Riddick franchise star Vin Diesel is back once again with more from the pre-production world of The Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking, which is to once again be helmed by David Twohy. While also adding the following storyboard image (and confirming an R-rating), he also writes:
"While I was working on character, the Director and his team of artists have been creating the world and style of this picture. We all know how much I enjoy concept art and storyboards, haha, I am like a kid in a candy shop.
Seeing the early stage of CGI is always fascinating to me, it is a element that usually comes together long after the filming process, so you look forward to seeing it fully realized.
First stop for the Riddick production is Canada, which is where we shot a large part of Chronicles...
P.s. I am grateful to have Universal in such support of this complex character's journey... not many studios would back an "R" rating. Very cool."
Casting is underway although no shoot day is set in stone.
I've only seen the first movie which was pretty good. Never got around to seeing the second film due to poor word of mouth. But now that the Library is my friend, I may give it a shot regardless. I will weigh in on what I think about the news of the third film after watching the second one.
That is all, folks.
James Cameron might've told us that Judgement Day was on August 29, 1997 in Terminator 2, but since Stanford University's School Of Engineering is offering Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (CS221) as a free online course for everyone this semester, it could be any day now.
Starting October 10th, the class spans 10 weeks and includes two video lectures per week on topics like machine learning, Markov models, robotics and robot motion planning, decision processes and adversarial planning.
Unless you're enrolled as a student at Stanford, you won't get college credit but you will get a statement of accomplishment signed by Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig - the two professors - upon completion. For those who aren't looking for something too strenuous (well, I should say MORE strenuous), there's a basic track with includes the lectures and basic quizzes. If you're looking to really get into it and work on a collegiate level, try the advance track which includes homework assignments, tests and deadlines (blah).
Sebastian Thrun is a Research Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, a Google Fellow, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the German Academy of Sciences. He's best known for his research in robotics and machine learning, including his self-driving car which was named one of the 50 best inventions of 2010 by Time Magazine.
Peter Norvig is Director of Research at Google Inc. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence and the Association for Computing Machinery, and co-authored Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, which is the world's most popular text book on Artificial Intelligence. He also used to be the head of the Computational Sciences Division at NASA Ames Research Center, making him NASA's senior computer scientist.
There's already over 50,000 people signed up for this course, which means one of us is destined to create Skynet.
Fantastic. I mean so far, knock on wood, it’s the greatest experience of my life. I’m having a blast, designing like crazy. I’m now hiring actors, which is always a good sign, always a great sign when you’re casting. We’re announcing a release date… The other thing that we’re heading towards is an impeding start date the first week in November, so we have 20 weeks to start shooting the biggest giant monster movie ever made.
Three lesbian aliens are sent to Earth. Their mission? To have their hearts broken by earthlings so their overactive emotions won't destroy the ozone of their planet. As the fetching extraterrestrials search for romance on the New York lesbian dating scene, one finds love with Jane, an eager stationery store clerk who is oblivious to the fact that she's dating an alien. The other two, discovering the neediness of earthling women, connect with each other as they reflect on the beauty of a cheesecake in a revolving dessert case.
I don't have a clue where to properly put this, but since it involves sci-fi, well, it does, it should go here.
AMC is the home to two of the greatest shows on television, "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad". It's also home to "The Walking Dead". And on all three counts, their new penny pinching paradigm has caused various issues with talent and staff.
Now they've got "Thunderstruck" from the guys who brought you The Excorcism Of Emily Rose along with a former EP of "Battlestar Galactica".
Per Deadline "Thunderstruck" is " an hourlong UFO project from feature writing/directing duo Paul Boardman and Scott Derrickson and former Battlestar Galactica executive producer David Eick. Boardman and Derrickson will write the drama, about powerful and enigmatic entities that begin appearing all over the world. After one shows up in the town of Great Falls, Montana, the local citizens must grapple with the dramatic effects and growing mystery of repeated visitations. Boardman and Derrickson will executive produce Thunderstruck with Eick. Derrickson is set to direct."
Here's hoping they can keep the lights on at all of their shows.
Thunderstruck (AMC)
I'm going to keep on eye on this one. Hopefully AMC is in a groove with good television
That track record came to an end with Hell On Wheels.
??? does it blow?
I'm on the border. I haven't seen it yet, but since it does follow Walking Dead, I was looking to give it a chance despite it being a Western. Hell, I even actually liked Deadwood.
Ray Bradbury, the author of classics such as “Fahrenheit 451,” “Something Wicked this Way Comes” and “The Martian Chronicles,” died Tuesday night in Los Angeles at the age of 91.
Bradbury’s daughter confirmed the death of the legendary science fiction writer to the Associated Press Wednesday morning.
Bradbury began his career writing science fiction for fanzines in 1938 and became a full-time writer in 1943. His major breakthrough as a science fiction writer was the publishing of “The Martian Chronicles” in 1950. The story of the effects of man’s attempt to colonize Mars after a massive nuclear war on Earth, the book reflected the anxieties over nuclear war in the 1950s and the fear of foreign powers.
Perhaps his best-known book is “Fahrenheit 451,” which was released in 1953 and tells the story of a professional book-burner who works under a totalitarian government that has outlawed the written word. The main character, Montag, flees for his life after he starts stealing books meant to be burned and falls under the tutelage of a professor out to educate him.
While Bradbury's books often focused on his vision of the future, he scorned modern technologies such as video games, ATMs and the Internet, the last of which he considered a scam to enrich computer companies.
Several of the author's works became movies or television shows, including the movie version of his novel “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” Versions of Bradbury’s stories appeared on episodes of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and “The Twilight Zone,” and he also had his own cable series, “Ray Bradbury Theater,” that ran from 1986-1992.
Among the awards Bradbury won during his career, he received the O. Henry Memorial Award, the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America. His work also appeared three times in the Best American Short Stories collections.
Upcoming Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies That Aren’t Remakes, Sequels or Prequels
Charlie Jane Anders
They're rebooting Spider-Man. They're remaking Total Recall. Sometimes, when you're in the middle of summer movie craziness, it can seem like every movie is based on an already-existing movie. But that's not really true — there are actually tons of genre movies in development that are new concepts, at least as far as the movies go. Some of them have already finished filming, while others will never get made.
Is any of them the next Inception or District 9? We'll find out when you do. But here's our round-up of 50-odd science fiction and fantasy movies in the pipeline that aren't sequels, reboots, remakes or prequels of existing films.
Tom Cruise stars in OBLIVION, an original and groundbreaking cinematic event from the director of TRON: Legacy and the producer of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man’s confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind.
Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack Harper’s (Cruise) mission is nearly complete. Living in and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above Earth, his soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands. The film was shot in digital 4K resolution on location across the United States and Iceland.
Universal Pictures will release OBLIVION in IMAX on April 12, 2013, one week ahead of its wide release on April 19, 2013.
After 73 nominated films, and 11,061 votes from 58 countries, the results are in from our poll to decide the Top 10 Sci-Fi movies of all time.
The winner, in the Number One spot, as selected by the readers of GeekDad, is …
(drum roll…)
Blade Runner
This is the seminal 1982 dystopian crime/noir/sci-fi film directed by Brit Ridley Scott, who also directed our Number 3 film, Alien, as well as Gladiator and most recently Prometheus. Blade Runner stars Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young, and is based on the sci-fi novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.
Here’s how the Top 10 went down, in rank and number of votes:
Blade Runner (Director’s Cut): 404 + Blade Runner: 398 = 802
The Matrix: 665
Alien: 480
Star Wars: Episode IV €A New Hope : 455
2001: A Space Odyssey: 446
Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back: 434
Back to the Future: 353
The Fifth Element: 346
The Terminator: 332
Aliens: 325
[Note: We mistakenly listed Blade Runner and Blade Runner (Director's Cut) as two separate films, when we should listed the film only once. We've combined the votes for both versions (404 votes plus 398 votes) which gives us 802, an easy win for first place. But since people could have theoretically voted for Blade Runner twice, this might explain why the film nabbed number one. Still, even if you cut the total in half, Blade Runner still makes the top 10. Also, The War of the Worlds and Minority Report were accidentally listed twice; in the results below, their separate totals have been combined. We apologize for the errors.]
Here are the full results:
1. Blade Runner (Director’s Cut): 404 + Blade Runner: 398 = 802
2. The Matrix: 665
3. Alien (1979): 480
4. Star Wars: Episode IV €A New Hope (1977): 455
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey: 446
6. Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back (1980): 434
7. Back to the Future: 353
8. The Fifth Element: 346
9. The Terminator: 332
10. Aliens: 325
11. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: 278
12. Serenity: 270
13. Terminator 2 : Judgment Day: 262
14. Jurassic Park: 246
15. District 9: 238
16. Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 224
17. Minority Report: 221
18. Gattaca: 214
19. Twelve Monkeys: 206
20. Planet of the Apes (1968): 191
21. Tron: 171
22. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: 160
23. John Carpenter’s The Thing: 150
24. Dune: 148
25. Fight Club: 145
26. Children of Men: 144
27. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951): 140
28. Brazil: 140
29. Moon: 138
30. A Clockwork Orange: 135
31. The Abyss: 134
32. Forbidden Planet: 133
33. Ghost in the Shell: 117
34. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: 109
35. The War of the Worlds (1953): 104
36. Akira: 102
37. Dark City: 95
38. The Iron Giant: 94
39. Watchmen: 91
40. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: 89
41. Zombieland: 88
42. The Prestige: 88
43. Soylent Green: 84
44. Logan’s Run: 84
45. The Chronicles of Riddick: 84
46. Metropolis (1927): 76
47. The Andromeda Strain: 75
48. The Truman Show: 68
49. A.I. Artificial Intelligence: 66
50. Fahrenheit 451: 55
51. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956): 55
52. Silent Running: 50
53. Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: 49
54. Primer: 45
55. The Matrix Reloaded: 43
56. Fantastic Voyage: 43
57. Solaris (Tarkovsky version): 42
58. Titan A.E.: 42
59. Flash Gordon: 41
60. The Matrix Revolutions: 40
61. The Last Man on Earth (“I, Robot”): 36
62. Them! (1954): 34
63. Cube: 33
64. 2010: The Year We Make Contact: 32
65. The City of Lost Children: 32
66. A Scanner Darkly: 29
67. The Black Hole: 21
68. Batteries Not Included: 20
69. Stalker: 18
70. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence: 17
71. Sleeper: 17
72. The Invisible Man (1933): 15
73. Red Planet: 12
There are a lot of gruesome moments in Ridley Scott's 1979 classic Alien, but it still seems a bit harsh that the U.K. film ratings board gave the flick an X rating back when it was first released. So why'd they hit the film with such a restriction? They thought it would confuse teens about how sex works. No, really.
The "X" rating (now known as "18") in the U.K. means you aren't allowed entry to the film unless you're 18 or older, and these days it means you can't even rent or buy the DVD if you're not old enough. The rating just beneath it, "AA" (now known as "14+") would have allowed teenagers to see the film, and that's apparently what the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) had a problem with back in '79.
But according to recently unearthed records related to the film's classification, it wasn't the violence or the sci-fi horror or even the infamous "chestburster." It was another famous scene that censors felt would confuse teens about how sex works.
You remember the scene pictured above, right? John Hurt comes upon a room filled with these curious alien eggs, he makes the mistake of looking straight down into one and BAM, he gets up close and personal with a facehugger. Seems like a straightforward piece of make-believe, right? Well, the BBFC censor who wrote the judgment classifying the film had other ideas.
"I feel uneasy about passing for 14-year-olds a film which uses sexual imagery in a horror context," the censor wrote. "The images are not always explicit but run like a dark undercurrent throughout suggesting a powerful, threatening, unnamed force. Occasionally the image is explicit as when the leathery egg opens up to reveal a glistening pulsating membrane which erupts into a squid-like creature."
See, this was back when the censors were allowed much more freedom to interpret things based on how they thought a particularly age group would react. These days they rate films based on images depicted, and don't spend as much time getting all philosophical on us. But for this particular '70s censor, seeing John Hurt getting face-hugged and subsequently knocked up with alien spawn seemed like the sort of thing that could seriously mess up teens who were still, well ... trying to figure out how all their parts worked.
"I don't want to flash ideas like this to teenagers who might not have come to terms with the normal sexual functions," the censor said. "The early teens are a troublesome time with physical changes making terrific demands on emotional stability. I don't myself want to pass for this age-group a film which might be disturbing in a non-specific way to a significant proportion of them."
With all the concern over how sci-fi would affect teens' understanding of sex, you have to wonder what that censor would have made of the dream sequences in The Fly.
The ratings board is a joke. I've never understood how they even operate because from one movie to the next, they contradict themselves what is acceptable and "unacceptable". I'm speaking for the US board and not what goes on around the world and their respective boards.
Okay fellow science fiction addicts, we already know about Pacific Rim, Oblivion, Elysium, Gravity, The Zero Theorem, Star Trek: Into Darkness, World War Z, Divergent, Robocop, Star Wars Episode VII, Snowpiercer, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and all the assorted superhero/comic films. But here are ten more outings you might not have known are headed our way. Glory be to the aliens, robots and assorted mutant critters!
Directorial feature debut by Nicolás Alcalá, starring Katrine De Candole, Leon Ockenden and Max Wrottesley. This crowdfunded film follows three friends during the years of the Russia vs. U.S. race to space. When the first Russian is about to land on the moon, something goes wrong and he is declared lost…until radio transmissions from him are received. The cosmonaut claims he has returned to Earth and found it completely empty.
Directorial debut by Ruairi Robinson, starring Liev Schreiber, Romola Garai, Elias Koteas and Goran Kostic. A team of scientists is excited to find bacterial life on Mars (you and I know that’s never good news). In their last hours collecting samples, one of the crew suffers a fatal accident, and his body is overtaken by the alien life form. I think we can presume things go downhill from there.
Directed by Sebastián Cordero (Pescador, Rage, Chronicles), starring Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist, Daniel Wu, Christian Camargo and Isiah Whitlock Jr. Another expedition to search for life, this time to one of Jupiter’s moons. The filmmakers collaborated with NASA and other scientific community leaders on this found footage “space horror,” and the movie is scored by Bear McCreary. You can check on the crew hanging out here.
Directed by Doug Liman (Fair Game, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Go), starring Tom Cruise, Bill Paxton, Emily Blunt, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Dragomir Mrsic; based on the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. During a war between humanity and aliens, an inexperienced Lieutenant Colonel (Cruise) is thrown into battle, and promptly killed. (Everybody cheers?) But wait…somehow direct contact with the alien caused the unsinkable Mr. Cruise to be caught in a time loop; so he must fight the battle repeatedly, trying to change his fate. (Seems like a good time to reestablish contact with Xenu, no?)
Directed by Andrew Will (Homeland), starring Neal McDonough, Joseph Mawle and Anna Anissimova. Developed from a short. An experimental humanoid robot escapes from a government facility; the military tries to track it down. Produced by The Bandito Brothers (Act of Valor).
Directed by Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast, Birth), starring Scarlett Johansson, Antonia Campbell-Hughes and Paul Brannigan. Based on the Michel Faber novel about an alien sent to Earth to pick up a few appetizing snacks…aka…humans.
Directed by Jeff Renfroe (Civic Duty), starring Laurence Fishburne, Bill Paxton and Kevin Zegers. Another Ice Age leaves a small group of survivors underground, fighting off…something. Muppets, you ask? Dinosaurs? Nope. Feral cannibals.
Directed by Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, The Iron Giant), starring (thus far) George Clooney and Hugh Laurie (in negotiations). The guarded plot is slowly being unraveled after the above photo was tweeted by the director. Through analysis of the box’s contents, rumors have it that the film—previously titled 1952—will be about the relationship between Walt Disney and the U.S. government/military, a story about a television show that would have helped tell the world UFOs are real, and/or possible science fiction themed parks. Read about Project Blue Book, Jim Hill’s theory, and then cry a few tears, because Damon Lindelof is involved. Still, if this all turns out to be true, wild dire wolves couldn’t keep me away.
Directed by George Miller (Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Beyond the Thunderdome, Happy Feet), starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. When first you see the words “Mad Max sequel,” you might immediately feel inclined to dismiss this one; but then you read “Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron,” and that “well, maybe?” expression works its way across your face. Then you hear comic writer Brendan McCarthy co-wrote the script, get a look at the critters and the car pics, and what do you know, this thing might actually have legs.
Directed by Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), this will be an adaptation of Neal Stephenson’s award winning novel set in a future where the U.S. is split into territories controlled by corporations, and a hacker discovers a mind-controlling drug that can infect a person like a computer virus.
Ridley Scott, the director of “Blade Runner” and “Alien,” has signed a deal with the gaming and streaming media website Machinima to produce a dozen short sci-fi films that will use filmmakers from Scott’s commercial production company.
The most successful of the short films could be developed into features, Machinima and Scott announced Monday.
Scott will serve as executive producer, and the 12 shorts will be made by directors working for Scott’s advertising concern, Ridley Scott Associates.
Machinima, which says it reaches 262 million viewers monthly, recently started work on a feature-length version of its “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” series.
He’s now finishing work on “The Counselor,” a drug trafficking drama starring Brad Pitt due Nov. 15.
“By combining this unique incubation model together with our powerful partnership of established creative talent and scaled distribution to millions on Machinima, we believe new sci-fi franchises will be born,” Allen DeBevoise, Machinima’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
Added Scott: “With new media transforming the way audiences connect with films and filmmakers, Machinima is a great partner for us as we embark on this new model of delivering original content to fans.”
"Don't take any chances... it's dangerous down there." Damn this looks good. Universal has debuted on more full theatrical trailer for Joseph Kosinski's sci-fi Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman. Just yesterday we featured two new posters, today we've got an entirely new trailer in beautiful high def via Apple. There is a lot of the same footage we've seen between the first trailer and UK trailer, but there's also some new shots. This gets really good in the last 15 seconds, something about it almost feels like The Matrix, in a sci-fi-yet-to-be-discovered good way. Personally, I can't wait to see this, but maybe it's just the footage.
Kosinski's Oblivion (also known as Horizons) stars Tom Cruise as Jack Harper, plus Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Zoe Bell, Andrea Riseborough, Melissa Leo and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Living and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above, Jack's soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands. Kosinski has developed this for years, with a writing credit along with William Monahan. Universal Pictures currently has Oblivion scheduled to open exclusively in IMAX theaters on April 12th. How does that look?
"Pacific Rim" won't be the only robots-battling-monsters-from-the-deep feature this summer, as schlock house The Asylum preps its on more modestly-budgeted "Atlantic Rim" set off the coast of Florida.
Just in case you wondered what The Asylum was up to in the wake of their "Hobbits" defeat, they've taken aim at Guillermo del Toro's $200 million mech-vs.-monsters movie "Pacific Rim" with their own "Atlantic Rim," currently shooting now in West Florida. "Atlantic Rim," which you'll likely be seeing on SyFy and Netflix sometime around the July release of "Pacific Rim" brings together the typically odd cast of Graham Greene ("Twilight"), Naughty By Nature's Treach (aka Anthony Criss), and "Baywatch" vet David Chokachi.
News broke about the film's shoot in an appropriately modest fashion, not in the trades but via the Pensacola Digest, who spoke with the film's second unit director and University of West Florida instructor Paul Sinor about what's currently being produced under the title "From the Sea." In case there were any doubts about "From the Sea"/"Atlantic Rim's" ambitions, here's how Sinor describes the movie:
“The storyline is that these monsters come from the sea. The sea floor opens up and these things come out. They terrorize the East Coast from Miami to Washington D.C., and the good guys send them back packing.”
Oh, and in case you're interested in breaking into the film industry (well, the films that rip off other films industry), The Asylum is currently seeking pitches for unproduced features.
Gaze upon the results of low-hanging fruit with the full "Atlantic Rim" poster below:
Aside from the principal cast of Laurence Fishburne, Bill Paxton and Kevin Zegers, not much was revealed about The Colony while it was shooting in Toronto last year. We had sketchy intel that it was something to do with feral cannibals in an ice age, but now with the arrival of the first international trailer, we can start to colour in some details.
Talking to Slashdot, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski delivers a thundering indictment of network execs' attitudes to science fiction on television:
The problem is that the networks still don’t take SF seriously, or even feel threatened by it. I’ve had executives say that a space-show doesn’t work because people don’t care about what happens to characters in space, it has to be on earth or nobody’ll be interested. I’ve had them say “you can do whatever you want, it’s scifi, it doesn’t have to make sense.” Because it’s SF they always think that somehow or other The Fate Of The World has to be at stake. If you’re doing a drama, no one suggests that solving the relationship problems of the murder has to save the world, but they feel that it has to be that way if you’re writing SF, which is why it’s also so often the rule in SF movies. It’s absolutely crazy-making. 2001, one of the most classic SF motion pictures of all time, could never get made today. Not a chance. Too cerebral, they’d say. Not enough action. All the crowdsourcing in the world won’t rewire the neurons engaged in that kind of thinking.
I keep waiting for a paradigm shift to happen that will let network and studio execs see that SF is the same as any other genre in terms of how you approach it – logically, character based, with challenging ideas and forward thinking – but I worry that it might never happen in my lifetime.
Some sad news this morning as the family of Ray Harryhausen has confirmed that the pioneering special effects legend has died at the age of 92. It’s impossible to overstate the impact Harryhausen had on motion pictures, not only did he revolutionize stop motion animation, but the aesthetic he brought to his models was always note perfect – tonally matching the project we has working on like a second skin.
The Harryhausen family issued the following statement on their Facebook page, “The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous, with luminaries; Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own Nick Park have cited Harryhausen as being the man whose work inspired their own creations.”
Harryhausen’s work can be seen in films like Mighty Joe Young, It Came From Beneath The Sea, Mysterious Island, Jason And The Argonauts and of course Clash Of The Titans. His influence can be felt everywhere from The Lord Of The Rings to the junkyard skeleton fight in Dream Warriors.
Let’s hope the news of his passing and the consideration of his legacy reignites the attention to character and detail he held so dear. 1981′s Clash Of The Titans may not be a perfect movie, but his work in that is exceedingly memorable. Can you say the same about the visual effects in the remake? We need more visionaries like this and, just as importantly, we need an environment in which they can thrive.
Atlantic Rim may look like lawsuit bait after the last year’s legal woes The Asylum had over their Battleship and Hobbit mockbusters. It better not because it also looks pretty damn cool if you’re like me and believe you can never have enough movies about giant robots battling giant monsters.
Now that I think about it, “to fight monsters we created monsters” could almost be The Asylum’s mantra when it comes to competing all these years in a marketplace dominated by big Hollywood blockbusters.
When the floor of the Atlantic Ocean rips open, flooding the East Coast with giant monsters, Academy Award nominee Graham Greene recruits ex-"Baywatch" lifeguard David Chokachi to join Naughty by Nature’s Anthony “Treach” Criss and 100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck’s Jackie Moore in piloting giant robots built to protect the world from these monstrous menaces. If Atlantic Rim has a sense of humor about its origins, one of the giant robots will be named “Toro”.
Piloting the film is Jared Cohn, director of The Asylum’s first-ever theatrical release Hold Your Breath.
The role of the East Coast of the United States is played by the Gulf Coast’s Pensacola, Florida, the actual location where the movie was shot.
Though the trailer and artwork bills the movie as Atlantic Rim, according to Amazon and all other retailers, the film Asylum is releasing to Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD on July 9th - three days before the opening of Pacific Rim - sports the lackluster alternate title Attack from Beneath. I’m hoping that’s going to change back to Atlantic Rim because if you’re going to go full-on mockbuster, then you might as well go all the way with it. Go big or go extinct, right?
Can’t wait to see what mockbuster they come up with for next year’s Godzilla reboot.
I'm honestly amazed that they didn't think to put Iron Man into the story as well, instead of making the Iron Man suit Tony Stark builds giant robot ("for something like that to work, it'd have to be pretty huge") just before SeaDragonZilla there attacks.
Roland Emmerich’s Centropolis Entertainment has acquired Emergence, a pitch for a large scale contemporary science fiction film by scribe Nic Kelman, says Deadline.
Emmerich, pictured, plans to direct the film, which is a new take on an alien invasion story containing hot-button science elements.
Emmerich’s track record, going back to Independence Day, 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow, is to come to the marketplace with a script, a budget, a start date, and his commitment to direct. And studios like Fox and Sony have responded by paying huge sums against extravagant back ends because they could see the whole picture and it enabled them to slot an event film right into their slates. Emmerich’s big-scale movies almost always become big hits globally.
Emmerich has other projects in the pipeline that are further along, including Singularity and an adaptation of the Isaac Asimov sci-fi classic Foundation, so it’s unclear which movie will be next. He has also been in the mix on sequels to Independence Day.
Summit Entertainment will showcase the studio's highly anticipated film event ENDER'S GAME at Comic-Con 2013, presenting never-before-seen new footage, appearances by cast members and filmmakers, and several massive, interactive fan events. A full slate of activities related to the film to be unveiled at this year's Comic-Con, including:
Hall H Panel - The studio's panel on Thursday, July 18th will feature ENDER'S GAME filmmakers and cast, including producer Bob Orci, director Gavin Hood, and cast members Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld and Abigail Breslin.
Exclusive Fan Experience - Attendees will be able to visit an elaborate, specially constructed ENDER'S GAME exhibit outside of the Hilton Gaslamp, featuring 8 unique rooms representing the most iconic environments of Ender's world, complete with original film props and set pieces used in the movie. Throughout the experience, attendees will be able to see exclusive film footage on LED screens, interact with new digital content, integrate photos of themselves into the highly anticipated Battle Room, and register to win a home make over.
Convention Floor Booth - Summit Entertainment's booth located within the Grand Hall will highlight ENDER'S GAME footage. Premium promotional items will be distributed to the 120,000 attendees walking the convention floor, and booth visitors will be given the opportunity to win "fast passes" to the ENDER'S Game Exclusive Fan Experience, granting them entry without having to wait in line.
ENDERS GAME Film Information:
Based on the best-selling, award winning novel, ENDER'S GAME is an epic adventure directed by Gavin Hood starring Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, with Abigail Breslin and Harrison Ford. In the near future, a hostile alien race has attacked Earth. In preparation for the next attack, the humans begin training only the best students to find their future leader. Ender Wiggin, a shy, but strategically brilliant young man is pulled out of his school to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters the training, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. He is soon ordained as the military's next great hope and is charged to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.
OddLot Entertainment, K/O Paper Products, and Digital Domain are production partners on the film, with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman producing via their K/O Paper Products banner, Gigi Pritzker and Linda McDonough producing via OddLot Entertainment, along with Orson Scott Card and Lynn Hendee.
King Kong, aliens, meteorites, lizard-like monsters, New York has been terrorized by all these and more in the movies. And now, a new threat is hitting the Big Apple in 2014 — sharks.
Syfy announced on Wednesday that the network is going ahead with a sequel to its social-media sensation, "Sharknado." The made-for-TV movie drew 1.3 million viewers, and featured "Beverly Hills, 90210" alum Ian Ziering as a bar-owner who tries to save his loved ones as sharks are dumped in Los Angeles by a freak storm.
"Every once in a while, there is a perfect storm — on television," Thomas Vitale, Syfy's executive vice president of programming and original movies, said in a statement. "The fans are clamoring for a sequel. Or perhaps it will be a prequel. What we can guarantee is that 'Sharknado 2' will be lots of fun."
But the fun doesn't end there. Syfy is letting fans play a role in the TV movie's official title. Fans can tweet their title ideas to @SyfyMovies using the hashtag #Sharknado, and the network will use the best submission for the 2014 TV movie.
The opportunities for cheese-tastic title fun are endless! (And seriously, why not go as goofy as possible? You know the sequel is going to feature awesomely bad lines and impossible scenarios, just as the original did.) For starters, we like "Sharkapalooza," "Skarkpocalypse Now," "Sharkzilla," "Dawn of the Shark," "Shark Attacks!" "28 Sharks Later," "Armasharkdon," you get the idea!
Sharknado 2 is coming
....you can't plan a successful campy B-movie.
The Huffington Post is reporting that with the astounding success of SyFy and The Asylum’s Corman-esque shlock fest, Sharknado, may have wondered what will happen next with everyones favorite predator filled twister. Well, naturally it would make it’s way to a cinema near you. In what can only be described as sheer genius, SyFy and The Asylum have teamed up with Regal Cinemas to bring Sharknado to the big screen for a one night only engagement.
Director of digital marketing for Regal Entertainment group Chris Sylvia compared “Sharknado” to another cult classic.
“You know how audiences have had fun with ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ over the years. If the internet reactions to this film are any indication, then our moviegoers are primed and ready to enjoy ‘Sharknado’ larger than life in cinemas,” Sylvia added.
“‘Sharknado’ has become a force of nature in its own right. This project transcends the original television platform and has created tremendous buzz,” stated Ken Thewes, chief marketing officer for Regal Entertainment Group, said in a statment. “There’s just something epic about watching these huge beasts on the big screen with your friends and family. The crowd reactions will make for a memorable experience in our theaters.”
So successful was Sharknado, that a sequel is already in the pipeline. No word yet on it’s release date, but you can be sure that it will be bigger and even sharkier.
I for one am really exited for this. Asylum could be hitting on something big here with midnight screenings. This actually seems like something that could really take off. Horror fans usually go nuts over this kind of theatricality. Just look at shows like Rocky Horror or Troll 2, which has lived on well past it’s expected shelf life thanks to small showings catering to the right crowd in the right markets.
How would you spend your final hours?
Opening this June via Roadshow Films, here’s an insane new trailer for the apocalyptic thriller These Final Hours from Celluloid Nightmares.
Zak Hilditch’s feature debut explores the question “What would you do on the last day on Earth?” through the eyes of a self-obsessed young man, played by Nathan Phillips, on his way to the party-to-end-all-parties.
The thriller earned Hilditch the Critics’ Award for Best Australian feature at the Melbourne International Film Festival.