Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Battleship

7/27/11 - New trailer released.  www.battleshipmovie.com

9/7/10 – Variety reported that Liam Neeson is joining the cast of Universal's Battleship alongside Alexander Skarsgard, Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker and Rihanna.  Deal was announced Tuesday, the same day director Peter Berg began shooting the live-action film based on Hasbro's naval combat board game.  Neeson will portray Admiral Shane alongside Kitsch, who portrays Shane's future son-in-law. Decker is playing Shane's daughter. Skarsgard will play the brother to Kitsch's character.  Universal has set a May 18, 2012 release date, which takes place across the seas, over the skies and land in a battle for planet survival against a superior force. Kitsch stars as a naval officer who leads the fight.  Battleship is being produced by Scott Stuber through his U-based Stuber Pictures; Sarah Aubrey and Berg for Film 44; Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir of Hasbro; and Duncan Henderson.  Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber wrote the screenplay, with revisions by Brian Koppelman and David Levien.

8/17/10 - Brooklyn Decker has joined the cast of Universal's Battleship.  Pete Berg is directing the adaptation of the Hasbro game, which is going into production at the end of August in Hawaii.  Decker will play one of the female leads, a character named Sam who is described as being able to "surf, fight, dance and crush the NY Times crossword puzzle. (She) has driven a motorcycle around the world twice."  The character is the love interest to the naval commander played by Taylor Kitsch.

8/13/10 - With a budget of $200 million and no major movie stars on board, the Universal project Battleship is raising questions whether the expensive gamble will pay off when the film comes out in 2012, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "It's a big bet like many, many big bets from many studios," Universal chairman Adam Fogelson said. "We will be nowhere near the high point and nowhere near the low point of what people are spending."  Universal has a director, Peter Berg, with some experience in action films, but he's not a brand name in the genre. And the concept is based on a board game that has sold more than 100 million units and raked in $1 billion-plus.  By far the most significant entry from the relatively new regime of Fogelson and co-chairman Donna Langley, "Battleship" is based on the Hasbro game about naval strategy that has been around since World War I. Berg has come up with a modern twist: making Battleship a movie about an alien invasion at sea.

6/18/10 - Alexander Skarsgard has signed to star opposite Taylor Kitsch in Battleship, Universal’s sci-fi tentpole adaptation of the Hasbro game, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Peter Berg is directing the action-adventure movie, which adds an “alien invasion” element to the screen story. The script, by Jon and Erich Hoeber, revolves around an international fleet coming together to battle a water-bound armada of otherworldly origin.  Skarsgard will play Kitsch’s brother, a straight and narrow naval officer whom Kitsch, a wildly spirited naval officer, idolizes.  Berg is producing Battleship with Film 44 partner Sarah Aubrey, Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir and Scott Stuber.  Jeffrey Kirschenbaum and Anikah McLaren are overseeing for Universal.

4/8/10 - Taylor Kitsch is boarding the big screen Battleship, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Kitsch will star in Universal's action/adventure film, slated for a May 2012 release.  Peter Berg will direct.  While the classic board game the movie is based upon was set in the world of naval strategy, the film will focus on a fleet of battleships that go to battle against a water-bound alien armada.  Kitsch is playing a Naval commander named Alex Hopper, described as "wildly spirited" and "a great seaman but a lousy politician."  Kitsch became a fan favorite with his role as Remy LeBeau/Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

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