Slice of SciFi News Briefs

Unless there is a major breaking story over the next two days, our FarPoint Media news office will be closed. This will be the last news entry until December 26th. Weekend Box Office totals normally seen on Tuesday will be posted on Wednesday this week. Have a Happy Holiday. — Sam

Harlequin Enterprises is leader of the pack when it comes to delivering its titles electronically and they have signed a deal with DailyLit, a service allowing users to read books via email and RSS installments, to deliver digital serializations of 100 Harlequin backlist titles as well as 20 frontlist titles each month. With most titles available for less than $5, texts will be offered either as daily emails or on demand.

“Lost” actress Michelle Rodriguez began a 6-month jail term in Los Angeles yesterday for probation violation, the second Hollywood celebrity after Kiefer Sutherland to celebrate Christmas from the gray-bar hotel.

With the writer’s strike looking like a real long-runner, the guaranteed ratings winner this coming mid-season is surely to be “American Idol”…..but, that is nothing new. However, there will be at least three shows that may be worth watching, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” on Fox and the return of Patricia Arquette’s Emmy winning show, “Medium” on NBC. Both begin fresh new episodes in January, as does “Lost,” on ABC. So, at least for a few weeks TV viewing won’t be a total wash for SF lovers.

The “Golden Compass” was huge box office in international theaters from the moment it debuted in those markets, a total opposite to its performance in the United States. However, it has finally been unseated from its overseas top spot by Will Smith’s “I Am Legend,” which, like American audiences, gobbled up tickets to see this movie with a bleak futuristic outlook. Meanwhile in the U.S., “Legend” was toppled from number one this weekend by the Nicholas Cage Disney sequel, “National Treasure: The Book of Secrets.”

Famed martial arts star Chuck Norris is suing Penquin Group Inc. over its unauthorized biography of the popular aging TV and movie star. The book titled “The Truth About Chuck Norris,” is anything but according to Norris, and is nothing more than a pack of lies. Norris’ lawsuit cites statements indicating lewd and racists remarks attributed to the actor that are false. The lawsuit said Norris told Penguin it was not authorized to publish the book but the publisher rejected Norris’ claims. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, a halt to publication and a recall of books already sold.

Zachary Quinto is pretty outspoken about his role as Spock in the new J.J. Abrams flick “Star Trek.” He made a series of comments in his interview in the latest edition of SciFi Magazine. Here is just a sampling:

“There is definitely a history with it, because the project is being done with a real respect for that history and, at points, little winks and nods to it,” Quinto explains “I think you have to embrace the threads of that fabric in order to make it appealing to the people that are plugged in to the legacy of the franchise. That said - and this is where working with J.J. [Abrams], Damon [Lindelof], Bryan [Burk] and Bob [Orci] and Alex [Kurtzman] and and all the people putting it together, they are so fearlessly creative and they are so capable of manifesting their imagination and bringing it to bear - that it’s going to have with it a real sense of independence. It’s re-imagining but not re-creating, and there’s a difference. In terms of pressure, you also have to consider we not only have the support of Leonard Nimoy, but we also have his involvement. When I have a questions about where this character is coming from or how this character would react, I can go directly to the source. You don’t get that opoortunity often, so I feel likee the only weight is to make a good movie that will entertain people that have been fans for 40 years and also people just coming to the idea now. The nice thing is that all of the incarnations of Star Trek haave been quiet for a few years, and so in that gap there is a lot of potential for a re-emergence.”

Concerning his familiarity with Classic Trek:

“I haven’t watched any episodes up until now. I’ve been sparingly immersing myself in what was created before, in terms of the style and aesthetic. For me, the key to this whole experience is this character. All the answers I need to find in order to define this character are in the text of the script. It’s how I generally come at things as an actor anyway. The character has a tremendous heart, and I feel like the situations in which he finds himself over the course of the story really exemply that. As long as I stay connected to them and understand the foundation on which this character stands, I’m going to be in the right track.”

In a recent TVGuide inteview actor Karl Urban briefly spoke of his role as Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy for the new Star Trek movie coming out on December 25, 2008.

“The movie is very, very faithful to the spirit of the original series and the characters that were created in the ’60s.” said Urban. “[McCoy] is the lovable, irascible humanist that he has always been, a good friend of Jim Kirk. [and] J.J. [Abrams] is going to reinvigorate this franchise in a fresh and exciting way.”

In our final bit of Star Trek news, veteran actor and well-known director of a few Trek TNG episodes and movies, Jonathan Frakes, said in an interview with Dreamwatch that he is confident in Abrams’ ability to keep the franchise alive and well.

“J.J. has been given the keys to the spaceship. Seeing what he has done so far, I think the franchise is in good hands. It could be great.”

If you enjoy Christmas music for the holidays then download FarPoint Media’s own Mike’s Hot Dish for his special Christmas Music Show.