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09-06-2006, 01:41 AM
NEWS OF THE WEEK FOR SEP. 04, 2006
Part 1 of 2
Death Comes To Galactica
Ronald D. Moore, executive producer of SCI FI Channel's original series Battlestar Galactica, http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/ told fans that the upcoming third season of the hit SF series could see some fatalities among the characters. "Oh, there're some changes in the air," Moore said at the 64th World Science Fiction Convention, or WorldCon, in Anaheim, Calif., over the weekend. "We're going to lose some people this year. Not all of our friends are going to make it all the way." Moore declined to be specific, but said that the show's writers have finished breaking the story arc for the end of the upcoming third season.
Moore added that the upcoming season 2.5 DVD set will include a special 90-minute version of the episode "Pegasus," which ran only 60 minutes in the original broadcast. In addition, fresh material in the form of specially filmed "webisodes," Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance, will air on SCIFI.COM's SCI FI Pulse broadband network twice weekly, starting Sept. 5. The two- or three-minute shorts will serve as a lead-in to the new season and, although not essential to the plot, will enhance the viewing experience.
Moore was joined at WorldCon by executive producer Mark Verheiden, supervising producer Michael Taylor, story editor Anne Cofell Saunders, producers David Weddle and Bradley Thompson and SCIFI.COM senior vice president Craig Engler in screening a trailer for and talking about the upcoming season.
When asked whether the show was still true to his initial vision, Moore said he felt it was on track, but that there had been surprises along the way, from both writers and actors, that made both the storyline and the characters richer.
"One of the great things about writing for Ron is you do feel empowered to try things, and it doesn't have to be ... what was in the story outline," Weddle said. "I'm sure many of you remember in season two, where Callie shoots Boomer. That was never in an outline. That wasn't a planned moment. ... [Writer] Toni Graphia called Brad [Thompson] and [me] one day and said, 'You know, I think I want Callie to shoot Boomer.'"
Moore agreed: "There's nothing like reading a script and being surprised," he said of his reaction to the change. "It's the experience of watching the show." Season three of Battlestar Galactica begins airing Oct. 6. Galactica will air Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. —Nephele Tempest
Hobbit Due In 2007?
Fan Web site TheOneRing.net http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/16/1157077653 posted a rumor that The Hobbit, the proposed prequel to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, is on New Line Cinema's schedule for 2007.
According to an e-mail sent by an anonymous source, the title was clearly listed on a schedule at New Line's offices in New York City. "I was in New Line's [New York] offices to discuss upcoming projects when I clearly saw something very intriguing on a year planner," the source told the site. "The Hobbit was clearly marked on what looked like July, 2007. I couldn't exactly take a moment to investigate the calendar with my audience in the room, but it definitely said The Hobbit."
Star Trek Gets Upgraded
The original 1960s Star Trek series will receive a high-tech makeover and return to broadcast syndication for the first time in 16 years, with digitally remastered episodes, Paramount announced. In honor of the show's 40th anniversary, CBS Domestic Television is releasing all 79 episodes with new special effects and music on 200 stations, beginning Sept. 16. The first batch of episodes will be chosen from a list of fan favorites.
The original special effects will be replaced with computer-generated images, including the exterior of the Starship Enterprise, based on the exact measurements of the original model, now resting in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The main title sequence will also be redone with new effects and a new digital stereo soundtrack re-recorded by an orchestra and a female singer. William Shatner's classic original recording of the 38-word "Space, the final frontier ..." monologue has been remastered and continues to open each episode.
All of the space scenes, alien landscapes and ships—including the Romulan Bird of Prey and Klingon Battle Cruisers—will be updated as well. The remastered episodes have been converted from the original film into a high-definition format, which gives viewers a clearer, crisper, more vibrant picture, even when viewed in standard definition.
Nimoy, Shatner In Trek 11?
Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock in the original Star Trek series, told Jam Movies http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2006/08/29/1783310.html that he has been contacted by Paramount about his possible involvement in the upcoming 11th Star Trek film, being directed by J.J. Abrams.
Nimoy told the site: "The head of production at Paramount called my agency to tell them about this project, and they are aware of [William Shanter]'s and my contribution to the franchise, and they'd like us to know they might want some involvement. It was all very, very general. They might possibly want Bill and I to set up the story as a flashback. But that's just conjecture on my part."
It has been rumored that the film would deal with the first meeting of a young Spock and James T. Kirk at Starfleet Academy, but neither Abrams nor screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orc have confirmed speculation about the premise or storyline of the sequel film.
Transformers Details Revealed
SCI FI Wire got a rare peek at the production of director Michael Bay's upcoming Transformers movie in downtown Los Angeles on Aug. 26, including the first up-close look at the disguised versions of four key Autobots: the chartreuse search-and-rescue vehicle Ratchet, the giant black GMC 4x4 Ironhide, the sleek silver Pontiac Solstice sports car that is Jazz and the muscle-y yellow-and-black Chevy Camaro that is the new Bumblebee—so new that the car in the movie is a prototype for a vehicle that hasn't even gone into production yet. Ironhide had an Autobot logo on his tailgate; Ratchet featured a fire department seal on its doors with the same logo in the design.
In interviews with cast and crew, SCI FI Wire also got a preview of the film and learned a few key spoilers:
•The film will offer background about the origin of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. The plot will be set in motion when 18-year-old Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) discovers his grandfather's pair of century-old glasses, improbably laser-etched with a map and information about the location of a key artifact, the "Energon" cube, which he then tries to sell on eBay. The movie will follow five separate storylines, which will all converge with a final battle between the Autobots and Decepticons, starting at Hoover Dam and ending in an American city that looks a lot like Los Angeles.
•The film is seeking permission to be the first production to film the exterior of the Pentagon since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; the movie will also shoot in various cities, including L.A., Chicago, Detroit and Washington.
•The film will feature a top-secret military unit called Sector 7.
•Voice casting of the Transformer robots is being left until later in the production, except for Peter Cullen, who was previously named to reprise his role as Optimus Prime. In particular, producers wouldn't say whether Frank Welker, who voiced Megatron in the 1986 animated Transformers film, would voice the character in the movie.
•The movie will use a mix of computer animation and large-scale puppetry to depict the giant robots. Megatron will appear as a plane, not a giant gun, as he did in early versions of the franchise.
•The film's first full trailer will appear sometime during the holiday season this year.
Overall, director Bay told SCI FI Wire that the movie strives for realism, despite its cartoony origins. "I only wanted to do Transformers if I could do it realistic," Bay said in an interview. "And from what I've seen and what we've done with our digital studies, putting it in real-world stuff, that is lots of effects around that are real effects, that's how we make it realistic." When Bay got the first call from producer Steven Spielberg, he said, "My first thought was, 'Nah, I'm not interested.' And just because I thought, 'OK, how am I going to do a toy movie?' And then I realized, when I went to Hasbro, 'OK, start over and go for [a] realistic alien-invasion-robot movie on Earth.' And so, with that thinking in mind, that's how I went about it."
On a hot Saturday, Bay and his crew shot a scene on a blocked-off street in the heart of downtown L.A. The scene featured the four Autobots, accompanied by military crews led by co-stars Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel, and young stars LaBeouf and Megan Fox, who plays Mikaela, LaBeouf's love interest. In the scene, the commandoes see what they believe to be Air Force jets flying overhead, then realize that the coming flying machines are something else—Decepticons in disguise?—and throw smoke grenades to obscure their positions as dozens of civilians run screaming around them. Ironhide, the black truck in the lead of the column of Autobots, appears to collide with a delivery truck carrying Furbys (the talking furry animal toys that are also made by Transformers maker Hasbro). The truck is on a gimbal, which allows it to swing up and stand perpendicular to the street, as if knocked on its end.
The idea is that the Furbys will be knocked from the truck, in flames, then activate when the Energon cube flies overhead. "We just wanted to have burning Furbys on the ground, you know?" Bay said with a laugh. "We're going to be blowing up a lot of little Furbys." Transformers is currently in production, with an eye to a July 4, 2007, release. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
More Spidey To Come
Kevin Feige, the new president of production for Marvel Studios, told MTV.com http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1538925/story.jhtml that the upcoming third Spider-Man film won't be the last in the hit franchise.
"There will be many more Spider-Man films to come," Feige promised the site. "We already have stacks of ideas for the next one because of the wealth of stories in the comics. We could be making Spider-Man movies for the next 20 years, based on the 50 years of Spider-Man history we have."
Rumors have circulated that the third movie from director Sam Raimi would be the last. It's unclear whether Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire and his other castmates would sign on for further installments beyond Spider-Man 3.
"When you're concentrating on one movie at a time, there's a beginning and a middle and an end to that process," Feige said. "We've been topping each one as they go, [and if that happens again,] that's the time for those discussions." Spider-Man 3 will open next May.
Godzilla Reborn On DVD
Steve Ryfle, author of Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of Godzilla and commentary contributor on the new Gojira (aka Godzilla) DVD, told SCI FI Wire that the release of the original Japanese film will surprise fans who thought they knew Godzilla. "It's like a rebirth for Godzilla in a way," Ryfle said in an interview for the release of the new DVD set. "It's my hope that now a lot of people will see that the cartoony Godzilla movies of the '70s weren't the original intent of the character and the franchise. In truth, the Godzilla from 1954 is a different creature than the one in the later films that did the flying and the corny antics. They are two different beasts with the same name. Now we finally are getting to see these films as they were intended. On these discs, in particular, you get the American version we grew up with and the Japanese version. That's really exciting to finally see how you remember it, and then see it as it was originally intended, and compare and contrast and finally draw your own conclusion as to which is better."
Gojira, filmed in Japan in 1954, was shot as a serious film inspired by a real-life nuclear accident involving a Japanese fishing boat contaminated by an American nuclear test site. The film's original anti-war message has long since been forgotten. "Unfortunately, a lot of the people who made the original film have died, but the interesting thing to me is that the director, Ishiro Honda, was fully aware that his film has been reconstructed for America," Ryfle revealed. "He was a very polite and reserved man and never expressed any displeasure about that. And, on the contrary, he expressed he was just happy that it was shown abroad. But because of the fact that he was so committed to the pacifist message of the film and the anti-nuclear sentiment, you have to assume deep down inside he was very disappointed that the film was so drastically altered, and much of what he was trying to say was taken out of it. I think he would be very happy now." Gojira is available on DVD Sept. 5. —Tara DiLullo
Lost Room Adds On Cast
Kevin Pollak, Margaret Cho, Dennis Christopher and Ewan Bremner have joined the cast of the SCI FI Channel original miniseries The Lost Room, Variety reported. The six-hour thriller stars Peter Krause as a homicide detective who stumbles upon a mysterious key that unlocks the door to a world of unimaginable power, and becomes a target of those who will stop at nothing to claim it. Julianna Margulies, Roger Bart and Elle Fanning also star.
According to the trade paper, Pollak will play Karl Kreutzfeld, a wealthy Pittsburgh businessman who's after the key, the room's highly treasured object; Cho portrays Suzie Kang, a tough, chain-smoking independent operator who will sell information to anyone about the room's powerful objects for the right price; Christopher plays Martin Ruber, a county coroner and colleague of Miller with questionable intentions; and Bremner plays Harold Stritzke, a petty thief who teams with Miller to recover the latter's lost daughter.
The Lost Room premieres on SCI FI Channel in December.
Ice Age 2 Coming On Blu-ray
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced its initial slate of titles for the Blu-ray high-definition format, the first of which will be the computer-animated sequel film Ice Age: The Meltdown. The film will be released on Blu-ray disc in North America on Nov. 21, the same day it comes out on DVD.
The release will include special HD extras, including an exclusive short, "No Time for Nuts," three additional CGI shorts, a commentary by director Carlos Saldanha, several featurettes and a blooper reel. Additional titles to follow for the Blu-ray platform include the recent remake of The Omen, Fantastic Four and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, all scheduled for release later this year.
Blu-ray is a next-generation optical-disc format developed for HD video. It can store as much as six times the amount of content of a standard DVD and features advanced copy protection, backward compatibility, connectivity and advanced interactivity. Twentieth Century Fox is a member of the board of directors of the Blu-ray Disc Association.
Kelly Clarifies Southland Edits
Richard Kelly, director of the upcoming SF epic film Southland Tales, backed away from an interview http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=37750 published in the British Hotdog magazine that the film had been cut by an hour against his wishes, and clarified that he is currently cutting the movie himself, according to a post on Kelly's MySpace.com blog. http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=87279726&blogID=161295507&Mytoken=7CAA9A64-3C30-4C32-BE3DD982BF4D6E591071447093
"I just wanted to give everyone an update on Southland Tales, as there was recently an article published in Hotdog magazine about the film being taken away from me and cut down by an hour," Kelly wrote. "This interview took place during the Cannes Film Festival and WAS TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT WITHOUT REFERENCING MANY POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE THEN," he added, using capital letters for emphasis.
Kelly added that the film has since been picked up by Sony for distribution and that he is finishing a shorter cut under the studio's supervision. "It has been a great experience, and I feel like the film is now in better shape than ever," he wrote. "The film will absolutely be released in theaters, and Sony is still deciding on an appropriate release date and strategy."
In the meantime, Kelly said that a second graphic novel of The Prequel Saga, titled Southland Tales—Book II: Fingerprints, will be released on Sept. 13. "Book III will likely come out in mid-October," he added. "If you like the books, I guarantee you will love the film, as it represents chapter IV-VI!"
Kelly added: "Thank you guys for your continued support, and please know that I am incredibly proud of this film and excited for it to be seen. What you will see in theaters will absolutely be my cut of the film!"
Craig Glad To Finish Casino
Daniel Craig, who assumes the mantle of 007 in the upcoming 21st James Bond film Casino Royale, told the Reuters news service that the coolest thing about making the film was "finishing, probably." The production involved a rigorous training and filming schedule for the actor. To create the film's signature stunt sequences, Craig was beat up, blown up and hung on wires on the back of a fuel tanker, the news service reported.
The story is based on Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, of the same name. Written in 1953, it depicts the British spy's first mission for Her Majesty's Secret Service. The film will update the setting to the present, but the opening sequence will have a nostalgic feel to it, the news service reported. "We have an opening sequence that is filmed in black and white, which is not to say this is old," Craig said. "It is just to say, 'Go with us on this one. This is from the beginning.'"
The main villain, a Frenchman named Le Chiffre, has also been changed from a Soviet agent to a terrorist financier (played by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen), the news service reported. Eva Green (Kingdom of Heaven) also stars as British Treasury agent and potential love interest Vesper Lynd.
Craig is the sixth actor to play James Bond. He told the news service that he spoke to his predecessor, Pierce Brosnan, "quite a few times" while making the film. "Pierce said, 'Go for it,' so I did," Craig said. He is also set to appear in the next Bond film, scheduled for release in 2008. Casino Royale opens in theaters Nov. 17.
Perrineau Joins 28 Weeks
Harold Perrineau, best known for his role as Michael on ABC's Lost, has joined the cast of the zombie sequel film 28 Weeks Later, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Perrineau will play an upbeat American Special Forces pilot who documents and leads to safety the families returning to London after the viral outbreak, the trade paper reported.
The sequel to the 2002 film 28 Days Later, directed by Danny Boyle, takes place six months after the end of the first film, in which a virus causing hyper-aggression was accidentally spread from monkeys to humans. In the sequel, a carrier of the virus unknowingly ignites another infection in London. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto) will take over directing duties from Boyle, who is attached as a producer on the sequel. The film is scheduled for release on May 11, 2007.
Cadets Honors Thomas
Multiple award-winning SF author and editor Mike Resnick told SCI FI Wire that his new book, Space Cadets, is a limited-edition anthology of space cadet stories, intended to serve as a tribute to Frankie Thomas, who was honored posthumously at Worldcon this year. Thomas, who played the title role in the 1950s television series Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, died on May 11. "The Los Angeles [Worldcon] committee asked me to edit a book of space cadet stories in [Thomas'] honor, so I went out to find the best writers I could find [and] asked them [to contribute]," Resnick said in an interview at the science fiction convention, which took place in the L.A. suburb of Anaheim, Calif., over the weekend. "Absolutely nobody refused. We have [Worldcon author guest of honor] Connie Willis. We have a number of other former guests of honor, and for a small-press edition—I am sure we'll [also] sell to the mass market eventually—this has got a hell of a cast."
Resnick said that he got to know Thomas as he was preparing the anthology. "I'm just sorry that Frankie died before it came out, especially sorry because we became friends when we were speaking over the phone," Resnick said. "And Frankie, not Tom Corbett, is the hero of my story, and I really wanted him to be able to read it. I was about three days from e-mailing it to him when he died."
Resnick said that most of the stories are essentially coming-of-age stories about young space cadets. "I wrote a very funny [story], in which Frankie was the hero," he said. "Harry Turtledove wrote one that was just loaded with one pun after another. But I would say 85, 90 percent of them really are ... stories about young space cadets essentially coming to grips with adulthood and responsibility, which is exactly what Tom Corbett was about."
The book features a cover by Worldcon artist guest of honor James Gurney. The anthology contains stories from best-selling authors and multiple award-winners, including Kevin J. Anderson, David Brin, Gregory Benford, Mercedes Lackey, Nancy Kress, Catherine Asaro, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Barry Malzberg, Larry Niven and David Gerrold, among others. "That's a nice lineup," Resnick said.
Another new anthology of Resnick's is an editorial collaboration with fan Joe Siclari, called Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches. "We thought somebody ought to do it before every last one of them was lost, because we found the first eight or nine, and they were in moldering fanzines that probably never had printings of 100," Resnick said. "There will be a ... second volume, ... where we expect to have at least 20 more [speeches]. ... They are historically important. [This is] kind of an amateur project—nobody got rich on it—but it's important in the field to have these things."
Although Resnick's been keeping busy editing anthologies, he's managed to find the time to keep writing fiction, too. His latest novel, Starship: Pirate, is due in December from Pyr, and he has a number of short stories forthcoming, in both anthologies and magazines. His story, "Down Memory Lane," was a Hugo Award finalist this year. —John Joseph Adams
Aquaman Joins Justice League Game
The creators of the upcoming Justice League Heroes video game have announced that it will include Aquaman as an unlockable character, alongside Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna and Green Arrow. In the game, Aquaman will be armed with water-based super powers as well as the sword of Atlantis. He will assist his fellow Justice League Heroes in a fight against Brainiac and other villains, including Killer Frost and The Key.
Justice League Heroes features an original story by award-winning comic and animation writer Dwayne McDuffie (Justice League, Teen Titans). It was developed by Snowblind Studios for Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment and is distributed by Eidos Interactive. The game is scheduled for release in the fall of 2006 for the PlayStation2, Xbox, PlayStation Portable, GameBoy Advance and Nintendo DS systems.
Outer Limits Co-Creator Dead
Joseph Stefano, co-creator of the SF anthology series The Outer Limits, has died at the age of 84, Variety reported. Stefano passed away Aug. 25 at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The cause of death wasn't disclosed.
Stefano so-created the classic television series with screenwriter Leslie Stevens in 1963. It ran for three years and featured the memorable opening lines "There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission." Stefano will also be remembered for adapting the screenplay for the classic 1960 Alfred Hitchcock thriller Psycho, based on the pulp novel by Robert Bloch.
Besides his wife, Stefano is survived by his son, Dominic. A private family funeral was held earlier this week.
Covenant's Harlin Wanted 'Sexy'
Sebastian Stan, one of the young stars of the upcoming supernatural film The Covenant, told SCI FI Wire that director Renny Harlin had a distinctive instruction for his actors. "I think the funniest thing is, the main direction that we got from Renny Harlin, which was, like, in this Scandinavian accent, it was this booming voice that would come out of the megaphone, you know, from the end of the set. It was like, 'Make it sexy. Be more sexy.' Then you were like, 'Oohkaay,'" Stan said in an interview.
The Covenant centers on a group of young men in a small Massachusetts town who are secretly the scions of a society of warlocks. Stan plays Chase, the son of a family that was banished from town, but who has returned. The Finnish-born Harlin (Exorcist: The Beginning) shot the movie with plenty of visual effects, which required the stars to hang in harnesses and perform against green screens.
As for the "be more sexy" direction? Stan said he'd receive it even while dangling in the air in a wire harness (to simulate flying). "So I cannot feel my left thigh anymore, because I've lost complete blood in it, but I will make this long scene more sexy," he said. Even so, he added: "Renny, he was just really awesome, I thought. He's a very visual director. I remember when we first got on set, he had this entire book of images that he had put together to present us kind of like how he was going to shoot it. He was extremely concerned with [visuals], all kinds of aspects, all these minor details that go into a shot and how many angles that he wanted to shoot it at, what was better. And him, and Pierre Gill, who was our [director of photography], they really balanced each other out very well. They had a very similar sort of vision as to how they wanted it to [look], kind of dark. ... I felt like the [studio finally] gave him a movie with different kind of options than the past, the latter films that he's worked on, [geared toward] young people, and the story was a little sort of bolder and younger and daring, so I think he brought a lot to the movie." The Covenant opens Sept. 8. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
Merlin's Helmer Talks
David Wu, director of the upcoming Hallmark Channel miniseries Merlin's Apprentice, told SCI FI Wire that it was a challenge getting his young actors to lose their modern speech patterns. They would nail their performances, "but all [of a] sudden, you can see them getting on the horse, and they said, 'OK,'" the Hong Kong-born Wu said in an interview. "I said, 'No OK! King Arthur didn't say "OK." [laughs]. There's no "OK" in Camelot!'"
The three-hour Merlin's Apprentice is the sequel to the Emmy-winning Merlin and picks up the story 50 years later, when Merlin (Sam Neill) wakes up to find King Arthur dead and Camelot in trouble. The Holy Grail has deserted the kingdom, and it's up to Merlin and a young thief named Jack (John Reardon) to find it. Natasha Richardson returns as the Lady of the Lake, who tries to thwart Jack.
Wu admitted that he faced other challenges making the sequel. "The first one was so good, with such top-notch actors, an A-list cast, and with all the visual effects and special effects," he said. "Hallmark wanted to make the sequel, but with way less budget and less effects and less stars, and so I planned it out. So since we have fewer stars and less budget, we really focused and concentrated on the storytelling, which is between the apprentice and Merlin."
Even with less to work with, Wu said that he couldn't resist the challenge of taking on the legend. "I always loved Camelot and King Arthur," he said. "I grew up with King Arthur, Camelot and those Knights of [the] Round Table. So I was very excited to get this script."
While the director was more than happy with the final version, which he edited himself, that version was four hours long. The version Hallmark is airing runs only three hours and was re-edited by another editor. "That is completely breaking my heart," Wu said. "All [of a] sudden you put [the film] in some other unknown editor's hands. If you can manage to cut out one hour from the four hours, first, what you cut out means it can be disposable, which means it's not significant. Which means it's not helping the story. Which means the script not a good script. So this is my big concern." Wu added: "Sometimes it's the subtlety of all the scenes that hold the character, that hold the drama together."
Despite being worried about the shortened version of Merlin's Apprentice, Wu said that he's thrilled he got to do a movie about Camelot, especially because it was one of Robert Halmi Sr.'s projects. Miniseries king Halmi has brought many fantasy stories to the screen, including Gulliver's Travels, Arabian Nights and the original Merlin, which aired on NBC.
"I have big admiration for him," Wu said. "We talked a lot when we were shooting Snow Queen. He told me he wants to bring a lot of stories based on books, based on history, to [the screen]. He wants to get the audience back to reading books, because when they watch a movie about a book they want to read the book again. I really appreciate his passion about making moves. It's not just the calculation of commercial value or whatever. He has a voice to say. He has a story [to] tell, and he just wants to tell it. Of course he's got power [laughs]." Merlin's Apprentice premiered on the Hallmark Channel on Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. —Kathie Huddleston
Knight Changes Things Up
Christopher Nolan, who is directing the upcoming Batman sequel film The Dark Knight, told ComingSoon.net http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=16258 that he will change things up from his first movie. "I think what people responded to well about Batman Begins is how different it was from their expectations, so I think we would be foolish to not recognize that and to [try to replicate that now-predictable blueprint]," he said while editing his upcoming supernatural movie The Prestige. "I think we'll be doing something very different for the sequel. I certainly wouldn't have any interest in trying to repeat [the] experience or the formula we've made because, particularly being the origin story, it's a very unique thing, a very singular experience. My interest would sort of be to move on from that and to do something quite different."
The Dark Knight will bring back Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader, joined by Heath Ledger as the Joker. It's slated for release in June 2008.
The Prestige, starring Hugh Jackman, Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Andy Serkis, Piper Perabo and David Bowie, opens Oct. 20.
Part 1 of 2
Death Comes To Galactica
Ronald D. Moore, executive producer of SCI FI Channel's original series Battlestar Galactica, http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/ told fans that the upcoming third season of the hit SF series could see some fatalities among the characters. "Oh, there're some changes in the air," Moore said at the 64th World Science Fiction Convention, or WorldCon, in Anaheim, Calif., over the weekend. "We're going to lose some people this year. Not all of our friends are going to make it all the way." Moore declined to be specific, but said that the show's writers have finished breaking the story arc for the end of the upcoming third season.
Moore added that the upcoming season 2.5 DVD set will include a special 90-minute version of the episode "Pegasus," which ran only 60 minutes in the original broadcast. In addition, fresh material in the form of specially filmed "webisodes," Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance, will air on SCIFI.COM's SCI FI Pulse broadband network twice weekly, starting Sept. 5. The two- or three-minute shorts will serve as a lead-in to the new season and, although not essential to the plot, will enhance the viewing experience.
Moore was joined at WorldCon by executive producer Mark Verheiden, supervising producer Michael Taylor, story editor Anne Cofell Saunders, producers David Weddle and Bradley Thompson and SCIFI.COM senior vice president Craig Engler in screening a trailer for and talking about the upcoming season.
When asked whether the show was still true to his initial vision, Moore said he felt it was on track, but that there had been surprises along the way, from both writers and actors, that made both the storyline and the characters richer.
"One of the great things about writing for Ron is you do feel empowered to try things, and it doesn't have to be ... what was in the story outline," Weddle said. "I'm sure many of you remember in season two, where Callie shoots Boomer. That was never in an outline. That wasn't a planned moment. ... [Writer] Toni Graphia called Brad [Thompson] and [me] one day and said, 'You know, I think I want Callie to shoot Boomer.'"
Moore agreed: "There's nothing like reading a script and being surprised," he said of his reaction to the change. "It's the experience of watching the show." Season three of Battlestar Galactica begins airing Oct. 6. Galactica will air Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. —Nephele Tempest
Hobbit Due In 2007?
Fan Web site TheOneRing.net http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/16/1157077653 posted a rumor that The Hobbit, the proposed prequel to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, is on New Line Cinema's schedule for 2007.
According to an e-mail sent by an anonymous source, the title was clearly listed on a schedule at New Line's offices in New York City. "I was in New Line's [New York] offices to discuss upcoming projects when I clearly saw something very intriguing on a year planner," the source told the site. "The Hobbit was clearly marked on what looked like July, 2007. I couldn't exactly take a moment to investigate the calendar with my audience in the room, but it definitely said The Hobbit."
Star Trek Gets Upgraded
The original 1960s Star Trek series will receive a high-tech makeover and return to broadcast syndication for the first time in 16 years, with digitally remastered episodes, Paramount announced. In honor of the show's 40th anniversary, CBS Domestic Television is releasing all 79 episodes with new special effects and music on 200 stations, beginning Sept. 16. The first batch of episodes will be chosen from a list of fan favorites.
The original special effects will be replaced with computer-generated images, including the exterior of the Starship Enterprise, based on the exact measurements of the original model, now resting in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The main title sequence will also be redone with new effects and a new digital stereo soundtrack re-recorded by an orchestra and a female singer. William Shatner's classic original recording of the 38-word "Space, the final frontier ..." monologue has been remastered and continues to open each episode.
All of the space scenes, alien landscapes and ships—including the Romulan Bird of Prey and Klingon Battle Cruisers—will be updated as well. The remastered episodes have been converted from the original film into a high-definition format, which gives viewers a clearer, crisper, more vibrant picture, even when viewed in standard definition.
Nimoy, Shatner In Trek 11?
Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock in the original Star Trek series, told Jam Movies http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2006/08/29/1783310.html that he has been contacted by Paramount about his possible involvement in the upcoming 11th Star Trek film, being directed by J.J. Abrams.
Nimoy told the site: "The head of production at Paramount called my agency to tell them about this project, and they are aware of [William Shanter]'s and my contribution to the franchise, and they'd like us to know they might want some involvement. It was all very, very general. They might possibly want Bill and I to set up the story as a flashback. But that's just conjecture on my part."
It has been rumored that the film would deal with the first meeting of a young Spock and James T. Kirk at Starfleet Academy, but neither Abrams nor screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orc have confirmed speculation about the premise or storyline of the sequel film.
Transformers Details Revealed
SCI FI Wire got a rare peek at the production of director Michael Bay's upcoming Transformers movie in downtown Los Angeles on Aug. 26, including the first up-close look at the disguised versions of four key Autobots: the chartreuse search-and-rescue vehicle Ratchet, the giant black GMC 4x4 Ironhide, the sleek silver Pontiac Solstice sports car that is Jazz and the muscle-y yellow-and-black Chevy Camaro that is the new Bumblebee—so new that the car in the movie is a prototype for a vehicle that hasn't even gone into production yet. Ironhide had an Autobot logo on his tailgate; Ratchet featured a fire department seal on its doors with the same logo in the design.
In interviews with cast and crew, SCI FI Wire also got a preview of the film and learned a few key spoilers:
•The film will offer background about the origin of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. The plot will be set in motion when 18-year-old Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) discovers his grandfather's pair of century-old glasses, improbably laser-etched with a map and information about the location of a key artifact, the "Energon" cube, which he then tries to sell on eBay. The movie will follow five separate storylines, which will all converge with a final battle between the Autobots and Decepticons, starting at Hoover Dam and ending in an American city that looks a lot like Los Angeles.
•The film is seeking permission to be the first production to film the exterior of the Pentagon since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; the movie will also shoot in various cities, including L.A., Chicago, Detroit and Washington.
•The film will feature a top-secret military unit called Sector 7.
•Voice casting of the Transformer robots is being left until later in the production, except for Peter Cullen, who was previously named to reprise his role as Optimus Prime. In particular, producers wouldn't say whether Frank Welker, who voiced Megatron in the 1986 animated Transformers film, would voice the character in the movie.
•The movie will use a mix of computer animation and large-scale puppetry to depict the giant robots. Megatron will appear as a plane, not a giant gun, as he did in early versions of the franchise.
•The film's first full trailer will appear sometime during the holiday season this year.
Overall, director Bay told SCI FI Wire that the movie strives for realism, despite its cartoony origins. "I only wanted to do Transformers if I could do it realistic," Bay said in an interview. "And from what I've seen and what we've done with our digital studies, putting it in real-world stuff, that is lots of effects around that are real effects, that's how we make it realistic." When Bay got the first call from producer Steven Spielberg, he said, "My first thought was, 'Nah, I'm not interested.' And just because I thought, 'OK, how am I going to do a toy movie?' And then I realized, when I went to Hasbro, 'OK, start over and go for [a] realistic alien-invasion-robot movie on Earth.' And so, with that thinking in mind, that's how I went about it."
On a hot Saturday, Bay and his crew shot a scene on a blocked-off street in the heart of downtown L.A. The scene featured the four Autobots, accompanied by military crews led by co-stars Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel, and young stars LaBeouf and Megan Fox, who plays Mikaela, LaBeouf's love interest. In the scene, the commandoes see what they believe to be Air Force jets flying overhead, then realize that the coming flying machines are something else—Decepticons in disguise?—and throw smoke grenades to obscure their positions as dozens of civilians run screaming around them. Ironhide, the black truck in the lead of the column of Autobots, appears to collide with a delivery truck carrying Furbys (the talking furry animal toys that are also made by Transformers maker Hasbro). The truck is on a gimbal, which allows it to swing up and stand perpendicular to the street, as if knocked on its end.
The idea is that the Furbys will be knocked from the truck, in flames, then activate when the Energon cube flies overhead. "We just wanted to have burning Furbys on the ground, you know?" Bay said with a laugh. "We're going to be blowing up a lot of little Furbys." Transformers is currently in production, with an eye to a July 4, 2007, release. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
More Spidey To Come
Kevin Feige, the new president of production for Marvel Studios, told MTV.com http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1538925/story.jhtml that the upcoming third Spider-Man film won't be the last in the hit franchise.
"There will be many more Spider-Man films to come," Feige promised the site. "We already have stacks of ideas for the next one because of the wealth of stories in the comics. We could be making Spider-Man movies for the next 20 years, based on the 50 years of Spider-Man history we have."
Rumors have circulated that the third movie from director Sam Raimi would be the last. It's unclear whether Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire and his other castmates would sign on for further installments beyond Spider-Man 3.
"When you're concentrating on one movie at a time, there's a beginning and a middle and an end to that process," Feige said. "We've been topping each one as they go, [and if that happens again,] that's the time for those discussions." Spider-Man 3 will open next May.
Godzilla Reborn On DVD
Steve Ryfle, author of Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of Godzilla and commentary contributor on the new Gojira (aka Godzilla) DVD, told SCI FI Wire that the release of the original Japanese film will surprise fans who thought they knew Godzilla. "It's like a rebirth for Godzilla in a way," Ryfle said in an interview for the release of the new DVD set. "It's my hope that now a lot of people will see that the cartoony Godzilla movies of the '70s weren't the original intent of the character and the franchise. In truth, the Godzilla from 1954 is a different creature than the one in the later films that did the flying and the corny antics. They are two different beasts with the same name. Now we finally are getting to see these films as they were intended. On these discs, in particular, you get the American version we grew up with and the Japanese version. That's really exciting to finally see how you remember it, and then see it as it was originally intended, and compare and contrast and finally draw your own conclusion as to which is better."
Gojira, filmed in Japan in 1954, was shot as a serious film inspired by a real-life nuclear accident involving a Japanese fishing boat contaminated by an American nuclear test site. The film's original anti-war message has long since been forgotten. "Unfortunately, a lot of the people who made the original film have died, but the interesting thing to me is that the director, Ishiro Honda, was fully aware that his film has been reconstructed for America," Ryfle revealed. "He was a very polite and reserved man and never expressed any displeasure about that. And, on the contrary, he expressed he was just happy that it was shown abroad. But because of the fact that he was so committed to the pacifist message of the film and the anti-nuclear sentiment, you have to assume deep down inside he was very disappointed that the film was so drastically altered, and much of what he was trying to say was taken out of it. I think he would be very happy now." Gojira is available on DVD Sept. 5. —Tara DiLullo
Lost Room Adds On Cast
Kevin Pollak, Margaret Cho, Dennis Christopher and Ewan Bremner have joined the cast of the SCI FI Channel original miniseries The Lost Room, Variety reported. The six-hour thriller stars Peter Krause as a homicide detective who stumbles upon a mysterious key that unlocks the door to a world of unimaginable power, and becomes a target of those who will stop at nothing to claim it. Julianna Margulies, Roger Bart and Elle Fanning also star.
According to the trade paper, Pollak will play Karl Kreutzfeld, a wealthy Pittsburgh businessman who's after the key, the room's highly treasured object; Cho portrays Suzie Kang, a tough, chain-smoking independent operator who will sell information to anyone about the room's powerful objects for the right price; Christopher plays Martin Ruber, a county coroner and colleague of Miller with questionable intentions; and Bremner plays Harold Stritzke, a petty thief who teams with Miller to recover the latter's lost daughter.
The Lost Room premieres on SCI FI Channel in December.
Ice Age 2 Coming On Blu-ray
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced its initial slate of titles for the Blu-ray high-definition format, the first of which will be the computer-animated sequel film Ice Age: The Meltdown. The film will be released on Blu-ray disc in North America on Nov. 21, the same day it comes out on DVD.
The release will include special HD extras, including an exclusive short, "No Time for Nuts," three additional CGI shorts, a commentary by director Carlos Saldanha, several featurettes and a blooper reel. Additional titles to follow for the Blu-ray platform include the recent remake of The Omen, Fantastic Four and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, all scheduled for release later this year.
Blu-ray is a next-generation optical-disc format developed for HD video. It can store as much as six times the amount of content of a standard DVD and features advanced copy protection, backward compatibility, connectivity and advanced interactivity. Twentieth Century Fox is a member of the board of directors of the Blu-ray Disc Association.
Kelly Clarifies Southland Edits
Richard Kelly, director of the upcoming SF epic film Southland Tales, backed away from an interview http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=37750 published in the British Hotdog magazine that the film had been cut by an hour against his wishes, and clarified that he is currently cutting the movie himself, according to a post on Kelly's MySpace.com blog. http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=87279726&blogID=161295507&Mytoken=7CAA9A64-3C30-4C32-BE3DD982BF4D6E591071447093
"I just wanted to give everyone an update on Southland Tales, as there was recently an article published in Hotdog magazine about the film being taken away from me and cut down by an hour," Kelly wrote. "This interview took place during the Cannes Film Festival and WAS TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT WITHOUT REFERENCING MANY POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE THEN," he added, using capital letters for emphasis.
Kelly added that the film has since been picked up by Sony for distribution and that he is finishing a shorter cut under the studio's supervision. "It has been a great experience, and I feel like the film is now in better shape than ever," he wrote. "The film will absolutely be released in theaters, and Sony is still deciding on an appropriate release date and strategy."
In the meantime, Kelly said that a second graphic novel of The Prequel Saga, titled Southland Tales—Book II: Fingerprints, will be released on Sept. 13. "Book III will likely come out in mid-October," he added. "If you like the books, I guarantee you will love the film, as it represents chapter IV-VI!"
Kelly added: "Thank you guys for your continued support, and please know that I am incredibly proud of this film and excited for it to be seen. What you will see in theaters will absolutely be my cut of the film!"
Craig Glad To Finish Casino
Daniel Craig, who assumes the mantle of 007 in the upcoming 21st James Bond film Casino Royale, told the Reuters news service that the coolest thing about making the film was "finishing, probably." The production involved a rigorous training and filming schedule for the actor. To create the film's signature stunt sequences, Craig was beat up, blown up and hung on wires on the back of a fuel tanker, the news service reported.
The story is based on Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, of the same name. Written in 1953, it depicts the British spy's first mission for Her Majesty's Secret Service. The film will update the setting to the present, but the opening sequence will have a nostalgic feel to it, the news service reported. "We have an opening sequence that is filmed in black and white, which is not to say this is old," Craig said. "It is just to say, 'Go with us on this one. This is from the beginning.'"
The main villain, a Frenchman named Le Chiffre, has also been changed from a Soviet agent to a terrorist financier (played by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen), the news service reported. Eva Green (Kingdom of Heaven) also stars as British Treasury agent and potential love interest Vesper Lynd.
Craig is the sixth actor to play James Bond. He told the news service that he spoke to his predecessor, Pierce Brosnan, "quite a few times" while making the film. "Pierce said, 'Go for it,' so I did," Craig said. He is also set to appear in the next Bond film, scheduled for release in 2008. Casino Royale opens in theaters Nov. 17.
Perrineau Joins 28 Weeks
Harold Perrineau, best known for his role as Michael on ABC's Lost, has joined the cast of the zombie sequel film 28 Weeks Later, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Perrineau will play an upbeat American Special Forces pilot who documents and leads to safety the families returning to London after the viral outbreak, the trade paper reported.
The sequel to the 2002 film 28 Days Later, directed by Danny Boyle, takes place six months after the end of the first film, in which a virus causing hyper-aggression was accidentally spread from monkeys to humans. In the sequel, a carrier of the virus unknowingly ignites another infection in London. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto) will take over directing duties from Boyle, who is attached as a producer on the sequel. The film is scheduled for release on May 11, 2007.
Cadets Honors Thomas
Multiple award-winning SF author and editor Mike Resnick told SCI FI Wire that his new book, Space Cadets, is a limited-edition anthology of space cadet stories, intended to serve as a tribute to Frankie Thomas, who was honored posthumously at Worldcon this year. Thomas, who played the title role in the 1950s television series Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, died on May 11. "The Los Angeles [Worldcon] committee asked me to edit a book of space cadet stories in [Thomas'] honor, so I went out to find the best writers I could find [and] asked them [to contribute]," Resnick said in an interview at the science fiction convention, which took place in the L.A. suburb of Anaheim, Calif., over the weekend. "Absolutely nobody refused. We have [Worldcon author guest of honor] Connie Willis. We have a number of other former guests of honor, and for a small-press edition—I am sure we'll [also] sell to the mass market eventually—this has got a hell of a cast."
Resnick said that he got to know Thomas as he was preparing the anthology. "I'm just sorry that Frankie died before it came out, especially sorry because we became friends when we were speaking over the phone," Resnick said. "And Frankie, not Tom Corbett, is the hero of my story, and I really wanted him to be able to read it. I was about three days from e-mailing it to him when he died."
Resnick said that most of the stories are essentially coming-of-age stories about young space cadets. "I wrote a very funny [story], in which Frankie was the hero," he said. "Harry Turtledove wrote one that was just loaded with one pun after another. But I would say 85, 90 percent of them really are ... stories about young space cadets essentially coming to grips with adulthood and responsibility, which is exactly what Tom Corbett was about."
The book features a cover by Worldcon artist guest of honor James Gurney. The anthology contains stories from best-selling authors and multiple award-winners, including Kevin J. Anderson, David Brin, Gregory Benford, Mercedes Lackey, Nancy Kress, Catherine Asaro, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Barry Malzberg, Larry Niven and David Gerrold, among others. "That's a nice lineup," Resnick said.
Another new anthology of Resnick's is an editorial collaboration with fan Joe Siclari, called Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches. "We thought somebody ought to do it before every last one of them was lost, because we found the first eight or nine, and they were in moldering fanzines that probably never had printings of 100," Resnick said. "There will be a ... second volume, ... where we expect to have at least 20 more [speeches]. ... They are historically important. [This is] kind of an amateur project—nobody got rich on it—but it's important in the field to have these things."
Although Resnick's been keeping busy editing anthologies, he's managed to find the time to keep writing fiction, too. His latest novel, Starship: Pirate, is due in December from Pyr, and he has a number of short stories forthcoming, in both anthologies and magazines. His story, "Down Memory Lane," was a Hugo Award finalist this year. —John Joseph Adams
Aquaman Joins Justice League Game
The creators of the upcoming Justice League Heroes video game have announced that it will include Aquaman as an unlockable character, alongside Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna and Green Arrow. In the game, Aquaman will be armed with water-based super powers as well as the sword of Atlantis. He will assist his fellow Justice League Heroes in a fight against Brainiac and other villains, including Killer Frost and The Key.
Justice League Heroes features an original story by award-winning comic and animation writer Dwayne McDuffie (Justice League, Teen Titans). It was developed by Snowblind Studios for Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment and is distributed by Eidos Interactive. The game is scheduled for release in the fall of 2006 for the PlayStation2, Xbox, PlayStation Portable, GameBoy Advance and Nintendo DS systems.
Outer Limits Co-Creator Dead
Joseph Stefano, co-creator of the SF anthology series The Outer Limits, has died at the age of 84, Variety reported. Stefano passed away Aug. 25 at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The cause of death wasn't disclosed.
Stefano so-created the classic television series with screenwriter Leslie Stevens in 1963. It ran for three years and featured the memorable opening lines "There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission." Stefano will also be remembered for adapting the screenplay for the classic 1960 Alfred Hitchcock thriller Psycho, based on the pulp novel by Robert Bloch.
Besides his wife, Stefano is survived by his son, Dominic. A private family funeral was held earlier this week.
Covenant's Harlin Wanted 'Sexy'
Sebastian Stan, one of the young stars of the upcoming supernatural film The Covenant, told SCI FI Wire that director Renny Harlin had a distinctive instruction for his actors. "I think the funniest thing is, the main direction that we got from Renny Harlin, which was, like, in this Scandinavian accent, it was this booming voice that would come out of the megaphone, you know, from the end of the set. It was like, 'Make it sexy. Be more sexy.' Then you were like, 'Oohkaay,'" Stan said in an interview.
The Covenant centers on a group of young men in a small Massachusetts town who are secretly the scions of a society of warlocks. Stan plays Chase, the son of a family that was banished from town, but who has returned. The Finnish-born Harlin (Exorcist: The Beginning) shot the movie with plenty of visual effects, which required the stars to hang in harnesses and perform against green screens.
As for the "be more sexy" direction? Stan said he'd receive it even while dangling in the air in a wire harness (to simulate flying). "So I cannot feel my left thigh anymore, because I've lost complete blood in it, but I will make this long scene more sexy," he said. Even so, he added: "Renny, he was just really awesome, I thought. He's a very visual director. I remember when we first got on set, he had this entire book of images that he had put together to present us kind of like how he was going to shoot it. He was extremely concerned with [visuals], all kinds of aspects, all these minor details that go into a shot and how many angles that he wanted to shoot it at, what was better. And him, and Pierre Gill, who was our [director of photography], they really balanced each other out very well. They had a very similar sort of vision as to how they wanted it to [look], kind of dark. ... I felt like the [studio finally] gave him a movie with different kind of options than the past, the latter films that he's worked on, [geared toward] young people, and the story was a little sort of bolder and younger and daring, so I think he brought a lot to the movie." The Covenant opens Sept. 8. —Patrick Lee, News Editor
Merlin's Helmer Talks
David Wu, director of the upcoming Hallmark Channel miniseries Merlin's Apprentice, told SCI FI Wire that it was a challenge getting his young actors to lose their modern speech patterns. They would nail their performances, "but all [of a] sudden, you can see them getting on the horse, and they said, 'OK,'" the Hong Kong-born Wu said in an interview. "I said, 'No OK! King Arthur didn't say "OK." [laughs]. There's no "OK" in Camelot!'"
The three-hour Merlin's Apprentice is the sequel to the Emmy-winning Merlin and picks up the story 50 years later, when Merlin (Sam Neill) wakes up to find King Arthur dead and Camelot in trouble. The Holy Grail has deserted the kingdom, and it's up to Merlin and a young thief named Jack (John Reardon) to find it. Natasha Richardson returns as the Lady of the Lake, who tries to thwart Jack.
Wu admitted that he faced other challenges making the sequel. "The first one was so good, with such top-notch actors, an A-list cast, and with all the visual effects and special effects," he said. "Hallmark wanted to make the sequel, but with way less budget and less effects and less stars, and so I planned it out. So since we have fewer stars and less budget, we really focused and concentrated on the storytelling, which is between the apprentice and Merlin."
Even with less to work with, Wu said that he couldn't resist the challenge of taking on the legend. "I always loved Camelot and King Arthur," he said. "I grew up with King Arthur, Camelot and those Knights of [the] Round Table. So I was very excited to get this script."
While the director was more than happy with the final version, which he edited himself, that version was four hours long. The version Hallmark is airing runs only three hours and was re-edited by another editor. "That is completely breaking my heart," Wu said. "All [of a] sudden you put [the film] in some other unknown editor's hands. If you can manage to cut out one hour from the four hours, first, what you cut out means it can be disposable, which means it's not significant. Which means it's not helping the story. Which means the script not a good script. So this is my big concern." Wu added: "Sometimes it's the subtlety of all the scenes that hold the character, that hold the drama together."
Despite being worried about the shortened version of Merlin's Apprentice, Wu said that he's thrilled he got to do a movie about Camelot, especially because it was one of Robert Halmi Sr.'s projects. Miniseries king Halmi has brought many fantasy stories to the screen, including Gulliver's Travels, Arabian Nights and the original Merlin, which aired on NBC.
"I have big admiration for him," Wu said. "We talked a lot when we were shooting Snow Queen. He told me he wants to bring a lot of stories based on books, based on history, to [the screen]. He wants to get the audience back to reading books, because when they watch a movie about a book they want to read the book again. I really appreciate his passion about making moves. It's not just the calculation of commercial value or whatever. He has a voice to say. He has a story [to] tell, and he just wants to tell it. Of course he's got power [laughs]." Merlin's Apprentice premiered on the Hallmark Channel on Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. —Kathie Huddleston
Knight Changes Things Up
Christopher Nolan, who is directing the upcoming Batman sequel film The Dark Knight, told ComingSoon.net http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=16258 that he will change things up from his first movie. "I think what people responded to well about Batman Begins is how different it was from their expectations, so I think we would be foolish to not recognize that and to [try to replicate that now-predictable blueprint]," he said while editing his upcoming supernatural movie The Prestige. "I think we'll be doing something very different for the sequel. I certainly wouldn't have any interest in trying to repeat [the] experience or the formula we've made because, particularly being the origin story, it's a very unique thing, a very singular experience. My interest would sort of be to move on from that and to do something quite different."
The Dark Knight will bring back Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader, joined by Heath Ledger as the Joker. It's slated for release in June 2008.
The Prestige, starring Hugh Jackman, Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Andy Serkis, Piper Perabo and David Bowie, opens Oct. 20.