Drive-by movie news: Benders, Fanboys, Terminators and Potters (oh my)

airbenderFirst Airbender pics are here. If you squint you can see Aang’s tattoo, but Zuko’s scar (and ponytail) seem MIA. Sigh.

Seriously, what if it sucks? Fanboys to head to Sydney for a sequel? Nice idea, but I’m not holding my breath.

You like Harry Potter, little fan? Have some Half-Blood Prince TV spots. Or perhaps a clip?

He’s John Connor. JOHN CONNOR! Terminator Salvation has already taken in $3 million, despite a a steady stream of bad reviews.

Obligatory Twilight news. Kristen Stewart looks thrilled to be in the New Moon poster. Meanwhile, poor Robert Pattinson confirms they’ll be taking the movies all the way through Breaking Dawn. I for one can’t wait to see how they handle the… Well, you know.

Vulcan to get Trek pre-release screening, Red Dwarf, Terminator Salvation and more…

As the geek world turns:

Drive-by movie news: Fanboys, Christian Bale, Avatar, sequel news good and bad

fanboys posterThe Fanboys cometh. Director Kyle Newman interviewed at StarWars.com and Sci Fi Wire, while Billy Dee Williams talks to SciFi Scanner.

Meanwhile, TFN has the final theater count and a Chicago premiere report. And for those of us who are going to have to wait, Newman tells us what to expect on the DVD.

  • Bale’s short fuse. A recording of Christian Bale cussing out a crew member on the set of Terminator Salvation proved embarrassing for all involved, except maybe the guy who made it into a kicking techno remix. (And these guys.) Harry Knowles defended the actor, which might mean more if it was coming from someone other than Harry “Is Hollywood watching? Are they impressed?” Knowles.
  • Slumdog Millionaire star joins Airbender. M. Night Shyamalan’s Avatar adaption has a new ZukoDev Patel. Fan reaction has been mixed – folks are happy to see more diversity, but many are bothered about the implications of the film’s only Asian actor playing the villain.
  • Someone too committed to Sparkle Motion. There have been rumors floating around of a Donnie Darko sequel. Now, io9 has word of the direct-to-DVD S. Darko. Honestly, I have a hard time believing this isn’t a prank…
  • Bloop. No WALL-E sequel in sight. Phew.

Terminator: Salvation web poster, Firefly ‘Verse map

Using the web to its fullest potential, an online poster for the upcoming Terminator: Salvation has appeared on aintitcool.com.

Appearing at this past weekend’s Firefly con in Burbank, QMX has released a double-sided map of the ‘Verse for Firefly/Serenity fans: Where in the ‘Verse is (Carmen) Miranda?

And some British archaeologists search for the facts while watching the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull DVD.

The Ratings Game – Clone Wars Rocks, Heroes Tanks

Entertainment industry strikes have an interesting way of shaking up the following season.  This one is no exception.

  • Heroes is steadily dropping with each episode:  down 18% from the already-sluggish season premiere.  However, according to EOnline, it’s doing really well on Hulu.  (Have you people learned nothing from Stargate?  TV execs and advertisers don’t understand this whole alternative viewing thing, yet.  Watch it live if you want to keep it!)
  • Sarah Connor is, according to SyFyPortal, on the verge of cancellation, but also thriving in the alternative market.
  • Chuck is holding on, but has also dropped 11%. 

So let’s focus on the happy, shall we?

  • Clone Wars set a new record for Cartoon Network with 4 million viewers.
  • Fringe won the coveted 18-49 demographic
  • And even Sanctuary drummed up strong numbers for SciFi with 2.7 million viewers.  (Although I suspect this will be another that soon bleeds off to online and DVR viewing.)

Remember, fellow geeks, only you can save TV shows:  watch them live!

SDCC ’08: Saturday and Sunday at the con

While I don’t doubt there were still plenty of Star Wars fans still roaming around Saturday and Sunday, with most of the panels being on Friday there wasn’t much new floating around. Well, except for the Mandalorian wedding. (Oye vey.) And Cinematical posted a brief review of Fanboys. And the official site has more pictures, of course, while Rebelscum continues exhaustively documenting the booths and products of every licensee.