I can't wait for Battlestar Galactica Season 3

The new season of Battlestar Galactica is still a few months away, but thank "the gods" Sci Fi Channel is letting us in early with a new Pulse Web-show Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance starting on Sept. 5th.

Most of these web and phone spin-off style episodes are pretty bad. If you have ever tried to sit through the ones on the 24 season 4 DVD set you know what I'm talking about. But, I am keeping my fingers crossed that BG's excellent writing team are going to be involved in these shows. Plus, Sci Fi's Pulse has delivered some pretty quality programming so far.

via

SNL - Star Wars Auditions

I forgot all about this great skit with Kevin Spacey as Christopher Walken as Han Solo.
Good stuff!

The WB is going to ruin the Thundercats

As a huge Thundercats fan, I watched the DVD releases with the same joy I felt everytime I sat in front of the TV when I was little. But, Ain't it Cool News' inside info that they are remaking the series has me wishing that it never existed.

According to Ain't it Cool's source,

The animation style is whimsical, Americanized-anime, along the lines of Teen Titans. The setting is modern-day Earth, in a major city (possibly LA) The Thundercats are all teenagers. Their leader is Snarf (!) who is now a mystic with a "third" eye. Each of the Thundercats has a weapon with an "Eye of Thunderra" and transformative powers (not just Lion-O) When they aren't fighting evil, the Thundercats play together as a rock band. That's not a typo, or a joke. They are rockin' cats in their present form. Mum-Ra now has wings.

I am too appalled to rant about how ludicrous this sounds!

The Eragon Poster looks killer!

Call me a D&D nerd, but I can't wait to see the movie adaptation of Christopher Paolini's Eragon. I know it was run of the mill fantasy with very little that stood out, but I still liked it.
I know it wont be as good as Harry Potter, but let's hope it's better than the horribly hilarious Dungeons and Dragons.

Parker and Stone to make Giant Monsters Attack Japan!

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone announced that they will make a film for Nickelodeon films called Giant Monsters Attack Japan!.

Yes! I have been a kaiju fan from childhood and watch Kaiju Big Battel (which is where the above picture is from) whenever they release a dvd. Parker and Stone have the humor to pull off a great parody style movie. I'm not worried about the film being toned down for Nickelodeon. I know these two can be side splitting funny without ever breaking the PG rating.

via sci fi wire

Bug Trailer

The concept is so B-movie it's funny, but the star power ( Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, and Harry Connick Jr.) make it otherwise. Is William Friedkin trying to once again make the horror movie "hollywood cool"?

Trailer

Note to Lucas(fer) - Listen to Jeffery Overstreet!

Jeffery Overstreet makes me jump for joy when he insists that the only way Indy IV will be any good is if they cast Nathan Fillion! Do it Lucas!! Make up for all the crap you have put us through.

Of course, Overstreet and I differ when it comes to his opinion of Temple of Doom and Young Indiana Jones. I think I am one of the few that love everything the series has offered (though I haven't played the video games).

A Beginner's guide to Speculative Fiction

Eve's Amlexandria has an interesting post counting down the top 14 or so works of speculative fiction that every beginner should read. Since I have only read a few of the authors (Mieville, Stephenson , and Le Guin) and only one of the works (Fahrenheit 451 - though I am 1/3 of the way through Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell)so I should probably get started.

Transformer's roster revealed

We've been gone for a few weeks soaking up the sun and being sad that school is starting up, but now I am back from class and looking for anything to avoid work.

A few days ago Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci, the writers of Transformers the Movie announced the rooster for both the Autobots and Decepticons.

AUTOBOTS: Optimus Prime. Bumblebee ("The same G1 character we always knew and loved...He's the scout, the one that comes ahead of the Autobots"). Jazz. Ratchet (medical officer/science officer - new form, not an ambulance). Ironhide ("He's the muscle - a tough soldier...The first one to jump into battle" ).
DECEPTICONS: Megatron (has a Social Darwinist view of humanity - survival of the fittest). Starscream. Brawl ("an extremely pissed off Decepticon. Always ready to jump into a fight, even when the fight isn't worth it.") Bonecrusher. Barricade. Scorponok. Frenzy (an infiltrator). Blackout (sends an EMP-style blast to take out electronics, detection devices, etc. in advance of Decepticon attack).

via ain't it cool

All in all, I think it's shaping up to be an interesting movie. Bumblebee and Starscream have always been favorites.

Indy IV slated for 2008

According to Sci Fi Wire, Lucas said that

he, director Steven Spielberg and star Harrison Ford are aiming to shoot a proposed fourth Indiana Jones movie by mid-2007, with an eye to a 2008 release. But, he added, getting everyone back together may not be easy.

"Before, I was just working with Steven and Harrison," Lucas told the magazine. "Now everybody's a superstar, so it's a little bit more difficult than it was then."

Who are they talking about? The only actor I can think of is Connery and they could work around him if they really needed to.

He also blows off about fan anticipation and how they are going to do a Phantom Menace style prequel. Well, unless he makes Jar Jar Indy's sidekick I think we'll be fine. The good thing about the Indy franchise is that he has some checks and balances in place with Spielberg and Ford.

Read the first chapters of Orson Scott Card's Empire

Over at his website, Hatrack River, Orson Scott Card has posted the first five chapters of his new novel, Empire.

Hatrack states that Empire is about an possible future where:

The American Empire has grown too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point. The war of words between Right and Left has collapsed into a shooting war, though most people just want to be left alone.

The battle rages between the high-technology weapons on one side and militia foot soldiers on the other, devastating the cities and overrunning the countryside. But the vast majority, who only want the killing to stop and the nation to return to more peaceful days, have technology, weapons, and strategic geniuses of their own.

We haven't had a chance to read the section yet, but we'll post a small review as soon as we get a chance.

New shows and movies

SF Signal has a run down of some of the new tv shows and movies that are coming this fall based on this USA Today article. Though I might not agree with all their assesments (The Fountain is pretty high up there on my must-see), it's a pretty nice list.

Batttlestar Galactica Season 3 trailer

If you haven't seen the trailer for season 3 of some of the best sci fi television around, check it out here. I have been watching it every few days. Thank God I have Stargate: Atlantis to tide me over till then.

Small clip from Skinwalkers

About.com has a small clip from Skinwalkers up. You can't really tell what is going on in the script. The movie is about

a 12-year-old boy who suddenly finds himself at the center of a battle between two warring groups of werewolves. One group of werewolves is sworn to protect him, the other group is trying to kill him -- and the young boy's mother has to find out why her son is at the center of the conflict before time runs out.

I'm interested in seeing this one. It has a real Near Dark look to it.

But, I really wish someone would make a movie of the wonderful Oni Press graphic novel Skinwalker.

via bloody-disgusting

Terry Pratchett Interview

The Dragon Page has a short, but interesting interview with satire/fantasy writer, Terry Pratchett. I am reading Pratchett's book Thud! now, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I'll have a review up in a few days.

Helitrope Magazine releases their first issue

I have been reading some of the stories and articles in the Helitrope Magazine.

Their first issue is posted on their site in pdf format by section, so the downloads are small.

Grindhouse Teaser Posters

Troublemaker studios has their teaser posters for Rodriguez and Tarantino's double feature Grindhouse over at their website.

All of them look great in that "capture the old school" way, but I love this one for Death Proof!

via aintitcool

Darth Vader being a smart ass!

You might have seen this making the rounds, but it's too good not to post!

via the Anchoress

Batman: The Dark Knight To Trust Nolan or not?

The more I hear about the preparations for Batman: The Dark Night, the more worried I become. It's not that I didn't love Batman Begins. Chris Nolan is a wonderful director; Christian Bale played a great Bat and Bruce Wayne. I will abstain from slamming Katie Holmes.

I really just worry about how the villains are going to fit into the mix.

The biggest reason I have this fear is that Batman Begins could have been villain-less and I still would have loved the movie. That's because Begins is a coming of age story; the story of a man with no future, hitting rock bottom and coming back to see that he has a mission beyond himself. Sure, the Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul were there, but they were little more than faceless images of Batman’s inner struggles.

It's the reason that Spiderman works so well. The story is never really about the heroes and villain, their about the man and his everyday struggles. Yet, the older Batman franchise never got this part right.

This is stuff we already know, so I'm wondering if maybe I am just getting bogged down in all the casting frenzy. Still, people can argue and argue over the merits of Heath Ledger, when really, no Joker is going to work unless Nolan can tie him into Batman's sruggle in a way that neither the villains from the first film or Nicholson (though he did play a wonderfully over the top Joker in a over the top movie) ever did. I want to see the pain of loosing his family (the love for the city that meant so much to his parents) pushed to the edge by the re-appearance of their killer (if they go that way, which I believe they need to do).

If the movie falls into the rut of "bad guy (or guys) hatches plan and Batman has to stop him," I will be deeply disappointed.

The first 6 min. of The Illusionist

The Illusionist has joined the long line of movies that are now offerning segments online. It's mostly the credits, but it pushes my expectations up even higher. This is going to be a wonderful film.