Sci-Fi Storm

Heads up! The Wil Wheaton Project and Heroes of Cosplay are swapping time slots starting next week…The Wil Wheaton Project will air at 9/8c on Tuesdays, and Heroes of Cosplay will air at 10/9c.

The Doctor sure does like to travel – and he will be traveling around the world this August! As part of a promotional World Tour to build up the buzz for the upcoming Series 8, new Doctor Peter Capaldi and companion Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) will visit 7 cities around the world in just 12 days, starting in Cardiff, Wales on August 7th and finishing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 19th – presumably around the debut of the show. Showrunner Steven Moffat will appear at select cities as well.

The other cities are London, England; Seoul, South Korea; Sydney, Australia; New York; and Mexico City.

From the official release:

Following on from last year’s global smash-hit 50th anniversary, BBC Worldwide announce a major global publicity tour to launch the new series of Doctor Who and introduce Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor. Doctor Who: The World Tour will begin in the UK on August 7 and finish in Brazil on August 19.

The trip will see Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi, on-screen companion Jenna Coleman, and the show’s lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat*, visit seven cities across five continents in 12 days, where they will attend fan events and media interviews, publicising Series 8 to a global audience.

The tour marks the largest ever promotional undertaking in Doctor Who’s 50-year history and will kick off in Welsh capital and home of the series’ production, Cardiff, before taking in London (UK), Seoul (South Korea), Sydney (Australia), New York (US), Mexico City (Mexico) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). More details of the itinerary will be available from doctorwho.tv soon, as well as reports from the tour as it happens, which fans everywhere will be able to enjoy across social and digital platforms.

Peter Capaldi has commented on his excitement ahead of the tour: “It’s fantastic that so many people across the world love Doctor Who. After 8 months solid filming deep in the world of monsters, Jenna and I are thrilled to be heading for the Planet of Fans”.

Executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat adds: “I’ve always thought we’d all be a lot safer if the Doctor conquered the world, instead of the Daleks. Now with Jenna and Peter leading the charge, it looks like it’s going to happen. I’ll be bringing up the rear to handle the exposition scenes, and maybe carry some bags.”

Doctor Who Series 8 is due to premiere in the UK in August. US broadcaster BBC America will transmit on the same day. Doctor Who is distributed by BBC Worldwide to over 200 territories.

*Due to production commitments, Steven Moffat will be unable to attend to the entire tour. The cities he will join the tour for will be announced soon.

After two wildly successful appearances in Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, AMC’s The Walking Dead will return for a third consecutive year – a first for the event – and this time it will be inspired by Terminus, the mysterious location the survivors arrived at when Season 4 ended…and discovered it doesn’t seem to be the haven they hoped for.

This year’s bone-chilling mazes will place guests at the heart of a harrowing journey to seek sanctuary at Terminus, an elusive destination that promises community for all. Mirroring the terror that befell the residents of the West Georgia Correctional Facility, now overrun by savage walkers, the experience will send guests fleeing from the fallen prison into unknown territory as they once again stage a desperate battle for survival against flesh-eating walkers and ruthless humans.

The Walking Dead is based on the graphic novel written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. The series tells the story of the months and years after a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by sheriff Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home. The Walking Dead is the number-one show on television for adults 18-49. AMC’s The Walking Dead returns for Season 5 this October.

“This has been an incredible collaboration and I am thrilled to be working once again with the creative teams at Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood to bring the world of ‘The Walking Dead’ to our dedicated fans,” said Greg Nicotero, Executive Producer and Special Effect Makeup Supervisor for the series. “I can’t wait for visitors to experience first-hand some of the iconic moments from Season 4 in what will be the biggest, most exciting and frightening ‘Walking Dead’ maze to date.”
(continue reading…)

Marvel announced today that The Fifth Beatle and Yes Man director Peyton Reed will take over the vacant director’s chair for Ant-Man, after Edgar Wright and Marvel choose to go their separate ways over creative differences.

In addition, Adam McKay, a former Saturday Night Live writer who has written several Wil Ferrell movies including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and it’s sequel and was previously in talks to take over but dropped out, will in fact write the script.

Mark Hamill made his first ever appearance at Star Wars Weekends today at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Park at Walt Disney World, and he had a session talking with fellow Star Wars alum and voice actor James Arnold Taylor, where he talks a bit about Episode VII, the original movies, and shows off his incredible voice acting skills…including a chat between the Joker and Luke! Check out this full video courtesy of Inside the Magic:

Not long after Lucasfilm announced the director of the first of at least two standalone Star Wars. films, they’ve already announced another: Josh Trank, who debuted to acclaim with Chronicle and is currently helming Fox’s reboot of The Fantastic Four.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Josh into the family,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “He is such an incredible talent and has a great imagination and sense of innovation. That makes him perfectly suited to Star Wars, and for this new slate of movies that reach beyond the core characters and storylines of Episodes I through IX.”

“The magic of the Star Wars Universe defined my entire childhood,” Trank stated. “The opportunity to expand on that experience for future generations is the most incredible dream of all time.”

Of course, like last time no details on a plot (the rumored ones center around Han Solo and Boba Fett), but in addition no potential release date was mentioned. From earlier announcements, I’d expect 2018 though, with 2017 slotted for Episode VIII.

Syfy today announced that Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town, The Bridge) will star in the channel’s new original, six hour event series Ascension, portraying eponymous ship’s captain, William Denninger. Van Holt joins the previously announced Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) in the intergalactic mystery series; the two will play husband and wife.

A politician as well as a military man, Denninger is a natural leader. Rising through the ship’s ranks, he became captain of the Ascension as a result of his heroic actions during a catastrophic fire that nearly destroyed the ship early in its voyage. While strong-willed and confident, he and his wife, Viondra (Helfer), have a very public yet tortured marriage.

In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, the mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.

Brian Van Holt will appear opposite Reese Witherspoon in Jean-Marc Vallee’s upcoming feature film Wild for Fox Searchlight. His other film credits include Black Hawk Down directed by Ridley Scott, Confidence directed by James Foley, Swat directed by Clark Johnson, House of Wax directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, and Bullet to the Head directed by Walter Hill.

On television, he appears in a recurring role as “Ray Burton” in FX’s hit series The Bridge starring Demian Bichir and Diane Kruger. He also starred in the TBS/ABC comedy Cougar Town, and previously starred in David Milch’s HBO series John from Cincinatti. He is repped by APA (agency) and Circle of Confusion (management).

Ascension is an ambitious original drama created and written by Philip Levens (Smallville) who will serve as Executive Producer and Showrunner. The series will be produced in Montreal, QC by Lionsgate Television and Sea To Sky Studios in association with Blumhouse Productions. Jason Blum (Stranded, The River, film franchises Paranormal Activity and The Purge) and Mark Stern are Executive Producers on the project along with Ivan Fecan, Tim Gamble and Brett Burlock on behalf of Sea To Sky Studios. The event series will be co-financed and distributed by Universal Cable Productions and Lionsgate Television.

Ascension is slated to launch in November 2014 and air through December.

While Marvel Studios is still scrambling to find a new director for Ant-Man, they are pushing ahead with another Phase 2 project – Doctor Strange. Long thought to be one of the Marvel Comics properties ripe for a feature adaptation but so far untouched other than in animation (Correction: There was a 1978 TV movie), it was down to when and who – and the who, at least as far as director, seems to be known now. Scott Derrickson, who directed Sinister as well as The Exorcism Of Emily Rose and the 2008 remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still, tweeted this:

My next movie will be STRANGE: pic.twitter.com/5pdbO6Op6j

— Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson) June 3, 2014

Seems pretty certain, dunnit? 🙂

The character, created in 1964 by Stan Lee an Steve Ditko, is a former egotistical neurosurgeon who after becoming severely injured in a car crash to the point he could no longer conduct surgery and falls into bankruptcy trying to repair his hands, finds his way tho a hermit known only as the Ancient One – who after a selfless act by Strange teaches him the mystic arts. Strange then becomes the Sorcerer Supreme — the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats.

Two more actresses have been added to the announced cast of Star Wars Episode Vii: Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o (Twelve Years a Slave) and Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2). Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said, “It’s thrilling to see this extraordinarily talented ensemble taking shape.”

As expected, no details of the roles were given.