The remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still almost didn't include the phrase "Klaatu Barada Nikto," until star Keanu Reeves insisted on including it. But just wait until you find out what other liberties the remake takes with the original. Meanwhile, there's a new synopsis of the Magneto origin movie, a new Transformers 2 detail, and a new Dragonball photo. Plus ABC has released the first official promo pic for Lost season five, and Anna Torv tells you what to watch out for on Fringe. And there are spoilers for Dollhouse, Heroes, Chuck, Smallville, Sarah Connor and Supernatural. You can't stop the spoilers! The Day The Earth Stood Still: Keanu Reeves says his version of Klaatu is not quite as warm and fuzzy as Michael Rennie's version in the 1951 original film. He's more sinister. Also, when Klaatu first lands in Central Park, we glimpse that he's not yet in human form. In another scene, Klaatu (now in human form) lies on a table while Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) examines him. Helen tells Klaatu there is nothing to fear. "Nothing to fear," he repeats in an eerie voice. Instead of being a secretary like in the first movie, Benson is a Princeton microbiologist brought in to study Klaatu. The relationship between Helen and her rebellious eight-year-old stepson (Will Smith's son Jaden) is a "story within a story" in the film. The kid isn't getting along with his mom, and "has the occasional fit," says Connelly, and they go through a lot of tension, and a transition, and then they resolve something difficult. (I was really worried there wouldn't be enough kids throwing fits in this movie.) Also, a lot of the "science fiction staples" and technologies from the original movie are gone, replaced with new inventions, says director Scott Derrickson. Reeves says the famous line "Klaatu Barada Nikto" wasn't in the script at all originally, but he insisted it should be there. You'll hear it, but in a context that's "inverted." [Sci Fi Magazine via Movie Spoilers] Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen: That filming that Michael Bay just did in Paris? It included a scene where a CNN anchor is giving a report in front of L'Arc de Triomphe. [Transformers Movie Chronicles] Dragonball: A new still shows Goku eating a giant chicken leg. Bigger version at link. [DBTheMovie]
Magneto: The industry magazine Production Weekly includes a semi-official synopsis for the movie detailing the origins of the X-Men villain. It pretty much jibes with the script reviews we've seen before:
The original X-Men film began with a prologue that showed the character as a child being led to a concentration camp by Nazis and that is the period in which the Magneto film will take place. This setup will allow a future villain to at least flirt with the designation of protagonist since the character will be seen almost exclusively in his formative years. The storyline will heavily involve Professor X, the wheelchair-using X-Men leader. That character was a soldier in the allied force that liberated the concentration camps. The professor meets Magneto after the war and while they bond over the realisation that they are alike in their special powers, their differences soon turn them into enemies
[Movies-Spoilers] Lost: Here's the first official promo pic from Lost season five. Click to enlarge. [Doc Arzt]
Also, there's a new casting call for episode eight. The show is seeking two corporate security workers: Phil, a serious, by-the-book hardass; and Jerry, a dangerous, charming bad boy. Plus a hippie-ish doctor who's thrown into a situation outside his medical experience, and has to adjust. [SpoilersLost] Also, Simon's Butcher Shop is back in recent filming, but it's not at its Hoffs Drawler Funeral Parlor location this time. And the Oceanic 6 have been filming scenes set at LAX airport. Meanwhile, actor Fionnula Flanigan says she'll be back as Mrs. Hawking for two episodes. [SpoilersLost again] Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Remember how producer Josh Friedman announced at Comic-Con that a regular castmember was going to die this season? Judging from the trailers and other assorted hints, it sounds like it happens tonight. And since the episode description refers to John and his new girlfriend Riley taking a trip south of the border "with deadly consquences," it could just be Riley. But you never know. Fringe: Anna Torv gave out some details for the next few episodes of Fringe. In this Thursday's episode, an FBI agent collapses with a heart attack, and "we discover that he actually has like an orgasm growing around his heart, like a plant or a vine." (I think she meant "organism," or maybe it was mis-transcribed) And we hear our first hint about a new mysterious group of people, who may have ties to Massive Dynamic. (Ooh.) And the only guy who might have answers is in a German prison, so Olivia has to call on her old flame in Germany for some help. And then in the Nov. 18 episode, "The Equation":
A little boy is abducted while on a drive with his father. His father stops to help this woman whose car’s broken down and sees some lights and then all of sudden his son and the woman in the car have disappeared and he doesn’t quite know what’s going on and we find out that this same kind of story has been told before, but most of the people that have told it have inevitably gone mad or had quite frightening psychotic outbreaks. And Walter seems to remember an inmate in the asylum telling the same story and he was a genius mathematician. So Walter ends up going back into St. Claire’s where he tries to get information from this old inmate of his, Dachsel. ... And then we find out that the car was registered to this woman who had died about ten years ago, and all the people that have been abducted were all kind of like geniuses in particular scientific fields, except this little boy who was in fact a brilliant, brilliant piano player and the mathematics of music kind of come into play.
And in the Nov. 25 episode, "Dreamscape," Olivia has to go back in the tank, and there's a (you guessed it) dreamscape. Here's the official synopsis for that episode:
A Massive Dynamic employee is so convinced he is being attacked by butterflies that he jumps out of a window to escape them, and the team is called in to investigate. Although Olivia’s unexplained interaction with Agent Scott leads to breaks in the case, she is so desperate to rid her consciousness of him that she demands to go back in the tank. Meanwhile, the gig is up for Peter when a former friend – and some current foes – find out he’s back in Boston.
[FringeBloggers] Heroes: We'll soon learn (maybe tonight) why Angela Petrelli felt the need to take charge of the Company, says actor Cristine Rose. And maybe Angela will finally meet Mr. Muggles? (She hopes so.) Also, she says Arthur Petrelli actor Robert Forster "was" terrific to work with. (Sounds like she's not working with him any more?) [Slice Of Scifi] And here are some more set pics of Claire, still on the run. This time with a big bag. More at the link. [The ODI]
Dollhouse: You know those ginormous scars Amy Acker has on her face as Dr. Claire Saunders, the doctor who takes care of the mindwiped puppet people in Joss Whedon's new show? We'll eventually find out where those scars came from, and why Claire chose to keep them on her face, says Acker. [Sci Fi Magazine via SpoilerTV] Smallville: As we've mentioned, Clark asks daddy Jor-El for help restoring Chloe's memories in Thursday's episode. But there's a price to pay when Jor-El pitches in. Also, Davis tells Chloe she should marry Jimmy. [About.com] Chuck: Here's the official synopsis for episode nine, "Chuck Vs. The Sensei," which we reviewed the script of a while ago:
Chuck (Zachary Levi) is still reeling from the discovery that his ex-girlfriend Jill was a Fulcrum agent and goes on a mission to take his mind of off his shock. Casey (Adam Baldwin) gets a shock of his own when he finds out that his sensei Ty Bennett (guest star Carl Lumbly), who taught him everything he knows, is now one of the most wanted rogue agents. While on the search for Bennett, it becomes clear that Casey may be too emotionally involved to continue with the mission. Meanwhile, Awesome’s (Ryan McPartlin) parents Honey (guest star Morgan Fairchild) and Woody (guest star Bruce Boxleitner) make a surprise visit to help Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Awesome plan their wedding. At the Buy More, Emmett (Tony Hale) reinstates the employee of the month contest, but Morgan (Joshua Gomez), Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay) have other plans.
Meanwhile, the show is casting a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and a Victoria's Secret model for an episode called "Chuck Vs. The Beefcake." [SpoilerTV] Supernatural: In Thursday's episode, a girl named Anna has the ability to hear the angels' conversations, and Sam and Dean have to find her before a demon named Alistair can make use of her powers. Ruby helps Sam and Dean find Anna, but the Alistair attacks and Ruby runs off with Anna. Dean thinks they've been set up, but then Sam explains what happened when he was in Hell, and how Ruby saved his life, to show why they should trust Ruby. Meanwhile, Castiel and Uriel demand to be taken to Anna, but not for the reason Dean thinks. [SpoilerJunkie]