10.20.06
HELLO
And here's the three hundred and forty-eighth edition of "Hailing Frequencies."
If you want to be notified when this newsletter is updated, email me to be put on my "notification" list.
Sorry for the silence. Had a bad case of other job.
This is really kicking my butt, as usual.
ANIME
Anime Channel will host the US VOD premiere of the anime series Paniponi Dash on November 30. The launch of the series on VOD will be followed by the release of Paniponi Dash Volume 1 on December 5, 2006. The series is filled with everything that made high school great, wait ... high school was great? Anyhow, this 10th grade class has a nasty girl, angry nerd, identical twins, an invisible girl, a freaky class president, drama geek, a gamer, a princess and of course the teacher, an 11-yr-old MIT graduate named Becky who is prone to crying fits. Targeted to teen and up, the series is adapted from a manga of the same name.
AUTHORS
Christopher Moore talks with SCI FI Wire about his latest novel, A Dirty Job, which was recently named a finalist for the Quill Book Awards in the general fiction category, and Terry Brooks has an interview up at SCI FI Wire about, Armageddon's Children, a post-apocalyptic novel.
SolarFlare has a review up of Raven’s Shadow, by Patricia Briggs.
Season Three starts October 6. MovieWeb.com has the 45-minute recap up in case you missed it.
DOCTOR WHO
The Doctor runs into famous people from time to time, and next season one of them will be The Bard himself. William Shakespeare will be working at his Globe Theatre, in sequences filmed at -- where else? -- the Globe Theatre (a replica of the original).
Russell T. Davies told SCI FI Wire that production is underway on the spinoff The Sarah Jane Adventures, featuring Elisabeth Sladen in her role as the title investigative journalist, Sarah Jane Smith, who is known to Who fans as the companion to the third and fourth Doctors in the 1970s. "It's a one-off special, not a pilot," Davies said in an interview in London. "And that will be followed by a series that starts filming in April. Right now, we have to balance Doctor Who and [spinoff series] Torchwood, but the most important thing we always have to remember is that Doctor Who is the mothership. Without that, we wouldn't exist, so we plan everything very carefully." The one-hour Sarah Jane special will bring back the character, who was re-introduced in the second season of the current incarnation of Doctor Who in an episode titled "School Reunion" earlier this year on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. Smith was originally introduced in an earlier version of Doctor Who in 1973. "[We're] getting our team ready to make a one-hour Sarah Jane," Davies said. "After that, we'll start working on the scripts, and by next April we'll be ready for the series, so it's all dovetailed nicely." In the new series, Sladen's Smith will appear with Yasmine Paige, who plays Smith's 13-year-old niece, Maria, and the two team up to battle alien forces they encounter around Britain, including the scheming Ms. Wormwood (played by Samantha Bond), who appears in the one-hour special. One character that won't be appearing in the series is Smith's loyal robot dog, K-9, who last appeared in "School Reunion" and will also play a role in the special. "Sadly, we don't own the rights to K-9," Davies said. "[Writer] Bob Baker granted us the rights for 'School Reunion,' but he's been planning his own spinoff series for K-9 for the past 10-15 years. That series is in development right now with Jetix, so I hope it happens, and good luck to him." The character of Sarah Jane Smith has recently appeared in a series of licensed audio adventures by Big Finish. But Davies said that he doesn't consider those appearances part of the Doctor Who canon. "Nothing we say in The Sarah Jane Adventures will contradict anything that ever happened in the Big Finish stories, but neither will we refer to them, because we're very different," Davies said. "Much as I love the Big Finish adventures, it's a very small and very specific audience, and if we tried to pick up from that, no one would have any idea what we're on about. Plus, those Sarah Jane stories were very much for adults, and this is a children's series, and it won't be shown in the Doctor Who timeslot either; it will be shown earlier. So it's a brand-new start. It's written as though if you never heard of Sarah Jane and don't know what's going on." Doctor Who begins its third season in the United Kingdom on BBC1 early next year. The second season of Doctor Who begins airing in the United States on SCI FI Channel on Sept. 29 and will air Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The "School Reunion" episode will air on SCI FI on Oct. 11. —Joe Nazzaro
For us here in America, the second season premieres Sept. 29 8 PM.
FANTASTIC FOUR 2
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Doug Jones will provide performance and movement references for the Silver Surfer in the upcoming sequel film The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and that New Zealand's Weta Digital will provide the character's visual effects for the Fox movie. Jones will take part in a process similar to that in which Andy Serkis portrayed Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The voice casting of Silver Surfer has yet to be determined, the trade paper reported. Weta (King Kong) has developed an advanced computer-generated-animation process that employs motion-capture techniques updated to add further dimensionality to the liquid-metal hero. In Fantastic Four lore, Silver Surfer is the herald to a cosmic being known as Galactus, an entity who devours worlds. Known for his silver skin and surfboard-like vehicle, Silver Surfer travels the galaxy in search of worlds for Galactus to consume. When he arrives on Earth and decides it will suit his master, the Fantastic Four are called in. Jones is widely known for his performance and mime-like work under prosthetics. He has become a regular player in the oeuvre of director Guillermo del Toro, who previously cast Jones in 1997's Mimic and 2004's Hellboy. Jones also co-stars in del Toro's upcoming Pan's Labyrinth, in dual roles as Pan and the villainous Pale Man. Labyrinth is set to open Dec. 29. Jones also is set to reprise his role as Abe Sapien in the upcoming Hellboy sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which is set to begin production in April.
GHOST WHISPERER
Season two premieres Friday, Sept. 222 @ 8 PM.
HALO
Microsoft announced that it is partnering with King Kong director Peter Jackson and his writing partner, Fran Walsh, to create the next Halo video game and a second as-yet-undetermined game. Jackson and Walsh, who are producing an upcoming movie based on the Halo game franchise, will work with Bungie Studios on the next Halo title. In addition, in collaboration with Microsoft Game Studios, Jackson and Walsh are creating Wingnut Interactive, which is described as a world-class interactive entertainment studio fusing the strength of Microsoft's technology and interactive entertainment experience with the creative and imaginative excellence of the Wingnut Interactive team. "Microsoft has built an amazing living canvas with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, which allows the storytellers of our time to express themselves in a new medium. They have fundamentally changed how people think about games," Jackson said in a statement. "My vision, together with Microsoft Game Studios, is to push the boundaries of game development and the future of interactive entertainment. From a moviemaker's point of view, it is clear to me that the Xbox 360 platform is the stage where storytellers can work their craft in the same way they do today with movies and books, but taking it further with interactivity." The Halo movie will be directed by Neill Blomkamp, under the WingNut Films banner, for Universal Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox. (Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.) Meanwhile, Microsoft Game Studios announced Halo Wars, an all-new real-time strategy game based on the Halo universe, created exclusively for the Xbox 360 by Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires). Halo Wars places the player in command of human URNS armies as they deploy for mankind's first deadly encounter with the enemy Covenant forces.
New images have gone up for the upcoming fifth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which can be seen on SCI FI Wire's Photo Gallery page.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix comes out globally in both traditional theatres and IMAX July 13, 2007.
INCUBUS
For the very first time, AOL RED (www.b-red.com) will be hosting the
exclusive release of a featured film, INCUBUS for direct to download
beginning October 31, 2006.
INCUBUS, the story of six teenagers who break into what they think is an
abandoned factory to seek shelter. They quickly find themselves trapped
and realize too late that they are not alone. Suspended in a triple
locked shatter proof clear cube attached to an observation room is a coma
patient obviously being tested and experimented on. The bizarre sleeper
and his horrific powers hold the key to their escape and ultimately their
survival.
The teaser poster art is currently available on our server at:
http://68.178.158.128/AOL/INCUBUS/assets/assets.html
I have included the press release below. It would be great if you could
feature the premiere of INCUBUS with the assets. Please let me know.
Thanks!
Angela
AOL RED, THE ONLINE HOME FOR TEENS, TO RELEASE INCUBUS, THE FIRST
MAINSTREAM TEEN MOVIE TO PREMIERE EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE
The New Horror Film Starring Tara Reid Debuts as
“Direct-To-Download” Film
Dulles, VA, September 19, 2006 -- Beginning October 31, Incubus, a new
full-length horror film, arrives as a new “direct-to-download” film
premiering exclusively on AOL RED, the online home for teens at
http://www.B-RED.com. The film, a psychological thriller starring Tara
Reid as one of six teens on the run from a crazed killer with the power to
control their dreams, will be available for download for 30 days.
Incubus can be purchased for a fee of $7.99 or rented for a 5-day period
for just $3.49. With just one click, viewers can begin watching the film
immediately after the download begins.
“Incubus coincides with the launch of AOL’s RED offering on the open
Web
and exemplifies the type of edgy, relevant content that we have built our
reputation and audience on,” said Malcolm Bird, Senior Vice President,
Kids & Teens, AOL. “We’re very excited to work with the producers
of
Incubus to give horror fans the chance to watch this movie for the very
first time.”
“Horror films traditionally have been very popular among teenage
moviegoers and we felt that AOL RED represented a unique and effective way
to directly target our key demo audience,” said Adam Shapiro of Automatic,
the distributor of Incubus. His partner Sherman Sall added, “Movie fans
are clearly seeking an alternative to the traditional in-theater
experience. We think the Internet will emerge as a viable distribution
method for new films, and we’re very happy to be at the forefront of this
movement.”
Timed to the release of Incubus, AOL RED also announced its Scary Movie
Contest, challenging fans to submit their own homemade scary movies. The
finalists will be posted online and site visitors will be asked to vote
for their favorite. The filmmaker receiving the most votes will be the
winner. Information regarding the contest as well as additional exclusive
Incubus content including the trailer, artwork, and an interview with Tara
Reid will be found at www.B-RED.com.
About Incubus:
In 1995 the CIA suddenly abandoned its 20-year research into paranormal
phenomena including mind control, out of body experience and lucid
dreaming. The results of the study are still classified.
Fast forward to present day. On a stormy night, six teenagers break into
what they think is an abandoned factory to seek shelter. They quickly
find themselves trapped and realize too late, that THEY ARE NOT ALONE!
Suspended in a triple-locked, shatter-proof clear cube, is a comatose
patient, undergoing testing and experimentation. The bizarre patient and
his horrific powers hold the key to their escape and ultimately their
survival.
About AOL’s RED™
AOL’s RED™ (www.B-RED.com), is an all-encompassing online hot spot
for
teens offering a wealth of content including viral videos, comics and
anime, news, entertainment, games, music as well as easy-to-use tools for
blogging and socializing with friends.
Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, co-executive producers of ABC's hit SF series Lost, told SCI FI Wire that they can't reveal secrets about the upcoming third season, but allowed that things will head in a different direction. If last year was the Year of the Hatch, "you might think of season three as the mystery of who the Others are," Horowitz said in an interview. Michael Emerson, who played the mysterious Henry Gale, returns this season, along with several other characters from previous seasons, including some of the deceased characters. "Just because you're dead doesn't mean your story is over," Horowitz said with a laugh. Kitsis added: "We think we're going to blow some minds this year." The first six episodes of Lost will air starting next month, after which the show will take a 13-week break. The first self-contained pod of episodes constitutes a mini-season, which Horowitz said he hopes will get people excited about Lost's return in February. At that point the series will run straight through without reruns. The producers consider themselves fans of the show who just got lucky enough to end up writing it. "As writers we come in every day ready to play," Kitsis said. "We don't take a day off. To us, Lost isn't a job. It's a lifestyle. It's a way of life. It's almost like we forget. You go to the newsstand, and you see it in Newsweek or in TV Guide, and you're like, 'Oh, right. It goes out.' We're just guys. We're just people that sit in [a] room and come up with stuff, and then it's like you forget that everyone sees it." Horowitz added: "What's surprising to me is that the show can somehow still manage to be surprising, at least from our perspective." "Lost is a moving target," Kitsis said. "It's always changing. It's always surprising, and it's always moving forward." The moving target hasn't been harmed by continuing storylines that have derailed other shows. Kitsis and Horowitz admitted that DVDs and TiVos have helped people keep up. "We want to write Lost for as many people who want to watch it as possible," Horowitz said. "And obviously make it as accessible to as many people as possible. But also we want to reward any fan who has been there from the beginning, ... to sort of reward the longtime viewer in interesting and new ways." Lost returns Oct. 4 and airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. —Kathie Huddleston
Traffic charges against Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje of ABC's Lost were dropped after defense attorneys proved he has a driver's license, the Associated Press reported; Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who plays Mr. Eko on the drama series, was charged with driving without a license and disobeying a police officer after he was taken into custody Sept. 2 in Honolulu.
Season Three premieres Wednesday, October 4 9 PM on ABC.
PAINKILLER JANE
SCI FI Channel has cast Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3) in the title role of
its new superhero actioner Painkiller Jane. Production on 22 one-hour episodes
of the series, produced by Insight Film Studios, in association with Starz Media
and Kickstart Comic Arts Studio, will begin in Vancouver next month.
>
> Based on the comic book created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada, Painkiller
Jane is the story of Jane Vasko (Loken), a DEA agent who is recruited by a covert
government organization tasked with capturing > "> Neuros> ">
- genetically-enhanced individuals who possess superhuman powers of the mind.
During the course of her first investigation with the team, Jane inexplicably
discovers that she too possesses extraordinary abilities - abilities that render
her impervious to injury> ...> but not pain. She develops miraculous regenerative
powers, healing from every injury and finding herself stronger than she had
been before. As she continues to work with the government to hunt Neuros, Jane
tries to uncover the cause of her own transformation and what - if any - connection
she shares with the very people she is pursuing.
>
> Painkiller Jane is executive produced by showrunner Gil Grant (24, NCIS).
Loken will serve as co-executive producer. The series is slated to premiere
on SCI FI in Spring 2007, followed by a domestic broadcast weekly syndication
window in Fall 2007. Starz Media will handle U.S. DVD and syndication sales,
as well as distribution to key worldwide markets. Additional casting is currently
underway.
>
PIRATES
Terry Rossio confirmed at Wordplayer.com that the third movie will be Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds [sic] End. It opens May 25, 2007.
SMALLVILLE
AintItCoolNews has major spoilage for the next season. Here's the safe part:
In five seasons, “Smallville” has introduced us to a handful of icons habitating the sprawling DC Universe: Not just Lois, Clark, Perry, Lana, Pete, Jonathan, Martha, Brainiac and Lex, but also Victor “Cyborg” Stone, Bartholomew “Flash” Allen, Arthur “Aquaman” Curry and Adam “Fake Batman” Knight.
But this season we get...(click here to continue)
STAR TREK
Google Inc. has announced plans for the Google Video store, "the first open video marketplace enabling consumers to buy and rent a wide range of video content from a major television network, a professional sports league, cable programmers, independent producers and film makers." The initial offerings will include episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager.
George Takei will be in a fan-produced Star Trek: New Voyages episode, "World Enough and Time," playing Sulu as he ages thirty years, with "flowing hair and leather clothes." Kinky! It'll be at the site in March.
William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy get interviewed about Trek's history in issue 342 of Starburst Magazine, £3.99 in the UK. Here's a nice bit:
“The series has content that is timeless,” said Nimoy. “What makes a classic story in any media whether it’s television or literature? Universal content that has to do with the Human condition, that has to do with planetary concerns; content that has to do with social issues that will always be relevant, to some extent. I think we really did get in touch with things that were relevant then and are relevant today. The writers deserve credit for having been in touch with thematic ideas that were meaningful then and are still meaningful today.”
STAR WARS
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Upcoming Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movies
NEWS BITS
One of the following news items is false. Can you spot it? (For the answer, highlight below.)
San Francisco, CA – As it begins the countdown to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the San Francisco International Film Festival, the San Francisco Film Society has launched a Web site, http://sffspublicityoffice.c.topica.com/maafbvFabtumOckcaGwbafpMsZ/ , chronicling its storied history. The first film festival from Alaska to Argentina to reach the half-century mark, SFIFF50 will take place from April 26 to May 10, 2007.
Following the trend of Lost Victoria Pratt, who stars in ABC's upcoming surreal drama Day Break, told SCI FI Wire that she doesn't consider it a science fiction show. Day Break stars Taye Diggs as Brett Hopper, a narcotics cop who's been framed for murder, who relives the same day over and over again. Pratt (Mutant X) plays Andrea Battle, Hopper's partner.
Rob Schneider has signed to star in Juliana and the Medicine Fish, an independent children's fantasy being directed by Jeremy Torrie, based on the book by Jake MacDonald, who wrote the adaptation with Torrie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
New Line has signed a video-game licensing deal with Sega for His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman's fantasy book series, to which New Line also holds film rights, Variety reported. The deal marks a big jump back into Hollywood licensing for the Japanese video-game publisher and also signals New Line's plans to turn His Dark Materials into as big a game franchise as The Lord of the Rings. The deal, which also involves book publisher Scholastic, gives Sega interactive rights to all three books in the trilogy. New Line is currently shooting a movie based on the first title, The Golden Compass, and expects to make two more, with Sega producing companion games. Electronic Arts has made several successful Lord of the Rings games not tied to the New Line films and recently extended its deal with New Line and books rights holder the Saul Zaentz Co. to produce more. Sega would have to make a separate deal to produce games not tied to film releases. New Line is expected to unveil several other major licensing deals for Materials in the next few weeks, including a master toy license and numerous promotional partners.
RHI has cut a deal with Sci Fi Channel to produce up to 10 monster films over the next two years, title which Sci Fi will have license to for a period of seven years. According to Variety, RHI will maintain all home video, new media and VOD rights of the films. The upcoming titles include Blood Monkey, Eye of the Beast, Maneater and Grizzly Rage. While termed as being "low-budget monster films", each title is expected to be produced with a budget exceeding the usual $2.2 million because of the additional rights RHI will maintain.
Terminator 2 star Edward Furlong and his wife, actress Rachael Bella, welcomed their first child, a boy named Ethan Page Furlong, who was born on Sept. 21, Zap2it.com reported.
Donald Trump the animated series might just be headed our way
Ian Somerhalder, who played the ill-fated Boone on ABC's hit series Lost, will
make a guest appearance in the upcoming Oct. 11 episode, "Further Instructions,"
in which viewers will also learn the fates of Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Eko (Adewale
Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) after the implosion of the
hatch, ABC announced.
Anime Network will host the US VOD TV premiere of the new version of the noted
sci-fi anime series Guyver
Warner Independent Pictures' The Science of Sleep pulled in $347,000 from 14
screens in its debut over the Sept. 22 weekend, a whopping $24,786 per-screen
average, Variety reported; WIP will expand Sleep to 200 runs in its next weekend
of release.
Platinum Studios will launch the entire 112-page Cowboys & Aliens comic on its DrunkDuck.com Web site starting on Sept. 28, with a page a day posted Monday through Friday for free, well before the comic is available in comic-book stores in early December for $4.99.
Giant-screen exhibitor IMAX Corp. said that its 3-D version of Bryan Singer's Superman Returns has surpassed $30 million in gross receipts after 13 weeks in its international network, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Add another to the cast of NBC's midseason series Raines - Madeleine Stowe. The series stars Jeff Goldblum as a brilliant homicide detective who talks to dead people because they help him solve the crimes. Stowe will play his shrink.
Giant-screen exhibitor IMAX Corp. said that its 3-D version of Bryan Singer's
Superman Returns has surpassed $30 million in gross receipts after 13 weeks
in its international network, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Mark Pellington has been hired to direct Night and Day You Are the One, a supernatural
thriller based on a short story by Ken Kalfus, about a man who can't tell the
difference between his dreams and reality and who witnesses a murder, Variety
reported.
A new Web site has gone live for SCI FI Channel's upcoming limited series The
Lost Room, which premieres in December.
Japanese actor Tetsuro Tamba, best known internationally for playing dapper
spymaster Tiger Tanaka in the 1967 James Bond picture You Only Live Twice, has
died in Tokyo. He was 84, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Sept. 25 premiere of NBC's superhero drama Heroes aired with the most impressive
premiere numbers for a new show this season, topping its broadcast rivals among
viewers aged 18-49, Variety reported.
The final video of "Rachel Blake," who has been campaigning against
the Hanso Foundation in the alternate-reality game the Lost Experience, has
gone live on YouTube.com, wrapping up the game in advance of the upcoming third
season of Lost, which premieres Oct. 4.
Trustees of the Clarion Writers' Workshop will hold a live online chat to answer
questions about the acclaimed workshop's impending move in 2007 to the University
of California at San Diego, Sept. 28 at 9 p.m. ET.
A new trailer has gone live for Will Ferrell's upcoming fantasy comedy film
Stranger Than Fiction and has been linked through SCI FI Wire's Trailers page.
Chris Cornell's song "You Know My Name" from the upcoming James Bond
movie Casino Royale has been laid over scenes from the film in a video posted
on YouTube.com; the movie opens Nov. 17. catapiller
Fox has ordered a short pilot for an animated project from Happy Madison Prods
and 20th Century Fox TV called Animals. This satire will take an upclose and
personal look at suburban life, only using animals instead of people.
Will Ferrell told Moviehole.net that he won't take part in any sequel to his
hit fantasy comedy Elf: "Elf 2 got killed. I killed Elf 2."
ABC And a script has been ordered for Killing Sam Carter from Fox Studios
and Fuse Ent., about a guy who is suffering from amnesia, and to complicate
his life just a little bit more, is also a time traveler.
A new trailer has gone live for the upcoming supernatural thriller film The
Invisible, directed by Batman Begins writer David S. Goyer, and has been linked
through SCI FI Wire's Trailers page.
The upcoming third-season premiere of The CW's Veronica Mars pays sly tribute
to SCI FI Channel's original series Battlestar Galactica by having a character
use the faux curse word "frak" and explaining it to Veronica (Kristen
Bell), who promptly adopts it as her favorite new expression, TV Guide Online's
columnist Michael Ausiello reported.
Senator Entertainment has optioned screen rights to Bret Easton Ellis' short-story
collection The Informers, to be directed by Nicholas Jarecki from a script he's
writing with Ellis, Variety reported; the tales, about a week in Los Angeles
in 1983, include one about a vampire.
New Line Cinema has preemptively acquired God, the Devil and Lucy, a comedy
from David Hubbard about God and the devil, who, tired of eternally fighting
for human souls, decide to settle things once and for all by coming down to
Earth as mortal men and competing for the love of one woman whom they mutually
choose, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Reveal the fake (highlight):
INSANE TREK TRIVIA
This Week's Question:
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 the Enterprise episode "Similitude,"
what nickname did Trip's clone get?
Answer: Sim.
First winner
Claudia
Second winner
evay
Third winner
Patty
Fourth winner
Sue
Fifth winner
Athena28
Sixth winner
"LETTERS TO THE EDITOR"
This week's topic: Which amusement park ride would you like to see made into a film?
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Next week's topic:
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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 the contest or LTE.)
HAILING FREQUENCIES CLOSED
Visit the "Hailing Frequencies" Archive
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Julia Houston
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Guide @ About.com
scifi@about.com