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WHAT'S NEWSaturday, August 13, 2005:
SUPERMAN RETURNS:
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE: Over at The Leaky Cauldron , you can view an early preview of HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, hopefully scenes from the new trailer, an early version of which was shown at Comic-Con International last month. The footage gives a pretty good idea what to expect from the Tri-Wizard Tournament, including lots of scenes of Harry fighting the dragon, plus there are brief glimpses of Hogwarts' new Professor of the Dark Arts, Mad-Eye Moody, as played by Brendan Gleeson, and Harry's new love interest Cho Chang.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: According to the New York Daily News and The Indy Experience, Steven Spielberg will be directing Liam Neeson as Abraham Lincoln in a Lincoln bio-pic next Spring. Though Spielberg first considered Tom Hanks for the role, the plan seems to have the "Schindler's List" actor in the role for filming. Neeson himself says "We're definitely going to do it. We've been working on it since November." The story of a nation rent by war "speaks to our time," says Neeson. How the filming on this project will affect the schedule of "Indiana Jones IV" is unsure.
Friday, August 12, 2005:
TOP SF&F NETWORK SHOWS:
TIDELAND: While out to promote his latest project, BROTHERS GRIMM, director Terry Gilliam said that his next movie, TIDELAND, deals with the resilience of children in the face of grief and loss. "It's about what happens when you put a kid with an imagination in difficult circumstances. It's really about [the] resilience of childhood, and I'm so bored about hearing about these little children that are so victimized and are so weak. Children are the toughest creatures on the planet, and they're being protected. It's partly one reason why I tried to keep Grimm as close to the original tales as possible." In TIDELAND, starring Jennifer Tilly, Janet McTeer and Jeff Bridges, a girl loses her mother to a heroin overdose, then begins to communicate via her Barbie-doll heads. She befriends a neighborhood woman who wears a beekeeper's veil and delves into her own fantasy world. Gilliam said the girl is played by Jodelle Ferland, and he enthusiastically introduced the young actress last year at the Toronto International Film Festival just before he began shooting. "She is a phenomenal little 9 1/2-year-old girl that plays the lead, and she's in every scene," Gilliam said.
GARFIELD 2: The Hollywood Reporter indicates that 20th Century Fox is in talks with Bill Murray to once again provide the voice of Garfield in GARFIELD 2. Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt have already signed on to the sequel. Fox is also in talks with Lucy Davis and Billy Connolly to join the cast. Davis would play animal lover Abby Westminster, a fashionable professional who has been brought in to try and trap Lord Dargis, to be played by Connelly, into revealing his evil plans. Hewitt's role will be greatly reduced because she is filming the new CBS series GHOST WHISPERER.
DREAM HOUSE: Variety reports that Universal Pictures has made a preemptive deal for $600,000 against $1 million for David Loucka's supernatural thriller DREAM HOUSE. The story centers on a man who moves his family into what appears to be the ideal residence in the country, but ominous things are going on there. Daniel Bobker and THE SKELETON KEY's Ehren Kruger will produce. Stokely Chaffin will be executive produce.
WESTWORLD According to Variety, Warner Bros. Pictures has signed THE CELL's Tarsem to direct the remake of WESTWORLD. At one point Arnold Schwarzenegger was looking to possibly star in the film but had to give that up when he was elected governor of California. The original film starred Yul Brynner as a robotic gunfighter who turns an Old West vacation theme park into a nightmare for the park's guests. No script has been written yet nor has a writer been attached.
SPLINTER CELL Variety reports that DreamWorks is close to acquiring the film rights to Tom Clancy's videogame SPLINTER CELL, with Daniel Pyne (The Manchurian Candidate) attached to write the script. The studio would take the project over from Paramount, where it was originally set up last winter. Michael Ovitz, Clancy's longtime manager, is still producing. SPLINTER CELL, now in its third edition, follows the adventures of government spy Sam Fisher as he's dispatched to infiltrate an international terrorist syndicate and stop a high-tech threat. Clancy and Yves Guillemot, chief of videgame publisher Ubisoft, are executive producing.
MATT HELM: DreamWorks' plans to revive spy MATT HELM and has signed Michael Brandt and Derek Haas to write a new pic. Brand & Haas recently have been at work on adaptations of the comic "Wanted" and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novel "Red Rabbit". The duo will pen a contemporary pic based on the subject of around two dozen novels by Donald Hamilton. Helm is a former spy during WWII who, upon retiring from his top-secret organization, unsuccessfully attempts to put his past behind him. Columbia Pictures released four Matt Helm-inspired spy spoofs starring Dean Martin starting in 1966. The first Helm book was "Death of a Citizen," published in 1960. DreamWorks has dabbled with the idea of a Helm franchise before but it never came to fruition.
MAIL BAG: Got something you want to talk about here -- and it's not a discussion topic? Just drop a note and I'll put it out on the MAIL BAG page for everyone to share.
TOP SCIENCE FICTION NEWS STORIES: To catch up on the latest news from this week -- and last month, go to News Page. You'll find the everything from our front page -- but over a longer period of time.
NEW SHOWS COMING THIS FALLTuesday, September 13, 2005 The WB Television Network is proud to announce the premier of “Supernatural” starring Jared Padalecki (“Gilmore Girls”, “House of Wax”, “Flight of the Phoenix”) and Jensen Ackles (“Smallville, “Dark Angel”, “Blonde” and “Dawson’s Creek”); in association with Warner Bro. Television Production Inc. For more information, including clips from this upcoming series, go to Supernatural Page here at The Zocalo Today. INVASION - COMING SEPTEMBER 21 Wednesday, September 21, 2005, ABC Television Network is pleased to announce the premiere of “Invasion”; from Shaun Cassidy Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Production. For centuries, humans have searched the skies for signs of intelligent life...to no avail. But what if the explanation lies in the fact that aliens were already here...already among us? And what if all of the natural disasters we have been experiencing of late were smokescreens designed to mask something far more ominous? From Shaun Cassidy Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc. comes "Invasion," starring William Fichtner ("The Longest Yard," "Black Hawk Down," "Pearl Harbor," "The Perfect Storm"), Eddie Cibrian ("Third Watch," "Sunset Beach"), Lisa Sheridan ("FreakyLinks"), Kari Matchett ("Angel Eyes," "A Nero Wolfe Mystery"), Tyler Labine ("That Was Then," "My Boss's Daughter"), Evan Peters ("The Days"), Ariel Gade ("Envy"), Alexis Dziena ("Strangers with Candy" movie, "Wonderland" movie) and Aisha Hinds ("Assault on Precinct 13" [2005], "The Shield"). "Invasion" airs Wednesdays (10:00 - 11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on the ABC Television Network. For more information, including clips from this upcoming series, go to Invasion Page here at The Zocalo Today.
KEEPING UP WITH CAST AND CREWRanger Penny reports that a new movie coming out on 8/26/05 called THE CAVE stars Daniel Dae Kim. He plays Alex Kim. The movie's plot line says: Bloodthirsty creatures await a pack of divers who become trapped in an underwater cave network. The movie trailer: http://imdb.com/title/tt0402901/trailers says: "When 7 men discover the entrance to the world's largest cave system, they were never seen again. Now a team of expert cave explorers has been assembled to find out why. There are places man was never meant to go ... beneath heaven lies hell, beneath hell lies .... THE CAVE"
JEFFREY WILLERTH:Jeffrey Willerth, Ambassador Kosh, has been produced a number of special programs that will air on the History Channel soon. Here is information so that you can mark your calendars: "UFOs and the White House" Airs on Monday, August 22 at 8:00pm ET Did you know that the office of President of the United States has had a direct involvement with UFOs for over 50 years? Since WWII, every Chief Executive has publicly discussed, issued, or received documents from the White House pertaining to "Unidentified Flying Objects". Many of these documents have never been seen on television before and some of the stories surrounding these UFO-presidential encounters are broadcast for the first time. Find out which administrations had to defend our country from unidentified objects...who was sitting in the Oval Office during the biggest UFO sightings... and how the government's UFO files are handled, depending on political affiliations. We'll gather the facts and glean information from presidential libraries that reveal startling insight on UFOs and the White House. TVPG
PAT TALLMAN:Pat has a few items up on e-bay! Right now she has some kid stuff and some sci fi mags...She will be adding more each week. Her seller name is SCIFIMOGUL. Check it out.
SPECIAL CAST ACTIVITIES: To learn more about what cast members are doing away from the tube, go to CAST ACTIVITIES page.
IN MEMORY OF: While Rick (Biggs) and Tim (Choate) are no longer with us, we will not forget their wonderful personalities and talent. Be sure to visit In Memory Of for more information about memorial efforts. Until we met again, in a place where no shadows fall.
BABYLON 5 BIRTHDAYS
Daneil Dae Kim - August 4Claudia Christian - August 10 Stephen Austin - August 11 Tim Earls - August 15 Nancy Tarczynski - August 16 Skip Beaudine - August 26
BABYLON 5 DVDS
For information on the Babylon 5 DVDs, please go to
Babylon 5 DVD page.
NEW DVDS COMING
Stargate SG-1 Release Date: October 4, 2005 Item can be pre-ordered through www.amazon.com
EARTH 2: 
Ranger Graham reports that EARTH 2 is finally available on DVD. Released on July 19, this DVD set is available in Region 1
coding only. Starring: Debrah Farentino, Clancy Brown and Antonio Sabato Jr., this three disc set is available at amazon.com.
Here is a description:Embark on the quest to find a new home planet for humanity in the year 2192 as the complete sci-fi epic Earth 2 lands on DVD for the first time ever! From the producers of Miami Vice and ER comes the thrilling story of Devon Adair (Debrah Farentino), who is struggling to find a healthy environment for her deathly ill son, Ulysses. Disregarding government orders, she puts together an expedition to found a new civilization on an Earth-like planet 22 light years in the future. But after their ship crash-lands on the wrong side of planet G889, the "colonists" quickly discover that their new home already has some very strange and hostile inhabitants. Catch DVD-exclusive bonus features and join stellar guest stars including Tim Curry, Virginia Madsen, Terry O'Quinn and more on all 21 groundbreaking episodes of the Emmy-winning series that critics cheered "soars to new sci-fi heights."
SPACE STATION: 
WARNER HOME VIDEO BLASTS OFF WITH THE MOST SUCCESSFUL IMAX® SPACE FILM OF ALL TIME NARRATED BY TOM CRUISE
SPACE STATION Space Station follows two separate space shuttles that leave from Florida's Kennedy Space Center and Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome to rendezvous with their new home in orbit 220 miles above Earth. Now people of every age and language can work side by side with their space-walking crewmates, building and inhabiting this unprecedented structure in space. For video clips from the DVD, go to Space Station page. Now that the shuttle is back in space, this is a very timely video. Learn what the astronauts are going through with weightlessness.
For a review of the DVD, go to DVD Reviews.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Home Video will release a series of two-disc special editions of the four original
BATMAN movies from the late 1980s and '90s. BATMAN, BATMAN RETURNS, BATMAN FOREVER and BATMAN & ROBIN will
be released October 18. They will be available individually and as a gift set, "Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997."
Each special-edition DVD features a new digital transfer of the movie. Bonus features include director commentaries by Joel
Schumacher and Tim Burton, cast and crew interviews, several new documentaries, "making of" featurettes and nine music
videos from Prince, Seal and the Smashing Pumpkins.
Includes Special Features: DVD REVIEWS
Visit to the DVD Reviews page to see what I thought of the set.
Let me know if you agree -- or found some other special material that should be noted. Some recent reviews include:
SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINES
COMIC BOOKS
Here's how Marvel describes the book: Amazing Spider-Man #523 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50. SUPREME POWER: HYPERION #2
32 pages, $2.99, in stores on Oct. 19. THE BOOK OF LOST SOULS #1
Written by J. Michael Straczynski, pencils and cover by Colleen Doran. 32 pages, $2.99, in stores on Oct. 26 FANTASTIC FOUR #529
Here's how Marvel describes the issue: Fantastic Four #529 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.
Written by J. Michael Straczynski, pencils and cover by Mike McKone. 32 pages, $2.99, in stores on Aug. 24.
Written by J. Michael Straczynski, pencils and cover by Gary Frank. 32 pages, $2.99, in stores on Aug. 31.
Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Sara "Samm" Barnes, penciled by Brandon Peterson, cover by Peterson. 144 pages, $17.99. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #522
COMIC BOOKS: For a listing of current comic books written by J. Michael Straczynski, go to
JMS COMIC BOOKS page. There is a brief synopsis of the
book and a date when publication is expected. Issued covered are AMAZING SPIDERMAN, FANTASTIC FOUR, STRANGE,
RISING STARS, and others.
NEW TOONS
Tye Bourdony has sent along his latest satires for your enjoyment.
TV SCHEDULE ON SCIFI CHANNEL08/19/2005 07:00 PM FIREFLY SHINDIG 08/26/2005 07:00 PM FIREFLY SAFE
STARGATE SCHEDULE:
STARGATE ATLANTIS:
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA:
BABYLON 5/CRUSADE PHOTOSHOP PHOTOS
You do NOT have to pay the prices asked for over at e-bay! Here are photos of B5 and Crusade cast members at fantastic prices. Check out Photo Shop. Ordering is easy -- and you can't beat the prices! Just let me know which photos you want and I'll check to make sure they are still in stock.
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Ranger Dave writes that the SciFi series SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND is due for release on October 4th. Bestbuy.com is
taking preorders for it. Amazon.com, however doesn't list it yet.
November 1st has been set as the release date for EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH. The explosive and emotional finale to the
saga, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, arrives on DVD and "Star Wars Battlefront II," the sequel to the most successful
"Star Wars" game ever, arrives on Xbox, Playstation 2, Windows PC and Sony PSP formats.
SMALLVILLE -- SEASON FOUR
DEAD LIKE ME: SEASON TWO
Starburst Special #71: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA takes front and center position in this issue. As season two begins,
the magazine gives you a behind the scenes look at cast and crew! Jamie Bamber talks about playing headstrong Captain Lee
‘Apollo’ Adama; Edward James Olmos discusses his character of Commander Adama, and the repercussions of the assassination
attempt; Producer Ron Moore talks about the changes and surprises in store for Year Two; Tricia Helfer who plays Cyclon agent
Number Six talks about playing a villainess and production designer Richard Hudolin discusses creating new worlds for Galactica,
illustrated with concept drawings, set photos and sketches. 
With the release of SERENITY on September 30, Titan magazines will release a 100-page souvenir magazineso that fans can
continue the Firefly saga as the magazine takes you on board with exclusive interviews with the entire crew, including Nathan
Fillion (Captain Malcolm Reynolds), Gina Torres (Zoe) and Adam Baldwin (Jayne Cobb). Plus, creator Joss Whedon exposes
Serenity's secrets and we go behind the scenes of the filming and the extraordinary special effects. 
Starburst #327: DOCTOR WHO: A new DOCTOR WHO is set to take on the second season of the BBC’s
smash hit. In this issue, you will find a world exclusive first interview with David Tennant - the Tenth Doctor! You
will also find an interview with Nick Briggs -- the man who gave voice to the Daleks talks to us about the challenges of
recreating the monsters’ original menace in three action-packed episodes of the last series and The Mill-- The last part
of an extensive look behind the scenes at the special effects and CG magic created by The Mill as they helped bring the
series into the new millennium. Natalie Portman (STAR WARS) speaks along with producer Joel Silver and director James
McTeigue about this dark screen adaptation of V for Vendetta.
TV Zone #192: STARGATE SG-1: Ben Browder has crossed the gulf of Space in Farscape, and now he’s exploring
Avalon with the SG-1 team, as the squad’s latest member Lt Col Cameron Mitchell. Go on set with TV Zone to find out what’s
in store for him in Season Nine. Also inside, an interview with the new Doctor – David Tennant's version of the Time Lord is
revealed as shooting begins on the new series of Doctor Who. 
Cult Times #119: LOST: With the series becoming a huge hit in the U.S., Matthew Fox talks about filming in Hawaii and about
his character and the survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island. Also in this issue, ENTERPRISE's Rick Berman looks back on
the final season and gives his thoughts on the last episode and the future of Trek and MEDIUM's Medium Glenn Gordon Caron, the
show's creator, explains what he hoped to accomplish through the tale of a woman who attempts to live a normal family life despite
being frequently visited by spirits who want her help.
Expose Special #29: HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE: Get a review of the latest installment of the Harry
Potter adventure -- and talk with fantasy authors James Patterson, Juliet E. McKenna, Francis Hardinge and Ian Ogilvy on
the resurgence of fantasy fiction. 
TV Zone Special #64: NEW SEASON PREVIEWS: STARGATE SG-1 and STARGATE ATLANTIS. In this issue, you will find
previews of the new seasons, with cast changes, new plotlines and new foes ahead. Cast interviews with Ben Browder, Joe Flanigan,
Amanda Tapping, Chris Judge, Michael Shanks, Beau Bridges, Cliff Simon, Mitch Pileggi, Paul McGillion and Jason Momoa. Also
inside, preparing for the 10th Doctor Who and a look at the end of the past season.
Cult Times Special #34: DOCTOR WHO: This issue can be a primer for Doctor Who fans. After a nine-year absence, 2005
marked the return of Doctor Who, bigger and better than ever before. Under the guidance of Russell T Davies, it's moved from being
a fondly-remembered piece of kitsch to a vital, ratings-grabbing part of the BBC's schedule. You get an in-depth look at the past,
present and future of the galaxy's best-loved Time Lord. New to DOCTOR WHO? This issue will give you a look at the 26 years of
DOCTOR WHO. This guide features the high points of the series so far and the facts you need to know to fully immerse yourself in the
Whoniverse! Also included in this issue, SMALLVILLE's executive producer Alfred Gough looks back on the fourth season of this
pre-Superman Clark Kent and tells us why he thinks it's the best year yet! Paul McGillion talks about his role as Dr. Beckett in
STARGATE ATLANTIS and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's Edward James Olmos looks at the series cliffhanger. 
Expose #94: HARRY POTTER: In this issue, you'll learn more about the weird and wonderful world of
unlicensed fan fiction as it pushes back the boundaries of JK Rowling’s fictional world… and, in some cases, the
boundaries of taste. HERCULES: NBC’s new mini-series explores the darker side of the Greek hero. Meet star
Paul Telfer as he talks about taking the character back to his murderously gory origins, and how he pushed to
play the character with an English accent.
Amazing Spider-Man #523 will arrive in stores on August 31 from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by J. Michael
Straczynski, with art by Mike Deodato and a cover by Terry Dodson. 
Written by J. Michael Straczynski, penciled by Dan Jurgens, cover by Mike Deodato. 
Fantastic Four #529 will arrive in stores on July 27 from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by J. Michael Straczynski,
with art and cover by Mike McKone. 
FANTASTIC FOUR #530 
SUPREME POWER #18 
STRANGE: BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS TPB 
Written by J. Michael Straczynski, penciled by Mike Deodato, cover by Kaare Andrews. 