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SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 181
Reflecting on Comicon News; A 12 Monkeys TV Show;
The Holodeck Is Real; And Much, Much More!
The SciFi Diner Podcast
A 2012 Parsec Finalist
Please call the listener line at 1.888.508.4343,
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Tonight’s Diners: Scott, Miles, and M.
Welcome to the Diner.
If you have listened to the show for sometime, we would love to have you leave feedback on iTunes. We know not all of you use iTunes, but for those that do, it helps us become more visible. If you don’t use iTunes, your feedback is still valuable. Visit our webpage at https://scifidinerpodcast.com and leave a comment on the show notes or email us at scifidinerpodcast@gmail.com We want to know what you are thinking about what we are saying and what shows you are watching.
Menu:
New Trivia: Win signed Rob Paulsen, Lee Arenberg & Muessatta Vander prints
TV News: Time-traveling classic 12 Monkeys may soon be a Syfy TV series,Comic-Con expands as proving ground for new shows. Emmy Nominees for Sci Fi Shows & Actors
Movie News: Is Steven Spielberg Right About an Imminent Movie Industry Meltdown? Elysium
TWIST: Japanese scientist invent Hologram you can touch.
SciFi 5 in 5 : 5 Top Female Characters from M.
Trivia:
Trivia Question: Who does Star Trek TNG, DS9, Enterprise, Lost and Defiance have in common?
The Prize: A signed Rob Paulsen, Lee Arenberg & Muessatta Vander prints
You will have until the end of July to send us your answers. Please include the code word mentioned in the first 15 minutes of the show. 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 your e-mail with all entries! Only one entry per person. The SciFi Diner is not responsible for any injuries occurring if you secretly decide to go all shiny and dress in a browncoat and walk into your local bar.
Promos:
News:
Time traveling classic 12 Monkeys may soon be a Syfy TV series
Summary of 1995 movie in a postapocalyptic future, Bruce Willis is called upon to travel back in time, discover the cause of a cataclysmic, civilizationending event, and prevent it from happening. The most likely cause of the apocalypse is an offthewall Brad Pitt and his radical animalrights organization, called the 12 Monkeys.
SyFy TV Series how does this work? Did it with Stargate…
This new incarnation of 12 Monkeys is being written as a 90minute backdoor pilot, which will, hopefully, lead to a full series. It’s being written by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett, both of whom worked on Nikita and Terra Nova.
ComiCon News:
1. Batman and Superman will cross paths. In a surprise announcement that prompted a collective “WTF” from a packed Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center, Man of Steel director Zack Snyder unveiled plans for a Warner Bros. movie featuring Superman and Batman together on screen for the first time. The film stars Henry Cavill as Superman, and might even involve a rivalry between the two superheroes.
2. The Avengers are making a comeback. Marvel Studios drove conventioneers wild with presentations on Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy, but that wasn’t the end of it. The Avengers director Joss Whedon also unveiled the title of a sequel to the superhero blowout, Avengers: Age of Ultron, according to Movieviral.
3. Enders Game producers down with samesex marriage. Enders Game author Orson Scott Card’s outspoken stance against gay marriage has sparked a boycott of the scifi novel’s film adaptation. As Wired reports, producer Roberto Orci addressed the controversy headon, saying the filmmakers “completely and unequivocally” support the proLGBT stance of their studio, Summit Entertainment.
4. Peter Dinklage confirms XMen role. Fox Studios surprised a packed hall by bringing out the starstudded cast of XMen: Days of Future Past. Among them was Peter Dinklage, a.k.a. Game of Thrones’ Tyrion Lannister, who joked that he’s playing Mystique, and then confirmed rumors that he’s playing villain Bolivar Trask, as CNN pointed out.
5. True Blood returning to Bon Temps. The sexy, supernatural HBO drama will go back to its roots in smalltown Louisiana. Executive producer Brian Buckner announced that he’ll narrow the storylines and place more emphasis on humans and vampires, which must be a bummer for all the show’s witches, werewolves and shapeshifters.
6. The Walking Dead about to get even crazier. As if things weren’t bad enough for the characters
of the hit zombie series, new showrunner Scott Gimple revealed that the fourth season will get “insane very quickly.” Meanwhile, numerous crossbowwielding Daryl Dixon cosplayers at the convention tried very hard to look as cool as Norman Reedus.
7. George R.R. Martin knows he has work to do. While making quips about the “Red Wedding,” the author of the novels behind Game of Thrones said it’ll be a while before he finishes his sixth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, thus giving the series more material to work with. “The locomotive is coming down the tracks behind me,” he said, “and I’m still laying the tracks.”
8. Community dabbling in animation. Community creator and recentlyreturned showrunner Dan Harmon didn’t go into specifics about the sitcom’s fifth season – he’s made mistakes in the past due to “overplanning” – but he did say they’ll do an animated episode. Also, he confessed to being a “creepy jerk.”
9. XFiles stars have a sex tape? There’s no saying whether Fox Mulder and Dana Scully will ever reunite for a third XFiles film, as creator Chris Carter carefully sidestepped the question. But Gillian Anderson did jokingly mention a sex scene featuring the two FBI agents, saying, “We shot it.” Keep your fingers crossed that that’s actually true.
10. ComicCon might have the world record for longest lines. As anyone who stood in the massive line for Hall H can attest, ComicCon isn’t just about pop culture. More so than ever before, it’s also about camping overnight and sleeping on sidewalks. Anybody who wants to get in to next year’s most popular panels might want to start lining up now.
Bryan Cranston walked around ComicCon in a Breaking Bad costume
In a move that gives new meaning to the phrase “hiding in plain sight,” Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston went undercover at ComicCon as Walter White, the character he plays on Breaking Bad. Cranston managed to remain incognito by covering his face with a disturbingly lifelike rubber mask resembling his own face. The success of the clever ruse may inspire other celebrities to disguise themselves as themselves in
the future — so just to be safe, be careful when approaching anyone in a Chewbacca”costume.” [Squidoo]
Defiance:
It sounds as though Datak will be away from his family for the first part of the season. “What happened
to him” which was unclear after he murdered the Earth Republic official will be explored in first part of the season, Murphy said. Curran sounded mournful about being away from home: “I won’t be bathing with my gal at all,” he said.
As for Stahma, she’ll be experimenting with the increased power and status that her new role in the business gives her. “Stahma has taken over the family with Alak as the figurehead,” Murphy said. During her time in Defiance, Stahma has been around “other women who are far more liberated,” Murray said. “Castithan men put their women in cages. She was trying to control from within the cage, but maybe this season she’ll get a taste of what it’s like in the outside world.”
Did Stahma actually love Kenya, and did she kill her? “I think [Stahma] enjoyed the experience, and just because you kill somebody does not mean that you didn’t love them.” Murray said to big laughs. “I can truly say no one will ever love Kenya as much as I did ever again.”
As for Kenya’s fate, that was left very much up in the air. No news there, I’m afraid!
Amanda is in a dark place; her sister is missing and she lost the mayoral race. She’s also “in a new line of work you can make of that what you will, but it’s a very interesting line of work,” Murphy said.
Bear McCreary, the show’s composer, showed up to ask a question at the audience microphone: “Why do you make me write music for bugs?” The general consensus: Because he’s good at it.
Fans are also wondering what happened to Irisa and her story “will be front and center of the season premiere,” Murphy noted. “We will learn something about it that will raise many, many more questions.”
In Season 2, the show’s world will expand to include New Los Angeles.
Sukar was scheduled to die in the razor rain episode, but actor Noah Danby “was so magnetic and wonderful and fit the top hat so well,” Murphy said, that they couldn’t resist bringing him back to the show after that, and he’ll be back in Season 2 as well.
Murphy didn’t say, but perhaps Sukar will be back in a flashback? We’ll be seeing a lot more of those in
the new season.
New Earth Republic characters include Niles Pottinger, the new provisional mayor, and Viceroy Mercado, “a grand old man of ERep,” Murphy said. “They have some nasty, nasty plans for Defiance,” and they are very interested in what’s down in the mines (which no longer belong to Rafe McCawley).
I asked that we get more Doc Yewll scenes in Season 2, and Murphy answered, “Request granted.” That said, the cast described the fourhour makeup process Trenna Keating goes through to become Doc Yewll and it sounds grueling.
When Season 2 begins, Nolan is no longer lawkeeper and is out looking for Irisa. What was it like being resurrected? Old hat, really, Bowler joked he played Jesus in a movie earlier in his career, so what occurred in the Defiance Season 1 finale was technically his second resurrection.
Firefly’s coming back to life (and this time you can LIVE it)
Trent Moore
Thursday, July 18, 2013 1:22pm
It’s taken almost a decade, but Joss Whedon’s beloved series Firefly is coming back to life — just not exactly the way we expected.
A “social online roleplaying game” based on the shortlived series was announced today at San Diego ComicCon, which puts players in control of a captain who has to assemble a crew and get to work.
The game is currently in development for iOS and Android, though other platforms could follow by the time the product goes live in 2014. As for actual details? They’re pretty scant. The folks on theQMx digital side seem to involved in development, but the official site doesn’t provide a ton of information.
Check out the first trailer below, which teases the premise, and read on to see the official synopsis that has been unveiled:
Firefly Online is a social role playing game (RPG) based on Firefly, Joss Whedon’s culthit television series. Firefly Online (FFO) is currently in development for iOS and Android, and may expand to include additional platforms.
In Firefly Online, players assume the role of a ship captain as they hire a crew and seek out adventures, all the while trading with and competing against the millions of other players to try to survive in the Verse: find a crew, find a job, keep flying.
FFO provides a variety of gameplay activities and systems so that
players can fully experience life in the Verse:
- ● Assume the role of a ship captain create a crew and customize a ship
- ● Aim to misbehave in space and planetside adventures
- ● Crossplatform player experience across devices (pickup andplay from anywhere)
- ● Unique social features connecting Firefly fans
- ● Create a shiny ship and explore the VerseSure, we’d obviously prefer a new run of episodes (though Whedon is admittedly pretty busy these days), but this is at least something to keep the ‘Verse alive. Here’s hoping the game is actually good, and can help spur some new interest in the franchise.Only for mobile plantforms?
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y364b2Hcq7I
Syfy developing dark, postapocalyptic Wizard of Oz miniseries
After scoring major success in Wonderland a few years ago with the miniseries Alice, Syfy is heading to Oz next. But this time there’s a postapocalyptic twist.
The network has hired director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) to produce the miniseries Warriors of Oz, which is based on an original idea he’s been developing.
The project is being described as “fantasyaction,” and will follow a modernday warrior transported to the postapocalyptic future Oz. Once there, he must team up with three more warriors, dubbed Heartless, Brainless and Coward. The team is tasked with taking out the evil Wizard who has taken over Oz.
Bekmambetov is currently searching for a writer to pen the project, and he might stay on to direct if his schedule is clear. This is an interesting concept, and if Bekmambetov can channel moreWanted and less Abraham Lincoln it could turn out pretty cool. If nothing else, it could be a neat twist on a
classic.
The new Oz series joins a slew of other new projects in the works at Syfy, including miniseries based on Larry Niven’s Ringworld and on Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End.
Movie News:
Is Steven Spielberg Right About an Imminent Movie Industry Meltdown?
The Movie industry headed toward a major “meltdown,” and that the current streak of bigger, louder and more expensive
When Steven Spielberg and George Lucas talk about movies, the entire world listens. After all, these two
directors defined the movie industry for more than three decades, giving us such timeless classics as
Indiana Jones, Star Wars, E.T. and Jurassic Park. Yet Spielberg nowbelieves that the entire industry is
Hollywood blockbusters is about to implode.
Spielberg’s criticism, backed by his friend George Lucas, is nothing new to film critics, who have long claimed that directors like Michael Bay have disposed of innovation in storytelling in favor of green screen spectacles. However, right after Spielberg’s widely circulated comments, his predictions started to come true.
Four very expensive films The Lone Ranger, Pacific Rim, After Earth and White House Down all recently
What happened? Did audiences suddenly lose interest in the explosionladen bigscreen spectacles that have long defined summer blockbusters? Or has the industry reached the saturation point predicted by Spielberg and Lucas, and are these studios headed for a terrible fall that will force them to rethink their moviemaking strategies?
The IMAX Avatar Effect
Canadian projector maker Imax (NYSE: IMAX) has had a profound effect on movie making over the past decade.
the company to start showing mainstream Hollywood films as well.
Meanwhile, James Cameron’s Avatar, released by 20th Century Fox (now part of 21st Century Fox), opened the floodgates for 3D films shown on an Imax screen. In the four years since Avatar’s release, the market has been saturated with 3D Imax films. While some films, like Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, were able to fully utilize the medium to enhance its story, the market became crowded with critically panned 3D Imax cashin films like Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.
‘Theme park ride movies’ will displace traditional movies
In addition to 3D Imax films, theaters are adding motion seats from DBox Technologies. Although this idea of a fully immersive motion picture is good for movies that rely heavily on special effects, it has made viewing nonaction movies in theaters a thing of the past.
To Steven Spielberg, that’s a major problem that undermines the foundation of the film industry. He stated that his critically acclaimed biopic, Lincoln, was nearly released on HBO instead of theaters, due to the reluctance of studios to give the film a wide release. Lucas also stated that he expects films like Lincoln to end up on the small screen rather than theaters in the future.
A desperate need to launch franchises
Marvel and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) set the bar high for the rest of the industry with The Avengers last year. Ever since the release of Iron Man in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was pieced
Despite achieving huge success with The Avengers and Iron Man 3, Disney failed to learn a crucial lesson from its past failures. Last year, Disney released John Carter, based on a 1912 novel by Tarzan writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film cost $250 million to produce but only grossed $282 million worldwide. Disney then followed that disappointing film up with this year’sThe Lone Ranger, which cost $225 million but has only generated $147.5 million in global box office sales to date.
Both films were unsuccessful, desperate attempts at launching a new franchise to follow up The Pirates of the Caribbean, which generated a combined a $4.7 billion in revenue over the course of four films between
came up disappointingly short of their production budgets. The rest of the summer looks bleak as well with
the paranormal action film R.I.P.D. also forecast to be a bomb.
Once restricted to projecting shorter educational documentaries, Imax came out of its shell in the
early 2000s, when its filmmaking process was modified to accommodate longer running times. This allowed
Spielberg also believes that this obsession with 3D Imax and DBox style entertainment could cause
average U.S. ticket prices to rise to $25 in three years. Joss Whedon, a
man known for his passion for comic books and scifi, was brought it to tie it all together with The Avengers,
and the result was a critical masterpiece with a score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, which also became the
highestgrossing film in 2012, at $623 million.
Unlike Disney, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), the parent company of Warner Bros., desperately needs to create a hit that can connect with audiences. Ever since Harry Potter ended in 2011 and The Dark Knight trilogy concluded in 2012, Time Warner has lacked a major franchise that can generate a reliable stream of annual revenue.For now, Warner is concentrating heavily on laying the groundwork for a “DC Cinematic Universe” to rival Marvel. The Man of Steel, Zack Snyder’s grittier reboot of Superman, managed to ignite a spark of hope among fans hoping to see a Justice League film, and recent reports indicate that a new film featuring the longawaited team up of Batman and Superman will arrive soon. In the five weeks since The Man of Steel was released, the film grossed $635 million worldwide, easily surpassing its production budget of $225 million.In the week since its release, the film grossed $178 million worldwide, still short of its production budget of $190 million. To satisfy the demand of audiences expecting 3D Imax DBox experiences for all their films, movie studios have to prioritize highbudget action films over other genres. They have also shown that they have no problem investing $200 million on these films, which could end up flopping with big losses.In other words, film studios are facing a highrisk, lowreward scenario that is getting worse, and industry insiders like Spielberg and Lucas are wise to warn that the current generation of films could be headed off a cliff as films get bigger and bigger with no guaranteed returns.If the film industry crashes, Time Warner stands to lose more than Disney 38.6% of Time Warner’s top line was generated by its combined Film and TV division, while 12.7% of Disney’s revenue came from its film studio. Although I don’t expect either company to be hit terribly hard by this year’s summer flops, investors should still keep an eye on the film industry to see ifdiminishing returns will change how movies are made in the future.
Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth
Movie Trailers: Elesium Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha6zWw5saGY
This week in Star Trek:
Japanese Scientists Create Touchable Holograms
Sci Fi 5@5 Fav Fab Fierce Females
These are women who in any situation are selfrescuing sovereigns ruling firmly in a universe that previously would have locked them in towers to wait for a hero.
Honorable Mention: WONDER WOMAN (Lynda Carter, Wonder Woman)
The DC Amazon heroine earned herself a hugely popular series in the late 70s, with former beauty pageant winner Carter playing the Nazikicking, alienbusting gal in Stars and Stripes hotpants. She was strong and steadfast and believed in honor and truth. Who can’t get behind that?
5) PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA (Carrie Fisher, Star Wars)
She’s a revolutionary rebel leader who gives cheek to scifi’s most notorious villain and bags cinema’s most gorgeous man. Leia imbodies intellect and guts when she ls enslaved by the monstrous and disgusting Jabba the Hutt and strangles him with her slave chain and saves her boyfriend. She is both philosophically and physically capable
and proves herself a great marksmen and soldier for the Jedi. Leia’s strong, smart, authoritative, has a great sense of humour and heaps of integrity. Girls want to be Leia, guys want to be with Leia.
4) SARAH CONNOR (Linda Hamilton, Terminator, T2)
In The Terminator, she’s an everyday, slightly timid gal. But being pursued by an unstoppable cyborg from the future is enough to alter anyone, and by T2 she’s very different: a musclebound, singleminded action heroine trained in survivalist skills.Lena Headey offered an interesting take on the Sarah in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Linda delivered a performance that set the bar for bad assedness.
MOST BADASS LINE: ‘There’s 215 bones in the human body. That’s one.’
3) KATHRYN JANEWAY (Kate Mulgrew, Star Trek: Voyager)
Star Trek’s first female lead is a strongwilled, determined captain who’ll stop at almost nothing in her attempt to get her crew back to the Delta Quadrant. She maintained all due service to Star Fleet and adhered to directives she is honored to defend. But in the very end, with hindsight in her pocket, She risks law, life and limb to bring her family home. She was elegant in the face of danger, she was kind is times of need. Both Janeway and Mulgrew are made of cashmere and grace. The Writers gave the guys “We Are the Borg” Barbie, but the Kate’s we definitely “Don’t F with Me” G.I. Jane.
2) Laura Roslin ( Mary McDonnel, BSG)
Laura Roslin the strongest character on BSG. Dying of cancer, constantly chided for being a teacher, and struggling, as everyone is, with the epic annihilation other species by the xenophobic redheaded stepchild of they created, Roslin still manages to be the leader of the human race. She doesn’t compromise her morals; She is formidable in the face of her foes with in the fleet; She takes on the military, the Cylons, and everyone else to keep her people safe, and free. All the while her body and mind rot from within. Mary McDonnel plays her with such vulnerability and strength, She’s overlooked in a cast of younger, randier fellow bad ass ladies.
1) ELLEN RIPLEY (Sigourney Weaver, Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection)
Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo’s encounter with the acidblooded menace, isn’t just one of the most iconic female characters of the genre, she’s one of the most iconic characters in cinema history. An appealing combination of toughness, selfreliance, vulnerability and sexiness, Ripley is far from a conventional damsel in distress. Sigourney is, in my opinion, the first woman to truly be an action scifi hero and represent women as more than set dressing or minor plot line