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'Mortal Kombat' to "Finish Him" in the Courtroom

By Jennifer A. Brown (Subscribe to Jennifer A. Brown's posts), Posted Feb 18th 2010 7:03PM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi
The latest legal wrangling around film rights and intellectual property has to do with the Mortal Kombat franchise.

Threshold Entertainment has filed a new breach of contract lawsuit against Warner Bros., according to THR, Esq., the Hollywood Reporter law blog, Threshold is contending that Warners "has avoided communicating with Threshold and has in bad faith prevented Threshold from utilizing the interest they have" in the franchise.

THR, Esq. states that Warners bought the property as part of its acquisition of Midway Games, which is now bankrupt. Threshold contends that because they had developed the characters and mythology, it received a "significant" portion of the rights, including a third picture. One suit had already been resolved over the rights, before news got out about Oren Uziel being attached as a screenwriter without involving Threshold.

The folks at Threshold are irked enough to seek punitive damages, specifically "an amount which, considering Warner's enormous worldwide wealth and income, is sufficient to punish Warner, to set an example and to deter further such wrongful behavior."

While Warners isn't commenting, it seems like Threshold is ready for some legal Mortal Kombat. Read

2010 SFX Awards Announced

By Jennifer A. Brown (Subscribe to Jennifer A. Brown's posts), Posted Feb 18th 2010 5:17PM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi

SXF, the Brit Sci Fi Fantasy mag, has announced their awards. And why should you care? Because it's a very interesting list. The magazine announced the awards at their annual convention earlier this month. Curious as to what they think about science fiction on the other side of the pond? Not surprisingly, it's brit heavy, but it's still interesting. Here are the sci-fi highlights:

Best Film Director: JJ Abrams (Star Trek)
Best TV Episode: Torchwood "Children Of Earth" Episode Five
Best Actress: Eve Myles (Torchwood)
Best Actor: David Tennant (Doctor Who)
Best Novel: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
Best Comic: Batman: Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader? Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert
Best Game: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady)
Best Collectible: The Journal of Impossible Things (Doctor Who)

Hope for the Future: Steven Moffat (succeeding Russell T. Davies on Dr. Who)
Lifetime Award: Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds, UFO, Space 1999, Terrahawks and much more)
Cult Hero: Ianto Jones (Actor Gareth David Lloyd on Torchwood)
Sci-Fi Phenomenon: True Blood (they've only seen season 1)

Unfortunately, some of the most interesting categories are not available online, such as the Best Death Scene, Biggest Disappointment, and Best Dialogue. But my favorite award up there is easily Gerry Anderson. Not only did his work influence the SFX team as children, it made me very nostalgic.

Lego Han Solo in Carbonite Premieres at International Toy Fair

By Jennifer A. Brown (Subscribe to Jennifer A. Brown's posts), Posted Feb 18th 2010 2:04PM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi


PopSci went to the 107th American International Toy Fair in New York, and they found some creepy toys.

A Barbie with a video in her chest masked as a... necklace? It's downright creepy. Other toys in their picture gallery include a Blazor raptor robot, a gyro wheel, a rapid fire marshmallow blaster, a UFO that dangles from a nearly invisible kevlar string, a puppy tweet device that interprets fido's activities, and much, much more.

But the best ever is a Lego edition of Han Solo frozen in Carbonite from the The Empire Strikes Back, just in time for the 30th anniversary of the second film in the Star Wars saga. OK, it's episode 5, but it was the second film we could see.

Check out more images from the 2010 Toy Fair over at Pop-Sci's Toy Fair gallery. So who's picking one of these up for their desk? Read

Paltrow Joins Soderbergh's Contagion; Warner Bros. Picks it Up

By Jennifer A. Brown (Subscribe to Jennifer A. Brown's posts), Posted Feb 18th 2010 10:32AM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi
Steven Soderbergh already secured Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Marion Cotillard for his sci-fi outing, but he's adding more star power by signing up Gwyneth Paltrow too, according to several online sources.

Contagion is a thriller about a worst case scenario viral outbreak and the attempts to contain it. The film is not yet in full production, but is expected to be later this year, with an anticipated release sometime in 2011. Deadline Hollywood reports that Warner Bros. just beat out several other studios for the rights to distribute.

Soderbergh (The Girlfriend Experience, Oceans 11) is directing and co-producing along with Gregory Jacobs, who has worked with Soderbergh on several films. Also co-producing are Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher, who have worked on several projects together, including Erin Brockovich, Extraordinary Measures). The screenplay was written by Scott Z. Burns (The Informant!, The Bourne Ultimatum). Participant Media is involved with funding the anticipated $60 million budget.

Between the acting creds and the X factor, it's probably one of the prettiest casts in an apocalyptic film in a long time. And Participant has a reputation for backing provocatively smart scripts, so this is looking like a sci-fi film to follow.

'Avatar' Goes 4D in Korea, Includes Moving Seats and Odors

By Jennifer A. Brown (Subscribe to Jennifer A. Brown's posts), Posted Feb 16th 2010 3:27PM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi

A big selling point for Avatar is the 3D images, but in Seoul, it's showing in 4D.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, multiplex chain CJ-CGV has shown ten films in 4D in the last year in one theater. Despite the higher ticket cost ($15.80 versus the average ticket price of $6.90), the 4D shows regularly sells out.

The 4D effect includes moving seats similar to D-Box, as well as odors such as explosives, water sprinkles, laser light, and wind. Ten films have been shown in 4D so far in the last year, starting with Journey to the Center of the Earth. Avatar's "ride" includes 30 effects. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is also scheduled to be shown in 4D.

4D seating is currently available in the US from D-Box seats in regular theaters that shake rattle and roll, to Technifex 4D theater seats which can incorporate air movement, but they seem to be limited to theaters in museums and amusement parks. More complex 4D technology that incorporates not only chair and air movement, but fragrance and water has been used in India since 2006, with the first in Mumbai, and the most recent opening in Chennai in December.

Would you be interested in watching movies in 4D, or are you still not convinced on 3D?

'Avatar' Caught in UK Funding Probe

By Jennifer A. Brown (Subscribe to Jennifer A. Brown's posts), Posted Feb 16th 2010 9:32AM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi
Avatar may be the top grossing film, but it's been linked with several controversies, the latest having to do with funding.

Previously, the plot was considered very similar to Poul Anderson's Call Me Joe and the concept art eerily resembles that of music album artist Roger Dean's work. But now, the finances are in question as allegations that Ingenious Media is being investigated for involvement in an alleged tax avoidance scheme.

According to the reports, a fund used to benefit the film industry gave "undue tax benefits." Patrick McKenna of Ingenious Media raised approximately $7.8 billion for films over the past decade, including James Cameron's Avatar. Inland Revenue, the U.K. tax agency, suggests that the fund intentionally avoids taxes and therefore is illegal. McKenna contests the allegations, and reportedly has told investors that the UK tax revenue agency Inland Revenue's interpretation of the issue is wrong in law. Read

'Stingray Sam' Soundtrack Now Available

By Jennifer A. Brown (Subscribe to Jennifer A. Brown's posts), Posted Feb 15th 2010 12:25PM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi
The western space musical Stingray Sam has been available for purchase online for some time, but now the soundtrack is available, so you can sing about "Fredward" to your heart's delight.

The episodic adventures of Stingray Sam and his old pal the Quasar Kid take them across the galaxy as they search for a kidnapped girl. In glorious black and white, Stingray Sam has the sensibilities of early serials with deceptively simple musical numbers.

Slyly smart and with a big heart, the Stingray Sam soundtrack is infectious to the point some audiences end up singing along during screenings. At Fantastic Fest it was not uncommon to hear people randomly singing "Stingray Sam is not a hero, but he does do the things that folks don't do that need to be done," and not just star Cory McAbee.

McAbee, who directed and co-produced with Bobby Lurrie, is still on the festival circuit with the film. The soundtrack is available on the Stingray Sam website as well as the film itself.
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