23 years of this site still chugging along...
Gandalf saves The Hobbit…pub
by Doc on Mar.22, 2012, under Movies
It seems there are still white knights out there…or at least White Wizards. Gandalf himself, Ian McKellan, along with The Hobbit co-star Stephen Fry, both stepped in to pay the licensing fee for a Southhampton, England pub that for twenty years operated under the name The Hobbit.
It seems that the forces of Mordor let loose the orcs-I mean, Saul Zaentz Company, which has held various rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit since the 70s, sent in the lawyers to force The Hobbit to change their name. The pub also uses character likenesses as well as having drinks named after characters. Zentz then also offered the pub to pay a licensing fee instead.
In step McKellan and Fry, along with their followers on Facebook and Twitter, asking the company to “stand down”, with Fry calling the action “self-defeating bullying” and McKellan saying it was “unnecessary pettiness”. They then told the pub that they would pay the licensing fee.
The pub is still cautious though…the terms haven’t been worked out just yet. “Until everything is in black and white, on paper, we’re going to be a bit reserved because it could be $100 this year and $20,000 next year,” according to the owner, Stella Roberts.
Lost Girl preview: “Faetal Justice”
by Doc on Mar.22, 2012, under Television
In next week’s episode of Lost Girl, Dyson’s apparent murder of a Dark Fae is complicated by his lack of memory and apparent links to Vex. Bo and Kenzi try to figure out what exactly happened to Dyson and attempt to figure out who the real killer is. Tune in on Monday, March 26th, at 10/9c.
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Breaking: Syfy nixes Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome as TV series – may go web instead
by Doc on Mar.21, 2012, under Television
On the heels of a an apparent trailer (which as it turns out was really a demo reel) for the long-developing Battlestar Galactica prequel series Blood & Chrome (followed by NBCU getting it pulled from YouTube), Syfy finally announced a decision on the series, after a long silence – and it’s not good for those hoping to see it on TV.
Deadline is reporting that the network has decided not to go forward with a full TV series. It took over a year from getting the green light to start production on the 90-minute pilot to being delivered to the network in at least a rough cut, due to all the digital effects and post-production work required, and Syfy said little afterwards, except for President of Original Programming Mark Stern saying they were “trying to figure out the economics right now,” back in January. With such a long and expensive production cycle it looked more and more like it wouldn’t be doable as a series.
All is not lost, however. First, the pilot will be aired at some time in the future. And as the series was originally envisioned as a web series, it looks like they will return to that idea, with Stern saying, “We are actively pursuing it as was originally intended: a groundbreaking digital series that will launch to audiences beyond the scope of a television screen.”
Being Human preview: “Don’t Fear The Scott”
by Doc on Mar.21, 2012, under Television
The lives of Aidan, Sally and Josh are turned upside down by people from their pasts in next Monday’s episode of Being Human. Aidan’s mother returns while Josh’s relationship is at stake when someone from his past surfaces. Be sure to tune in this Monday, March 26th at 9/8c to see who the presence from the past is!
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Eddie Izzard, Elijah Wood and Donald Sutherland to appear on Syfy in Treasure Island
by Doc on Mar.21, 2012, under Television
Syfy has just announced that it will air the mini-series Treasure Island, which aired in the UK earlier this year, as a one-night-only special event.
Presenting a fresh, new spin on the classic tale, Treasure Island, featuring an all-star cast led by Eddie Izzard (Oceans 12, and just yesterday announced to star in The Munsters), Elijah Wood (The Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit) and Donald Sutherland (Pride and Prejudice among many, many other roles_. Robert Louis Stevenson’s swashbuckling adventure story about fantastical treasure, youthful courage and murderous greed will premiere Saturday, May 5 from 7-11PM (ET/PT) on Syfy.
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The new Doctor Who companion is…plus other details
by Doc on Mar.21, 2012, under Television
After miles of speculation that actress Sophie Miles would be the next companion on Doctor Who after the departure of Amy and Rory, that thread was shot down with the announcement this morning on Twitter: Jenna-Louise Coleman, who appeared in the UK series Emmerdale and Waterloo Road and the upcoming Titanic, and had a bit part in Captain America: The First Avenger, will be the next companion. “I’m a huge fan of the show,” she said, “”I want to get started already.” Producer Steven Moffat said of her, “”We saw a lot of brilliant actresses. But Jenna was the only person going faster than Matt – he had to keep up!”
We also learned a bit about the upcoming schedule. We’ll get 6 episodes before the end of the year, including the Christmas special, then 8 more in the new year. Amy and Rory will depart in the 5th episode, after another encounter with the Weeping Angels – “Not everyone gets out alive and I mean it this time,” according to Moffat.
Eddie Izzard to star and produce The Munsters reboot
by Doc on Mar.20, 2012, under Television
We haven’t heard much about this planned reboot of the classic monster comedy The Munsters, to be titled Mockingbird Lane (after the street on which the Munsters lived) being produced by Bryan Fuller and Bryan Singer (with the former also writing and the latter directing) since hearing about it in November, other than it was still on the slate in January. Apparently the pilot has been pushed back to June due to casting difficulties, but now they’ve found one of their stars: British actor/comedian Eddie Izzard, who most recently was seen in the U.S. on The United States of Tara.
Eddie will play Grandpa, the family vampire patriarch, originally played by Al Lewis. Izzard’s version is described as “a powerful, ancient vampire with an irrepressible twinkle in his eye. He can shapeshift into rats, wolves, and other creatures at will, but he’s also dapper and charming in a fedora; he is a Don Juan-type womanized with penchant for flashy, sexy outfits.” Eddie’s not been known to shy away from being flamboyant – he often cross-dresses during his performances – so it appears that he could be a good fit, and in such a way that they aren’t just trying to clone Al Lewis.
Still, this show might have an uphill battle.
Merlin preview: “The Sword in the Stone – Part 1”
by Doc on Mar.20, 2012, under Television
In this week’s episode of Merlin, Morgana’s Southron army closes a deadly net around Camelot. Morgana’s forces capture Camelot, while Arthur goes to see his uncle’s treachery. Catch the all new sneak peek and tune in to the episode this Friday at 10/9c.
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John Carter loss worse than analysts expectations – $200 million write off
by Doc on Mar.19, 2012, under Movies
I’m hearing from various directions this evening that the loss for Disney’s John Carter is worse than analysts predicted, with Disney taking a $200 million write-off and Disney Studios expected to have a loss of $120 million in the quarter. Analysts were predicting $50-100 million less.
Now that The Hunger Games gets released this week, no one expects any appreciable income for John Cater in the coming weeks, and it appears they are not expecting a strong DVD market for the movie either.
The Walking Dead finale breaks own records
by Doc on Mar.19, 2012, under Television
The bloody, gory season finale of The Walking Dead broke the series’ own records last night, with 9 million total viewers, and 5.3 million in the 25-54 demographic. This beats the mid-season premiere, as fans awaited the outcome of the carnage in the barn, where it had 8.1/4.4.
The third season of AMC’s The Walking Dead returns in October.