The Flickcast

SDCC: Robert Carlyle Talks ‘Stargate Universe’

Posted on July 26, 2009

robert-carlyle-sgu Robert Carlyle has had an extremely diverse career during his many years as an actor. First rising to international prominence in films like Trainspotting and The Full Monty, Carlyle went on to play many more memorable roles including the villain Renard in The World is Not Enough and Don in 28 Weeks Later. His latest role of Dr. Nicholas Rush on Stargate Universe puts him on a runaway spaceship where his character, along with the others stranded on the ship, must do what it takes to survive and get back home to earth — even if that means some people may have to be sacrificed in the process.

I caught up with Robert during press for Stargate Universe at the San Diego Comic-Con to talk about his new show. Among the topics covered was if he prefers movies or TV, the show itself, his interactions with the writers and his feelings about his characters motivations and morality.

QUESTION: You’re a movie star, and now you’re doing television. What’s the impetus to take on this particular role on this particular show?

ROBERT CARLYLE: Genuinely I’ve never really made deliberate differences between the genres like that. I think that particularly nowadays the difference between television and film is getting increasingly blurred and that’s just been the case in the past eight, ten years or so. American television has been superb absolutely superb, it seemed to me that at one point the shows were just better than the last one and better than the last one.

SDCC: ‘Green Lantern First Flight’ Clip Online

Posted on July 26, 2009

For fans who just can’t get enough Green Lantern in their diet (the feature film and Blackest Night series wasn’t enough?), Warner Bros. has released exclusive footage of the animated film, Green Lantern: First Flight to UGO.

The two minute clip features Hal Jordan being, well, Hal Jordan. Green Lantern of Sector 2814, first earthman to wear the GL ring, renegade test pilot. He’s even got a sense of humor, which is evident in the construct he creates to fight an alien bug problem.

Green Lantern: First Flight will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray July 28.

SDCC: First Trailer of ‘Wolverine’ Anime from Marvel

Posted on July 26, 2009

Marvel had a pretty big weekend here in San Diego for the 40th Annual Comic-Con. Among the announcements made was that a new umbrella would form under Marvel’s studio, developing direct-to-DVD Anime titles of some of their classic characters, with comics legend Warren Ellis at the helm.

The first poster was released earlier in the weekend, and now the first trailer has hit the web. Check out the trailer for Marvel Anime’s Wolverine below, Anime Wolverine hits DVD stores (and probably your shelves at home) in 2010, and check in later for another new trailer from the studio.

SDCC Photos: More Costumes and ‘Booth Babes’

Posted on July 25, 2009

boothbabes Do over one hundred thousand people make a trip every year to San Diego just because they love comics, movies, TV, games and all things geek? Maybe. Do they come because they love standing in line for hours or days to see five minutes of a movie that won’t come out for six months or longer? Possibly.

Even with all those great reasons, they’re one more reason that geeks flock to San Diego every year: girls. Like all things geek, if it doesn’t have a little bit of T and A or at the very least the potential for some, we might not make the trip.

Take a peek at some of the booth babes we’ve encountered so far during this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego. Find all the photos after the jump.

SDCC: Peter Jackson Discusses ‘The Hobbit’

Posted on July 25, 2009

Fans who thought that Peter Jackson’s presence at this year’s Comic-Con meant that he would have big news regarding the release of The Hobbit are in for a bit of a disappointment. Cinematical reports that Jackson revealed The Hobbit is much farther away than fans have been led to believe.

Prior to his appearance, rumors circulated that Jackson (who is producing with Guillermo del Toro directing) would announce who would star as Bilbo Baggins in the highly-anticipated double-feature prequel at Comic-Con. Far from announcing who was cast, he claimed they’re not even close to choosing one. “Everyone assumes we’re casting but we’re not,” he said.

Jackson related that they’re three or four weeks away from finishing the first draft of the script, and that the film isn’t even really greenlit yet. Once the draft is handed in, they still need to get approval on the script and have the budget approved before any casting decisions will be made. Fans shouldn’t panic however; the film will certainly be made, but wait a few months before you start looking for a casting announcement.

The first Hobbit film is due to hit theaters in December of 2011.

SDCC: Zoe Saldana Says ‘Star Trek 2’ Script Halfway Done

Posted on July 25, 2009

Zoe Saldana, who played Uhura in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, announced at Comic-Con that she believes the script for the sequel is already halfway done. Although screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and director Abrams, have been evasive about details of the sequel, SciFiWire reports that Saldana is providing fans with a much needed progress report.

“I do know that they are germinating a script,” Saldana said during a group interview to promote Avatar. “That’s what they told us a month and a half ago, which actually means—in that kind of talk it means that they’re probably halfway done with a script. They just can’t present it to anybody. But they’re very excited, and there is a lot of pressure, because now it’s like, ‘Oh, do you do The Wrath of Khan or do you do this or whatever?'”

When Star Trek reset the canon with a time-travel story device, the opportunity to revisit classic Trek missions from a fresh perspective. However, Saldana encouraged the filmmakers to avoid succumbing to any outside influence.

“I honestly told Robert, Alex and J.J. to just do what they did first, which is just to trust themselves,” Saldana continued. “By not listening to anyone, not putting any pressures on themselves, they were able to create something very beautiful and free that we still grew attached to. If that formula worked for Star Trek, then it can certainly work for this next one.”

Saldana is also confident that the romance that was beginning to develop between Uhura and Spock (Zachary Quinto) in the first movie will continue in the sequel. “I am excited to see what they’re going to do with their relationship in relation to what happened to Vulcan and what kind of responsibilities Spock is going to have in this next journey,” she said. “Not only in his personal side but in terms of he’s a race in extinction now.”

Saldana believes work will begin on Star Trek 2 next year.

SDCC: Downey Can’t Contain his Excitement for ‘Sherlock Holmes’

Posted on July 25, 2009

Megan Fox hadn’t finished taking photos at the end of the Warner Bros. presentation for Jonah Hex before Robert Downey Jr. leaped onstage past the starlet to the surprise and delight of the crowd gathered for the Sherlock Holmes panel. SciFiWire notes Downey acknowledged the applause of the crowd by bowing to the packed hall before screening a clip from the film..

The footage introduces Downey as Holmes, Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, Holmes’ female foil and sometime lover, Jude Law as Watson and Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood. One sequence features Holmes squaring off in a ring against a much larger man; before they battle, he imagines (in slow motion) what he should do to maximize the damage he can inflict, then does it in real time. Later, Holmes is bested by McAdams’ character, who seduces him, chains him to a bed and leaves him for a chambermaid to discover. The clip also featured a lot of big action, including a fight scene atop a drawbridge and a showdown by the docks.

Director Guy Ritchie wasn’t in attendance to promote the film, but producers Susan Downey (Robert’s wife) and Joel Silver and co-star McAdams took the stage with Downey to talk about the character. Susan Downey suggested that Sherlock Holmes “applies as much today as he did” in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, while Silver praised the interpretation of him, saying “Downey really is genius in this role. He made it come to life.”

McAdams pointed out that she had the freedom to develop her character, unencumbered by the legacy and mythology of the Holmes novels, mostly because Irene appears in only one book, for about 10 pages. She also said that Irene was uncharacteristic for Holmes’ era, explaining that “she kind of lives in the underworld. [Holmes and I] develop this kind of strange, unique love affair.”

At the end of the panel, Susan Downey revealed that although Mrs. Hudson makes an appearance in the film, none of the other Baker Street characters are in the film. Regardless, she insisted that the film has “a narrative unique to the movie.” Sherlock Holmes opens Christmas Day.

SDCC: ‘Legion’ and ‘District 9’ Stir Crowds

Posted on July 25, 2009

district9_bigposter2 Hoping to drum up support for the lesser-known fantasy horror film, Legion, Sony Pictures paired it with the highly anticipated District 9 at Comic-Con on Friday. They then upped the ante by having producer Peter Jackson on hand to make sure the crowds showed. Variety is reporting that the daring move might just pay off.

The panel opened with Legion’s director, Scott Stewart, presenting the film’s clip, after commemorating the experience on his iPhone. Legion is the story of a band of strangers in a post-apocalyptic world, one of whom is a pregnant diner waitress who just happens to be carrying the new messiah. The film is exciting and visually compelling, juxtaposing hyper-violence and religious imagery to slightly campy effect.

Stewart was joined by actors Adrianne Palicki, Doug Jones, Tyrese Gibson and Paul Bettany, who talked about the joys of making their “angels with machine guns” film and the film’s religious subject matter. Stewart said that Legion was “not a religious movie,” but more of a cross between Terminator and The Exorcist. When the panel concluded, you could almost hear the collective increase in heart rates. Legion opens in theaters January 22, 2010.

The crowd was then treated to about seven minutes of footage from District 9, with Jackson sharing the stage with director Neill Blomkamp and star Sharlto Copley. Jackson explained that the creation of District 9 had been an “unusual experience” because of Blomkamp’s decision to do the film in a highly improvised manner without strict adherence to a formal script.

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