Superman:

For the umpteenth time, James McTeigue, rumored director of the next Superman film, said that while he's had "some discussions" with Warner Bros., the movie isn't happening any time soon. But as always, McTeigue was happy to talk about what his approach would be if he did take on Big Blue:

Superman is probably ripe for a bit of a change up. I think society has changed around the core idea of what Superman was... And I'm not saying you do the ubiquitous dark Superman, I'm not saying that… I'm just saying that I think there are some things that you could excise from the Superman mythology that people would get into it, if you took the world that he was in and changed that a bit, and maybe even project that into the future a bit. I think you don't really have to play into the origin story anymore. I think there's a whole bunch of things you could do to make that film more alive and exciting again.

So it sounds like McTeigue is backpedaling slightly from the idea he floated a while back, of a darker Superman. But more importantly, it sounds like he wants to put Clark Kent a few years into the future — which might allow for a more science-fictional take on our favorite visitor from space. Color us intrigued. [FirstShowing]

Avatar 2:

If Avatar does well enough, we're bound to get a second helping — and producer Jon Landau offers one suggestion for what the next movie will be about: the first movie only explores the surface of the planet Pandora. "The interior remains to be seen." So there could be some Na'Vi spelunking and subterranean exploration. [Slashfilm]

Paul:

Jane Lynch, who's my new favorite actor thanks to Glee, says she's in one scene of this Simon Pegg film — she's the proprietor of the Ailey-Inn, an alien-themed restaurant that caters to nerds who are drawn to the vicinity of Area 51. (So, just like the alien-themed restaurant in Roswell.) Pegg and Nick Frost show up in the diner, reading their "cartoon books." Adds Lynch:

There's some trail in Nevada that's supposedly [where aliens have landed], and they're on the trail. [My character] owns the Ailey-Inn and she's way into it. She's profiting financially from [all these alien-hunting tourists], so she's their good friend.

[MTV]

Resident Evil: Afterlife:

The fourth Resident movie just started production officially, and the official press release offers just a snippet of new plot info, courtesy of producer Paul W.S. Anderson: "Alice's battle with The Umbrella Corporation isn't finished. Last time we saw Alice, she let them know she was coming after them. It's time to settle the score." [Bloody Disgusting]

Lost:

Another new character we'll be meeting is Detective Rasmussen, who makes a visit to the hospital where Kate brings the pregnant Claire. There's speculation that Rasmussen is investigating Kate, who's still a fugitive in this alternate timeline. [SpoilersLost]

A visitor to Hawaii, Jenni Ranee, posted some pics of this show's set, which include a glimpse of some returning characters: Frank Lapidus, Ethan, and Aaron's nanny. Notice the trailer for "Admitting Nurse" and "OB Nurse" for the hospital scene (as well as one for "Detective Rasmussen," see above.) Also, most of the camp set has been struck, but the ramshackle structure where the castaways kept their Dharma food is still kind of intact — could there be a reason it's been preserved? [JenniRanee on Flickr, via SpoilersLost]

Supernatural:

In episode eight, we'll get to learn what this show would look like as a sitcom. "Laugh track and all." [EW]

Fringe:

Is Walter going back into an institution? The show is seeking an actor to play this role in the tenth episode of the season:

[DOCTOR WEST] In his OR her 40s. He or she is intelligent and is the Director/Doctor in charge of a large mental institution. Guest Star. OPEN TO ALL RACES AND ETHNICITIES.

[SpoilerTV]

FlashForward:

John Cho will need to spend some time playing Sulu in the next Star Trek movie, so does that mean his TV character Demetri is doomed to die? (After all, Demetri didn't see any vision of the future.) Cho says he doesn't know, and in any case the producers of both projects will work it out somehow. (And presumably, the same dilemma applies to Zachary Quinto, unless the inevitable undertakes Heroes first.) [Sci Fi Wire]

Stargate Universe:

Producer John G. Lenic talks about watching Robert Carlyle film an intense scene from early in the series:

[Carlyle] walks into a room, puts his iPod in a docking station, it starts playing. He goes over the side of the bed, looks at a picture, and starts crying. There was about six of us behind the monitors at that moment and we were all in tears. All had watery eyes and it was like, "Holy crap. What an amazing sensation to feel that."

[Gateworld]

Actor Brian J. Smith says his character, Lt. Matt Scott, goes through a lot in the episode "Life," and it's a "real heart-breaker." And the episode "Faith" takes place in a "breathtaking" location. [Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog]

Heroes:

The title of the 11th episode of this season will be "Thanksgiving." [The ODI]

Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths:

Here's a sneak peek at the next DC animated movie, which includes a glimpse of... Justice League Detroit? [MTV]

Paul follows the two geeky Brits on a journey across the United States, where they not only hit up San Diego Comic Con, but end up face-to-face with a real alien. Still no details about the alien's appearance, and last time we talked to cast member Bill Hader he was pretty mum on the details. Will it be CG, will it be someone in a suit, or just a human? Who knows. We do know it'll be voiced by Seth Rogen though.

Simon Pegg twittered this response to Collider's scoop:

Yep. That's us flanked by Blythe Damner and Kristen Wiig. It doesn't get much better than that sandwich-wise.

For a closer look at the horror on these hapless nerds' faces, check out the bigger image at Collider. Paul will hit theaters in 2010.

While doing press for Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, out next week, we got to check in with geek comedian Bill Hader. In an interview we asked the man who makes it rain food about possible new comic books from him and his SNL co-star Seth Meyers, why MacGruber gets a movie and Laser Cats doesn't, and what's happening with Simon Peggs alien road-trip film Paul.

I know you and Seth Meyers wrote that Spider-Man comic, [Spider-man The Short Halloween] are there anymore comic books in your future?

We have a Daredevil idea that we'd like to do.

What's this idea about? How will it be different?

I can't tell you what the idea is. I would say it's kind of the same thing as the Spider-Man book as it's kind of a stand alone. It wouldn't be in the current Daredevil arc. It would be in it's own stand-alone story, kind of how the Spider-Man book was. It doesn't fit into any sort of...but yeah that's how it would be different. And our idea is similar to the Spider-Man one, where it also involves peripheral characters are the main character and Daredevil is influencing the story in different ways. It is that kind of similar thing to the Spider-man one. I know people were kind of mixed on it. Some people liked it and some people were like, "why isn't Spider-Man the main character?" We weren't interested in that, we found that funnier.

My favorite part of SNL these days has been all the science fiction shorts, so when is Laser Cats getting a movie? MacGruber has a movie...I feel like it's justified.

I would love to do a Laser Cats movie. Yeah, maybe... I feel like Macgruber is a little bit more of a hit than Laser Cats is. Andy [Samberg] Akiva [Schaffer] and Jorma [Taccone] really find that so funny. And that's what's great about doing that, you really get a sense of the four of us just making each other laugh at how dumb it is. Because we all grew up making videos. What makes Laser Cats so funny to me is the idea that it's being presented to Lorne Michaels each week, and we actually think it's so good. The Steve Martin one was a lot of fun, where Steve Martin is totally into it like "hey look at this video I made, and it's total shit." Yeah we love doing that.

Will there be a lot more science-fictional sketches in the new season?

I don't know, honestly I have no idea what I'm going to do up until the moment we do it. We had a character last season that we want to do again called "Greg Is Not An Alien." We want to do that again. We tried it once with Zac Efron and it didn't fully work. So we might try that idea again. That was a lot of fun to do. That's John Mulaney, Simon Rich and I, they made that thing so funny.

We're all really excited to see more from Simon Pegg's movie Paul. What's going on with your character in this film?

In Paul, I play a guy named Haggard and it's me and Jason Bateman's character and Joe Lo Truglio's character are these agents who are tracking Simon, Nick and Paul, and Kristen Wiig's character. To put it pretty well, we're kind of like the epic Kota and Midnight Run.

What were the rumors that you were supposed to be the alien in Paul? But now it's Seth Rogen correct?

I think those rumors were started because I did a test for Simon and Nick to show the studios here's what Paul will look like and here's how he will interact with the actors. And Mottola and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost called me and said, "I know this is last minute but would you want to come here and do this real quick almost as like a favor. And I said yeah sure, free trip to London. So I went to London for three or four days, we shot the test and I came back. It was totally not an audition for the character, it was just to help them out. I think that's how all those rumors got started.

Is Paul, the alien, totally human form or CG?

You'll have to see. [Laughs] No I don't know. I honestly don't know now. It's funny you asked that because I don't know — it could be a mix of both.

Until the next season of SNL you can catch Bill Hader in the movie Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, out September 11.

Kick-Ass

This one might be a spoiler for the comic book as well: John Romita Jr., who does the artwork for the Kick-Ass comic, contributed artwork for an animated sequence. Romita explains that, in the film, Nic Cage's character Big Daddy has drawn a comic book to commemorate his vigilante adventures. At one point in the film, Big Daddy is hauled off to prison and his partner discovers the comic, and when he opens it, the animation sequence begins, revealing the origin of Big Daddy. [MTV]

Also, Kick-Ass has finally gotten a release date. Expect it in theaters April 16th, 2010. [/Film]

Gamer

A new Gamer TV spot is heavy on the action:

[MTV]

IGN has a clip that reveals the socioeconomic woes in Gamer, and below are interviews with the cast:

Plus, a few more sexy images:

[IGN]

Supernatural

Executive producer Eric Kripke says that God Himself (or Herself) will enter the apocalyptic battle at some point late in the season, although he's mum on the how and the who's-going-to-play Him (or Her). Until then, it's going to be all-out Armageddon; it's 2014 and the Croation virus has spread across the world, Sarah Palin is president of the United States, and the hunters live in the woods, trying to protect the survivors. Castiel has now been cut off from heaven and as his powers start to fade, he becomes more and more in touch with his humanity — with sometimes funny, sometimes poignant results. As we mentioned before, Ellen, Jo, Rufus, and Chuck will all appear this season, and there's a chance we'll see Papa Winchester as well, but only if Jeffrey Dean Morgan is available. And the nature of Titus Welliver's role has been revealed: he'll be playing one of the muscle-car-driving Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. [TV Guide Magazine]

The Vampire's Assistant

We get a fresh poster with a fresh grave for the Cirque Du Freak movie:

[IGN]

The Blair Witch Sequel

Eduardo Sanchez, who directed the original Blair Witch film, says the sequel will probably be set rough 15 years after the characters in the original film disappeared. [IGN]

The Host 2

This monster movie prequel is an eco-horror take based on the 2003 Cheonggyecheon stream restoration, during which a highway was removed and the river stream left nearly dry. The movie will be set during the 2003 project and will feature multiple monsters, including the fellow below:

[ShockTillYouDrop]

Stargate Universe

In episode 17, "Lost," we will see a young Ronald Greer and his father Reginald in flashbacks. Reginald was once a proud military man, but his service in the Gulf War left him with severe PTSD, and he suffers from both mental and physical illness. He is quiet and frightening, and he mistreats Ronald because he believes that he is preparing him for the cruelties of life. Ronald's mother Angela is, by contrast, strong and loving, and she stays with Reginald because she blames the war for his behavior and believes she is the only person who will care for him. Angela's love also helps Ronald grow into a strong and intense young man, one who single-handedly rescues both of his parents from a burning house. [Spoiler TV]

Fringe

The birthday Walter and company will be celebrating in the season premiere is Peter's. [Fringe Television]

Paul

Seth Rogen just finished filming for Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's Paul, where he plays an alien who befriends two scifi geeks. He wore a motion capture during filming, so even he doesn't know what his alien avatar will look like on screen. [MTV]

FlashForward

Here's the first appearance of Dominic Monaghan's character, Simon:

[Lyly Ford]

Defying Gravity

New promo images come from the eighth episode, "Love, Honor, Obey:"

[Spoiler TV]

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

The latest round of images feature Lex Luthor, who, as President of the United States, declares Superman and Batman enemies of the state and recruits other superheroes to hunt them down. When that fails, Luthor and his classic mecha suit get in on the action:

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown and Charlie Jane Anders.

Doctor Who

A poster at Gallifrey Base claims to have gotten a good look inside the new TARDIS set, which we'll see in 2010. Supposedly, the interior of the TARDIS will have two different levels, joined by a spiral staircase, and we'll be seeing a console room, a lab area, a sitting room, a long corridor, and "numerous other little nooks and crannies." The set is designed to be modular, so that pieces of the set can be moved around and double as other parts of the ship, when we visit other rooms inside the TARDIS.

The console room itself is a shaped like a hexagon attached to a square rather than being circular, the color theme is mostly silver and gold, and the coral finish has been replaced with marble. The roundels decorating the walls are now inverted hemispheres, and while they appear throughout the set, they do not appear on every wall. The roundels have different color schemes for each room: gold in the console room, silver, gray, and blue in the lab, and brown in the sitting room.

You should, of course, take this with several truckloads of grains of salt. [Gallifrey Base, Thanks Bluehinter!]

Iron Man 2

As we've mentioned, Sam Rockwell's character, Justin Hammer, is actually a fan of Tony Stark, but doesn't get the attention he craves from Tony. But Rockwell tells Comic Book Resources that Hammer is also "in cahoots with a couple of people," and "kind of a shyster." And when Hammer feels deprived of Tony's attention, "that's where I think it starts to go wrong for Justin a little bit." He also says that Hammer is more insecure and ambitious than Tony Stark, which may be his downfall. [Comic Book Resources]

Zombieland

In the international trailer, we get a few more of Columbus's rules for surviving the zombie apocalypse and some hints of Jesse Eisenberg/Emma Stone romance:

The Lovely Bones

A new image shows another surreal image from Heaven as Susie Salmon looks out at a figure in the gazebo where she goes to watch the living world:

[MTV Movies Blog]

The Hobbit

Supposedly, the role of Bilbo Baggins has been cast, though just who will play the fur-footed protagonist hasn't been revealed. Some fans speculate it might be Martin Freeman, who played Tim in the UK version of The Office. [Cinema Blend]

Astro Boy

The final poster for Astro Boy has been released:

[CinemaBlend]

Gamer:

Gerard Butler explains the philosophy behind this living-video-game movie: Gamer is "a comment on science, technology, medicine and entertainment. ... How far away are we from people actually saying, 'We can create that. We can create a mini-war every day on our TVs and use people that are useless to us.'" And there's a scene where his character, Kable, confronts his nemesis (played by Terry Crews) stepping out of an elevator — and Kable pounces on him. [USA Today]

Paul:

Jason Batemen explains his character, federal agent Lorenzo Zoil:

He is the government agent that is sent to go out and grab Paul the alien and drag him back to Area 51. He's a very humorless and expressionless government agent, very similar to either Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive or even Men in Black and also Yaphet Kotto in Midnight Run. I've got a couple of ne'er-do-well deputies, Joe Lo Truglio and Bill Hader. It's just really, really fun. It's a road movie. These guys, Simon, Nick and Paul, are in a motor home, and I'm in a late-model black Crown Victoria in hot pursuit.

And he says they did one take of a scene where Zoil says his full name and suddenly realizes that his own name is a joke on "Lorenzo's Oil," and one take where he doesn't. [Sci Fi Wire]

Eclipse

Some blurry set photos have surfaced of Bryce Dallas Howard as Victoria seducing Xavier Samuel's Riley:

[Lainey Gossip]

Supernatural

The fifth episode, which will feature Paris Hilton, was known on audition and draft scripts as "Celebrity Skin," but has been officially titled "Fallen Idol." [Spoiler TV]

True Blood

A still from Sunday's episode shows Bill hanging by the pool with Evan Rachel Wood's character, Queen Sophie. But what's up with the sunglasses?

[True Blood Net]

Chuck

New Malibu-based set photos from the first two episodes of the season indicate that Zachary Levi does, eventually, lose the beard:

[Chuck TV]

Smallville

In the seventh episode "Crossfire," Clark accompanies Lois when she auditions to host a television show on WGBS, "Good Morning, Metropolis." The show's producer recognizes the chemistry between Lois and Clark, and decides he won't hire one without the other. As a bit for the show, Lois and Clark are each set up on dates with other people, with Lois talking into an earbud in Clark's ear on his date and vice versa. Although Lois teases Clark that his admission that he grew up on a farm will earn him either a country mouse or a cougar for a date, he actually ends up dining with a stunning blonde, who leaves Lois shocked and jealous. Lois is intent on making Clark just as jealous during her date, but apparently ends up tipsy as Clark at some point whispers in her ear "The last thing you need is a drink, Lois." At the end of Lois' date, Clark tells her date he's a lucky man, which pleases Lois.

At some point during the episode, Tess is in Zod's mansion, and Zod tells one of his people that if Tess won't reveal who the Blur is, he should kill her. Also, Oliver will meet Mia "Speedy" Dearden, who wears an awful lot of red and yellow. She also happens to be a hooker with a nasty tattooed pimp named Rick, and Oliver tells her he wants to help her. And when she takes Oliver out in his Lamborghini, he jokingly calls her "Speedy." Oliver will also briefly meet up with Lois and the Ace of Clubs. [KryptonSite]

Better Off Ted

In the sixth episode "What Lies Beneath," Veridian Dynamics decides to genetically match up employees with their perfect romantic partners, figuring that they will produce children that will cost the company less money. Ted is matched up with the beautiful and charming Danielle, and though he is initially resistant to Veridian's plan, he finds himself falling for her. Meanwhile, Linda is matched with Greg, who is also attractive and charming, but has one tiny little eccentricity. When working for Veridian makes him feel small and insecure (as it would anyone), he dresses in a bear suit and goes to the park to make himself feel mighty. And a receptionist at the Veridian health clinic has difficulty keeping Phil's medical records from Veronica. [Spoiler TV]

Heroes

The eighth episode of the new season will be called "Once Upon a Time in Texas" — perhaps the episode where Hiro goes back in time to save his sweetheart Charlie? [HeroSite]

Defying Gravity

It's Halloween in stills from the seventh episode, "Fear:"

[Spoiler TV]

Eastwick

In the fifth episode, Roxie will fill in for Bun, the Eastwick tour guide, when he suffers a bout of memory loss. She may not be the best choice, though, as the tourists question her historical accuracy, and at least one thinks she's an outright weirdo when she has a vision mid-tour. One of the tourists also asks about Eastwick's tradition of burning coffins at Halloween to symbolize the release of burdens.

Apparently, the tradition doesn't go well, because later Roxie screams that there is someone in the fire. She begs a fireman to put the fire out, but he misunderstands her because of the loud music playing at the Halloween celebration.

Also during this episode, Kat and Joanna have a fight after Kat kisses Will, which Mrs. Greenberg, an elderly patient at the hospital where Kat works, overhears. Mrs. Greenberg then steps in with her two cents. And Penny approaches a group of folks outside the Eastwick Cafe and asks them if they've seen Joanna recently. When one boy, looking at Joanna's picture, comments that he'd "tap" that, Penny retorts that he's never tapped anything other than himself. [Spoiler TV]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown and Charlie Jane Anders.

Of course, if this purely informational videoblog - or "vlog," as the kids call them - doesn't tell you all you need to know about the movie, don't fret; they're willing to tell you even more:

Don't feel that you have to limit your questions to the movie, either; they'll even explain the proper English way to drink tea:


Paul is currently in production for a 2010 release.

[What is Paul?]

Iron Man 2:

Here's your first look at the logo for the Stark Expo, which is sort of a World's Fair type event that Tony Stark's company sponsors. More of this image at the link. [IESB]

District 9:

A new poster for this alien-interment film shows a better look at that flying saucer. [Slashfilm]

Paul:

Some more details about Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's alien road-trip movie. Jane Lynch plays the owner of a theme restaurant called the Ai-Linn, full of alien paraphernalia and junk. And after a group of rednecks almost beats the tar out of Pegg and Frost, Lynch steps in and saves the day. [Sci Fi Wire]

Fringe:

Luke "Prince Nuada" Goss will guest star in at least one episode of Fringe this season. But when will he be famous? [SpoilerTV]

Episode 2.02 introduces us to Father Kenzie, a blind priest who's got gravitas and a piercing insight. He may be a recurring character. [SpoilerTV]

Torchwood:

James Moran drops a minor spoiler for episode three of "Children Of Earth," which airs Wednesday in the U.K. Watch out for the awesome "chopping-board action," he says. [Den Of Geek]

Lost:

Filming for V will be done by January 14, 2010, which could mean that Elizabeth Mitchell is available to return to Lost by mid-January. So does that mean a Juliet comeback towards the end of the show? [Spoilers Lost]

So all that stuff about how the new season will feel more like season one? It's beginning to sound like there will be "a circularity" to the show's storyline, as producers Cuse and Lindelof put it. Also, the smoke monster will become "an interesting character in and of itself." The ending will be bittersweet and "fair," and will not make all of the fans happy. [Broadcast via Zap2It]

Supernatural:

Lucifer will look "Pellegrino-shaped" for the entire season, and he'll recur throughout season five. Also, Castiel has a major personal story arc which coincides with the arc running throughout the entire season. [E! Online]

FlashForward:

This show isn't really even necessarily a science fiction show, says executive producer David Goyer. (I think that's code for "Please don't cancel us.") He adds that it's not necessarily the case that aliens cause everybody to glimpse six months into the future — but the "maybe not scifi" thing makes me think the explanation will be prosaic, somehow. [E! Online]

Warehouse 13:

OMG this show launches tonight, on the newly renamed Syfy Channel. Last minute spoilerage: The two Secret Service agents get reassigned to the warehouse in the middle of nowhere after they save the president from a weird bleeding Aztec mask. The warehouse-keeper's office is full of steampunk touches, like his computer keyboard has typewriter keys and the walkie-talkies resemble oversized sardine cans. There's a wishing kettle that creates ferrets, and wallets contact the dead. Main characters and Pete and Myka start off hating each other but eventually bond, but luckily Saul Rubinek and CCH Pounder (playing Mrs. Frederic) are much more interesting to watch. [Reuters]

Smallville:

Chloe and Oliver will not be hooking up. The big romance arc next season is Lois and Clark. [E! Online]

Heroes:

A beloved, original castmember may be leaving the show by the end of the new season. Also, the new organization, the Carnival, really is the opposite of the Company — meaning that freaks are welcome. [E! Online]

True Blood:

Eric's blood will bring Lafayette back to fighting trim, and we'll see the happy-go-lucky Lafayette again. And meanwhile, a developing romance between Eric and Sookie is on the way, by the sound of things. Meanwhile, Eggs and Tara are by no means done, and that sexual tension between Jason and the preacher's wife is heading towards something. And both Hoyt and Jessica are into each other, but she's not a one-man type of vampire, just yet. [Zap2It]

There will be an "electric" reunion between the Stackhouse siblings, where they team up for the greater good, says Ryan Kwanten. Also, we meet Godric the vampire and his lieutenants Stan and Isabel in the July 19 episode. Isabel runs with the Dallas vampires, but becomes friends with Bill and Eric. Isabel also takes a liking to Sookie, becuase she likes humans and feels sympathetic to Sookie's love story. Also, the second season finale only takes place two weeks after the end of season one. [E! Online]

[E! Online]

Eureka:

Here are official descriptions for the show's first four episodes after it returns:

3.09: "Welcome Back, Carter". Following his termination as sheriff, Carter interviews for a job with the Department of Homeland Security. Deputy Lupo resigns when she learns the new sheriff is a very personable robot.

3.10: "Your Face or Mine". Carter takes a grueling recertification exam that tests him physically and psychologically; Allison pitches a town-wide DNA-monitoring security system to Henry that injures Deputy Lupo during the inaugural scan.

3.11: "Insane in the P-Brane." Objects become ambulatory after Dr. Tess Fontana (Jamie Ray Newman) reopens Section Five, which may be the work of poltergeists.

3.12: "It's Not Easy Being Green." Long-term rivals from Area 51 visit Eureka for a bowling tournament; Carter probes an escalating series of pranks.

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Pegg admitted the painful truth to thelondonpaper:

We are recreating Comic-Con for it in Alberquerque, New Mexico. I wanted to shoot at real Comic-Con, but it's a minefield - you can't have a room of 10,000 people and not have one of them look at the camera and go, "oooohh."

There go our hopes of Comic-Con stardom... As well as the chance to appear in the background of one of the most anticipated geek movies of next year. Unless they're looking for convincing extras in New Mexico, of course...

Awwwww… Simon Pegg And Nick Frost Not To Film ‘Paul' At San Diego Comic Con [Bleeding Cool]

What Is Paul is loaded up with photos from the set, and little videos featuring the actors and crew members being adorable, the way Pegg and Frost always are. Paul is about a couple of comic-book geeks who travel cross country to Comic Con and meet a few interesting aliens along the way. I'm loving the little nerdy moments in these videos, like when Pegg states, "We named the RV in the film after the name of the ship that Charles Darwin sailed to the Galapagos Islands in." That's my kind of nerd... sigh.

Looks like Edgar Wright's super aggressive online campaign for em>Scott Pilgrum may have rubbed off on his two old colleagues (Wright directed Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz). I'd love to see these two campaigns get some cross-over, if the films visited each other, it would make an amazing viral.

Rich Johnston's review was an unqualified thumbs-up, calling the script,

chock full of gags, bursting at the seams. Comedy of repetition, plenty of pull-back-and-reveals and overflowing pop cultural references including one Back To The Future gag that had me gasping for breath I laughed so hard. But these references aren't surface, they are used to describe the relationships that the characters have with each other. Why use words to explain how you feel, when you can just find a common episode of Star Trek that does the job a lot more effectively. It's honest, it's true, yes it's mocking but in a way that both validadates and celebrates both the actual reality and the often unrealised potential of the geek lifestyle. Damn it if the screenplay isn't moving and poignant in places. But mostly it's Simon Pegg and Nick Frost revisiting their past screen partnership performances, the friends who know each other so well, forgive the other's eccentricities as their own are forgiven and would likely die for each other. As long as they were trying to Capture the Flag. No one does bromance like these boys.

It also offered this introduction to the two main characters, literally taken from the script itself:
Johnston added that the movie will be shooting at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, along with his hope to be a background geek. Now I'm wondering if we can organize some kind of unofficial invasion of the shoot at the con...

Preview: PAUL Screenplay By Simon Pegg And Nick Frost [Bleeding Cool]

Variety reports that Rogen, Lynch, Bateman, Hader and his SNL-comrade Kristen Wiig have all been added to the cast of Paul, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's movie about two fanboys who discover an alien escaped from Area 51 while on a road trip to San Diego Comic-Con. Rogen will be voicing the titular alien, while details of the other actor's characters are being kept under wraps.

The movie, directed by Superbad and Adventureland's Jake Mottola, begins shooting next month.

Seth Rogen to voice 'Paul' for Pegg [Variety]

Terminator Salvation:

The first reviews of this film are in, including a few new spoilers. The movie references The Great Escape a few times. Marcus Wright's existential dilemma, after realizing he's a cyborg, comes fairly late in the movie, and so does his determination to "find out who did this to me." The only funny bits are the callbacks to earlier movies, like when people say "I'll be back" and "Come with me if you want to live." [Variety and Hollywood Reporter]

Also, G4 had an hour-long behind-the-scenes special on the making of this film, and here's the whole thing:

So what would happen in Terminator 5? According to McG, it would be "more of a Skynet story, more of a John Connor story," and look more into the genesis of Marcus Wright and the machine hardware. [Access Hollywood]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

The details about the movie's storyline which we ran the other day came from two junior novelizations. Now, the same source has read the grown-up (sort of) novelization, and has a new batch. The story starts with a giant robot startling a group of hunters who are chasing a big jungle cat — they worship it as a god, even after it tosses one of them around.

In the Shanghai confrontation, the ice cream truck has a bumper sticker that says "Decepticons suck my popsickle." Arcee and the Twins chase Sideswipe down an alley, but only Arcee catches up with him. Meanwhile, Optimus jumps out of a C-17 to tackle Demolishor, who warns "This is not your planet to rule — the Fallen is coming back!" with his dying breath.

NEST's headquarters is on Diego Garcia Island. Soundwave merges with a military satellite. Galloway, the NSA rep, asks Optimus if the Autobots would leave if requested — since the Decepticons seem to be attacking because of the Autobots' presence. Optimus says sure, but what if Galloway's wrong about the Decepticons' intent?

When Sam gets to college, his mom accidentally eats a brownie with "extra sugar" and gets high, after which hijinks ensue. Sam loses track of time at the frat party and stands up Mikaela on their first "webcam date." (Insert snarky comments here.) Meanwhile, The Fallen promises to make the resurrected Megatron a Prime once they succeed — and he says the Allspark can never be destroyed, only transformed, which is why it went into Sam's mind.

After Sam escapes the Decepticons, Soundwave calls Sam's mom, who's vacation in Paris, demanding to know where Sam is. Judy hangs up on Soundwave.

When Sam and friends get to Egypt, they're attacked by a Decepticon who becomes a WWI biplane. (Why?) And there are lots of weird clues to the location of the super-powerful Matrix, like "when Dawn alights the Dagger's Tip, three kings will lead the way."

During the final showdown, Skids gets sucked into "Devastator's open mouth," but then blasts out of Devastator's right eye. Skorponok wounds Jetfire really badly, but Jetfire manages to dispose of Skorponok. And then Jetfire sacrifices the last of his parts to help repair Optimus and enable him to fly. Also, Optimus tells Megatron that Primes are born, not made, and the Fallen lied when he promised to make Megatron a prime. "You were betrayed." So Megatron doesn't help the Fallen when Optimus wails on him.

And here's how the adult novelization ends:

Optimus Considered. "I know one thing. Whatever it may hold, it is a future we'll meet together. Our Planets, our races, united by a history long forgotten, yet to be discovered." Tilting back his head, he peered up at the sky and through it, to the stars beyond.

More grown-up details at the link. [TFW2005]

Also, toy spoilers! Here's our best look, so far, at Optimus and Jetfire combined, from the end of the movie. [Transformers Movie Chronicles]

Iron Man 3:

Faran Tahir once again expresses his desire to have his character from the first movie come back in the third, having evolved into Iron Man's arch-nemesis, the Mandarin. His fate, he stresses, was left up in the air. [Movies-Spoilers]

Doctor Who:

Not only is Billie Piper back for a cameo in David Tennant's final episodes, so is her on-screen mom, Camille Coduri. The two filmed a scene where they walk through the Powell Estate, and they're having a bit of an argument. Then they hug and make up. Jackie tells Rose happy new year and tries to tell her not to stay out all night. "Try and stop me," Rose replies. Then she comes around the corner and runs into the Doctor, who's staggering and convulsed with pain, clutching the wall. He asks her what year it is, and she says 2005. (So Rose hasn't actually met the Doctor yet.) He tells her he's sure she'll have a fantastic year. Then he has a startling confrontation with Ood Sigma, whom he also meets in this fall's "Waters Of Mars." The Daily Mail article also repeats the earlier, somewhat suspect, claim that Claire Bloom is playing "the Doctor's mother." (Some of the pics showing Tennant and Piper laughing are from between takes.) Some photos are by Katiespbrennan, StarshipTrooper and BilliePiperFan [Daily Mail and Planet Gallifrey]

Lost:

The Dharma Initiative's connection to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan will play a huge role in the show's sixth and final season, say the producers. [USA Today via SpoilersLost]

So is John Locke really dead? Yes, says actor Terry O'Quinn, who explains what he'll be doing in season six:

As for his character, O'Quinn says he's really gone. Locke's dead body was rolled out of a metal box toward the end of the two-hour episode, baffling islanders who had been following a Locke imposter. Exactly who is now occupying Locke's body wasn't revealed. O'Quinn said it would be "a good guess" to assume it's a man seen with the infamous Jacob in the beginning of the episode.

"I think, unfortunately, I think it's ended for Locke. But I'm still there, as far as I know," O'Quinn said. "I don't know how it's going to end for this other guy. I'm sad. I miss John Locke, poor guy. He was a pawn."

O'Quinn is gearing up to play a new character when the sixth season begins next year. As for the rest of the story line, he swears he has no idea.

"Your guess is honestly as good as mine is," he said. "There's going to be some confrontation that will somehow, I'm guessing, have to do with Jack or Locke or something like that. I think these guys are just setting up good and evil. It's the way Locke said in the very beginning of the show: One is light and one is dark. Two sides. I think that's what we've got."

[GoUpstate via SpoilersLost]

Smallville:

Is Davis Bloome really dead? All signs point to yes, says Sam Witwer. Although he makes a joke about them stuffing Davis' body in a closet to deal with later. Also, he says Alison Mack is aware that Chloe is the last character who needs to be disposed of to bring the show in line with the Superman mythos. [TV Guide]

Reaper:

If this show comes back in first-run syndication, Nina the demon won't be around full-time, but she will show up, says actor Jenny Wade. In tomorrow night's episode, she tries to help Sam break his deal with the Devil, but also hooks up Sock with one of her demon pals. And if Sam does succeed in getting out of his Satanic bargain, his relationship with Andi will play a huge role in what happens next. [Sci Fi Wire]

Talking to Collider, Pegg says the film, directed by Superbad's Greg Mottola, will be a great "coming together" of the two comedy communities, in the U.S. and the U.K., including some faces we'll recognize from American comedy classics. "It's exciting. We're coming down to figuring out how we're going to do it, and how we're going to make Paul work." And he gives another synopsis of the geek odyssey:

The film is a story of two comic-book geek, fanboy types, who go to Comic Con. It's their trip of a lifetime across the United States. They're going to go to Comic Con, they're going to visit some geeky spots where they want to go. And when they visit Area 51 they happen upon an alien, who's out there, and he enlists them to help him get to a point where they need to meet his pickup ship. So these two guys end up getting involved in the craziest adventure you could imagine, and so it's basically myself, Nick [Frost] and Paul.

And Pegg says Paul, the alien, will be a mixture of practical effects and CG animation. The film should begin shooting in Santa Fe, NM around June 8. The film shoot will take around 10 weeks, but it's such a logistical nightmare, because of clearance issues, to film at Comic Con that he may not actually get to film there. He also says he and Pegg been working on the screenplay for years, since they pitched the idea, in an random, offhand way, to the Shaun Of The Dead producer. And by now, they've honed it and honed it, until it's the script he's proudest of in his career. [Collider]

Greg Mottola will be directing this feature comedy that is now being rumored as heavy on CG and possibly rated R. As we reported months ago, Pegg and Frost will play two slackers, who go to San Diego Comic-Con and then decide to take a road trip to Area 51. There, they meet a small alien named Paul, who needs their help to get home.

CHUD picked up on a Bill Simmons report, featuring the comic genius Bill Hader. According to the interview, Hader mentioned he might be working with Mottola and starring as the alien, Paul, as well.

Gotta say this film just keeps getting better and better. I can't wait to see what Hader does with this alien, since his SNL alien work is still the best thing on late-night TV.

Pegg told Empire magazine about the movie, which starts shooting next April with Superbad's Greg Mottola directing:

I’m very, very excited about it. I think it’s a bigger film than probably Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz put together... We’re figuring [the logistics of the alien] out at the moment and having real fun, working closely with Double Negative who did Shaun and Hot Fuzz and Cloverfield and Hellboy II. We’re looking to really work to find the best way to do it and to create something which is utterly believable and sympathetic and has gravity and presence and is somebody that you totally buy. He’s the eponymous hero, so he has to be amazing.

As great as this movie will undoubtedly be, it's not the much-talked about third movie in the Shaun/Fuzz trilogy with co-writer and director Edgar Wright. That movie, currently titled World's End, is still in pre-production, while Wright works on his adaptation of cult comic Scott Pilgrim.

Exclusive: Simon Pegg Talks Paul [Empire]

In an interview with MTV, Paul Rudd hinted that in order for there to be another Anchorman they would need to take it to the next level.

“Last I heard they were starting to write it, and they were thinking about setting it in the eighties,” Rudd said. “[But] I know when we were shooting it [director] Adam [McKay] said if they ever did something it would have to be really weird, like we were on the moon or something. I think it has to go even further if it was to work.”

I hope this means that if they reprise singing a cappella "Afternoon Delight," Brick Tamland is actually riding a rocket crooning, "sky rockets in flight." [MTV]