Sci-Fi Storm

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Origin: District 13

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As I catch up on stuff while on a crappy airport wifi network, news broke yesterday that the next Star Wars anthology film will be a “Young Han Solo” film, focusing on how he became the smuggler, thief and scoundrel everyone loves. But perhaps even bigger is who will be directing the film – the duo of Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, who are responsible for The LEGO Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street, two of the hottest directors out there right now.

In a statement the two said, “This is the first film we’ve worked on that seems like a good idea to begin with. We promise to take risks, to give the audience a fresh experience, and we pledge ourselves to be faithful stewards of these characters who mean so much to us. This is a dream come true for us. And not the kind of dream where you’re late for work and all your clothes are made of pudding, but the kind of dream where you get to make a film with some of the greatest characters ever, in a film franchise you’ve loved since before you can remember having dreams at all.”

The screenplay is from Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jon Kasdan. The film is slated for a May 25th, 2018 release.

Update 6/23: Horner’s representatives confirmed his death.

Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer James Horner, who scored more than 75 films including Titanic (for which he received two Oscars), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (his film debut), Braveheart, Aliens, Apollo 13 and The Amazing Spider-Man and Avatar, is believed to be the pilot who died in a single-engine plane crash in Central Florida on Monday. No one else was on board.

Officials have not confirmed the name of the pilot yet, but the 61-year-old composer is a licensed pilot and has not been heard from since the crash. Condolences from those who knew him have been coming in, however. Director Ron Howard, who worked with Horner on Apollo 13, Cocoon and several other movies, tweeted early this morning:

Brilliant Composer James Horner, friend & collaborator on 7 movies has tragically died in a plane crash. My heart aches for his loved ones.

— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) June 23, 2015

At 9pm ET/6pm PT tonight, 20th Century Fox is hosting a live streamed Q&A right from the set of Roland Emmerich’s sequel to Independence Day! See the cast answer questions about this upcoming project and tune in for an exciting reveal, with host Jake Roper of VSauce3, and participating talent include director Roland Emmerich and cast, Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Vivica A. Fox, Brent Spiner, Angelababy, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, and Jessie Usher!
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“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

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.

The news last month that stars Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde along with director Joseph Kasinski were in for a third installment of Tron, gave hope even after several years had already passed since Tron: Legacy, but Disney said today that it never officially gave a green light for the project, and has in fact pulled it from the development slate.

No specific reasons were given, but given the relatively soft worldwide box office ($400 million against an approximately $180 million budget, not including marketing), and the subsequent failure of the animated Tron: Uprising, and with expected blockbusters from Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the next several years, Disney probably sees the slate pretty clogged with high budget features with likely better returns.

Update: There have been various reports that this was due to the poor opening of Tomorrowland, but there is no real reason they would be connected.

Could this be the final sign that studios are out of original ideas? It’s one thing to want to reboot something that has shown success (Sony is about to embark on it’s third reboot of Spider-Man), but Fox seems set on trying to make gold from lead, this time with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

The 2003 film was a critical and box office failure, but it did at least get a cult following, as does the source material from writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O’Neill, which deals with a group of Victorian heroes who band together to help save the world. The characters are taken from various stories of the time: Mina Harker (Bram Stoker’s Dracula), Alan Quartermain (H. Rider Haggard’s novels), Captain Nemo (Jules Verne), Doctor Jeckyl (Robert Louis Stevenson), and the Invisible Man (H.G. Wells) (for the 2003 movie, the character was renamed for legal reasons.) It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie, but it deviated from the source material in terms of the leaders of the group (in the comic/graphic novel, Harker was in charge with Nemo aiding a lot, while the movie it was mostly Quatermain – likely due to Sean Connery – and Tom Sawyer), and overall I think it just dealt with characters that were too unfamiliar to people. Even in the case of Captain Nemo, although in the Verne novels he is an Indian prince, most portrayals were by British or American actors.

I was overall less than impressed with the acting and the visuals, but I do remember the one bright spot was with Tony Curran as Skinner (not THE Invisible Man, but invisible, making a noticeable performance a major feat.) Even Connery permanently retired from acting right afterwards.

Back in 2013 Fox committed to a put pilot (they would have to air the pilot regardless if they pick it up to series, or pay a penalty) for a TV adaptation, but from what I hear the pilot was rejected, and I haven’t seen any sign it will ever air. This movie appears unrelated to the pilot, with a different production team in the form of Ira Napoliello (Mr. Popper’s Penguins) and Matt Reilly, and John Davis (Mr. Popper’s Penguins, I, Robot).