Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Alice

9/4/09 – SCI FI Wire reported that Syfy's upcoming miniseries Alice offers a modern take on Lewis Carroll's Alice novels. A grown-up Alice (Caterina Scorsone) finds herself in a futuristic Wonderland when the Queen of Hearts (Kathy Bates) kidnaps her. Alice seeks an ally in the White Knight (Matt Frewer), a character from Through the Looking Glass.  "He's a knight of old, and the knights in this version have died off," Frewer said. "He's the one remaining crusader who will champion Alice's cause. That's the idea. He's actually gone mad, as a result of too much time on his own. He's basically a sort of separate case that is wandering about and looking for a fight. Alice provides it."  Writer/director Nick Willing interpreted a lot of Carroll's literary creations for his own Alice. The White Rabbit is not a single character, but rather the Queen's army. The White Knight underwent some adaptation, too. Certainly in Carroll's Alice sequel, he was not a reliable ally.  Alice airs this December on Syfy.

6/9/09 – SCI FI Wire reported that Kathy Bates and Tim Curry are among the stars cast in SCI FI's upcoming four-hour movie event Alice with an eye to a December debut.  Bates stars as the Queen of Hearts, and Curry is Dodo in the movie event.  They join Caterina Scorsone as Alice, Colm Meaney as the King of Hearts, Philip Winchester as Jack of Hearts, Matt Frewer as the White Knight, Andrew Lee Potts as Hatter, Alessandro Juliani as 9 of Clubs, Timothy Webber as Carpenter, Alex Diakun as Ratcatcher, Zak Santiago as 10 of Clubs and Eugene Lipinski as Doctors Dee and Dum.  The movie centers on Alice Hamilton, a fiercely independent twentysomething who suddenly finds herself on the other side of a looking glass. She is a stranger in an outlandish city of twisted towers and casinos built out of playing cards, all under the rule of a deliciously devilish Queen who's not very happy about Alice's arrival.  Nick Willing wrote and directed Alice.  Serving as executive producers are Matthew O'Connor and Lisa Richardson from Reunion Pictures, Jamie Brown from Studio Eight and RHI Entertainment's Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi Jr.

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