Body-snatching aliens to invade big screen in 2013

Silver Screen Saucers

ComingSoon.net reports that William Hurt is in talks to appear as the character of ‘Jeb’ in the upcoming adaptation of The Host – Stephanie Meyer’s 2008 science-fiction romance novel about alien entities (called “Souls”) who silently take over Earth by invading the minds of its inhabitants. The plot is officially described as follows:

“Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves – Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love."

The Host is to be directed by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, Lord of War). It is scheduled for release March 29, 2013.

Spielberg's 'E.T.' came close to being a horror

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

One of the world’s most beloved family films – E.T. The Extraterrestrial – was very nearly a nightmarish horror; this according to the film’s director Steven Spielberg, who recently told Entertainment Weekly of his 1982 classic:

"It was going to be called Night Skies, based on a piece of UFO mythology... where a farm family reported little spindly grey aliens attacking their farm, even riding cows in the farmyard. This farm family basically huddled together for survival... It's a story that's well-known in the world of ufology, and we based our script on that story."

Spielberg is, of course, referring to the Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter of 1955, which is regarded as one of the most significant and bizarre UFO cases on record. It is also one of the best-documented.

Spielberg tells Entertainment Weekly that he even went so far as to hire legendary effects designer Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London) to bring the impish Hopkinsville Kentucky aliens to life on the big screen, adding that E.T. only transformed into a family film when Harrison Ford's then-girlfriend Melissa Mathison came onboard to rewrite the screenplay. "Melissa didn't want to write it,” Spielberg says, “I needed Harrison and all of us to talk her into it."

Related:

Spielberg's Saucer Secrets

Reagan Wasn't Joking, and Spielberg Knows It

Wisdom

Our oldest known albatross is back this week.  "Wisdom" was banded in 1956 as a nesting adult and was estimated to be at least 5 years old at the time, so we say that she'll turn 61 this season.  She still looks exactly like all of the other birds.  We can't find any way to tell her apart from the young Laysan albatrosses.  Most of the Black-footed albatrosses have laid their eggs now, and the Laysan albatrosses are still laying them.

People around here are getting pretty chilly.  It was 64 this morning.  It has also been mostly windy and rainy for the last week, so normal winter weather is here.

If you haven't checked out Chris Jordan's Journey to midway page recently, it's worth looking at again.  He and his crew have posted a new video clip called, MIDWAY IV – A dream of a dying Albatross.  It's really well done.  Here's the site:  http://www.midwayjourney.com/

This is Wisdom on her egg.  It's only a couple of yards from her spot last year.  You can see there's a Bonin petrel burrow in the lower right corner of the photo that goes right under her nest.  The ground should be stable enough to hold the nest.

Most of the island population got out to say goodbye to John Hanna, the retiring DBSI (formerly Chugach) manager.  Don't pay any attention to that giant shadow right in the middle of the pic, ok?

 

The female Short-tailed albatross is taking her turn on the nest surrounded by Laysan and Black-footed albatross.



Anne and Karen are collecting beach trash in our Eastern Island marine debris plot that we check monthly.



This is Brackish Pond.  Which is a brackish water pond (hence the name) made by the Navy for non-potable water.  Those ironwood trees all died from the storm and tsunami washover, which bathed the trees in salt water for a couple of months.

The Thai King's birthday is tomorrow (Dec. 5), so it will be a holiday for the Thai workers.  Here's part of the holiday display that was put up in the Clipper House.

Tom Cruise to star in back-to-back ET invasion flicks

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Sakurazaka's graphic novel

Variety reports that Tom Cruise has agreed to star in All You Need Is Kill – a big screen adaptation of Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s graphic novel about a soldier in a future war against extraterrestrials known as ‘Mimics’ who finds himself stuck in a Groundhog Day-style time loop and is forced to relive his last day over and over again after being killed. With each new resurrection the soldier’s skill improves, giving him the chance to change not only his own fate, but that of humanity.

All you Need is Kill will be directed by Doug Liman for Warner Bros. Cruise is expected to start work on the movie in late 2012, making it an alien-packed year for the star. In March, Cruise will begin work on Universal’s Horizons – a $100 million sci-fi epic directed by TRON: Legacy helmer, Joseph Kosinski, adapted from his forthcoming graphic novel, Oblivion. 

Earlier this year, Variety said of Horizons:

"Cruise is set to star as Jack, a man who lives in the clouds above Earth and heads to its surface to repair drones that essentially keep the planet safe from an alien race that has all but wiped out humanity.

There are two key female characters -- Victoria, Jack's right-hand woman and lover who serves as his eyes and ears while he's on repair missions, and Julia, his fiancee on Earth before the alien invasion.”

Artwork from the forthcoming graphic novel Oblivion, on which the movie Horizons is to be based

Although All You Need Is Kill and Horizons share obvious narrative themes – and Tom Cruise as leading man – director Doug Liman has insisted that the two movies will be “completely different.”

Horizons is due for release in July of 2013; All You Need Is Kill will follow later in the same year or in early 2014.

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New 'John Carter' trailer - HD

Silver Screen Saucers

Disney has released its new, full trailer for John Carter...



'Prometheus': high-res photos

Silver Screen Saucers

20th Century Fox has released high-resolution promotional shots for Ridley Scott's Alien prequel Prometheus. These come via ComingSoon.net...

Prometheus will be unleashed in cinemas June 8, 2012.