Sci-Fi Storm

We finally have a few details on the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron! FRom Marvel’s release:

Marvel Studios presents Avengers: Age of Ultron, the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.

Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron stars Robert Downey Jr., who returns as Iron Man, along with Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk. Together with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and with the additional support of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, the team must reassemble to defeat James Spader as Ultron, a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they confront two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen, and Pietro Maximoff, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and meet an old friend in a new form when Paul Bettany becomes Vision.

Written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige, Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series The Avengers, first published in 1963. Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Patricia Whitcher, Stan Lee and Jon Favreau serve as executive producers. Get set for an action-packed thrill ride when The Avengers return in Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron on May 1, 2015.

An interesting note about “an old friend in a new form” and Vision. Vision is an android in most versions of the comics. Paul Bettany is the voice of Jarvis…are we getting a new version of Vision for the movie?

The infiltration of the comics industry into the TV networks is now complete. The last U.S. broadcast network has fallen; CBS has given a series commitment to a Supergirl series from Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Tomorrow People) and Ali Adler (Chuck, Glee).

Based on the DC Comics character, the series will follow the less-famous cousin of Kal-El/Superman, Kara Zor-El, who has been hiding on Earth since the destruction of Krypton, then at the age of 24 decides to use her powers for the greater good.

The series was presented to broadcasters just Wednesday, and the deal reportedly closed last night. It is interesting for CBS, as the demographic for network skews older than the others. However, aside from being the only network lacking a comics-based series, it also has been making a heavy push for more female-driven shows, just this week having the debut of The Mysteries of Laura, another series headed up by Berlanti. He also recently sold CBS a put pilot commitment for The Things The Left Behind, based on a Stephen King short story.

Supergirl will join ABC’s Agent Carter for a female-led comics series, and it will give DC Comics presence on all networks except ABC – which shares a corporate parent (Disney) with DC’s chief rival, Marvel.

Looks like it is about time for the annual update on the lawsuit between games-maker Hasbro and Sweetpea Entertainment over the rights to films based on Hasbro’s Dungeons & Dragons game franchise.

The case has finally opened in court, and Deadline reports that the juryless trial has opened with a volley of magic missiles between the parties.

Patricia Glaser, the lawyer representing Sweetpea, claims that the lawsuit is simply an attempt by Hasbro to re-capture the rights in order to hand them over to Universal, while Sweetpea has met all the requirements to maintain the rights according to their 1994 agreement with then-D&D owner TSR, having produced several (poorly performing) sequels, including a 2010 direct-to-DVD release that they say Hasbro even signed off on. They go on to claim that since acquiring Wizards of the Coast in 1999, which had previously acquired TSR in 1997, Hasbro has been trying to undermine Sweetpea’s rights to the franchise.

Hasbro counter-claims that Sweetpea was doing nothing except producing “auto-sequels” and was not paying the required licensing fees.

An interested third party in this is Warner Bros, who after failing to negotiate proper rights with Hasbro to a movie based on Chainmail, the predecessor to Dungeons & Dragons, partnered with Sweetpea to take over the franchise rights. WB is apparently putting up as much as $1 million for legal fees for Sweetpea in the case.

The case is expected to last the rest of the week.

On the next Z Nation the survivors run out of fuel and embark on a dangerous mission to replenish their supply. Meanwhile, Cassandra’s past comes back to haunt her. Check out “Fracking Zombies” Friday at 10/9c! And also check out the “supertease” for the entire season!
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On the next Haven, Nathan devises a plan to kidnap Mara. Meanwhile, Duke is the only person who can protect the town from a new danger. Check out the sneak peek below for “Speak No Evil”, as well as “Inside Haven“, and tune in Thursday at 8/7c on Syfy!
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Take a journey into Haven’s past to see the beginning of the Troubles in Part 1 of this digital series.
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Syfy’s new post-Zombiepocalypse series Z Nation starts tomorrow night at 10/9c! Check out the trailer below, along with several “WTF” moments to get yourself ready…
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Haven starts again tomorrow night at 8/7c on Syfy! Check out this sneak peek for the premiere, along with a “supertease” for the season! Is Audrey gone for good? Can Nathan get her back?
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[Don’t forget – Haven‘s 5th season debuts this Thursday at 8/7c on Syfy – Note the time change!!!]

I was recently in Halifax, Nova Scotia for a fundraiser weekend and some sightseeing with the family…I had the fortune on the way home to make a short stop in nearby Chester – the seaside town which plays host to the production of Syfy’s Haven, standing in for the fictional Maine town.

Haven is in the midst of an interesting period of production. They recently received a “double order” for episodes for the fifth season, a total of 26 episodes. So while they’d normally be getting ready to wrap up production for the season, they are actually just a bit past the first half of a filming schedule that will take them through most of December, block shooting two episodes at a time.

Because of the timing, we were unable to take any photographs of the sets – never know when you might accidentally photograph a spoiler! We did get one picture of the family with a couple people you might recognize…
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Syfy’s 7th annual 31 Days of Halloween spook-a-thon (October 1-31) will unleash 600 hours of spine-tingling programming including the premiere of the docuseries Town of the Living Dead (October 7); the 10th anniversary – and 200th episode – of Ghost Hunters (October 8 and October 22), and three terrifying Original Movies: Dark Haul (October 4), Dead Still (October 6) and Finders Keepers (October 18) – starring Tobin Bell, “Jigsaw” from the iconic Saw franchise.

Among the blood-curdling theatrical movie premieres airing during this year’s scarefest are Shutter (October 5) and the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (October 11).

Syfy’s new series Z Nation, about a band of everyday heroes transporting the only known survivor of a zombie plague to California, where the last functioning viral lab waits for his blood, continues its first season Fridays at 10PM (ET/PT). Z Nation stars Harold Perrineau (Oz, Lost) and Tom Everett Scott (Southland, Beauty and the Beast)
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