Wednesday News Link-A-Mania

The World’s Most Untimely Reboot?
Winner of the "Most Unlikely Ever To Be Rebooted" Award must be Millennium. Not because it was bad, but because the title of the Chris (X-Files) Carter-produced series about unnatural goings-on (what else) from the late ’90s has – to be it kindly – timelocked the thing. We were all excited about the new millennium pre-millennium, but who gives a flying millennium bug now? Despite that, it seems that an independent film company is interested in resurrecting the Lance Henriksen-starring show, if Screen Rant is to be believed. According to the article, “Lance Henriksen was approached by private investors who wish to make an independent film version of the Carter-produced series… I have heard rumblings that Fox is interested in bringing Millennium back to screens - possibly without the involvement of Chris Carter – and this independent route would seem like a way of doing so. It’s also believed that the studio intends to make another X-Files film, and again it’s possible that Carter won’t be involved. Now, be aware that this is speculation, but also something that I have heard through the grapevine, so there might be some truth to it.” The part of the quote most likely to be true is that if there is a third X-Files movie, Carter wouldn’t be involved considering what a right pig’s ear he made of I Want To Believe…

Oh What A Circus, Oh What A Low-Rating Show
Actor Todd (The Riches/Curb Your Enthusiasm) Stashwick has will have a recurring role on Heroes as Eli, another character in this season’s travelling carnival storyline who has close ties to the carnival's evil ringleader Samuel (Robert Knepper), according to The Hollywood Reporter . It might be a short-lived role, as Heroes’ latest viewing figures are still not improving – the latest episode aired in the US on Monday achieved just 5.6 million viewers. Seems nobody was fooled by those desperate lesbian shenanigans. Meanwhile (spoiler alert) E! Online’s Watch With Kristen column is claiming that a major male member of the original cast will be killed off soon. But it’s Heroes, so they’ll probably only be dead for a couple of weeks.

Hammer Time
The revived Hammer Films, which currently has 15 movies in development, is also moving into the publishing industry, according to Variety . The company has made a deal with British literary agency PFD to pursue book deals based on its slate of properties. Caroline Michel, CEO of PFD says that the agency will look for partnerships with publishers in all territories to "bring new life to the brand with exciting contemporary writers," the way it has done with the James Bond franchise, by tapping scribes such as Sebastian Faulks and Charlie Higson to write books based on the secret agent for different audiences.

Venom Makes Way For Matt Helm
Gary Ross – writer/director on Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, and surprise scripter on the upcoming Spider-Man 4 – was recently rumoured as a possible director for a Venom movie, but now it seems another project may grab his attention first. According to The Playlist , Ross is now attached to a Spielberg-produced revival of Matt Helm, the swinging ’60s superspy played by Dean Martin, who was an inspiration for Austin Powers. The site’s sources reckon that any Venom movie is a long way off, and that Matt Helm is scheduled to start shooting next summer.

Average Age Of Viewers
In a bizarre little article which doesn’t name its sources, The Live Feed has published the average ages of an eclectic bunch of US TV shows, including some telefantasy shows. These inlcude:
• Flashforward - 50
• Eastwick - 49
• Dollhouse - 43
• The Vampire Diaries - 32
Who says it’s kids who are stuck in front of the gogglebox?

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