Sci-Fi Storm

The long on-again off-again history of the Logan’s Run remake is getting longer…Deadline is reporting that Ryan Gosling is finalizing a deal to star in the movie, with his Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn helming. Interestingly, the original book and early versions of this remake had the age at which the inhabitants of the domed city were “renewed” at 21, while the first movie changed that to 30. Gosling turned 30 back in November, so perhaps the age limit will change again…but Warner Bros has been trying to get this going for over 7 years, so I expect in a few months things will change again.

Babylon 5 creator and Changeling scribe J. Michael Straczynski has been teasing us for a few days about a big announcement, and we finally know what it is. DreamWorks has picked up an original screenplay from him which is a thriller set in the real-life relationship between escape artist/magician Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the Sherlock Holmes stories. The script is titled Voices From the Dead, and is a fictional account of the two teaming up with a psychic to solve a set of murders in 1920’s New York. It looks like DreamWorks is fasttracking the production, with a search on for a director and stars with the idea of getting it in front of the cameras as soon as possible.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 will finally hit the streets in Blu-ray and DVD on April 15th, and you can pre-order from [aml] now (and support us too)! There will be a [sfs=1103]3-Disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack[/sfs], plus regular [sfs=1105]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1106]DVD[/sfs] releases. Still haven’t started your Harry Potter disc set? You can catch up fast for one price for all 7 movies in a [sfs=967]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=968]DVD[/sfs] gift sets.

We haven’t heard anything in a while since Paul Greengrass left the project, but James Cameron’s Fantastic Voyage remake finally has a new director: Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum). And surprise! It’s going to be 3D…it’s been about nine years since Cameron got his hands on the project…

The Thunder Child is proud to announce its first science fiction quiz book, the Eye Sci Fi edition (that is, movies).

There’s nothing new under the sun, and many of today’s best science fiction movies are either remakes, homages, or owe a debt of gratitude to the classic movies of the 1950s…the “radiation theater” where atomic testing was rampant and so were giant bugs of all kinds. When aliens visited us…and took us over, and when we first reached out and explored the stars.
(continue reading…)

News is is spreading through the universe this Sunday that the new Man Of Steel has been named for the upcoming re-reboot of Superman being done by Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan. Henry Cavill, currently seen in the U.S. as Charles Brandon in The Tudors and stars in the upcoming The Immortals, beat out a long list of rumored Supes, and is no stranger to this or other comic-based roles – he was up for the role in the McG/Ratner-led Superman film before that project was taken over by Bryan Singer, and also auditioned for the role of Batman – for Christopher Nolan (but lost out to Christian Bale).

So, at the moment three of the premiere American comic book superheroes are currently being played by British actors – Cavill, Bale, and Andrew Garfield (Spider-Man in the yet-to-be-titled reboot).

Saoirse Ronan, the 16-year-old Academy Award-nominated actress (for 2007’s Atonement), has reportedly joined the cast of The Hobbit in an unknown role. IMDB lists here as rumored for the role of Itaril, which is as far as I know an invented role for the movie, but is likely one of the Silvan elves of the Mirkwood.

I’m not totally surprised he has an ulcer with all the drama about getting The Hobbit off the ground, but director/producer Peter Jackson’s perforated ulcer resulted in him being admitted to the hospital for surgery. Due to his recovery time, filming which was to begin next month will have a “slight delay”, but otherwise is not expected to have any other impact on production.

Here’s a quick look at the science fiction and fantasy-related Oscar nominees, announced today, in no particular order:

How To Train Your Dragon – Best Animated Film, Original Score

Iron Man 2 – Visual Effects

Toy Story 3 – Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, Sound Editing, Adapted Screenplay

Alice in Wonderland – Costume Design, Visual Effects, Art Direction

Tangled – Original Song (“I See The Light”)

Tron: Legacy – Sound Editing

Inception – Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography, Art Direction, Visual Effects, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Visual Effects, Art Direction

The Wolfman – Makeup

Teh Kitteh is in! Anne Hathaway (Alice In Wonderland, The Princess Diaries) will be the next Catwoman in the next installment in the Christopher Nolan Batman franchise, The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros. announced today. Hathaway beat out Keira Knightley, Jessica Biel and others who tested for the role opposite Christian Bale. She joins a pantheon of previous kitties: Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt and Lee Meriweather from the 1960s Batman TV series (and movie), Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns, and Hally Berry in the failed Catwoman spinoff movie.

WB also identified the role that Tom Hardy (Inception) will play – Bane, a more recent villain created in 1993 for the comic and is best known for breaking Batman’s back in the Knightfall serial.