Sci-Fi Storm

Little is known about the plot and no studio has been approached yet, but Neill Blomkamp’s next sci-fi film, Elysium, has some star power. Jodie Foster has just committed to join the film, with Matt Damon and Sharlto Copley (who starred in Blomcamp’s District 9) already attached.

I already tweeted about this, but it bears repeating – if you are planning for your DVR to automatically record the final five episodes of Caprica on Syfy (in a single block starting at 6PM ET Tuesday), double check your recording schedule. Several data sources, including Tribune (used by TiVo), do not have the episodes marked as “new” or “first run”, so if your settings for Caprica only include new episodes, it may not record be default. This may be due to the data having the originally scheduled air date…

Just found out that Anne Francis, who starred alongside Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon and Robby The Robot in the classic Forbidden Planet, passed away Sunday at the age of 80 from complications due to pancreatic cancer, according to the Los Angeles Times.

I never really watched the Ghost Hunters shows until the live Halloween episode – now the whole family is hooked on them. But it’s a good idea not to watch them right before bed 🙂 Some are just creepy.

I got a rough cut of the upcoming season premiere of Ghost Hunters International, which airs this Wednesday, January 5th, at 9PM ET, where they investigate Kronborg Castle in Denmark, the inspiration for the location of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
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I finally got to see Tron: Legacy. There have been a lot of polarized reviews of the movie (it’s currently a 49% on the Tomatometer), and I have often heard about its lack of a plot – there was a plot, but there were plenty of flaws as well. But that doesn’t make it an unenjoyable experience.
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With BBC America debuting the 4th series of Primeval on the same day as in the UK, 5 “prequel videos” to the 4th series (yes, it is technically the 4th…the first two were short and combined in to one DVD release, with the 3rd series billed as Volume 2 – confused me as well). Find out what happened in the present after Connor, Abby and Danny get stuck in the past…see below for all 5. Primeval Series 4 premieres on BBC America January 1st at 9PM ET.
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Finally had a chance to check out the third installment of The Chronicles Of Narnia, and the first without Disney’s involvement, Voyage Of The Dawn Treader. It’s been a while since I’ve read the book so I’m not sure of the total differences (and I’m sure there are many due to it being made into a film). The real question is, did Fox and a much smaller budget have a good or bad influence?
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The National Film Preservation Board, part of the Library Of Congress Archives, has released its list of 25 films to be added to the National Film Registry, where the films are to be specially preserved against degradation and damage (now if only that could include bans against horrible remakes). This year’s list includes The Empire Strikes Back and Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (George Lucas’ original short that led to the full THX 1138). With Star Wars: A New Hope already in the registry (added in 1989), I expect we’ll eventually see Return Of The Jedi as well – but perhaps not the pre-trilogy.

/Film has the first trailer for Falling Skies, the alien invasion TV series from Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Television, which will air on TNT beginning in June 2011. Here is the press release:

FALLING SKIES is an exciting new series from DreamWorks Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg. Noah Wyle (ER, TNT’s The Librarian movies) stars as a former college professor who becomes the leader of a group of soldiers and civilians struggling against an occupying alien force. Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) co-stars as Anne Glass, a therapist who works with the surviving children to help them cope with the traumatic situation. The series also stars Drew Roy (Lincoln Heights) as Hal and Maxim Knight (Brothers & Sisters) as Matt, Tom’s two sons; and Seychelle Gabriel (Weeds) as Lourdes, an orphaned teenager who helps run the group’s commissary. Will Patton (Armageddon, TNT’s Into the West) will play a recurring role as a fierce resistance fighter.

Nothing new here in terms of plot, but at least from the trailer the production quality looks interesting. I wonder if TNT gives Steven notes on how he should change things… 🙂

I’m hearing from various sources that the unofficial overnight figures show 10.3 million viewers in the UK tuned in for the Doctor Who 2010 Christmas episodes, “A Christmas Carol”, finishing second for the night behind EastEnders and getting a 39.8% share of the total audience. Last year’s special, which was also David Tennant’s last, hit 10.4 million. It will be interesting to see the US numbers with BBC America showing it the same day.

The episode was both fun and far-fetched, but also a good compelling story – not exactly a retelling of the Dickens story, but borrowing partly from it and other stories. Not without some plot holes, but it is Doctor Who after all…

Missed it? It is available for pre-order now on [sfs=1092]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1093]DVD[/sfs], with a release date of February 15th.