Michael Sarrazin, R.I.P.

michael-sarrazin_headThe CBC  reports that Michael Sarrazin (Jacques Michel Andre Sarrazin) passed away April 17th. He was 70.
Michael Sarrazin was a handsome actor, known for a number of genre roles. He played the initially “beautiful” creature in the stylish period monster mash-up FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY (1973),  and the strangely doomed by fate lead in THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD (1975), based on the novel by Max Erlich.

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The "Reversing" Creature - FRANKENSTIEN: The True Story

He also starred in the borderline supernatural thriller EYE OF THE CAT (1969), and played “the alien” in the sci-fi tinged spy thriller THE GROUNDSTAR CONSPIRACY (1972).
Sarrazin appeared in the Rod Serling-scripted THE DOOMSDAY FLIGHT (1966), and starred in THE FLIM-FLAM MAN, with George C. Scott (1967), and THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON’T THEY? with Jane Fonda (1969).
Other genre apperances include: RAY BRADBURY THEATER, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1996), POLTERGEIST: THE LEGACY, EARTHQUAKE IN NEW YORK, THE OUTER LIMITS, played Edgar Alan Poe on MENTORS (2000), EARTH: FINAL CONFLICT,  and the movie FEARDOTCOM (2002).

Big Trouble on 'Terra Nova'?

terranova_LogoDeadline.com is trying to clear up dark rumblings about Steven Spielbergs’ TERRA NOVA time-travel/dinosaur series.
Rene Echevarria (DEEP SPACE NINE, THE 4400), has apparently been enlisted to produce the two-hour pilot, working with fellow STAR TREK vet Brannon Braga, who is set to be the 20th Century Fox /Dreamworks TV series’ “showrunner”.
Back in September  Braga’s co-excutive producer David Fury left the series, and last Friday the rest of the writing staff was “released”, as the show is going on a four month hiatus while the pilot/TV movie is filmed in Austrailia.  It’s expected to take two months to shoot, another two for post production & FX, and cost in the area of $14 Million. That would be a record, surpassing LOST’s $12 Million.
Originally, Fox was planning to go directly from the pilot into a 13 episode production run, but it’s been decided to air the pilot in May 2011, and not premiere the series until the Fall.
If TERRA NOVA ultimately does not go into production as a series, certain costs expected to be armortized over the first season might bring the actual cash outlay to around $20 Million.
The site reports extensive rewrites on the pilot, and the possiblities of cost overruns. See the link above for further details.

'Primeval' Season 4 (& 5?) Cast

Digital Spy reports that Season Four (or Series 4, as the British say) of PRIMEVAL has been completed, and that production of Season Five has begun.
Don’t get too excited, Season 4 is seven episodes, and Season 5 will be six episodes, for a grand total of thirteen.

These new seasons will feature a mixture of old and new members of the Anomaly Research Centre’s team. One might say they’re survivors and replacements of the time anomaly investigating group, as characters have a tendency to get killed off, erased from the timeline, or stranded in the past/future. primeval_s_4_cast
From left to right, the picture shows returning cast members have Abby (Hannah Spearritt) and Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts), newcomer Matt (Ciarán McMenamin), returning Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield) and new recruit Jess (Ruth Kearney).
(Click pic to for larger version)
The ITV-produced show will now be showing on ITV1 and UKTV’s new entertainment pay TV channel WATCH, with the premieres of seasons four and five split between the two.
PRIMEVAL has, ironically enough, been shown in the US on BBC AMERICA— commercial ITV and the public-funded BBC being long-time rivals.
The once-cancelled PRIMEVAL was actually saved by a new production deal in which BBC America and BBC Worldwide became production partners with ITV, Impossible Pictures and German broadcaster ProSieben.
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Perhaps to add more American interest, Alexander Siddig (DEEP SPACE NINE) will be joining the cast as a scientist named Philip Burton, an individual with a proprietary interest in the ARC.
BBC America plans to broadcast the two mini-seasons in 2011.