Your source for great sci-fi news!
Movies
Logan’s Run Remake Is Back On Track! Yeah!
May 27th
A long-in-development remake of the 1976 sci-fi classic Logan’s Run is FINALLY back on track with the addition of a new director for the project, according to the Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog.
Carl Rinsch is the name now attached to direct the movie, which is being produced by Joel Silver and Akiva Goldsman. Silver told reporters last weekend during press interviews for Splice, which he also produced, that he was still eager to remake Logan’s Run. A script has been around for a while, although a new one will probably be written if the movie goes forward again.
If Rinsch’s name sounds familiar, that’s because he was at one time a candidate to direct the upcoming Alien prequel until Ridley Scott decided to make that picture himself. Rinsch is one of the hottest directors of commercials around (he’s done a lot of ad work for Ridley and Tony Scott’s company) and has been wanting to make the jump into feature films for a while.
A recent SF-themed short he made for Phillips Electronics, called The Gift, was impressive enough that several studios wanted to turn that into a feature itself. Although that fell through because Phillips owns the rights, it was good enough to get Rinsch on the radar for Logan’s Run.
The original Logan’s Run, based on the book by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, takes place in a future society where everyone must die at the age of 30. Michael York starred as Logan, a Sandman, whose job it is to execute those “runners” who do not voluntarily turn themselves in on their 30th birthdays. But Logan himself goes on the run in search of a mythical hideaway called Sanctuary. The age limit in the original novel was 21, and Silver has said that the new film will revert back to that.
X-Men director Bryan Singer was going to direct the remake a few years back, but he put it aside to focus on 2006′s Superman Returns. Other directors who have run the project through the development mill include James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) and Joseph Kosinski (Tron Legacy).
Do you think Logan’s Run is ripe for remaking?
This article was originally shown on the Sci Fi Wire here and is written by Don Kaye.
The Chronicles of Riddick 3 (Sequel) – Heck Yeah!
Feb 17th
I know I should have been following up on this earlier, especially with the Chronicles of Riddick series being in my top 10 favorite sci-fi movies of all time. Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick are absolute pinnacles of sci-fi awesomeness. I almost gave my son the middle name of Riddick. So you can imagine that I am pretty dang excited about the Chronicles of Riddick 3 being official.
The details are pretty vague right now, as you might expect. The reputable site GameSpot.com had some fun quotes from Vin Diesel regarding the sequel upon the release of “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena.”
And they quote:
GS: The current state of a third movie in the Riddick series seems a little uncertain to the casual fan right now. How does that affect the writing and story explored in the new Dark Athena content? Does it sort of give you guys more room to explore this fiction, or does that change anything about how you’ve approached this game?
VD: Good question. Maybe we’re too tight-lipped about the next Chronicles of Riddick film, and I think circa the release of [Dark Athena] that’s probably when you’ll start hearing more about the next Riddick film. It is underway and I almost think it’s a coincidence that we haven’t heard anything, that there hasn’t been a lot of public stuff on the Riddick movie.
You can read the entire article here.
You can also read some of the latest rumors and chit chat regarding the Chronicles of Riddick 3 over at CountingDown.com here.
Wikipedia (take it for what it’s worth) says this about the sequel:
On March 20, 2009, Vin Diesel commented on a sequel in an interview on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, stating that David Twohy has nearly finished scripts, and is planning to start production on the third film in early 2010.[9]
On November 30, 2009 Vin Diesel left an update on his Facebook page effectively announcing that pre-production work is underway on the Chronicles of Riddick sequel.[10]
On February 9th, 2010, Vin Diesel confirmed in an update on his Facebook page that one of the locations used in the upcoming sequel would be the White Desert in Farafra, Egypt. He mentioned the terrain features unique to the area would lend to the off-planet atmosphere of the film.
I’ll keep you all posted as I find out more information. So what do you think?
Star Trek Movie – Any Good? –Spoilers–
Jun 30th
I am an avid Star Trek fan. I have enjoyed it since I was a kid, watching the Original Series. I became more of a fan in 1987 with the first airing of Star Trek the Next Generation. I loved and enjoyed the idea of an uplifting future where famine and poverty were gone. Star Trek DS9 deviated too far from Gene’s vision for the future, but I still enjoyed the series. I was a little concerned about the new Star Trek movie with fears it would stray even more from Gene Rodenberry’s vision of the future.
I have to say that I was surprised, for the better. The movie was a stunning success. There are certainly holes in the plot, and even areas that bugged me a little when compared to the original series (Spock and Uhura?). Overall, however, it was really fun to watch. I really enjoyed Karl Urban, Pine and Quinto as the three main characters.
Although I really like the actor that plays Scotty, especially in Shawn of the Dead, I don’t think he made a good fit for the character. I also really didn’t like the boiler-room appearance of engineering. It looked like they didn’t have enough money to complete the set and went with a nearby factory for on-site filming. When they ejected the core at the end of the film, it looked like there were 4-6 cores that were ejected.
I’m iffy about Vulcan being destroyed. That was a jaw dropper. All I could think was, “I’m sure they’ll fix this at the end of the film.” I suppose Tuvok from Voyager will probably never come to be. I have had several conversations with people about weather this was an alternate timeline or the same timeline, now altered. What did you guys get from it?
Anyway, I would give the movie 4.5 out of 5 stars. I still have to say, however , that I still put the Wrath of Kahn and First Contact above this movie in my list. It has been a great summer for movies.
Gears Of War Movie Still On Track
Jun 17th
It seems the Gears of War movie is still on track to become a reality. Len Wiseman is still on track to direct the movie. You may know him from the movie “Live Free or Die Hard.” Chris Morgan will be writing the screenplay.
Many people seem concerned about how the video adaptation will turn out. I personally am not too concerned. There have been some great adaptations (IMHO) such as Resident Evil and Doom.
Cliff Bleszinski, the creator of Gears of War was quoted saying this about the movie:
“Hollywood needs to take the source material seriously, win over the avid gamers and make it work for an audience that is young and old, male and female.” But he also admitted that that plan is easier said than done.
“Disney made a great movie out of a theme park ride, and somebody is sooner or later going to make a great one out of a video game,” Bleszinski said. “Having someone like Len really helps the odds. I think we’re going to create something special here.”
I still haven’t heard about a release date. All I can say is that I am glad this movie isn’t going the way of Halo (RIP).
Stargate – The Ark Of Truth. Not Too Bad!
Apr 20th
I am one of the many Stargate SG-1 fans that was pretty bummed out when we heard that the series was to be canceled. I couldn’t believe it. The rumors certainly started to fly. I heard things from “the money wasn’t there” to the cast had signed on and were equally surprised by the shows cancellation. Luckily we still have Stargate Atlantis and the show is doing great!
I managed to pick up a copy of “The Ark Of Truth” and was very impressed. I know this review is a little late in coming, but the “movie” really took off from were the show ended. It was especially nice to get some resolution on the whole Ori situation. I won’t go into too many details for those of you who haven’t seen it, but if you like Sci-Fi, like I do, pick up a copy.
Don’t torrent it, buy a copy. These guys deserve the money for some prime work. That and I hope if they see the interest is still there they will keep Stargate Atlantis going for several more seasons.
The next Stargate SG-1 “made for TV movie” will come out on July 29, 2008 and is entitled Stargate Continuum. According to the IMDB the synopsis for Stargate Continuum is:
Ba’al travels back in time and prevents the Stargate program from being started. SG-1 must somehow restore history.
I’m excited, especially since Richard Dean Anderson will be in this one! Nice! 
While you’re waiting for it to come out, check out this nice Stargate Wiki I found.
James Horner – Krull Best SciFi Soundtrack Ever Composed
Mar 19th
SciFi not only spawns great books, movies, video games and TV, but it also produces some great music. I enjoy sitting down and listening to The Matrix while relaxing or popping in some John Williams “Star Wars” while driving down the road. I have often thought to myself who some of the best composers would be if I had to come up with a list.
I certainly like John Williams. He has written some great music and nobody can forget all the great Star Wars music he wrote. I would have to say that his best album, in my humble opinion, is “The Empire Strikes Back.” This also tops my list of best SciFi movies ever.
Jerry Goldsmith is a genius with his Star Trek themes. Who can’t listen to his music and not imagine soaring through space in the U.S.S. Enterprise? There are many musical geniuses out there.
I could continue this list for some time, but I would like to say that my all-time favorite composer is James Horner. You may know him from the Star Trek II or Willow soundtracks. One album you may not be familiar with, which I think is his best, is the soundtrack to Krull. The London Symphony Orchestra is amazing. I know, Krull could be considered fantasy fiction, but I consider it to be SciFi as well.
I originally purchased the Southern Cross version of Krull in the 1990s. Although a great compilation, it was only one disk and lacked many great scores from the movie. About a year ago I managed to pick up the full two-disk version put out by Super Tracks. This is the most rare and complete version available. I got it at for a steal at $45. Since all versions of the Krull soundtrack are no longer available, it isn’t uncommon to find this album going for over 100 dollars. Can you believe that?
Although you cannot buy the album, you can find torrents for the album. Although I do not condone downloading music through torrents, what can you do in this case? You can also listen to tracks on YouTube. Please listen for yourself. It is great!
Firefly To Be Released On Blu-Ray?
Feb 26th
The HD format war appear to be over and Blu-Ray has come out victorious. Toshiba has thrown in the towel and HDDVD is going the way of the dinosaurs. That happened sooner than I thought! After hearing about Paramount signing a huge contract with Toshiba, I thought the format wars would go on for a few more years.
I think this is a good thing though, especially for science fiction / SciFi. People can finally settle on one format and movie publishers can now feel comfortable in releasing content in HD. This got me to thinking about several Sci-Fi TV shows that would look great in HD.
The first series that comes to mind is Firefly. I am one of the many fans that discovered and grew to love the show after it had already been canceled. Oh how I wish I could have seen it on TV while the series was still running. Perhaps I could have helped keep it on TV!
Anyway, Firefly would look great in HD. I have checked several sources and can safely say there is no release date yet for this show to come out on Blu-Ray. I will be sure to let you know as soon as it happens. Amazon.com is allowing you to sign up and be notified as soon as it becomes available.
The movie adaptation Serenity was put out on HDDVD. I still haven’t purchased an HD player yet, but will now certainly purchase a Blu-Ray player. I hope Serenity will soon be released on Blu-Ray as well. I’m sure it will eventually happen. Now it is only a question of when.
I found a good forum over at FireflyFans.net talking about this very thing. Go take a look!
John Cho Has Takei’s Blessing
Feb 25th
I like to swing by SciFi.com every so often and read what’s going on in their Sci Fi Wire. They often have some good articles there from time to time.Being a sci-fi junkie, I thought it was fun and interesting to see that George Takei gave John Cho his blessing before taking the roll of Hikaru Sulu.
The article goes on to quote John Cho as saying:
“I had lunch with George before we started filming,” Cho said. “I wrote him a letter, and we met, and he gave me what amounted to a blessing, and in his typically classy way, … I told him I was nervous, and he said, ‘Relax. Pretty soon people are going to refer to me as the guy who played the old version of John Cho.’”
I think it is pretty cool that John Cho takes feels it important to pay tribute to the original character. So far I think the cast for the new Star Trek XI looks like a great bunch. Many of them are excellent actors. If Star Trek XI ends up doing well in the box office, I’m sure there is room for more movies. I will certainly be there in line buying tickets!
New Trailer For Adywan’s Empire Strikes Back Revisited!
Feb 17th
Many of you have probably heard of Star Wars The Phantom Edit. The Phantom Edit is a fan edited version of The Phantom Menace. Why edit the movie? Because many of you have the talents and abilities to do so. Many people didn’t like Star Wars Episode I, so they have since edited the movie the way they like it, usually featuring less Jar Jar.
While tracking down some fan edits of The Phantom Menace (after watching Star Wars Episode I – The Rise of the Sith by Slumberland) I came across what I consider to be the best fan edited movie I have ever seen. The guy goes by the name Adywan. I learned about this guy while visiting the forums at originaltrilogy.com.
This guy created his own edit of Star Wars A New Hope named Star Wars Revisited. He has re-edited scenes, added music, added planets and many special effects. The end battle scene at the death star is stunning. I highly recommend that you torrent Star Wars Revisited and watch it for yourself. I got mine in xvid format at mininova.org. I would like to state, however, that you should legally own a copy of Star Wars ANH before downloading the torrent. Who doesn’t?
You can see a trailer for Star Wars Revisited here:
I just came across a new trailer for Empire Strikes Back Revisited. There is also a forum discussing the new edit you can find here. My hopes are pretty high for this one and I am certain the quality will be just as good, if not better, than Star Wars Revisited. Adywan, you’re a bloody genius!
Empire Strikes Back Revisited Trailer:
Recent Comments