THE ZOCALO TODAY, September 27, 2008

WHAT'S NEW

There hasn't been much as far as news from JMS. When asked about his
work on the Lensman movie, JMS responded:

In brief, and without getting into details that are still in the
process of being worked out, I've chosen to focus on the story of
Kimball Kinnison, using his story as the fulcrum by which I can get
into the whole history of the Lens and outward from there.

For those of you not familiar with the Lensman, it is a series that
consisted of novels and stories in the "Astounding Stories" magazine
by Edward E. Smith.

In 2008, Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment and Universal Pictures
began negotiations with the author's estate for rights to film the
Lensman series. The negotiations are for an 18-month renewable option.
At the WonderCon convention in San Francisco in February 2008, JMS
confirmed that Howard had acquired the rights, and hinted that he was
involved in the project.

CHANGELING

CHANGELING starring Angelina Jolie has an official poster. The film
already won an award at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year,
and whenever it's mentioned, the word Oscar usually follows. The film
also stars John Malkovich and is loosely based on the Wineville
Chicken Murders in Los Angeles that took place in the late 1920's.
CHANGELING deals with a mother whose son is kidnapped and supposedly
returned to her; although she believes that, in fact, the boy is not
hers at all. For a trailer of the movie, go to
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sxikEYkOmo>. Angelina Jolie is awesome!

CHANGELING is directed by the legendary Clint Eastwood, of Mystic
River, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers, and Letters from Iwo
Jima most recently. The script was penned by comic book writer J.
Michael Straczynski, who has written numerous scripts from episodes of
"Jeremiah" and "Babylon 5." Universal is releasing CHANGELING in
theaters starting on October 24th this fall.

RISING STARS COMPENDIUM HARDCOVER

(W) J. Michael Straczynski, Fiona Avery (A) Brent Anderson, Keu Cha,
David Finch, Karl Moline

When Rising Stars first debuted in 1999, people hailed its fresh take
on the superhero mythos, grounding the fantastic in reality. The
groundbreaking series by acclaimed writer J. Michael Straczynski
(Amazing Spider-Man, Babylon 5, Squadron Supreme, Thor, Ultimate
Power) spawned three spin-off mini-series and has influenced
successful TV shows like The 4400 and Heroes.

Now, for the first time ever, every issue of Rising Stars, from the #0
to the last issue of the last mini-series, is collected into one
comprehensive deluxe hardcover.

Collects Rising Stars #1-24, #0 issue, #1/2 issue, Prelude issue,
Rising Stars: Bright, Rising Stars: Voices of the Dead and Rising
Stars: Untouchable.

Full Color 1,008 pages $99.99 hardcover

BABYLON 5: OTHER VOICES - OFFER ENDS SEPTEMBER 30

Don't miss your opportunity to own scripts written by Larry D'Tillio,
DC Fontana, Scott Frost and Neil Gaiman. Go to www.B5OtherVoices.com
for more details and ordering.

DISCUSSION TOPIC:
OK, the first week of the new season is now history. A lot of the new
shows have had their premieres -- and old shows have returned. What
did you think? Did you catch Bruce Boxleitner in HEROES? Did you find
a show or two that you are interested in? If so, which ones? I
absolutely love FRINGE. It is a smart drama with a tinge of humor and
absolutely wonderful acting. How about you?

Send in your thoughts and comments to sgbruckner@.... I will post
them on the Discussion Page for everyone to share and enjoy.

BABYLON 5 BIRTHDAYS
Pat Tallman - September 4
Cinzia Zanetti - September 5
Robin Atkin Downes - September 6
Mira Furlan - September 7
Walter Koenig - September 14
Paul Williams - September 19
Robert Rusler - September 20
Gary Cole - September 20
Bear Burge - September 23
Jason Carter - September 23
Manny Case - September 23

Have I missed anyone? If you know the birthday of someone connected
with Babylon 5, pass the information along. We want to include
everyone in our Happy Birthday Wishes.

NEW DVDS

Watership Down Deluxe Edition
Official release date: October 7, 2008
Official website: www.warnervieo.com

Synopsis:
Nestled among the rolling hills and peaceful meadows of England lives
a community of rabbits. When their warren is threatened, a small group
of brave rabbits illegally escapes into the unknown countryside in
search of a safer home. Led by the visionary Fiver, the courageous
Bigwig, the clever Blackberry, and the honorable Hazel, they embark on
a danger-filled journey, where they must use their strength and
cunning to survive, while pursuing their dream.

This animated film adaptation is a thrilling allegorical adventure
that celebrates traditional values of loyalty, courage and spirit,
with a voice cast of well-known British actors such as John Hurt,
Richard Briers, Harry Andrews, Simon Cadell, Nigel Hawthorne and Roy
Kinnear. The featured song "Bright Eyes" was sung by Art Garfunkel and
later released as a single.

Special Features include:
Watership Down: A Conversation with the Filmmakers -- Featurette with
producer/ director Martin Rosen and editor Terry Rawlings
Defining a Style -- Featurette discussing the creation of Watership Down
Storyboard comparison

SILVERHAWKS
Official Relsease date: October 7, 2008
Official website: www.warnervideo.com

Synopsis:
In the far-flung future, the Galaxy of Limbo is in dire need of some
heroes. Terrorized by the ruthless villain Mon-Star and his
intergalactic horde, the only hope against this tyranny are the partly
metal, partly real cybernetically enhanced super-team --the
SilverHawks. Led by the daring Quicksilver, the SilverHawks use their
amazingly enhanced bodies, their razor sharp wits, and a steely
resolve to battle Mon-Star and the forces of evil across the galaxy.
Heroes like Quicksilver, Tally Hawk, Super Twins, Blue Grass, Copper
Kid and Stargazer sacrificed their human lives on Earth to be sent
into outer space and challenge their intergalactic enemies.
Quicksilver, Talley Hawk, Super Twins and the rest of the SilverHawks
are back with the first ever DVD release of SilverHawks: Season 1
Volume 1 on October 14, 2008 from Warner Home Video (WHV). Created as
a space-bound equivalent to the hit THUNDERCATS animated series,
SilverHawks originally featured many of the same voice talents.

SilverHawks: Season 1 Volume 1 will be released in a four-disc
collector set that includes 32 action-packed cartoons, as well as a
special featurette entitled "Partly Metal, Partly Real," which
examines the development of Silverhawks, the follow-up animated series
from the same creative team that created Thundercats.

Jack Frost Deluxe Edition (Rankin & Bass)
Official Release Date: October 7, 2008
Official website: www.kidswb.com/whv<

Synopsis:
Jack Frost is sure to warm everyone's hearts with the first ever
re-mastered Deluxe Edition DVD release of the classic, stop-motion
animation feature Jack Frost. From the animation sorcerers at the
Rankin/Bass studios, this enchanting holiday perennial about the
crafty cold-weather elf. This special tells the story of Jack Frost,
who one fateful winter, visits the village of January Junction, where
he falls head-over- snowflakes in love with pretty maiden Elisa.
Turning into a human boy, Jack begins his courtship, only to lose
Elisa to the evil clutches of Kubla Kraus the Cossack. Teamed up with
his elfin friends, Jack must use all his icy powers to free Elisa from
Kubla?s army of mechanical men. Among the featured voices are Buddy
Hackett, as narrator Pardon-Me-Pete the groundhog, Robert Morse as
Jack and Larry Storch as Papa.

Jack Frost Deluxe Edition DVD bonus features include:
Totally Cool Crafty Creations - Mr. Wizard meets Martha Stewart in
this fun-filled featurette that teaches kids how to make their own
holiday crafts, including paper snowflakes, a magical snow globe and
mounds of fluffy snow.
Snip's Snowy Sing-a-long - Join Snip the Snowflake Maker in this fun
sing-along with some of the all-time favorite songs from the movie,
including "Me and My Shadow," and "Just What I Always Wanted."

BEETLEJUICE
Release Date: 10/7/08
Official website: http://www.beetlejuicedvd.com

Synopsis:
What's a couple of stay-at-home ghosts to do when their beloved home
is taken over by trendy yuppies? They call on Beetlejuice, the
afterlife's freelance bio-exorcist to scare off the family – and
everyone gets more than she, he or it bargains for! Tim Burton guides
this PG-rated comedy monsterpiece whose stars include Alec Baldwin,
Geena Davis, and Winona Ryder. And Michael Keaton is Beetlejuice, the
ghost with the most who flings one-liners, spins into grotesque forms,
gobbles insects, and who just can't leave the ladies (living or dead)
alone. Ghoul love it!

TORCHWOOD - SEASON 2
Release date: September 16, 2008
Official website: http://www.bbcamericashop.com

Synopsis:
Torchwood follows the adventures of a team of investigators, led by
the enigmatic Captain Jack. Set in the UK in the present day, the team
use scavenged alien technology in a very real world to solve crime;
both alien and human. Separate from the government. Outside the
police. Beyond the United Nations. Everyone who works for Torchwood is
young, under 35. Some say that's because it's a new science. Others
say it's because they die young...
Starring: John Barrowman , Eve Myles , Burn Gorman , Naoko Mori ,
Gareth David-Lloyd
Produced by: Russell T Davies , Julie Gardner
Written by: Chris Chibnall
With fearsome new aliens, compelling new storylines, and amazing guest
stars the second season of Torchwood takes the close-knit team through
dare-devil action, temptation, heartache, and a life changing event
for one of them.

PUSHING DAISIES
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Official website: http://www.pushingdaisiesdvd.com

Synopsis:
Every not-so-often, along comes a show that?s different. Wonderfully
different. Pushing Daisies, TV Guide's Matt Roush writes, "restores my
faith in TV's ability to amuse, enchant and entertain." It's the story
of Ned, a lonely pie maker whose touch can reanimate the dead. Cool,
but there's a hitch. If Ned touches the person again, the miracle is
reversed. If he doesn't, a bystander goes toes up. What to do? Easy:
Team with a private eye, bring murder victims back just long enough to
discover whodunit, and collect the rewards. Things go well until Ned's
boyhood sweetie is the next dear departed, and he can't resist
bringing her back for keeps! Dig the wit, style and quirky romance: If
you?re not laughing, you may need a visit from Ned.
Videos from the WB:
Windows - Beaver Boy Ft. 1:51
http://raincloud.warnerbros.com/wbol/us/whv/med/pushingdaisies/season1/
pushingdaisies_s1_tfif_beaver_boy_300.asx
Quicktime
http://raincloud.warnerbros.com/wbol/us/whv/med/pushingdaisies/season1/
pushingdaisies_s1_tfif_beaver_boy_qt_300.mov

Smallville Season 7
Release date: September 9, 2008
Official website: http://www.smallvilledvd.com

Synopsis:
When Clark's cousin Kara (Supergirl) arrives on the scene, Clark
advises her to keep a low profile and master her powers, but Kara has
other ideas and becomes the focus of Lex Luthor's powerlust. Does Lana
Lang prefer Bizarro to the real deal? Lois Lane makes a career leap
and Chloe Sullivan finds that balancing a meteor power with a personal
life isn't easy. New characters and complications abound, along with
new secrets and lore, new thrills and special effects. Power up to
Season 7!

Supernatural S3
Release date: September 2, 2008
Official website: www.supernaturaldvd.com
Synopsis:
The yellow-eyed demon is vanquished, but at a terrible price. The
battle that brought him down released hundreds of demons from Hell
into an unsuspecting world. And it cost Sam his life. But a
grief-stricken Dean made a deal with the Crossroad Demon --his soul
for Sam's resurrection. Now Dean has just one year to live. One year
to fight the unholy, the twisted, the ghoulish. One year to say
farewell to Sam. And one year for Sam to search desperately for some
way to save his brother. Mind-bending adventure awaits as the
Winchester brothers continue their astonishing odyssey into the
supernatural...and their personal odyssey into destiny.
For more information on other DVDs that have just been released and
reviewed, go to New DVDs

GREAT COMICS COMING
FARSCAPE #1
by Rockne O'Bannon, Keith R.A. DeCandido & Tommy Paterson
Television's science fiction masterpiece Farscape returns! Farscape
creator Rockne O'Bannon teams up with Farscape novelist Keith R.A.
DeCandido (House of Cards) to continue his creation in comic book form
right where the Peacekeeper Wars left off!
Find out what's in store for John Crichton, Aeryn Sun, Rygel, Chiana,
and the rest of the Moya crew! Do the comics tie into Sci-Fi Channel's
upcoming webisodes? You know it, `Scapers! Don't frelling miss this!
Available with covers from Joe Corroney, Dennis Calero, and a photo
cover from the series.
SC, 24pgs, FC SRP: $3.99

ANGEL OMNIBUS
by Various
Discover the Angel Omnibus, which collects the IDW Angel series:
Angel: The Curse, Angel: Old Friends, Angel: Spotlight, and Angel:
Auld Lang Syne. This huge collection of comics includes work by New
York Times best-selling writer Peter David, and features the most
popular characters from the TV show, including Spike and Illyria.
SC, 6x9, 488pg, FC $24.99

THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO
by William Katt, Folino, O'Reilly & Hilinski
After 25 years, The Greatest American Hero returns with all new
original stories and adventures! Stephen J. Cannell's beloved cult
classic makes it debut to the comic book world courtesy of The
Greatest American Hero star William Katt, along with acclaimed writers
Christopher Folino (Sparks), Sean O'Reilly (Kade), and Derek McCaw
(Tony Loco). 32pgs, FC (1 of 6) SRP: $3.50

WHAT'S NEW IN THE WORLD OF SCIENCE FICTION

STAR WARS: CLONE WARS
When STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS premieres on the Cartoon Network
October 3 at 9:00pm, an old favorite will take on an entire droid
army. In the first episode, "Ambush," Jedi Master Yoda and three clone
troopers must face off against Count Dooku's dreaded assassin, Asajj
Ventress, and the massive Separatist droid army to prove the Jedi are
strong enough to protect a strategic planet and forge a treaty for the
Republic. The episode is directed by David Bullock (Justice League:
The New Frontier) from a script by Steve Melching (The Batman). Dave
Filoni is supervising director; George Lucas is the series' creator
and serves as executive producer, and Catherine Winder is producer.

ESTATE OF PANIC
SciFi has found the host for the new ESTATE OF PANIC -- the network's
new reality competition show that will premiere November 12 at
10:00pm. CROSSING JORDAN's Steve Valentine will serve as host,
bringing together seven strangers to a massive estate where large
quantities of cash are hidden. Hunting down the moolah isn't the
competitors' only challenge though. Three times contestants will be
challenged to overcome as yet unspecified terrors, and each time two
participants will be eliminated with their winnings added into the
prize pot. The last person then must go to the Vault Room, where the
final prize will be determined. Production will begin this week on the
six one-hour episodes of ESTATE OF PANIC.

THE SPIRIT
Moviefone has posted the second full trailer for Frank Miller's
upcoming movie based on Will Eisner's The Spirit starring Gabriel
Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson. This
trailer gives more of the plot of the movie and the origin of how
policeman Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht) became the Spirit, as well as
more with Samuel L. Jackson's baddie The Octopus.

DREAD
It was reported yesterday that TWILIGHT star Jackson Rathbone has
joined the cast of the upcoming horror film DREAD. Anthony DiBlasi is
set to write and direct the film from a short story by Clive Barker.
This particular tale comes from Barker's anthology BOOKS OF BLOOD,
which focuses on people's worst fears. The story of DREAD revolves
around a film student named Stephen Grace who is befriended by a
troubled young man named Quaid. Quaid, who has been plagued by a past
tragedy, convinces Stephen to make a documentary about the things that
people dread the most. The film begins shooting this October in London
for Matador Pictures.

WAR HEROES
According to Variety, Sony Pictures has acquired the rights to Mark
Millar's popular comic book WAR HEROES for Michael DeLuca to produce.
Sony's Columbia Pictures is currently seeking a writer for the
project. The comic book revolves around an experimental military
program that grants ordinary soldiers superpowers. A small group of
these superpowered soldiers break away from the government to form a
criminal enterprise, and a hero rises from their ranks to prevent a
catastrophe from happening. The six-part comic book was first
published in June of this year from Image Comics. No start date has
been set for WAR HEROES.

HEROES
If you missed the premiere of season three Monday night, you can catch
it TONIGHT, beginning at 8:00pm.

JOHN CARTER OF MARS
When JOHN CARTER OF MARS come to the big screen, writer/director
Andrew Stanton says that he and co-writer Mark Andrews will be putting
their own spin on the iconic story, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs'
books. The film will have a unique look as well. "I'm going to do what
I remember more than what they exactly do" in the books, Stanton said
at a recent interview. Stanton (WALL*E) added that he is currently
deep in writing with partner Andrews, a storyboard artist at Pixar, on
the script for Carter. "JOHN CARTER OF MARS is what I'm writing right
now with Mark Andrews," Stanton said. "Writing, it's all about writing
this year." Jim Morris, general manager at Pixar Animation, promised
that the movie will not look like previous attempts to adapt the
franchise for the screen. "Everything that's been out there has been
an attempt to kind of capture this Deco-esque [Frank] Frazetta vision
of John Carter, which I think feels old and stale," he said. "And
where Stanton is going--from what we've seen so far--is very different
than that. And I think that the people who really love the essence of
the books will really dig it, but so will audiences in general." Asked
if the film would be in 3-D, Morris added, "I hope not!" The film is
based on the early 20th-century Barsoom series of books by Burroughs,
the California author of the Tarzan series. It centers on a Civil War
veteran who finds himself transported to the Red Planet and caught up
in various battles and intrigues involving giant green creatures and
an alluring princess. It's been reported that Carter may incorporate
live-action elements amid animation. Stanton's WALL*E was the first
Pixar production to incorporate live action. Morris declined to
discuss the matter. "John Carter is in its very early stages and there
is much to figure out about that so we'd be premature," Morris said.
"We are looking at a variety of different approaches and techniques
for that ... We're kind of a bit early in the development of that."
Morris added: "I'm sure I speak for all of the science fiction geeks,
fans and aficionados when I say it's finally time to see that movie.
And I, for one, am delighted that Andrew Stanton is the guy that's
making the movie, because he's a story-driven guy."

TRUE BLOOD
According to the Hollywood Reporter, HBO's TRUE BLOOD is promoting
cast members for its upcoming second season. Guest stars Mehcad
Brooks, Todd Lowe, Deborah Ann Woll and Michelle Forbes have been
upped to regulars for the show's recently ordered second season. All
will appear in the first-season finale later this fall. The season
closer of Alan Ball's vampire drama will mark Brooks' first showing as
Benedict "Eggs" Talley, a mellow, guitar-strumming refugee from a hard
life. Gilmore Girls alumnus Lowe debuted his character, Terry
Bellefleur, in Episode 2. Woll plays Jessica, while Forbes plays Maryann.

KNIGHT RIDER
The Hollywood Reporter writes that NBC's KNIGHT RIDER finished in
third place in the ratings in its Sept. 24 premiere. Despite having
the highest level of viewer awareness of NBC's new fall shows, KNIGHT
RIDER Rider reached 7.4 million viewers in the 8 p.m. hour, slightly
less than DEAL NO DEAL in the slot last year and half the rating the
KNIGHT RIDER movie pulled down last February. KNIGHT RIDER faced the
debut of CBS' new comedy hour, featuring a transplanted NEW ADVENTURES
OF OLD CHRISTINE and the debut of GARY UNMARRIED.

ARCADIA LOST
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a cast is coming together for
Phedon Papamichael's indie coming-of-age drama ARCADIA LOST, starring
Nick Nolte with Haley Bennett and Carter Jennings. Based on a script
by David Ariniello, the latter two play step- siblings whose first
family trip is cut short by a car crash. With their parents dead, the
stunned teens roam the Greek countryside and befriend an expatriate
vagabond, played by Nolte, who leads them to a mysterious spiritual
ceremony. Phedon Papamichel is best known as a director of photography
for movies like SIDEWAYS and WALK THE LINE, but he also helmed the
indie horror flick FROM WITHIN, which premiered at the Tribeca Film
Festival earlier this year.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS - COMING NOVEMBER 11
Warner Home Video has announced a Nov. 11 release for STAR WARS: THE
CLONE WARS animated movie on DVD. The film, released into theaters
last month, spins off into the animated series on Cartoon Network,
which launches on Friday, Oct. 3. It also be available in a two-disc
special edition and on Blu-ray. Here's how Warner describes the movie:
"The Clone Wars takes place between Star Wars Episode II: Attack of
the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Jedi
Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi continue their journey
across the galaxy amongst the Clone Wars, meeting up with familiar
villains, such as Count Dooku, General Grievous and Asajj Ventress.
The Grand Army of the Republic, led by Yoda, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan
Kenobi, and other Jedi Knights, must fight the New Droid Army of the
Separatists."

DISNEY PRODUCTION SLATE
The Associated Press reported that Walt Disney Co. previewed a sequel
to its 1982 SF movie TRON, a 3-D motion-capture remake of A CHRISTMAS
CAROL and a Tim Burton remake of ALICE WONDERLAND, with Johhny Depp as
the Mad Hatter, in a presentation in Hollywood on Sept. 24. Depp will
also reprise the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in a fourth PIRATES OF
THE CARIBBEAN movie.
The daylong presentation at the Kodak Theatre, home of the Oscars,
delivered repeated surprises as actors emerged onstage to tout
animated 3-D movies, live-action thrillers and comedies--with animal
co-stars ranging from guinea pigs and chihuahuas to humpback whales.
Jim Carrey will star in his first Disney film, a 3-D motion capture
remake of Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Disney made a similar
presentation of its animated films to investors in April in New York,
but held its last live-action movie showcase three years ago. Among
other casting announcements, Disney said Oprah Winfrey will be the
voice of the character of Eudora in the hand-drawn animated movie set
in New Orleans, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. The film features an
African-American heroine, Tiana, played by Anika Noni Rose. Winfrey
plays Tiana's mother in the movie set for release on Christmas in 2009.
A brief snippet from Tron 2 featured a louder, crisper and more
thrilling bike race and a cameo of an older Jeff Bridges, who starred
in the original version. Dwayne Johnson was on hand to tout RACE TO
WITCH MOUNTAIN. Pixar and Disney animation studios' chief creative
officer, John Lasseter, also broke the news that CARS 2, the sequel to
the blockbuster he directed for Pixar Animation Studios, would be
released in the summer of 2011, a year earlier than once planned.

CHOCKY
The Hollywood Reporter indicates that DreamWorks has acquired the
dramatic rights to the science fiction novel CHOCKY from Pollinger
Ltd., the U.K. agency that handles the literary estate of the late
author John Wyndham, and Steven Spielberg is said to be keen to make
the adaptation his next directing project. CHOCKY tells the story of a
boy who has a mysterious imaginary friend with whom he frequently
argues. As the boy's father gets increasingly suspicious, it becomes
clear that an alien entity has taken up residence in the boy's
consciousness.
Now that DreamWorks has severed its relationship with Paramount, it's
unclear which studio will co-develop the film. CHOCKY is a 1968 novel
written by Wyndham (officially John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon
Harris), a British science fiction writer who wrote the well-known THE
DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS.

I AM LEGEND PREQUEL
According to Variety, Warner Brothers is developing a prequel to the
Will Smith SF movie I AM LEGEND, with Smith to reprise his role as
scientist Robert Neville. Francis Lawrence will return to direct, and
Akiva Goldsman and his Weed Road banner will produce with James
Lassiter, Smith's partner in Overbrook Entertainment. The studio has
set D.B. Weiss to write a script that is based on a detailed outline
that was hatched over the past few months by Smith, Goldsman, Lassiter
and Lawrence. The prequel will chronicle the final days of humanity in
New York before a man-made virus caused a plague that left Smith's
character the lone survivor among a mutated mob in the city. Making a
prequel was the only way to extend a franchise, which grossed $584
million worldwide for Warner, and keep Smith in the lead role. His
character was killed in the first film, after extracting a potential
cure for the virus for the scattered survivors.

RATINGS RACE - TUESDAY
THE MENTALIST opened solidly on Tuesday helping CBS capture Tuesday's
overall ratings title, but FOX kept its hold on the 18-49 demographic.
CBS averaged a 9.5 rating/15 share in primetime, narrowly beating
ABC's 9.2/14. FOX came in third with a 6.7/10. NBC's 5.2/8 was good
for fourth, and The CW trailed with a 1.7/3. FOX grabbed the top spot
among adults 18-49 with a 4.5 rating. ABC finished second in the
demographic at 3.7. CBS, 3.3, edged NBC, 3.2, for third. The CW drew a
1.2. The season premiere of NCIS, 11.2/18, put CBS on top at 8 p.m.
HOUSE delivered a 7.4/12 for FOX and won the hour among adults 18-49.
THE BIGGEST LOSER: FAMILIES put NBC in third, ahead of a soft premiere
for ABC's game show OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS, 4.2/7. The CW got a 2.1/3 from
"90210." ABC took over at 9 p.m. with DANCING WITH THE STARS, 11.5/17.
The premiere of THE MENTALIST drew a 9.9/15 for CBS, retaining better
than 85 percent of its lead-in audience. FRINGE posted a 6.0/9,
keeping FOX in front of NBC and THE BIGGEST LOSER, 4.9/7. PRIVILEDGED
closed out the evening for The CW. DANCING WITH THE STARS improved to
11.9/19 at 10 p.m. The season premiere of WITHOUT A TRACE, 7.8/12, on
CBS, topped NBC's "LAW & ORDER: SVU opener, 6.3/10.

SHERLOCK HOLMES
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Rachel McAdams will star opposite
Robert Downey Jr. in SHERLOCK HOLMES, a reimagining of Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle's supersleuth that Guy Ritchie is directing for Warner
Bros. and Village Roadshow. The movie, which will begin shooting next
month, takes its cue from a forthcoming comic book that producer
Lionel Wigram wrote as a selling tool for a new take on the classic
character. The concept sees Holmes as more adventurous and less stuffy
than previous screen incarnations and mines more obscure character
traits. Downey will play Holmes while Mark Strong ("RocknRolla") plays
the main villain, Blackwood. Jude Law is portraying Holmes' colleague
Watson. McAdams plays Holmes' enigmatic love interest, Irene Adler, a
character who appeared in Doyle's 1891 A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA. While the
character only appeared in that one story, McAdams' personage would
return for any possible sequel.

NATIONAL TREASURE 3
Jerry Bruckheimer and Nicolas Cage came out on the state at the Walt
Disney Studios Showcase to officially announce the third film in the
National Treasure franchise. Disney Chairman Richard W. Cooke, who
presided over the event, invited the two men to step in front of the
audience. He then asked, "How come Ben Gates never gets arrested?" And
with that, Cage answered, "I guess well find out with National
Treasure 3, wont we?" Plot details were not discussed, but it was made
clear that director Jon Turteltaub would be back behind the camera,
with most of the original cast returning as well. The film is
currently in development. While no release date was announced, the
film is rumored to be scheduled for the holiday season, 2010.

HEROES
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the two-hour premiere of HEROES
Monday night was was down 25 percent, compared with last year's
one-hour opener, taking an expected hit following a creatively
middling second season and an extended nine-month hiatus prompted by
the writers strike.

CITY OF EMBER
Harry Treadaway, who co-stars in the upcoming adaptation of the
fantasy children's book CITY OF EMBER by Jeanne Duprau, said that the
film's imaginative production design helped his performance. "The kind
of visual manifestation of the script has been stronger than anything
else I've ever done," Treadaway said during a recent interview in
Belfast, Northern Ireland. "The whole world is like it is in the book.
The first scene was turning up with this contraption that [my
character's] dad had made that we kind of fight. And you turn up, and
it's there. It really is there. And kind of as you imagined it, or
better, normally in more detail." In the film, Treadaway plays Doon
Harrow, a curious young pipeworks laborer who lives with his inventor
father (played by Tim Robbins) in a self-contained, underground city
powered by a dying generator. Together with his friend, Lina Mayfleet
(Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan), Doon tries to decipher the clues that
point the way to the city's salvation.
Production designer Martin Laing and director Gil Kenan worked
together to create the entire city inside a warehouse in Belfast that
once housed the RMS Titanic. Designed with utility in mind, every
detail of the sets--from the lamp posts to the manhole covers-was
carefully thought through, and made in practical, working order
wherever possible. "I think Martin Laing deserves a mention for the
set that he's done, which I've just been constantly amazed by,"
Treadaway said. "And every room you turn up into, you're just blown
away. And you go, 'Nice one, mate. Thank you.' It kind of makes your
job easier, because it's there. You see the control room, the little
buttons are flashing, and it's all there." Treadaway said that it was
also really helpful to be able to work in a contiguous location, with
working buildings and real streets, rather than on isolated sets. "It
is amazing, because every day you come through the main square, and
it's amazing that it's all connected, as opposed to little bits around
a studio," he said. "It's wonderful." CITY OF EMBER opens Oct. 10.

LEGION
KNIGHT RIDER's Yancey Arias will play a Los Angeles cop in the
upcoming apocalyptic movie LEGION. "It looks like LEGION is going to
be really good," Arias said in a recent interview from the set of
Knight Rider. "There are a lot of effects, because, after all, it is
an apocalyptic movie. It is the archangel Gabriel and the archangel
Michael doing battle--again." LEGION stars Paul Bettany as the
destructive angel, Michael, and Kevin Durand as Gabriel. The film also
stars Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Doug Jones and Kate Walsh. The
movie is directed by Scott Charles Stewart, who worked in visual
effects for IRON MAN, SUPERMAN RETURNS and HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET
OF FIRE. "He is an awesome director. He really knew what he was
doing," Arias said.
In LEGION, a group of people are trapped at a desert truck stop when
demons open the gates of hell and try to fulfill an ancient prophecy.
"I play a Los Angeles police officer who witnesses archangel Michael
arriving to the planet and wreaking havoc. Yeah, L.A. gets destroyed
again, and you might say I have a short-lived situation." Arias added:
"I'm tired of playing characters that get knocked off so quickly. I
like another movie I'm in that's coming up, BEHIND ENEMY LINES:
COLOMBIA, because I survive in that one." LEGION is slated to open in
January 2010.

TOOTH FAIRY
Variety reports that Billy Crystal will join Dwayne Johnson in the
cast of TOOTH FAIRY, the Fox fantasy comedy that begins shooting
Monday in Vancouver, Canada. Michael Lembeck is directing. Johnson
stars with Ashley Judd, Julie Andrews, Stephen Merchant and Ryan
Sheckler. Johnson plays a minor league hockey player known for
loosening dental work with physical play and is sentenced to serve as
the real Tooth Fairy for a week. Randi Mayem Singer (Mrs. Doubtfire)
has written the latest draft of the script. Previous drafts were by
Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel and Joshua Sternin & Jeffrey Ventimilia.

THREE STORIES ABOUT JOAN
Variety reports that DIE HARD star Bruce Willis will make his
directorial debut with the indie psychological drama THREE STORIES
ABOUT JOAN. Willis will be taking a supporting role in the movie as
the father of Camilla Belle's title character with Kieran Culkin
co-starring. Based on the screenplay by Christopher Alexander and Sam
Applebaum, the story centers on a young woman at three points in her
life and the family tragedies that cause her to lose her grip on
reality. It's scheduled to start shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana
starting early next month.

THE COMPANY MEN
According to the Hollywood Reporter, John Wells will direct and Ben
Affleck is in negotiations to star in THE COMPANY MEN, a drama about a
man whose life is upended by a financial downsizing. Wells is writing
the screenplay about a man who is laid off and must cope with the
financial consequences and the fallout at home. The script calls for a
second male lead. THE COMPANY MEN initially had been set up at
Warners, where Wells' shingle has a deal, but it is in turnaround
there; it has not yet been set up elsewhere. No production date has
been set.

HEROES
Cristine Rose plays mom Angela Petrelli on NBC's HEROES. With the
return of the third season, her character will return to a position of
power, with major developments coming in the eighth episode. "This
volume, she gets her own back," Rose said in a red-carpet interview at
the premiere event in Hollywood. "She gets her strength back, and she
means business. Then everything falls apart--or maybe it doesn't. It's
all a really cool story, so it's exciting."
The strike-truncated second season of HEROES ended with Angela on the
phone after her flying son, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), was shot. With
whom she was speaking was revealed in last night's third-season premiere.
Rose said her character is "no longer down in the dumps. I'm up, I'm
down, I'm up, and then right smack in the middle of this volume,
around episode eight, you get to find out a lot about how her heart is
the way it is," she said. "I get chills just thinking about it. I love
episode eight."

ASTRO BOY OPENS 2009
Summit Entertainment announced that it will release ASTRO BOY in North
America on Oct. 23, 2009. Summit and Imagi are putting together the
final details on a marketing plan designed to reach both the family
movie-going audience and adult fans of ASTRO BOY alike. Produced by
Imagi Studios, the computer-animated movie features the voices of
Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy and Eugene
Levy, with Freddie Highmore in the title role. David Bowers is
directing from a screenplay written by Timothy Harris, with Maryann
Garger producing. The film is based on the Japanese manga created in
the early 1950s by Osamu Tezuka. Set in the future, the new ASTRO BOY
is a classic superhero origin story about a young robot with
incredible powers, created by a brilliant scientist, and his
adventure-filled journey in search of his identity and destiny, taking
him into a netherworld of robot gladiators before he returns to save
Metro City.

24
Here's the first look at this season's 24! Filmed on location in Cape
Town, South Africa and Los Angeles, 24: REDEMPTION stars Emmy Award
winner Kiefer Sutherland along with new series cast members Cherry
Jones, Robert Carlyle, Gil Bellows and Academy Award winner Jon
Voight. The two-hour event finds Jack Bauer and his mentor Carl Benton
(Robert Carlyle) battling an international crisis, while here at home
the nation prepares for a new president on inauguration day. Taking
place just a few months before the new day dawns, U.S. State
Department officer Frank Tramell (Gil Bellows) and Jonas Hodges (Jon
Voight) are pulling the strings that will set the stage and raise the
stakes for Season Seven, which will debut in January 2009.

UNTHINKABLE
According to MTV News, Carrie-Anne Moss has joined the cast of the
post-9/11 psychological drama UNTHINKABLE. Samuel L. Jackson plays a
black-ops interrogator who, teamed with an FBI agent, attempt to
interrogate terrorists while dealing with the so-called rulebook. With
three nuclear devices set to go off in three different American
cities, time is running out and Jackson's "quasi-Jack Bauer" character
operates off the books which allows him to cross that fine line.
Additional stars expected to be announced in the next few weeks.
Gregor Jordan ("Buffalo Soldiers") directs the film which begins
shooting next month.

EMMY AWARDS
ABC's PUSHING DAISIES was the only science fiction/fantasy program
that took home a prime-time Emmy Award. The fantasy series won the
award for outstanding directing for a comedy series, which was given
to Barry Sonnenfeld for the pilot, "Pie-Lette." A week earlier, at the
2007-'08 Creative Arts Prime-Time Emmys, which were handed out on
Sept. 13, PUSHING DAISIES won two technical awards, for outstanding
picture editing for a comedy series (single or multi-camera) for
"Pie-Lette" and for outstanding music composition for a series
(original dramatic score) for the episdoe "Pigeon."
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA took home two creative arts Emmys: one for
outstanding special visual effects for a series for the episode "He
That Believeth in Me" and one for outstanding special
class--short-format live-action entertainment programs for the
SCIFI.COM Razor featurette number four.
SciFi's TIN MAN took home a creative-arts Emmy for outstanding makeup
for a miniseries or a movie (non-prosthetic).
NBC's CHUCK won a creative-arts Emmy for outstanding stunt
coordination, ABC's LOST won a similar award for outstanding sound
mixing for a comedy or drama series (one- hour), and The CW's
SMALLVILLE won an award for outstanding sound editing for a series.

KNIGHT RIDER
NBC'S KNIGHT RIDER's cast will do as much of the stunt work as
allowed, following in the footsteps of Matt Damon in THE BOURNE
IDENTITY. That film's director, Doug Liman, is an executive producer
of the new show. Liman, who also directed JUMPER and MR. AND MRS.
SMITH, pushed the actors to do as much of the stunt work as they felt
comfortable performing, and that required some special training.
"Justin [Bruening] and I are doing a fight scene later today," said
star Deanna Russo (Believers) during a break in shooting on the show's
set recently. "I did a ton of fight training, a few months of it,
before we started filming. I got stronger and learned more tricks
myself to make my character more interesting to watch. When I did a
few of the stunts, people said not many of the girls could do that."
With a few shots in the can already, Bruening's Michael Knight
character is constantly in peril: He's already been shot, stabbed and
poisoned, Bruening said. But Bruening, a college athlete, also gets to
play basketball in the private court in the team's secret underground
hideout. "Bourne was PG-13, and that's the kind of fights we have in
this," Bruening said. He added: "The physical fighting, when you're
honestly fighting, is as close and intimate as it can get. ... My
character has been in the Special Forces unit and is highly trained,
and it has to look that way." Bruening studied meditation and a
martial-arts stick-fighting technique from Thailand. "I've always been
athletic all my life, but this special training helped me a lot,"
Bruening said. "And Deanna learned a lot, too. To borrow a phrase, I
pity the fool who ever tries to hurt her." Meanwhile, Bruening said,
"I like to use Bourne Identity as the template for what I can do,
because it looked real when Matt Damon did his own stunts and fights.
Right now, I do about 98 percent, but some things they will not let me
do."
Unfortunately, that does not include racing the $75,000 K.I.T.T. car,
a tricked-out Ford Mustang GT500KR, on the open road. It's more likely
stunt driver Corey Eubanks behind the wheel. Knight Rider premieres on
Sept. 24 and will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m.

SEASON OF THE WITCH
Variety reports that Nicolas Cage will reteam with director Dominic
Sena for the supernatural thriller SEASON OF THE WITCH for Relativity
Media. The story chronicles the journey of 14th-century knights
transporting a girl suspected of being the witch responsible for
spreading the Black Plague. Bragi Schut Jr. penned the screenplay.
Shooting is scheduled to begin in early November in Austria and
Hungary. Cage previously worked with Sena on GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS.

TINTIN
Yesterday, we reported that Universal had withdrawn financing for
Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg's TINTIN movie. Today it is
reported that Paramount has stepped in to take over full financing.
Jackson's WETA digital workshop has already spent $30 million
developing performance- capture technology to make the boy detective,
his dog and the rest of his motley crew come alive.
With the dream duo of Spielberg and Jackson and acclaimed scribe
Steven Moffat adapting the script, and Herge's work as the basis - the
film already has more going for it than 98% of comic adaptations and
pretty much all the 'mo-cap' films to have come out of Hollywood so far.

BOLT
Walt Disney Pictures has revealed an extended clip from Bolt online at
Yahoo! Movies. Opening November 21st, the animated comedy features the
voices of John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman and Mark Walton.
The film centers on a super-dog named Bolt (Travolta), whose days are
filled with danger and intrigue—at least until the cameras stop
rolling. When the star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped from
his Hollywood soundstage to New York City, he begins his biggest
adventure yet—a cross-country journey through the real world to get
back to his owner and co-star, Penny (Cyrus). Armed only with the
delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are real, and the help
of two unlikely traveling companions—a jaded, abandoned housecat named
Mittens (Essman) and a TV-obsessed hamster named Rhino (Walton)— Bolt
discovers he doesn't need superpowers to be a hero.

SMALLVILLE
The CW released ratings for the Season 8 premiere on Thursday. The
episode, "Odyssey," ranked first in adults 18-34 (1.8/6-tie), men
18-34 (2.2/8), men 18-49 (2.1/7), persons 12-34 (1.8/6-tie) and males
12-34 (2.1/8). Smallville improved on its premiere a year ago (Sept.
27, 2007) in men 18-49 (5 percent) and matched in men 18-34.

GREEN HORNET
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle)
will not only star in the film as Kato, but make his American
directorial debut. Seth Rogen is on board as THE GREEN HORNET. Neal
Moritz is producing the project through his Original Film shingle.
Original's Ori Marmur is executive producing. "The Green Hornet is a
dream project, and it's come together in a dream way," Moritz said.
"Seth will be fantastic in the lead role, and Stephen was the only
name on the list for Kato. The material is a perfect match for his
sensibilities -- Stephen in the director's chair is the best thing for
the film." "I'm excited to be taking on 'The Green Hornet' --
obviously I've been a huge fan of the show since I was a kid," Chow
said. "The idea of stepping into Bruce Lee's shoes as Kato is both
humbling and thrilling, and to get the chance to direct the project as
my American movie debut is simply a dream come true."

DREAMWORKS
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the principals of DreamWorks have
completed a long-anticipated deal with one of India's largest
entertainment conglomerates to set up a new $1.2 billion film company.
The deal gives DreamWorks co-founder Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks
Chief Executive Stacey Snider the financial support they need to leave
Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures and start their new venture. Under
the signed agreement, Mumbai-based Reliance ADA Group will invest $500
million equity and provide another $700 million in debt through J.P.
Morgan Chase & Co. toward the new venture, which will produce a slate
of about six films a year. Paramount said it is releasing the
DreamWorks principals and employees from their contracts. "To
facilitate a timely and smooth transition, Paramount has waived
certain provisions from the original deal to clear the way for the
DreamWorks principals and their employees to join their new company
without delay." The new company will be headed by Spielberg and
Snider. Spielberg, DreamWorks chairman David Geffen and Snider are
expected as a next step to tender their resignations from Paramount.
Even after Spielberg and Snider depart Paramount, they will continue
to work with the studio on a number of movies. The two parties share
rights to many projects, including the upcoming TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE
OF THE FALLEN.

THE JONESES
The Holywood Reporter writes that David Duchovny (X-FILES), Demi
Moore, Gary Cole (AMERICAN GOTHIC, B5's CRUSADE) and Amber Heard are
teaming for the dramedy THE JONESES. The story is a social commentary,
and centers on a picture-perfect family that moves into a suburban
neighborhood and immediately becomes the toast of the town, loved and
envied by all. But the reality is they are a commissioned fake family
put together by a marketing company as a way to introduce new
luxury-level products to neighborhoods around the world. Duchovny
plays the fake father, a man undergoing a crisis of confidence because
he is living a lie. Moore is the mother, a career- driven woman who
struggles with her growing feelings toward her fake husband. Heard
plays the fake daughter who is trying to seduce her fake dad while
looking for a rich man. Cole plays a neighbor. Derrick Borte penned
and will direct the film. Shooting is scheduled to begin mid-October
in Atlanta.

WAREHOUSE 13
The green light has been given by SCI FI Channel to production of the
hourlong drama series WAREHOUSE 13, ordering 11 episodes to go with an
already-shot two-hour pilot, Variety reported. The series stars Eddie
McClintock and Joanne Kelly as Secret Service agents charged with
securing a huge, top-secret South Dakota storage facility full of
supernatural artifacts and relics. Saul Rubinek also stars in the
series, which begins production in February in Toronto and is targeted
for a July premiere. WAREHOUSE 13 is produced by Universal Cable
Productions and is executive-produced by David Simkins. Brent Mote,
Jane Espenson and Simkins wrote the pilot, with Jace Alexander directing.

FLASH FORWARD
The Hollywood Reporter writes that ABC is close to ordering a pilot
for FLASH FORWARD, a science fiction show from filmmaker David S.
Goyer and Star Trek veteran Brannon Braga. ABC is reportedly close to
landing the spec script for the show, which is envisioned as a
companion to LOST. Based on Robert J. Sawyer's SF novel, FLASH FORWARD
chronicles the chaos that ensues after everyone in the world blacks
out for 2 minutes, 17 seconds, and has a mysterious vision of the
future that changes lives forever. Goyer (Blade III) will direct the
pilot. He also will executive-produce with Braga and Jessika Borsiczky
Goyer, along with Vince Gerardis and Ralph M. Vicinanza, who own the
rights to the book. ABC Studios is in negotiations to produce. FLASH
FORWARD originally was developed at HBO.

MOON/GENTLEMAN BRONCOS
Sam Rockwell has two upcoming SF movies: the Jared Hess-directed
GENTLEMAN BRONCOS, an SF comedy, and MOON, a drama about a stranded
astronaut. During a recent interview, Rockwell (Galaxy Quest) said
BRONCOS is an homage to Buck Rogers. "It's more like hillbilly Buck
Rogers. It's weird. It's like a cowboy Flash Gordon. His name's
Bronco, and he's like a hillbilly spaceman. It's weird. It's out there."
Rockwell was vague about the film, about a high schooler at a writer's
camp who gets plagiarized by an experienced novelist. The film is
awaiting a release date from Fox Searchlight.
In MOON, Rockwell plays an astronaut stranded on the lunar surface
while on a mining expedition in the future. "It's about a guy stranded
on the moon for three years, like a Robinson Crusoe kind of guy. He's
mining a product called helium 3 on the surface of the moon for fuel
for the Earth, an energy source. Then he meets his clone, and they
have to deal with each other. So it's sort of an homage to SILENT
RUNNING and a little BLADE RUNNER, as far as the replicants and stuff.
It's like that, but it's a very simple kind of Robinson Crusoe story.
It's this guy pretty much stranded. It's like a Twilight Zone
episode." Shooting as an independent film, MOON made use of
old-school, in-camera effects to allow Rockwell to play both the
astronaut and his clone. "I would do my take, and there was a guy
named Robin Chalk who was sort of a body double/actor," Rockwell said.
"He looked like me from the back of the head. We were the same body
type and size. Robin would read the lines. Then I would have to switch
places with Robin and block out the scene as the other clone, and he
would do the other one." Rockwell sometimes donned makeup between
halves of the same take, because the clone gets sick. He would end up
reacting to his own previous performance. "It was like algebra,"
Rockwell said. "It was the most heady thing I've ever done. It was the
most incredible technical challenge. I do my take, and then I'd switch
clones. You'd hear the [sound] from the previous take, so I'm
literally acting with myself, and the sound guy's feeding me the
previous take of the other clone. I'm hearing my own voice, and I'm
ad-libbing with myself." MOON is an independent production still
seeking distribution.

SHERLOCK HOLMES
According to Variety, Jude Law is negotiating to join Robert Downey
Jr. and Mark Strong in the Guy Ritchie-directed SHERLOCK HOLMES at
Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures. Law is expected
to close a deal shortly to play Dr. John H. Watson, the super-
sleuth's sidekick. Strong is playing the villain, Blackwood. Joel
Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin are producing.
Production begins early next month in London. The film will
incorporate the classic tales written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as
well as the comic book "Sherlock Holmes."

IGOR
Set to open this weekend, IGOR stars the voices of John Cusack, Sean
Hayes, Molly Shannon, Eddie Izzard and Jennifer Coolidge. In this new
animated comedy, IGOR is a hilarious twist on the classic monster
movie. IGOR tells the story of one Igor who's sick of being a lowly
lab assistant with a Yes Master's degree and dreams of becoming a
scientist. When his cruel master kicks the bucket a week before the
annual Evil Science Fair, Igor finally gets his chance. With the help
of two of his experimental creations - Brain, a brain in a jar who's a
little light on brains, and Scamper, a cynical bunny brought back from
being road kill, Igor embarks on building the most evil invention of
all time, a huge, ferocious monster. Unfortunately, instead of turning
out evil, the monster turns out as Eva, a giant aspiring actress who
wouldn't hurt a fly. Just when the load on his back can't get any
heavier, Igor and his band of monstrous misfits uncover an evil plot
that threatens their world. Now, they must fight to save it and prove
that heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

FRINGE RATINGS
According to Variety, the ratings for this week's episode of FRINGE
were boosted by a lead-in from the season premiere of HOUSE. Its
audience improved by a whopping 45 percent (from 9.13 million) over
its premiere a week earlier.

TRUE BLOOD RENEWED
HBO announced yesterday that it has ordered a second season of its
vampire drama TRUE BLOOD. The series, which aired its second episode
this week, will begin production of new episodes early next year in
Los Angeles, with debut set for summer 2009. The Sept. 7 debut episode
is proving to be a hit with HBO audiences, attracting more than 4
million viewers to date, while the debut of the second episode on
Sept. 14 posted an unprecedented 24 percent gain in viewers over the
first week's debut. TRUE BLOOD stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer in
a story about modern-day vampires and their effect on a small
Louisiana town. The series was created and is executive-produced by
Alan Ball, based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.
True Blood airs Sundays at 9 p.m.

AIRMAN
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Gil Kenan and Robert Zemeckis, who
teamed for the animated Oscar-nominated MONSTER HOUSE, are partnering
again for a big-screen version of AIRMAN, a children's adventure book
by Artemis Fowl author Eoin Colfer. Kenan (City of Ember) will direct
the adaptation, which will be done using performance-capture
technology. Zemeckis will produce with his ImageMovers partners Jack
Rapke and Steve Starkey. The swashbuckling scientific story centers on
Conor Broekhart, a young man born in a hot air balloon to a family
close to the king who has a penchant for looking to the skies for
inspiration. The book was released in January.

TOMORROWLAND
Variety reports that Walt Disney Co. is developing an action-adventure
movie set in space, to star Dwayne Johnson, supposedly inspired by the
TOMORROWLAND section of its Disneyland theme park. Writers Jon Lucas
and Scott Moore will draft the script for the movie, which is being
designed as a vehicle for Johnson, who starred for the studio in the
family hit THE GAME PLAN and most recently completed RACT TO WITCH
MOUNTAIN. Disney denied to the trade paper that the film has been
titled TOMORROWLAND or that it is dedicated to the theme park's
futuristic "land," which features such attractions as Space Mountain.
The studio called the nascent project an original script.

DARK FIELDS
During a recent interview with comingSoon.net, director Neil Burger
(The Illusionist) talked about his American road movie THE LUCKY ONES,
and he confirmed to us that he would start shooting DARK FIELDS with
actor Shia LaBeouf (Transformers) in New York City sometime this
winter. Based on the 2002 novel "The Dark Fields" by Alan Glynn, the
Universal Studios thriller is about a pill that makes you smarter and
it's Burger's first film directed based on someone else's script, in
this case an adaptation by Leslie Dixon, who's also writing the remake
of Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS. Burger said the subject matter isn't
handled in a science fiction way but as he told us, "It's more like if
there's viagra or steroids, why isn't there something that increases
your synaptic connections and makes you think smarter and faster, but
it's not without side effects and consequences."

QUANTUM OF SOLACE
MGM has released a couple of new TV spots. To view go to
http://www.movieweb.com/news/27/31327.php. QUANTUM OF SOLACE is a
sequel to 2006's CASINO ROYALE. Daniel Craig is James Bond and the
movie is set for release on November 14.

HARRY BROWN
In a recent interview with MTV News, Michael Caine sayd he's going all
vigilante for his recently announced HARRY BROWN. The story follows an
elderly man driven to vigilante justice in a London neighborhood taken
over by criminals. Emily Mortimer also stars as a police officer.
Caine says of his role "He's an ex-Marine who lives on a real crap
estate in London full of junkies and pimps and hookers. And he becomes
a vigilante because he has to or else they're going to kill him."
Don't expect too much physical action considering Caine's age - "The
guy is old and has emphysema but he is an ex-Marine and you get to
know that. He's in his late 70s and he doesn't want to fight. He's not
exactly a powerhouse but he does start to bring it around."

CONVENTION CALENDAR

October 24-26, 2008
STEEL CITY CON
Place: Pittsburgh, PA
Guests: Ray Park, Daniel Logan, Lou Ferrigno, CJ Graham, Richard Kiel,
Dean Mitchell

For more information, go to http://www.steelcitycon.com

If you have information about other conventions that should be on our
calendar, please pass along the information so that I can post it.
Conventions are great places to meet other people who love science
fiction.

I guess that is about it for now. This should pretty much catch you
up with what has been happening around the world of science fiction.
Be sure to drop over to the website at http://www.isnnews.net to get
the latest news on upcoming series like Sanctuary on SciFi starring
Amanda Tapping and Stargate Universe.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Be safe.

Sandy
Sandra Bruckner
Editor/Publisher, The Zocalo Today
http://www.isnnews.net