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December, 2007 Archives | Homepage
The New Batman Trailer Here's the trailer for Batman The Dark Knight, which is set for a July 18, 2008 release. Posted on December 28, 2007 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Karl Urban gives a hint about how he will play Dr. McCoy in the Star Trek movie. Will the space cadets we meet in J.J. Abrams' much-anticipated Star Trek origin film aptly mirror the eventual Enterprise crew we now know and love? Karl Urban, who plays Dr. McCoy, tells TVGuide.com: "The movie is very, very faithful to the spirit of the original series and the characters that were created in the '60s." For example, Urban's Bones "is the lovable, irascible humanist that he has always been [and] a good friend of Jim Kirk." That said, he believes "J.J. is going to reinvigorate this franchise in a fresh and exciting way."Meanwhile, J.J. Abrams has said that he's still open to having William Shatner do a cameo but he says he's worried about continuity. Captain Kirk died in one of the movies and that's canon. So he's not sure how to do it where it would make sense in the film, and not upset diehard fans. Oh, please --- find a way. It's Shatner. Posted on December 21, 2007 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati The 4400 and The Dead Zone Canceled Veteran SF shows The 4400 and The Dead Zone have been abruptly canceled by USA Networks. Although things didn't look good for the two series because they are older and expensive to make, during the past several months the cable network looked for ways to bring them back. But it ultimately opted to end their run. "We wish we could keep all our great shows alive forever," said Jeff Wachtel, executive vp original programming at USA. "But we feel we need to give some of our new shows a platform to grow, and it's with great sadness that we say goodbye to two shows that had a great run and helped create the resurgence of original programming on our network and on all of cable."We are pretty ticked off about this -- these are both great shows. We think it's because of the writers' strike and that this is only the beginning of cancellations as the strike drags on. The mega-corporations that comprise the AMPTP don't care about the fans, the writers or the actors: they've made that very clear. NBC, Sci Fi and USA Networks are all owned by GE, which derives a small portion of its revenue from television. We think it's going to wipe the slate clean and start all over on television next year, as has been rumored. Posted on December 20, 2007 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati It's really true: Peter Jackson and New Line have patched up their differences and have announced that the two new Hobbit films are back on. Jackson will be executive producing, but he is so tied up with other movie projects he won't be directing -- which is infuriating. Here's the official release: Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson; Harry Sloan, Chairman and CEO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM); Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of New Line Cinema have jointly announced today that they have entered into the following series of agreements:Sam Raimi has been suggested as a director -- Sam has said he wouldn't do the film unless Peter was producing, which he is. Jackson is filming The Lovely Bones until February and is then scheduled to do the Tin Tin series with Steven Spielberg. We say move Tin Tin and get cracking on the Hobbit! We are impatient! Spielberg can wait! Posted on December 18, 2007 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Orci Talks Star Trek Details Screenwriter Robert Orci revealed some new facts about the upcoming J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie. The crux of the screenplay involves the appearance of Nimoy in his iconic role as Spock. "I think a lot of people were speculating that we must have had multiple ideas [for the script]," Orci said. "The truth is that we took a gigantic gamble in terms of the movie we wanted to do, and it was essential that we had Nimoy. Frankly, I didn't understand any other way to do it. We didn't have a Plan B. I think that would have shown that we didn't have a true, singular vision of what we wanted to do, so it was essential for us to get Nimoy. It was a gigantic gamble, and I can't even believe that J.J. supported that kind of a gamble, but I think he understood it was the way to do it and a way to get the blessing for Star Trek, to show there is continuity for the spirit of what it was before. So when Nimoy said yes, not only as a fan was it a relief--if that didn't work, I don't know where we would be!"The film has a scheduled release date of December 25, 2008. Posted on December 17, 2007 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Internationally bestselling author Terry Pratchett announced that he is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's: he is only 59. In two postings on illustrator Paul Kidby's website, Terry tells fans that he has several more books in him, that he is optimistic and then twice reminds people that he isn't dead yet. He says he is currently turning down all requests for interviews because he's said all he has to say on the subject. You can read Terry's posts here. Neil Hunt, Chief executive of the British Alzheimer's Society issued this statement: Mr Pratchett's decision to discuss his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is a brave one. It is all the more encouraging because of his resolve to remain so positive in the face of what he calls an 'embuggerance'.We wish Terry and his family all the best. Posted on December 14, 2007 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Brandon Sanderson Will Finish Wheel of Time Series Tor Books announced today that novelist Brandon Sanderson has been selected to finish the last novel in Robert Jordan's bestselling Wheel of Time fantasy series. Jordan died in September after a long battle with the rare blood disease amyloidosis. The new novel is called A Memory of Light. It is the twelfth and final book in the epic fantasy series which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Harriet Popham Rigney, Jordan's wife and editor, said of her decision to have Sanderson complete the last book in The Wheel of Time series: "I have chosen Brandon Sanderson to complete Robert Jordan's great work, and I am absolutely delighted that he accepted. I will of course be editing this book as I have all of the other books of The Wheel of Time." The President and Publisher of Tor Books, Tom Doherty, weighed in on the decision saying: "I am delighted that Harriet has chosen Brandon to complete Robert Jordan's magnificent and timeless epic." Sanderson is thrilled to be chosen by the writer that inspired him for so long. He posted a tribute piece on his blog saying: "Personally, I feel indebted to you. You showed me what it was to have vision and scope in a fantasy series -- you showed me what could be done. I still believe that without your success, many younger authors like myself would never have had a chance at publishing their dreams. You go quietly, but leave us trembling." Sanderson has written three critically acclaimed fantasy novels: Elantris, Mistborn, and The Well of Ascension, as well as a YA novel, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians. Sanderson will work with Harriet on the book, which Jordan had already started. Harriet says, "Some scenes were completed by Robert Jordan, and some exist in draft form; he left copious notes and hours of audio recordings." Posted on December 11, 2007 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Scientists Find the Brain's RAM Scientists have now located your brain's RAM. Apparently, a good memory is dependent on your brain being able to filter out extraneous information. The amount of working memory varies from person to person. Scientists believe they have located a new brain area essential for good memory - the "irrelevance filter". People who are good at remembering things, even with distractions, have more activity in the basal ganglia on brain scans, the Swedish team found. The work in Nature Neuroscience could help explain why some people are better at remembering things than others. Clinically, it could also aid the understanding of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Scientists are hoping to learn more to be able to treat brain disorders in which people can't pay attention long enough to accomplish a task. But what we want to know is: when will we be able to upgrade our internal RAM? Posted on December 10, 2007 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati The moguls walked out on the writers' strike negotiations, and it doesn't look good. That means that the future of fantasy and sf television programming is rather bleak in the near future. Reality shows and non-scripted shows will fill the gap. The new show Paranormal State premieres on Monday, Dec. 10th at 10PM ET with back-to-back episodes on A&E. Here's a clip from the second episode entitled "The Name." The episode description is: "Ryan and company enlist the assistance of psychic Chip Coffey to help a single Mom who is experiencing paranormal activity in a home that was once the site of brutal murders. But the case is turned upside down when it's discovered that Ryan himself is the target of a taunting demon whose name spells pure evil." Posted on December 8, 2007 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Prince Caspian Movie Trailer Here is the movie trailer for Prince Caspian which will hit theatres on May 16, 2008. More details about the film can be found on IMBD and the official blog. Many more Narnia resources can be found here. Direct video link Posted on December 7, 2007 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Horror Writers Perform Exorcism on Studios On Tuesday November 27th, the horror writers of the WGA took inspiration from the classic film The Exorcist and descended upon the gates of Warner Bros. to save the corporate souls which clearly are being possessed by the devil (he hates writers, you know). The writers explained: "Believing the media moguls not to be evil, but invaded by evil spirits, an exorcism was performed for the mutual benefit of the entire entertainment industry. The horror writers may be dark souls, but they do believe that good eventually triumphs over evil." See the video of the ritual here: Posted on December 3, 2007 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati |
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