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Sci-Fi Brain News - March 22, 2007
'Doctor Who' Season 4 and John Simm Confirmed
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that at the star-studded launch for the new season of Doctor Who, Jane Tranter, BBC Fiction Controller, confirmed that a fourth season will happen.
Speaking before the first two episodes were screened at the Mayfair Hotel in London, Tranter stated that the launch of season four is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2008. This effectively dispels rumours that suggested a longer than usual gap between seasons in order to push the show back into an Autumn time slot.
Tranter also paid tribute to the efforts of all the staff on the BBC Wales production and offered a tantalising glimpse as to what viewers may expect in the upcoming weeks, with references to 'hybrid Daleks' and scarecrows.
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'Battlestar Galactica' Gets 22 More Episodes
darkhorizons.com is reporting that can too much "Galactica" be a good thing? Questions over the future of the acclaimed series, set to air its third season finale on Sunday, were answered a few weeks ago when it was announced that it would be picked up for a shorter than expected 13-episode fourth season.
Now comes word via TV Guide that the series has been picked up for the 'back nine' which brings the total to a full 22-episode fourth season. The pick up includes a two-hour telemovie to air in the fall on Sc-iFi Channel as well as a direct-to-DVD release. The other 20 episodes will begin airing in 2008.
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SCI-FI BRAIN INDEX
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Wednesday, March 21, 2007 |
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Sci-Fi Brain News -- March 21, 2007
'Doctor Who' Producer Talks Monsters
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that Doctor Who producer Phil Collinson believes that the forthcoming series will see an increase in the amount of monsters on view.
"The biggest pressure is coming up with new, different and scary monsters," he told the Radio Times this week. "This year there's probably a bigger selection - we've gone a bit more monster-y."
Creatures so far mentioned for the upcoming episodes include the rhinoceros-esque Judoon, the blood-sucking Plasmavores and the return of the Daleks.
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Mark Fergus Talks 'Iron Man'
superherohype.com is reporting that ComingSoon.net has an exclusive interview with writer/director Mark Fergus talking about his new movie First Snow starring Guy Pearce, but he also talks about next year's Iron Man, which he co-wrote with Hawk Ostby. Here's an excerpt from Fergus' thoughts on the film's cast:
You realize that the class of actor you're looking at and the precision that they work in is just incredible. The reason the actors are coming is that Jon is an actor and he's such an inspiring director. Anybody who sits in a room with him is going to want to do the movie by the time they walk out of that room. He just inspires you to want to be a part of it, and I think because he's such an actor's director, these actors are thinking that they can really go to great lengths, even if it's a genre thing or a comic thing. They're going to really do some interesting stuff, because Jon understands what actors need and the challenge they're looking for, and there's no doubt that he keeps getting top notch people.
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Pilots: Starbuck Goes 'Bionic Woman'
zap2it.com is reporting that Katee Sackhoff is going from one remake of a late-'70s series to another, taking a role in NBC's "Bionic Woman" remake.
The "Battlestar Galactica" star, whose character was recently killed off (or so it appears, anyway), has signed on to the pilot, leading a list of actors that also includes Julia Ormond in ABC's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and Jane Curtin and Lex Medlin in comedies at the Alphabet. CBS has also added Angus Macfadyen to its comedy "The Rich Inner Life of Penelope Cloud," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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New Line to Turn 'Gears of War' Into a Movie
rottentomatoes.com is reporting that "I've heard lots of great things about this "Gears of War" videogame, so it comes as no surprise that New Line has snatched up the rights to a big-screen version."
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Bunch of New Images and Concept Drawings From 'Southland Tales'
iesb.net now has up a bunch of new images and concept drawings from Southland Tales.
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SCI-FI BRAIN INDEX
The Dresden Files (1.08) “Storm Front” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
We start off this episode with a young couple getting ready for bed, but before they can consummate their love, they died of suspicious circumstances. Harry gets called in by Lt. Murphy, and he susses out that they died from black magick. Serious black magick. Harry begs off the case because he doesn’t want to get in trouble from the High Council, but that doesn’t stop Morgan, the city’s magick warden, from suspecting Harry anyway.
Harry has to go see Ancient Mai to plead his case, as she wants to pin him with the crime. She tells Harry that he’s the one that must prove his innocence and find the culprit who did the deed. Mai wants the offender’s head on a platter, quite literally. Harry uses some hair from the female victim, Jennifer Randall, to find her home. He runs into Murphy and the police crime squad, and explains to Murphy what kind of black magick took Tommy Tom and Jennifer’s lives. The writers call it thaumaturgy, which is in fact defined simply as the performance of miracles or magic. Harry defines it as a type of voodoo practice using voodoo dolls manipulated by bokors or sorcerers, not priests or priestesses (also known as houngan and mambos respectively).
Harry goes to see one of Jennifer’s friends, Grace Cutler, and finds out from Mrs. Cutler that Grace died from a drug overdose, and Mr. Cutler committed suicide after Grace’s death. Harry suspects Mrs. Cutler in regards to the deaths, but can’t pin anything on her just yet, even though he’s attacked outside her house upon leaving her. When Harry gets the coroner’s report from Murphy, he tells her about why he’s gone from Jennifer to Grace, leaving out details of his recent attack.
Then Harry invites an intimate reporter friend, Susan Rodriguez, over for dinner and a movie, but their night out is interrupted by a spite demon intent on frying Harry up for a light snack. Harry manages to use his magick to save his and Susan’s bacon, temporarily getting rid of the demon. As they leave the back alley, he spots a dark sedan speeding away, and thinks it may be involved.
Poor Harry is having a really bad day, because Morgan shows up and in the midst of giving Harry what-for, knocks Susan into a chair. This is the last straw for Harry, and he punches Morgan’s lights out and imprisons him in the basement. Leaving Susan to rest, he runs the plates of the car he spotted through Murphy. Before Murphy can insert herself into the situation, Harry goes to the address given and finds Jennifer’s other friend, Linda Atwater, dead behind the wheel of her sedan. Harry finds her cell phone and sees his old “friend” Bianca’s number in its speed dial.
Harry has to use some mojo on Det. Kirmani, who has dropped by Linda’s address at Murphy’s bequest, to get away, but then he pays a visit to the local lead vamp. Bianca is cheesed at Harry over Linda’s death and Harry’s allegations of her involvement. He gets the scoop on what the threesome were up to before their deaths from the hostile witness, Bianca.
Going over to Mrs. Cutler’s place, Harry explains exactly what the girls were up to. They went to Bianca’s to look for, in Jennifer’s case-passion, power, and corruption. Linda wanted wealth and sensuality, but Grace wanted something darker. Grace drank from the black magick cup and like a greedy little glut, wanted more and more. She got in too deep and summoned a demon, but she made a mistake that cost Grace her life.
Mrs. Cutler can’t face the truth, and balks at Harry’s story. She admits that her husband was so mangled from his suicide, that all they could do to ID him was use his dental records from his office. Harry figures out that it isn’t Mrs. Cutler that is using black magick to kill, but her “dead” husband. Mr. Cutler used Grace’s books to exact his revenge, but is now so caught up in the addiction, that he cannot fight it and continues to kill.
Harry calls Susan, who is an investigative reporter, to find the “dead dad”. He warns her to just let him know where Cutler is, not to approach or anything dangerous like that. After he hangs up on Susan, he gets busted by Murphy, who’s upset over Harry’s lack of info on the case and his presence at the scene of Linda’s death. Harry shows her the books on black magick that Grace had, and that passed to her father upon her death. Murphy isn’t sure about any of it, and Harry promises to have the whole situation wrapped up in 24 hours.
When Harry can’t get a hold of Susan later that night, he gets worried, but has more pressing issues to be concerned about. Mr. Cutler has decided to attack Harry again, but this time goes for broke. Harry goes to Murphy in pain, and Murphy provides info to help locate Cutler. When Harry shows up at an old home of Cutler’s in Michigan, he sees Susan tied up at Cutler’s feet, as Cutler attacks him with magick. Cutler has clearly lost his mind to the dark forces at work in black magick, and Harry has to use some strong defensive magick to save him and Susan. Cutler calls the spite demon back to kill Harry, but the demon takes Cutler’s head instead.
Harry’s in a pinch now, as the spite demon is out to either kill Harry or use him to resort to black magick and give the demon more power. Harry refuses the unappealing offer to use black magick, and before the demon can kill Harry, Morgan destroys the demon, sending him back to hell. Morgan sends everyone involved back to their respective homes, and Harry wakes up the next day with Mai sitting by his side. She lets him off the hook, as she has Cutler’s head, but warns Harry about screwing up. Harry has his long postponed dinner with Susan, who admits regrets at not being able to sell the most sensational story of her career. Harry soothes her with kind words.
This was a good episode, probably the best so far. From purely an entertainment based value, it met all the good points. Supernatural deaths from some black magick, the hero nearly getting his butt kicked, but managing to talk his way out of his own impending death. Hero has to work quickly as people are dropping like flies, but manages to win the battle in the nick of time, and saves the beautiful girl in the process. Big drama with a big payoff. Fun all around.
I had a good laugh over the writers’ use of “thaumaturgy”, as they clearly didn’t check the dictionary. Nor did they look up much regarding the black vodoun practice of voodoo dolls. Where did Cutler get specific samples from the victims to create the dolls? One doll does not fit all, and while I will not get into the anthropological specifics of the rituals involved in the creation of this black magick, I will say that the writers took some frivolous liberties in the use of the dolls. Perhaps they were changing things to protect people, but since this isn’t a practice to take lightly under any circumstances, as it involves more than just intent, I believe it would’ve been wiser to use some of the less virulent rituals available for study in anthropological literature. Sorcery has been widely studied in anthropology, and many practices have been documented and studied by these social scientists. I know there are rituals that could’ve been used, changed slightly to protect the sacred knowledge involved, which would’ve been just as effective. A personal peeve, to be sure, but it bothered me.
The methods the writers have used in creating rules for this universe are also becoming more fleshed out. While there are some inconsistencies, such as Murphy knowing about the High Council in this episode and not in previous ones, especially since I know that this was originally the pilot that SciFi purchased, could’ve been solved with extra reshoots. Bob is absent, which becomes blatant when Susan gets involved, as he’s such a horndog. Harry has a cat, which has been missing for seven episodes. These are all things that serve to annoy, but do not significantly detract from the enjoyment of the episode. Harry not only has a protection bracelet, but a pentacle necklace, which serves a magickal purpose. Harry’s ability to use magick without numerous rituals as found in other supernatural universes, as well as many cultures in the real world, is an interesting development. Even in universes such as Joss Whedon’s Buffyverse, Willow had to utter power-words in the shape of a spell, but Harry didn’t need to do that. Intent seemed to be powerful enough.
I enjoyed this episode so much that I have to give it a 9.0 out of 10.0. It was that good, and I look forward to more.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- March 20, 2007
Jon Favreau on 'Iron Man' Shooting
superherohype.com is reporting that Iron Man director Jon Favreau has posted an update on the Iron Man filming on his official MySpace page:
We are done with the first week of photography. I am happy to report that the ten months of preparation allowed the extremely challenging first week of photography to come off without a hitch. The look is fantastic and the performances are great as well. Downey was definitely the right choice.
I'm looking forward to getting out of the "cave." The first few weeks of shooting are spent, somewhat in sequence, establishing Stark's captivity. It sets the table tonally for the rest of the film. The close quarters and tight schedule make it the toughest part of the shoot on the cast and crew.
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Exclusive 'Transformers' Game Interview!
superherohype.com is reporting that this summer, gamers will control the outcome in the battle for Earth as they choose to protect it as Autobots or destroy it as Decepticons in Transformers: The Game, based on Paramount and DreamWorks' highly-anticipated Transformers, opening in theaters on July 4. Players will experience the unstoppable power and massive scale of their favorite robots in the game, coming to PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PC, PSP and Nintendo DS.
Superhero Hype! talked exclusively to Activision executive producer Daniel Suarez about the game.
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Exclusive Interview : Julian McMahon
moviehole.net is reporting that Aussie Julian McMahon is having the time of his life, from the hit TV series 'Nip/Tuck' to the new 'Fantastic Four', and now in the twist-and-turn romantic thriller Premonition, opposite Sandra Bullock. It seems that even though he missed out on 007, McMahon is a hot property in tinsel town. He talked exclusively to Paul Fischer.
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'Heroes' Creators Look At Year Two
scifi.com is reporting that Tim Kring, creator of NBC's Heroes, told SCI FI Wire that he and his writing staff are looking ahead at season two and that if they've taken one lesson from their freshman year, it's this: Don't be afraid to reveal secrets, even big ones, along the way. "I have to admit I feel pretty good about the fact that we didn't leave a lot of things dangling for people," Kring said in an interview at Wizard World in Los Angeles on March 17. "There were one or two moments where there were things we had answers to and we couldn't film them, or we cut them in the editing room, and I regret that. But I do think this idea ... of not being too precious with any one idea is really an important lesson: to be willing to kill people off and take the really tough decisions to kill off characters that may be fairly popular for the sake of reinventing the show. It has to have a kind of constant sense of reinvention, or else we're going to die of our own inertia."
Kring added that he and his writers are trying to avoid the problems that other TV shows encountered after hitting big in their first seasons, only to falter in subsequent seasons. "The other big thing is we just have to reveal things in a timely fashion and not let them build up," he said, pointing to the example of The X-Files, which built up so much mythology over the course of 10 years that no answers were likely to satisfy the audience. Kring added: "I think we want to have some more romance, I think we're missing that. I'd like to have some more romance on the show."
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SCI-FI BRAIN INDEX
Roswell (3.02) “Michael, the Guys, and the Great Snapple Caper” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
Michael has been feeling the financial pinch lately, and has applied for a security guard position at a firm called Meta-Chem. He gets the job and is placed on the 2am to 7am graveyard shift. The problem with being a security guard isn’t just the uniform, because that’s a valid issue, it’s the general lack of respect as Michael will find out.
Liz and Max are having to avoid each other in public, but are instead sneaking around the Parker’s backs. And Isabel and Jesse have heated up their secret romance, so much so that Kyle accidentally sees them in a hot and heavy situation.
The new gig for Michael goes well, until Michael gets everyone on his crew fired. Seems someone, namely Michael, made off with a substantial amount of peach Snapple from the cafeteria, and thus gets the graveyard crew fired. Michael is peeved about his termination, but doesn’t realize how serious it is, until he runs into Steve, one of his workmates, and finds out that Steve is supporting a family.
While this is going on, Kyle gets a talking-to by Isabel, warning him not to speak about her current fling with Jesse. Kyle’s cool with that, even though Isabel threatened him, but then not much ruffles Kyle’s feathers anymore.
Michael feels badly about getting everyone fired, so he plans to bring back the Snapple and then anonymously alert the staff, who will realize the Snapple wasn’t stolen, and give everyone their jobs back. While he is in the process of doing that, he sees his former boss, Karl, stealing samples from the lab and giving them to one of the janitorial staff. It’s then that Michael realizes that they weren’t fired for stealing; Karl wanted them out of the way so he could be the thief.
Meanwhile, Kyle is taking his dad to task over his lack of employment. Valenti tells Kyle that he has formed a band and is setting up gigs. Kyle nearly loses his cool over the fact that it’s him and not his father taking care of business. He tells his dad that while he understands that Valenti is still out of sorts over losing his job, he isn’t the parent, and Valenti needs to step up to the plate.
Now Michael gets the gang together, sans Steve, and he puts into action a plan to get their jobs back. The plan to videotape Karl stealing works inasmuch that they get the bit of Karl stealing, but then Michael gets caught and the videotape is mushed up. When the Sheriff comes due to the security system being tampered with, alls well that ends well. Michael fixes the busted tape, Karl gets busted himself and the guys get their jobs back. Yay!
On the boo side, Jeff Parker catches Max bringing Liz home after a late-night out, and tells him to stop seeing her. Max finds out that if he sees Liz anymore, Liz will be sent to an all-girls boarding school in Vermont. Max leaves unhappy.
On the yay side, Michael lets Steve know he has his job back, and Steve is grateful. The yay being that Michael now has a whole group of friends, Steve being one of them. Michael has non-alien friends! That’s a huge yay, if ever there was one. Good for him!
I liked this episode for its sheer entertainment value. Michael is usually not a fun guy, being the heavy for Max et al, but here he lets loose and some real fun ensues. I really enjoyed Michael connecting with these guys at work. He’s such a loner outside of his tiny knot of alien pals and those involved in the conspiracy. He made actual friends with regular guys and had actual fun with them. Sure the job was boring as dirt, but he livened things up and these guys really liked him for his fresh take.
When Michael used his powers to get the game on the security TVs and the guys ordered pizza and played poker with Michael, that looked like a lot of fun. For a job with the intellectual stimulation of a coma, Michael and his coworkers managed to make it interesting while attending to their responsibilities. This is both amusing and entertaining.
The only thing I didn’t care for was the sub-plot of Max and Liz’s secret rendezvous. How hard is it to sneak around? Apparently it is too hard for Max to be actually successful at it. I’ve known teenagers to sneak around, and no one I knew was flatfooted enough to get caught like that. Didn’t Max check the diner out before he came in? Why on earth would he actually come in? Most people trying to avoid someone on purpose would arrange to meet somewhere else and make their goodbyes before they left them at a prearranged spot. This was simply stupidity on a grand scale. I know this sets up an episode further down the line, but still. I couldn’t stand how they wrote this up.
I probably should be annoyed with the other sub-plots, but they were fun. Isabel having a good time with Jesse was nice to see. She doesn’t get much in the way of happiness, so seeing her happy with someone is nice to see. Even Kyle and his dad were amusing. While I don’t think Jim Valenti does as good a job with a Barenaked Ladies song as the original band did, he wasn’t awful. Kyle’s annoyance with his dad over starting the band was good too. He was right; Jim is supposed to be the parent, not the other way around.
This episode gets an 8.5 out of 10.0 from me. It was a nifty escape from the regular fare, and worth perusing.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- March 19, 2007
Freema Promises To Spice Up 'Doctor Who'
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that new Doctor Who star Freema Agyeman has revealed that her character will spice up the show.
The actress explained that new assistant Martha Jones falls for the Doctor as soon as she sets eyes on him, but her feelings are not reciprocated.
"There are sparks flying. From the moment Martha meets the Doctor it's 'bang' - she's fancies him," Freema told the Daily Star. "But the lust is unrequited. They do end up in bed together, but it's not all it seems.
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'Superman' Sequel Eyeing March '08 Start
superherohype.com is reporting that Robert Meyer Burnett, who produced and directed behind-the-scenes material for Superman Returns, says that March, 2008 is the planned start of principal photography for the sequel. A Q&A on BlueTights.net reads:
Angeloz asks if I'm coming back to work on the sequel. The answer is...I'm ALREADY working on the sequel. Bryan, Brandon and the whole merry bunch will be coming back...and filming will probably begin March, 2008, as was always planned from the beginning. The WWII film Bryan plans to shoot over the summer will have NO EFFECT whatsoever on the Superman sequel schedule.
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'BSG' Season Three Finale Spoilers
The start of the third season finale of Battlestar Galactica began this week, but there are already spoilers out for the last part of the finale over at Aint It Cool News, so read if you dare!
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Anderson Confirmed For 'Stargate Continuum'
gateworld.net is reporting that Richard Dean Anderson will appear in the upcoming movie Stargate: Continuum, Playback Daily is reporting and executive producer Brad Wright confirmed to GateWorld.
Anderson, who played Jack O'Neill on Stargate SG-1 for eight years before entering semi-retirement, will travel with an 18-person crew to the U.S. Navy's Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station in the Arctic next week to film scenes for the direct-to-DVD movie.
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'Heroes' Finale Details Leaked
scifi.com is reporting that Tim Kring, creator of NBC's Heroes, revealed to SCI FI Wire that the first-season finale will comprise the last three episodes of the year, will bring all of the main characters together in New York—and will ultimately result in the deaths of one or more heroes. "The whole thing converges in New York, ... and they're all there, and all of them play a role," Kring said in an interview at Wizard World in Los Angeles on March 17. "Even though some may feel like they're less significant to the final event, when you analyze it, each one had to play that role in order for the final event to be solved, and so there really was a kind of destiny quality to them coming together and having each one fulfilling [thing] and one specific role."
Kring and company are completing the final draft of the season finale script—episode number 23, called "How to Stop an Exploding Man"—which goes into production in a week and is slated to air on May 23. Meanwhile, production has begun on the previous episode, "Landslide," Kring said.
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SCI-FI BRAIN SCHEDULE
Brainwaves #6 - Podcast
Brainwaves #6 - Podcast
You wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest podcast in the world - BRAINWAVES!
This week on Brainwaves, you'll find the guys talking about the latest news as always, plus a chat about Doctor Who.
DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE
Lost (3.11) "Par Avion" – Review
By: jiggyjason
You know, I've never really cared about Claire. Sure, she is cute and has a great accent, but as a character – meh. Though I'm still not going to herald this character as the best of the show and shower her with praise, I must say that she did have one quality episode this time around. Once again, the flashbacks have lost their purpose and no longer parallel the goings on at the island like they once used to, but at least we got a revelation about the relationship of two characters on the island (which you should've assumed last season if you had any type of brain) and got to see one immensely powerful crying scene.
The story this week is that Claire, after seeing seagulls flying, remembered hearing something about how migratory birds are usually tagged for study, so she wants to catch one so she can attach a message to it and hopefully have the researchers find the bird and their message and come rescue them. The other story dealt with Locke, Sayid, and Kate continuing their trek across the island to find and save Jack.
The Claire story came a little out of left field, because why was it just NOW that she came up with the idea to capture a bird and attack a message to it; plus, the idea of finding the right bird that would have a tracking device on it was a huge stretch as well. However, though we didn't care about Claire trying to capture the bird, it was nice to see the interactions of Charlie and Desmond with her, as the truth about Desmond's Charlie death premonition was revealed to another person. We didn't really care about Claire's flashback either, because it didn't tie into the story of the island, but at least people can now quit speculating as to whether Jack and Claire are related or not, because after seeing Jack's dad (who – stealing from fellow Sci-Fi Brain writer Grimzo) aka "the flashback bitch" tell Claire he is her father, now we don't have to wonder anymore. It was cool seeing a more goth looking Claire though, plus her final scene as she broke down crying to her mom in the hospital was really touching and well done, showing that Emilie de Ravin is quite the actress when given the material to work with.
However, the story we really enjoyed was the trek across the island. We still didn't get straight answers, but jeez was Mikhail close to revealing some stuff, talking about how people were good, knowing the secrets and full names of everyone, even knowing that Locke used to be paralyzed. Sadly, we won't get any more Mikhail, because after a really cool moment where Locke throws him across the threshold of a sonic fence, he suddenly goes into convulsions, spitting up foam, with blood pouring from his ears – very, very cool moment. We're not sure what is going on with Locke and all his lies and weird motivations these past few episodes, but we can't wait to see what comes next. And Jack, not needing rescue, but having a good time playing football?!?! Can we have next week now please?
8.0
Sci-Fi Brain News -- March 16, 2007
Fry Senies 'Doctor Who' Rumours
digitalspy.co.uk is reporting that actor, writer and comedian Stephen Fry said he would not be writing an episode of Doctor Who, despite rumours to the contrary.
There has been widespread speculation about Fry appearing in and writing an episode of the cult show since 2005.
Fry, who was speaking at a press launch of new ITV1 drama Kingdom today, said he unfortunately did not have the time.
He said: "They asked me to do a series and I tried, but I just ran out of time, and so I wrote a pathetic letter of 'I'm sorry I can't do this' to Russell Davies."
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'The Giver' Gets Given
chud.com is reporting that despite the universal goodwill The Giver has garnered since publication, it has struggled to make its way to the screen, stagnating through various production companies and studios. Thanks to all the languishing, a production clause lapsed and author Lois Lowry gained control over the novel once again. 7 days later, Warner was knocking and Lowry was answering.
The Giver illustrates a world where emotions have been suppressed and eliminated in an effort to create a utopia based on sameness. Kind of like an Abercrombie and Fitch store. So what happened to all those memories? They're deposited into a human recipticle called "Reciever of Memories" in case they need them later. When the 12 year old Reciever starts to see how much A & F stinks, the winds of change start to blowin'.
Whether this pick-up actually makes it to the big screen on this round will remain to be seen, but producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher are pretty stoked on it actually happening this time.
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'Babylon AD' Gets Back On Track
darkhorizons.com is reporting that the Mathieu Kassovitz-directed "Babylon AD," budgeted at $60 million, has resumed shooting in the Czech Republic after a two-week hiatus reports Variety.
Production delays and various crew retrenchments have cost the production both time and money, as has more unpredictable events like uncooperative weather. There is also pressure on them to vacate Prague's Barrandov Studios as the "Narnia" sequel is scheduled to shoot there very soon.
Vin Diesel plays a mercenary hired to escort a young woman (Melanie Thierry) who has been genetically tampered with, containing a virus that could destroy the human race. Michelle Yeoh plays a nun accompanying the young girl, and Charlotte Rampling also stars.
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'Battestar Galactica' Eick Renews Deal
scifi.com is reporting that Battlestar Galactica executive producer David Eick has renewed his first-look deal at NBC Universal even as he continues expanding his development roster to non-NBCU properties, Variety reported.
Eick, who this spring is shepherding the NBC reimagining of The Bionic Woman and the Fox thriller Them, has set up a pair of projects at F/X. One, a drama script, reteams him with Battlestar partner Ronald D. Moore. He's also in talks to produce a miniseries for Lifetime.
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SCI-FI BRAIN NEWS
Sci-Fi Brain News -- March 15, 2007
Besson Contemplates Post-'Fifth Element' Return to Sci-Fi
rottentomatoes.com is reporting that "The Fifth Element" was Luc Besson's only foray into science fiction. Though praised by many fans and critics, the experience was so frustrating for the filmmaker that he has never tried the genre again. But now that technology would make such films easier, he's got ideas.
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SCI-FI BRAIN NEWS
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Wednesday, March 14, 2007 |
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Sci-Fi Brain News -- March 14, 2007
No Zod In 'Superman Returns' Sequel?
superherohype.com is reporting that speaking to Empire Online, Superman Returns stars Brandon Routh said the sequel will definitely up the action:
"It's going to be a lot more in that genre. In the first one, the obstacle was Superman's love for Lois and his son, and Luthor using that against him. I just know that in the next film there will be a lot of action and I'm gonna get to fight something, or someone. An enemy with real physical power might be worked in there, definitely.
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Singer Thriller to Delay 'Superman' Sequel
superherohype.com is reporting that Variety reports that Bryan Singer will reteam with his The Usual Suspects screenwriter Chris McQuarrie on an original thriller for United Artists toppers Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner. The movie is expected to push the Superman Returns follow-up back:
The film will delay Warner Bros.' hope of mounting a sequel to "Superman Returns" in the near future. Singer's Bad Hat Harry banner has an overall deal at WB, where he is developing several films that include that sequel and the Harvey Milk biopic "The Mayor of Castro Street." He also is directing "Football Wives," a series pilot for ABC and ABC TV Studio. The new project begins production this summer.
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SCI-FI BRAIN NEWS
Brainwaves #5 - Podcast
You wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest podcast in the world - BRAINWAVES!
This week on Brainwaves, you'll find the guys talking about the latest news as always, plus a chat about Star Trek XI casting choices.
Download The BRAINWAVES Podcast Now
The Dresden Files (1.07) “Walls” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
A young woman named Raychelle Banton comes to Harry for help, but is the victim of a hit and run, and dies upon impact. Turns out that there were some supernatural issues behind the killing, and Harry wants to get to the bottom of things. Murphy is cheesed that Harry isn’t giving her the whole story, yet once again, and doesn’t feel like sharing too much either. Harry promises her that there won’t be any craziness, but let’s face it, that cannot be guaranteed. Murphy takes him to the car that hit Raychelle, and he finds out that there was a tallow candle that was burning in the cup holder of the car.
When he gets back to the office, he has to comfort an upset Bob, who feels that he could’ve prevented Raychelle’s death if he could’ve only kept her in the office a little longer. Harry’s answering machine has managed to capture a message from Raychelle before she came over, in which she says that she’s seen things that she needs to talk to Harry about. Harry decides to go to Raychelle’s college, and check out the fraternity, whose pendant she was wearing around her neck at the time of her death. He meets Dante Arrias, Raychelle’s boyfriend. Dante is not very forthcoming in their talk, and Harry leaves without much, except the knowledge that Raychelle was well-liked. He goes to her apartment next, to see what he can find. He’s then attacked in her bedroom by an unknown assailant, but before he can capture his attacker, the assailant escapes through a broom closet. Walking through walls impresses Harry, and he figures some very black magick is involved.
Harry involves Morgan in the case, but Morgan isn’t very helpful either. All Harry knows is that the black magick is going to be hidden from view. He goes to see Murphy, who confronts him about seeing Dante and his friends, who are the sons of some very powerful people in town. Brady Whitfield and Carson Harris have fathers who are shopping centre moguls and powerful politicians, respectively. Harry catches some heat from Murphy about that, but it doesn’t stop him from spying on the boys as they plan their next heist.
Caron is quite sick, and Dante is upset about his dead girlfriend. Brady guilt’s Dante into doing a bank job, and Dante tells the boys that this has to be the last job. Harry follows them to the bank and watches as they stumble out, trying to leave quickly because Carson is dead. He’s been split in half, and his other half is left inside the bank.
During Carson’s autopsy, Dr. Butters tells Murphy that not only did Carson die from a large unknown blunt object, but his insides were rotting. She confronts Harry about his involvement, and Harry tells her that he only found the kid that way, as he happened to be following the gang. Murphy is upset about this, but is also astounded by Harry’s knowledge about Carson’s internal issues and where his other half was found.
Back at the office, Bob instructs Harry to look in his uncle’s grimoire, and Harry finds out that the kids have been using a candle made from the severed hand of a dead thief. The thief is the mysterious “Caleb”, who is feeding off the living boys’ energy and influencing their actions.
Harry drops by Brady Whitfield’s house and speaks to his mother. When Harry asks about the tallow candle, he is told to leave by Mrs. Whitfield. Her husband had many things in his collection that she didn’t mind speaking about, but the candle was a touchy subject.
When Harry gets back home, he’s attacked by Brady, who is being controlled by Caleb. Caleb tells Harry that the boys are his now, and Brady continues to attack. When he cannot kill Harry, he uses the tallow hand candle to escape.
The next day Mrs. Whitfield comes to see Harry, and tells him that the candle is missing. Harry tells her that Brady has it and it’s making him very sick. Harry finds out that when Dante touched the tallow hand, it was activated.
Meanwhile, Brady and Dante have robbed another place, but came away with only a couple of hundred dollars. Brady refuses to stop with the thievery, but Dante is tired and doesn’t want to do it anymore. Before they can get much farther, Brady collapses and dies in the middle of the road. Dante tries to throw the hand away, but can’t, and so he lets Caleb have his way temporarily.
The next day, Harry is informed of Brady’s untimely demise, and he knows he has to destroy Caleb before he manages to take Dante too. Bob tells Harry to break the knuckles of Caleb’s hand to destroy him. Harry catches up with Dante in the hospital pharmacy and tries to convince Dante to stop listening to Caleb. Dante takes off with Harry in hot pursuit. The worst case scenario comes into play as Caleb is released, but then Harry manages to light the wax Caleb on fire, thus destroying him forever.
The next day, Dante is instructed by Harry to admit to all charges. Before he can go away to prison forever, Morgan will step in and put him into a type of witness protection program, and train him to fight the dark forces. It might not be his favourite choice, but it was better than the alternative.
This was a pretty good episode, if simply for the fact that Harry is using his magick easily and without physical difficulty. It was also entertaining to watch Bob’s frustrations with being incorporeal. He seemed to indulge in an almost twisted delight when he talked about his own destruction and the destruction of the evil Caleb. I felt badly for poor old Bob, as he really needs an outlet for his energy besides serving Harry. A man can go mad without much stimuli.
Raychelle may’ve been the one to get Harry on the case and looking out for these boys, but she didn’t have much impact for me. I didn’t really care about her death, even though it was tragic and senseless, but I think that’s because she wasn’t given enough of a chance to make me care. She was dead within the first couple of minutes of the episode, which isn’t enough time to convince me to care about her demise.
The smell of tallow grosses me out, so the fact that Murphy and Kirmani didn’t react, indicates that they didn’t get much of a noseful. Harry didn’t blanch either, but I guess he’s had more exposure. Maybe it was personal preference of the character, or maybe they didn’t know it’s kinda gross. I’m still feeling a bit peely-wally, thinking about that smell.
I enjoyed the moment between Morgan, Dante, and Harry, when Morgan explains what’ll happen to Dante. Dante doesn’t seem too happy about the whole thing, but Morgan is displaying some human compassion for Dante in even putting the offer forward. When Harry was surprised that Morgan used the door, I found that amusing as well.
I’d give this episode an 8.0 out of 10.0. It was fun to watch and while a wee bit gross, had good entertainment value.
Roswell (3.01) “Busted” – Review
By: jesuiscanadien
As we join Max and Liz in the Season Three opener, they are holding up a corner store but not for the reason one might think. There’s an alien ship in a secret basement storage area, and Max is trying to see if it still works. Unfortunately someone has called the cops and Max and Liz are busted before they can make a clean getaway.
As they are being processed by the local constabulary, the scene flashes back to the beginning of the summer when Max is trying to woo Liz back into his life. He takes Liz out one night and promises to make her dreams come true. During the skinny-dipping phase of the evening, Max suddenly passes out in the water and we find out that he had a vision of his son, who was in some kind of trouble.
This is what leads us to their present day problems with the law. Isabel and Michael show up in Utah and get the skinny on the situation. Michael has to retrieve a key that is in the form of a diamond that Max had to ditch during the chase, and he gets a warning for Max out of the deal as well. Seems someone doesn’t want Max to keep going down the path he’s currently on. Then Maria shows up to let Liz know that the local politicos are out for blood, as they need an excuse for reappointment.
We see another flashback of Max and Liz planning the heist of the key/diamond. For their jewel heist caper, they utilise distraction techniques along with some dramatic sleight-of-hand to switch the diamond with a “fake”. Chances are that it’s a real diamond, unlike the key that they want.
Breaking news! Isabel is having a torrid affair with Jesse Ramirez, a junior associate in Philip Evans’ law firm. While they are together in Jesse’s hotel room, Jesse gets a call from Mr. Evans, who advises him that the cops have found new evidence in the case. Bad news for the intrepid dangerous duo. During the hearing Max gets a slap on the wrist and Liz gets bumped to criminal court.
Max wants to break Liz out, but she’s having none of that. Then Max goes to get the diamond from Michael, who in turn has a tiff with Max over the warning. Max is then confronted by an FBI agent, who warns him off as well. Max ignores the agent and drives off into the evening. He goes back to the scene of the crime, but finds the spaceship missing. Mr. Evans followed Max and confronts him down in the basement. They find a chemical, which Philip thinks may help Liz’s defence.
The chemical tests as tetryl, which is a chemical detonator, and Mr. Evans uses that to get the FBI to drop all charges against Liz, as they’ve taken jurisdiction of the case. Liz is freed from jail, but her folks forbid her from ever seeing Max Evans again. Max and his Dad have a disagreement over the issue of telling the truth, and Max moves out of his home to protect his family. That night, Max spends the night in his car alone under the stars.
This wasn’t the strongest season opener I’ve seen, but at least it didn’t completely stink. I liked how they used different lighting for the flashbacks and present day scenes. The flashbacks had a lighter, softer quality. Almost a sense of innocence in the way it was shot, hearkening to happier times, if you will. The present day scenes were shot in a harder light, giving the sense that harsh reality was seeping in, and life wasn’t so pretty and fun anymore. The lighting was grittier, and everything was thrown into hard angles and sharp relief. The cinematographer was pretty experimental for a television show, as most at the time of airing (2001) did not use lighting to express mood.
While I am not usually fond of flashbacks, as they tend to distract than move the story forward, such was not the case here. While I would’ve preferred longer segments, and not the casual jumping between the past and the present, the flashback usage did a decent job of moving the plot forward.
The denouement was not terribly satisfying, but I suppose it was structured that way to open up possibilities for how the overall story may develop. The way Max and Liz were thrown back together wasn’t terrific either. Liz felt completely betrayed by Max’s affair with Tess, so why would she jump back into a relationship with Max so quickly? She’s a teenager, so she should’ve been angrier with him, and made him work a little harder before she committed felonies with him.
While I didn’t think this was a good season opener, it wasn’t horrible. The story has quite a number of ways it could progress, and I am interested in seeing how the writers move it along. Now that Max is out of his home, I wonder how he will survive without a job to pay for the little things, like rent and food. Liz is banned from seeing him, but we all know they’re star-crossed lovers destined to be together. How will the writers get around that little issue? Isabel is busy with Jesse, which opens up a whole new romantic scenario for her. She seems to have gotten over Alex, so what will happen to Jesse?
While this isn’t my favourite episode so far, it wasn’t the worst. I’d give it a 7.0 out of 10.0 for giving it a good effort.
Sci-Fi Brain News -- March 13, 2007
ABC's 'Life On Mars' Mission Pushed Back
zap2it.com is reporting that ABC has decided to delay its pilot "Life on Mars," hoping a later start will give the project a better pick for its lead role.
The network and producer David E. Kelley were having trouble finding the right actor to play the lead role, the showbiz trade papers report, and so decided to push the pilot, an adaptation of a BBC series, back to midseason 2007-08. Doing so will allow Kelley and Co. to pick from a bigger pool of actors than are currently available in the crush of pilot casting.
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Boyle Talks 'Sunshine'
darkhorizons.com is reporting that British director Danny Boyle is in Australia right now where he attended and gave a Q&A for a special screening of his sci-fi drama "Sunshine". A contact for Moviehole attended the Melbourne function and brought back some details.
The $40 million drama spent a full year in post production and had over 35 rewrites of the script. Test screenings went terribly as the visual effects were not completed and he doesn't think the audience could look past the incomplete effects.
The cast were forced to live in student amenities for awhile where they had to cook for themselves, to create a feel of solitude and being confined together.
Boyle also relayed an anecdote that he thought Cillian Murphy was too "attractive" to play a biologist, but then met a biologist who was helping out on the film and he was more "attractive" than Murphy, so it justified his casting.
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