Movie & TV News: Avatar, SAG Strike?, TV DVD News, Daredevil, Alice in Wonderland, Comic Previews

Avatar
James Cameron has this to say about the tech involved in making the new film: "The way we developed the performance-capture workflow on 'Avatar" is we have our virtual camera, which allows me, in real time, to hold a camera -- it's really a monitor -- in my hands and point it at the actors and see them as their CG characters. Once we've laid down a take, the take exists in the digital asset management system. It can be accessed at any time. Long after the actors have gone home, I'm still out there with the virtual camera, shooting coverage on the scene. I just have to play the take back. I can do the close-up, the wide shot ... I can even move them around on a limited basis. We relight it. We do all kinds of things."

SAG Strike?
News Corp COO Peter Chernin, whom many credit with the compromise that ended the writers' strike, is saying that the current impasse with the Screen Actors Guild is "a source of enormous frustration." Chernin insists that the studios want to give SAG the same deal they negotiated with the Writers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Chernin added: "Nor do the difficult economic times justify a better deal for anyone else. It's hard for me to understand why a deal that's good enough for key, key creative partners -- the writers, the directors and the 40 percent of the actors represented by AFTRA -- isn't good enough for SAG." And what if those other groups got a bad deal?

TV DVD News
TVShowsOnDVD.com has posted info about "Good Times" (Complete Series) here, "Sanford and Son" (Complete Series) here, "Quark" (Complete Series) here, "The Partridge Family" (Season 3) here, "NewsRadio" (Complete Series) here, "Reaper" (Season 1) here and "Night Gallery" (Season 2) here.

Daredevil
The rumor mill that is the internet has a story poppping about Jason Statham and Frank Miller creating a second Daredevil movie. The possibility of Statham as Matt Murdock and Miller directing is making the a reboot of Marvel's blind attorney look possible. Statham said: "Absolutely, just give me the chance, I would love to be Daredevil." Miller reportedly thinks Statham perfect, and would like to return to the comic that kick started his career.

Alice in Wonderland
Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider blog reports that Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are reteaming for a 3-D retelling of "Alice in Wonderland." The blog says that Alice: "will be live action until Alice (played by Mia Wasikowska of HBO's In Treatment) jumps down the rabbit hole and meets the loopy tea party host. The big question is whether Depp himself will don a Hatter outfit, or lend his voice to the computer-generated version." The film is expected to begin shooting early next year, with a 2010 release date projection. Linda Woolverton penned the script.

Comic Previews
Comics Continuum has posted preview pages of
The Amory Wars II #3,