Sci-Fi Storm

Did you ever want to decorate a wall, like Han Solo did in Jabba the Hutt’s palace, but don’t want to deal with hibernation sickness? Well now you can…this year at Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World, which starts a week from Friday on May 18th and takes place for four weekends, they will be offering “Carbon-Freeze Me”.

Guests will step into a “carbon freezing chamber”, where multiple cameras will be used to scan the guest’s face in 3D. That scan will be used to create an 8-inch figurine of the famous carbon freeze pose, with the guest’s face instead of Han’s (which will be shipped to the guest in about 4 weeks). A light-up wristband is also included, and the process costs $99.95. Additional figurines can be ordered for $74.95 each.

You must book ahead by calling 407-WDW-TECH and a credit card is required to guarantee the reservation with a $25 cancellation fee if canceling within 48 hours. Theme park admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios is also required.

The Avengers might wipe out some of the bad memories of John Carter for Disney, as it is likely to surpass $185 million by the end of the weekend after scoring over $80 million just on Friday. This would put it past Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 for the weekend box office record.

Update:: It smashed the record, breaking the $200 million barrier and besting the previous record holder by more than $30 million. There were reports from IMAX that they had to turn people away due to lack of seats.

Syfy announced today that actor Jeff Fahey (Lost, The Lawnmower Man) and filmmaker David Cronenberg (The Fly, eXistenZ) will join as guest stars for the 90-minute Syfy time-traveling pilot Rewind.

Fahey plays Ellis, a former NASA aerospace engineer and now part of Bryce’s (Jennifer Ferrin) time travel team. He is the spiritual backbone of the team; strong with a Zen-like wisdom and intensely loyal to Bryce.

Cronenberg will play a brilliant pillar of science and Nobel Prize winner who has become unhinged since the death of his wife years ago. He prepares a dangerous plot that will alter the course of history.

Syfy announced the main cast a few weeks ago.

It is a bit on the expensive side, but it’s the closest thing to an actual lightsaber yet…the folks at Wicked Lasers, who have crafted a number of powerful but handheld lasers, including one that looked remarkably like a lightsaber hilt that for a while got them in the sights of the Lucasfilm stormtroopers, has taken the next step at Epic Geek Toy – turning it into an actual saber! It takes the form of an attachment to one of their standard S3 laser units, and creates the blade effect – including the on and off “growing” effect. However, I wouldn’t plan on doing any sort of fighting, or even slicing cheese with it – it doesn’t look like it is meant for striking anything, and at $400+, I wouldn’t risk it – but it sure looks cool…it’s still an actual laser which can be dangerous, so it is not meant for kids. But check out the video below (note: the two guys fighting are not demonstrating…)
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Check out the second official trailer for Sony’s upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen and Denis Leary. I’m still amazed at all the different looks Ifans gives his characters…can’t wait to see his take on the Lizard…
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The EMP Museum in Seattle has announced the list of the 2012 inductees into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

Those being honored this year are filmmaker James Cameron; artist Virgil Finlay; author Joe Haldeman; and author James Tiptree, Jr. The new Science Fiction Hall of Fame display will be unveiled at EMP’s Icons of Science Fiction exhibition opening celebration on Friday, June 8, 2012. To purchase tickets, visit empmuseum.org.

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame honors the lives, work, and ongoing legacies of science fiction’s greatest creators. Founded in 1996, the Hall of Fame was relocated from the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to its permanent home at EMP in 2004. Hall of Fame nominations are submitted by EMP members. The final inductees are chosen by a panel of award-winning science fiction authors, artists, editors, publishers, and film professionals.

2012 SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME BIOS

James Cameron, American filmmaker (1954 – ). Cameron continually redefines the cutting edge of science fiction filmmaking. In particular, The Terminator (1984), which captured the collision of our fears of nuclear terror and computer technology; Aliens (1986), a sequel that magnified and amplified the classic original; The Abyss (1989), which looked downward to the oceans as a realm of the alien; and Avatar (2009) which employed a variety of innovative filmmaking techniques to further enhance the movie-viewing experience.

Virgil Finlay, American artist (1914 – 1971). Finlay produced thousands of illustrations, flourishing in the pulp magazine era from the ’30s through the ’50s. He is especially known for his exacting and detailed scratchboard and pen-and-ink work. The stark and shadowy effects he created were well-suited to the horror and fantasy magazines, where his works frequently appeared. He also contributed more than 800 illustrations to the Sunday newspaper supplement The American Weekly, and created 19 covers for Weird Tales.

Joe Haldeman, American author (1943 – ). Haldeman burst onto the science fiction scene in 1974 with The Forever War, a novel that blended imaginative hard science fiction with a heartfelt examination of the impact of war and homecoming on the combatants. The novel won the Hugo and Nebula Awards. In the following four decades, he has built a library of quality work, notably the Worlds series, The Hemingway Hoax (1990), and Forever Peace (1997). He teaches writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2010 he received the Grand Master award from the Science Fiction Writers of America.

James Tiptree, Jr., American author (1915 – 1987). Tiptree was the pen name of Alice Sheldon, who kept her identity a secret for the majority of her career. She is best known for stories that explore sex, gender identity, male/female relations, and death. “The Last Flight of Doctor Ain” and “The Women Men Don’t See” are two notable works among many. In 1991 the James Tiptree, Jr. Award for science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender was created in her honor.

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who stole the TV screen for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the BBC’s modern retelling Sherlock, and will be the voice of the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit and the unconfirmed-but-everyone-is-pretty-certain-who-it-is villain in the sequel to Star Trek, appeared on VH1’s Big Morning Buzz, and discussed a bit about his Sherlock role and how he auditioned for the role on Star Trek via iPhone…check the excerpt below.

The second series of Sherlock will air on local PBS stations this weekend under Masterpiece Mystery!.
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In next Monday’s Lost Girl, Kenzi’s attempts to dabble in Bo’s love life lead her to cross paths with the infamous Baba Yaga. Check out the preview video below, and then check out some bonus clips from last week’s episode plus see Ksenia Solo (Kenzi) give hints at what is to come this season…
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In next Monday’s new episode of Eureka, Carter and Lupo are hunting for something that is setting fire to the labs, while Fargo seems to be indifferent to what is happening…or that he is on fire…
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Disney has long had a Star Wars-based attraction at 4 of it’s current theme park locations, with Star Tours at Disneyland in Anaheim, Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, and recently updating the attraction at WDW with all new technology. And the recently “expansionist” moves by the company, with the new Cars Land at the California Adventure park and additions at WDW like the Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom and the announced “Avatar-land” for Animal Kingdom, a lot of Disney and Star Wars fans have felt that a larger Star Wars presence was warranted, and could easily be accommodated at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It could even be the answer to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter over at nearby Universal Studios, which is already getting an expansion.

Star Wars Weekends are already very popular at WDW.

So it was no surprise to start hearing through the Disney rumor mill that a Star Wars land is actually being considered. What was surprising is that it appears to be aimed for Disneyland Paris, leaving U.S. fans throwing up their hands and wondering, “What about us?” They are even planning a Mos Eisley Cantina – how cool would that be? Of course, hopefully it will be more safer than the real thing…

It is uncertain just how real this is – certainly nothing is official at this point, and Disney is also known for announcing things at their parks that ultimately don’t happen. But even if Paris DOES get this, I think it is actually a GOOD sign – as it is not unknown to develop something at one park and then do it again at another park, hopefully with the kinks worked out.