Slice of SciFi News Briefs

Longtime actor Charles Durning, now age 84, will be honored for lifetime achievement by the Screen Actors Guild. He will receive the award for fostering the “finest ideals of the acting profession” during the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards show January 27, 2008. Durning is still very active playing roles in movies and television.

His most recent appearance was on “Rescue Me.” He plays Denis Leary’s father on the series and shot his last scene for the season finale. He dies in the scene while sitting with his son at a baseball game. Durning has starred in such blockbusters as “True Confessions,” “The Sting,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Tootsie” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” He received two Oscar nominations over his long and continuing career.

A decorated WWII veteran, he was there for the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, in the first wave of attackers at Omaha Beach, taken as a POW by the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge. Durning was honored with three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star.

Durning has done voice work on “The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists” and the TV series “Family Guy.”

Not one to rest on his laurels the 84 year old actor has two films and a new TV pilot currently in production — “Chatham” co-starring Bruce Dern, Rip Torn and David Carradine is due in theaters in 2008, “Room and Board” is a horror film co-starring Adrianne Barbeau and Robert Loggia also set for 2008 and the television show is called “Good Dick.”

Today Microsoft will launch its next in the popular sci-fi gaming franchise — “Halo 3.”

Whitley Strieber has confirmed that “Transformers” director Michael Bay is interested in directing a film version of his latest book, 2012: The War for the Souls. See our other Strieber story about his book-to-movie “The Grays.”

Singapore scientists have created a Star Trek-like handheld device that can detect the H5N1 bird flu virus from throat swab samples in under 30 minutes, raising hopes it will lead a more rapid and reliable method of detection of the virus which will allow quicker quarantine.

In a recent article on Cinema Blend, Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed Star Trek’s Uhura for 40 years of the franchise had some advice for Zoe Saldana, the new Uhura and for the other actors of the new J.J. Abrams film “Star Trek.”

To Saldana:

“Think about what it took for Uhura. What kind of person she was, she’s from the United States Of Africa. Her parents were scientist and spacefarers, and there were always great expectations of her from them and from herself. She has a high regard for herself and her work, for humankind and her ideals are lofty. Yet she is down to earth.”

To the entire cast and crew of the new film:

“What I think made the original family so powerful and believable is that we did not play heroes. We were ordinary people doing extraordinary work and coming out making good choices, but moral choices. We’re under an edict of none interference. Of respect for others, respect for differences and respect for ourselves. Thereby with the added edict of IDIC ‘Infinite Diversity In Infinite Combinations’ is what makes the universe beautiful. Then we go forth in peaceful exploration where no man or woman has gone before.”

Petersen Abducted to Film “The Grays”

Source: Strieber’s Blog

Sony Pictures has chosen director Wolfgang Petersen to helm the film adaptation of Whitley Strieber’s novel “The Grays.”

Petersen known for such hit films as “In the Line of Fire” (with Clint Eastwood), “Outbreak” (with Dustin Hoffman), “The Perfect Storm” (starring George Clooney) and Brad Pitt’s “Troy” will begin filming this project within a few months. Petersen is looking for a release date as early as summer 2008, but realistically, the summer of 2009 is more likely.

Streiber is most known for his best selling novel “Communion,” which was also turned into a major motion picture starring Christopher Walken. In sci-fi, Streiber was paid a high honor by “Babylon 5″ creator J. Michael Straczynski. He created a race of beings similar to the Grays for the show and named them the Striebe.

Slice of SciFi Briefs & Recaps

Despite long-standing rumors to the contrary, actress Emma Watson has reassured fans of the Potter film franchise that she will be appearing in the final two Harry Potter movies.

Once Michael Bay is through with “Transformers” he will move on to SF thriller “2012,” the story of a researcher who opens a portal into a future parallel universe, makes contact with his future self and together try to stop the coming apocalypse foretold by the ancient Mayan calendar. The film will be based on the popular Whitley Strieber novel.

“Picket Fences” star Kathy Baker has joined the cast of the new CBS dramedy “Babylon Fields.” The weekly series will focus on the everyday lives of people who have risen from the dead. Sort of a zombies in primetime.

YouTube is back in the news as the video sharing website announced it will hold its first annual YouTube Video Awards for 2006. Just last week the Google-owned enterprise was slapped with a $1 billion lawsuit by media giant Viacom, Inc. for copyright infringement.

Emmy winning writer/director Steven Bochco (”Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law”) joins a growing list of Hollywood heavy hitters to get on board the internet band wagon. He will write and produce a series of short web-exclusive videos. On our Slice of SciFi show this week we take a look at Michael Eisner’s new web project.

No SPOILERS Here:

The SCI FI Channel pulled a sneaky one this past Sunday by trimming down and airing the pilot episode of “The Dresden Files” as episode #7. The plot centered on a family torn by the loss of their daughter, with one member resorting to the black arts to reap vengence on those blamed for her death. Of course, Harry gets caught up in the middle of the whole thing. If this episode had been aired out of the gate as it should have been, as the actual pilot, then perhaps the show would have kept a larger audience in tow. It was nice seeing Harry finally act like Jim Butcher’s wizard.

If you thought “Battlestar Galactica” was already dark, then you better turn on the sunlamp because its about to get about three shades darker. In last night’s episode Helo dropped a bomb that fortells of even darker days ahead for the entire Colonial Fleet. With the trial of Gaius Baltar now in full swing, the decaying, crusty underbelly of some of the Fleet’s finest and highest is getting exposed… we see one rebel leader finally break under the strain, falling to near insanity and, the healing rift between father and son gets torn asunder revealing a cauldron of shared mistrust. Helo capsuled it best: “There is a BIG storm coming!”

Slice of SciFi #22: Interview with Richard Hatch

 

 Slice of SciFi #22: Interview with Richard Hatch [52:34m]: Play Now | Download (784)

Sorry Kids, due to some minor technical difficulties this podcast never quite made it online until today. Thanks to Nina and Sam for getting it fixed and out there.

On This Week’s Show: Richard Hatch, from Battlestar Galactica.

The News This Week:

• Serenity Premier In Edinburg Scotland a Hugh Success
• Strieber’s “The Grays” Get Sony Green
• “Sunshine” Confirms Its Cast and Begins Shooting
• Uncle Sam’s Review of “To Boldly Go”
• A Croatian Bond?
• Alien Autopsy - The Movie?

Other Topics:

• Listen to an interesting Serenity Promo
• and Listen to a really long-ass commercial
• Finally, the boys respond to your emails

Evo and Mike had to hustle to catch their plane for Atlanta’s Dragon*Con right after this podcast.

If you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know. (Our Voicemail Number: 206-339-TREK) See you in a week with fresh, new content!