Hailing Frequencies Issue #327

And here's the three hundred and twenty-seventh edition of "Hailing Frequencies."

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Claudia, this week's INSANE TREK TRIVIA winner, asked me to talk a little about what's going on in New Orleans, so I did a Katrina Update, February 2006.

It's high time I did some serious work with Lost. First, I'm catching up on the story so far, then I'll be doing character bios and putting up more links.

Roland Emmerich, creative force behind Stargate (the movie), Independence Day, and The Day After Tomorrow, is now onboard with Warner Bros. for a Summer 2007 release of 10,000 B.C., a story about a young mammoth hunter who goes on a journey through uncharted territory to secure the future of his dying tribe and save the one he loves. (I'm really thinking this sounds like 1,000,000 B.C., but, we'll see.) Sony had the property for a while, but didn't move on it. The film's getting the big-budget treatment and should roll cameras in South Africa this April.

For weeks we've been told Alias is coming back in March, but now ABC's midseason schedule has no mention of it. Grrrr.

The shortlist for the 20th annual award (winners to be announced at SCI-FI-LONDON on Wednesday 26 April 2006):

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro (Publisher: Faber)
Learning The World - Ken MacLeod (Publisher: Orbit)
Pushing Ice - Alastair Reynolds (Publisher: Gollancz)
Air - Geoff Ryman (Publisher: Gollancz)
Accelerando - Charles Stross (Publisher: Orbit)
Banner Of Souls - Liz Williams (Publisher: Tor)

Anthony Hopkins has an interview up with SCI FI Wire about playing Hrothgar, King of the Danes, in Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf, with the same techniques used with Tom Hanks and The Polar Express.

"It was pretty strange, but it's fun," he said. "It's odd, but I enjoyed it. People say you have a lot of freedom. Well, you don't, actually. You don't wear any clothes. You wear sort of a wetsuit. You're covered in dots and all these little markers all over you. Before each scene you have to say, 'T-pose,' and you stand like [a letter T]. They photograph you for the computer, and you're taken into the computer....You've got dots all over your eyes, [too], so they can now actually make the eye movements real. [They're] these little pearls. You know the reflectives on road signs? They're made of the same material, these little pearls, these ball bearings, whatever they are, and they're coated in this reflective thing. And, of course, they come off every so often, so you have to have a checkup. They put an infrared on you, and they say, 'A-94 is missing,' so they stick it [back] on your head. You've got about 80 or maybe 90 of these things all over your face. You have to take them off at night, and they're all sticky....Why not just do a blue screen and photograph the actors? But this is almost photorealism."

Look for the film, also starring Ray Winstone, Crispin Glover, Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn and Brendan Gleeson, Nov. 21, 2007.

Aardman Animations got an Oscar for best animated short with stop-action Creature Comforts, and now CBS has ordered up seven episodes of a half-hour series. King of the Hill writer Kit Boss will executive produce. As production will take about a year, look for it on the network at the beginning of or midseason 2007. For those who haven't seen the short of the BBC's version, it's basically "fun with audio," as interviews on tape are brought to life with stop-action clay animals.

Wow. The original The Dark Crystal came out in 1982. That's 23 years ago, people.

Anyway, Jim Henson Co. is doing a sequel, Power of the Dark Crystal, with Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Dexter's Laboratory and Star Wars: The Clone Wars) directing. It's set centuries after the first movie. A mysterious girl made of fire steals a shard of the crystal to save her dying sun. Sounds mondo cool.

Ubisoft will publish and distribute LOSTMAGIC™, the Taito-developed video RPG for the Nintendo DS™ system, in North America and Europe this Spring. The wizard Isaac and the seven magic wands left behind by the creator are Earth's last hope for peace, or something like that. Monsters wield unimaginable power in this realm, and as Issac, the player will use the stylus to unleash magic spells and command numerous monster squads in magical battles. In Dueling mode, players can test their magic casting skills and strategies against each other.

Enough with the rumors. Warner Bros has officially stated that production on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is underway.

Luna Lovegood will be played by 14-year-old newcomer Evanna Lynch, who bested more than 15,000 girls at an open casting call. Imelda Staunton is Dolores Umbridge (booo hissss), George Harris is Kingsley Shacklebolt, Helen McCrory is Bellatrix Lestrange, Natalia Tena is Nymphadora Tonks, and Kathryn Hunter is Mrs. Figg.

Returning actors include Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Rupert Grint as Ron, Emma Watson as Hermione, and Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy.

Spurred by the box office for Peter Jackson's King Kong, the 1933 classic version comes on in remastered form on DVD March 28, with an SRP on $14.97. Run Time: 104 minutes And if that's not good enough, the King Kong Collection, a two-disc box set in a Collector’s Keepsake Tin will also have Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young for $49.92

Saturday, February 4, Toronto will play host to the opening performance of the multimillion-dollar stage musical version of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The score includes work by Finnish group Varttina and Indian composer A.R. Rahman. Kevin Wallace Producing. The world premiere is planned for March 23 in London (then on to the Great White Way!). The show has a 55-member cast and runs more than three hours. Get in line now.

Having raked in almost $300,000,000 domestic and $635,000,000 worldwide with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media have recalled director Andrew Adamson to helm Prince Caspian. Adamson will co-produce and co-write with returning writers Christopher Markus and Steve McFeeley. The principal cast (those darn kids) will return as well. Production is scheduled to begin later in 2006 and to open in Christmas 2007, though the need to get crackin' on the screenplay and locations have yet to be scouted out.

Title: Beyond
Origin: (original)
Scriptwriter: David Self
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox TV (this is a TV pilot)
Premise: A global crisis helps launch a new race
Production date: Soon

Title: Fanboys
Director: Kyle Newman
Scriptwriters: Adam F. Goldberg and Ernest Cline
Producer: Kevin Spacey's Trigger Street
Studio: Weinstein Co.
Starring: Kristen Bell, Jay Baruchel, Chris Marquette and Sam Huntington (all still in negotiations) & Dan Fogler
Premise: four Star Wars fanboys from the Midwest who drive across the country to to see the yet-unreleased Phantom Menace at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch
Production date:Feb. 22 in New Mexico.

Title: Igor
Origin: animated short Igor: Unholy Frijoles
Scriptwriter: Chris McKenna
Producer: Exodus Film Group
Studio: The Weinstein Co.
Starring: Christian Slater, Jay Leno, Steve Buscemi and John Cleese
Premise: computer-animated monster comedy
Production date: unknown

Hey, what a shock. There's pretty much no recognition of the sci-fi and fantasy films of the year. Who would have guessed?

Peter Jackson's King Kong got technical noms in art direction, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects. Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith got one for makeup. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe War of the Worlds got noms for visual effects.

Dead Man's Chest again stars Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley. It will take over theatres July 7.

In news more important (and just as disturbing) as the sale of Shatner's kidney stone, CBS Corp. is going to sell Paramount Parks, which includes Star Trek The Experience and other Star Trek attractions. The Charlotte Observer has CBS's Dana McClintock saying that "numerous parties" have expressed interest in buying Paramount Parks. Star Trek: The Experience has faced an uncertain future since the Las Vegas Hilton was sold in 2005, and the attraction may actually have more chance of survival away from CBS. Time will tells. CNN says that Paramount Parks gets sales of about $1 billion a year.

Michael Shanks Online has a nicely intimate interview up with, well, guess who. Here's some highlights:

WB is moving Supernatural from Tuesday nights to Thursdays 9 PM, following Smallville, March 16.

Gillian Anderson told Newsday that they need to hurry up and make the second X-Files movie: "The longer we wait, the less people are going to give a --. It was supposed to be shot this year, and there are contract issues. We're basically ready to go."

X3, which is reported to have the subtitle The Last Stand, has wrapped filming in Vancouver, Canada, and is now in post. Look for it to open on May 26.

Oscar-nominated Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (sci-fi and fantasy are fine for Oscar as long as they're animated) comes out on DVD and VHS February 7 from DreamWorks Home Entertainment. The DVD comes with commentary by Nick Park and Steve Box, Box's award-winning short film Stage Fright, behind-the-scenes footage of the stop-motion animation process, a tour of Aardman Studios, and a sneak peek at Flushed Away, which opens November 3. SRP for both DVD and VHS $19.95.

One of the following news items is false. Can you spot it? (For the answer, highlight below.)

Reveal the fake (highlight): Universal Studios has greenlit a movie based on a man who finds the portal to heaven at -- where else? -- University Studios Theme Park in Florida.

This Week's Question: What does the Holodoc come up with as a way to "stall" the Borg?

Send your answer to scifi@about.com. All correctly answering trivia maniacs will have their names mentioned in the next newsletter. The first winner gets to make a request, anything they like -- within reason -- for the next "Hailing Frequencies" Issue. Please let me know if you don't want me to post your email address if you win.

Last Week's Question: In which episode did we first actually lay eyes on Starfleet Academy?

Send in your best caption for the picture below. The best (as in, my favorite) entry will appear in next week's issue.

Honorable Mentions..

Next week on Alice In Wonderland 2020: Alice and her sister are distracted from the security camera by levitating toys. Little do they suspect that the next thing they'll hear is, "Hello. I'm the black rabbit. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Chris

"Seconds later, Keanu found himself riding a giant bunny with no idea how he got there." - BTCHONWHLS

Kid 1 to Kid 2: “Hmm, it’s not DEFINITIVE proof, but you DO pre-date the Matrix bullet-time sequence. Will you sue?” - Raymond

“Let’s see Dakota Fanning beat this!” - Raymond

"Hollywood remakes Ring 24: Out of the Well. It has been re-imagined and now stars Bigsby the Bunny as Samara, about to leap from the TV." - Raymond

“C’mon,” Sara thought. “Snake-eyes! Please, snake-eyes! There’s a Malibu Stacy on the line here…” - Raymond

"They now had proof that what goes up must come down. Hannah felt they were ready to move on to human trials…" - Raymond

While building their first 54 block tower, the girls were perplexed when a strange thump-thump-thump vibration caused the top three to cascade…and it was getting closer… - Raymond

"LETTERS TO THE EDITOR"

This week's topic: Okay, I'm trying to do more TV reviews more regularly. I've been doing Stargate SG-1 fairly well, so I'm going to try to add another show into the weekly routine. Any thoughts on which it should be? Stargate Atlantis? Lost? Battlestar Galactica? Something else?

There isn't too much Sci-Fi out there to review. If you stick to the Sci-Fi channel you are pretty much limited to SG-1, Atlantis, and BSG. On the main channels, there is Surface, Invasion, Supernatural, Lost, and Medium. Lost is pretty much covered by the network, but I think the other three could use some reviews. I noticed the John Shibon and Kim Manners have been directing and producing some of the episodes of Supernatural. I don't think Shibon will ever live down the Goat episode from X-Files, but there have been some pretty scary episodes that make me sleep with the light on.

I like Ghost Whisperer, but it is relatively benign compared to the others, and its main focus is to get people to cross over. No real suspense as it always ends the same way.

Just a few thoughts to help you decide.

Lil

I always enjoyed your Voyager reviews back in the day, so I vote for Lost, because it's a show I watch! Selfish, I know.

Since you're already doing a Stargate show, I wouldn't add another one -- go for a little variety. Which means, of course, that Battlestar Galactica is a fair choice, I admit. I gave Battlestar Galactica a try in the first season at the urging of a friend, but after about four episodes I had to give up. It was just so dour and grim. They didn't seem to realize that you can make a serious show but lighten the mood every once in a while.

That is, you can lighten the mood without making the characters then pay for it. I say this because in one of the last episodes I tried, it opened with a scene of the pilots having a rollicking good time, and I thought, "Oh okay, see it's not all gloom and doom." Then a bomb exploded in the middle of their party. I was laughing, while rolling my eyes -- not the effect they were going for, I'm sure, but it was just such a perfect object lesson in what I was finding problematic about the show. No fun allowed! This is serious stuff!

I felt they needed to try looking to Shakespeare: All of his tragedies had comic scenes. He knew you had to give the audience a break once in a while.

So there's my mini review of the smattering of first season episodes I caught. Maybe it has improved by now, or maybe I just watched the exact wrong episodes. But I haven't felt pulled to watch again to find out.

Next week's topic: Is it too soon, do you think, for Paramount to try another Star Trek series?

Send me something if you've got something to say. It can be about anything that's on your mind! (Please let me know if you don't want your email address to accompany your name in either contest or for the LTE.)

1 Big Momma's House 2.......................$31,058,929
2 Brokeback Mountain.........................$53,264,000
3 Underworld: Evolution..................$46,931,105 13
4 Nanny McPhee................................$16,229,725
5 Annapolis.........................................$9,055,917
6 Last Holiday....................................$33,429,988
7 The Matador.....................................$6,058,521
8 Glory Road......................................$35,714,410
9 Hoodwinked.....................................$38,542,407
10 The Chronicles of Narnia.................$278,613,817

1. Desperate Housewives 14.6
2. Medium 7.9
3. Ghost Whisperer 7.3
4. Surface 5.3
5. Charmed 2.3
6. Smallville 2.0
7. Supernatural 1.1

1. Alias 2.5
2. Star Trek: Enterprise 1.7
3. Smallville 1.7
4. Stargate SG-1 1.7
5. Stargate Atlantis 1.6
6. Farscape 1.2
7. The Twilight Zone 1.0
8. The Outer Limits .9
9. Sabrina .8

1. Narnia box set
2. The Da Vinci Code
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
4. The Chronicles of Narnia
5. Cell
6. Wicked
7. Ptolemy's Gate (Bartimaeus 3)
8. Angels & Demons
9. Harry Potter paper box set
10. Unleash the Night

1. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
2. Corpse Bride
3. Serenity
4. Firefly complete series
5. Lost season one
6. Battlestar Galactica season 2.0
7. Lord of the Rings trilogy
8. Dune (Extended Edition)
9. Star Wars: Episode III
10. The Time Tunnel volume one