Majel Barrett-Roddenberry Dies Aged 76

The very sad news came to me this morning that Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, widow of Gene and known to fans as Nurse Chapel, the original Number One, Lwaxana Troi, and of course the voice of just about every Federation computer in every show and movie, has passed away at age 76. She had been fighting leukemia for some years, evidently, and unfortunately died of complications from the disease early yesterday morning in California.

Majel will be fondly remembered by Star Trek fans forever for her work, which will—fittingly, one might say—end with the upcoming reboot of the franchise, in which she one last time performed the voice of the Enterprise computer. She had reportedly just completed her voiceover work on the movie when she passed away.

It's a huge blow to the sci-fi world, R.I.P Majel...

Visit Roddenberry.com for more info.

Tron 2.0, Tr2n, TRZ... Whatever It's Called, Gets First Confirmed Cast Members

The new Tron movie may not start filming until next year but the buzz created by the Comic Con 2008 Disney Panel preview footage has been HUGE!

It inevitably made it's way onto the Internet, albeit in the worst quality possible, but it's great nonetheless. You can actually hear the cheering as the first lightcyle appears and then when Jess Bridges pops up. Tron was a pioneering movie back in it's day an a sequel will be well received. I've posted the poor quality trailer here in case you haven't seen it.



The only 2 confirmed stars so far, apart from Jeff Bridges, are hotties Olivia Wilde and Beau Garrett. Both have recently been cast with the rumours flying about of both Karl Urban (who's about to be seen as Bones in Star Trek) and John Hurt (who recently appeared in Indy IV) appearing too. I'll post when more news is available, this is definitely a movie I can't wait to see.

Olivia Wilde

Beau Garrett

Small Update For the New Phantom Movie

The new Phantom movie that I blogged about recently has just been confirmed by the scriptwriter as a "reboot" that has "nothing to do with the 1996 movie". So no Billy Zane then...

Also of note is the fact that the movie will be called The Phantom: Legacy, in connection to the main character teaching his son (or daughter as it was in the cartoon 'Defenders of the Earth') the way of the 'Ghost Who Walks'.

Bring back The Rocketeer and I'll be even happier!

Maggie Q Cast In King Of Fighters Movie

Hopefully the bad luck that seems to haunt Video Game adaptations in Hollywood should change with the new Prince of Persia movie, but that's still two years away. Maggie Q has joined the currently in-production King of Fighters live-action film, based on the bestselling Japanese SNK Playmore video game that first hit shelves in 1994. Maggie will star alongside Sean Faris, Ray Park, Will Yun Lee and David Leitch, who doubles as the action choreographer. King of Fighters is being directed by Hong Kong's Gordon Chan, of The Medallion previously.

No details have been revealed about the story yet, however, the original game followed a character named Kyo Kusanagi, a young Japanese who enters The King of Fighters tournaments. Being the heir of the ancient Kusanagi clan, who wield pyrokinetic powers, Kyo manages to use its powerful techniques to become champion of the tournament. The film is in production in Vancouver with a $12 million budget at the moment. Production is slated to wrap in January and we should expect to see this by late 2009 courtesy of Sony.

I'm not holding my breath for this movie but Maggie Q is sickeningly hot in whatever role she does so it has that as it's only bonus so far!

Hawkeye And Black Widow For Iron Man II And Avengers Movies

It seems that the latest word on the old grapevine is that both Hawkeye and Black Widow will appear in the new Iron Man II movie, and not as cameos either. This should hopefully mean that they'll reappear in the 2011 Avengers movie as part of the full roster that recently had Wasp added to it in the heavenly form of Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria (still not 100% confirmed of course).

Tim Robbins has also supposedly been cast in the IM sequel in the role of Howard Stark, Tony's father, for a very important flashback scene that will setup the Avengers movie.

We're now waiting on the news that Ant Man/ Giant man and Vision will also appear and we'll have the best movie ever heading our way in 2 years time!

Also, thinking about it, how cool would it be for Toby Maguire to turn up in the Avengers movie as Spider-Man, even as a background cameo? A fanboy can dream of such awesome decisions coming to the minds of the Hollywood elite...

Funny Pepsi Max Ad With Kelly Brook

I came across this pretty funny Pepsi Max ad today with the stunningly hot super-babe Kelly Brook in it (albeit far too briefly for me). Click on the top right sound icon to hear it. Enjoy!

New Product @Forbiddenplanet.co.uk - Wonder Woman DVD Maquette

Another awesome Wonder Woman product from DC Direct (when are they going to do the 13" Deluxe Collectors doll?) this 9.25" tall x 3.75" wide x 4.25" deep (including the base) maquette represents Wonder Woman in her new animated DVD guise and looks great. Only £69.99 which is 13% the RRP. Another to add to my collection methinks!!!

Click this LINK to go to the FP page.

New Pics - Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian

One of the movies my family and I are looking forward to next summer is Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian, the sequel to Ben Stiller's holiday comedy from 2006. The original was a bit silly, yes, but it was a solid family movie and my kids love it. The sequel is set to bigger and better than the first with a larger range of characters and some nutty action. Here's a few new pics:

He-Man Movie Very Much Alive!

It would seem that my previous post about the new He-Man movie getting booted by Warner Bros has now been reversed. It has come to light that Kung Fu Panda co-director John Stevenson who has extensive background in storyboard art and animation previously, supposedly made an awesome presentation to WB and producer Joel Silver and the project still has life in it yet. It's going to be live action and still hopefully based on the amazing script by Justin Marks so we should get an 80's revival that keeps the quality up there with Transformers... One to watch out for!

Sundance 2009 - Two Funny Movie Trailers

Two movies looking for distributors at next years Sundance Festival are Mystery Team and Black Dynamite. Both look pretty damn funny in their own way and I have to admit that I'd really love to see Mystery Team sometime soon as that's the one that stands out for me, it looks hilarious. Check out the two trailers below and hope that both come to a cinema or dvd store sometime soon!

Mystery Team



Black Dynamite

Knowing - Trailer

A movie that is definitely down my alley is Nicholas Cage's 2009 release "Knowing". I've only just come across this but I love these types of movies and Cage has slowly grown on me the last few years so it's defiantly one to watch.

Synopsis:

A teacher (Cage) opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

A different HD trailer can be found HERE

Random Movie News...

Will Smith's Son Jaden to star as main character in Karate Kid remake next year.

National Treasure III is greenlit.

Jurassic Park IV is not going to happen anytime soon says producer.

Hancock sequel will definitely happen says Will Smith.

Frank Miller says Sin City 2 is written and might shoot in April.

Stephen Sommers to direct new Tarzan movie.

More Hollywood remakes: Romancing the Stone, Arthur, They Live!

Will Smith says I Am Legend prequel will involve the fall of the last city - the last stand of Manhattan.

Daniel Craig wants Q and Moneypenny in the next Bond.

Terminator 5 already greenlit by studio for McG to direct.

Sigourney Weaver and Ridley Scott in talks for Alien 5.

Universal move new Fast and Furious movie to pre-summer date of April 09 instead of June and Wolfman back to November 09 instead of April.

Majel Barrett Roddenberry continues to voice the Enterprise computer in new JJ Abrams Star Trek movie.

David S. Goyer directing The Invisible Man before X-Men Origins: Magneto.

Stephen Norrington to write and direct remake of Alex Proyas' The Crow.

Tron sequel, initially titled Tr2n to now be titled TRZ. No one yet knows if it's a remake, a sequel or a prequel!

Guillermo del Toro's The Hobbit starts shooting in 2010. Part of a trilogy like LOTR?

New Planet of the Apes movie to show evolution of the apes and to be like nothing you'd expect from the franchise.

Serenity sequel cancelled but new Joss Whedon Buffy movie may be heading to cinemas.

Dragonball: Evolution - New Posters And Trailer

Dear God this movie looks terrible... I'm sorry Dan mate, I know what a big DB fan you are but this movie looks utter pants. I thought I'd post these new posters (courtesy of IGN.com) and a link to the new trailer nonetheles, so if the rest of you are die hard DB fans and don't care how this turns out, enjoy!!!

New trailer LINK

The Phantom To Get A Sequel?

Something I'm happy to have come across is the news that the 1996 movie "The Phantom" starring Billy Zane in the main role, may be set for a sequel very soon. IMDB quotes the title of the movie as "The Ghost Who Walks" stating a 2009 release, other sites claim Billy Zane will reprise his role based on the good sales of the VHS and DVD sales since the film came out,and comingsoon.net has the following news:

"An Australian production company on Monday announced it had secured the rights to The Phantom Legacy, a follow-up to the 1996 film, The Phantom, which starred Billy Zane as the masked hero who fights evil from his jungle headquarters.

According to The Associated Press, the adaptation is expected to cost $87 million and will focus on "the Father/Son relationship, and what it means to be The Phantom," scriptwriter Tim Boyle said in a statement. "The film will be set in the present day and will deal with the concept of destiny."

Producer Bruce Sherlock, who also served as executive producer of the first "Phantom" movie, said the new film will be a marked improvement over its predecessor.

"It has the makings of a blockbuster," Sherlock said. "There's some surprises that will thrill the 'Phantom' fans worldwide." Sherlock's Sydney-based Sherlock Symington Productions won the rights to the film.

The movie will likely be shot entirely in Australia, with production set to begin within six to nine months, Sherlock said. Producers are in talks with several "top talent" Australian and American actors, Sherlock said. He declined to provide names".

I loved the original, yes yes laugh all you want, and I was always a fan of films like The Shadow and The Rocketeer so although this could turn out completely pants I'm still looking forward to seeing how it turns out...

SLAM EVIL!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - HD Version Of The Bootleg Trailer

OK, as you can see below the bootleg trailer got taken down soon after posting it as I knew it would. And as I also said; a better version would be released. Here it is. Enjoy!

Try the link HERE to watch it on a different site if mine doesn't work.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

New Product @ Forbiddenplanet.co.uk - Umbrella Academy Figures

Just added to Forbiddenplanet.co.uk are the Darkhorse Umbrella Academy Action figures. If you haven't read Umbrella Academy (created and written by My Chemical Romance lead singer Gerard Way) you really should. It's a graphic novel that stands out amongst a lot of others with such individualistic characters and stories you have to wonder what Gerard was on when it came into his head. Thank you to Tim who introduce me to Umbrella, something I may have completely missed had it not been for his recommendation.

These figures range in size from 2" to 5" tall and are perfect little recreations of the Hargreeves siblings. Packaged in a unique umbrella-topped dome cylinder case this release is a great collectors set and one I'll definitely be purchasing!

Only £26.99 which is 23% off the RRP!

Find the set for sale through this LINK

It's also worth noting that Umbrella Academy has also been optioned by Universal Pictures to be turned into a motion picture. No details yet but it's sure to be one weird film...

The Spirit - Possibly The Worst Movie Ever?

Over at AICN someone calling themselves "Jondough" has seen the Spirit Movie and has deemed it the worst movie he's ever seen... No real surprise there. Read the full in-depth movie bashing by clicking this LINK

Robert Carlyle To Lead Stargate Universe?

Holy crap! In an unexpected bit of casting news, Robert Carlyle has signed up to take the lead in upcoming sci-fi spin-off series "Stargate Universe". Following in the footsteps of Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis and short-lived animated series Stargate Infinity, Stargate Universe will see Carlyle as Dr David Rush, one of a number of survivors who pile through the nearest Stargate when their secret base is attacked. Finding themselves on an ancient starship left adrift in space, they must unlock the ship’s mysteries to find a way home.

Carlyle is probably the last person on Earth I would have seen attached to a Stargate series and although I'm a huuuuuuuge Stargate fan (I'm getting the complete 10 seasons with two dvd movies for X-mas from the missus) I'm starting to get those bad vibes I get about Universe...

Tom Cruise - A Jedi He Is Not...

I had to laugh when I came across this video today. Some people have too much time on their hands, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Click and enjoy this silly bit of Star Wars/ The Colour Of Money splicing...

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - 2nd Bootleg Trailer

Recorded during the recent US release of The Day The Earth Stood Still, this second bootleg trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine looks a whole lot better than the first and has re-instilled a portion of the faith I'd failed to muster up for this movie. It's already been taken down from Youtube a couple of times but if it does disappear there'll be the official one to watch on the movie website (www.x-menorigins.com) in a day or two. As always be aware that this is pretty bad quality...

New Pic - Johnny Depp As The Mad Hatter?

I'd mentioned a while ago that Johnny Depp had been cast in the upcoming Tim Burton adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (not exactly original casting for Tim, there are other actors in the world Mr. Burton!) but we hadn't seen any images released yet. Although there are some non believers saying this is simply a photoshopped fake the image below could well be the first of Johnny in his Mad Hatter getup. Judge for yourself...


The 3D flick will use a mix of live action and performance capture CGI. Depp will appear alongside Anne Hathaway as The White Queen and Tim Burton’s wife, Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen. Also featured: Michael Sheen, Mia Wasikowska, Matt Lucas, Crispin Glover, Stephen Fry and Alan Rickman.

The Wolfman- New Pics

It's still almost a year away from being released (Nov 09 supposedly) but The Wolfman is a film I'm looking forward to. I don't like Benicio Del Toro at all, never have, but the movie has Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving and Emily blunt too so it can't be all bad. I usually hate horror movies but I've always had a facination (and fear) or Werewolves and Vampires. I usually love any movie with them in so I'm hoping this should be worth seeing too. The makeup in these pictures of the Wolfman himself is amazing and frankly pretty damn scary. I think if my kids saw these pics they'd be having nightmares for a week!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - New Pics

These images have been online for a while but it's still worth posting them up as they're pretty cool. Although I personally think this movie won't be as good as everyone is hoping it will be it still gives an old fanboy hope...

New Trailer - Terminator: Salvation

OK boys and girls, below is the latest trailer for the upcoming Terminator: Salvation movie. It features the motorbike Terminators I mentioned before, the mecha version at the end and a whole lot of goose bump inducing stuff in between.

Notice that director McG may well be playing around with the franchise's history as John Connor (Christian Bale) says "This is not the future my mother warned me about" and "Something's changed". Looks like all that meddling with history in the last 3 films may have changed the future somewhat, or maybe it is just McG wanting his own artistic interpretation in the movie. Regardless this will be a guaranteed blockbuster hit when it's released!

New Product From Forbiddenplanet.co.uk - Rogue Bishoujo figure

Every once in a while I come across an item in my job that I really love. There have been quite a few this year but this new product from the masters at Kotobukiya is one of my favourites for 2009.

Following the plethora of Marvel statues being pumped out by the Japanese company this Bishoujo figure statue (Bishoujo literally translates as "beautiful young girl) of X-Men comics favourite mutant "Rogue" is a gorgeous piece. I've already ordered mine as I'm a big Rogue fan (not the movie version, Anna Paquin sucked, I mean the comic and 80's cartoon version) and this anime style statue represents her really well. Standing 7 & 3/5 inches tall (1/8 scale) Rogue has been designed by master Japanese illustrator Syunya Yamashita, who has worked on some stunning female busts for Koto in the past.

Only £39.99 which is 20% off, this statue is a great release. Click here to see it on FP's site

Kevin McKidd For Thor?

Over the last month there have been rumours of Rome and Journeyman actor Kevin McKidd being the front runner for the part of the Mjolnir wielding Thunder-God "Thor" in the 2010 movie.
McKidd's agents have indeed been talking to Marvel studios about the Kenneth Branagh directed movie but it seems the execs are actually looking for a younger actor for the title role. Someone closer to 20 years old (which worries the hell out of me when you look at the bigger picture for Avengers in 2011 next to actors like Robert Downey Jr, Edward Norton and whoever plays Captain America).

Kevin may still be cast in the movie as there's an older role that he's still under consideration for, but then again I don't think he would be too far off as the title role and it just seems the studio might be aiming for a slightly younger audience this time round and maybe an older one for Captain America... By the time Avengers does hit they'll have a huge audience base with a varied age range that'll hopefully go see it.

Kenneth Branagh recently broke the silence on directing Thor too."I am directing “Thor” or “The Mighty Thor’ as you might like to call it,” he said with a smile before clarifying what the title of the film will be. “I think it will be ‘Thor’.”
When asked what the appeal is with this movie Kenneth replied: “To work on a story about one of the immortals, Gods, extraordinary beings, inter-dimensional creatures,” he enthused.
He continued excitedly, “There’s science fiction and science fact and fantasy all woven into one. It’s based on Norse legends which Marvel sort of raided in a brilliant way.

Now it's just a matter of time before we hear who will actually play Thor...

Kevin McKidd as Thor?

Bettie Page, Legendary 1950's Pinup Dies Aged 85

Only 3 weeks ago I posted about the new limited edition 6" red lingerie statue of Bettie Page, the 1950's pinup and sexual icon. Last Thursday at the age of 85 Bettie died from pneumonia.

As I mentioned before I was, and still am, a huge fan of Bettie Page. She was a phenomenon in her day and remembered fondly by many ever since. She was the inspiration behind many characters in movies and comics (a movie biopic of her life was released in 2006: The Notorious Bettie Page) and was a poster girl for an entire generation, leading the revolution for a new sexual awakening in the 50's and 60's. I'm only 30 years old but she was still one of my fantasy girls when I was young, along side women on my wall like Jet from Gladiators, Cindy Crawford, Pamela Anderson, Erika Eleniak and Gillian Anderson (quite a varied mix I know).

R.I.P Bettie, you will be remembered xxx.

Better Late Than Never...

So, as regular readers can clearly see, my promise of posts coming thick and fast over last weekend didn't actually happen. Apologies for that!
The time I'd set aside to get posts done got totally wiped out with my house suffering a 4 hour power cut and the rest of my week being so busy my feet haven't touched the ground. I guess it's just that time of year.. It's funny when something like a power cut happens, especially to someone like me who's life literally revolves around TV and computers. I was reduced to sitting in complete silence (I still had light) with the only options being to go to bed early or read a book.
Luckily I'd only recently received the latest installment of the unbelievably addictive Walking Dead Hardcover Book 4. This ongoing zombie survival horror is probably one of the best graphic novels you can ever read, even if you're not a fan of horror (as I'm not at all). Robert Kirkman's writing creates such a rich and realistic character base and some visceral, gut wrenching, moments that you get completely drawn in and involved to the survivors plight. I have to say that the last few pages of book 4 actually affected me so much I felt like I lost people that I actually knew, I felt sick, such is Kirkman's ability to shock his readers. Artist Tony Moore should get a huge portion of the praise too with his fantastically simple, yet sickeningly accurate black and white art depictions of the action. If you get the chance to pick up these books you should. As with Image's Invincible books you won't regret spending the money.


Again, I will be attempting to update as much as possible over the next week but it's still a very busy time for me so forgive me if you don't see a huge amount until new year.

Streetfighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li - New Pictures

Yet more images from the potentially cringe-worthy/ potentially cool Legend Of Chun-Li movie. I have to admit that Kristin Kreuk looked a lot hotter than usual in the most recent episode of Smallville (where she returns for Chole's wedding and kicks some Green Arrow butt at the beginning) but I'm still not sure she was ever the right choice to play Chun Li. Here are the new pics, make your own choice.

Upcoming Movies - US Release Dates

Here's the current list of upcoming movies with their release dates and distributing movie studio. There are some good movies coming to our screens very soon and a few I didn't even know about!

2009
06-Feb
Coraline
Summit Entertainment
13-Feb
Friday the 13th
New Line Cinema
27-Feb
Street Fighter
Fox
06-Mar
Watchmen
Warners
27-Mar
Monsters vs Aliens
Paramount
03-Apr
Wolfman
Universal
10-Apr
Dragonball
Fox
01-May
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Fox
06-May
Star Trek
Paramount
22-May
Terminator Salvation
Warners
29-May
Up
Disney
26-Jun
Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen
Paramount
17-Jun
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Warners
07-Aug
GI Joe: Rise of Cobra
Paramount
11-Sep
Whiteout
Warners
02-Oct
Toy Story 3D
Disney
16-Oct
Where the Wild Things Are
Warners
23-Oct
Astro Boy
Summit Entertainment
06-Nov
Nottingham
Universal
20-Nov
Sherlock Holmes
Warners
18-Dec
Avatar
Fox
2010
12-Feb
Toy Story 2 3D
Disney
30-Apr
Iron Man 2
Paramount
07-May
Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Disney
21-May
Shrek goes Fourth
Dreamworks
28-May
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Disney
11-Jun
A-Team
Fox
16-Jun
Toy Story 3 3D
Disney
25-Jun
Green Hornet
Sony
02-Jul
M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender
?
16-Jun
Thor
Paramount
08-Nov
James Bond 23
MGM
19-Nov
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Warners
25-Dec
The Hobbit Part 1
Warners
2011
06-May
The First Avenger: Captain America
Paramount
11-Jul
The Avengers
Paramount

New Terminator: Salvation Poster

Released recently, this new poster below from the Terminator: Salvation movie is basic but effective. The Terminator skull melding into a human skull is pretty creepy but reflects the fact that these chrome killing machines evolve into human looking infiltrators that resemble Austrian bodybuilders... From what I've seen there are numerous Terminator models in this movie including killer motorbike versions and a giant building sized mecha version as the well known hunter killers and T versions.

I'm back again...

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. What with work, the kids, and a growing obsession with X-box live (in particular the unbelievably addictive Left 4 Dead) I've not had the time to get on here and post...

Posts should hopefully be coming thick and fast over the coming weekend so stay tuned!