Bryan Singer To Reboot Battlestar Galactica?

Update by Editor Peter Sciretta: Entertainment Weekly has confirmed this report with Universal Pictures — Bryan Singer is signed on to direct a feature film version of Battlestar Galactica, which isn’t expected to be a continuation of the most recent Ron Moore Sci-Fi channel television show, but instead a complete re-imagining of the original 1970’s series. Original report follows below.

According to HitFix, Universal appear to be on the verge of engaging Bryan Singer to produce and also maybe direct a new Battlestar Galactica feature film. Quite a surprise, huh?

You may recall that before the Ron Moore TV series of recent years, Singer was working on a pilot for a reboot of the show himself (some Cylon concept art from their efforts is at the head of this post). That one was halted by in the aftermath of September 11th, 2001 after the Sci-Fi network became sensitive to similarities between the planned plot and real-life tragedy. Would Singer be looking to return to a similar storyline here? I think we can be pretty certain his film won’t be in any way tied into the recent series.

McWeeny is rather skeptical that Singer would sign up to direct a film based upon a premise still so fresh in the public consciousness, but I’m not so doubtful, personally. Would Universal really be the driving force here? I’d expect a conservative cautious studio to take some convincing that there was money here. Or maybe they just want some of that Star Trek dollar?

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Myvu Unveils Crystal EV Video Eyewear

How many of you out there use video eyewear to view your favorite movie in a compressed format? I think it is pretty useful especially when you’re on a plane and would just want to shut the world out while being tricked into thinking that you’re sitting in your very own flying theater (or on the ground if you happen to take a long road trip through rail and asphalt). Not only that, you can always watch naughty videos without having other people catching you doing it. The downside would be being unable to see what’s going on around you, but that’s no biggie when you’re on a long haul flight, right? Myvu Corporation has long released a line a video eyewear that have improved over the years, and their latest addition to an ever growing family would be the Crystal EV which debuted at InMotion Entertainment airport stores nationwide.

The Crystal EV, being the latest release from Myvu, would naturally come with upgraded technology to make it stand above the shoulders of its predecessors. Improvements over the original Myvu Crystal include the addition of Myvu’s SolidOptix technology, bringing a 64? equivalent screen size right in front of your eyes, which is a vast 30% increase over the original Crystal. In addition, you don’t have to worry about incompatibility problems concerning Apple products and the Crystal EV since Myvu is the only video eyewear company to achieve Apple iPhone Certification and Nokia Forum status.

There is no word on just how much the Myvu Crystal EV will cost, but it sure sounds cool enough to wear for long hours on end without suffering from pains or aches. What you see above is a past Myvu product, and we are pretty sure that Myvu will continue to retain the sleek lines and design that made them so attractive in the first place.

Press Release

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Cthulhu Fiction: Mysteries Of The Worm, 3rd Ed By Robert Bloch

This just in from Chaosium:

Mysteries of the Worm
New Edition to Release August 2009.

The book is printed and should arrive at our warehouse next week.
Mysteries of the Worm
20 Early Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by Robert Bloch
Third Edition

$15.95
CHA 6037
ISBN 1-56882-176-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-56882-176-4
288 pages
Trade Paper Back
Horror Anthology
Introduction by Robert M. Price
Cover Art by Steve Gilberts

“H.P. Lovecraft – like his creation, Cthulhu – never truly died. He and his influence live on, in the work of so many of us who were his friends and acolytes. Today we have reason for rejoicing in the widespread revival of his canon… If a volume such as this has any justification for it’s existence, it’s because Lovecraft’s readers continue to search out stories which reflect his contribution to the field of fantasy [the tales in this book] represent a lifelong homage to HPL… I hope you’ll accept them for what they were and are – a labor of love.”
– Robert Bloch

This third edition now includes the Robert Bloch short stories The Opener of the Way, The Eyes of the Mummy, Black Bargain, and Philtre Tip.

This book is one in an expanding collection of Cthulhu Mythos horror fiction. Call of Cthulhu(R) fiction focuses on single entities, related topics, and authors significant to readers and fans of H. P. Lovecraft.

Introduction by Robert M. Price
The Secret in the Tomb
The Suicide in the Study
The Shambler from the Stars
The Faceless God
The Grinning Ghoul
The Opener of the Way*
The Dark Demon
The Mannikin
The Brood of Bubastis
The Creeper in the Crypt
The Secret of Sebek
Fane of the Black Pharaoh
The Eyes of the Mummy*
The Sorcerer’s Jewel
Black Bargain*
The Unspeakable Betrothal
The Shadow from the Steeple
Notebook Found in a Deserted House
Terror in Cut-throat Cove
Philtre Tip*

Afterword, by Robert Bloch

Demon-Dreaded Lore, an appreciation by Lin Carter

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Ridley Scott Developing ‘Brave New World’

In June 2008 we told you that Ridley Scott’s next film would likely be first major Hollywood adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s 1932 classic Brave New World, possibly with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead.

Over a year later, the project has just now been officially announced and set up at Universal. Scott will produce, and hopes to direct. Dicaprio will produce, and might star. DiCaprio and Scott’s involvement beyond producing depends on the script and the timing of the development, which has has only just begun. According to RiskyBiz, Apocalypto scribe Farhad Safinia has been hired to pen the adaptation, and will begin shortly.

Scott has waited 20 years to get his hands on Brave New World, and now that he has his chance, I would doubt that he is going to do whatever he can to make it happen. Last year he publicly said that he hoped to go into production on World after his Robin Hood project, then titled Nottingham. The book, which was first published in 1932, can be read online for free, or purchased on Amazon for around $10. Here is a description of the plot from the book’s cover:

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A Killer Red-Band Trailer For ‘Zombieland’

Zombies. An anal-retentive kid who thinks stretching is important. Blood. An older, unstoppable force of weirdness who knows how to kick undead arse. Zombies. A tough and irresistible love interest determined to keep little sis safe. Blood. There’s pretty much nothing about Zombieland that I’m not loving. In fact, the new red band trailer you can see after the jump (from MySpace) just makes it all the more irresistible.

Adding a little sass to the already great trailer released in June, the red band version actually flushes out a little more of the story, character quirks, and the complete range of zombies these guys are up against — strippers, kids, bear-like men, you name it.

The allure of the film isn’t really surprising, considering the unbeatable cast — stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin — plus supporting stints that include Bill Murray, Amber Heard, and Mike White. (I can’t think of anyone I’d even consider replacing the stars with.) But even better is the glimmer of familiarity pumping through the scenes. Usually that sort of thing just comes off as copy-cat, but here it works as a nice ode, or recognition of the horror world surrounding it, from shotguns and chainsaws that bring to mind a certain Ash, to the comedy and blood of Shaun of the Dead, to convenience store zombie fighting a la Pathogen.

All that said, I wish Zombieland wouldn’t make me choose between the zombies, Whip It!, Couples Retreat, and An Education. Anyone else out there considering a quadruple feature?

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‘Machete’ Cast Includes De Niro, Alba…Seagal!

A couple of weeks ago, there was a sonic boom of a casting rumor, that Robert De Niro would co-star in Machete, perhaps the first movie ever based on its own phony trailer. And now that rumor has been confirmed, and he’s not the only big name joining the cast.

De Niro will apparently play a crooked politician, and now Robert Rodriguez can crow about landing Jessica Alba for the film, as well as slip into coversation that he nabbed Michelle Rodriguez, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, and Jeff Fahey. And maybe under his breath, he’ll admit to casting Lindsay Lohan and Steven Seagal. Now that’s a crazy cast.

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Review: After 20 Years, Ben Bova Completes ‘Voyagers’ Saga

When Ben Bova started his Voyagers saga in 1981, the world and his depiction of it were obviously quite different from the way they manifest in 2009, as the fourth volume in the series surfaces nearly 20 years after the third (Star Brothers, from 1990).

How to reconcile any improbabilities between yesterday’s tomorrows and the up-to-date scenario Bova wants to examine now? Easy enough! Bova has his protagonists accidentally jump laterally across the multiverse to another timeline than the one they started in. Now that’s a handy drift!

In any case, our tale, The Return (Tor, $25.99), concerns the reappearance of star traveler Keith Stoner, his wife Jo and their kids, Cathy and Rick. After their encounter with alien tech, the family has assumed super-science powers such as mind-reading and teleportation. Arriving at a dystopian Earth on the point of destroying itself with nuclear war, they feel compelled to help rescue the race from self-destruction. But as Stoner ruefully acknowledges, compulsion is a dead end. Only re-education can make for a stable future. Trouble is, “Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.”

As Stoner deals with various power blocs on Earth, from the U.S. religious dictatorship known as the New Morality to their counterparts, the Islamist and Chinese dunderheads, as well as with the more enlightened spacers on the moon and around the Jovian worlds, he has transformative impacts on a variety of folks, from Sister Angelique, an ambitious politico, to Raoul Tavalera, a common-man type who finds himself sacrificing his own happiness for the good of the species. Stoner comes across as a believable human-turned-demigod, but his family, garnering less screen time, remains rather unformed.

Combining elements of Lost in Space (1965), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1963) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Bova’s conclusion to his quartet (and it does seem like a pretty definitive ending to me) offers little in the way of fresh speculation or thematic lessons that the genre has not trafficked in for decades. But dramatic counsel about the consequences of pigheadedness and shortsightedness is always a valuable, timeless offering from the SF genre.

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Marvel Digital Comics – Free Mondays (8/3/09)

Welcome to FREE Mondays! Each week we focus on all of the newly digitized books you can read for FREE inside the greatest collection of Marvel comics available online: Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited! Plus, we’ll let you know what’s coming up next week for FREE, too! With each book, not only are you getting a free peek inside Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, but each free Digital Comic either gives you a look at a book featured in a recent collection or a comic that’s in stores now.

How would you like to have five free digital comics to help get you through the school and work week? Here ‘ya go!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #574
INVICIBLE IRON MAN #8 (2008)
UNCANNY X-MEN #480
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #274
X-MEN: LEGACY #219

Find out what next week’s five free digital comics will be below!

ETERNALS #7 (2008)
HEROES RETURN #1
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS FINALS #1
THOR #600
WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS #13

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T-Mobile Will Launch HTC Touch Pro2 This August

T-Mobile will be lining up HTC’s Touch Pro2 when August 12 rolls around later next month. This powerful yet stylish business-class device is pretty much similar to many other high end smartphones in the market, where it boasts an intuitive touchscreen display and a user interface that makes it a snap for customers to simplify their communication and mobile Internet experience while staying connected and informed at all times – subject to battery life, of course, as these kinds of high end devices tend to sap battery power like nobody’s business. Folks who want to pick up the HTC Touch Pro2 in mocha finish from T-Mobile can do so from August 12 onwards.

Easily making room for T-Mobile’s 3G network and helping you remain connected in most public places using built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) connectivity, one can definitely tell that the HTC Touch Pro2 is not meant for casual users who check their email accounts only once a week. The HTC Touch Pro2 boasts superior data delivery and an enhanced Web-browsing experience, where you will also be able to use this as an impromptu GPS navigation device as well as location-based services. The 3.6? color WVGA touchscreen display can slide back and tilt upwards to reveal a full-QWERTY keyboard that would definitely go some ways in helping one decide whether you like to type messages using a virtual or actual keyboard. The screen’s position and size is good enough for reading and composing email, surfing the Internet, running applications and playing games on-the-go.

Other features include a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus capability, Straight Talk technology that integrates e-mail, voice and speakerphone experience into a simple manner that responds to e-mail via a call, making it a snap to organize conference calls from group e-mail.

There is no word on pricing, so we’ll just have to keep a keen eye out on this. Rest assured, the next 12 days ought to see more details revealed for the HTC Touch Pro2.

Press Release

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Build Your Own paintball Turret

Looking for a fun weekend project, but aren’t interested in building a birdhouse or a spice rack? Well, I’ve got something for you that’s a little more, well, adventurous. Like building a paintball turret that will strike fear into the hearts of any and all neighborhood kids that see it.

Inventgeek is now offering up a set of full plans and instructions for building your very own paintball turret free of charge. All you’ll need are the materials. And once you have the project complete, not only will you have the feeling of satisfaction that comes from finishing a project, but you’ll have the feeling of power that comes with having a functioning turret in your driveway. Win-win!

Via Inventgeek

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