THE ZOCALO TODAY – May 2, 2009

WHAT'S NEW
There are a few new items I wanted to make sure you were aware of – and it has
been a while since the last update.

J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI AT MIT MAY 22
Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski will deliver the second annual Julius
Schwartz Lecture on campus May 22nd at 7:00 p.m. The event is open to the public
so buy your tickets ($10) early either online or at Hub Comics in Somerville or
Comicopia in Kenmore Square.
You might also be happy to know that in addition to writing both original and
adapted screenplays, he is working on LAST WORDS, a pilot for a new TV series
for TNT and Dreamworks. It is supposedly an hour-long drama with a paranormal
thrust.
The event is sponsored by MIT's Comparative Media Studies program with Professor
Henry Jenkins as host. He will engage in a Q&A with Straczynski following the
lecture and then Straczynski will field questions from the audience.

RANGER REPORTS
BRUCE BOXLEITNER
Ranger Anne writes that Bruce Boxleitner made a return visit to CHUCK this past
Monday night (4/27), in the season finale "Chuck Versus the Ring." The episode
featured the wedding of Chuck Bartowski's little sister Ellie to Devon (aka
Captain Awesome), and how evil Ted Roark & his agents from Fulcrum wanted to
stop the wedding to steal the Intercept (Chuck), with the threat of killing
Ellie. Bruce reprised his role of Devon's father Woody (from earlier in the
season).

PAT TALLMAN
Ranger Morjana reports that the SciFi Channel is airing STAR RUNNERS on
Saturday, June 13 at 9pm, and it will be repeated Sunday June 14 at 1:30am.
According to TrekTrak.com, STAR RUNNERS was a failed pilot for USA, and that
Patricia Tallman co-starred in it -- from 1998!
Patty is one of my favorite B5 people -- so it will be fun to see her on screen
again -- mark your calendars.

THE BIRTH OF THE BABYLON 5 STORY
In 1999, J. Michael Straczynski allowed his original notes on Babylon 5 to be
released via his Last Word column in the Babylon 5 Magazine (Vol. 2, Issue 9).
These notes were the first written record of Babylon 5, made moments after he
had his inspiration for the series while taking a shower.
Though the magazine is long gone, on this, the 10th anniversary of this column's
publication, he wanted to share the origins of Babylon 5 again. While many fans
saw them when they were originally published, he realizes that many more have
not.
In addition to the notes, there is a brief introduction that formed part of that
column. Go to http://www.cafepress.com/thejoestore/6587738 to read a portion of
that history.

NEW BABYLON 5 BOOK SERIES COMING IN MAY
The Script Team has announced a new BABYLON 5 series of books that will debut in
May. No information on what series they are talking about -- we will have to
wait to see.

BABYLON PODCAST
Welcome to Show #153!
It's "pick a random special day in April" hour! Hug An Australian Day, Pet
Owners Independence Day, and Jeffrey waxes nostalgic over Thomas Jefferson's
birthday.

The innuendo runs amok. There must be something in the water…
Deep Geeking: This week, we take the first step into the final arc in the
overall 5-year journey, embarking on Deep Geeking for Season 5.
"No Compromises" falls under the bright light of examination, and Jeffrey
recounts an impressive Tracy Scoggins audition story.

Discussion: Gary promises to get us pictures of both space shuttles on the
launch pads at the same time; and he also sent us a recording of the Babylon
Files: Volume 2 foreword that Jeffrey wrote for Andy Lane. Interestingly enough,
he lets us know that Pat Tallman also wrote the afterword for the same book…
maybe Gary will read that for us sometime soon.

Jeffrey also recounts his experience being caught on both sides of the strike
that affected the set for a short time, and the emotional impact it had on him
at the time.

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media's Second Life space is now the penthouse suite
of Third Life Books. You can find the castle at
http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the castle roof pool,
and more!

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related
website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror
it here or house it on a sister site.
To catch up on all the Babylon 5 podcasts, go to http://www.babylonpodcast.com.

WARNER ARCHIVE ADDS NEW TITLES
If you love old movies, you will have to visit the new Warner Bros. Archive
Site. They have launched the Warner Archive Collection (www.WarnerArchive.com) a
new initiative allowing fans to own over 150 at launch and eventually several
thousands of films that have been in its vault for decades including hidden
treasures starring legends such as Carry Grant, Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn
and Greta Garbo. All films are available for the FIRST TIME EVER on DVD and On
Demand.

Warner Archive is also providing a fun promotion for all classic fans~!

For a limited time Buy 2 Warner Archive films and Get the Third Free with coupon
code: SPITFIRE

Also experience more film history with the official Warner Archive Podcast
Series � a treat for any Film fan.
Featuring classic radio show broadcasts originally recorded to promote the
theatrical debut of several films included in the Archive Collection
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=310063354
http://pdl.warnerbros.com/wbol/us/dd/podcasts/wac/wac_main.xml

SCI FI TO SY FY ON JULY 7
Sci Fi Channel will launch its new name and branding with the two-hour premiere
of its so-called thrilleromedy "Warehouse 13" on Tuesday, July 7 at 9-11 p.m.
ET/PT. "Warehouse 13" centers on two secret agents, the meticulously detailed
Myka (Joanne Kelly) and highly intuitive but unpredictable Pete (Eddie
McClintock), who have been assigned out to South Dakota's mysterious Warehouse
13, where Artie (Saul Rubinek) is the caretaker of a vast array of strange and
fantastical artifacts.

Shortly afterward, "Eureka" will return for the second half of its third season,
moving from Tuesdays to Fridays, beginning July 10 at 9 p.m. If you recall, Jack
(Colin Ferguson) lost his job as the town's sheriff, so that's stressful. His
daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson) isn't helping, since she's giving him grief on the
home front.
Other summer goodies from Syfy:

- "Ghost Hunters International" returns Wednesday, July 8 at 9 p.m.
- "Ghost Hunters" returns Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 9 p.m.
- Syfy's fantastical movies: "Malibu Shark Attack" starring Peta Wilson
(prehistoric goblin-y sharks); "High Plains Invader" starring James Marsters
(giant insectoid aliens); "Hellhounds" directed by Rick Schroeder (Greek warrior
in Hades); and "Sand Serpents" starring Jason Gedrick (giant worm-like critters
in Afghanistan).
- Marathons: Memorial Day - "Land of the Lost"; July 4th celebration (Thursday -
Saturday) "Twilight Zone"

AROUND THE WORLD OF SCIENCE FICTION
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Fox appears to have a good jump on the
weekend opening for its Hugh Jackman starrer X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, which
registered at least $4.5 million in midnight Thursday performances in the U.S.
and Canada.
The studio was still culling through preliminary data Friday afternoon, and the
witching-hour's tally may run as high as $5 million when finalized. Though
hardly a record, that should offer some comfort to anyone at Fox still worrying
whether the pricey tentpole will be hampered by lost business from a pirated
copy of an early version of the film that's been circulated widely over the
Internet.
Studio execs suggested they will be happy with a domestic haul anywhere north of
$70 million through Sunday. Prerelease tracking seemed to indicate an opening of
$80 million-plus.
WOLVERINE also launches in 101 international territories this weekend – the
first frame in the summer boxoffice season.

PALE HORSEMEN
Variety reports that Kevin Grevioux has set up another one of his comic book
properties for a film adaptation, and this time he's at the helm. Grevioux's
graphic novel THE PALE HORSEMEN has been been picked up by NEHST Studios.
Grevioux will be adapting from his own graphic novel and he will also be making
his feature film directorial debut on the project. The story revolves around a
group of asssasins who must reluctantly band together to discover who murdered
their mentor and teacher.
The news comes on the heels of another Grevioux comic book adaptation, I,
FRANKENSTEIN, that was recently picked up for an adaptation by Death Ray Films.
No production schedule was released for the project.

DISTRICT NINE
The first trailer for Neill Blomkamp's upcoming sci-fi thriller DISTRICT 9 is
now available at
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/district9/medium.html. This film,
produced by Peter Jackson, takes place in a South African refugee camp for
extraterrestrials.
DISTRICT 9 opens on August 9.

DARK TOWER
MTV.com writes that STAR TREK director J.J. Abrams and his producing partner,
Damon Lindelof (LOST), told IGN.com that they have been working on a film
adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel series THE DARK TOWER.
"Damon Lindelof and I talked to Mr. King," Abrams said. "We got the rights for
[DARK TOWER] as a film. Damon is obviously still on LOST, and we've been working
on STAR TREK together. As soon as LOST is done, hopefully we'll begin tackling
that."
As LOST wraps up its penultimate season and gets ready for its sixth and final
year, Lindelof told the Lostpedia that his entire creative energy is currently
focused solely on the series.
"We're just so focused on finishing LOST that it's really hard to think about
anything else," he said. "The last thing we want to think about is how to adapt
a seven-book series of, you know, basically the writer who we admire the most
and look up to most and has inspired our work the most and do anything with
that. I think that it's such a daunting task. We have a pretty daunting task in
front of us ourselves [with the end of LOST]."
Previously, Lindelof told AMC that he envisions the series on the same scope as
Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, possibly even seven movies to match
the book series' seven volumes.

THE ROAD
Dimension Films and 2929 Productions announced an Oct. 16 release date for THE
ROAD, the post-apocalyptic drama starring Viggo Mortensen and based on Cormac
McCarthy's best-selling novel.
Mortensen co-stars with Robert Duvall and Charlize Theron in the movie, which
chronicles the journey of a man and his young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) across the
blasted American landscape following an unnamed cataclysm.
Guy Pearce also stars in the movie, which was directed by John Hillcoat from a
screenplay by Joe Penhall.

THE LAST VOYAGE OF DEMETER
According to Variety, Director Marcus Nispel (Friday the 13th) is in talks to
board the vampire-themed THE LAST VOYAGE OF DEMETER for Phoenix Pictures with
Mike Medavoy, Arnie Messer and Brad Fischer producing.
The story, written by Bragi Schut Jr., is based on a chapter in Bram Stoker's
Dracula describing the arrival of the vampire count in England on a cargo ship
that has crashed into the rocks at Whitby with no crew and the dead captain
lashed to the steering wheel.
Stoker tells the story via the captain's log of the voyage, which begins in
Bulgaria and becomes increasingly disjointed as members of the crew disappear.

DEATH NOTE
Variety indicates that Warner Brothers has acquired rights to turn the Japanese
manga series DEATH NOTE into a live-action film. The studio has hired
screenwriters Charley and Vlas Parlapanides to adapt.
The story centers on a college student who accidentally finds a misplaced "death
note," infusing him with the power to kill merely by writing anyone's name on
the page while picturing the person in his mind.
The 13-volume manga is a best-seller in Japan, and the film will be drawn from
the first three installments, written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi
Obata for Shueisha Inc.

IRON MAN 2
USA Today has provided the first look at Robert Downey Jr. in IRON MAN 2, as
well as director Jon Favreau's comments on the sequel's themes.
The sequel began shooting three weeks ago in and around Los Angeles and opens
May 7, 2010. It takes place six months after Stark revealed his identity as Iron
Man, Favreau told the newspaper.
"How many superheroes are open about their true identities?" he asks. "We wanted
to play with that idea. But it obviously has consequences in his relationships,
on the team. There are a lot of areas we can explore."

DISNEY JOINS HULU
According to Variety, Disney has signed on as an equity partner with NBC
Universal, News Corp. and Providence Equity Partners in the fast-growing
Internet vid distrib that ranks No. 2 to YouTube as a purveyor of Web video.
Move leaves CBS as the only Big Four network without a presence on Hulu.
Once the deal formally closes, Disney will make full-length episodes and other
content from a range of Mouse House shows, including ABC hits "Lost," "Grey's
Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives," available for ad-supported webstreaming via
Hulu's proprietary player.
Among the other shows slated to be made available on Hulu are ABC's "Ugly
Betty," "Dancing With the Stars," "Private Practice" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live";
ABC Family's "Secret Life of the American Teenager"; Disney Channel's "Wizards
of Waverly Place"; and a range of ABC and Disney library product.

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST
While out promoting his latest movie project, GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST,
Matthew McConaughey said that he took the role because it gave him a real range
of acting challenges.
"It was a really well-written role, very colorful," McConaughey said. "In this
type of film I don't get to start off playing a lead male that has such an
opinion one way, that's crass and rash and not pandering; to then go through the
story, learn some lessons and come out of the story the next day a new man, a
guy who's lost his way and then finds his way."
In the film, inspired by Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, McConaughey plays
Connor Mead, a legendary ladies' man who begins to reconsider his
commitment-free ways when he is visited by three ghosts who force him to revisit
past relationships. McConaughey appeared alongside co-star Jennifer Garner and
director Mark Waters to promote the film, which opens Friday.

BATTLE FOR TERRA
Aristomenis Tsirbas, who co-wrote and directed the upcoming animated sci-fi
familiy movie BATTLE FOR TERRA, said during a recent interview that the film
deals with complicated issues, but that he believe children can handle them. The
film tells the story of an alien race that faces an army of human explorers with
an eye on taking over their planet after war has destroyed Earth.
"I actually talked to a lot of kids about the story, and they really liked it,"
Tsirbas said. "It seemed as though there was an appetite for science fiction
that wasn't just action, that had interesting concepts that relate to kids.
Especially kids of today, who are kind of really ecologically aware, much more
so than I was when I was a child."
Some of the film's intellectually challenging and provocative themes include
religion and politics. The aliens believe the first human invasion to be the
appearance of gods. The human military leader declares an "us or them" policy,
since Terra would need to be terraformed to support human life, rendering it
deadly to the natives.

FRINGE
You heard his voice before -- but you haven't seen his image yet on FRINGE. Now
TV Addict has posted the first image of Leonard Nimoy as the mysterious William
Bell in Fox's sci-fi series FRINGE.
Nimoy's Bell appears in the upcoming first-season finale, which airs May 12.
FRINGE aris Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

RED
The Risky Business Blog reports that action icon Bruce Willis is currently
eyeing the starring role in RED, a WildStorm/DC Comic. Summit Entertainment will
be making the film.
Red sees Willis as an ex-black-ops agent who comes back into action when a
high-tech assassin comes after him and the woman he loves. Lorenzo di
Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian are producing. Writing the screenplay are Erich
and Jon Hoeber.
Currently Willis and Co. are negotiating with Summit regarding the role. Richard
Donner could be directing.
He is also looking at a thriller with NuImage/Millennium titled INVENTORY, and
the underworld biopic Scarpa for Morgan Creek. INVENTORY would see Willis'
character as a detective going after a killer.
Lastly, the actor is circling Morgan Creek's Scarpa. Directed by Antoine Fuqua
(Training Day), that film looks at the life of Greg Scarpa. He was an FBI
informant who went undercover in New York's Columbo family.

HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow) will be making
HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS. The film will look at what happened to the
siblings 15 years after everything went down in the original story. They are now
"specialized bounty hunters" who are on the hunt for bad things.
The film will be made through Gary Sanchez Productions which is owned by Adam
McKay and Will Ferrell.
"The idea is, they've grown up and they hunt witches," McKay states. "It's a
hybrid sort of old-timey feeling, yet there's pump-action shotguns. Modern
technology but in an old style. We heard it and we were just like, 'That's a
freakin' franchise! You could make three of those!' "

THE LISTENER
This summer, Craig Olejnik stars in NBC's THE LISTENER.
"My character is telepathic," the 29-year-old Canadian actor said in an recent
interview at NBC's Summer Press Day in Pasadena, Calif. "You ... meet him at the
beginning of the show at this point in his life where he's beginning to open up
the closet in the sense that his telepathy was always something he tried to
avoid and put in the corner. But ... in doing that, he kind of pigeonholed
himself into a very solitary life."
THE LISTENER stars Olejnik as Toby Logan, a paramedic who has revealed his
telepathic abilities only to his mentor and confidant, Dr. Ray Mercer (Colm
Feore). The show follows Logan as he makes his rounds with his energetic
partner, "Oz" Bey (Ennis Esmer), helping people and trying to uncover the truth
about his past. The Canadian production also stars Lisa Marcos as Detective
Charlie Marks and Mylene Dinh-Robic as Logan's ER-doctor ex-girlfriend, Olivia
Fawcett. THE LISTENER debuts on NBC on June 4 and will air Thursdays at 10 p.m.
ET/PT.

WALL STREET
Variety writes that 20th Century Fox has set Oliver Stone to return as helmer of
the sequel to his 1987 hit WALL STREET. Shia LaBeouf is also in the mix for WALL
STREET 2. LaBeouf is negotiating to join Michael Douglas, who won an Oscar for
his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in the original pic. The sequel will once again
involve a young Wall Street trader, and the recent economic meltdown spurred by
rampant greed and corruption will fit prominently into the plot. Allan Loeb will
write the script. Edward R. Pressman is back as producer.

THE FORGOTTEN
The Hollywood Reporter indicates that John Wells and Don Murphy, through their
respective companies John Wells Prods. and Angryfilms, have teamed up to develop
the independent comic THE FORGOTTEN for the big screen. The comic centers on a
man who, no matter what he does or whom he meets, is forgotten five minutes
later. While it gives him great power and leeway as far as investigations and
problem-solving, it leaves him incredibly alone. When the son of a long-lost
friend is charged wrongly with murder, he uses his powers to get to the bottom
of a conspiracy.
FORGOTTEN, published and co-created by Evan Young and Jareth Grealish, was
unveiled in 2004 at the San Diego ComicCon. The duo published a four-issue
series and a collectors edition. No production date has been set.

RED TAILS
Gerald McRaney has signed on to the cast of Lucasfilm's RED TAILS, the Anthony
Hemingway-directed action drama about the Tuskegee Airmen. According to The
Hollywood Reporter, McRaney will play General Luntz, the officer who assigns the
Red Tails as bomber escorts during missions over Nazi held territory.
The film, starring Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr., was written by John
Ridley from a story by George Lucas and is being produced by Rick McCallum and
Charles Floyd Johnson with Lucas as exec producer. Production is set to shoot in
Europe.

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Amanda Peet has joined the cast of
adventure/comedy GULLIVER'S TRAVELS for 20th Century Fox. The modern retelling
of Jonathan Swift's classic story follows travel writer Lemuel Gulliver (Jack
Black), who heads to an assignment in the Bermuda Triangle only to end up on the
secret island of Lilliput, home to a population of industrious tiny people.
Peet will play Black's editor and potential romantic interest. Jason Segel and
Emily Blunt also star. MONSTERS VS. ALIENS co-director Rob Letterman helms from
a script by Nicholas Stoller and Joe Stillman.

PRIMEVAL
Warner Brothers and Impossible Pictures are developing a feature film based on
its sci-fi series PRIMEVAL, from the creators of WALKING WITH DINOSAURS, for
2010, BBC America announced.
In the meantime, the third season of the hit British series debuts on BBC
America on May 16 and will air Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
The new season will feature new cast members, new monsters and special effects
and a rare location shoot in London's British Museum.
Joining the cast are Jason Flemying and Laila Rouass. The new season also brings
an unusual new monster designed entirely by a Primeval fan.
At the start of the new season, Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) is still reeling
from Stephen's death and the extent of his wife Helen's (Juliet Aubrey)
betrayal. As he fights to refocus his embattled team, the anomalies continue to
present an unrelenting series of threats. If the team thought the mammoth was a
tough nemesis, then the giganotosaurus is truly epic.
In addition, creatures steeped in ancient folklore begin to appear as it becomes
clear that the origins of myths and legends are linked with the mysterious
anomalies. From a pristichampus, a creature that bears a striking resemblance to
the ancient Egyptian crocodile demon Ammut, to a dracorex being hunted by a
deranged knight who's convinced it's a dragon he must slay, it seems everyone
wants a bite of the action.

CONVENTION CALENDAR

May 8-10, 2009
EYECON: TWILGHT
City: Orlando, Florida
For more information, go to http://www.eyeconfla.com

May 16-17, 2009
WonderFest 20
Place: Louisville, Kentucky
Guests: Veronica Cartwright, Angela Cartwright, Tom Woodruff, Jr., and many more
For more information, go to www.wonderfest.com for more information.

I guess that will pretty much catch you up on what's been happening over the
last few weeks. Be sure to pop over to the website (http://www.isnnews.net)
when you have a chance to get the latest in information about new movies, TV
series, etc.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Be safe,
Sandy
Sandra Bruckner
Editor/Publisher
ISN News: The Zocalo Today
http://www.isnnews.net