After winning a major bidding war, Warner Bros aquired the rights to Samson – a movie that will retell the epic biblical story of Samson and Delilah but with a special twist – it will unfold in a futuristic setting in space.
Francis Lawrence (I am Legend/ Constantine / Kings) is on board to direct a screenplay from Scott Silver (8 Mile / Requiem for a Dream).
The betrayal based love story of a super strong man who derives his strength from his hair (yep, that’s Samson) sounds weird when you put it like that, but the story has always been popular – popular enough to have spawned four feature films in the past.
Warner Bros seems to think it will remain so, even when reimagined into the future, because they are billing this film as a tentpole for their 2012 schedule.
Here’s the sci fi news for the last few days that never made it to a full article, all in a nice neat summarized nutshell. As usual, there’s no spoilers so read on safely:
Day One – NBC have given the green-light to a new pilot titled Day One. Day One is sci-fi drama creation of Jesse Alexander (Heroes/ Alias / Lost). The pilot will follow a group of survivors as they struggle in a post-apocalyptic Earth to both survive and discover the cause of the catastrophic event that has decimated the planet. Sounds similar to Jericho on face value, but since there’s very little information available at this time, we’ll have to wait and cross our fingers for some originality.
Stargate Universe – Michael Shanks, aka Dr. Daniel Jackson from Stargate SG-1 looks set to make a cameo in Stargate Universe. In an exclusive interview with SCI FI Wire he said, “I talked to [executive producer] Brad Wright a couple of weeks ago, and he asked me if I’d be interested in doing a cameo in the Universe pilot, and I of course said I would be. And there’s a great deal of talk about [it]. … They’ve got a script going and everything like that.” However according to Gateworld it will most likely be a small part early on in the pilot given that there has been no indication that Daniel Jackson will join the crew of the ancient ship Destiny. Makes sense.
Forbidden Planet - A remake of the popular 1956 film is on its way from Warner Brothers and the latest news is James Cameron (Aliens / The Abyss/ Terminator) has his eyes on the directors chair. This would put Cameron in collaboration with J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5 / Changeling) who has written the story for the film. Read the rest of this entry »
The number of games made into movies is a little sad when you consider how many of these have resulted in good movies. When I think of game-to-movie conversions I can barely think of any that are worth mentioning, and so when I hear another game is to be made into a movie it’s hard to get excited. Yet, occasionally surprises do happen – Hitman comes immediately to mind. Perhaps Gears of War might make it into the surprise category.
Yes, the Xbox 360 game from Epic is making its way to the big screen and the news is it might do so in the form of a trilogy to rival the Lord of the Rings or, at least, those are sort of the words of director Len Wiseman (Underworld / Underworld: Evolution / Live Free or Die Hard).
“The hope is that we’re wanting to do three movies and really cover the bases on everything,” said Wiseman to the journo’s from Bloody-Disgusting.com whilst walking the red carpet at the premiere of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. “Basically a harder edged Lord Of The Rings.”
If you’ve played Gears of War then you know that console games aren’t as good as PC’s for playing first person shooters – oh, sorry, that was unrelated. Let me start again. If you’ve played Gears of War then you know that it’s violent as all hell – try to imagine the carnage that is left behind a hero who is wielding a ‘chainsaw gun’ and you’ll get the picture. No doubt some of the more violent aspects of Gears of War will be the ‘harder edged’ aspects of the trilogy, although Wiseman has also stated he intends to bring a stronger sci-fi flavor to the mix. Read the rest of this entry »
With Robocop getting a new movie it stands to reason that Robocop merchandise is going to be very popular very soon. Perhaps that in itself is a good reason to grab one of these Robocop replica statues. Or perhaps you’ll just want it because your a fan.
Either way, if you want it, you better grab it now. There are only 500 of these babies in the world and as it stands, Sideshow Collectibles are only offering this as a second chance opportunity.
This Robocop Premium Format figure stands over 19 inches tall atop an Omni Consumer Products/Detroit Metropolitan Police shield (I almost laughed typing that!). The figure features a working thigh holster with room for his Auto-9 pistol and several interchangeable hands. Both the figure and base are cast in high-quality polystone and PU, hand-finished and hand-painted to exacting standards. Overall it weighs almost 5 kg.
Sideshow Collectibles produce only quality merchandise. If you read the reviews on this Robocop figure you’ll see nothing but 5 stars – collectors love the detail in this and the ability to pose him in so many ways.
Seriously, this is limited to only 500 copies worldwide, so if you’re a fan of Robocop then go check it out here at Sideshow Collectibles (oh yeah, you’re looking at US $274.99). If that’s too much for your wallet, head on over anyway and check out the cool images.
It’s been more than 25 years since the release of the original series and now the word is official – a ‘reworking’ of the 1980’s alien invasion series V is coming to the small screen. It will be titled V: The Series.
If you remember the original series – and I most definitely do to the point that some twenty years ago I spray painting a big red V on my school books – you’d remember that the aliens who come to Earth pretend to be our humanoid friends but in due course are discovered to be lizards from a dying planet that are here to steal our resources and eat us. They fail. A year later a second V series was released in which the aliens try again.
The original series starred Marc Singer as the hero, Mike Donovan, who leads the resistance against the aliens. Singer has also starred in a heap of television series and movies, but apart from V he is perhaps most remembered for his starring role in the 1982 fantasy-action movie, The Beastmaster. There’s no word on actors for the new series just yet, but apparently the new story will take place twenty years after the end of the previous series. I’m guessing this opens the door to a possible reprisal of his character, at least in bit part. Or perhaps I just started a rumor.
One person who definitely won’t be involved is the original series creator, Kenneth Johnson. Instead, the new script is being written by Scott Peters who is well known for his work on The 4400 and less known for directing the first episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
V: The Series will air on the NBC in 2009. This is one many people will be eagerly awaiting.
Celtic Predator Mask
A 1:1 hand-cast, hand-finished reproduction of the original screen used Predator Celtic Mask prop from Alien Vs Predator. The laser targeter lights up.
It has been fifteen years since Babylon 5 first aired on television and a decade since its five year story-arc ran its course. The series has gathered thousands of fans and spawned some very average made-for-tv movies (although Babylon 5: In the Beginning was excellent). In 2007 its creator J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) was handed a smallish $2M to produce a series of new Babylon 5 tales titled, well, Babylon 5: The Lost Tales. These didn’t go so well and in the end JMS announced to the world that he was putting Babylon 5 to rest. Well sort of.
Just like the rest of us, JMS was happy with the original five year story of Babylon 5 and after receiving low budgets for all the B5 follow ups he decided subsequent B5 productions were doing more harm than good to the series. With The Lost Tales not doing so well thanks in part to too small a budget, JMS decided that further B5 material would work against B5 than for. He announced that he’d no longer go down the B5 path unless in the form of a big budget B5 movie. No big budget movie, no more new B5. For most fans, that news was taken as the nail in the coffin for the franchise.
But the nail may have just been pulled out. JMS is the man behind the screenplay for Changeling and if you haven’t heard, Changeling has been nominated for a BAFTA award by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Also, although not nominated for a screenplay Oscar, Changeling has received three Academy Award nominations. Further, JMS has written the script for Forbidden Planet and it seems his script is something special (even James Cameron is taking notice). All these new developments and as luck would have it, attention has now turned JMS’s way. Read the rest of this entry »
Well it’s that time of the year again – the Academy Awards are upon us and the nominees are finally out. How has the sci fi genre scored this time around? Well, to be honest, I don’t have that many criticisms this time around. Yes there’s some questionable decisions but there’s also some fairly good decisions by the Academy when it comes to the sci-fi genre. Let’s take a look.
It’s exactly one year to the day since 28 year old Heath Ledger died from an accidental drug overdose – but he hasn’t been forgotten by a long shot. Since winning his posthumous Golden Globe expectation has been strong for his portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight to net him a posthumous Academy Award. Today this expectation moved one step closer to realization as he received a formal best supporting actor nomination.
Few people would argue Ledger doesn’t deserve it, and typically a Golden Globe win almost guarantees the Oscar. His toughest competition is probably Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt or perhaps Josh Brolin for Milk. He’s also up against Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder, but to that I simply say, erm, what? Downey Jr. was hilarious in the role, but seriously, an Oscar? No, I think Ledger is a shoe-in and this will be one award The Dark Knight takes home on the night. Read the rest of this entry »
If you haven’t yet tuned in to an episode of Fringe then I suggest you give it a shot. Fringe is basically a cop show with a sci-fi element similar to (but not the same as) X-Files. It follows FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) as she is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist and his son as they battle a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena known only as ‘the pattern’.
Fringe is another brainchild of J.J. Abrams (Lost / Star Trek XI) and whilst it’s not in the league of Lost, it is certainly enjoyable to watch – as proven by high ratings that have guaranteed it a second season. It’s main stars are all excellent actors and the more the series unfolds, the more impressed I am becoming with Anna Torv as the lead. John Noble is also excellent as the deranged Dr. Walter Bishop (whose character brings an entertaining sense of humor to the series), and surprisingly Joshua Jackson (aka Pacey from Dawson’s Creek) is suited to the role of Bishop’s son.
The series is in its early days but the most recent episode, Bound, provided definite proof that the series is only getting better. Giant slugs bursting out of people’s mouths and Agent Dunham kicking arse – what more can I say about Bound?. I won’t spoil the episode any more than those tidbits – but if you really want to spoil it (or if you’ve already seen Bound) head on over to SyFyPortal where they’ve written a pretty good review. Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s the sci fi news for the last few days that never made it to a full article, all in a nice neat summarized nutshell. As usual, there’s no spoilers so read on safely:
The number of games made into movies is a little sad when you consider how many of these have resulted in good movies. When I think of game-to-movie conversions I can barely think of any that are worth mentioning, and so when I hear another game is to be made into a movie it’s hard to get excited. Yet, occasionally surprises do happen – Hitman comes immediately to mind. Perhaps Gears of War might make it into the surprise category.
It’s been more than 25 years since the release of the original series and now the word is official – a ‘reworking’ of the 1980’s alien invasion series 
It has been fifteen years since 
Well it’s that time of the year again – the Academy Awards are upon us and the nominees are finally out. How has the sci fi genre scored this time around? Well, to be honest, I don’t have that many criticisms this time around. Yes there’s some questionable decisions but there’s also some fairly good decisions by the Academy when it comes to the sci-fi genre. Let’s take a look. 
If you haven’t yet tuned in to an episode of Fringe then I suggest you give it a shot. Fringe is basically a cop show with a sci-fi element similar to (but not the same as) X-Files. It follows FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) as she is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist and his son as they battle a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena known only as ‘the pattern’. 