"We're still working on the script, and of course it's going to be directed by Guillermo [del Toro]," Jackson said in an exclusive interview with SCI FI Wire. "That's going really well, and in fact we've already delivered the first script to the studio, and they really liked it, so now we're working hard on the second script, and that's going to keep us pretty busy until the end of this year."

*****

Jackson is well known as being a very hands-on filmmaker. So just how involved will he be during The Hobbit's shoot next year? "Well, I'm not intending to be on the set every day looking over his shoulder," he said with a laugh. "It's Guillermo's movie, and he'll be filming it, not me. The reason he's directing it is because I'm a big fan of his movies, and I know he'll do a fantastic job. I know he's the right guy for the project, and I love his amazing sense of visual and imagery. So I won't be interfering with his approach."

Del Toro is also collaborating with Jackson and his team on writing The Hobbit. "We're all on the same page [about the project], and it all starts with a good script," Jackson said. "We're big believers in structured screenplays, and the thing with our screenwriting partnership, with Fran and Philippa, is that we don't have a traditional screenplay deal with the studio. We don't have two drafts and a bunch of revisions. We refuse to put that into our contracts, as we continually rewrite and refine the scripts as we go."

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Captain Nemo Movie Dead in the Water

Variety's Mike Fleming reports that the Captain Nemo movie which was to be directed by McG is dead in the water at Disney. The film has been put on hold and McG has moved onto other projects.

The studio confirmed that the studio won't proceed with the film for now, and reps for the director confirmed he has withdrawn. McG will concentrate on other projects that include Dead Spy Running, a Warner Bros. drama that Stephen Gaghan is writing. McG is also attached to Terminator 5, though that movie is on hold indefinitely as the Terminator franchise works its way through bankruptcy court. McG just teamed with Borat helmer Larry Charles on a new NBC comedy.

McG, who last directed Terminator Salvation, had been attached to Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea since last January. The Bill Marsilli-scripted pic is an origin story about how Nemo constructed his warship, the Nautilus.

No one had been cast as Captain Nemo, although Will Smith was rumored to be up for the part.

Posted on November 17, 2009
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Fringe Ratings Fall Because of World Series, V is a Hit

Ratings for Fringe fell 23% last night, most likely because fans had no idea that it was back on. Many local listings showed the World Series in that time slot. FlashForward has also slipped a bit in the ratings.

While over on Fox, some viewers didn't get the message that no Game 7 meant the return of "Fringe" -- the series hit a dramatic series low. ABC won the night, with its lineup slipping about 4% across the board: "FlashForward" (8.5 million viewers, 2.6 preliminary adults 18-49 rating), "Grey's Anatomy" (13.6 million, 5.0) and "Private Practice" (9.2 million, 3.5). Both medical dramas won their hours.

*****

Returning after a two-week hiatus, Fox's drama lineup had "Bones" (8.5 million, 2.5) down 11%. At 9 p.m., "Fringe" (5 million, 1.7) hit a serious low, falling 23%. On the CW, "Vampire Diaries" (4.2 million, 2.0) admirably retained its recent gains. "Supernatural" (2.7 million, 1.2) continues to pretend like its not paired with a hit show, falling 14% this week.

ABC's V has been a surprise hit for the network, drawing in a whopping 14.3 million viewers for its debut, despite mixed reviews from critics. Can it keep up the pace? Week two will be crucial.

Posted on November 6, 2009
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James Cameron, Benevolent Tyrant

The New Yorker has a long piece about director James Cameron and his tyrannical ways on the set of his new SF film, Avatar.

The director James Cameron is six feet two and fair, with paper-white hair and turbid blue-green eyes. He is a screamer—righteous, withering, aggrieved. "Do you want Paul Verhoeven to finish this motherf*****?" he shouted, an inch from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s face, after the actor went AWOL from the set of True Lies, a James Bond spoof that Cameron was shooting in Washington, D.C. (Schwarzenegger had been giving the other actors a tour of the Capitol.)

Cameron has mastered every job on set, and has even been known to grab a brush out of a makeup artist's hand. "I always do makeup touch-ups myself, especially for blood, wounds, and dirt," he says. "It saves so much time." His evaluations of others' abilities are colorful riddles. "Hiring you is like firing two good men," he says, or "Watching him light is like watching two monkeys f*** a football." A small, loyal band of cast and crew works with him repeatedly; they call the dark side of his personality Mij--Jim backward.

Mij -- he sounds kind of like Sybil, only he only has two different personalities. Avatar has had so much hype that we are really wondering if it can really live up to the colossal expectations. It is costing around $230 million to make and will hit theaters on December 18. We can't wait to see it, of course.

Posted on October 19, 2009
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More Dollhouse Action Means More Stunts For Eliza Dushku

Dollhouse has stepped up the action this year which means more stunts for lead actress Eliza Dushku. TV Guide says she has sustained injuries including cracked toe, chipped teeth, burnt hair and a broken nose. That's seems like quite a few injuries but the action this season has been great. TV Guide also reveals some of Eliza's sexy photos from her recent Complex photo shoot. Take a look:



Posted on October 4, 2009
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Summit to Reboot Highlander Franchise

Summit, the producer of the Twilight films, is going to reboot the Highlander films. No, really.

Summit Entertainment is going to reboot the popular Highlander film franchise by handing the reins to Justin Lin, director of Fast & Furious. He will direct from a script to be written by Iron Man writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway.

The reboot will reportedly deal with an immortal Scottish swordsman who must confront a murderously brutal barbarian, who lusts for a fabled prize (or Prize?). Unclear how much, if any, of the previous franchise's mythology will figure into the reboot.

We can't even imagine how this is going to sort out. But the Highlander films have a long and troubled history. The TV series became the best part of the franchise, mostly due to Adrian Paul's portrayal of Duncan McCloud.

Posted on September 22, 2009
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Tron Legacy Gets Release Date

Tron: Legacy has a release date now: it's December 17, 2010. That's a bit earlier than expected. Reelzchannel says that weekend will also see the opening of The Green Hornet and The Smurfs.

Green Hornet was recently pushed back into the December 17 slot, and considering Sony owns both Hornet and The Smurfs, it's likely that one might be moved to another weekend.

Tron: Legacy is the sequel to the 1982's Tron, which starred Jeff Bridges as a computer programmer sucked into a video game to fight the master control program. Legacy will follow Bridges's son (Garrett Hedlund) as he is sucked into the video game to fight the program alongside his father.

We can't wait to see Tron: Legacy. Putting it up against The Green Hornet seems unwise, although we'll take Tron over Seth Rogan playing a superhero any day.

Posted on September 8, 2009
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True Blood is a Ratings Winner for HBO

True Blood had its highest ratings yet for its Sunday night episode. HBO is quite happy with the breakout vampire hit, based on the series of novels by Charlaine Harris. Variety reports:

Over at HBO, "True Blood" surged more than 20% week to week to set series records (2.8/8 in 18-49, 5.33 million viewers overall). In the demo, the vampire skein ranked third among all primetime programs for the week.

The premiere telecast was the first HBO series episode to top 5 million viewers since the finale of "The Sopranos" drew 11.9 million in June 2007. And excluding "Sopranos," it's the largest premiere-night audience for an HBO series since 5.4 million tuned in for the fourth episode of "Deadwood" (which aired behind "Sopranos") in April 2004.

"True Blood" is opening up some distance on skedmates "Hung" (1.7/5 in 18-49, 3.28m) and "Entourage" (1.9/5 in 18-49, 3.18m), although they were both up as well.

Vampires are still bringing in the viewers. It makes us realize how incredibly ahead of its time Buffy the Vampire Slayer really was.

Posted on August 25, 2009
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Echo in Season 2 Dollhouse Promotional Photos



There are some new promotional photos out for Season 2 of Dollhouse and they look great. Eliza Dushku as Echo is pictured above in all black. Below Echo is wearing all black and standing in a brightly colored room holding a gun. You can see more of the promo pictures here.



Posted on August 24, 2009
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Avatar Trailer Hits Internet

The long-awaited trailer for James Cameron's film Avatar is here. Tomorrow has been dubbed Avatar Friday and some fans will get to see a 15-minute long glimpse from the upcoming film. The Telegraph says Cameron promises film is more complex than mean humans killing the blue Navi aliens.

"But something that has this spoonful of sugar of all the action and the adventure and all that, which thrills me anyway as a fan, but also wanting to do something that has a conscience, that maybe in the enjoying of it makes you think a little bit about the way you interact with nature and your fellow man."

It may seem like a simple story about "nasty" humans fighting with "those beautifully, spiritually evolved Navi," he said. "But it's really not, because we make science fiction as human beings for human consumption."

"It means the Navi represent something that is our higher selves, or our aspirational selves, what we would like to think we are or maybe what we realise we're losing," he said. "And the humans in the film, even though there are some good ones salted in, represent what we know to be the parts of ourselves that are trashing our world and maybe condemning ourselves to a grim future."

Here's the trailer. Take a look:



Posted on August 20, 2009
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Neil Gaiman Wins Hugo Award For Best Novel

Neil Gaiman won the Hugo Awards for Best Novel for The Graveyard Book (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK). Here is a list of the other winners:

- Best Novella: "The Erdmann Nexus", Nancy Kress (Asimov's Oct/Nov 2008)

- Best Novelette: "Shoggoths in Bloom", Elizabeth Bear (Asimov's Mar 2008)

- Best Short Story: "Exhalation", Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)

- Best Related Book: Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008, John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)

- Best Graphic Story: Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones, Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)

- Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)

- Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon, & Maurissa Tancharoen, writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)

- Best Editor Short Form: Ellen Datlow

- Best Editor Long Form: David G. Hartwell

- Best Professional Artist: Donato Giancola

- Best Semiprozine: Weird Tales, edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal

- Best Fan Writer: Cheryl Morgan

-Best Fanzine: Electric Velocipede edited by John Klima

-Best Fan Artist: Frank Wu

- The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (presented by Dell Magazines): David Anthony Durham

Congratulations to all the winners! You can learn more about the awards at the Hugo Award website.

Posted on August 11, 2009
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Twilight Wins Nine Teen Choice Awards



The Hollywood Reporter reports that Twilight - which has a large number of teen fans - won nine awards at the Teen Choice Awards including wins in the choice drama and romance categories. Actors Robert Pattinson, Cam Gigandet, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Ashley Green also won awards.

The vampire drama won for choice drama, romance, lip lock, rumble, drama actress for Kristen Stewart, drama actor for Robert Pattinson, villain for Cam Gigandet, fresh face female for Ashley Greene and fresh face male for Taylor Lautner, who will also appear in the upcoming sequel, "New Moon."

"We'll see you guys in theaters Nov. 20," Lautner teased the squealing crowd.

Miley Cyrus also rode a wave at the Teen Choice Awards. The teen queen sailed away with six surfboard-shaped trophies at Sunday's ceremony. Cyrus won for comedy TV actress and comedy TV show for "Hannah Montana," music/dance movie actress and hissy fit for the "Hannah Montana" movie, music single for "The Climb" and summer song for "Before the Storm." She also presented Britney Spears with the ultimate choice award.

You can see a full list of the winners here.

Posted on August 10, 2009
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William Dafoe Signs on for Tars Tarkas Role

Variety reports that Willem Dafoe has joined the cast of John Carter of Mars, a Walt Disney Pictures film based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. Dafoe will play a green Martian warrior named Tars Tarkas.

Dafoe will play the role of Tars Tarkas, a fierce green Martian warrior, who's unusual among his savage race for his ability to love. Tars develops an alliance with John Carter in the first film, which is based on "A Princess of Mars."

He fights battles alongside Carter through the entire series of Edgar Rice Burroughs books, so he will be hanging around for sequels.

This won't be Dafoe's first green role. He did a superb job as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man. A Google image search turns up some images of four-armed Tars Tarkas here.

Posted on July 15, 2009
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Ryan Reynolds Lands Green Lantern Role

Variety reports that Warner Bros. has chosen Ryan Reynolds to play the Green Lantern. Ryan Reynolds beat out Bradley Cooper and Justin Timberlake for the role.

After an intense months-long search, Warner Bros. has settled on Ryan Reynolds as its choice to play "Green Lantern," the studio's live-action tentpole based on the DC Comics hero. The film is being directed by Martin Campbell and produced by Donald De Line and Greg Berlanti.

Reynolds and his camp entered negotiations for the part Friday, after the studio held two rounds of screen tests, along with actors Bradley Cooper and Jared Leto. Justin Timberlake also did a screen test.

The studio had holding options on the actors, but, except for Reynolds, those expired Monday. Reynolds' option would have expired end of day Friday.

Ryan Reynolds is a versatile actor. His most recent role was the comedy, The Proposal, but he also played Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Ryan Reynolds is also reportedly getting his own Deadpool film.

Photo: The Proposal

Posted on July 10, 2009
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Vampires Running Out of Blood in Daybreakers

Daybreakers offers an interesting twist on vampire plots. After a plague turns humans into vampires, the vampires quickly become the dominate race and greatly outnumber humans. Because of this they are becoming close to running out of the human blood they need to survive. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill. The film hits theatres in January, 2010. Take a look:



Posted on June 27, 2009
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Robert Knepper is New Heroes Villain



The Hollywood Reporter says Robert Knepper has been cast as the new lead villain in Heroes. He will play a charismatic Jim Jones type of character for at least six episodes in season 4.

In at least six episodes of the series' fourth season, Knepper will play Samuel, a Jim Jones type -- charismatic but evil, with a twisted sense of humor -- who will veer into the lives of all heroes. The character had been referred to as "Carnival Barker" in the series breakdown released last month.

"Heroes" is slated to return in the fall for a "Lost"-style all-original run in a new time slot at 8 p.m. on Mondays. The sci-fi drama -- which enjoys a strong online following -- will share its time period with another fan favorite, "Chuck," which will take over in midseason.

Production on the UMS-produced "Heroes" is scheduled to begin later this week.

He sounds like an interesting villain. We are very glad Chuck is returning as well.

(via Newsarama)

Posted on June 24, 2009
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Bodybuilder Roland Kickinger Could Be Next Conan



There are rumors (see here, here and here) that bodybuilder Roland Kickinger could get the coveted Conan the Barbarian role.

Trying to replace Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be easy but Risky Biz Blog points out that the two actors have a few similarities.

Like Schwarzenegger, Kickinger is a bodybuilder-turned-actor from the Central European country.

Like the California governor, he also had a role as a T-800 in the "Terminator" franchise (in Warner Bros.' current "Terminator Salvation").

And in a you-can't-make-this-stuff-up turn, Kickinger actually played a Conan-era version of Schwarzenegger in "See Arnold Run," the 2005 A&E biopic about the actor-turned-politician.

Some blogs are already trying to quash the rumor. Time will tell who the next Barbarian is.

Posted on June 19, 2009
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Sorcerer's Apprentice Gets a Release Date

Disney has set a release date for the family film, The Sorcerer's Apprentice. The film will be released on July 16, 2010. Jerry Bruckheimer is producing.

Also on Thursday, Warner Bros. made additions and changes to its 2009 calendar. Studio will open James McTeigue's "Ninja Assassin," instead of horror pic "The Box," on Nov. 25, with "The Box" now bowing Oct. 30. Studio originally intended to open "Ninja" in 2010. Dating of "Sorcerer's Apprentice" gives the Mouse House three event pics in summer 2010. The other two are "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (May 28) and "Toy Story 3" (July 18).

Jon Turteltaub is directing the live-action pic, based on the famed "Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment in Disney's "Fantasia." Modern-day update stars Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel. Lensing begins this month.

They say it's based on the Sorcerer's Apprentice section of Fantasia (which is based on the Goethe poem about the apprentice who gets in over his head with magic). So how does Jerry Bruckheimer approach this kind of source material? We're thinking there will be lots of exploding brooms and perhaps some exciting chase scenes around sorcerer's workshop.

Posted on March 23, 2009
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Trailer for Warehouse 13

The Sci Fi Channel is launching a new series in July called Warehouse 13, which seems like The X-Files meets Friday the 13th. Take a look:



Posted on March 21, 2009
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Benjamin Button Gets DVD Release Date of May 5th

The Hollywood Reporter reports that the Oscar nominated movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, will be released on DVD and blu-ray on May 5th. The release date is a over a month after Slumdog Millionaire comes out on March 31st.

The "Button" plans were sewed up during the weekend, and Paramount will announce the home-entertainment release date Thursday. The Brad Pitt-Cate Blanchett starrer won three Academy Awards and is among the last of the high-profile Oscar pics to set a debut on home video.

Fox Home Entertainment will release Oscar best picture winner "Slumdog Millionaire" on March 31.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment's "Milk," for which Sean Penn copped a best actor statuette, hit retail shelves March 10. USHE has set an April 21 street date for its political drama "Frost/Nixon," which, like "Button" and "Milk," was a nominee for best picture.

The fifth nominee -- the Weinstein Co.'s Nazi-themed drama "The Reader," for which Kate Winslet was voted best actress -- will be released by Genius Products on DVD. No date has been set.

Usually the studios don't want to wait too long before releasing Oscar films on DVD. The single disc Benjamin Button DVD will have a retail price of $29.99. Two-disc DVD and Blu-ray set will retail for $39.99. Discounting generally pushes the price much lower.

Posted on March 18, 2009
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Morena Baccarin to Star in V Remake



Morena Baccarin, who has starred in Firefly, Serentiy and Stargate SG-1, is going to be in the remake of V. Morena will be playing the lead role, a character named Anna reports TV Guide. Anna is described as the "the leader of the Visitors who is remarkably knowledgeable about human culture and media manipulation."

The Visitors of ABC's V reboot have found their leader, and her face is familiar to sci-fi fans. Morena Baccarin (aka Firefly's Inara and Stargate SG-1's Adria) has landed the lead role of Anna, the frontwoman for Earth's very special guests, says the Hollywood Reporter. Previously announced V castings include Scott Wolf and Morris Chestnut.

The leader of the aliens in the 1983 V was Diana, played very well by actress Jane Badler.

(via Newsarama)

Photo: 20th Century Fox

Posted on March 13, 2009
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Philip Jose Farmer Dies at Age 91

Science fiction legend Philip Jose Farmer has passed away at age 91. The following message was left on his official website.

Philip José Farmer passed away peacefully in his sleep this morning.

He will be missed greatly by his wife Bette, his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, friends and countless fans around the world.

January 26, 1918 - February 25, 2009. R.I.P.

We love you Phil.

The official website also contains a great roundup of obits and reactions to Farmer's passing from around the Web including Locus, SFScope and The Stranger. Author Neil Gaiman also tweeted the following message: "Was just told that Philip Jose Farmer died. He was 91, wrote many wonderful things. A worldbuilder, of influence and some real magic. Sigh."

The AP, Guardian, New York Times and CNN have posted obits.

RIP, Philip Joes Farmer.

Posted on February 26, 2009
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Emily Blunt Out of Iron Man 2

Emily Blunt is officially out of Iron Man 2.

Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau told E! that Emily Blunt is definitely out of the superhero sequel and that Mickey Rourke hasn't been officially cast but is a fan, according to a report on Playlist.

Favreau made no mention of Scarlett Johansson, who is rumored to be in line for Blunt's role of Russian superspy Natasha Romanoff, who doubles as Black Widow. On E!'s post-Oscar show, Favreau reportedly said that Fox exercised its [Gulliver's Travels] option on Blunt, preventing her from appearing in Iron Man 2.

The rumors are all over the place that Scarlett Johansson has been signed for the film, but so far no one's confirming the casting.

Posted on February 24, 2009
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Unpublished Work by J.R.R. Tolkien Due Out in May

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will be publishing a book by J.R.R. Tolkien called The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun in May. The book predates Tolkien's The Hobbit and LOTR series. The book is a retelling of old Norse epics in verse. It will contain commentary from commentary from Tolkien's son Christopher Tolkien. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun was written while Tolkien was a professor at Oxford University.

Posted on February 18, 2009
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Joss Whedon to Receive SFWA Bradbury Award

Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dr. Horrible and Dollhouse, has been named recipient of the Bradbury Award for excellence in screenwriting. The award will be presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) at Nebula Awards weekend in Los Angeles, Calif., April 24-26..

"Like everyone who picks up a pen, I was a rabid Bradbury fan and as greatly influenced by him as any other writer I read," Whedon said. "To receive the award named for him is an honor I'd not dreamed of. In my defense, it didn't exist back then. What did exist were the very lovely, very twisted and very human stories that warped my impressionable mind, and that I have tried, in whatever medium they will let me, to measure up to."

Created in 1992 by then-President Ben Bova and named after famed author and screenwriter Ray Bradbury, the Bradbury Award is a special president's award presented for outstanding genre-themed work in a dramatic medium. Previous Bradbury Award winners are James Cameron for Terminator 2 (1992), J. Michael Straczynski for Babylon 5 (1999) and Yuri Rasovsky and Harlan Ellison for 2000X - Tales of the Next Millennia, a National Public Radio series (2001).

"I'm very excited to be giving this honor to Joss Whedon in recognition of his substantial and superior body of work, including Buffy, Angel, Firefly and the Serenity film, as well as Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog," said SFWA President Russell Davis. "His impact as a writer, producer and director on the science fiction and fantasy film and television landscape is undeniable, and he is more than deserving of this recognition from our organization."

Congratulations to Joss Whedon! He is certainly worthy of the honor for his terrificly entertaining shows.

Photo of Joss Whedon by Jo Anslow

Posted on February 17, 2009
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Reaper Returns March 3



CW's devil comedy Reaper will return on March 3rd for 13 straight episodes reports Hollywood Reporter.

he move puts "Reaper" at 8 p.m. Tuesdays followed by "90210," a shake-up that protects the teen soap from Fox's "American Idol." "Reaper" will still air its 13 episodes straight, through without repeats as originally planned.

To make way for "Reaper," the CW also advanced its first-season finale date for "Privileged." The show will conclude Feb. 24, having aired fewer repeats than originally planned. The network has not yet decided whether the drama will return next season.

"90210" has been wrestling with "Idol" in recent weeks. Yet it and "Privileged" enjoy the highest percentage of DVR gains among any show on any network.

CW's Reaper website can be found here.

Posted on February 3, 2009
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Fox Takes Over Narnia Series From Disney

Twentieth Century Fox has agreed to step in and co-finance the third movie in the Narnia series after Disney dropped out. The plan is to release the film in the 2010 holiday season. The L.A. Times says The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will have a budget of around $140, which is less than Prince Caspian's budget was.

Fox is taking a financial gamble that Disney was unwilling to wage despite helping bankroll the first two films in the "Narnia" family franchise. Walden, owned by entrepreneur Phil Anschutz, was forced to seek a new financial partner on "Dawn Treader" after Disney balked at the cost and opted out.

Fox was the most likely partner because the studio already markets and distributes Walden movies under its Fox Walden label.

Over the last few weeks, Walden chief David Weil and "Narnia" producer Mark Johnson have held a series of meetings with top Fox executives, including movie chiefs Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos, to discuss script revisions and the movie's cost.

It's good to see the series will continue. The last film, Prince Caspian was fun to watch but it wasn't as good as it could have been. There is a lot of potential for a sequel.

Posted on January 29, 2009
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Lara Croft May Return to the Big Screen

Lara Croft has been on plenty of missions in the video game world but she hasn't been on the big screen since 2003. The Hollywood Reporter says the film series may soon get a reboot.

Warners Bros. and producer Dan Lin are in early development on a a reboot of "Tomb Raider," the popular video game action franchise.

"Tomb Raider," which was published in 1996 by a London-based video game company called Eidos, was a wildly popular game that involved the daredevil archaeologist Lara Croft on a series of global missions. Several spinoff games have been published since, with a 10th-anniversary edition of the game released in 2006.

Paramount previously made the two movies based on the game, but the rights have since reverted to Eidos. When Time Warner upped its stake to 19.92% in Eidos in December, films rights to the property were included as part of the deal.

Lin will produce the project via his Lin Pictures banner while Stephen Gilchrist will co-produce; Ian Livingstone of Eidos will exec produce. Matt Reilly is overseeing for Warners. Lin is the producer behind Warners' upcoming Guy Ritchie-directed update of "Sherlock Holmes" and the adventure film "Jonny Quest."

The Hollywood Reporter says planning for the film is still in its early stages and an actress to play the Lara Croft role won't be named until a writer and director are attached to the project.

British gymanst Alison Carroll is currently the face of Lara Croft's video games. Take a look:



Posted on January 28, 2009
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Casting Rumor: Vanessa Hudgens Auditions for New Moon

There's a casting rumor going around the Vanessa Hudgens has auditioned or is auditioning for a role in New Moon. Actress Ashley Greene, who plays Alice Cullen in the Twilight films, told MTV that she thought Vanessa Hudgens would be great in the role.

With all the "New Moon" casting rumors that have been floating around since "Twilight" hit theaters, we were especially wondering who would play werewolf Leah Clearwater, Jacob Black's feisty and heartbroken frienemy.

Well, one of the rumored actresses in the running — "High School Musical" starlet Vanessa Hudgens — has apparently taken the next step and auditioned for the role, according to "Twilight" actress Ashley Greene.

We ran into Alice herself at a Golden Globes afterparty, and she told us she'd be happy to co-star with Hudgens. "I think she'd be great," Greene enthused.

Some of the comments on another MTV article here indicate there are many Twilight fans who don't want Vanessa Hudgens to get the job. These fans might be misguided. Just be she starred in the High School Musical movies doesn't mean she can't play any other character. She would also bring a lot of star power to the sequel. But it's still just a rumor and unclear whether Vanessa is really even auditioning.

Posted on January 12, 2009
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