Ghostbusters 3:

So you might have heard that Sigourney Weaver says that Venkman (Bill Murray) will be a ghost in the new movie? And that her character's son, Oscar, will have grown up to be a Ghostbuster? People who've been paying attention to the rumors and chatter around this film are pretty sure she's just repeating old rumors — like Bill Murray reportedly told someone four years ago that he would only be in the movie if he played a ghost. And Weaver probably hasn't actually seen a script, since nobody else has yet, either. On the other hand, Murray playing a ghost could be sort of fun. [Screen Rant]

Transformers 3:

People have been circulating a draft script for this upcoming masterpiece. I don't for a scond believe that this movie has a script yet, and even the people who are reposting the script thinks it might be a fake. On the other hand, apparently a similarly rough draft script of Revenge Of The Fallen popped up online long before it came out, and was viewed as similarly wild — but turned out to be real. Plus, it's always entertaining to read these things, and it's probably better than the real script will be.

So apparently this draft script includes the Aerialbots, the Combaticons, Perceptor, Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus, and Shockwave, and is a big love letter to fans of the 1984 animated series. As it begins, hostilities between the Autobots and the Decepticons have gotten worse, and calls for the Autobots to leave Earth have gotten more shrill. Sam (who's now an intern at the Large Hadron Collider) finds another fragment of the Allspark, which could give off enough energon to power all the Transformers forever, if bombarded with the right kind of particles. Optimus sends for the Ark, and Sam invites Mikaela to come join him there for a romantic evening, or something, and then proposes to her. Sam and Optimus Prime are all set to examine the Allspark fragment aboard the Ark, when Megatron attacks, but then Starscream betrays him. And somehow this leads to everyone traveling back in time to 1982, where Starscream steals the Allspark and kills Megatron "twice in one day," has he puts it.

This means that all of the Autobots have to disguise themselves as period cars (would GM even allow this?) meaning Optimus becomes a Peterbilt Semi, and Mirage becomes a Pontiac Trans Am, but also sometimes a Formula 1 race car. And Sam meets his own grandfather, and realizes that he can erase the Autobot/Decepticon war from history by getting rid of the Cube. But yeah, it's almost certainly a fake. Click here to read the whole thing. [Comic Book Movie and Allspark]

Iron Man 2:

Robert Downey Jr. says the thing that made the first movie work was that it was grounded in reality, and the high tech looked like something out of Popular Mechanics rather than a galaxy-spanning saga. And with the Marvel Universe as crazy as it is, it would be easy for the next movie to be too wild, but he and Jon Favreau want to keep it grounded. And he explains how they'll avoid sequel-itis:

My take - Jon [Favreau] was in agreement, and Marvel supported us - was that once you tell an [origin] story pretty well, that's usually where things start to get dull, and one or two or three things start to happen over and over again," Downey explained during an interview with Rotten Tomatoes. "So, we made Tony Stark's challenges very much outside the usual realm of activity. As much as anything else, it's much more of a side job for him the second time around.

[Rotten Tomatoes]

Remember how we reported the first movie was totally improv, with almost no script to speak of? Olivia Munn (who's admittedly not one of the film's main actors) says it was much the same this time around. "There's a bunch of improv, over and over." And apparently Munn improv-ed so well, Downey Jr. stopped the filming to give her a round of applause.

Thor:

Ray Stevenson, who plays Volstagg, says he wears a fatsuit, but he's got muscles and isn't the "weeble-shaped" figure from the comics. And he says the character has a ton of "Falstaffian vigor," which makes sense given that Branagh is directing. [Superhero Hype]

The Sorcerer's Apprentice:

Apparently we first meet the apprentice as a young boy (Jake Cherry) and then later as a young adult (Jay Baruchel). And producer Jerry Bruckheimer explains why we should be excited:

"He's more like a rock star," producer Jerry Bruckheimer tells PEOPLE about the film, due in theaters July 10. Like the animated version, this Sorcerer's Apprentice will also feature those dancing brooms. "We did it in a realistic way," Bruckheimer says. "The [brooms] are really dancing and doing their thing."

How could it be bad? [People]

Daybreakers:

Here's an international trailer, which I don't think we've shown you before — it includes a bit more footage from this vampire-dominated future dystopia. [Reelz Channel]

The Wolfman:

A new international poster shows that the wolfman's powers include causing people's heads to float randomly and to be eaten by unnatural shadows. [ShockTillYou Drop]

Spider-Man 4:

Some have speculated that Bryce Dallas Howard could be back as Gwen Stacy, but she hasn't been contacted yet, which makes it seem less likely. Meanwhile, don't hold your breath for her to return as Kate Connor in Terminator 5 or 6 — she's not signed up for any further installments. (But she would defininitely consider it.) [Coming Soon]

Avatar:

The New York Daily News review has a pretty good summary of the film:

Sam Worthington is Jake Scully [sic], a paraplegic Marine in 2154 assigned to a deep-space moon called Pandora, where his consciousness controls an avatar, a clone of Pandora's indigenous, humanoid Na'vi people. As Jake lies in a high-tech tanning bed, his mind is in his blue Na'vi, which is 10 feet tall with pointy ears, cat eyes and a tail.

A scientist (a tough Sigourney Weaver) created the process to aid diplomatic relations with the Na'vi, since the air is poisonous to humans and space suits, apparently, get in the way. It's the last chance for the peaceful aliens - who know what the avatars really are - since a corporate goon (entertainingly weaselly Giovanni Ribisi) wants a valuable element buried deep under the "hometree," the Na'vi's spiritual center. And if diplomacy fails, a gung-ho sergeant (Stephen Lang, overdoing it) will get it at any cost.

Cameron counts too much on the connection we'll have to his goofy-looking blue man group, or with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the Na'vi warrior princess who helps Jake's heart go on. Saldana - Uhura in last summer's "Star Trek" - delivers a remarkably full-bodied motion-capture performance, but the mystic-tribal clichés around her suggest every Netflix queue on Pandora includes "Dances with Wolves" and "The Last of the Mohicans."

[NY Daily News]

And there's a new Czech TV spot, plus a big Panasonic tie-in commercial that you may actually have seen.

Harry Potter:

Tom Felton says Deathly Hallows will be truer to the book than any of the previous films. [Movies-Spoilers]

Doctor Who:

So Alexandra Moen, who plays the Master's wife Lucy Saxon, says she wasn't the one who picked up the Master's ring at the end of "Last Of The Time Lords." Since we last saw her, Lucy has been locked up in a big ominous castle-like prison, and it just got a new governor. And it sounds like she breaks out of there. She's decided to try and go straight, but she's not at peace — she's full of anger. And her scenes are mostly with the Master and a few other actors. [Digital Spy]

Lost:

Some more filming details: episode nine is definitely Alpert-centric, and the Black Rock is definitely a prison ship. Also, we see an Ilana scene taking place at an old hospital in Russia, suggesting that Ilana is tied in with Alpert's backstory somehow. Separately, there's a scene with Jin working in a hotel, and Sun was there too. Also filming in the same location was a Keamy/Omar scene, and Mikhail was there and spoke Korean. There was also a Jin scene involving the same community college where Hurley's asylum was filmed. And a scene at a nice house with Hurley and Alpert. [The Transmission via SpoilersLost]

Also, Sayid was filming a scene with a large group of the "temple Others," including Zoey, and probably Cindy and Zack. Also present: seven to 10 scientists, for some reason. [SpoilersLost]

The show is casting an E.R. doctor making rounds, an MRI tech, and an African American female lawyer who won't be pushed around, for its eleventh episode. [SpoilersLost]

And there's an extended version of the season six promo:

Fringe:

I really like these new wallpapers, which emphasize the "passing between universes" theme as well as more of Walter's oddness. [SpoilerTV]

Remember that set video we showed you last week that included Anna Torv getting blown around? Now it's her, plus a bunch of extras:

Supernatural:

I know we mentioned that Cupid would be showing up (along with Famine, one of the Four Horsemen) in the Valentine's Day episode "My Bloody Valentine." Apparently, he'll be doughy, out of shape and naked, and constantly giving everybody bear hugs. [TV Guide Magazine]

And we'll be meeting a holy man in episode 5x16, "Dark Side Of The Moon":

[JOSHUA] This benevolent — dignified, very Zen man in his 50's-70's is inflappable, simple, but not insincere. A Morgan Freemen type vibe. PLEASE SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES. GUEST STAR.

Could that actually be God? [SpoilerTV]

And after the rerun of "The End" the other day, they showed a new trailer for the next episode, coming January 21.

And here's a set video for 5x15, "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid", in which all you can basically see is Sam and Dean walking inside a house:

True Blood:

The show is looking for someone to play Alcide, who's described as "rough looking but articulate and basically decent," and he takes a liking to Sookie and may even have some mutual attraction with her. It sounds like he takes her out, given that we meet a giant nightclub bouncer who knows Alcide but is suspicious of his guest, Sookie. Also, an old-school Ob/Gyn examines Arlene with an ultrasound, and a pastor officiates at Eggs' funeral service. [EW and SpoilerTV]

Chuck:

As you've probably heard, we're done with Chuck's "reluctant spy" act. He's now a fully gung-ho spy, but he's also aware of how much his career puts his family at risk. And Awesome will get drawn into Chuck's espionage world to a much greater extent — and we'll get to see how awesome Awesome really is. As season three starts, we'll realize something awful has happened between Chuck and Sarah in the mean time, and eventually we'll learn just what that is. We'll also learn how crucial Sarah is to whether Chuck makes a good spy. Carina, Sarah's old partner from season one, will be back. And Jeffster will perform again in a very special episode. [TV Guide]

Also, Casey is going to have a lot to deal with this season — a secret from his past is going to come to light, and it'll make his life complicated. Also, he'll get more responsibilities at the Buy More, and will start to discover that Buy More may actually be his future. Meanwhile, Lester has a "Fight Club" episode where he goes nuts. And we'll get to see Lester's bedroom and his pajamas. [ChuckTV]

FlashForward:

Episode 13 will be called "Better Angels." [SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

Here's a new trailer for the next batch of episodes, starting January 22:

Heroes:

It's the death that sticks — for now, anyway. Tim Kring says we definitely won't be seeing Nathan again for the rest of season four. [Fancast News]

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

Talking to the LA Times during a promotional Avatar interview, Sigourney Weaver was asked about the possibility of making an appearance in the third Ghostbusters movie:

As far as I know, I think Bill [Murray] is actually the only one in it.... That may be wrong — the last time I talked to Ivan was a couple of months ago. It's not meant at this point to be a reunion of our particular group of ‘Ghostbusters' at this point, it's a younger group. My only wish is that Oscar, my [on-screen] baby in ‘Ghostbusters II,' has grown up to be a Ghostbuster, too.

On the one hand, let's face it: Peter Venkman was the best character in the original movies, so if you're only bringing one back for the new one, it's the right choice. But on the other, no Dan Ackroyd, Ernie Hudson or Harold Ramis? Not even in cameos? That just seems wrong somehow. Here's hoping they changed their minds since Sigourney's last update.

'Avatar' star Sigourney Weaver as queen of sci-fi: 'Outer space has been good to me' [Hero Complex/LA Times]

Ghostbusters 3:

Don't count on Bill Murray being in this threequel — he tells Britain's Absolute Radio that he won't do the movie unless the script is really good. (How long have they been working on this script, and still nobody has read it, including the director?) [Latino Review]

New Moon:

Some more promo pics highlight the pasty-faced brooding. [Movies-Spoilers]

Snowpiercer:

We already wrote about this film, which Bong Joon-Ho is adapting from a French comic book. The official English title appears to be Snowpiercer, and Bong says he wants to film in 2011. The class-ridden survivors on a train traveling through the frozen world wind up struggling and fighting amongst themselves. [Collider]

Lost:

Set pics show that Randy Nations, Hurley's old boss at the Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack, is coming back — except this time around, probably Hurley will be Randy's boss. One more pic at the link. [SpoilerTV]

Fringe:

Leonard Nimoy returns as William Bell in the season's tenth episode. And Astrid is going to be getting out of the lab a lot more — and she has a big arc with Walter coming up. The writers know Astrid is a "diamond in the rough," and they are looking for ways to expand the character. [EW]

And here's a behind the scenes featurette on tonight's episode, "Dream Logic."

FlashForward:

In the Oct. 29 episode, Lloyd Simcoe knocks on the Benfords' door, and Mark is not happy to see his wife's future lover. Meanwhile, Lloyd's autistic kid Dylan recognizes the house, and the Benfords' daughter Charlie, from his own flashforward, and feels an immediate connection with the place. [TV Guide Magazine]

New set photos show Demetri on a bike. More at the link. [SpoilerTV]

How scary does episode six, "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps," get? Look at some new promo pics. [Pizquita]

Doctor Who:

One new still showcases the alien monster from this animated story, Lord Azlok (David Warner) as he menaces Colonel Stark (Stuart Milligan.) The other one shows the Doctor entering a 1950s diner. [BlogtorWho]

Supernatural:

A new pic from the "Changing Channels" episode shows Sam and Dean stuck in Grey's Anatomy. Full version at the link. [EW]

And here are a few pics from "The Curious Case Of Dean Winchester," in which Dean gets hella old. [SF Universe]

Smallville:

The episode "Roulette," in which Ollie gets drugged and beguiled by Roulette, also contains a twist involving Chloe and Oliver. [EW]

And here are a ton of pictures from the episodes "Crossfire" and "Roulette" — including what looks like Clark smooching Lois in the Planet offices. [Kryptonsite]

Star Wars: Clone Wars:

Here's a clip and new image from Friday night's new episode, "Senate Spy":

Heroes:

We'll finally get some more of Mohinder in November, and at least half his scenes are with Hiro Nakamura. (I'm guessing, he'll be concocting some magic fix for Hiro's brain problem.) Also, don't hold your breath for Sylar to get a love interest. [EW]

Todd Stashwick (The Riches) will join the show as Eli, part of the carnival storyline — he has close ties to Samuel. [THR]

And in case you really thought it was Hiro who was going to bite the dust, the show is casting three Japanese-speaking actors for episode 4x13. One is a policeman who detains a local citizen in Tokyo for outlandish and potentially dangerous antics. There's also a grumpy ramen vendor who encounters a confused hero, and a woman who is accosted by a teenage purse snatcher. [SpoilerTV]

Stargate Universe:

Here's a sneak peek from Friday's new episode, "Darkness":

Sanctuary:

And here's a sneak peek from Friday's episode of this Syfy show, "End Of Nights Part 2":

Now that the show has established its setting and characters, the second season will play around more with the interpersonal relationships. We'll see more of Henry, plus a lot of the newly introduced Kate Freelander. The relationships will all move around. [SF Universe]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters 1 and 2) is officially on to direct Ghostbusters 3. Bloody Disgusting confirmed his involvement along with this little juicy script detail.

Apparently, the sequel takes place when the paranormal researchers "reopen" their ghost removal service after it has been closed for quite a few years.

Please, let their first client be the Mayor's idiot son or the angry doctor's child, because nothing would give me more pleasure than to hear Bill Murray, who is confirmed to have some sort of involvement, deliver this gem again....

Ghostbusters 3:

Harold Ramis says the third movie definitely won't go the Batman Begins route of being super slick and high-tech — the Ghostbusters crew are not suddenly going to be sporting amazing gear, or skulking around in suits with built in pecs for that matter. What made the original films funny was the low-tech nature of the gadgets. It's always going to be about the pseudo-science and the characters. And it sounds like he's pretty opposed to having it be too heavy on the CG fight scenes where everyone's flying around. [Making Of via Slashfilm]

Zombieland:

Writer/producers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick talk more crazy zombie action. Like, every single ride at the amusement park gets used to kill zombies at the end. Zombies go flying off one of those blast-off things that shoots the seats up and down. There are "multiple roller coasters." They add:

There's this great moment where this thing called the Rattler, which is this huge thing, pendulum-type device that has all these seats around the outside and it swings back and forth and the seats turn. Columbus runs underneath it and it just misses him. And then some zombies are chasing him and it comes back and just , just knocks them all out of the way.

And separately, a Hummer gets jumped into a lake. Also, there are flashbacks, including one showing the start of the zombie outbreak, and main character Columbus' first meeting with a zombie. But the movie doesn't bother to explain why the zombie outbreak happened — because, hello? Zombies. And the Columbus-Tallahassee friendship is sort of a Felix Unger-Oscar Madison thing: Columbus is scared of everything, Tallahassee is totaly fearless. Oh, and Tallahassee starts the movie with a craving for a Twinkie, and the whole movie is his quest to get his hands on one. He talks very rhapsodically about Twinkies. And there are plot twists, and a couple of zombies who are more important the others. But no "boss zombie." Tons more info on this movie at the link. [Slashfilm]

G.I. Joe:

How hot will this movie be? Burning hot, according to a new poster. Also? Ice cold. Posters don't lie. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Fringe:

The first scene of this show's second season is a killer — literally and figuratively. And Kirk Acevedo's Charlie appears in the season opener, and you'll never believe what happens to him. (Possibly, something that keeps him from being in the rest of the season? Just guessing here.) [EW]

Apparently the character Luke Goss plays in the season premiere is called Lloyd Parr. [Fringe Television]

Lost:

Not really spoilers so much as rumor patrol. But TV Guide's Matt Mitovich speculates that Claire may come back as the latest disguise for the mysterious enemy of Jacob, now that his Locke masquerade is over. And apparently it's definitely not true that Matthew Fox and Malcolm David Kelley filmed some scenes together back in season one, for use during the final season. [TV Guide]

Smallville:

The famous S-shaped shield logo will be all over this show next season — including on Clark's chest. But meanwhile, there's no truth to the rumor that the show's producers are talking about creating a spin-off called Metropolis. (And how would that differ from the current show format, exactly?) [EW]

FlashForward:

There's a new casting call for the show's second episode. We meet Bhadra, a fifty-something East Indian professional woman who is well-spoken and controlled, and she'll be in at least two episodes. Also definitely recurring: the nine-year-old autistic kid Jimmy, who can only focus for short periods of time and is disconnected the rest of the time. Another possibly recurring character is Anastasia, a forty-something government worker who butts heads with others on a regular basis. A fourth possibly recurring character is the sonographer who conducts an ultrasound on a pregnant woman — maybe Sonya Walger?

And it sounds like our FBI agents travel to a small town (via helicopter, maybe since, there's a helicopter pilot who gets one line.) In that town, we meet the small-town sheriff, an attractive, plain-spoken woman named Keegan. And we also meet a suburban housewife named Kiki who owns a cupcake shop and gets involved in a situation that's out of her depth. There's a playground scene where a "ringleader" named Zack and his sidekick Anna provoke one of the kids, and various other kids discuss what they've "imagined." Plus we meet elementary school teacher Ms. Gerber, and the principal, Ms. Byrne, who handles a sensitive matter with tact. [SpoilerTV]

And here's a new promo:

Stargate Universe:

Alaina Huffman (Smallville) plays 1st. Lt. Tamara Johansen, a medic who's quite skilled but insecure. And those insecurities get amped up massively when the team is thrown to the other side of the universe. It's a chance to play a character who's more conflicted than the tough-chick roles she usually plays. [TV Guide]

Warehouse 13:

So eventually we'll learn that there's a whole complex mythology behind the number "13" in the warehouse's name. The Syfy Channel sent us a transcript of a conference call where producer David Simkins explains:

In our mythology the first warehouse was created by Alexander in an effort to keep hold of the artifacts that he, you know, collected on his wars. And it didn't last - it didn't last long because Alexander died young but then the library at Alexandria was a warehouse too where research and development and things were stored and books.

And so we've kind of tracked the chronology of empires and our feeling is that the warehouse has moved from empire to empire throughout the ages, moving to the country that was best able to protect it. It was in the Western Roman empire, the Hunnic empire, the Byzantine empire, you know, all the way up through the Russian empire, the British empire, and then finally the United States. It was always - it always located itself in the empire that was best able to protect it.

And it was early, early on in warehouse - in one of the early warehouses in iterations, it was established that a board of directors essentially would be in charge of it, an ever-changing sort of like I guess a Supreme Court called the Regents. And the Regents were in charge of deciding when and where to move the warehouse. I think the longest it lasted was in the Western Roman empire for about 500 years and the shortest was about 14 years in the - I think it was the (Khmer) empire.

[SyFy]

Here are some promo pics from episode four, "Claudia." [SpoilerTV]

Eastwick:

No, you didn't have a weird nightmare that ABC was making a soap opera out of the John Updike novel and the Jack Nicholson film — it's really happening. And apparently, the pilot includes strings plucking in the background and a wise old narrator voice. [KansasCity.com]

The good news is, the pilot is directed by David "pilot king" Nutter. The bad news? Apparently it's full of "stilted acting" and "cringe-inducing dialogue." Apparently the script is full of double entendres — the devil is swinging some pipe — and one of the three witches, Joanna, goes from shy librarian-type to sexy minx by letting down her hair and removing her glasses.

As for the plot? Auntie Bun (Veronica Cartwright) tells some kids at the local historical society that the town of Eastwick is rumored to have had witches in the past, and there may still be magic there. And then three women each find a special coin, and they each make a wish at the town's fountain — to have a different life than their current ones. And then the mysterious stranger Darryl Van Horne shows up and buys half the town, granting the three women's wishes in the process. He buys Joanna's newspaper, and gives her the freedom to write the stories she wants. He reopens the candle factory, giving Kat's husband her job back. And he gives Roxy the struggling artist/single mom the excitement she craves by sleeping with her and helping her get more money. But all the people in these women's lives are resentful of their new friendship and sorta-empowerment. Eventually, visions, hospital-bed omens and old records prove Darryl Van Horne isn't who he claims to be. [Futon Critic]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Talking to Sci-Fi Squad, Weaver said that the chances of her appearing in a new Ghostbusters movie are "[p]robably non-existent... I don't expect to have anything to do with it, although I wish them well." She's similarly downbeat about the potential for an appearance in the much-discussed Alien prequel, for practical reasons:

Well, I don't think that Ripley could appear in an Alien prequel because she doesn't have any access to the creature until the first Alien. But Ridley (Scott) is producing it and that makes me happy. I wasn't thrilled with the whole Alien Vs. Predator thing. I never saw them, but one of the reasons I died in (Alien) 3 was to not have anything to do with those (laughs). Just because, you know, I think it just seemed so economically motivated somehow. I feel we did four good movies, and I'm content with that. I hope if they do something new, they will encompass the idea of where the alien first came from, because I think that's an interesting idea — to find out what happened and "how did it get to us?".

There goes my spec script where Ripley's clone time-travels to the past to place the Alien eggs on that planet in the first place, then...

Sigourney Weaver Talks About 'Ghostbusters 3,' 'Alien' Prequel [Sci-Fi Squad]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

New concept art shows Skids (one of the comedy robots) and the unnamed "purple motorcyle Autobot," one of three female motorcycles, I guess. The other two are Arcee and Chromia. (I thought the three motorcycles joined together to form Arcee, but apparently not.) [TFG2 and TFG2 via Transformers Movie Chronicles and Seibertron]

At one point, Sam's mother utters the line, "Hi, professor — I'd do anything for an A." The comedy stylings of the "twin Transformers" are also hilarious. The movie goes way downhill about halfway through and just turns into one long, nonsensical action sequence. [Culch]

And here's yet another Entertainment Tonight segment on the movie, which hopefully won't start autoplaying in an annoying fashion. [TLAMB]

Ghostbusters 3:

The new team of five newbie Ghostbusters, including two women, was in the outline that the movie's scriptwriters pitched, confirms Ivan Reitman. But there's no telling what the final script, due in about a month, will contain. [MTV]

New Moon:

Some new photos prove this movie really is made of cheese. [IGN]

Torchwood:

An Australian trailer and a BBC America featurette for the upcoming "Children Of Earth" miniseries. [Life, Doctor Who & Combom]

The first episode of "Children Of Earth" includes a big, huge revelation about Captain Jack which fits in with the story's theme of "sins from the past." (I'm guessing it's his daughter.) The first episode hits the ground running, and only gets more intense as it goes along — but star John Barrowman says that's only a five out of ten, compared to the intensity of the other four episodes. And there's still time for flirty banter. Barrowman doesn't rule out one more meeting between David Tennant's Doctor and Captain Jack. [Chicago Tribune]

Lost:

Shannon (Maggie Grace) may be making a return visit to the island next season, despite being dead. At least, Grace said she's going back to Hawaii soon. [E! Online]

FlashForward:

Wherever you think this show is going after the first episode, you'll be wrong. There are three "acts" to the first season, and the first "act" consists of the first seven episodes, in which the pieces are all moved out onto the board. And each of those first seven episodes contains at least one "holy shit, I didn't see that coming" moment, where you'll realize things are way different than you thought. Also, the first "flashforward" that everyone sees takes them to April 29, 2010 — which isn't when the season finale airs. So we'll actually catch up to the flashforwards before the season ending. Also, Seth MacFarlane's character, Agent Kirby, will be recurring. And the kangaroo you see on the street in the pilot will also be back. [Futon Critic]

Also, you'll see early on that characters lie about what they saw in their "flashes," or withhold some information. [Time]

Fringe:

The season opener will be called "New Day." [Fringe Television]

V:

After watching the pilot, you get the impression that someone we thought was a series regular is actually only guest-starring in the first episode. [EW]

Heroes:

Rick Worthy (aka Simon, the most underused Cylon on Battlestar Galactica) is in talks to join this show's cast as Matt Parkman's new partner, an experienced and capable L.A. cop whom Matt can lean on for advice. [Hollywood Reporter]

The show is going to explore the characters living "everyday, normal lives," and yet coping with the fact that they've been through this crazy series of events, James Kyson Lee tells TV Guide. And Ando is going to get better at controlling the laser-beam blasts from his hands, and he and Hiro are going to start a new business together, involving glitter and spandex. Yes, really. (Isn't Hiro still a mega-zillionaire? I miss him being a lowly office worker.) [TV Guide]

Warehouse 13:

This show's first batch of episodes will have the titles "Pilot," "Resonance," "Magnetism," "Claudia," "Elements," "Burnout," "Implosion," "Duped," "Regrets" and "Breakdown." [SpoilerTV]

True Blood:

Here are the titles and synopses for this show's July episodes:

July 12: "Shake and Fingerpop"
With Jessica in tow, Bill and Sookie head to Dallas to carry out Eric's vampire-reconnaissance mission — but a surprise awaits them at the airport. At the Light of Day Institute, Jason falls victim to a practical joke, but has the last laugh when the Newlins anoint him for a higher calling. Maryann throws Tara a birthday party at Sookie's, attracting much of Bon Temps to its Bacchanalian revelry. Sam postpones his departure from town to attend the bash, connecting with Daphne in the process. Having barely escaped Fangtasia, Lafayette (finds himself reluctantly pulled back into Eric's orbit.

July 19: "Never Let Me Go"
In Dallas, Sookie connects with one of her own, then joins Bill and Eric for a strategic summit at the lair of the missing vampire, Godric, attended by his lieutenants, Stan and Isabel. Meanwhile, Jason shows his mettle at a Light of Day boot camp, and is rewarded for his hard work with a gift from Sarah. Rebuffed by Tara in her relocation efforts, Maryann decides to cast her spell on the staff of Merlotte's, softening Tara up towards her new "family." Eric shares a little-known secret about his past with Bill, and Sookie makes a decision that might solve the Godric mystery — or get her killed.

July 26: "Hard-Hearted Hannah"
Accompanied by Isabel's human boyfriend Hugo, Sookie embarks on a dangerous mission to locate Godric. Meanwhile, Bill is shocked when a vampire from his distant, more violent past resurfaces in Dallas. In Bon Temps, Daphne presses Sam to get comfortable in his own skin(s); Hoyt continues his unlikely courtship of Jessica; Andy interrogates Lafayette about his disappearance; and Tara and Eggs take a detour while on a road trip. At the Light of Day camp, Jason faces difficult emotional and physical choices.

Impact:

Salon.com has the funniest review ever of this Syfy Channel miniseries which is unaccountably appearing on ABC instead. A giant meteor goes flying towards Earth and smacks into the Moon, causing effects that are felt for many long, boring days afterwards. People resolve their differences and/or fall in love in the face of impending armageddon. Every few minutes someone says something like "But that makes no sense!" And then they have another boring conversation about "brown dwarfs or mass or gravity."

Actual dialogue from Impact:

"We have no other choice, sir. You can't hide from gravity!"

"Look, I can't even answer the questions on 'Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader,' but even I know the moon is not capable of manipulating gravity at this level."

"We are a part of something here that's going to be written about in the same context as Newton and Einstein. I know you don't want to miss out on that!"

"Science has very much come under question these last few days. But, it's all I have."

There's a scene where an old guy is driving in his car, and it suddenly floats into the air in a very Mary Poppins way. The whole Salon review is well worth reading, it's a masterpiece. Unlike Impact itself, by the sound of things.[Salon.com]

Apparently, that brown dwarf? It actually gets embedded in the Moon. Oops. That's not good. Also, the President is a straight shooter who doesn't understand all this sciencey talk, and there's a gruff stupid general, who wants to keep secrets from the Chinese and the Russians even though the world is ending in a few weeks. And we see how the scientists' families are affected by the fact that the scientists have to go off and try to figure out how to save the world. [Cinemablend]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Star Trek 2:

Is this movie Trek 2 or Trek 12? You decide! In any case, co-writer Roberto Orci hints that some more changes to the timeline could happen in the sequel, although nobody's scribbled so much as a napkin so far:

I think the major lesson we learned is that fans were willing to accept differences and surprises, provided that they were somehow echoes or inspired by canon. We still have to be true to Star Trek the next time around, but we've also been blessed with being able to be unpredictable. And that doesn't mean we can just be shocking for no good reason and just throw everything away. ... It still has to echo everything that Star Trek has been.

[Sci Fi Wire]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Now it's the trade journals' turn to review this movie. Variety says the special effects are improved and the robots are more expressive, but nothing else has changed. When Sam goes to college, he attends a frat party that appears to take place in a strip club, and then he's "treated to a sort of lap dance by a Decepticon posing as a nymphomaniacal freshman." (But they didn't get the "Desexycon" memo.) And there's a shot of John Turturro in a G-string. Because you demanded it, whoever you are. At one point, Optimus muses, "If God made us in his image, then who made Him?" The big forest battle leaves Optimus Prime ready for the scrap heap. The actors have to shout to be heard over the noises and the thunderous music.

The Hollywood Reporter says the movie is an Indiana Jones-style quest for a 1,000-year-old "matrix" that will bring life back to the stricken Optimus Prime. And the movie is basically 147 minutes of colored metal flying around and people shouting loudly and quickly, so you can't understand what they're saying... but you don't really need to know what anyone's saying anyway.

Empire Online says there's a notable moment during the big robot-smackdown in Egypt, when Devastator (made out of several construction vehicles) is cilmbing a pyramid. The camera tilts so we can see Devastator's underside, and two wrecking balls dangle in our faces. Yes, Constructicon tea-bagging is here. Also, dogs hump each other, robots hump human legs, and the camera is glued to Megan Fox's torso. There are 42 robots, including one that can become a jaguar, one that can become a Dyson vacuum cleaner, and one that can become ball bearings to get inside secure facilities. You won't remember which robot is which, and there are four gremlin-esque bots that seem interchangeable. The Fallen can toss tanks around using his jagged staff. (Oh, and the Fallen is voiced by Tony Todd, not Leonard Nimoy as hinted a while back.) In the movie's opening Shanghai sequence, Optimus jumps on the face of a giant unicycle and tells it to "pull over." [via TLAMB]

We3

The comic-book adaptation I'm most excited about is still on track. Producer Don Murphy says he has a director for this film, John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) — and the film will be live-action, with a combination of CG, puppetry and real live animals. The cyborg animals' voices will be realized as a sort of robotic monotone, reflecting the fact that the animals have electrodes in their larynxes. Murphy's still looking for a studio for this picture, though. [Sci Fi Wire]

Ghostbusters 3:

During an interview about the new video game, Dan Aykroyd teases what you'll see in the third movie:

Well, for sure we need new recruits. We need a whole new team of Ghostbusters, because the generation of my Ghostbusters are all getting hip and knee replacements. Also, we don't have the strength to handle the heavy equipment to catch the ghosts. We need fresh and new blood to fill up the uniforms. That's the first element we need. And if we can train them with the ethics we had and a similar sense of humor, I think we can have good characters and a good story there. I think as far as bringing back the old cast it will be more like in the new STAR TREK — with cameo styles. But for now, I call this video game our third sequel.

[iF Magazine]

The Time Traveler's Wife:

This time-traveling romance put up a new website, with the following synopsis:

Clare (McAdams) has been in love with Henry (Bana) her entire life. She believes they are destined to be together, even though she never knows when they will be separated: Henry is a time traveler, cursed with a rare genetic anomaly that causes him to live his life on a shifting timeline, skipping back and forth through his lifespan with no control. Despite the fact that Henry's travels force them apart with no warning, Clare desperately tries to build a life with her one true love.

[Time Traveler's Wife via Sci Fi Wire]

Shorts:

Here's the new poster for this Robert Rodriguez joint about a kid who finds a rainbow stone with magical properties. [IGN]

The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Some new set pics show Monica Belucci and Nic Cage... I have a bad feeling about this. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Fringe:

A casting call for the series opener includes three new characters. There's a nurse in her early thirties, who takes care of a patient after an accident. She has olive skin and dark hair, but "could be a dark-skinned caucasian." She seems trustworthy, chatting with a patient in the hospital room, but it's clear there's something weird about her. And the actor should be able to portray an assassin.

Also, there's Rebecca, a "real-looking," not glamorous girl in her late teens, early twenties, around 1978. She gets "stoned beyond belief" on some concoction that Walter was working on back then, and talks in a "sexy/funny/scary stupor." And finally, there's Lloyd Parr, a "hyper-competent" guy in his thirties to early fifties. They're seeking a "strong character actor" who can play someone out of John Frankenheimer movie. [SpoilerTV]

Heroes:

Here are the first set pics from season four. Claire is on campus, with her roommate Gretchen (the black-haired woman behind her) and they're going to some kind of anti-war rally. (I love how this show keeps up with what the kids are doing nowadays.) And she pauses to chat with some cheerleaders. More pics at the link. [The ODI]

Lost:

I don't think Michael Emerson has seen any scripts for season six yet, but he says he's got a vague sense that Ben still has an important role to play in season six, and he "hopes" Ben survives until almost the last episode. And he says that it's entirely possible Ben will escape any retribution for his crimes. If the island itself gets destroyed, Ben will still find a way out, says Emerson:

Ben is a great man for the secret exit. Ben always has an escape, I think. It may be a piece of wood, floating on the ocean. Or it may be a rope, or a secret door. Or, you know, an Ecuadorian passport and a plastic bag, something like that. He's probably going to survive

[E! Online]

Flash Forward:

A couple new promos for this ABC series based on Robert J. Sawyer's book. [FlashForwardSeries.com]

Chuck:

Not sure if this is a spoiler or just speculation, but TV Guide's Matt Roush believes the new shorter season of this show will feature fewer annoying subplots at the Buy More. [TV Guide via Chuck TV]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

A new trailer appeared in front of Terminator Salvation, and here it is:

And here's a new TV spot. Hoping for better quality soon:

And here's a new IMAX poster, plus some new stills that reveal the movie will feature (wait for it) explosions and cars. I'm actually kind of excited. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Ghostbusters 3:

Talking to the Guardian, Dan Aykroyd spilled a few new details about the "new generation" of busters, including the fact that the leader will be a woman:

There'll be a whole new generation that has to be trained and a leader that you'll all love when you meet her. There'll be lots of cadets, boys and girls who'll be learning how to use the neuron splitter and the inter-planet interceptor - new tools to enable them to slip from dimension to dimension.

Also, Aykroyd said that Bill Murray refused to come back unless Ernie Hudson had as big a role as the other original guys. [via Slashfilm]

Land Of The Lost:

Here's a new clip from this June 5 movie, featuring Chaka trying to warn our heroes against a Sleestak ambush. (Sorry, non-U.S. people!) [MTV]

Looper:

Rian "Brick" Johnson describes his science fiction movie again:

It's sci-fi, but it's not huge sci-fi. It's more — just in terms of the scale — it's closer to Children of Men. It's set in the near future and the main sci-fi element of it is time travel. So that presents all sorts of interesting narrative challenges. It presents a lot of headaches in terms of the writing. It's fun, though.

[LAist]

Gamer:

Mimi Michaels describes her role in this film from the Crank guys:

That promises to be one exciting thriller. Lots of action and interest throughout. The story is set in a high tech futuristic world. The video games you get to play are with real lives. My character is a quirky fan of one of the best players.

[Shockya]

New Moon:

Three new pictures from the Twilight sequel. [Horror Year Book]

Sarah Jane Adventures:

So as we suspected, David Tennant's Doctor is showing up on this spinoff show, for a two-parter to be written by Gareth Roberts. (It's part of the third season, airing this fall.) Russell T. Davies tells Doctor Who Magazine that Tennant's appearance isn't a cameo, it's a proper part of the story. And K-9 (the real one, not the weird new version) will appear as well. RTD says the two-parter is "extraordinary, wild and powerfully moving," and the "wedding of Sarah Jane will be a day for everyone to remember." [Den Of Geek]

Lost:

Producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof reiterate that they've known for a long time what the show's final scene will be, and they have a pretty good idea of the final episode. But they're leaving enough wriggle room to account for character development and discoveries along the way. [TV Guide]

V:

A new review adds some more details to the ones we already knew. The UFOs appear over a dozen Earth cities, and the first five minutes deal with their arrival, culminating in the face of the leader, Anna, appearing everywhere. The only human character who gets fleshed out in the pilot is FBI agent Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) who's more proactive and confident than Juliet on Lost. Her son Tyler is a huge supporter of the alien V's, and goes around spray-painting the letter "V" on trash cans. Also compelling are Chad the conflicted news anchor who sells out to the V's but feels bad about it, and Ryan, the V who betrays his own people. And it sounds like the show actually goes for the Independence Day jokes. [AICN]

True Blood:

The new season picks up the same night as the end of the previous season, says Anna Paquin. And you'll find out who was dead in the back of that car. [TV Guide]

Heroes:

In the fourth season opener, we'll meet a sweet little Japanese girl who tries to save her kitten. [The ODI]

Reaper:

Here's a sneak peek from the season finale.

Additional reporting by Alasdair Wilkins.

LA Times' The Hero Complex interviewed Dan Aykroyd who first explained that he harbored no ill will towards Bill Murray for not immediately signing on for the third film, and that it was indeed Murray's involvement that became the "pivot point in making a third film happen."

Aykroyd revealed that the new busters would be a a five-member "new generation" team with more than one female member:

"I'd like it to be a passing-of-the-torch movie. Let's revisit the old characters briefly and happily and have them there as family, but let's pass it on to a new generation."

As for what women Aykroyd thinks should fill out those jumpsuits? That part was easy to answer: Alyssa Milano and Eliza Dushku. Who wouldn't want to be surrounded up those two great looking, butt-kicking gals all day on set? Plus Milano did the voices for the Ghostbusters video game.

Of course this is only speculation, and both actresses twittered that they hadn't heard anything:

Alyssa Milano:

Can't speak for @ElizaPatricia (Hi, pretty lady)but this is the first I'm hearing of Ghostbusters 3. Did the VO in the game tho.

Eliza Dushku:

Ghost-rumor-buster in a big way @Alyssa_milano (hey girlene) it's nuthin' I know of.

Star Trek:

A new TV spot shows a bit more of the Kirk/cadets brawl, where they call him "Farm boy." Also, someone tells him he's captain now, but it sounds like he's only captain of a shuttle in that instance:

John Cho describes the new film: "It's a younger, more action-filled, more athletic version of "Star Trek," so, I think both camps will be happy." [Hollywood Today]

More on that: This film moves at a lightning-fast pace, hardly ever pausing for breath. Three years of Starfleet Academy is covered by a title card that reads "Three Years Later." From the moment McCoy smuggles an "academically suspended" Kirk aboard Pike's U.S.S. Enterprise, the film zooms forward, with the only pause being the meeting with Old Spock on the ice planet. The movie's final act suffers a bit from a "premature climax" and Nero is disposed of awfully quickly, plus Spock's final battle with Nero's drill is pretty forgettable. But at least Kirk gets a nice Indy moment, and the Enterprise does a good impression of the Millenium Falcon at the Battle of Yavin. [Empire Online]

As you'll know if you've read the comics, the villain Nero is pissed because Spock failed to prevent the destruction of Romulus, so he travels back in time and tries to kill Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew. And we glimpse the fact that Nero is in pain from the loss of his home planet.

Also, there are comic moments when Kirk tries to find out Uhura's first name. And Chekhov address the entire ship in his funny accent. Simon Pegg is used sparingly, but is hilarious. And we get to see Sulu "driving" the Enterprise, in addition to that big sword fight on Nero's drill. And McCoy is nervous and neurotic. [Cinefools]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

A toy box gives us a new hint about Megatron's role in the movie:

Trapped in the black, crushing depths of the sea, his mind inert in the grip of stasis lock, Megatron knew nothing of the desperate search mounted for his remains by the other Decepticons. When he was finally brought back online, their effort and sacrifice meant little to him. The only thing that had any meaning was revenge. He would have his vengeance against the human boy who cheated him of his prize, and he swore to celebrate over the smoking wreck of Optimus Prime.

[TF08 via IESB]

Ghostbusters 3:

Sigourney Weaver will be back, promises Dan Aykroyd. "We'll make that happen. There'll be a whole new generation that has to be trained. And that whole new generation will be led by an individual that you'll all love when you hear who it is, but I'm not going to tell you now. There will be lots of cadets, boys and girls, who'll be learning how to use the cyclotron, the accelerators, and the new stuff. The nuon splitter, the inter-planary interceptor, all these great tools they're going to have to flip from dimension to dimension. Anyway." [CHUD via ScreenRant]

Dollhouse:

On Friday, we showed you some pics from episode 11, "Briar Rose." Here's the official synopsis:

Ballard's investigation leads him to the agoraphobic designer of the Dollhouse (guest star Alan Tudyk), and the story of "Sleeping Beauty" foreshadows Echo's future, while allowing her to help a young girl deal with her traumatic past. Adelle goes to the attic in search of answers, while Alpha reveals himself and sets his game in motion.

So Echo's future is to become Sleeping Beauty? Is that how she survives into a post-apocalyptic world? [SpoilerTV]

Doctor Who:

Russell T. Davies says Bernard Cribbins is a "proper companion" for the Doctor in David Tennant's final two parter. But don't assume, just because people have glimpsed John Simm on set, that the Master will be back:

It's not quite as easy to guess what's happening as you think - there's nightmare sequences, and layers of fantasy, because the Doctor's coming to the end of his time. It's quite interesting to watch things being filmed, and think: 'Oh, I can see what that would look like...'

Also, even though all of the season finales before this have been huge and Earth-shattering, the stakes still get bigger in Tennant's final episode. And yet, they also get more personal. [Telegraph]

Now that we're warned that they may be deceiving, here are more set reports. One scene was filmed featuring Wilf wearing his holiday Reindeer hat, dancing to get the attention of a tour-bus for over-50 holidayers. The bus stops and he gets on. And June Whitfield was spotted on set, apparently playing Wilf's friend Henrietta Goodheart.

In another scene, Donna is getting married - yet again - to an unidentified actor. Wilf is there, and the Doctor and the TARDIS were also glimpsed, so maybe the Doctor crashes her wedding. Meanwhile, there's a scene in a back alley, between Donna and John Simm's Master. The master is carrying a mask, of a human with gray hair. Also in the scene are a guy wearing a boy tie and a white-haired man.

And the Doctor visits Sarah Jane Smith's home, at Bannerman Road. Luke is talking on his cell phone while hurrying across the street, and nearly gets run over. The Doctor pushes him out of the way in time. Luke realizes who the Doctor is, and they have a brief conversation before the Doctor walks away. Luke runs to fetch Sarah Jane, and they stand and watch the Doctor walk to the TARDIS. He turns to wave, and Sarah Jane cries.

(Pics and videos by Skarofighter2, Gabriel Strange, Alun_Vega, Scooty and others.) [Planet Gallifrey]

Fringe:

There's a "coming war," says actor Kirk Acevedo. And he's currently shooting a stand-alone episode for season two, which has a sort of "Ghost Whisperer" theme. [Fringe Television]

Heroes:

Here's the official description for the final episode of the season, "The Invisible Thread":

Nathan faces off against Sylar to keep him from meeting the President. Sylar has his own plans for his new partner. Meanwhile, Hiro learns that there are repercussions to regaining his ability. Elsewhere, Matt is forced to go to extraordinary lengths to protect his future with his family.

Also, an extra who was on set claims that he was part of a scene where HRG, Claire and the Petrellis are in a diner, watching Sylar talk on television about how he's going to meet the president and steer the country in the right direction. Claire asks how Sylar can do this, and HRG says he can take on many forms. Nathan says he started this and he's going to end it. Claire says "He's going to kill you!" and Peter says, "I'll go with you." Nathan runs out, followed by Peter. [Heroes Television]

And here's a trailer for the season's last few episodes:

Meanwhile, Matt Parkman will be like, "Daphne who?" Apparently, according to Greg Grunberg, when Matt gets back together with his ex-wife Janice, she'll realize that he's been thinking about her the entire time, and he really wants their relationship to work. So even though it may take a while, Matt and Janice will probably end up together. And meanwhile, Matt's discovery that he has a son will cause him to take an action in the final episode that he may regret for the rest of his life. [TV Guide]

Chuck:

In tonight's episode, Jill agrees to help Chuck track down his dad, so they go to a family reunion under cover as a couple, to meet her Uncle Bernie, the guy who recruited Jill into Fulcrum. And the episode ends with Chuck making a huge decision that affects not just the team, but how General Beckman sees the team. Meanwhile, fear not - by the end of the season, Sarah will get her chance with Chuck. [E! Online]

Reaper:

Here's the description for episode 9, "No Reaper Left Behind":

The Devil (Ray Wise) wants Sam (Bret Harrison) to begin his training to bring about the end of days so he sends him a tutor named Sally (guest star Simone Kessell). Sam decides to seduce Sally to get information from her about how to beat the Devil. Meanwhile, Nina (Jenny Wade) takes revenge on Ben (Rick Gonzalez) and Sock (Tyler Labine).

[SpoilerTV]

Smallville:

Here's the official synopsis for episode 8x20, "Beast":

DAVIS ASKS CHLOE TO LEAVE TOWN WITH HIM - Clark (Tom Welling) discovers that Davis (Sam Witwer) is still alive and confronts Chloe (Allison Mack) about protecting him. Oliver (Justin Hartley) discovers Jimmy (Aaron Ashmore) breaking into Chloe's apartment, but things get rapidly worse after Davis jumps from the shadows and attacks both of them.

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Alasdair Wilkins.

Avatar (2009)

Admittedly, it's a bit of a tall order to make a trailer for a movie whose premise is still far from clear. The first half is kinda cool, but it doesn't really have much to do with what little is known of Avatar's story, which I think is set a couple centuries in the future. The second half is just sort of so-so. Not terrible, but there's definitely better out there.

Bioshock (2010)

And this is one of them. This probably impresses me more than it necessarily should because I've seen so few of the movies used to construct the trailer, which according to its maker include City of Lost Children, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Casshern, Dark City, Cast Away, Aliens of the Deep, I, Robot, Silent Hill, and AI: Artificial Intelligence. Of those, I'm somewhat ashamed to say I only recognized Laurence Olivier from Sky Captain (though I have seen Dark City). Part of the reason this trailer works fairly well is its creator chose movies that are reasonably similar stylistically, making it more difficult to figure out what does and doesn't fit together if you haven't seen the source material (we'll soon deal with a trailer that just throws together a bunch of famous contemporary movies).

Captain America (2010)

This one is a bit different from the rest, as it's a completely original trailer instead of a fan mash-up. It's surprisingly intense for what is ultimately a bunch of dudes running around on a beach, some of whom are very clearly wearing sneakers. Still, the pounding music and washed-out look do have their charms, and remembering to throw in a shot of Nick Fury is a definite plus.

Cowboy Bebop (TBD)

This one has to get points for sheer insanity. This combines one of the Matrix sequels, The Phantom Menace, Wanted, Live Free or Die Hard, Firefly, Constantine, and Deep Impact, and those are just the ones I can easily identify. There's some definite overuse of Angelina Jolie here (should you really include the curving of the bullet when that's so closely identified with Wanted?), but it's certainly never boring. Cutting all the dialogue was also a good call, as forcing the characters to say things that aren't immediately recognizable from previous movies is usually the biggest pitfall of fake trailers. From what I've seen, there's just no good way to do it, and unless you've got something to distract the viewer (like Brad Pitt in full Thundercat makeup, for example), it can be fatally distracting.

Ghostbusters 3 (TBD)

Wow, five minutes is a long time for a fake trailer. Still pretty good though. Here, as the creator puts it, is the "recipe" for this trailer:

Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2, Predator, Independence Day, Casper, Nightwatch, Gremlins 2, Lost in Translation, End of Days, Haunted Mansion, Hellboy, Earth vs the Spider, Orange County, Blues Brothers 2000, Miss Congeniality 2, Christmas with the Kranks, Miss Congeniality, Sleepy Hollow, X-Men, The Blob, Spider-man 3, High Spirits, Frighteners, Constantine, Mars Attacks, Charlie's Angels, Be Kind Rewind, Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, Dan in Real Life

Makes that Cowboy Bebop trailer look positively unambitious. At least this one manages to be somewhat deft about including clips from Lost in Translation. One of the less impressive trailers I saw just came right out and explicitly made Dr. Venkman an actor now...and that's just nutty. Although after spending so much time with the original cast was there really any reason to throw in a bunch of new Ghostbusters at the end?

Green Lantern (2010)

I'm a bit torn about this one. There's something a bit perverse about using quite so much footage from a Marvel movie for a DC trailer, and it was probably an overstep to actually use some of Johnny Storm's dialogue from Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Still, I'm being more than a little nitpicky, as this trailer features some truly awesome digital trickery to actually create some footage of Green Lanterns flying, and the casting choices of Tim Curry as Sinestro and Warwick Davies as a Guardian are inspired. Although if Denzel Washington is supposed to be John Stewart, I'm sorry, but I'm just not buying it, at least not on the strength of two random clips.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

I'll assume this was made before Terrence Howard was mysteriously removed from the sequel in favor of Don Cheadle. Cutting in footage from the Iron Man video game was, to put it mildly, a mistake, because it just doesn't gel properly with the rest of what's in there. I will give it credit for some clever cuts that sort of do make it look like Iron Man and War Machine are sharing the screen, but using "Iron Man" as the trailer's main song? I feel as though the end credits to the first movie pretty much retired the use of that song.

Spider-Man 4 (TBD)

Some terrible music choices shouldn't necessarily take away from the technical merit on display in this trailer. It's certainly a lot more interesting to try to spotlight the Lizard as the Spider-Man 4 villain instead of, say, Venom again, which pretty much involves remixing a Spider-Man 3 trailer. Or you can use Carnage, which is basically the same process, except you slap a red filter on it to make it look a bit different (though this trailer includes him through clips from Resident Evil: Apocalypse). I don't know whether I would have relied quite so much on Jurassic Park, but I guess where else are you going to find so many shots lizard-like things in laboratory settings?

Overall, I'm not sure any of these are mindblowingly awesome in quite the same way that the Thundercats trailer was, but credit where credit is due - some of these are pretty cool, assuming your suspension of disbelief is ready to work overtime.

An AICN tipster attended the opening of the House of Blues in Boston, Massachusetts that was hosted by original Ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd.

When asked by The Boston Globe if there were any Ghostbuster updates Aykroyd responded:

Script is commenced early summer. Hope to be in production by late fall 2009.

Which means the script, by The Office scribes, is probably almost done, and we could be getting greenlight and casting news soon. We'll have to keep our eyes peeled on the old NYC firehouse.

In an interview with MTV, Weaver revealed that not only had she been thinking about a Ghostbusters sequel, but that she was going to talk to Bill Murray about it next week. Whatever happened to those two crazy kids anyways? Did they get married, move out of the city, buy a couple chocolate labs, and now they only fight over silly things like forgetting to separate the recycling? Weaver wonders as well.

Does he think we got married or something?” she laughed. Weaver wasn’t sure if there was a place for her in the story but she did think someone deserves a spot. “I would hope that my little Oscar would be one of the Ghostbusters even if I’m not in it!”

Alas, it sounds like she hasn't really been approached for it yet, but then again the script (penned by The Office writers) still hasn't been written.

[MTV]

Seth Rogen filled the press in on his latest comings and goings, but mostly geeked about about Stephen Chow being involved in Green Hornet (and rightfully so).

On Chow's involvement:

He's a great guy. He's really funny. And we're just thrilled every time we're in a room with him we're like 'How the fuck did this happen? We got him! We actually got him!' It's really exciting and it's exciting because a lot of people want to work with him so as we hire our production designer and cinematographers were getting to choose from very good people because, and we didn't know this, apparently it's as exciting to everyone else as it was to us that Stephen is making a movie in America. So, it's great. We're amazed and thrilled that we ultimately might be the thing that brought him to America and his first American movie is also our movie. Honestly, it's more exciting that I'm in a Stephen Chow than the 'Green Hornet' even.

Once they signed Chow on Hornet I completely rethought my dislike for this strange adaptation. And Rogen said Chow is getting his hands dirty with the script and adding his own ideas:

Stephen had a lot of ideas and that's exactly what we wanted and I feel like. We want our directors to feel like it's their movie too. We don't want them to feel like they are just guys brought in to film what we wrote. We want them to feel like they can stand behind it also. So far we haven't disagreed, we're all just trying to figure out who he should be.

But what about the rumors that Rogen is already slated to be the newbie ghost hunting kids for Ghostbusters 3? Well not only has Rogen not been approached officially or unofficially, but he's not so keen on the idea:

I mean just as a movie fan I am the first guy to be skeptical of that. It sounds like a terrible idea when you first hear it. At first hearing it sounds like the worst idea ever. I dunno. Maybe. I mean, that would have to be one mutherfucking good script.

And finally Rogen took some time to address his gelatinous character Bob the blob from Monsters Vs. Aliens. The leaked trailer is online already, but we'll get to see the official trailer on the Kung Fu Panda DVD.

I play a blob. We're monsters and I play Bob, he's called, and he's a gelatinous blob with no brain so he's stupid. It's a very funny character actually. It's a great movie. I've had a lot of fun doing it.

More of the interview over at Collider including IMAX Hornet details.

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Ghostbusters 3:

Bill Murray doesn't know much about the new Ghostbusters sequel storyline, but he really wants there to be a female ghostbuster. This may or may not be part of a scenario where the old gang hands off the mantle to a new group of ghostbusters, but either way, Murray thinks there are some funny women out there, who could join the crew. Start the write-in campaign for Tina Fey now! [MTV Movies]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

New photos of the shooting at the "Boneyard" don't reveal much, except a whole mess of military planes, and Bumblebee on set. More pics at the link.[Mentallapse via Seibertron]

Our sister blog Jalopnik also had some pics of the shooting, and put a name to the Chevy Beat: it'll be a Transformer known as Skids. More pics at link. [Jalopnik]

Another eyewitness says Sideswipe and the blue Chevy Volt were also there, along with the red-and-green Chevy Trax. And they filmed a scene with a giant sheet of metal (possibly a stand-in for something) with a booming voice coming from it that sounded like Megatron or Jetfire, sounding really pissed off and loud. [Transformers Live]

Quarantine:

Wow, this movie sounds better and better. Star Jennifer Carpenter says she has tons of scenes where she runs around screaming, and the director kept telling her "More! More!" She plays a news reporter, who's doing a puff piece on local firefighters but then gets trapped in a building with a bunch of people suffering a mutant strain of rabies. [Sci Fi Wire]

And here are some more cast interviews. [IGN]

Lost:

So why do all of the Oceanic Six have to return to the island? It's not a mystical thing, it's pure science, according to Ben actor Michael Emerson. And now sources are claiming that the reason all six of the escapees are needed is because they must fan out to a set of Dharma Initiative stations all over the planet. These stations are the key to getting back to the island, which has been transported in space and/or time. And we may already have seen one of these stations before. [E! Online]

Meanwhile, the show is casting a character named Hajer, a Tunisian local "doctor" who may not have a medical degree, but has the experience to cope with whatever the harsh desert throws at him. He has a tough bedside manner but knows how to get the job done. [SpoilersLost]

Heroes:

Jack Coleman, who plays HRG, says his partnership with Sylar will get broken up during the "Villains" story arc, but they'll come back together in a dramatic way towards the end of the arc. Their partnership is a major part of the "Villains" storyline. And it doesn't sound as though HRG is ever going to be getting superpowers, except maybe temporarily. [BuddyTV]

In Monday's episode of Heroes, Peter Petrelli is so desperate, he can't even afford a shirt any more. And this upsets his mom. Luckily, he gets to have homoerotic incesty violence with his bro Sylar. Here are the pics to prove it. [Heroes Spoilers]

And here's a new promo that shows Arthur Petrelli in his full naughtiness. [Filipino Video Blogger]

Smallville:

This year, Chloe is caught between her good-girl Jimmy's bride persona and her dark side, which is drawn to Davis Bloome and wants to destroy stuff, because of the Brainiac inside her. You won't see as much of Clark and Chloe investigating stuff together — it'll be more Clark and Lois doing that. And Chloe definitely does marry Jimmy, but it's rumored that she dies and gets resurrected afterwards, or something. [TV Guide]

My Own Worst Enemy:

Here's a look into the cast of the new show about the guy with a faulty microchip in his brain, put there by the same guys who put a spy database in Chuck's brain. (I wonder if the two shows will ever cross over?) Sorry, video is U.S.-only, because NBC hates foreigners. [NBC]

Life On Mars:

The show's seventh episode will be called "The Man Who Sold The World." [SpoilerTV]

Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Remember those script pages for episode 13 we reviewed yesterday? More information about that episode has come up, by way of another casting call. The show is definitely casting a "crossdresser" character named Mark/Eileen, who is totally convincing as a woman, and looks good as a dude. (This is the person who says at one point that "they" killed Mark, and freed him/her up to stop living such a repressed life. Presumably meaning the machines.) We also meet a "kindly hypnotherapist" named Barbara, a warehouse clerk named Ed Winston, a religious leader named Pastor Jonas and a science nerd named Pete. [SpoilerTV]

Knight Rider:

Here's the official description for episode seven. We reviewed a huge chunk of this episode's script a while back.

A CRIMINAL COUPLE WITH CONGRESSIONAL TIES THREATENS TO REVEAL THE SECRETS OF KNIGHT INDUSTRIES — Knight Industries is hot on the trail of a Bonnie & Clyde-esque criminal couple, only to discover their true identities have a serious impact on a national congressional race. As the mission unfolds, Mike (Justin Bruening) and KITT (voiced by Val Kilmer) are forced into action to save Agent Rivai (Sydney Tamiia Poitier).

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Katharine Duckett.

Dan Aykroyd, Dr. Raymond Stantz himself, hinted at the third coming, saying that “two sharp young writers” were working on the impending Ghostbusters 3 script. According Variety, those two writers hired by Columbia are The Office co-exec producers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky.

Rumors are still flying on what kind of Ghostbusters movie this will be, though many think it's going to be a "next generation" type flick with a new crew of busters capturing ghosts in today's world.

Supposedly, the studio is hoping to bring back the entire original cast which would include not only Ray, but Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson) and the classic Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray).

I am sublimely happy about the resurrection of this movie, and I hope the new script will keep in the same classic one-liner humor that gave Ghostbusters possibly one of the most quotable dialogues around. Or in the top 10 at least.

[Variety]

With the continued, somewhat inexplicable, success of Hancock, it seems that the only constant in Hollywood math is "(Will Smith) + (4th of July Weekend) x (Genre Movie) = $$$." Bearing that in mind, we thought that it's be kind of us to demonstrate to some stalled SF movie projects just to how to use the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (and, let's face it, wherever else he wants to be the Prince of, these days) to get their movies up and running again.

Halo
Will Smith is...: The Mysterious Master Chief.
Why This Works: Sure, in the games (and the novels, and the comic books), you never see Master Chief's face, but just as that didn't work for the Judge Dredd movie, it's not going to work here, either. Pull up that visor and let's see the sensitive man underneath who knows that war is hell and space war even moreso. Smith got an Oscar nomination for The Pursuit of Happyness, so let's see him bring the pain here. Literally.

The Six Million Dollar Man
Will Smith is...: Well, Steve Austen, obviously.
Why This Works: Isn't it time to ruin another '70s TV show with the same kind of comedy treatment that worked so well for Starsky And Hutch? Put Smith in the familiar role and let him play it for laughs - Austen's cybernetic upgrade not only gives him more strength, super-powered eyesight and the ability to run surprisingly quickly, but also the power to loosen up his uptight white boss, played by Billy Bob Thornton, continuing his streak of slumming it in broad comedies. Throw in a Will Farrell cameo and it's box office gold, baby.

Ghostbusters 3
Will Smith is...: Nerdy accountant Louis Tully.
Why This Works: So Rick Moranis doesn't want to come back to the role that made him famous? That's no problem - Replace him with an even bigger star. Here's your explanation as to how it happened: Between movies, Tully had a terrible accident that forced him to have an incredible amount of reconstructive surgery. When he recovered from the surgery, he was a changed man: Tall, attractive, charismatic... and no longer afraid of no ghosts.

Green Lantern
Will Smith is...: Hal Jordan. Admit it; you thought I was going to say John Stewart, didn't you?
Why This Works: Smith takes on the role of ladykiller test pilot Jordan, the one man who can save the world through the power of his mind. It's the next step of Smith's Independence Day role, but with the added benefit of a lack of Jeff Goldblum's scientist hacker. Plus, who wouldn't want to see Smith in this role, besides the legion of fanboys who'd get upset that they didn't pick a white actor?

Wild Wild West 2
Will Smith is...: Captain James West.
Why This Works: ...Okay, maybe this is the exception that proves the rule. Never mind.