Friday, January 13, 2012

SciFi News For 1-13-12

"Run, Runner!"...Dystopian Science Fiction Films Of The 70"s:

5 Future Inventions That Many Have Been Waiting For:

"Cruising With Curiosity" The Latest On The Mars Rover (Video 1:30)

$10 Million Dollar Prize For Any Inventor Who Can Build A Real Star Trek Tricorder:

Q&A With The Founder Of "The Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction":

Harry Potter Actors Get Tested On Their American Accents: (Video 1:42)

Man Builds 19-foot-tall Apollo Model Out Of Lego's:

OTHER NEWS 
There's movement on the Trek home front again as filming was officially started yesterday on the next "Star Trek" sequel. Sources say that the new film has called for more sets than the previous movie including sections of Enterprise not seen in the 2009 movie. That includes improvements to the engine room, which for the first movie was just a dressed-up Budweiser plant.

Not much has been heard lately concerning the status of the new "Battlestar Galactica" spinoff series "Blood & Chrome", but a decision on when fans will get a chance to see the episode is coming soon. Even if Syfy does pick the show up for series, don't expect a premiere until at least 2013. "Blood & Chrome" takes place before the "Battlestar Galactica" series but after the BSG prequel series "Caprica," which lasted just a single season.The new show, which features a young William Adama on a sleek new Battlestar Galactica, was a tricky prospect because the sets for BSG are long gone but knowing there could be potential franchise built around the first reimagined series, production crews took extensive photos of the sets so that they could be used in backgrounds in future projects. 

A "24" movie that everyone felt was eventually coming....Is finally coming! It’s been a “it’s probably going to happen” rumor for a while now, but according to Kiefer Sutherland, a 24 movie is going forward at last, and it’s set to start shooting this April. Not much is known yet about the plot, but one element in the movie that everyone agrees will be needed is a strong villain.

If plans remain the same the next sci-fi film we’ll see from Steven Spielberg will be "Robopocalypse", based on the novel by Daniel H Wilson. It should go into production after the director’s finished his next movie project, "Lincoln" He recently told a London magazine “It’s a movie about a global war between man and machine… It’s a future that is coming true faster than any of us thought it would.”

"Avatar" fans who want to see more of their favorite blue people may have to wait longer than anticipated. During a recent interview producer Jon Landau revealed that the planned summer release of 2014 for the second movie could be unrealistic in that it’s “four years away.”

This weekend the orbit of the failed Russian Mars Probe Phobos-Grunt will start decaying. Russian officials estimate it will re-enter Earth's atmosphere between Saturday and Monday and that, at most, 20 to 30 fragments of the probe, weighing a total of less than 440 pounds may reach Earth’s surface.

Vladimir Popovkin, chief of Russia's Federal Space Agency recently hinted that foul play may be responsible for the failure of Russia's Mars probe Phobos-Grunt, as well as a string of other embarrassing setbacks that plagued the country's space agency last year. "It is unclear why our setbacks often occur when the vessels are traveling through what for Russia is the dark side of the Earth, in areas where we do not see the craft and do not receive its telemetry readings,"  "I do not want to blame anyone, but today there are some very powerful countermeasures that can be used against spacecraft whose use we cannot exclude,"

BOOK REVIEWS
"The Other" - Matthew Hughes:
http://georgekelley.org/?p=9865 
"Boneyards" - Kristine Kathryn Rusch 
http://en.risingshadow.net/library?action=book&book_id=33091
"Broken Angels" - Richard Morgan
http://digitalsciencefiction.com/book-review-broken-angels-by-richard-morgan/
"M.V.M Mech Vs Magic - The Battle For Harpathia" - Daniel A Neves
http://mechvsmagic.com/

SCIFI MOVIE ACTOR FACT 
James Caan, who took more than his share of bumps and bruises in the 1975 futuristic film "Rollerball", in real life spent 9 years on the pro rodeo circuit.

SCIFI NEWS QUOTE OF THE WEEK 
"Another hero was Tom Swift, in the books. What he stood for, the freedom, the scientific knowledge and being and engineer gave him the ability to invent solutions to problems. He's always been a hero to me. I buy old Tom Swift books now and read them to my own children." - Steve Wozniak

Friday, January 6, 2012

SciFi News For 1-6-12

French-English Trailer For Intriguing SciFi Romance "Upside Down" (Video 2:06)
http://www.scificool.com/first-trailer-for-juan-solanas-upside-down/

Cleaning Up Space Focus Of New IMAX Movie "Space Junk 3D" (Video 2:47):
http://www.space.com/14132-space-junk-3d-film-orbital-debris.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29

Interview With "Stargate" Producer Joseph Mallozzi:
http://nerdtrek.com/interview-joseph-mallozzi-stargate/

Recently Discovered Arthur C. Clarke 1963 TV Interview (Video 19:58):
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1981/1

2012 Apocalypse FAQ: Why The World Won't End:
http://www.space.com/14137-2012-doomsday-theories-nasa-interview.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29

Optimistic Space And Technology Predictions For The Next 40 Years:
http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=21217

What The Heck Is A "Leap Second"?:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/01/leap-second/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29 

How To Save A One Billion Dollar Satellite:
http://www.space.com/14144-military-satellite-miraculous-rescue.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29

"Temporal Cloaking" - The Futuristic Sound Of It Alone Should Get Your Attention: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/time-cloak-hid-event-in-experiment-physicists-say/2012/01/04/gIQA5rtwaP_story.html

 "Looper" Time Machine Photo:
http://scifipop.com/2012/movie-news/looper-time-machine-photo-revealed/

OTHER NEWS
British actor Noel Clarke, known to "Doctor Who" fans for his role as Mickey Smith on the BBC series, has been signed on for Star Trek 2. Clarke will be portraying a family man and is the third newcomer to be signed for the sequel, the other two being Alice Eve and Peter Weller. In a related story, the casting of Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain in the Star Trek sequel has been huge news across the internet as speculation continues as to what role he will be playing.

It looks like androids will be getting significant screen time in a new NBC series called "Beautiful People" Created by  MAD TV actor Micheal McDonald. The show is set in a future society where humans co-exist with androids that look like people but are treated like second-class citizens called "Mechanicals". NBC has just announced two cast members. British actor James Murray will play the son of the widow of the head of the company that created the androids and Patrick Heusinger will star as a Mechanical who is a house servant for a family.

The failed Russian Mars probe is expected to come crashing back to Earth next weekend.The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft was stranded in Earth orbit shortly after its Nov. 8 launch and it's been circling lower and lower ever since.Phobos-Grunt is a huge spacecraft, tipping the scales at 14.5 tons. Much of that weight is toxic hydrazine fuel, prompting some observers to worry about potential environmental impacts of the probe's re-entry.

BOOK REVIEWS
"Faith" - John Love:
"Halo: Primordium" - Greg Bear:
"The Kings Of Eternity" - Eric Brown:
"Shadows In Flight" - Orson Scott Card (Jan 17):

SCIFI MOVIE ACTOR FACT
Charlton Heston was hired by the F.B.I during the April 1993 Waco stand-off with cult leader David Koresh to play the voice of God while communicating with him, however the plan was never used.  

SCIFI NEWS QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." - Thomas Edison

Friday, December 30, 2011

SciFi News For 12-30-11

This Time We Can't See The Aliens..."Darkest Hour" Review (SPOILER ALERT):
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/12/invisible-aliens-electricity-and-russians-the-darkest-hour 

Meet The New Catwoman - Anne Hathaway (SPOILER ALERT) (Video 2:12)
http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/12/29/dark-knight-rises-star-anne-hathaway-gotham-city-is-full-of-grace/

"Predators" Director Going The Robot Route In Next Project (Concept Art):
http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2011/12/28/Nimrod-Antal-packaging-REPOSSESSION-OF-MAX-THE-COMPANION-ROBOT-first-details-concept-art

Original "Alien" Trailer Re-cut To Match "Prometheus" Trailer (Video 1:02):
http://io9.com/5871933/ridley-scotts-original-alien-trailer-recut-to-match-the-prometheus-trailer

NASA'S Twin Grail Spacecraft Have Busy Weekend Ahead:
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/12/will-nasas-grail-probe-solve-the-mystery-of-the-missing-moon.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond+%28The+Daily+Galaxy+--Great+Discoveries+Channel%3A+Sci%2C+Space%2C+Tech.%29
Grail Video: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=1016

The Failed Mars Phobos-Grunt Mission. A Video Recap (1:43)
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-video-phobos-grunt-re-entry-animation.html

Boosting Worker Efficiency...Through Muzak?:
http://io9.com/5870061/are-your-corporate-overlords-controlling-you-with-light-and-sound 

Out-of-print "Blade Runner" Sketchbook A Marvel To Look Through (Slideshow):
 http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/12/blade-runner-sketchbook/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29

OTHER NEWS 
"Prometheus" actress Charlize Theron recently opened up about her role in the movie. While some people have been comparing her character in the film to  Sigourney Weaver's Ripley in "Alien", the actress herself admitted, "No, I actually don't play the heroine in it; that's Noomi Rapace. I play somewhat of a villain in it."  She further elaborated that her character, Meredith Vickers, is "not believer, she's not a scientist, she is the red tape that everyone has to go through."

Only time will tell if Arnold Schwarzenegger is planning to go full throttle to resurrect his acting career, but right now he shows no signs of slowing down since he left office. He started with action flick "The Last Stand" as his first come-back film followed by a reprisal role in "The Expendables 2". Now he’s set to star in a new film called "Black Sands." At first it was thought that it would be another action flick, however just recently he told a fan website himself that there’s a supernatural element in the plot not mentioned previously. Of the role Schwarzenegger says, "I’m a kind of angel."

The first science fiction movie "A Trip To The Moon" is now fully restored. The 1902 film had both a black and white and color version, the latter of which had been assumed long lost until relatively recently.For the past 12 years, film archivists  have been working to fully restore the 60-minute color print for a re-release.  Check out some before and after pictures: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/12/the-first-sci-fi-movie-a-trip-to-the-moon-fully-restored News story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16262815
 
The 1953 George Pal version of "The War Of The Worlds" has been named one of the 25 films that will be added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry, which lists films that are considered culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. Films so registered are then preserved by the LOC for future generations. 

sci-fi-london.com is slowly putting together a nice collection of old-time US radio shows. Already in the database are shows from Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov. Now a good number of Ray Bradbury classics have been added. The shows are free and downloadable in MP3 format: http://www.sci-fi-london.com/ray-bradbury-radio-shows 

BOOK REVIEWS
"Mecha Corps - A Novel Of The Armor Wars #1" - Brett Patton:
http://www.nightowlscifi.com/nor/Reviews/Dawncolclasure-reviews-Mecha-Corps-by-Brett-Patton.aspx
"Specific Impulse" - Charles Justiz:
http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-specific-impulse-by-charles/
"Life On Mars: Tales From The New Frontier" - Jonathan Strahand:
https://www.worldswithoutend.com/novel.asp?id=2388 

SCIFI NEWS QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I'm sure we would not have had men on the Moon if it had not been for Wells and Verne and the people who write about this and made people think about it. I'm rather proud of the fact that I know several astronauts who became astronauts through reading my books." - Arthur C Clarke

Friday, December 23, 2011

SciFi News For 12-23-11

First "Prometheus" Trailer On Official Movie Site (Video 1:10):
http://www.prometheus-movie.com/ 

"The Dark Knight Rises" Official Trailer (Video 2:11):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMmr_EwwBOg

"John Carter" Director Andrew Stanton Introduces New Trailer (Video 2:34):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR6HUkzxjR0  

Novel-inspired Story Along With Artist Visuals Equals French "Mars et Avril" 
(Video 1:59): http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2011/12/21/Gorgeous-first-trailer-for-Martin-Villeneuves-Canadian-scifi-MARS-ET-AVRIL

NASA Pilot's Book "Specific Impulse" To Be Made Into Film (Book Trailer 1:40): 
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/12/13/nasa-pilots-scifi-novel-specific-impulse-being-adapted-by-kevin-van-hook/ 

Physicist Says Mathematically A Parallel Universe Is Possible (Audio Interview):
http://wjbc.com/the-science-of-a-parallel-universe/

Robots Finally Starting To Look More "Terminator-like" (Video 1:17):
http://singularityhub.com/2011/12/21/petman-finally-a-robot-that-looks-like-terminator-video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SingularityHub+%28Singularity+Hub%29

"SpaceX" Founder Confident He Can "Put Millions Of People On Mars":
http://www.marssociety.org/home/press/news/illputmillionsofpeopleonmarssayselonmusk 

They Don't Build Russian Mars Probes Like They Used To:
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/12/ecoalert-russians-preparing-for-re-entry-of-failed-probe-of-mars-mystery-moon-phobos.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond+%28The+Daily+Galaxy+--Great+Discoveries+Channel%3A+Sci%2C+Space%2C+Tech.%29 
 
Size Comparison Of Famous Sci-Fi Spaceships:
http://www.bitrebels.com/geek/size-comparison-of-famous-sci-fi-spaceships-infographics/ 

A CHRISTMAS WISH BY SCIENCE FICTION WRITER JOHN SCALZI 
"My Christmas wish is for Hollywood to start making more original, big-event science fiction movies. Which is to say, enough with the franchises, remakes and reboots. Let's get some new visions on the screen, okay?  I'm not advocating Hollywood get out of the sequel business, since then we wouldn't have "The Empire Strikes Back" or "Aliens" or "Terminator 2: Judgement Day". I am just saying it would be nice to have a better ratio of new scifi flicks to sequels and remakes and reboots. Is that too much for this science fiction junkie to ask?"

OTHER NEWS
MTV recently posted a short interview with J.J. Abrams about Star Trek XII:
"It's a little early to be talking about "Star Trek" but I will say that the three writers, Damon Lindelof, Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote the most amazing script, and I'm thrilled to get a chance to direct it," he said. Our sets are almost done, so we're going to go back and start shooting next month."

Actor Harrison Ford still has more aliens to battle before his career winds down. Ford has officially joined the cast of "Ender's Game". Set in Earth's utopian future, "Ender's Game" stars Asa Butterfield  as the title character, a genius strategist who's recruited by the government to help destroy an insect-like alien race. Ford will play Colonel Hyram Graff, who's in charge of training the young male recruits at an elite military academy. Release date is March 15, 2013. 

Warner Bros. has released the official synopsis for for the highly anticipated science fiction film "Gravity" starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone and spiraling out into the blackness of space.

The name for M. Night Shyamalan's new movie "One Thousand A.E" has been changed to "After Earth"  The film will star Will Smith and his son Jaden as a father and son team who crash land on an Earth 1000-years abandoned by humans.

After twenty years of hard work, the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction website has  gone live. It's an online database containing thousands of entries for all things Sci-fi, and a great place to read all about your favorite authors, characters, themes, and everything in between.

BOOK REVIEWS
"Delirium" - Lauren Oliver:
http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com/delirium.php
"Sequence" - Kenneth Rogers Jr:
http://sbpra.com/kennethrogersjr/
"Mindscan" - Robert J. Sawyer:
http://www.sfsite.com/05b/mi200.htm

SCIFI NEWS QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Let us strive to improve ourselves, for we cannot remain stationary; one either progresses or retrogrades" - Madame Marie du Deffand