Watch A Discussion With The LOST Creators At The Movies

Don’t miss this compelling in-depth conversation with the masterminds behind ABC’s “LOST.” Hear executive producer Carlton Cuse and co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof reveal the challenges of crafting a finale that satisfies themselves as storytellers, and the show’s legion of fans.

They will be interviewed by New York Times entertainment editor Lorne Manly and the event will be broadcast Live via satellite from The Times Center in New York for only one night, on Thursday, May 20th, at 8pmET / 7pmCT / 6pmMT and tape delayed at 8pmPT exclusively to select movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada.

Tickets on sale now HERE.

Stephen King To Appear on FX’s Sons of Anarchy

Stephen King will make a special appearance on Sons of Anarchy when the biker drama returns for a third season on FX this September. The famous horror author will play a quiet loner who appears in Gemma’s (Katey Sagal) time of need. The producers learned that King was a fan of the drama, so they reached out to the author for a possible cameo. King will appear in the third episode.

Goldfish Cracker Anatomy

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Get Out Of There

If you ever get a phone call and the person on the other end of the line says to you “Get Out of There!” you pretty much know that death awaits you if you don’t comply.

Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share by Ken Denmead

Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share by Ken Denmead is the ultimate DIY project guide for techie dads raising kids in their own geeky image, in the spirit of The Dangerous Book for Boys.

Today’s generation of dads grew up more tech-savvy than ever. Rather than joining the Little League team, many grew up playing computer games, Dungeons and Dragons, and watching Star Wars. Now with kids of their own, these digital-age dads are looking for fresh ways to share their love of science and technology, and help their kids develop a passion for learning and discovery.

Enter supergeek, and father of two, Ken Denmead. An engineer and editor of the incredibly popular GeekDad blog on wired.com, Ken has created the ultimate, idea-packed guide guaranteed to help dads and kids alike enjoy the magic of playtime together and tap into the infinite possibility of their imagination. With illustrations throughout, this book offers projects for all ages to suit any timeframe or budget. With Denmead’s expert guidance, you and your child can:

- Fly a night-time kite ablaze with lights or launch a video camera with balloons

- Construct the “Best Slip n’ Slide Ever,” a guaranteed thrill ride

- Build a working lamp with LEGO bricks and CDs

- Create a customized comic strip or your own board game

- Transform any room into a spaceship

- Make geeky crafts like cyborg jack-o’-lanterns or Ethernet cuff links

Brimming with endlessly fun and futuristic tidbits on everything from gaming to gadgets, GeekDad helps every tech-savvy father unleash his inner kid-and bond with the next generation of brainiacs.

The 240 page paperback book can be ordered HERE for $11.56.

Get Your Comic Book & Movie News On THE FIRE WIRE

For those of you who are Facebook users, please become a fan of THE FIRE WIRE HERE.

What Is J.J. Abram’s “Super 8″?

J.J. Abrams’s top-secret new movie whose clandestine trailer (read about its contents HERE) hits theaters this weekend attached to Iron Man 2.

“You have to check (out the trailer),” he told New York Mag. “But it has nothing whatsoever to do with Cloverfield, despite your expert reporting.” So what does it have to do with? “I won’t be able to tell you until it’s done,” he said. So to clarify: Super 8 — another virally marketed Abrams-produced movie featuring otherworldly creatures captured on film by amateur cinematographers — will be totally unconnected to Cloverfield.

Abrams confirmed that the top-secret clip was sent to theaters in canisters that could only be opened with a special code.

Get LOST In This Week’s Issue of Entertainment Weekly

With just a few precious hours of LOST left before the Island drama fades to (Man in) Black on May 23, this week’s Entertainment Weekly pays tribute to the ABC show with LOST: The Complete Viewer’s Guide, a special package with everything you need to know to get ready for the epic finale. First up, an in-depth preview of the final episode. Entertainment Weekly’s own Jeff “Doc” Jensen was on set for the last days of filming and shares intel from the Island, including what it was like to be there for all the tearful goodbyes. He also reveals teases for the final few episodes, finds out what the actors plan to do next, and suggests some possible Lost spin-offs to keep the franchise rolling.

But the weekly magazine is just getting this mysterious, time-traveling party started. Next: a flow chart (guaranteed not to make your brain hurt) explaining how all the castaways are connected, which is followed by an oral history of how it all began — the making of the pilot episode of LOST. Show creators J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, as well as the entire cast, share stories from the set of what would turn out to be the most expensive pilot in television history, and explain why it ended up being worth every single penny. EW then provide handy dandy (graded) recaps of every single season, hook you up with a Lost A-Z Glossary, and take you on an eerie blast into the past as we host a gathering of some LOST souls who died before their time. It’s everything you need to know to get ready for the finale. And then just a little bit more. It’s a package so formidable, in fact, that it could not even be contained to a single cover. Or two. Or three, even. Try 10! That’s right, 10! Each of your favorite Losties (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke/Fake Locke, Ben, Claire, Hurley, Sun, Jin, and Sayid) gets their very own cover: Check back at EW.com soon for a look at all 10, then order ‘em all to complete your collection. For more on LOST, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on stands May 7th.

The Canon EOS Rebel T2i

The Canon EOS Rebel T2i ($900) is the latest DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) camera from Canon, offering a number of improvements over the T1i it replaces. Highlights include 3.7fps shooting, ISO up to 6400, an 18-megapixel CMOS sensor, 1080p video at both 30 and 24 fps with full manual exposure control, an iFCL 63-zone dual-layer metering system, a 3-inch LCD, support for SDXC memory cards, and a 9-point AF system.

The new flagship of the EOS Rebel line features an advanced HD Movie mode for gorgeous Full HD movies. Able to capture up to 3.7 frames per second, it’s ready to go the minute it’s picked up. Advanced Live View, a new wide-area screen, plus features like Canon’s brilliant Auto Lighting Optimizer and Highlight Tone features ensure brilliant photos and movies, easily. With some of the most advanced features of any digital SLR, it’s simply the best Rebel Canon has ever created.

THE FIRE WIRE Review of Iron Man 2

Last night I had the opportunity to see an early screening of Iron Man 2 and here is my take on the film.

Iron Man 2 kicks off the 2010 summer popcorn season with a busy, slightly uneven but fun “roller coaster” ride of a movie.

The film is not as good as its predecessor; it’s hard to beat a good origin story although Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was able to accomplish it with superb acting and a great story.

I had two issues with Iron Man 2. The movie tried to pack too much into a two-hour window by dizzying the audience with multiple plot lines. Within the sequel, Director Jon Favreau attempted to cover the following topics (spoilers ahead):

- Tony Stark should be considered a weapon of mass destruction and the US government wants his technology (Garry Shandling does a bang up job portraying an asshole politician)

- The Iron Man suit that keeps Tony alive is also killing him causing him to step down as CEO of Stark Industries. The moviegoer is also introduced to the beginnings of Tony’s alcoholism

- A Russian riddled with revenge named Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) wants to destroy the Stark Family name and becomes the primary villain (Whiplash) in the story

- There is a backstory about Tony’s Dad, Howard Stark (John Slattery) and his relationship to his son and Vanko’s father

- A sleazy arms competitor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) wants to ruin Tony Stark and “steal” the government weapons contract from him

- Rhodey (Don Cheadle) has to decide who his allegiance belongs to, the US Army or his best friend, Tony

- Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and they possibly want to recruit Iron Man for the Avengers initiative setting up for the upcoming Avengers movie

- A budding romance continues between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow)

See what I mean, that’s a lot to pack into 120 minutes. I do applaud Favreau for being true to the source material and ultimately making a movie that will please the fans. In comic book terms he tried to pack a giant sized annual issue into a monthly 32 pager.

My second peeve was that the pacing of the story was a bit haphazard saving the major action sequences until the end. I would have preferred the action sequences to be spread out more evenly but this would have been difficult based on the beefy storyline outlined above.

On the plus side the special effects and gadgetry in the film were amazing. The thunderous sounds throughout the movie hit listeners smack dab in their chests and then reverberated through the entire theater. Robert Downey was great (again) reprising his role as the cocky playboy Tony Stark. He’s perfect for the part and I can’t think of anyone else to play the character. I loved all of the comic book references and easter eggs throughout the movie and fanboys will love the lithe and limber leather clad Scarlett Johansson for obvious reasons; her fight scene resembled a living comic book – very cool.  The suitcase and Mach IV armor coupled with War machine’s swiss army knife weaponry were top notch! The action in the third act was awesome however the ending seemed to finish abruptly will a dull thud.

This is coming from a die hard comic book fan so I am a bit biassed. I would have cut a couple of plot lines and saved them for the inevitable Iron Man 3. Did I enjoy the movie…absolutely, yes! If you are looking for a fun film with wonderful special effects and would like two hours of enjoyable geeky escapism, brave the long lines this weekend and check out Iron Man 2.

Win Stephen King’s New Book “Full Dark, No Stars”

Veryfinebooks.com just announced a new contest:

Don’t miss your chance to win a First Edition of Stephen King’s

upcoming new book “Full Dark, No Stars”.

Ten lucky people will be chosen at random when the book

is finally released.

Register your contest entry here

About the Prize

Full Dark, No Stars: A new collection of four never-before-published stories from Stephen King.

# Hardcover: 352 pages
# Publisher: Scribner (November 9, 2010)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 1439192561
# ISBN-13: 978-1439192566

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are Under the Dome, Just After Sunset, the Dark Tower novels, Cell, From a Buick 8, Everything’s Eventual, Hearts in Atlantis, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Lisey’s Story and Bag of Bones. His acclaimed nonfiction book, On Writing, is also a bestseller. He was the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Maine with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Enter Contest Now

X-Men: First Class Gets Director And Release Date

Fox has closed a deal with Matthew Vaughn to direct “X-Men: First Class” and has set a date of June 3rd, 2011, for the film.

Vaughn’s involvement had been on and off, with negotiations resuming yesterday thanks to the involvement of producer Bryan Singer. Another factor had been Fox’s desire of wanting to have a finished film for next summer, making the search for a director who can deliver a quality film a priority.

On top of that, Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, who worked on Marvel’s “Thor” movie, did a rewrite on the “First Class” script that convinced execs that making a movie for next year was possible.

Singer, who conceived the story for “First Class” and was to initially direct the movie before choosing to focus on “Jack the Giant Killer” for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, is producing along with Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg.

According to Fox, “First Class” will “chart the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were the closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.”

Read The First Two Chapters of Chuck Palahniuk’s New Book

Chuck Palahniuk, the author of Fight Club just released a new book yesterday entitled “Tell-All”. Below you can download a peek at the first two chapters.

Publisher’s Weekly describes the novel as follows: “Palahniuk’s rude sendup of name-dropping and the culture of celebrity worship revolves around the fate of Katherine Kenton, a much-married star of stage, screen, and television, living in obscurity and searching for a comeback vehicle. Her story is told by Mazie Coogan—her Thelma Ritterish, straight-shooting confidant and protector—whose warning system sounds when Miss Kathie meets Webster Carlton Westward III, who quickly seduces his way into her Manhattan townhouse. It’s soon revealed he’s working on a memoir about his affair with Miss Kathie, the last chapter of which ends with her anticipated death, the details of which keep changing.”

Download chapter 1 of Tell-All.

Download chapter 2 of Tell-All.

Trailer for Machete

Here is the trailer for Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis’ Machete, opening in theaters on September 3RD. The feature version of the “fake” trailer from Grindhouse stars Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Marin, Jeff Fahey, Don Johnson and Steven Seagal.

The premise of the film is as follows:

A highly skilled Federale Machete (Danny Trejo) is hired by some unsavory types to assassinate a senator. But just as he’s about to take the shot, he notices someone aiming at him and realizes he’s been set up. He barely survives the sniper’s bullet, and is soon out for revenge on his former employers, with the reluctant assistance of his old friend Cheech Marin, who has become a priest and taken a vow of nonviolence. If you hire him to take out the bad guys, make sure the bad guys aren’t you!

Coming Soon: Use Your Visa By Waving Your iPhone

You’ve probably seen contactless payment terminals before. They’re used in many stores, restaurants, and other locations, with either a smart credit card containing a secure memory card or some sort of fob being used to make the payment. You just wave it at the terminal, and you’ve paid your bill.

Visa and DeviceFidelity are working on a way to let iPhone users make payments by waving their iPhones in front of contactless payment terminals. They’ll be offering an iPhone case with an embedded secure memory card that hosts Visa’s payment application, Visa payWave.

Any place you find a Visa contactless payment terminal, there will also be a potential spot for iPhone users to pay for goods or services using their Visa credit card account. Security is still important: Visa notes that the mobile payment application can be protected with a password, and that users will have to treat the case as if it were a credit card, calling the bank if it gets lost or stolen.

Market trials of this service are expected to start this summer. It’s an interesting proposal, but we’ll have to see what the case looks like.

ABC Extends LOST Finale By Extra Half-Hour

The producers of ABC’s hit drama have shot so much crucial material for the show’s hugely anticipated series finale that the network has agreed to extend the last episode by an extra half hour.

When the LOST finale airs on Sunday, May 23rd, the episode will run from 9 to 11:30 p.m. The overrun will push back local news, with the previously announced “Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost” post-finale special now airing at 12:05 a.m. ABC is expected to announce the plan on tonight’s episode of Kimmel.

Executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof just completed post-production on the finale — titled “The End” — on Monday night. Both sent out identical Tweets: “We’re done. Amen.”

The supersizing of the finale is the latest adjustment to what might as well be called “The ‘LOST’ Weekend.” ABC is airing an “enhanced” (pop-ups) version of the show’s original two-hour pilot on May 22. On Sunday there’s a two-hour retrospective titled “LOST: The Final Journey,” followed by the finale, then the local news and finally the Kimmel post-show.

TomTom Star Wars GPS Voices

Celebrate Star Wars Day by adding some famous voices to your TomTom GPS. TomTom Star Wars GPS Voices ($13) lets you select Star Wars characters — including Darth Vader, C-3PO, Yoda, and Han Solo as they guide you to your destination in true intergalactic style, while throwing in extras like authentic sound effects, custom screen wallpaper, and character map icons.

Watch Darth Vader during the recording of his GPS voice for TomTom below.

Hugo Weaving Confirmed As The Red Skull In Marvel Studios’ ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’

Marvel Studios announced today that Hugo Weaving has been cast to star as Johann Schmidt aka the Red Skull in the studio’s highly anticipated movie “Captain America: The First Avenger” opposite Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell.  In the early comics, Johann Schmidt was drafted into loyal service of The Third Reich and renamed “The Red Skull.”  The character will be updated for the feature adaptation. Joe Johnston will direct the film penned by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely.

“Captain America: The First Avenger.” Alan Fine, Stan Lee, David Maisel and Louis D’Esposito will executive produce.  The film will be released in the U.S. on July 22, 2011 and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

“Captain America: The First Avenger” will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America.

Weaving was last seen in “The Wolfman” and his voice is very recognizable as Megatron from “Transformers” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” as well as Noah the Elder from “Happy Feet.”  His other film credits include starring in “V For Vendetta,” “The Matrix” franchise and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

In addition to  “Captain America: The First Avenger,” Marvel Studios will release a slate of films based on the Marvel characters including the highly anticipated sequel, “Iron Man 2,” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow on May 7, 2010, “Thor” on May 6, 2011, and “Marvel Studios’ The Avengers” on May 4, 2012.

The Trailer For The American

Alone among assassins, Jack (George Clooney) is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry that his next assignment will be his last. Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde, is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto and pursues romance with local woman Clara. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate. Directed by Anton Corbijn, The American will be in theaters on September 1st, 2010.

Invisible Chair

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines captured the imagination of travelers when they hired magician Ramana to perform his famous levitation trick at Skipol Airport in Amsterdam last December to advertise the benefits of the airline’s new economy comfort option.

The marketing stunt continued at Manchester Airport T2 in February where English passengers passed by a man sitting on what appeared to be an invisible chair, legs crossed, casually reading a newspaper.

All this guerrilla marketing was to advertise the benefits of KLM’s economy comfort product, which grants passengers an additional 10cm legroom as well as enabling them to recline their seat twice as much as a standard economy seat.

My thoughts on how the trick was done (possible spoiler alert for those who believe in real magic):

There is a supportive metal or plastic contoured frame that passes through the man’s shoe and resides under his pants. The frame is rigid enough to support the man’s weight but appears invisible to onlookers and it is hidden by clothing and footwear.

Happy Star Wars Day

Happy Star Wars Day everyone! May the 4th, and the force, be with us all today. Make your own Jib Jab Star Wars video by clicking HERE.

Paper Art By Alexei Lyapunov and Lena Ehrlich

These intricate paper models are incredible! Russian artists Alexei Lyapunov and Lena Ehrlich created these whimsical detailed paper crafts that showcase their patience, sense of humor and skilled craftsmanship.

Double click on the images to view larger.

LOST “The Candidate” Sneak Peeks

Watch a couple of sneak peeks of the new episode of LOST titled “The Candidate” Season 6 Episode 14 airing Tuesday May 4th (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.

In this episode, Jack must decide whether or not to trust Locke after he is asked to follow through on a difficult task.

Guest starring are Alan Dale as Charles Widmore, Kevin Tighe as Anthony Cooper, Sam Anderson as Bernard, Katey Sagal as Helen, Fred Koehler as Seamus, Maile Holck as nurse, Casey Adams as Wheeler, Ken Elliott as orderly, Christopher McGahan as Paul and Alan Seabock as sub captain.

NBC Picks Up J.J. Abrams Fall Drama Undercovers

NBC has picked up its first new series for fall, and it’s pretty much a no-brainer. The Peacock net has given the green light to Undercovers, the highly anticipated new spy drama from J.J. Abrams and Josh Reims.

Undercovers stars Boris Kodjoe (Soul Food) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Doctor Who) as married ex-CIA agents who get pulled back into the spy biz.

“We have tremendous confidence in this promising series and feel this is a great way to kick off our upcoming Upfront development announcements,” said NBC Chairman Jeff Gaspin in a statement.  “J.J. has delivered another signature series along with our partners at Warner Bros and we couldn’t be happier.” Added NBC Prez Angela Bromstad: “Having J.J. on our creative team is a great reason for celebration. In Undercovers, he’s found a breakout couple that is rich in character and brimming with romance and action. We feel he’s found the perfect cast.”

In addition to serving as co-writer, exec producer, and co-creator, Abrams directed the Undercovers pilot.

The official pilot synopsis is below:

“Outwardly, Steven Bloom (Kodjoe) and his wife, Samantha (Mbatha-Raw), are a typical married couple who own a small catering company in Los Angeles and are helped by Samantha’s easily frazzled younger sister, Lizzy (Jessica Parker Kennedy). Secretly, the duo were two of the CIA’s best spies until they fell in love on the job five years ago and retired. When fellow spy and friend Nash (Carter MacIntyre) goes missing while on the trail of a Russian arms dealer, the Blooms are reinstated by boss Carlton Shaw (Gerald McRaney) to locate and rescue Nash. The pair is thrust back into the world of espionage as they follow leads that span the globe — and Steven and Samantha realize that this supercharged, undercover lifestyle provides the excitement and romance that their marriage has been missing.”

Steven Spielberg’s Next Movie Project Will Be War Horse

Steven Spielberg has chosen his next project: War Horse, the World War I story about a friendship between a boy and a horse. It’s been two years since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull bowed, and audiences worldwide have been waiting for Spielberg to choose his next movie. (Yes, he’s been working on the Tintin series with Peter Jackson but that film won’t be released until Christmas 2011.)

In the meantime, Spielberg has turned his sights to War Horse. The project is based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo that was published in Great Britain back in 1982. The adapted screenplay has been written by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) and Richard Curtis (Love Actually). The film, produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Revel Guest will be produced by Dreamworks and released by Disney Studios on August 10th, 2011.