Slice of SciFi #100: Interview with N. John Smith on “Sanctuary”

News Bytes:

• This episode of Slice of SciFi marks our 100th. What started out to be a very short fifteen minute podcast designed to showcase the work being done by fans of the Save Enterprise movement over two years ago has blossomed into a one hour weekly internet podcast, FM radio show and XM Satellite Radio program that gives out news, information and chat about the world of scifi, fantasy and horror, as well as real science as it relates to scifi
• Moviegoers in Japan will get to see Spiderman 3 a few days before the rest of the world. The red carpet will be rolled out at the Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills in Tokyo on April 16th. The film gets released throughout the rest of Japan on May 1st, then everywhere else in the world three days later on May 4th.
• Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has been telling various press outlets that his next agenda, after he closes the studio doors on “The Transformers,” is a reimagined big screen adaptation of “G.I. Joe,” and his number one candidate for the role of Duke is “The Departed’s” Mark Wahlberg.

Movie Talk:

• “Severance” is a Christopher Smith horror film about a corporate retreat trip into the mountains of Budapest. Those coming for a little R & R are a group of global weapons suppliers and a coach just looking to get away for awhile. Their revitalizing weekend soon turns into one of terror as their lives are put on the chop-block, literally, when a deadly, bloody enemy hunts them down.
• “Rogue” is sort of a continuation to director Greg McLean’s popular film “Wolf Creek.” McLean tells the story of a tour guide, an American writer and a group of tourists who are all being setup to be served as the next three-course meal for all the hungry crocs that have surrounded them as they find themselves stranded on a quickly disappearing piece of land. As the waters rise, so does the death count.
• David L. Cunningham is set to direct “The Dark is Rising”, based on the highly acclaimed Susan Cooper novel “The Dark Is Rising Sequence.” It tells the story of a young man by the name of Will Stanton, who learns that he is the last of a group of warriors who have one destiny–Fighting the Forces of Darkness in the world. The movie is from 20th Century Fox and Walden Media, and is due out on September 28, 2007.

TV Talk:

• the BBC confirmed that series three of the new “Doctor Who” will hit television screens in the UK on Saturday, March 31st. The story will introduce fans to the Doctor’s new companion Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman, and David Tennant will return as The Doctor.
• The BBC recently announced that the last story of the classic series, “Survival” will come to DVD in the UK on April 7. The story features the seventh Doctor as played by Sylvester McCoy. There are also a number of other classic Who releases finally coming to DVD.

Interview: John Smith joins us to talk about his involvement with the new internet-distributed series, Sanctuary. His experience with the “Stargate” franchise has provided the guidance necessary for unique challenges presented during the production of this serialized story.

John tells us about the flexibility that comes without being tied to studio constraints, and the extensive stunt work and CG work that has gone into this “first season”, and more. Stay tuned for the first episode to be released in April!

Future Talk: M. Night Shyamalan will be going for his first R-rated film in his career. 20th Century Fox has given the film director/writer the opportunity to team up with old friend Barry Mendel, the producer he worked with on the only two highly successful films in Night’s resume’, “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable.”

Night will be given $57 million from the studio to make a paranoid suspense thriller called “Happening.” The main plot of the film tells the story of a family on the run from a natural catastrophe that becomes a large-scale threat to the existence of all humanity.

Listener comments: If you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know. We’ve got plenty of voicemail from fans to listen and respond to, but you’ll hear that in a fresh, separate show.