30/06/11 - He-Man movie is back on track

It's been over a year since Warner Bros. revealed that a new live-action Masters of the Universe series was on the cards, but until recently every thing has been strangely quiet.

However, according to DeVon Franklin, vice president of Sony, the He-Man movie is now back on track.

In a recent interview, Franklin said: "One of other things I'm really excited about is we're doing a reboot of the 1980s franchise Masters of the Universe. The He-Man franchise. Very excited about that. Should have that script very soon. I'm praying that we can start figuring out how we're going to make it."

 

29/06/11 - Hulk TV series moves ever closer

Director Guillermo del Toro and Battlestar Galactica producer David Eick have been working, since last October, on a Hulk TV series.

Sci-Fi Wire is reporting that del Toro recently revealed: "We turned in the outline to ABC about four weeks ago. And then we did a rewrite for ABC on the outline, and now we are lining up the pages."

 

28/06/11 - Who actor moves to Game of Thrones

According to the Den of Geek website, former Doctor Who actor Christopher Eccleston [pictured], is being lined up for a role in the second season of HBO's Game of Thrones.

If the rumour is true, then the 47-year-old actor could be up for the role of Stannis Baratheon - Robert Baratheon's brother and, according to Lord Eddard Stark, the rightful heir to the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms.

The other role Eccleston is also likely to be up for could be that of Balon Greyjoy - Theon Greyjoy's father and the Lord of the Iron Islands who will proclaim himself king.

 

27/06/11 - War Games remake on the way

MGM is to remake 1983's War Games, with Seth Gordon [pictured] already signed up to direct. Gordon, who made his breakthrough with the gaming documentary The King of Kong, recently directed the New Line comedy Horrible Bosses.

The original film starred Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy as computer prodigies who find a back door into a military computer program. They think they are playing games with the computer only to find they could trigger WWIII if the computer launches nuclear missiles at the Russians.

 

24/06/11 - Will Julia Ormond be Super Mum?

According to Deadline.com Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder are in talks with Julia Ormond [pictured] to play Superman's Kryptonian mother, Lara Lor-Van, in Man of Steel.

Russell Crowe has been offered the role of Jor-El, the father of Superman (who will be played by Henry Cavill).

 

 

23/06/11 - Trek to Hollywood to see Koenig's star

Walter Koenig [pictured], who played Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek TV series, is to finally get his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In a recent interview with StarTrek.com, Koenig said: "I certainly do feel honoured. It means that my modest body of work has some meaning and has been acknowledged. That's always a very nice feeling."

Koenig also had a special message for the countless Star Trek fans who pushed hard to make this happen: "They've been incredible and I'm deeply grateful for their support. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

 

22/06/11 - Shatner won't appear in Star Trek 2

For those holding out hope that the original Captain Kirk will make an appearance in the next Star Trek movie, William Shatner [pictured] has some bad news for you.

Talking about a possible cameo in J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek sequel, the actor revealed he won't be in the film. "I've become an acquaintance of J.J. [Abrams] of late," said Shatner. "But, I'm afraid no, no, I will not be in Star Trek 2."

 

21/06/11 - Spielberg fired Fox over Hitler remark

The Sci-Fi Wire website is claiming that Megan Fox's [pictured] reason for leaving the Transformers movie franchise is because she compared director Michael Bay to Hitler.

In an interview a few weeks ago, Shia LaBeouf claimed that Fox left the series because she didn't like the way Bay dealt with her sexuality.

But apparently in 2009 Fox is reported to have said of Bay that: "He's like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation... He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is." Shortly after that, Fox left Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

In a recent interview Bay also confirmed this story by revealing: "You know the Hitler thing. Steven [Spielberg] said, fire her right now."

 

20/06/11 - Noir to become a live-action show

According to the Deadline website, Japanese anime series Noir is to be turned into a live-action drama series for USA's Starz pay cable network.

The show, which follows two female assassins who team up to fight against a secret society, will be produced by Spartacus: Blood and Sand's Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert.

The number of episodes for Noir is yet to be confirmed, but Starz's new shows usually get straight-to-series orders of 8 to 10 episodes.

 

17/06/11 - Jurassic Park franchise is not extinct

Steven Spielberg has let it be known that he's interested in bringing a fourth Jurassic Park movie to life.

So far all that is known about the project is that both Spielberg's team and Universal Pictures are trying to come up with a way to relaunch the series.

There have been rumours of a fourth film in the series for years, but this is the first time that Spielberg has officially confirmed he's seriously involved.

 

16/06/11 - Super news for Russell Crowe fans

Trade paper Variety is reporting that Russell Crowe [pictured] is currently in negotiation to play the role of Jor-El, Superman's Kryptonian father, in director Zack Snyder's upcoming Man of Steel.

Other actors who have recently been considered included Sean Penn and Clive Owen.

Crowe's co-star in Gladiator, Connie Nielsen, has also been offered the role of Lara, the wife of Jor-El.

Man of Steel will begin principal photography this summer and is to be released in cinemas in December 2012.

 

15/06/11 - Cameron looks at new sci-fi project

James Cameron and Sam Worthington [pictured] are planning to work together on a new venture. Not only are the director and actor due to bring to life two more Avatar movies, but it now seems the pair are to team up for a new sci-fi blockbuster project.

The two are currently in talks to jump on board Myth, a 20th Century Fox project. Details surrounding Myth are being kept a closely guarded secret. All that is known is that it will be an action/sci-fi adventure and is written by Will Staple, who is one of the writers behind the Call of Duty games.

 

14/06/11 - Gaiman to bring American Gods to TV

Neil Gaiman [pictured], who recently penned 'The Doctor's Wife' episode of Doctor Who, is to adapt one of his most popular novels, American Gods, into a television series.

Gaiman, whose last TV series was 1996's Neverwhere, is to work with HBO to bring the series to life.

The story sees classic mythological figures from throughout history being brought into the modern era.

 

13/06/11 - Shia LaBeouf quits Transformers

Interviewed at the recent MTV Movie Awards, actor Shia LaBeouf [pictured] revealed that he won't be returning to Transformers if they make another film in the series.

"I'm not coming back to do another one," said LaBeouf. "I don't think Mike [director Michael Bay] will either. It still is a hot property, I think, especially coming out of the third one. So I imagine they'll reboot it at some point with someone else."

Transformers: Dark of the Moon opens in cinemas on 29 June.

 

10/06/11 - Lost producer to create sci-fi movie

According to Deadline, Disney has made a seven-figure deal with screenwriter and Lost exec producer Damon Lindelof [pictured] to write and produce an original large-scale science fiction feature film.

Other than the fact that the project has a working title of 1952, very little else is known about the project, which came out of a series of meetings that Lindelof had with Disney's production president Sean Bailey and senior executive Brigham Taylor.

Since Lost ended, Lindelof has been working as a screenwriter. He teamed with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to script the Jon Favreau-directed Cowboys & Aliens. He was also employed to rewrite Ridley Scott's 3D Alien prequel. Lindelof is currently working to create a Star Trek sequel that can be ready to begin production later this year or early next.

 

09/06/11 - Another Indiana adventure looks likely

While the fourth movie in the Indiana Jones series, 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, may have left many cold to the idea of continuing the franchise, a fifth film is almost certainly on the cards.

In a recent interview with MTV News Shia LaBeouf, who played Indy's son in the last film, revealed that he spoke recently with star Harrison Ford: "[Harrison] said he's staying in the gym, he said he's heard no word, but he does know that [George Lucas] is out there looking for a MacGuffin. He said he's staying in the gym, so it means [the movie is] not so far off.

"It's on George's plate, and I'm hoping he's working hard at it, because I'd look forward to doing it again if the three of us could get together - George, [director] Steven Spielberg, myself - I'd love to do another."

 

08/06/11 - The Avengers lost music comes to CD

Silva Screen Records is to release The Avengers, a 2 CD set featuring music from recently discovered masters of Howard Blake’s classic score for The Avengers’s final TV series.

Alongside Johnny Dankworth and Laurie Johnson, Howard Blake is the third, none-the-less important, but often forgotten, contributor to The Avengers’s TV series music.

Brought into the job late in the series in 1967 by Johnson, and on the recommendation of Bernard Herrmann, Blake scored ten episodes in the sixth and final series starring Linda Thorson as Tara King alongside the stalwart Patrick Macnee.

From big-band sound with modern jazz inflections and spooky trombone choir, flutes and vibraphones, to bass clarinets, solo piano, timpanis, amplified harpsichord, 'wah-wah' guitar and Fender-Rhodes electric piano, Blake created a rich and relevant score that remains a classic to this day.

Blake is internationally renowned for his music for the animated movie The Snowman based on the book by Raymond Briggs.

 

07/06/11 - BBC gets animated about Doctor Who

2 Entertain, the commercial arm of the BBC, has confirmed the two missing episodes from the six-part 1964 Doctor Who story The Reign of Terror are to be re-created using animation in preparation for a DVD release later in the year.

This surprise news raises hopes that other incomplete stories will get the same treatment. Likely candidates are the William Hartnell swansong, Tenth Planet, and the Patrick Troughton adventures The Ice Warriors and possibly Moonbase, although the remaining two episodes from this story were released on the Lost in Time box set.

 

06/06/11 - Batman moves to Croydon

Croydon, the less than picturesque Surrey town, is currently doubling as Batman’s home town of Gotham. The latest instalment of the movie franchise, The Dark Knight Rises, is filming in the old BT building, Delta Point, behind the West Croydon bus terminus.

Security at the building, and the old shunting yard behind East Croydon Station where the crew is camped, is tight but our mole got a glimpse of what’s going on - there’s a crash trolley and wheel chairs piled up in Delta Point, suggesting that the building is to double as Gotham hospital.

Whatever’s the case, BT’s old home is due for demolition... of the digital variety, although locals might wish for a more real-world end to the unsightly structure.

After Croydon production will move up to Glasgow for some exterior shooting.

 

03/06/11 - Dushku to star in Torchwood spinoff

Entertainment Weekly has revealed that Eliza Dushku [pictured] has been signed to star in an online animated "motion comic" series based on the upcoming fourth series of Torchwood (to be called Torchwood: Miracle Day.)

The animated comic series, to be called Torchwood: Web of Lies, will also have voice appearances by Torchwood stars John Barrowman as Capt. Jack Harkness and Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper.

The web-based series will consist of 10 three-minute episodes.

 

02/06/11 - Superman's future is uncertain

The next Superman movie, Man of Steel, will be released in 2012, but due to a current legal battle, there could be two different Superman projects in production 2013.

According to trade paper Variety, less than a year after Zack Snyder's Superman movie is out, some rights to the character will revert back to the families of Superman's original creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Apparently everything that Siegel and Shuster invented for Superman before they began working for DC Comics will be owned by their families. Everything they created for the mythology after they were on DC's payroll will remain the property of the comics giant.

What this means is that the Siegel and Shuster estates will own the rights to Superman's costume, as well as his ability to "leap tall buildings in a single bound." However, other iconic aspects, like his ability to fly and his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor, were created whilst at DC.

What this means is that both the families and Warner Bros. (which owns DC Comics) could both proceed with their own Superman movies - but would you want to see a Superman movie that had so many iconic elements missing?

The only way this would work is if Warner Bros. comes to some arrangement with the estate of Siegel and Shuster in order to use elements like the Man of Steel's costume.

 

01/06/11 - 50 Star Wars TV scripts are completed

It all seems to have gone quiet on George Lucas's [pictured] planned Star Wars live action TV series, but that doesn't mean that things aren't steadily moving forward behind the scenes.

According to Lucas, he's already got 50 completed scripts that are all ready to go before the camera. The next obstacle to overcome is to work out a way to cut production costs so that they are financially viable.

 

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