The nominees for the 2013 Hugo Awards were announced yesterday…here they are (with links when available if you want to check them out). The 2013 Hugos will be presented at LoneStarCon 3 in San Antonio, Texas, August 29-September 2, 2013 – the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention.

Best Novel:

2312, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
Blackout, Mira Grant (Orbit)
Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)
Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas, John Scalzi (Tor)
Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed (DAW)

Best Novella:

After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, Nancy Kress (Tachyon Publications)
The Emperor’s Soul, Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon Publications)
On a Red Station, Drifting, Aliette de Bodard (Immersion Press)
San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats, Mira Grant (Orbit)
“The Stars Do Not Lie”, Jay Lake (Asimov’s, Oct-Nov 2012)
(continue reading…)

Pretty much as usual, a roundup of the Oscars when looking at the science fiction and fantasy genres is a short article. Even with the expanded Best Picture list, nothing made that list, not even The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Probably the highest level award is the Best Animated Feature, which is at least full of genre entries, with Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, and Wreck-It Ralph filling the sheet.

The dueling Snow White movies, Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman, will duke it out again for Achievement in Costume Design, while The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey did receive nods for Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design and Visual Effects, with Snow White and the Huntsman and The Avengers also getting nods in the latter.

Just announced a short time ago, actress Ming-Na (ER, Stargate Universe) will star in the upcoming Joss Whedon TV pilot Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D., based on the secret organization that permeates Marvel’s Avengers universe and featured prominently in the Whedon-directed movie The Avengers.

Ming-Na will play Agent Melinda May, described as “Soulful and slightly damaged by her combat experiences, Melinda is an ace pilot, a weapons expert and a soldier who can — and has — gone beyond the call of duty.” Originally the character was to be named Althea Rice, with the nickname “The Cavalry”, but this was confusing as that is also the name of a team of superheroes.

It was previously announced that Clark Gregg, who has appeared in all the Avenger-related movies as Agent Phil Coulson, will reprise the role in the pilot.

This is just funny…Cookie Monster and Grover from Sesame Street dropped by Entertainment Weekly, and did a few musical numbers about some popular movies, singing about The Hunger Games, The Avengers, Newsroom, and even Doctor Who! Check out the video at EW’s PopWatch…

Don’t forget…the huge blockbuster The Avengers will be released on Blu-ray and DVD this coming Tuesday, September 25th! There is still time to order from Amazon via the above links and if you get two-day shipping (free for Amazon Prime members) and get it on release day!

And if you don’t have any of the individual Avengers team movies, there is also the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled Limited Edition Blu-ray set that includes The Avengers (Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray), Captain America: The First Avenger (Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray), Thor (Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray), Iron Man 2 (Blu-ray), The Incredible Hulk (Blu-ray), and Iron Man (Blu-ray) plus bonus material!

Now we know what the “live action Marvel TV series” is that was reported when Disney struck a deal with Joss Whedon in the wake of his The Avengers juggernaut: S.H.I.E.L.D., a TV series based on the peacekeeping organization that runs throughout the Marvel universe and prominently in The Avengers.

ABC has given the green light for a pilot to be written by Whedon, his brother Jed Whedon, and Jed’s wife, Maurissa Tancharoen – the team responsible for Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and have worked together on various other projects including Dollhouse. Joss Whedon may even direct if his schedule permits.

Planning way ahead after confirming that Joss Whedon will be on board for the inevitable sequel to the mega-blockbuster The Avengers, Disney and Marvel Studios have already set a release date of May 1st, 2015, just a day short of a year from The Amazing Spider-Man sequel, which is a year-less-a-day after Iron Man 3. It seems that Marvel wants to own the beginning of May…

The Avengers comes out on Blu-ray and DVD on September 25th.

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced during the company’s regular earnings call that Joss Whedon is on board to direct a sequel to the blockbuster movie The Avengers – big news enough – but then also said that Whedon is also developing a live action series using Marvel characters! More when we get it…

Update: Marvel Studios confirms the deal, along with a targeted 2015 release for the sequel. Whedon also has an exclusive deal for film and television development with Marvel Studios until the end of June 2015.

In two separate suits, both Marvel and NBCU/Syfy are being sued for alleged trademark and copyright infringements.

Marvel (along with Disney corporate sibling Buena Vista Home Entertainment) is being sued by the German luggage manufacturer who made a special luxury briefcase used in the movie. Not because if its use in the movie, however – they had permission – but because Marvel/BVHE planned to distribute a special box set of Avengers movies in a replica attache case, and they haven’t received permission for that – yet.

In the other case, Preston Asevedo, a Louisiana artist, filed suit against NBC Universal/Syfy and the creators of the show Dream Machines over the use of a piece of art that can be seen on the outside sign of the Parker Brothers’ shop in each episode of the recently aired first season of the show, where the brothers and their team build custom futuristic vehicles for celebrities and charities. Check out the images below of the original work and the one seen in the show:

It isn’t just similar – it looks like someone took the original, inverted it and dressed it up. It also appears that Asevedo had contacted the Parkers, who acknowledged that they used a variation of the art for their own logo but were unable to determine who the original artist was, and wanted to work with Asevedo to give him credit and remuneration. But apparently they weren’t able to reach and agreement, and Asevedo filed suit.

Lesson learned – unless the art is provably in the public domain, make sure you get permission or don’t use it…

Disney will pass $1 billion in domestic gross receipts for it’s movies this year faster than any other studio and faster than it’s best previous year – in only 188 days.

The Avengers was a big part of that, grossing over $600 million alone so far, outpacing even The Hunger Games this year. The Avengers come out on Blu-ray and DVD September 25th. We managed to catch The Avengers while on a cruise – it was an extremely fun movie to watch. Sure, there were plot holes, etc. but it was just fun!