SciFiAndTvTalk

Foundation Premieres This Week! (Apple TV+)

From visionary showrunner and executive producer David S. Goyer, Foundation is the highly anticipated epic saga that marks the first-ever on-screen adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s iconic, award-winning novel series of the same name. When revolutionary Dr. Hari Seldon predicts the impending fall of the Empire, he and a band of loyal followers venture to the far reaches of the galaxy to establish The Foundation in an attempt to rebuild and preserve the future of civilization. Enraged by Hari's claims, the ruling Cleons – a long line of emperor clones – fear their grasp on the galaxy may be weakening as they’re forced to reckon with the potential reality of losing their legacy forever. Starring Emmy Award nominees Jared Harris and Lee Pace, alongside rising stars Lou Llobell and Leah Harvey, this monumental journey chronicles the stories of four crucial individuals transcending space and time as they overcome deadly crises, shifting loyalties and complicated relationships that will ultimately determine the fate of humanity. The Apple Original drama also stars Laura Birn, Terrence Mann, Cassian Bilton and Alfred Enoch. Foundation will debut globally on Apple TV+ on September 24th, 2021 with the first two episodes, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday.

The Orville: New Horizons - Check Out Teaser Trailer - Coming March 2022 (Hulu)

Seth MacFarlane’s epic space adventure series The Orville returns exclusively as a Hulu original series on Thursday, March 10th, 2022 with each new episode being released weekly). Set 400 years in the future, The Orville: New Horizons finds the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continuing their mission of exploration, as they navigate both the mysteries of the universe and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships. Check out the teaser trailer below!

The ensemble cast includes MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, J. Lee, Mark Jackson, Chad L. Coleman, Jessica Szohr and Anne Winters. The Orville: New Horizons is produced by 20th Television and Fuzzy Door. The series was created and written by Seth MacFarlane. who also serves as executive producer along with Brannon Braga, David A. Goodman, Jon Cassar, Jason Clark and Howard Griffith serve as executive producers.

Dead & Beautiful - Coming In November (Shudder)

Today, Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, has announced that psychological thriller Dead & Beautiful will premiere on Thursday, November 4th in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. The film, which is written and directed by David Verbeek, is also set to play at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX on Saturday, September 25. Check out the trailer!

In Dead & Beautiful, five rich, spoiled Asian twenty-somethings (Gijs Blom, Aviis Zhong, Yen Tsao, Philip Juan, Anechka Marchenko) are suffering from upper class ennui, unsure how to spend their days when so little is expected from them. In search of excitement, the five friends form the “Circle,” a group where they take turns designing a unique, extravagant experience for the others. But things go wrong when the privileged urbanites awaken after a night out, to find they have developed vampire fangs and an unquenchable thirst for flesh, blood, and adventure at any price.

Dead & Beautiful is produced by Erik Glijnis (Pleasure) and Leontine Petit (The Lobster) of Lemming Film, in co-production with House on Fire International, Nukleus Film, and Woods of Light Film. Indie Sales is handling international sales. The film is written and directed by David Verbeek (R U There).

Superman: The Complete Animated Series Coming to Blu-Ray/Digital in October (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)

Due to a slight delay in production, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) has pushed back the release of Superman: The Complete Animated Series by two weeks – the fully remastered Blu-ray box set now arriving October 26, 2021.

WBHE and DC are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Superman: The Animated Series with the remastered release of the acclaimed series. The box set includes several hours of bonus features headlined by an all-new documentary detailing the creation of one of the most beloved animated Super Hero cartoons in history.

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation (WBA), the Emmy Award-winning Superman: The Animated Series was the perfect follow-up to the landmark Batman: the Animated Series. Producers Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett elevated The Man of Steel’s animated presence with an imaginative, heartfelt look at Superman’s adventures in Metropolis alongside Lois Lane and opposite the villainous likes of Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Darkseid and more. Premiering on September 6, 1996, the series continued WBA’s dominance in Super Hero animation, once again setting new standards for storytelling, art direction and acting performances – and garnering 11 Emmy Award nominations and two Emmy Award wins, including top honors as the Outstanding Special Class Animated Program of 1998.

The remarkable Superman: The Complete Animated Series box set features more than 19 hours of entertainment spread over six Blu-ray™ discs, including all 54 exciting episodes, an all-new series-defining featurette entitled Superman: Timeless Icon, a special video commentary episode and three specially selected episodes with audio commentaries by the showrunners.

All 54 episodes have been remastered from the original 35mm Interpositive sources, giving special attention to extensive color correction, dirt and scratch clean up, and adding a grain reduction pass to create a pristine picture, all while making sure not to affect the original lines in the artwork of the animation. The audio was retransferred from the original audio masters, and the series is presented in its original aspect ratio (4x3).

Dune - Coming In October (HBO Max)

On HBO Max this October, Academy Award nominee Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) directs Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ Dune (Coming October 22nd), the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal bestseller of the same name. A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

Dune will be available in theaters and on HBO Max the same day. Streaming only on the $14.99/month Ad-Free HBO Max plan for 31 days from their theatrical release.

Invasion - New Trailer Released - Coming In October (Apple TV+)

Apple TV+ has unveiled the trailer for Invasion, a new, 10-episode science fiction drama series from Academy and Emmy Award-nominated writer/producer/director Simon Kinberg (X-Men films, Deadpool films, The Martian) and David Weil (Hunters). The sweeping, character-driven Apple Original series, directed by Emmy Award-nominee Jakob Verbruggen (The Alienist, The Fall), will make its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first three episodes on October 22, 2021, followed by new episodes weekly, every Friday. Check out the trailer below!

Set across multiple continents, Invasion follows an alien invasion through different perspectives around the world. The series stars Shamier Anderson (Bruised, Awake), Golshifteh Farahani (Extraction, Paterson, Body of Lies), Sam Neill (Jurassic World: Dominion, Peaky Blinders), Firas Nassar (Fauda) and Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool 2, The Outsider). 

Hailing from Boat Rocker Studios, Invasion is written and executive produced by Kinberg and Weil. In addition to directing, Verbruggen serves as executive producer. Audrey Chon, Amy Kaufman and Elisa Ellis serve as executive producers alongside Andrew Baldwin, who also writes. Katie O’Connell Marsh serves as executive producer for Boat Rocker Studios.  

Jeff Gomez - Ultraman Arrives: How One Nerd's Inner-City Dreams Transformed into Ultra Reality

Starlight Runner Entertainment's Jeff Gomez and Mefilas, a race of recurring aliens from the planet Mefilas that appeared in the Ultraman TV series.

Superheroes come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and even nationalities. In 1966, East met West when U.S. TV viewers were introduced to the red and silver garbed robotic-looking superhero and title character in Ultraman. Created and executive produced by the Japanese special effects (SFX) director Eiji Tsuburaya and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the TV series is a follow-up to Ultra Q, the first installment in the Ultra Series, which encompasses dozens of series and feature films produced by Tsuburaya Productions and featuring the numerous incarnations of Ultraman and his monstrous adversaries. United Artists Television originally bought the rights for Ultra Q (which was filmed in black and white) and Ultraman, but the former never aired in America as TV networks were focused more on providing their audiences with color shows.

When, in Ultraman, Earth comes under attack by extraterrestrial invaders and gigantic monsters called Kaiju, an organization called the Special Science Search Party (or Science Patrol) steps up to the plate and deploys its array of high-tech weapons and vehicles to combat these various threats. When the Patrol’s resources are unable to sufficiently handle the situation, one of its members, Shin Hayata, secretly transforms into the giant alien Ultraman and proceeds to do battle with whatever monster of the week is trying to smash, gnash and ferociously stomp its way to victory. Growing up, Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, took a keen interest in Ultraman’s arrival on the scene.

Our towering hero Ultraman.

“As a young child I lived in the inner city and was a Puerto Rican kid just trying to get by,” says Gomez. “I experienced some bullying and, honestly, life in the Lower East Side of Manhattan was a little rough, so Godzilla was awesome to me. He was this huge and powerful force of nature that sometimes could be pissed off, and other times was kind of an inadvertent hero who saved the world even though he wasn’t really appreciated. So going to the cinema at the time and seeing these Japanese special effects films – known as tokusatsu – that integrated miniatures and trick photography was incredibly exciting for me.

“My parents were divorced, so I’d have to spend summertime in Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, I was shy and didn’t understand Spanish. There was nothing for me to do, and then one day someone called me into the living room to look at the television. There was this Kaiju or huge monster on the screen and a giant silver dude was fighting him and saving peoples’ lives. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Ultraman was like a Godzilla movie, except it was on Puerto Rican TV twice a week. It was also in Spanish, but I didn’t care. I ended up learning Spanish and just fell in love with this superhero. In many ways Ultraman was my savior from boredom, but he also helped fire up my imagination and appealed to my sense of wanting to be bigger and stronger than I was in a chaotic world.”

Ultraseven Marvel Comics.

As Starlight Runner’s CEO, Gomez and his creative team, including the company’s co-founders Executive Vice President Mark Pensavalle and Chief Creative Officer Chrysoula Artemis, have worked passionately and tirelessly to establish their company as the world’s leading producer of transmedia entertainment. Using a variety of platforms such as mobile phone apps, console video games, comic books, social media, and most recently virtual events, they have collaborated with some of the entertainment industry’s top studio executives and producers to not only further promote but greatly expand their clients’ reach to worldwide audiences. Walt Disney Company (Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars), Sony Pictures (Men in Black, Spider-Man) and 20th Century Fox (James Cameron’s Avatar) are just a few of the entertainment giants that have benefited from Starlight Runner’s expertise. Never in a million years did Gomez imagine that his childhood love of Ultraman would become part of his professional life.

“It had to do with a series of wonderful coincidences and speaks to communicating your desires out to the world,” he explains. “I had developed a bit of a track record in taking entertainment properties like Hot Wheels, Pirates of the Caribbean and [the video game series] Halo and helping not only expand them across multiple media platforms but also extend those story worlds in exciting ways that still preserved their integrity.

Jirahs, a mutated frill-lizard Kaiju that appeared in episode 10 of the 1966 Ultraman TV series.

“Every so often I would remind interviewers and other people in the business that my love for building these story worlds originated from my exposure to Japanese popular culture. One day I was meeting with Danny Simon, who is the CEO of The Licensing Group, which is based out of Los Angeles. During our conversation, Danny said to me, ‘Hey, I heard you like Japanese entertainment stuff. Well, it looks like I’m going to be representing Ultraman and bringing that franchise to the United States.’ There had been a legal blockage for Tsuburaya Productions to do that for almost two decades. However, the suit had been resolved, freeing to bring Ultraman back. I told Danny that I’d do whatever I could to assist him. He took me to Japan with him and I met with the Tsubaraya executives. Somehow, I persuaded them that Starlight Runner Entertainment would be able to help Danny. Given our intrinsic understanding of the property, we could team to introduce Ultraman to contemporary popular culture here in the North America as well as around the world.

“One of the tremendously exciting things Tsuburaya is doing is allowing us to stage a number of worldwide Ultraman virtual events. These events are going to be awesome and will contain several things that, from a transmedia and pop culture perspective, are kind of unique and, dare I say, historic in terms of the genre and nerd worlds. Starlight Runner and production company Elevate Pictures have formed a joint venture called Iceberg Theory, and we’re producing these incredible live events that integrate livestreaming, video on demand, exclusive merchandise, fan/celebrity interaction, and even live floor shows where the Ultra heroes do battle with Kaiju, complete with special effects! These shows will even introduce new characters and developments into the canonical Ultraman universe,” teases Gomez.

The mega-Kaiju Tyrant battles Ultraman Tiga, Mebius, Trigger, Max, and Ultraman himself during the Ultraman Day floor show.

Although Gomez enjoyed sitting in a darkened cinema or in front of the TV watching his favorite movies and shows, he longed for much more. That desire is what helped fuel his subsequent efforts to make his dreams a reality. “There is a core concept behind Starlight Runner Entertainment that can be traced back to my childhood,” he says. “When I would read Lord of the Rings, watch Ultraman, or even enjoy a Marvel comic book, there was something about just being in the audience that wasn’t satisfying enough. I yearned to be part of those worlds and for my creativity to be a part of that creative universe. By the time I formed Starlight Runner, I had already accomplished that to a degree. I had worked on Magic: The Gathering and contributed a great deal to that world. I also worked on comic books and video games such as Turok Dinosaur Hunter, and some other terrific projects.

Alien Baltan Attacks Ultraman Trigger during the Ultraman Day floor show.

“If I look back on all the kids I knew growing up, especially all my fellow nerds, I found myself to be an exception, and I was sad about that,” he continues. “Why can’t we all touch the canon? Why can’t we all somehow be validated and celebrated for our love of these story worlds? Starlight Runner was based on that concept. The first several years of my company’s work was about bringing integrity to those universes, so that anywhere you encountered them, there was a consistency. That’s something, for example, we brought to the Walt Disney Company. If you had a Pirates of the Caribbean video game, why couldn’t it be part of the Pirates universe? The same with the comics and toys. Disney adopted that attitude — and our transmedia techniques — to all of its intellectual property. I think it’s done well as a result, particularly with Marvel and Star Wars, and I’m very proud of the work we’ve done with them. When you see a universe that is consistent and persistent across multiple media platforms, that is transmedia storytelling, and it’s super cool.

“From this perspective, with Ultraman we felt there was something missing, and we’re finally bringing that missing piece to the franchise. We want to create a place where people who love Ultraman can gather with each other and share in the experience of interacting with the Ultraman universe and the people behind it. That’s what these live virtual events are all about, so on September 24th, Ultraman Connection is producing a live special that will celebrate its Ultraman Official YouTube channel, which is approaching 2 million subscribers. It will include story content that Iceberg Theory is producing and that will add to the Ultraman universe. When you register and come to this event, you’re going to see something that’s never been seen before in the Ultraman universe, and it will all be official. You’re going to be introduced to new characters, discover new information about the universe, and find out what’s going to happen to this story world next. This isn’t a TV show or a movie. This is a fan event, so you can sit there and enjoy it and talk to us about it as it’s unfolding in front of you. It’s the next step in celebrating fan love, fan creativity and fan participation,” enthuses Gomez.

TV shows and movies have come and gone over the decades, but those that have truly inspired fans are never forgotten. What does Gomez feel is behind Ultraman’s continued popularity after all this time? “There were so many prototypical things that happened in those original TV episodes that aired in the 1960’s and 1970’s,” he says. “You had the notion of a giant robotic-looking character battling giant monsters, the notion of this scientific team that goes out and uses spaceships and laser guns to assist our giant hero, and the notion of these various Ultra superheroes crossing over into each other’s shows to battle the big, bad Kaiju.

“We’ve seen this many other times in, for example, Power Rangers, Transformers and even [the 2013 feature film] Pacific Rim. So why Ultraman? How do we distinguish this classic franchise which has been – how can I put it politely – emulated so many times and in so many different ways? The answer is that there truly is something unique about the kind of heroism that you see in the Ultraman stories. This is a hero who isn’t here to solve our problems. He isn’t here to fight crime. He isn’t here to lecture us. Ultraman is stoic, often going whole episodes without saying anything. So, what is he? Ultraman represents the best of what it is we can be. This is a hero who shows by example a certain kind of integrity, courage, hope and kindness. By his actions we see and understand that we are doing things that encourage monsters. Many of the Kaiju in Ultraman are incarnations of greed, our ability to pollute the world, our inability to communicate with one another. With Ultraman, you have a being who is above all that and is aspirational. If we would behave more like the Ultras, there would be a lot less monsters in the real world.” 

Steve Eramo

Editor’s Note: The virtual event Ultraman Connection Live: YouTube Special featuring S.H. Figuarts will be held this Friday, September 24, 2021 at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. Check out the lineup here. Registration is FREE at Ultraman Connection.

The Wheel of Time Coming In November (Amazon Prime Video)

The Wheel of Time is one of the most popular and enduring fantasy series of all time, with more than 90 million books sold. Set in a sprawling, epic world where magic exists and only certain women are allowed to access it, the story follows Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), a member of the incredibly powerful all-female organization called the Aes Sedai, as she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers. There, she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women, one of whom is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn, who will either save or destroy humanity. Check out the teaser trailer below!

Based on Robert Jordan’s best-selling fantasy novels, The Wheel of Time was adapted for television by executive producer/showrunner Rafe Judkins. Larry Mondragon and Rick Selvage of iwot productions, Mike Weber, Ted Field of Radar Pictures, Darren Lemke, Marigo Kehoe and Uta Briesewitz will also serve as executive producers, with Briesewitz set to direct the first two episodes. Rosamund Pike will serve as producer and Harriet McDougal and Brandon Sanderson as consulting producers. Co-produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television, The Wheel of Time premieres globally on November 19th, 2021 on Amazon Prime Video.

Multiverse Coming In November

In Multiverse, colleagues Loretta, Danny, Amy and Gerry are on the verge of an amazing breakthrough in quantum physics when tragedy strikes. Racing to complete the experiment, Loretta dies in a fiery car accident. Five months later, as the trio struggle to move on with their lives and the work they’d started, Loretta returns. She’s full of energy, enthusiasm, seemingly unaware she’s been gone for months. Are the friends losing their collective minds or has something remarkable happened? Soon, each of them comes face to face with their dead ringer. Professional rivalries and personal relationships surface and the friends realize only one version of them can exist in our reality. A violent correction is necessary to maintain order. Check out the trailer below!

Written by Doug Taylor and directed by Gaurav Seth, Multiverse stars Paloma Kwiatkowski, Munro Chambers, Robert Naylor, Sandra Mae Frank, and Marlee Matlin. In theatres November 12th, 2021 and released On Demand and Digital on November 16th, 2021.

Eli Roth's History of Horror - Season Three Coming In October (AMC)

The third season of Eli Roth’s History of Horror will return to AMC on Friday, October 1 at 10pm ET/9c. The premiere episode will be available early on Saturday, September 25 on AMC+. The remaining episodes will be available to AMC+ subscribers on the same day they premiere on air. Check out the trailer!

The upcoming season of Eli Roth’s History of Horror continues to explore the fun and the fear of scary films – both timeless classics and wildly frightening films that flew under the radar. This season will tackle the topics of Sequels (That Don’t Suck), Infections, Psychics, Apocalyptic Horror, Holiday Horror and Mad Scientists.

Master of Horror Eli Roth, who also executive produces the series, returns as host with an all-star lineup of interviewees including (in alphabetical order) Cate Blanchett, Margaret Cho, Jeffrey Combs, Jamie Lee Curtis, Geena Davis, Lex Scott Davis, Robert Englund, Vanessa Hudgens, Elliott Knight, David Koechner, Christopher Landon, Meat Loaf, Greg Nicotero, Jonah Ray, Giovanni Ribisi, Jessica Rothe, Madeleine Stowe, Quentin Tarantino, Jennifer Tilly, Edgar Wright, Rob Zombie, and many others.