battlestar galactica Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The revamped Battlestar Galactica series might have just wrapped up in March, but it's already getting a new big-screen re-telling. Sources told HitFix on Wednesday that Bryan Singer, the man behind the first few X-Men films and the love-it-or-hate-it Superman Returns, would produce and possibly direct Battlestar for the big screen. The news has since been confirmed by Universal, and Singer is definitely helming the space adventure.

So why am I commenting on speediness? THR says: "Insiders have said the feature is to be a complete reimagining and will stand separately." Reimagining a show that was super-popular and just ended this year is all sorts of ridiculous. Even if it's aiming to focus on the original show, that's still reimagining source material that was just reimagined to great success. That's more than enough "reimagination" for anyone.

Read the rest over at SciFi Squad

Our brothers and sisters over at TV Squad have busted through the boob tube and brought with them the following juicy bits of must-see eye candy:

• Despite previous rumors to the contrary, Max Weinberg will be making the trip to the west coast when Conan O'Brien takes over The Tonight Show (just look how thrilled he is!).
  
• Pop up lots of fracking popcorn because the Battlestar Galactica series finale is going to be a three-hour event.
• Nerd alert! The terminally hot Summer Glau from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will be appearing alongside the socially awkward cast of The Big Bang Theory in an upcoming episode.
• Complete with embedded videos, here's a look back at eight of the greatest dream sequences in TV history.
• ...and finally, Kristen Bell fans can rejoice. The former star of Veronica Mars will be making a guest appearance on the STARZ series Party Down.

There's finally one name to tack onto that Witchblade promotional poster. According to Variety, Michael Rymer is taking the director's chair. He'll also be co-producing, alongside Arclight, Platinum Studios, Havenwood Media, and Top Cow.

If you're a fan of Sci-Fi's Battlestar Galactica, you undoubtedly recognize the name, as he's directed 20 episodes and is filming the series finale. His last feature film was the widely panned The Queen of the Damned, but we won't hold it against him.

Rymer will be fresh off all those tough Battlestar chicks, so Witchblade seems like a good fit for him. Will he be the director to break the Top Cow trend and give poor Sara Pezzini some pants and a nice top? Even if you wield the power of the Witchblade, it seems very dangerous to be running around in your bare skin and bits of armor. The girls of Battlestar Galactica know this and dress sensibly. Here's hoping Rymer takes a page from their costume designer.

The big question still remains: Who will tackle the lead role? Filming is reportedly set to begin in September, so they need to get casting. I'm expecting a total unknown, but with comic books being such hot properties, who knows what actress could be inspired to wield supernatural powers?

I say this with just about every comic book movie that gets green-lit -- but I am always surprised at which characters kick into super high gear while others languish. Are we actually going to see a few Top Cow movies before DC and Warner Bros. get some other character franchises going?

Ronald D. Moore, the main creative force behind the TV show Battlestar Galactica, has signed with United Artists to write a major sci-fi trilogy. The studio is not releasing any details, but I bet that this is nonetheless exciting news for the battalions of Galactica fans out there. It's good news for everyone else, too, because it isn't often that we get an original science-fiction vision on the big screen: almost everything is a sequel, or a remake, or an adaptation. I'm psyched for something epic and new.

I'm sadly not familiar with Battlestar Galactica, which I realize is inexcusable for a self-professed sci-fi buff. It's next on my list of things to watch. But I am a moderate Trekkie, and it's worth noting that Moore co-wrote Star Trek: First Contact, which I consider to be the franchise's finest hour (sorry, Shatner fans). If this new project can be half as imaginative, exciting and tough as that film, it'll be something to write home about.

Moore is also working on a prequel to John Carpenter's The Thing, which several people who write for this blog (hi Scott!) will be very excited about. Did I say "battalions" of fans? I meant legions. Entire armies.

It's been awhile since news of a live-action Teen Titans movie surfaced, what with all the hoopla surrounding Justice League. But when ComicMix sat down with writer-producer Mark Verheiden, the guy had a ton to say about where Warner Bros. is currently at with that Teen Titans movie, as well as what his plans are for the characters and the story. Regarding the script, Verheiden says, "I turned in a pass to Warner Bros. right before the strike and we've talked about that and I'm going to get back into it. I'll address some of their thoughts and work on the next draft."

On where he plans to go with the story: "We're going to have some strong adversaries, or antagonists, but really, I'm trying to concentrate on the core group of these characters, who we meet at a point when they're at the cusp of adulthood ... It's no secret Robin is in this movie, so what if you were him, after living in the shadow of Bruce Wayne and Batman, and now you wanted to go off on your own and become your own man, your own superhero? That's got to be a huge thing to overcome. That makes it interesting for me ... I'm also looking to the work of Marv Wolfman and George Perez as the touchstone of inspiration for the film."

Wolfman and Perez, of course, were responsible for the 1980s Teen Titans revival. Check out the full interview with Verheiden (including all sorts of Battlestar Galactica stuff) over at ComicMix. What do you think about this Teen Titans flick? Could it be better or worse than the upcoming Justice League movie?

So I guess now vampire flicks are the new Western. No sooner did we get news on two new vamp flicks in development and now there is already another one to add to the pile. Shock Till You Drop is reporting that Mick Garris (creator of the Masters of Horror and Fear Itself series) will be at the helm for a remake of the obscure 1979 Australian vampire flick, Thirst. The story centers on two women who are decedents of the infamous Elizabeth Bathory and are caught up in a plot for a 'blood-harvesting' facility -- for the Buffy fans out there, just think back to the episode The Wish. Garris tells Shock, "Not many people know the film (Thirst). I love the take on it - the blood farm of acolytes, the sycophants who are willing to give blood to the regal, but setting it in something contemporary and American". Thirst was directed by Rob Hardy, who fans of the new Battle Star Galactica might recognize as director of a few episodes.

Thirst would be Garris' second attempt at directing a feature film; back in 2004 he had written and directed an adaptation of Stephen King's Riding the Bullet. Garris also told Shock that he still has designs on adapting another King title, Bag of Bones. Garris will also produce Tobe Hooper's adaptation of From a Buick 8 (another King story). Garris was keeping most of the details about Thirst to himself, telling Shock, "I'm not going to give anything away about it, but it's a really different take". Luckily, the original is not that well known, so most of us won't even know the difference. Well, those of us who don't have a thirst for blood, that is.

During Comic-Con, when I wasn't running from place to place or freezing my butt off in Hall H, I also managed to sit in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel next to the San Diego Convention Center and have a pretty lengthy conversation with Battlestar Galactica Co-Executive Producer Mark Verheiden. During our 45 minutes or so together, we talked about a lot of things not movie-related. However, we also managed to get around to discussing quite a bit of Battlestar Galactica related stuff - including a Battlestar movie -- as well as his other projects: an adaptation of the DC Comic Teen Titans for the big screen and his recent collaboration with actor/director Bruce Cambell.

Verheiden has been writing comic books, television shows and movies for almost twenty years. But when he first moved to Los Angeles from his native Portland, he didn't know anyone in the business or have any idea how he might "break in" and start writing for a living. His first paying screenplay , which he remembers fondly, was for a low-budget action film called Terror Squad starring Chuck Connors, who is best know for his role as The Rifleman on TV.

"A couple friends moved down with me and got jobs in town," said Verheiden. "One worked in sound and I begged him to let me come in and pitch the producer some movie ideas and he ended up making one. Then, he bought another and that was pretty much it. Later, I could point to those films when Hollywood people ask me if I've had anything produced and say "yes."

During Thursday's Comic-Con International in San Diego, I sat in on a pretty interesting panel comprised of some of the most talented and successful screenwriters, comic book writers and producers working in the business today. The panel was called Adapting Comics for the Screen and the list of people offering opinions and insight were the perfect group to be asking about this topic.

On the panel were Mark Verheiden, Kevin Feige, Mark Fergus, Don Payne and the legendary Stan "The Man" Lee who even at his age, was just as sharp, funny and charming as he could be and shows no signs of slowing down. As a writer myself, I was particularly interested in this panel of experts and how they have taken comics and translated them for the big screen.

First off each of the panel was introduced by moderator Jeff Goldsmith of Creative Screenwriting magazine and as he read the list of the assembled people's credits, films like Iron Man, Children of Men, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Battlestar Galactica and most of the major characters of the Marvel Universe, I grew even more interested to hear what these very accomplished men had to say.

I've put the question mark in the title to indicate this post is in more of the "wishful thinking" category than an expression of actual, confirmed fact. Still, its fun to speculate and wish for things to happen. Believe me, if wishing made it so (and I had my way) we would see a steady stream of Battlestar Galactica movies produced every couple years like Bond films. Although, its not like there haven't been rumors and reports about feature film versions of the series before. Still, nothing concrete or completely reliable has emerged and now, according to IESB, we might finally know one of the major reasons a Battlestar Galactica movie isn't going full speed ahead yet.

According to the site, TV series Exec. Producers Ron Moore and David Eick are excited about the prospect of a feature film version of their TV show and really want to make it happen. In fact, they've spoken about it on numerous occasions -- most recently at the big Battlestar event held last week in Los Angeles. So, if they want it to happen, what's standing in the way? Well, according to the article, one of the major hurdles, other than actual funding, is original Battlestar Galactica series creator Glen A. Larson who holds the feature film rights to the series.

Unfortunately for those of us who might wish for a feature film, Larson has made no secret that he's not a huge fan of the re-imagined series produced by Moore and Eick. Plus, Larson has always maintained that he would eventually produce a feature film based on his original series and its characters. So, if they want to bring a feature film version of their Battlestar series to the big screen, the first thing Moore and Eick are going to have to do is play nice with Larson and convince him its a good idea. Until then, we'll just have to be content with watching one of the best shows ever to appear on television. Which, if you think about it, really isn't all that bad.