Christian Kane

Minuteman revolves around Captain Lance Deakin (Riley Smith) who, after returning to civilian life as a Texas rancher, is attacked by members of his former Special Forces unit. Brainwashed by the military and turned into killing machines, Lance remembers their top secret missions in Iraq only as Minuteman, the hyper-violent video game they used to play while on tour. With Lance desperately trying to piece together what actually happened, his former comrades are closing in on him and his fiancee to take them out. Lance is quickly running out of time to uncover the truth and save the woman he loves.

To spice up this independent film, the movie will have a video game element — but to be honest, the description of how it will be integrated leaves me a bit confused. Here’s how the production company describes it.

Minuteman is an interactive war game that shows the film’s Minuteman characters in combat action. Cutting between the video game and the movie enhances the mystery, power and adrenaline rush of the film. Highly talented director Mark Millhone has come up with a fresh and innovative way of captivating his audience.

Hey, if it means seeing Christian Kane rockin and rollin’, I’m there.

The film, from Dreamfly Productions, will begin shooting in Texas next week.

Want more Christian Kane? Read the interview I did with him before the second season of Leverage.

Photo: Christian Kane from Leverage / TNT

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Transformers Revenge of the Fallen

If you’re going Blu-ray, head over to Best Buy for their limited gift set which includes an exclusive Optimus Prime mini head replica and $50 gift card to sideshowcollectibles.com. Now that’s a nice bonus.

If you’re not into the whole experience, Amazon has the single-disc DVD version of Transformers Revenge of the Fallen for under $20.

The official Transformers website has some fun content in honor of the release including personalized phone calls from Optimus Prime/Starscream and the “Robotize Me” app.

Want to go behind the scenes on Transformers Revenge of the Fallen. Click here for the video if you can’t see it after the cut.

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J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movie got the most nominations, 17 in all including The Ultimate Scream, Best Science Fiction Movie, Best Director, Best Ensemble, Holy Sh*t Scene of the Year and a nod in the all-new Fight-to-the-Death Scene of the Year category.  HBO’s True Blood picked up nine nominations.

To vote for your favorites visit Scream.spike.com. The awards tape on October 17 and air on October 27.

Here’s a short list of nominations, for the full list visit Scream.spike.com.

THE BEST FANTASY MOVIE

“Coraline”

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

“Twilight”

“Up”

“Watchmen”

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

BEST SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE

“Knowing”

“Moon”

“Outlander”

“Star Trek”

“Terminator Salvation”

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

BEST ACTOR AND ACTRESSS IN A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE OR TV SHOW

-Nicolas Cage; “Knowing”                  -Moon Bloodgood; “Terminator Salvation”

-Josh Holloway; “Lost”                        -Eliza Dushku; “dollhouse”

-Shia LaBeouf; “Transformers”        -Megan Fox; “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

-Chris Pine; “Star Trek”                         -Lena Headey; “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”

-Zachary Quinto; “Star Trek”               -Katee Sackhoff; “Battlestar Galactica”

-Sam Rockwell; “Moon”                       -Zoe Saldana; “Star Trek”

True Blood photo courtesy of HBO

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Did you talk to the film crew about your work? What do Dwayne Johnson or Andy Fickman or others think about extraterrestrial life and UFOs?

Bill Birnes: Andy told me a very funny story. He said that at first, the case, and especially Dwayne and Carla interested in UFOs, but not especially passionate. It was a distant kind of interest. In fact, there was no immediacy to the presence of UFOs. So to give some background, Andy played for the cast the first season DVDs of UFO Hunters. As the reality of UFOs sunk in, Andy told me that Dwayne and the rest of the cast had become so enthusiastic that they said, “why isn’t everyone talking about this?” So the answer is that by the time Giorgio got to the set, cast and crew were very enthusiastic. Moreover, the UFO expo scene was so realistic that members of the crew and the cast of extras kept walking over to our table to tell us about their UFO experiences and browse through the magazines. After a few hours, we thought we really were at a UFO expo.

In the movie, the UFO expert Dr Friedman (played by Carla Gugino) is not taken seriously as a scientist. Is it hard being in this field, knowing you have to face a hefty amount of cynicism and speculation?

Giorgio Tsoukalos: It goes with the territory. I’m VERY aware of the fact that what Bill and I do for a living isn’t quite what people would consider “normal.” But then again, WHAT is normal? Look, it all depends how you present it. Besides Bill Birnes and me you’d be hard-pressed to find any “normal” looking UFO experts in our field. It seems that many of our co-researchers have just stepped off the set of a Lord of the Rings movie in which they played some type of troll. Their appearance does NOT help the cause as a whole. It doesn’t take much to put on a nice suit and wash up. In Race, Dr. Friedman was quite presentable and thus, just by her appearance alone, she lent credence to the work she tried to accomplish. It is my firm belief that the same counts to the real-life UFOlogy / Alternative History fields. (Now any UFO researcher who reads this and gets upset, you KNOW I’m right, now go get a haircut!)

What are your thoughts about extra-terrestrials like Seth and Sara really existing here on Earth?

Bill Birnes: I think that ETs in human form live on Earth, placed here by whomever landed them here, and they are a part of our government and businesses. Folks have told me about people like “alien Ron,” a researcher who worked for the Navy and had very strange abilities. Never ate, never slept, and could do complicated math problems in minutes without a calculator. He could leave speed readers in the dust, and would laugh a silent chuckle when his friends said he was an ET. But he never denied it.

Giorgio, you traveled to the remote corners of the planet in search of the mysterious. Did you find anything during those trips that has cleared out all your doubts about the existence of Extraterrestrials?

Giorgio Tsoukalos: Yes. There is this one place in South America called PUMA PUNKU, in the Highlands of Bolivia. There, at an altitude of almost 14,000ft we have a field of ruins. The remnants we find there defy logic. Not only are the stone blocks humongous, but also the rock cutting techniques are beyond what we could achieve today with the help of modern technology. What we have there is granite and diorite. The only stone harder on the Mohs scale is diamond. What does that mean? The only conclusion how any of this could’ve been doe is if the tools they used were tipped with diamonds… fascinating, ey? Mainstream archaeology claims that this was accomplished by using copper tools, obsidian, and chicken bones. Uh-huh, suuuure. I’ve spoken to structural engineers and people involved with construction and they unanimously agree that none of this would’ve been possible without the use of sophisticated technology.

Bill, what’s the weirdest UFO sighting you’ve ever heard of or seen?

Bill Birnes: It has to be RAF Bentwaters back in 1980. A diamond shaped object hovers over a USAF base on the North Sea in he UK. It travels through the forest and lands in wet sand, leaving tracks. When a USAF security team approaches, they can see life forms inside the craft. One of the sergeants touches the craft and makes rubbings of the strange designs on the side of the craft. The craft takes off, leaving impressions in the sand. It moves through the trees and into a clearing. When the USAF team approaches, the object breaks into five lights and takes off. The entire event is recorded on audio tape. We have the plaster impressions of the landing gear and we have the lettering on the side of the craft. Even the British refer to it as a UFO. The Air Force has never responded, and the USAF Lt. Col. says it is definitely a UFO.

SF movies have been predicting a take over by aliens for years now. Do you think that’s possible?

Giorgio Tsoukalos: I would venture to say that we’re not under any direct threat by any truly benevolent race because – truth be told – if the aliens wanted to eat us for dessert, they would’ve done that already a long, long time ago. So no, I do not subscribe to the idea that we are nothing but a slave race for the extraterrestrials and that we’re about to be exterminated. I think such scenarios merely feed into the whole gloom-and-doom worldview which mankind seems to have a penchant for… and it is unfortunate, because we live in very exciting times and I very much look forward of what the future has to offer. And no, the world will not come to an end in 2012. No Apocalypse, no End of Days, no Judgment Day. It’s all unsubstantiated fear-mongering garbage. We’ll all be there on December 22, 2012, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed! Don’t let 2012 become the Y2K of this generation. Let’s embrace it for what it is: the beginning of a new period of time. Nothing more, nothing less.

Race to Witch Mountain is available now on DVD and Blu-ray.

Photos: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

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If they can’t get all of the originals back, should they even bother to make new episodes or is it more about the show than the actors?

Variety is also reporting that Warner Brothers and Leo DiCaprio’s production company are in development on a new Twlight Zone movie. Rand Ravich is set to pen the script.

Finally, Brian Lowry has an interesting piece on the power struggle between Comic Con and the TCA’s (Television Critics Association tour) as print reporters battle to remain relevant in an online world.

Photo: Katey Sagal /Newscom

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First up, National Geographic Channel will be featuring Naked Science: Living on the Moon one day before the anniversary on Sunday, July 19.

This special takes you inside Constellation, the space program’s plan to establish a human outpost on the moon by 2020. Using 3-D animation, you’ll get a close look at how the outpost will look in the future, from upgraded space suits to housing modules and moon vehicles. The special also examines some of the challenges of moon life including finding water, growing food and providing an oxygen rich environment. (CGI: Astronaut with moon dust. Credit: © National Geographic Channel)

Next, Turner Classic Movies takes the over the controls when they present 12 space themed movies and one documentary. It begins at 6 am on Monday with They Came from Beyond Space (1967) from the man who brought you the original Doctor Who movies. They’re also airing First Men in the Moon, Destination Moon and more recent movies such as Capricorn One and The Right Stuff.

At 8:15, they’ll be showing For All Mankind. This is the authoritative documentary on the Apollo space program.

Get your hands on some freeze-dried popcorn and tube of dehydrated soda and you’ve got everything you need to honor America’s greatest achievements in space.

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Look, I love disaster movies. My walls are covered with posters from Irwin Allen’s blockbusters like Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno. I even adore his TV movies Fire and Flood. But his all-star extravaganzas were a new beast back then and now, we’ve been there and done that. So handing us a cast of classic supporting actors simply isn’t enough.

You’ve got Christopher Lloyd as a mad scientist and Stacy Keach as a sheriff (no stretch of the imagination needed there) but Jason Alexander as a “military scientist.” What is a “military scientist” anyway? And how does he differ from a civilian, I wonder?

But what really makes me wonder is the array of stills presented from this movie. Dozens of them depict people with guns and violence against women. I’m not trying to be feminist here, I just want to know why so many women are being attacked in a show about a meteor?

To top it off, didn’t we just see this movie a few weeks ago only it was called Impact? Come on networks, I know it’s summer, but surely we can do better than this.

Photos: Eric McCandless/ Isabella Vosmikova  /NBC

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Gotta cultivate those new sci fi fans while they’re young and these kids look very alien friendly!

Monsters vs. Aliens, the DVD, will arrive on Earth September 29, 2009 and will include the world premiere of the brand new 3D adventure B.O.B.’s Big Break, starring everyone’s favorite gelatinous hero.

Photo Credits: Mark Wilson

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The Dark Knight was the evening’s biggest winner, taking home five awards including Best Action Film, Best Writing, Music, Special Effects and Best Supporting Actor for Heath Ledger.

On the television side, it was Battlestar Galactica that took home the most awards winning Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series, Best Actor on Television: Edward James Olmos, and Best Actress on Television: Mary McDonnell. Lost received the Saturn Award for Best Network Series, beating out Supernatural, Fringe, Heroes, Life on Mars, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Battlestar was up against an odd mix of shows for Best Syndicated / Cable including The Closer, Dexter, Leverage and more predictable, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and True Blood.

Moonlight took the award for the best modern DVD with Invaders winning for retro DVD.

Several special awards were presented throughout the evening, Lance Henriksen took the Life Career Award, Jeffrey Katzenberg received the Visionary Award and Leonard Nimoy was handed the Lifetime Achievement Award.

You’ll find a full list of winners after the jump. You can find the list of nominees here at the Saturn Awards Website.

Photos by Newscom

THE WINNERS OF THE 35^TH ANNUAL SATURN AWARDS

Best Science Fiction Film: Iron Man

Best Fantasy Film: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Horror Film: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film: The Dark Knight

Best Actor: Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man)

Best Actress: Angelina Jolie (Changeling)

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Best Performance by a Younger Actor: Jaden Christopher Smith (The Day the Earth Stood Still)

Best Director: Jon Favreau (Iron Man)

Best Writer: Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight)

Best Music: Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard (The Dark Knight)

Best Costume: Mary Zophres (Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)

Best Make-Up: Greg Cannom (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Best Special Effects: Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Timothy Webber, Paul J. Franklin (The Dark Knight)

Best International Film: Let the Right One In

Best Animated Film: Wall-E

Best Television Series: Lost

Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series: Battlestar Galactica

Best Presentation on Television: The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice

Best Actor on Television: Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica)

Best Actress on Television: Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica)

Best Supporting Actor on Television: Adrian Pasdar (Heroes)

Best S upporting Actress on Televison: Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter)

Guest Starring Role on Television: Jimmy Smits (Dexter)

Best DVD Release: Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer

Best DVD Special Edition Release: Stephen King’s The Mist (2 disc Special Edition)

Best DVD Classic Film Release: Psycho (Universal Legacy Series)

Best DVD Collection: The Godfather-The Coppola Restoration

Best Series on DVD: Moonlight

Best Retro Series on DVD: The Invaders

The Life Career Award: Lance Henriksen

The Lifetime Achievement Award: Leonard Nimoy

The Visionary Award: Jeffrey Katzenberg

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Jack Arnold is the man who made Creature From the Black Lagoon the classic that it is today. Atmospheric and creepy, Arnold delivered a story that made you believe that a gill man could fall in love.

Arnold also directed Tarantula, one of the best of the giant bug films, as well as The Incredible Shrinking Man. Later in his career, Arnold became a well-respected TV director on shows such as It Takes a Thief, Alias Smith and Jones and Brady Bunch, and he was one of the guiding forces behind Gilligan’s Island.

Jack Arnold, we salute you!

Now it’s your turn. Who do you think belongs on the list of Most Overlooked Classic Directors?

Photo: Amazon

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