One of the best under rated TV series of all time is the original Outer Limits, it always is viewed as a runner up to the Twilight Zone, but there were a number of episodes that were A+ and stand up as true science fiction classics. Joseph Stefano who produced the show has sadly just passed away:
“Joseph Stefano, producer of the classic televison series, “The Outer Limits” and script writer for the the film based on Robert Bloch’s novel, “Psycho,” has passed away at the age of 84.
In 1959, Mr. Stefano got a contract writing at 20 Century Fox and his work caught the attention of Alfred Hitchcock who had him adapt the book “Psycho” to the screen. Mr. Stefano created the whole back story of Marion Crane stealing the $40,000 from her boss and being murdered in the now immortal, shower scene.
Of course, there was the classic, “The Outer Limits” television series which was some of the best television ever created. A pilot Mr. Stefano created, “The Unknown,” was a spin-off of the series but, sadly, it never interested the networks. Instead, it was incorporated as an episode to the “Outer Limits” entitled, “The Forms Of Things Unknown” with David McCallum and Barbara Rush.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 31, 2006 in Star Trek
It looks like Leoard Nimoy holds the approval rights on the casting of a new Spock. If Paramount was smart they’d make the approval process a reality TV show!
Leonard Nimoy Holds Approval Rights for Casting of New Spock
“All I know is what I’ve been reading, probably the same as you, that (J.J. Abrams) has been engaged and expressed interest in a Star Trek movie, and the idea expressed so far is that it would be a prequel that would deal with the time and place where Spock and Kirk first met in their academy days. “Who might be his choice of actor in the role of young Spock? “I haven’t gone there yet, I think it’s premature,” said Nimoy. “Although I do, by contract, have the right to approve the casting.”
It may be safe to assume that William Shatner has similar influence over Kirk’s new face. When asked about Abrams’ film, Shatner replied, “I have no idea. All I know is I’ve received an okay from Paramount to go ahead with a series of books that I’m writing on the young Captain Kirk and the young Mr. Spock. I started work on that just recently. And that will be my idea of what the story should be”.”
“Since Hong Kong Twins member Gillian Chung was secretly photographed half nude while changing her bra in a backstage room during her recent concert in Malaysia in Genting Highlands last week, the whole Hong Kong entertainment world has gone berserk. Celebrities rallied together and protested the paparazzi’s immoral behaviour on the street. Hundreds of Hong Kong stars together with some Chinese artists lined up in front of a backdrop that said ‘Privacy and Dignity, Hong Kong People’s Business”, condemning the culprit’s nasty deeds, calling for a boycott on the tabloid magazine ‘Easyfinder (一本便利） that published those indecent photos.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 31, 2006 in Star Trek
Rumor has it that Paramount is looking to add new special effects to the old Star Trek series. I hope these rumors aren’t true – the special effects from the original Star Trek series were pretty decent for their day. Like Dr. Who the show isn’t about the special effects, but the writing and sometimes over acting. In fact I’ve been watching old Twilight Zone episodes on the Sci Fi channel, and those hold up great and they make old Dr. Who episodes look high budget.
“Rumors sped at light speed on the Internet Tuesday that Paramount is working on an enhanced version of the original 79 Star Trek episodes that it plans to sell as a syndication package to broadcast stations. According to the reports, state-of-the-art visual effects will replace those in the series, new music will be added, and the show will be offered in high definition. Presumably, the new series will also be packaged for sale on high-definition DVD after the syndication package airs.”
I mean look at this shot from the old show, it’s not that bad:
Peluca is a short film by director Jared Hess, made for under $500, and was shot in two days. It was later discovered at the Sundance Film Festival and allowed Jared to create Napoleon Dynamite:
Jared Hess is now in talks to direct Captain America, which if it becomes reality will be released in 2009.
Alright I admit it, I’m not the biggest fan in the world of the new Galactica series. I watched the show when it was first on the air, and my final memories of the series was that bad spin off Galactica 1980 which was bad, really really bad! In fact it was so bad that one episode featured a baseball game ala the Bad News Bears. So no matter how cool the new show is, I always be haunted by memories of that damn space dog robot and the phrase “Starbucking!”
But anyway on the bright side if you are a fan of the show and not haunted by visions of that brat Boxey (God I hated that brat!) then you’ll love this very cool website which is a wiki on Battlestar Galactica:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 23, 2006 in Japanese TV
Song Hye Kyo is a Korean actress whose nickname is “woodpecker” because she talks so fast. Her first big break came when Song co-starred in the KBS drama Autumn Fairy Tale in 2000 with Song Seung-hun and Won Bin. The show quickly became popular as a tragic love story.
Here is an ultra cute ad she recently did for McDonalds in Korea which is pushing ice cream:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 23, 2006 in Animation
According to Ain’t It Cool News the creators of South Park are working on a new film called “Giant Monsters Attack Japan”. Here’s the source article from Variety:
“South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have set two live-action films at Paramount. Parker and Stone, who have re-christened their Par-based shingle Important Pictures, will first make the Jeff Roda-scripted high school comedy “My All-American.” They plan to follow with “Giant Monsters Attack Japan!,” a film scripted by J.F. Lawton (“Under Siege”) that will combine live-action with the “rubber suit” techniques made popular in Asian imports like Godzilla.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 22, 2006 in Television
I always thought that Stargate was alright, but to be honest I was never blown away by the show. Every episode seemed alike after a while, although MacGyver in the laed role made it interesting to catch from time to time. But anyway after a long run it looks like they’ve pulled the plug, but on the sad side they’ve renewed the spinsoff show Atlantis:
“People close to the production of Stargate SG-1 said Sci Fi Channel canceled the series on the eve of its 200th episode, which aired last Friday night, making the show the first cable scripted series to reach such a milestone. The announcement came in sometime before cast, crew and executives gathered to celebrate the historic airing at a Saturday-evening bash held at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the series is shot. Spinoff series Stargate Atlantis — which also airs Friday nights on Sci Fi and shares producers and production facilities with the older SG-1 — was said to be unaffected by the cancellation. Atlantis is currently in its third season.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 21, 2006 in Videogames
I don’t know, is it me or does this game look quite lame? The trailer doesn’t quite capture what made the film so good, I mean do I care where Mr. Pink put the diamonds? Also by following the film so closely it looks like they suffer from bad game design by being too linear, but you be the judge:
This is a smart marketing move, and some of the t-shirts are pretty clever too:
“Creating a unique program in the true ‘citizen’ spirit of Snakes on a Plane, New Line and CafePress have partnered to permit fans of the movie to become official licensees of Snakes on a Plane merchandise.”
http://www.cafepress.com/buy/snakes+on+a+plane
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 20, 2006 in Star Trek
This video was shot at a convention in England, on stage is Marina Sirtis, Garret Wong, and Robin Curtis. After being asked what the future of Star Trek is on TV, Garret gives a possibly too honest answer:
A cloned human would probably consider themselves to be an individual, a study suggests. Scientists drew their conclusions after interviewing identical twins about their experiences of sharing exactly the same genes with somebody else. The team said the twins believed their genes played a limited role in shaping their identity.
