Now, female cast member Sigourney Weaver is helping to set the record straight by stating in an interview with Channel4 that ‘Ghostbusters 3′ is a definite go. What’s more (SPOILER WARNING!!!), she let’s it slip Bill Murray will be returning not as a Ghostbuster… but as a ghost. It seems like a half-joke when she says it, but this video of Murrary hamming it up with David Letterman the other night adds an alarming amount of credibility. The two joke about long-delayed prospect of G-3 and Murray claims that he told the writer’s that he’d only do it if they figured out a way to kill him off in the first reel of the film.

If you believe either source, this certainly seems like a viable and realistic option when considering Murray’s reclusiveness as an actor, especially where the roles that made him famous are involved.

Back when news surfaced that ‘Futurama’ was to return to Fox, expectations were high; the world has progressed so rapidly in the show’s cancelled years, lending ample opportunity for the writers to lampoon whatever the hell they want… this time with an eager audience on the receiving.

Newsarama.com caught up with Phil Lamarr, one of the show’s voice actors, who had this to say concerning to rebirth of an animated cult sitcom:

“We started last fall. Fall of 2009…the new episodes, in my opinion, are the best yet. They’re really, really funny. Some of them are really, really thoughtful as well. The guys have come back to the show with renewed energy. The writers and producers. And they’re happy to be back, and know the world and the characters so well that they’re able to…it feels like they’re better at it. They’re able to do more with it than they were before.”

You can read the interview in its entirety here.

No mystery, however, has been more profound and affecting than the journey of John Locke. Once a tragically crippled man angry at the world, then a born-again spiritual penchant to the island, and now… the smoke monster? It’s true. The island’s supernatural security system of sorts — a murderous, elusive column of black smoke — has baffled and intrigued viewers since the shows first episode (long before they ever knew what it was). Presumed at this point to be a mystical incarnation of the benevolent Jacob’s nemesis (dubbed the “Man in Black”), who duped Ben — in the guise of Jack’s father — to kill John Locke, eventually inhabiting Locke’s body as a duplicitous loophole of sorts… eh, see what I mean? Exasperating.

Thankfully, Entertainment Weekly sat down with Terry O’Quinn delve into the secrets about Locke, Un-Locke, Smokey, the Man in Black, whatever you want to call him, and to a greater extent, what it has been like to play a character whose motivations are constantly shifting in one of the most elaborately constructed shows in television history. Enjoy.

Before you re-open the book tonight with the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, do yourself a favor and spend some time with the man who is responsible for all the bold brush strokes in this work of art that is LOST, executive producer and co-creator Damon Lindelof. He gives a stellar interview with Collider.com (link below) wherein he expresses, amongst other things, his immense gratitude for being allowed to end the show on the terms he and his writing staff have decided on and his reaction to the Trekkie-like fan following that has encompassed his creation over the years.

So, may Jacob watch over you, may your constant be with you and may the Island grant you destiny. It’s been a long time since we started asking ourselves the questions, and tonight, it looks we we’re going to start getting some answers.

Namaste.

http://www.collider.com/2010/02/01/damon-lindelof-interview-lost/

First, you need to remember that this screening was held months before even the poster art for the film was released. All that was known about the elusive project was that it was going to be the most technologically significant instance in cinema since the introduction of Technicolor (or so Cameron notoriously insisted). Virtually every question the audience could come up with was an attempt to extract some morsel of substantiated information about Avatar that they could go home and blog about. Cameron didn’t budge on much in the way of the story, but he did offer some candid information regarding the work that went into achieving such extraordinary images. At the time, without any kind of visual reference, it felt like a lot of mile-a-minute technobabble; you needed a dictionary in your pocket just to keep. Regardless, it all sounded assuredly revolutionary, and time, of course, ultimately proved that it was.

Popularmechanics.com recently posted a dizzying interview with Cameron that goes in-depth about the technical process of bringing the film to life. It’s remarkable how well spoken the man is off the cuff. The video interview is an absolute must for those who are interested in the filmmaking process, or anybody who wants to take a stab at understanding just how the hell this man managed to transport you to another planet. Watch it for yourself!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aao0YSITuxc

Last night in Beverly Hills, Sci Fi Crush got the chance to speak briefly with Damon Lindelof, executive producer of Lost and co-writer of the upcoming Star Trek sequel.

The hit ABC series, Lost, approaches its sixth and final season in 2010.  Lindelof described writing the last episodes to be “an enormous emotional experience” and confirmed that the show’s ending has been in the works since the very beginning.

The writer also promised Lost fans that all of the show’s loose ends will be tied up in a fair and satisfying way.  ”We hope that all who put their faith in us to resolve these stories will be rewarded.  We’ve really been writing this season for the fans.”

Damon Lindelof also produced this summer’s reboot of Star Trek and has been working with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci on developing the sequel.  ”It’s in the preliminary stages,” he said, “We’ve thrown around some cool ideas, but that’s it.”

Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are up for an Emmy for their two-parter Lost episode, “The Incident.”

We wish them all the best.

From reading your website, fans can see that you have a huge variety of interests, like genealogy and archaeology, as well as exciting life experiences.  How do these interests and experiences play a role in inspiring your work?

It’s a good thing for a writer to be curious. One of the least useful things to take (for me, being a Latin major) was English. I know grammar.  And a good writing teacher who’s teaching writing instead or in addition to writing is amazingly rare. So if you’re on tour and the guide wants to know who wants to ride the camel, you volunteer. You never stay in the hotel when your traveling partner is going to look at cathedrals. You get up and go.  You just never know what you’ll need.

It seems that one of the universal traits of successful writers is perseverance.  Could you talk a bit about your own experiences in battling through rejection and any advice you’d have for young writers striving to break in?

Any time you can look at something on the stands and say, “I can do better than that,” set that book on a shelf and read a passage any time you feel down. Luck and persistence means that after every single other would-be writer has thrown in the towel, you’re still there with a manuscript.  Nothing sells in a drawer. Always have something submitted.

In contrast, the publication of Gate of Ivrel in 1976 must have been a huge moment in your life.  What was that feeling like?  Did it give you more confidence as a writer?

Ha. Everyone I could have told was out of town. For a week. I remodeled my office with my modest check, and when next the family visited, I said, matter of factly, when they marveled at the office (furnished a la Sears): “Oh, I sold a novel.”

You’ve created several worlds, including the Alliance-Union universe and the Foreigner universe.  What do you enjoy most about jumping from one universe to the other?  Is there anything you dislike about it? 

Don’t get me started. Now that the distributors (looking mostly for tie-ins) dictate what does and doesn’t get to the stores, you’ll start a world with a premise, and then your poor editor has to say no to the next one. So you keep leaving pieces of your soul behind in limbo and trying yet again. I felt sorry for Roger Zelazny, whose Dilvish the Damned got caught in a publisher mess, and didn’t foresee that the new age of publishing would do that to all of us, over and over and over.

So many movies these days are adaptations, either of novels, comic books, old television shows, or classic movies.  Have any producers approached you about adapting your work into a movie franchise or television show?

Now and again. Even currently. But since most movies are really a short story and I’m not a short story writer, that sort of is a problem. A movie can’t handle multiple plot lines.

You’re known for creating such original worlds, which makes Lois & Clark: A Superman Novel such a rarity since you were contributing to the DC Comics Universe, which dozens of writers had been developing since 1938.  How did you feel about writing famous characters as Superman and Lois Lane?

I did it because they offered me the chance to ’set the character of Lois Lane for the modern age.’ And since myth is something I know from Classics, I view this as kind of a modern myth, and was interested to work with it.

In 2001, Don Wells and Alex Cruz named an asteroid, the 77185 Cherryh, in your honor.  How did that make you feel?  Did you meet (or already know) Wells and Cruz?

I don’t know them, but I was extremely honored. I kept having real-world computer problems, so it took me forever to get back to them on it, but I am delighted. I just hope it keeps its distance from Earth. I’d hate to become notorious.

What are some of your new projects that fans should look forward to?

I’m gathering up my backlist, fending off the pirates, and issuing my own legitimate e-books under the Closed Circle label, along with Jane Fancher and Lynn Abbey.

Is there anything you’d like future pioneers of science fiction and fantasy to explore further?

Whatever’s on the horizon. And do it optimistically. Anybody can whine about impending doom. SF writers are supposed to think their way through problems—the literature of ideas, after all.

I know that War of the Worlds was the film that made you want to get into writing. Can you talk a little bit about its influence on you and what you thought of the new Spielberg version?

When I was just a kid, this film made my imagination explode. It was exciting, scary, and really involved me. I wanted to tell stories like that. I read the Wells book when I was 8 years old and loved it. In high school, I got hooked on Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of War of the Worlds (and two years ago saw it performed live in Melbourne, Australia). But the Spielberg version…sigh. Some good scenes, but it missed the target by a long shot. Please, just watch the original George Pal version. Please.

You talk about your big collection of rejection notices for writing while you were working a day job and trying to follow your passion. Can you talk a little bit about what was going through your mind during those days, knowing you had this talent inside you but struggling to find the correct path to express yourself? A lesser person might have given up.

I kept writing and submitting and, I hope, getting better. I knew the odds were against me because even editors of small magazines received way more submissions than they could possibly publish. But I took it as a challenge, and I was very goal oriented. I had dozens of stories in the mail at any one time, and then I started working on novels. It’s like training to become an Olympic athlete — you can’t expect to try once or twice and then get the Gold medal. It’s a long process, and I was very determined.

You eventually got stories published and even novels that were critically acclaimed but had not been quite as successful financially. You then made it as a writer in an artistic sense which is what most of us strive for when we are starting out, but you weren’t selling as many books as you wanted. What was that feeling like? Did you ever think about giving up?

The books weren’t bestsellers, but they did sell enough that the publishers kept offering me contracts for further books. When I broke into the business, I thought that publishing a novel or two would be enough to establish my career so I could make a living… Not quite. In Colorado, I spend a lot of my time climbing mountains, and there’s a phenomenon called the “false summit” — because of the steepness of your ascent (like the tough climb to becoming a professional author), you might be fooled by a lesser summit in front of you that blocks the real summit that’s much further away. I struggled very hard to get one short story published, and once I accomplished that, I had to work just as hard to get a professional sale, and then to publish a novel, then to get a multi-book contract, then to have a bestseller, then to earn enough to support my family completely with the writing . . . And it keeps going. I could always see a bigger challenge, a greater reward, and I kept plodding along.

Let’s jump forward a few years – your editor at Bantam submitted samples to Lucas Film unknowingly. What was that phone call like when you were informed that they wanted you to write three sequels to the Star Wars films? Were you intimidated to be stepping into such a big franchise with some of the most dedicated fans?

It was a jaw-dropping experience, absolutely unexpected — and an amazing expression of faith from both Lucasfilm and Bantam Books. I realized immediately that my life and my career had just changed dramatically. It was a daunting task to step into one of the most beloved franchises, but I was a big fan myself, and Lucasfilm had read my books and had decided I was the right writer for the job. For some fans (many of them frustrated authors themselves), *nobody* would be acceptable to write SW, but you don’t write for them. You write for the majority of the fans, the ones who love Star Wars and want to follow the characters into the Extended Universe.

When did you find out that Darth Maul was going to be using a double edged light saber in Star Wars Episode 1 similar to the one you had created in the Star Wars comics? Was it a thrill for you to have such an influence like that?

We first found out about it when we saw the trailer for Episode 1. It was quite a thrill. In the Tales of the Jedi series, created by me, Tom Veitch, and Christian Gossett, we had Exar Kun use the double lightsaber. Now, since we were working for Lucasfilm, they own all the ideas we added to the stories; I am very pleased that George found the idea so interesting that he decided to use it.

How did you make the transition from the Star Wars universe over to the X-Files and Dune universes? Do you have a favorite world to write in?

Chris Carter, creator of the X-Files, had read my Star Wars books and enjoyed them enough to specifically request me as the author of his XF novels (Chris even did some book signings for my novel GROUND ZERO because he liked it so much.) The Dune books are a little different, though, because Brian Herbert and I are really the only ones working on the project (with approval from the Herbert estate). I have not worked in a media universe that I did not already love, but I feel I have invested the most in the Dune novels with Brian.

I know that your new Dune novel with Brian Herbert THE WINDS OF DUNE which is the sequel to DUNE MESSIAH is coming out this week. Can you tell me a little bit about it?

Frank Herbert’s classic DUNE MESSIAH ends with Paul Muad’Dib — blind and despairing, having lost his beloved Chani — simply turning his back on his turbulent empire and his newborn children and walks off into the desert, abandoning everything. The next novel, CHILDREN OF DUNE, begins nine years later, skipping over all the terrible chaos and disruption. Our new novel THE WINDS OF DUNE fills in that gap, describing how Lady Jessica, Gurney Halleck, the Regent Alia, Duncan Idaho, and Stilgar struggle to hold the unraveling empire together.

Just recently released was your novel THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. What a great title! Can you talk about how the idea came about to write this?

I’ve always been fascinated by sailing ships and bold explorers who search for unknown lands. I set the story in a fantasy world very much like our Europe in the Age of Discovery, when Prince Henry the Navigator sent out great explorers to chart Africa. In my novel, though, sea serpents are real, and a little bit of magic…and a clash of continents and religions.

Equally amazing is the crossover music CD which you collaborated with your very talented wife Rebecca Moesta. What is it like collaborating with your spouse? And how did you begin to put together the Dream Team of Progressive Rock legends on the accompanying CD?

Those are two big questions. Collaborating with my wife–well, we always work together, even on our individual books. But we’ve been married 18 years now and we’ve done nearly 30 books together, so I think we’ve figured it out.

As for the rock CD companion to THE EDGE OF THE WORLD — that was an amazing crossover project, something rarely seen in our field. Since I was always influenced by rock music while I write (Rush, Kansas, Styx, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, Tool)…and I knew that a lot of those musicians were influenced by SF/F. So why not marry the two? Working with Shawn Gordon, owner of the label ProgRock Records, we developed a synergistic music CD –writing the lyrics, adapting part of the novel — that was produced in tandem with the novel. We got an incredible lineup of performers: Erik Norlander, renowned keyboardist and composer, his wife Lana Lane (the Queen of Symphonic Rock), James LaBrie from Dream Theater, John Payne from Asia Featuring John Payne, Michael Sadler from Saga, the violinist from Kansas, the guitarists from Shadow Gallery and Ghost Circus, and more. We called our super-group Roswell Six, and the CD is doing incredibly well; it’s gone into a second pressing only a few weeks after its initial release. You can hear several sample tracks on www.myspace.com/roswellsix.

One of the more legendary relationships for Comic Book fans is Batman and Superman. How did you prepare yourself to write about the meeting of the minds and partnership that takes place in ENEMIES & ALLIES? Did the new Batman films influence the book much?

I’ve been preparing to write ENEMIES & ALLIES for much of my life, because I’ve long followed the comics, the films, the TV shows, the cartoons featuring Superman and Batman. The Christopher Reeve films, the new Batman films, the Frank Miller comics, the Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale versions of the characters. By setting the novel — the first meeting of Batman and Superman — in the 1950s during the Cold War and the flying saucer craze gave me an opportunity to place them on a fresh stage and also play upon the deep nostalgia I feel (and I think many fans feel) for these characters.

Finally, can you talk a little bit about the state of the publishing industry and how it is affecting genre books? Where do you see the future of publishing going?

I don’t think anybody has much of a clue! Are e-books the future? I have a Kindle and I love it…but will it replace print books entirely? Should I turn my library into a rec room instead? Major publishers are cutting their old bread-and-butter midlist sections of genre SF/F…but other publishers are picking up the slack and releasing plenty of titles. I think the good stuff will rise to the top and the mediocre stuff will settle out, but for the average author it’s getting harder and harder.

Now for our lightning round of questions. Please pick the answer you like better and feel free to comment if you like!

Steven King or Dean Koontz?

Yes.

Moon or Mars?

It’s awfully hard to get to Mars unless you set a base on the moon first.

Apple or PC?

I identify much more with Justin Long than John Hodgman.

Twilight Zone or Outer Limits?

Outer Limits.

Pancakes or Waffles?

All those carbs? Give me bacon and eggs, please.

Regular or Decaf?

If I drank decaf, how in the world would I ever meet my deadlines?

New York or LA?

LA — the drivers are less crazy, and you can find a parking place.

Superman or Batman?

Read ENEMIES & ALLIES to find out.

Sci-Fi Crush met up with the beautiful ageless, Nichelle Nichols at Comic-Con 2009. She was very excited about her new webisode. She was kind enough to take some time to get us caught up on her new project.

SC: Hello Ms. Nichols, tell us about what you are promoting?

NN: This is my new webisode that Im doing- its called the Cabonauts.

SC: Who wrote it?

NN: It is written by Hayden Black who is a brilliant comedy writer.

SC: What is it?

NN: I am pleased to be playing in the first scifi musical comedy webisode.

SC: What do you play and what is it about?

NN: I own a cab. I play the role of CJ and I own this cab out in outer space, and its this rickety old cab . We will have Hayden Black driving the cab and we are always running into problems. But we have some of the most iconic celebrities as passengers over a period of time.

SC: So sort of like Taxi in Outer Space?

NN: Yes! Exactly. There you go.

SC: Thank you Ms. Nichols for taking the time to talk to us. We’d let you drive us anywhere!

For more information about Nichelle’s new project go to http://cabonauts.com/

SC: I know you go to a lot of conventions how does Comic Con compare to other ones?

LC: It doesn’t compare! Ive never been to anything of this magnitude. It’s like bananas in here right now.

SC: A little overwhelming?

LC: Its not really overwhelming, its just like trying to get through the crowds. People are always trying to take your picture and they are bumping into you and crazy, but its fun!

SC: When you first started acting did you ever think you would be at a place like this?

LC: Well I didn’t even know that conventions existed so I wasn’t really into this scene. Now I am! But I mean, no I didn’t (laughs)

SC: So its all kind of new?

LC: Yeah, the convention thing is all kind of new to me but I’m loving it. I’m geeking out!

SC: I guess everybody is. I know that your character Kat in Battlestar Galactica  is headstrong and assertive. Do you share any of those traits in your own personality?

LC: Sometimes I do. It depends on what day you get me on or what situation I’m in. Kat was put in situations that me Luciana would never be put in. I’m not a Viper pilot, I’m not at war with anybody, you know, so I don’t know, under those circumstances, Yup, I created her right? So.

SC: So I know you’re Canadian…

LC: Yeahhh.

SC: Do you hang out with a lot of Canadian actors?

LC: I wouldn’t really say that, I mean we all kind of keep in touch

SC: What about upcoming projects?

LC: I have 2 movies coming out. One is called Phantom Racer and one is called Fast Track with Brian Austin Greene and Jeffrey Combs