Alien Legion was created by Carl Potts as a comic series about an alien foreign legion — think of it as the French Foreign Legion mixed with Halo and Band of Brothers. It's fairly realistic, for a series about an Alien Legion, but the audience really gets sucked in by these characters and what they have to do to survive war in space.

According to USA Today, Dark Horse is coming out with a new four-issue Alien Legion comic series in 2010, with Chuck Dixon and Larry Stroman. But the big news is Alien Legion may finally be making its way onto the big screen.

"Alien Legion has been optioned for some time," Potts confirms. "The script is currently in its third rewrite." In a recent interview with film fan-site Heyuguys.co.uk, Derek Haas revealed that he and writing partner Michael Brandt (Wanted, 3:10 to Yuma) are reworking the Alien Legion script for Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney. Potts believes Bruckheimer is the type of producer who could do a great job on a film version of Legion. "Bruckheimer's never done a science-fiction before, so that challenge, I think, is something that would hold his interest. The success they've had with blending CGI and live-action characters in The Pirates of the Caribbean series could translate easily to an Alien Legion film."

My only concern is the Disney/Bruckheimer element, because after all this is a gritty series. But Disney is getting darker and darker with some recent projects, and this would be a pretty big step for them. So we're cautiously optimistic, especially since the project has been kicked around for years and somehow something always seems to get in the way.

Variety reports that the deal was closed at last week's San Diego Comic-Con, and that Wood and Ted Adams - president of WWR publisher IDW - will act as executive producers. WWR the books take the format of war diaries from the end of a long war between humans and robots both on Earth and in space (More specifically, the moon and on Mars). The series - which debuted last year - was described by co-creator Jon Gibson as

Band of Brothers with gun-toting machines... Badass battles, really intense human/robot drama, plus it gets kinda political. [It's] also dosed with a bit of "desperation comedy". Like laughing while you're crying.

Is it too much to hope that Michael Bay can get himself involved in some way?

Bruckheimer gears up for 'War' [Variety]

Yes, the trailer pretty much covers all the bases: Small lumps of fur make quips, that guy from The Hangover does a "oh no, here we go again!" face and then Will Arnett shows up for a minute in a black suit and scowls. Sounds like the formula for the perfect summer movie, right? Well, the most baffling thing about G-Force is probably the stellar talent Jerry Bruckheimer (yes, you read that correctly) accumulated. Sam Rockwell just blew me away a few weeks ago in the subdued, creepy Moon comes back as Darwin, the oh-so very generic leader of a group of high tech guinea pig spies that seem to be a splinter group of homeland security.

Ben (Zach Galifianakis), or as I like to call him "Beardy", has been secretly training animals for black ops missions (Cause they totally did that in WWII, you guys) and leeching money for the experiments from the government. So, since the U.S. is all about cutting back on frivolous spending nowadays, Will Arnett shows up to figure out where Richard Gere's pet collection went.

Arnett's surprised and agitated to find Darwin, Juarez (Penelope Cruz), Blaster (Tracy Morgan) and Speckles (Nicholas Cage) doing the best Arrested Development chicken impression they can muster. Just Kidding. They talk, make jokes and you know what Arnett says? He doesn't get caught up on the fact that Beardy-er, I mean Ben, has figured out a way to talk to animals and do his evil bidding, no — Arnett's mad because now the Guinea Pigs can spill government secrets. Secrets, I say! And then in the films cleverest line, Arnett tells Ben that he should treat Guinea Pigs like, wait for it, Guinea Pigs. Wait, I thought that's what Beardy was doing in the first place. Has G-Force just gotten all meta on us?

There's a strangely bountiful amount of weird B-plots in this film like Darwin, Blaster and Juarez involved in a love triangle. And Darwin finding his long lost brother and realizing that he's not the great genetically altered beast Ben told him he was, but in fact, the runt of his litter. I kept expecting to see some sort of montage in which Darwin walks through the rain while seeing his brother's silhouette in shop windows with Nickelback playing in the background, or something. Oh, by the way, it's worth noting that Jon Favreau plays the brother, Hurley. I guess Iron Man isn't giving the guy enough to do, because I've seen him in a few rather mediocre bit parts this year.

Back to the A-plot. Saber, played by Bill Nighy, is the film's red-herring bad guy (because what is a Disney Bruckheimer film without him? Oh yeah, a good Pirates movie). I was told that they used some leftover CG from the third Pirates film to produce his acting in G-Force. Bruckheimer calls that ‘cost effective, movie-making'. Anyway, he's got a plan to have a monopoly on the appliance market and there's some sort of Doomsday clock in each microwave, coffee maker, telephone and other things that aren't really appliances, in the world. The G-Force (G-FORCE!) discovers that they're really deadly robots.

Things that look normal but turn into deadly robots… This was easily my favorite part of the film because of the unique story element pasted onto the ending. I mean, kick ass robots in camouflage? I wish someone would really make a whole movie of just that. Out of left field, the audience discovers that Speckles the mole is actually the bad guy. Which you can pretty much deduce when he says "you can TRUST me, Darwin" cackles and subsequently twirls his mustachio. Then there's a giant Transmorpher (trademark pending) fight at the end.

In short, if you and your kids have seen Harry Potter eight times in the last week, well, go make it a ninth time this Friday because G-Force is barely fit for an original Disney Channel Movie of the Week.

No one ever suspects the guinea pig. A group of technologically enhanced furries take on a billionaire bad guy who wants to control the world. The underwater pigs you see below — Juarez (voiced by Penélope Cruz) and Blater (voiced by Tracey Morgan) — are described as "little James Bonds," by Bruckheimer to USA Today. The cast also boasts the vocal talents of Nicolas Cage as Speckles, Sam Rockwell as Darwin, and Steve Buscemi as Bucky. Also making an appearance are Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis and Bill Nighy, who plays the evil doer Leonard Saber. The evil genius builds a mechanized army, and it's up to the pigs to stop him.

G-Force hits theaters July, 24 2009.

Check out the larger collection of pig stills over at USA Today.

The British version tanked with audiences. And even though the scientific investigation concept is familiar territory, there are some good reasons why Stephen Gallagher's original flop has faced Jerry Bruckheimer and show runners Cyrus Voris and Ethan Rieff with some tough decisions in trying to turn it into an American success.

The British series followed a scientist (Patrick Stewart) and his bodyguard (Ashley Jensen) who get called in to investigate abuses of science that have reached the "eleventh hour," or breaking point. After viewing a recent marathon of the British series, I'm impressed with the attention to detail: from the frustrating inanity of good police work, to the loneliness of hunting criminals, there's much to admire about Stephen Gallagher's project.

But how much exactly do you steal from a show that wasn't a hit? The American producers are waffling on a few key points.

1.Scary thrills or moral conundrums? Despite dealing with dark subject matter, the British Eleventh Hour went to great pains to intellectualize the fear, with Patrick Stewart yammering about the larger portents for the human race. It appears the producers want to preserve the feel of the original. Ethan Reiff told the press, "It's a science-facts show, not a science-fiction show. It's science that surrounds us every day of our lives." We appreciate a level of detail, but sticking with the slow burn may be one of the reasons the British show never garnered an audience in its brief time on the air.

2.Bad Boys or National Treasure? The jokes about Bruckheimerizing a smart show may or may not be fair, but really, the British original was above all thoughtful and meandering, two words Bruckheimer doesn't know the meaning of. The high price of the pilot may indicate the presence of Bruckheimer's favorite shiny explosions, but at the cost of a more serious approach to the drama that actually strengthened the British edition.

3. An overarching storyline, or a serial? Bruckheimer procedurals like CSI generally eschew a larger ongoing storyline, with a mystery that unfolds over time. The British version never had a chance to stray into this territory, but watching the four episodes that were produced, there were oblique references if you were watching closely. If you were thinking they might bring a larger conspiracy to the American version, think again. After a preview suggested the show was set five years in the future, the producers contradicted their own promo, to saying that they had no idea when exactly the show was set. They followed that up with by explaining why they planned to ignore the rural setting of the original. It wasn't much of an explanation.

4. Hint at romance, or keep the show's leads apart? As much as we loved the paternal relationship between Jensen and Stewart, friend relationships don't captivate audiences. The Rufus Sewell-Marley Shelton partnership has more potential for a Mulder-Scully dynamic, and that certainly was a moneymaker at one time. We will entirely regret saying that the next time that Joshua Jackson makes googly eyes at Anna Torv.

hey, um...do you think we're developing romantic chemistry yet?

In the end, Bruckheimer will be trying to keep himself interested. As he once put it, "If I made films for the critics, or for someone else, I'd probably be living in some small Hollywood studio apartment." You can view producers Reiff and Voris talking about Eleventh Hour below.

Eleventh Hour, of course, is the American remake of a short-lived British show starring Patrick Stewart as a government scientist who's brought in at the "eleventh hour" to solve science crimes that are getting out of hand. The British version spent its entire run telling people it wasn't a Doctor Who clone, and then it went away.

So the original opening episode was about cloning, and particularly a "man who's trying to clone his dead son." Dr. Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell) and his sexy bodyguard (Marley Shelton from Grindhouse) investigate after a bunch of identical dead babies turn up somewhere. Here's a prmo video that highlights the storyline:

What was too edgy about this plot? The human cloning? The dead babies? Or just the focus on human reproductive issues?

So what's the new first episode about? The studio released this synopsis:

"Agro" - When multiple cases of food-related paralysis are reported in northern California, Dr. Jacob Hood, Special Science Advisor to the FBI, is called upon to investigate, on the premiere of ELEVENTH HOUR, Thursday, Oct. 9 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network

I'm guessing the food-related paralysis has something to do with genetically modified foods. Especially with the title "Agro." Although since it's Northern California, maybe it's some kind of evil organic produce company that's paralyzing its local customers? (Why would genetically modified foods only paralyze people in one location?) The episode's cast include scientists, agents, a "biochem geek," a reporter, a cop, a foreman, a "resident," and a couple of EMTs.

[Spoiler TV]

If nothing else, the press release smacks of desperation. The Weinstein Company's announcement says the fog coated the LA area "in preparation for the opening of the highly anticipated Thanksgiving release The Mist." Then it says: "A publicity stunt? Or a eerily timed Stephen King-style wake up call to moviegoers? You be the judge!" [IESB] More news:

• Nicholas Cage will provide one of the voices for G-Force, Jerry Bruckheimer's live action/CGI project about a group of super-intelligent animal commandos. Cage will be a mole named Speckles. Steve Buscemi will provide the voice of Bucky the hamster, and Tracey Morgan (Saturday Night Live) will be a guinea pig named Blaster. [Moviehole]
• Stop ragging on my Batman movies, Tim Burton pleads. They were cutting edge, but they never got the respect they deserved. And they still don't. "Nobody really acknowledged the fact that ['Batman'] was slightly different at the time from other comic book movies. So lay off, will you?" [MTV Movies Blog]

• The two biggest SF magazines struggle with declining circulation numbers, says SF/comics author Warren Ellis. Ellis' post touched off a blogstorm about how (and whether) Analog and Asimov's can be saved. Apart from Charles Stross and Tim Pratt, few important writers have launched their careers in either magazine, argues John Scalzi. Not surprisingly, most bloggers think the Internet is the future of short fiction publishing. [Lou Anders]
• The fictional drink that stars in the viral marketing campaign for monster movie Cloverfield showed up in the latest Heroes episode. There are also many behind-the-scenes photos of various Heroes actors vamping with cups of Slusho!, which also appeared in an episode of Alias. At what point does "random" become the operative word in "random clues"? [Slashfilm]