By Ian M. Cullen

In the new issue of Starburst Magazine just out now in the UK - actor John Cho talked a little about his Star Trek experience.

Over the last 40 plus years Star Trek has enjoyed many incarnations, but of them all the original series characters remain the most iconic. So will this new bunch of actors seek to emulate those performances - will there be a new spin.

Cho for his part feels that everyone concerned in the new movie is respectful of the classic cast - but plan to bring their own take to the core characters.

“I don’t mean to be vague but what I can say is honest which is that I think, myself and everyone else on the film, J.J. and the designers, I think we are trying to be respectful of the original series and we’re also trying to get some new fans, do things differently and put a younger, more vigorous spin on it.”

When asked about the new Enterprise Bridge Cho beamed, “It was lame [Laughter]. It was dreamlike. I would have to say more than anything else. It’s quite special”.

As to the change in release date - the actor is upbeat.

“I think it’s great. I was kind of attached to the Christmas day release because my family and I we used to go see movies on Christmas day so I was excited about that but, I think it probably is a summer movie and it’s sold as a summer movie”.

You can read much more from John Cho in the new issue of Starburst Magazine, which is out now.

By Ian M. Cullen

Perhaps one of the more intriguing prospects this September is the pending release of new updated version of the classic Roger Corman, B - Movie Death Race 2000. This movie made in 1974 tought a whole generation the best way in which to run over their grandmother and even score points for doing so - and to this day remains a cult classic in the hearts and minds of the baby boomer generation.

The original starred David Carradine as champion Death Race driver Frankenstein who would go to any lengths to win the Death Race event. His main rival was played by a young up and coming actor at the time Sylvester Stallone who played the role of Machine Gun Joe. The action was comic book - and the movie was spiced up with odd shots of nudity and sexual content like the majority of Cormans movies at that time. It was all good fun and perhaps the closest a movie could come to an adult comic book in the 1970’s. The plot - what little there was revolved around a future society which had broken down to the point of getting their jollies through watching a bizarre barbaric Death Race played out on Television - if only Big Brother could be like this - I mean 13 weeks man.

The remake of this movie is being handled by Paul W.S. Anderson who is perhaps best known for his work on the Mortal Kombat Movie. It stars British actor Jason Statham and features Ian McShane in the role of Death Race coach.

Anderson talked a little about his take on Death Race in last months Empire Magazine - below are a few snippets from his interview in the mag.

Death Race has been a subject close to Andersons heart for quite some time. In fact this movie has been 12 years in the making. It first came up over a dinner conversation he had with famed movie producer Roger Corman who asked Anderson what movie he’d like to make next… The answer of course was Death Race.

Since that conversation Anderson has revisited the 1974 movie on a number of accasions and came to the conclusion that in order to update the movie he’d need to re-imagine it.

“It really has dated so badly,” he admits, “and it’s nowhere near as cool as you thought it was. In many ways I’m remaking the movie that I remembered seeing rather than the actual movie that it really is.”

Anderson confirms that all elements from the original Death Race 2000 remain - only this movie is set in the near future in a America that is going through a second great depression. You still have characters from the original such as Machine Gun Joe - only this time out the Death Race is raced by Prisoners as part of a sick and twisted reality television show to entertain the masses. Statham plays the role of Jensen Aimes who is a prisoner who has been thrown in jail for crimes he didn’t commit. The warden of the Prison offers him the chance to race for his freedom in the Death Race - an offer he reluctantly after some coaxing accepts.

“It’s the idea of reality television run amuck, brutal voilance for entertainment,” says Anderson. “Where Corman’s film was very low - budget, we’re spending some significant money and big resources.”

One thing you won’t see in the new ‘Death Race’ is CGI. All the car crashes are for real. Anderson has latched onto the idea of making his movie as realistic as possible - following a trend, which was set in 2005’s Batman Begins.

“We’re all rust and grime and dirt and voilance and blood. We’re very much going to be an R - Rated movie.”

What’s interesting about Death Race 2000 is the fact that it was probably among the last of the great B - Movies. In the latter part of the mid 1970’s B - Movies slowly become a rarity as the likes of Steven Spielberg created the Summer Blockbuster out of what were very much B - Movie plots.

“You know, the B - movie has become the high concept for a movie, from Jaws on,” he says. “Steven Spielberg made a film about a f_____ shark eating people - that’s about as B - movie as you can get, and that became the box - office monster that reinvented Hollywood. That’s why Death Race is a very cool idea for a reimagining, and a lot of planning and effort has gone into making this an extremely good A movie.”

Death Race comes to UK theatres on 26 September.

By Ian M. Cullen

The news issue of Empire Magazine just out in the UK features a brief preview of the new J.J. Abrams ‘Star Trek’ movie.

The article which features a couple of quotes from Abrams tells of how the new movie will be a Batman Begins style reboot of the Star Trek franchise - intended to appeal as much to the mainstream movie audience as it will to the fans. The idea being that no one gets excluded.

“The whole point was to try to make this movie for fans of movies, not fans of Star Trek necessarily,” he explains. “It was an opportunity to take what I think has been a maligned world and treat it in a way that felt genuinely thrilling.”

To date very little has been revealed about the movie - other than a few sneaky photographs and a small report by Harry Knowles of popular internet website Ain’t It Cool News. All fans have had to go on is a brief movie promo, which is a camera, panning across the saucer section of the Enterprise while it is being constructed - and in spite of this fans seem to be very supportive of Abrams.

“We’ve made sure we’re serving the people who are completely enamoured with Star Trek.” Abrams insists. “But at the same time, this film is so unlike what you expect, so unlike the Star Trek you’ve seen. I can tell you that the idea of the universe of Star Trek has never been given this kind of treatment.”

As ever Abrams is careful not to give too much away - which to my mind is encouraging.

By Ian M. Cullen

Scifiwire reports that Maggie Gyllenhaal who took over the role of crusading prosecutor Rachel Dawes told reporters she wanted to respect the work of her predecessor Katie Holmes, who originated the role in Batman Begins - but ultimately had to make the role her own.

“First of all, I wanted to make sure that I had her blessing, and when I was sure that I did–you know, I’m a fan of hers,” Gyllenhaal (Sherry Baby) said. “I think she’s a lovely actress, and I thought she did a great job with the previous [film,] Batman [Begins]. … I really like her work. But I also felt like it wouldn’t do anyone any good for me to kind of try to imitate what she had done.”

Dawes features prominently in Batman: The Dark Knight - both as Bruce Wayne’s oldest friend as well as a love interest for promising D.A. Harvey Dent.

“I thought, really, the thing I have to do is think of her as a new woman,” Gyllenhaal said. “Of course, there were things in the previous movie–plot points and narrative things that were really important, I think, in our movie, so I paid attention to those and the way she built that. … Most importantly, I think that she says at the very end of the movie to Bruce that she loves him, but that she can’t be with him while he’s Batman and that she understands why he’s Batman, but that she can’t be with him. And that plays out, of course, all the way through this movie. And Katie created all of that. So, of course, she was a huge part of this. But not, I don’t think, in a direct way for me. … I really had to think of her as a different woman when I played her.”

Batman: The Dark Knight hits US Theatres on 18 July - UK Movie goers will have to wait until July 25 for the UK release.

By Ian M. Cullen

ITV has confirmed that Shakespearian British Actor best known to genre fans as Gandalf in the Lord Of The Rings Movie trilogy will definitely join the cast of the new remake of classic but often confusing ‘The Prisoner’.

For quite some time this remake of ‘The Prisoner’ has been an off and on affair - Sky One were initially meant to be footing the bill for this as a joint venture between ITV and Sky One - but the deal fell through. Now the production costs are being shared between ITV and an American company.

As reported here last month James Caviezel will play the lead role of Number Six. Ian McKellen was rumoured here last month to be a part of the cast - is now confirmed in the role of Number 2 the tormentor of Number Six.

Back in the 1960’s ‘The Prisoner’ was one of many speculative fiction series developed by UK talent for the British Audience. The series only ran a single season and was way ahead of its time in terms of narrative storytelling.

The series covered subjects like surveillance and brain washing and was on mainstream television - back then such subjects were not the mainstay of Television Entertainment - yet in this day and age where folks in the UK are talking about their civil liberties being violated by an ever present controlling paranoid government wanting for all citizens to carry ID Cards - not to mention vying to put terrorist suspects away without charge for longer - a show like ‘The Prisoner’ seems more relevant now than it was back then.

We will hopefully be bringing you more developments on this project as and when the information becomes available.

Press Release:

The Stargate journey continues with Stargate: Continuum coming to DVD on July 29, 2008.

Continuing the legacy of ‘Stargate SG-1,’ the longest-running, scripted, made-for television series in U.S. broadcasting history, Stargate: Continuum reunites Richard Dean Anderson as Jack O’Neill, with series favorites Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Golden Globe® winner and three-time Emmy Award®-winning actor, Beau Bridges and Michael Shanks as Daniel Jackson.

Synopsis: While SG-1 attends the execution of Ba’al, the last of the Goa’uld System Lords, Teal’c and Vala inexplicably disappear into thin air. Carter, Daniel and Mitchell race back to a world where history has been changed: the Stargate program has been erased from the timeline. The remaining SG-1 members must find the Stargate and set things right before they world is enslaved by the Goa’uld.

DVD special features include:

• Audio Commentary with Executive Producer/Writer Brad Wright and Director Martin Wood
• The Making of Stargate: Continuum featurette
• Stargate Goes to the Arctic featurette
• The Layman¹s Guide to Time Travel featurette

By Ian M. Cullen

This month sees the release of the long awaited Batman: The Dark Knight the sequel to smash hit movie Batman Begins. In a recent interview for UK Movie Magazine Empire both Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale talked about how they think this new movie will be different from previous Superhero movies.

British Director Christopher Nolan is not really known for doing superhero movies or for that matter sequels - Batman Begins back in 2005 was new territory for the director. Prior to that he was best known for directing movies like Memento, which examined the darker aspects of humanity - some, of which he brought to his first Batman movie.

Nolan when asked if it felt strange to be making a sequel at the behest of a studio revealed that he felt a little liberated by it.

“There are limitations in terms of having to meet certain expectations and then trying to exceed them. So this is probably the first film I’ve done that is completely linear in form, because that felt very much the way it should follow on from Batman Begins. But I didn’t actually see that as a limitation. Taking on a sequel is actually quite liberating. Normally, however you’re addressing the material, you have to explain who people are. You have to show certain movements in the narrative in the first third to get to a particular point. With a sequel you don’t have to do any of that. You can just jump straight in.”

The Bruce Wayne and Batman we see in Batman: The Dark Knight is different to the guy we saw in the first movie. According to Christian Bale the first movie was about Bruce Wayne reaching for his power and finding his calling.

“He has it. So it’s a totally different mindset that he’s in.” Bale says, “He’s somebody having to hold on to and retain power, and he has to become accustomed to the responsibility that comes with it, instead of being a sort of angry young man who’s trying to find a way to hit out without damaging the wrong people. Now you’ve got somebody who finds himself more needed than ever. That was never the plan. The plan was that he would return to what he could make as much of a normal life as possible. He’s finding that it’s… He can’t escape it, you know?”

Over the last decade or so Superhero movies have come and gone - but the sequels to these movies have often fallen into the trap of utilising to many of the colourful characters from the comic book universe. Most recently Spiderman 3 was guilty of this and the critics butchered the movie for trying to do too much in the allotted 2 hours. The Dark Knight has a fair few characters in it from the Batman Universe - the main two being Heath Ledger in his final movie role as The Joker and Aaron Eckhart in the duel role of D.A. Harvey Dent/Two Face. When challenged about the potential pitfalls of having to many characters in the new Batman movie Nolan is quick to counter.

“Yes, but the ambition has to be to make a film that in some way moves on and develops the world you’re in,” argues Nolan. “Otherwise you’re just making a TV show - you’re making episodes of the same thing. When a sequel’s done badly, you take pot - shots at it and say, ‘Why did they stuff all these extra characters in?’ But when it worlds well, whether it’s The Godfather: Part II or The Empire Strikes Back, nobody complains. You have to try and expand it, and you have to try and do it well. In genre terms, if the first film had a very noirish quality to it, then what we’ve done with this film is taken on the dynamic of a story of the city, a large crime story. The broader canvas demands more characters to fill it. The audience accepts that type of storytelling where you’re looking at the police, the justice system, the vigilante, the poor people, the rich people, and the criminals. I’m hoping it’s the sort of film that Michael Mann always does very well, like Heat…” Nolan Smiles “…But with the occasional psychotic clown running through it.”

In other Batman: The Dark Knight news Digital Spy reports that star Christian Bale has hit back against fans and Critics who’ve been calling for Heath ledgers final performance to be cut from the movie. Some have even gone as far as saying that the movie should not be shown.

Heath Ledger who passed away in January from an accidental drug overdose plays the Joker. One scene in particular that may not make it into the movie sees him being carried off in a body bag.

“I know there are a lot of people out there who don’t think this movie should be shown,” Bale admitted. “But, if you’re asking my opinion, I think that’s bloody insane. I also think it’s an insult to Heath and everything he stood for. I don’t think anything should be cut - I think it’s the movie he wanted to make.”

“The guy was brilliant. He was a fantastic actor and he put everything into this part,” Christian continued. “I absolutely know without question that he would have wanted everyone to see it. For me, this is a celebration of what he did best - entertain people…respect the man. This is what he did. This is what he wanted to do.”

Press Release

SG-1 STAR AMANDA TAPPING JOINS THE ATLANTIS TEAM IN THE QUEST FOR THE LOST LAND

Five Disc Set Features All 20 Episodes and More Than One Hour Of Exclusive Never-Before-Seen Content

Los Angeles, CA - Explore the limits of an uncharted galaxy when Stargate: Atlantis Season Four plunges onto DVD July 8, 2008 from MGM Home Entertainment. Created from the legacy of “Stargate SG-1″, the longest-running, scripted, made-for television science fiction series in U.S. broadcasting history, Stargate: Atlantis recently received the 2008 People’s Choice Award for Best Sci-Fi Television Series. In Season Four, SG-1’s Award- Winning star Amanda Tapping crosses over as the new leader, joining the Atlantis cast as television’s favorite astrophysicist Commander Samantha Carter, along with the return of Jewel Staite (‘Firefly,’ ‘Serenity’) reprising her role of Dr. Keller, a physician who joins the Atlantis expedition.

The fourth season also continues to deliver out-of-this world excitement and amazing adventures with exceptional visuals chronicling the voyage of the Atlantis team in the Pegasus galaxy. Stargate: Atlantis Season Four boasts a talented ensemble cast including Joe Flanigan (The Other Sister), Rachel Luttrel (Imposter), David Hewlett (”The Triangle”), Jason Momoa (”Baywatch: Hawaii”), Mitch Pileggi (”The X-Files”), and is executive produced by Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie. Closely timed to the release of the highly anticipated new feature length DVD and Blu-Ray premiere of Stargate Continuum, “Stargate: Atlantis” Season Four includes 20 thrilling episodes on five discs and features cast and crew commentaries, deleted scenes, photo galleries, the first “Atlantis” blooper reel and more. The DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $49.98 U.S / $69.98 Canada.

Stargate: Atlantis Season Four DVD Contains

The Stargate: Atlantis Season Four DVD is compiled on five discs (widescreen, anamorphic, aspect ratio 1.78:1), and is presented in English 5.1 and English, French and Spanish subtitles. In addition, the following episodes and special features are exclusive to each disc:

This set features all epsiodes of the 4^th season and is loaded with special features such as commentary tracks by the various writers and producers as well as two movie trailers of the straight to DVD movies Stargate: The Ark Of Truth and Stargate: Continuum.

Stargate: Atlantis season 4 will beam over to all good DVD stores on July 8, 2008.

Press Release:

Just In Time For The Highly-Anticipated Theatrical Sequel, Eight Critical Episodes, Hand-Picked By Series Creator Chris Carter, Land On A Two-Disc DVD Compilation July 8 From Fox Home Entertainment

Includes All-New Introductions To Each Episode By Creator Chris Carter & Executive Producer Frank Spotnitz, Exclusive WonderCon Panel With David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson, Teaser Trailer For The Upcoming Film & Free Movie Cash Ticket

CENTURY CITY, Calif. - The truth will be out there… Fox Home Entertainment presents an exclusive insider’s pass to the science-fiction television phenomenon just in time for its second trip to the big screen when ‘THE X-FILES’ REVELATIONS descends onto a two disc DVD collection July 8. Selected by eight-time Emmy® Award nominated series creator Chris Carter himself, all eight full hour episodes in the compilation include special on-camera introductions by Chris Carter and producer Frank Spotnitz, revealing why each were chosen and how they relate to the highly anticipated feature film, invading theaters on July 25. Also featured on the set is the February 2008 WonderCon panel session with Carter and Spotnitz, as well as series stars David Duchovny (Mulder) and Gillian Anderson (Scully), making their first fan convention appearance together in several years and taking questions from rabid ‘X-Philes,’ in an interview spanning over 38 minutes.

These eight essential episodes - ‘Pilot,’ ‘Beyond the Sea,’ ‘The Host,’ ‘Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose,’ ‘Memento Mori,’ ‘The Post-Modern Prometheus,’ ‘Bad Blood’ and ‘Milagro’ - span seasons 1-6 and cover a variety of paranormal and unexplained cases centering on alien abductions, psychic phenomenon and life forms not quite human that set the stage for the eagerly anticipated sequel. As an added bonus, the DVD set also features the theatrical teaser trailer along with a free Hollywood Movie Money ticket (valued at $8.50 U.S. / $10 Canada) to see the sequel in theaters. THE X-FILES” REVELATIONS will be available for the suggested retail price of $22.98 U.S. / $25.98 Canada.

Beginning as a cult hit in 1993, ‘The X-Files’ quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, garnering 16 Emmys and five Golden Globe® Awards including ‘Best Dramatic TV Series’ during in its nine-season run. Created by Chris Carter (‘Millennium,’ ‘Harsh Realm’), the series gripped the imaginations of fans around the globe, launching the careers of David Duchovny (The TV Set, ‘Californication’) and Gillian Anderson (The Last King of Scotland, Playing by Heart), both honored with ‘Outstanding Performance’ Golden Globes for their roles. Known for its unique blend of science-fiction/fantasy, dry wit and intelligence, the series centers on FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigating the existence of alien races, uncovering government conspiracies, and other paranormal and unexplained phenomena.

Synopsis

Relive FBI Agent Fox Mulder’s (Duchovny) desperate search for the truth after witnessing the alien abduction of his sister when he was a young boy. Follow Agent Dana Scully (Anderson) as she and Mulder encounter growing proof of the existence of extra-terrestrials, an undeniable government conspiracy and the unexplained paranormal phenomena.

DVD Content

‘THE X-FILES” REVELATIONS is presented in both full frame (5 episodes) and widescreen format (3 episodes) with English, French and Spanish Dolby Surround audio format, along with English and Spanish subtitles. Each episode features an on-camera introduction from Carter and Spotnitz, explaining why each episode was selected and how they relate to the movie. Individual disc content as follows:

• Disc One:

Pilot (from Season 1)

Beyond the Sea (from Season 1)

The Host (from Season 2)

Clyde Bruckmans Final Repose (from Season 3)

• Disc Two:

Memento Mori (from Season 4)

Post-Modern Prometheus (from Season 5)

Bad Blood (from Season 5)

Milagro (from Season 6)

• Bonus features:

2008 theatrical trailer

WonderCon talent panel session

By Ian M. Cullen

In a press telephone conference held yesterday Actor Robert Picardo shared his enthusiasm about joining the cast of Stargate Atlantis on a full time basis. When asked about his role in the series - the actor was quick to point out how much he thought Woolsey an unlikely choice for leader of the Atlantis Expedition.

“He’s an unexpected choice for this job, and that is what I think the viewers will hopefully respond to the way I have. I think that it was a bold thing for the producers to pick a guy like this who doesn’t seem to be necessarily the first choice for a leader, but to have him try and make himself into one. And that is the interesting and creative choice.”

Over the course of the series 5 seasons Atlantis has had two leaders - Woolsey is the third - but the first male leader that Atlantis has had.

When asked about the likelihood of Torri Higginson who played Doctor Weir the original leader of the Atlantis expedition returning to the show. Producer and lead writer Joseph Mallozzi said a return from Higginson was not likely - and it would not be for lack of trying.

“We sent her a script to review, and ultimately, she passed,” Mallozzi said. “It’s too bad. We would’ve loved to have her come back and see her on the show. I think at this point she has moved beyond the show and is looking elsewhere.”

One thing, which fans have been debating, is whether or not Woolsey with his lack of social skills would make a good choice as leader for the Atlantis team. His first appearance in a leadership role is a brief scene in the season four finale where he rather gruffly relieves Carter of command - but the second episode of the 5^th season promises to test Woolsey’s metal in a command capacity.

“He has broken protocol five times in his first crisis, and that puts him in a personal crisis at the end of the show,” Picardo said. “He’s always defined himself as someone who knows the rulebook and evaluates others to live by it. He earns the respect of Col. Sheppard, and demonstrates a capacity [to evolve] that he hasn’t shown thus far.”

Stargate: Atlantis premieres its fifth season July 11 at 10 p.m. ET on SciFi Channel. Sky One will probably show Atlantis sometime in September.

You can read more about this telephone press conference here at SyFy Portal where you will find the original transcript.

By Ian M. Cullen

Last weekend Doctor Who provided us with a fantastic season 4 cliffhanger - things looked grim for the Doctor and most fans myself included can’t wait to find out what happens next. Will the Doctor Regenerate into twins like the rumours have been saying - will Donna turn out to be an evil timelord or will she die?

To date the battle between the Doctor his companions and the Daleks is lost. The closing moments saw the Doctor get shot in the back by a Dalek and the Tardis in a state verging on destroyed as the Doctor begins to regenerate. So has Davros finally got the better of the Doctor?

“I’m afraid I can’t reveal what happens,” Julian Bleach said when asked by TV & Satellite Week. “But Davros is an extraordinary character, not only because of what he is but also because of what he wants.”

What Davros wants of course like all good villains is total control over everything - which is something that always makes Davros such a fascinating character for actors and viewers alike. Bleach however is no stranger to playing villains - last year he did a turn as the Frankenstein monster in the updated ITV 1 Drama Frankenstein. He also played a role in the Torchwood episode The Ghostmaker - but Davros in many ways is the biggest villain Bleach has played to date.

“I do seem to get offered scary roles,” he laughs. “It’s weird to think I watched Davros in the 1970’s, never for a second suspecting I might play him. I remember being fascinated by his withered face, claw - like hand and rasping voice.”

Obviously Bleach enjoyed the work done by his predecessors and took what they did as inspiration for his portrayal of a role, which has been a long established icon in Doctor Who’s long history.

In other Doctor Who related news the BBC reported yesterday that the final episode of season four would be 65 minutes long - this will make it the longest episode of the regular series to date. Last years finale came in at just 60 minutes. To date on the Christmas specials have ran over an hour in length.

The final episode ‘Journeys End’ will air in BBC 1 at the slightly earlier time of 6:40 pm. American Viewers will have to wait a few weeks in order to see the final episode of the season. SciFi Channel who show the series in America will probably split the final episode into two separate parts in order to allow for their advertising - which would essentially mean that the final 3 episodes of Doctor Who would turn into four episodes.