Singer confirmed for Larson's Battlestar movie

Yesterday, HitFix posted about the possibility of Bryan Singer getting signed on by Universal to direct the Battlestar Galactica feature film that producer and original series creator Gary Larson entered talks with the studio for earlier this year. Apparently today Variety confirmed from Universal that Singer is indeed going to direct the feature, and the next stage will be to find a writer.

Lots of questions are certainly going to get re-churned with this news, including what kind of effect if any a new-new take on Battlestar will mean for the recently finished RDM series and it's spawn in Caprica which airs January 2010.

The HitFix post has some great links to some of the original plans for a series reboot from Bryan Singer and Tom DesSanto, who cut the project just before starting it back in 2001. They also go back to Richard Hatch's attempt to do a reboot. All of these treasures can be found in the archives of BattlestarGalactica.com.

Personally, I have mixed feelings. There are rumors of grudges Gary Larson has toward the RDM "reimagined series", and I can't help but wonder if Larson is pushing for this in spite of Moore's version. At the same time, I think Bryan Singer is a good choice to handle the project, as long as they let a little more time go by and Singer is given some creative control. I wish Bryan Singer would rehash his Logan's Run reboot he teased about several years ago before BSG gets put in the blender again.

Also at The Hollywood Reporter

Discussion at io9

The Plan trailer

First I have to apologize for the quiet blog over the weekend. The finale was just so traumatic, I think I'm still in mourning. Consider the weekend a moment of silence for the end of the series, and an era.

To try and get back in the swing of things and play catch up, here's the trailer of "The Plan" that was aired during the finale Friday night. Okay, so maybe it's not over yet, but don't expect to see this afterthought until the fall of 2009. It was previously rumored to be released in June, but now it's looking like somewhere around November perhaps (best guess):

A new, new Battlestar is possible

It's hard for a lot of RDM Battlestar fans to fathom right now (at least for this one it is!), but word has it that Universal Studios has "quietly" began talks with the original Battlestar Galactica creator, Glen Larson, to produce a theatrical version of the story, purportedly including Starbuck, Adama, and Baltar. According to SciFi Wire who credits The Hollywood Reporter as the source, Universal had no comments on the matter, which I find kind of hilarious since SciFi Wire is part of the NBCU family. Did they really have to ask in the post title "As SCI FI's Battlestar ends, is Universal adapting another for the movies?"?

I do remember reading from various sources that Larson was never really happy with RDM's re-imagined version of the show, and we know how Dirk Benedict also feels. I can't help thinking that there's a vengeful tone here, and Larson will be trying to put the spotlight back to his version, so conveniently after Battlestar has been revived as a huge hit. It's just really hard to even think about right now, and since they are just "in talks", you can bet that it would be years before anything comes to fruition if at all. If there's one thing that's for sure though, if this ever happens, Starbuck will not be female anymore. What do you think? Could a new, new Battlestar be feasible? Perhaps in a few years?

Definitely, Yes

It's now officially official, if that wasn't clear from the news posts yesterday - SciFi has announced the "prequel" movie. But, I'm a little confused at the way they put it in this SciFi Wire report:

"

12:00 AM, 07-AUGUST-08
	New Battlestar Prequel Coming SCI FI Channel announced that it will air a new Battlestar Galactica two-hour prequel movie, set to air in 2009 following the conclusion of the series. Directed by star Edward James Olmos, the as-yet-untitled new film will be set before the events of the original Battlestar miniseries and will focus on Cylons: Number One, known as Cavil (Dean Stockwell), resistance leader Sam T. Anders (Michael Trucco) and Chief Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas). In the beginning, the Cylons had a plan, but it didn't account for one thing: survivors. During the chaotic aftermath of the nuclear destruction, two powerful Cylon agents struggle with plots and priorities on the human ships that got away and among the resistance fighters who were left behind. The film will be written by Jane Espenson and will begin shooting in Vancouver, Canada, at the end of the summer. After airing on SCI FI, it will be released on DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The final 10 episodes of the fourth and last season of Battlestar Galactica will begin airing on SCI FI Channel in 2009.

"

- So if it takes place before the events of the miniseries, then how will it have to do with the Cylons dealing with survivors of the attack (since the attack took place during the miniseries... at the end even!)?

Also don't get how the series Caprica has been picked up in the UK already, but it hasn't become official yet in the US where the parent company (NBCU) is based anyway - ? Granted, they are probably just securing rights, if at least just for the pilot for now.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

YES!

Judging by the wording "Shooting will begin promptly in Vancouver, Canada" used in this report from The LA Times today, I am going to take it as a confirmed "yes" that a second (to Razor) Battlestar Galactica movie event is a go. Eddie Olmos will direct, Jane Espenson will write, Aaron Douglas and Michael Trucco, as well as Dean Stockwell are confirmed, and it will be a flashback to shortly after the Cylon apocalypse (I'm thinking the general era of season 1 after the miniseries).

Expect to see the still untitled event (shortly?) after the conclusion of the series in 2009.

Frakkin' yeah.

Webisodes, 11+ hours, and TV Movies?

First of all, I have to say that the midseason finale "Revelations" was perhaps the best episode of RDM's Battlestar Galactica yet. I had always favored "Scar" and "You Can't Go Home Agaian", and perhaps it's because of the newness of it all... but I hadn't seen any other season 4 episode even start to live up to he bar set by BSG from the very beginning until very recently. The midseason final certainly made up for anything the earlier season 4 episodes had lacked, and then some. That's not to say the last few S04 episodes weren't exceptional.

Anyhew...

This is old news mixed with newer news, but it's all pretty solid now... for the most part:

We can confidently expect another set of 10 webisodes in the long season 4 hiatus we've only just begun. *takes deep breath*

Speaking of the hiatus, that is also pretty much confirmed to be significantly long. The "first quarter" of 2009 references are backed by the following from E! Online's report from the midseason finale panel and prescreening (linked in next post):

"I talked to Dave Howe, Sci Fi Channel president, and you guys are definitely going to have to wait half a year for the final 10 episodes of Battlestar Galactica. He told me that, "[It will premiere] first quarter next year—we haven't fixed a final date, but we don't want to keep the fans waiting too long.""

- Pfft. We don't like it, but we're certainly used to it at this point.

At least we'll not only be getting webisodes, but also a (slightly) longer end to season 4 as well as one if not possibly three Battlestar TV movies, as Mo Ryan "The Watcher" recently reports.

Apparently RDM talked NBCU into at least 11 hours to be able to get everything he needs out of the script for the season finale. That's "at least 11 hours" and perhaps more, but I can imagine that they would give us too much more. If anything I can see them mincing the supposed TV movie(s?) as extra season 4 episodes like they tried to do with Razor as episodes 401 and 402.

Check out Mo's link above and definitely check out the fellow Blogger blogger (couldn't help that one), Alan Sepinwall, she linked to at The Watcher. His "Revelations" revelations (someone stop me now) are a joy to read.

Now what to do until the webisodes are even rumored to come out? I'll be downloading all the podcasts with RDM's commentary for S04 so far (410 should be out soon) and rewatching. At least once. Maybe twice. Perhaps Thrace :D

Razor comes to theaters November 12

NICE! Early screenings of Battlestar Galactica: Razor will come to theaters across US major cities on November 12. To quote this Watcher article:

There will be free screenings of the film in movie theaters in eight cities on Nov. 12: Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, San Francisco, Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle and, yes, Chicago. The screenings will take place at multiple locations in each city, but all of the screenings will be on the evening of Nov. 12.

Awesomeness. I'll have to try and get down to Boston that night. Otherwise, Razor will air on SciFi on November 24th. Check out the previous post here for more info on special Battlestar Galactica programming surrounding the big event.

Also, Cinema Blend follows up (I was a little confused at the info at the Wather at first):

On Friday (10/26), a website will go live that will give BSG fans the opportunity to sign up for tickets. It’s a first-come/first-serve thing and as The Tribune didn’t list the actual time that the site will go live, if you really want to get tickets, you might need to prepare to camp out online hitting refresh. The Tribune listed the web address as battlestarevent.com. Clicking that before Friday will re-route you to an Events Management company.

The two things i would travel for: Anything Batlestar Galactica on the Big Screen, and Blade Runner: The Final Cut (which is also spreading screenings outside of NY and LA).