News

Star Trek has a good deal of leeway when it comes to killing someone off. Alien planets, high technology, and general outer space weirdness provide every conceivable reason for a fatality. It can often present an intriguing mystery for the crew to spend an episode or two solving. Explanations require some delicacy in order to fit with canon and make logical sense, but beyond that, there's no limit to the plausible explanations for how someone might die.

Even so, no franchise is perfect, and the sheer volume of stories that Star Trek has told over the years means that explanations sometimes fail. On more than one occasion, characters have been killed off in ways that help the plot work, but make very little sense in retrospect. Most of the time, it comes with a reasonable trade-off, and the ensuring story is strong enough to justify the plot hole. Despite that,...

D.C. Fontana's influence on Star Trek cannot be overstated, as she crafted iconic episodes as a writer and story editor. Fontana proved her writing skills through episodes like "Charlie X," where she executed Roddenberry's concept effectively. "Journey to Babel" showcases Fontana's storytelling prowess, introducing Spock's parents and diving into Federation politics.

Screenwriter and story editor Dorothy "D.C." Fontana wrote or co-wrote ten episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series and her Star Trek legacy cannot be overstated. Aside from creator Gene Roddenberry, very few writers had as much influence on Star Trek as D.C. Fontana. Dorothy went from being Roddenberry's secretary to one of the few women writers working in Hollywood at the time, and Fontana eventually became one of the youngest story editors in television. Fontana helped craft some of Star Trek's most influential characters and storylines, including several elements of Vulcan culture.

D.

Terry Matalas made Star Trek history by writing and directing Star Trek: Picard's season 3 finale, "The Last Generation." Matalas brought the original Tng crew back together for a nostalgic and successful season that outperformed previous seasons. Star Trek writer-directors are rare due to the unique skill sets needed for both roles, making Matalas's accomplishment notable.

With Star Trek: Picard season 3's finale, showrunner Terry Matalas made Star Trek history in more ways than one. Picard season 3 saw the original Star Trek: The Next Generation crew reunite for one final adventure aboard the newly rebuilt USS Enterprise-d. What began as a mission to rescue Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) quickly turned into a battle to save the galaxy from a Borg/Changeling takeover. Along the way, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) sought out his old crew members and friends, getting the band back together.

Terry Matalas joined Star Trek: Picard...

In the "Star Trek" episode "Patterns of Force", Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) visit the pre-warp planet of Ekos to find out what happened to John Gill (David Brian), an old history professor of Kirk's. Ekos, they find, has been culturally contaminated by Gill, as he taught them all about Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and the Ekosians have rearranged their society to match. They wear Nazi uniforms, praise John Gill as their Führer, and plan to exterminate their peaceful neighbor planet Zeon. The Zeon characters have names like Izak and Abrom.

There is also a secret resistance that Kirk and Spock can hide out with, and they eventually find a way to confront John Gill. Gill, they find, has been propped up by one of the more zealously Nazi Ekosians, and has been kept in line with drugs. Gill admits that he landed on Ekos finding it to be disorganized and chaotic,...

Producer-director Michael Curtiz’s femme fatale noir has a lot going for it — high production values, VistaVision, and new film talent in Tom Tryon, Carol Ohmart, Elaine Stritch & Jody Lawrance. Excellent location shooting and a Nat King Cole song provide authentic Los Angeles atmosphere. But the storyline is ten years out of date. The advertising promoted Ms. Ohmart as a new ’50s sex symbol. She may have caught fire, but the show didn’t.

The Scarlet Hour

Region free Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] #152

1956 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date August 31, 2022 / Available from Amazon Au / 39.95; / Available from Viavision / 39.95

Starring: Carol Ohmart, Tom Tryon, Jody Lawrance, James Gregory, Elaine Stritch, E.G. Marshall, Edward Binns, David Lewis, Billy Gray, Jacques Aubuchon, Scott Marlowe, Nat ‘King’ Cole, Richard Deacon, Benson Fong, Theron Jackson, Almira Sessions.

Cinematography: Lionel Lindon

Costumes: Edith Head

Art Directors: Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen

Film Editor: Everett Douglas

Original Music: Leith Stevens...

Terry Gilliam's 1991 Oscar-winning tragedy "The Fisher King" is raw and difficult. It's a film that appears to be a lighthearted, almost slapstick farce in certain scenes, but delves into heady themes of homelessness, mental illness, trauma, and guilt on a dime. It was a startlingly soulful film from a director who was then known for his kooky work with Monty Python, the acclaimed-but-argued-over "Brazil," and the not entirely well-received "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen." In contrast to those, it seemed "The Fisher King" had proven that Gilliam was maturing as a filmmaker. 

"The Fisher King" is about a radio shock jock named Jack Lucas...

The post Finding Robin Williams' Fisher King Co-Star Took Some Serious Casting Calculus appeared first on /Film.

In March 1968, the fans, cast, and creators of the NBC-TV series Star Trek were celebrating an unprecedented victory: a massive mail campaign by fans of the show, which directed more than 100,000 letters (if not more) to NBC executives, had resulted in the network deciding not to cancel the sci-fi program after two seasons but to instead extend it for a third year.

That Which Survives Cancellation

NBC’s public decision to renew the show — it even announced the news on the air at the end of the March 1 episode, “The Omega Glory,” with a brief voiceover statement — was unheard of in an era when fandom did not have social media to rant, rave, and otherwise kvetch about every little thing regarding their favorite franchises. This was a physical mobilization of Trekkers, led by superfans like Bjo and John Trimble, and tacitly encouraged (and perhaps even subsidized a little) by series creator Gene Roddenberry.

To help sift through the increasing number of new releases (independent or otherwise), the Weekly Film Guide is here! Below you’ll find basic plot, personnel and cinema information for all of this week’s fresh offerings.

For July, we’ve also put together a list for the entire month. We’ve included this week’s list below, complete with information on screening locations for films in limited release.

See More: Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for July 2016

Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, July 29. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.

Wide

Bad Moms

Director: John Lucas and Scott Moore

Cast: Christina Applegate, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Emjay Anthony, Jay Jablonski, Kesha Rose Sebert

Synopsis: A woman with a seemingly perfect life – a great marriage, overachieving kids, beautiful home, stunning looks and still holding down a career.

Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Terry Gilliam's The Fisher King (1991) is playing from June 1 - June 30, 2016 in the UK.In an overview of the accomplished, fraught, tumultuous career of Terry Gilliam, The Fisher King (1991) can look like not just an artistic turning point, but an economic one. Gilliam had just finished a loose trilogy of comic fantasies—Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)—each visually baroque and laced with a kind of surreal, dark, absurdist humor that marked them as a natural extension of his time as the lone American in Monty Python. Time Bandits was a head-turning left-field hit, and Brazil, the subject of a legendary battle with Universal over final cut, is often cited as Gilliam's masterpiece. But Munchausen, though held dear by a cult following, was a blow to Gilliam's career. It went quickly over-budget (wildly so,...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are "disappointed" in wide receiver Martavis Bryant -- who's been suspended for at least one year after failing a drug test -- and say the 24-year-old is at a crossroads in his life.  Bryant just announced that he would be dropping his appeal of the suspension and begin to serve his punishment immediately -- and Steelers Gm Kevin Colbert says the guy needs to take the time for some serious self reflection.

Even Dr Evil might join in for a prize like this. The Bazillion Dollar Club is a new competition show from SyFy where tech gurus Dave McClure and Brady Forrest award big money to brilliant start up ideas, but how do they pick the right ones? The guys share their secrets here. Then meet actor John Lucas (A Brilliant Mind, American Psycho) who previews his new comedy, The Mend.

http://serve.castfire.com/audio/2551852/comicmix_2015-09-22-172452.64.mp3

Be sure and follow us on Twitter now here.

“I Love New York In June”

By Raymond Benson

I had seen Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King only once, back in 1991 on its initial release, and I liked it very much. As years went on, though, my memories of it were such that I considered it to be atypical of Gilliam’s work. For me, he’s always been a hit-and-miss director; some of his pictures are absolute classics and others not so much. There is a certain beautiful sloppiness to his direction; to use a painting analogy, it’s as if he throws a lot of paint on the canvas and maybe it’ll turn out to be something coherent, funny, and meaningful. Gilliam, I think, is much more of a visual designer than a people-director—his films always look great, usually very original and envelope-pushing in their conception and the execution of the visuals. They are often big pictures on large canvases.

The starry lineup is now complete for the concert highlighting songs from the epic Broadway-Bound musical 'Akhenaten the Musical' on May 1st at The Triad. The Tony Nominee for Motown, Charl Brown, will join Broadway favorites N'Kenge Motown the Musical, Sondheim on Sondheim and Ted Keegan Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd. Also previously announced to perform were Seph Stanek Naked Boys Singing, John Lucas, Sahar Milani, Alia Munsch, and Erik Ransom.

Some of Broadway's brightest talents will perform highlights from the epic Broadway-Bound musical Akhenaten the Musical on May 1 at 900pm at The Triad. Broadway favorites N'Kenge Motown the Musical, Sondheim on Sondheim, Vince Oddo Rocky, American Idiot, and Ted Keegan Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd will be joined by Seph Stanek Naked Boys Singing, John Lucas, Sahar Milani, Alia Munsch, and Erik Ransom.

More insane highlights from 10-year-old LeBron James Jr. -- who led his All-Star youth basketball team to victory this weekend in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country.  Bronny and his Gulf Coast Blue Chips squad ran the table at the John Lucas All Star Weekend invitation-only tournament in New Orleans ... going undefeated in five games against really tough teams.  But once again, all eyes were on Bronny ... who was just Killin' It ... working an insane crossover,...

Dark City

Written by John Meredyth Lucas and Larry Marcus

Directed by William Dieterle

U.S.A. 1950

Danny Haley (Charlton Heston) calmly walks along the big city sidewalk towards an as of yet unknown destination as the opening credits role. His serious gaze surveys the surrounding area. Moments later the viewer discovers what might have been troubling him as a police convoy raids a nearby building, smashing an illegal betting operation in the process. Danny successfully found refuge across the street, but he and his partners in crime Barney (Ed Begley) and Augie (Jack Webb) are out for the count as far as making quick cash is concerned. Down and out, that is, until they make the acquaintance of army veteran Arthur Winant (Don DeFore) who looks to be loaded and ready to spend big bucks while in town. A fixed card game sees the unsuspecting Arthur hand over a sizable sum via check…...

On tap to kick off your Friday morning is the first trailer for the oddly titled Sanctuary: Quite a Conundrum. Do you wanna watch it? Can you get away with it? If you get caught, will you flip your desk over in disdain? That's a lot of things to think about. Take your time.

From the Press Release

Sanctuary: Quite A Conundrum, the indie film that took the festival circuit by storm, garnering both critical and audience acclaim, comes home when Midnight Releasing, the leading purveyor in home entertainment horror, releases the thriller August 26th on DVD, VOD, and digital download.

With a fresh, hot young cast and a story that defies description (we’ll try, though), the winner of numerous festival honors will be available throughout North America via multiple platforms. DVD availability is set to include Walmart and most other retail and rental chains. On the digital side,...

We’re back with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes a new poster for L.A. Slasher, details on Headless, casting update on Welcome to Purgatory, trailers for Truth or Dare and Red Sleep, and more:

New Poster for L.A. Slasher: “Sales agency Circus Road Films has picked up Martin Owen’s horror/satire feature “L.A. Slasher.” Glenn Reynolds’ Circus Road is handling domestic sales. The film stars Danny Trejo (“Machete”), Mischa Barton (“The O.C.”), Dave Bautista (“Riddick”), Eric Roberts (“The Dark Knight), Drake Bell (“Drake & Josh”), Brooke Hogan (“Hogan Knows Best”), Tori Black (“Not Another Celebrity Movie”) and Marisa Lauren (“Superhero Movie”), with the of voice of Andy Dick (“News Radio”) as the ‘L.A. Slasher’.

Produced by Jeffrey Wright and Daniel Sollinger (“Girls Against Boys”), “L.A. Slasher” is a biting, social satire about reality TV and the...

So yeah, the title of this movie is... well... Quite a Conundrum! Actually, it's Sanctuary: Quite a Conundrum to be exact. What's all the fuss about? Should you see it? Will it be good? All these questions! We're so conflicted! Read on for details.

From the Press Release

Sanctuary: Quite A Conundrum, the indie film that took the festival circuit by storm, garnering both critical and audience acclaim, comes home when Midnight Releasing, the leading purveyor in home entertainment horror, releases the thriller August 26th on DVD, VOD, and digital download.

With a fresh, hot young cast and a story that defies description (we’ll try, though), the winner of numerous festival honors will be available throughout North America via multiple platforms. DVD availability is set to include Walmart and most other retail and rental chains. On the digital side, the film will be available on all major and minor...

This May, the shocking truth about Deadpool’s family comes to light in Deadpool #29 – a tie-in to Original Sin. And the truth about the Merc With a Mouth upend the lives of those close to him in ways you never thought imaginable. Fan-favorite writers Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn along with artist John Lucas craft an gut-wrenching tale about Wade’s past that might just be too much for him to handle…

Manipulated at the hands of Butler and his brutal offshoot of the Weapon Plus program, Wade Wilson was transformed into an indestructible killing machine against his will. But there is more to the story. Before being fully indoctrinated by Butler for good, all ties to Wade’s past had to be severed. And the secrets of that day have remained unknown to this day – even to Deadpool himself.

Now, thanks to the energies of The Watcher’s all-seeing eyes,...

This May, the shocking truth about Deadpool’s family comes to light in Deadpool #29 – an Original Sin Tie-In! Everything you thought you knew about the Merc With the Mouth is about to change.

Nobody knows the full story of Deadpool’s origin, or what happened to his family – even Wade himself. Manipulated at the hands of Butler and the brutal Weapon Plus program, Wade Wilson was transformed into the indestructible killing machine known as Deadpool. But there is more to the story. Before being fully indoctrinated by Butler’s offshoot of Weapon Plus once and for all, all ties to Wade’s past had to be severed. Now, thanks to the energies of The Watcher’s all-seeing eyes, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Adsit and Preston have uncovered the terrible secret of Deadpool’s family. And the shocking truth about their fate will shake you to your core!

Damned If You Win, Damned If You Lose Possibly the world's most skilled mercenary, definitely the world's most annoying, Wade Wilson was chosen for a top-secret government program that gave him a healing factor allowing him to heal from any wound. Now, Wade makes his way as a gun for hire, shooting his prey's faces off while talking his friends' ears off. Call him the Merc with the Mouth..call him the Regeneratin' Degenerate...call..him... Deadpool Deadpool #12 (w) Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan (a) Mike Hawthorne, Jason Gorder, John Lucas release date: Wed, June 26th, 2013 $2.99 • Concluding the 2nd arc of Marvel Now! Deadpool! • Can Wade trust hell to keep their side of his contract? • Will all of Deadpool’s new friends end up dead because of him? • Are turkey sandwiches better than ham? • 2 of these 3 questions will be answered! Share on Tumblr...

Okay, so here's a movie pitch for you: Take a group of mismatched friends, send them out for an evening of drunken revelry and then watch the hilarity ensue when they try to figure out just what the heck they did. Guaranteed hit, right?

But we're not describing the plot of "The Hangover" — we're actually describing the plot of the upcoming teen comedy "21 and Over," which is basically exactly like "The Hangover" except, you know, with college students in it.

"21 and Over" is hardly the first film to blantly remake another movie, book or play for a teenage crowd; it's actually a longstanding tradition in Hollywood. So in honor of "21 and Over's" brazen replication, here's a closer look at it and six other films like it.

1. "Easy A:" We love 2010's "Easy A," mostly because it's the film that turned Emma Stone into the superstar she was always meant to be.

With the NBA season just under a month away, fans around the world are preparing for what should be another great year. The late summer months are oftentimes the worst couple of months for basketball fans as nothing notable happens. Long gone are the big name free agents, and the few left unsigned are generally either veteran role-players, or end of the bench fodder looking at cracking an NBA roster.

Luckily for fans, the NBA has been releasing videos recapping last season’s action, one of which include some of the best plays from last year. Included are some of the jaw-dropping dunks by the likes of LeBron James and Blake Griffin as well as a plethora of late-game heroics displayed by Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony and others.

The NBA labelled it the ‘top 10’ plays of the 2011-2012 season, but as good as some of these plays are, I don...

Tyrann Mathieu -- the ex-lsu football star who was kicked off the team last week for violating the school's substance abuse policy -- has checked himself into rehab. Mathieu's father, Tyrone, told Wvue-tv in New Orleans that the Honey Badger has been at the Right Step recovery center in Houston since Monday. Mathieu -- a 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist -- is being mentored daily by former NBA star John Lucas, whose career was derailed by drugs in the 1980s.

Fear Agent #31

Out of Step Part 4 (of 5)

Written by Rick Remender

Pencils by Mike Hawthorne, Tony Moore

Finishes by John Lucas

Colors by Lee Loughridge

Letters by Rus Wooten

Cover by Tony Moore

Dark Horse Comics

Released October 5th, 2011

Price: $3.50

Fear Agent has always been a series that I think would appeal to a lot of Geeks of Doom readers who maybe don’t read comics. It doesn’t deal with any of the standard superhero tropes of other comics, instead focusing on sci-fi action with smart writing and excellent art. Fear Agent has been chugging along for a few years, and is coming to an end next issue (at least for a while), so it is amazing to see that Fear Agent #31, part four of the Out of Step mini-series, is the best issue of the series so far [...]...

Dallas Comic Con is getting bigger in more ways than one- This weekend’s Con on May 21-22, 2011, brings legendary stars of the sci-fi/comics genre to Texas, featuring Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy, Star War’s Princess Leia, Carrie Fisher, comic book legends Stan Lee and John Romita, Jr., and The Punisher, Tom Jane!

There are so many awesome guests and not-to-be-missed features about this weekend’s Con. Here is a list of the action taking place at Dcc:

Main Stage Action:

Saturday – Leonard Nimoy’s presentation, The Flash’s John Wesley Shipp & Amanda Pays, Making Macabre – Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson on creating horror comics, and The Walking Dead Cast (Neil Brown, Anthony Guajardo, James Gonzaba) on stage.

Sunday - Stan Lee moderated by John Romita, Jr. and the Raw Studios panel with Tom Jane (Hung, The Punisher), artist Tim Bradstreet, and Todd Farmer (My Bloody Valentine,...

After a post Christmas break I’m back with my Favourites, most of which I picked up this week.

Secret Warriors 24 | Marvel | W: Hickman | A: Marqez & Vitti

Secret Warriors started strong, but after a bit of a drawn out middle, Hickman now seems to be rushing towards the conclusion, and I think the story is suffering a bit because of this. Issue 24 covers how Fury assembled his Grey team, which as an origin story would have been better served over a couple of issues. Instead during this issue whilst curious about the new characters, you don’t have time to connect with them, which is a shame as some of them looking very interesting indeed.

Daredevil: Reborn 1 & 2 (of 4) | Marvel | W: Diggle | A: Gianfelica

Daredevil: Reborn has an old school Marvel feel about it, Gianfelica’s artwork reminds me of Rick Leonardi’s pencils on Daredevil 248 & 249 in the late 80s,...

Dark Horse Comics' "Conan: Road Of Kings" #3, available February 16, 2011, is the lead title in Dark Horse's ongoing Robert E. Howard campaign, written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Mike Hawthorne/John Lucas, featuring painted covers by Doug Wheatley:

"...When 'Conan' finds a nice out-of-the-way tavern to leave his female companion 'Olivia', for a few hours, he imagines she'll be safe under the watchful eye of the dancing wench he paid to watch her. Unfortunately, Olivia has a big mouth when she's drinking and news that she's royalty turns the safe oasis into a watery death trap--seeing as how the tavern is conveniently situated over the top of an underground lake that is home to a prehistoric water dragon..."

Click the image to enlarge...

Jonathan Franzen's family epic, a new collection from Seamus Heaney, Philip Larkin's love letters, a memoir centred on tiny Japanese sculptures ... which books most excited our writers this year?

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In Red Dust Road (Picador) Jackie Kay writes lucidly and honestly about being the adopted black daughter of white parents, about searching for her white birth mother and Nigerian birth father, and about the many layers of identity. She has a rare ability to portray sentiment with absolutely no sentimentality. Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns (Random House) is a fresh and wonderful history of African-American migration. Chang-rae Lee's The Surrendered (Little, Brown) is a grave, beautiful novel about people who experienced the Korean war and the war's legacy. And David Remnick's The Bridge (Picador) is a thorough and well-written biography of Barack Obama. The many Americans who believe invented biographical details about Obama would do well to read it.

Dark Horse Comics has released a preview for the first issue of Conan: Road Of Kings. Written by Roy Thomas with artwork from Mike Hawthorne and John Lucas, the comic sees the iconic barbarian take to the high seas in search of adventure. "The pirate world is about to get 100% more savage as Conan and his crew of brigands ravage the seas in search of treasure and glory," reads the publisher's solicitation. (more)...

Dark Horse Comics' "Conan: Road Of Kings" #3, available February 16, 2011, was written by Roy Thomas, penciled by Mike Hawthorne, inked by John Lucas and colored by Dave Stewart, with a cover by Doug Wheatley:

"...When 'Conan' finds a nice out-of-the-way tavern to leave his female companion, 'Olivia', for a few hours, he imagines she'll be safe under the watchful eye of the dancing wench he paid to watch her. Unfortunately, Olivia has a big mouth when she's drinking and news that she's royalty turns the safe oasis into a watery death trap -- seeing as how the tavern is conveniently situated over the top of an underground lake that is also home to a prehistoric water dragon..."

Click the image to enlarge...

Here I thought Patrick Dempsey had pretty much found his niche as the floppy-haired, totally unthreatening romantic lead in Grey's Anatomy or Maid of Honor or even going back to Sweet Home Alabama (though he got tossed over in favor of Josh Lucas in that one). But apparently Dempsey will not stop until Hollywood lets him be a straight-up action hero. In Flypaper, an action comedy written by The Hangover dues John Lucas and Scott Moore, Dempsey plays a guy who somehow winds up in a bank that's being robbed by two separate gangs at the same time. And, of course, also inside that bank is a teller who Dempsey loves, so he springs into action not so much to be a hero, but for the sake of romance. Maybe this isn't so far from his usual soppy romantic heroes after all. According to Variety Rob Minkoff, who previously made...

The ashes of late Star Trek actor James Doohan will be sent into space following his funeral service. The Canadian TV veteran, who played engineer Scotty in the cult sci-fi series, died at his Washington home on Wednesday after suffering from pneumonia and Alzheimer's at the age of 85. His agent Steve Stevens and wife Wende are in discussions to send the actor's ashes into the galaxy on a rocket, after Doohen expressed the wish before his death. Doohan's wish will follow in the footsteps of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, whose ashes orbited the earth for six years from 1997. It is expected the remains of Doohan and Star Trek writer John Meredyth Lucas will be shot into space in September on board a Falcon 1 rocker, which will be launched from the Vanderberg Air Force base in California.