SCIFI NEWS VIDEO OF THE WEEK Space: Above And Beyond - Ray Butts
Science Fiction media continues to grow and it seems it was just a matter of time before networks like The CW got in on the action.The network has given a greenlight to superhero-drama "The Tomorrow People", high school aliens drama "Star-Crossed"and its futuristicdrama"The Hundred." "Tommorow People" Preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8TDKDqoklEI#!
Laurence Fishburne is in New Mexico as filming has gotten underway for "The Signal".It tells the story of three college freshmen who disappear under
mysterious circumstances while tracking a menacing computer hacker
through the Southwest.
At least they got 5 years out of it! "Warehouse 13" is preparing for what will be its fifth and final season andproducers have just six episodes to wrap it up."Warehouse 13" premiered in 2009 to modest ratings numbers and still brings in a strong audience. However, it has been recently overshadowed by the new Syfy series "Defiance," which indirectly caused "Warehouse 13" to get pushed to the 10 PM slot, a rough spot to be in for afamily-oriented show. Yes but can it make coffee automatically? Google and NASA are the proud new owners of a quantum computer, which they will use to launch an artificial-intelligence lab at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California. So what does all of this mean? A quantum computer is a new type of supercomputer that seeks to harness “quantum randomness” to perform operations far more efficiently traditional computers. The one Google and NASA bought was made by a company called D-Wave, and there is some debate about whether it’s really accurate to call it a quantum computer. Nonetheless, it recently solved at least one optimization problem 3,600 times faster than a conventional machine, raising the possibility that it could indeed lead to advances in machine learning. While most people have learned to avoid popular internet scams, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has determined that almost 300,000 Americans in 2012 did not. Their ignorance cost them more than $500 million, collectively.Complaints streamed in from 289,874 people, of whom 114,908 (about 40 percent) reported having lost money to an online scam.The 20-39 demographic represented 39 percent of victims, while those ages 40-50 represented 43 percent. Although California placed first in gullible Internet denizens, the East Coast fared the worst overall. New York, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia all fell well within the top 10 states with the most complainants.IC3 reported seven main types of email scams: auto fraud, FBI impersonation, intimidation/extortion, hit man, scareware/ransomware, real estate fraud and romance.(technewsdaily.com)
SCIENCE FICTION TRIBUTE Ray Harryhausen 1920 - 2013 A true legend in the movie special effects world for over 30 years left us this week at age 92. Born in Los Angeles, Harryhausen began his love affair with stop-motion animation early after watching the effects-heavy movie King Kong in 1933.He started making his own stop-motion films in his family’s garage and his work eventually caught the attention of movie dierectors and studios. Consequently Harryhausen quickly became a sought-after effects artist and a pioneer in new special effect techniques. He revolutionized how actors could interact with stop-motion effects, a process Harryhausen called “Dynamation.” Harryhausen’s effects work continued through the 1960s and ’70s. He was a life-long friend of Ray Bradbury.
SCIFI NEWS AUDIO Maurice Jarre - Enemy Mine - Opening
22 Minutes Of Micheal Giachino's Star Trek Into Darkness Score
Finally...The Final Trailer For "Star Trek Into Darkness" (3:27) Opens May 16th.
Where's The Artificial Gravity? (2:19) http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/rockets/why-dont-we-have-artificial-gravity-15425569 Actor
Micheal Caine joins an already impressive-looking cast that includes Anne Hathaway, Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain in
Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar". Plot details are being kept under
wraps but "Interstellar" is said to involve time travel and alternate
dimensions as it follows a group of explorers going through a wormhole. Its premise is apparently based on
scientific theories developed by a leading American theoretical
physicist called Kip Thorne. (deadline.com)
Perhaps it should be spelled this way: "Another R.E.B.O.O.T."... Tom Cruise has found his leading lady for the upcoming big-screen reboot of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."Swedish actress Alicia Vikander is in talks to join the cast of the classic1960s TV series that followed the spy adventures of American agent Napoleon Solo and Soviet agent Illya Kuryakin. Cruise is playing Solo, while Hammer is playing Kuryakin. (sliceofscifi.com)
If this keeps up it'll soon be known as "Old Men In Black"!Whether we want it or not, Sony is developing a script for fourth "Men in Black". "Men in Black 4"is in the early stages of development, and it
is unclear to what extent Will Smith is involved at this
point, though clearly there is interest to capitalize on last year’s
movie. MiB 3 grossed a franchise-best $624 million and received warm reviews.There are no deals for Josh Brolin or Emma Thompson to return.
Battlestar Galactica may be a holding pattern for awhile...A long while!...A Syfy spokesperson says that there are currently no plans for any further BSG spin-offs on Syfy. Syfy aired the prequel TV movie Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome back in February and Michael Taylor, who wrote the story says that he hasn't heard anything about Syfy wanting to continue the Blood and Chrome storyline. Sources also say that Brian Singer's attempt at a new Battlestar movie movie are also going nowhere, just yet...We'll keep you posted (iO9.com) Syfy has renewed "Defiance" for a second season after solid premiere ratings. A 13-episode sophomore season of the dystopian alien drama has been ordered, with a production start eyed for August and a 2014 return to the network.Currently in the middle of its initial order, Defiance marked the second largest series premiere in network history and has regularly won cable's scripted offerings in its Monday time slot among adults 18-49. (hollywoodreporter.com)
SCIFI NEWS MOVIE SPECIAL EFFECTS Douglas Trumbull, American film director, special effects supervisor. Born in Los Angeles in 1942. He is the son of Donald Trumbull, who created visual effects for the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. Douglas Trumbull's early work was at Graphic Films in Los Angeles. The small animation and graphic arts studio produced a film about spaceflight for the 1964 New York World's Fair. The spaceflight film caught the attention of director Stanley Kubrick who hired him for the production of "2001: A Space Odyssey." In the 70's Trumbull set up his own company and subsequently bid on the job to produce special effects for the science-fiction film "The Andromeda Strain". Trumbull and associate James Shourt produced dozens of shots, including the "electron microscope" pictures of the Andromeda organism and various on-screen readouts. Though many of these looked like computer graphics, they were created using techniques Trumbull had used for 2001.
Trumbull's participation and success on Andromeda set him up to direct the 1971 film Silent Running whichused a number of special effects techniques that Trumbull had helped develop. The spacecraft interiors were shot aboard a mothballed aircraft carrier, which lent its name to the movie spacecraft Valley Forge. Trumbull was not originally slated to direct, but as the start of production loomed he became the obvious choice.
In 1975, Trumbull turned down an offer to provide the effects for George Lucas' Star Wars due to other commitments, but in 1977 he contributed effects to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In late 1978, Trumbull's Future General Corporation was offered the job to produce the special effects for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." Trumbull, already deeply involved in Close Encounters, refused, wanting instead to focus his efforts on his patented Showscan process, a high-speed, large-format movie process that provided unprecedented visual clarity. Paramount awarded the contract to effects house Robert Abel and Associates
Abel had produced many high-end, visually advanced commercials for clients, but it soon became apparent that their choice of technology, which featured software-controlled camera rigs and graphics imaging systems, very advanced for the day, simply couldn't scale up to the volume of material required. In August 1978, with rumors of an impending meltdown at Abel swirling, Trumbull approached Paramount offering to step in and do the effects with partner Richard Yuricich. Abel was eventually fired after failing to produce even a few seconds of usable footage and Trumbull tookover effects production with a mere six months to go before opening day.
Abel's shortcomings left him with hundreds of effects shots that needed to be done. The model of the Enterprise, already built by the time Trumbull's team took over, proved especially tricky. While the model of Discovery in "2001" was over 50 feet long and featured a wealth of detail, the model of the Enterprise was only seven feet in length, which severely limited the photographic possibilities. Other compromises had to be overcome. Trumbull had several ideas for unconventional effects such as a modified slitscan technique to produce fantastic streaks when the Enterprise went into warp drive, but many had to be shelved due to time constraints.
In 1981 Trumbull directed the special effects for "Blade Runner." By this time Trumbull had sworn off doing special effects for other directors, but was lured to the project by the opportunity to work with Scott, and a chance to create something other than sterile, grey and white spacecraft. "One of the things that appealed to me about the project", Trumbull recalled in an interview in Cinefex magazine, "was that it was not a space movie. I'm just real tired of doing spaceships against star backgrounds."
After his final project, and exhausted from his battles with the Hollywood system, Trumbull retreated to the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, redirecting his career away from traditional Hollywood projects and concentrating instead on developing new technology for movie production.
SCIFI NEWS QUOTE OF THE WEEK "Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy" - Robert Tew
May 3, 2013
SCIFI NEWS AUDIO
M83 - Oblivian - Tech 49
SciFi Robot Short "ABE" (8:22) Brings New Meaning To The Term "Gone Haywire"
The Kirk Vs. Bad Guy Showdown...(1:19) The Latest "Star Trek Into Darkness" Trailer
Fox has picked up a new sci-fi flick titled "Capsule", written by Ian Shorr.The film is based on an original
story by Matthias Hoene about a young man whose life is turned around
after mysteriously receiving metallic time capsules with messages from
his future self.
Scarlett Johansson is in final negotiations for the lead role in "Lucy", an action movie with a distinctly sci-fi premise, about a young woman who is forced to become a drug mule and inadvertently manages to absorb the drug she’s carrying into her own system. Rather than landing her in the hospital, the drug gives her superhuman powers, including telekinesis, the elimination of all sensations of pain or discomfort, and the ability to absorb knowledge instantaneously.
Steven Spielberg will direct “American Sniper,” based on the memoir of the same name by former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. Kyle spent 10 years as a sniper for the military, recording the most kills in its history and earning a bounty on his head from Iraqi insurgents. The book details Kyle’s experiences abroad and at home, where his career put a strain on his family life.Actor Bradley Cooper has been developing the project since last year. He’ll also produce the film.
A group of hardcore "Warehouse 13" fans have put together one of the most solid show campaign websites since efforts to save the CBS show "Jericho." Found at www.RenewWarehouse13.com, the site encourages fans to use the hashtag "renewwarehouse13" on places like Twitter, and shares ways to organize. In the site's first five days, the organizers say Renew Warehouse 13 has had nearly 17,000 pageviews, and the Twitter feed picked up a quick 500 followers. They've also already collected more than 3,000 surveys from fans in 78 countries.
Who would've ever thought that AOL and the CIA would ever merge in the human resources department, or any other department for that matter! Dawn Meyerriecks, who was in charge of AOL’s product technologies group for years will soon become one of the Central Intelligence Agency’s top science and technology officers, and yes she more than qualifies. She’s also been a NASA Jet Propulsion Lab engineer, a top spy, and a champion of open source software.
SCIFI NEWS MOVIE ACTOR FACTS Ricardo Montalban (Battleground -1949, Escape
From The Planet Of The Apes, Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, Star
Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, (Television) Star Trek, The Man from
U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible)Born Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalban y Merino (1920 -2009), he was married for 63 years to Georgiana Young. He was bornin Mexico City, but grew up in the city of Torreon. As a teenager Ricardo moved to Los Angeles to live with his brother Carlos, who was a actor, then they moved on to New York City. In 1940 Ricardo earned a minor role in a play and in
1941, he appeared in his first motion pictures, three-minute musicals
produced for the Soundies film jukeboxes. Montalban recalled that when
he arrived in Hollywood in 1943, studios wanted to change his name to
Ricky Martin! He frequently portrayed Asian characters, mostly of Japanese background and many of his early roles were in Westerns in which he played character parts, usually as an Indian or as a romantic Latin.
Another of his well-known roles was that of Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, in which he reprised a role that he had originated in the 1967 episode of Star Trek titled "Space Seed". There were some questions initially as to whether Montalban had had prosthetic muscles applied to his chest during filming of Star Trek II to make him appear more muscular. Director Nicholas Meyer replied that even in his sixties Montalbán had a vigorous training regimen, was "one strong cookie" and that his real chest was seen on film.Montalban agreed to take the movie role of Khan for a significant pay cut, since by his own admission, he relished reprising the role, and his only regret was that he and William Shatner never interacted face to face, as their scenes were filmed several months apart in order to accommodate Montalban's schedule for Fantasy Island.
SCIFI NEWS QUOTE OF THE WEEK "He
who has faith has... an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence,
calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well even though
to the world it may appear to come out most badly." -B. C. Forbes
Apr 26, 2013
SciFi Short "Hybrids" As Intense As It Sounds (7:48)
It's safe to say, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski knows a thing or two about putting out a qualitytelevision show every week, and through it all, he's figured out why it's harder than it looks."
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 spaceshow
doesn’t work because people don’t care about what happens to characters
in space.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.
AMC has already announced one new science fiction project, that being "Ballistic City". Now they've ordered a pilot called "Line Of Sight" The plot goes like this..."Lewis Bernt, a
National Transportation Safety Boardinvestigator who survives a
mysterious plane crash, takes him on a quest to discover the
accident's cause. He becomes a man whose entire sense of self, his own
life and the world as he knows it, completely unravels in a whirlwind of
obsession and paranoia."
Ryan Reynolds is in early talks to star in "Selfless", a new film that follows a rich old man who recently discovers that he's dying. In order to cheat death, he has his mind transplanted into a younger man's body, a cadaver whose "previous inhabitant" was murdered. Then the man finds himself being hunted by killers as he tries to figure out who killed him in the first place.
Progress to explore and discover Earth-like worlds is still slow, yet we press on!... The James Webb Space Telescope, set to be launched by NASA in 2018, will be capable of detecting oxygen and water in the atmosphere of an Earth-like planet orbiting a white dwarf after only a few hours of observation time by using new technology that detects biomarkers surrounding these planets,including oxygen and methane,that indicate the presence of life.
It's no big secret, nearby Earth space can use a good cleaning up. So hundreds of scientists, engineers and space-law experts gathered this week at the 6th European Conference on Space Debris to discuss the growing problem. More than 170 million pieces of space junk are currently orbiting Earth including 29,000 objects that are larger than 4 inches.
Theron was born in 1947 in Benoni South Africa, the only child of Gerda and Charles Theron. She grew up on her parents' farm in Benoni, near Johannesburg. Her father was lawfully killed by her mother with a firearm in 1991. Theron's father, an alcoholic, physically attacked her mother and threatened both her mother and her while drunk.
At 13, Theron was sent to boarding school and began her studies at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg.Although seeing herself as a dancer, Theron at 16 won a one-year modeling contract at a competition in Italy. After spending a year modeling throughout Europe, she and her mother moved to New York City and she attended the Joffrey Ballet School, where she trained as a ballet dancer until a knee injury changed her career path. At 19 Theron flew to Los Angeles on a one-way ticket her mother bought her, intending now to work in the movie industry.
During her early months there, she went to a Hollywood Boulevard bank to cash a check her mother had sent her. When the teller refused to cash it, Theron engaged in a shouting match with him. Upon seeing this, a talent agent in line behind her, handed her his business card and subsequently introduced her to casting agents and also an acting school. She later fired him as her manager after he kept sending her scripts for films similar to Showgirls and Species. Charlize Theron "Prometheus" Interview http://www.slashfilm.com/interview-charlize-theron-talks-prometheus/
SCIFI NEWS QUOTE OF THE WEEK "Unfortunately, many people do not consider fun an important item on
their daily agenda. For me, that was always high priority in whatever I
was doing." - Chuck Yeager.
