Slice of SciFi News Briefs

There’s a new Muppet movie on the horizon and Disney has chosen actor/writer Jason Segel (”Freaks and Geeks”) and director Nick Stoller (”Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) to create it.

Take-Two videogame maker is still trying to fend off a take-over effort from gaming giant Eectronic Arts Inc. (EA). This morning (Thurs., Mar. 13) EA made another offer to Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., maker of the highly popular “Grand Theft Auto” vidgame, to the tune of $26 (USD) a share. This figure is a sign that EA’s friendly offers in the past has moved the the hostile take-over stage.

China has officially surpassed the United States to become the world’s largest Internet market by number of users, a research firm said on Thursday. The estimate by Beijing-based BDA was based on data from China Internet Network Information Center which indicated that the country’s Internet users totaled 210 million at end-2007.

On Wed., Mar. 12 the Cassini spacecraft successfully flew through the spouting geysers ejecting from one of Saturn’s moons named Enceladus and was able to obtain excellent samples of ice and gas to study. The vapor/solid jets were spewed from the moon’s surface at distances of 500 miles into space.

Brad Bird, the Oscar-winning director of “Ratatouille” and “The Incredibles,” will revisit the 1906 San Francisco earthquake in his live-action feature debut, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “1906″ centers on a college student whose investigation of his father’s murder uncovers a web of deceit that has left the city vulnerable to the sort of fire that breaks out in the aftermath of the great quake. The original script was written by John Logan (”Sweeney Todd”), and Bird is doing a rewrite. The project is a co-production between Warner Bros. and Disney/Pixar.

Actor J.T. Tepnapa joins the cast as Lt. Commander Hikaru Sulu (”Star Trek Phase II” formally “Star Trek New Voyages”), taking over the helm from John Lim who played Sulu in “World Enough and Time.” In addition to being an accomplished film producer, Tepnapa has appeared in many award-winning plays, features, shorts and commercials, winning Entertainment Today’s Ticket Holder Award for Best Supporting Actor for “Spinning for Butter” in 2001.

Simon Pegg (”Shuan of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz”), who stars as the new Montgomery Scott for the J.J. Abrams prequel of “Star Trek,” said in a recent interview that there will definitely be sequels to the new “Star Trek” prequel film. Pegg says this prequel will take the original vision of Gene Roddenberry very seriously.

“It’s not at all ironic. It’s not a jokey take on the original series,” stated Pegg. “It’s a faithful and loving installment in the ongoing mythology of the show.”