'Bioshock,' which became one of last year's biggest console games, is making the expected move to the big screen with Gore Verbinski on board to direct, according to Variety || The last two seasons of 'Lost' will now be 17 hours each instead of 16 hours to make p for time lost because of the Writers Guild of America strike, says The Hollywood Reporter || Common, a rap artist, has decided to take a turn to acting and has been granted a role on 'Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins,' according to Variety || For the first time, SciFi Channel will rerun episodes of the 1987-94 series 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' joining 'Charmed' and 'Mork & Mindy' on the cable outlet, Variety reports || 'Star Trek: The Experience' may be running out of steam. Cedar Fair, which owns the Las Vegas attraction, says there are no plans to renew its contract with CBS Corp., which could close the event next year, TrekToday reports || 'Bioshock,' which became one of last year's biggest console games, is making the expected move to the big screen with Gore Verbinski on board to direct, according to Variety || The last two seasons of 'Lost' will now be 17 hours each instead of 16 hours to make p for time lost because of the Writers Guild of America strike, says The Hollywood Reporter || Common, a rap artist, has decided to take a turn to acting and has been granted a role on 'Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins,' according to Variety || For the first time, SciFi Channel will rerun episodes of the 1987-94 series 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' joining 'Charmed' and 'Mork & Mindy' on the cable outlet, Variety reports || 'Star Trek: The Experience' may be running out of steam. Cedar Fair, which owns the Las Vegas attraction, says there are no plans to renew its contract with CBS Corp., which could close the event next year, TrekToday reports ||

'Masters Of Science Fiction' A TV Experiment

EXCLUSIVE: Producer of anthology series talks about Aug. 4 premiere

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By CHARLES Q. CHOI
Source: SyFy Portal
Jul-31-2007

The creators of anthology series "Masters of Science Fiction" revealed the program was always meant to be a gamble of sorts, which they and ABC will soon see will either pay off or go bust when it premieres Aug. 4.

The hour-long show, narrated by famous Cambridge University physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking, tells classic sci-fi tales by famed writers such as Robert Heinlein and Harlan Ellison, and features notable actors such as Anne Heche, Malcolm McDowell ("Star Trek: Generations"), John Hurt, Brian Dennehy ("Cocoon"), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings trilogy), Terry O'Quinn ("Lost") and Sam Waterston. Directors include two Academy Award nominees, Mark Rydell and Michael Petroni, as well as Jonathan Frakes, best known to genre audiences as Cmdr. William T. Riker in "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Collectively, the creators read 400 science-fiction short stories before settling on six "that were incredibly entertaining and about incredibly powerful ideas that we could do on our limited budget and schedule," Keith Addis, co-executive producer of "Masters of Science Fiction" and its sister program on Showtime, "Masters of Horror," told SyFy Portal's Charles Q. Choi.

The first episode, "A Clean Escape," is directed by Mark Rydell off a story originally written by John Kessel, and concerns a psychiatrist (Judy Davis) interrogating a confused man (Sam Waterston) who appears to suffer from a lapse of memory -- but why?

The second episode, "The Awakening," stars Terry O'Quinn and Elisabeth Rohm and is directed by Michael Petroni off a story originally written by Hollywood blacklist author Howard Fast. It opens with a firefight outside Baghdad, where U.S. soldiers discover a mysterious casualty -- one they can't even identify as human.

The third episode, "Jerry Was A Man," starring Malcolm McDowell and Anne Heche and directed by Michael Tolkin off a story originally written by Robert Heinlein, is a satirical take on what it means to be human.

The fourth episode, "The Discarded," starring Brian Dennehy and John Hurt, was directed by Jonathan Frakes off a story originally written by Harlan Ellison, that is about despised minorities sentenced to drift in the darkness of outer space forever.

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