USA gives a 'Horizon', while ABC will not get 'Weird' for summer

There is not doubt that USA Network's string of successful shows have made the cable net very profitable. And while they've cornered the market on quirky TV shows with quirky characters, it becomes a challenge to tell them apart, as most of the characters and concepts are fairly interchangeable. But once in a blue moon, they do throw viewers in search of something different a bone. One such show was The 4400, which aired on the network between 2004 and 2007, producing just 44 episodes. Though is was cancelled due to the ongoing writers strike and lower than expected ratings, the series actually stood out because some of the writers and creators came from sci-fi background -and many wondered if the show belonged on sister cable channel, Syfy. Now five years later, the cable net has announced that Gale Ann Hurd (Terminator, The Walking Dead) will executive produce Horizon, a period alien invasion tale set during World War II. The conspiracy style series will focuses on an FBI secretary who finds out her husband may have been killed in a South Pacific battle with a spaceship. Her quest to discover the truth leads her to become the only person able to save the Earth from an alien invasion. The script is by Bridget Tyler, who wrote for the cable net’s popular Burn Notice procedural. 

ABC has decided not to go forward with the paranormal summer series Weird Desk, just a week after announcing it. Still, ABC will hold the show –because word is they like the concept- and revisit the project, most likely when pilot season begins in January and February. Apparently it was the late pick-up that caused the issue –there was not enough time to get everything needed to get the show up and running for a summer debut. It was to be teamed with Mistresses, an American version of the British series.The concept was supposdly “based on the alleged real-life mysteries from this world and beyond, and centers on the workings of a clandestine organization rumored to be named “Weird Desk.” Tasked with investigating and solving occurrences of the paranormal, supernatural and sometimes extra-terrestrial, “Weird Desk” is led by Morgan, an obstinate, socially inept and brilliant man who would now be dead if it weren’t for his special forces trained partner, Rosetta.”

'The Saint' is back; 'True' casting; Fox schedules 'Fantastic' reboot; Disney prepares another 'Wonderland'

While no network is attached to the project yet, Buffy alumni Eliza Dushku and Adam Rayner have signed on to a reboot of the classic British series, The Saint. Simon West is directing the pilot from a script by Jesse Alexander –who is also set as showrunner of the project- for a new take on Leslie Charteris’ 70-book franchise. The series will follow the adventures of Simon Templar (Rayner), a brilliant criminal who uses his considerable illicit skills as a modern-day Robin Hood as he infuriates local law enforcement and woos Patricia Holm (Dushku), his on-again, off-again romance. The Saint, in many ways, was the precursor to Ian Fleming’s James Bond. Launched in 1930 (though the character was introduced two-years earlier) the books were straight-forward spy thrillers. That was maintained through a few film adaptations of his books in the 1940s –though some where never actually based on them. In 1962, the British network ITC began a 7 year run of The Saint, starring future James Bond actor Roger Moore. The show was successful in the United States as well, when NBC aired it during the summer (long before the BBC switched to color in 1970, The Saint began to air in color half-way through its run). Also, early stories were thrillers, but eventually –and probably based on the success of the Bond films and The Avengers- The Saint became more fantasy based. The series was resurrected in 1978 with Ian Olgivy as Templar in Return of the Saint, but lasted only one season. In 1997, Paramount Pictures brought a rebooted version of The Saint to the screen starring Val Kilmer. While not a critical hit, it was considered a successful film.  Also joining on the producer side for this re-launch will be Roger Moore himself, along with his son Geoffrey Moore. 

With ABC cancelling Robert Patrick’s Last Resort, the veteran actor is returning as a series regular for the sixth season of HBO’s True Blood. He played Alcide on three of the last four episodes of last season, and was signed on as a recurring in June. Now with the alphabet network pulling the plug on Resort, the actor was quickly signed to Blood.

Winners for the 12th annual Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic have been announced:  Paradise Tales by Geoff Ryman took the top honors in the adult category, while All Good Children by Catherine Austen did the same in the Young Adult category. Locus has the rest here:

 

As 2015 ramps up for big, explosive sequels -The Avengers 2,  Star Wars: Episode VII, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 along with some anticipated new ones, Justice League and Ant-Man- 20^th Century Fox is adding another big film to the list, the reboot of The Fantastic Four for March 6 of that year. With Chronicle director Josh Trank at the helm and Jeremy Slater penning the screenplay, there is some hope on my part they can make the franchise less of a cheese fest that became Tim Story’s first two attempts. 

The Bravo Channel, like all channels run by the ubiquitous NBC/Universal, has rebranded itself over the years, going from network of high profile intellectual programming, to a more broader cable net –think USA Network except less highbrow, and thus it found success in the reality business, becoming the home of the plastic surgery, youth obsessed catty women that appeal to other women and –for reasons that boggle me- gay men on the Real Housewives franchise. But, it seems, they’re still interested in scripted fare. Back in September they announced a sequel TV series to the 1988 dark comedy Heathers. Now they’re rebooting a small screen version of Robert Zemeckis’ 1992 dark comedy, Death Becomes Her. In some ways, I can see why they’re doing this, the question is will they cannibalize the fake storylines Real Housewives for their scripts? 

While I realize that Tim Burton’s live action Alice In Wonderland did a billion dollars in box-office receipts, and it jumped started the current trend in the fairy tale reimaging that has overtaken studios and TV, but I was hoping, rather stupidly it seems, that Disney would leave well enough alone. But of course, on the heels of their upcoming Maleficent –its dark reimaging of Sleeping Beauty- the Mouse House has begun work on a sequel to Alice from original writer Linda Woolverton. While neither Burton nor Johnny Depp is attached to the project, I’m guessing that their involvement is only a matter of time.

Another epic Stephen King novel is going into turnaround, as Jonathan Demme has dropped out of the adaptation of 11/22/63. Part of the problem is the length of the book -at 842 pages, Demme is clashing with King on what to keep and what to toss out to keep the film in the 2 hour range. "This is a big book, with lots in it. And I loved certain parts of the book for the film more than Stephen did. We're friends, and I had a lot of fun working on the script, but we were too apart on what we felt should be in and what should be out of the script. I had an option and I let it go. But I hope it's moving forward, I really want to see that movie." With its fate now up in the air, there still a chance someone else can be brought in to rework the script. But it’s been know some films that suffer this fate have a tendency to lose whatever momentum they had.

A third 'Ghostbuster' film slowly fades away

Apparently, even Dan Aykroyd has a breaking point, and he’s reached it with his long desired attempt at making Ghostbusters III. He’s basically saying that Sony has only a small window left to greenlight the film, or he –and the product he owns- is moving on. The writer has made it a personal mission to give the world a third film, whether they wanted one or not, to make up –I think- for the misstep that was Ghostbusters II (a film even Aykroyd admits was bad). But script issues and getting Bill Murray to commit to the film has kept Sony from financing it, despite the fact that director Ivan Reitman is on board to helm it. After numerous script revisions, back in March Aykroyd finally admitted that Murray was never going to do it and in an interview with the British Telegraph he said:”The studio, the director Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis feel there must be a way to do it, but Bill Murray will not do the movie. He doesn’t want to be involved. He’s got six kids, houses all over America. He golfs in these tournaments where they pay him to turn up and have a laugh. He’s into this life and living it. I know we’d have a lot of fun…I can’t be mad at him. He’s a friend first, a colleague second. We have a deep personal relationship that transcends business and he doesn’t want to know.” Then in midsummer, it suddenly looked like the film was ready to go before the cameras in the fall of 2013, but then in October, Sony put the film in turnaround. Now he tells Esquire that if Sony can’t get their act together, he’s moving on and letting that third Ghostbuster film slowly fade away. "[Ghostbusters III] would add quite a bump to Sony's bottom line, quite a bump. If they make this movie, in its current shape, they would be looking at a pretty hefty, nine-figure return.” He adds: “And so I'm hoping they get on to move it, but if they don't, I have multiple trains. I've got tracks six, seven, and nine, and that's four. I'll be moving on to other things, as will Ivan, by the way. We can't wait forever. Now's the time to tell the picture company, and I'd say this quite publically, it's time now to sit down and make this movie, or you will lose your main principals, and you won't be able to make it without us, because we have rights, and now is time to make the movie ... You don't take advantage of that in the next three or four months, I'll see you in Australia, where we'll be selling Crystal Head [Vodka]."

Info on 'Tron 3', 'Highlander' remake troubles, 'Crimson' for del Torro, and more 'X Men' casting?

Long before TRON: Legacy opened in 2010, Disney was already working on Tron 3, but when the sequel debuted to mixed reviews and middling box office, the wind went out of their sails. Still, it made money on DVD and merchandising to keep its prospect open, but little has been said since mid-2011 when screenwriter David DiGilio was brought in to work on the script based on story elements from Legacy writers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, who had moved onto ABC’s hit fantasy series Once Upon a Time. Today it’s being reported that Jesse Wigutow is being tapped to pen the latest draft, as word has come that Disney Studio’s new boss, Alan Horn, wants to move forward rather quickly on Tron 3. 

There is a problem within the movie industry (and other areas as well) where the money people and the bean counters think they know what’s best when making a movie.  Their arrogant presumption is when hiring writers and directors is say “follow my orders, independent thoughts and better ideas should be left at the door.” Perhaps this why director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has left the long gestating remake of The Highlander? He’s exited the production under the infamous "differing views.” One wonders if may have to do with the fact that Ryan Reynolds is still attached to the project? I mean, when I think of Scottish immortal heroes I always turn to America’s heartthrob Reynolds. Could this also be why certain foreigners dislike American productions? I can understand that we American’s can be a bit Imperialistic in the notion that other countries should just accept poorly accented American actors playing these roles, but if you are going to do a remake of the first film, why hobble it from the start by casting Reynolds –he’s a fair actor, but based on the poorly received Green Arrow, I don’t anyone sees him as a superhero. In the end, Reynolds is more suited for light romantic comedies and Lifetime TV movies of the week. 

Director Guillermo del Toro will helm the ghost story Crimson Peak as his next film, which he hopes to film in early 2014. The film will be produced through Legendary Pictures and released by Warner Bros. The reason for the long delay will be due to his commitment on publicity for next year’s Pacific Rim (and the sequel script is already being written) and getting The Strain, the novel series by him and Paul Hogan, off the ground at FX in which he’ll helm the pilot. 

Just a few days after CBS announced they’re adapting Stephen King’s epic supernatural best-seller Under the Dome into a 13 episode series to be teamed with returning Unforgettable for next summer, ABC issued the story that they’ve given a straight-to-series pick to a supernatural themed show Weird Desk to be teamed with Mistresses, which will also air this summer. Ordering 13 episodes, the show sounds like a variation on The X Files, and is “based on the alleged real-life mysteries from this world and beyond, and centers on the workings of a clandestine organization rumored to be named “Weird Desk.” Tasked with investigating and solving occurrences of the paranormal, supernatural and sometimes extra-terrestrial, “Weird Desk” is led by Morgan, an obstinate, socially inept and brilliant man who would now be dead if it weren’t for his special forces trained partner, Rosetta.”

Another epic Stephen King novel, however, is going into turnaround, as Jonathan Demme has dropped out of the adaptation of 11/22/63. Part of the problem is the length of the book -at 842 pages, Demme is clashing with King on what to keep and what to toss out to keep the film in the 2 hour range. "This is a big book, with lots in it. And I loved certain parts of the book for the film more than Stephen did. We're friends, and I had a lot of fun working on the script, but we were too apart on what we felt should be in and what should be out of the script. I had an option and I let it go. But I hope it's moving forward, I really want to see that movie." With it's fate now up in the air, there still a chance someone else can be brought in to rework the script. But its been know some films that suffer this fate have a tendency to lose whatever momentum they had.

Speaking of The X Files, former writer/producer Frank Spotnitz recently said that while 20^th Century Fox has no plans for a third movie at this time, he still believes the franchise will be resurrected eventually. He said he would not be surprised if Fox decided to reboot the series at some point with some new hot, young agents and a fresh slate of alien invasions and monsters: "I wouldn't be surprised at all. I mean, I don't think I would have anything to do with it but you know, for better or for worse, these things are titles of big corporations, like Star Trek belongs to Paramount and The X-Files belongs to Twentieth Century Fox and it's a huge asset in their libraries so I can't imagine they would let it sit languishing forever. Anything could happen. I just hope that if they do it, they do it well, that's my only request."

Since the signing of Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman to return in X Men: Days of Future Past, there are more and more reports that director Bryan Singer is seeking other actors who appeared in the first three films in the series to reprise their roles as well. Nothing seems definite, but it’s well-known that Singer is held in high regard to the three returning actors, and if he can get anymore back, it will because of this relationship. Of course, while the plot of the movie will allow this to happen, the future dystopian versions of the X Men –and the ones played by those older actors- are seen more as supporting roles to the main cast, now played by James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult. So each actor would have to decide if returning to what might amount to a brief cameo is worth the effort.  But, as I said, if the charm of Bryan Singer can get McKellen, Stewart and Jackman back, I’m guessing he can get a few more. 

Dennis Haysbert has joined the cast of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, replacing the late Michael Clarke Duncan, who passed away in September.

The teaser for a teaser: 'STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS'

Paramount released the teaser trailer for the teaser trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness. This minute look into next years sequel reveals little, except a lot of explosions and actor Benedict Cumberbatch spouting in a voice over about how everyone thinks they’re safe. Or not. Maybe we should also ponder on why the marketing people made this trailer look like the Iron Man 3 trailer, but that would be snarky.

Here’s the thing. J,J. Abrams is smart. He knows how to manipulate audiences. Whether that’s good or bad depends on your feeling for him. He’s a pop culture director brought up on the films all us older people loved in the 1970′s and 80′s. And with this teaser, he gives us very little to go on story wise, and we clearly still don’t know which character British hunk Benedict Cumberbatch is playing.

Well, I’m convinced he’s not playing Khan. And the reason that is because his role, all this press on him, is a misdirection; he’s the McGuffin of Into Darkness. One striking omission from the trailer is Peter Weller. The actor role in the film -he also did two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise- remains shrouded in secret. I have a few theories, though: We know the timeline has been altered. That the PRIME universe we’ve seen in the TV series and movies before the reboot can no longer be counted on. But, they can still happen. The temporal mechanic idea of alternate realities is this: events in one universe are same in the other universe, but they unwind differently. So we can see events that were recorded in the PRIME universe happen in this B universe, but happen in a completely different way. So, theoretically, in this new Abrams created Star Trek universe, Kirk could actually battle the Borg if Paramount was in desperate need of a story and cash.

So what if this movie is combining two of PRIME’s storylines? One is the Gary Mitchell and the other is Khan. This makes some sort of rational sense, insomuch that a lot of superhero movies of late have had more than one villain. So why not here as well?

Until the full teaser trailer is released on December 17, what I’ve gleamed from this one minute one is this: We know from what Abrams and the writers have said, this movie opens only months after the events of the reboot film and that Kirk and crew are still newbies, learning stuff. Gary Mitchell is part of the crew (so maybe is the blond woman see as well, played by Alice Eve. Her role too is wrapped in mystery, but she could be Elizabeth Dehner -played by Sally Kellerman- from the TOS Where No Man Has Gone Before) and is lost on a mission and presumed dead. The trailer does show some sort of ceremony being held, which could be a memorial to those lost. Flash forward a few months -maybe a year, maybe more?- and the Federation and Kirk face a vengeful Gary Mitchell.Now how Khan -if it is Khan and Weller is playing him- fits in could be this way: after being left for dead -be it in space or on a planet by Kirk- Khan stumbles upon Mitchell. Again, we can assume, just like in the TOS, the Eugenics War did happen and that Khan was exiled into space. This Khan, looking for vengeance of his own, convinces Mitchell to help him attack the Federation.

One other potential character Weller could be playing is Captain Garth from the TOS episode Whom God’s Destroy, a character, that in the episode, Kirk mentions as one his personal heroes. Garth mentions in that episode about his incredible career as a Starship captain, bragging that he has charted more planets and cataloged more star systems than any other man in history. But the Garth character is also insane and wants to take over the Federation.

In the end, what really matters -I think- is not who Cumberbatch is playing, but who Weller is. That is the key to everything. 

Doctor Who: The King of All Media?

Doctor Who continues to show some Americans not familiar with it, just how great it is. That in 2013 it begins its Golden Anniversary year notwithstanding, the shows rise in popularity here since its return in 2005 after a sixteen-year hiatus has been nothing but not surprising long-time fans like me, who've been watching the show since 1980 when my local PBS station in Chicago, WTTW, was airing it. This past summer, Matt Smith (the current Doctor) and the series graced the cover of Entertainment Weekly, the premier and largest read magazine dealing with pop culture, TV and the movie industry in the United States. It was the first time that has happened in the magazines 22 year history.

Now the series will grace the upcoming issue of the 60 year-old stalwart TV Guide Magazine, as it was victorious in the magazine's third annual "Fan Favorites" cover contest (last years winner was the NBC comedy series Community, which has a parody of Doctor Who called Inspector Spacetime).

Paramount releases (a familiar) looking Star Trek Into Darkness One Sheet

I’ve seen this marketing before in the book business, Covers for novels -and to some extent nonfiction titles- are very important. And while everyone says “don’t judge a book by its cover,” most people do because we are a very visual species.We are drawn to certain colors, designs and images because they are safe, yet cool at the same time. One annoying habit the book industry does do, is there is a hugely successful book with -maybe- an exciting cover, expect other publishers to sort of do variations on it. That is probably why Paramount is releasing this poster for Star Trek Into Darkness that borrows heavily from Warner Bros Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.

That film was a hit, a lot of people loved the movie poster design so why not try and repeat it a bit? In the end, it’s not a bad poster, just an example of way marketing works. It’s always been this way, so one cannot comment that this is just lazy marketing. People like the familiar, which means marketing will always be, like most movies, a variation on a theme.