SCI FI Wire

Kick-Ass trailer kicks, well, you know (video)

SCI FI Wire Staff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:10:51 -0500

A new trailer has gone live on MySpace.com for Kick-Ass, the upcoming satiric superhero movie based on Mark Millar's comic series.

Star Trek's Roddenberry finally honored by TV Hall of Fame

SCI FI Wire Staff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:55:17 -0500

It seems that in television, honor—like revenge—is a dish best served cold. Thus it is that the TV Academy Hall of Fame has decided to induct Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry into its pantheon, 18 years after his death and long after he had much to do with the franchise he created.

Eastwick's canceled, so why's it still on the air?

Kathie Huddleston — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:45:57 -0500

Considering its sad, sad ratings, no one should be surprised to hear that ABC has decided not to order any more episodes of Eastwick, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

But even though that decision effectively cancels the series, ABC has nevertheless said it will air all 13 episodes of the witchy show's original order, and Eastwick remains on the schedule through November.

New Clash of the Titans trailer is balls-out action! (video)

Patrick Lee — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:06:50 -0500

Heard that they're remaking Clash of the Titans? Well, forget the stately pace, white robes and fluffy hair of the 1981 Harry Hamlin movie: This new version will be a kick-ass, balls-out actioner, and Yahoo! Movies gives us a taste of that in a new teaser trailer posted today.

Yoda, Leia, Vader do gangsta rap in this Star Wars video!

SCI FI Wire Staff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:44:31 -0500

Check out Atom.com's latest Star Wars gangsta rap video, the dopest jam from a galaxy far, far away.

4 reasons why V's motherships don't make sense

John Pavlus — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:35:37 -0500

So ABC's V is here (episode two airs tonight), reminding us for the zillionth time that gigantic, mile(s)-wide flying saucers are THE conveyance of choice for any kind of alien visitors. (See: District 9, Independence Day, the original V, Alien Nation, Close Encounters...)

The trouble is, aside from providing an excuse for awesome "reveal" shots where the giant ship blots out the sun, it's actually a completely nonsensical way for extraterrestrials to make an entrance. Here are four reasons why huge-ass space discs would be a dumb idea in the real world:

Why migrant workers are dressing up as superheroes

Scott Edelman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:15:00 -0500

Spider-Man washing windows? Superman delivering groceries? The Thing working construction? Why are Earth's mightiest mortals suddenly laboring at some of our economy's lowest-paid and least-respected jobs?

It's all artist Dulce Pinzón's fault. He wants us to remember that the greatest heroes aren't superhumans battling cosmic forces, but rather those ordinary men and women who work multiple shifts under grueling conditions to support their families—in this case, Mexican immigrants in New York, often the sole support of their families and communities back home. That's why, since 9/11, he's been dressing up those whom he considers unsung heroes and photographing them in the workplace.

Spider-Man 4 villains allegedly revealed: Black Cat and Lizard

SCI FI Wire Staff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0500

Two top Spider-Man villains have allegedly been nailed down for Spider-Man 4, and it's rumored that one more bad guy (or gal) will join them.

The iconic scenes that survive in the new Nightmare on Elm St.

Fred Topel — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:08:22 -0500

If you loved Wes Craven's original A Nightmare on Elm Street, then you know the most famous scenes: Amanda Wyss' Tina floating in midair, Heather Langenkamp's Nancy in the tub, Nick Corri's Rod Lane hanged in his jail cell.

Many of those famous bits will appear in the upcoming remake of Nightmare, including the jail scene. (Spoilers ahead!)

Carl Sagan sings! in this video musical tribute to science

Patrick Lee — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:48:24 -0500

This isn't exactly new, but we love it so much we're going to share it with you: a musical homage to science featuring snippets of wonderful sciency quotes from legendary figures such as Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman and others.

First Hobbit cameo role revealed!

SCI FI Wire Staff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:31:56 -0500

Looks like Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro will follow the example of fellow filmmakers M. Night Shyamalan and Alfred Hitchcock by putting himself into his own movies. (Director Peter Jackson also had small parts in The Lord of the Rings.)

Del Toro posted on the message boards of TheOneRing.net that he will make a cameo appearance as a small monster:

Is Gears of War another video-game movie that won't suck?

Fred Topel — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:23:05 -0500

A film based on the sci-fi video game Gears of War went into development in 2007, less than a year after the game became a smash hit on Xbox 360, and producer Wyck Godfrey now tells us the film is close to production. He has a screenwriter and director on board: Underworld's Len Wiseman.

Never-before-seen Star Trek concept art (pics)

Patrick Lee — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:07:25 -0500

We've obtained exclusive new behind-the-scenes concept art for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek from the upcoming book Star Trek: The Art of the Film, including original designs for the Romulan ship Narada. Click through for more.

Do we meet Dumbledore's gay lover in the last Potter films?

Fred Topel — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling told a Carnegie Hall audience in 2007 that she thought of Prof. Dumbledore as gay and that she intended the character of Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to be Dumbledore's lover, though she did not specify that in the book.

But it looks like the film version (or versions, as the book is split into two movies) will address the author's revelation, and actor Jamie Campbell Bower—who plays Grindelwald in the two Deathly Hallows films—refers to his character the same way Rowling did.

How H.G. Wells' Dr. Moreau gave birth to the Wild Things

Wil McCarthy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Some have beaks. Some have horns. Some bear a superficial resemblance to earthly farm animals, and some look more like mythological trolls and ogres. At a glance, the nine creatures on the island of the Wild Things come from entirely different branches of the evolutionary tree.

And yet they're all approximately humanoid in shape, with arms, legs, eyes and ears all following the same basic plan. What's more, they're all approximately the same height and weight—about twice as tall as an adult human and (I'm guessing) two or three times the mass of an adult grizzly bear. Some have opposable thumbs—a characteristic unique to primates, panda bears and certain tree-dwelling marsupials.

They all share another curious characteristic as well: oversized heads. Each one sports a cranium the size of a Smart car—big by any standard—and in proportion to their bodies these noggins are many times larger than anything we see—or have ever seen—in the animal kingdom. Their features are also much flatter than those of the species they resemble.