WARNER BROS. BUYS 'DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN' EPIC SAGA! 'NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM SECRET OF THE TOMB' TRAILER WITH BEN STILLER, ROBIN WILLIAMS! LILY JAMES, PAUL DANO FOR BBC'S 'WAR AND PEACE' SERIES

DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN TO

FLY INTO BATTLE AT WARNER BROS!

I've announced this a few years ago but now it's back on track: Warner Bros. has bought the rights on all the novels in the DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN fantasy saga by Anne McCaffrey which could replace THE HOBBIT franchise which ends this winter. The series of 22 epic fantasy novels, first published back in 1968, revolve around a group of elite warriors and their dragons, with whom they share telepathic bonds, who take to the skies trying to save their exotic home planet of Pern from a deadly airborne threat, a rain of spores that hails from the orbit of the Red Star.

BBC'S WAR AND PEACE CASTS

LILY JAMES AND PAUL DANO
Sometime ago I've announced that BBC is preparing new mini series on Tolstoy's WAR AND PEACE historical saga and the latest update is that Lily James and Paul Dano are in negotiations for the roles. Lily would play Natasha Rostova who falls in love with Pierre Bezukhov, to be played by Dano, an illegitimate son who rises in society but leads a tumultuous life as he seeks to overcome his emotions. To be aired next year in six episodes, the mini series will be written by Andrew Davies known for MR. SELFRIDGE. The novel is set in 1805 Russia following five aristocratic families set against the backdrop of the reign of Alexander I, the lingering effects of his grandmother Catherine The Great’s rule and the events surrounding Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812!

  TOTALLY DRACULA!

Another thing to enjoy today is Luke Evans at the cover of TOTAL FILM as Vlad Tepes from DRACULA UNTOLD! 

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 3

 SECRET OF THE TOMB TRAILER!

The main movie trailer for today is for the third part of Ben Stiller's comedy adventure NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB which includes Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt, Owen Wilson as Jedediah, Ricky Gervais as Dr. McPhee, Rebel Wilson as a London security guard and Dan Stevens as Sir Lancelot. Rami Malek and Ben Kingsley also star as Egyptian pharaohs.  Opening in cinemas this December, the movie will see Larry (Ben Stiller) in an adventure which spans the globe, uniting favourite and new characters while embarking on an epic quest to save the   magic before it is gone forever. This comedy adventure franchise has earned more than one billion dollars around the world so far!

YOUR HELP NEEDED!
By now, you've probably all heard that one of our dearest blogging friends Melissa Bradley has been diagnosed with cancer! She is bravely battling the disease as we speak but she needs financial help to pay for all the medical treatments, so if you can donate even the smallest amount please click the link and donate!

'FROZEN'S' PRINCE HANS & TROLL KING CAST IN 'ONCE UPON A TIME'! TRAILER & POSTERS FOR 'REIGN' SECOND SEASON WITH CRAIG PARKER JOINING! POSTERS FOR SYFY'S 'Z NATION' ZOMBIE SERIES

'REIGN' SECOND SEASON

GETS FIRST TRAILER & POSTERS

Tones of television updates today, starting with the first trailer and new posters for the second season of the super popular historical series REIGN which followed the youth of Mary Queen of Scots (Adelaide Kane) at the French court and her wedding to Prince Francis (Toby Regbo). With the French king dead in the first season finale, the second season will see Mary and Francis ruling France. The show, which returns at CW this Autumn October 2nd, will ad some new characters. Beside Leith (Jonathan Keltz) becoming a regular cast member, we shall also get introduced to Princess Claude, the daughter of late King Henry and Queen Catherine. She is being described as a very sexually advanced young lady with an eye for mischief.

CRAIG PARKER JOINS THE CAST
However, the best new addition to the REIGN cast in the second season will be our most beloved Craig Parker (we positively adored him in LORD OF THE RINGS, SPARTACUS and LEGEND OF THE SEEKER) who will play Narcisse, a brilliant, gorgeous, sexual, and fierce, a devout Catholic with a “death grip” on French Court. But every man has his Achilles heel, and in this case, Narcisse will meet his match in Catherine de Medici.

ONCE UPON A TIME

CASTS 'FROZEN'S' PRINCE HANS AND THE TROLL KING
Over at ABC they're busy using the popularity of Disney's FROZEN by putting its characters in their ONCE UPON A TIME fantasy show. After Georgina Haig was cast as Elsa, Elizabeth Lail as Anna and Scott Michael Foster as Kristoff, LORD OF THE RINGS star Jonathan Rhys Davies has been hired to play Pabbie, the Troll King of the Valley of the Living Rock! Davies will lend his voice to the CGI Troll king who is gentle, wise and the source of unexpected insight. Meanwhile, Tyler Jacob Moore has been cast as FROZEN's villainous Prince Hans and will appear in the new season which starts September 28th!

FIRST POSTERS FOR SYFY'S

 'Z NATION'  ZOMBIE TV SERIES

Another show to get posters is SyFy's upcoming zombie drama Z NATION which comes to the sf channel this Autumn with 13 episodes set in post apocalyptic USA.  Starring Harold Perrineau, Tom Everett Scott, DJ Qualls, Michael Welch, Kellita Smith, Anastasia Baranova, Russel Hodgkingson and Keith Allan Z NATION starts three years after the zombie virus has gutted the country, following a team of everyday heroes who must transport the only known survivor of the plague from New York to California, where the last functioning viral lab waits for his blood. Although the antibodies he carries are the world’s last, best hope for a vaccine, he hides a dark secret that threatens them all. With humankind’s survival at stake, the ragtag band embarks on a journey of survival across three thousand miles of rusted-out post-apocalyptic America.Similar to THE WALKING DEAD, this show will also deal with the moral dilemmas in such times.

FIRST 'THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES' TEASER IS HERE WITH LUKE EVANS, LEE PACE, CATE BLANCHETT, AIDAN TURNER, IAN MCKELLEN, MARTIN FREEMAN, RICHARD ARMITAGE, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, ORLANDO BLOOM!

TEASER REVEALED FOR

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES EPIC MOVIE

Straight from ComicCon, it's here: official teaser for THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES! The glorious journey of Bilbo and his company will end December 17th this winter starring Martin Freeman, Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace, Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Graham McTavish, Lily Evangeline. And while we anxiously wait for the first trailer later this Autumn (Peter Jackson revealed that the first full trailer should be expected only in October), check out some new photos from the third instalment in the popular epic fantasy saga! Peter Jackson also revealed that they will open a museum with all the costumes and props from HOBBIT and LOTR movies.He also said that we might finally see Elven queen Galadriel in some kind of battle scenes.

UNITE OR BE DESTROYED

FLAMES OF WAR ARE UPON YOU
The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch lends his voice to the legendary dragon), the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town. Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo's frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen), the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide - unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance.

'MAD MAX FURY ROAD' TRAILER IS HERE! COREY STOLL IS YELLOWJACKET, EVANGELINE LILLY IS HOPE VAN DYNE IN 'ANT-MAN' WITH PAUL RUDD! NEW 'THE MAZE RUNNER' POSTER! SAM RAIMI ADAPTING 'THE LAST OF US' VIDEO GAME

ANT-MAN NEW CAST MEMBERS

EVANGELINE LILLY AND COREY STOLL JOIN PAUL RUDD

We're going sf today, people, starting with fresh news from San Francisco's ComicCon: after yesterday's news that Patrick Wilson has left ANT-MAN, two new stars have joined the superhero film. The film will follow biochemist Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) who uses his latest discovery, a group of subatomic particles, to create a size-altering formula. Though his first self-test goes awry, he develops an instrument that helps him communicate with and control insects. Paul Rudd is Scott Lang or ANT-MAN, and Evangeline Lilly and Corey Stoll are new cast members: Evangeline will play Hank Pym's estranged daughter Hope Van Dyne who is also Lang's love interest (she becomes villainous Red Queen in the comics), while Corey Stoll will be the villain Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket who has taken over Pym's company! The movie is out next summer! 

'THE LAST OF US' GETS

BIG SCREEN ADAPTATION
Over at ComicCom comes the news from Sam Raimi who will adapt video game THE LAST OF US into a movie. GAME OF THRONE's Maisie Williams could take one of the lead roles in the movie which follows Joel, a ruthless survivor with few moral lines left to cross, who lives in one of the last remaining Quarantine Zones. These walled-off, oppressive cities are run by what’s left of the military. Despite the strict martial law, Joel operates in the black market of the city, smuggling contraband for the right price.

THE MAZE RUNNER

BRAND NEW POSTER IS HERE!

To finish in sf style here's the brand new poster for THE MAZE RUNNER fantasy action movie which will run into cinemas September 19th! The story follows Thomas who wakes up in an elevator, remembering nothing but his own name. He emerges into a world of about 60 teen boys who have learned to survive in a completely enclosed environment, subsisting on their own agriculture and supplies. A new boy arrives every 30 days. The original group has been in "The Glade" for two years, trying to find a way to escape through the Maze that surrounds their living space. They have begun to give up hope. Then a comatose girl arrives with a strange note, and their world begins to change. Will Poulter, Chris Sheffield, Kaya Scodelario and Dylan O'Brien star.

MAD MAX FURY ROAD

 FIRST TRAILER IS HERE!

You can also check out the first look, also from ComicCon, at MAD MAX FURY ROAD which stars Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult! The movie will follow Max, a man of action and a man of few words, who seeks peace of mind following the loss of his wife and child in the aftermath of the chaos. And Furiosa, a woman of action and a woman who believes her path to survival may be achieved if she can make it across the desert back to her childhood homeland. Speaking of ComicCon trailers, our tomorrow's post will be up a bit later than usual in order to put HOBBIT teaser in it which will be around 9PM Central European Time, 12PM PT, 3PM ET.

GAL GADOT'S WONDER WOMAN REVEALED IN FULL COSTUME IN 'BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE' COMICCON PANEL WITH HENRY CAVILL, BEN AFFLECK, ZACK SNYDER

WONDER WOMAN REVEALED

IN 'BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE' MOVIE

Another great thing at today's ComicCon  came from BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, the sequel to Zack Snyder's worldwide blockbuster MAN OF STEEL, which had the first teaser and the first look at Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman revealed in full costume! To be released in April 2016, the film will star Henry Cavill as Superman and Clark Kent, Ben Affleck as Batman and Bryce Wayne, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, with Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Holly Hunter also in the cast and Jason Momoa rumoured as possible Aquaman. How do you like the new Wonder Woman in full costume?

AMAZON TO MAKE TV SERIES FROM PHILIP K. DICK'S MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE' SF NOVEL! 'AVENGERS 2 AGE OF ULTRON' CONCEPT ART POSTERS WITH CAPTAIN AMERICA, SCARLETT WITCH, BLACK WIDOW!

THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE

TO BECOME AMAZON'S SF SERIES

According to 'Deadline', Amazon Studios have ordered a TV series pilot episode for a small screen adaptation of Philip K. Dick's famous sf novel THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE! Previously intended for SyFy, the series is set in 1962 in an alternative reality in which Nazi Germany and Japan won World War II and occupy the United States, with the East Coast controlled by the Nazis and the West Coast owned by Japan, and a chunk of the Midwest still up for grabs. Fascism rules and the few surviving Jews hide under assumed names. But an ageing Hitler has one foot in the grave, and the Japanese are preparing for an imminent Nazi stab in the back. The U.S. Resistance is scattered, scared, or crushed.

AVENGERS 2 AGE OF ULTRON

STUNNING CONCEPT ART POSTERS ARE HERE!

Your photo treat for today comes from San Francisco's ComicCon: concept art posters from AVENGERS 2: AGE OF ULTRON featuring Chris Evans as Captain America,  Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch! Coming to theatres next May, with the team of superheroes, also including Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Aaron Johnson as Quicksilver, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Mark Ruffallo as Hulk, The Avengers will have to fight against greatest of their enemies, powerful Ultron (voiced by James Spader) who can take on stronger physical forms each  time he is seemingly defeated. Don't forget that tomorrow's ComicCon will bring us first THE HOBBIT THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES teaser in the late morning hours (early evening in Europe)!

1ST LOOK AT LEE PACE AS KING THRANDUIL IN 'HOBBIT BATTLE OF FIVE ARMIES'! WARNER BROS. PLANS MASSIVE 'ARABIAN NIGHTS' SEVEN MOVIE FRANCHISE! FIRST 'ANTMAN' POSTER WITH PAUL RUDD, MICHAEL DOUGLAS! 'PARTNERS' TEASER & POSTER WITH KELSEY GRAMMER AND MARTIN LAWRENCE

THE ARABIAN NIGHTS

SEVEN MOVIES FANTASY FRANCHISE AT WARNER  BROS!

Deadline reports today that Warner Bros. has bought the script for a possible seven movie fantasy adventure franchise ARABIAN NIGHTS! Also known as One Thousand and One Stories, it is a well known collection of vivid folk tales from Ancient Arabia, Persian, Egypt. The frame of all other stories is based on Persian king who discovers that both his wife and his brother's wife have been unfaithful and has them executed. For several years, he starts marrying young virgins, executing them the next morning before they can betray him. When the king's "vizier," whose duty it is to find these virgins, cannot find them any more, the vizier's daughter offers herself as the next bride, but before he can execute her, she tells him a story which she does not conclude. The king postpones the execution so he can hear the end, but every time she ends a story, she starts a new one. This forces the king to keep postponing the execution for one thousand and one nights as she keeps telling new tales. Sinbad, Aladdin and Ali Baba are all characters from the stories of beautiful Scheherazade.

FIRST 'ANT-MAN' POSTER WITH

 PAUL RUDD & MICHAEL DOUGLAS
In one of today's photo treats, you can see the first poster for ANT-MAN which will crawl into cinemas next July starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Patrick Wilson. Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

FX'S COMEDY SERIES WITH

KELSEY GRAMMER AND MARTIN LAWRENCE  AS 'PARTNERS'

This summer is bringing us a new comedy series at FX. Starting August 4th it will see Kelsey Grammer and Martin Lawrence as unlikely PARTNERS. Also starring Telma Hopkins, Rory O’Malley, McKaley Miller, Edi Patterson and Danièle Watts, the series follows Grammer and Lawrence as two Chicago lawyers from very different backgrounds who unexpectedly meet in court as they each face a personal crisis. Brought together by fate and greed, they develop a business and friendship, forcing each other to find the balance between the ethical and the unscrupulous in both their professional and personal lives.

THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

FIRST LOOK AT KING THRANDUIL!

And check out a new image of Lee Pace as Elven King Thranduil in THE HOBBIT THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES! The first teaser should be here this weekend!

LUKE EVANS ON 'THE HOBBIT THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES' POSTER! ANTHONY HOPKINS AND EVAN RACHEL WOOD IN HBO'S 'WESTWORLD' SF TV SERIES! LUKE MACFARLANE AND AARON ASHMORE FOR 'KILLJOYS' SPACE OPERA TV SERIES!

ANTHONY HOPKINS IN

'WESTWORLD' SF TV SERIES

In the whole avalanche of movie actors and Oscar winners moving over to the small screens, the latest name is Anthony Hopkins: he will star  in HBO's and J.J. Abrams' science fiction pilot series WESTWORLD television adaptation of Michael Crichton bestseller. In the series set in a futuristic theme park populated with robots and androids who malfunction and attack the guests,  Hopkins will play Dr. Robert Ford, the brilliant, taciturn and complicated Creative Director, Chief Programmer and Chairman of the Board of WESTWORLD who has unorthodox methods of achieving his visions. Evan Rachel Wood will play Dolores Abernathy, provincial, beautiful and kind farm girl of the frontier West who is about to discover that her entire idyllic existence is an elaborately constructed lie.

'KILLJOYS' SF TV SERIES

GETS LUKE MACFARLANE AND AARON ASHMORE IN THE CAST

And since it seems it is a sf day at HOLLYWOOD SPY, check out this piece of science fiction news: sometime ago I've announced that SyFy is preparing ten episodes series KILLJOYS a new intergalactic adventure! Now they have lead actors: Luke MacFarlane (BROTHERS AND SISTERS), Aaron Ashmore (SMALLVILLE) and Hannah John Kamen. In a distant Galaxy, the people of the planet Qresh have colonized their three moons, creating four stratified worlds, each defined along socio-economic lines and rife with social unrest. In this planetary unit, known as the Quad, a highly regulated group of bounty hunters, KILLJOYS, are licensed to pursue a vast range of warrants throughout the galaxy.  Killjoys are not allowed to take a personal or political side in their mission, which proves to be impossible and near fatal for Dutch. Dutch (Hannah John Kamen) is a gorgeous, compli- cated and deadly Killjoy at the top of her game. Her partner, John the Bastard (Aaron Ashmore, is a peace maker who hates conflict. When John’s incredibly sexy and confident brother D’avin (Luke Macfarlane) shows up to join the partners, the dysfunctional trio’s lives become intertwined. Confined to close quarters, Dutch, John, and D’avin quickly find themselves caught in a tricky love triangle.

LUKE EVANS ON THE 1ST

 'THE HOBBIT THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES' POSTER

And check out the first poster for THE HOBBIT THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES with Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman! The first teaser should arrive this weekend!

IDRIS ELBA IN GUY RITCHIE'S 'KNIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE: KING ARTHUR'! FIRST PICTURES OF JUDE LAW IN 'BLACK SEA' ADVENTURE THRILLER! LEONA LEWIS' VIDEO FROM 'WALKING ON SUNSHINE' MOVIE

IDRIS ELBA IS BEDIVERE

IN GUY RITCHIE'S 'KNIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE: KING ARTHUR'

Our epic news for today come from Guy Ritchie who has just cast Idris Elba to play Bedivere in medieval historical adventure KNIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE: KING ARTHUR! Bedivere serves as the right hand man to Arthur's father King Uthred, and is tasked with teaching Arthur how to prepare for battle. First auditions for the lead role of Arthur will start in a few weeks. This new fantasy version of KING ARTHUR will be released in summer 2016 and is envisioned as the first part of a six films franchise. The script is written by Joby Harold who rewrote Tom Cruise's EDGE OF TOMORROW. Kit Harington and Joel Edgerton were previous choices for the roles of Arthur and Lancelot in a rival project. 

FIRST PICTURES OF JUDE LAW

IN BLACK SEA ADVENTURE 
Another thing to check out today are the first images from Jude Law's new movie BLACK SEA which will sail into cinemas next January. The adventure thriller, which also stars Scoot McNairy and Karl Davies, is being directed by Kevin Macdonald (THE EAGLE, THE LAST  KING OF SCOTLAND). Jude Law plays asubmarine captain who, in order to make good with his former employers, takes a job with a shadowy backer (Scoot McNairy) to search the depths of the Black Sea for a submarine that's rumored to be loaded with gold.

WALKING ON SUNSHINE

LEONA LEWIS' VIDEO FROM THE ROMANTIC MUSICAL MOVIE

To end the day in a cheerful note, check out Leona Lewis' video for the title song in WALKING ON SUNSHINE romantic comedy which is currently playing in cinemas across Europe. Using the music of popular hit songs from the 1980s the movie is set in a beautiful coastal village in present day Italy. After a whirlwind romance, Maddie (Annabel Scholey) is preparing to marry gorgeous Italian Raf (Giulio Berruti), and has invited her sister Taylor (Hannah Arterton) to the wedding. Unbeknownst to Maddie, however, Raf is Taylor's ex-holiday flame, and the love of her life...The movie features legendary songs POWER OF LOVE, ETERNAL FLAME, DON'T YOU WANT ME, IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE, GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN, IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME and many many others.