Published on
February 25, 2009 in
News.
- Philip José Farmer, author of the Riverworld and The World of Tiers series, also known for writing as Kurt Vonnegut’s fictional author Kilgore Trout, passed away this morning in his sleep. He was 91.
- NASA is allowing the public to vote on the name for “Node 3″ of the International Space Station. As of right now, “Serenity” is dominating an open vote for Node 3′s new name. This ship from Joss Whedon’s short-lived show Firefly has 82% of the total vote, with second place going to Earthrise (with 7%).
- The Navy is giving away the first stealth ship ever built and comes with a submersible dry dock barge. The Sea Shadow was the inspiration for the stealth ship in James Bond: Tomorrow Never Dies and the Hughes Mining Barge was actually intended to salvage nuclear Russian subs from the ocean floor.
- Jagged mountains the size of the Alps have been found entombed in Antarctica’s ice, giving new clues about the vast ice sheet that will raise world sea levels if even a fraction of it melts. No word on sleeping Old Ones or Predator training grounds.
- Psi Phi Honorary members of the Wota workshop have created a functional mermaid tail for a double amputee so that she may swim about and appear as a mermaid. The suit was made mostly of wetsuit fabric and plastic moulds, and was covered in a digitally printed sock. Mermaid-like scales were painted by hand.
- The cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” is reuniting for an episode of “Family Guy,” that will air next month. In the episode titled “Not All Dogs Go to Heaven,” the “Next Gen” crew (Patrick Stewart, Levar Burton, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Wil Wheaton, Denise Crosby, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes) will provide guest voices as the Griffin family heads to the annual Quahog “Trek” convention.
- CBS was in repeats. The CW was in repeats. ABC aired the “Women Tell All” special episode of “The Bachelor.” And yet despite mostly weak competition, NBC’s “Chuck” and “Heroes” generated their lowest ratings ever. However since NBC has little else to offer, the shows are not in too great danger.
- Rising from the brink of death after Stephen Chow backed out, the Green Hornet movie starring Seth Rogen has a new director Michel Gondry who directed “Please Be Kind Rewind” and “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.”
- Julie Taymor’s stage musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” is slated to open on Broadway next February. Opening night is scheduled for Feb. 18, 2010, at the Hilton Theatre. The show is to be co-written by Taymor and Glen Berger and directed by Taymor, who is best known for heading up the stage musical “Disney’s The Lion King.” The music and lyrics for “Spider-Man” are by Bono and The Edge from U2.
- A screenshot has hit the internet that shows a company email announcing that original Scream scribe Kevin Williamson has signed on to script a new trilogy of Scream films for The Weinstein Co. This is still a rumor but industry commentators expect a reboot is more likely than a continuation.
- The Buck Rogers revival officially kicks off in May with the release of the first issue of Dynamite’s new Buck comic. The first issue of the series – Buck Rogers #0 – is actually a 25-cent preview of the series proper, allowing curious readers a cheap way of sampling what the future holds for the revived hero.
- Sci-Fi Oscar winners this weekend were The Dark Knight with Best Sound Editing, and Heath Ledger getting Best Supporting Actor. Wall-E won best Animated Feature and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button won best Art Direction, Best Make-Up, and Best Visual Effects.
- Paris Hilton won 3 Razzies this year. Worst actress for “The Hottie and the Nottie,” supporting actress for “Repo! The Genetic Opera” and screen couple alongside either of her “Hottie” co-stars, Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore. With three Razzies, Hilton tied the record set last year by Eddie Murphy, who won worst actor, supporting actor and supporting actress for his multiple roles in “Norbit.”
- Samuel L. Jackson has buried the hatchet with Marvel Entertainment, making a deal to play the role of Nick Fury in Iron Man 2, and potentially many other films. Jackson’s deal is a long-term commitment to play the leader of the espionage unit S.H.I.E.L.D. His deal contains an option to play the character in nine future Marvel superhero films.
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