THE ZOCALO TODAY, March 30, 2008

WHAT'S NEW

I hope you all got the note sent yesterday regarding the Babylon 5
Script books. If you have been collecting the series, Volume 14 is now
available for order. Be sure to fill out your proof-of-purchase for
the prior volumes to make sure you get Volume 15 – only available to
those who bought the entire set. For more information, go to
www.babylon5scripts.com. If you have any questions, just send a note
to feedback@.... They will be more than happy to help
you out.

KEEPING UP WITH CAST AND CREW

WORLD WAR Z
Over at Ain't It Cool News, you'll find an article on J. Michael
Straczynski's WORLD WAR Z project. After reading the script, they
can't wait to see it on film. The article says JMS does a great jog of
etching the details of a world that has already faced its darkest
moments and is now trying to put things back in order. Hopefully we'll
hear something from JMS on this soon.

ED WASSER
Babylon 5's Mr. Morden, Ed Wasser, will co-star with EUREKA's Erica
Cerra and Christopher Judge (Stargate SG-1) in DARK SWARM. Tim Pyle
(Decaying Orbit)has co-written and will direct. Pyle will also handle
the visual effects, as he's done on such productions as Jimmy Neutron:
Boy Genius and the SCI FI original miniseries Children of Dune. DARK
SWARM goes into production this summer with an eye toward a 2009 release.

WALTER KOENIG
Ranger Patty has sent along this information to share with readers:
World Premeire of Star Trek: New Voyages "To Serve All My Days: A
Night in 1969"
The Cawley Entertainment Company announces the world premiere of "To
Serve All My Days: A Night in 1969."The public premiere of the special
upgraded and enhanced episode will be at a gala red carpet evening
event at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA on Saturday, March
29, 2008.
World Premiere of "InAlienable" in competition at the Backlot Film
Festival, April 2, 2008, 9pm. The Festival is being held at Veterans
Memorial, 4117 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA. "InAlienable" stars
Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica), Courtney Peldon (Boston Public),
Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: Next Generation), Erick Avari (Stargate,
Heroes) and Walter Koenig (original Star Trek). The strong supporting
cast includes Jay Acovone (Stargate SG-1), Richard Herd (Seinfeld and
Star Trek: Enterprise), Judy Levitt (Babylon 5), Andrew Koenig (Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine), Pat Tallman (Babylon 5), Gary Graham (Alien
Nation, Star Trek: Enterprise), Alan Ruck (Star Trek: Generations,
Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Philip Anthony Rodriguez (Jake 2.0, Star
Trek: Enterprise) and JG Hertzler (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).
"InAlienable is a work of love by all that were involved," Walter
Koenig stated. "I'm extremely proud of our production team, cast and
crew." "InAlienable" brings a well-crafted sci-fi story to life.
Still guilt-ridden over the accident that took his family's lives,
Eric Norris discovers that his body is host to a parasite from another
world. Except, it is more than a parasite: it carries his DNA. Is this
his new son or--as the government believes--a threat to mankind?
Executive producers for "InAlienable" are Walter Koenig, R.H.
McRoberts and Luke McRoberts. Producers are Sky Conway, Karuna Eberl
and James McLean. Director is Robert Dyke and writer is Walter Koenig.
"InAlienable" was shot on location in southern California.
"It astonishes by how much better it gets as it goes along..."-SciFi
Weekly. For more information and to purchase tickets:
www.backlotfilmfestival.com/.

PAT TALLMAN
Pat writes that she is scheduled to shoot the finishing scenes for
"Dead Air" this week. Directed by Corbin Bernsen (LA Law, Psych), Bill
Mosley (Night of the Living Dead) stars with Pat. She hopes to share a
set report with us next week, along with some pictures.
A bit of sad news, the marriage between Pat and Jeffrey Willerth
(Kosh) has ended. Their divorce became final recently.

BABYLON PODCAST #105
Tim and Summer travel to the Vorlon Homeworld to record this week's
show! That's right… there was no live feed last week because Jeffrey's
studio isn't set up to feed out to the streaming servers… and the chat
room was really antsy about missing their fix.

We're going to have to try to fix that, aren't we?

Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer discuss "And the Rock Cried
Out, No Hiding Place", and the intrigues undertaken by Londo regarding
G'Kar and Lord Refa, a boost in morale from messages from the
Resistance on Earth relayed by several visiting religious dignitaries,
and Sheridan and Delenn discovered the method behind the madness that
the Shadow attacks that have been plaguing the sector for the past few
weeks.

Jeffrey adds some background on William Forward's portrayal of Lord
Refa, and the good-natured banter between Mel Winkler and Louis Turenne.

Luckily, there was no carrying on cranky this week!

Listener Feedback: Mitch O sent an email saying that Jerry Doyle made
a unannounced appearance at Megacon in Orlando 2 weekends ago, and
said that Michael O'Hare was gravely ill. Tim couldn't find any
supporting info online, but Jeff's going to try to find out for sure.
Lowell wonders if B5 will show up on The WB's new online web
programming, but B5 was technically pre-WB Network, so it's unlikely,
but we'd love to be happily surprised!

Upcoming Interviews: Jeffrey proposes a new interview format: we tell
you who's coming up, and you send us questions to ask them! In two
weeks, our guest will be co-producer George Johnsen! Send in your
questions for George, and we'll get them aired! Send in an email or
voicemail with your questions for George!

Your feedback does matter, and is welcome! You can call us at
206-338-2259, or email us and tell us what you think… and likely hear
it played or read on the show. Please try to keep the voicemail
comments as brief as possible.

To catch up on all the wonderful podcasts, go to www.babylonpodcast.com.

HULU.COM
I LOVE THIS SITE! If you are a fan of old series, you just have to
visit www.hulu.com". While BABYLON 5 is not listed, there are a lot of
my old favorites, including IT TAKES A THIEF, IRONSIDE, AIRWOLF,
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (all of them), THE PRETENDER, REMINGTON STEELE,
HART TO HART, ROSWELL, MIAMI VICE, BIONIC WOMAN, THE SIXTH SENSE, JOHN
DOE, 24 -- and many, many more. The list of movies available is pretty
good as well, including ALIEN (4 of them), PLANET OF THE APES,
X-FILES, X-MEN (2) and more. I can see that I'll be spending a lot
more time on-line in the very near future. The only thing that could
make this site better is to have BABYLON 5 available, which according
to the Hollywood Reporter, will be there soon. While every season is
not available, I hope that they will build up the site with more
season and series.

There are some great series for the kids, including FLIPPER and ASTRO
BOY. The best part -- IT IS FREE!

CONVENTION CALENDAR

April 4-6, 2008
EYECON
City: Orlando, Florida
Guests: Jared Padalecki, Jim Beaver, Samatha Ferris, Chad Lindberg,
Alona Tal, Sandra McCoy, Gabriel Tigerman (Supernatural)
For more information, go to www.eyeconfla.com.

April 11-13, 2008
GRAND SLAM: THE SCI-FI SUMMIT
Place: Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel
City: Burbank, CA
Place: Florida Hotel & Convention Center
Guests: Brent Spiner, Leonard Nimoy, Zachary Quinto, James Marsters,
Nichelle Nichols, Roxann Dawson, Erica Durance, Kevin Sorbo and
others. For more information, go to
http://www.creationent.com/cal/stgs.htm.

April 26, 2008
Uni-Com 2008
Place: Franklin Pierce University
City: Rindge, NH
B5 Guest: Walter Koenig
Uni-Con 2008 is a one day convention spanning a broad range of
interests in southwestern New Hampshire. Walter Koenig, who played
Bester on Babylon 5 and Chekov on Star Trek: The Original Series is
our guest of honor. Our special guests include Jeanne Cavelos, author
of several novels set in the Babylon 5 universe, and other works;
Steve Meretzky, a veteran game designer whose career began at Infocom
in the 1980s; and Leigh Grossman, professor at UConn and designer of
the Wildside Gaming System. We will have a wide range of games
covering video games, board games, a Magic: the Gathering tournament,
and tabletop roleplaying games. For more information, go to
www.uni-con.org.

NEW PUBLICATIONS
Cult Times Issue #151: LOST: Still one of the most mysterious
inhabitants of the island, get the inside track on Juliet Burke from
the woman who plays her, Elizabeth Mitchell; REAPER: The
scene-stealing Tyler Labine explains why he doesn't want to play Bert
'Sock' Wysocki as just another slacker and how 'tape hand' drew him
instantly to the role; CHUCK: star Zachary Levi gives us a guided tour
down his career path, from waiting on tables to starring as the
ultimate geek in the new comedy-drama-action series; PUSHING DAISIES:
creator and executive producer Bryan Fuller introduces the world of
pie maker Ned and the dead woman, Charlotte 'Chuck' Charles, who's
going to change his life… TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES:
star Lena Headey discusses her version of Sarah Connor, the tough,
no-nonsense, Terminator-fighting mother originally played by Linda
Hamilton; MOONLIGHT - star of the show Alex O'Loughlin explains why
Mick St John is a different kind of vampire in the contemporary
romantic drama.

Starburst Issue #361: DOCTOR WHO: The Doctor is back and everything
you need to know about the upcoming fourth season is in this issue.
HARRY POTTER: Special effects supervisor John Richardson talks about a
few of the trials and tribulations awaiting him in the sixth Harry
Potter film; HELLBOY 2: Wintry Budapest is the place and actress Selma
Blair talks about the return of pyrokinetic Liz and her ongoing
relationship with Hellboy; STAR TREK: THE TOUR: Visit Long Beach,
California for a tour of all things Trek. It's a five year mission to
learn all there is to know about the famous franchise…; STARGATE
ATLANTIS: Star David Hewlett, aka the roguish egotistical Dr McKay,
provides some of the treats in store during the series' fourth season;
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: Hunky Bodie Olmos talks about his role as Lt
`Hot Dog' Costanza and the fourth and final season.

TV Zone Special #80: STARGATE ATLANTIS: Massive 60-page overview; The
second half of the series' fourth season takes a look at the latest
adventures, complete with star interviews, including...Amanda Tapping,
David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell, Jewel Staite. Also a Season 4, Part 2
Preview - The production team's thoughts on the second half of the
season, with hints of what's to come; Art Department - Season 4,
Second Half - Production Designer James Robbins continues his visual
guide to the concepts of Season 4 as he focuses on its later episodes;
Visual Effects – Season 4, First Half - Special effects supervisor
Mark Savela and his colleagues James Rorick and Shannon Gurney look
back at the amazing effects.

Stargate Magazine Special #23: Catch up on all the latest with this
latest issue of Stargate magazine! Featuring exclusive interviews with
the cast and crew, behind-the-scene specials, and the latest on the
fifth season of Stargate Atlantis, this is your ultimate guide to
every Stargate!

SCIENCE FICTION NEWS

STAR TREK AD 1973 Ranger Mac sent along this absolutely delightful
clip from YouTube. Be sure to go to
<http://www.videosift.com/video/KIRK-SPOCK-Star-Trek-AD-1973> to watch
this one. You are going to love it!
While you are there, don't miss the Star Trek XI Teaser Trailer at
<http://www.videosift.com/video/Star-Trek-XI-Teaser-Trailer>.

NEW INDIANA JONES TV SPOT AVAILABLE
Paramount Pictures has revealed a new TV spot online for INDIANA JONES
AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, coming to theaters on May 22.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, the highly-anticipated action-adventure
stars Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Karen
Allen, John Hurt and Jim Broadbent.
<http://www.indianajones.com/site/?deeplink=videos/1/v33>. From the
looks of the trailer, I guess I should buy multiple tickets now!

VALKYRIE
Some new photos for Bryan Singer's upcoming WWII thriller VALKYRIE
have appeared courtesy of Empire Online. The war film will star Tom
Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Patrick Wilson, Stephen Fry, Tom
Wilkinson, Carice van Houten, Eddie Izzard, Halina Reijn, Kevin
McNally, Christian Berkel, Terence Stamp and David Schofield. Go to
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=22278.

Plot Summary:
Tom Cruise heads an international cast as Col. Claus von Stauffenberg,
the aristocratic German officer who led the heroic attempt to bring
down the Nazi regime and end the war by planting a bomb in Hitler's
bunker. The "July 20 Plot" on Hitler's life is one of the most heroic
but least known episodes of World War Two. Severely wounded in combat,
Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg returns from Africa to join the German
Resistance and help create Operation Valkyrie, the complex plan that
will allow a shadow government to replace Hitler's once he is dead.
But fate and circumstance conspire to thrust Stauffenberg from one of
many in the plot to a double-edged central role. Not only must he lead
the coup and seize control of his nation's government... He must kill
Hitler himself.
VALKYRIE will hit theaters October 3, 2008.

JERICHO
I waited a while, just in case there were folks who wanted to see the
last show on-line, rather than watching the finale on Tuesday night. I
enjoyed every moment of this show and the last episode had you on the
edge of your seat the entire time. We as fans got closure -- but the
door is still open for more JERICHO in the future. What happens next?
What happens to JERICHO during the great Civil War that is sure to
come between the Cheyenne and Texas Governments? There is much more
story to tell and I hope that we get to see it.

The creators of JERICHO are shopping the series around so I hope they
find a home for it. While I wasn't always there to watch on whatever
night it was aired, I was one of the 700,000 watching it on the
www.CBS.com website. Too bad there aren't Nielsen ratings for that.

MOONLIGHT - FAN FAVORITE
The Hollywood Reporter writes that CBS' MOONLIGHT returns April 25
with four new episodes. The vampire drama is considered on the bubble
for a fall renewal, but odds look good for a pickup. If fans have
anything to say about it, MOONLIGHT will live on forever. The trade --
still available at www.thr.com -- in which we asked voters what shows
they wanted brought back in the new fall season. In overwhelming
numbers -- 5182 out of 5958 votes cast as of Friday at 3:11 p.m. PT --
MOONLIGHT flew away with it. The vampires took 86% of the votes cast,
while CASHMERE MAFIA only took 5% of the votes to put it a distant second.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS
According to ComingSoon.net, Warner Bros. Pictures is currently
planning to reveal the trailer for STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS in
theaters with the studio's own SPEED RACER on May 9th. No word yet on
when the trailer would debut online, though studios usually bring
trailers online that same week. The August 15 release will feature
such characters as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala,
along with brand-new heroes like Anakin's padawan learner, Ahsoka. In
the film, Sinister villains – led by Palpatine, Count Dooku and
General Grievous – are poised to rule the galaxy. Stakes are high, and
the fate of the "Star Wars" universe rests in the hands of the daring
Jedi Knights. Their exploits lead to the action-packed battles and
astonishing new revelations. The theatrical debut of STAR WARS: THE
CLONE WARS will be followed in the fall when the TV series premieres
on Cartoon Network, followed by airings on TNT.

THE HULK VIDEO GAME
The trailer for The Incredible Hulk movie game is now available at
GameTrailers.com, while the game's official website has also launched
with info, character details, screenshots, and more.

HANCOCK
A new viral marketing website has popped up online for Columbia
Pictures' upcoming Will Smith vehicle HANCOCK. The new site can be
found at HancockWasHere.com which is run by HANCOCK (Smith) by the
looks of it. Also, some new pics for the upcoming comedic take on a
superhero-gone-wrong tale can be found here. Plot Summary:
There are heroes... there are superheroes... and then there's Hancock
(Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility – everyone
knows that – everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted,
sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock's well- intentioned heroics
might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to
leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had
enough – as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good
citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve
this guy. Hancock isn't the kind of man who cares what other people
think – until the day that he saves the life of PR executive Ray
Embrey (Jason Bateman), and the sardonic superhero begins to realize
that he may have a vulnerable side after all. Facing that will be
Hancock's greatest challenge yet – and a task that may prove
impossible as Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), insists that he's a
lost cause.
HANCOCK will hit theaters July 2, 2008.

THE MENTALIST
Simon Baker, THE GUARDIAN, has signed on to front THE MENTALIST. The
drama pilot concerns a man who uses a heightened power of observation
to help solve crimes. According to Variety, Baker will be join in the
cast by Owain Yeoman (The Nine), Amanda Righetti (The O.C.), Shaun
Toub and Tim Kang.

AUSTIN GOLDEN HOUR
Recurring SMALLVILLE superfriend/onetime Aquaman spinoff candidate
Justin Hartley has landed a lead role in the CW pilot AUSTIN GOLDEN
HOUR. The real-time medical drama from American Idol producer Simon
Fuller follows a team of emergency room surgeons and emergency medical
technicians.

LEGION
Variety reports that Tyrese Gibson, Dennis Quaid, Jon Tenney, Charles
S. Dutton, Lucas Black, Kate Walsh, Adrianne Palicki, Kevin Durand and
Willa Holland will join Paul Bettany in LEGION, Screen Gems'
apocalyptic thriller film. The movie marks the feature-directing debut
of Scott Stewart; shooting is about to get under way in New Mexico.
Written by Stewart and Peter Schink, the thriller casts Bettany as the
archangel Michael, the only one standing between mankind and an
apocalypse, after God loses faith in humanity. Man's lone hope rests
with a group of strangers who must deliver a baby they realize is
Christ in his second coming. The deals for Quaid, Gibson and Tenney
are being finalized, and the rest of the cast is set.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
As BATTLESTAR GALACTICA approaches its fourth and final season, Edward
James Olmos, who plays Adm. William Adama on the series, said in a
recent interview that it's not inconceivable that all of the
characters could die--and that would be OK with him. Not that that is
in any way a spoiler for the upcoming season, but Olmos said it would
be fitting for a show that he called a "commentary on our times" and
the "most worthwhile piece of television" he has ever done.
"Basically, if it's true to form, no one makes it," Olmos said.
Producers have been tight-lipped about their plans for the show's
climax and denouement, though it's believed that the fourth season
will take up the sudden reappearance of Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) and
her revelation that she's been to Earth. Meanwhile, four people must
deal with the sudden knowledge that they are Cylons. If everyone were
to die? "I think that people would be shocked, and they'd be hurt, and
they would be totally, totally frustrated," Olmos said. "But I've got
to tell you, that's a truth that people have to realize. We may do it
to ourselves [in real life]. It all depends on us now and what choices
we make."

During a recent interview, Ronald D. Moore, co-executive producer of
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA said that knowing in advance that the show's
upcoming fourth season would be its last greatly affected how the
writing staff went about closing out the show. "It informed
everything," Moore said. "We gathered with the writers before the
season began and said, 'OK, this is the last year. We want to push to
a resolution and let's talk about the end first.'" In the fourth and
final season, the crew of Galactica must contend with the sudden
reappearance of Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) and her revelation that
she's been to Earth. Meanwhile, four people must deal with the sudden
knowledge that they are Cylons. "We talked about what the end of the
series would be, and we've talked about the end of the series several
times since," Moore said. "We keep refining it, changing some ideas
about it, changing some of the parameters and just kind of continually
finding it." The recently ended writers' strike "stopped everything
cold" after production had been completed on half of the final 20
episodes, Moore said. But it also provided an opportunity to assess
the completed fourth-season episodes and take that into account as
they prepared the final nine episodes, which will go into production
in the coming weeks and air in 2009. "It gave us a chance to step back
and say, 'Well, some of those things that we were going to do, maybe
that's not the best way to go. Let's go back and change it again.
Let's re-break some of the story,'" Moore said. "It gave us all a
chance to really step back, take a breath and say, 'OK, is this really
the way we want to do the last 10 or not?' And we changed some of
those things on the fly."
Season four will premiere April 4 at 10 p.m. ET/PT with "He That
Believeth In Me."

NIM'S ISLAND
NIM'S ISLAND co-star Jodie Foster said in a recent interview that she
knew she had to be in this family fantasy movie when her oldest son
read the children's book on which it based. Foster wanted to do a film
that her two boys--Charles, 9, and Kit, 6-- could watch without her
having to explain too much. "It's funny, because the book really
changed Charlie's life," Foster said. "My younger one doesn't quite
read yet, but he's into it. He takes the books out, and he can say the
first letter and stuff, and so he's on his way." In the film
adaptation of Wendy Orr's children's novel, Foster plays a reclusive
author who is sought out by a young girl (Abigail Breslin) to try to
help find her missing father (Gerard Butler). Foster said the message
for kids is to connect with nature. "You don't need video-game
characters and laser tag in order for it to be interesting, but I
think it's also a message of self-reliance and of making decisions
that are strong decisions because they're what you know is right and
believing in yourself," Foster said. Foster said that her children are
excited about seeing the movie. "They haven't seen it yet," Foster
said. "I'm pretty excited about the premiere, because they've read the
book, too. And the book had a big impact on my son: that he could read
the book and then visualize me, and it was so exciting to him. It was
like he discovered literature in a completely different way. I
couldn't get him to come to dinner because he was too busy reading the
book again. It was great." NIM'S ISLAND opens nationwide April 4.

HEREAFTER
According to Variety, DreamWorks has acquired HEREAFTER, a
supernatural spec thriller script by Peter Morgan (The Queen).
Kathleen Kennedy will produce through Kennedy/ Marshall. The movie,
which Morgan wrote before he got an Oscar nomination for THE QUEEN, is
in the vein of THE SIXTH SENSE, the trade paper reported.

LONE RANGER REMAKE
The Hollywood Reporter writes that writers Ted Elliott and Terry
Rossio are going from "shiver me timbers!" to "Hi-yo Silver!" The
writing duo, best known for their work on the "Pirates of the
Caribbean" films, are in final negotiations to write a live-action
big-screen adaptation of "The Lone Ranger" for Disney and producer
Jerry Bruckheimer. The project will be made by Disney and Jerry
Bruckheimer Films in association with Entertainment Rights. "Ranger,"
owned by Classic Media, began life as a 1930s radio show. Its
popularity led to movie serials, TV shows, comic strips and comic
books, toys, novels and more. The hero's origin story begins with a
group of Texas Rangers chasing down a gang of outlaws led by Butch
Cavendish. The gang ambushes the Rangers, seemingly killing them all.
One survivor is found, however, by an American Indian named Tonto, who
nurses him back to health. The Ranger, donning a mask and riding a
white stallion named Silver, teams up with Tonto to bring the
unscrupulous gang and others of that ilk to justice.
Despite the long-standing presence in pop culture, however, "Ranger"
has not enjoyed success in modern times. The character's most recent
shot at the big screen, 1981's "The Legend of the Lone Ranger," failed
so badly that the film's star, Klinton Spilsbury, never worked in
Hollywood again. In 2003, WB Network aired a TV movie that served as a
backdoor pilot, but it also bit the dust. Part of the problems are the
character's tropes -- wearing a mask, using only silver bullets, a
creed that includes not killing your fellow man, the exclamation
"Hi-yo Silver, away!" -- which can seem musty to today's audiences.
Rossio and Elliott, however, do have experience bringing back genres
that seemed passe. The CAA-repped duo wrote "The Mask of Zorro," the
hit adventure movie featuring one of the Ranger's contemporaries, as
well as Disney's "Pirates" franchise, which breathed new life into the
old skull and crossbones.

CASTLE
ABC has greenlighted four new projects, including CASTLE from ABC
Studios and Beacon. It is described as a drama penned by feature
writer Andrew Marlowe ("Hollow Man") that centers on a horror novelist
who is consulting for the NYPD Homicide department. Marlowe is exec
producing with Beacon's Armyan Bernstein and Laurie Zaks.

X-FILES PREVIEW
X-FILES fans were treated to a brief glimpse of the upcoming sequel
movie by Chris Carter, who co-wrote and directed the film during the
William S. Paley Television festival in Hollywood on March 26. The
rough cut trailer features the new tagline "Believe Again." The
trailer featured a bit of dialogue between Fox Mulder (David Duchovny)
and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson):
Mulder: "Scully. I need you on this with me."
Scully: "I know. That's what scares me."
Also featured were quick cuts of footage of uniformed men searching a
snowfield, led by a white-haired man played by Billy Connolly; someone
dragging a body; Mulder in a car being hit by another vehicle; a
glimpse of cast member Callum Keith Rennie; Scully hitting someone
over the head with a blunt object; the discovery of a body buried in
ice; and other images, some of which were also previewed at WonderCon
in San Francisco last month.
The trailer ends with a voiceover bit of dialogue between Connolly's
character and Mulder as viewers see an image of Mulder and Scully
climbing out of a helicopter:
Connolly's voice: "Do you believe in these kind of things?"
Mulder's voice: "Let's just say I want to believe."
Chris Carter offered fans a few tantalizing spoilers for the movie,
while his writing partner, Frank Spotnitz, said it would remain true
to the show's mythology even though it is a stand-alone story.
Spotnitz said that the movie will pick up the story of Mulder and
Scully six years after the events in the show's finale, which aired in
2002. "In the movie, we wanted it to work for non-fans as well as
fans," Spotnitz said. "But we were determined for the fans to honor
all the work that these guys did on the series and all the love that
people had for the show over the years. And so I think you'll see
that, while this not a mythology movie, it's true to everything that's
come before. It's true to Mulder and Scully, who they are, where they
would be at this point in their lives and all of the experiences that
they've had."
The finished trailer will debut in movie theaters along with IRON MAN
on May 2. The second as-yet-untitled X-FILES movie opens July 25.

AFTERBURN
Variety reports that SPIDER-MAN star Tobey Maguire is attached to
produce AFTERBURN, a SF movie based on the Red 4 comic book by Paul
Ens and Scott Chitwood. Neal Moritz's Original Films is producing.
Relativity is in talks to board the post-apocalyptic project, whose
story begins one year after a solar flare burns half of Earth.
Treasure hunters go back to the scorched portion of the planete to
retrieve valuable artifacts. Maguire's company is also producing an
adaptation of the Japanese anime series Robotech for Warner Brothers,
along with Tokyo Suckerpunch for Sony.

DRAG ME TO HELL
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Jessica Lucas, Lorna Raver and
David Paymer have joined the Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell" for Ghost
House Pictures and domestic distributor Universal. Lucas
("Cloverfield") will play the roommate and best friend of Stephanie
(Alison Lohman), the unwitting recipient of a supernatural curse.
Raver plays Mrs. Ganush, a proud Eastern European woman with an
old-world belief system who, when defied and humiliated, vengefully
casts the curse. Paymer will play Mr. Jacks, Stephanie's practical
bank-manager boss. Raimi wrote the screenplay with his brother, Ivan.
Principal photography begins Monday in Los Angeles.

SANCTUARY
For years, fans have followed the career of Amanda Tapping, Samantha
Carter on STARGATE SG-1 and now STARGATE ATLANTIS. She will have a new
role as star and executive producer of SCI FI's upcoming new series
SANCTUARY. During a recent interview, Tapping said that the show will
differ significantly from the Web series on which it is based. SCI FI
has ordered 13 episodes of SANCTUARY, which was created by Damian
Kindler and co-written by Martin Wood, who, like Tapping, are both
veterans of STARGATE SG-1 and STARGATE ATLANTIS. Tapping will reprise
her role as Dr. Helen Magnus, an apparently immortal doctor and
scientist who seeks to locate, aid and protect supernatural creatures.
To adapt the high- definition digital Web series for television, SCI
FI has ordered up a new pilot. "The fact is it's already evolving,"
Tapping said. "Our pilot that we're now going to start shooting is
very different from what you've seen on the Web. But [Magnus] is still
this crazy character. She's 157 years old, and she's very eccentric
and very sexy and very unapologetic. I love it." Tapping, who will
continue to guest star on ATLANTIS as Col. Samantha Carter, said that
the transition to television opens up all sorts of possibilities for
SANCTUARY. "It gives us a good home base," Tapping said. "SCI FI is
the perfect fit for this show and for me, because I have worked with
the network for so long. It made so much sense to stay with this
network. They understand the genre. They understand the fans. And now
they understand multimedia platforms in terms of utilizing social
networking, which is what our company is all about. So it's a perfect
fit." SANCTUARY will premiere later this year.

SMALLVILLE
Everyone who has read a Superman comic knows the character of Lex
Luthor. However, Michael Rosenbaum, SMALLVILLE's Lex Luthor, has put
his own brand on the character. SMALLVILLE returns with new episodes
later this month. "I would say if you are going to watch one episode
of Smallville, you need to watch 'Descent,'" the April 17 episode,
said executive producer Brian Peterson said in an interview. "It is
pivotal. It is up there with Clark [Tom Welling] opening the Fortress
of Solitude. It's right up there." Co-executive producer Kelly Souders
added: "Lex has had a lot of challenges in his life, and he's sort of
gone and sat on that fence all these years. This is the episode he
leaps off of it." DESCENT deals with Luthor's decline into "his own
personal hell," Peterson said. "There is a major turn that happens in
his life that drives him into pure darkness. ... It's Lex's real
descent into the villain he becomes. I think that is what fans have
been waiting for. It's what I've been waiting for," Peterson added
with a laugh. Before that, look for James Marsters to return in the
role of Brainiac in the March 27 episode, VERITAS, was written by
Peterson and Souders. In the episode, Kara (Laura Vandervoort) decides
to teach Clark to fly to help him battle Brainiac. As for the
possibility of an eighth season, Peterson and Souders are hopeful.
Regardless of whether or not The CW renews the series, the duo is
thrilled with how this season is shaping up. "It's all because of the
fans," Peterson said. "That's what's great. They have been so loyal.
We have plenty more in store for them that they will be excited
about." SMALLVILLE airs Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

THE HOBBIT
Ian McKellen played Gandalf the wizard in the three LORD OF THE RINGS
movies. On his personal blog, he posted that he is interested in
reprising the role in the Peter Jackson-produced HOBBIT movies now in
development. "Yes, I will [do them], if Peter Jackson and I have
anything to do with it, he being the producer and me being, on the
whole, a very lucky actor," McKellen wrote on March 26. Jackson is
producing two HOBBIT films, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's book, and is
expected to adapt the book with his LORD OF THE RINGS partners Fran
Walsh and Philippa Boyens. "Encouragingly, Peter and Fran Walsh have
told me they couldn't imagine The Hobbit without their original
Gandalf," McKellen said. "Their confidence hasn't yet been confirmed
by the director, Guillermo del Toro, but I am keeping my diary free
for 2009!" Del Toro is reportedly still in talks about directing THE
HOBBIT, which will consist of two movies.

STAR WARS FAN MOVIE CHALLENGE
The deadline for the next Star Wars Fan Movie is approaching. If you
don't have it circled on your calendar already, the due date is May
27th. Get creative, get some friends together, get your cameras
rolling or get your animation started,and submit your fan movie to
AtomFilms by May 27 for a chance to be in the running for awards at
the San Diego Comic-Con International in July. Your movie may get seen
and chosen by George Lucas, and win the coveted George Lucas Selects
award. Winners may also get their Star Wars Fan Movies shown on Spike
TV. More details at http://starwars.atomfilms.com..

LOST
LOST Co-executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz have
confirmed that the current season's final batch of new episodes will
unspool a story arc based on a plan devised in anticipation of the
writers' strike. "The last two weeks before the strike, we actually
sat down and said, 'Here is what we want to tell for the rest of the
season,'" Kitsis said in an interview. "We all sat down, and the
entire staff came up with a battle plan in place." When LOST returns
in late April, it will wrap up the fourth season with five episodes,
three fewer than planned before the strike took place. "We got to tell
a little more story this season than we anticipated," Kitsis said.
"It's really worked out well. We came back from the strike, and
everyone is just really excited, and I have to say, creatively, every
day has been a pleasure. Everything we're doing right now is exciting,
and every script that is going out, you're jealous if you didn't write
it." As for the missing episodes? "I feel that the three missing
episodes will be made up over the course o f the next two seasons,"
Horowitz said. "Seasons four, five and six are meant to encompass 48
episodes." Kitsis added: "I have a feeling it will mean more, like,
two-hour shows as opposed to more episodes, but those are decisions
above our pay grade." Season four has so far been marked with a
continuation of the "flash-forward" storytelling technique introduced
in the finale of season three. "This just seemed like the most
interesting way to tell the rest of the story of the show," Kitsis
said. "When we realized that we were only going to do three more
seasons, it enabled us to starting thinking a little more out of the
box in how we want to tell the remaining story that was left. The
flash-forwards are, I think, just a great way to keep the show
energized and tell the story in an interesting way. It was a brilliant
idea by [executive producer] Damon [Lindelof]." LOST returns with new
episodes on April 24 in its new Thursday timeslot at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

MEDIUM
NBC announced that beginning April 14, Kelly Preston will guest-star
on MEDIUM with a four-episode arc. Starting with an episode entitled
"Partners in Crime," Preston will play Meghan Doyle, an attractive
venture capitalist who likes what she sees when Joe Dubois (Jake
Weber) makes a presentation on his new solar-power- based invention to
her investment firm. Her decision to fund the project and become
business partners with Joe ultimately creates tension in Joe's
marriage to Allison (Patricia Arquette). MEDIUM airs Mondays at 10.

COUNTDOWN
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Summit is developing COUNTDOWN, an
SF action movie based on a classic Richard Matheson Twilight Zone
episode, with Michael Brandt to direct. The film revolves around a
group of astronauts who land on a planet only to find a crashed
spaceship and corpses that eerily resemble their own. They then must
piece together where they are and whether they might in fact already
be dead.

NOWHERE MAN
Variety reports that Hugh Jackman and Eli Stone co-creator Marc
Guggenheim are teaming with Virgin Comics to create NOWHERE MAN, an
original SF comic-book series that is designed to be transferred to
the big screen as a Jackman vehicle. The story was being kept under
wraps, but Jackson's Seed Productions partner John Palermo said it
features a protagonist reminiscent of the one Will Smith played in I
Am Legend. The concept is a futuristic world where mankind has traded
privacy for safety, a premise that sprouted with Seed, Virgin chief
executive officer Sharad Devarajan and chief creative officer Gotham
Chopra. Guggenheim has also written installments of Amazing Spider-Man
and Wolverine for Marvel Comics. Jackman is in Australia, starring for
20th Century Fox in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the spinoff movie that
will hit theaters May 2009. NOWHERE MAN will be published under the
Virgin Voices line, which also includes Voodoo Child, which Nicolas
Cage hatched with son Weston Cage.

PRISON BREAK RENEWED
According to Variety, Fox has greenlit a fourth season for PRISON
BREAK, ordering 22 more episodes from 20th Century Fox TV. The show
had its third season cut short by the WGA strike for Fox aired 13
episode this season, averaging 8.2 million viewers and a 3.5 rating/9
share among adults 18-49. The third season of "Prison Break" revolved
around the show's main characters breaking out of a Panama prison. The
show's executive producers had crafted a midyear cliffhanger at the
end of the show's 13th episode; that ended up serving as a de facto
season finale. PRISON BREAK will also relocate to Los Angeles;
production had previously been located in Dallas (seasons two and
three) and outside of Chicago (season one).

I guess that is about it for now. Be sure to drop over to the website
when you have a chance for all the up-to-date news around the world of
science fiction. If you have news you would like posted, send it
along. Know of any conventions coming up that are not on the
calendar, please send in that information as well. In the meantime,
take care.

Be safe,
Sandy

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