Sci-Fi Storm

Director Steven Spielberg will return to film a movie for Warner Bros after a 14 year absence…he is taking the reins of Ready Player One, based on the [asin=0307887448]popular novel[/asin] by Ernest Cline. Spielberg’s last movie for the studio was A.I.: Artificial Intelligence

The story takes place in 2044, and Wade Watts, a young gamer, seeks to unravel the clues left within the massive game universe of Oasis, which the late creator left as a challenge to find someone worthy of of taking over his estate – including the corporation and the game itself. When Watts closes in on the first clue, he discovers that others are willing to kill for it…

Zac Penn is writing the script, after it was started by Cline and Eric Eason (A Better Life).

Director Bryan Singer announced via Instagram that a new mutant will join the cast…Jubilation Lee, better known as Jubilee, the Chinese American girl with pyrotechnic abilities. She will be played by newcomer Lana Condor.

The character has in fact made appearances in the movies before – in the first three X-Men movies, she appeared only as a background character in the classrooms but never identified by name except in a deleted scene.

It also looks like we will get the younger versions of Cyclops, Storm and Jean Grey as well.

Update 3/27: Variety reports that Fox has indeed purchased the spec script from Uhls.

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After the success of the proof-of-concept teaser on Vimeo (shown below), Ruairi Robinson’s The Leviathan got some hefty SF creds on the production team.

X-Men writer/producer and Star Wars: The Force Awakens creative consultant Simon Kinberg, and Neill Blomkamp, who recently announced he will be in the captain’s chair for the next Alien movie, will join the film as producers, while the project is shopped to studios. Kinberg has a first-look deal at Fox, so likely they would get first crack at it, but there is a lot of heat for the project should they pass. Robinson (The Last Days On Mars) is working with Jim Uhls (Fight Club), who is writing the screenplay.

The Leviathan is set in the early 22nd century, when man has managed to colonize many worlds after harnessing exotic matter to make faster than light travel possible. The problem – the exotic matter must be harvested from the eggs of enormous creatures, who don’t take kindly the the efforts of the harvesters – who consist of a mostly involuntary workforce.

Disney had their shareholders meeting today, and Disney CEO Bob Iger gave some interesting info about the plans for Star Wars…

First up, we now know the title of the first “interstitial” movie to be released in 2016, between Episodes VII and VIII, and it will be Star Wars: Rogue One. That alone may not mean much (it is described as “the first film in a unique series of big-screen adventures that explores the characters and events beyond the core Star Wars saga”), but Rogue Squadron has a fairly extensive presence in the expanded universe, having started with the survivors of Red Squadron who took on the name “Rogue” while on Hoth, and carried through to three games and several books. Filming will start this summer, with a planned December 16th, 2016 release. Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will helm, and Oscar winner Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) is the first confirmed star. And from the description, it may not be a standalone movie…

Iger also confirmed that Rian Johnson (Looper) will direct Episode VIII, and the release date is set for May 26th, 2017.

Sony isn’t turning the Ghostbusters into an all-female franchise – that’s only happening for the upcoming movie.

As it turns out, Sony wants it’s own “cinematic universe” of linked movies, ala the highly successful “Marvel Cinematic Universe”, the upcoming DC Universe, and even the expanded Star Wars films. And it sees the Ghostbusters being the center of that universe.

Deadline reports that Sony has partnered to form Ghostcorps, which will include original Ghostbusters shepherds Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd, and will be developing branding opportunities that will include a second Ghostbusters movie with a male cast – one that may also include Channing Tatum (Magic Mike), who is tagged to produce with his partners Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan.

Also in the fold are directing duo brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, who directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier and are currently working on Captain America: Civil War, and screenwriter Drew Pearce who wrote Iron Man 3 and Mission: Impossible 5 and who came up with the idea.

Sadly, fans of Star Trek remain in mourning…TV and movie producer Harve Bennett, who produced four of the original Star Trek movies and many TV shows including The Six Million Dollar Man, Salvage 1, The Invisible Man and Time Trax, passed away yesterday at the age of 84.

Bennett was brought in help rescue the Star Trek franchise after the first movie downplayed the characters and action for special effects, going as far as binge-watching the entire original series and settling on a particular episode named “Space Seed” to come up with a new story that resulted in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which he produced along with the next three movies. Bennett also worked with Leonard Nimoy to develop the story for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Interesting fact: Bennett could be heard in the title narration on each episode of The Six Million Dollar Man, saying “Steve Austin, a man barely alive…” The rest of the dialog was recorded by actor Richard Anderson, who played Oscar, but when they wanted to add a line he wasn’t available, so Bennett said it himself.

A small single-engine two-seater vintage trainer plane being piloted by actor Harrison Ford crashed on a golf course near the Santa Monica airport after he reported engine trouble and was attempting to perform an emergency landing.

Ford reportedly walked away from the crash after being helped by a couple of physicians that were at the scene, and later by paramedics. It appears that he sustained some serious injuries but is apparently OK. His son Ben later tweeted, Dad is ok. Battered, but ok! He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man.”

Ford is an experienced aviator, and has crashed before without serious injury.

A special tribute issue to the late Leonard Nimoy, most famous for his role of Mr. Spock on Star Trek, will be released by CBS Watch! Magazine today, on newsstands nationwide and via [asin=B00U6FAMW0]Amazon[/asin].

Through photos and exclusive editorial content, the 100-page memorial issue celebrates every aspect of the man the world came to know and love as Spock, including his roles of director, photographer, poet and author.

Retailing for $9.99, the publication will be available for purchase on newsstands through June 16th. For more information, go to CBSWATCHMAGAZINE.com

Previously released special issues include CBS Watch! NCIS, The Wizard of Oz, George Strait, Star Trek and Survivor, as well as CBS Health Guide: Your Body.

Less than two months…opens on May 1st!

Paramount is seeking rights to produce a movie based on Alfred Bester’s novel [asin=1876963468]The Stars My Destination[/asin], for Mary Parent (Pacific Rim) to produce.

Widely considered one of the best novels in science fiction (in the U.K. it is better known as Tiger! Tiger!), it tells the story of Gulliver Foyle, a man who is marooned is space for six months as the sole survivor of a merchant spaceship and becomes consumed with rage when a passing ship ignores his signals. He repairs the ship but is then captured and tatooed with a tiger mask on his face. He later escapes and has the tatoos removed – but it is only partially successful, with the scars appearing when he becomes enraged. He then embarks on a quest for revenge for those who left him to die.

Like many of the top novels in the genre, it may be a longshot for it to ever get to the screen (and like them there have been many failed attempts), but we can dream…