Slice of SciFi News Briefs

BBC America’s “Torchwood,” “Robin Hood” and “Little Britian” are now available on iTunes in the United States. After its launch on Tuesday, the “Torchwood” series is #1 and #2 on Top TV Seasons for Sci Fi & Fantasy.

Time Warner is slowly selling off its vested interest in its cable operation after first quarter profits show continued drop. Profits in this first quarter were down as much as 36%.

The Platinum Dunes production company will be joining forces with Bloody-Disgusting.com to host the shingle’s new blog.

The fight is officially on between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Behind the scenes talks between the two have been going nowhere and with the SAG contract due to expire in one month, the AMPTP stated on their official website that unless SAG backs off its demands on DVD and new media soon, it can forget about a deal even if the actors threaten strike.

A new fantasy comedy called “Adventures in Zametherea” will soon be heading to the big screen. Touted as a modern-day “Wizard of Oz,” the story centers on a hard-charging, cold-hearted investment banker who gets a chance to revisit the forgotten, magical land of his childhood imagination and must turn for help to his estranged 10-year-old son.

James Kyson Lee (”Heroes”) is currently shooting a film in Bulgaria for the SCI FI Channel called “Termination Shock.” Lee was recently seen on the big screen in Masayuki Ochiai’s horror flick “Shutter.”

One day away from the big “Iron Man” premiere and director Jon Favreau still won’t confirm or deny the rumors that the upcoming superhero film will include a cameo appearance by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

“Grand Theft Auto IV,” the gangster-themed computer game that earned both critical claim and strong criticism, broke first day sales records in Britain, according to Reuters. The Entertainment Retailers Association, which represents 5,000 stores selling games, music and films, said the Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. game sold about 609,000 copies on Tuesday. That beats the previous record held by an earlier title in the same series, “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” which sold 501,000 copies on October 29, 2004.

According to The Hollywood Reporter Apple is expected to announce today that it has struck a deal with a wide array of movie studios to sell new releases at its iTunes Store. The move would allow a broad slate of top-shelf films to be offered day-and-date with home video releases, which risks further encroachment on already dwindling in-store DVD sales.

Hewlett-Packard announced yesterday that they discovered a fourth basic type of electrical circuit that could lead to a computer you never have to boot up. If their findings pan out this could save millions from the tedium of waiting for a computer to fire up.

With “Star Trek” filming now complete, Abrams has tighten the lid even more on the resurrected franchise’s storyline. He continued, however, to reiterate that the movie would remain faithful to the original while breaking new ground in action, drama and visual effects from ILM. “I feel like this is so unlike what you expect, so unlike the `Star Trek’ you’ve seen. At the same time, it’s being true to what’s come before, honoring it,” Abrams said. “I can say the effects for `Star Trek’ have never, ever been done like this. … I can only tell you the idea of the universe of `Star Trek’ has never been given this kind of treatment.” “Star Trek” will debut in theaters one year from now, May 8, 2009.