6.1.06
HELLO
And here's the three hundred and thirty-ninth edition of "Hailing Frequencies."
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I've spent the morning on the phone with three different companies who all billed me erroneously. I'm sooo tired.
BLOG: Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Listings
On Friday, June 2, the Museum of Television & Radio in New York will screen an episode of Battlestar Galactica and then host a Q&A with the cast and crew, including Ronald D. Moore. Tickets are available at $5 for closed-circuit viewing, and there will be a Webcast at the site Monday, June 5. www.mtr.org
The new season starts in October.
First, Warner Bros ruined a great film by forcing the filming of a new ending and horrid voice-overs. Then fans bought the videos (back before DVDs, people) in such numbers that Warner Home Video issued a "director's cut." And that film is simply one of the best sci-fi movies ever made.
So...I'm wondering what's the deal now, as WHV is releasing yet another version of the film this September, remastered "director's cut" version, followed by a theatrical release of a version promised to be truly Ridley Scott's final cut. Scott claims that he didn't have enough time to really do the original director's cut, so I guess that belies the title and stuff. But, anyway, now we're getting the director's recut, but, just to make it weirder still, Variety says it will only be on sale for four months. Blade Runner: Final Cut will also get a short theatrical fun in 2007, followed by a special edition DVD with all four versions (add on the expanded international theatrical cut).
"Say, 'Kiss me.'"
ERAGON
Insomniacmania.com (scroll down) has the scoop on some rough footage from the movie, presented as a teaser at the London Expo:
The teaser started with a voice over talking about a "time of legends" and "a land shrouded in darkness", and then introduced us to Edward Speleers as Eragon. In the footage we saw him receive his dragon egg, be told it will only open when it has a bond with its dragon rider, and Jeremy Irons' character telling him that he was a dragon rider. Multiple brief scenes followed of what looked like Eragon using a sword similar to that in the display picture above (although we only saw a hand wielding it), a huge battle with lots of warriors in armour, plenty of vast landscape style shots a la “Lord of the Rings”, and John Malkovich's King character looking very brooding and menacing.
PotterCast 41 is now available at the LeakyCauldron.
Michelle Rodriguez has gotten out of an "overcrowded" Los Angeles County jail after serving less than a day of a 60-day jail sentence for violating probation terms. Ordinarily, I wouldn't note this, but I'm so hungry for Lost news I'd report Vincent playing dead!
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Check out the Official Site, with the poster, trailers, movie info, desktops, buddy icons, ecards, digital trading cards, and games. There's a fun gallery and world map that you can use to search for treasure. Terrence and Phillip are already there!
SPIDER-MAN
Spider-Man 3 is now filming in New York. The movie is slated for May 4, 2007.
From the Official Site:
Star Trek: The Experience, the attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton featuring Klingon- and Borg-themed virtual rides, will be taken over later this year by Cedar Fair, an Ohio-based amusement park operator. It is part of the divestiture of Paramount Parks by CBS Corp., which inherited the theme park division when it split with Viacom Inc. and subsequently announced its intention to sell (related story).
Cedar will adopt from CBS a 10-year licensing deal to use the Paramount name. However, Cedar officials have said they have not made any decisions about whether to retain, change or simply scrap any branding of rides, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Neither was the company ready to predict whether it would look to extend the arrangements once they expire, even though industry sources said they expect Viacom (owner of Paramount Pictures) and Cedar to both have an interest in extensions.
CBS has made assurances that Paramount Parks will remain in full operation throughout the divestiture process.
Hey, if you ever noticed that a lot of the same actors from TNG showed up on L.A. Law and wondered why, it's because the shows used the same casting director, Junie Lowry-Smith. Just FYI.
SUPERMAN
Warner Bros has moved up the day to June 28, giving the movie a chance to set some new records with seven-day July 4 "weekend."
Check out the four promo posters over at AintitCool, and the trailers over at SCI FI Wire's Trailers.
BLOG: TOP MOVIES
BLOG: Week's Top Sci-Fi/Fantasy Shows, Books & DVDs
TRANSFORMERS
Director Michael Baywrote in his blog:
"We finished our first week [in New Mexico]...One of the best first weeks on a movie I've ever experienced. We shot over 250 set ups. I'm working on the military aspects of the film right now in New Mexico at Holloman Air Force base and the Army's White Sands missile base. The military has been stellar with us. This is the largest military cooperation since Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down."
"We also shot stealth fighters and low-attack missile runs (50 feet off the deck) [by] A10 Warthogs. They look so deadly and mean. We also shot in an Army tank graveyard that has more tanks in it than all of Iraq. The military cast Josh [Duhamel] and Tyrese [Gibson] are surrounded with [are] top-notch Seal Team members."
The Transformers morph onto the big screen in 2007, probably the summer.
Meanwhile, Sony BMG Entertainment is releasing Transformers: The Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD in November, featuring behind-the-scenes stuff, interviews, interactive games, and collectible packaging. (Box transforms into a sphere with scissors and just a bit of glue.) The animated film has voices of Orson Welles, Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Casey Kasem, Robert Stack, John Moschitta, Peter Cullen and Frank Welker.
Patrick Stewart told The Winnipeg Sun he's not certain if he would come back as Professor X, regardless of what the franchise does next. (For those who haven't heard, you must be sure to fit through the credits of X-Men: The Last Stand, as there is an additional scene.) For the record, Stewart doesn't see himself playing Picard again, either.
X-Men: The Official Game takes place before the action of The Last Stand and explains such burning questions as why Nightcrawler isn't in Last Stand. The game's three playable characters are Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Iceman, and each has character-specific combat systems. Nightcrawler can teleport; Iceman can combat snowboard. Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, Silver Samurai, Colossus, Storm, Professor X, Beast and Multiple Man all show up in the game as well. It's in stores now for the PlayStation 2, PSP, XBox, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, GameBoy Advance, GameCube and PC.
NEWS BITS
One of the following news items is false. Can you spot it? (For the answer, highlight below.)
Reveal the fake (highlight): (sadly) Sony has optioned the feature rights to Homestarrunner.com. Way to go, guys!
INSANE TREK TRIVIA
This Week's Question: Matt Frewer got a role originally intended for what other
actor?
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: TOS prop master bought some Swedish salt shakers to make
the tables look cool in the mess hall, but Roddenberry wanted normal-looking
shakers for eating. The salt shakers were instead used as what on the show?
Answer: McCoy's medical equipment.
First winner
FERGUSSONFAMILY
Request: Updates on V: The Second Generation and WB's new version of Lost in Space.
Second winner
wow
Third winner
tri_pilot
Fourth winner
charlieschili
Fifth winner
Susan
Sixth winner
Suprpntr
Seventh winner
Jim
Eighth winner
Curt
Ninth winner
Lou
Tenth winner
perry der
Eleventh winner
Mike
Twelth winner
Anne
Thirteenth winner
Rick
Fourtheenth winner
TJ
Fifthteenth winner
athena28
Sixteenth winner
Owen
Seventheenth winner
evay
"LETTERS TO THE EDITOR"
This week's topic: If they decided to redo and update an old sci-fi or fantasy show a la Battlestar Galatica, which one would you like them to do?
***
Uh, which one have they NOT done? As far as I know they are remaking everything, not just scifi shows.
***
How about Kolchak: the Nightstalker and do it right this time: balancing humor and genuine chills. I loved Darren McGavin's portrayal of a bottom-rung reporter, with his bad wardrobe, silly hat, physical cowardice, and burning passion for the truth. The fact that Kolchak couldn't possibly overpower the monsters but realized only he had the knowledge to confront them made for some genuinely scary moments. The series aged badly but the concept has real promise. If only they hadn't goofed it up this time by making him another driven avenger, and if they cast someone as versatile as McGavin, the show might have had a chance.
***
I'd like to see a new version of Lost In Space. It's family oriented and sci fi. Most SCI fi isn't about families with children. I'd like to see the whole family get involved. Land of the Lost would be another good one involving families with kids. They have the graphics now to support real looking dinosaurs and scary Sleestak's.
***
Well, what's left? Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon? hell, combine them and have a reanimated Buck be the only logical choice to succeed an aging and injured Flash, because everyone else 500 years from now is PCed into wimpy helplessness (a bit like in "Demolition Man"). Only get Michael Winslow (the sounds guy from Police Academy) as Twikki, who's been through the wringer a few times and occasionally breaks off into multiple personalities or spews apparently random sound effects which actually have meaning later in the show. C'mon, we need more FUN in our scifi.
evay
***
I would like to
see a remake of the OLD tv show the Phoenix. My wife on the other hand
would like to see the show Manimal. The special fx are so much better
now a days that these shows would benefit from them.
Besides, this would expose the children of today to some of the TV show ideas
that we grew up with.
***
My mind has gone blank on the old series title, but a remake of the Dracula
legend might work... adding in the erotic undertones (mysterious man visits
woman's bedroom in the middle of the night) that were only hinted at in the
original books due to the repressed times in which they were written.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer had some of this, but it was from the Slayer's perspective, not the perspective of a vampire who USED to be human... so modern scripts could, just like in the new BG, highlight the duality of all human emotions
A vampire (man or woman) who must feed on people to stay "alive" but who still has human emotions and could even fall in love with a "mortal" person, would make an interesting character... does the vampire go ahead and feed... protect that person from all other vampires... or TURN the person into a vampire?
***
Next week's topic: A lot of critics are complaining that the movie of The Da Vinci Code is actually too faithful to the book. Do you think that's a valid criticism?
***
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.)
HAILING FREQUENCIES CLOSED
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Julia Houston
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Guide @ About.com
scifi@about.com