As I mentioned in my review, one of the odd things about Death Race is the fact that Tyrese Gibson's character, Machine Gun Joe, is referred to as gay several times by various characters. There's even an odd moment of gay innuendo between Jason Statham and Gibson at the end of the movie, which gets defused at the last moment. Gibson insisted in an interview that his character isn't actually gay, but the film certainly pushes the idea pretty hard. (I'm wondering if there's a deleted scene where this gets addressed?)

In any case, AfterElton.com, a site that critiques mass media from a gay perspective, has hailed the movie as a major step forward because "We have an actual gay character whose sexuality isn't the focal point of who he is, and is treated matter-of-factly." But most of all, AfterElton hails Gibson's character because "The gay guy survives! That's right, a gay character in a an action film survives, along with the hero. Of course, he has to take out a few dozen people along the way, but the movie is called Death Race, not Happy Puppies Frolicking."

[AfterElton]

For those of you who are hoping for a smiple verdict on the movie, here it is: the car stunts are breathtaking, if occasionally confusing. Stuff blows up real good. Joan Allen is magnificent as the prison warden. Jason Statham is Jason Statham. The movie holds up pretty well, until it fizzles completely in the last 15-20 minutes. (Seriously, I can't remember when I've seen a movie take such a steep nose-dive in its last reel.)

It's true, as director Paul W.S. Anderson says, that the new Death Race isn't as overtly satirical as the 1970s original, Death Race 2000. This movie is actually too sledge-hammery to be a satire. It starts with a voice-over (and captions) telling us that it's 2012 and everything has gone ass-up. The U.S. economy is rotten, there are no jobs, and everyone's in prison. Prisons, meanwhile, have all been outsourced to private corporations, which try to make a profit through entertainment. First, it's just cage matches and stuff, but eventually it gets more elaborate, leading to the Death Race, which is a huge road rally of mutilation inside the prison grounds, broadcast on the Internet.

Then we see Jason Statham on his last day, working at a steel mill, which is closing down. The mill's owners cheat Statham and his fellow workers out of most of their final pay, and then call the riot cops on them before they can even grumble. "Self-fulfilling prophecy," Statham announces to the camera. The workers try to invoke working-class solidarity with the cops, but to no avail, and the violence begins, with the cops firing rubber bullets and beating the crap out of the downtrodden workers. From there, the movie zips forwards through the murder of Statham's sexy wife in his inexplicably nice house, and in a jiffy he's in prison for his wife's murder. His only hope of release: to take part in the Death Race and win.

We quickly realize the evil prison warden (Joan Allen) had Statham's wife killed and framed Statham, so he would take part in the race. And not too long after that, we're shown that Allen's character never intends to let anyone win enough races to get out of prison. The game is (say it with me) rigged. There are little video-gamey "power-up" symbols that you're supposed to drive over to get weapons or defenses, but they only work when Allen wants them to. Just like the steel-mill's owners, Allen has everything fixed in her favor. (I mentioned this movie was subtle, right?)

Whatever Anderson paid Allen to be in this movie, he should double it. She's easily the best thing about the film, enjoying the hell out of playing a one-dimensional monster. (As I mentioned yesterday, there's a shortage of decent villains, and Allen's character is up there, until the aforementioned terrible ending.) She's purely interested in profit, and driving Internet traffic to the webcast of the Death Race, and she'll do anything to get more online subscribers. The only time she's freaked out or flustered is when she thinks she won't get enough hits. The rest of the time, she's supremely in control — like in one scene where she's talking to Statham with one finger on the trigger of a gun under her desk, aimed at his crotch. It's Allen who really sells the movie's crazy premise, as a smiling yuppie surrounded by working-class men who fear and/or worship her.

We're constantly reminded, through fancy graphics, that this the Death Race is a webcast and that you have to pay to watch. It's a particularly web-savvy vision of a dystopian America in 2012, where the economy has collapsed and everybody's a prisoner one way or the other.

Did I mention this movie is kind of pornographic? It is. From the early shots of molten steel and sweaty men at the steel mill, to the numerous excuses for the camera to linger over Statham's bare torso and his encyclopedic muscle definition, to the cars themselves, men and machines are fetishized. Oh, there are women, too, besides Allen's long-legged warden. The prison buses in female convicts to be the "navigators" for most of the male drivers. Every time one of those women walks across the screen, the movie goes into slow-mo (literally) and a hip-hop song about sexy girls plays. The same song, two or three times, as if Anderson could only afford to license one sexy-girl song. But because of the movie's breakneck pace, it doesn't do too many of those slow-mo girlie shots, and most of the time, the only body we linger on is Statham's.

It's fitting that Death Race ends the summer that began with Iron Man. In Iron Man, we see Tony Stark's naked torso, and it's slightly flabby and vulnerable, symbolizing how fragile he is now that he's mortally wounded. In Death Race, you could write an anatomy textbook using Statham's naked muscles for reference. Robert Downey, Jr. is a rich guy who becomes part machine, pretty much working on his own, with some slight help from Professor Expendable in Afghanistan. Jason Statham helps to build the perfect driving machine, but he's working with a whole team of mechanics. And Statham isn't separate from the mechanics, just because he's the driver — when he's not on the track, he's working in the pit, as a junior mechanic. (This is mostly because it's supposed to be a secret that Statham's character is the masked racer Frankenstein, so he's posing as a mechanic. But it also establishes that he has solidarity with the grease monkeys, and much is made of his auto-mechanic training.)

Oh, and this wouldn't be a prison movie without a gay subtext. Luckily, the movie designates Tyrese Gibson's character, Machine Gun Joe, as the sole bearer of that burden. Machine Gun Joe is the only driver who has a male navigator instead of a female one, supposedly because his navigators tend to die quickly and the viewers would be too squeamish to watch that many women get killed. But his navigators are sort of his "bitches," and there's a running joke where people call his character gay, over and over. At the end of the film — major spoiler — he gets street clothes for himself and Statham, and they're super-faggy. Statham says "Anyone would think the guy who got these clothes..." And Gibson finishes the sentence: "...had no taste." They share a little "We're not really gay" laugh.

(Actually, the movie is mercifully free of "funny" rape, which is a trend I hope to see continue in prison movies.)

So yeah, Death Race is not a particularly smart or subtle movie — even Statham, in interviews, has been saying things like "It's not the Godfather." But it is an interesting spin on a dystopia where a tiny minority of powerful people screw over everybody else — and then sell us front-row seats for our own destruction, via the Internet. Sometimes, a movie doesn't have to be smart if it's vaguely topical and has lots of cars going boom. If it wasn't for the wimpy ending, I would recommend Death Race whole-heartedly, but as it is... it's okay.

The Spirit:

Lions Gate released a new official synopsis for Frank Miller's movie of Will Eisner's The Spirit:

It is the story of a former rookie cop who returns mysteriously from the dead as the Spirit (Gabriel Macht) to fight crime from the shadows of Central City. His arch-enemy, the OCTOPUS (Samuel L. Jackson) has a different mission: he’s going to wipe out Spirit's beloved city as he pursues his own version of immortality. The Spirit tracks this cold-hearted killer from Central City’s rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront ... all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill our masked crusader. Surrounding him at every turn are ELLEN DOLAN (Sarah Paulson), the whip-smart girl-next-door; SILKEN FLOSS (Scarlett Johansson), a punk secretary and frigid vixen; PLASTER OF PARIS (Paz Vega), a murderous French nightclub dancer; LORELEI (Jaime King), a phantom siren; and MORGENSTERN (Stana Katic), a sexy young cop.

Then of course, there’s SAND SAREF (Eva Mendes), the jewel thief with dangerous curves. She’s the love of his life turned bad. Will he save her or will she kill him?

I like the way every one of the women of The Spirit gets a cheesy little tag, like "punk secretary and frigid vixen." I also love the idea that these women surround him at every turn; it conjures a great mental image.

Death Race:

The prison-race movie includes a final scene tying up the fates of Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson and co-star Natalie Martinez, which was filmed months after the movie wrapped filming. It was added after test audiences felt the original ending was too open-ended. So if you notice a final scene that seems a bit tacked on, that's why. [Sci Fi Wire]

Life On Mars:

The American remake of British time-travel cop show Life On Mars has gone from a C-list cast to a surprisingly A-list one, and here they are shown off in the first official photos, including Gretchen Moll and Harvey Keitel. It definitely looks a lot closer to the British version than the earlier pilot did. [Daily Mail]

Lost:

Don't panic! Even though Desmond got a happy ending with Penny at the end of season four, he's "still part of the cast." And we'll be seeing Penny again. [TV Guide]

But you should panic after all, because Terry O'Quinn says "there's some question" as to whether Locke will appear "all the way" up to the end of the show. [Spoilers Lost]

Oh, and some extras had to work late, because they were filming a scene at Hawaii Convention Center, which usually stands in for an airport on the show. This time around, the key word was "Heathrow." More Widmore intrigue, perhaps? [Hawaii Blog]

Dollhouse:

Will Joss Whedon's new show about brainwashed programmable people for hire feature a beautiful cast? See for yourself.

Fringe:

The third episode of J.J. Abrams' oh-fine-call-it-the-X-Files show will be called "The Ghost Network." [Spoiler TV]

Knight Rider:

Because I know you guys get horrendously upset when I don't include a Knight Rider spoiler in here, here's a doozy: original driving wheel David Hasselhoff is making arrangements to put in an appearance in the new show. And he may have his own KITT. The idea is for both Mikes, and both KITTs, to team up to defeat some horrendous menace that can only be stopped by two smart-alecky cars. But the show won't bring back the Hoff unless there's a storyline that really demands it. [Sci Fi Wire]

The Middleman:

In the last two episodes of the season, the Middleman TV show diverges from the comic in a serious way for the first time. Even though the final two episodes feature Manservant Neville, who's also in volume three of the comic, the storylines will be different. Also, we won't get to find out why/how the Middleman became the clean-living man he is today. That would have been the subject of the 13th. episode of the season, which got canceled to free up money to show the awesome parallel world in the 12th (and now final) episode. [NJ]

Doctor Who:

There won't be any "Children In Need" special this year, meaning rumors of a meeting with several past Doctors are false. The first special of 2009 is "the Easter special," co-written by Gareth Roberts, and it features a new monster. Catherine Tate would jump at the chance to return, and "anything is possible," says Russell T. Davies. [Blogtor Who]

Torchwood:

It's rumored James Marsters will be back as the roguish Captain John Hart in the five-episode story "Children Of Earth." [DenOfGeek]

The Sarah Jane Adventures:

More episode titles from the second season of the Doctor Who spin-off. After "The Last Sontaran" and "Day Of The Clown," there are "Secrets Of The Stars," "The Mark Of The Berzerker," "The Temptation Of Sarah Jane" and "Enemy Of The Bane." (I'm guessing Sarah Jane's temptation has to do with going back in time to the 1950s and having the chance to save her parents from dying when she's a baby. Somebody needs to sit Sarah Jane down in front of a copy of the Doctor Who episode "Father's Day.")

Even though Maria and her dad leave after the first story, "don't be surprised" if we see them again, says a producer. Also, one story is a sequel to a Doctor Who story. Bradley Walsh plays "an alien with three identities," and Floella Benjamin (from "The Lost Boy") turns up again. And, as we've mentioned, the Brigadier and Mrs. Wormwood of the Bane are both back. [The Time Vortex]

Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Not to be undone, the Terminator TV show also features a very beautiful cast, despite the impending destructage of everything. [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

Somehow I missed this from those TV Guide scans yesterday. When the Justice League tracks Clark down, he's powerless and in a shady Russian work camp. Afterwards, neither the League nor Clark will be the same again. Also, in the third episode, Oliver Queen's poisoning causes Lois to revisit her feelings for him when she visits him in the hospital.

And in episode four, after Jimmy finds the letter Chloe wrote to Clark back in "Fever," Jimmy asks her why she's never said those things about Jimmy. Chloe says Jimmy's insecurity about Clark is wearing thin. Also, Shelby the dog will make a reappearance. Chloe does some investigating for Clark, to find out the truth about Maxima (Charlotte Sullivan), the alien queen who wants to mate with Clark. But then Maxima uses her powers to seduce Clark (??) and Lois walks in on them in an elevator. Also, Clark offers Lois "her old room back" on the empty Kent farm. [Kryptonsite]

Chuck:

And here's another cast photo, this time for nerd-spy show Chuck. [Spoiler TV]

Also, it turns out Captain Awesome's real name is Devon Woodcomb, and his parents go by Woody and Honey Woodcomb. [Zap2It]

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed:

Not only does the new Star Wars video game tell the story of a previously unknown "internecine feud" between Darth Vader and the Emperor Palpatine, it also shows how the two of them unwittingly created the rebellion that eventually destroyed them.

Your character, Vader's secret apprentice known as Starkiller, visits a satellite orbiting the smugglers' moon of Nar Shaddaa, on a mission to destroy a Jedi elder, leaving no witnesses. Along the way, you can kill a ton of militia troops, deflecting their lasers with your light saber and then using the Force to hurl a piece of metal through a window, causing the glass to shatter so your enemies are sucked out into vacuum before a safety wall closes.

Also, when you Force-throw a Wookiee into a tree on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, the Wookiee writhes realistically and the tree shatters into splinters. [Wired]

Let's cut to the chase, the pedestrian point system, what happened to it?

I loved [producer] Roger [Corman]'s movie. And one of the things that fascinated me about it, I mean really fascinated me about it, and I've had a lot of time to think about it, is: how did the Death Race become the national sport of America? It's not like the American president woke up one morning and went, "I know! We're going to make the national sport of America driving around in these killer cars that are outfitted with guns and knives, running people over. And we'll televise it." You know, he clearly latched onto an existing sport or an existing trend or some kind of underground thing and developed it. And that always fascinated me. I thought, you know, how did the Death Race come about?

And that was really the intention of our movie, was to do the genesis of the Death Race. In a believable way, how could something like this evolve in the near future? You know, the whole point system, it's not like we don't run people over in this movie. Plenty of people get run over. Plenty of people get killed. It's just you don't score points for doing it. There were versions of the script that had the point system in, and versions that didn't have it. And ultimately I felt that for the story we were telling it was too close to the genesis of the Death Race to have the point system. The point system felt it belonged to a more developed form of the sport.

Yeah, you did say that there was a line in there about how he's getting squeamish.

Yeah, exactly. You know, I felt that if you were a fan of the original movie and you see this movie, you can see how the point system evolved. I didn't really feel that we had to have points to make it Death Race. Yeah, and I think it's part of, you know, re-imagining a property like this. You know, it's like Batman Begins. It wasn't Joel Schumacher's Batman. I think it's better that it wasn't Joel Schumacher's Batman, but it did keep a lot of the characters the same. It just told a different story and told it a different way. And that's how I approached this movie: as a re-imagining rather than a direct remake. It was a prequel rather than a direct remake. And that's why no points. But if we are lucky enough to make a sequel, I think that is one of the things that we would do in the sequel, the evolution of the points. Again, all leading up to what Roger Corman's movie represented.

Was the fact that you decided to put the point system in the sequel due to internet fan outrage?

[Laughs] No. I loved the original Death Race, a lot. It was a very influential movie for me. One of the things I'm fascinated with [is] how did running people over become the national sport of America and the point system that came of it.

You shot this without special effects. Did you want to give it a more 70s feel?

Yes.

But you were obviously inspired by Mad Max. Were there any other films, 70s films, like Vanishing Point that inspired you?

Oh, I grew up with Vanishing Point, Two Lane Blacktop, Walter Hill's The Driver, Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway, The Road Warrior, Bullett, The French Connection—- I mean those are some of my favorite movies. And you know, those movies gave you a visceral thrill because they were real. When you see Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway, and you see those cars crunching into one another, damn it looks good! Because bits are really flying off the cars, not CG shit flying off the cars. It's real, and the physics are real as well. And that's the kind of movie I wanted to make, but I wanted to make it with the best kind of technology now. So instead of spending our money on six months worth of guys crunching on computers, generating computer generated cars, we spent our money on a year's worth of preparation, building camera rigs, special camera rigs, that would get the camera closer to the action than was physically possible in the 1970s.

You know, the 1970s, when they shot these movies, sometimes they got shots from inside the cars, sometimes they got shots from cameramen on the cars, but they were always car mounted. I wanted to get the camera in there and move the camera. I wanted to get the cars to drive into the cameras at high speeds, so we built one of my favorite rigs. We built a rig that had a camera and was completely ringed with basketballs. So it was this big giant ball. We stick it in the middle of the road, and the cars would drive at it. There is a shot in the very first race, when the original Frankenstein drives, where the car slides around the corner, and it looks like it hits the camera, and it does. And then the continuation of that is really funny because the camera just rolls away, bounces away, and it hits the wall. We developed rigs like that that would allow us to have real impacts. We killed a lot of cameras in the making of the movie. But no people.

What were the things that proved problematic in some of those scenes, in terms of the cars?

It was really doing everything practical. I mean, we spent a year designing the cars. I was insistent that we wanted real armor plating and real firing machine guns. And the further we got into it the more complicated it became. So we weren't just making a car movie, we were making a war movie. So as well as watching all these 70s car movies, we watched Saving Private Ryan, we watched Black Hawk Down. There's an element to this movie that is like a war film, or it is like a Second World War fighter pilot movie, because the guns are hard-mounted on the cars. So in a way you have to line up where the airplanes had to line up in the Second World War to really get a bead on someone and be able to fire at them. The closer we got to the shooting of the movie the more complicated it became to do it practical. People started saying, "You know, maybe we should start doing some visual effects. Maybe you shouldn't have the machine guns firing, and we'll put it all in as visual—we'll do CG shells flying out of it." I'm like, "No, that's The Matrix."

I don't want to do that. They did it really well in the first Matrix movie and really badly in the second and third Matrix movies. It's old fashioned now. I don't want to see that. I want to see—we're going to have a Vulcan cannon, mounted on the side of Tyrese's truck. Normally they mount one of those on a Black Hawk gunship. His car has two of them. It fires 6000 shells per minute. I want to see 6000 shells tumbling out the back of that thing. So we did everything practical. Just to reload the guns on Tyrese's car literally took an hour. You would do one take, and then you would have to get the armorer to come in and reload the machine guns, because there is a limit to how many shells you can carry on the car. So practical gunfire was very difficult. Getting cars to spin thirty feet in the air was [also] very difficult. The death of the Dreadnaught was something where everybody came to me at some point and said, "Paul, we should really do this in miniature. We understand that you want to do everything practical, but we really feel that this is like an impossible stunt. To drive a seventy-five foot armor-plated truck into a metal post at sixty miles per hour and dead-stop it...we don't think it can be done." And I'm like, "You know what, let's try it. Let's do it."

And we tested it twice, and each time the truck did something completely different, because it's not an exact science when you do things practically. If you do it in the computer you got a guy that just punches in the numbers and you know exactly what's going to happen and if you don't like it you can change it, but it's never going to look real. If you do it for real, you never know quite what you are going to get. So the stunt that is in the movie, we ringed the Dreadnaught with fifteen cameras, and we had really good camera men. I said, "I think this thing is going to go like that, but I don't know. We've tested it twice, and it's done something completely different. So be on your toes." I think that also gives the movie a kind of, gives it a cinema vérité, gives it a war zone feeling.

Most of the movie is all hand-held, because the camera had to have to freedom to move. They couldn't be locked off because the cars could go anywhere. Sometimes the shots are a little out of focus, obviously. Cars have been coming right at them, and they have to kind of get out of the way. But I think it really adds to the thrill of the movie. We watched a lot of war zone reportage as well, and that was kind of a feeling that I thought we would have to try to emulate, but the cameramen were so under stress because the bullets were flying at them and the cars were flying at them, that we kind of got that rugged hand-held feeling naturally.

So is Death Race a cool a idea to make a movie out of, or maybe a warning to a reality obsessed culture?

I think it's a cool movie for sure, but Roger's movie was a very satirical, a very openly satirical, movie about the American media and where he thought American society was going. Ours is a different kind of film. It's not as openly satirical as Roger's is. It's played more straight. It has more comedy in it, but it is played straight as an action movie. But I think whereas his satire is explicit, ours is implicit in the movie. It's a warning of where we certainly feel reality television could take us. Ten years ago wrestling used to be fake, but it was big. Now no one cares about wrestling, it's all about ultimate fighting. It's about real guys being in an octagon beating the hell out of one another. How long before somebody dies? I mean, it's gonna happen, and when it happens you can bet your bottom dollar they are going to sell a million DVDs of the fight. And when people realize the profits that can be made out of the possibility of death in these sporting events, it may not happen in North America, but you can bet your dollar it is going to happen somewhere in the world and it is going to be available on import or be available on the Internet, and it is going to be a big business. And that was what we felt was the first baby step towards what we portrayed in Death Race.

This is such a guy movie. Was adding the super curvy females a way to salt this up a little bit?

Well, there were women in the original movie — not as proactive as they are in this film — but for me as a filmmaker I have always felt that my movies have strong women in them, whether it is Alien Vs. Predator or Resident Evil. And if you look at Resident Evil that's a very male-centric game, but the movies have always had very strong female protagonists. Right from my very first movie I've just been very interested in that. I've always liked movies with very strong female protagonists, and this movie is no different for me. The drivers tend to be men, but, for example with Joan Allen, I thought, you know, we are making a prison movie here, and we're following in the footsteps of so many good movies with great prison governors. There's Shawshank, there's Escape from Alcatraz, there's Birdman of Alcatraz, there are so many. How do we differentiate our prison governor from them? How do we do something different? So we don't invite all of these kind of, like, unfair and probably unfavorable comparisons? And I thought the most interesting thing to do, which I'd never seen done, was to have a female warden.

And it's not like it doesn't really exist. Jean Woodford was the prison governor at San Quentin for ten years, and now she runs all the correctional facilities in California. So she runs twelve different jails, including Corcoran, which is the toughest jail in America. So the fact is that female prison governors exist, it's just that they have never been portrayed. I thought it would be very interesting to have that, and also very interesting to have an actress like Joan Allen, who I always see in the movies, she always seems like the moral center to the film she's in. You know, she's always the good heart of these movies. So I thought how interesting to take someone who is usually the moral center and make them the exact opposite, make them like the evil part of our movie.

It's awesome. She's had three Oscar nominations. Now that she's said "cocksucker," I really feel this is the performance, best supporting actress. I've got to tell you, that scene, it was amazing, because when we shot it, the very first take we did of it, she was great, the take was fantastic. The first take was unusable because all the camera people were filming, and then she says "Okay, cocksucker!" And they all went "Gah!" They were all shocked to see Joan Allen swear. The first take was all out of focus, because everyone was all "Oh my God!" They couldn't believe it. It was like hearing their mother swear. It was just, just wrong. That is why when the movie plays we always get such great reactions. People are so shocked by it.

I'm having a little bit of trouble figuring out why this trailer is restricted to grown-up audiences. I don't consider cock sucker to be that bad of a word, even if it is coming from Joan Allen. What's so violent and graphic about this trailer. You don't actually see anyone die, is it Statham muscles that need the warning?

And here's 15 minutes of behind-the-scenes Statham action:

[Spoiler TV]

Star Trek:

A bit more about that scene between Old Spock and Young Spock in the new Star Trek movie. Apparently it's "complicated and very interesting," says Young Spock actor Zachary Quinto. And he hints that it's towards the end of the movie, if not at the very end. Also, he says Scotty (Simon Pegg) interacts more with Old Spock than he does with Young Spock. So it sounds as though the Spocks only have one scene together, but Old Spock spends a fair bit of time with Young Scotty. And Pegg's Scotty is the movie's "hilarious" comic relief. (Whiskey guzzling, anyone?) [TrekMovie]

Death Race:

Here's another clip from the Jason Statham movie that unfortunately isn't Crank 2. It's a "red band" clip, which means it's a bit naughty. So, you know, exercise discretion. [IGN]

Knowing:

You know that scene from Knowing, the future-predicting time capsule movie, where Nicholas Cage's character sees a plane crash in a field? Apparently it's one complete two-minute take. Cage sees the plane, it crashes in the field, he runs towards it and reaches the wreckage. And then he pulls people out of the plane while part of it is blowing up. [Comic Book Resources]

Astro Boy:

Astro Boy director David Bowers did an interview with Japanese Variety. I don't think there's much new in there. The movie takes place in the futuristic Metro City, where genius scientist Dr. Tenma (voice of Nicholas Cage) builds a robot boy to replace his dead son — then rejects the robo-Pinnochio. Also helping to raise Astro Boy is Dr. Ochanomizu (voice of Bill Nighy), head of the Institute of Science. But eventually Tenma sells Astroboy to circus-master Ham Egg (voice of Nathan Lane). [Variety Japan via Felix Ip]

Lost:

ABC issued a whole new set of photos of the cast of Lost looking all glammed up. Even Hurley. What does this mean? And why is Michael included? [Remote Blog]

Heroes:

Here's a new Heroes trailer that's airing during the Olympics. It includes Mohinder's syringe of Promycin insta-powers serum, plus some pretty bitchin effects.

And also, NBC issued an "electronic press kit" for the new season of Heroes, including this much longer version of a trailer you've seen before. At the very end, there's our first look at the scene where Future Claire tries to shoot Future Peter, and says she's always loved him. Aww. [Via Superhiro]

Sarah Connor Chronicles:

John Connor's love interest in the second season of the Terminator TV show, Riley, is a nice normal girl for a change, says actor Thomas Dekker. And Summer Glau says her Terminator character, Cameron, will be sorta jealous.

But we won't see John and Riley get together too early on in the season. Riley is sarcastic and has a "punk edge to her and wears Doc Martens," says actor Leven Ramblin, and she pursues John at school until he talks to her. She doesn't understand why John is so sheltered. And Sarah Connor doesn't really like Riley, or want her around in their "inner circle."

Dekker says there's a whole episode where John deals with his relationship with uncle Derek. John wants Derek to be a father figure, but Derek just wants to train John and prepare him to fight Skynet.

And Cameron's "learning curve" about humanity and being a girl is going to accelerate this year — and "her awareness is dangerous," says Glau. And there will be more cliffhangers and twists this year, says Dekker.

Also, we'll learn more about "Terminators and water," says bad terminator actor Garret Dillahunt. There's video of the whole interview at the link. [Zap2It]

And here are some new trailers. (The first of the three is about a week old, but I don't think we've featured it here. The scene of John shouting his name definitely looked new to me.) Who is John shouting his name to? Is he really telling the evil Terminator who he is? Does he have a death wish? Plus, I love Cameron stapling her face together in the second trailer.

Chuck:

Also coming back this fall is spy-nerd show Chuck, and here are a couple of new trailers, hinting at lots of Yvonne Strahovski sexiness and Michael Clarke Duncan nastiness:

And here's the EPK for Chuck, including our first look at John Larroquette as a veteran secret agent who trains Chuck to be debonair (sort of).

Knight Rider:

And finally, here's the Knight Rider EPK, including lots of KITT imitating a Transformer. And Mike being a snarky bad-ass. How can anybody think this show won't be good?

Star Trek:

Spock actor Leonard Nimoy once again decided that the needs of the many (to get some spoilers) outweigh the needs of the few (J.J. Abrams and the other makers of Star Trek). Nimoy told a reporter that he and Zachary Quinto have "a scene together," and it's "quite special. We meet coincidentally in a time crossover." It's only a sentence and a half, but it's full of interesting stuff. First of all, it sounds pretty specific: Nimoy and Quinto only have one scene together, not a whole bunch of scenes where the two Spocks team up as some have suggested. Second, Nimoy confirms that the movie's plot does involve time travel. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what he means by "time crossover." [USA Today]

Death Race:

Here's a new clip and a TV spot from the killer-convict car movie Death Race. Honestly, my main feeling after watching these clips is that I can't wait for Crank 2. Death Race is just to tide us over until we get more Chev. Also, there's a clip showing Tyrese being mean to his navigator here.

Eureka:

Here's a preview clip from tonight's episode of Eureka. It's kind of cringe-making, just because that looks like a really nice dress.

Heroes:

The L.A. Times got to visit the Heroes set, and gleaned some spoilers along the way. The show is filming in the house that used to belong to Claire and the Bennett family, but now it belongs to "someone else that we know." And there are kids' toys and "childlike drawings" all over, so that "someone else" has a small child. (It sounds as though the pajama-clad kid is Sylar's, and Sylar's offspring is a big part of why we're seeing the serial killer's "softer side" this season.)

Claire isn't happy about the change of occupancy in the old Bennett house. And the ensuing scene includes a gun, and a big fight scene, leading to a Chronicles of Riddick reference. On set were Claire, Sylar, speedster Daphne, Peter Petrelli, and a new character played by The Wire's Jamie Hector. [L.A. Times]

Meanwhile, remember Maya, the girl with the deadly mascara malfunction? Turns out she is going to have a smoking hot romance with another hero, probably Mohinder. She's going to be more confident and more secure in her power this season, and she'll be looking to get payback from Sylar for killing her brother. Also, Noah Bennett aka HRG is going to be teaming up with Sylar, as you've probably already heard. Meanwhile, Claire will be a bit more clued into what HRG is up to, and it will get "gnarly." [E! Online]

And here are some new Heroes set photos. It looks as though the show was filming a "flashback" to season one, where Peter is in his nurse's outfit, and he meets up with Mohinder, who's driving a cab. Eye-witnesses swear these are new photos, and not old snaps of actual season one filming. More pics at the link. [Heroes Spoilers]

Oh, and you may have seen clips of Ali Larter in a slutty outfit talking to an old politico guy. It turns out her new character is named Tracy Strauss, and she's a high-flying adviser to the governor of New York. The switch was orchestrated by the back-from-the-dead Linderman. But Tracy's former life may catch up with her anyway, since a reporter finds naked pics of her camgirl persona Niki online and goes after her. Meanwhile, Tracy is angling to get Nathan Petrelli a high-powered government job. (Did I miss the episode where they explained why Nathan isn't a congressman, even though he won the election?) Also, Nathan will be the first to see the returned Linderman. [E! Online again]

And NBC released a new Heroes wallpaper showing Peter Petrelli doing his fireball thing, plus some kind of rain of fire, via MySpace. More wallpapers coming soon. [Heroes The Series]

Lost:

The first episode of Lost's fifth season will be called "Because You Left." [EW]

Stargate Atlantis:

And here's a clip from Friday's Stargate Atlantis, featuring the return of the Replicators.

Sarah Connor Chronicles:

As we hinted before, Cameron (Summer Glau) will end up in a "halfway house" after she survives that car-bomb blast. And when John finally catches up to her, she won't recognize him. Instead, she'll throw him up against a wall. [E! Online again]

Additional reporting by Lauren Davis.

The Day The Earth Stood Still:

We will see mega-robot Gort early on in the new Earth Stood Still remake, says director Scott Derrickson. And this time around, Gort's role is "a bit more complicated" than just being "a universal cop" as he was in the original film. But "he's still the heavy." The new version of Gort still keeps the human form, because the relationship between Klaatu and Gort is important. [Sci Fi Wire]

Death Race:

Not only does Jason Statham have the brawl in the prison mess hall, which you're probably seen in the Death Race trailer, he also gets jumped by neo-Nazis in the prison auto shop. The n-Ns slam a pipe into his head and choke him with a chain. Props in the auto shop brawl include fire extinguishers and big pipe wrenches. (The article at the link also talks about filming the big car explosions, and how Statham visited Charles Manson's prison to prepare for the role.) [Robo Japan]

Battlestar Galactica:

Right after the BSG TV movie was confirmed, the Sci Fi Channel put out a brief plot description that makes it sound much more intriguing:

Starting before the events of the miniseries, our story focuses on familiar characters including Cylon Number One, known as Cavil (Stockwell), Resistance Leader Sam T. Anders (Trucco) and Chief Galen Tyrol (Douglas). In the beginning, the Cylons had a plan, but it didn't account for one thing: survivors. During the chaotic aftermath of the destruction, two powerful Cylon agents struggle with plots and priorities on the human ships that got away, and among the resistance fighters who were left behind.

So I guess when the opening credits were saying the Cylons "have a plan" every week, they meant to say the Cylons "had a plan." [Chicago Tribune]

File this under idle speculation, but fans are wondering if the prophecy about the "dying leader" who leads the way to Earth could refer to the Cylon race as a whole instead of to Laura Roslin? After all, the fleet found Earth right after the Cylons' resurrection hub blew up, which means the Cylons are all mortal now. [Battlestar_Blog]

Meanwhile, IMDB claims that Bill Adama's oldest son, the late Zak Adama, will appear in the final three episodes of BSG. Could he be the final Cylon? (That would be very soap operatic, since he was engaged to marry Starbuck, right?) It's entirely possible that IMDB is wrong, but it's also possible that Zak appears in flashbacks, since we already saw some photos of Laura Roslin on pre-attack Caprica that were almost certainly a flashback sequence. [IMDB via Fandom Heretic]

Rumor has it Tom Zarek dies at some point before the end of the season, although he "takes a lot of them with him." [Television Without Pity]

Doctor Who:

Sources who claim to be well informed over on the Doctor Who Forum say that Catherine Tate will be back in one of the four specials airing in 2009, and so will Bernard Cribbins, playing her grandfather Wilf. Plans for the specials, filming from January to April, are supposedly well advanced but no contracts are signed yet. Two other sources claim the 1996 TV movie Doctor, Paul McGann, will appear in one of the specials. Grain of salt, as always. [Doctor Who Forum]

Heroes:

Here's a new promo cast pic, plus a couple more stills from the first episode. (The Matt one looks familiar, but the Nathan/Peter one is definitely new.) [Canvas To The Imagination and Heroes Spoilers]

Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Following her traumatic car-bomb experience, Summer Glau's Terminator, Cameron, suffered a serious head injury and could have "permanent brain damage" if not treated soon. She's suffering from amnesia and delusions, and has a "hyperactive startle reflex." She's apparently living as a homeless person, in a community for the needy or with a group of runaways. That's what I gleaned from the fake "missing persons" poster that E! Online put up, anyway. [E! Online]

And hey, here's a boppy new trailer that showcases Cameron's dazed state. [Spoiler TV]

Knight Rider:

Admit it, you've been a bit worried that the new Knight Rider series will be kind of, well, dumb. Here's a new trailer to assuage your fears. "More muscle! Bigger missions!" Better now? It also shows a better view of the whole KITT Transformer process. [Spoiler TV again]

Stargate Atlantis:

Short blurbs on three new Stargate Atlantis episodes have cropped up. In episode 7, "Whispers," a team discovers one of Michael's secret labs while exploring an abandoned catacomb on an unexplored planet. In episode 8, "The Queen," Teyla goes undercover on a mission aboard a Wraith hive ship. And in episode 9, "Tracker," Ronon has to use his tracker skillz as a former runner to find Dr. Keller, who's been kidnapped. [SpoilerTV again]

Star Trek:

The uniforms in J.J. Abrams' Trek relaunch will look uncannily similar to the original series' uniforms. The men will have grey pants that are almost black, with boots, and women will have miniskirts that are (gasp!) a bit longer than on the original show. And at least one female castmember will wear (OMG!) pants. From the waist up, both men and women will have the color-coded V-neck shirts, over a black undershirt. (Hence that little V-shaped black collar thingy.) As in the original show, Kirk, Chekov and Sulu are yellowshirts, Spock and McCoy are blueshirts, and Uhura and Scotty are (non-fatal) redshirts. But there are also many varieties of outfits, including civillian clothes, cadet uniforms, pressure suits, and different variations used for scenes on another starship. (In the past?) [Trek Movie]

Watchmen:

Here are some higher res versions of the Watchmen posters from Comic-Con that we posted the other day.

Disaster Movie:

Here's a new 30 second TV spot for Disaster Movie. I think this is probably all of the funny moments from the film in one easy-to-digest chunk, actually. [Coming Soon]

Death Race:

And speaking of TV spots crammed with all the good stuff, here are five new spots for Death Race, which opens in a few weeks. I saw one of these during The Daily Show last night, and at TiVo fast-forward speeds, it definitely made this film look like some nice short-attention-span candy. [Shocktillyoudrop]

Sarah Jane Adventures:

Still no Doctor Who spoilers, sorry. But here are some new spoilers for spin-off show Sarah Jane Adventures. In episodes 9 and 10 of the new season, Sarah Jane and Luke travel back in time to the 1950s, to a church fete (a kind of fair) at Foxglove Village. There, they meet Sarah Jane's parents, plus baby Sarah Jane. We discover that Sarah Jane doesn't remember her parents, because they died when she was a baby. So she's tempted to alter history and bring her parents back. (And didn't we already do this with Rose on Who? Plus, didn't we already visit Sarah Jane as a girl last season?) Also, Sarah Jane introduces herself and Luke as "the Beckhams." [Time Vortex]

Battlestar Galactica:

TV Guide posted some Comic-Con interviews with the Battlestar cast. Now that the Galactica crew has found Earth, what next? Says Jamie Bamber, they have to wake up and figure out what meaning is left, and if there is none, they have to create some somehow. They have to find a way to keep on living now that their reason for carrying on is gone. It's a metaphor for the meaning of life.

Meanwhile, Katee Sackhoff says Starbuck is still questioning whether she's a Cylon. And now that she knows her husband is a Cylon, she's re-evaluating what it means to be a Cylon because she still loves Anders. (She does?) And it sounds like something significant will happen with the Starbuck-Apollo-Anders love triangle, because Sackhoff stops herself just in time before giving away a big spoiler. But she did say we'll know by the end whether Starbuck and Apollo belong together.

As the final batch of episodes begin, every character has had his/her heart ripped out, says James Callis. Everything they thought they believed in has been trashed. [Galactica Sitrep]

Heroes:

Here are a few more promo pics from the Heroes third season premiere. Nice cricket bat, Maya! [Heroes Spoilers]

Chuck:

Are you pumped for the return of Chuck, the show about a beta-nerd with a spy computer in his brain? Here's a new high-octane trailer. [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

Here's an incredibly blurry copy of the Smallville season eight trailer that appeared at Comic-Con last weekend. I think I saw a blob that could have been Clark at one point. And I'm guessing that's new LuthorCorp CEO Tess saying something about thinking of her as more than a boss.

And meanwhile, the show's new producers hint there may be "Super Sex" in the future for Lois and Clark. [CW Lounge]

Also, Doomsday is "charming and George Clooney-like," says Alison Mack. And Chloe's superpowers are going to grow. And Clark will realize he may not be entitled to all of Chloe's time. [TV Guide]

Eureka:

S.A.R.A.H., the smart house on Eureka, answered fans' questions on Twitter. Among other things, she hinted that now that the drones are under control, there are problems brewing in Lab 27. [Twitter]

Additional research by Lauren Davis.

Death Race:

Here are some new promo stills from the prison race-for-your-life movie, Death Race. More of the Frankenstein mask, more of Tyrese looking grimly determined (with scars!) and Statham looking just grim. Cars going boom, flames, etc. But mostly, Joan Allen as the sexy warden who flounces around the prison yard in high heels. Even without points for pedestrians, it manages to be sleazy. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

The Transformers comic book we mentioned the other day, a prequel to Transformers 2, confirms that the new movie's villain is actually called The Fallen, who turned against Primus and decided to serve the evil Unicron instead. And we'll learn how Sector 7 formed into a group, and the backgrounds of Optimus Prime and Megatron. The comic also mentions that Starscream returned to Cybertron with data accessed by Frenzy, hoping to create a new Allspark Cube. Interestingly, the comic writer was forbidden to use rumored movie stars Soundwave and Arcee. [Slashfilm and Tformers]

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

Here are a few new TV spots for the animated Clone Wars movie, hitting theaters August 15. Fun Ahsoka/Anakin dialog: "You've got that 'We're in trouble' look." "There's a look?" "You can't miss it." And also: "This is where the fun begins!" Also, Ahsoka confesses she's on a mission to prove she's not too young to be a Padawan, then tells Anakin: "I'm improving your technique." (If only.) [Superhero Flix]

Repo! The Genetic Opera:

Did you know Paris Hilton was in the organ repossession musical Repo! The Genetic Opera? I didn't, until I heard she was at Comic-Con. Anyway, if you're curious to see her singing a gothy nursery rhyme about drugs and surgery, here's a new clip, which I think showed at Comic-Con:

Dollhouse:

AfterEllen was among the lucky media outlets that got to tour the set of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse last week, and they posted some new details, plus a few nice pics. Among the snippets: Adelle, the head of the Dollhouse, has her desk facing away from the door and toward the windows, the opposite of the traditional approach-the-desk setup. This means she doesn't have to look at you, which is a power thing. She has a little hidden niche with screens which allow her to watch everyone in the Dollhouse. She's not ruthless, just ruth-deficient, Joss says.

Also, the famous coed showers were just in the first episode, to show how innocent the mind-wiped "actives" are, but now they're in pretty much every episode because the writers like them, and they allow us to see the "Garden of Eden" innocence falling away. The Dollhouse's doctor, Claire Saunders (Amy Acker) has a lab that's cut off from the rest of the space, because Claire is "slightly damaged." The programmer, Topher Brink, has a messy, windowed laboratory, and is a genius who "can't stop playing around." [After Ellen]

Lost:

This guy, who has posted some semi-reliable Lost spoilers on his Livejournal in the past, says a somewhat reliable source tells him one of the Oceanic Six will die next year. So, you know, grain of salt and all that. [Hellhound's Lair]

Smallville:

Tess Mercer, Lex Luthor's hand-picked successor as head of LuthorCorp., is sort of a mixture of Ms. Teschmacher from Superman: The Movie and Mercy from the comics. But she's mostly a new character, and her drive matches Lex's. [Sci Fi Wire]

Chuck:

On nerd-spy show Chuck, our hero finally gets a date with sexy secret agent Sarah in the first episode of the new season. But it ends up being 86ed, thanks to the other sexy secret agent, Casey. Also, as we've mentioned, John Larroquette plays a retired spy who schools Chuck, and in that same episode Melinda Clarke has a wacky Russian accent. [EW]

Eureka:

Next week's Eureka, "What About Bob?" is about a missing-persons case that reveals more about what happens in the bowels of Global Dynamics. And the following week's episode, "Best In Faux," is about a unique dog show. (With, I'm guessing, those robot dogs that were plastered all over our front page recently.) [Visit Eureka]

Hulk Vs. Thor:

Now that you're pumped up for the cameo-filled Hulk Vs. Wolverine, here's the trailer for the next installment, Hulk Vs. Thor. [Superhero Flix]

Gibson couldn't stop smiling when talking about the 'cats. But he didn't have a specific Thundercat in mind, explaining that there were a lot of options. When pressed to ask if there was more Hollywood talk about this cartoon remake Gibson said, "I'm just looking into that."

He has also been linked to the superhero character Luke Cage. His Cage update was very non-commital, "we'll see what happens. There's a lot of anticipation and things that need to happen," (including the tweaking of the classic yellow-shirt uniform). Let's hope it comes together soon, because according to Gibson he's also on standby to play B.A. Baracus in John Singleton's remake of the A-Team.

Someone asked Anderson the question: Why are there no points for mowing down pedestrians in your car, like in the original? I'm paraphrasing here, because I was still in shock from hearing what Corman had said. But Death Race director Anderson completely side-stepped the question, by saying in this movie they will be explaining how the race became a prison thing. If there's a sequel, they'll explain about the points.

Seriously, you know you didn't include the best part of the original because you were a baby. A little baby wuss. Your movie takes place in a corrupt future, where prisoners drive in a televised race to win their freedom, and you're telling me no extra points for a fatality?

Another audience member even gave Corman an out for his previous statement, asking since there were so many remade movies if Corman could think of any movie that shouldn't be reworked. Corman said originally he thought Death Race 2000 shouldn't be remade, but Anderson did such a great job he convinced Thom otherwise.

Then we saw a clip where Jason Statham beats the hell out of this guy who apparently murdered Statham's family. Oh, and when the cars drive over little sword circles the car gains weapons, and if they drive over shield circles the cars gain armor. So at least it'll be easy to adapt into a video game. Either way, the disrespect paid to the original movie, even with the original writers receiving a writing credit, is downright awful.

Update: We originally misidentified Corman as the late writer of Death Race 2000, Robert Thom. We regret any confusion we may have caused.

[Deathrace Official Site via IESB]

Jason's hardened castmates include Machine-Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson), the mean prison warden (Joan Allen) who forces Jensen to enter the Death Race, and Jensen's curvy navigator Case (Natalie Martinez). And here are a few new shots of the Death Race cars, including one tripped out bug with what looks like a group of missiles strapped to its back.

[MTV]

Incredible Hulk:

Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier answered fans' questions in a new videocast, and mentioned that the movie definitely sets up Sam Sterns (aka The Leader) as the villain in a potential sequel. [Comics2Film]

Which brings me to a post by someone who claims to have seen the new Hulk movie. He says there's a scene where Sterns (who tries to help cure Banner from being the Hulk) helps Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) become the Abomination using super-soldier serum. And there's an accident where some of the serum gets into an open wound in Sterns' head. We see his head swell up with extra brainpower, and he gives an eerie smile, before the camera cuts away.

Also, supposedly Banner kills two scientists when he first becomes the Hulk (and hospitalizes his girlfriend Betty, as we'd mentioned.) And Banner flees to Brazil, where he learns meditation from "MMA legend Rickson Gracie," who slaps him around to test his control. (Gracie isn't in the cast listing on IMDB, FWIW.) And as previously reported, Banner works in a bottling plant, but a drop of his Gamma-tinged blood gets in one of the drinks he's bottling — which ends being drunk by Stan Lee, in a cameo. (Lee gets Gamma poisoning, so the military deduce Banner's location.) We see a Hulk's eye view of jumping away from the fight in Brazil, and the next thing you know, he's in Guatemala.

You don't see much of the Hulk except in shadows until around halfway through the movie, and it's mostly about Banner. Banner is homeless and on the run, like a junkie. And there's a recurring thread of Banner having trouble buying pants that are stretchy enough not to break completely when he Hulks out. At one point, Betty buys him stretchy purple pants, and he gives them the thumbs down. (No idea if this guy actually saw the film, or if he's just stringing together stuff we already knew, with some new details. The thing about pants is a nice touch though.) [Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forum]

Hancock:

Here's a new clip from Hancock that aired on yesterday's Ellen show, which gives away a bit more about his origins (which we've already covered before.) [CanMag]

Death Race:

We already gave a detailed look at the new cars in Death Race, Jason Statham's prisoners-forced-to-drive-in-deadly-race movie that's barely an homage to Death Race 2000. Here are a few more details. The movie only takes place about five years in the future, after an economic meltdown. The race happens within the prison grounds, once a year, and is broadcast via the internet. The most popular racer, who wears a Frankenstein mask, gets killed by accident, so warden Joan Allen "arranges" for Statham to become the new Frankenstein. The track has little steel symbols, and if you drive over them, your car gets shields or weapons — just like in a video game. But you don't want to run over a death's head symbol, or your weapons may stop working and spikes may appear in the road. The biggest, scariest vehicle is a truck called the Dreadnought.
Allen's character, Warden Hennessy, wears furs, makeup and jewelry, but walks through the yard unmolested. Statham's character, Jensen, gets into a fight with Aryan Brotherhood members in the mess hall. Jensen's mentor is "Coach" (Ian MacShane) and his main rival is Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson). Jensen's navigator is Case, a female prisoner from a nearby women's prison. (All the navigators are women.) And Jensen keeps a picture of the daughter who was taken away from him. [JoBlo]

And here's how Statham describes the movie's setup in a new interview:

Something happens that he gets sent to prison. It's all to do with the murder of his wife and his young daughter gets taken into foster care. And so he is in prison trying to clear his name. The best way he can - no one is interested in listening to that story. So the only way he can find a way to exit that hellhole is to win five races, and he takes on the persona of Frankenstein, which is a creation that the evil Hennessy has brought to everyone's attention through the masses of the Internet. He has to take the place of Frankenstein because the real Frankenstein is dead.

He also notes that his car has tinted glass, so nobody can see inside. That means he doesn't have to wear the Frankenstein mask while he's driving. [UGO]

Iron Man 2:

Producer Peter Billingsley dropped a few very minor hints for Iron Man 2, including the idea that it's about Tony Stark's weapon-making dad. (Which I had not heard before.) And we'll see "more of the dark side of Tony." [Superhero Hype, via Comic Book Resources]

Transformers 2:

More set pics from Transformers 2 have shown up, with more helicopters-over-steel-mill action. The Bethlehem steel mill is still doubling as a Chinese plant and there are tons of people with masks fleeing the chaos. Supposedly this is from the movie's opening sequence. And here's a bit of local news station video of the shooting. [Film School Rejects and IESB]

Dollhouse:

Some new FAQs have surfaced about Joss Whedon's new programmable-puppets show Dollhouse. Most people believe the Dollhouse, where you can hire a beautiful young person to be anyone/anything you want, is a myth, but Agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) is investigating it. It's either near-future or present day, and we see no technological advances beyond the Dollhouse's mind-wiping and personality-imprinting.

The programmable "Actives" all supposedly volunteered for this gig, but it's possible some of them didn't really volunteer. They're supposed to retire after five years, fabulously wealthy and unaware of what they've been doing all this time. But they don't know what they actually signed up for, and there's no guarantee they'll be let go after five years. The Dollhouse has been around long enough to have an Active (named Alpha) go insane.

Here's something Topher, the geek who programs the Actives, tells Boyd, their handler, after Boyd raises concerns about the Actives' ability to give informed consent: "Nonsense. We walk the wire, Friend-man. We live in the Dollhouse. Which makes us dolls, and the people playing with us, little children. Children break their toys, Boyd." [Pink Raygun]

Meanwhile, the show's awesome fansite Dollverse has a couple of new gorgeous looking set pics, along with some other pics and a review of the first episode. Apparently the show's first 10 minutes are very, very confusing. [Dollverse]

Lost:

The "Lost Answers Show" on Britain's Sky One gave a few hints about season five after the season four finale aired. Some of them were tongue-in-cheek, like J.K. Rowling writing the next season or a whole season of island zombies. (I think.) But others were serious, like the idea that Christian Shepard will be more important next year, and so will Ben and Charles Widmore. And actor Michael Emerson still thinks Ben will wind up being a hero. And the smoke monster is "misunderstood." [Spoilers Lost]

Battlestar Galactica:

Here's a new clip from Friday night's Battlestar Galactica episode, which pretty much confirms the spoilers we already posted a while back. [Cinemablend]

Meanwhile, there's a new rumor that the original human-Cylon hybrid we saw in the Razor TV movie is actually what's left of Daniel Graystone, the creator of the Cylons who stars in the new prequel show Caprica. (I'm not sure how we would ever get confirmation of this — presumably Caprica won't show him becoming the hybrid, or at least not until the very final episode?) [SyFyPortal]

Spectacular Spider-Man:

Yesterday we showed you a still from Saturday's Spectacular Spider-Man episode, showing the Spider-Man in his alien symbiote black costume, with the beginnings of a "wardrobe malfunction." Now here's the first actual picture of Venom, the villain Spidey's black suit turns into after it merges with Eddie Brock. [TV Guide]

People will probably compare Death Race to Grand Theft Auto: It takes place in a dystopian future where people participate in cross-country "death races" where drivers try to hit pedestrians for points. Starring an awesome David Carradine and a stoned-looking Sylvester Stallone, it combined everything great in the universe. The remake, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson of the many Resident Evil movies, takes place in a jail setting — prisoners race to get their sentences reduced rather than just for the sheer, fucked-up fun of it. That makes the drivers more sympathetic, but the movie less outrageous. Still, the cars look Doomsday-great.

Want to see more of the cars in Death Race? Check out Jalopnik's exhaustive post.

The film stars adrenaline junkie Jason Statham as Ex-con Jensen Ames, who lives in an industrialized future, where the main spectator sport is a bloody televised car race driven by prisoners. And you guessed it, anything goes. First place receives their freedom and many others die grizzly deaths on the asphalt.

Ames is a hardened man with who's trying to keep his life on the straight and narrow for his little girl. Too bad for Ames, he's framed for murder and thrown back into the Terminal Island Prison. There he's given a choice by gaunt warden (Joan Allen) to join the Death Race as the fan-favorite Frankenstein or die in his cell. So Ames dons the infamous Frankenstein mask and heads down the road towards his freedom and the complete destruction of everything fans loved about the original movie.

I don't care how many times you blow up Jason Statham, he's not going to be as amazing as the original Frankenstein, David Carradine. Also, as we've mentioned before, prisoners killing other prisoners (innocent or not) is just not the same as winning extra points for running over an infant. [Empire Magazine]

• One line synopsis: "Competitors race for their lives. What's not to love?" Slightly longer synopsis: Statham is a prisoner who's forced to take part in a "death race" for entertainment purposes, where the reward is not getting horribly smushed.
• It's like "Mario Kart on steroids." When the drivers drive over little sword-and-shield-shaped markers on the road, they get offensive or defensive weapons activated on their cars.
• The movie has really intense violence, including people getting run over and impaled. One tattooed driver gets splatted incredibly graphically as he's trying to escape the shattered wreckage of his own car. People also get blown up and "shot to hell." You get to see Jason Statham's butt when he gets hosed down in prison, in one scene early on.
• It's a "silly action update" of the 1970s cult classic. And there's a Frankenstein mask.
• Joan Allen plays a Cruella Deville-type baddie. Ian MacShane steals all his scenes, and Tyrese is hardly in it despite being the other main character besides Statham.
• It has a really, really weirdly abrupt ending, with very little resolution of what happens to the characters.

• You may have heard that Greg Ellis (who just appeared in Knight Rider) will be Olsen, the Enterprise's chief engineer in the new Star Trek movie. But here are more details: Simon Pegg's Scotty will take over as engineer at some point during the film, just as Kirk takes over as captain from Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). We may actually see Scotty as a civilian for part of the movie. And rumor has it that Scotty has "a midget sidekick." Who, one hopes, can hold his/her Scotch. [TrekMovie]
• Some more details about Death Race from star Jason Statham: It's not really a "remake" of the Roger Corman classic, so much as a "tribute" to it. Statham is an inmate who's a few weeks away from parole, until he's forced to take part in a deadly cross-country race by the prison warden (Joan Allen). The cars, built by inmates, include ejector seats (yes!) and spray oil and napalm. Rock on! [SliceofSciFi and SciFi Wire]
Another mutant we'll meet in Wolverine: Wraith aka Kestrel, played by hip-hop star will.i.am. Wraith is part of the Weapon X team, along with Wolverine, Silver Fox, Sabretooth, Maverick and Mastodon. [IESB]
• Lost spoilers: the person who dies in an upcoming episode is an "original 815-er," and his/her death differs from the norm in significant ways. Cynthia Watros will be back as Libby in at least one episode, and possibly more, this season. Also, Ken Leung's Miles is now a "series regular." [Ask Ausiello]
• And here are two more clips from Thursday's Lost episode, in addition to the two we already posted: [E! Online]

When I started putting this poll together, I was shocked by how many remakes are currently on the slate. Some of them are more definite than others: Jason Statham in Death Race, Brendan Fraser in Journey to the Center of the Earth and Keanu Reeves in The Day The Earth Stood Still are definitely happening. (Oh, and