A Few Misc.Items before we go back to Oscar'izing
EDITOR'S NOTE: JUST A FEW ITEMS THAT WOULDN'T 'KEEP' TILL THE POST-OSCAR CATCH-UP.
TELEVISION:
Straczynski Wants To Reboot Trek
Inspired by a recent SCI FI Wire poll, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski posted a message to a newsgroup urging fans to write to Paramount, owner of the rights to the Star Trek franchise, in support of a new Trek series that he and Bryce Zabel (Dark Skies) developed last year.
Although the studio originally passed on the treatment due to "political considerations," EDITOR'S NOTE: 'POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS'? NOT WANTING TO RUFFLE BERMAN ET AL'S FEATHERS? SHEESH....Straczynski feels that they might reconsider if they knew that fans were eager for such an idea.
"I'm taking the unusual step of going right to the source ... right to you guys," Straczynski said in the message. "Fueled in part by a number of recent articles and polls, including one at www.scifi.com/scifiwire in which nearly 18,000 fans voted their preference for a new Trek series, and 48 percent of that figure called for a [J. Michael Straczynski] take on Trek."
Straczynski said that he and Zabel share an affection for the original Star Trek series, and a disappointment in the later iterations of the series. Together, they created a new treatment and a five-year story arc with the intention of returning to the roots of the world created by Gene Roddenberry.
"If you want to see a new Trek series that's true to Gene's original creation, helmed by myself and Bryce, with challenging stories, contemporary themes, solid extrapolation, and the infusion of some of our best and brightest SF prose writers, then you need to let the folks at Paramount know that. If the 48 percent of the 18,000 folks who voted at SciFi.com sent those sentiments to Paramount, there'd be a new series in the works tomorrow," Straczynski said.
Straczynski added that he felt that the current stewards of the series have been too cautious in their stories, and the franchise has suffered as a result. EDITOR'S NOTE: YA THINK?!
"Over time, Trek was treated like a Porsche that's kept in the garage all the time, for fear of scratching the finish," Straczynski said. "The stories were, for the most part, safe, more about technology than what William Faulkner described as 'the human heart in conflict with itself.' Yes, there were always exceptions, but in general that trend became more and more apparent with the passage of years. Which was why so often I came down on the later stories, which I did openly, because I didn't feel they lined up with what Trek was created to be. I don't apologize for it, because that was what I felt as a fan of Trek. That's why I had [Roddenberry's widow Majel Barrett] appear on B5, to send a message that I believe in what Gene created EDITOR'S NOTE: JMS HAS HAD HIS BAD DAYS AT THE OFFICE, BUT BY AND LARGE HE REALLY KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING. AND A 5-YEAR ARC IS EXACTLY WHAT TREK NEEDS. (APART FROM THE JMS WORDS OF WISDOM ABOVE, THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT HAS DERAILED TREK OF LATE...THE GENERAL AIMLESSNESS OF IT. IT ROBS IT OF MOST OF ITS HEFT).
Tarantino bloodying 'CSI' team
Call it "Kill Gil."EDITOR'S NOTE: SMIRK.
Quentin Tarantino has signed to direct the season-finale episode of primetime's most-watched series, CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
Tarantino also has come up with an original story for the episode, which is expected to shoot in early April and air May 19, according to "CSI" executive producer Carol Mendelsohn.
Tarantino has long been a fan of the stylish forensic drama as series creator/executive producer Anthony Zuiker learned when he bumped into Tarantino at an awards show during
"CSI's" first season. They have pursued him to direct an episode for some time, and after members of the "CSI" crew ran into Tarantino a few weeks ago while the show was doing some location shooting in Las Vegas, the stars finally aligned for him to helm the show's fifth-season closer, Mendelsohn said."He knows everything there is to know about 'CSI,' and he is into the whole mythology of 'CSI,' " Mendelsohn said. "Quentin came in a couple of weeks ago. We had a story meeting with the writers. He had a great idea, and it was so much fun to have him in the room. ... We are positively giddy." EDITOR'S NOTE: WHAT FUN!
Zuiker, in particular, "worships Quentin," she added. Mendelsohn said the story will involve a plot that finds one of the key members of the CSI team, led by Gil Grissom (William Petersen), in serious jeopardy. The teleplay will be penned by Mendelsohn, Zuiker and Naren Shankar.
"There will be more bugs and blood this time," Mendelsohn joked.
Tarantino, who earned an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay to his 1994 smash "Pulp Fiction," directed a 1995 episode of "ER" and appeared as a guest actor on ABC's "Alias" in 2002 and last year. His other features include the "Kill Bill" films, "Jackie Brown" and "Reservoir Dogs."
EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS NEXT ONE WILL PLEASE DWEEBPAL BECKY...AMONG OTHERS.
Sci Fi Renews Battlestar Gallactica
Sci Fi Channel has renewed drama series Battlestar Galactica for a second season that will begin production in March.
The network ordered 20 more episodes of the series, which has averaged about 3 million viewers per episode since its January launch and has continued to capture a strong audience of 25-54-year olds on Friday nights at 10EST, the network said.
The new season is expected to premiere this summer with most of the original cast returning, including Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck. EDITOR'S NOTE: I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO SEE ANYTHING BUT THE PILOT MOVIE, BUT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO CATCHING UP WITH THE TAPES, SINCE SEVERAL OF YOU HAVE BEEN TOUTING IT HIGHLY. (AND THE PILOT WAS GREAT).
I WONDER IF THE SCIFI CHANNEL REALIZES THEY JUST RE-UPPED A SHOW THAT IS ACTUALLY....UMM...SCIENCE FICTION. HOW DID IT SLIP IN THERE? (SNICKER....)
MOVIES:
More "Die Hard 4.0"
Empire Online talked with Bruce Willis about the fourth "Die Hard" film and he had a few more tidbits to throw out.
Willis says that, Doug Richardson took a shot at "Die Hard 4.0" and it’s a good idea. McClane’s retired, he’s not a cop anymore. The script will be done by summer and they want to shoot it in the fall.
"It’s completely different from the other three films." He went on to say that, "...it has something to do with computers…” EDITOR'S NOTE: YOU CAN KEEP YOUR STEEL MAGNOLIAS; "DIE HARD" ROCKS!
ODDS-N-ENDS:
Oscar-nominee Portman infuriates religious Jews over kiss scene
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Hollywood star Natalie Portman, nominated for a best supporting actress award at this month's Academy Awards, stirred a scandal over a kissing scene by Jerusalem's Wailing Wall -- the most sacred spot in Judaism, the top-selling Israeli daily said.
The Israeli-born 23-year-old, was on location in Jerusalem for the shooting of "Free Zone", an Israeli-directed film, Yediot Aharonot reported.
But a kissing scene with co-actor Aki Avni in a car park next to the Wailing Wall infuriated religious Jews praying at the site, who slammed the smooch as an act of "lewdness" before chasing the pair and the crew off the set.
The paper said director Amos Gitai had not asked for permission prior to shooting the scene, but reached a compromise after the incident that he and his crew could come back to the site at a later hour. EDITOR'S NOTE: OOPS. NOTHING MORE TERRIFYING THAN AN ENRAGED BUNCH OF GUYS IN LONG BLACK COATS AND BIG HATS.
Fandango, IMDb team on ticketing
Fandango, one of the two primary companies offering consumers an Internet destination for purchasing theater tickets to feature films, will put its service on IMDb.com, the Amazon.com-owned database that is the most popular Web site in the movies category.
Fandango, which announced the relationship Tuesday, has a similar deal with Yahoo! Movies, the No. 2 destination for movie fans on the Internet, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.
IMDb.com boasted 2.39 million unique users to its site for the week ending Feb. 6, while Yahoo! Movies was at 2.13 million. IMDb.com, which stands for Internet Movie Database, contains information on more than 430,000 movies and television shows searchable by title, cast and crew.
The site, while still largely independently operated, was acquired by Amazon.com in 1998
Summer blockbusters spur big toy success
With "Batman Begins," "Fantastic Four" and George Lucas' sixth and final "Star Wars" feature film, "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," all hitting theaters this summer, boys action, adventure and role-play toys were out in full force at this year's Toy Fair.
The summer lineup bodes well for retailers who have become reticent to stock their shelves with toys based on unknown entertainment properties. EDITOR'S NOTE: INSERT CHICKEN NOISES HERE. (AND I DO WISH THEY'D STOP REFERRING TO ACTION FIGURES AS 'BOYS ACTION TOYS'. AREN'T WE WAY PAST THAT BY NOW? SHOULD OTHER GIRLS MISS OUT ON COOL TOYS THE WAY MY GENERATION DID BECAUSE OF SEXIST ROLE LIMITATIONS? HARUMPH!)
Warner Bros. Pictures' "Batman" and Lucasfilm's "Star Wars" are proven boxoffice and merchandising properties, while "Fantastic Four" is based on one of Marvel's most successful comic book series, which has sold 250 million copies worldwide to date.
"It is a very big year for action, for boys in particular," said Joyceann Cooney, editor-in-chief of License! a licensing industry trade magazine. "I can't remember a time when three major action movies that are very boy driven came out within six weeks of one another. 'Star Wars,' 'Batman Begins,' and 'Fantastic Four' will be the three big wins in terms of entertainment for retail and toys." EDITOR'S NOTE: I HAVE LOTS OF COOL TOYS AND THE BOYS CAN'T PLAY WITH THEM. SO THERE!
Songwriters Hall welcomes Fogerty, Cropper, Sherman bros.
John Fogerty, Steve Cropper, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Richard and Robert Sherman, and Bill Withers will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year. EDITOR'S NOTE: THERE'S A GROUP OF FOLKS THAT WOULDN'T LIKELY HANG IN THE SAME CIRCLES, HUH?!
The 36th annual induction is set for June 9 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York. As the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fogerty penned such classics as "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising" and "Who'll Stop the Rain." Cropper, a founding member of Booker T & the MG's, was involved in nearly every record issued by Stax from 1961 to 1970. Hayes and Porter, songwriting partners in the '60s, wrote such Stax hits as "Soul Man" (for Sam & Dave) and "B-A-B-Y" (Carla Thomas). The Sherman brothers wrote music heard in "Mary Poppins," "The Jungle Book" and many other children's films. Withers' classic soul compositions include "Ain't No Sunshine," "Lean on Me," "Lovely Day" and "Just the Two of Us."
EDITOR'S NOTE: OODLES OF TV PILOT CASTING NEWS NEXT WEEK. PLUS LOTS OF STAR WARS STUFF. (PICTURES, WE'VE GOT PICTURES!) BUT NOW, WE RETURN YOU TO THE OSCAR WEEK MANIA. ONE MORE TIME ,WITH FEELING, EH?!
TELEVISION:
Straczynski Wants To Reboot Trek
Inspired by a recent SCI FI Wire poll, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski posted a message to a newsgroup urging fans to write to Paramount, owner of the rights to the Star Trek franchise, in support of a new Trek series that he and Bryce Zabel (Dark Skies) developed last year.
Although the studio originally passed on the treatment due to "political considerations," EDITOR'S NOTE: 'POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS'? NOT WANTING TO RUFFLE BERMAN ET AL'S FEATHERS? SHEESH....Straczynski feels that they might reconsider if they knew that fans were eager for such an idea.
"I'm taking the unusual step of going right to the source ... right to you guys," Straczynski said in the message. "Fueled in part by a number of recent articles and polls, including one at www.scifi.com/scifiwire in which nearly 18,000 fans voted their preference for a new Trek series, and 48 percent of that figure called for a [J. Michael Straczynski] take on Trek."
Straczynski said that he and Zabel share an affection for the original Star Trek series, and a disappointment in the later iterations of the series. Together, they created a new treatment and a five-year story arc with the intention of returning to the roots of the world created by Gene Roddenberry.
"If you want to see a new Trek series that's true to Gene's original creation, helmed by myself and Bryce, with challenging stories, contemporary themes, solid extrapolation, and the infusion of some of our best and brightest SF prose writers, then you need to let the folks at Paramount know that. If the 48 percent of the 18,000 folks who voted at SciFi.com sent those sentiments to Paramount, there'd be a new series in the works tomorrow," Straczynski said.
Straczynski added that he felt that the current stewards of the series have been too cautious in their stories, and the franchise has suffered as a result. EDITOR'S NOTE: YA THINK?!
"Over time, Trek was treated like a Porsche that's kept in the garage all the time, for fear of scratching the finish," Straczynski said. "The stories were, for the most part, safe, more about technology than what William Faulkner described as 'the human heart in conflict with itself.' Yes, there were always exceptions, but in general that trend became more and more apparent with the passage of years. Which was why so often I came down on the later stories, which I did openly, because I didn't feel they lined up with what Trek was created to be. I don't apologize for it, because that was what I felt as a fan of Trek. That's why I had [Roddenberry's widow Majel Barrett] appear on B5, to send a message that I believe in what Gene created EDITOR'S NOTE: JMS HAS HAD HIS BAD DAYS AT THE OFFICE, BUT BY AND LARGE HE REALLY KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING. AND A 5-YEAR ARC IS EXACTLY WHAT TREK NEEDS. (APART FROM THE JMS WORDS OF WISDOM ABOVE, THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT HAS DERAILED TREK OF LATE...THE GENERAL AIMLESSNESS OF IT. IT ROBS IT OF MOST OF ITS HEFT).
Tarantino bloodying 'CSI' team
Call it "Kill Gil."EDITOR'S NOTE: SMIRK.
Quentin Tarantino has signed to direct the season-finale episode of primetime's most-watched series, CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
Tarantino also has come up with an original story for the episode, which is expected to shoot in early April and air May 19, according to "CSI" executive producer Carol Mendelsohn.
Tarantino has long been a fan of the stylish forensic drama as series creator/executive producer Anthony Zuiker learned when he bumped into Tarantino at an awards show during
"CSI's" first season. They have pursued him to direct an episode for some time, and after members of the "CSI" crew ran into Tarantino a few weeks ago while the show was doing some location shooting in Las Vegas, the stars finally aligned for him to helm the show's fifth-season closer, Mendelsohn said."He knows everything there is to know about 'CSI,' and he is into the whole mythology of 'CSI,' " Mendelsohn said. "Quentin came in a couple of weeks ago. We had a story meeting with the writers. He had a great idea, and it was so much fun to have him in the room. ... We are positively giddy." EDITOR'S NOTE: WHAT FUN!
Zuiker, in particular, "worships Quentin," she added. Mendelsohn said the story will involve a plot that finds one of the key members of the CSI team, led by Gil Grissom (William Petersen), in serious jeopardy. The teleplay will be penned by Mendelsohn, Zuiker and Naren Shankar.
"There will be more bugs and blood this time," Mendelsohn joked.
Tarantino, who earned an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay to his 1994 smash "Pulp Fiction," directed a 1995 episode of "ER" and appeared as a guest actor on ABC's "Alias" in 2002 and last year. His other features include the "Kill Bill" films, "Jackie Brown" and "Reservoir Dogs."
EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS NEXT ONE WILL PLEASE DWEEBPAL BECKY...AMONG OTHERS.
Sci Fi Renews Battlestar Gallactica
Sci Fi Channel has renewed drama series Battlestar Galactica for a second season that will begin production in March.
The network ordered 20 more episodes of the series, which has averaged about 3 million viewers per episode since its January launch and has continued to capture a strong audience of 25-54-year olds on Friday nights at 10EST, the network said.
The new season is expected to premiere this summer with most of the original cast returning, including Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck. EDITOR'S NOTE: I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO SEE ANYTHING BUT THE PILOT MOVIE, BUT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO CATCHING UP WITH THE TAPES, SINCE SEVERAL OF YOU HAVE BEEN TOUTING IT HIGHLY. (AND THE PILOT WAS GREAT).
I WONDER IF THE SCIFI CHANNEL REALIZES THEY JUST RE-UPPED A SHOW THAT IS ACTUALLY....UMM...SCIENCE FICTION. HOW DID IT SLIP IN THERE? (SNICKER....)
MOVIES:
More "Die Hard 4.0"
Empire Online talked with Bruce Willis about the fourth "Die Hard" film and he had a few more tidbits to throw out.
Willis says that, Doug Richardson took a shot at "Die Hard 4.0" and it’s a good idea. McClane’s retired, he’s not a cop anymore. The script will be done by summer and they want to shoot it in the fall.
"It’s completely different from the other three films." He went on to say that, "...it has something to do with computers…” EDITOR'S NOTE: YOU CAN KEEP YOUR STEEL MAGNOLIAS; "DIE HARD" ROCKS!
ODDS-N-ENDS:
Oscar-nominee Portman infuriates religious Jews over kiss scene
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Hollywood star Natalie Portman, nominated for a best supporting actress award at this month's Academy Awards, stirred a scandal over a kissing scene by Jerusalem's Wailing Wall -- the most sacred spot in Judaism, the top-selling Israeli daily said.
The Israeli-born 23-year-old, was on location in Jerusalem for the shooting of "Free Zone", an Israeli-directed film, Yediot Aharonot reported.
But a kissing scene with co-actor Aki Avni in a car park next to the Wailing Wall infuriated religious Jews praying at the site, who slammed the smooch as an act of "lewdness" before chasing the pair and the crew off the set.
The paper said director Amos Gitai had not asked for permission prior to shooting the scene, but reached a compromise after the incident that he and his crew could come back to the site at a later hour. EDITOR'S NOTE: OOPS. NOTHING MORE TERRIFYING THAN AN ENRAGED BUNCH OF GUYS IN LONG BLACK COATS AND BIG HATS.
Fandango, IMDb team on ticketing
Fandango, one of the two primary companies offering consumers an Internet destination for purchasing theater tickets to feature films, will put its service on IMDb.com, the Amazon.com-owned database that is the most popular Web site in the movies category.
Fandango, which announced the relationship Tuesday, has a similar deal with Yahoo! Movies, the No. 2 destination for movie fans on the Internet, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.
IMDb.com boasted 2.39 million unique users to its site for the week ending Feb. 6, while Yahoo! Movies was at 2.13 million. IMDb.com, which stands for Internet Movie Database, contains information on more than 430,000 movies and television shows searchable by title, cast and crew.
The site, while still largely independently operated, was acquired by Amazon.com in 1998
Summer blockbusters spur big toy success
With "Batman Begins," "Fantastic Four" and George Lucas' sixth and final "Star Wars" feature film, "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," all hitting theaters this summer, boys action, adventure and role-play toys were out in full force at this year's Toy Fair.
The summer lineup bodes well for retailers who have become reticent to stock their shelves with toys based on unknown entertainment properties. EDITOR'S NOTE: INSERT CHICKEN NOISES HERE. (AND I DO WISH THEY'D STOP REFERRING TO ACTION FIGURES AS 'BOYS ACTION TOYS'. AREN'T WE WAY PAST THAT BY NOW? SHOULD OTHER GIRLS MISS OUT ON COOL TOYS THE WAY MY GENERATION DID BECAUSE OF SEXIST ROLE LIMITATIONS? HARUMPH!)
Warner Bros. Pictures' "Batman" and Lucasfilm's "Star Wars" are proven boxoffice and merchandising properties, while "Fantastic Four" is based on one of Marvel's most successful comic book series, which has sold 250 million copies worldwide to date.
"It is a very big year for action, for boys in particular," said Joyceann Cooney, editor-in-chief of License! a licensing industry trade magazine. "I can't remember a time when three major action movies that are very boy driven came out within six weeks of one another. 'Star Wars,' 'Batman Begins,' and 'Fantastic Four' will be the three big wins in terms of entertainment for retail and toys." EDITOR'S NOTE: I HAVE LOTS OF COOL TOYS AND THE BOYS CAN'T PLAY WITH THEM. SO THERE!
Songwriters Hall welcomes Fogerty, Cropper, Sherman bros.
John Fogerty, Steve Cropper, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Richard and Robert Sherman, and Bill Withers will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year. EDITOR'S NOTE: THERE'S A GROUP OF FOLKS THAT WOULDN'T LIKELY HANG IN THE SAME CIRCLES, HUH?!
The 36th annual induction is set for June 9 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York. As the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fogerty penned such classics as "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising" and "Who'll Stop the Rain." Cropper, a founding member of Booker T & the MG's, was involved in nearly every record issued by Stax from 1961 to 1970. Hayes and Porter, songwriting partners in the '60s, wrote such Stax hits as "Soul Man" (for Sam & Dave) and "B-A-B-Y" (Carla Thomas). The Sherman brothers wrote music heard in "Mary Poppins," "The Jungle Book" and many other children's films. Withers' classic soul compositions include "Ain't No Sunshine," "Lean on Me," "Lovely Day" and "Just the Two of Us."
EDITOR'S NOTE: OODLES OF TV PILOT CASTING NEWS NEXT WEEK. PLUS LOTS OF STAR WARS STUFF. (PICTURES, WE'VE GOT PICTURES!) BUT NOW, WE RETURN YOU TO THE OSCAR WEEK MANIA. ONE MORE TIME ,WITH FEELING, EH?!
posted by QOTD (the Queen of the Dweebs) at 2:59 PM
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