DC Revives Flash

Barry Allen, aka the Flash, is speeding back to life in a new DC comic 23 years after being killed off, the Associated Press reported.

Allen was the second man--though not the last--to don the trademark red costume decorated with a lightning bolt as DC Comics' "Fastest Man Alive."

His death in 1985 became legendary among comic-book fans. He was vaporized preserving the universe.

Now he joins the tradition of superheroes, like Captain America and Superman, who have died only to be resurrected later on. Allen was gone so long that his rebirth comes as a surprise.

Grant Morrison, who along with Geoff Johns is responsible for resurrecting the Flash in the last panel of DC Universe #0, told the AP that comic-book characters don't have to stay dead.

"We can do anything with them, and we can make them come back and make them defy death," Morrison told the wire service.Perlman: Hellboy II Inevitable

Ron Perlman, who returns to play the red-skinned demon hero in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, told SCI FI Wire that despite the four-year span between films, he had faith a sequel would eventually get made.

"I was a little worried," Perlman said in an interview at New York Comic Con earlier this month. "But of all the people involved in Hellboy, I think I was the only one that knew there would be a second film. Everyone I spoke to said it was a long shot, and it didn't look good. But I said, 'It's going to happen. [Director Guillermo del Toro's] over there doing Pan's Labyrinth, and when he's done, the stars will line up, and we are going to do Hellboy II."

In the time between the first film and the sequel, Perlman said, a lot has changed with his character. "I was actually slightly intimidated at the second one when I read it, because Hellboy is really out of it emotionally in this movie," Perlman said. "He is very vulnerable and in intense pain, because his relationship with Liz [Sherman] ... They are in that part of the relationship where there is no longer the heat, and the honeymoon is over."

Perlman offered spoilers about what happens with the pyrokinetic Liz (Selma Blair) and Hellboy and the challenge that presented him as an actor. "Now they are living together, and it is not going well," he said. "She is finding out things about him that are annoying, and she wants out. He is faced with the eventuality of maybe losing the thing that truly gives him the reason to want to walk the planet. Without Liz Sherman, he stops existing. He's fighting for his life and his relationship. He's drinking, and he's acting out. The lack of discipline is coming out, so it's not the same swagger we saw in the first film. He's really hurting, and I was hoping I wouldn't disappoint the amazing potential that has been laid out for us by Guillermo's amazing mind." Hellboy II: The Golden Army opens July 11. --Tara BennettHellboy's Goss Not All Bad

Luke Goss, who plays the villainous Prince Nuada in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, told SCI FI Wire that he enjoyed playing another layered villain for director Guillermo del Toro.

"I've known Guillermo since Blade II, when I played Nomak, who had father/son issues, as my character does in this one," the British-born Goss said in an interview at New York Comic Con last week. "Those kinds of premises and backgrounds are rooted so deeply in human feelings: of life and death and sorrow and pain and love and betrayal."

Goss plays the instigator of a war between the real world and the fantasy world, which draws in Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his fellow agents from the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. "My thinking when playing a bad guy--and the reason I think [del Toro] wants me to do them--is because I really believe in never embracing your badness," Goss said. "I say, 'Embrace your vulnerabilities.' I play a prince in this [film], so I am a prince. When you have all that on your side, and you look like Nuala looks, you really have to embrace some of your pains and layer that into character. Hopefully, you end up with a villain who [is] a villain by the situation or his actions rather than one walking around twirling his mustache."

To achieve Nuada's veined and white-faced look, Goss said he had to endure the rigors of the makeup chair. "It was frustrating, because the makeup was paper-thin, so it had to be very slowly applied to achieve a relatively small effect of scarring," Goss said. "It took five hours. But you have to take that claustrophobia or heat and say, 'This is how he feels.' It's not because of makeup, but this is how it feels to be a prince. That's the end of it." Hellboy II: The Golden Army opens in theaters July 11. --Tara BennettMcKellen Reprising Gandalf In Hobbit

British actor Ian McKellen told Empire magazine that he will reprise the role of the wizard Gandalf in Guillermo del Toro's upcoming movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the Reuters news service reported.

The 68-year-old star played the part in the hugely successful Lord of the Rings trilogy directed by Peter Jackson. Mexican filmmaker del Toro has been named to direct two films based on The Hobbit, which Jackson will produce and co-write.

"Yes, it's true," McKellen told Empire. "I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that Peter Jackson offered me the part, and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role. Obviously, it's not a part that you turn down; I loved playing Gandalf."

Del Toro, whose credits include Pan's Labyrinth, will move to New Zealand for the next four years to work on both Hobbit films with executive producer Jackson, according to New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.

The studios have said that filming will begin in 2009, with tentative release dates set in 2010 for the first film and 2011 for the sequel.Tahir Breaks Star Trek Barrier

Faran Tahir, who is soon to be seen as an Afghan insurgent leader in Iron Man, told SCI FI Wire that he went straight from that role to a part as a heroic Federation starship captain in J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek movie. Tahir, who was born in Los Angeles to Pakistani parents, said he was honored to play the first Star Trek captain of Middle Eastern ethnicity.

Tahir described himself as being like a little kid while shooting his scenes as Capt. Robau on a starship bridge set. "The first thing is that you all of a sudden go back to being 9 years old when you realize that you're going to be in Star Trek as a captain," Tahir said in an interview while promoting Iron Man.

"You walk onto the bridge and you see that bridge, and your first moment is not 'What is my line?'" Tahir said. "Your first moment in yourself is 'Wow! I'm on the bridge of a Federation ship, and I'm the captain.' That's exactly what went on in my head. You have to get over that, and then you go, 'OK, now let's actually make him work.'"

Tahir added that director Abrams' decision to make the character Middle Eastern was very much in keeping with Star Trek tradition. "The thing that I love about that idea is that, to me, it gives a lot of hope that in the future all these racial divides and all these cultural divides will be non-issues," he said. "And that's the spirit of Star Trek, right? It's about moving forward with all of this. To me, as an actor, it was very freeing to be able to do that, where my character was not being seen through the prism of my cultural or ethnic ties."

Tahir added: "They were being seen as how competent or incompetent, through what kind of a captain I was going to be in that situation. What matters is the merits of the character, rather than what his background is." Iron Man opened May 2. Star Trek beams into theaters on May 8, 2009. --Ian SpellingDowney Scrutinized Iron Swag

Robert Downey Jr., who stars in the Iron Man, told SCI FI Wire that he's pleased to be part of a film children can see, the film's many merchandising tie-ins notwithstanding.

"The funny thing is, when I was researching, I asked for every single piece of information they had on Iron Man," Downey told reporters during a press day in New York last week. "They were like, 'No, no. We'll send you over a package.' I was like, 'May I have every single piece you have on Iron Man?' So when the merchandise started coming out, I said, 'May I have one every single thing that is part of the merchandising?' They said, 'Robert, that would be like a truck.' I was like, 'May I have ... ?' And they said, 'Oh, no problem.'"

Downey subsequently received "all the cool stuff," including a Nerf Repulsor Machine Gun, Iron Man sippy cups and Slurpee containers and the like. But what really caught his attention, he said, was an Iron Man flipbook.

"[It] probably cost [0.5] cents to make," Downey said. "It's a little flipbook, and at the end of [the] flipbook it says, 'Iron Man defeated the evil Obadiah Stane. He would never hurt anybody again.' And I look on the front, and it says 'For ages 4+,' you know? It's pretty wild and cool to think that I could be participating in this tradition of being kind of twice removed but pretty directly involved in something that can affect that wide an audience." Iron Man opened May 2. --Ian SpellingIron Man Premieres In L.A.

Director Jon Favreau and his cast talk on video about Iron Man at the film's red-carpet premiere April 30 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The movie opens May 2.Is Jackson's Fury In Iron Man?

Iron Man director Jon Favreau would neither confirm nor deny the persistent rumors that the superhero film will include a cameo appearance by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, agent of the top-secret S.H.I.E.L.D., a wink at a possible Avengers movie to come.

Recent critics' screenings of Iron Man did not include a Nick Fury sequence, though other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents do appear in the movie. But there's a growing buzz that the scene will appear after the end credits of the prints that will screen in movie theaters once the film opens.

Favreau won't say. "It's hard to keep secrets on these movies," Favreau said in an interview in New York last week. "People are trying to put together the pieces, if Sam is in there, if Hilary Swank is in there. ... I don't want to say anything. I'll leave it at that."

Jackson supposedly shot scenes as the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent both for Iron Man and for The Incredible Hulk, another Marvel Comics-based feature, with the idea being to set the stage for a crossover Avengers movie. (Oscar winner Swank is rumored to play another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.) And it's been confirmed that Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. filmed a cameo as Tony Stark that may--or may not--turn up in Hulk. (Attendees at the recent New York Comic Con previewed the footage.)

All the characters are from the Marvel Comics universe on which the movies are based. Moviegoers will find out for themselves when Iron Man opens on May 2 and The Incredible Hulk opens on June 13. --Ian SpellingIron's Bridges Caught Off Guard

Jeff Bridges, who co-stars in the comic-book movie Iron Man, told SCI FI Wire he was caught off guard by just how much of the movie was improvised either on the day of shooting or on set.

In the film, Bridges plays Obadiah Stane, a top executive at Stark Industries and a mentor to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Stane doesn't react well to a redeemed Stark's plan to stop manufacturing weapons of war, and the two men eventually battle it out, mano a mano, while sporting state-of-the-art, weapons-laden suits of armor.

"I always thought that [with] these big multimillion-dollar movies, that the special effects are so expensive that they would want to have all the dialogue and be very prepared that way, so that everything would go quicker," Bridges said, snapping his fingers for effect during an interview last week in New York. "But I found out that that's not the case with these movies. Often, the dialogue is kind of left as a last-minute thing, you know? That was tough, because you base your character on what is said about you and what you say, and if that's not solid, then who are you, what are you?"

Bridges devised a backstory for Stane and shared his thoughts with Iron Man director Jon Favreau. The idea, the actor explained, was to be on the same page with Favreau and Downey, both of whom were more comfortable with the process of 11th-hour brainstorming and on-set improvisation. As a result, Bridges occasionally found himself having to rethink his take on things.

"Often we would show up for work not knowing what we were going to say," Bridges said. "We'd meet in Jon's trailer for a couple of hours and throw ideas around and improvise and put it on one of these little tape recorders. And that's what we said [in front of the camera]."

In the end, Bridges added, it all worked out. "Jon is to blame, I think, for the success of the movie," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, I think it came out wonderfully. I was concerned. It took me a while to kind of get with the program and not spend all that energy bitching about the way it was, because that's not how I like to work. But that's kind of the assignment often: You're dealt a hand of the different people you're working with, and everything is very different. They were very lucky to have Jon and Robert, too, who's also a great improviser." Iron Man opened May 2. --Ian SpellingIron's Downey Has Sequel Ideas

Robert Downey Jr., who stars in the movie Iron Man, told SCI FI Wire that he's already looking ahead to a possible sequel and added that he'd like to explore the burden his superhero responsibilities impose.

"If you ask me, the next one is about what do you do with the rest of your life now that you're completely changed?" Downey told reporters while responding to a question from SCI FI Wire during an interview in New York last weekend. "And you are in touch, and you have created this thing that has the power to take life. Essentially, you have been made into a god. A human being, metaphorically, who's been made into a god is not going to turn out so well. And their conscience is going to come to bear."

In Iron Man, Downey plays billionaire playboy and weapons manufacturer Tony Stark, who undergoes a dramatic change of heart after being captured by Afghan insurgents, and he emerges as the heroic Iron Man. The film is based on the Marvel Comics series.

One possible sequel storyline thread, Downey said, could be based on the "Demon in a Bottle" comic series. In it, an overwhelmed Stark becomes an alcoholic.

"I think the drinking will be a way to confront his age, his doubts, to confront the fact that Pepper [Gwyneth Paltrow] maybe gets a boyfriend," Downey said. "He's like, 'I'm so happy for you.'" Downey then pretended to swig a drink.

"Then he shows up in the Iron Man suit going, 'What's he got that I don't?'" Downey said. "I tend to think like [screenwriter] Shane Black in these situations. And no one thinks like Shane Black, stuff that really speaks to the truth of what happens between people."

Downey then went off on a tangent, addressing Black's uncredited contributions to Iron Man and further detailing what he'd like to see in a sequel. Black wrote the screenplay for the Downey film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

"The weapons and stuff would have to be cooler, too," Downey said. "We would go to Shane Black, [director] Jon [Favreau] and I every once in a while, [and] it would be like going to Yoda. We'd bring him some salmon, and he'd want blueberries. And he'd never take a penny, and then he'd say something, and everything for six miles would evaporate. That idea that your brain has created something so destructive, it's like the Manhattan Project myth; we have become the destroyer of worlds. But he's not the destroyer of worlds."

Downey paused and said, "Anyway, I answered it. People ask me, 'What makes you think you could get it up for another one?' Are you kidding me? We're just getting started here." Iron Man opened May 2. --Ian SpellingIron's Paltrow: Don't Be Surprised

Gwyneth Paltrow, who co-stars in the superhero movie Iron Man, told SCI FI Wire it surprised her to hear that people are surprised she's in the film.

The Oscar-winning actress appears in the pivotal supporting role of Pepper Potts, faithful assistant to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). She stood by Stark during his days as a billionaire playboy industrialist, is there for him when he returns home a changed man after being kidnapped and nearly dying in Afghanistan and helps him and keeps his secret once he assumes the guise of the superhero Iron Man.

"I don't know why people are so surprised," Paltrow told reporters during an interview last weekend in New York. Informed that most people simply aren't used to seeing her in movies like Iron Man, she replied, "Well, but I just hadn't. That doesn't mean I wouldn't."

Paltrow signed on for Iron Man, she said, for a variety of reasons, chief among them the opportunity to work with co-stars Downey and Jeff Bridges, as well as director Jon Favreau. Also, the timing was right and the role was small enough that she wouldn't be separated from her family for too long.

"The reason I wanted to do it was because the group of people was so brilliant," Paltrow said. "It's like, how do you not do that movie? I hadn't worked in, really, since ... I was pregnant with Apple, when I did Proof, and that was a long time ago, and it came out a ways after we had shot it. So it seemed like I had worked sooner than I had. And in that time I did a few little things, but not a big part or anything. I kind of wanted to go back to work. I started to feel the thing of 'I have something to say. I'm here because I have something to say and I have a way to say it.'"

A phone call from Favreau futher convinced Paltrow. "He explained what the movie was, what it was going to be kind of at face value and what the sort of other metaphors in the movie were," she said. "He explained my character, and he was like, 'She's going to be great. You're going to have fun. It's going to be good scenes.'"

Paltrow said yes, and, she said, she's thrilled with her decision. "I'm so happy that I said that, because I just had such a good time," she said. "Those guys are brilliant. I grew up always wanting to work with Robert, and Jeff Bridges is, like, The Big Lebowski. I mean, he's a god. He's an acting god." Iron Man opened May 2. --Ian SpellingIron's Howard Talks War Machine

Terrence Howard, who plays James "Rhodey" Rhodes in the superhero movie Iron Man, told SCI FI Wire that he particularly enjoyed an Iron Man in-joke that hints at the character's comic-book tranformation into the character War Machine.

"Robin might get to ride in the Batmobile one day," Howard told reporters last weekend during an Iron Man press day in New York. "No, I'm pretty sure we're gonna go there. The response to even that one little statement, the roar in the audience ... I didn't know that War Machine was so beloved or anticipated until sitting in an audience and hearing that."

Howard acknowledged that part of the reason he signed on for Iron Man was the potential to play War Machine in a sequel. In the comic books, Rhodey steps into Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) Iron Man suit while Stark battles alcoholism. Eventually, after having an adverse reaction to the suit, Rhodey becomes Iron Man's ally, War Machine.

The actor admitted that he's especially interested in a sequel, as much of his role in Iron Man ended up on the cutting-room floor.

"Oh, of course," Howard said. "There was a lot more of me before. In the film that we shot, there was a whole lot of me, and then I got a call from [director] Jon [Favreau], I guess, mid-February, late January. He was like, 'How you doing?' I was like, 'Cool.' He said, 'Yeah, so, we're working on the film.' I was like, 'Yeah, how's it coming out?' He said, 'It's great. It's great. It's great. But we had to make some cuts. Everybody took a hit, but Rhodey took a big hit. Rhodey took a real big hit.' I was like, 'How big of a hit? If I was 6 feet tall at the beginning, how tall am I now?' He said, 'You're about an action figure size. You'll fit right on the shelf.'"

Favreau then explained to Howard that the key point of Iron Man was to establish Stark and how he came to assume the mantle of Iron Man. As a result, "half of the movie is literally that," establishing Stark's relationships with Rhodey and his assistant Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) and establishing Obadiah Stane/War Monger (Jeff Bridges) as the villain of the piece.

"He said, 'What we needed you to do is be a seed, plant a seed ...,'" Howard recalled. "But they said the seed was planted, and now we'll see how it germinates during these next couple of weeks and months, and then, if it can produce some really great shoots, we'll shoot a great movie next year." Iron Man opened May 2. --Ian SpellingIron Villain Not Black, White

Faran Tahir, who co-stars in the superhero movie Iron Man, told SCI FI Wire that his character, Raza, is a villain, but not totally evil.

In the film, Raza is the ambitious arms dealer who kidnaps billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and forces him to build a powerful new missile that Stark Industries is producing for the military. Stark actually crafts the first version of an Iron Man suit of armor and uses it to escape the cave in which he's being held in captivity.

"What I love about the movie is that it doesn't try to paint the characters as black and white," Tahir said in an interview. "The movie plays with the shades of gray, and that's what is interesting to me. Tony Stark is not just a good guy. He has his own problems, and you get to see this man dealing with all of that."

Tahir, whose credits include Alias and the upcoming Star Trek movie, noted that Iron Man director Jon Favreau, by the same token, was open to letting him humanize Raza throughout his performance.

"I tried to find ways to show that although he may be the bad guy, there might be a moment or just a hint of vulnerability at times, where he hasn't made the right calculations or there's a certain amount of doubt," Tahir said. "Jon was very receptive to that kind of layering, and it's in there." Iron Man opened May 2. --Ian SpellingIron's Favreau Looks To Sequel

Jon Favreau, director of the superhero movie Iron Man, told SCI FI Wire that he's ready to call the shots on subsequent installments if the first Tony Stark adventure proves successful.

Iron Man, based on the Marvel comic of the same name, is an origin story that follows wealthy but selfish industrialist Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) as he evolves into the superhero Iron Man after learning firsthand the true destructive nature of the weapons of war his company manufactures.

"I would love to keep directing these," Favreau said in an interview in New York over the weekend. "Really, the sky is the limit. I think you've got to outdo yourself. I gotta think you've got to go bigger, you've got to go better. You don't have the simple sense of discovery of the first one in the sequels, but I'm told the second chapter of these franchises is always the most fun, because you can just play in the sandbox and bring more toys in."

Favreau said that he's already given thought to what direction he might take in an Iron Man sequel and that he'd like to follow the character's development in the comic books.

Various stories, including the alcoholism-themed "Demon in a Bottle" storyline, address the burden Stark feels assuming the role of Iron Man.

"I think what needs to be explored next ... is how the weight of being a public superhero is going to affect Tony Stark's personality and start to expand on the hairline fractures in his personality and his spirit," Favreau said. "By the way, once you have the audience, you have a lot of freedom to go further tonally. But when you launch a franchise, if you notice, they always play it much closer to the vest with these superhero films until the parents and the audiences make up their minds that they like them." Iron Man opened May 2. --Ian SpellingFavreau: Iron's Downey Is Perfect

Jon Favreau, director of the superhero film Iron Man, told SCI FI Wire that Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect actor to play the film's complicated lead character, Tony Stark, because the two have so much in common.

Stark is a wealthy playboy industrialist who becomes the superhero Iron Man and, in future stories, struggles with alcoholism. Downey is a high-profile, Oscar-nominated actor who's dealt with celebrity, addictions and run-ins with the law over the years, though he's reportedly been clean and sober since 2002.

"Downey had a lot in common with Tony Stark," Favreau said in an interview in New York over the weekend. "Stark was a guy who lived in the public eye and had succeeded and failed in a very public way, and Robert was able to just really own the idea of being this very intelligent, very public figure who's known by everybody whenever he walks into a room. Robert has lived that."

Favreau added that Downey doesn't overplay or call attention to the shared experiences in his performance as Stark. "You just know that he gets it," Favreau said. "When he walks up a red carpet in the movie or is helped into a limo or walks through a casino floor, you know that this is a guy who has lived with this kind of fame and exposure, and I think that adds dimension to an otherwise two-dimensional genre, when you have a guy who can bring that type of depth and experience to a role." Iron Man opened May 2. --Ian SpellingSilver Talks Speed's Wachowskis

Uber-producer Joel Silver, who worked with writing and directing team Andy and Larry Wachowski on the Matrix trilogy and the upcoming Speed Racer, told SCI FI Wire that the famously reclusive brothers aren't as enigmatic as the media makes them out to be.

"The only part they don't want to engage in is [promotion]," Silver said in an interview. "That's the only part. ... But, you know, they are the greatest guys I've ever worked with. They're funny. They're smart. They know what they want. They plan everything out to perfection, and everybody here--Susan [Sarandon], Emile [Hirsch], John [Goodman], Christina [Ricci]--they'll tell you the same thing, that they're the greatest, fun guys."

Silver said the Wachowski brothers did publicity for the first Matrix movie. "They did everything," he said. "They did the junkets and the tours and the one-on-one [interviews], and they did everything. And they just said, 'We just don't like this, and if you make us do this, we aren't going to make any more movies.' And I said, 'OK.'"

Silver is happy to speak for the Wachowskis, whom he credits with changing the process of filmmaking with the Matrix trilogy. He went on to say that their new film, Speed Racer, is just as groundbreaking.

"They've changed the system again on how to make pictures," Silver said. "The camera loses its physical self. ... So you have a scene where the camera zooms into Speed's face, and then zooms past him to Trixie, and then past her to Rex. Where is the camera? What is the camera? The camera can't do that, but the computer can. We put our people on gimbals, in a cockpit, on a green stage, and once we get that, capture that image, then we can manipulate it any way we want and make the camera see what you want it to see, which I think is going to change the way we make movies."

The next collaboration between Silver and the Wachowskis will be Ninja Assassin, a martial-arts film being directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta). As for when the brothers will return to directing themselves, even Silver doesn't know that yet.

"If this movie works, they may want to do a sequel," Silver said. "They may not. When they immerse themselves in a movie, they work literally seven days a week for, like, seven months to finish this movie. It's really grueling. These guys don't phone anything in. There's a book coming out, I think coming out in a few weeks, which is called The Art of Speed Racer. You can actually see in that book how the drawings became [pre-visusalization and] became finished shots. You're realizing, I mean, this is created from nothing. I mean, you're not shooting anything. It's all in their heads. And it's a really grueling thing to do. And they take time off, and then they go back to work. And when they want to, they call me--I hope they call me--and say, 'We want to do something.'" Speed Racer opens May 9. --Cindy White Hirsch: Speed Is Faithful To Anime

Emile Hirsch, who plays the title role in the Wachowski brothers' upcoming anime adaptation Speed Racer, told SCI FI Wire that the filmmakers tried to follow the source material as closely as possible, right down to his character's wardrobe.

"It's a crazy world," Hirsch said in an interview while promoting the film. "Everyone was just able to get into it from that. The scarf, we had a lot of big debates about the scarf. We were like, 'God, should we, shouldn't we, should we?' Then in the end we were like, 'Oh, we gotta.' And I loved the scarf. More of the scarf in the second one, if we make one."

One of the appeals of the role for Hirsch was his fond memory of watching the original animated series when he was growing up.

"Well, when I was a kid and I watched Speed Racer, I used to always watch it in the morning with my cereal," he said. "And when I ate the cereal, I would pour soda into the cereal because we never really had milk for some reason, I don't know. It was just one of those crazy shows that you watch on a sugar rush and just are like, 'Whoa.' The colors and the action and just the sense of adventure is immediately what always appeals to kids. Watching it now, ... it's kind of the retro cool and the kind of camp value that you really appreciate."

Hirsch also pointed out that it was the goal of the Wachowskis to create a film that was sophisticated and yet appealed to the same audience as the original.

"They definitely wanted to make an all-out kids' movie," he said. "I shouldn't say kids' movie, I should say family movie, because I watched it with a bunch of my friends who are all around 23, 24, 25, and they loved it. They didn't watch it and go, 'Oh, it's a cool kids' movie.' They were like, 'That was a cool movie.'" Speed Racer opens May 9. --Cindy White New Villains Replace Smallville's Lex

The CW confirmed that Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor) will indeed be leaving the show as a regular cast member at the end of the current season, but added that new villains will replace Luthor in the upcoming eighth season: Doomsday and an as-yet-unidentified female baddie. Producers also left the door open for Rosenbaum to return in a guest spot.

For his part, Rosenbaum issued a letter to fans thanking them for their support over the years. "Well, it's been seven wonderful years," he wrote. "Your support is what has made Smallville so successful, and I appreciate you all more than you know. That being said, it is time for me to start the next chapter of my life and career. I hope that I gave you some enjoyment over the years, and that you found my portrayal of Lex Luthor to be satisfying. I am truly grateful, as Smallville fans are the best fans out there. I sincerely hope that you will continue to follow my career through my hair growth period and beyond."

Rosenbaum has been with the show since its beginning on what was then The WB network. "It has been an honor and pleasure to work with Michael for the past six seasons," Smallville executive producers Darren Swimmer, Todd Slavkin, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson said in a joint statement with The CW network and Warner Brothers Television. "He is one of the best actors on television and has never failed to bring a new layer to the character of Lex Luthor in every episode. While Michael won't be a series regular, and we won't have the pleasure of working with him on a weekly basis this fall, we like to think that we haven't seen the last of Lex Luthor. Stay tuned."

As for the new villains? Here's how The CW described them:

"In season eight, Clark [Tom Welling] will face his ultimate challenge with the appearance of the legendary, unstoppable destroyer Doomsday, who appears on Smallville for the first time. As comic-book fans know, Doomsday is notorious for being the only character in the DC Comics universe to have killed Superman."

The network added: "Doomsday won't be Clark's only nemesis in the upcoming season. The executive producers are tight-lipped about a new female villain they will be introducing, but they can say she will be familiar to many fans and will set her sights on Clark in ways Lex never could. Intelligent, brilliantly manipulative and dangerously sinister, our gorgeous new villain has one more weapon in her arsenal: Her mutual attraction with Clark may prove to be as deadly as kryptonite for him."

Rosenbaum's departure isn't the only one from the longstanding series: Show creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar previously announced that the current seventh season would be their last, and Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang) will reduce her appearances in season eight. Smallville airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.Descent Sequel In The Works

The independent British production company Celador Films is reuniting with French-owned and U.K.-based Pathe on a sequel to Neil Marshall's low-budget SF horror hit The Descent, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The first movie claimed $57 million at the box office, a sizable return on the original investment on a movie budgeted at less than $10 million, the trade paper reported.

Produced by Marshall and Christian Colson, Descent 2 marks the directorial debut for its predecessor's editor, Jon Harris.

Based on a script by James Watkins (My Little Eye), the $10 million sequel will shoot more than eight weeks on location in Scotland and at London's Ealing Studios.

The stars of the original film, Shauna MacDonald and Natalie Mendoza, will reprise their roles, alongside Gavan O'Herlihy, Joshua Dallas, Anna Skellern, Douglas Hodge and Krysten Cummings.

The script sees the survivor forced back into the system of caves she battled her way out of in the first film in a bid to locate the rest of her group, who were assailed by blind man-eating mutant cave dwellers.McTeigue Casts Yune In Ninja

Rick Yune has been cast as the antagonist in Ninja Assassin, the Wachowskis-produced action film James McTeigue is directing for Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Joel Silver is producing via Dark Castle, while Grant Hill is producing.

Also boarding the production are Naomie Harris as the female lead and Ben Miles.

The martial-arts extravaganza stars Korean actor-singer Rain, who also appears in the siblings' Speed Racer, as a man brought up in an orphanage functioning as a ninja farm. The man turns his back on his tradition to make his way in the modern world, which brings him into conflict with a ninja (Yune) from the clan.New Regency Gets Daniel X

New Regency has pre-emptively scooped up best-selling author James Patterson's upcoming young-adult SF novel The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, Variety reported.

Daniel X, which is set to hit bookstores in July, will be the first in a series of novels for which Regency also acquired the rights. A graphic novel will follow in the fourth quarter.

Described as an action-adventure, Daniel X chronicles the adventures of a conflicted yet extraordinary teen who yearns to discover secrets about himself and his family as he battles alien outlaws who threaten life on Earth.

Patterson, Steve Bowen and Leopoldo Gout are attached as executive producers.

Patterson is best known for his Hollywood-adapted adult thrillers Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls.Jackson Nominees Announced

Finalists have been announced for the first annual Shirley Jackson Awards, which recognize superior achievement by writers of psychological suspense, horror and dark fantasy. A complete list of finalists follows.

Novel: Baltimore by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden, Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand, Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow, The Terror by Dan Simmons, Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace

Novella: 12 Collections by Zoran Zivkovic, Illyria by Elizabeth Hand, The Mermaids by Robert Edric, "Procession of the Black Sloth" by Laird Barron, The Scalding Rooms by Conrad Williams, "Vacancy" by Lucius Shepard

Novelette: "The Forest" by Laird Barron, "The Janus Tree" by Glen Hirshberg, "The Swing" by Don Tumasonis, "The Tenth Muse" by William Browning Spencer, "Thumbprint" by Joe Hill

Short Story: "Holiday" by M. Rickert, "The Monsters of Heaven" by Nathan Ballingrud, "A Murder of Crows" by Elizabeth Ziemska, "Something in the Mermaid Way" by Carrie Laben, "The Third Bear" by Jeff VanderMeer, "Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse" by Andy Duncan

Collection: The Bone Key by Sarah Monette, The Entire Predicament by Lucy Corin, The Imago Sequence and Other Stories by Laird Barron, Like You'd Understand, Anyway by Jim Shepard, Old Devil Moon by Christopher Fowler

Anthology: At Ease With the Dead, Barbara and Christopher Roden, eds.; Dark Delicacies 2, Del Howison and Jeff Gelb, eds.; Inferno, Ellen Datlow, ed.; Logorrhea, John Klima, ed.; Wizards, Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois, eds.

The award is named in honor of the author of such classics as "The Lottery" and The Haunting of Hill House.ABC Family Launches Middleman

ABC Family is lining up a busy schedule, with returning SF series Kyle XY and new comic-book-inspired show The Middleman, Variety reported.

The channel announced plans on May 1 to bring back Kyle XY in January.

This summer, ABC Family, which targets females 12-34, will debut The Middleman, from Medium writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, on June 16.

The network has ordered 13 episodes of The Middleman, which stars Natalie Morales as a twentysomething woman who's recruited to fight criminals. The quirky hour is based on the series of graphic novels.

ABC Family will also repeat its scheduling strategy last summer with its miniseries Fallen and will air all six hours of this year's event miniseries Samurai Girl over the course of one weekend, Sept. 5-7.Atlantis Season Four DVD Due

Season four of SCI FI Channel's original series Stargate Atlantis drops on DVD July 8 from MGM Home Entertainment.

The DVD set of the fourth season--in which former Stargate SG-1 star Amanda Tapping joins Atlantis as a regular cast member--is timed to the release of the new feature-length DVD and Blu-ray premiere of Stargate Continuum on July 29.

The Atlantis DVD set includes 20 episodes on five discs, as well as cast and crew commentaries, deleted scenes, photo galleries, the first Atlantis blooper reel and more. The DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $49.98. Outback Puts Aussies In Space

SF author Sandra McDonald, whose novel The Outback Stars is a finalist for this year's Compton Crook Award, told SCI FI Wire that the book was inspired by her desire to write about tradition, class structure, women in the military and all the cool stuff that comes with spaceships and hierarchies.

"I spent eight years as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy, fascinated by the stories of military men and women whose unglamorous occupations are often overlooked by the media--for instance, the clerks who work hard to keep supplies moving in peace and in war," McDonald said in an interview. "All that tied together with a fascination for Australia, with its history of colonization and conquest, and an admiration for the complex mythology of aboriginal Australians."

As the novel begins, military supply officer Jodenny Scott has just survived the terrible space wreck that killed most of her friends and colleagues. "She wrangles her way into a new assignment on [a] deep-space freighter rotating [among] seven planets colonized by Australia and other Pacific Rim countries," McDonald said. "It doesn't take long to realize that her new division is filled with misfits and malcontents, and the ship itself is riddled with black-market corruption. Jodenny's only ally is one of her sergeants, Terry Myell, an enlisted man with problems of his own. Together they fight crime, fall in love and uncover ancient secrets of the universe."

The most difficult part of writing the book was researching and staying true to Australian culture and extrapolating it to the near future. "My characters are descendants of Australians and other Pacific Rim people and rarely from Earth itself," McDonald said. "It's easy to satirize Australian customs--'shrimp on the barbie' and all that--and I wanted to avoid that, too. The mythology of the indigenous Australian people, meanwhile, is a complex and difficult system of beliefs that varies from tribe to tribe, and their culture was nearly destroyed after the arrival of Europeans in the 18th century. The conquest of a technologically disadvantaged society is a recurring motif in the second and third books in this series."

The second book in the series, The Stars Down Under, was just released in hardcover. --John Joseph AdamsUSC, IBM Brainstorm SF Futures

Researchers from IBM met with faculty and students of the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts on April 30 to brainstorm science fiction and life in the future, and the discussion included the human genome, self-healing spinal cords, longer life spans, digital arts and predictive software.

The three-hour session in Los Angeles was the first of a series of planned interactions with the film school and the research branch of IBM to share ideas about technologies that IBM is working on.

"This will give us access to IBM scientists and probably spark ideas in our students," School of Cinematic Arts Dean Elizabeth Daley told SCI FI Wire. "This school was founded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the science part is very important. Science fiction is part of imagining the future."

The idea is to launch a collaboration between the scientists and future filmmakers to introduce real science and technology trends to the creative minds of future Hollywood. The scientists and students met on a soundstage at the George Lucas Building on the USC campus.

"Meeting the USC staff and faculty is like giving us a glimpse of the future that we never [would] have on our own," said IBM's Don Eigler, the first scientist to precisely manipulate individual atoms. "Radical innovation can be accelerated by tapping into the most creative talent we can find."

USC research associate professor Richard Weinberg said that the goal is to collect innovative ideas and predictions about life in 2050 "and put them all into some sort of time capsule, and then open them up and see what came true and when. I'm sure that some of it will occur much sooner than we expected, and some of it may never happen, but with what I've heard tonight, it sounds like I may be around--even though I'll be pushing 100 years old--and I'll be able to see what [predictions] came true." --Mike SzymanskiNew Mummy Site, Poster Live

Universal has relaunched the Mummy Web site with new content for the upcoming The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and director Rob Cohen has updated his personal production blog.

Meanwhile, a new one-sheet has gone public and is linked through SCI FI Wire's Gallery page.

In the third installment in the hit franchise, the action shifts to Asia, and Brendan Fraser returns as explorer Rick O'Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor (Jet Li).

Rick is joined by son Alex (newcomer Luke Ford), wife Evelyn (Maria Bello, stepping in for Rachel Weisz) and her brother, Jonathan (John Hannah).

Written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Spider-Man 2, Smallville), The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor opens Aug. 1. (Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.)CAA Reps Spirit's Eisner

Creative Artists Agency has landed the estate of comic-book creator Will Eisner as a client, Variety reported; Eisner is the creator of The Spirit, which is currently being adapted into a film by director and fellow comic writer Frank Miller.

CAA will take Eisner's library of titles and package them as movies, TV shows and other media properties, the trade paper reported.

Eisner's The Spirit is being shot now and will debut next year, starring Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson.

Other Eisner books include A Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories, John Law, Lady Luck, Mr. Mystic, Uncle Sam, Blackhawk and Sheena.

In 1988, Comic-Con International created the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards in his name.MGM Buys Zametherea

MGM has bought the fantasy comedy spec script Executive VP David M. Murch's Adventures in Zametherea from the writing team of Michael M.B. Galvin and Peter Speakman, Variety reported.

The movie is seen as a modern-day Wizard of Oz and centers on a hard-charging, cold-hearted investment banker who gets a chance to revisit the forgotten, magical land of his childhood imagination, where he must turn for help to his estranged 10-year-old son.Thirteen Wins Clarke Award

Richard K. Morgan's novel Black Man (U.S. title: Thirteen) has been named the winner of this year's Arthur C. Clarke Award, which recognizes distinguished science fiction published in Britain. The announcement came April 30 at the Sci-Fi-London Film Festival.

The annual award, which is presented by the Serendip Foundation, is named for legendary SF author Arthur C. Clarke, who founded the award with the aim of promoting science fiction in Britain.

The other nominees were The Red Men by Matthew de Abaitua, The H-Bomb Girl by Stephen Baxter, The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall, The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall and The Execution Channel by Ken MacLeod. --John Joseph AdamsJump's Science Is Way Ahead

SF author Mark L. Van Name, whose novel One Jump Ahead is a finalist for this year's Compton Crook Award, told SCI FI Wire that the book contains a lot of cutting-edge science--and even science over the current edge.

"My fascination with that area and my day job both helped a lot," Van Name, who is the chief executive of a technology-assessment firm, said in an interview. "We routinely work with tech that's not yet on the market--and that sometimes never will be. What we're testing today, you'll read about later."

One Jump Ahead is a blend of SF adventure and mystery, with an air of military SF about it. In the novel, a very unusual man, Jon Moore, is vacationing in a secluded seaside house on a developing planet, trying to get away from it all. "He draws attention to himself with a small error, which leads to him agreeing to rescue a kidnapped girl," Van Name said. "He also meets and ultimately acquires Lobo, an extremely intelligent Predator-class assault vehicle. Once Jon's rescued the girl, each move he makes draws him deeper into trouble and into a mystery that he must both solve and, ultimately, make right."

Moore began life as a mentally challenged child on Pinkelponker, the only planet humanity ever settled via a generation ship. "His sister, a healer, fixed him when he was 16, her last act before the planet's repressive government took her away to heal only those people it considered important," Van Name said. "It had no use for Jon, so it dumped him on an island with a lot of other societal rejects. Two years later, the same government made him a test subject at a nanotech research facility, Aggro."

But a nanotech disaster destroyed Aggro and quarantined the entire Pinkelponker system from the rest of humanity. "Jon survived the disaster and is, as far as he knows, the only human alive whose cells are laced with nanomachines," Van Name said. "He's not Superman--he suspects a head shot could kill him--but he is, as far as he knows, the most powerful man alive. Unfortunately, he can't let anyone know about his powers, because doing so would almost certainly lead to him becoming a test subject again."

Slanted Jack, the second book in the Jon and Lobo series, is Baen's lead title for July. --John Joseph AdamsWire Visits Get Smart Set

SCI FI Wire was invited to the set of Get Smart last year to interview the film's lead actors, observe the filming of a key fight scene and tour several sets, including headquarters.

At Warner Brothers studios in Burbank, Calif., stars Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway, who play CONTROL Agents Maxwell Smart and 99, shot a scene in which they try to escape from a KAOS henchman (played by 7-foot-tall, 387-pound Indian wrestler Dalip Singh) on the roof of a building inside a soundstage.

"We're going to be doing it for another three days," Hathaway said in an interview on the set during a break from filming. "And I kick a little ass for three more days. For me, at least, it's a three-part fight sequence. And the first part, I'd lost my gun in an earlier scene, so it's hand-to-hand combat. And I pick up a pipe as a weapon, and then I have to battle him hand to hand. And then I just sort of get dazed and confused. My favorite bit is, like, I get to run up a wall and turn around and punch him. And then I bake some cupcakes, you know."

The scene also required Carell to throw a punch at Singh and deliver a Maxwell Smart-style quip when he gets no reaction. Each take, Carell delivered the line slightly differently. He said that improvising not only helps keep his energy up on set, it gives the director options in the editing room.

"You never know, because you can get it as scripted, and it's fine," Carell said. "And then if you go fishing a little bit and try a few more, [director Peter Segal] is always very amenable to that. And, yeah, it's fun to play around and just see what other sort of attitudes [you can find]. Because, also, I think it's giving him an option when he starts to edit, because he's not sure where exactly the tone will be at a certain part of the movie, what you'll need. Will you need a joke? Will you need something more serious? So to give him some options to play with, I think, is always helpful."

SCI FI Wire also had the opportunity to visit CONTROL headquarters. The look combines retro elements inspired by the original 1960s TV series with sleek, modern technology. The large, continuous set includes a reception area with a marble desk, a central control room with computers and a bank of analog clocks displaying the time in various international locations. The room's centerpiece is a massive glass globe with lights representing the locations of various CONTROL agents. The set also includes a conference room and the office of the Chief, played by Alan Arkin in the film.

One of the most recognizable features of the set is a new version of the familiar "cone of silence" from the original series. Carell confirmed that this won't be the only piece of technology carried over into the new feature film.

"They had a very, I thought, clever way of incorporating the shoe phone into the movie, in terms of why would that technology be in a modern-day movie," he said. "Because people want to see that. And I frankly wanted to use it. But they were able to incorporate it seamlessly in terms of why this guy would use one."

Hathaway confirmed Carell's report. "The shoe phone is in the movie; everybody can breathe a sigh of relief," Hathaway said. "And I get some fun gadgets, actually. There's a little bit of a, I don't know how you would call it, there's a gadget competition between Max and 99 to see who has the cooler stuff. And he's friends with the techies, so for a while it looks like he's going to win. But then I pull some stuff out too."

Carell also assured fans that the filmmakers are well aware of the legacy of the original series and intend to pay it all due respect in the new film.

"You know, we have people who are truly gifted, artistic people," he said. "These are not hacks. My responsibility--and I think all the other actors feel that responsibility--is to live up to that and to try to do our job as best we can. But also to just have fun. Because it's Get Smart. It should just be fun. And, so far,

everybody, I have to say, is having a ball. I think this is the most fun I've ever had doing anything. Every day we just laugh like little kids." Get Smart opens June 20. --Cindy White

Myles Sure CBS To Renew Moonlight

Sophia Myles, who plays the mortal love interest of vampire detective Mick St. John on the CBS series Moonlight, told SCI FI Wire that she believes the show will be picked up for a second season thanks to the efforts of fans, who have been donating blood and mailing garlic to network executives to show their support.

"One of the biggest pleasures of working on this show is the fan base, because we have the most wonderful fans in the world," Myles said in an interview before appearing in a panel at Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors in Los Angeles over the weekend. "And it kind of makes it all worthwhile knowing that there's a whole bunch of people whose hearts you're moving every Friday night and you're giving them something to look forward to. And we view them as part of the extended Moonlight family, and there wouldn't be a show without them."

Myles said that a second-season pickup is all but confirmed. "I'd put pretty much all of the money I have in my bank account on the fact that we will get picked up," the British actress said. "I think that's largely to do with the amount of fan support and dedication."

Myles' character, Internet journalist Beth Turner, discovered at the beginning of the first season that it was Mick who rescued her when she was kidnapped as a child (by his vampire ex-wife). Since then, she's struggled with her romantic feelings for Mick, her knowledge of the vampire world and the deaths of her human boyfriend and boss. Myles said that she views Beth as a surrogate for the female members of the audience, a responsibility she takes seriously.

"There's a lot of life change that's happened to her," Myles said of her character. "And it's been very, very interesting to play. I mean, I try and play her as I see her, [a] very pure, very honest soul. And I tried to play it in such a way that the female audience who are watching it can imagine themselves standing in my shoes and really live the love story through me. I kind of use myself as a vessel for that."

Although the show's fan base is predominantly women, Myles offered a way to attract male viewers to the show as well: "If the gentlemen sit down with their wives and watch, then they might get lucky over the weekend," she said. "Hopefully, on that very night. So, guys, tune in, because you're going to get lucky." Moonlight airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. --Cindy White

SF Series Likely This Fall

As the TV networks prepare for scaled-back upfront presentations to advertisers in New York next month, Variety speculated on which SF&F series will make the fall schedule, including Joss Whedon's Dollhouse and J.J. Abrams' Fringe on Fox.

Dollhouse, starring Whedon's former Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast member Eliza Dushku, already has an episodic order, as does Fringe, which has a series commitment, the trade paper reported.

Fox is also reportedly fond of the SF spoof comedy Boldly Going Nowhere, but a pilot won't be shot until long after the upfront.

Hot projects at CBS are said to include the psychic drama The Mentalist and Jerry Bruckheimer's SF series 11th Hour, which is already hiring staff writers.

At ABC, David E. Kelley's reboot of the U.K. time-travel drama Life on Mars is a contender for a 2008-'09 slot.

Paramount Unveils Blu-ray Slate

Paramount Home Entertainment is getting ready to re-enter the Blu-ray disc business it abandoned last year just before Transformers with an initial slate of catalog titles, including several SF movies, it will begin rolling out May 20, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Arriving in stores that day are Blu-ray versions of Face/Off, Next and Bee Movie, a DreamWorks Animation title that was initially supposed to be released in March on HD DVD, the same day as the standard DVD. But when Toshiba threw in the towel on HD DVD in February, those plans were scrapped and Bee Movie came out only on DVD.

Two more recent theatrical hits will be released on Blu-ray on June 3, Cloverfield and There Will Be Blood.

On June 24, Paramount will issue its first day-and-date Blu-ray release, The Spiderwick Chronicles. The film, which grossed $70.6 million in U.S. theaters, will be rolled out on Blu-ray in key international markets, as well, beginning in July. More titles will follow as the year progresses.

Hill Mulls Transformers 2

Jonah Hill is in early negotiations to co-star opposite Shia LaBeouf in Transformers 2 for DreamWorks and Paramount, Entertainment Weekly reported.

Hill (Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) will provide the comic relief as a sidekick to Shia's Sam Witwicky.

A source told EW.com that he'll play Sam's college roommate, but DreamWorks won't confirm. The sequel is set to begin shooting this summer.

Resurrectionist Mixes Comic, Novel

Fantasy author Jack O'Connell told SCI FI Wire that his latest novel, The Resurrectionist, was the most difficult thing he's ever written.

"What I realized somewhere in the midst of a near-final draft was that, at heart, the book was all about my own struggles with writing, with identity, with the morality of making fiction," O'Connell said in an interview. "In a way that I hadn't been able to see during the first few years of working on the book, my own journey mimicked [the protagonist's] journey."

The Resurrectionist tells the story of Sweeney, a pharmacist from Cleveland, who moves to the "noir dystopia" of Quinsigamond, a rust-belt American metropolis, to obtain an experimental treatment for his comatose son, Danny, at the legendary Peck Clinic.

"But upon arriving in the city, Sweeney begins to realize that some of the answers he has been searching for might be found in Limbo, the comic book with which his son became obsessed prior to the accident that left the boy in a coma," O'Connell said. "Limbo is the story of a troupe of wandering circus freaks in the dangerous land of Gehenna. And as the novel progresses, Sweeney's story and the story of the Limbo freaks begin to intermingle."

Originally, O'Connell had wanted to write a short, fast thriller. "What I've described as a book that could be sold in a truck stop outside Detroit in 1959," he said. "I had in mind a dark little neo-noir fable. Kind of David Goodis crossed with Richard Matheson. In fact, I actually wrote most of a first draft that, while a little edgy and surreal in places, had none of the fantasy element."

But toward the end of that draft, O'Connell found himself asking: "'What is this comic book? What's it all about? What's the story, and why was Danny so crazy for it?' And so I began building the world of Limbo and integrating it into my sleek little noir thriller. The presence of the freaks' storyline changed everything. And I ended up with a much different--and, I'd argue, much richer--novel than the one I'd originally planned to write." --John Joseph Adams

Turok Available For PC

Turok, the epic SF first-person-shooter video game, is now available in North America for the Windows-based PC, Touchstone announced.

Developed by Propaganda Games and optimized for PC by Aspyr Studios, the game gives PC players the opportunity to experience the story-driven single-player experience and multiplayer modes for up to 16 players.

The PC version, which enables either a mouse and keyboard or a game controller, has a suggested retail price of $49.99. The recently released downloadable Velociraptor Pack, featuring five new multiplayer maps for the console versions, will be available for Windows-based PC soon.

Turok is set on a dark planet in the future. Players take on the role of Joseph Turok, a former black-ops commando, now part of an elite special forces squad known as Whiskey Company, which is on a mission to take down a war criminal: Turok's former mentor, Roland Kane.

Moonlight Raises The Stakes

Alex O'Loughlin, who plays vampire Mick St. John on the CBS series Moonlight, told SCI FI Wire that the episodes leading up to the first-season finale will raise the stakes for all of the characters.

"This is a really cool episode coming up this week," O'Loughlin said in an interview before appearing in a panel at Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors in Los Angeles on April 27. "Mick, for the first time, has to start seriously thinking about his level of exposure in the public eye, because when a vampire gets too overexposed, they have to change cities, change names, do all that stuff. And so we start dealing with that sort of stuff with Mick, and Josef [Jason Dohring] gets in on it, which is really cool. And the case is awesome."

Production on Moonlight's first season was halted during the writers' strike, leading to a break in the broadcast schedule and a reduction in the number of episodes from 22 to 16. O'Loughlin also offered up a few tidbits about what fans can expect in the last two episodes.

"Number 15 is probably my favorite of this installation of four," he said. "It's a story where basically Mick thinks he has found his son, who is, in fact, twice his age. I mean, Mick's really 90. But this guy's like mid-50s, and Mick's looking at him going, 'Oh, my God, this guy's my son.' And so there's a lot of really great flashbacks. It's really personal. We go back to the war, when Mick was in the war, and there's a big battle scene. It's awesome. So we did all that. It was a massive episode."

As for the final episode of the season, he said: "The one I just finished shooting last night is really cool in the sense that what happens is the vampire community is in danger of being exposed for what we are. And what happens is Mick has to get all the vampires together. So Guillermo, the cleaners, Josef, Logan. And it's the first time we'll see all the vampires come together to do something."

Fans will find out whether the show has been renewed for a second season in May, when CBS will make its upfront presentation to advertisers in New York. O'Loughlin was optimistic about the show's chances of coming back, but warned that there may be a backlash from fans if the show does not make it on the network schedule.

"If it doesn't get a second season, blood will flow," O'Loughlin said. "I've got to say, though, I can't see it. We've been working our ass off, but, I mean, above and beyond that, this show has performed. We've still got the numbers there, and we're winning the timeslot, winning the demographic. And it's like, well, what else do you want? There it is. Give us a shot." Moonlight airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. --Cindy White

Fox Lands Zero-G

20th Century Fox picked up film rights to Zero-G, an SF thriller video-game concept, from Union Entertainment, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film project is being produced by Union Entertainment's Richard Leibowitz, Temple Hill Entertainment's Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen and the Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein.

Zero-G will be based on the game created by Daniel Jevons, which is still a work in progress. It revolves around a major U.S. city's being attacked by a devastating, never-before-seen weapon.

The deal marks the first video-game-to-film project for Union, whose game credits include 2007's The Darkness and the upcoming Sin City, based on Frank Miller's graphic novels.

Henstridge Has An Impact

Natasha Henstridge (Species), James Cromwell and David James Elliott will star in Impact, a two-part SF disaster TV movie, about a dwarf star striking the moon and wreaking havoc on Earth, Variety reported.

Produced by Munich-based Tandem Communications, Jaffe/Braunstein Films and Muse Entertainment Enterprises, the $14 million miniseries began shooting on location in British Columbia last week.

German actors Benjamin Sadler and Florentine Lahme also star.

The movie is produced in association with Germany's ProSieben Television, Spain's Cuatro, TF1 in France and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Tandem, which is handling worldwide distribution, has already presold the movie in more than 90 territories, including Austria, Russia, Poland, Latin America and the Middle East.

Directed by Mike Rohl (Smallville) from a script by Michael Vickerman, Impact is executive-produced by Jonas Bauer, Rola Bauer, Tim Halkin, Michael Jaffe, Howard Braunstein and Michael Prupas, co-executive-produced by Irene Litinsky and produced by Ted Bauman.

Martian Is Future History

SF author Theodore Judson told SCI FI Wire that he thinks of his latest novel, The Martian General's Daughter, not as science fiction but "future history."

"I like to place those who think they have escaped history into situations that are repetitions of historic events that transpired long ago," Judson said in an interview.

The idea for Gen. Peter Black, one of the protagonists of The Martian General's Daughter, was inspired by the story of the second-century Roman general Pescinnius Niger. "He, like Gen. Black, was a stolid but good man living in evil times," Judson said. "Niger's story was also one of duty coming into conflict with harsh reality and of a dying empire, and neither he nor Gen. Black are able to escape the era they were living within, albeit both generals are far better human beings than the majority of their contemporaries."

The Martian General's Daughter takes place 200 years in the future and is set only briefly on Mars, which is a mining colony in the Pan-Polarian Empire. "After a lifetime of service to that vast empire, the aging Gen. Peter Black is urged by a cabal of powerful men to vie for the vacant office of emperor," Judson said. "Because he is [a] man without imagination and is loyal to a fault to all the traditions he was raised within, Gen. Black has championed the causes [of] all the emperors he has served, even though not all of his emperors were deserving of his loyalty and even though the traditions he is so attached to have long ago disappeared."

The Pan-Polarians are a technologically advanced people, but they are losing their equipment to nano-machines created by one of the empire's foreign enemies. "Many elite members of society, most of whom have mechanical implants and have become 'transhuman,' are suddenly endangered," Judson said. "The outlying regions of the empire, such as the mining colonies on Mars, are removed from this strange new infection, and they consequently remain secure, until the nano-machines are carried to them by travelers from Earth."

Judson's current project is a comic novel that "tells the story of a man who was sent to hell by mistake and now must return to Earth and prove he is worthy of heaven." --John Joseph Adams

Universal Options Resurrection

Universal has optioned Resurrection, an Oni Press SF comic-book series written by Eli Stone co-creator Marc Guggenheim, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Resurrection begins where most other alien invasion movies end, centering on a group of survivors trying to take back control of the planet after an apocalyptic invasion.

The comic, illustrated by Dave Dumeer, was first published in October. The third issue in the series was just released. (Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.)

Caspian Challenged Moseley

William Moseley, who reprises the role of Peter Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, told SCI FI Wire that the sequel was more difficult to shoot than the first Narnia movie.

"People always say to me that the physical stuff must have been really hard," Moseley said in a group interview at New York Comic Con last week. "But I don't really agree. For me the acting is always the hardest. I think whoever says acting is easy is not really acting. ... It was something that I had to deal with throughout. It's an intellectual as well as an emotional skill. Obviously, I am young, and I am still learning."

Moseley plays the eldest of the Pevensie children, who journey back to the mythical realm of Narnia in the sequel to discover that more than a thousand years have passed. His character was dubbed King Peter the Magnificent, the High King, in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but when they return, they find the kingdom in ruins.

"My character is very, very different this time," Moseley said. "I worked with an acting coach three and a half months before the shoot because [director] Andrew [Adamson] said they were going to completely change my character. And I wanted to do the best job that I could. So even though the movie was so much bigger, it wasn't so much the physical aspects or the sets, which were bigger, but the emotional side of it that was the biggest challenge."

Moseley acknowledged that the sequel ramps up the action, which placed new physical demands on him. "Along with the acting coach, I also worked with a kick-boxing trainer at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn," he said. "It was pretty intense. I was probably the only white person there, let alone the only English person there! I just had to keep my head down and work with my trainer. But I loved the physical side and found it a really good outlet. I find there is a lot of pressure on set and a lot of hard work going in, so I could really channel it." The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian opens May 16. --Tara Bennett

Summit Enters Arena

Summit Entertainment has snapped up the SF action thriller Arena, penned by new writers Toby Wagstaff and Darren Howell, Variety reported. Benderspink, along with the writers' manager, Jim Thompson, set up the project.

The story centers on a group of modern-day soldiers who are mysteriously transported from the thick of battle to a terrain-shifting landscape where they must fight the best warriors of all different eras and histories in a gladiatorial fight to the death, or be killed by the all-powerful operators of the "Arena."

The project is the second set up by Benderspink at Summit, where the company is also producing the comedy Sensei.

Lee Updates Film, TV Projects

Legendary comic-book creator and writer Stan Lee provided SCI FI Wire with details about several recently announced multimedia projects.

Lee, though his company POW! Entertainment, is collaborating with the Japanese anime company Studio Bones on a television series called Hero Man, with manga veteran Hiroyuki Takei on the comic book Karakuridoji Ultimo and with the Walt Disney Co. on the feature films Blaze, Nick Ratchet and Tigress.

"I have created a new character called Hero Man, who is a robot, and there's a whole cast of characters, including boys and girls and heroes and villains and incidental characters," Lee said in an interview. "I give them the basic story, and they write the script in their own style, which is a little bit different from the way we would write one. Then they send me the storyboards, and we go over them. It's really a joy to work on. ... It's a learning experience for me and I imagine for them, too."

Karakuridoji Ultimo pairs Lee with Takei, who's best known for creating Shaman King. "I am so really flattered to be working with him and to get equal billing with him, because he's about the best there is," Lee said. "The things he's done have really been so successful. I can't wait until this thing is finished, because I think it's going to be great."

Meanwhile, the three films with Disney are the culmination of a first-look development deal that was announced last summer. Blaze will be written by Gary Goldman (Next), while Richard LaGravenese is set to script and direct Nick Ratchet and Zoe Green (the animated Wolverine series) will pen Tigress. Lee came up with the three stories and will executive-produce the resulting features.

"As a matter of fact, the Blaze script just came in," Lee said. "I'm quite involved in those projects. There will be much more involvement than I have with the Marvel movies [including Iron Man] because this is my own company, POW! Entertainment, that is producing along with Disney." -- Ian Spelling

Yiddish Wins Top Nebula

Michael Chabon's novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union took home one of the top prizes at the Nebula Awards in Austin, Texas, over the weekend. The announcement came at the 2008 Nebula Awards Weekend.

The Nebula Award is presented annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, recognizing superior achievement in science fiction and fantasy writing. A complete list of winners follows.

Novel: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Novella: "Fountain of Age" by Nancy Kress

Novelette: "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang

Short Story: "Always" by Karen Joy Fowler

Script: Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro

SFWA also announced the winner of this year's Andre Norton Award: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. The award recognizes superior achievement in science fiction and fantasy writing for young adults.

Additionally, at the award ceremony, Ardath Mayhar was named Author Emeritus, and Michael Moorcock was presented with the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award, SFWA's lifetime achievement award. --John Joseph Adams

Sidewise Nominees Announced

The nominees for this year's Sidewise Awards, which are presented annually to recognize works of alternate history, have been announced.

The awards will be presented at Worldcon, the 66th World Science Fiction Convention, Aug. 6-10, in Denver.

The award is named in honor of Murray Leinster's 1934 short story "Sidewise in Time." A complete list of the nominees follows:

Best Short Form: "Les Innocents/Lumiere" by Elizabeth Bear, "Quaestiones Super Caelo et Mundo" by Michael Flynn, "Public Safety" by Matthew Johnson, "An Alternate History of Chinese Science Fiction" by Jess Nevins, "Metal Dragon Year" by Chris Roberson, "Recovering Apollo 8" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, "Missives From Possible Futures #1: Alternate History Search Results" by John Scalzi

Best Long Form: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon, 1945 by Robert Conroy, Ilario: The Lion's Eye and Ilario: The Stone Golem by Mary Gentle, Mainspring by Jay Lake, Rome Burning by Sophia McDougall, Ha'penny by Jo Walton --John Joseph Adams

BRIEFLY NOTED

Tomas Alfredson's Lat den ratte komma in (Let the Right One In), about first love between a young boy and the vampire next door, won the feature prize as the Tribeca Film Festival named the winners of its seventh annual competition, Variety reported.

A teaser trailer has gone live for Vin Diesel's upcoming French SF movie Babylon A.D., which opens Aug. 27.

Defamer posted rumors about a temporary shutdown of the production of Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones as the New Zealand director and his crew sort out creative differences.

J.J. Abrams talked with the Associated Press about rebooting the Star Trek franchise in his upcoming movie.

David Silverman, who most recently helmed The Simpsons Movie, has signed on to develop and direct The Pet, a live-action SF family comedy for Disney, about an everyday guy who becomes the pet of a group of aliens, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Paramount Home Entertainment's Cloverfield topped both the national DVD sales and rental charts its first week in stores, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Fans following a viral campaign to promote The Dark Knight on April 28 got a sneak peek at the film's newest trailer, which debuts on the Web on Sunday; a lucky few fans received a reel of the trailer that had been "Jokerized."

The new theatrical trailer for Universal's The Incredible Hulk has gone live and is linked through SCI FI Wire's Trailers page.

Senator Entertainment is set to produce Clock Tower, based on Capcom's best-selling supernatural video-game series, for the Weinstein Co., Variety reported.

The Space Westerns Web site has performed some Da Vinci Code-style manipulations on the "Last Supper" advertising image for SCI FI Channel's Battlestar Galactica, resulting in surprising conclusions about the identity of the last Cylon and possible spoilers for the show, according to a report on SyFyPortal.

The official Indiana Jones Web site has posted new TV spots for the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which opens May 22.

Susanna Thompson has come on board NBC's updated biblical drama Kings, playing Queen Rose, the wife of King Silas (Ian McShane), into whose court enters a pure-hearted young warrior named David (Christopher Egan), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Cerenzie-Peters Productions has picked up movie remake rights to the Thai hit horror series Art of the Devil, focusing on an installment in which a group of high-school kids fall victim to supernatural tattoos, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Starting this week on iTunes, customers can purchase single episodes and complete seasons of BBC America's hit SF series Torchwood, the drama series Robin Hood and other shows, BBC announced.

Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse might be working on the theme song to Quantum of Solace, the next installment of the James Bond series, working with Mark Ronson, producer of her hit sophomore album Back To Black, an Island Records spokesman confirmed to Billboard magazine.

Universal has released the first image of the Sleestaks from the upcoming Land of the Lost movie, based on the cult 1970s TV show.

Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, the original kid stars of Disney's 1970s Witch Mountain movies, are coming back for cameo roles in Race to Witch Mountain, the studio's re-imagining of the adventure tales that will star Dwayne Johnson, Variety reported.