Oh. My bad. Not General Solo. It would appear Harrison Ford’s newest role is that of General Jim Mattis in the upcoming movie The Battle for Fallujah.
Guess he’s getting tired of waiting for Indiana Jones IV to materialize.
Serenity preview
An unfinished version of Joss Whedon’s Serenity was screened for a test audience earlier this week. Darkworlds has a positive but sadly spoiler-free take; One Whedonesque thread has a few juicy bits; another keeps to technical details. Even Ain’t it Cool News isn’t dishing anything major. People really, really love this film and are actually unwilling to spoil major plot points. Shocking!
Sci-Fi Channel making up for bad Earthsea karma
A familiar face is joining Stargate SG-1. Also mentioned: the new Battlestar Galactica will be joining SG-1 and Atlantis on Friday nights.
Tidbits from those who brought you Star Wars
The production of Guys and Dolls featuring Ewan McGregor has found a home. I see Wantons booking their flights and hotel rooms, now…
Ewan’s trip around the world in Long Way Round has inspired others in the UK to take “gap years.”
Liam Neeson studied hard for his role in Kinsey.
Natalie Portman, fellow Golden Globe nominee with Liam, makes USA Today’s list of the Top 100 People of 2004.
Samuel L. Jackson won a Video Game Award for Best Performance by a Living Male. (I’m sure his wife is proud.)
And George Lucas wins accolades, again, for THX-1138 and the Star Wars Trilogy, as two of the best DVD’s of 2004.
Very, very honest?
Ursula K. LeGuin isn’t so fond of the director of Sci-Fi’s Earthsea miniseries claiming they’ve been faithful to the intentions of her novels.
The mini is being roundly bashed by fans as well, with a fervor I haven’t seen since TNT butchered adapted Mists of Avalon.
More Liam!…Oh. And Batman, too.
There’s a certain shakiness in the average genre fan’s reactions to the upcoming Batman Begins. You can feel that they want to love it. But there are so many past indiscretions to get through. (Batman and Robin, anyone?)
Well, there’s a whole other reason to watch it, besides the delightful Christian Bale. Star Wars’ own Liam Neeson reprises his role as a Qui-Gon-like mentor to the exploring Bruce Wayne.
Check out this trailer focused almost exclusively on Liam Neeson’s character.
Yummies
Dark chocolate M&Ms? It’s all my dreams come true! There’s something about Return of the Sith tie-ins, too.
Collectors’ Show at Celebration III
Starwars.com has announced the collecting panels for Celebration III. Put together by Gus Lopez, the panels will cover posters, food, store displays and more.
Liam claims his first award of the season
Congratulations to Liam Neeson for getting his first film award of the pre-Oscars season.
The LA Film Critics Association named Liam Neeson Best Actor for his work in Kinsey.
The nominations to awards ratio is a good indicator of who will get the coveted Oscar nominations. Here’s hoping he continues to have good luck!
UPDATE: Liam Neeson has just been nominated for the Golden Globe’s Best Actor, Drama award!
Harry Potter: No News is Good News
JK Rowling has updated her website with a headline about nothing. (Channeling Jerry Seinfeld, maybe?)
However, the nothing is that she hasn’t been updating the website due to her heavy writing schedule. (For all that, though, there are several changes in there.)
Here’s hoping she finishes the next book before her baby arrives!