23 years of this site still chugging along...
Another Galactica prequel movie announced
by Doc on Aug.07, 2008, under Television
The SCI FI Channel has announced another prequel TV movie for Battlestar Galactica, although this one doesn’t seem to go as far into the past as the upcoming Caprica, but the information is a bit conflicting. The new film (no title yet), which will be directed by Edward James Olmos, is supposed to deal with events before the original miniseries, but also supposedly deals with the aftermath of the nuclear destruction unleashed by the Cylons on the colonies. It will focus on Cylon Number One/Cavil (Dean Stockwell), Sam T. Anders (Michael Trucco) and Chief Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas).
Elfwood growing in popularity
by Doc on Aug.07, 2008, under General News
Kenth Johansson writes “Top fantasy art community Elfwood (www.elfwood.com) attracts more and more visitors. The website now enters the top 6000 list of most popular websites world wide and just about misses out on the top 3000 among most popular websites in the US.
“Its fantastic that more visitors are finding their way to Elfwood. More visitors means more publicity for our members and the great work they publish”, says Elfwood founder Thomas Abrahamsson.
Elfwood recently launched a supporter type membership called Elfwood Patron, where members by making a small donation get access to new features and supports the future development of the website. This was the latest in a row of new releases that earlier included a Fantasy and Sci-Fi forum, thats rapidly becoming a popular resource amongst the fantasy and sci-fi community in large.”
Pair of PC games getting big screen treatments
by Doc on Aug.05, 2008, under Movies
Two PC first-person-shooter games – one classic, one more recent – are getting big screen treatments. First up is Wolfenstein, based on the classic id Software game that brought to FPS game to the forefront, although I presume it will be based on one of the more recent games instead of the now-simplistic boxy original. The other is the more recent Take Two title BioShock, which Gore Verbinski is adapting as part of a first-look deal with Universal. Best described as a “steampunk meets zombies” storyline, it deals with an alternate history of 1960 and a mysterious underwater city called Rapture where genetic alterations were all the rage – but mutations take over the city. Update: Thanks to a reader who pointed out that Max Payne is also being made, and is in fact scheduled for release October 17th.
Flash Gordon and 10th Kingdom are Back
by Doc on Aug.05, 2008, under Television
RHI ENTERTAINMENT’S FLASH GORDON AND THE 10TH KINGDOM TO AIR ON ION TELEVISION FRIDAY NIGHTS BEGINNING AUGUST 1
(New York, NY – August 5th, 2008) RHI Entertainment (NASDAQ: RHIE), a leading developer, producer and distributor of made-for-television movies, miniseries, and other television programming, announced today that two of its most popular productions will be seen on the ION Television Network’s RHI Movie Weekend beginning Friday, August 1 (7/6c). Flash Gordon, a 22-hour adventure series, and The 10th Kingdom, a 10-hour fantasy saga, will be featured weekly in a two-hour Friday evening programming block. The special broadcasts begin August 1 with Episodes 1 and 2 of Flash Gordon. Starting August 8, ION Television will pair one hour of Flash Gordon with one hour of The 10th Kingdom each week. Read More for the rest of the release. A good chance to see either of these shows if you missed them.
Eureka preview and infomercials
by Doc on Aug.04, 2008, under Television
Over at our YouTube Channel I have uploaded some new videos, including a preview for the next episode of Eureka, “What about Bob?”, as well as some “infomercials” on some “interesting” products. You can also Read More to see the videos. In addition, check out to see what else is Made In Eureka.
Falcon launch vehicle fails, with Scotty’s ashes on board
by Doc on Aug.04, 2008, under Science
When the third SpaceX Falcon 1 launch vehicle failed to achieve orbit (due to failure of the second stage to separate from the first) it did so with the ashes of 208 people on board, including actor James Doohan (Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery “Scotty” Scott on Star Trek, as if I need to tell you) and former astronaut Gordon Cooper. I haven’t seen much data to know whether the rocket at least achieved “outer space” before it was (presumably) destroyed. It also had 3 satellites on board. Despite yet another failure (the Falcon 1 is 0-for-3), SpaceX founder Elon Musk vows to continue, with plans for the much bigger Falcon 9 pressing forward.
British judge says Lucas owns Stormtroopers, sort of
by Doc on Jul.31, 2008, under General News
A British judge ruled that Lucasfilm owns the likeness of Stormtroopers in the U.S., but at the same time says that, at least in Britain, the copyright on the outfits have expired. Lucas sued Andrew Ainsworth, who created the design of the troopers, when Ainsworth asserted ownership of the design and started selling replicas, including in the U.S. Lucas won a $20 million judgment in a California court, but the British judge also ruled that the actual U.S. sales, which only totaled $50k-60k, were not serious enough to justify U.S. jurisdiction or enforcement of the judgment. Ainsworth is free to sell his replicas anywhere but the U.S.
Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard to be released
by Doc on Jul.31, 2008, under Books
The Tales of Beedle the bard, originally a hand-written manuscript from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling of which only 6 existed and were auctioned off (Amazon bought one for approx. $4 million), will now be published as a book, released on December 4th, with the proceeds going towards her charity. It consists of five “fairy tales”, which contain lessons for children and adults alike.
Pre-orders are already available from Amazon in two versions – a standard edition, which has the 5 fairy tales, a new introduction from Rowling, reproduced illustrations from the original manuscript, and commentary on the tales by Albus Dumbledore; and an exclusive Collector’s Edition, which adds a new binder with metal clasp, corners and a skull; a case that looks like a book from the library at Hogwarts; a reproduction of the original introduction; 10 additional illustrations not in the original or standard edition; a velvet bag embroidered with J.K.’s signature; some “gemstones”, and an emerald ribbon.
Half-Blood Prince teaser released
by Doc on Jul.30, 2008, under Movies
Meant to get this out last night, but failed: The teaser trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been released and is available at various locations…Moviefone has it here in several Quicktime HD resolutions. It focuses on a flashback memory of Dumbledore meeting Tom Riddle for the first time…
Order a space painting, watch it being painted
by Doc on Jul.30, 2008, under General News
The Thunder Child writes “I thought I’d share the news, which I’ve just put on my blog, Daily Space, that the “Sprayman” (a Slovenian artist) now offers live video streaming on his website – albeit for only 2 hours a day.
He creates space paintings – as well as other genres, using spraypaint. They look very cool, and its even funner to watch to see how he creates the effects and how long it takes him.
Check out my blog at: http://dailyspace.blogspot.com/2008/07/watch-spray man-at-work.html for the link to his site, as well as the link to the interview I did with him last year.”