THE ZOCALO TODAY – July 16, 2005

What's New

This week, Babylon 5 fans will be able to see JMS at San Diego Comic-
Con. He'll be talking about all of his projects, including
Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man, Supreme Power, etc.

LOST, featuring Mira Furlan and Daniel Dae Kim from Babylon 5, has
won 12 Emmy nominations! Way to go!

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON THIS WEEKEND

J. Michael Straczynski, creator of BABYLON 5, is one of the featured
panelists this weekend at San Diego Comic Con.

With the upcoming premieres of STARGATE SG-1 and STARGATE ATLANTIS,
STARGATE SG-1's stars Beau Bridges, Ben Browder, Christopher Judge
and Amanda Tapping will join STARGATE ATLANTIS' cast members Joe
Flanigan, David Hewlett, Torri Higginson, Rachel Luttrell, Jason
Momoa and Paul McGillion at Comic-Con International on Saturday,
July 16. Executive producers Robert Cooper and Brad Wright will also
be in attendance. Held at the San Diego Convention Center, Comic-Con
International is the largest comics and pop culture event in North
America.

Fans will get a first-ever look at Paramount Pictures'/Lakeshore
Entertainment's sci-fi thriller AEON FLUX when Charlize Theron leads
a panel at Comic-Con International, joined by co-star Marton Csokas,
director Karyn Kusama, producers Gale Anne Hurd and David Gale,
and "Aeon Flux" creator Peter Chung. The panel will be in Hall H on
Saturday, July 16th; Paramount's Comic-Con presentation begins at
11:45 with a fifteen-minute appearance by Pablo Helman, visual
effects supervisor of War of the Worlds, followed by a 45-minute
Aeon Flux panel.

For more details, please visit <http://www.comic-con.org>.

DISCUSSION TOPIC

OK, you've seen the premiere episodes for STARGATE SG-1, STARGATE
ATLANTIS and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. What did you think? Was it worth
the wait?

Send in your thoughts and comments to sgbruckner@.... I will
post them on the Discussion Page for everyone to share and enjoy.
There are some good ones so far. Add yours! If you see an old topic
you want to respond to, go right ahead. We enjoy hearing from you/

KEEPING UP WITH CAST AND CREW

JEFFREY WILLERTH:
Jeffrey Willerth, Ambassador Kosh, has been produced a number of
special programs that will air on the History Channel soon. Here is
information so that you can mark your calendars:

"UFO Hunters"
Airs on Monday, August 1 at 8:00pm ET
They look to the stars, to Earth, and within the human body. They
are the UFO research elite that seeks answers to the mysteries of
the UFO phenomenon. Their determination, attitude, and methodologies
stand strong against ridicule and disbelief. In the end, UFO hunters
exhibit scientific evidence that pushes the boundary of modern-day
thinking. At annual conferences, they share findings and are often
stunned by the commonality of their cases. Follow UFO hunters as
they search for UFOs and investigate crash sites. Their hunts for
physical evidence of UFOs and alien life forms sometimes end up as
global wild goose chases, but there are other times, when what they
find is just too intriguing....and might just prove that it is
possible that we are not alone in the universe. TVPG

"UFOs and the White House"
Airs on Monday, August 22 at 8:00pm ET
Did you know that the office of President of the United States has
had a direct involvement with UFOs for over 50 years? Since WWII,
every Chief Executive has publicly discussed, issued, or received
documents from the White House pertaining to "Unidentified Flying
Objects". Many of these documents have never been seen on television
before and some of the stories surrounding these UFO-presidential
encounters are broadcast for the first time. Find out which
administrations had to defend our country from unidentified
objects...who was sitting in the Oval Office during the biggest UFO
sightings... and how the government's UFO files are handled,
depending on political affiliations. We'll gather the facts and
glean information from presidential libraries that reveal startling
insight on UFOs and the White House. TVPG

PAT TALLMAN:
Pat, who we all know and love as Lyta on Babylon 5, also has an
extensive history in horror films -- NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, etc.
She was recently interviewed by the Icons of Fright website and you
can read more about this side of Pat's career at Icons of Fright.
Pat sent along this note for horror fans out there. LAND OF THE DEAD
will premiere shortly and you won't want to miss a thing. Pat
writes:

" Dear Horror Fans!
Last night I was invited to see the Los Angeles premiere of George
A. Romero's LAND OF THE DEAD. It stars Simon Baker ( a Penny Lane
supporter and star of the tv show "The Guardian") , John Legiuzamo,
Dennis Hopper and more. It was great! I am very squeamish when it
comes to horror movies, ironically, and I have to say I missed a lot
of KNB's incredible effects burying my face during the worst of it.
They were so REAL! The acting was great, we even laughed a lot (
intentional on George's part!) , the evening was a huge success. He
got great reviews in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. George
hasn't made a film in a while as you may know. He is the best when
it comes to these kinds of movies. He started the zombie craze!!
It's so wild because he is the warmest and kindest guy. AND he needs
our help. Universal hasn't put very much money into advertisement.
What a film makes in it's opening weekend determines the studio's
future decisions about what films will be made and filmmakers will
make them! It is imperative we go out and see LAND OF THE DEAD this
weekend and cast our vote! If you want to see more sci fi and horror
films made, make sure you see the ones that come out on the opening
weekend! Please take a friend and go be entertained this weekend by
seeing Land Of The Dead! Cast that vote!
Stay scared!
Pat"

NEW SCI-FI PUBLICATIONS:

TV Zone Special #64: NEW SEASON PREVIEWS: STARGATE SG-1 and STARGATE
ATLANTIS. In this issue, you will find previews of the new seasons,
with cast changes, new plotlines and new foes ahead. Cast interviews
with Ben Browder, Joe Flanigan, Amanda Tapping, Chris Judge, Michael
Shanks, Beau Bridges, Cliff Simon, Mitch Pileggi, Paul McGillion and
Jason Momoa. Also inside, preparing for the 10th Doctor Who and a
look at the end of the past season.

Starburst #326: FANTASTIC FOUR: Ioan Gruffudd discusses his lead
role as Mr Fantastic in the big screen comic adaptation, and talks
about some of the fabulous CGI special effects used in the movie.
DOCTOR WHO's writer and executive producer Russell T Davies looks to
the future as he prepares to steer the next 28 confirmed instalments
of the hit series, including two Christmas specials. Also BATMAN
BEGINS' director Christopher Nolan, scriptwriter David S Goyer,
stars Katie Holmes & Michael Caine talk about this blockbuster
movie.

Cult Times #118: STARGATE SG-1: Michael Shanks talks about returning
to his Daniel Jackson character for the ninth season with new cast
members and new adventures ahead. Also in this issue, The Shield's
Glenn Close joins the series as tough-talking Captain Monica
Rawling. She explains why she decided to try her hand at series
television

TV Zone #191: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's star Katee Sackhoff has been
braving the elements – and nearly catching hypothermia shooting the
series! She tells TV Zone what her character Lt Starbuck will be
getting up to in Season Two of the hit Space Opera. STARGATE
Producer John Smith reveals the trials of getting a last-minute go-
ahead for Season Nine of Stargate SG-1, and discusses the future of
its sister show Atlantis.

INSIDE SCI-FI THIS WEEK:

THE BOOK OF DANIEL:
The Hollywood Reporter indicates that NBC has commissioned 13
episodes of THE BOOK OF DANIEL, a series about an unconventional
minister. The network had originally surprised media observers by
not picking up the much-heralded show for its fall 2005-'06
schedule. Aidan Quinn (Practical Magic) stars as Rev. Daniel
Webster, an Episcopalian minister, who regularly talks to a modern-
day incarnation of Jesus. Webster relies on Christ to guide him as
he deals with church matters, family issues and his own dependency
on prescription painkillers. Co-stars include Susanna Thompson (Star
Trek: Voyager) as Webster's wife and Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a
Dream) as a bishop with whom Webster frequently clashes.
NIGHT STALKER:
According Frank Spotnitz, the X-Files veteran who will executive
produce THE NIGHT STALKER, the new upcoming horror series will put a
fresh, modern spin on the two 1970s Night Stalker television movies
and the short-lived series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, that
inspired it. The series will star Stuart Townsend (Queen of the
Damned) as the put-upon, evil-chasing reporter Carl Kolchak. "What
the show's really about is good and evil," Spotnitz said. "In this
show, evil really does have supernatural forces at its command. Good
does not. Good has to operate through human beings. So that is
interesting to me." THE NIGHT STALKER will debut this fall on ABC.
HARRY POTTER:
With the release this morning (12:01am) of the latest HARRY POTTER
book, news of the next film is very timely indeed. For the San Diego
Comic Con, Director Mike Newell sent a taped message and an
exclusive new look at the latest Harry Potter film – Harry Potter
and the Goblet of Fire. Newell joked in his message that things are
getting darker more serious for Harry and company this time out
citing new challenges like the Tri-Wizard Tournament, old villains
like Lord Voldemort and Harry facing something he had yet to face in
his three previous years at Hogwarts – feelings for girls. A trailer
is available at the official website
<http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/gobletoffire/index.html>. The
Comic-Con exclusive trailer opens with a nightshot of Hogwarts and
talk of the pending tournament where other schools will be invited
to participate. Clips shown included unfinished CGI on a carriage-
like vehicle and some creatures and also offered the first shots of
the new teacher for dark arts, Mad Eye Moody. One scene included was
Harry's talk with a put-out Ron about how he did not submit his name
for the tournament, but he was chosen anyway. There was also a shot
of the big dance, with Harry, Ron and Hermione all spiffed up.
Dragons, mermaids and a dash of Hagrid rounded out the exclusive
look. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is scheduled for a
November 18 release.
MONSTER HOUSE:
Steve Buscemi (Armageddon, Monsters, Inc.) voices a 75-year-old
grouch who is constantly kicking people off his property in the
upcoming motion-capture animated film MONSTER HOUSE. In an interview
promoting his latest live-action project, THE ISLAND, Bucemi
said, "That was a bizarre way to work, because you act everything
out, but on a stage with no, or very little, props or sets. You
really have to imagine everything." Buscemi had his movements
captured by a computer to be used as a basis for computer animation.
He wore a suit covered with sensors to give the computer reference
points for his movements. "As an actor I get so much from whatever
wardrobe I'm wearing," he said. "That helps me define who the
character is. And in that [movie] everybody is dressed the same, in
these jumpsuits with sensors. You have sensors on your face. So
you're really working more from your imagination. I found it very
disconcerting." MONSTER HOUSE follows the adventure of three teens
who find out the hard way that their neighbor's home is actually a
monster. Other actors in the cast include Nick Cannon, Maggie
Gyllenhaal, Kevin James, Jason Lee and Kathleen Turner. Buscemi said
that he's seen drawings of his character, Nebbercracker, and that it
looks nothing like him, except that he's thin and bony. MONSTER
HOUSE is tentatively scheduled to open on July 26, 2006.
SHORE LEAVE:
This past weekend, I had a terrific time at SHORE LEAVE, a fan-run
convention near Baltimore. Pat Tallman and Jeffrey Willerth were
just two of the guests at this convention and we had a blast. I will
write up a full report of my Sunday visit, but in the meantime, here
is a little video I put together for you to enjoy located at
http://www.isnnews.net/zocalo/images/shore-leave.wmv.
VERONICA MARS:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel alumna Charisma Carpenter has
joined the cast of VERNOICA MARS, beginning with the show's second
season premiere on UPN. Carpenter will be playing Kendall
Casablancas, a sexy trophy wife and stepmother to brothers Dick
(Ryan Hansen) and Cassidy "Beaver" (Kyle Gallner) Casablancas.
Also joining the cast is Steve Guttenberg ("Cacoon", "Police
Academy") beginning with the drama's second season premiere.
Guttenberg will star as Woody Goodman, a charismatic major league
baseball team owner and leading candidate in the local race for
mayor of Neptune, Calif. To show his support for the community, his
daughter will be transferring from her private school to Neptune
High. He will appear in at least seven episodes.
THE 8TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD
Keanu Reeves will be taking on the role of Sinbad in the upcoming
fantasy file, THE 8TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD. Rob Cohen will direct and he
believes the Matrix and Constantine star is perfect as the eighth-
century hero Sinbad the Sailor, despite reactions to the contrary.
Cohen added that Reeves is not too contemporary an actor to play the
role, as some critics have said. "One of the things I love about
Keanu is I've always found him a guy out of time," Cohen said while
promoting his latest movie, the SF film STEALTH. Cohen said that if
all goes according to plan, production on The 8th Voyage of Sinbad
should commence early next year.
ERAGON
On August 1, production begins at 20th Century Fox on the film
ERAGON, based on the novel by Christopher Paolini. The story centers
on a teen farmboy, played by Ed Speleers, whose discovery of a
dinosaur egg in his homeland of Alagaesia leads him on a predestined
journey to become a Dragon Rider who will battle an evil king to
determine the fate of his world. Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich and
Djimon Hounsou will also star. Stefen Fangmeier will direct from a
script by Peter Buchman, and rewritten by Larry Konner and Mark
Rosenthal. Fox is planning a trilogy based on the series of novels
by Paolini, who is only 21 years old. The film will be released June
16, 2006.
MASTERS OF SCI-FI
IDT Entertainment is starting work on their next anthology series,
MASTERS OF SCI-FI, in hopes of turning the "Masters" brand into an
ongoing franchise. The first anthology is the "Masters of Horror."
IDT will provide all the financing for the hourlong series. They are
also thinking about doing two more genre series after this. Filming
on the first episode for the "Masters of Sci-Fi" series will star in
March 2006 in Vancouver. The "Horror" series focused on horror
directors, but the "Sci-Fi" series will focus on writers. It will
feature adaptations of stories by such writers as H.G. Wells, Isaac
Asimov, Robert Heinlein and Stanislav Lem.
EMMY NOMINATIONS
DESPARATE HOUSEWIVES cleaned up Thursday when the 57th annual
Primetime Emmy Award nominations were unveiled. Along with NBC's
WILL AND GRACE, they garnered 15 nominations apiece. The HBO
telepics "Warm Springs," which told the story of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt coming to grips with polio at a Georgia hot springs in his
pre-White House years, and "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" led
the list of nominees with 16 bids. LOST, with Babylon 5 veterans
Mira Furlan and Daniel Dae Kim, prevailed as the most-nominated
drama series with 12 bids.
UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION
Sony Pictures has launched the official website for Screen Gems'
Underworld: Evolution, set to hit theaters on January 20, 2006. The
site includes a Flash teaser and a first look at the new poster.
Directed by Len Wiseman, the sequel continues the saga of war
between the aristocratic Death Dealers and the barbaric Lycans
(werewolves). The film traces the beginnings of the ancient feud
between the two tribes as Selene (Kate Beckinsale), the beautiful
vampire heroine, and Michael (Scott Speedman), the lycan hybrid, try
to unlock the secrets of their bloodlines. The fast-paced, modern-
day tale of deadly action, ruthless intrigue and forbidden love
takes them into the battle to end all wars as the immortals must
finally face their retribution.
TOP 10 SF&F DVD SALES:
Firefly complete series
Star Wars trilogy
Dead Like Me season two
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Lost season one
The Incredibles
Phantom of the Opera
Constantine
Charmed season two
Team America: World Police
Source: Amazon.com, top-selling genre DVDs, 7/8/05

BABYLON 5 AUCTION ITEMS:
JMS, in a note to the B5 moderated newsgroup indicates that:
BTW...sometimes next week I will be putting up some of the more
weird stuff I'd mentioned a while ago, which should be of more
interest to fans than to collectors, I suspect.. So stay tuned!

DINOTOPIA: QUEST FOR THE RUBY SUNSTONE
During a recent interview to promote his latest film project, THE
ISLAND, Michael Clarke Duncan talked about his latest projects --
voice-over work for animated features and video games, the upcoming
fantasy film DELGO and the just-released direct-to-DVD film
DINOTOPIA: QUEST FOR THE RUBY SUNSTONE. "I love it, because you go
into a room and spend maybe four hours in there, and you can let
loose more than you can in front of a camera. In front of a camera,
you can see my emotions. Behind an [animated] character, you don't
know what I'm doing. It's easier just to let go and be crazy and be
wild, [to] calm it down a little bit or go over the top with it."
Duncan voices a dinosaur named Stinktooth in the Dinotopia film. "It
was creatively very nice," the actor said. "You grow to just love
doing voice-over work. It's so easy, and I have a voice-over agent
at William Morris. Every other week he calls me, and he doesn't call
me to say, 'I want you to do audition.' He calls me, 'They want you;
it's a job.' He always calls me with a job, ever since I've been
with him. It's very good. Very lucrative, too." Dinotopia is in
stores now.
DELGO
Clarke's other project, DELGO, stars Freddie Prinze Jr. as the title
character, a teen who must keep his world together when forces from
within and afar threaten it. Other familiar names providing voices
include Jennifer Love Hewitt, Val Kilmer, Louis Gossett Jr., Eric
Idle, Burt Reynolds and the late Anne Bancroft. "I play the Elder
Marley," Duncan said. "And he's like Yoda. I take Delgo under my
wing and teach him that we have these powers. We're warring against
this other group, and I teach him that the warrior way is not always
the right way to go, that you have to use your mind, you have to
make friends. Delgo is very hot-headed and he just wants to fight
all the time." DELGO will be released later this year.
RISE:
Cinescape.com reports that rocker Marilyn Manson is the latest cast
addition to RISE. The film stars Lucy Liu, Michael Chiklis, Carla
Gugino, James D'Arcy and Robert Forster. This Ghost House horror
thriller is currently shooting in Los Angeles. The story centers on
a young female reporter who wakes up in a morgue to discover that
she is no longer among the living. She vows revenge against those
responsible for putting her there and hunts them down.
BYRON PREISS
Author and publisher Byron Preiss, 52, died after being involved in
a fatal auto accident as he drove to his synagogue in Long Island.
He wrote and worked on material ranging from WRITER ROBIN 3000 and
SPIDEY SUPER STORIES to BATTLESTAR GALACTICA STARFAWN, ISAAC
ASMIVOV'S ROBOT CITY 2, THE ULTIMATE DRAGON, and more. Preiss also
edited the anthology series WEIRD HEROES, which included work from
Neal Adams, Harlan Ellison, Philip Jose Farmer, and Archie Goodwin.
Byron Preiss was born in Brooklyn, and he graduated magna cum laude
from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 and earned a master's
degree in communications from Stanford University. He produced THE
WORDS OF GANDHI, an audio book that won a Grammy Award in 1985. He
was also the co-author of DRAGONWORLD, a novel published by Bantam
Books in 1979.
BRAN MAK MORN
According to Variety, Universal Pictures has hired director Peter
Berg to helm BRAN MAK MORN. John Romano is writing the script, which
is an adaptation of the Robert E. Howard fantasy. Howard created
fantasy novels and comics that include Conan the Barbarian and King
Kull. MORN mixes historical with the fantastical as the title
character, a mythical king of ancient Britain, forges an alliance
with supernatural troops to contest the unstoppable forces of the
Roman Empire. Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan will produce.
TRANSFORMERS
In a joint announcement on Wednesday, DreamWorks Pictures, Hasbro
and Paramount Pictures said the live-action TRANSFORMERS movie has
been set to open nationwide on July 4, 2007. The feature will be
directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay being written by Alex
Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Steven Spielberg is executive producing
the film, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto and Don Murphy
serving as co-executive producers. DreamWorks head of distribution
Jim Tharp stated, "Under the direction of Michael Bay, and with
Steven Spielberg executive producing, we know that Transformers is
going to be the kind of explosive action movie that is perfect for
the height of the summer movie season. By staking our claim on the
4th of July, 2007, we ensure that we not only have the time to make
this movie the way it should be made, but also to build excitement
and awareness leading up to its release." "Fans around the world
have wanted a Transformers live-action movie for a long time and we
are thrilled to work with DreamWorks and Paramount to bring this
legendary saga to life on the big screen," said Brian Goldner,
President of Hasbro's U.S. Toy segment. "With some of the
entertainment industry's best talent on board for this film, fans
will experience Transformers in a way that is incredibly powerful."
DreamWorks will distribute the film domestically, while Paramount
will handle the international release. Hasbro will work with the
production team and DreamWorks on all aspects of the film's creative
development, marketing and promotions, and will manage merchandising
in conjunction with the release of the film.
This week, DreamWorks is making its presence at Comic-Con
International in San Diego known in a big way, with a huge 18-
wheeler truck sporting the Transformers logo dominating the area
near the DreamWorks booth.
TOP 10 SF&F SYNDICATED SHOWS:
Stargate SG-1 1.5
Twilight Zone 1.4
The X-Files 1.4
Buffy 1.2
She Spies 1.2
Andromeda 1.1
Angel 1.1
Mutant X 1.1
The Outer Limits 1.1
Ripley's 0.8
Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 6/20/05 - 6/26/05
SUPER-EX
Variety reports that Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson will star in SUPER
EX, a romantic comedy Ivan Reitman will direct for Regency
Enterprises. Don Payne (The Simpsons) wrote the script, in which
Thurman plays a superhero who falls for a regular guy. He's OK with
her superhuman abilities, but can't take her neediness. When he
dumps her, she uses her powers to turn the guy's life into a
nightmare. SUPER EX will shoot in New York this fall. Reitman
directed Evolution, with David Duchovny and Julianne Moore.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3:
Shooting begins today on MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3. Former ALIAS writers
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who have written the script for the
project, said in a recent interview to promote his latest film, THE
ISLAND, "We start shooting on Wednesday [July 13]," Kurtzman
said. "We're flying from here [New York] to Rome for the first day
of shooting." The new screenplay picks up the story of secret agent
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) five years after the events of the last movie.
But the writers say they won't deal with the real-life world events
that have taken place during that time. "You know, we haven't really
had to," Kurtzman said. "All you know about Ethan Hunt in the
Mission: Impossible franchise is that his parents have died."
Kurtzman added: "We took the same approach that we tended to take
with J.J. Abrams on ALIAS, which is it is all a giant metaphor for
what is going on in the world now, but you never use names and you
never say countries. The great thing about Mission: Impossible is
that the whole franchise was based on fake countries. They were
always going off to Gondwanaland or wherever they were, and it was
always kind of a metaphor for some kind of current political
situation." The cast includes Cruise, Ving Rhames, Laurence
Fishburne, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Monaghan and Keri
Russell. Kurtzman and Orci said they have not written a role for
Cruise's real-life fiancee, actress Katie Holmes, despite
speculation that she might appear in the movie. "No, at this point
we haven't," Kurtzman said. "But you never know. She definitely will
be on set." MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III is eyeing a 2006 release.
THE O.C.
According to Variety, Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager) is back at Fox,
signing on for a recurring role on The O.C. The actress, who
appeared in BOSTON PUBLIC, will play Charlotte Morgan, a woman with
a secret who becomes buddies with Kirsten (Kelly Rowan) while the
latter character dries out in rehab. Ryan's expected in at least
seven episodes of the Warner Bros. TV-produced series, which starts
its third season in September.
SILENT HILL
Sean Bean, usually a bad guy in recent films like THE LORD OF THE
RINGS and NATIONAL TREASURE, Bean dropped a few details about his
upcoming horror film SILENT HILL. "It's about this place called
Silent Hill, and our daughter is kind of disturbed about it. She
keeps mentioning it, and she's trying to get out of the house and go
there, so my wife decides that it might be a good idea to take her
there to confront her fears. She gets involved with a very murky and
dangerous world, very creepy, which is all in different time levels,
as well. I'm in the real world and I'm trying to find them, but
we're on different planes, so it's quite interesting, because I can
hear her, but I can't see her. The way he shoots it is just constant
fog and cobwebs around the Silent Hill world, while the real world
is more normal." Oddly, he also plays the father and husband in a
British thriller called THE DARK WITH MARIA BELLO, which he said was
also quite disturbing and ghostly. "It's quite funny that I'm
playing a concerned husband searching for my daughter twice in a
year." Maybe these two movies will finally allow Bean to break away
from his typecasting as the bad guy. While THE ISLAND hits theatres
on July 22, SILENT HILL is scheduled to come out sometime in 2006.
TOP 10 BEST SELLING SF&F BOOKS:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Eldest (Inheritance 2)
The Da Vinci Code
Angels & Demons
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Chronicles of Narnia box set
Every Which Way But Dead
The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl 4)
Sins of the Night (Dark-Hunter)
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Source: Amazon.com, 7/8/05
SERENITY/FIREFLY
Lee Stringer was one of the guests at the Shore Leave Convention
this weekend. He has worked on the CG effects for such shows as
ENTERPRISE, FIREFLY and the new BATTERSTAR GALACTICA. When asked
about FIREFLY possibly returning to television, he commented that
Joss Whedon is concentrating on doing movies now. Depending on how
well the SERENITY movie does and he would like to do a follow up
movie (sequel). Universal owns the rights to FIREFLY -- and the
SciFi Channel. Since SciFi will begin showing FIREFLY as part of
their Sci-Fi Friday line-up, if the series does well and folks make
noise, it could have an impact. Sci-Fi could very easily call up
Universal and ask for new episodes to the series. The only question
in that case would be if Joss would be as involved in the series as
he was before. Stringer said there were no plans that he knew of for
it to come back as a TV series, offered that it certainly could see
something like that happenening
THE LADY IN THE WATER:
Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan (The Village, Signs, The Sixth
Sense) will film his next project, THE LADY IN THE WATER, at Bristol
Township, according to "The Bristol Pilot". Sharon Pinkenson,
executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, said
film crews have already been setting up shop in Levittown as part of
the pre-production phase and filming will most likely being in late
August. The Warner Bros. fantasy thriller centers on the
superintendent of an apartment building who finds a rare type of sea
nymph swimming in the apartment pool. The film is scheduled for a
July 21, 2006 release. Shyamalan was eyeing his THE VILLAGE star
Bryce Dallas Howard for the role of the The Lady and Paul Giamatti
as the superintendent.
THE UNIT:
Former BUFFY/ANGEL star Amy Acker has been dropped from the
forthcoming series THE UNIT, according to E Online. "I guess she is
no longer a part of that show", says she site. The series appears to
be going in another direction from the original pilot. At a
convention this weekend, Amy said that she was talking to Joss
[Whedon] a couple of weeks ago and he said movies are definately on
the cards, just don't know when".
PUNISHER 2:
Thomas Jane, star of 2004's THE PUNISHER, said in a recent interview
that he's been working out to prepare for the sequel, which begins
filming sometime before the end of the year. Jane returns to his
role as outlaw vigilante Frank Castle. "I've been in the gym for
seven weeks now," Jane said. "I've already put on 12 pounds of
muscle. They want to start going before the end of the year. Ideally
I'd like to see the film come out in the fall of 2006, but I don't
have any control over that." Jane would not disclose who will be
writing and directing the sequel, and he wouldn't confirm that the
storyline would take place in an urban setting, possibly New
York. "That is the rumor," he said. Jane's PUNISHER was only a
moderate success at the box office, but the longtime Punisher comic
fan said that he feels the franchise still has great potential. "I
still believe THE PUNISHER has so much material to be mined," Jane
said. "There's so much new ground to be broken. I would love to see
The Punisher go more in the direction of a film like Taxi Driver.
I'd like the audience to be able to visit the mind of this guy. The
potential for The Punisher— especially when it comes to the real
juicy stuff—should go more in the direction of a gritty, urban
street drama like Taxi Driver rather than a glossy, fantasy
direction like the X-Men [films]."
THE ISLAND:
Theatrical sneak previews of Michael Bay's THE ISLAND, starring Ewan
McGregor and Scarlett Johansson, took place over the weekend in
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C.,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland,
Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas,
Virginia and Washington. In this project, McGregor play Lincoln Six-
Echo and Scarlett is Jordan Two-Delta. The pair are just two out of
hundreds of residents at a contained facility in the mid-21st
century. Everything about their lives is monitored. The only way out
is to be chosen to go to the The Island, thought to be the last
uncontaminated spot in the world following an ecological disaster.
Plagued by nightmares, Lincoln grows restless and increasingly
questions the restrictions. Soon he learns that everything about his
existence is a lie, that The Island is a cruel hoax... and that he,
Jordan and everyone they know are actually more valuable dead than
alive. With time running out, Lincoln and Jordan make a daring
escape to the outside world they've never known. Once away from the
prying eyes of the institute, the innocent friendship the two shared
begins to deepen into something more. But with the forces of the
institute hunting them down, Lincoln and Jordan are on a mission to
stay alive. The Island also stars Djimon Hounsou, Sean Bean, Steve
Buscemi and Michael Clarke Duncan. Michael Bay directed from a
screenplay by Caspian Tredwell- Owen and Alex Kurtzman & Roberto
Orci. It opens nationwide on July 22nd.

UPCOMING CONVENTIONS:

July 25-August 1, 2005
GATECON 2005
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Guests: Gary Jones, Dan Shea, Colin Cunningham, Alex Zahara, Jason
Schombing, Steve Bacic, Dan Payne, Kevin Durand, Andrew Jackson,
Aaron Douglas, Tahmoh Penikett, Andrew Kavadas, John Novak, David
Winning, Lorena Gale, Alonso Oyarzun
For more information, go to: http://www.gatecon.com/

July 30-31, 2005
Pittsburgh Toy Show
City: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Place: Pittsburgh Expomart - Monroeville
For more information visit www.pittsburghtoyshow.com

August 5-7, 2005
OFFICIAL STARGATE SG-1 CONVENTION TOUR
Location: Secaucus, New Jersey
Guests: Christopher Judge, Michael Shanks, Don S. Davis, Peter
Williams, Alexis Cruz
For more information, go to: http://www.fansofstargate.com/

August 19-21, 2005
OFFICIAL STARGATE SG-1 CONVENTION TOUR
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Guests: Christopher Judge, Michael Shanks, Don S. Davis, Teryl
Rothery, Peter Williams
For more information, go to: http://www.fansofstargate.com/

August 26-28, 2005
OFFICIAL STARGATE SG-1 CONVENTION TOUR
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Guests: Christopher Judge, Michael Shanks, Don S. Davis, Teryl
Rothery, Tony Amendola, Peter Williams
For more information, go to: http://www.fansofstargate.com/

That's about it for now. Be sure to drop over to
http://www.isnnews.net to get the latest news and reviews of DVDs
and new science fiction material hitting the news stands!

Have a safe and relaxing weekend.
Take care.
Sandy

Sandra Bruckner
Editor/Publisher
ISN News: The Zocalo Today
http://www.isnnews.net