Sci-Fi Storm

This was our third year in a row attending Rhode Island Comic Con, which is easily the largest comic and media convention in New England, and likely second in the northeast U.S. behind New York Comic Con. Two years ago they outgrew their venue at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence after scoring most of the surviving cast of the original Star Trek to headline the event. So they immediately planned to expand to to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center arena located next door and last year, but a new venue presented new challenges in how to organize all the dozens of celebrities, the hundreds of vendors and the thousands of fans, resulting in other issues with finding where some celebrities were and not enough space for the lines.

Now this year’s guest list – Stan Lee?!? You could probably fill a convention on just that. But add other hot guests like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who had just proven himself as one of the meanest, craziest bat-wielding psychos on The Walking Dead, Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things, Gal Gadot who plays Wonder Woman…that’s filling up fast. And that’s just a few. How about Billy Dee Williams, Alice Cooper, Christian Slater, Summer Glau, Arthur Darvill, John Ratzenberger, Ric Flair…and I’m still only a fraction of the way through the list.

The convention opened on Friday, but due to other commitments we weren’t able to arrive until early Saturday. From all accounts, Friday went quite well. I was able to enter early and see the new setup, and the changes I saw made a lot of sense…more line space and corrals for guests in line for celebrity meets, better layout for vendors on the main floor, etc. The one gotcha – there is only one indoor path between the arena and convention center, via a narrow sky bridge, and due to crowd control and regulations they needed to make that a one-way corridor from the arena to the center. To get back to the arena for some of the headline guests and photo ops, you actually had to exit (and scan out your badge, so they had a better idea on the number of people inside) and walk back to the arena and enter via a special “re-entry” entrance.

I would never see the place that empty again. 🙂
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So that Inhumans movie that was announced for 2018? Not happening – at least, not exactly.

Marvel.com announced that The Inhumans will in fact be a TV series in ABC, starting in September 2017, which at least brings it a whole year sooner. But it WILL get a big screen treatment, in the form of the first two episodes debuting on IMAX screens late in the summer prior to the network run. The first two episodes will be filmed entirely with IMAX cameras to facilitate this.

The new project comes from Marvel Television and ABC Studios, and follows a race of superhumans with diverse and singularly unique powers, were first introduced in Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1965. The Inhumans were already introduced in the cinematic universe in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..

ABC, IMAX and Marvel Television also intend to work together to create a joint marketing and promotion plan for the series across their proprietary media platforms–which would be the first such cross-platform marketing launch of a television series. Today’s agreement also marks IMAX’s first time as a financing participant in a TV pilot and series.

“This first-of-its-kind multi-platform production, distribution and marketing agreement brings together Marvel Television’s unique brand of entertainment, ABC’s unparalleled audience and IMAX’s brand and global fanboy demographic,” said IMAX CEO, Rich Gelfond. “It also takes our decades-long relationship with The Walt Disney Company to a whole new level, jointly breaking new ground in the industry. We are confident our exhibition partners will be excited to work with us on this innovative launch of a series across the IMAX network.”

“We’re happy to see this unique deal come together, working with our partners,” said Dan Buckley, President, Marvel Television, Publishing & Brand. “In an ever-changing world of distribution and consumption, it’s very exciting to be part of a groundbreaking initiative that takes us to the forefront of this evolution.”

Syfy has announced the Season 2 premiere dates for both The Magicians and The Expanse, two of the most intriguing series from the channel in a while.

Season two of The Magicians will premiere on Wednesday, January 25 at 9/8c. Based on the bestselling novels from Lev Grossman, Syfy’s hit drama The Magicians centers on Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph) and his 20-something friends as they discover their magical abilities at Brakebills University, a secret grad school specializing in magic. While there, they come to the realization that the fantasies they read about as children are all too real, and unwittingly invite a malevolent entity from the other side into their lives. Heading into Season 2, this group of unlikely heroes have been thrust into even more dangerous and unfamiliar territory, and must draw upon their novice skills to defeat a threat that could destroy the magical world itself. Driven by power, revenge and survival, they learn that those who entered the hauntingly beautiful world of Fillory will never be the same as those who leave.

Season two of The Expanse will begin with a double episode on Wednesday, February 1st at 10/9c. The story of The Expanse unfolds across a colonized galaxy 200 years in the future, when two strangers – a hardened detective, Joe Miller (Thomas Jane), and a rogue ship’s captain, James Holden (Steven Strait) – become unwittingly swept up in a vast conspiracy to cover up a horrific human experiment. As Season 2 kicks off with interplanetary tensions at an all-time high, the cold war between Earth and Mars is on the brink of an all-out battle. The series is based on the New York Times bestselling book series collectively known as “The Expanse,” written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (under the pen name James S. A. Corey).

[An earlier version of this article had The Expanse premiere on February 8th, but Syfy amended the premiere date after publishing]

Monty Python member, writer and director Terry Gilliam did a webchat for The Guardian on Monday, and as part of it, Gilliam mentioned an old favorite, Time Bandits, as well as another possible project:

“Yes I am! We are involved in two possibilities – one, a TV series based on Time Bandits, another based on a script by Richard LaGravanese and I wrote after Fisher King, called The Defective Detective. We’re currently adapting a two hour film into a six hour series. It’s about a middle aged New York cop who was once a hero who has grown fat and cynical and is in the middle of a breakdown, ending up in a child’s fantasy world where the rules of the mean streets of New York no longer apply. The best way to kill a dragon is no longer a gun, but a tree branch you think is a sword.”

Time Bandits was one of the films that played frequently on cable TV when we first got it, and I watched it frequently. It’s still one of my favorite films. It follows 11 year old Kevin (Craig Warnock), who suddenly finds himself on a journey through history with six dwarves who have stolen a map to all the time portals so they can travel through time and steal valuable items. Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall, Ian Holm, David Warner and more all appeared in the film.

The Dark Tower, the first film of the epic project from Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment, Sony Pictures and MRC, based on Stephen King’s series of post-apocalyptic fantasy novels, is getting the release date pushed back from February to June 28th, 2017. According to EW, this is to allow more time in post-production to complete the visual effects, but also will give then more time to market the film.

No official trailer has been released, while principle photography completed on schedule in July.

The film follows gunslinger Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) and the sorcerer known as the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) who are on a quest to reach the mystical tower that stands at the nexus of countless dimensions, in a post-apocaplyptic Earth.

The project is intended to be multiple films AND at least one TV miniseries, which is currently being developed for 10-13 episodes, although no outlet has been announced yet.

At last! The first official trailer to Wonder Woman! In theaters June 2nd, 2017

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I hope everyone enjoyed Halloween! Some quick tidbits as I attempt to get caught up on all the great programs I’m trying to follow these days…

Timeless is one of the shows I am enjoying so far, although the implications of the show are mind-boggling…but the show will get a little extra time to play out, with an additional three episodes ordered by NBC for a total of 16. It also seems that NBC is calling this a “full season” order now, compared with the typical 22-26. I’m not sure what a “season” really means any more…

Now while Marvel appears to rule the roads of cinema release schedules, DC still seems to be having trouble getting off the starting line. Last year, the Wonder Woman movie had a false start when director Michelle MacLaren departed the project over creative differences, and now the feature version of The Flash is seeing the same thing happening. Director Rick Famuyiwa is walking away for “creative differences” as well, and this time the project’s start date is in jeopardy. And this isn’t the first time for this film. Original director Seth Grahame-Smith left the film earlier this year over – you guessed it – “creative differences”.

Lastly, the Seth MacFarlane sci-fi dramedy set up at Fox still doesn’t have a name, but it does have some more cast members. In addition to MacFarlane and previously announced members Adrianne Palicki (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Scott Grimes (ER, Party of Five), Peter Macon (Friendship!) and J Lee (Family Guy), Halston Sage (Crisis, Goosebumps) and Penny Johnson Jerald (Castle, 24) have now signed on as regulars. Still no idea what any of the characters are yet though…

After the surprise that was Edge Of Tomorrow (we ended up enjoying the film, aside from some confusing twists), it’s no surprise that a sequel is in the works. And in an interview with Collider, Director/Producer Doug Liman gave a few clues as to where the sequel is heading.

In the original, a cowardly public affairs officer (Tom Cruise) is busted in rank and sent to the front lines in a war against aliens called Mimics where the humans have been losing badly – and is promptly killed. But he immediately wakes up, back on the base – on the day he arrived, and lives out the same sequence again, always returning when he dies. In a SF military version of Groundhog Day, he learns to survive a little longer, and convinces Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) of what is happening. She trains him more and more until he knows what to do to kill the “alpha” Mimic.

“That is the only sequel that I’m considering doing, and it’s because first of all the story is so amazing—much better than the original film,”, said Liman, “and I loved and loved the original film—and second of all, it’s a sequel that’s a prequel.”

We’re not entirely sure what that means yet…will it start post-war and then loop back to the beginning? Whatever it is, Liman appears to want to “reinvent” the sequel.

“I’ve had some radical ideas about how to make a sequel that would interest me, in the same way that I had ideas of how you make an independent film and then Swingers came along and it was like ‘Aha, that’s the perfect movie for me to test these ideas out on.’ I had these intellectual ideas on how you should make a sequel that are unlike how anybody else makes a sequel, and this script and this idea fit perfectly into that idea. So it’s gonna revolutionize how people make sequels. And again that’s why I try to do things like Invisible that are just, the revolution’s sort of built into the idea. It’s more heresy in the film world for me to pitch things that are sort of unheard of.”

A script has already been written Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse (Race), although no plans for when filming will begin have been made yet.

Her Universe and founder Ashley Eckstein announced today that the Her Universe brand is being acquired by pop culture retailer Hot Topic. Hot Topic will take over operations of the e-commerce and wholesale operations. Eckstein will stay on and continue to develop the brand.

“We are very excited to partner with Ashley Eckstein and Her Universe,” said Steve Vranes, CEO of Hot Topic. “We have worked closely with Ashley, Araca, and Her Universe over the past six years, together bringing fangirl fashion to a growing community of passionate fans. Ashley and Araca have built an incredible brand with a loyal customer base, and we look forward to supporting Her Universe in this new capacity.”

“I am thrilled to be bringing Her Universe to the Hot Topic family of brands,” said Ashley Eckstein, Founder of Her Universe. “Six years ago I founded Her Universe with the mission to create an empowering community and t-shirt brand for fangirls. We’ve since grown into a fashion, entertainment, publishing and lifestyle brand. Operating as a division of Hot Topic, Her Universe will continue to be a stand-alone brand selling to various retailers but with the support needed to grow the company in ways I have always dreamed.”

Eckstein, in a separate letter, said, “I imagine your next question probably is, ‘Will Her Universe only be a brand at Hot Topic now?’ The answer is emphatically ‘no.’ Her Universe will continue to be a stand-alone brand that is available at multiple retailers and on HerUniverse.com just like we always have been. We will also be continuing with the Her Universe Fashion Show and Her Universe Press. Honestly, the Her Universe brand that we’ve all grown and built together will continue as you’ve known it, but exciting growth and amazing opportunities lie ahead.

“What can you expect? Here’s just a sampling:

* We’ll finally be able to offer more plus sizes
* We’re going to offer our designs in Europe
* We’ll be designing some fashion for men
* We’ll be re-launching a new and improved Her Universe Press
* We’re going to add more licenses, more active wear and more fashion categories

“I am personally going to focus on continuing to build our amazing community and offering more content and ways for fans to connect. Honestly, I cannot contain my excitement over what’s ahead! Hot Topic has been such an important partner of ours and now that we are joining forces, we are listening and we are excited to bring you more!”

I met Ashley just over six years ago, and I’ve been asking for men’s items since then, so yes, we’re happy about this announcement! Good luck to Ashley and Her Universe!

It seems Bryan Fuller’s rather full plate was too much for CBS Television Studios to consider sharing…TV Line reports that Fuller is stepping down as the showrunner for the upcoming CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery. It appears that there was tension between the studio and Fuller about the progress of the series, having pushed back the debut of the series last month. Fuller is also working on American Gods for Starz and Amazing Stories for NBC. Fuller will still executive produce and be involved, but executive producers Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg will now be in charge. Akiva Goldsman (Fringe, Childhood’s End) will also join in an unspecified capacity.

Fuller tweeted after the news broke and made a Riker reference…

Riker spent 7 years of TNG unready for Captaincy, @GretchenJBerg @AaronHarberts are ready. Thrilled to see them in command of the Bridge.

— Bryan Fuller (@BryanFuller) October 27, 2016

“We are extremely happy with the creative direction of Star Trek: Discovery and the strong foundation that Bryan Fuller has helped us create for the series,” CBS TV said via statement. “Due to Bryan’s other projects, he is no longer able to oversee the day-to-day of Star Trek, but he remains an executive producer, and will continue to map out the story arc for the entire season. Alex Kurtzman, co-creator and executive producer, along with Fuller’s producing partners and longtime collaborators, Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, will also continue to oversee the show with the existing writing and producing team. Bryan is a brilliant creative talent and passionate Star Trek fan, who has helped us chart an exciting course for the series. We are all committed to seeing this vision through and look forward to premiering Star Trek: Discovery this coming May 2017.”

We’ll see how this plays out. Many fans hoped that Fuller would be the one who would see that Star Trek would be back for good on TV.