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SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 85 – Our Interview with Larry Blamire
from The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and Steam Wars
The SciFi Diner Podcast
Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343,
email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com
or visit us on Twitter @scifidiner.
Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles
Welcome to the Diner.
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Listener Question:
What is on your SciFi Christmas list?
On the menu tonight:
- Interview with Larry Blamire, who is best known for his 1950s SciFi Spoofs
- Announce Winners of our Superman Trivia
- New Sta Wars: empire Strikes Back Trivia
- Our Listener Question
- Young Justice
- Riese comes to Canada
- Friday’s Fringe
- Marc Singer returns to V
- Irvin Kershner is dead.
- The Hobbit is Racist
- Catwoman joins the Wachowski’s latest effort
- Buffy’s being rebooted; Joss Whedon’s response
- Cowboys and Aliens Trailer
- Source Code Trailer
- Christian Bale Bails on Batman
- Talking to your kids about Star Wars
- Twist: Interview with Borg Queen and Walter Koenig
- SciFi Five in Five: Five Best Empire Strikes Back Moments
Trivia:
This week’s trivia question: What was the substance Han Solo was frozen in?
Prize: 100 dollar Think Geek Gift card
You will have until December 7th to answer this question. Send your answer with your mailing address to scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com, call us at 18885084343, or DM us on Twitter at @scifidiner. Make sure you include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the podcast!
Last Week’s Trivia Question: Two answer Question. What does actor Michael Ironside and Superman have in common?
Answer: He plays Lois Lane’s dad on Smallville and he provided the voice for Dark Seid on TAS Superman Series.
Code Word: Turkey
Prize: A signed Kevin Sorbo Andromeda Print
Winner: Jason
Podcast Promos:
Interview:
The Main Course:
TV News:
In Young Justice, being a teenager means proving yourself over and overto peers, parents, teachers, mentors and…
Some of the Superhero feature are Robin, Kid Flash, Aqua Lad, and Superboy-the clone of Superman.
A couple of the voice talents are Bruce Greenwood and Rene Auberjoinis
Transformer and G I Joe are back. Check out for listing on Hub
Riese: The Hunt Begins 2011 on SPACECAST.com
Canadian sci-fi fans have been clamoring to see the web exclusive RIESE that has only been available online in the U.S….until now! SPACE announced today that the hunt is set to begin in Canada early in 2011, premiering exclusively on spacecast.com.
BREAKING: Fox moves Fringe to Fridays, fans fear the worst
In late breaking Friday night news, Fox announced it’s moving Fringe to Friday nights at 9 p.m. beginning January 28. Yes, that’s the infamous “Friday night death slot” where many a good show has gone to die (at least on the big TV networks).
The immediate reaction from fans can be summed up by Televisionary writer and TV aficionado Jace Lacob, who instantly tweeted “Well, #Fringe, it was great knowing you…”
It may not be as dire as all that since Fox has recently said very positive things about keeping the show going. On the other hand, ratings have declined recently and fewer than 5 million people watched a recent episode, which is not an optimistic sign.
Original freedom fighter Marc Singer returns for V’s second season
A few months ago, V made a major casting coup when it added the original bad lizard girl Jane “Diana” Badler to the cast of the new V reboot. Now they’ve done it again by bringing Marc Singer on board ABC’s struggling sci-fi series.
Singer (now 62), who played cameraman-turned-freedom-fighter Mike Donovan on the original 1980s sci-fi series, was just announced as having joined the cast of the sci-fi show. The former Beastmaster actor is set to play a new character by the name of Lars Tremont.
Here’s what TV Guide’s William Keck says of the character:
“Lars is a member of a super top secret organization comprised of high-ranking military and government leaders from around the globe, who have long suspected that the Visitors—despite what they tell us—are very much not here in peace.”
While Jane Badler will appear as early as the Jan. 4 premiere episode, viewers will have to wait until the 10th and final episode of the second season in order to see Singer. A long and painful wait, especially since the show’s status as to a third season is unclear. To make it worse, the two of them won’t get to face off at all during that 10th episode.
However, if there IS a third season, we sure hope that they’ll get their confrontation, because nothing else (well, almost) would make us happier. And if a third season does occur, we hope that would allow for more former original cast members to pop up on the show as well.
So ABC, please bring back Faye Grant, Michael Ironside, June Chadwick (the OTHER lizard bad girl, Lydia) and especially Robert Englund, whose character Willie was a fan favorite during the original series’ run.
Are you happy to see Marc Singer on board? Would you like to see more of the original V cast return for season three? Let us know!
Movie News:
Irvin Kershner, director of Empire Strikes Back, dead at 87
Irvin Kershner, the journeyman filmmaker who was hand-picked by George Lucas to direct the first Star Wars sequel, has passed away following a long illness.
For a man whose career dated back to the mid-1950s, it must’ve been odd for Kershner to be known for just one film. But when that film is Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back, it’s probably not so bad. With films like the Sean Connery romantic comedy A Fine Madness (1966) and Richard Harris’ The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976) under his belt, the one-time still photographer signed on to Empire with a very real sense of responsibility. As he told Vanity Fair just last month:
“I wanted very much for the film to succeed because I knew that George was spending his own money on it. I think the critics felt that they were going to see an extension of Star Wars. In other words, they wanted another Star Wars. I decided that the potential was much greater than a rerun of Star Wars. When I finally accepted the assignment, I knew that it was going to be a dark film, with more depth to the characters than in the first film. It took a few years for the critics to catch up with the film and to see it as a fairy tale rather than a comic book.”
And dark it was. In a very real way, The Empire Strikes Back was the film that introduced an entire generation of children to the concept of tragedy. The same kids for whom Star Wars was an indoctrination to the power of cinema and the wonder of science fiction would learn that, sometimes, stories don’t end well for the hero. That the bad guy, if he’s got his mojo working, can steal the day—and the hero’s hand in the process. That, occasionally, the only thing you can do is stare off into the stars and hope that tomorrow will be better than today.
Empire didn’t really open the doors for Kershner’s career in the way it should have, given that it made $200 million in its initial 1980 release. He would work with Connery again on the Bond-ish outing Never Say Never Again and direct the poorly received RoboCop II. His last credit was an episode of SeaQuest 2032 in 1993.
But given that Kershner played a crucial role in delivering the best installment of the most beloved saga of all time, his legacy will endure.
Latest Hobbit troubles: Actress accuses production of racism
After surviving rights issues, studio financial turmoil, a change in directors and a union battle, Peter Jackson’s upcoming production of The Hobbit has now been accused of racism.
According to ABC (that’s Australian Broadcasting Corporation) News, a woman of Pakistani descent named Naz Humphreys claims she tried out to play a hobbit in the film and was rejected at a casting call in Hamilton, New Zealand, because her skin tone was too dark.
Humphreys told the Waikato Times, “It’s 2010 and I still can’t believe I’m being discriminated against because I have brown skin. … The casting manager basically said they weren’t having anybody who wasn’t pale-skinned.”
Video footage taken at the audition reportedly shows the casting manager telling people that the production was looking for “white-skinned people” because “you’ve got to look like a hobbit.”
Humphreys was excited to audition for a bit part because she matched the height requirements to play one of the little denizens of the Shire. But, she said, “it just seemed like a shame because obviously hobbits are not brown or black or any other color. They all look kind of homogenized beige and all derived from the Caucasian gene pool.” She has now started a Facebook group with the message “Say no to Hobbit racism.”
A spokesperson for the production told the Waikato Times that Jackson was unaware of the controversy and called it an “unfortunate error,” adding, “It is not something the producers or the director of The Hobbit were aware of. They would never issue instructions of this kind to the casting crew. All people meeting the age and height requirements are welcome to audition.”
The Hobbit is scheduled to begin filming in 3-D under Jackson’s direction this coming February in New Zealand, with the two-part epic slated to come out in December 2012 and 2013.
Halle Berry joins Natalie Portman in The Wachowskis’ latest epic
The reclusive filmmakers behind The Matrix and Speed Racer are stocking their latest science fiction project with an Oscar-caliber cast, including Tom Hanks, Natalie Portman and Halle Berry.
Based on David Mitchell’s 2004 book, which tells six interwoven stories spanning a thousand years—touching on New Zealand in the 1800s, Belgium in the 1930s, California in the ’70s, London in the present, Korea in the near future and Hawaii in the distant, post-apocalyptic tomorrow—Cloud Atlas seems to have overtaken the controversial Gulf War-set gay romance Cobalt Neural 9 on the Wachowskis’ to-do list.
In an interview conducted after a screening of her latest film, Frankie and Alice, Halle Berry let slip that she’s set to start shooting Cloud Atlas this coming summer.
It sounds like an ambitious undertaking—but if you can find faults with any of the Wachowskis’ films, lack of ambition isn’t one of them.
It’s really happening: Warner Brothers reboots Buffy The Vampire Slayer without Joss Whedon
The rumors of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie — without any input from Joss Whedon — are true. A press release says writer Whit Anderson has an exciting new take on the character. Be very scared.
Here’s the official press release:
LOS ANGELES, NOVEMBER 11, 2010 – Atlas Entertainment announced today it is rebooting the beloved franchise, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with Warner Bros. Pictures. Atlas’ Charles Roven and Steve Alexander will produce the feature film alongside Doug Davison and Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment (The Ring, How to Train Your Dragon, The Departed). Whit Anderson is writing the script.
Warner Bros. Pictures optioned the rights from creators Fran and Kaz Kuzui, and from Sandollar Productions (Sandy Gallin and Dolly Parton), for Atlas and Vertigo to produce. Buffy the Vampire Slayer first appeared as a film in 1992, subsequently becoming a cult hit and spawning the wildly popular television series starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz, among many others.
“Whit approached us with an exciting idea about how to update Buffy,” said Roven. “There is an active fan base eagerly awaiting this character’s return to the big screen. We’re thrilled to team up with Doug and Roy on a re-imagining of Buffy and the world she inhabits. Details of the film are being kept under wraps, but I can say while this is not your high school Buffy, she’ll be just as witty, tough, and sexy as we all remember her to be.”
Not your High School Buffy huh? We have no idea what that could mean, soccer Mom Buffy? Space Cadet Buffy? College drop-out Buffy? (Oh no wait, we had that once already). We’re not sure what to think.
In an interview with the LA Times Anderson listed Chris Nolan’s Batman as a “supreme example of how a familiar character and revered mythology can be brought to the big screen with a vital new vision.” That is true, but wasn’t Whedon’s Buffy already pretty damn dark, gritty, heartwarming and realistic while fighting vampires? Call us highly skeptical, but this reboot might be a little too soon for our tastes. But then again the script isn’t done and there still isn’t any director attached, so things could change dramatically overnight.
The producer, Charles Roven, also told the Times that he hopes to see the film reach theaters in 2012 or perhaps even 2011. So it doesn’t sound like Anderson has a lot of breathing room for rewrites.
Response:
| Mary Czerwinski (@Televixen) @scifidiner Too soon! No Joss means no Televixen support. |
Joss Whedon’s hilarious reaction to that Buffy reboot announcement
You’ve certainly been vocal about letting us know what YOU thought of the news that Warner Brothers was going ahead with a Buffy reboot without Joss Whedon—but what did Whedon think about it? We sure didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Kristin Dos Santos of E! Online nudged the man behind Buffy, who replied that the move was “a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths—just because they can’t think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.”
Whedon continued:
“I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don’t love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I’m also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly. I can’t wish people who are passionate about my little myth ill. I can, however, take this time to announce that I’m making a Batman movie. Because there’s a franchise that truly needs updating. So look for The Dark Knight Rises Way Earlier Than That Other One And Also More Cheaply And In Toronto, rebooting into a theater near you.”
Thanks for being so classy about it all, Joss!
Cowboy & Aliens Trailer
Monday’s teaser poster for Cowboy & Aliens was just the beginning, because a trailer for the film surfaced today that gives us our first look at Daniel Craig in explosive alien-killing action.
Cowboy & Aliens, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Craig, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell and Olivia Wilde, hits theaters July 29, 2011.
Check out the trailer in the show notes and let us know what you think.
Moon director’s tense trailer for his new sci-fi film Source Code
Duncan Jones‘ indie sci-fi movie Moon was one of the smartest films of 2009—and the trailer for his new project Source Code seems to prove (hey, we’re a hopeful bunch here) that his success wasn’t a fluke.
The movie, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a time traveler on a mission to stop terrorists, looks like it may be Déjà Vu done right.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
“When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he’s ever known, he learns he’s part of a government experiment called the ‘Source Code,’ a program that enables him to cross over into another man’s identity in the last eight minutes of his life.
“With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack.”
Check out the trailer in the show notes and let us know what you think.
Bale Says Next Batman Will Be His Last – (Slice of SciFi)
Christian Bale says the upcoming movie “The Dark Knight Rises” will be the last time he dons the cape and cowl as Batman.
“‘I believe, unless Chris (Nolan) says different, this will be the last time I’m playing Batman,” he tells Total Film
As for the rumors on who will be the adversary Batman faces off with in the next film, Bale says he puts no stock in the rumors floating around.
“Until Chris tells me, I don’t believe it,” Bale says. “It’s gotta be from his mouth, or else I don’t really know. Chris will let me know what I need to know when I need to know it. I probably know a little bit more than some other people out there, but I think most people would be surprised at how little I do know.”
“It just hasn’t been necessary yet. I know he’ll give me plenty of time to prepare for whatever I need to, and I’ll discover it,” he adds. “He’s a pretty damn good filmmaker. I trust that he’s going to come up with something wonderful.”
Other News:
Talking to Your Kids About Star Wars (Thanks @Herne for submitting this)
TWIST:
Interview w/ Alice Krige Borg Queen (From Star Trek dot Com)
Alice Krige made such an indelible impression as the sinewy, sexy and sinister Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact that the character remains one the greatest Trek villains of all time. Krige later reprised the role in the Voyager series finale, “Endgame,” and provided her voice for both the game Star Trek: Armada II and the Borg Invasion 4-D short at the Star Trek: Experience attraction in Las Vegas. The Borg Queen represents just one role in Krige’s long and varied career, but it’s still a favorite to Trek fans and Krige herself. StarTrek.com recently caught up with the South African actress – who’s been living mostly in London since her home in L.A. burned down during the fires there– for an exclusive two-part interview in which she talked about the Borg Queen and filled us in on her current acting and producing endeavors.
Life After Trek Podcast Episode 5 Featuring Walter Koenig
We’re pleased to announce the fourth episode of our podcast called, “Life After Trek” featuring Walter Koenig. Walter is our very first interview with an Original Series actor and we’re super pleased to have him on the show. As you may know, we live blogged from the floor of Austin Comic-con and that’s where we recorded the interview with Walter. We would like to give a big thanks to WizardWorld for having a fantastic convention and giving us access to get such a fantastic interview. If there’s a WizardWorld Comic-con anywhere near you, be sure to stop by. You won’t be disappointed.
This episode of Life After Trek is slightly shorter than our other episodes, but it definitely isn’t light on content. Walter clued us in on his upcoming projects such as his recently released movie “InAlienable”, two upcoming graphic novels “Raver” & “Things to Come”, plus his new audio drama “Buck Alice & the Actor Robot”.
We have another episode of Life after trek in the works, so be sure to subscribe to our feed through the links below. We hope you enjoy the show.
Scifi Five In Five
Top Five Empire Strikes Back Moments
1. When the At-Ats come out of the fog
2. Hon Solo in Carbonite
3. Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader battle and revelation
4. Rebels escape from Bespin
5. Yoda trains Luke to be a Jedi