The title of this post says it all. Is Kenneth Johnson’s “V: The Second Generation”, his sequel to his 1980s mini-series hit “V: The Original Mini-Series” and “V: The Final Battle” (okay, not so much the second one, which Mr. Johnson didn’t really have a lot to do with, which explains why it was not exactly all that great), gearing up for movie production? Yes, says the man himself. Or at least, he hopes to have the franchise move to the big screen, where it will launch a franchise with the big great helping of today’s CGI technology. More news about this below.
Archive for April 10, 2008
V: The Second Generation as a Movie Franchise?
Script Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still Remake
Uh oh. It looks like someone from Aint-it-cool-News, or someone who regularly writes for them, has gotten their hands on the script for the upcoming “The Day the Earth Stood Still” remake. As you’ll recall, Keanu Reeves let the cat out of the bag a few weeks back when he told MTV that the new version will involve Global Warming instead of nuclear annihilation, which as you might expect, made me think this movie was gonna suck because of that pandering crap. Now according to the script review — yup, it’s gonna suck because it just, well, plain sucks, apparently.
First Look at Vincenzo Natali’s Splice
Via Worst Previews, here are two first looks at Canadian filmmaker Vincenzo Natali’s upcoming sci-fi movie “Splice”, which stars Sarah Polley and Adrian Brody as rebellious scientists who experiment in, as the title may imply, splicing human and animal DNA. As you can imagine, bad things happen. What, you thought this would be a good thing or something? They never are in the movies, chum. Your first looks at the movie below.
First Look at Ilion’s Planet 51
The MarketSaw blog posted these images from Ilion’s upcoming animated movie “Planet 51″ last year, but, well, I didn’t get to it then, but I’m getting to them now. The blog also had videos from the movie, but they had to remove it when Ilion “asked” them to — i.e. do it or we’ll sue you. You know, the same crap these movie studios always pull for the sake of maintaining some semblance of control. As if, right? Once it hits the Internet, you can forget about it, movie studios. Anyhoo, here are the pics that were released last year.
Robosapien: Rebooted Toy-turned-Movie on the Run
Yes, you heard that correctly. They’re making a live-action movie based on the robosapien line of toys by Wow Wee (pictured left, bigger version below). I have absolutely no idea why, but apparently this thing is either very popular (I do see it everywhere, now that I think about it), or someone came up with a very clever idea. The premise, alas, sounds like “Short Circuit”, and not all that clever. The cast is made of of B-listers, fronted by Penelope Ann Miller, who has long since given up an A-list career in Hollywood. Read on.
Earth vs. Moon is Sci-Fi Epic
Sci-fi epics don’t come around every day, and when a script is picked up for mid to high six-figures, and it’s referred to by The Hollywood Reporter as a “sci-fi epic”, then by God, it better be a sci-fi epic. The script was written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, and purchased by Universal studios, who have set Scott Stuber to produce the film for them. The article doesn’t say if this will be an animated movie or live-action, but Rhett Reese’s previous credits include the computer-animated Pixar flick “Monsters, Inc”.
Shia LaBeouf: Transformers 2 Starts in June!
MTV News currently has an article on their site about how Shia LaBeouf got injured on the set of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (relax, apparently it’s not that bad, he pulled a rotator cuff in the hip, whatever that means), but they also have a little blurb from Shia about “Transformers 2″ at the end of the article. From Shia’s own mouth: “We’re gearing up for ‘Transformers’ in June.” Oh hell yeah!
Stargate: Universe TV Series to be Set on a Ship
I had heard rumblings about a new Stargate TV series to replace the departed Stargate: SG1 and the aging Stargate: Atlantis, but that was a while ago. Now, Gateworld has new details about the upcoming series, to be called “Stargate: Universe”, and as the name may already hint at, the series will be set onboard a ship built by the Ancients. According to Stargate producer Brad Wright, who conceived of the third series with co-producer Robert C. Cooper, the ship was an experiment by the Ancients many years ago, but was abandoned after they ascended. Now it’s up to the Stargate team to finish the job.
Sleep Dealer (2008) Movie Images Gallery
Sleep Dealer (2008) Movie Images Gallery
Plot: Set in a near-future, militarized world marked by closed borders, virtual labor and a global digital network that joins minds and experiences, three strangers risk their lives to connect with each other and break the barriers of technology.
Stargate: Continuum Plot Details, DVD Release Date
According to Gateworld, the second (and final?) “Stargate: SG1″ made-for-DVD movie, “Continuum”, is scheduled to arrive on DVD July 29, 2008, and according to one producer, the film “stands head and shoulders above even the biggest episodes of the television series”. That’s a mighty big pitch. I liked the first movie, “Ark of Truth”, but didn’t find it to be particularly “head and shoulders” above the series, but maybe they were saving up the production values for the second one. We can only hope. More about the movie below.
Transformers 2 Character Breakdowns, Plus Devastator!
It’s cooooooooming. That’s right, folks, “Transformer 2″ is gearing up for production. Maybe it’s not in production NOW, but it’s gearing up, and casting notices have already been sent out for actors. From these casting breakdowns (below), we know a couple of things: one) The movie will move forward a few years, since by the time of the movie Sam (Shia LeBouf) will be in college (Princeton, no less!); two) No mention of Megan Fox at all; three) Tyrese’s Sgt. Epps character will return, since they’re already casting his wife; and four) Also returning is John Turturro’s uber asshole G-Man character.
Pike and Rhames Joins The Surrogates
I was already hyped for Bruce Willis’ sci-fi actioner “The Surrogates” just hearing the plot, and then they had to go and add Radha Mitchell to the cast, and I was even more hyped. Now they’ve gone and added two more great names: Ving Rhames (pictured, left) and the absolutely stunning Rosamund Pike (pictured, below). And now The Hollywood Reporter has more details about the characters, including who Mitchell will be playing, as well as newcomers Rhames and Pike.
Olivia Williams Joins Whedon’s Dollhouse
Olivia Williams as a villain? I don’t know, I find that hard to believe. She’s such a sweet, cute woman! But hey, maybe it’s time to stretch, right? According to The Hollywood Reporter, Olivia Williams (pictured, left) has joined the growing cast of Joss Whedon’s upcoming FOX sci-fi TV show Dollhouse. She’ll be joining Eliza Dushku, the show’s star, and will be playing the “ruthless and protective” woman who runs the Dollhouse where Dushku and others are stored, where their memories are wiped after each mission.
David Goyer Confirms Re-Release of Dark City with New SFX
Say it’s so, David Goyer! Yes, it is, fans of “Dark City”, of which I count myself as one. A huge one, at that. I love this movie. I loved it when I first saw it in theaters in 1998, and I’ve only loved it more with each viewing. It is Alex Proyas’ best film to date (beating out even “The Crow”), and starred Rufus Sewell as a man with no memory and Jennifer Connelly as the absolutely gorgeous woman who loves him. Or does she? Plus, the Strangers. Wow, the Strangers. So what’s in store for the re-release? How about a limited theatrical run!
Smallville Creators Abandon Season 8
Unlike the CW, which has renewed their aging (oh God it’s so aging) “teen” superhero show for an eighth (and to most people with common sense, wholly superfluous) year, the creators of Smallville knows when to get the hell out. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who created the show seven years ago, have decided to abandon ship and move on to bigger and better things. Add this to the emergency shuttle launch of some of the show’s other big names, like Kristin Kreuk and Lex Luthor himself, and Smallville is looking like the dinner guest who doesn’t know when it’s time to leave.
