Sci-Fi Storm

SCI-FI Wire has an excellent summary of added scenes in the upcoming Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Special Edition DVD set.

Samuel Jackson seems to be letting the cat out of the bag regarding the fate of his Star Wars character, Jedi Master Mace Windu – he’s gonna die. He’s met with George Lucas regarding his death, but George doesn’t know just how it will happen yet. However, we’re told he is the most important person to die in the upcoming film – not much of a spoiler, since we know who has to live to be in A New Hope…

Variety is reporting that Paramount has pushed back the release date for the deep-Earth adventure The Core, starring Hillary Swank, until sometime in the first quarter of 2003 from the original November 5th date. Reportedly it is to give more post-production time, but with such a genre-heavy end to the year (Harry Potter, Nov. 15th; Solaris, Nov. 27th; Star Trek: Nemesis, Dec. 13th; The Two Towers, Dec. 18th) I’m really not surprised.

The trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is now available online via the official web site.

I haven’t heard much on the proposed Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy feature since the death of original author Douglas Adams, but apparently it is moving forward, with Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run) helping to adapt the screenplay and Jay Roach (Austin Powers) directing, and a posthumous production award to Adams.

jutulen writes “Episode II is coming to the BIG screen, as in IMAX! According to SciFiWire about 70 IMAX theaters in the U.S. will show EPII starting Nov.1.” Just caught this on CNN.com myself. Alas, the two theaters in my area know nothing about it yet.

Update 9/17: Maybe I will see it – the web site for the IMAX Theater at Jordan’s Funiture (one of my local screens) at least has under their Latest News section about the remastering – and that its 20 minutes shorter than the original theatrical cut, apparently because most IMAX systems can’t hold more than 120 minutes of film.

The second trailer for the much-anticipated Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which premiered on the WB’s premiere of Family Affair, is now available from the official web site. Seems a few voices have dropped an octave since the first movie… :^)

Think the plots of the 10 Star Trek films are a bit repetitive? So does the New York Times, which refers to the upcoming Nemesis as “the 10th film in a series that has five plots.” And they explain it.

It’s hitting all the Highlander forums, and onto Dark Horizons: apparently Davis/Panzer Productions, the owners of the franchise, have announced to fans that there will by a 5th installment in the feature film series, titled “The Source”. I was appalled at the second movie, disappointed in the third. Alas, a hard drive crash with my TiVo prevented me from seeing the 4th…

The trades are reporting that Brad Pitt may take leave of The Fountain, the latest blow to the troubled Darren Aronofsky project. Pitt apparently believes the script is too complex, and rumors have Pitt joining the cast of Troy. With co-star Cate Blanchett (Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings) pregnant, and the previous pre-production problems, this could get shelved.