Anton Yelchin Joins Koontz' "Odd Thomas"

In the past few years, Anton Yelchin has taken on the roles of some iconic figures, including as time-traveling hero Kyle Reese in "Terminator: Salvation" and as Pavel Chekov in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek." I thought Yelchin was excellent in both films, and although one of his next upcoming projects isn't for a character as well established, the actor should have no trouble stepping into his shoes.

According to Shock Till You Drop, Yelchin is the first to join the cast of the $47 million adaptation of Dean R. Koontz's 2003 novel "Odd Thomas" for Fusion Films.

The story follows Odd Thomas, an optimistic twenty-year-old short-order cook who can see both dead people and the shadowy figures called 'bodachs' that appear around death and disaster. When bodachs seem to be swarming around a diner customer he nicknames 'Fungus Man', Odd is convinced the man is connected to a terrible catastrophe about to occur. Stephen Sommers is directing the movie from a script he adapted.

While the fact that Sommers wrote and will direct the film may not be the best news in the world (umm see "G.I. Joe"), having Yelchin top the cast may be what helps make this film something special. The story sounds fascinating and original and looks as if it should translate to the silver screen pretty well.

Yelchin has some acting chops; the naïve and truthful performance he put on as the main victim in "Alpha Dog" a few years ago really impressed me and I think this role should suit him quite well.

Howard Kaplan and John Baldecchi will produce but no production start date has yet been set.

Star Trek" Duo Tackle "Ender's Game"

The writing team of Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci has cemented themselves as one of, if not the best, science fiction screenwriting team in Hollywood. The duo has penned "Transformers," "Star Trek" and also created the uber-sci-fi TV show "Fringe," and now they have another project to add to their resume.

According to MTV, after nearly a decade of being stuck in development hell, the duo are set to tackle the film adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s sci-fi novel "Ender’s Game." While the film hasn't been officially green lit yet, the team joins director Gavin Hood on the project and from the look of their tweet, they are pretty excited about it.

Said Orci: "Ender's Game! Us(K/O), Oddlot and Gavin Hood taking his amazing script to the town! Who wants some?"

The story follows a child super soldier who plays a long simulation of Earth's fight against the 'bugger' race of alien insects. As the 'game' wears on, he begins to lose his sanity and makes a final and devastating decision that has real world consequences.

Wolfgang Petersen was previously attached to helm the film but withdrew and has moved through numerous different hands over the years.

Kurtzman is currently shooting his directorial debut "Welcome to People," which stars Chris Pine and Mark Duplass, which Orci is producing. The pair are also currently attached to numeros other projects in either a producing or writing capacity, including the "Star Trek" sequel, so it's unclear when the film would be released if it gets officially greenlit.

Either way, fans of the original story should be thrilled about these two handling the writing duties. Based on their past work, especially with "Star Trek," the two have shown they can do a great job at adapting an old title for a new generation of fans while also pleasing the original base.

Zoe Saldana Goes To "Columbiana"

Zoe Saldana ("The Losers," "Star Trek") is in negotiations to join the Luc Besson-produced drama "Columbiana" says Heat Vision.

According to Heat Vision: Zoe Saldana is in early negotiations to star in "Colombiana," a drama that Luc Besson is producing under his Europa Corp. The project is slated for late-summer start with Olivier Megaton ("Transporter 3") directing.

Saldana will play a stone-cold assassin who commits contract killings for her uncle's company by day. On her time off though, she commits vigilante murders in the hope of finding the mobster responsible for her parents' murder, which she witnessed as a child in Bogota, Columbia.

Saldana soared to fame in the past year by starring in "Avatar" and "Star Trek." Her other recent credits include "The Losers" and "Death at a Funeral." I really think Saldana is great, and she has been for a while.

A few years ago she starred in the film “Haven” which was grossly underrated and her past few roles in “Star Trek” and “The Losers” proved she was ready for some more action roles. Teaming with Besson should only help establish her as one of the most badass babes in Hollywood.

Besson and Robert Mark Kamen wrote the script while Olivier Megaton ("Transporter 3") will helm the project, which begins filming later this summer.

Producers' Guild Gives Sci-Fi A Chance at an Oscar

For fans hoping that 2009’s science- fiction blockbusters will score Oscar success in 2010, the Producer’s Guild of America just gave them a boost. The Guild announced that among its 10 nominees for Producer of the Year are "Avatar," "District 9" and "Star Trek."

The other seven nominees joining the sci-fi trio are "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," " Inglourious Basterds," "Invictus," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "Up" and "Up in the Air."

This year, the PGA has followed in the footsteps of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' decision to expand the best-film nomination list from five to 10 movies.

The PGA's Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year film award can be a reliable barometer for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Last year's PGA winner, "Slumdog Millionaire," went on to capture Oscar's top prize. In fact, 13 PGA winners over the last two decades have gone on to win the Academy Award for best picture.

Although the nominations are a step in the right direction for the aforementioned science-fiction films, Cinematical says that “over the last decade, the PGA is only sporting a 69% success rate with its nominees.” They also added that just 36 of the last 52 Producer's Guild nominees were in contention for the big prize and only twice in their history did they produce an exact match (1993 & 1994).

Notable movies that failed to make the cut include female-driven pictures "Julie & Julia" and "It's Complicated," the musical "Nine" and specialty films like "A Serious Man," "A Single Man" and "Crazy Heart."

I’m thrilled that the three science-fiction films were nominated. In my opinion, “Star Trek” and “District 9” were two of the best films of the year and I’m happy that they finally are getting some awards love. Even if neither of them wins the award, their chances at scoring an Oscar nomination just got a little better.

The awards will be handed out January 24, 2010 during a ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium.

Star Trek Sequel Starting Pre-Production Next December?

In an article on MTV.com about Zoe Saldana’s upcoming 2010 schedule, the actress possibly revealed the start date of pre-production for the “Star Trek” sequel.

According to MTV, the actress said, "I spoke to J.J. (Abrams) and Bryan Burk, his producing partner at Bad Robot, and they are still in the middle of building the script with Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci, and we'll probably be going into pre-production around this time next year."

Although MTV doesn’t mention when exactly the quote is from, chances are it’s from the countless promotional activities the actress has been doing for “Avatar.” The news isn’t anything shocking, but it’s good to know that production is on the horizon. “Star Trek” was easily one of my favorite films of 2009, and I’m hoping the sequel comes out just as good.

In November, Abrams was quoted as saying that he was unsure about directing the sequel without a finished script. But from the sound of Saldana, it seems like writers Kurtzman and Orci, who wrote the first movie, are working hard on the script. Hopefully, Abrams will be back for the sequel, which would make the film even more anticipated than it already is.

Look for the “Star Trek” sequel to begin production sometime in 2011.

Damaged Goods?...and Lost!

A couple of really great articles over at io9 I happened to stumble upon:

In the post "Which Summer Movies Did the Writers' Strike Hit Hardest?", they go over some of the warm season's biggest releases and if the writer's strike affected them for better, or for worse. They start off by showing how the strike affected many TV shows, for example: Lost survived unscathed, Heroes...well not so much. Star Trek, Terminator and Transformers are just a few of the movies they asses the damage of the strike for.

















The other article was a succinct, great review of the first two episodes of the new season of Lost, without giving away spoilers. Great to hear that my boy Danny Faraday will be getting some more screen time, apparently a few with Sawyer. I can't wait to hear the nicknames Sawyer will come up with in the banter between him and Jeremy Davies' brilliant but skittish physicist.