I know there's probably a term for this type of fighting, and someone who did it first. But, watching Denzel fight all I could think of was, "Get 'em Rafiki!" Wise old dude who makes spiritual references and fights with his hands, and a knife. And that's not a bad thing, because Rafiki is the shit. Here's a video for comparison.

Warner Bros. put out 29 official publicity stills from The Book Of Eli, which comes out January 15. It's the long-awaited next film from the Hughes Bros., who gave us Menace II Society and From Hell. And here's the official synopsis:

In the not-too-distant future, some 30 years after the final war, a solitary man walks across the wasteland that was once America. Empty cities, broken highways, seared earth—all around him, the marks of catastrophic destruction. There is no civilization here, no law. The roads belong to gangs that would murder a man for his shoes, an ounce of water...or for nothing at all.

But they're no match for this traveler.

A warrior not by choice but necessity, Eli (Denzel Washington) seeks only peace but, if challenged, will cut his attackers down before they realize their fatal mistake. It's not his life he guards so fiercely but his hope for the future; a hope he has carried and protected for 30 years and is determined to realize. Driven by this commitment and guided by his belief in something greater than himself, Eli does what he must to survive—and continue.

Only one other man in this ruined world understands the power Eli holds, and is determined to make it his own: Carnegie (Gary Oldman), the self-appointed despot of a makeshift town of thieves and gunmen. Meanwhile, Carnegie's adopted daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) is fascinated by Eli for another reason: the glimpse he offers of what may exist beyond her stepfather's domain.

But neither will find it easy to deter him. Nothing—and no one—can stand in his way. Eli must keep moving to fulfill his destiny and bring help to a ravaged humanity.

Kick-Ass

The final character poster has been revealed to give us purple-haired, plaid skirt-wearing Hit Girl. She still kind of looks like Stephanie from Lazy Town. [/Film]

Daybreakers

The human blood shortage means something more monstrous than vamps forgoing their bloody snow cones. The one sheet below depicts a subsider, the horrific creatures vampires become if they go too long without feeding. [ShockTillYouDrop]

The Book of Eli

Mila Kunis looks much more appropriately post-apocalyptic in these stills than in the character posters. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

X-Men: First Class

Not only has Bryan Singer signed on to direct the new prequel, it also has a writer: Jamie Moss, who has been working with DreamWorks to develop a live-action version of Ghost in the Shell. [THR]

Toy Story 3

This new still reveals little, except that Buzz Lightyear's helmet has seen better days. [/Film]

The Phantom

Character breakdowns for the miniseries reveal a great deal about the plot. Chris Moore, the biological son of the Phantom, takes up his father's mantle after his adoptive parents are killed by the Singh Brotherhood and his girlfriend Renny's life is put in danger. Guran has an unbreakable mystical connecton with Chris, and serves as his most trusted ally. When Able Vandermaark, Chris' conservative mentor and keeper of the ways of the Phantom, forbids Chris from returning home to protect Renny and her father, it is Guran who ensures Chris gets his wish. Meanwhile, as Chris chafes under Vandermaark, Chris begins to question his mentor's true intentions.

Paramedic Renny was Chris' elementary school crush, and is later reunited with him at the scene of an accident involving Chris' friend Jordy. Their flirtatious quickly turns to a passionate relationship, but then Chris suddenly disappears at the same time Renny's father is wounded in a shooting. Renny's father is treated for his injury in Bengalia, and that is where Renny learns Chris' identity as the Phantom.

Raatib Singh is of course the leader of the Singh Brotherhood, and he attempts to keep wars and social and economic upheaval churning so that the Brotherhood can reap a profit. He is obsessed with the implementation of a technology called "Flicker" and has plans to assassinate Jalil Ben David, a politician who could bring stability to the Middle East. But he doesn't regard the Phantom as a real threat, and that leads to his assassination plans being foiled. The Brotherhood's latest asset is Dr. Bella Lithia, who developed the Flicker technology. Flicker can turn ordinary citizens into deadly assassins, but it has its limits. But when Singh refuses to heed Lithia's warnings and tries to control the technology himself, Lithia tries to outsmart him. [PhantomSite]

Doctor Who

The BBC six o'clock news interviewed David Tennant about his final episodes and gives a behind-the-scenes look at "The End of Time," including a fiery moment with the Master. [Blogtor Who]

True Blood

Mad Men actress Shannon Welles has been cast as "a mysterious old woman who lives in the middle of nowhere." It sounds like Bill will be shacking up at her place following his abduction. [EW]

Dollhouse

We'll be seeing more of Alan Tudyk's Alpha in the "Epitaph Two" finale. [EW]

Being Human

The vampire, werewolf, and ghost flatmates return in January, and here's a new one-sheet. Poor Annie is still stuck in that same outfit. [Den of Geek]

Lost

We will soon find out how Mikhail lost his right eye, but someone whose name is three letters long already knows (Ben?). [EW]

And here are a few more of those casual wear photos. [Lyly Ford]

Fringe

Fringe's second season is going on hiatus early in the new year, but on January 11th, we'll be getting an unaired episode from the first season, titled "Unearthed." [Spoiler TV]

Chuck

Chuck tests out his new powers — and encounters a bar full of spies — in images from the season premiere "Chuck vs. The Pink Slip." [Spoiler TV]

And glittery streamers and beach torches aside, everyone looks very serious in the second episode, "Chuck vs. The Three Worlds." [ChuckTV]

And everyone (including Ellie and Awesome) get fancied up in the season's third episode, "Chuck vs. The Angel de la Muerte." [Spoiler TV]

Avatar

The first (generally positive) reviews are utterly brimming with spoilers. The Hollywood Reporter lays out the basic plot most clearly, and includes some more details about the Na'vi. Apparently, one of the reasons that the Na'vi are so reluctant to relocate is that the unobtainium deposit sits beneath a holy tree that happens to be the center of Na'vi life. The tree holds tribal memories and ancestral wisdom, and apparently the Na'vi can access this as they possess an innate ability to tap into a Force-like ability that ripples through Pandora's plant life.

And from Empire's review, it sounds like the holy tree might not fare well, as there's "a human attack on a Na'vi landmark that recalls 9/11 in its devastating imagery."

We already know the humans set up schools to teach the Na'vi English, and Variety clarifies that they learned English from Grace.

James Cameron added more details about Pandora and what we'll find there. He himself designed the monstrous Thanator which features flexible bone shields and sensor quills. It also has a single nostril called an operculum, which is based on the flapper valve on top of a stingray's head. He also says that his goal with the animated characters was to cross the uncanny valley, and while he believes that some of the shots are an eight out of ten, there are some that go right up to eleven. He calls the Na'vi's central tree the Tree of Souls, and says it's the input-output station for the Pandora biological communications network — and where Neytiri's clan has lived for 10,000 years. There are apparently two scales of trees on Pandora, normal jungle canopy trees and gigantic Great Trees. Getting into human technology, the same magnetic fields that cause Pandora's mountains to float also mess with the instrumentation on the Samson gunship, forcing it into "Second World War-style combat mode." [Times Online]

Splice

We get more images from Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley's genetic experiment, including another peek at the transgenic fruit of their labor. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Sherlock Holmes

Can't wait to watch Robert Downey Jr. solve possibly occult crimes? Here's a cornucopia of stills to tide you over.

Book of Eli

A trio of character posters to keep you company at the end of the world. [CinemaBlend]

Dark Shadows

Shooting is scheduled to begin on the supernatural soap adaptation in October 2010, but producer Graham King says it's still waiting on a script. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy describes the final showdown between the forces of good and the forces of evil as akin to a Western shoot-out. [MTV]

Lost

Yet another filming report places Hurley and Alpert near a big tree in the middle of a jungle. Hurley was wearing his red shirt and Alpert was in dark clothing. Apparently, the crew said they did a lightning scene with pyrotechnics in the area and are planning to do a similar scene on the beach location. The camp had recently been rebuilt with green palms, and Ben, Kate, Jack, Hurley, Sun, Miles, and Ilana were all filming on the beach, sitting around a campfire. [DarkUFO]

True Blood

Rutina Wesley says that Sookie will be helping Tara deal with her grief and the fallout from last season, as well as the handsome vamp ready to sweep her off her feet. Alexanger Skarsgard adds that we'll get another Eric flashback; he won't say what era we'll see, but Eric and another person wil act as a tag team. [TV Guide]

Dollhouse

Five clips from tonight's episode show Echo contemplating whether she's really Caroline, a Dollhouse interrogation, and a tease of Alpha's return:

Fringe

Here's a neat detail from the alternate universe. An eagle-eyed viewer noticed that in Peter's childhood dream in the alternate universe, there's a poster celebrating the Challenger's 11th mission in June 1984. In our universe, the Challenger exploded during its tenth mission on January 28th, 1986. How advanced is the other universe's technology? Check out the photo evidence at the link. [Tallisen LJ]

Anna Torv doesn't know precisely how Peter will react to the news that he was kidnapped from the other universe, but like everyone else, she has her speculations:

"And I think its going to be heartbreaking… heartbreaking for Walter, but particularly for Peter too because this year seeing him take an active interest in his father and an active interest in the investigations and he's really taken it on. For that to explode, or implode, is going to be devastating," she explained. "But that's what you want isn't it?"

[MTV]

Peter-Olivia shippers don't have an ally in Joshua Jackson:

"This is only my opinion, but I don't think that's the direction that the story is going in," Jackson said. "In my head, what you have between these three people is a family dynamic rather than a romantic dynamic. She would be a very tolerant woman if she were willing to start dating a man who lives with his father."

[Inside TV]

Smallville

Sometime before the Justice Society two-episode movie, Chloe will get a non-Watchtower job offer. In "Society," the first part of the movie, some Justice Society member will know who Watchtower really is before it's revealed to them, and there's a supervillain that we haven't learned about so far. [KryptonSite]

Chuck

By law, all science fiction television series must feature Mark Sheppard at some point, and Chuck is not exempt; Sheppard tweets that he's starting an arc this week. [via Spoiler TV]

Additional reporting by Josh Snyder and Charlie Jane Anders.

Doctor Who:

In an interview with Bullz-Eye.com to promote Pirate Radio, fifth series writer Richard Curtis revealed who will be playing featured guest star Vincent Van Gogh:

Well, we've got a brilliant guy playing Vincent van Gogh – which is who it's about – who you should look up on YouTube. He's a guy called Tony Curran, who really could not look more like. He's a wonderful actor who was in this brilliant movie called "Red Road" that came out, a rather serious movie.

He also mentioned they start shooting the episode in about a month. [Blogtor Who]

Elsewhere, a very Scottish-sounding John Barrowman appeared on GMTV with Lorraine to promote his new concert DVD and talk about "The End of Time." Skip to 2:15 as he slips back into his American accent to discuss his role, which apparently is just "an appearance." [Planet Gallifrey]

Dollhouse:

I think it's been fairly well reported that Alan Tudyk is coming back as Alpha, but now we've got a photo of him and a description of episodes 2.7 and 2.8, in which he appears:

DOLLHOUSE season 2 episode 7 and 8 "Meet Jane Doe/A Love Supreme" - Echo struggles to control her multiple memory downloads; Topher discovers the dangers of science that will have devastating effects on the future; the Dollhouse fears Alpha has returned to seek his revenge; the Actives turn against their handlers.

And here's that picture. [Spoiler TV]

Michael Ausiello reports English actor Adam Godley, probably best known to American audiences for his role as Father Ybarra in The X-Files: I Want to Believe is joining the cast as Clyde, "a genius who holds secrets to the Dollhouse." The role is recurring as any role can be when there are less than ten episodes left in the series. He also has a complete breakdown of the air dates for the remaining episodes: [EW.com]

Dec. 4: two episodes
Dec. 11: two episodes
Dec 18: two episodes
Jan 8: one episode
Jan 15: one episode
Jan 22: one episode (series finale)

Finally, here are a bunch more promo pics for the next four episodes. [Spoiler TV]

Thor:

Another day, another casting possibility for Kat Dennings. Apparently, Dennings twittered something about "loving Hell", which naturally means she will play Hela, the Asgardian goddess of death. [Spoiler TV]

Meanwhile, Variety reports she's playing "Darcy, who works with Natalie Portman's Jane Foster character." That's probably the same person as the previously reported Marcy Lewis, but who really knows? At this point, it's probably just safe to assume Kenneth Branagh has actually turned Thor into a one-woman show, starring Dennings in all the parts, including Thor. [IGN]

Chuck:

Here's a six-minute preview of the third season, complete with clips from the first five episodes:

According to Michael Ausiello, co-creator Chris Fedak says Anna Wu won't be in the first thirteen episodes, but she could be in the newly ordered last six, if only because they haven't been written yet. He also notes that her character's absence from the Buy More will be mentioned early next season. Finally, Fedak says the extra six episodes forced them to either slow down the story they were already telling or expand it. They opted to expand it, and are treating those last six as "Season 3.2" of Chuck. [ChuckTV.net]

And, last and sort of least, here are a couple photos tweeted from a season 3 photo shoot.

Fringe:

Here are three promo pics for episode 2.10, "Grey Matters", in which Walter gets a glimpse of the past: [Spoiler TV]

Heroes:

Here's a sneak peek and a promo for episode 4.11, "The Fifth Stage": [Spoiler TV]

For those who prefer to keep their audio and their visual separate, here are some promo pics:

And here's a scoop from Adam of TV Guide Mega Buzz: [Spoiler TV]

Todd Stashwick (The Riches) kicks off his guest role in Monday's episode. He plays Eli, who fills the void as Samuel's right-hand man now that Edgar (Ray Park) has split from the carnival. Also, expect to see a lot of Eli: He has the ability to replicate.

Smallville:

Michael Ausiello has the scoop on whether Warrior Angel is really going to be Chloe's love interest:

He is, but per exec producer Brian Petersen, "There's a wink behind it." And what about a real, non-winky love interest? "I have promised that we're going to give Chloe a relationship this year, and rest-assured, that was not just a tease. She will have a relationship this year." Does this guy have a name? Teases BP: "We'll know [who he is] in ‘Warrior.'"

Also, there will be Justice Society members seen in the upcoming movie Absolute Justice beyond Hawkman, Doctor Fate, and Stargirl, but these will be only glimpses. Brian Peterson does promise there will be several of them, though. Let's hope Ma Hunkel finally gets her due. [EW.com]

Finally, though V is on a break, there's apparently no chance Laura Vandervoort will return as Supergirl, much as she might like to. [Spoiler TV]

Green Lantern:

Ryan Reynolds spoke to MTV about his next big movie, and he mentioned how awesome the constume is: [IGN]

"Seeing the prototypes for the Green Lantern costumes was a huge moment," he says. "It was a moment when I was like, 'This is happening, and it's happening in the right way.' That's a pretty cool, definitive moment for me."

Deadpool:

Reynolds also talked about what he wanted to see in his upcoming Deadpool spinoff movie: [IGN]

"Everyone is always looking for that one line, 'What is that character?' and for me it's kind of like, 'There's a guy, and he's in a highly militarized comedic fame spiral,'" the actor explains. "That's not an easy thing to write — an entire screenplay, let alone a franchise. I had a blast playing Wade [in Wolverine]. Every line I had in that was stuff I thought he would say. It wasn't something that a writer said to me. It was fun to really create that character, including everything he spits out of his awful mouth."

V:

As the series heads into hiatus, star Morena Baccarin talked to E! Online about the dynamic she has with Scott Wolf's character, the conflicted newsman Chad Decker: [E! Online]

The relationship is definitely going to keep going in whatever strange direction it's going now. You don't really know if they're going to fight each other, love each other, or if she's going to eat him. You don't know what's going to happen! It gets really interesting in the episode that comes out on Tuesday. Something happens to his character that makes him very dependent on us. He has to sort of battle with his will to see what he's going to do. It's a very interesting dynamic.

Lost:

A tweet-sized filming update for season six. Apparently, "characters Sun, Locke & Claire spotted at Manoa trail head yesterday." [Lyly Ford Blog]

Avatar:

Here's a new Norwegian poster that's all about the disembodied heads.

Wolfman:

Benicio Del Toro's upcoming Wolfman movie has a new international poster:

The Book of Eli

Denzel Washington's post-apocalyptic thriller has a new poster out that is long on Denzel Washington, short on the post-apocalyptic:Cinema Blend

I came back home and what do you know, still no power. But, rather than say "eff it" and go see a movie, I said to myself "Self, how can I still get this done with no Photoshop?" So, I sat down on my couch by the window with a little sketchpad and some pencils and pens and doodled out your disaster for this week. I threw in a couple of Photoshopperies, but for the most part This Is Disaster by Candlelight.


LITERARY ESTABLISHMENT vs SCIENCE FICTION:
You see... this atmosphere of animosity in the book world is why I only watch Michael Bay movies.



SOLAR PORN:
Nasa released images of sunspots? Or an intergalactic game of lights and sound? (to be fair I just kind of felt like drawing Galactus)



BOOK OF ELI:
New trailer came out this week... eh



BIRTH OF VADER PLAYSET:
Wow, I guess the fine line between obscure (every character from Gonk to the Tonnika Sisters getting a figure) and unnecessary was discovered this week. This Christmas morning go outside and listen for a chorus of....



IN PRAISE OF MACGUFFINS:
I look forward to part II where Annalee examines the red herring but for now I'll let the discussion continue here.



NIC CAGE as SUPERMAN!!!:
I got nothing.



THIS IS A DISASTER!:
Eh. Is any movie starring Bruce Willis really a disaster?

Until next week, this is Garrison Dean saying, you're the best.

The Hughes Bros previously directed Menace II Society and From Hell, among other projects. Albert Hughes said the movie takes place 30 years in the future after a series of wars have left the planet environmentally devastated. The human population has gotten incredibly small, and they live Mad Max style in broken down cities that seem to have partly reverted to an almost medieval style of life.

Visually, the movie looks something like The Matrix crossed with Road Warrior, with silvered, smoky air and stylized fights. In a discussion at Comic-Con after the clips aired, Washington said that he'd done almost all the fight scenes in the movie himself, after training with two people who had worked with Bruce Lee. In addition we saw the "motion graphic novel preview" of the movie. It was stark and intense, done entirely in stark animation. We see Eli beaten by his drunk dad, and then watch as Eli's parents give their money to a televangelist's ministry. Eli eventually steals and burns his parents' checks to the ministry, after waiting until the two of them are asleep with drinks in hand. Then he kills his parents in a blaze of fire. "And I've been wandering ever since," he says. This is backstory for his character that helps us understand his badassery in the movie.

Allen Hughes said he and his brother were drawn to the project because it was "uniquely different." He added:

[The story] reminded us of what we liked about the original Planet of the Apes. It's an adventure-journey with something to say about society.

Gary Oldman plays Eli's nemesis, who wants a rare book that Eli carries. Oldman elaborated:

[It's] An old important book. I want this because it's a means to absolute rule and power for me. With this book I can guide, lead and control, and manipulate.

After seeing the motion graphic novel backstory of Eli's life, I couldn't help but wonder if the book is the Bible.

The movie looked very promising - a nice antidote to the usual post-apocalyptic fare. And with heavy hitters like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman tearing it up on screen, it's sure to be intense.

Iron Man 2:

Yahoo! Movies posted a new still featuring ScarJo as Natasha Romanoff, plus higher res versions of some stills we'd already shown you. (Click the link for a bigger version of the ScarJo image.) [Yahoo]

G.I. Joe:

A new overseas poster shows Storm Shadow without his ninja hood on. The whole thing is over at the first link. [JoBlo via Cinemablend]

Gamer:

The movie "makes 300 look like a picnic in terms of violence," says Gerard Butler. But there's a cool story going on, which comments on the future and technology and morality, and the fact that our reality-TV culture is constantly asking, "How can we degrade people more?" It's become okay for the human video-game avatars to "shoot the shit out of each other" while the whole world watches. [Collider via SciFiScoop]

Kick-Ass:

Nic Cage says we'll see his character, Big Daddy, in full costume, including cape and "the whole shebang." But his costume isn't the standard superhero outfit. "[It's] not spandex, but more high-tech, military, commando-style apparel." [MTV via Comic Book Resources]

The Book Of Eli:

Here's a much higher res image of a still we've shown you before. [Movies-Spoilers]

Doctor Who:

The BBC actually posted a super-short video of the first day's shooting involving the new Doctor and companion, and you get a sort of panoramic sweep of the beach location, including that crashed rocket. [Sci Fi Wire]

And thanks to everyone who pointed this out — yes, another batch of new set pics includes our first look at the new sonic screwdriver! W00t! Plus we get a nicer look at that wreckage, which apparently is a ship called the Byzantium. (And sharp-witted fans recall that River Song mentions the crash of the Byzantium when she meets Tennant's Doctor.) Also, what's with the military fatigues all of a sudden? Does she have them on under her huge flouncy dress? And why is the Doctor screaming? More pics at the link. [BlogtorWho]

Fringe:

Some more new set pics, showing Lance Reddick giving an impromptu briefing on the street. More pics at the link. [On Location Vacations]

Heroes:

Episode 4x05 will be called "Hysterical Blindness." We'll avoid making any cheap shots about that being the ailment viewers will wish they suffer from. [Herosite]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

The Twelve artist Chris Weston to created these comic movie posters specifically for Comic Con. He also was brought into Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes' film to create the storyboards and concept art. Both Denzel and his foe Gary Oldman will be at San Diego Comic Con to sign these special posters at the Warner Brothers booth.

Check out Bleeding Cool for the additional poster.

Green Lantern:

Jon Favreau twittered that "Green Lantern visited the set" of this movie, making people wonder if he meant that Ryan Reynolds stopped by (and maybe filmed a scene or two?) or some other actor who was in line to play Hal Jordan at some point. I imagine a Deadpool cameo is out of the question, since that's a different studio. Drat. Of course, it was probably just a friendly visit in any case. [Via Movies Spoilers]

Favreau also helpfully twittered this Youtube video of the movie's filming, showing the huge greenscreen set at Sepulveda Dam:

G.I. Joe:

Here are 9 new promo photos from this toy movie — which appear to be all from the trailer, sadly. But still, now you can really cherish the tight outfits and mayhem. [IGN via Comic Book Movie]

Harry Potter:

Michael Gambon describes what happens to Dumbledore in the new movie: "It's Dumbledore's final wind-up, isn't it? He's not well. He's losing his stature, he's getting sick, he's being infected by all these horcruxes and Harry sort of takes over, becomes his father in a way. He holds him up." Also, we get to see him dressed as "the young Dumbledore" in a suit and a hat. And he's definitely back "as a ghost" in the final movie, just like in the book. [AICN]

Kick-Ass:

Here's another image of this movie's titular teen superhero. Click the link to see the whole thing. [AICN]

The Book Of Eli:

The Hughes Brothers tell the L.A. Times this film stars "Denzel Washington as the lone hero walking westward, carrying with him a book with the secrets for saving humanity... the film, set in the not-so-distant future, takes place after a tremendous calamity befalls human civilization. Traveling west through the barren landscape, Eli needs to reach San Francisco to keep his special cargo from falling into the wrong hands." And there are biker chicks, and apparently there was some debate over whether they would kiss each other. [L.A. Times]

Doctor Who:

Here are a couple new promo pics from this fall's "Waters Of Mars," including a better look at that hideous possessed human. [Bad Wolf TV]

Dollhouse:

And here's another clip from the unaired episode "Epitaph One." Can't wait to see the whole thing! [Chicago Tribune]

Battlestar Galactica:

A new teaser for "The Plan" is pretty similar to the ones we've already seen, but with a few new snippets of footage. Sorry, non U.S. people, the Cylons hate you. [Syfy via Battlestar_Blog]

Torchwood:

I know it's already aired in the U.K., but here are some new promo photos from "Day Five" of "Children Of Earth," just in case you haven't seen it... or want to relive the handcuffs and running with children. [SpoilerTV and SpoilerTV]

Eureka:

Upcoming storylines including Jack and Zoe debating whether she'll go off to college. And Colin Ferguson reiterates that Jack's dynamic with Allison is more friendship, not just because Jack gets a new love interest but also because Allison's pregnant. [Digital Journal]

Salli Richardson-Whitfield and creator Jaime Paglia answer questions about the new episodes. [Sci Fi Wire]

The titles of episodes 3x13 through 3x16 will be "If You Build It," "Ship Happens," "Shower the People" and "You Don't Know Jack." [SpoilerTV]

Warehouse 13:

In upcoming episodes, we'll meet Claudia, a young hacker who's "a little Artie in training." [ProJo.com]

True Blood:

Here's a set video showing a scene from an upcoming episode. Jason and Sookie hit a couple who are making out, probably under Maryann's influence, in their truck. The couple go back to making out again. And then Sookie asks if they're all right, and they run away — to Merlotte's to tell Sam something.

I haven't seen last night's episode, so apologies if any of these spoilers are less than fresh. In any case, Deborah Ann Woll says Jessica's relationship with Bill "settles down as much as a father-daughter relationship ever does." And Alan Ball says an alien invasion storyline "kicks in around episode six" this season. (Sadly, he's probably kidding.) Sam Trammell says we'll find out how Sam knows Maryann:

A lot of Sam's history is explored this year, and you find out how they know each other. My storyline this year is very much entwined with hers. She's a very, very intense creature for Sam.

Sam also becomes more vulnerable than he's been in the past. And he has a scene coming up that's indescribably crazy. [E! Online]

We'll find out more about Maryann's pig, says Michelle Forbes. "I mean, animals of all sorts play their part as the season progresses. The pig is important, but it's not as important as you think. There are so many other animals that come into play." [TV Guide]

Heroes:

One of our heroes will interact with a sensitive male cello player who plays in Central Park, and when said hero tries to play the cello, the instrument turns out to be "magical." [TV Squad]

Dawn Olivieri plays Lydia, "the beautiful, charming, soul of the Sullivan Brothers Carnival. This carnival is a roving band of people blessed with special abilities. They are powerful, but they hide in the shadows, performing on the outskirts of towns and cities. But all of that is about to change. Lydia has been part of this carnival for a number of years. She is the exotic tattoo lady, but she is also a powerful empath of sorts." She has the ability to sense people using the images on her body, and she can track down other people with mutant abilities, so the Carnival's leader, Samuel, can recruit them. She understands the grief that has fueled Samuel's ambition, but may not be on board with his "destructive goals." [IGN]

On a possibly related note, the season's fourth episode will be called "Ink." [Heroes Spoilers]

Vampire Diaries:

Another new promo for this WB-esque show. [Vampiresite.net]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

The writers' strike has caused incalculable damage to genre television, including helping to kill great shows like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. But it's also inflicted maximum damage on this summer's movies. We detailed all the ways the strike impacted movies like Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe a while back — it's probably no coincidence that the one movie whose script was in perfect shape before the strike hit, Star Trek, was also the only really watchable genre film in months.

(I think part of the reason I'm so over-the-moon about Trek is because I'm grading on a curve. Put it next to Iron Man and The Dark Knight, and it might not score quite so well. I was also thinking the other day that if The Incredible Hulk had come out in 2009, we might have appreciated it a bit more.)

So how about the movies coming this fall and winter, and even into next year? Did the strike hurt them as well? I did some digging, and here's what I found out about the crop of upcoming Hollywood movies:

District 9. (August 14) Not really a Hollywood movie, this Peter Jackson-produced alien imprisonment saga was filmed in South Africa and produced by QED Films. And reading between the lines of this Variety story from November 2007, it sounds as though director Neill Blomkamp and his partner Terri Tatchell had already written the script before the film was greenlit.

Pandorum. (September 4) This Dennis Quaid-Ben Foster space-horror film was greenlit in May 2008, a few months after the strike ended, and written by newcomer Travis Milloy. Which means it was a spec script, and unless it required major rewrites, it should be fine. The film only started shooting in August 2008, which means there should have been time to make rewrites, if any were needed.

Gamer. (September 4) This Gerard Butler-starring epic about prisoners who are forced to become video-game avatars for rich kids was actually filmed during the writer's strike, so its script was long since done. It's been on ice for quite some time — rumor has it test screenings in October 2008 produced almost entirely negative responses. The movie's gone through several titles, including Game and Citizen Game. So it may not be great... but that won't be the writers' strike's fault.

Splice. (September 18, limited release). Vincenzo Natali's genetic manipulation film stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as researchers who mess with the human genome... and get burned. And there was a script in November 2007, when the writer's strike started. Or at least, producer Guillermo del Toro was able to say in a statement:

Vincenzo is taking Splice to really edgy places. The moment I cringed while reading the script, I knew I wanted to help him realize his vision.

And a still from the movie came out in February 2008, while the strike was still going on. (The movie's complex visual effects have required a long time to complete.)

The Surrogates. (September 25). This one's a bit unclear. Disney bought the rights to the robot-avatar graphic novel back in March 2007. They hired the writers of Terminators 3 and 4, Michael Ferris and John Brancato, to write the screenplay. The following November, Bruce Willis signed up to star, and T3 director Jonathan Mostow was announced as director. The film was supposed to start filming in February, but the rest of the cast wasn't announced until the following April, a few months after the strike ended. So it's entirely possible the script needed some rewrites. And got them. So it may be fine. Except that it's from the writers and director of Terminator 3.

Zombieland. (October 9) This zombie buddy comedy didn't even snag star Woody Harrelson until late August 2008, a good six months after the strike ended. And co-star Jesse Eisenberg was "in talks" to appear in the film in October 2008. So I'm guessing there was plenty of time to get a script together at some point.

The Road. (October 16) This bleak Cormac McCarthy adaptation was filmed in Western Pennsylvania early in 2008, and has been on ice for a year — it was originally supposed to open in 2008. Now all we have to worry about is that producer Harvey Weinstein forced some unwise edits on the film in the interim.

The Wolfman. (November 6) This is another one that's been sitting on ice for ages — Benicio Del Toro signed up for the lead role in March 2006 (!) and there was a script review in August 2006. (If anything, looking at this crop of movies, I'm starting to wonder why so many were delayed for so long.) Del Toro got a costar, Emily Blunt, in January 2008, and it looks like the film was filmed soon after.

2012. (Nov. 13) We covered this in our rundown of the writer's strike and summer movies — because it was originally supposed to come out this summer. (Yes, another delayed film.) But the strike didn't actually impact this film much at all, because the script was bought right after the strike ended.

Avatar. (December 18) James Cameron has been working on this film since before you were born. And yes, I don't care how old you are, it's still true. In any case, chances are he's had plenty of opportunities to tinker with the script. Here he is, talking it up in 2006.

The Book Of Eli. (January 15). The Hughes Brothers (From Hell) signed up to direct this post-apocalyptic bibliophile samurai pic back in May 2007, and they were trying to rush it into production in the fall of 2007 "before a possible strike." Obviously, this didn't work out — the film's star, Denzel Washington, wasn't even announced until September 2008, and filming didn't happen until earlier this year. So count this as another film that was delayed — maybe due to the strike.

And I think from there on out, you're looking at movies that were greenlit after the strike, so you're probably all good. Looking at the crop of movies coming up this fall and winter, the main thing that's jumping out at me is that a lot of them were delayed for various reasons — probably not all to do with the strike. There are a lot of movies coming out from August to January, which were originally supposed to come out much earlier, but they were kept in the freezer. Make of that what you will.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Michael Bay, showing he really does love giant robots, went to a convention called Bot-Con and showed off some footage. There was a clip of John Turturro and Sam's new college roommate standing in a construction zone. A group of construction vehicles surround them. Then you see Mixmaster's Decepticon symbol, and realize these are Constructicons! ZOMG! The Constructicons move closer together to form Devastator. And apparently you can tell that Scavenger has the ability to force the other Constructicons to form Devastator, whether they want to or not. Oh noes! (Apparently this is sort of like a movie that Scorpion does in Mortal Kombat?)

Meanwhile, Sam and Mikaela are running away from Rampage. Then Rampage starts chasing Sam's dad, so Sam jumps out in front of him to draw his attention away from his father. Sam says, "Wait, it's not them you want. It's this, the Matrix!" He waves an item, and keeps luring Rampage away, until Bumblebee shows up. The bots fight, with Bumblebee gaining the upper hand when Ravage joins the fight too. Ravage blasts Bumblebee with his hip cannons, and jumps on his back. Rampage lunges for Sam, but Bumblebee throws him to the ground. And then Bumblebee tears Ravage apart — meaning, hopefully, that we never have to keep track of the difference between Ravage and Rampage again. [Seibertron]

And here are some new pics from the film. [Celebutopia]

Star Trek 2:

This is barely a spoiler, but it's early days yet. Zoe Saldana hints that she'd quite like to see Uhura ditch Spock and get with Kirk in the next movie. She, of course, is not actually writing the script. [Trek Movie]

Deadpool:

Ryan Reynolds says early discussions with the studio are leaving him confident that they want the Deadpool solo film to be as close to the comic-book material as possible. He adds, "I will husk-fuck a herd of cattle to bring Wade Wilson to life as the real deal." And no, I don't know what that means either. Is it a corn thing? And he adds that there's no reason that a Deadpool movie would need to have much connection with the Wolverine movie, where he got decapitated. The biggest villain in a Deadpool movie will always be Deadpool, Reynolds says, and the movie should be pop-savvy and self-aware, like the comics. [IGN]

Thor:

British actor Tom Hiddleston talks Loki:

Loki's like a comic book version of Edmund in King Lear, but nastier. Loki's skilled in black magic and scorcery. He's a shape-shifter and has all sorts of super powers from the dark arts. He can turn clouds into dragons, things like that.

And he says Loki will have "a lean and hungry look, like Cassius in Julius Caesar. Physically, he can't be posing as Thor." (Did you get the impression this movie will be Shakespearean? I can't imagine how.) [IGN]

The Book Of Eli:

Sci Fi Wire visited the set of this post-apocalyptic thriller about a man named Eli (Denzel Washington) who has a world-saving book, and the small-town dictator named Carnegie (Gary Oldman) who wants to take it away. They witnessed the filming of some scenes at the farmhouse of George and Martha (Michael Gambon and Frances de la Tour) an old couple with a big secret.

Apparently, George and Martha's farmhouse is a two-storey dingy gray house, with dead trees encircled by tires. Towards the end of the movie, there's a shootout involving Eli, the old couple, and Solara (Mila Kunis). Eli is inside the farmhouse, and Carnegie is shooting at him to get his hands on the book. Eli tosses a Claymore mine out, which blows up a Cadillac and scatters bad-guy body parts on the lawn. Eli tosses out a second explosive, then Carnegie fires a rocket-powered grenade at the house, blowing part of it up.

Then George runs to a window and shoots his machine gun, killing two guys before he runs out of ammo and ejects his magazine. Carnegie yells "Cease fire! Cease fire!" and then we see Eli and Solara looking out the window. An armored truck backs up towards the house. It opens up in back to reveal sandbags and a man and a woman, seated at a massive gatling gun. Eli hits the floor and pulls Solara down with him, just as the gun tears into the house. [Sci Fi Wire]

Doctor Who:

It wouldn't be Monday without some batshit Who rumors. Someone posts that his/her aunt just recorded a brief scene for David Tennant's final episode, in which she played a Time Lord at some kind of trial. And Timothy Dalton was there! (Let's start a rumor that Dalton is the Valeyard! That would be kind of awesome!)

Meanwhile, there's also a rumor that the show is looking for a male companion to travel alongside Matt Smith and Karen Gillan for five or six episodes in 2010. Supposedly Sam Troughton auditioned for the role and didn't get it — but now it's narrowed down to Dean Kelly (who played Shakespeare in season three) and someone named Liam Boyle. As usual, these are just rumors, and should be taken with several salt mines' worth of grains of salt. [Doctor Who Forum]

Lost:

Matthew Fox (who supposedly knows something about how this show ends) says he's sure Jack will die at some point. But it'll be cool to see where Jack and Locke end up in the final moments of the series. [Lyly Ford]

Dollhouse:

Now that the show's established itself, you'll be seeing the show Joss always wanted to make, says Eliza Dushku. There are stories that the writers didn't get to tell in year one, that you'll be seeing in year two. And Echo may be showing off more specialized fighting techniques, for her different imprints. And she'll be spending more time with former Agent Ballard next season. [E! Online]

V:

A couple more promo pics of this remake of the 1980s classic. [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

Our first promotional poster for season nine... and it still names Sam Witwer as a regular castmember. An oversight? Or a clue? [OSCK]

Chuck:

There will be some kind of internet presence, like webisodes, between now and when this show comes back in March 2010. (And it may come back sooner, if other stuff falls through.) As we mentioned, a new romantic interest will come between Chuck and Sarah. And there will be new characters, along with all the existing castmembers. Chuck will get more physical. The show's mythology will deepen, and the new season will not lack for romance. [Sci Fi Wire]

Stargate Universe:

The show's fourth episode, "Fire," written by co-creator Brad Wright, has been split into two episodes, "Darkness" and "Light." The episode was tightly plotted, but was running about 20 minutes overlength. And Wright had already cut a ton of scenes at the script stage for fear it would overrun. The expansion means the show's mid-season two parter, "Space" and "Divided," will be episodes 11 and 12 respectively. [Gateworld]

Heroes:

A writer Twittered a picture of the script for the fourth season opener. Apparently it contains scenes with HRG, Angela and faux-Nathan in Japan. Tracy is still at Kent Harper's apartment, and Angela wanders a city street. Also, Claire, HRG and "Annie" are on campus together. [Twitpic via SpoilerTV]

Also, the season opener will feature Prudence, a young girl who's odd-looking and was brought up in the carnival, and Ernie, an old carnie who's on his last legs. [SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Alasdair Wilkins.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Before we get started I have to let you all know that it has been discussed among the staff here and we are changing the name of this site because we felt that it attracts too many fat fucking nerds like YOU (you know who you are). So from hence forth welcome to...



BOOK OF ELI:

Denzel, and Gary Oldman in one film!? Will there be any scenery left to chew?
Their previous sci-fi effort was a lot smaller in scale, but still looks interesting from this old flyer I found.


HEROES:
Word has it that on set egos and conflicts may lead to Hayden Panetierre leaving "Heroes" which I think is a brilliant idea because I think we're all ready for her to be launched into superstardom.
Her new film should do that nicely I think.

BATTLESTAR:
So, I was digging through some old files and found some old photoshopperie (with appropriate comments which I have italicized to show their oldness) I did when Battlestar was first announced. And can I say, boy was I on to something back then. Hollywood needs to stop remaking and changing things because it is ALWAYS a disaster as I think we have learned from this dumb-ass show. Though I will admit I was apparently very culturally insensitive at the time. I guess BSG, and all it's hippie namby pamby preaching, has had some effect on me.

First off, a girl Starbuck? Jesus, what's next? DISASTER!


Uh huh... I wonder how they'll explain a Daggit with their precious "realism".


Need I say more? Am I right, or am I right?


Oh, and finally, you wanna see just how far they're going to go with this liberal claptrap? Check this out.

DISASTER!:
I will drop the faux snark for a moment...

Have a good week friends, like Kara Thrace I'm outta h...

The New York Times took a close look at Hollywood's upcoming roster of depressing movies and how box office sales could shape up, due to the cold hard recession many theater-goers are experiencing. Will the massive lay-offs and pay cuts hinder us from tuning into movies about the end of the world — simply because we can watch the world collapse comfortably from our sofas on CNN? Will escapism be the next Dark Knight, sales-wise?

Already, less-than-cheery movies such as The Changeling, Australia and Body of Lies have failed quite miserably at the box office, while lighter fare High School Musical 3 and Four Christmases soared after the stock market took its plunge.

Twilight (the home of shiny/dreamy vampires) cost practically a nickel to make, and raked in the profits by touting love and chastity instead of gruesome vampiric blood sucking.

But as many producers are now noticing all of the depressing epic scifi movies they green-lit before the financial end of days are now competing with real life problems audience members are going through. Will there still be love for super depressing scifi movieThe Book Of Eli, a sad tale about a barren post-apocalyptic Earth?

Universal Pictures is preparing accordingly, scrapping a planned Bobby Fisher drama. Instead, Universal is moving forward with the movie adaptation of the graphic novel Scott Pilgrim vs. The World with beloved Michael Cera.

Even the highly anticipated movie adaptation of Cormack McCarthy's The Road was pushed back — rumor has it, because it was deemed "too depressing" by test audiences. If you're looking for a happy-go-lucky The Road, then you may have to rewrite the entire thing or just wait until this whole financial mess passes us over.

So will dystopian fare make way for zombie musicals and or "Oops, My Wedding Is On The Apocalypse" dramedies? Here's hoping, but just keep that Zac Efron kid out of my scifi, unless you turn him into a centaur or something. And let's all keep our fingers crossed that they don't try and lighten Eli as it already has an amazing cast of Gary Oldman and Denzel Washington who were put on this Earth to strike terror and sadness in the hearts of movie-goers.

World War Z:

How will the movie version of this instant classic book adapt its structure? Writer J. Michael Straczynski explains:

The fictional concept of the book is that its written by someone with the UN, so let’s tell that story. Let’s show the book being written. We follow this guy all over the world as he goes on these interviews, and he has his own personal story as well. You’re cutting between the past and the present, how he got to this point.

It has that international feel to it, and because it goes backward and forward in time, we can cherry-pick our favorite moments in the book. Some of it is crazy in scale. It’s huge. It’s as political as the book was. And it ends with that book being completed.

He sees the book as a Bourne-style thriller, with a massive scale. One planned sequence is set in India, with hundreds of boats trying to escape a tidal wave of zombies. [MTV]

The Book Of Eli:

Ray Stevenson, who costars in this movie with Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman, says he helps Oldman's character to chase Eli (Washington). And it's a surreal post-apocalyptic setting, where at one point you think it's snowing and then you realize it's still ash falling from the skies. (Like in that one Doctor Who episode.) And the survivors are fighting over, not oil or soil, but pure water, which is the most precious commodity. [Sci Fi Wire]

The Spirit:

Here's a new TV spot.

Dollhouse:

Eliza Dushku gave away some plot details for upcoming episodes of Joss Whedon's mindwiped vessels-for-hire show. "Last episode, they surgically implant cameras into my eyeballs and send me into a cult compound as a blind woman. I was playing this tripped-out blind woman. Then I'm playing a 50-something-year-old woman in my own body in this next episode." She also gets to do a six-page Muay Thai fight scene where she kicks a six-foot-five-inch man's ass. Also, the difference between Joss' original pilot and the new version is that the original was more film noir, and the new version is more straight-up action. [Sci Fi Wire]

Also, in episode 10, "Four Engagements," we'll meet Ramirez, a tough-as-nails Latina who's a handler in the Dollhouse. [Whedon.Info]

Battlestar Galactica:

It may be clutching at straws, but one fan scanning the list of props and costumes for auction noticed it said the "final five" robes had been worn by Foster, Anders, Tigh and Tyrol. Whereas in the actual episode, they were worn by extras. So maybe we get another scene of the final five wearing those robes? [TriniRoslin]

Lost:

More about that Dharma shooting we mentioned yesterday that includes the Oceanic Six and Sawyer. An eagle-eyed reader writes to us:

I live on the North Shore, where they shoot Lost. On a hike today near the ocean I saw a scene with Hurley standing around in dark clothes while a blue and white VW bus came buzzing up and stopped by him. An hour later when I was on my way back, I saw that Sawyer (i'm pretty sure) had joined the scene. There were two or three extra blue and white VWs on standby out of scene and the one I saw up close had the Dharma logo on its front.

And here's an ultra-glam new cast portrait for season five. Note the lack of Daniel Dae Kim, the decor blending the island with the city, and the Dharma pop bottles. [The ODI]

Remember that video I mentioned the other day, debunking the myth of the Oceanic Six? It's an extra on the season four DVD, and it seems to hint that the O6 will be under more scrutiny from the public in season five. Here it is. [Doc Arzt]

Torchwood:

Liz May Brice plays Johnson, a mysterious government agent who wants to expose the existence of Torchwood — and aliens — to the public. She has the gunslinging skills of a crack commando and the allure of Lara Croft, apparently. I'm just guessing she ends up joining the team. Just a thought. [SyFyPortal]

Heroes:

D.H. Lawrence will be appearing on Heroes! Well, not exactly. Actually, David H. Lawrence, who plays that puppeteer guy Eric Doyle, will be in a couple of episodes around episode 17. Almost as good as a zombie porno literary writer guy, right? [The ODI]

Here's a sneak peek from Monday's episode.

Smallville:

Alaina Huffman (Black Canary) thinks it's the last season, and we're going to get a "big payoff" in the becoming-Superman department. And there may be more development of the Black Canary-Green Arrow love connection, and more of the Justice League. [OSCK]

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

Here's another pic from Friday's episode, in which "Padawan Ahsoka Tano and Jedi Master Luminara Unduli discuss methods of dealing with their uncooperative prisoner." The comfy chair!! [Warner Bros.]

Wonder Woman:

Here are a few more pics from the WW animated DVD, including Hades and Wondy looking sad. [Warner Bros.]

Book Of Eli will be directed by Allen and Albert Hughes, and it begins shooting in January. If I had to chose who I wanted to lead me through a barren post-apocalyptic world I must admit Denzel Washington never actually came to mind, so I'm interested in seeing what he's got to offer. Just as long as there isn't a valuable lesson for the audience tucked into the plot.

[Variety]