Category: Announcements

CBS to Rebroadcast “Graphic” NUMB3RS featuring Christopher Lloyd and Wil Wheaton

Wil Wheaton in NUMB3RS
Wil Wheaton in NUMB3RS

Normally reruns wouldn’t be a big deal, but this one will be to sci-fi fans and geeks around the globe. In November of last year, NUMB3RS aired an episode featuring three-time Emmy award winner Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) and Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation). I missed it the first time around, so it will be nice to catch it this time. In this episode, titled “Graphic”, a comic book convention becomes a crime scene after a deadly robbery leads to the disappearance of an extremely rare comic. This show already wins geek points with me for starring Rob Morrow (Northern Exposure), David Krumholtz (Serenity), Judd Hirsch (Independence Day) and Peter MacNicol (Dragonslayer), but a scan of the convention room makes my heart go pitter-patter. Creatures and characters from every comic book, movie and TV show you can imagine make an appearance here, in what can only be viewed as an homage to geeks everywhere. Even if you don’t tune in regularly, set your DVRs for 10:00 PM ET on Friday, December 26, and wallow in all the geeky goodness of it.

Action Packed and Sexy New Star Trek Trailer at StarTrekMovie.com

Star Trek XI: James Kirk

I’ve been keeping an eye on the Star Trek website, looking for new content, news, spoilers and photos. I hadn’t been there lately, so I stopped in today to look around and was thrilled to see the site has been pepped up. It’s interactive now, so you can walk through the halls of the USS Enterprise.

In addition to a gallery of images and downloads, you’ll find a new trailer featuring James T. Kirk as a car-thieving child in one scene, and in another scene we find out if he’s a boxers or briefs kind of guy while he locks lips with a woman in his bed who appears to be Uhura. Sex in Star Trek? Yep. Will and Deanna, eat your heart out. Kirk finally gets some real on-screen action. Sure, it was always implied that Kirk made the rounds, but little appears to be left to the imagination this time around.

Check out the new trailer, download some images and look for Easter eggs at startrekmovie.com.

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog CD Pre-Order

from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog:

What’s that you say? A CD pre-order page is up now as well?

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: Soundtrack from the Motion Picture

The soundtrack to the hit musical from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly creator Joss Whedon. Original cast recording featuring Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Nathan Fillion (Firefly), and Felicia Day (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

Track Listing
1 – Horrible Theme
2 – My Freeze Ray
3 – Bad Horse Chorus
4 – Caring Hands
5 – A Man’s Gotta Do
6 – My Eyes
7 – Bad Horse Chorus (Reprise)
8 – Penny’s Song
9 – Brand New Day
10 – So They Say
11 – Everyone’s a Hero
12 – Slipping
13 – Everything You Ever
14 – Horrible Credits

Dr. Horrible News: DVD Launch on Amazon!

from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog:

Dr. Horrible Newsletter, Issue #2

What d’ya know, the DVD is here! Well, kind of. You can pre-order your multiple copies at Amazon now. Feel free to use the link provided in this e-mail. We get a few extra bucks tossed our way.

And for all you international folks — we have not forgotten about you! The disc is region-free! Whee!

We hope you love “Commentary! The Musical” as much as we loved creating it — exhausting as it was. Of course, there’s more to the special features — ELE applications, making-of’s, regular commentary, an egg lying around here and there…

Our pre-order page launched last Friday and we sky-rocketed to the top 50 sales rank in the TV & Movie DVD category. A million thank you’s would never be enough. Your support has us all overwhelmed and it makes us especially cheery this holiday season.

Check out a note from the man himself… re: the DVD.

We’ve got a lot more in store for you. A CD. More shirts. Be excited because we are! Check out drhorrible.com for the most up to date information.

Again, thank you, thank you, thank you to you! Our fans! This literally would not have been possible without you. And because of you, there is more to come…

Yours,

J, M, J, Z
drhorrible.com

SCI FI Green-Lights Caprica

from SCI FI Wire:

SCI FI Channel has given a green light to Caprica, ordering 20 hours of the much-anticipated prequel to its hit series Battlestar Galactica, the network announced.

The drama, which kicks off with a two-hour pilot movie, stars Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson and Polly Walker.

Set 50 years before the events in Battlestar Galactica, Caprica follows two rival families — the Graystones and the Adamas — as they grow, compete and thrive in the vibrant world of the 12 Colonies, a society recognizably close to our own.

Enmeshed in the burgeoning technology of artificial intelligence and robotics that will eventually lead to the creation of the Cylons, the two houses go toe to toe in a series that blends action with corporate conspiracy and sexual politics.

Production on the series is slated to begin in the summer of 2009 in Vancouver, Canada, for a 2010 premiere. Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights) directed the pilot.

As the series begins, a startling development is about to occur — the creation of the first cybernetic lifeform node, or “Cylon” — the ability to marry artificial intelligence with mechanical bodies.

Joseph Adama (Esai Morales) — father of future Galactica commander William Adama (Sina Najafi) — is a renowned civil liberties lawyer and becomes an opponent of the experiments undertaken by the Graystones, led by a patriarch played by Eric Stoltz, who are owners of a large computer corporation that is spearheading the development of the Cylons.

Caprica is produced by Universal Cable Productions and executive-produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) and Remi Aubuchon (24). The pilot is co-written by Aubuchon and Moore.

Dr. Horrible DVD available for pre-order on Amazon

from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog:

Well, my turkey (or, in some cases, tofurkey) stuffed friends, we literally just put the finishing touches on the disc. Is it worth fifteen hard-earned dollars? Absolutely. In fact, I can say without reservation that the Dr. Horrible DVD is worth $15.23 EASILY. More, if your dollars weren’t the hard-earned kind, just the kind you have lying around in your mom’s purse. God knows WE’VE worked hard to earn ’em. “Commentary! The Musical” is the most painstaking and exhausting piece of whimsey I have ever mistaken for a good idea. It has nearly twice as much music as Dr. Horrible itself — since you can’t really talk that much during a commentary musical or it sounds like a regular commentary. (Which we also have, with the stars and writers, plus making-of’s, ELE applications, and a few items left lying around by a notorious Bunny…) I can say without hesitation that I hesitate to say it’s great. And by great I mean ridiculous. It’s sophmoric, solopsistic, silly and the most fun I’ve had being exhausted since the fabled Mushortio itself. And everyone sings beautifullly. Which enrages me. I a little bit hate my friends now.

The listed street date is, by the way, a little later than we’d expected — I’m hoping Amazon is just playing it safe and we can beat that date. More on that as we learn it. Expect a twittering sensation.

Finally, I just want to say “thank you” to everybody who has supported this venture. We’ve been able to pay our crew and all our bills, which means a lot. What means more is proving that completely independent ventures can muscle their way through the blizzard of big-budget behemoths. (A blizzard of behemoths? Back to writing school, alliteration-junkie!) All that rhetoric about the future of entertainment that flew about during the Strike is still entirely true. We need to find our own way of producing entertainment. A lot of people are watching Dr. Horrible to see if it’s any kind of model — way more people than I expected — and it means everything to me to help pave the way for artists to start working and making a living from the ground up. There are a couple of real pioneers in this that I know personally: Felicia Day, I’m thrilled to say, and choreographer Chris Elam are both looking far ahead in terms of monetization and interactivity. Me, I’m more like Jimmy Stewart in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, but at least I’m out there. Thanks, he finally summed up, to you.

My story has become tiresome! But wait till you hear the songs.

Did we cover “silly”…?

Vancouver 2010 Winter Games mascots celebrate first birthday with parties at HBC stores

from Vancouver2010.com:

Put your party hats on and make room for some cake; today marks the first birthday of Miga, Quatchi and Sumi, the mascots for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. And there’s even more reason to celebrate because the mascots’ cyber-sidekick Mukmuk is now featured in his own line of playful merchandise! In addition, starting today, a new animated video about Mukmuk that allows his fans to get to know him better will be available at vancouver2010.com/mascots, as well as a new interactive game featuring a flying Sumi.

Mukmuk, a small and friendly Vancouver Island marmot, is now a plush toy and featured on pins, T-shirts, playing cards, travel pillows and even a berry orange and blue toque just like the one he sports online at vancouver2010.com. Special edition box sets of Mukmuk with Miga, Quatchi and Sumi are now available. Mascot merchandise, including a variety of new Mukmuk merchandise, is available at HBC stores, including The Bay and Zellers, across Canada, starting today at 9:30 a.m. PST. It’s also for sale at Olympic stores, at vancouver2010.com and YVR, the Vancouver International Airport.

Best known for his loud cheers during games and races, as well as his unwavering support for his mascot buddies, Mukmuk entered the international spotlight one year ago when Miga, Quatchi and Sumi were introduced and he was named the first-ever Olympic and Paralympic sidekick. While the mascots travel across the country greeting people in person, until now Mukmuk existed in the vast world of cyberspace and in print where he interacts with the public through online games for the 2010 Winter Games as the driver of an ice resurfacer, hockey referee and even a curling skip. He has also acted as postmaster for public questions sent in about the Games.

“Since their introduction one year ago Miga, Sumi and Quatchi have been welcomed into the homes of thousands of Olympic fans. With the support of their friend Mukmuk, the mascots have worked tirelessly to spread a message of goodwill on behalf of Vancouver 2010,” said Dennis Kim, director of licensing and merchandising of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). “Mukmuk himself has become incredibly popular — in fact he’s developed a great fan base, so in response, we’re pleased to offer this line of Mukmuk products to complement the popular mascot merchandise available.”

Today, Miga, Quatchi and Sumi will be handing out special invitations at HBC’s flagship downtown Vancouver store welcoming families to their birthday party on Saturday, November 29. Parties will be held on Saturday at five HBC stores in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland. The mascot trio will be on hand to visit with youngsters, pose for photos and hand out slices of their special birthday cake. The store locations are:

  • The Bay Park Royal (West Vancouver) from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
  • The Bay Downtown (Vancouver) from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • The Bay Metrotown (Burnaby) from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
  • The Bay Oakridge (Vancouver) from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
  • The Bay Richmond (Richmond) from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Mukmuk gets his name from the word “muckamuck”, Chinook jargon for food, because he loves to eat. He is enamoured with all the different types of food found in British Columbia, and is particularly fond of berries and mountain flowers. The Vancouver Island marmot is a species unique to the mountains of Vancouver Island.

A year ago more than 800 schoolchildren witnessed the mascot trio emerge from the mists of a magical West Coast setting of gigantic trees, soaring mountains and majestic ocean. Since then, the mascots have travelled across the country making friends and lighting up the faces of tens of thousands of youngsters and grownups alike at almost 300 public appearances in schools, hospitals and community events. They even paid a visit south of the border where they delighted crowds in Los Angeles and took part in an ice show during the opening days of the Beijing 2008 Summer Games. Highlighting their love of winter sports and the great outdoors, they have skated at Vancouver’s GM Place, travelled by dogsled in Calgary and even snow tubed at the Quebec Winter Carnival, and most recently-cross country skied at the opening of Whistler Olympic Park in BC’s Callaghan Valley.

The mascot microsite at vancouver2010.com has been immensely popular in its first 12 months. Its success includes more than 1.8 million page views, over 336,300 views of the animated mascot video page, more than 92,550 plays of the Operation Recycle game, and well over 500,000 page views of the mascots’ profiles.

The mascots, designed for VANOC by Vancouver-based Meomi Design, are a key component of the Games identity and a playful way to engage a young audience, and, at the same time, increase understanding of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit vancouver2010.com for further details on programs and schedules.

VANOC Communications
mediarelations@vancouver2010.com

Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show, Episode 20: Dancing with the Very Special Guest Stars

Nothing is more macho than a dance battle! What could two people have to fight about? Leave it to the wonderful Wheel of Fun to spring this surprise on the guests. Who will end up the winner?

The Guild Sponsored by Xbox Live and Sprint

from The Guild:

We at The Guild are very excited to announce that we have found a partner to help us make our show: Season 2, starting Tuesday November 25th, we will be brought to you by Xbox Live and Microsoft and sponsored by Sprint!

For those who know and love our indie production, you know it’s been tough to keep the cameras rolling. For Season 1 we were funded by our donors, and we are eternally grateful for that. It’s only because of you, the fans, that we finished the season at all. But with donations, we were only able to release one episode a month. For Season 2 we decided to look for a production partner to help us release episodes quicker and be able to pay our cast and crew in advance.

I don’t exaggerate when we say that we had DOZENS of offers for the show. But I was adamant that we be able to retain ownership of the show and have the creative freedom to keep the show close to its roots and to our fans. We started filming Season 2 on DVD proceeds and my own money, but in the middle of filming the first few episodes, Scott Nocas from Xbox Live approached us and they proved the perfect fit. They will be helping us reach out to new audience, as well as allowing the show, through the Microsoft network, to be seen by anyone across the globe who wants to: Still for free!

For those with Xbox Live, you will be able to download Season 2 episodes every week starting tomorrow, Tuesday, November 25th for free in HD quality on the Video Marketplace. For those only on the web, episodes will be streaming on MSN Video in a world-wide release, subtitled in 8 different languages across the world. You will also be able to download episodes in the Zune Marketplace for your mobile viewing pleasures. Season 1 is being re-released today across all those platforms, with subtitles in some regions, and we put together an additional Season 1 gag reel to celebrate the occasion, which you can watch in our new, revamped player on The Guild site. Thanks to David from Microsoft, Edgar Garcia, Webmasta and Kirstin from England and WooThemes Ninja for making the site happen this weekend!

We’re very excited and I hope you are too. This is a unique and a fantastic opportunity to make the world our audience and be able to fund our web show and make it bigger and better! Gamers and internet users don’t know the boundaries of continents, why should our web show. 🙂

We will keep you posted through this site and through our MySpace, Facebook and Twitter every week a new video goes up on the Xbox Live Marketplace, and link you to the MSN Video site and Zune download. If you have a chance to check it out, our new Forums and Community Site are a great place for us to allow our audience to blog, upload photos and chat with cast and other fans, so check it out!

Episodes will be released once a week for the whole 12 episode season, so we hope you enjoy them! XOXO
Felicia

Triple “Guild” play for Microsoft

by Andrew Wallenstein, from The Hollywood Reporter:

Microsoft will be filled to the gills with The Guild.

The tech giant has an exclusive lock on the long-awaited second season of the cult favorite Internet series, which will be the first to be distributed worldwide simultaneously across Microsoft’s triple platform of Xbox 360’s Live Marketplace, MSN and Zune.

Sprint has signed on to sponsor the 12-episode run, making it the first marketer to test Microsoft’s new strategy to draw ad dollars with the combined reach of a gaming console, Internet portal and portable media player.

A scripted comedy chronicling the misadventures of a group of online gamers, The Guild premieres Tuesday on Independent Video, Xbox’s new channel devoted to original content. The Guild will lead a collection of ad-supported and fee-based programs, including such other game-oriented fare as The Jace Hall Show, Red vs. Blue and first-season episodes of The Guild.

Although launching with just five or six programs, Xbox has ambitions of expanding Independent Video beyond the gaming theme to embrace a broader audience. The channel is launching with the only other original deal it has done to date, the webisode Horror Meets Comedy from Safran Digital Group, which is not gaming-related.

After reaching 9 million views with a 10-episode season financed from viewer contributions via PayPal, The Guild emerged last year as one of the more buzzed-about webisodes. Its star, creator and writer-producer, Felicia Day, has become the face of the original Web production world, starring opposite Neil Patrick Harris in one of the few other success stories in online originals, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, created by Joss Whedon.

A key component of the deal allows for Day to retain the intellectual property rights to The Guild while collecting an unspecified upfront license fee. A who’s who of Web brands courted Day for rights to The Guild, from old-media companies to gamer-centric ad networks, though many insisted on retaining the traditional set of rights.

But Day had been holding out for more than a year in search of a deal that gave her control of the creative and business sides of The Guild. “I was adamant about holding on to the rights of my series,” she said.

As a result, Microsoft will not participate in revenue should The Guild eventually graduate to TV or film, though the corporation does hold on to any gaming-related extensions. Which is fine by Scott Nocas, group product manager at Xbox Live.

“We’re a software and hardware company,” he said. “If they want to do a movie deal, that’s not our core business.”

Four weeks after each episode of The Guild airs, it moves into a second window on Watchtheguild.com, home base for the first season’s episodes. However, Microsoft retains ad revenue in that window as well as in an unspecified split because episodes will air in an embedded MSN media player. Once the entire season is completed by the end of February, Day can make a new deal for a nonexclusive run beyond Microsoft.

An added plus for going with Xbox is that The Guild will be distributed day-and-date in nine languages in 26 countries where Xbox Live operates, reaching 14 million users. The Guild found unintended international appeal late in its run, according to Day.

Sprint will attach itself to The Guild in various ways from preroll messaging to branded entertainment; mobile phone Sprint Instinct is shown being used by one of the series’ characters.

Each Guild episode runs 4-7 minutes long. A separate holiday special is also covered under the deal, which will allow The Guild to shoot in high-definition for its Xbox window.

Before the introduction of Independent Video, which was deployed last week as part of a relaunch of the Xbox Live Marketplace interface, all TV and film content was available on a transactional basis. The Guild and Horror, which is sponsored by the Air Force, will be Xbox’s first free programs.

Horror also will be pushed through all three Microsoft distribution points but won’t move to MSN and Zune until after its Xbox run.

The deal was brokered by ICM and attorney Jamie Feldman from Lichter, Grossman, Nichols & Adler.