29/02/08 - Potter creator feels exploited by fan

A Harry Potter fan's plans to turn his unofficial encyclopedia into a book has left the franchises creator, J.K. Rowling, feeling "exploited" according to recently filed court papers.

According to Sci-Fi Wire, Rowling and Warner Brothers, which produces the Harry Potter movies, are suing RDR Books, an independent publisher that plans to publish Steve Vander Ark's Harry Potter Lexicon, a 400-page reference book which is based on his popular fan website.

In a declaration filed in the US legal system, Rowling wrote: "I am very frustrated that a former fan has tried to co-opt my work for financial gain. I believe that RDR's book constitutes a Harry Potter 'rip off' of the type I have spent years trying to prevent, and that both I, as the creator of this world, and fans of Harry Potter, would be exploited by its publication."

The lawsuit seeks to stop publication and requests damages for copyright and federal trademark infringement and any profits to be gained.

RDR Books has said Vander Ark, a librarian, had spoken at Harry Potter academic conferences in Great Britain, Canada and the United States and that a timeline he created was used by Warner in DVD releases of the Potter films.

Rowling has said she plans to write her own definitive Harry Potter encyclopedia, which would include material that did not make it into the novels, and donate the proceeds to charity.

 

28/02/08 - Indy's in the can. Will he open Cannes?

Representatives of Steven Spielberg are attempting to secure Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as the opening film of this year's Cannes Film Festival.

If achieved this would mark the worldwide premiere of the adventure sequel, on 15 May.

It's also rumoured that Paramount is not planning any press screenings or junkets for the film, making the Cannes screening the first and only public screening of the movie before its 22 May cinematic release.

 

27/02/08 - Production progresses on JLA film

Warner Brothers is going full-speed ahead with production on the anticipated live action Justice League of America film now that the Hollywood writers' strike has ended.

According to trade paper Variety, Warner Brothers tried to get the comic book adaptation into production earlier, but put it on indefinite hold in January, allowing the cast options to expire.

Director George Miller will direct the script from writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney.

Adam Brody will play the Flash, Rapper Common will play the Green Lantern and other roles went to Armie Hammer Jr. (Batman) and Megan Gale (Wonder Woman).

It's expected that the movie will be released in the US in 2009.

 

26/02/08 - T4: The filming begins...

According to trade paper Variety, Warner Brothers has finally set a release date for the fourth movie in the Terminator franchise.

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (currently known as T4), starring Christian Bale, will open in American cinemas on 22 May, 2009.

T4 begins production in New Mexico for two months on 05 May. The storyline is being kept under tight wraps, but the plot is the first part of a planned three-picture arc that begins after Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust. A group of survivors led by John Connor (Bale) struggles to stop the machines.

 

25/02/08 - X-Files creator won't leak secrets

In a recent interview with SCI FI Wire Chris Carter [pictured], creator of The X-Files, revealed that the upcoming second movie will be a stand-alone story that represents the best of the series.

"This movie takes some of the most, I think, essential themes of The X-Files and incorporates them and puts them to the test," said Carter.

"I think that for me, so much of The X-Files was about skepticism, but it was also about faith, and I think that plays a big part of this movie."

While Carter wouldn't be drawn on the plot of the movie, he did add: "We came up with the story about five years ago, and we liked it, and pitched it because Fox had asked us to come up with something. So when we got the call from Fox that said, 'Make this movie, it's either now or never,' we said, 'OK, let's dust off that old story.' And that's what we did. We dusted off that old story, and we saw that it needed work. So we got back to work on it."

The X-Files sequel is due to be released in US cinemas on 25 July.

 

22/02/08 - Potter movie includes an extra scene

In a recent interview David Barron, producer of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, revealed that a new scene will be added to the movie, which was not in the book.

Talking to Australia's Herald Sun, Barron said: "This was brought in because Jo [Rowling] was able throughout the quite lengthy book to keep dropping little snippets of what was happening in the outside world - there'd be people reading newspapers and talking about how somebody's parents had been killed, or somebody had been withdrawn from school because their parents didn't think it was safe.

"The book is peppered with those moments, but we couldn't do that quite so easily in the film. So [the extra scene] comes in the middle of the film and it just reminds us the world is no longer a safe place. Even in what would normally be considered the safe haven of the Burrow, nobody's safe".

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released in US cinemas from 21 November.

 

21/02/08 - Live action Akira movie in the works

According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter trade paper, Leonardo DiCaprio has signed up to produce a live-action film based on the Japanese manga and anime film Akira.

Akira began life in 1988 as a manga and then as an animated film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo.

The story was set in "New Tokyo" - a futuristic post-apocalyptic city, in 2019. Here an innocent teen biker-gang member is subjected to a government experiment that eventually unleashes his deadly latent powers.

The movie will be set in "New Manhattan" - a city rebuilt by the Japanese. The film is expected to hit US cinemas in summer 2009.

 

20/02/08 - Marvel at Marvel's superhero projects

Marvel Comics has announced that the trailer for The Incredible Hulk will be released sometime in March.

The company has also released some updated information about its upcoming in-house and licensed film projects (including The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Punisher: War Zone), as well as updating the status of some of its upcoming animated and stage projects.

Feature film projects being developed by Marvel include: Iron Man (02 May 2008); The Incredible Hulk (13 June 2008); Ant-Man; Captain America; Thor; and The Avengers.

Licensed Marvel character feature film line-up: Punisher: War Zone (12 September 2008); and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (01 May 2009).

Marvel character animated TV projects: Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes (26 x 30-minute episodes); The Spectacular Spider-Man (scheduled for spring 2008); Wolverine and the X-Men (26 x 30-minute episodes - scheduled for spring 2009); Iron Man (26 x 30-minute episodes - scheduled for spring 2008); Hulk: The Animated Series (scheduled for spring 2009); and Super Hero Squad (scheduled for spring 2009).

Marvel character animated direct-to-DVD projects: Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (scheduled for August 2008); Hulk Vs. (scheduled for January 2009); Thor: Son of Asgard (scheduled for September 2009); Planet Hulk (scheduled for February).

Marvel character live stage projects: Spider-Man, the Musical

Marvel 2007-2008 video game releases: Iron Man (02 May 2008); and The Incredible Hulk (03 June 2008).

 

19/02/08 - Dream come true for Freddy fans

In a recent interview with the horror website Bloody Disgusting, actor Robert Englund [pictured left] revealed his thoughts on the rumours that Michael Bay (Transformers) will be producing a remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Englund, who played Freddy Krueger in the original movie, said: "It’s a remake! It all came about while I was in Italy working on another film, so now I am back in Hollywood trying to play catch up.

"All I know is that Michael Bay made an announcement that he is producing the remake of the original. I don't know if it has Wes Craven's blessing, I presume it does.

"There is something sacred about classics, regardless of genre, but there is a time and a place for it, I am certainly not appalled with it. I just hope they have Wes's blessing and they trust his story. I wouldn't mind playing a cameo; it would be interesting to see if I could play the dream psychiatrist."

 

18/02/08 - Smurf fans won't be blue at this news

Mushroom Village is offering fans of the Smurfs their first look at the upcoming big screen CGI feature: The Smurfs.

The website also provides a link to a French video that shows the ongoing work on the movie, which is due for release later this year.

The Smurfs originally started life as a 1958 Belgian comic strip from Peyo (Pierre) Culliford. NBC launched The Smurfs animated cartoon series in 1981, spawning 256 episodes and multiple Emmy awards.

 

 

15/02/08 - Batman and Superman cut from JLA?

If a report on the Blockbuster website is to be believed, the new Justice League of America movie won't feature Superman or Batman.

The website claims to have seen a detailed synopsis for George Miller's long-delayed superhero movie, and it's full of surprises.

Apparently the film is about Green Lantern, Green Arrow and others of the Justice League of America. They must deal with the expulsion of Batman and the death of Superman at the hands of the monstrous Doomsday.

This is a far cry from previous rumours that have claimed that the script would focus on the death of Barry Allen (the first Flash) and Maxwell Lord commanding a horde of OMAC cyborgs.

 

14/02/08 - The first Indiana Jones Trailer is live

The first teaser trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull went online today from 2pm (GMT) at www.indianajones.com.

Indiana Jones is back in a new globe-trotting adventure. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford as Indy, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull features an outstanding cast, including Oscar® winner Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Oscar® winner Jim Broadbent and Orange BAFTA Rising Star Award winner Shia LaBeouf.

Frank Marshall is the film’s producer. George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy are the executive producers. The screenplay is by David Koepp from a story by George Lucas.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is released worldwide on 22 May 2008.

 

14/02/08 - Trek movie release date delayed

The release date of the new Star Trek movie has been pushed back from Christmas 2008 to May 2009, according to trade paper Variety.

This move is reportedly unrelated to rumoured script and cast issues. Apparently Paramount has decided that it wants to take advantage of the summer box-office season.

In a recent interview Michael Vollman, spokesman for Paramount, said: "Star Trek is moving to the summer because it has so much box-office potential. It does not need any script tweaks. They're two-thirds of the way through shooting, and we would have delivered a great movie at Christmas."

 

13/02/08 - Director turns in Transformers 2 story

Michael Bay, the director of Transformers, has confirmed that he has already finished writing the story for an expected sequel.

In a recent interview with the Rotten Tomatoes website, Bay said: "We've got our characters all designed. I always write all my scripts, my movies, anyway, so at least I've got something to give the writers. It's like a template. We have a really good outline so I worked on that."

Bay also revealed that he has a lot of new characters in store for the sequel: "When you do your first movie, you break the back of it," he said. "Now we can have a lot more fun. We can actually make the depth of these characters more fun and a lot more interesting characters.""

Transformers 2 is due for release in US theatres in June 2009.

 

12/02/08 - Star Wars: Clone Wars is Cloned

According to a report on the official Star Wars website, a feature-film version of the computer-animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars will open in American theatres later this year, followed by a television series in the autumn.

In a recent statement George Lucas, executive producer for both projects, said: "I felt there were a lot more Star Wars stories left to tell. I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the art of animation forward."

The Clone Wars TV series' half-hour episodes will have a new look and feel from the previous Clone Wars animated series, which was created by Genndy Tartakovsky.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars will open in American theatres on 15 August.

 

11/02/08 - X-Files fans hoaxed by werewolf pics

It has been revealed that the werewolf images [pictured right] leaked onto the Internet at the end of January, which were apparently from the set of the new X-Files movie, were nothing more than an elaborate hoax by the production team.

The pictures, which show the movie's director Chris Carter examining a werewolf costume, were designed to throw fans off the scent of what the movie's real theme will revolve around.

 

08/02/08 - X-Men X-clusive pictures leaked

Movieweb has managed to acquire some images from one of the sets of the currently in production X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie.

Apparently this barn set was constructed several months ago and is due to be blown up in a scene from the movie that will involve a helicopter.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine tells the story of Wolverine's epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe.

The movie is due to be released in American cinemas on 01 May 2009.

 

07/02/08 - Car trouble for Knight Rider TV movie

According to a news report in trade paper Variety, a conflict of interest has meant that NBC has had to hire Val Kilmer to replace Will Arnett as the voice of K.I.T.T. on its Knight Rider TV movie/backdoor pilot.

Arnett had already completed his voice over work on the film, which is due to be broadcast in less than two weeks, when it was discovered that he had a contractual conflict of interest.

Arnett has been employed, for some years, to provide voiceover work for General Motors as the voice of GMC Trucks. Knight Rider's new K.I.T.T., however, is a Ford Mustang and when GM found out about the Ford connection, it asked Arnett to pull out.

Knight Rider will debut as a two-hour movie on US TV screens on 17 February.

 

06/02/08 - Big Finish finds Atlantis... and SG-1

Following the loss of its licence to produce audio dramas based on The Tomorrow People, Big Finish Productions has teamed up with MGM to add Stargate to its roster of audio spin-offs of popular TV shows.

The company is producing an initial run of six all-new audio books, each read by a member of the TV cast. The one-hour productions, which will be available on CD and as online downloads from April 2008, may also feature additional cast members, in a style similar to Big Finish's Companion Chronicles series of Doctor Who talking books. The range will comprise three SG-1 stories and three Atlantis stories. The titles are as follows:

April - Stargate: SG-1 - Gift of the Gods, written by Sally Malcolm, read by Michael Shanks.
Click here to purchase this CD from Amazon for £6.59 (RRP £9.99).

May - Stargate: Atlantis - A Necessary Evil, written by Sharon Gosling, read by Torri Higginson.
Click here to purchase this CD from Amazon for £6.59 (RRP £9.99)

June - Stargate: SG-1 - Shell Game, written by James Swallow, read by Claudia Black and Michael Shanks.
Click here to purchase this CD from Amazon for £6.59 (RRP £9.99)

July - Stargate: Atlantis - Perchance to Dream, written by Sally Malcolm, read by Paul McGillion.
Click here to purchase this CD from Amazon for £6.59 (RRP £9.99)

August - Stargate: SG-1 - Pathogen, written by Sharon Gosling, read by Teryl Rothery.
Click here to purchase this CD from Amazon for £6.59 (RRP £9.99)

September - Stargate: Atlantis [title TBC], written by James Swallow, read by David Nykl.
Click here to purchase this CD from Amazon for £6.59 (RRP £9.99)

 

05/02/08 - Brightonomicon signing in London

Fans of Robert Rankin may be interested to learn that he will be attending a signing at Forbidden Planet in London to promote the release of the BBC's new Brightonomicon comedy audio drama.

The Brightonomicon is a 7-disc CD collection of 13 x 30 minutes episodes. This full cast audio comedy is an adaptation of Rankin’s 2004 novel which tells the tale of Hugo Rune and his amnesia struck assistant, Rizla.

After Rune saves Rizla from drowning, he persuades him to become his assistant and partner in solving 12 mysteries in the Brighton area of the UK. All are baffling and more than a little surreal.

The signing, which will also feature the audio production's main actors David Warner and Rupert Degas, as well as Andy Serkis and Jason Isaacs, will take place at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR on Wednesday 13 February between 5.00 - 6.30pm.

Click here to purchase The Brightonomicon CD collection from Amazon for £14.99 (RRP £30)

 

04/02/08 - Downloads on the up at Big Finish

Big Finish Productions has launched a new download service, which aims to increase the accessibility of its audio productions and counter piracy. From 01 February, customers can purchase and instantly download audio dramas such as Doctor Who, Sapphire and Steel and Bernice Summerfield as MP3 files. New and back-catalogue releases will be available to purchase in this way.

"Listening habits have changed dramatically over the last ten years," says company director Jason Haigh-Ellery. "More and more people are choosing to buy their music and audio online and listen to it either on their computer or on MP3 players like the iPod."

Moreover, the widespread availability of pirate copies as illegal downloads means that many potential customers are listening to Big Finish's output illegally, particularly those outside of the UK, where exchange rates have pushed prices beyond the reach of some listeners. "We have always done our best to keep the prices as low as possible for foreign customers," continues Haigh-Ellery. "Unfortunately, the poor exchange rate with America, Australia and other countries has made this difficult. Now, though, by offering downloadable versions of our plays, we can dramatically reduce the price, as there is no extra expenditure on postage, packing and materials. We're sure that this will be good news for our foreign customers."

Customers will be able to sample individual episodes of selected releases for just 99p. The remainder of the production can then be downloaded by paying the balance. In addition to the plays themselves, music suites, behind-the-scenes features and copies of the scripts will also be made available for download.

Those who prefer to buy tangible products need not worry that this heralds the end of the CD versions. All new Big Finish plays will continue to be released on CD simultaneously with the download version. Front covers are available to download from the company's website, but not the full CD booklet, which will remain exclusive to CD purchasers, who will also be entitled to acquire the download version at no extra charge.

"The new download service is a major step forward for Big Finish," says Haigh-Ellery. "By making our productions available instantly, in a convenient format and at a competitive price, we very much hope that we will not only retain our existing customers but that we will also attract new ones from all over the world."

 

01/02/08 - Is Lex planning to leave Smallville?

Michael Rosenbauman [pictured right], who plays Lex Luthor on Warner Brothers's Smallville has recently stated that either the show, or at least his involvement in it, may soon be coming to an end.

In a video recorded for the Young Hollywood website, Rosenbaum finishes off by saying "Watch Smallville, for only a couple more months, because then I'm done."

It's unclear whether Rosenbaum means that Smallville itself is coming to an end, or whether it's his intention to quit the show when his contract expires at the end of the seventh season.

Click here to see the clip.

 

Click here for the latest news