Linkorama Wednesday 30th June

Johnny Depp As Doctor Who? Andy Serkis As Caeser? Edgar Wright On Ant-Man? Read on for more...

So we're all getting into the flow of things now, so how about we just take a look at what's floated my way today?

Johnny Depp As Doctor Who?



Multiple sources are coming in to Tor.com that Russel T. Davies has been working on a big screen adaptation of Doctor Who and, to top it off, that Johnny Depp has signed on to play The Doctor for this version. Would this be a reboot to the series, for America, or would it fit into the canon? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Remember to mark this as rumour, and take a bowl of salt with it all.

Marvel Creates TV Division

I'm ashamed for missing this yesterday, but The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Marvel have recently set up a TV division, with comic and TV writer Jeph Loeb as the head. This new division will deal with getting various Marvel creations to TV, both live action and animated, along with getting them out on DVD. With the number of smaller heroes and villains in the Marvel universe, I'll be interested to see who they pick to bring to the small screen.

Andy Serkis As Caeser The Ape



Andy Serkis has once again joined up with WETA Workshops, this time taking the role of Caeser the Ape in Rise Of The Apes. Caeser is the first intellgient ape, created whilst finding a cure for Alzheimers, who eventually leads the revolution against mankind. I'm hoping this leads on to the original films, rather than the Tim Burton remake that was quickly forgotten and removed from memory. I mean, what the hell was with that ending? Ridiculous...

Paranormal Activity 2

The first teaser trailer has been revealed for Paranormal Activity 2, showing us the same style of filming from the first film, and promising the same sort of scares as the first film. Can anyone spell "cash-in"?

Edgar Wright On Ant-Man



Talking with Box Office Magazine, Edgar Wright has revealed some little details about his adaptation of the lesser known hero of the Marvel universe. With Scott Pilgrim Vs The World almost upon us, we could finally start seeing some more action from Ant-Man...

Predators Clip

Over on JoBlo they've managed to get themselves an exclusive clip from the upcoming Sci-Fi Action adventure, Predators. The clip shows Adrien Brody putting on his best action-hero voice, and doing quite well at it. I honestly can't wait for this film...Avp 1&2 hurt, so I hope this delivers...

Dominic Cooper As Daddy Stark



Over at Den Of Geek they've confirmed that Dominic Cooper has taken on the role of Tony Stark's father in the upcoming Captain America film. Given that this is an origins film, it's no surprise that Stark's father has a younger role than many would expect. As the cast list grows, I get more excited about this film...



That's all from me today. If you have any news to share or add, leave a comment and I'll post it up tomorrow!

Believable Science Fiction - Part 1

Science Fiction properties are a dime-a-dozen. You can walk into any book store, or any shop that sells DVDs and Games, and you’ll find a vast array of Science Fiction universes to immerse yourself into. Aliens attacking the planet, humans attacking aliens, robots taking over the world, humans fighting humans with unheard of technology, humans and/or aliens exploring the universe, and any number of other combinations that you could imagine.

The following feature (to be spread out over the next few days) is a list of, what I’d say are, the most believable Sci-Fi universes around, but first to go into what my criteria are.

Science – Is the Science used in the Universe believable? Is it justified, do they explain how it works within the context of the Universe itself, or are we looking at something that works “because it does”?

Characters – Are the characters believable? Are they more than just the two-dimensional perfect examples of the human race? Are they more than just a guy painted half black, and half white? I’m looking for a fleshed out character here.

Alien Species – Do they make sense, or are they all just humanoids? How many of them are there? Do they all share similarities with various cultures from Earth, or are they unique and interesting? Are there any aliens at all?

History & Events – Does it all make sense? Would that history have made this universe, do those events make sense, would these things really be happening in this universe, etc?

Does it work? – The biggest criteria, in my opinion at least, is whether you could see this universe as being real...is it just fantasy, or has the creator predicted a possible future?

So, with that out of the way, here’s Part One of what I see as the most believable Sci-Fi Universes I’ve encountered so far. This list will be in no particular order.

Mass Effect



BioWare’s story driven action-adventure RPG (genres are getting quite messy now aren’t they?) started off as just an interesting romp through the galaxy, fighting Rogue AI, saving colonists, and meeting blue people...but then the universe just expands, and wow is it detailed.

It meets pretty much every one of my criteria, BioWare fleshed out not only the history of Earth (or the future), they created a history for each of the alien races you can meet, along with several dead civilisations, and loads of the planets and systems that you can explore.

There are currently seven races within the games that players can interact with, each has their own history, along with culture, customs, styles, nutritional needs, and many other extra tidbits, all of which can be explored through the in-game codex, through dialogue options, and through the books and comics slowly being released to the public.

With the discovery of ancient alien ruins on Mars, the Human race is able to develop new technologies that help them travel the galaxy, settle new planets, and meet these extra races. There are conflicts within the histories, there is political intrigue and messy relationships to get your head around, and it all feels like it could happen.

Whilst the technology within the Universe is a bit iffy, it does seem like it would work. Once again all the bits and pieces are explained within the codex, with most of the fictional technology working on the Mass Effect fields that the series is named after. Guns work by firing small chunks of metal through a mass effect device that speeds it towards the target, ships are hurled through space using giant mass effect relays, long distance communication is done using mass effect communication buoys, etc, etc. I have no idea if any of this is even possible, but it does make sense and it remains fairly consistent throughout the series.

Sadly, the only place the game really falls is on Characterisation. BioWare have fleshed out all of the characters, every person you can talk with has their own personality, and most of them have fairly extensive back stories that make them feel real, but your character can still feel like a bit of a shell sometimes. BioWare have tried their best, but such a big universe that has to deal with so many options, choices, and decisions, they can only go so far with your character, so I don’t particularly blame Shepard for occasionally being a bit flat or sterile.

Mass Effect makes me want to travel to Mars and search for Prothean ruins, that’s how real it feels to me.

Linkorama Tuesday 29th June

Alice Eve As Emma Frost? Tommy Lee Jones In Captain America? A LEGO Movie? Read On To Find Out...

Welcome to the second ever Linkorama, the unofficial and unlicensed companion to Link-A-Mania over on SFX. Lets have a look at today's Sci-Fi and Fantasy News shall we?

Alice Eve Joins X-Men: First Class



Total Film reports that Alice Eve (Sex And The City 2 and She’s Out Of My League) is the latest addition to the cast list for X-Men: First Class. She joins the likes of Michael Fassbender (Magneto), James McAvoy (Professor X), and Benjamin Walker (Beast), taking on the role of Emma Frost. Could the inclusion of Emma Frost mean we'll see that love triangle from the comics? Either way, the cast list is starting to shape up for an interesting film...

First Look At Priest



The first image of Priest has been made available for your viewing pleasure. Priest is a movie adaptation of the TokyoPop comic that follows a priest (oddly enough) that abandons his church to hunt down a murderous group of vampires.

Thanks to the guys at Bloody Disgusting for the image.

Tommy Lee Jones As Colonel Phillips



Even though Hayley Atwell accidentally let slip that Tommy Lee Jones would be making an appearance in the upcoming Captain America movie, it's taken about a month for Marvel to confirm it. Tommy Lee Jones is set to play the role of Colonel Phillips in The First Avenger: Captain America which chronicles the origins of the great Captain.

More Transformers Games From Activision?

BotCon 2010 was held over the weekend, the largest convention related to Transformers, and a nice little bit of news has come out from the Q&A session. Kotaku have reported that Activision are thinking about the various ways they can bring the Transformers series to the gaming public. With the relative success of War For Cybertron, we could see a whole set of games exploring the origins of the Transformers.

LEGO Movie

Apparently an official LEGO movie has been in the works for quite a while, seeing various people take the helm and then leave due to difficulties. Warner Brothers are taking this license very seriously (why wouldn't they, considering the success of their LEGO games), and it has now been revealed that Phil Lord & Chris Miller (Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs) will be directing the project. They apparently got the job by pitching their idea at a LEGO convention.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Trailer

The latest trailer for Deathly Hallows Part 1 is up on Yahoo! movies, it can be viewed below:

That's all from me today. Come back tomorrow for more of the latest and greatest Sci-Fi & Fantasy news.

Have anything to share? Leave a comment and I'll see if I can make a mention of it in the following post.

Today's news was brought to you in association with Preston's Gourmet Fish, and Link's Master Swordsmiths.

Linkorama Monday 28th June

Peter Jackson For The Hobbit, Mad Max 4, Neil Blomkamp, and more!

So here's the first ever Linkorama (hey, see what I did there?), the unofficial and non-licensed companion to the SFX Link-A-Mania. Hope you all had a good weekend, and I hope you're ready for the latest Sci-Fi and Fantasy News.

Peter Jackson Confirmed For The Hobbit

Since the departure of Guillermo Del Toro from the two Hobbit films, rumours have been flying about everywhere for who will take the helm. Deadline can finally confirm that Peter Jackson has accepted the position. Whilst I would have prefered Del Toro, Jackson was an obvious choice for replacement.

Tom Hardy On Mad Max 4

The guys over at The Collider managed to grab an interview with Tom Hardy where they spoke not only about his role in Christopher Nolan's Inception, but about his upcoming role in Mad Max: Fury Road. Set to be a re-launch to the series, but still continuing with what the original 3 films set up, we could end up seeing a more adult and less camp version of post-apocalyptic Australia...or it might be even more camp...

Neil Blomkamp's Elysium

District 9 has become a bit of a cult film, loved by most of those that have seen it, but still not seen by many people. No longer rumoured to be taking the helm for The Hobbit, Blokamp revealed his next project, titled Elysium (a much used name in Sci-Fi and Fantasy), to be another unique Sci-Fi film.

Shortlist For Spider-Man Main Role

Once again over at Deadline, there are reports that Sony have been viewing the Screen-Tests for the main role of Peter Parker (Spider-Man) in the re-launch being directed by Marc Webb. With the likes of Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot) and Aaron Johnson (Kick Ass) on the shortlist, expect Sony to announce something soon.

Guillermo Del Toro's Next Porject is..?

At this year's Saturn Awards, Empire Magazine managed to get themselves a few words with Del Toro about his next job after leaving The Hobbit. Sadly, Hellboy 3 is a long way away, and it's looking like At The Mountains Of Madness won't be getting an adaptation any time soon.

New Potter Pics

Three new images have been released from Part 1 of Harry Potter And The Deahtly Hallows, which can be viewed below:







Thanks to The Metro for those images.

AT-AT Day Afternoon

This isn't a piece of news, but is infact a video I found today, and felt like sharing with you guys. I hope you enjoy it!




That's all for today's Linkorama, brought to you in association with Zombie Apocalypse Productions, and sponsored by Adorably Interesting Dolls.

It All Starts Here

For the past two weeks I've been doing work experience over with SFX magazine, helping write content for both their website and the actual magazine.

During this time, I wrote several previews and bits for the site, but did a regular page called "Link-A-Mania" where I basically searched out the latest news for the day (related to SFX, of course), and wrote up a brief summary.

I enjoyed this, as odd as that sounds...so I've decided to continue my efforts with this blog. Starting from Monday 28th June I will be posting a daily Link-fest kind of thing, and I hope to expand this into a regular blog where I review Films, Books, Games, and TV shows.

For an idea for what I've written for SFX, follow these links:

Monday Link-A-Mania 1

Tuesday Link-A-Mania 1

Wednesday Link-A-Mania 1

Thursday Link-A-Mania 1

Friday Link-A-Mania 1

Comic Heroes Issue 2 Preview

SFX Issue 198 Preview

Monday Link-A-Mania 2

Tuesday Link-A-Mania 2

Wednesday Link-A-Mania 2

Thursday Link-A-Mania 2

Friday Link-A-Mania 2


I'll also let everyone know when the mags that my stuff appears in gets released.

I look forward to building this blog up over the coming months!