Coventry Telegraph - The Geek Files

Johnny Depp enters the revolving door of The Tourist

2009-11-07T22:20:59Z

IF you follow the production of films you will soon become aware that many changes often take place on the journey from script to celluloid.

But even by those standards, The Tourist has gone through a surprising number of cast and crew members coming and going.

The latest to arrive through the project's revolving door is Johnny Depp, who is now in talks to play the lead role, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Initially, Bharat Nalluri was on board to direct the thriller, with Tom Cruise in the lead. Charlize Theron was set to co-star.

But then Cruise left and Sam Worthington was brought in as a replacement.

After that, Charlize Theron departed and in came Angelina Jolie. Bharat Nalluri dropped out and the studio brought in German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Following that, Sam Worthington dropped out and von Donnersmarck moved on. Alfonso Cuaron is now heading for the director's chair.

The film, a revamp of the 2005 French spy thriller Anthony Zimmer, involves a female Interpol agent who ropes an American tourist visiting France into becoming bait in the hunt for an elusive criminal mastermind who is also her former lover.

Production is scheduled to begin early next year. It'll be interesting to see who actually ends up directing and starring in this film.

Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass kicks in with new posters

2009-11-07T15:53:39Z

THE publicity machine has started to roll for Matthew Vaughn's upcoming comic book adaptation Kick-Ass ahead of its release on April 16, 2010.

Four new character posters have been revealed on IGN, two of which are included here.

Based on the comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr, which is published on Marvel's Icon imprint, the film centres on high-school student and comic book fanboy Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) who decides to become a costumed crimefighter, at first with disastrous results.

He triggers a subculture of copy-cat vigilantes and encounters a sword-wielding 11-year-old called Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her father Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). They feature on the new posters along with Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist.

The release rights of the independently-funded film were picked up by Lionsgate for $50million earlier this year, following a bidding war.

Meanwhile, Mark Millar wants to direct his own superhero movie for the big screen.

Millar, writing on his forum, wouldn't reveal the title or storyline but said he wanted to follow the approach of Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn in making the film independently and then shopping around for a studio to distribute it. He said details would be revealed in February.

"I'm doing what Matthew Vaughn did with Kick-Ass and just making it outside the system with private investors," said Millar. "The financing is all secured and the movie stands or falls on how good I can make it, doing what Matthew did and just selling it once completed."

"I think you need to scare the hell out of yourself every once in a while and something totally new like directing should do the trick," he said.

Marvel unveils future film, animation and video game projects

2009-11-07T14:17:07Z

COMIC BOOK titan Marvel Entertainment has detailed its future slate of film, DVD and video game projects.

The company's latest earnings statement, released on Yahoo, confirmed four upcoming feature films: Iron Man 2 on May 7, 2010; Thor on May 20, 2011; The First Avenger: Captain America on July 22, 2011; and The Avengers on May 4, 2012.

There are two animated TV series in the pipeline: The Super Hero Squad (52 30-minute episodes on Cartoon Network in the US and launching on international broadcast channels by the end of this year); and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (52 30-minute episodes in production; timing and network to be decided).

Animated direct-to-DVD projects coming up are: Planet Hulk (production complete, scheduled for February 2010 release); Thor: Tales of Asgard (production complete, release date to be decided).

Outside Marvel's own production studios, Spider-Man 4 is being made by Sony's Columbia Pictures for release on May 6, 2011 and there is a $40million Broadway musical, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, which has just cast rock singer Reeve Carney in the title role and will open at the Hilton Theatre sometime in 2010. It will be directed by Julie Taymor and features a score by Bono and The Edge of U2.

Animated TV series licensed outside Marvel are: Black Panther (Six 30-minute episodes in production for BET; timing to be decided); Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes (26 30-minute episodes airing on Nicktoons in the US, various networks internationally and on Marvel.com and Marvelkids.com); Iron Man: Armored Adventures (52 30-minute episodes. Episodes 1-26 are airing on Nicktoons in the US and are on air internationally. Episodes 27-52 are in development); Spectacular Spider-Man (26 30-minute episodes airing on Disney XD in the US and on various networks internationally); Wolverine and the X-Men (52 30-minute episodes. Episodes 1-26 are airing on Nicktoons in the US and are on air internationally. Episodes 27-52 are in development; Marvel Anime: Iron Man (12, 30-minute episodes in production. Scheduled to launch on Animax in Japan in Q2 2010. Scheduled to launch in the US in 2011); Marvel Anime: Wolverine (12 30-minute episodes in production. Scheduled to launch on Animax in Japan in 2010. Scheduled to launch in the US in 2011).

Video game releases are: The Punisher: No Mercy (published on Zen, released July 2, 2009), Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Capcom, released July 29, 2009 for X-Box console and August 13, 2009 for PS3 console); Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (Activision, released September 15, 2009); Marvel Super Hero Squad (THQ , released October 20, 2009); Iron Man 2 (Sega, scheduled for April 2010 release); Thor (Sega, scheduled for May 2011 release); Captain America (Sega, scheduled for July 2011 release).

The company, acquired by Disney this summer for $4billion, said it had seen a 60 per cent fall in profits in the third quarter of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008, because it had not released any movies (and associated merchandise).

Figures show Marvel's third quarter this year had net income of $20.4 million, compared to $50.6 million in the corresponding period of 2008.

Last year it had made more money through the films Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk and also from Spider-Man merchandising.

Marvel chairman Morton Handel said: "Despite the absence of any Marvel Studios feature film releases in 2009, Marvel continued to deliver solid operating performance.

"Anticipation for the high-profile Iron Man 2 feature film continues to build, and we are focusing our efforts on the film's May 2010 release and the related licensing opportunities.

"At the same time, we are making solid progress on the development and pre-production of our Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers feature film projects."

Star Trek's JJ Abrams to produce Micronauts movie

2009-11-07T00:26:04Z

WITH toy-based films such as Transformers and G.I. Joe bringing in a box office bonanza, it's pretty obvious we are going to see many more brands exploding on to the screen.

In an article discussing the boom in feature films derived from games and action figures, The Wall Street Journal reveals that Star Trek director and Lost creator JJ Abrams is in talks with toymakers Hasbro to produce a Micronauts movie.

Hasbro - which makes the Transformers and G.I. Joe action figures - has just acquired the rights to the Micronauts from Japanese originators Takara.

The interconnectable toys were first released in 1974 under the name Microman before being cancelled in 1980 and then revived in 2002. They were also adapted into several comic books published by Marvel, Image and Devil's Due Publishing.

As part of the current studio craze for raiding toy stores, Ridley Scott is to direct a movie based on the board game Monopoly; film bosses are fighting to acquire the rights to Etch A Sketch; Will Smith is to co-produce a film based on the game Risk; and the plastic tricycle Big Wheel has a TV show on the way.

But G.I. Joe director Stephen Sommers is not convinced all these ideas will work, telling The Wall Street Journal: "There's a herd mentality in Hollywood. Sometimes I read about toys in development and just think, 'What! Battleship and Monopoly? Really?' I mean, best of luck."

Helen Mirren joins Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman in Red

2009-11-07T00:14:48Z

OSCAR-WINNING actress Helen Mirren has joined the cast of Red, the film adaptation of the comic book miniseries written by Warren Ellis and published by Wildstorm.

The movie, starring Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman, begins filming on January 11 and is set for release on November 19, 2010, with Robert Schwentke (Flightplan, The Time Traveler's Wife) directing.

Willis will be playing retired CIA agent Paul Moses who is targeted by assassins sent by the new leader of the CIA (Freeman) who wants to dispose of former agents who know too much.

Mirren, 64, whose casting was revealed by ScreenDaily and is now confirmed by Variety, is speculated to be playing the previous CIA boss who has stayed in touch with Moses.

In addition, John C. Reilly (The Aviator, Gangs of New York) and Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds, Angels in America, The West Wing) are in talks to join the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Reilly would portray a retired CIA agent who is paranoid that everyone is out to kill him while Parker would play a federal pension worker who is romantically involved with Moses and becomes entangled in his battles against the hi-tech hitmen.

Comics to screen: Latest titles heading to film, TV, iTunes and iPhone

2009-11-07T00:01:15Z

SIN CITY producer Stephen L'Heureux's Solipsist Films has acquired the rights to Ed Laroche's graphic novel Almighty.

According to Mania, Black Hawk Down screenwriter Ken Nolan is attached to write the script and potential directors are being approached.

Created, written and drawn by Laroche, Almighty takes place in 2098 and follows a female motorcycling mercenary called Fale, who is hired to rescue a girl and bring her home across a third world America - "a fractured landscape of segregated zones driven by neo-tribalism."

Laroche said: "At its heart Almighty is a pursuit story. As the story unfolds there are other things that are attached to it but at the core of it, a girl has been kidnapped and someone has hired a killer to find her and bring her home." The official website for Almighty is here.

Mania adds that Solipsist has also picked up screen rights on two other titles. The first, Caleb Gerard and Joe Casey's 2005 graphic novel Full Moon Fever, is about a technician who encounters a werewolf on a moon base. L'Heureux said: "It's a lot like Alien and Aliens. It's fast-paced and really fun." The second is The Gray Area, by Glen Brunswick and John Romita Jr, which tells of a corrupt cop who is killed and finds himself in a purgatory state with a chance to redeem himself. Brunswick is also writing the screenplay.

HeyUGuys were at the MCM Expo where they spoke to Jeymes Samuel, who has produced albums for The Gorillaz, Ben Hudson and KT Tunstall. He revealed his current project is Buskers, a film based on the comic he wrote with graphic-novelist Sean Michael Wilson.

It begins shooting in December and stars Kevin Spacey, Damon Albarn, Ian Brown and Mos Def. Buskers tells the story of Timothy Book, a former banker who falls on hard times and ends up involved with London's busking scene.

The film is being produced by Pilar Savone, associate producer on Inglourious Basterds, and will feature a soundtrack by London-based musical collective The BulliTTs. The female lead has not yet been cast. Jeymes has set up an official website to follow the production.

EMO Films is to bring the classic EC Comics library of horror titles to other media platforms such as film, TV and radio, according to Reuters.

Titles included in the deal are Tales From the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Haunt of Fear, Weird Fantasy, Shock SuspenStories and Two-Fisted Tales and the remaining horror, science fiction, crime, humour and dramatic library, with the exception of Mad Magazine, which is owned by Time-Warner.

EMO Films has formed a specialty division, EC Film, Radio and Television Ltd, in association with rights-holder William M. Gaines Agent Inc, represented by Cathy Gaines-Mifsud, the daughter of EC publisher William M. Gaines. Corey Mifsud, Cathy's son, has been appointed vice president of development for the new company.

Fox21 has partnered with Platinum Studios to develop a TV series based on Platinum's graphic novel Gunplay, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Final Destination writer-producer Glen Morgan is on board to adapt the novel, created and written by Jorge Vega.

Gunplay centres on Abner Meeks, a soldier condemned to roam the Old West with a demonic gun that forces him to kill once a day or suffer soul-searing pain.

Fox21 president Chris Carlisle said: "It is a unique story of an ordinary man who must live with an extraordinary curse."

Platinum and Fox21 recently teamed to adapt another Platinum property, the upcoming comic book series Indestructible Man.

The film and TV division of Platinum Studios is also developing the features Cowboys & Aliens, Unique, The Witchblade, Atlantis Rising, The Weapon and Mal Chance.

Newly-formed Vigilante Entertainment has picked up the rights to Black Summer and has hired Knowing scribe Ryne Pearson to write the screenplay, Variety reports.

The 2007 seven-issue miniseries by Warren Ellis, published on Avatar Press, chronicles the rise and fall of a superhero team called the Seven Guns - scientist-adventurers who modified their bodies to gain powers in order to take back their city from a corrupt police force, criminal local government and private security forces.

Marvel's Astonishing X-Men series, written by Joss Whedon, was turned into a motion comic on iTunes at the end of last month. Marvel had launched its motion comics in August with Spider-Woman.

And now Astonishing X-Men is among the titles to debut on the iPhone. Three different distributors (Comixology, iVerse and Panelfly) are handling various Marvel titles, also including Age of Apocalypse, Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, Civil War, Iron Man and Marvel Zombies. The distributors handle titles for other publishers too - click on their names above to go to their websites.

Melissa Rosenberg on why David Slade is perfect for Twilight's Eclipse

2009-11-06T12:37:00Z

SCREENWRITER Melissa Rosenberg says British filmmaker David Slade is the perfect director for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third instalment in the vampire romance series.

Slade, whose previous credits include Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night, completed filming Eclipse at the end of last month.

The 40-year-old is ideal for tackling the emotional struggles and choices in the story, says Rosenberg, who penned the Eclipse screenplay and also adapted Stephenie Meyer's Twilight and New Moon books into films.

She said: "I think David [Slade] brings an intensity that's really great for Eclipse.

"His films of the past have leaned towards the dark, and this will obviously be PG or PG-13, so this won't be quite that dark, but he brings...an intensity.

"He ratchets up the tension in a way that is just really artful and I think this is the kind of movie where that has to happen because things really come to a head.

"I just think he's really going to do something interesting with this movie. I really am excited about it."

Speaking in Sci Fi Now magazine, Rosenberg (pictured) explained: "The third book is about the triangle and this is the episode where Bella chooses between Edward and Jacob. She's chosen when we start the movie but then she had to go through a process of elimination.

"She starts by choosing from a teenage, immature place but then we have to break that down and she really has to look at that and she has to make that choice from a very mature place and really look at the consequences of this choice.

"The whole movie is about choices and consequences and I think that requires some very delicate handling. I think it comes to looking at both of these guys as viable options. It's really about 'Who am I, and who am I going to be' so finding that answer will require some exploration.

"I think that takes a director who is able to get inside a character's emotional battle, because she's going to be wrestling with this the whole movie and I just think [David Slade] has access to that. He has access to that struggle and is going to bring that out in these actors."

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is due out in the USA on June 30 next year and in the UK on July 9.

Meanwhile, the franchise's second instalment, New Moon, is about to rise on the big screen. It comes out on November 16 in the USA and on November 20 in the UK.

Roland Emmerich developing TV series follow-up to 2012

2009-11-06T10:59:13Z

ROLAND EMMERICH, director of the earth-shattering disaster flick 2012 which hits cinemas on November 13, says a TV spin-off is in the pipeline.

The filmmaker told Entertainment Weekly that the movie's executive producer Mark Gordon, who is also involved in shows such as Grey's Anatomy, is part of the project.

The series would pick up where the film ends and is provisionally entitled 2013. ABC is said to be in talks over the idea, which would fill the scheduling void left by Lost.

Speaking at the premiere for 2012, Emmerich said: "The plan is that it is 2013 and it's about what happens after the disaster.

"It is about the resettling of Earth. I think it will focus on a group of people who survived but not on the boats ... maybe they were on a piece of land that was spared or one that became an island in the process of the crust moving.

"There are so many possibilities of what they could do and I'd be excited to watch it.

"The movie talks about the varied reactions people have in the face of disaster and who should survive and how we carry on and what parts of our culture do we save. The TV show could carry on all that."

Gordon said: "There's hope for the world despite the magnitude of the 2012 disaster as seen in the film. After the movie, there are some people who survive and the question is how will these survivors build a new world and what will it look like. That might make an interesting TV series."

Guillermo Del Toro on bringing to life the creatures and battles of The Hobbit

2009-11-05T17:44:52Z

DIRECTOR Guillermo del Toro has explained how he intends to bring an original look to the creatures and battles of his two-part adaptation of The Hobbit.

The first part of the $300million project comes out in December 2011 and the second a year after that. Peter Jackson is serving as executive producer to help ensure a close match with the Lord of the Rings films.

In a new interview, Del Toro talks in detail about the epic production, which has so far had a year of design work and months of story planning and writing.

He told Total Film: "We are respecting the structure established by Tolkien because the order of the adventures in The Hobbit is well known to generations and generations of kids. You don't want to be moving stuff like that.

"But we will be integrating Gandalf's comings and goings because he does disappear in the book quite often. So, as opposed to the book, we see where he goes and what happens to him."

On the various creatures in the story, he said: "I said we would keep the DNA in the same gene pool as the Rings trilogy, but that we would generate a different type of character. For example, in the trilogy most of the creatures are brutish or inarticulate.

"In The Hobbit, the creatures speak: Smaug has beautiful lines of dialogue; the Great Goblin has beautiful lines of dialogue; many creatures do. So we had to design them with a different approach because you are not just designing things that are scary.

"I also wanted some of the monsters in The Hobbit to be majestic. I wanted the Wargs to have a certain beauty so that you don't have a massively clear definition: what is beautiful is good and what is ugly is not. Some of the monsters are absolutely gorgeous."

He added: "I think one of the designs I'm the proudest of is Smaug. Obviously he took the longest. It's actually still active: we're finishing his colour palette and a little bit of the texture. But the bulk of the design took about a year, solid. It's because of the unique features of the dragon.

"Early in production I came up with a very strong idea that would separate Smaug from every other dragon ever made. The problem was implementing that idea. But I think we've nailed it."

And on the giant spiders: "They are visually quite striking and in a different way to Shelob. I wish I could tell you more but I would be spoiling it again.

"They are very different. They are more creatures of the shadow, more creatures of the deep forest. They are not earth nesting. They are nesting in the canopies so physically they have adapted to that environment."

On the battles: "There were so many battles in the trilogy. So one of the first things is how do we make the battles or the action in The Hobbit feel different from that?

"Because it was fresh when the trilogy came out, to see those enormous valleys or fortresses being invaded by warriors.

"But then after the trilogy you had Troy, Narnia, everything. It has become quite common seeing two massive CG armies attacking each other. So we came up with a good solution, I think. It will make the battles stand out."

You can read the full interview over at Total Film here.

2012 director Roland Emmerich admits turning down superhero film offers

2009-11-05T16:47:21Z

ROLAND EMMERICH, whose disaster movie 2012 erupts on to the big screen on November 13, has revealed he finds superhero movies boring and has rejected every offer to direct a comic book adaptation.

Emmerich, whose other credits include Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day and Stargate, admitted he was "a little worried" about the culture of remakes and adaptations.

He said: "I don't know how many more superheroes they can pull out of their hat. I hate superheroes.

"I always say no to every one that I get offered because I feel that it's boring. But they seem to be successful for some of the people.

"Some of them do [make money], some don't. But they make more money than they lose so they keep making them, and when one works then they have a franchise."

Speaking in Sci Fi Now magazine, he continued: "It's very unimaginative. I'm a total fan of people like James Cameron who just does what he wants. I just like people who have their own voice."

Emmerich was linked to the next Superman movie in a rumour circulating last October, which I reported on here - and it now sounds as though there was some substance to it after all.

I wonder which other superhero movie projects Emmerich has been offered. Any ideas?

Producer talks The Lone Ranger and Pirates of the Caribbean 4

2009-11-05T15:46:16Z

PRODUCER Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed that Disney is moving forward with its planned movie based on The Lone Ranger, with Johnny Depp cast as native American sidekick Tonto.

Bruckheimer said they were now aiming for a 2012 release. Mike Newell - whose credits include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and upcoming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - is attached to direct the feature.

Bruckheimer told Sci-Fi Wire that Pirates of the Caribbean writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio had worked with other writers and Johnny Depp on The Lone Ranger to create "something that has a kind of true-to-the-western [feel], but adding other additional elements like we did with Pirates so it won't be just a straight-ahead western."

As for the casting of the Ranger, he said: "We're still creating a pretty wide net and figuring it out. It comes down to who is available when we want to make it. We have a wish list."

For more on The Lone Ranger project, see my earlier report here.

Meanwhile, Bruckheimer separately told Collider that they had received the script for Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and believes they will be filming next year.

He added that the departure of former Disney chairman Dick Cook would not affect the production, despite Depp admitting it had dampened his enthusiasm to return to the franchise.

Ian McKellen gives updates on Gandalf and Bilbo in The Hobbit

2009-11-05T15:19:05Z

IAN MCKELLEN says he now has his hands on the screenplay for The Hobbit, to be directed by Guillermo del Toro and produced by Peter Jackson.

Sir Ian told Sci-Fi Wire: "As Peter has said, they loved writing Gandalf [for The Hobbit] because they knew who they were writing him for.

"There are a lot of characters in The Hobbit including, crucially, Bilbo, and they don't know who's going to play Bilbo. So it's extremely attractive that this part has been written for me. The other Gandalf was written for, well, just as Gandalf.

"There's lots for me to enjoy, in all sorts of ways. And I couldn't be happier. But I'm sworn to secrecy. I'm not to say anything at all about the script."

I have to point out here that this is somewhat at odds with McKellen earlier saying he knew who was cast as Bilbo.

McKellen added that del Toro and Jackson speak the same language. "They are the same person. They were separated at birth. They're twins. They have the same attitude.

"Neither likes working in Hollywood. They're both fascinated by fantasy and violence on the screen, and gore, and things that frighten you. They like going into the psyche. They're both brilliant storytellers in very much the same way.

"And I think the script, because I have read it, plays very much to Guillermo's strengths, as I've seen them. I have seen his other movies, and people act very well in them. So I think it's all fine. And Peter will always be there."

Meanwhile, Viggo Mortensen, who starred alongside McKellen's wizard as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings films, has been honoured for his work in movies.

The actor took to the red carpet in Hollywood as the American Film Institute held a special evening in his honour as part of the AFI Festival.

"It's a team sport making movies," Viggo said. His latest film, The Road, is a post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive. "In this case it's a story about a father and a son and if the son wasn't a great actor and didn't have a great emotional range I wouldn't have done a very good job, I could have only gone so far," he said.

Co-star Charlize Theron said she was thrilled to have even a small role in The Road: "I loved the book and so I felt very honoured that they asked me. Working with Viggo was amazing. I really think they did an incredible job."

Ghost Rider 2 'aiming for Casino Royale feel'

2009-11-05T14:58:27Z

BATMAN scribe and FlashForward showrunner David Goyer recently revealed that Sony studio chiefs were dusting off a Ghost Rider screenplay he wrote nine years ago to make it into a film.

The first Ghost Rider movie in 2007, with Nicolas Cage as a biker who sells his soul to the devil and is transformed into a supernatural bounty hunter, was indeed hellish.

But, nonetheless, it managed to make a reasonable $238million globally (on a budget of $120million) and a further $103million from DVD sales in the USA alone.

Goyer's script will be slightly toned down from its R rating to get a PG-13 classification.

He has now spoken a little more about the project, telling MTV: "It's not exactly a reboot. I hate to say it's more realistic, because he's got a flaming skull for a head, but it's a bit more stripped down and darker. It's definitely changing tone.

"What Casino Royale was to the Bond movies, hopefully this will be to Ghost Rider. This story picks up eight years after the first film.

"You don't have to have seen the first film. It doesn't contradict anything that happened in the first film, but we're pretending that our audience hasn't seen the first film.

"It's as if you took that same character where things ended in the first film and then picked it up eight years later - he's just in a much darker, existential place."

"My script is out there on the internet," he said. "We're not changing much from it. It'll be significantly the same script."

As long as it's better than the first one. But the involvement of Nicolas Cage worries me; I'd rather see a new and more charismatic actor astride the blazing bike. Maybe Cage's character could pass the motorcycling mantle to Danny Ketch who, in the comics, becomes the next Ghost Rider.

No director has yet been announced for the project. Stephen Norrington had been on board when Goyer first wrote his script nearly a decade ago.

Douglas Henshall talks return of Primeval

2009-11-05T11:44:32Z

FANS of ITV's cult sci-fi show Primeval had two shocks this year.

First, the head of the monster-fighting team Professor Nick Cutter, played by Douglas Henshall, was killed off in the third series, and then the popular show was cancelled.

But last month ITV bosses brokered a deal which will see both a fourth and fifth series on our screens in 2011, and Douglas Henshall fans will soon be able to catch the actor in new ITV drama Collision, starting on Monday and running for five consecutive nights.

While Douglas left Primeval to spend more time on stage and making films, he's not surprised that it's had a reprieve.

"I thought that the writing was good enough and the premise was good enough, then if people liked it, it could go pretty much as long as it liked. As long as people had faith in it who were making it, then I thought it would be fine," said the 43-year-old.

"It taps into an eternal thing in young people, dinosaurs, monsters and myths and legends. I went to the Natural History Museum the other week with my niece, she's in her twenties, she's not a kid, but we had to go down there because I thought she should see it.

"Me and my partner, the three of us were walking through the dinosaur exhibit and kids, boys and girls were queuing and queuing to see this big Tyrannosaurus Rex and you think, 'What is it about dinosaurs?"'

In his latest TV show, Collision. He plays Detective Inspector John Tolin, who is assigned to investigate a fatal car crash on his first day back at work after a period of compassionate leave following a crash that killed his wife and crippled his daughter.

The cast also includes Kate Ashfield as Tolin's colleague senior investigating officer Ann Stallwood, Paul McGann as property tycoon and crash victim Richard Reeve and Claire Rushbrook, who is embroiled in a plot to expose her fraudulent boss when she gets caught up in the accident.

Over the course of five episodes, the lives of the victims are all interwoven, and as DI Tolin and his team sift through the wreckage, a series of revelations about the victims emerge: from Government cover-ups and smuggling, to murder.

Next year, Douglas will be back on the big screen in historical drama The Eagle Of The Ninth, alongside Jamie Bell, Channing Tatum, Donald Sutherland and Mark Strong.

Kate Mulgrew wants Captain Janeway in next Star Trek movie

2009-11-04T13:19:21Z

WHO and what will feature in the next Star Trek movie?

That seems to be a popular topic for debate as director JJ Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman explore story possibilities amid huge pressure to repeat the success of the first film.

And Kate Mulgrew, who played Captain Kathryn Janeway in TV series Star Trek: Voyager, is keen on a slice of the intergalactic action once again.

Janeway also appeared as a Starfleet Vice Admiral in 2002's Star Trek Nemesis movie.

Genevieve Bujold was originally cast in the role for the TV series but quit after the second day of filming on the first episode.

Mulgrew, 54, who had suggested the character's first name, says she'd be very interested in appearing in the new Star Trek franchise if asked by JJ Abrams.

Asked by Sci Fi Now if she'd consider a role in the new films, she said: "I would, I'd love to return to Janeway. I'd love to do her in a movie.

"I think he'd be wise to do it, don't you? He should get me and Picard in there. It's a brilliant idea."

But she admitted she had not yet seen the first film: "Not for any bad reason, it's a reason of comfort. I did Star Trek myself and I want to enjoy it when I see it...so I'm going to wait until I can see it in my living room.

"I understand that both of those young men (Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto) are extraordinary. I'm sure it's beautifully done. I just want to see it in the comfort of my home."

Whether Janeway or Picard reappear in the new movies, either with the original actors or as younger versions, is open to debate but the director isn't ruling out the idea of revisiting familiar territory.

In a separate interview, Abrams said any worry about bringing back original characters was negated by the success of the first film.

He told MTV: "I think one of the byproducts of doing this movie was we were able to dispel the obvious and understandable concerns: How can Star Trek possibly exist without those original cast members?

"Now that we are in a parallel existence with what fans of the original series love so much, we could introduce any number of characters, settings, references and situations that the original series introduced."

Asked whether we will see the genetically-engineered villain Khan again, he responded: "Dealing with Khan would certainly be a challenge, but we had an equal challenge in finding our crew of the Enterprise."

The late Ricardo Montalbán played the baddie in a 1967 TV episode and the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Abrams added: "While I don't want to approach the second film as a remake of episodes we've seen in the past... nothing is off limits in terms of what we're discussing.

"When Bob Orci and the others who know Trek so well, the fun of working with them is they know this universe so deeply they're the ones who are always considering what it means to deal with the stuff in the past, so it'll be exciting."