Sci-Fi Storm

The latest movie-themed attraction, Transformers: The Ride, opened this week at Universal Studios Hollywood, and it certainly looks like a wild ride! To celebrate the opening, a full red carpet event was put on, including Optimus Prime and Bumblebee walking the carpet and posing for photo ops, and a whole ceremony with the two driving in and saving the All Spark. Check out the pictures and video (provided by Universal and our friends at Inside the Magic, who described the ride as “Spiderman x1000”).

Friday estimates show that Men in Black 3, which opened this weekend, will finally take the top spot from The Avengers, which held it for the past three weekends. MiB3 was looking at an $18 million Friday take and an estimated $75 million for the long weekend, compared to a still amazing $45 million for its 4th weekend.

Newcomer thriller Chernobyl Diaries is third for Friday at $3.5 million, but it appears it may lose the third spot to Battleship when the weekend is over.

While we wait until late in the year to finally travel with the Doctor again, at least we can watch an interesting mini-episode, themed around the upcoming London 2012 Olympics, titled “Good as Gold”. What makes this mini-episode more interesting is that it is the winner of a Script-to-Screen competition, where British primary school students aged 9-11 write and submit their scripts based on the theme. The winning entry was from the students at Ashdene Primary School in Wilmslow.

I wouldn’t call it canon, but it is neat.

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As the Superhero Steamroller called The Avengers rolls over everything, taking in another $55 million in it’s third weekend and burying Battleship, which may be on it’s way to become Universal’s John Carter (both of which starred Taylor Kitsch…hmmm…hope he isn’t invested in Facebook stock…), Marvel/Disney wants to ride the high and has infused the just-started Iron Man 3 with an additional $60 million in it’s budget…raising the total to $200 million, according to Latino-Review. That’s a lot of explosions and devastation…no idea exactly what they’ll spend it on, I just hope they do so wisely, and not on Tony Stark’s Scotch budget.

Syfy and Trion Worlds today released an all-new trailer detailing the production of the highly-anticipated transmedia event, Defiance™. Featuring cast from the series (Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Jaime Murray and Tony Curran) as well as members of the visionary creative teams from both the game and show, this making-of video is a first look behind the scenes in developing the most immersive entertainment experience ever produced.

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The series has begun production on the pilot in Toronto, with an eye towards an April 2013 premiere.

With this early morning’s successful launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to make the first private space flight delivery to the International Space Station to demonstrate the Dragon capsule, but there was a second container in the second stage – a Celestis canister which contained the ashes of 308 individuals, including Star Trek actor James Doohan and Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper.

This is the third time the ashes of Doohan and Cooper have been launched towards space. The first time was a suborbital flight in 2007, and then SpaceX attempted in 2008 to reach orbit aboard a Falcon 1, but it failed after launch.

The ashes expect to remain in orbit about a year before being incinerated during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Syfy officially announced today that it will not renew Sanctuary for a fifth season, according to Mark Stern, Syfy President of Original Content.

“We’re honored to have been part of this incredible series. In addition to garnering unmatched devotion by fans worldwide,” Stern said in a release, “Sanctuary was a bona fide trailblazer, setting new standards with its highly innovative production techniques–including pioneering green screen and RED camera technology–and Emmy-nominated visual effects. It’s been an amazing ride and we look forward to our next project with Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood and Damian Kindler.”

I’m still sure that stars Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne will find themselves working on something else together, and Space Milkshake is pending release. And I have a feeling that whatever it is will be produced by Damian Kindler and Martin Wood, who have been working with Tapping since Stargate SG-1. Tapping and Wood already working with Sanctuary supervising producer Gillian Horvath on new series Primeval: New World, with Amanda taking a spin as director.

I honestly only learned of this just now – back in 1985, when Doctor Who was struggling and was going through an extended hiatus and possible cancellation during Colin Baker’s run, unofficial adviser to the production Ian Levine had a wonderful, brilliant idea (or at least he thought so at the time…afterwards, not so much…) – in the style of Band Aid/USA for Africa, create a song and music video that would serve as a battle cry for fans, but also at the same time raise funds for cancer research.

He got some celebrities, in the form of current Doctor Who stars Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, along with guest stars Anthony Ainley (The Master) and Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart). He got some singing talent, mostly middle-level British pop stars, but with a few recognizable names among them, including Justin Hayward and John Lodge of the Moody Blues and Warren Cann from Ultravox. Levine and composer Fiachra Trench (who together did the music for the spinoff K9 and Company) co-wrote and co-produced the song, a high energy synthpop song.

The results were a disaster.
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Remember that “Carbon-Freeze Me” experience that we reported would be available at Star Wats Weekends at Walt Disney World? Well, check out the video of the experience from our friend Ricky Brigante over at Inside The Magic:

Syfy’s hit series Haven finally has it’s return date, and it will return to the schedule on Friday September 21st.

Also announced today are two cast additions:

Dorian Missick (Southland, The Cape) plays “Tommy Bowen,” a street smart Boston detective who comes to Haven investigating a suspected serial killer case. A shrewd, calculating policeman, he’s also a fish out of water, completely mismatched with this L.L. Bean world.

Kate Kelton (Harold and Kumar, American Psycho 2) portrays the spirited and fierce “Jordan McKee.” She’s a waitress at “The Gun & Rose Diner,” and also an influential member of a mysterious organization of “troubled” people whose identity is known by the distinctive tattoo marking its members.

Season three of Haven picks up immediately following the events of the gripping season two finale with Audrey having been brutally kidnapped; Nathan (Lucas Bryant) warned against pursuing a romantic relationship with Audrey; and Duke (Eric Balfour) seemingly engaged in a fight to the death with Nathan after he discovers his family lineage is to kill Haven citizens with troubles.

Haven, based on the novella The Colorado Kid from renowned author Stephen King, follows former FBI agent Audrey Parker, who becomes a cop in the small town of Haven, Maine, and soon discovers the town’s many secrets, which also hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of her lost past.