Tuesday Link-a-Mania

Transformers 2
The stakes will be higher the tone more SF in the Transformers sequel, co-writer Roberto Orci tells Sci Fi Wire . "It's got a little more of a sci-fi element. ... The bad guys are little more coherent in terms of what their plan is and what they're attempting to do. So it feels more like more of a sci-fi battle." He also says the robots will be playing a bigger role: "The first movie was predicated on the structure of a mystery, at which point, at the midpoint, the Transformers are revealed. This movie is structured differently in that you now know there are Transformers in the world, and therefore you can get right to them. As a result, there's kind of more Transformers throughout the movie."

Tougher Connor
John Connor will toughen up in season two of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, according to Thomas Dekker, the actor who plays him. In an article on Sci Fi Wire Dekker says, "From the get go we kind of had this arc together in mind. And I was very happy with last season that people were disappointed by the fact he was kind of whiny and immature, because we wanted to bring [him being a fighter] in later. And I think we'd intended to bring it in near the end of the first season, but then when the writers' strike killed it… It's actually better to introduce the new season and the new John. We're all different. And in a weird way, Sarah and John are splitting more and more this season, yet he's becoming more and more like his mother, in the warrior sense."

Warners Discovers Lost Planet
Warner Brothers is teaming up with Japanese games giant Capcom to produce a big screen version of the game Lost Planet, reports Variety . X-Men, X2 and Watchmen scripter David Hayter is adapting the story, which is about an expedition to an ice planet in search of an energy source. It's gopt to be better than Capcom's Street Fighter movie, anyway.

Ricci Helps Save Grace
Sppoky-eyed Adams Family and Mermaids star Christina Ricci will be appearing in three episodes of US cable channel TNT’s drama Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter, which hopefully will increase the show's chance of getting bought by a UK broadcaster soon. The series, which sounds hopelessly gloopy when you hear a synopsis – an Angel tries to help off-the-rails cop become a better person – is actually a hard-bitten,potty-mouthed telefantasy of the cultist order. Variety reports that Ricci will play a young detective who temporarily partners with Grace.

Chuck's New Woman
The Faculty and The Fast and the Furious star Jordana Brewster will be joining the cast of Chuck for a multi-episode arc is season two. According to Zap2It.com Brewster will play Jill, the college flame who ditched Chuck and slept with his best friend Bryce. "You will get an opportunity to see Chuck back in college with Jill and how it all went down," says producer/creator Josh Schwartz. "Jordana was our first choice for the part -- someone you believe as beautiful enough to break Chuck's heart, and brilliant enough to be even smarter than he is..." He's supposed to be a nerd, for Chrissake! How does he get all these beautiful women? It’s not even like he wears National Health glasses.