"Sinbad And The Minotaur"

Syfy has picked up TV rights to air "Sinbad And The Minotaur", a sword 'n sorcery feature starring Manu Bennett ("Spartacus: Blood And Sand") in 2011 as part of Syfy's 'Saturday Original Movies' series.

The action fantasy follows 'Sinbad' and his shipmates as they battle against the vicious 'minotaur' of Greek mythology, a hybrid of man and bull that stalks a labyrinth on the isle of Minos.

"...'Sinbad', armed with rumors of ancient gold, finds himself sneaking into the desert camp of the evil sorcerer 'Al-Jibar'. Hidden among the many relics is an ivory scroll case containing the logs of the pirate 'Captain Minos', which will lead Sinbad to the golden head of the 'Colossus of Rhodes'..."

American World Pictures, producers of Syfy's "Pterodactyl" and "Yeti", is producing "Sinbad," with Karl Zwicky directing from a screenplay by Jim Noble.

Australian actress Holly Brisley co-stars in "Minotaur" as 'Tara'.

The film's action involves sword fighting for Bennett, who showed his prowess as the gladiator 'Crixus' in "Spartacus: Blood And Sand".

"The idea is that Sinbad, as a sailor, will have picked up bits and pieces of different fighting styles in his travels," said Bennett.

Bennett said he spent prep time mastering Sinbad's unique fighting style, designed specifically for the film, drawing on a mix of sword choreography, stick fighting, European rapier and bar-room brawling.


"We took the familiar elements of Sinbad -- his bravery and his sense of adventure -- and basically built a roller-coaster ride of a film around him," said producer Dale Bradley. "The sets and costumes have a bold, modern edge and our computer-generated minotaur is more 'Arabian Nightmare' than Arabian Nights."
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"Frankie And Alice": Turn Back, Look Forward

Sneak Peek the new poster of Halle Berry, supporting Freestyle's upcoming Vancouver-lensed dramatic feature "Frankie and Alice', directed by Geoffrey Sax, starring and produced by Berry.

"...Set in Los Angeles, during the 1970's, 'Frankie and Alice' follows a multiracial American woman, 'Frankie Murdoch' (Berry) who struggles with 'dissociative identity disorder', refusing to give in to her racist 'alter-personality'..."

Also starring are Stellan Skarsgård as 'Dr. Oz', Phylicia Rashad as 'Edna Murdoch', Chandra Wilson as 'Maxine Murdoch' Kira Clavell as 'Wanda' and Emily Tennant as 'Paige Prescott'.

"Frankie And Alice" will be released February 2011.

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"Spartacus: Gods of the Arena"- January 23, 2011

Sneak Peek the new trailer supporting the Starz TV prequel "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena", debuting January 23, 2011 on Canada's The Movie Network and Movie Central.

The new series adds to the cast Jaime Murray as social climber 'Gaia', Marisa Ramirez as the slave 'Melitta' and Jeffrey Thomas as 'Titus', the father of 'Batiatus'.

They join returning cast members John Hannah as 'Quintus Batiatus', Lucy Lawless as 'Lucretia', Peter Mensah as 'Oenomaus', (before he becomes gladiator trainer 'Doctore') and Manu Bennett as 'Crixus'.

"...As the prequel begins, 'Quintus Batiatus' is the acting 'Lanista' while his father 'Titus' is on an extended visit to Sicilia.

"But Batiatus isn’t satisfied with just the thought of taking over the Ludus one day; he aspires to political power and prestige in 'Capua' and perhaps beyond.

"In the class-conscious world of ancient Rome, the House of Batiatus must first earn the respect of both politicians and socialites before being granted the right for its gladiators to fight in the much-revered championship bouts called the 'Primus'.

"Batiatus must not only survive the harsh politics of Capua, but also compel his hedonistic fighter, 'Gannicus', to embrace being a champion gladiator who will bring esteem and respect to the House of Batiatus..."

"Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" is produced by Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi, Joshua Donen and Steven S. DeKnight.

Season One of "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" was the highest rated show for the 18-49 demographic among all cable networks for the 12 Fridays on which it aired, based on coverage rating.

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Wachowskis Floating "Cloud Atlas"

Scheduled to start shooting summer 2011, starring Halle Berry, the feature film adaptation of author David Mitchell's "Cloud Atlas" will be directed by the Wachowski Bros. ("The Matrix").

Also in talks to star in "Cloud Atlas" are actors Tom Hanks and Natalie Portman.

Published in 2004, "Cloud Atlas: A Novel" is the third book by Mitchell, winning the British Book Awards Literary Fiction Award.

The book consists of six stories that take the reader from the remote South Pacific in the nineteenth century to a distant, post-apocalyptic future.

Each tale is revealed to be a story that is read (or watched) by the main character in the next. Eventually, readers end where they started, with an American notary's account of a voyage home from the remote Chatham Islands, east of New Zealand, circa 1850.

The next character discovers this story as a diary on his patron's bookshelf and so on.

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"Irredeemable" : The Vespa Are Revealed- Dec 2

BOOM! Studios "Irredeemable" #20, available December 2 is written by Mark Waid, with art by Peter Krause/Diego Barreto and covers by Damian Couceiro and Dan Panosian :

"...The secrets of the malicious alien race 'The Vespa' are revealed. Earth hangs in the balance as their clandestine relationship with a fallen 'Paradigm' member comes to the forefront. The Paradigm's past comes back to haunt them, 'Plutonian' meets his match and the fate of the world will never be the same..."

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Arcana Gears Up For "The Clockwork Girl"

Vancouver-based Luximation Films, reports that producers Deboragh Gabler and Sean O'Reilly have started production on the comic book adaptation, "The Clockwork Girl", the first of a string of animated films based on graphic novels published by Arcana Studios.

"The Clockwork Girl" is the coming of age story of 'Tesla', a robot girl, and 'Huxley', a monster boy, who embark on a journey to save their world from destruction.

Directed by Kevin Hanna, "The Clockwork Girl" features voice work from Alexa Vega ("Spy Kids") as the voice of Tesla, Jesse McCartney ("Alvin and The Chipmunks") as Huxley, Carrie-Anne Moss ("Matrix") as 'Admiral Wells', Brad Garrett ("Everybody Loves Raymond") as 'T-Bolt' and Jeffery Tambour ("Arrested Development") as 'Wilhelm'.

O'Reilly's Arcana owns 150 original graphic novels, reaching sales of over 1,000,000 units, translated into seven languages. Gabler, founded Legacy Filmworks Ltd. in 1996, earning four Emmys and a George F. Peabody award.

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