Sci-Fi Storm

Heather Graham may have lost her show after one airing, but Matthew Bomer lost his two weeks after he was cast. Farscape creator Rockne S. O’Bannon’s new project called Cult, which was given the green light by The WB two weeks ago and announced Bomer (Tru Calling) as being cast, has been cancelled by the new CW network, as it no longer fits “the programming needs of The CW.” However, WB Television (the studio, not the network) is going to shop the show at the next “selling season”.

It seems a group called Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment is working on a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG – the style of Everquest and World of Warcraft) based around the Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis environments called Stargate Worlds. Beyond the announcement, there is little information as of yet though. Interestingly – by the press releases, they announced what they were doing before they actually had a license agreement with MGM, who owns the franchise.

CBBC Newsround is reporting a couple of casting announcements for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The part of Auror and Order member Kingsley Shacklebolt will be played by George Harris – perhaps best known as Katanga, the cargo vessel captain in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Newcomer Robbie Jarvis will take up the part of the young James Potter. No word yet on the results of the Luna Lovegood casting, where an estimated 15,000 girls tried out, but they did cut it down to a mere 400…

Could this be a sign of who is really in charge of Disney now? With the purchase of Pixar by Disney, The Independent is reporting that Pixar creative head John Lasseter has asserted authority and cancelled Toy Story 3. It appears that he was adamantly against additional Toy Story movies. Frankly, as long as they come up with good stories I don’t care if they make 10 movies.

As Hollywood wrestles with how to release films, DVD releases of even blockbuster films get quicker. Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Disney’s home video division) has announced that the DVD release of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will hit the streets on April 5th. there will be a one-disc and a “special edition” two-disc version, which will have 10 hours of additional material on the second disc.

It’s official. Disney will pay $7.4 billion to buy Pixar, making Steve Jobs a board member and its largest individual shareholder. Given that every Pixar-produced movie has been a blockbuster, with Finding Nemo hitting $865 million worldwide, this seems to make sense…but was it too much? The combined gross of he first 6 Pixar movies was only $3.2 billion…

In an unprecedented move, CBS, which owns the UPN network, and Time Warner, which owns The WB network, will will merge the two networks into one this Fall, with the new network called “The CW”. The new network will pick what shows it wishes to keep from the existing networks. For markets with both The WB and UPN represented, it appears the 16 Tribune-owned WB stations will have precedence (Tribune is an investor in Time Warner), with 12 CBS-owned UPN stations next and the rest remains to be seen. Boston has both a Tribune (WLVI 56) and a CBS-owned UPN station (WSBK 38 – and they already own the CBS station) – WLVI will become part of the new network, and WSBK will be searching for programming – no word on if it will be sold.

Apparently problems with the planned (and almost completed) game based on Stargate SG-1, Stargate SG-1: The Alliance, and its developer, Perception, have resulted in the cancellation of the game and perhaps the closing of Perception itself. Official word from Perception and/or MGM is expected soon.

Wiley Saichek writes “Suzy McKee Charnas has posted an exchange with a reader/writer about her series, The Holdfast Chronicles, gender issues and writing on her website at http://www.suzymckeecharnas.com/Esy_Conversation.html. A link to the exchange can also be found on the New on the Website and Holdfast Chronicles sections of SuzyMcKeeCharnas.com.”

Terry Pratchett, perhaps best known for his Discworld series of novels, may finally see one of his books hit the big screen. The BBC is is reporting a rumor that his novel Wee Free Men is going to be produced, with Sam Raimi (Spider-Man films) directing and a big budget. In the meantime, he’s less than thrilled with J.K. Rowling’s success…