Sci-Fi Storm

Lionsgate may be in damage control, more than three months before Ender’s Game is released to theaters.

Orson Scott Card, who wrote Ender’s Game originally as a short story in 1977 and later expanded it into a novel, is a well known critic of gay marriage rights, and is a practicing Mormon. Fearful of a boycott of the movie being called for by Geeks Out, due to be released November 1st, Lionsgate is distancing itself far from Card, with the author not taking part in the Ender’s Game panel next week.

Now today, they issued a press release calling the author’s views “irrelevant”:

As proud longtime supporters of the LGBT community, champions of films ranging from Gods and Monsters to The Perks of Being a Wallflower and a company that is proud to have recognized same-sex unions and domestic partnerships within its employee benefits policies for many years, we obviously do not agree with the personal views of Orson Scott Card and those of the National Organization for Marriage. However, they are completely irrelevant to a discussion of Ender’s Game. The simple fact is that neither the underlying book nor the film itself reflect these views in any way, shape or form. On the contrary, the film not only transports viewers to an entertaining and action-filled world, but it does so with positive and inspiring characters who ultimately deliver an ennobling and life-affirming message. Lionsgate will continue its longstanding commitment to the LGBT community by exploring new ways we can support LGBT causes and, as part of this ongoing process, will host a benefit premiere for Ender’s Game.

Only time will tell if potential movie-goers will consider it “irrelevant”…

The hunt is on. The team faces three smart dinosaurs while trapped in a superstore. Check out the next episode of Primeval: New World, “Clean Up on Aisle Three”, Saturday at 10/9c on Syfy!
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Star Trek: Into Darkness will be released on [sfs=1342]Blu-ray 3D[/sfs], [sfs=1344]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1343]DVD[/sfs] on September 10th, but it will also get a digital release three weeks earlier!

From the press release:

DIRECTOR J.J. ABRAMS’ WORLDWIDE BLOCKBUSTER SETS A COURSE FOR BLU-RAY™, BLU-RAY 3D™ AND DVD
SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

Global Hit Debuts Three Weeks Early on Digital August 20th

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Lauded by critics as “a sleek, thrilling epic” (Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly), “a clever, exhilarating action adventure” (Claudia Puig, USA Today) and “stratospherically entertaining” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), director J.J. Abrams’ phenomenal global sensation STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS makes its highly-anticipated debut on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and On Demand on September 10, 2013 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. Fans can be the first to own the film on Digital when it arrives three weeks early on August 20th. Boasting “spectacular visual effects” (Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer) and “one of the best villains in recent memory” (Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News) STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS delighted audiences around the world, earning a coveted A CinemaScore.
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In Friday’s Continuum, Kiera investigates a serial killer case that she remembers studying, and plans to use her knowledge of the future to solve it. Her biggest obstacle…Carlos.
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Remember when the estate for author J.R.R. Tolkien filed suit against Warner Bros over a Lord Of The Rings-themed online gambling game? Well, it seems that Warner Bros has won the first round.

Warner Bros (and Saul Zentz, the longtime rights holder) filed a countersuit in March against the estate, claiming that the initial lawsuit “hurt financially and had its rights to the author’s properties undermined,” and that it had to cancel the licensing agreement with Microgaming because of the suit, and that the estate has been receiving royalties from the agreement that was re-worked in 2010 already.

Today, a federal judge dismissed the motion by the plaintiffs to have the counterclaims dismissed, allowing the countersuit to move forward.

Looks like Summer Glau is never far from our TV screens…according to Deadline she will now have a recurring role in CW’s Arrow…which will further cement my feeling of how similar it is to The Cape – which Summer also starred in…

Summer has also had recurring roles in Dollhouse, The Unit, The 4400 and Alphas, following starring roles in Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and is a bit of a genre favorite, even playing herself in an episode of The Big Bang Theory.

The characters from Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s series League of Extraordinary Gentleman seem likely to take an adventure on to your TV screens.

The comic series, which features Captain Nemo, Allan Quatermain, the Invisible Man and Dr. Jekyll, among others, going on adventures in the Victoria era (and later) battling evil, has received a put pilot commitment from Fox. Michael Green (Everwood, Heroes) will serve as showrunner for 20th Century Fox TV, alongside Erwin Stoff (Water for Elephants). Moore is reportedly not involved.

20th Century Fox released a film adaptation in 2003, starring Sean Connery, which garnered a cult following.

The “put pilot” commitment means that Fox basically guarantees that the pilot will be shown, whether or not it is picked up for series, or pay a substantial penalty.

Are you playing Defiance? Would you like your character to appear in Season 2 of the TV show? If you are a good enough Ark Hunter, it can happen…

Syfy and Trion Worlds today announced a new contest that brings a gamer into the television world of Defiance, the groundbreaking online open world shooter and hit television series on Syfy. The “Play the Game. Join the Show.” in-game contest pits players against the game’s Arkfall events to see who can rise to the top and become the ultimate Ark Hunter. The winner’s character will appear during the second season of the TV series.

The ten Ark Hunters who complete the most Major Arkfall events between July 8 (10am PDT) and July 30(10am PDT) will compete for a chance to have their character written onto the show. These ten semifinalists will be fleshed out with backstories written by the show’s writing staff, which will then be featured on Facebook, where Defiance fans will choose their five favorites. From this pool of five finalists, a member of the Defiance team will select the final winner to appear in season two of Defiance.

The “Play the Game. Join the Show.” contest marks the second time that players have been invited to make their mark on the world of Defiance. Earlier in the year, Trion Worlds and Syfy ran the “Most Wanted” contest, which saw gamers competing to have their likeness included on wanted posters on an episode of the TV show.

To enter, players must register for the “Play the Game. Join the Show.” contest at www.defiance.com/en/game-show-contest , then complete as many Major Arkfalls as possible between July 8 (10am PDT) and July 30 (10am PDT). Between August 12th and August 21st, one semifinalist backstory will be posted per day. Registered Facebook users can vote for the top five characters between August 26th (3am PDT) and September 6th (8:59pm PDT), and the final winner will be selected in September. Defiance season two premieres in 2014 on Syfy.

Monday is the season finale of Warehouse 13, and with only 6 more episodes to conclude the series! The team races to stop Paracelsus, Steve discovers Artie has been keeping a huge secret from Claudia, and Myka struggles with news of a medical condition. Don’t forget to watch at 10/9c Monday on Syfy!
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On the season finale of Defiance, Nolan and Tommy take to the woods in search of Irisa. Catch the first four minutes of the episode, “Everything is Broken”, right here, then tune in Monday at 9/8c on Syfy! And don’t forget episode 11 of Shooting the Shtako!
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