Sci-Fi Storm

Apparently J.J. Abrams still isn’t satisfied with his workload…he was at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas today where he appeared on stage with Gabe Newell – the head of computer game maker Valve – the studio that produced the immensely popular Half-Life and Portal franchises.

And of course, they announced a partnership, under the guise of a conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of storytelling in movies and games.

J.J. Abrams said, “There’s an idea we have for a game that we’d like to work with Valve on.”

And perhaps the bigger news, “We’re going to figure out if we can make a Portal movie or Half-Life movie together,” according to Newell.

Another sad passing to announce today: Stuart Freeborn, the makeup and creature wizard responsible for many of the creatures seen in the original Star Wars trilogy including Chewbacca, Yoda, Jabba and several of the Cantina creatures, passed away today in England at the age of 98.

Freeborn also worked on 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Superman franchise, The Omen and many other movies.

Actor Robin Sachs, who has played many different roles across the board, often in prosthetic makeup, passed away last week at the age of 61.

Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer might recognize his face as that of Ethan Rayne, but he did a lot of voice work (most recently in the game Mass Effect 3) and acted frequently in prosthetic makeup, including the role of Sarris in the Tim Allen comedy Galaxy Quest, four different roles in Babylon 5 (two Narn and new Minbari), and General Valen in (Star Trek: Voyager).