Sci-Fi Storm

Perhaps not a great surprise versus his alter-ego’s clean image, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe revealed he turned to alcohol as he attempted to live a “famous person’s lifestyle”, in an interview for GQ magazine. Reportedly he turned to drinking during filming of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and “I became so reliant on [alcohol] to enjoy stuff. There were a few years there when I was just so enamoured with the idea of living some sort of famous person’s lifestyle that really isn’t suited to me.”

But he dropped drinking last August, around the time he got together with his unnamed girlfriend. “I’m actually enjoying the fact I can have a relationship with my girlfriend where I’m really pleasant and I’m not ****ing up totally all the time.” Kudos to Daniel for recognizing it and fixing it before it was too late.

If you remember way back when in 2006 when Dean Devlin mentioned that Stargate was originally envisioned as a trilogy of movies (doesn’t everyone do that now?) but with MGM having control and moving to a series he and co-creator Roland Emmerich disavowed, it seemed unlikely that they would get made…but now that the Stargate TV franchise is at least in hibernation, Devlin is still hopeful that parts two and three could still happen, although it may be changed a bit from their original ideas owing to so much time having passed.

I’m still not sure that a movie franchise that ignores the multiple series would help, but who knows…with the state of MGM and how much the word “reboot” is thrown around Hollywood, is they can see any money in it they’ll do it…

Twilight Zone and Night Gallery creator Rod Serling, who also co-wrote the original screenplay for Planet of the Apes, will get a movie about his life. Andrew Meieran through his Bureau of Moving Pictures acquired the rights and will produce along with Serling’s widow, Carol Serling. Stanley Weiser (Wall Street) will write it.

Serling was more than just the guy who introduced and narrated Twilight Zone episodes. He was a paratrooper and a member of the demolition squad in WWII stationed in the Philippines, and even boxed for a time – a life from which he drew experiences for the many episodes of various drama programs and TV movies in the 50s and 60s. He passed away in 1975 at the age of 50, attributed to his life-long chain smoking, but his legacy included several revivals of his programs and even a thrill ride at several Disney theme parks around the world.

Starz has reportedly canceled a second season of it’s freshman Arthurian fantasy drama Camelot after disappointing ratings (averaging a little better than 900,000 viewers, steady by not good). It did have the unfortunate luck of debuting against the heavily buzzed Game of Thrones), which enjoyed closer to 3 times the audience.

Although I liked the series, it seemed like I was always waiting for Merlin (Joseph Fiennes) to finally whip up some magic, or something a little more profound from Arthur (Jamie Campbell Bower), and occasionally getting confused between Igraine (Claire Forlani) and Morgan (Eva Green) even without Morgan’s disguises.

Update: Hearing that scheduling conflicts may have also played a part in the decision, and that ratings had actually risen towards the end, with 1.5 million viewers in the finale.

World War Z, the post-Zombiepocalypse movie based on the [asin=0307346617]book by Max Brooks[/asin] being directed by Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace), penned by J. Michael Straczynski and Matthew Michael Carnahan (Lions for Lambs) and starring Brad Pitt, reportedly lost two of its other stars: Matthew Fox (Lost) and Ed Harris (The Abyss) – just as production is starting. Fox reportedly has a scheduling conflict (he is also scheduled to star in I, Alex Cross with Tyler Perry), but no word on why Harris has backed out. Auditions have already begun for replacements.

World War Z is a historical account of first-hand experiences of the zombie crisis garnered by the “author” as he travels to gather information for a United Nations report a decade after the war.

Syfy just announced that Dichen Lachman, who starred as Sierra on Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse on Fox and appears in the upcoming Torchwood: Miracle Day, as well as guest appearances on Hawaii Five-0 and NCIS: Los Angeles, will play Izumi, a reclusive, centuries-old vampire royal whose unexpected return to Boston’s vampire society throws main character Aidan (Sam Witwer) and the city into disarray. Being Human begins production on its second season this month in Montreal and will air in 2012.

Being Human became an instant hit for Syfy when it premiered in January 2011 averaging 1.8 million viewers making it the channel’s most successful winter season scripted series launch in 6 years.

In the series, leading everyday lives is a lot harder than it looks for three supernatural roommates – vampire Aidan (Sam Witwer), ghost Sally (Meaghan Rath) and werewolf Josh (Sam Huntington) – who share their secrets and a Boston brownstone. Together they learn that there are fates worse than death and more to life – and the afterlife – than most “normal” humans could ever imagine.

The BBC finally announced the air date for the beginning of Torchwood: Miracle Day as July 14th – 6 days after it airs in the U.S. – and it has some U.K. fans upset. Although at some level it seems fair since we have traditionally gotten these programs a week or more later, this is also a traditionally U.K. production, even though now U.S.-based Starz is footing most of the bill and they likely have first-air rights. Not to mention that BBC scheduling can be pretty tight.

Yesterday marked the release of the [sfs=1121]Lord of the Rings Extended Edition on Blu-ray[/sfs], and to celebrate Warner Bros. held a “Midnight Madness” event. If you weren’t able to be there in person in Los Angeles Tuesday night, check out the recap video and images below!

The grand-prize winner of the costume contest, judged remotely by WETA’s Daniel Falconer and Richard Taylor and given a special VIP tour of “Middle-earth”, was an interesting interpretation of a Balrog.
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Still jonesing for some Torchwood? Here’s a little hit for you to tide you over – and 11 minutes behind-the-scenes feature for Torchwood: Miracle Day which gives a good look into the new characters…

It seems like Russell T. Davies is a bit tired of Torchwood – but he isn’t necessarily done yet. In an interview with The Guardian mostly about the new funding model involving the Starz cable network in the U.S. (and we may see more of it), he mentions that he might be tired of doing Torchwood. “In theory I could have handed it over to a bunch of strangers and said good luck to them – and if there was another series I might do that because I think there’s only so long you can spend doing Torchwood. I start the series and I think, I’m never doing this again…”

But then, thinking about the end of the show, “It’s hugely exciting and I’ve got to do this again. I’ve got one more story that I can tell – just one more that has Gwen right at the centre of it – that would be fantastic. So I’m my own worst enemy.”

He also spoke briefly about creating another children’s show after the passing of The Sarah Jane Adventures star Elisabeth Sladen. “We loved her,” Davies says of the actor, adding that the team couldn’t bear to do any kind of spin-off that didn’t have her in it: “It just wouldn’t be comfortable.” But the production team would like to create another show for children. “That’s the best audience that you’ll ever work for. Make a good kids’ show and they’ll remember it when they’re 80.”

Torchwood: Miracle Day will air on Starz starting on July 8th, and sometime later in July on BBC1.