Oh, I can’t stand the suspense! This week, the 34th annual Saturn Awards handed out their usual fare of achievement recognizing statues.

In the event you aren’t aware of what they are, the Saturn Awards are the honors handed out by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. The Academy has been delivering their awards for over thirty years and they look to recognize cinematic achievement.

It’s a recognized validation of the genre we so fervently appreciate.

Some of the more noteworthy recipients of the awards:

Walt Disney Studios picked up three awards, ABC’s Lost snagged four awards, and 300 picked up 2 awards.

I don’t know how long this alternate ending to I Am Legend will last but if you get a chance, you should watch it if you’ve seen the movie. This ending is IMHO far superior to the abrupt version in the theatrical release, and fits in better with something that happens in the film about midway through.

I didn’t post this up earlier because it was only available on YouTube, and videos of this sort get yanked pretty quickly and them I’m left with a useless post.
GameTrailers.com has a version which I’ve embedded below, which will hopefully hang around a bit longer.

I don’t generally do box office posts but I thought I would this week for a few reasons.

First, I Am Legend is heading for a monster opening at about $76 million. I wonder how much of that box office number is attributable to the trailer for The Dark Knight and the six minute prologue in the IMAX version?

Second, last week I predicted that The Golden Compass would bring in about $11 million this weekend. It looks like I was a bit optimistic because it’s on track for earning just over $9 million. It’s also earning more overseas than here in the U.S. as I also predicted.

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: Despite a few problems, Will Smith makes this update of The Omega Man work.

The plot of I Am Legend is pretty obvious from the trailers and commercials, so it’s not so much about surprises and plot twists as much as it’s about experiencing what Will Smith’s character goes through. At this, the movie succeeds very well.

I Am Legend is the story of a viral cure for cancer gone horribly wrong. As the film opens we see a television interview with a scientist who has succeeded in modifying a deadly virus so that it cures disease instead of causing it. The initial reports are extremely encouraging, with thousands of cases of cancer completely cured.

Of course we know what the final outcome will be and watching that news segment will cause you to cringe in your seat.

It’s raining I Am Legend trailers today. There’s a new U.S. version and a new international trailer for the movie. While I liked the first U.S. trailer, this new on is IMHO pretty damned boring. On the other hand, the international trailer really makes me want to see the movie.

The film opens mid-December, stars Will Smith and seems to be a twist on the old Sci Fi movie The Omega Man which starred Charlton Heston. Smith plays the last man left on Earth after some sort of catastrophe wipes out everyone else. Of course he’s not really alone… eventually some rather creepy characters start showing up, no doubt mutated by whatever happened, and they look suspiciously like vampires to me.

Thanks to the folks over at the ever-on-top-of-Batman-movie-news site Batman-on-Film.com here are a couple of answers to questions people have about the upcoming Batman Begins sequel: The Dark Knight.

It’s been asked whether the Joker-centric footage that will be shown ahead of the IMAX version of I Am Legend will be something specifically produced for that or if it will be an excerpt from the actual movie. The answer is that the footage (which comes out in December) is the first 5 minutes from The Dark Knight. I’d heard 7 minutes, but whatever - at least now we know what it is.

Of more importance, Chris Nolan gives a hint as to the plot of the movie as related to The Joker, and I think it is VERY good news!

[UPDATE: Oops, sorry folks, it's been pointed out to me that this pic is NOT new. My apologies... I try to stay on top of these things but I hadn't seen this image before and assumed it was new. Do read the rest of the story, though!]

There’s a rumor (this hasn’t been confirmed by Warner Bros.) that there will be a seven minute preview of The Dark Knight playing in front of Will Smith’s upcoming sci-fi film I Am Legend, but only in IMAX theaters. No doubt they’re doing this because parts of The Dark Knight are being shot in the super-hi-res format.

For certain movies I always try to catch the IMAX version if it’s available. I think that IMAX to regular movie theaters is like regular movie theaters to big screen TVs.

Sheesh, it’s easy to fall behind on this movie news stuff… miss a couple of days and there’s tons of new info out on all kinds of movies. So here’s a quick grab bag of news for ya…

Bill Shatner has no idea what’s going on with Star Trek 11. Are they sure they’re going to put him in it? TrekWeb