watchmen

Every day, a studio picks up the rights to a supposedly popular book series that I've never heard of. Am I that blind? Am I that stupid? Am I that un-hip? Maybe I'm too hip. Who knows.

The book series announcement of February 23, 2010 is that Fox has the rights to the Fourth Realm trilogy and they've hired Alex Tse, one of the two credited writers on last year's Watchmen, to handle scriptwriting duties. The Hollywood Reporter breaks down the plot of the first book, The Traveler:

"...set in a U.S. society run by a secret organization seeking to control the population via constant observation. Seeking to rebel against these constraints are an almost extinct group of people called Travelers, who can project their spirit into other dimensions, and their protectors, called Harlequins. The inaugural tome centers on a reluctant Harlequin named Maya who must protect two naive Traveler brothers."

Okay, so it falls into the paranoid-dimension-hoppers sub-genre of science fiction. One of my twenty favorite sub-genres. My interest remains piqued as the article compares the books to Star Wars and The Matrix, but takes a dip when they're compared to The DaVinci Code. So, take what you will from that.

Infinitely more interesting than the book itself are the tidbits about the author himself, John Twelve Hawks. That's not his real name. He lives off the grid. His agent, editor and publisher have never met him. He communicates only through a voice scrambler on an untraceable satellite phone. He uses stand-ins for book tours. For once, someone who writes paranoid sci-fi who is actually paranoid!

Did you see Push? Yeah, I didn't either. I mean, I would've liked to. The trailers were pretty nifty, but it was a February dump and, to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if that's the kind of movie I want to spend two hours with. Why are you looking at me like that? I'm sure good movies come out in February. I'm not making a blanket statement. You didn't see it either! Stop judging me. I tend to be more into summer or winter movies, myself. We all have our tastes!

Ahem.

Looks like Push will be getting a second chance at life, this time on television. Mr. David Hayter will be penning the pilot and it will act as an extension of the film, building on the universe established there. As I chose not to engage in a relationship with this particular motion picture, I had to steal a quote from Devin over at CHUD, where I first saw this news: "In the world of Push there's a hierarchy to the super powers - telekinetics are movers, oracles are watchers, mind controllers are pushers - and there's the Division, who is trying to make all of these psychics into weapons."

Hayter is no stranger to superhero adventure. His filmography includes the first two X-Men films and Watchmen, not to mention, that man is the voice of Solid friggin' Snake. Television feels like the perfect medium for superheroes, a place where adventures can be played out long term and vary on an episode by episode basis. As much as I love my big budget film versions, a TV series can lend characters a true mythology. What are comic books themselves but episodes of a drawn TV series?

I'll be keeping my eyes on this one. Best case scenario: a movie no one saw will become a series worth your time. Worst case scenario: it'll still be better than Heroes.

Yesterday, when I wrote about Peter Sarsgaard joining the cast of the upcoming Green Lantern, I pondered "What of Sinestro?" Question answered. Drew over at Hit Fix says he's in the script. He also says that the studio only wants one guy for the role: Jackie Earle Haley.

Ah, another chapter in the tale of Mr. Haley, whose recent Hollywood comeback truly feels like the stuff of legends. From child star, to absolute nobody, to surprise Oscar-nominee for Little Children, to landing iconic roles like Rorschach in Watchmen and Freddy Krueger in the upcoming A Nightmare on Elm Street remake, Haley has justified his comeback with a slew of incredible performances, proving that this guy is the real deal. This is a career resurgence damn well earned.

Now, Haley as Sinestro is not a sure thing yet. It looks like the studio wants him and only him in the role, but nothing has been signed. However, seeing that Haley has previously embraced the superhero genre with open arms and unbridled enthusiasm, I'd be surprised if he didn't take the role. Drew also notes that this would certainly be a two or three picture deal, since Sinestro is an ally in this film and won't go bad until the sequel.

As superhero movie fan and Jackie Earle Haley cheerleader, color me excited. My limited knowledge of the character keeps me from saying anything definitive, but I love the thought of Haley playing an interstellar supervillain.

Green Lantern will be directed by Martin Campbell and begins shooting in New Orleans this March.

2009 is almost over, and it's been a banner year for science fiction. More than three dozen science fiction themed films have seen release in the US. Some emphasize the science fiction more than others, and a couple may be more occult/horror than actual science fiction, but they're close enough.

While the quality of the films listed below varies wildly, the fact that science fiction elements are featured in so many wide released films is outstanding, and there are at least three critical and box office hits among the list below. At least three of the movies listed below give me hope that smart science fiction films are still viable.

I can't help thinking I'm missing something. I didn't include TimeCrimes because it came out on DVD. What else should be on this list?

9
2012
Alien Trespass
Astro Boy
Avatar
Battle for Terra
The Box
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Cold Souls
District 9
The Fourth Kind
G-Force
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Gamer
Gentlemen Broncos
Knowing
Land of the Lost
Men Who Stare at Goats
Monsters vs. Aliens 3D
Moon
Pandorum
Planet 51
Push
The Road
Star Trek
Stingray Sam
Surrogates
Terminator Salvation
Thirst
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Watchmen
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

TV and straight-to-DVD, or otherwise extremely limited theatrical release include: The Mutant Chronicles, Dante 01, Eden Log, Before the Fall, Sleep Dealer, The Objective, and Outlander.

What was your favorite?

This could be the place where I go on a diatribe about how the Oscars continue to prove themselves more and more irrelevant every year and how, as a writer for a science fiction website, I continue to be annoyed by the lack of respect shown to genre films at awards season. For shame, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences! Shame on you and your children and your children's children!

But I'm not going to, because there is news afoot.

The Academy has announced the fifteen films on the shortlist for the visual effects Oscar, the only award that consistently goes to science fiction and fantasy films. Only three will get to wear tuxes and get luxurious gift baskets full of expensive hand creams. Why only three? Why not five? Probably some silly Academy rule, similar to the one that keeps good documentaries from ever getting any sort of recognition.

And your children's children's children!

But I digress. The fifteen films are as follows:

Angels & Demons
Avatar
Coraline
Disney's A Christmas Carol,
District 9
G-Force
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sherlock Holmes
Star Trek
Terminator Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2012
Watchmen
Where the Wild Things Are

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Here are this week's notable DVD and Blu-ray releases:

Up (DVD & Blu-ray)
The first fifteen minutes of this emotional Pixar smash had me in tears. (Note: the sight of a grown man crying while wearing 3D glasses is not a pretty one.) After that I couldn't help but root for Ed Asner's mean old man, his chubby wilderness explorer tag along, his giant prehistoric bird buddy, his talking dog, and his floating house. Not counting Batman & Robin, this might be the most ridiculous movie to ever make me cry.

If you really love Up, do yourself a favor and pick up the Blu-ray 4-pack. It's loaded, and it's going for less than $20 at some online retailers. (Hey, Pixarphiles, Monsters Inc. also gets a special edition Blu-ray release today.)

Near Dark (Blu-ray)
So far, only two good things have come out of the god-awful Twilight craze: Cool pictures of Dakota Fanning wearing red contact lenses, and this great down and dirty 1980s vampire flick finally hitting Blu-ray.

Yes, you probably have Stephanie Meyer's sparkly non-vamps to thank for this release – and for the absurd new cover art – but Near Dark is one of the most unsettling vampire movies of all time. (Bill Paxton's chilling performance alone will make you want to avoid anyone with a Southern accent for weeks.) An HD version deserves a spot on any genre movie lover's shelf. (It's too bad the studio skimped on the extras, though.)

More new DVD releases after the jump.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan has made a name for himself among genre fans the past few years, playing John Winchester on Supernatural, as well as the Comedian in Watchmen). Hell, he even played a ghost in the otherwise straight-laced Grey's Anatomy. Now, Morgan's close to nabbing a starring role in MGM/UA's upcoming remake of the classic Red Dawn.

The original, starring the late Patrick Swayze, established the PG-13 rating with its extensive violence, but it was its story of a world on the brink of World War III that reached out to Cold War frightened fans of the mid-'80s. With the threat of Soviet nuclear annihilation gone, the remake instead looks at a coalition of Russian and Chinese forces.

The war is on American soil, and the invading forces are winning. The story focuses on a group of teens who vow to fight back. Morgan would take the role of the U.S. Special Forces team leader (originated by Powers Booth) who drops in to help the kids fight back.

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening today:

- AICN has a list of the added/reworked scenes from Zack Snyder's Watchmen Director's Cut. It features a lot more dialogue and violence than the theatrical version. Surprise!

- Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosarus earned $13.8 million Wednesday, taking the top box office spot from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Maybe next time Michael Bay will deliver the Dinobots instead of close-ups of John Turturro's ass and giant Decepticon balls.

- You know the Beyond Thunderdome-esque get-up Mickey Rourke is wearing in that Iron Man 2 set photo? Turns out that's probably only for an early scene. Rourke will be outfitted in more imposing Crimson Dynamo/Whiplash armor later on in the movie.

More sci-fi awesomeness after the jump.