The Return of the Doctors
BBC has just released an exclusive interview with Matt Smith and David Tennant on the set of Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary Special. The occasion? A reward for fans who received their Blu-Ray and DVD copies of the shows latest season before the final episode had a chance to air, and not spoiling the finale for the rest of us.
The shows official Twitter explained to fans that if they were able to keep details of the final episode under wraps, a “special video featuring Matt & David” would be unleashed. True to their word — gasp — the video was released to a sea of fainting Whovian’s, and while the actors reveal some incredibly scant details about the upcoming special, I think the clip’s true merit lies in watching Tennant don his signature pinstripe suit and tie once again, but hey, that might just be me.
Nebula Award Winners Announced
It’s time to get a jump start on your summer reading, folks. The most recent batch of Nebula winners was announced this weekend at the SFWA’s 48th Annual Nebula Awards in San Jose, CA., with titles such as 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson and Beasts of the Southern Wild coming out on top. You can head over here for a complete list of recipients, but you might as well open up your Amazon wishlist while you’re at it — you’re going to want to get your hands on these puppies.
Bolaji Badejo, the 6”10 Nigerian actor behind the iconic 1979 Alien.
Justice is Served: Detroit Sees Robocop Statue Come To Life
After years of crowd-funding and rallying support (from everyone but their own mayor), the city of Detroit is preparing to welcome it’s newest citizen: a bronzed statue of Paul Verhoeven’s version of the ever-impressive Robocop.
The statue, petitioned by some of Michigan’s nerdiest and most admirable citizens, was created as a labor of love after the idea of a permanent monument to the mechanized policeman was shot down by mayor Dave Bing. Given the state of Detroit’s reputation regarding violence and crime, many thought the statue to be in poor taste, and with their debt sinking deeper into the red as days go by, no one can be sure whether such an expensive and elaborate project will reflect well on the Motor City.
Though there’s no word yet on where in city the statue will reside, here’s to hoping that the glistening testament to justice will serve Detroit well, and also that a placard is erected below it which reads: “Excuse me, I have to go. Somewhere there is a crime happening.”
John Carpenter Interested in a Dead Space Film?
With a sixty-five year resume spanning the likes of The Thing, Escape From New York, Christine, and the original Halloween, I don’t have to explain to you why director John Carpenter is a silver screen legend.
Carpenter has some crazy range when reviewing his career — films like They Live and Big Trouble in Little China prove just how far out there the filmmaker’s mind goes — but his cinema doctorate is undoubtedly in horror. So as a former twelve-year-old entranced, excited, and terrified by this man’s many instant classics (Prince of Darkness will alter your moral fiber), an internal geek-bomb goes off when I hear John Carpenter is interested in making a Dead Space movie.
A longtime supporter of video games and their unbound potential for storytelling, Carpenter likens the appeal of Visceral Games’ survival horror title to 1979’s Alien (a hit-you-in-the-eye-it’s-so-apparent influence on the games). “The first game was more - I guess it was like Alien - but not quite. It was a little different than that,” says Carpenter.
“I maintain that Dead Space would just make a great movie because you have these people coming onto an abandoned, shut-down space ship and they have to start it up and something’s on board. It’s just great stuff.”
Way back when the first Dead Space game was making waves, a feature film was being optioned with director D.J. Caruso attached. Formerly, Caruso worked on the Shia LaBeouf vehicles, Disturbia and Eagle Eye. That deal eventually lapsed and fans’ dreams of seeing Shia step into Isaac Clarke’s rig — I can’t even finish that sentence; nobody fucking wanted that.
Dead Space has found its gore laden way into just about every avenue of media — comics, novels, animated films, toys — but hasn’t carved a path through Hollywood yet, and Dead Space 3’s less than stellar sales do little to endorse an adaptation. That hasn’t deterred Carpenter, though. “I would love to make Dead Space, I’ll tell you that right now,” he says. “That one is ready-made.”
THE 'MYTHIC SCI-FI' WORLD OF DESTINY [3/?]
The First Trailer for Ender’s Game Has Landed
Look, I’m not going to lie to you folks — up until recently, I’ve been incredibly skeptical about this adaptation of Ender’s Game. Despite being written by one of the most bigoted science fiction authors in recent memory, it happens to be one of my favorite books and, incidentally, one of the greatest novels of all time. We’ve all been burned by Hollywood before, so I feel confident that my trepidation towards the film is not entirely unjust. But I have to tell you guys — I took one look at this trailer, and you know what? I’m actually excited.
The award-winning cast should have been enough for me. Of course Harrison Ford is going to ace his performance, and there’s no questioning the utter brilliance that is Ben Kingsley, but it’s really Asa Butterfield’s portrayal of the titular Ender Wiggin that piqued my curiosity. It’s hardly possible to cast a six-year-old in such a tense and demanding role, but I’m looking forward to seeing what the Hugo star is well and truly capable of.
As a director, Gavin Hood has a lot to prove. My initial reaction to his attachment to the film was lukewarm at best, and the thought of him turning one of my most beloved novels into an over-produced blockbuster is not an unfounded fear. However, seeing the Battle School in action and watching a fleet of formic baddies swarm over our heroes has genuinely impressed me — plus, it’s a little hard not to fall head over heels for the Bugger’s ship design. Hell, just look at that thing!
There isn’t much else I can say without spoiling it, so why not take a gander at the first trailer for Ender’s Game and judge it for yourself. The film is set to hit theaters sometime this November, and though the odds of a successful translation of the original text are looking up, always remember, friends: the enemies gate is down.
Image by John Berkey
