Sci-Fi Storm

Syfy announced today it is teaming with Oscar-nominated producer Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Oscar-winning producer Graham King (The Departed, Argo) and Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Old School) to develop Dan Simmons’ Hugo Award-winning best-selling novel [asin=0553283685]Hyperion[/asin] as an event series.

Cooper will executive produce along with King and Phillips. Itamar Moses (Boardwalk Empire) will write the screenplay and serve as co-executive producer. Universal Cable Productions will serve as the studio. Hyperion will be a production of Graham King’s GK Films and Bradley Cooper and Todd Phillips’ 22nd and Green.

Set on the eve of Armageddon with the entire galaxy at war, Hyperion is the story of seven pilgrims who set forth on a voyage to seek the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope and a terrible secret — while one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.

“It is an absolute honor to enter into the world created by Dan Simmons that is arguably one of the greatest works of science fiction, and help realize it for television audiences,” said executive producer Cooper.

Said Dave Howe, President, Syfy & Chiller: “As Syfy continues to forge important partnerships with award-winning talent on and off screen, this powerhouse team led by Bradley Cooper, Graham King and Todd Phillips brings an extraordinary track record in producing entertainment of the highest creative ambition. Epitomizing the gold standard of science fiction story-telling, Hyperion tackles smart and provocative themes that help define Syfy’s development vision.”

“Hyperion is a science fiction masterpiece. Dan Simmons’ universe is unique and darkly compelling, and the creative team assembled here is simply as good as it gets,” said Jeff Wachtel, President & Chief Content Officer, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment.

Cooper is represented by CAA. Moses is represented by UTA, and Phillips is represented by CAA and attorney Warren Dern at Sloane, Offer, Weber, & Dern.

Hyperion is the latest high profile scripted project to be announced by Syfy; others include the recently-announced series pickup of The Magicians, based on Lev Grossman’s best-selling books; the 10-part series The Expanse, airing December 2015 and starring Thomas Jane; Arthur C. Clarke’s epic mini-series Childhood’s End, also set to premiere this December; Aldous Huxley’s classic novel Brave New World with Amblin Television; Gale Anne Hurd’s 13-episode thriller Hunters; David Goyer’s Superman prequel, Krypton; and Incorporated, a futuristic espionage drama from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Alphanumeric! Canada-based Corus Entertainment has given a green light for Mainframe Entertainment – the television division of Rainmaker Entertainment that was developing a revival of ReBoot – to produce 26 half-hour episodes of ReBoot: The Guardian Code, the revival of the favorite CGI-animated series that ran from 1994-2001.

ReBoot was the first fully CGI animated TV series, long before it became the norm. It also used the computer jargon of the time and in-jokes that would entertain adults as well as kids. It followed Bob, a Guardian from “The Net”, who came to Mainframe to help protect it, especially during the “games”, which were started by the User. If a User won the game, an entire sector of the system – including binomes and sprites caught in the game – would be nullified.

In Mainframe he’s helped by local sprites Dot Matrix, her young brother Enzo, and Phong, the COMMAND.COM of Mainframe. And he’s often thwarted by Megabyte and his twin sister Hexadecimal, a pair of computer virii who want to take over Mainframe, and escape into the Net to infect other systems.

“We are thrilled to receive the greenlight from Corus Entertainment to move forward with the production of Reboot: The Guardian Code,” commented Michael Hefferon, President and Chief Creative Officer, Rainmaker Entertainment. “Technology is ever-changing and Reboot: The Guardian Code will utilize the very technology inherent in the concept of the show—and prevalent in kids’ everyday lives—to drive a new type of relationship across multiple platforms. Reboot: The Guardian Code and associated brand extensions will deliver mass appeal with a technology focus, empowering kids with the tools and confidence to chart their own course in a world that is increasingly dependent on and powered by technological knowledge.”

The series is quite dated – mostly in its terminology, and the names would likely be lost on people now. When it was produced, dot matrix printers still existed, and public awareness of the World Wide Web was only beginning (and “The Web” was a BAD place…) Now social media and gaming has taken over the real world. As such, the new show is going to get a lot of upgrades, and will in fact be a hybrid live-action and CGI series, as four teens enter the computer realm to save their own world. In addition, the show will be “multi-platform”, usually meaning there will be online/game tie-ins as well. From the press release:

Transcending age groups with appeal to kids, tweens and teens, ReBoot: the Guardian Code is an adventure-comedy series about four teens (Austin, Parker, Grey and Tamra) who discover that they’re next-gen Guardians with a mission to save the world, by defending it in cyberspace. The Internet revolutionized the world, but it also left it vulnerable to attack. With the help of VERA, the last surviving cyberbeing from the original Guardian Program, our heroes stream into cyberspace where they use their awesome code-based powers to battle viruses that have been unleashed by a ruthless hacker. Known only as the Sourcerer, he seeks to rule the world by controlling cyberspace. Original fans of the show will be happy to hear that Megabyte will be back and he’s getting a major upgrade. ReBoot will showcase leading edge technologies and bring coding into the mainstream for kids.

When Austin, Parker, Grey and Tamra are not trying to stop viruses from overloading a nuclear power station, or remotely opening a dam to flood a city, or playing Criss Cross Crash Hour with a city’s transportation grid, our heroes are being typical teens: arguing with their parents over curfews; dealing with crushes; or trying to avoid getting suspended for skipping class when they’re really on a cyber mission to save the world!

But what does this mean for our old friends? They don’t say, but we do hear that they will be involved, but perhaps only in minor or cameo roles. But the show will be linked to the original/

“Nothing good is safe while Snow is alive…Snow has to pay for what he’s done.”

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin, Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, and Stanley Tucci. It is directed by Francis Lawrence.

Opens November 20th, 2015.

Join the Revolution.

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, The Martian features a star studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Peña, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover.

In theaters November 2015

Stichers is the new SF procedural drama from ABC family, and features a couple of faces familiar to fans of this site – Salli Richardson-Whitfield, who played Allison Blake on Eureka, and Allison Scagliotti, who played Claudia Donovan on Warehouse 13. It debuted last week, and episode 2 airs tomorrow night at 9/8c.

The show follows Kirsten Clark (Emma Ishta), a Caltech student who has temporal dysplasia, which causes her to have no sense of time. She is at odds with her roommate, Camille (Scagliotti), another Caltech student who is a computer systems expert and is trying to kick her out. Kirsten encounters Maggie Baptiste (Richardson-Whitfield), who leads the Stitchers program – a covert government project (the agency we are not given) which has developed the capability to insert or “stitch” a person into a recently deceased victim’s memory for a limited time, with the hope that they might discover the truth about the person’s death. Kirsten’s affliction makes her perfect to become a Stitcher.

Helping on the team is Cameron Goodkin (Kyle Harris, The Carrie Diaries), a brilliant neuroscientist and acts as a guide while Kirsten travels through memories; and Linus Ahluwalia (Ritesh Rajan, Campus Life), a bioelectric engineer.

The first episode was extremely fast-paced – perhaps a bit too much, as there is a lot to follow for an introductory episode, but that doesn’t prevent the characters from coming through. And their interactions allow for a good amount of humor to lighten up the intensity, especially the banter between Kirsten, Cameron and Linus. It will be interesting to see how this translates in the long run.

Of course I had to wonder about the length of the “exit password” that Kirsten needs to type in to exit the memories…I tweeted about the fact that something you’d need to type in quickly should be much shorter…almost instantly I got a reply from executive producer/creator Jeff Schechter, who said, “It used to be ‘iheartjeffreyalanschechter’, but my wife objected.” OK, everyone involved is fun to deal with…

Check out some introductory videos below on each of the Stitchers.
(continue reading…)

Actress Nichelle Nichols, best known for playing Uhura in the original Star Trek, is currently recovering from a mild stroke suffered Wednesday night while she was at her home in L.A.

An update posted yesterday evening on her official Facebook page by her publicist says that her CAT scan was negative and they are waiting on the MRI results, but she is “awake, eating, in good spirits and able to have full conversations. Her right side has shown minor signs or mobility loss but she is not showing any signs of paralyses.”

Well wishes from across Twitter – co-star William Shatner:

Thoughts going out to Nichelle. I hope all is going to be OK. Love, Bill

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) June 5, 2015

And George Takei:

We understand #NichelleNichols has been rushed to the hospital. We don't have any diagnosis on her condition but our thoughts are with her.

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) June 4, 2015

Our thoughts are with you Nichelle and a speedy recovery.

Warner Bros has confirmed that Oscar winning actor Eddie Redmayne will play the role of Newt Scamander, the author of the book (and title of the movie) Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, a prequel story set in the world of Harry Potter.

The script itself was written by Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling in her screenwriting debut, with the film being directed by David Yates (who directed the last four Harry Potter films and produced by David Heyman (who produced all of them).

Redmayne won the Oscar for his portrayal of physicist and author Stephen Hawking in the movie The Theory of Everything, and prior to that captured audiences as Marius in Les Misérables.

The film will release worldwide on November 18, 2016.