Movie and TV News:

Star Wars Episode 3: Over on Ain't it Cool News and Cinescape, they're reporting a potential spolier from a recent interview with Peter Mayhew ("Chewbacca") concerning the Wookie's role in the plot of Star Wars: Episode III (due in 2005). Apparently (and remember, this report remains unconfirmed) the interviewer prodded Mayhew to expand upon his role as Chewbacca in EPISODE III, to which the actor gave the reply "Chewbacca rescues and delivers the two children to Ben Kenobi." That would certainly be interesting, to say the least. But does that mean that ObiWan and Chewie pretended not to know each other when they 'met' in the Cantina in the original Star Wars? It boggles the mind.

Two Towers Extended Edition DVD: They have a great inside look over at USA Today - they got an early preview in Wellington, New Zealand, last week at director Peter Jackson's private screening room. Though a two-DVD set with the original three-hour Towers arrives on shelves Aug. 26, Rings completists will find plenty of fresh Middle-earth fodder in the longer version. Follow the link for details.

Autobots, transform and roll out!! It sounds like The Transformers Movie is really going to happen, unless Decepticon gets his way. From Cinescape: "Don Murphy (THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN) and Tom DeSanto (X-MEN) are the two gentlemen who have the plan and will be the film's producers. DeSanto is also in the midst of creating a story treatment for the movie, which will serve as the template for the screenplay. It's not the first time a live-action TRANSFORMERS movie has been attempted. Three years ago director Joseph Kahn (TORQUE) and producer Chris Lee (S.W.A.T.) attempted to assemble a TRANSFORMERS movie for SuperMegaMedia, a production company, but things never got further than the initial planning stages. Murphy and DeSanto's TRANSFORMERS idea will be shopped around to studios shortly. It's expected that a screenwriter will be hired shortly after that."

Westworld Reborn: The screenwriters from "Terminator 3" have been hired to work up a new script for a remake of "Westworld," the 1973 Yul Brenner yawnfest written and directed by pre-Jurassic Park Michael Crichton.

They're Running out of Ideas Department: Lee Majors fans, cross your fingers. Both of you. Warner Bros has greenlighted a script for a feature film version of The Fall Guy. Here's hoping Lee Majors and Heather Thomas can get a three-day pass from the Shady Acres Retirement Home to star in the remake.

Dawn of the Dead remake: Now I've seen everything. A Dawn of the Dead remake is now in the works and officially started shooting recently.

Red Mars TV Miniseries: YEAH! Kim Stanley Robinson fans will be happy to hear that "Red Mars," the first of three epic books on the colonization of Mars, will be coming to The SciFi Channel as a six-hour miniseries in late 2004.

V is Alive and Well: And finally, in some news that really warms my heart and reminds me that good things come to those who wait, NBC has announced that they are putting a "V" remake into production. MSNBC is reporting that the story will take up right after the original mini-series, apparently ignoring the TV series and second mini-series that brought the conflict to a peaceful resolution. According to MSNBC, "Twenty years after NBC’s hit sci-fi miniseries “V” invaded the small screen, the network is bringing the aliens back with “V: The Second Generation,” a three-hour TV movie from the original creator Kenneth Johnson. Johnson, who wrote, directed and produced the original miniseries, is set to write, direct and executive produce the sequel, which has been given a script commitment. A small group of humans, who discovered the Visitors’ true plan — to conquer the Earth and eat its population — form a resistance and lead the fight against the invaders. The new movie, produced by Warner Bros. TV and Kenneth Johnson Prods., will take place 20 years into the future. As the alien forces are turning more and more Earth citizens into followers, the resistance suddenly gains a powerful and mysterious new ally. Several cast members of the miniseries and the weekly series, including Marc Singer, Faye Grant, Jane Badler and Robert Englund, could reprise their roles in the telefilm if it goes into production. "