This week we have the latest (from Bill Murray himself) on the next Ghostbusters movie, plus news on more Marvel movies, the next Harry Potter, an I Am Legend prequel, and maybe even another Star Wars movie. In TV news a Stargate producer is defending the new show, plus we have the latest on Heroes, Lost, Terminator, and more. Plus lots of new videos and images, so check it all out below.
MOVIE NEWS
Bill Murray Makes Surprise Appearance at Screening; Talks Ghostbusters 3
Bill Murray made a surprise appearance at a screening for "City of Ember" at Fantastic Fest, and when asked about "Ghostbusters 3" talked publicly for the first time about the film:
“I think the wounds from Ghostbusters 2 have healed, Murray joked, the crowd erupting in laughter. “And supposedly they have hired two guys from The Office to write a script. So that could work. I think that’s a good idea to get a fresh look at… I always liked the characters. The characters are fun. And we did have a lot of fun making the movie. The first one was really a lot of fun to make. And I think the first 45 minutes of Ghostbusters is about as fun as a movie gets.”
Murray also offered some advice to writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg:
“We didn’t have a lot of special effects in it. There were just a couple. It was just the funny characters in that world, and I like that movie because of it. The first movie had like 60 plate shots. The second movie had like hundreds. Those guys got their hands on the script early, and it was GONE. It went away. It was hard to wrangle because it was tied all around the effects without the story or the characters coming first. So, they are hard movies to write, and Dan really caught it with that first one.”
Watch the video below.
I Am Legend Prequel Under Development
Warner Bros. has announced that they are developing a prequel to the hit Sci-Fi film "I Am Legend", according to Variety. Will Smith will reprise his role as scientist Robert Neville. Also returning will be director Francis Lawrence and producers Akiva Goldsman and James Lassiter. D.B. Weiss will write the script based on a detailed outline that was drawn up over the past few months by Smith, Goldsman, Lassiter and Lawrence. The prequel will chronicle the final days of humanity in New York before a man-made virus caused a plague that left Smith’s character the lone survivor among a mutated mob in the city.
Iron Man Writers In Talks for Mystery Marvel Movie(s)
Mark Fergus, who co-wrote "Iron Man" with Hawk Ostby, told MTV:
"There are some really juicy [movies] that we are very much talking intensely with Marvel about. We’re like, ‘We’re the right guys for this one,’” Fergus revealed.
This could explain why the duo were not tapped to write the sequel for "Iron Man", and Marvel instead opted for "Tropic Thunder" scribe Justin Theroux to pen the sequel.
Another Star Wars Movie?
Even thought George Lucas seemed to be done with Star Wars feature films after Episode III, he still went ahead with releasing the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars in August. Now Haden Blackmen, project leader of "The Force Unleashed", told the LA Times that a film based on the hit videogame is a possibility: "And it’s not impossible. Never say never. George [Lucas] has looked to tell new ‘Star Wars’ stories through the games and with the entire Star Wars Expanded Universe, and then he has also shown a willingness to let the characters come into the films."
Tron 2 Headlines Disney’s Ambitious Slate
Walt Disney Co. previewed a sequel to its 1982 sci-fi film "Tron" (2011), the 3D motion-capture remake of "A Christmas Carol"–starring Jim Carrey (November 6, 2009)–and a Tim Burton remake of "Alice in Wonderland" (March 5, 2010) in a presentation in Hollywood. The studio also announced that Johnny Depp–who will star as the Madd Hatter in ‘Alice’–will reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in a fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie.
Half-Blood Prince To Feature 25 Minutes of 3D IMAX
The IMAX presentation of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" will feature about 25 minutes of footage in 3D. The footage will be split between the opening sequence and the film’s climax. WB and IMAX did something similar with ‘Order of the Phoenix’, which was presented in 3D for the film’s final 17 minutes. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" hits conventional and IMAX theaters on July 17, 2009.
NEW IMAGES
Alice in Wonderland (more here)
Kick-Ass (more here)
Repo! The Genetic Opera (more here)
Saw V (more here)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (more here, here, here and here)
NEW VIDEOS
City of Ember (more videos here and here)
City of Ember: So Far So Good from City of Ember on Vimeo.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [HD Version] (click here to watch a TV spot)
The Spirit
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (another here)
MOVIE BITES
- Some new details about "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" have emerged from the Hasbro Licensing Summit. [TFW2005]
- Summit Entertainment and Imagi Studios have announced that "Astro Boy" will be released on October 23, 2009. The computer-animated feature film, based on the Japanese manga from the 1950s, features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy and Eugene Levy. [/Film]
- Saoirse Ronan, who stars in "City of Ember", said that among her favorite moments from the shooting were the scenes she shared with co-star Bill Murray:
"I had, I don’t know, maybe four scenes with Bill Murray," Ronan said, "But those four scenes you just kind of remember for the rest of your life, because he continuously makes people laugh." Another co-star, Harry Treadaway, also talked about the film, discussing how its imaginative production design helped his performance. And finally, Gil Kenan, director of the film, told SCI FI Wire that the author Jeanne DuPrau gave him her blessing, despite some reservations she had with the book-to-film translation. - "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" will be released on DVD, 3-Disc DVD and Blu-ray Hi-Def, as well as DVD and Blu-ray Collector’s Sets on November 11, 2008 (click for images). [DVD Active]
- Armie Hammer, who was slated to play Batman in the now stalled "Justice League: Mortal" movie, says he’s still prepared to play the role if the movie ever gets back into production. [E! Online]
- Matt Reeves, director of the J.J. Abrams monster flick "Cloverfield", will write and direct a remake of the Swedish film "Lat Den Ratte Komman In". The vampire film, entitled "Let the Right One In" centers on a young boy who befriends a female neighbor who moves into town. [Variety]
- DreamWorks has acquired the film rights to the science fiction novel "Chocky" and Steven Spielberg is interested in making the adaptation his next directing project. [THR]
- Andrew Stanton, who is writing and directing "John Carter of Mars" based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ books, told SCI FI Wire that he and co-writer Mark Andrews are looking to put their own spin on the story.
- D.J. Caruso tells Collider that he’s thinking about using IMAX cameras for certain sequences in his upcoming adaptation of "Y: The Last Man".
- Warner Bros. has announced a December 9, 2008 release date for "The Dark Knight" on DVD and Blu-ray Hi-Def. Check out some cover art below. Click here for release details. In other ‘Dark Knight’ news, WB will offer Academy members the option of receiving Oscar screeners on the Blu-ray format.
CASTING BITES
- Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have been offered roles in Steven Spielberg’s "Tintin". [Times Online]
- Johnny Depp will be reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in a fourth installment of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and has also been cast as the Madd Hatter in Tim Burton’s "Alice in Wonderland". Keira Knightly meanwhile sounds doubtful about reprising her role as Elizabeth Swann.
- Michael Pena has been offered a role in Seth Rogen’s "The Green Hornet". There is no word on which character Pena will play in the film. [IESB]
TV NEWS
Joseph Mallozzi: Stargate Universe not ‘Voyager 90210’
"Stargate Atlantis" executive producer Joseph Mallozzi responded to criticism that has been leveled at the recently announced spinoff series "Stargate Universe", specifically the character breakdowns:
Speaking of SGU, I notice that much of the reaction to the character breakdowns has been negative. While I respect everyone’s right to express their opinions, I’d suggest holding off on making a final decision on the show until you’ve actually seen it. Last week, Brad pitched us the series and its first five episodes and, I have to say, it’s a far cry from the shallow confection many fans are imagining. In fact, in many ways, it’s a much more cerebral and mature addition to the franchise. While firmly entrenched in pre-established Stargate mythology, Stargate Universe definitely strikes out in an exciting new direction. It’s a series that will delight veteran fans, but also appeal to newcomers who may not necessarily know the difference between an Alteran and an Asuran. In spite of what the indicators may suggest, this will definitely not be a Voyager 90210. The assortment of characters that make up the character breakdown are certainly an atypical collection of heroes, far-removed from the skilled likes of Jack O’Neill, Samantha Carter, John Sheppard, and Rodney McKay – but there’s a damn good reason for that. Can’t say more but suffice it to say I have a feeling this show will pleasantly surprise a lot of people.
Heroes Cast Talk About What’s In Store for their Characters, Show
James Kyson Lee (Ando) talked a bit about the surprise revelation in the show’s third season premiere:
"I don’t think it was more of a betrayal, but a misunderstanding." "There’s obviously a lot of mystery involving that scene. I think that’s part of it, that we don’t really know how the future plays out. In this show, you can never assume, because what seems to be doesn’t turn out to be, [and, in fact,] turns out to be completely different."
Lee added that over the coming season, Ando and Hiro will be trying to prevent the future in the present:
"We’ll see if they go there, how it gets there," Lee said. "But it was a nice little preview of what could be in the future." Lee also talked about his character finally getting superpowers: "I think it would be fun," he said. "I’ve had a couple seasons as the mortal, and he’s sort of been used to [being] the guide to the audience, I think, in some ways. That’s been cool. But I think this character seems to be growing every season. I think that would just add another element and a layer to play with. So it’d be interesting."
Also, Christine Rose, who plays mom Angela Petrelli, told SCI FI Wire that she’ll be returning to a position of power on the upcoming season with major developments coming in the eighth episode:
"This volume, she gets her own back," Rose said. "She gets her strength back, and she means business. Then everything falls apart–or maybe it doesn’t. It’s all a really cool story, so it’s exciting."
And finally, Jimmy Jean-Louis, who plays the mysterious character known only as the Haitian, may have let a spoiler slip when talking about viewers following the character to his homeland of Haiti (although the filming didn’t occur there): "We know he goes there, because he has to take care of his brother. Oops, did I say brother? Anyway, he will be taking care of business in Haiti."
Amanda Tapping Answers Questions About Sanctuary
Co-producer and star of the upcoming SCI FI original series "Sanctuary" (October 3rd at 9pm), Amanda Tapping told gathered reporters that she had made the decision to focus on the new show even before the network renewed "Stargate Atlantis" for its current, and final, fifth season.
"When I first got approached with "Sanctuary", I didn’t know what the future of me and the "Stargate" franchise was going to be. And so–this was January of 2006 that initially the script was brought to me–at that time I didn’t know I was going to be doing ‘Atlantis’, and I didn’t know what was going to happen with ‘SG-1’. So we shot this little test scene, and … we got the funding, and in January 2007 decided to do a Web series, which didn’t seem at all to conflict with "Stargate"or how that was going to work. The timing worked out perfectly. And then when it came down to [it], … I had finished season four of ‘Atlantis’, and I got offered season five, and it was a really lovely contract. And it would’ve been very easy to say yes. But I had to sort of make this enormous leap of faith, because "Sanctuary" was waiting in the wings."
Tapping also discussed the differences between her character on "Sanctuary" and her character on "Stargate SG-1/Atlantis":
"It was a really conscious choice. When I first decided to do Helen Magnus, it was a real conscious choice to have absolutely no vestige of Sam Carter in this character, in terms of everything from her appearance to her voice, to her walk, to her wardrobe, everything. I just felt the need to completely reinvent. Partly, as a woman, I just felt it was time, and as an actress, I just felt it was time to just try something completely different. And it’s kind of great, because I go places and people don’t recognize me; people that I’ve worked with for 10 years don’t recognize me.
Jones (James Ellison) Talks Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
FBI agent James Ellison (Richard T. Jones) of Fox’s "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles", told SCI FI Wire that his character will be taking the job offered to him by Catherine Weaver (Shirley Manson) at the Zeira Corp, a precursor corporation to Skynet, although Jones noted his character doesn’t know he’s working for a Terminator:
"I end up working with Shirley Manson, for her [character]’s company, which is a lot better for me, because they have money," Jones said in an interview at Fox’s party to celebrate the fall season in Hollywood earlier this month. "They pay me with nice stuff. I get nice suits. I sell out for the money. No, but I sell out for better resources so I can find out a little bit more about what Terminators are, how they run and why they’re here."
In a separate interview, show creator Josh Friedman talked about how the decision to align Ellison with the bad guys came to be:
"It sort of came out of where we were at the end of last season," Friedman said. "We were like, ‘OK, what are we going to do with him now that he knows what he knows?’ I think everybody sort of assumed now that he knows there are Terminators, he’s just going to go team up with the Connors and become more of a student to them, which is why I really didn’t want to do that. I figured that’s what we all expect. There are other ways for him to get through the day and other motivations for him and curiosities."
Lost News: Jin’s fate Unknown, Claire Gone for the Season
Fans of "Lost" have not seen the last of Jin. Despite his character seemingly being killed in last season’s finale, Daniel Dae Kim told EW’s Michael Ausiello that his "character’s fate is up in the air a little bit, but I think if you keep watching, you’ll be rewarded." When asked if he’d been to Hawaii to film any episodes, Kim laughed and said "I just came from Hawaii yesterday … One could interpret that as [a good sign]." And in other Lost casting news, Emily de Ravin confirmed to Ausiello that Claire will not be seen at all in season five. She assures fans, however, that she’ll return for the show’s sixth, and final, season.
TV IMAGES
Doctor Who (photos from deleted scene–details at this link)
Life on Mars (more here)
Lost (more here)
The Sarah Jane Adventures (more here)
Stargate Atlantis (more here and here)
TV VIDEOS
Chuck
Heroes
Lost
Knight Rider
Smallville (more videos here and here)
TV BITES
- There’s still no official word on whether the "Battlestar Galactica" prequel spinoff "Caprica" will become a regular series. Mark Stern said that the network’s executives were still "trying to figure out the financing". The recent pickup of "Warehouse 13" may have complicated things. [The Chicago Tribune]
- ABC’s "Pushing Daisies" was the only sci-fi program to take home an Emmy during the primetime telecast last Sunday. The show won an award for outstanding directing for a comedy series, given to Barry Sonnenfeld for the show’s pilot episode "Pie-Lette". [SCI FI Wire]
- Joshua Gomez, who plays Morgan Grimes, best friend to Chuck Bartowski on NBC’s "Chuck" discusses what’s in store with his character over the coming season. Season two kicks off September 29th at 9pm. NBC has given the show a 22-episode order. [SCI FI Wire]
- The cast of "Knight Rider" has still not met up with Val Kilmer, who voices K.I.T.T. in the NBC revival:
"No, I haven’t met Val Kilmer yet," said star Justin Bruening, adding "It would be an honor to meet him sometime. Maybe he will show up at the season-five Christmas party." Now, now, don’t get ahead of yourself Justin. The season premiere this past Wednesday drew just 7.35M viewers and a 2.5 A18-49 rating. That was down 42% among viewers (12.72M to 7.35M) and 50% among adults 18-49 (5.0 rating to a 2.5 rating) from last February’s 2-hour TV movie. In other "Knight Rider" bits, check out this interview with Paul Campbell (Billy Keikeya on "Battlestar Galactica"), who plays Billy Morgan on the show. - Meanwhile, "Fringe" couldn’t hold onto last week’s additional "House" viewers, falling back down to 9.42M viewers and a 4.1 A18-49 rating. While off from the week prior, it’s ratings are still higher than what was posted for the series premiere and it continues to fit well out of "House" (which incidentally also dropped week-to-week in the ratings). Over on NBC, the two-hour third season premiere of "Heroes" drew 10.09M viewers and a 5.0 rating among adults 18-49.
- SCI FI Wire has put up a set report for CBS’s "Eleventh Hour", the sci-fi drama based on the British miniseries. The show premieres on Thursday, October 9th at 10pm. You can also check out an interview with stars Rufus Sewell and Marley Shelton discussing their characters’ relationship and whether they’ll get romantic here.
- Several cast members of HBO’s "True Blood" have been promoted for the shows upcoming second season.
Guest stars Mehcad Brooks, Todd Lowe, Deborah Ann Woll and Michelle Forbes have all been upped to series regulars. All will appear in the show’s first season finale this fall. The show returns for its second season next summer. [THR] - The SCI FI Channel has given a green light to production of "RelicQuest" (working title), a new reality series centering on the search for history’s greatest relics and artifacts. The one-hour show will premiere in early 2009. [SCI FI Wire]
- In a new book, "Doctor Who’s" Russell T. Davies reveals that he turned down George Lucas’s offer to write episodes of the upcoming live-action "Star Wars" TV series. [SFX]
- Sarah Michelle Gellar, of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fame, is eying a return to the small screen with a half-hour drama/comedy pilot over at HBO entitled "Wonderful Maladys". The show will revolve around three adult siblings who lost their parents at a very young age. [Variety]
- "Battlestar Galactica" star Mary McDonnell is in final talks to join "Grey’s Anatomy" for a three-to-five episode arc this season. No details on her character have been revealed. [The Chicago Tribune]
MISC
British Fantasy Awards Winners
Winners of this year’s British Fantasy Awards were announced last weekend at the Fantasycon 2008 in Nottingham, United Kingdom. The winners were:
- Novel (The August Derleth Award): "The Grin of the Dark" by Ramsey Campbell
- Novella: "The Scalding Rooms by Conrad Williams
- Short Fiction: "My Stone Desire" by Joel Lane
- Collection: "Old Devil Moon" by Christopher Fowler
- Anthology: "The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 18" by Stephen Jones
- Small Press: Peter Crowther, PS Publishing
- Artist: Vincent Chong
- Nonfiction: Peter Tennant, for the Whispers of Wickedness Web site
- The Karl Edward Wagner Special Award: Ray Harryhausen
- The Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer Award: Scott Lynch
Battlestar Raiders on Sale
High-quality, limited-edition 15 inch by 9 inch replica’s of the Cylon Raider from "Battlestar Galactica" will go on sale beginning September 28th. The replica’s are developed by Quantum Mechanix and will be available online for $949.95. Based on a computer-generated model, the Raiders come assembled and painted from The FX Company and feature custom electronics with light displays, including the scanning/sweeping red LED eye and flaring white engine lights. Only 500 will be sold, each with a brass plaque signed by either "Battlestar Galactica" executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, director Michael Rymer or one of the cast members, including Jamie Bamber (Apollo), James Callis (Baltar), Tricia Helfer (Number Six), Michael Hogan (Tigh), Edward James Olmos (Adama), Grace Park (Athena) or Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck).
MISC BITES
- "Brisingr", Christopher Paolini’s third volume in the "Inheritance" cycle of fantasy books, sold a record 550,000 hardcover copies in its first day of release on September 20th, making it the best-selling Random House Children’s Books title ever. The novel has a first printing of 2.5 million copies, also the largest in the publisher’s history. Paolinin will be writing a fourth and final book to conclude the "Inheritance" cycle, although a publication date has not yet been announced. [SCI FI Wire]
- Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci gave an interview with /Film where they talked about their new Fox series "Fringe", the possibility of a third "Transformers" film and more. Check it out here.
- As if his extensive directing slate isn’t enough, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has signed a production deal with HarperCollins imprint William Morrow to write a trilogy of vampire thrillers. The first book, "The Strain", will hit bookstores next summer. Del Toro will be working with Chuck Hogan. [Variety]
- Stan Lee isn’t against the idea of the next Captain America being played by Will Smith: "I would love us to do something with Will Smith. It would be a real leap to make Captain America black…" [Digital Spy]
- "Farscape" creator/writer Rockne O’Bannon that the upcoming comic book series will have everything fans love about the original TV series and more. [Newsarama]
- Marvel has announced that talk-show host Stephen Colbert will appear in an eight-page story featured in the extra-sized "Amazing Spider-Man" # 573. Check out the photo below. [SCI FI Wire]
SCI-FI RATINGS
| Top 10 SF&F Broadcast Shows | HH Rating |
| 1) Chuck (R) | 1.5 |
9/1/2008 to
9/7/2008 – Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report via SCI FI Wire
| Top 10 SF&F Syndicated Shows | Rating |
| 1) Stargate SG-1 | 1.0 |
| 2) The Dead Zone | 0.8 |
| 3) Stargate Atlantis | 0.7 |
| 4) Star Trek | 0.7 |
9/1/2008 to
9/7/2008 – Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report via SCI FI Wire
| Top 10 SCI FI CHANNEL Shows | Rating |
| 1) Ghost Hunters | 1.9 |
| 2) ECW | 1.4 |
| 3) Destination Truth |
1.3 |
| 4) Death Tunnel |
1.2 |
| 5) Stargate Atlantis |
1.1 |
| 6) Star Trek: The Next Generation |
1.1 |
| 7) Total Recall |
1.1 |
| 8) Eureka | 1.0 |
| 9) Ghouls | 1.0 |
| 10) Ghost Voyage | 0.9 |
9/1/2008 to
9/7/2008 – Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report via SCI FI Wire
I really hate that Atlantis was cancelled. Universe better be good, or heads will roll!
Gosh I’m so happy Heroes is running again. At least one of the big three (BSG, Lost, Heroes) is on air now. Season premiere was a bit of a disappointment (Nathan alive, wtf) but still entertaining.
Uh yeah thanks for that wey….
I Liked Stargate Atlantis at first, but I eventually stopped watching it because it started to focus too much on Rodney McKay. The most annoying of all of them.
Will Smith as Captain America. No. He and Barry Sonnenfeld ruined another one of my childhood favorites – “Wild Wild West”. No need to ruin another. Let’s try to at least do that story right. That one’s too important.
And I have my doubts about that Night Rider show. He and the hot girl had to take their clothes off in the car to keep from burning up because KIT was on fire outside. As good looking as she is….still a very laughable scene.
I’m really disappointed but not surprised at Knight Riders ratings. Bringing KITT back in a Mustang was a really poor choice. They should have opted for some sort of prototype car, one that would make more sense. I mean really, even though it’s a TV show, can you really imagine a Ford morphing into a car or truck of choice? The other thing they need to do is to get rid of the “extras” in KITT’s “garage”. The old man should stay along with his daughter, simply because they designed the new KITT. Mike Tracer is not bad, but the actor needs work on his portraying a FLAG representative. The “garage” area needs to be a little more realistic. It’s too junked up, needs to be simplified somehow. The other actors need to find a way to “gel” together. They all seemed “forced”.
“STAR WARS” VIDEOGAME MOVIE?!?!?
*sigh* I suppose by the time George Lucas ever returns to the characters of the Original Trilogy, it’ll be a CGI version of the Marvel Comics stories set between EMPIRE and JEDI.
Sorry, Lucas doesn’t make any sense to me anymore. I gave up for good after the overrated mediocrity of REVENGE OF THE SITH.
I was surprised to find that I really liked the new Knight Rider. I guess it’s down to how you perceive the original show. The 1980s KR was a deeply silly, cheesy show that was a lot of fun. The new KR recognises that and builds on it.
The biggest problem, in a sense, that the show has is the new Battlestar Galactica. BSG is an amazing show, based on an earlier show that had a killer premise and lame execution. Knight Rider was always fluff in comparison and the makers of this show recognise that. People now seem to think that all new versions of old shows should be like BSG which is patently stupid!
So Deanna Russo gets her kit off (excuse the pun!) in the first five minutes! That’s part of the fun of this show: it’s cheese, nicely put together that rockets past at 200mph. The show’s too short to be offensive, quite frankly. I like intelligent programming as much as anyone with an intellect. But Knight Rider is a fun, silly caper show that doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s plenty of room for those shows too.
I hope it at least makes it through one season!
@7
I thought Revenge was the only good Prequel and ended the saga quite nicely.
I think bridging the gap between trilogies with a movie version of The Force Unleashed would be a fantastic idea. The game has that gritty feel of the original trilogy and a ton of people would go to see it as a movie.
I amd very diaapointed i the Canceling of Star Gate Atlantis. But at least they will make movies. Though Direct to DVD.I would love to see Will Smith Play Ralph in The Greatest American Hero Movie. Now He would be Good at that and Im looking forward to seeing a prequel of I am Legend. Now That will be a killer movie. (no pun intended).The Termanator series continues to inpress and is the second best scifi show in T.V next to Heroes and the 3rd best is Atlantis. But my Pick for Top Show on tv of any show is Navy N.C.I.S They should not put any good scifi shows against that one.
Knoght Rider is a Joke. I loved the original but this new one. Well as Georidi Laforge would say. Eject the Core. I would Love to see someone do a new and updated Movie or Series of Airwolf. Loved that show when i was a kid.
A big black car that jumps around and can transform doesn’t have to be a campy crapfest. Just watch The Dark Knight.
The script and premise for the knew KR took its subject seriously enough, it was the execution that was horrible.
Hi Capt Mike from the Terran Empire (11)
Airwolf would be my choice for a modern revamp too. Airwolf is a prime example of a good series compromised by an idiotic network in its original run. A ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ stealth ‘copter being used to observe (and, when necessary, fight!) North Korea, China, Putin’s Russia, terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan could work even better today than in the 1980s.
Airwolf was always dark, though, dealing First Blood-style with the aftermath the Viet Nam war through Stringfellow Hawke.
Knight Rider, in comparison, is chaff. I’ve rewatched the old show and it is painfully dated and deeply stupid. Nostalgia has been kind to Knight Rider, but it’s dreadful on actual rewatching. The new show is silly too, but at least it’s fast-paced and knows when to get its lead actress to take her clothes off! ;)
#9-
As long as Lucas continues to make STAR WARS movies that do not have the words EPISODE VII, EPISODE VIII or EPISODE IX in the titles, then I ain’t bitin’.
I think the producers of CAPTAIN AMERICA have already quashed the Will Smith rumor.
“I Am Legend” dissappointed. I won”t be there for the prequel.
George Lucas doing a Star Wars movie based on a frikkin’ video game would be the final nail in the franchise’s coffin. And since the ratio of Lucas-created-or-endorsed-crap to Lucas-created-classics now leans heavily toward the crap I’d be willing to say buh-bye to that whole galaxy long ago and far away.
“Astro Boy”. Cripes, didn’t they already rape my childhood memories once with that awful “Speed Racer” movie? Now this? I hate you, Hollywood.
AND TO ADD:
SITH still had all the problems and weaknesses as PHANTOM MENACE and ATTACK OF THE CLONES. I think too many people give it a free pass because it’s PG-13, Anakin kills kids and then gets set on fire at the end, Vader finally appears (for about 1 minute), and there’s almost no JarJar to be seen. Everything else is typically weak.
“As long as Lucas continues to make STAR WARS movies that do not have the words EPISODE VII, EPISODE VIII or EPISODE IX in the titles, then I ain’t bitin’.”
I ain’t bitin’ either! Ep. 1 was more than I could handle….I walked out after 35 minutes. Trash!
‘Tron 2’ a mere 29 years later. Is Bruce Boxleitner in it? If not, I’m afraid all the hardcore Tronnies will bolt.
Pirates 4?
Legend Prequel?
Dear Hollywood… since your head is that far up your whazzoo, would you please remake’sequel something that’s worth a damn… say, “This Island Earth” or “When Worlds Collide”?
Jim Carrey in Christmas Carol AND Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland. Damn, Hollywood’s doing its part to help me save on gas and admission.
Ghostbusters could be cool… if they do it right. The others just have a weariness to them already.
Ember looks good.
I’ll keep an open mind about Universe. I just hope (always) that the writing is there… cause it hasn’t been on Atlantis.
By the time Ghostbusters 3 gets made, it will have been more than 20 years since the last film! That’s gotta be some kind of record. But bring it on, I say. It sounds like they all know 2 was a letdown. Now they can redeem themselves.
Yay for Alice in Wonderland and Ghostbusters 3. And I though this week’s episode of Fringe was the best so far.
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button looks amazing, really looking forward to that. The Spirit looks visually stunning (albeit nothing new), but I think I’ll wait for it on Video or the Sci-Fi Channel. Heroes was good on Monday, but I hate to say the quality has steadily gone down since the first season. Knight Rider had potential, but it’s god awful, it’ll probably outlast Bionic Woman which was a far better show. Oh and glad to see Alice In Wonderland coming along, anything Tim Burton does is awesome (well maybe not Planet of the Apes).
#17: PHANTOM, CLONES, and SITH were all horribly acted. But SITH was well-written and well-directed, which improved it rather a lot. It was also by far the prettiest Star Wars movie ever produced.
#23-
“It was also by far the prettiest Star Wars movie ever produced.”
To each his own, but I prefer THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Every shot is gorgeous in that film. Certainly the best-filmed lightsaber battle, cinematography-wise. Nothing in any of the other films can beat those silhouettes.
Have you actually played the force unleashed? I think its one of the best Star Wars related stories Lucasfilm has come out with in a long time.
Do you know why?
Its characters.
The game itself is amazing, full of the kind of visual splendor you’d expect, but the game is populated with characters who seem very… Real. For example, The Starkiller, the games protagonise (definately not “hero”) is potrayed very elegantly, he’s Darth Vader’s Darth Maul basicly, as in hes been trained to kill, and kill and kill, so the game lets him encounter things that he doesn’t know how to deal with, most amusingly a kiss, to which he has no idea how to respond to. The game doesn’t just let him be amazing, it shows the weaknesses that come along with his strengths.
I think the game would make an excellent film. Dont judge it before you’ve played it.
Hopefully they keep the actor they motion captured for The Starkiller, with his ability to actually act which is missing from other Star Wars films….
All the Wars prequels are infinity better than most of the TNG movies.
The Dark Knight…12 09 08
can’t wait…yeah baby….the best film of 08….I would have made it the lead story……to each his own.
Peace and long life
#13 Dom.your right. it could be very well made and done if the right people got in and made it.That 4th season they did was just Plain stupid and i don”t even consider it Airwolf. The new Nightrider is a joke and I won’t even waist my timein Watching it. Oh and by the Way. TRAILER PLEASE!!!!!!!
I watched all the Force Unleashed cutscenes on Youtube. Great stuff
Mallozzi is deluding himself. Stargate Universe is absurd:
“certainly an atypical collection of heroes, far-removed from the skilled likes”
Any situation that throws a collection of misfits and trainees into the lead characters of a Stargate series, completely destroys that basal believability which made Stargate watchable from the original movie. Even the USAF felt that way, which is why they’ve always been generous towards it. No one is going to watch something that reads as Misfits In Space. It’s just TOO far beyond suspension of disbelief. Stargate’s always been fun as it tweaked suspension… and nothing is better as an example of this than its own Wormhole Extreme parody of itself. So, why not just get on with it and make a show called Wormhole Extreme?
At least that would be watchable.
“cerebral and mature addition”!?
In other words, any criticism is childish? Seems that Mallozzi finally caught a full out case of Bermanitis. I’m surprised he didn’t say that veteran fans will be pleased. Oh wait…
The Stargate series baffles me. I can never sit through an episode. The acting is pretty hammy and the effects are cheap.
#31 I’ve never been able to get into Stargate either, BUT don’t you think your answer is somewhat ironic?!?! I mean Star Trek had cheap effects and was hammy even for its time.
But Trek had decent story and characters of which Stargate has none.
We don’t ned some of these movies. We could do without the Legends prequel, I mean what’s the point? Don’t make another Star Wars. It’s done, the story has been told but yet a part of me would like to see the time frame before III and IV. It would have to be a dark movie showing people just losing all hope to bring us to (wait for it) A New Hope.
The are so many different books they could adapt such as “Mirror friend, Mirror Foe”. That’s a really good book that could surprise many in Hollywood if they made it into a movie.
Since Hollywood likes to re-make things why don’t they remake some of those old sci-fi radio shows from the 40’s and 50’s. Most of those stories are really good and you could just do a 1/2 hour show on tv instead of making them a movie. Keep the same base of actors but each week they could be playing someone or something different. You can listen to those shows on your itunes. Just click radio, spoken word from the category listing and then click on AM 1710 Antioch. Dimentsion X is on at 3:30pm. You should give it a try sometime.
Meh. Meh to the lot.
15
“I think the producers of CAPTAIN AMERICA have already quashed the Will Smith rumor.”
Good!
“You (Hollywood execs) must be obliterated. You bring disease. For the good of the body, the notion of putting Will Smith in every vehicle, must die.”
“Long live the body. And joy to all it’s parts”.
The Star Wars Live Action TV series coming out in the next few years will show how the Rebellion is formed. It is set prior to ANH and will follow the underworld of SW like the Bounty Hunters.
Q: Is there anything worse than a new Star Wars movie?
A: Yes. TWO new Star Wars movies!
Regarding Star Wars, I’ve become sort of a non-fan for two reasons. Primarily, the recent movies just didn’t do it for me. Secondarily, a former room-mate (a film industry artist and die-hard Star Wars fan) introduced me to a venomous disdain of anything related to Star Trek, shared mightily by his ‘colleagues’ and ‘shared’ with me regularly. It was depressing to live with a fellow Sci-Fi fan with such a biased attitude. I’ll never understand that…
Regarding fresh material for Sci-Fi films, has anyone here read “The Titan Trilogy” by John Varley? I sure wish someone would solicit a script based on those books. Modern FX technology could now easily meet the challenge of translating those stories (among so many other untapped concepts) to film. What’s up with the non-stop re-makes, re-boots and regurgitation of ideas these days? Granted, some of it is cool. So much of it though just seems lazy and pointless. I defend and look forward to the upcoming Trek film; in at least the producers are *expanding* on a story that has volumes more to tell, in its background alone.
RelicQuest sounds a lot like the Librarian movies.
#20 Bill Murray just went through divorce proceedings. He needs the money from GB3. If he was happily married this movie would not be made. Rule of accquisiton # 34: When in doubt, follow the money.
And now for something I never thought I’d say.
I’m done with Star Wars. I never thought I’d say it, but I am just done. I thought Revenge of the Sith was going to be the highlight of the franchise since that’s what all the prequels were building up to. Instead, I ended up thinking it was the worst movie out of the whole saga. Worse than episode I? Ya. At least if you had a good follow up movie, you can forgive the previous one for at least setting it up.
I was hoping the prequels were going to be just three movies, some spin offs and than a chance for the story to continue in some way shape or form. Instead, it’s been three years since the end of the prequel trilogy, and we’re still stuck in the pre-OT era! And all those books and comics that do take place after the events of Episode six are so redundant. Just look at how many stories still involve Luke Skywalker and the rest of the well established franchise characters. These people are in their 60s-70s and they’re still doing things that they did when we were first introduced to them. We have new characters to learn about, but they’re never developed properly because they’re still stuck in the shadows of the main Star Wars characters.
Not even Star Wars Legacy could stem my need for something “new”. I thought that a series that takes place centuries after Episode Six would introduce us to an unknown era of Star Wars that we have never seen. Instead, it’s just a poorly done Xerox copy of all that we’re used to in Star Wars. Any story line this series tries to make unique, it always ends up tying to some event from either the prequels or the Clone Wars. Yes, centuries after Episode Six, the main villian is a character from the CLONE WARS! And of course we have the typical emo male “Skywalker” character who is torn between the light side and dark side of the force (again), we have the Sith wanting to take control of the galaxy and wipe out the Jedi (AGAIN), we have female characters who are reduced to their cliché roles as obligitory love interest, damsels in distress and the scantly clad, eye pleasing service characters. Ya, Star Wars really hates the female gender.
Here is what I would like to see in a Star Wars project.
1. Do a TNG thing where we have brand new sheet of characters that don’t rely on the original series elements to tell their own stories. You can have elements from the original like TNG did, but not as the central element.
2. Have a female lead for pete’s sake. I don’t want the definition of a Strong Female character in Star Wars to be reduced to a lady of royalty (i.e. Princess Leia, Queen Amidala). And despite the fact that they have a strong presence in Star Wars, their characters become weaker as the story progresses (Leia doing nothing in ROTJ and Padme dying of a broken heart).
3. Drop this whole Dark side and “*insert anything here* is a path to the dark side” act. Characters should have more depth than that.
4. No fan pleasing elements. Just because we see a character wearing a helmet doesn’t mean we should relate him to Boba Fett. I want elements of the story to generate a fan base of it’s own instead of relying on what fans love about past material.
5. Maintain a mature mood. ANH and TESB are not kids movies. They’re more than that. Unfortunately with RotJ and the prequel series, it’s been reduced to that level. The final nail in the coffin for me was the new CGI Clone Wars movie when Lucas and company specifically marketed the film/series to kids. I don’t want that to happen in a new series.
6. Try telling a story that doesn’t even involve the Force for once.
Will this happen? Not a chance in heck. But hey, I got Star Trek and that’s my favorite thing now.
:D
Well Fringe keeps getting better and better…This weeks was great even if it reminded me a lot of X FILES….A mysterious bald Albino with no taste buds who is an observer….and ageless….why didn’t they call him the watcher…oh yah Stan Lee would probably sue….Mysterious objects arriving and departing and worries about a bigger conspiracy….the relationship between the mad scientist father and estranged son continues to be fascinating as does the female agent who is kinda like scully and mulder mixed into one…Watch the skies! Opps The truth is out there! Opps…I want to Believe…opps heheh…