News

Newsbites: The sci-fi and fantasy edition!

Christianity Today March 11, 2009

1. Dark City (1998) director Alex Proyas says there has been talk lately of making a sequel to that film – and if he does make it, he would like the supernatural hero of the first film to become the villain of the second film: “He should turn nasty because he’s got unlimited power. That’s something I’d like to explore.” That certainly fits with some of the changes that Proyas made to the “director’s cut” last year. – MTV Movies Blog

2. Matt Damon is attached to star in The Adjustment Bureau, a sci-fi action romance about “a charismatic congressman who . . . meets a beautiful ballet dancer, only to find strange circumstances keeping their sparks from catching fire.” The film is “loosely based” on a Philip K. Dick story. – Variety, Hollywood Reporter

3. Director Alexander Payne and actor Paul Giamatti, who last worked together on the Oscar-nominated Sideways (2004), are teaming up again for Downsizing, a “social satire” about “a man low on money who decides he can have a much nicer life if he undergoes a process to shrink himself.” The film will also star Reese Witherspoon, who worked with Payne on Election (1999). – Variety

4. The latest name being bandied about as a possible director for Eclipse, the third movie in the Twilight series, is that of Juan Antonio Bayona, director of the spooky Spanish ghost story The Orphanage (2007). – Hollywood Reporter

5. Casting is already under way for the live-action Star Wars TV series that will take place between the two big-screen trilogies. Hmmm, will George Lucas cobble a few episodes together for the big screen, as he did with the animated Clone Wars? – MTV Movies Blog

6. Morena Baccarin, of Firefly and Stargate fame, will play the leader of the alien invasion in the remake of V. – Hollywood Reporter

7. Fox is developing Last Man, a “futuristic action film” about “a group of young, inexperienced American soldiers” who battle an alien race on a distant planet. Um, why do the soldiers have to be American? – Variety

8. Former New Line executive Mark Ordesky is one of the producers now attached to a “science fiction film” adaptation of Chariots of the Gods, the Erich von D?niken book which argued that the ancient world was visited – and to some degree shaped – by extra-terrestrials. The book was previously turned into a documentary in 1970, and its basic premise was also reflected in last year’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. – Variety

9. Vin Diesel says writer-director David Twohy is “finishing up” the script for a third film in the Chronicles of Riddick series (2000-2004). – GameSpot

10. Brett Ratner hasn’t decided whether to direct the new Conan the Barbarian movie yet, but he says the script is “very cool, contemporary. It’s not an homage. It’s not a remake, really. It’s going back to the original source material – the mythology of the characters.” – MTV Splash Page

Our Latest

Review

They May Forget Your Sermons, but They’ll Remember This

Reuben Bredenhof’s new book encourages pastors to focus on small acts of faithfulness.

Analysis

The Many Factors of America’s Math Problem

Ubiquitous screens, classroom chaos, a dearth of qualified teachers: The reasons our children are struggling in math class are multitude.

News

Four Years into the War, Life Goes on for Ukrainians

Even as Moscow weaponizes winter, locals attend church conferences, go sledding, and plan celebrations.

A Russian Drone Killed My Brother. Is the World Tired of Our Suffering?

Taras Dyatlik

On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a Ukrainian theologian meditates on self-interested calls for a comfortable peace.

Excerpt

Parents of Prodigals Can Trust God is Good

Cameron Shaffer

An excerpt from Cameron Shaffer’s Keeping Kids Christian.

The Bulletin

The Bulletin Goes to Nashville!

Sho Baraka, Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll, Russell Moore

In Music City, Russell, Mike, Sho, and Clarissa talk about creativity, vocation, and AI.

Worship, Bible Studies, and Restoration in South Korea’s Nonprofit Prison

Jennifer Park in Yeoju, South Korea

Somang Prison, the only private and Christian-run penitentiary in Asia, seeks to treat inmates with dignity—and it sees results.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastprintRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube