By
Robbie Graham Silver
Screen Saucers
‘Europa Report’ concept art
Check
out these three new pieces of concept art for the upcoming sci-fi thriller Europa Report, which is described by
Comingsoon.net as “a unique blend
of documentary, alternative history and science fiction thriller [which] follows
a contemporary mission to Jupiter's moon Europa, to investigate the possible
existence of alien life within our solar system.”
Developed
in close collaboration with NASA, JPL, SpaceX and other leaders in the
scientific community, Europa Report “imagines the next
step in manned space exploration and is based on recent scientific discoveries
and theories.”
The
film is due for theatrical release on August 2, and will be available On Demand
from June 27.
Directed
by Sebastian Cordero, Europa Report stars Sharlto Copley,
Michael Nyqvist, Daniel Wu, Anamaria Marinca, Christian Camargo and Karolina
Wydra. The film features music by Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, The Walking
Dead).
‘Men in Black 4’ planned
A
fourth Men in Black movie is being planned, according to The Wrap. No plot details are
forthcoming, and there’s no word yet on who will star, but the script is being
penned by Oren Uziel, the writer behind the upcoming The Kitchen Sink, which Deadline.com
describes as a “genre collision about the unlikely alliance between a high
school-aged vampire, zombie and human as they try to save their town from
invading aliens.”
‘Man of Steel’ backed by Department of
Defense
Writing
for AntiWar.com, Sean McElwee noted last week that the
hotly anticipated Superman reboot, Man of Steel (which I discussed here recently in the context of
UFOlogy/Exoploitics), has been backed by the US Department of Defense.
McElwee
points out that, in exchange for the Pentagon’s right to edit the movie’s
script and monitor its production, the superhero movie has been granted access
to military facilities and hardware in order to cut its production costs. Most
notably, Man of Steel will showcase the USAF’s $400 billion F-35 Joint
Strike Fighter (pictured), which is currently grounded due to flight difficulties. Reuters reported last year that the
final cost of the F-35 program might be as much as $1.5 trillion dollars(!).
According
to Wired, the Pentagon’s Hollywood
Liaison, Phil Strub is remaining tight lipped as to whether or not the F-35 actually
interacts with Superman in the new movie, but, notes Wired, “it gets the
troubled aircraft program in the same sentence as the four-color symbol of
truth, justice and the American way.”
Robot children to feature in Disney’s ‘Tomorrowland’,
no sign yet of aliens
The Hollywood Reporter has it that Raffey
Cassidy (Snow White and the Huntsman, Dark Shadows) has joined the cast of
Brad Bird's oh-so-mysterious Tomorrowland (working title 1952).
The cast already includes George Clooney (as an inventor) and Hugh Laurie
According to THR: “Cassidy will play a robot child that has been around for
many decades, has a history with Clooney's inventor character, and reportedly
knows several different fighting styles.”
Tomorrowland has been
written by Damon Lindelof (Prometheus) and Brad Bird. It is set
for release on December 19, 2014. The jury’s still out on whether or not aliens might make an appearance.
“You were only supposed to blow the bloody
spaceship doors off!”
Deadline.com reports
that Michael Caine has signed on to join the cast of Christopher Nolan’s
upcoming sci-fi epic, Interstellar, which is based on the
work of renowned theoretical physicist Kip Thorne (who will executive produce).
Caine will star
opposite Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and
Jessica Chastain.
Interstellar is being described as “a heroic interstellar voyage to the furthest
reaches of our scientific understanding.” It’s due for a November 7, 2014
release. UFO obsessive Steven Spielberg was originally linked to the project,
so it’s hoped (by me, at least) that aliens might feature in the plot.
Michael Bay’s Turtles not as “alien” as
feared
Speaking with Moviefone recently, Michael Bay made
some clarifying statements on the nature of the ‘heroes-in-a-half-shell’ in his
upcoming big screen production of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
"There was that quote saying
that we’re making [the Ninja Turtles as] aliens. We're
not. It’s the ooze! It’s from the original source material. These are from the original writers,
and I never went out to correct myself in the press. I do listen to the fans
and I do want this to be authentic. I think they’re going to be really happy with this movie. When I see the digital
stuff, the turtles look great."
Bay had riled TMNT fans back in March of last year
by stating that his Turtles would be “from an alien race.”
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles features a screenplay by Josh Appelbaum, Andrew
Nemec, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway and John Fusco, and is based on the characters
created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman.
The film stars Megan Fox
in the role of April O'Neil, Alan Ritchson as Raphael, Jeremy Howard as
Donatello, Pete Ploszek as Leonardo, Noel Fisher as Michelangelo, Will Arnett
in an unspecified role, and Danny Woodburn as Master Splinter. It is scheduled
for release June 6, 2014.
