This morning's spoilers include casting calls for Transformers 2 and the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica, which give away huge plot developments. Can you guess which of those things features leather pants? Also, we have four minutes of horrifying footage from the Doctor Who season opener. And more details about the World War Z movie and an upcoming Lost episode. This is your final spoiler warning. In fact, it may already be too late!
Transformers 2
Tons of spoilers for Transformers 2. The Decepticons will have help this time around from another group of robots: the Constructicons. Who are, like, more constructive. And less deceptive. In the cartoon, the Constructicons are Scrapper, Bonecrusher, Scavenger, Mixmaster, Hook and Long Haul. But the name Bonecrusher was already used for a Decepticon in the first film, so they may have different names in the movie. And the Constructicons can join together to make a really, really giant massive huge robot called Devastator.
Meanwhile, here's a list of human characters that are being cast in the new movie:
- Chuck, Sam (Shia LaBoeuf)'s roommate at Princeton, who's obsessed with conspiracy theories
- A U.S. military leader who's African American and has a sense of humor, plus a British Special Forces leader
- Galloway, a "curt" National Security liaison and presidential advisor
- Professor Colan, Sam's physics professor, who's arrogant enough to compare himself to Einstein and wears leather pants to look cool
- The wife of Sgt. Epps (Tyrese Gibson) from the first film
- Momma Simmons, a tough lady who runs a butcher shop in Brooklyn
- The CEO of Massive Dynamics, who testifies before Congress
- A Texas Congressman who investigates the "Automated Defense Initiative" created by Massive Dynamics
- The FBI Director, who gives a speech assuring the public they're safe from attacks
- A CNN reporter who covers missile strikes and bombings in various cities
Lost:
Lost's Michael Emerson (Ben) and Yunjin Kim (Sun) were seen flying into Heathrow Airport to film some scenes in London, probably for the season finale. Are they going to confront boat-owner Charles Widmore? Or just cruising the seedy end of Wardour Street? [Lyly Ford]
Battlestar Galactica:
On the heels of the detailed description of the Caprica prequel TV movie that came out the other day, a casting call from the series has shown up as well. Here are the major characters, with the new bits of information that came out:
- Daniel Graystone is a spectacularly wealthy computer engineer who doesn't have much time for his wife or daughter, whom he still sees as a "little girl in pink shoes." After her death, he learns that his own child, Zoe, has exceeded his own computer expertise by downloading her personality into an online avatar.
- Zoe, Daniel's daughter, is "16 going on 40," with severe makeup and hair. She not only uploads her consciousness into a holographic avatar, but her DNA as well. The result, Zoe-A, is her "online twin." She's a "closet monotheist" on polytheistic Caprica, and she practices this religion in secret. She plans to leave the planet with her boyfriend, Ben, but then Ben sets off a suicide bomb. Zoe-A is left behind, "a baffled, grieving digital duplicate" of the dead Zoe. Then Zoe-A gets downloaded into a robot body using stolen technology, giving rise to Zoe-R, the first Cylon. (And since Zoe is described as a "series regular," you have to assume Zoe-R looks at least somewhat like the flesh-and-blood Zoe. Which does give rise to the question of how anybody was surprised that the Cylons could look human.)
- Joseph Adams is a Tauron, who's immigrated to Caprica and risen above traditional anti-Tauron prejudices. He's a powerful defense attorney with ties to the Tauron crime underworld. His wife and daughter die in the same suicide bombing that kills Daniel's daughter Zoe, and he bonds with Daniel. He agrees to help Daniel create robot versions of their dead daughters, but then is repelled by the result. He reaches out to his surviving son, Bill, and reveals that their last name is really Adama.
- Amanda, Daniel's wife, is a surgeon who turns to an ex-lover, a Tauron named Tomas Vergis, for comfort after Zoe dies. But actually Amanda feels guilty about having cheated on Daniel and is acting as a "double agent," learning secrets of Vergis' intellectual property from his "blabbing mouth" and taking them home for Daniel to use.
- Sister Clarice Willow is an Athenian High Priestess who runs the Athena Academy, a private religious school where Zoe goes, along with Joseph's daughter Lacy and Zoe's boyfriend Ben. Clarice grew up in a slum and "has seen it all." But she's secretly a monotheist, and has shared her forbidden beliefs with the brightest of her students in private — only to see those beliefs blow up in her students' faces, literally.
- Ben Stark, Zoe's boyfriend, is a fanatical monotheist who's super-intense and seems kind of crazy. He's the one who introduces Zoe and Lacy (Joseph's daughter) to the monotheistic cult. He blows up the train they're on with a suicide bomb. Later, we discover he also has an online avatar, Ben-A, which only Sister Clarice can talk to.
- And then finally there's William Adams aka Adama, who is "Edward James Olmos at nine years old." He's introspective and withdrawn at the best of times, and gets more so after his mom and sister die. He's also barely aware of his father, who's always off working. He's a "stoical Tauron" who learns the basics of his Tauron heritage from his newly close father.
Meanwhile, in an episode of Battlestar Galactica currently filming (maybe episode 12?) Admiral Adama gets blood all over his hands. [Mercury News]
World War Z:
Another review of J. Michael Straczynski's script for the movie adaptation of Max Brooks' World War Z gives quite a bit more detail. The book's author is now a "central character" and has a personal reason for spanning the globe doing interviews about the global zombie war. The interviews include flashbacks and voice-overs. Straczynski smushes together some separate scenes and elements from the book into one crucial scene in the movie, and loses some of the political overtones. And the turning point, the Battle of Yonkers, is truly horrifying and intense in this version. [Geek In The City]
Doctor Who:
Here's a compilation of all the clips from the Doctor Who season opener, which airs on Saturday in the U.K. and in a couple of weeks for Americans. I have to say, the fat people turning into evil babies could be the beginning of an anti-Who backlash. It's actually worse than I had feared. (Note: weird aspect ratio in some scenes is from the source video.)














Comments
Yea for leather pants! The power of the pants commands me!
What? No dinobots? ...Must be saving 'em for 3.
Todays spoilers make me sad (okay make me vomit) - all of them sound unbeleivably rubbish for the franchises involved (apart from the JMS one..) and DR Who Flew past the Ubend when they announced Catherine Tate was going to be in it.
I've got to say, I'm kind of done with zombie movies.
@Miranda Kali: I think there will be dinobots. They will need them to fight Devastator.
The more I read about Caprica, the more it sounds like it's going to suffer from all the usual prequel problems.
@Miranda Kali: I <3 Dinobots! "Me, Grimlock, the brains of the outfit!"
Would the Zoe-R from "Caprica" have to look human? Maybe there is a Wall-E type tie-in here where a cute little robot is always hanging around the major happenings (R2-D2, anyone?). We could always "see" the actress as an imaginary vision like the 6/Baltar duo in BSG.
Boo Michael Bay, YAY Devastator!!! Didn't they have enough damn humans in the first film to cover the next 5 films? Seeing as most of my physics professors didn't like to change their clothes I find leather pants rather disgusting...
@NefariousNewt: "Dinobots! Do tail stuff!"
@NefariousNewt: ME GRIMLOCK AM KING! ME GRIMLOCK SAY, EXECUTE THEM!
@Miranda Kali: Dinobots, or Omega Supreme, either one would certainly trip my trigger.
Somehow, the aliens remind me of CJ7...
Where'd that woman get that screwdriver?
'massive dynamics' sounds like a male 'escort' service...
You forgot that Megan Fox will be back. Who cares what her story is, thats pretty much enough info.
Constructicons inferior, Soundwave superior
@tetracycloide: They've been looking in my pants again...
They also used the name Devastator for the Tank Decepticon in the first film. They only showed it for a brief second in the subtitles when the Decepticons were all communicating with each other, but it was enough to send me into a Transformer fanboy rage.
Man, I hope those rumors that Steven Moffat's taking over Doctor Who are true.
@braak: Here's a thought: Dinobots in the next Hulk movie. Just think of all the money they can save on writing dialog!
I cannot, repeat, cannot wait for WWZ to come out. I read the book last year (as well as the Zombie Survival Guide), both by Max Brookes and both were excellent reads! If the movie is half as good as the book, it will be an adventure unlike any zombie lovers have seen. My personal opinion anyhow.
I suspect that the name of the character on Caprica is "Joseph Adama" rather than "Adams". Just a hunch...
@NefariousNewt: They spent money on dialogue for the new Hulk movie? Wow are they gonna be disappointed...
This seems a little rushed - didn't the cartoon wait until at least season three to get into the whole constructicon > dynobot > stunticon > aerialbot spiral?
@NefariousNewt: They spent money on dialogue for the new Hulk movie?
Sorry stupid lag in comment posting...
@Log1c: Thank you. Thank you. I was hoping somebody would confirm that.
I still won't watch the movie. The first was was so bad, that scene with Megan Fox opening the hood of the Camaro didn't even make up for it.
@blackeyedgurl: Hulk confused.
@blackeyedgurl: Well, they needed someone who could spell "RRAAARRRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!" properly.
We saw the Lost crew filming with Yunjin Kim at Butler's Wharf, the posh restaurant district right by Tower Bridge. There's a mooring there with faux-paddlesteamer tourboats on it. We were quite surprised to see the Lost crew filming in London as usually they film the England scenes in what appears to be Disneyland.
@NefariousNewt: Fortunately, they got Ed Norton to do the rewrites.
@braak: the book, as it is, is not so much about zombies as about people. The movie, it sounds like, will follow the same path, and treat the zeds as a plot device.
That said, I can't WAIT to see the Horrors of the Battle of Yonkers. This movie will rock! (please let it rock)
Caprica is already a waste of time. Pull that plug and find a new story.
Here's hoping Transformers 3 = Unicron coming to snack on Earth.
@Whitworthian: actually I really do think his name is "Adams." It's been confirmed in numerous places. And then he reveals his name is "really" Adama, but he Anglicized (Capricized??) it. And yes, I know how silly that sounds.
@Darkedge: I don't know why people here seem to forget that Doctor Who is family show mainly aimed of kids. You're never going to get hardcore scifi from Doctor Who so don't watch and stop bitching.
@lonewolf333: Maybe your comment should be amended to "kids and adults who haven't strangled their inner kids." And didn't British fans originally have low expectations about the first RTD Who because Billie Piper to play the Doctor's companion?
Still, from the clips I saw, Catherine Tate's acting seemed to descend from passable to unimpressive. Maybe I need to watch the entire episode first?
@Mrreader: Yeah maybe you should.
I really hope the World War Z movie isn't shit. I love that book.
Here's to hoping that Shia LaDouche isn't going to be in T2.
@doubledumbassonyou: Who you calling unchrasimatic?!
Oh good! Momma Simmons confirmed for TF2! That's all I need to know!
Fuck you, Michael Bay.
@Sharpless. Amen to that, brother. Goooood, but he's a talentless hack.
Comment on this post
Reply by EmailLogin with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.
Forgot your username or password? New User?