Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Riverworld (TV)

3/12/10 – Syfy announces Riverworld this spring, a 4-hour television premiere Sunday, April 18 from 7-11 p.m. ET. Starring Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica/Dollhouse), Laura Vandervoort (V/Smallville) and Alan Cumming (Tin Man), Riverworld is an epic adventure featuring familiar characters in an unfamiliar world and is based on the popular award-winning series of novels by Philip Jose Farmer. Riverworld is produced by Reunion Pictures and will be distributed internationally by RHI Entertainment.  Matt Ellman (Penikett) is an American war zone reporter who has witnessed the worst of humanity first-hand, yet still grasps on to an optimistic spirit. When a suicide bomber kills both Matt and his fiancé Jessie (Vandervoort), they awaken separated in a mysterious world where everyone who has ever lived on Earth seems to have been "reborn" along the banks of a seemingly endless river. Determined to locate Jessie, Matt joins forces with a 13th century female samurai warrior named Tomoe (Jeananne Goossen) and American novelist Sam 'Mark Twain' Clemens (Mark Deklin). Together they sail upriver in search of its source, and to discover where they are and who put them there. Cumming guest stars as the mysterious 'Caretaker.'

6/5/09 – SCI FI Wire reported that Robert Hewitt Wolfe, who wrote the upcoming SCI FI Channel four-hour movie event Riverworld, said the film—based on Philip Jose Farmer's series of books—similarly deals with life and how we live in the face of death, but changes the details.  "What I love about the books are they are basically about what happens after we die, and, more to the point, how do we live our lives in the face of death, and what does life mean?" Wolfe said. "The other great thing about the books is the way it throws together people from all over history. It has the famous and not-so-famous from different periods meeting each other. I always found that to be a real exciting concept."  The movie stars Tahmoh Penikett as Matt Ellman, an American war zone reporter who has witnessed the worst of humanity firsthand and yet still grasps on to an optimistic spirit. When a suicide bomber kills both Matt and his fiancee, Jessie (Smallville's Laura Vandervoort), they awaken separated in a mysterious world where everyone who has ever lived on Earth seems to have been "reborn" along the banks of a seemingly endless river.  Determined to locate Jessie, Matt joins forces with a 13th-century female samurai warrior named Tomoe (Jeananne Goossen) and American novelist Sam "Mark Twain" Clemens (Mark Deklin). Together they sail upriver in search of the source and to discover where they are and who put them there. Alan Cumming (Tin Man) guest-stars as the mysterious Caretaker.  Riverworld is slated to air in 2010.

4/7/09 - The lead roles in Riverworld and The Phantom—two of SCI FI Channel and RHI Entertainment's recently announced trio of four-hour movie events—have been cast and production on both back-door movie pilots began on Monday in Canada.  Tahmoh Penikett and Laura Vandervoort star in Riverworld, which is based on the popular award-winning series of novels by Philip Jose Farmer.  Penikett plays Matt Ellman, an American war reporter who has witnessed the worst of humanity first-hand, yet still retains an optimistic spirit. When a suicide bomber kills both Matt and his fiancee, Jessie, played by Vandervoort, they awaken, separated, in a mysterious world where everyone who has ever lived on Earth, seems to have been "reborn" along the banks of a seemingly endless river.  Determined to locate Jessie, Matt joins forces with a 13th century female samurai warrior named Tomoe (Jeananne Goossen) and American novelist Sam "Mark Twain" Clemens (Mark Deklin).  Together they sail upriver in search of its source and to discover where they are and who put them there. Alan Cumming (Tin Man) guest-stars as the mysterious Caretaker.  Riverworld is set to air in 2010.

3/26/09 - SCI FI Channel has given a green light to three two-part movie events, Riverworld, The Phantom and Alice, from RHI Entertainment, Inc., which are set to premiere in the 2009-'0 television season.  Riverworld and The Phantom are also backdoor pilots for potential series, which RHI will distribute.  The two-part, four-hour Riverworld, based on the novels by the late Phillip Jose Farmer, comes to SCI FI in 2010, directed by Stuart Gillard and written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe.  Riverworld tells the story of a combat photojournalist who awakens in a mysterious world where everyone who has ever lived on Earth has been "reborn" along the banks of a seemingly endless river. He embarks on a mission upriver along past friends and new comrades, including a 13th-century female samurai named Tomoe and American novelist Mark Twain.

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