Movie & TV News: MGM Direct to DVD, Marvel Sweepstakes, Terror Train, The Lightning Thief, Mike Fright, Comic Previews

MGM Direct to DVD
MGM has announced its development slate for Direct to DVD films, that includes two based on SCI FI Channel's "Stargate SG-1" ("Stargate: The Ark of Truth" and "Stargate: Continuum"). MGM will release 12 or more projects per year, primarily based on popular film and television franchises, here is a list of the genre titles:
*"Audrey Rose," a remake of the 1977 film, to be written by Andrea Meyer
*"Pet," a horror-thriller written by Jeremy Slater
*"Angelmaker," written by Alexander Vesha
*A film based on the Showtime series "Dead Like Me," written by Steven Godchaux and directed by Stephen Herek
*"Species: The Awakening,"
*"Wargames: The Dead Code," based on "WarGames."

Marvel Sweepstakes
Marvel Entertainment is having a sweepstakes in which the top prize will be a walk-on role in an upcoming Marvel Studios film. The sweepstakes will run until 11:59 p.m. ET Aug. 10. Each Fan can enter only once. Other prizes include: Three first-prize winners will win collected editions of Marvel comics, fifteen second-prize winners get a 12-issue subscription to one of Marvel's hottest comic series. Click the headline to enter.

Terror Train
Nu Image is mounting a remake of the 1980 film "Terror Train." Writer-director Gideon Raff will begin production this summer in Bulgaria. (Now here's a movie the Muses are screaming for a remake.)

The Lightning Thief
Chris Columbus, once the hottest director in Hollywood, has been missing from the scene since "Rent." Now he is in talks to direct "The Lightning Thief" based on the first novel in Rick Riordan's best-selling "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. The story follows a young boy who discovers that he is the descendant of a Greek god and sets out (with the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena) to stop the ongoing battle between the gods. The project will be for Fox.

Mike Fright: Stand Up!