the toy announcement with spoilers!
It may be time to stop visiting this site. This isn’t the first time spoilers have been revealed without warnings.
It’s a responsibility. Start being more pro-active about spoiler warnings.
#27 Annoyed Fan they took the Hulk and totally re imagined it to death, they add this really stupid father and son subtext which the Hulk story did not really have in to begin with. In the original concept Bruce Banner got Irradiated by a Gamma Bomb not as a result of thing that his father. The Hulk did not need to re imagined this way, He took the whole Hulk mythology and threw it out. He did to the Hulk what Paul Verhoeven did to Starship Troopers he ruined it.
#29
The monster is in the freakin’ trailer as of two weeks ago! You can’t possibly consider that a spoiler. A month ago, maybe.
#29 Spoilage the film is still worth seeing in any event. You don’t want to miss this especailly on the big screen.
It appears that attending the JLA movie will be a waste of my time. No Superman, no Batman…….no go.
What about Smallville? Thursday nights on the CW…
re: Star Wars film…
My, what a bunch of Hellenistic Stoics we have on this board! You guys obviously have a very western view of a static personality! (That’s not an insult, just an application of technical descriptors to the apparent philosophical bent of some of the comments. Please don’t regard as trolling as I haven’t said anything insulting.)
Mr. Lucas, on the other hand, prefers Eastern thought- Zen and Dao. Anakin/Vader is a yin-yang character. As Obi-Wan says in ANH and RTJ, the emergence of the evil Vader is the death of the good Anakin. Conversely, when the love of his son Luke breaks his bondage to the Sith Master, Anakin is re-born and Vader is killed.
It is not so much redemption as the fight of the dualistic nature of the human soul which drives us between life and death itself- even between the lives of competing souls within one body.
If you’d like to reject such a notion on philosophical grounds, that’s valid to do.
But don’t assume that Lucas is just making a cash grab- there are plenty of other ways he could pad the vault at Skywalker Ranch without revisiting Anakin/Vader.
He is using the new project to flesh out the good side of Anakin in this new film so that the “yin” will be just as developed and articulated as the “yang” is (i.e. the evil misdeeds of Vader.)
Frankly, this project is needed to round out the full story. We need to see what there is inside of Anakin which Luke’s devotion is later able to access.
No Superman or Batman in JLA= Movie Doomed to Fail. Sad but true. It could possibly work if it was a “Superman and Batman are in it” capacity similar to JLA Year One, where Superman and Batman still are helping considerably… maybe…
New SW movie: I’m wondering if it’ll be in IMAX 3D…. would make sense…
#35
Interesting points, though I believe you’re missing the basic reason people are rejecting the Clone War concept – the prequels are incredibly mediocre. In fact, they’re so bad some of us feel they literally insult the intelligence of the viewer. It’s not so much a matter of Lucas’ philosophic intent as it is his failure to incorporate that philosophy into a coherent storyline.
#37- yes the prequels were poorly done. That heightens the need for new projects even more because Episodes 1-3 failed to paint a picture of Anakin which explains the evens of Episodes 4-6. If Lucas had sufficiently told the tale with the live-action films, I would join the ‘he’s making a cash grab’ chorus. But since he failed in the live action prequels, I can only hope the animated film does the job. At least, I am open to the possibility that it might.
#38
That’s more than fair. You just have more faith in George than I do! Haha. Still, it’s looking as though Indiana Jones IV might be a return to form for both Lucas and Stephen Spielberg, so perhaps this isn’t such a bad concept after all. In fact, in the spirit of optimism, I hope this animated film is an attempt to right the wrongs of Eps 1-3.
Night of The Museum 2 is taking place at the Smithsonian in DC where the enterprise is at
G.I. Joes were good for putting in trees and throwing rocks at. Or firecrackers. And only the big G.I. Joes with the “real” hair. As for a movie? I dunno ’bout that.
I never got into the X-Men so the Wolverine deal doesn’t really spark my interest.
I was 11 years old when Star Wars was released. Those movies were made for me. I am so sad about what happened to the story. The prequels just ruined the whole thing. Sad.
Hulk movie #1 left me yawning. Hopefully Hulk movie 2 will be truer to the original concept.
Personally, I don’t know how I feel about “The Hobbitt” being made without Peter Jackson directing it. What could New Line possibly have been thinking by not paying the royalties to Jackson initially and the Tolkien estate. The didn’t make enough dough on those LOTR flicks?
But a great big HOORAY!! for the great Battle Star Galactica. Is that series out on Blu-Ray yet? I’m buying me a Blu-Ray player if it is.
This seemed like the most likely place to tell y’all about my recent discovery: For Comcast customers, Fancast at Comcast.net has all episodes of TOS Trek available for viewing, and judging from the run times, they’re uncut.
Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|
The Terminator: Queen’s Gambit…uhm…are we watching the same series, here? The guy is NOT John’s step-father! He’s the guy Sarah and John were living with, but Sarah ran when he proposed to her, realising that she let him get too close to her.
And, of course, it is right at that particular moment that the Terminators choose to re-enter Sarah and John’s lives.
Interesting that the 3rd ranked syndicated show is the now CANCELLED Dead Zone…:(
#43–I am jealous…I recently moved and now have to settle for TimeWarner who has a weak and meek cable franchise for both their internet extras and cable on-demand features compared to my old Comcast service!
And Paramount…what are you thinking going up against Wolverine!!??
The face and hair screams “surfs up dude” to me. LOL