In my meanderings around the web this past week, I came upon a page on IMDB called “Most Popular People Born in 1960.” What I found interesting was how many of these actors, turning 50 this year, have been in genre films. So I thought I’d share the top 13 genre-connected ones with you here:

NOTE: These are in the order that IMBD placed them.

	Julianne Moore Born: Fayetteville, North Carolina Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) Cast a Deadly Spell (1991 - TV) The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) Psycho (1998) Evolution (2001) The Forgotten (2004) Children of Men (2006) Next (2007) I really like Julianne’s quirky, tough and thoroughly grounded energy. She’s one of those actresses that when I know she’s in a film, I know its worth seeing.
	Jean-Claude Van Damme Born: Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium Cyborg (1998) Universal Soldier (1992) Timecop (1994) Universal Soldier: The Return (1999) Replicant (2001) Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009) Ah, the muscles from Brussels … easy on the eyes and had potential. Saw a bio on him that made me sad. I hope he turns things around.
	Hugo Weaving Born: Austin, Nigeria Babe (1995) Babe: Pig in the City (1998) The Matrix (1999) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) The Matrix Reloaded (2003) The Matrix Revolutions (2003) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) V for Vendetta (2005) Transformers (2007) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) The Wolfman (2010) For me the magic that is Hugo Weaving is his voice. I loved the way he used it to taunt Neo in The Matrix movies.
	Antonio Banderas Born: Málaga, Málaga, Andalucía, Spain Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) The Mask of Zorro (1998) The 13th Warrior (1999) Spy Kids (2001) Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) Shrek 2 (2004) The Legend of Zorro (2005) Shrek the Third (2007) Another actor with a fantastic voice. Besides, he’s from Spain and being half Spanish myself, that gives him points in my book. In fact, I still have family that live in Málaga.
	David Duchovny Born: New York City, New York “Twin Peaks” (1990-1991) “The X-Files” (1993-2002) The X Files (1998) Evolution (2001) The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008) Loved David as Fox Mulder … gave the character a dark groundedness, while still evoking a certain amount of innocence when needed.
	Timothy Hutton Born: Malibu, California Iceman (1984) Made in Heaven (1987) The Dark Half (1993) 5ive Days to Midnight (TV - 2004) The Last Mimzy (2007) Although his genre work is few and far between, Timothy always brings a senses of realism to his fantasy roles.
	Kenneth Branagh Born: Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK Dead Again (1991) Frankenstein (1994) Wild Wild West (1999) Alien Love Triangle (2002) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) I first saw Kenneth in Dead Again … a movie enjoyed so much I watched it twice in one day … and had no idea he was British. A few days later, I heard a movie critic rag on his “horrible American Accent.” Well, he had me fooled.
	Doug Jones Born: Indianapolis, Indiana The Newlydeads (1987) Night Angel (1990) Batman Returns (1992) Hocus Pocus (1993) Tank Girl (1995) Galgameth (1996) Mimic (1997) Mystery Men (1999) “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Gentlemen (TV - 1999) “Alien Hunter” (TV - 2001) Monkeybone (2001) The Time Machine (2002) Men in Black II (2002) Hellboy (2004) Doom (2005) El laberinto del fauno aka Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) The Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) Doug plays the body of Abe Sapien in the Hellboy movies (David Hyde Pierce is the voice), which I’ve always found very sexy.
	Daryl Hannah Born: Chicago, Illinois Blade Runner (1982) The Final Terror (1983) Splash (1984) High Spirits (1988) Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (TV - 1993) Final Days of Planet Earth (TV - 2006) Absolutely hated Clan of the Cave Bear. The book was so much better and deserved more on the screen. But I don’t think that was her fault, she was good as Ayla.
	John Leguizamo Born: Bogotá, Colombia Super Mario Bros. (1993) Spawn (1997) Doctor Dolittle (1998) Arabian Nights (TV - 2000) Titan A.E. (2000) Land of the Dead (2005) This man has more talent in his little finger than most have in their entire bodies. I wish he’d get more and better roles.
	James Spader Born: Boston, Massachusetts Mannequin (1987) Wolf (1994) Stargate (1994) Supernova (2000) Alien Hunter (2003) I’m not usually into blondes, but for James I’ll make an exception. Loved him in Dream Lover and awesome in Stargate!
	John Schneider Born: Mount Kisco, New York The Curse (1987) “Relic Hunter,” playing Dallas Carter (TV - 2 episodes, 2000-2001) “Touched by an Angel,” playing Joshua Winslow (TV - 3 episodes, 1995-2001) “Smallville” (TV - 2001-2006) Lake Placid 2 (TV - 2007) “Journeyman,” playing Dennis Armstrong (TV - 1 episode, 2007) Ogre (TV - 2008) Conjurer (2008) Another talented actor who has a low-key career.
	Hiroyuki Sanada Born: Tokyo, Japan Swords of the Space Ark (TV - 1981) Makai tenshô (1981) USA Title: Samurai Reincarnation Iga ninpôchô (1982) USA DVD Title: Death of a Ninja Rasen (1998) Ringu (1998) Ringu 2 (1999) Onmyoji (2001) English title: The Yin Yang Master Sunshine (2007) “Lost” playing Dogen (TV - 2010) So far, I’ve been very disappointed in the lack of screen time this amazingly talented performer gets in his English language roles. The man oozes charisma … even watching his TV commercials can be captivating!

Will I. Am (John Wraith/Kestrel), Lynn Collins (Kayla Silverfox), Hugh Jackman (Logan/Wolverine), Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson/Weapon XI) and Liev Schreiber (Victor Creed/Sabertooth) at the Tempe, Ariz., premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

My husband and I were watching the extras on the Blu-Ray edition of X-Men Origins: Wolverine the other night and I learned something that really bummed me out.

Just last April, the premiere for the movie was held right in my backyard and I had absolutely no clue.

You see, Twentieth Century Fox held a contest to see which city the premiere would be held in and Tempe, Ariz, won! I live in Phoenix right on the border of Tempe. Erg.

I don’t know how I missed it … but that would have been a very cool thing for The Genre Traveler to cover and I’m very sorry I wasn’t able to do that for you.

In addition, I’ve heard that the movie wasn’t that good and didn’t do that well. Now that I’ve seen it, I’m not really sure why.

The movie had plenty of action that was fun to watch … loved the scenes with Wolverine and Zero and the helicopter.

And, Hugh Jackman’s performance as Wolverine was excellent, as usual. In fact, I’d say it was his best so far in that role. He brings to the character a depth of emotion, as well as a physicality that really makes Logan seem realistic.

Liev Schreiber was a very convincing Victor Creed/Sabertooth, adding to the character both a hard, aggressive, dangerous animalistic quality and yet, a vulnerable almost innocence when the scene required it.

In fact, the only sticking point for me was the character of Remy LeBeau/Gambit, played by Taylor Kitsch. It was really unclear what his power was and what point he really played in the story. Yes, he escaped from the Island and therefore was needed to get Logan there. But what did he do beyond that, really? Make cards fly around and fight with a stick. I don’t read comics (too many pictures, not enough words), so I don’t know the back story on the character and was just left confused.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was shot primarily in Australia and New Zealand with some studio and locations shot in Canada.

An amphibious shark, strangler fig trees and blood red remora … oh my! That’s what Ppeekk (pronounced “Peekie”) has to contend with after she moves to Florida and meets Dead Fred.

Dead Fred, a small and crispy fish, isn’t really dead … but he is on his way … and Ppeekk has been chosen to help save his underwater kingdom, High Voltage, from the evil intentions of Megalodon.

With her new friends, the annoying but cute Mini Romey and the erudite (although just 13) Quatro, Ppeekk sets out to save High Voltage and Dead Fred (actually Frederick the Ninth, King of High Voltage) while keeping it secret from her bumbling dad (who follows her to school in his beat up Yugo, to make sure she gets there safely) and keeping up with school. Oh! And she has to keep dodging the bridge keeper, a cantankerous old woman named Bridget, who likes to chew on cigars.

This fresh new children’s book from Frank McKinney (yes, the real estate mogul) is an entertaining read that delights the mind with simple and fun fantasy, while also addressing the very real issue of parents letting their children drift away as they enter their teen years.

The book “was born from my experiences walking my daughter Laura (Ppeekk) and her friends to school every single school day of her life,” writes McKinney in the Afterword. “I encourage kids to ask their parents to take the time to walk them to school. … Kids, don’t let your parents tell you they are too busy. Tell them this is the most special time in your life, and that you want to create your own stories and adventures that will turn into memories for you both to share forever.”

What Worked for Me:
The delightful magic of the Good Luck Circle was pure fun. How many times have I wanted to have a magic stick that I could create my own Good Luck Circle with? This book let me live that magic vicariously through the characters.

Also, the way McKinney gets around the “people can’t breath under water” issue was quite clever … and plausible, in a magical kind of way.

The character of Ppeekk was well developed, and though he wasn’t a major character, so was her father.

What pulled me out of the story:
I think Quatro’s intellectual bent was a little contrived. Sometimes he was just too erudite for a 13 year old … but that got better as the story progressed. It’s not that I don’t think a kid can be smart … I was the smart kid growing up. Kids used to tease me because I used “big words” like “average” instead of normal. It didn’t matter to them that those two words mean entirely different things. Whatever. It’s just that his dialogue came off a little forced and choppy.

Also, when Mini Romey was introduced there were a few typos … her name changed from Mini Romey to Mini Romney and back again. And it took too long to explain her name. At first, I thought her first name as Mini and Romey was her surname. Nope. Not the case. She’s the second Romey in her family, named after her mother.

Would I Recommend the Book?
Yes. Minor problems aside, I enjoyed reading the book … even though I’m most definitely an adult. I think a child or young adult would enjoy it even more. You can learn more about the book at its website, www.dead-fred.com.

SCORE: 4 out of 5 Palm Trees Possible

NOTE: Although I received this book free to review, that did not affect my opinion of the book. Read past reviews of books I’ve received for free and you’ll know I don’t hold my punches.

The Saturday Nightmare Expo is really hoping the hungry, shuffling undead will be stopping by this year’s event. To encourage this, they’ve invited George Romero, along with most of the original cast of Night of the Living Dead, to discuss the movie.

In addition, the opening night will feature a showing of Roy Frumkes’ new updated and re-mastered documentary, Document of the Dead.

Other screenings include Dawn of the Dead and Creepshow.

Additional Guests Include:

	Ken Foree, Actor Genre Movies: Dawn of the Dead (1978 & 2004), Knightriders, Death Spa, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Sleepstalker, The Devil’s Rejects, Rob Zombie’s Halloween Genre TV: “Remington Steele,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” “Knight Rider,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Quantum Leap,” “The Flash,” “M.A.N.T.I.S., ” “Babylon 5,” “The X Files”
	Adrienne Barbeau, Actress Genre Movies: The Fog, Swamp Thing, Creepshow, Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death, Unholy Genre TV: Return to Fantasy Island, The Darker Side of Terror, “Fantasy Island,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Babylon 5,” Burial of the Rats, “Sliders,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”
	Joe Pilato, Actor Genre Movies: Dawn of the Dead, Knightriders, Day of the Dead, Alienator, The Evil Inside Me, Wishmaster, The Ghouls Coming in 2011: Night of the Living Dead: Origins
	Russ Streiner, Actor, Writer, Producer Genre Movies: The Return of the Living Dead (Writer), Night of the Living Dead (1968 & 1990 - actor, producer) Coming in 2011: Escape of the Living Dead (producer)
	Joshua Turi, special effects make-up artist Genre Movies: Dark City, Class of Nuke ‘Em High Part II: Subhumanoid Meltdown, I Am Legend

For more information: www.saturdaynightmares.com

Just found these headlines:

• Anaheim makes bid to lure Comic-Con from San Diego
• Anaheim wants Comic-Con to go up, up and away from San Diego
• Comic-Con may change hosts when contract with San Diego expires

What could this mean? My first thought is that there may be more media guests because it’s closer to L.A. But, it could also take it further away from its comics roots. What do you think?

Talk about a travel read! You can now read a new Transformers comic on your iPhone through the www.titanpublishing.com/digital.

Alas, these comics are only available in the UK and Ireland.

The stories are written by Simon Furman, who has this to say about the downloadable comics for the iPhone: “The stories, written by me and drawn by a host of old and new Transformers artists, bring the movie characters to life as never before, and now they can be seen as never before! So get ready for tales of Cybertron and Earth that spotlight your favourite characters… and probably a few you know only by name… beamed direct to your iPhone.”

At least that’s what the press release said he said. I sincerely hope he doesn’t really talk like that.

It is a dream of mine that The Genre Traveler be a TV show … maybe something like Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations … only focused on genre locations. I’ve been dreaming a lot about it lately and I thought, what if someone came to me and said, “O.K. We want to make this happen and we’ll start with 9 episodes. What will those episodes be?”

Here’s my answer.

First, some background:

• In an ideal world, the number of episodes per season would be divisible by three so that science fiction, fantasy and horror can get equal play.
• Also, I think that all three world conventions … because they move and they are the biggies … should be featured every season.

The following episodes are not necessarily in order.

Science Fiction Episodes

World Science Fiction Convention 2010

The Genre Traveler goes down under to the 68th World Science Fiction Convention in Melbourne, Australia. She chats it up with author Kim Stanley Robinson, Aussiecon Chair Robin Johnson, and genre artist Shaun Tan. Along the way, she visits the dealer’s room, checks out the art show, converses with local fans and even does a field trip or two to see where films such as Salem’s Lot, Where the Wild Things Are and Queen of the Damned were shot.

Science Fiction Museum in Seattle, Washington

In which The Genre Traveler gets a grand tour and a behind-the-scenes look at the Science Fiction Museum. Then, she takes a tour of “genre” Seattle, checking out locals where films such as The Last Mimzy, Cthulhu, The Ring 2, Ring, Rose Red, Practical Magic, Starman and War Games were shot.

Science Fiction in Wine Country

The Genre Traveler visits Northern California for a tour of Skywalker Ranch, and visits various locations used in genre films and books, such as Dr. Doolittle, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Monkeybone, Star Trek IV, and more. Along the way, she tastes some fine wine, reminisces about growing up in Sonoma County and bumps into the director of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Francis Ford Coppola.

Fantasy Episodes

World Fantasy Convention 36

The Genre Traveler heads out to Colmbuas, Ohio, to shoot the breeze with World Fantasy Convention guests of honor, novelist Dennis L. McKiernan, writer and editor Esther M. Friesner, famed editor David G. Hartwell, and professional illustrator Darrell K. Sweet. Of course, she also checks out the vendor’s room, chats up some local fans and generally enjoys the festivities planned. Then she heads north to Cleveland to visit locations used in such genre films as Spider-Man 3, Howard the Duck and Double Dragon.

The Land of Oz

Wizard of Oz author, Frank L. Baum used the L.A. cityscape as inspiration for the Emerald City of Oz. The Genre Traveler takes you through a fantastic voyage of the City of Angels, as seen through the eyes of fantasy authors and filmmakers, including Ray Bradbury, Joss Whedon and more.

Children’s Fairyland, Oakland, Calif.

The Genre Traveler embraces her inner child for a voyage through the 10-acre Children’s Fairyland park in Oakland, California. With some time to spare, she also visits the locations of such Oakland-shot films as Burnt Offerings, A View to a Kill and Phantasm.

Horror Episodes

World Horror Convention

In which The Genre Traveler heads out to Austin, Texas for to scare up some fun at the World Horror Convention. She chats it up with horror comic icon Steve Niles, novelist Sarah Langan, author Joe Hill and artist Vincent Chong, among others. Of course, she take a couple of field trips to see the local genre sites, including filming locations for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies.

Stephen King’s Maine

Famed master of the macabre, Stephen King takes The Genre Traveler on a tour of his favorite locations in Maine … places he’s used for inspiration, or just plain likes.

A Day with Rob Zombie

Horror rocker turned horror director, Rob Zombie takes The Genre Traveler ona tour of his favorite haunts, while talking about his career and latest projects.

Want even more ideas? Here are a few I just would need to research further, but they did come to mind:

• Chackie Chan’s Hong Kong
• A Dracula Tour of Romania
• A Lord of the Rings Tour of Australia
• Tagging Along with The Legend of the Seeker in New Zealand
• Lost in Hawaii
• The Spy Museum in Washington, DC
• The Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, West Virginia
• Comic Con in San Diego
• Pretty much any science fiction, fantasy or horror convention around the world
• Hiroyuki Sanada’s Tokyo
• A Genre Tour of Prague
• A Very Sanctuary Vancouver (tour of the real and green screen sets, as well as the city
• The UFO Festival in Roswell, New Mexico

Got any ideas of your own? Please share them in a comment below!

Earlier this week SyFy aired Sunshine, the 2007 film, written by Alex Garland and directed by Danny Boyle (both worked on 28 Days Later), about a group of astronauts on a mission to re-ignite the dying sun. I remember when it first came out it had a bit of fan fare and then just seemed to peter out. But I TiVo’d it anyway, primarily because Hiroyuki Sanada (The Last Samurai, Speed Racer) was in it and I’ve gained a renewed interest in his work because he’s currently on Lost, playing the temple guardian, Dogen.

I must admit that I was a bit disappointed to find Sanada had hardly any lines in the film and was killed off barely halfway through. Erg.

But that’s O.K. I continued to watch out of curiosity and, the movie also had another favorite actor of mine, Michelle Yeoh (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Tomorrow Never Dies). I’ve always loved the grounded energy she brings to her roles.

The basic plot of of the film is this: 50 years in the future, our sun is dying and the Earth has been plunged into a new glacial period. A first mission to re-ignite the sun, Icarus, disappeared. So now eight astronauts on Icarus II are just about to enter the “no comm” zone on their attempt to deliver an atomic bomb into the sun. The hope is that the bomb will cause a mini-supernova and kick-start the sun again, saving everyone on Earth.

Hiroyuki Sanada	Michelle Yeoh

As they enter the point where communication to Earth will be cut off, they hear a distress signal coming from the original Icarus mission. Did they survive? Should they continue with the mission or rendezvous with the Icarus to see if they can save any survivors? It’s been a little more than six years since the first mission disappeared … so the likelihood that anyone survived is pretty small.

After much contention, they decide to alter course … but in doing so a miscalculation causes damage to their solar shield and from that moment on their mission faces one challenge after another.

Over all, the pace of the film was rather slow. I believe it was meant to be more of a psychological thriller, but I don’t think it succeeded there either. The tension was never fully built, the imagery was often confusing, and the dialog too often came off disjointed.

Cillian Murphy	Cliff Curtis

Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins, 28 Days Later) as Cappa, who’s blend of masculine and feminine good looks makes him fascinating to watch, was pretty much the star of the film. Although, ostensibly, Cliff Curtis (10,000 BC, Virus), as Searle, the creator of the bomb, really should have been.

Searle opens up the film with introductory dialog and introduces the underlying spiritual theme of the film. But it is Cappa who, as the physicist on the crew, makes most of the decisions about how to complete the mission, and he’s also the one who finally gets the job done — even after a surprise twist happens when they dock with the Icarus.

Chris Evans

Although, I do have to say that Chris Evans‘ (Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) strong performance as Mace gives Murphy a good run for the money. Mace is opinionated and aggressive/assertive … but is goal is heroic: save the Earth despite the sacrifices required.

Sunshine was interesting and, at times beautiful, but I can’t really say I’d recommend it. It’s quest for mood made it slow moving, and the slow pace seemed to sabotage both story and character development. I think the concept was sound by something fell apart along the way to the final cut. I found myself having to back up often, just to re-look at something I didn’t get the first time. I also fidgeted … something I only do if I’m not completely riveted by the film.

Sunshine’s filming locations include: Stockholm, Sweden; the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia; and Three Mills Studios in London.

Have you ever wanted to travel to the exotic places portrayed in the James Bond films? Well, if you act quickly, you can take advantage of a unique theme travel event: Operation EURO2010:Bond, Bourne and Beyond.

The folks at Theme Party People are taking 45 people on an exclusive tour of Italy, Switzerland and France with access to the film locations and lifestyle of James Bond, Jason Bourne and a host of other famous film characters.

“Our ‘mission’ will be to bring the filmmakers perspective to the locations we are visiting and share insights to the film productions for our guests,” say Richard and Leslie Skillman the team behind Theme Party People.

Operation EURO2010 is an exclusive 11 Day Bus/Train tour of Europe, as seen and experienced through James Bond’s most famous films, as well as visits to other film sites from The Bourne Identity, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and more!

Dag! I wish I could go.

Full mission details can be found here.