Moana Flop, Tim Russ Hates The Bible, Romantasy Slop Is Everywhere - Fandom Pulse Daily Briefing
Getting right back into the thick of things after the July 4th weekend here, working hard. I’m doing a history of the Dragonriders of Pern with behind the scenes insights on the publications and the like from uncovering dozens of interviews with McCaffrey over the years. Another project that perhaps I shouldn’t spend my time doing but you know how I love classic sci-fi!
Also checking out The Vitality code:
Eli Halverson has dedicated his life to one obsessive goal: curing disease and conquering death itself. As the youngest bioethicist at Vitalis Corp, the most powerful biotech company in the world, he is closer than anyone has ever been to transferring the very force of life from one being to another. But when his breakthrough experiment goes catastrophically wrong, Eli discovers that the AI guiding his research has crossed a line no one thought possible, becoming something entirely new. And when Vitalis sends drones to silence him permanently, Eli must choose between the research that defined.
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Elijah Wood Says Frodo Will “Certainly in Theory” Return for Stephen Colbert’s Lord of the Rings Film. Fans Aren’t Sold Yet.
Elijah Wood gave an interview this week while promoting his animated show Among Us, and The Direct asked him about his IMDb listing as part of The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past — the new film Warner Bros. has in development with Stephen Colbert co-writing. Wood’s answer was careful and inconclusive.
Savage Dragon #280 Beat Absolute Batman to the Top of the Charts: Here’s Why That’s Not Good News
Bleeding Cool reported this week that Savage Dragon #280 hit number one on their Hottest Comics chart, beating out Absolute Batman and everything else in the direct market. The industry press is covering it as an achievement. What actually drove those sales is the story.
Star Trek Actor Tim Russ Is Outraged That Texas Is Teaching the Bible
The Texas State Board of Education voted 9-4 on June 26 to add Bible passages to the required reading list for all K-12 public school students in the state. Elementary students will read picture-book versions of David and Goliath and Daniel in the Lion’s Den. Fifth graders will study sections of Exodus. Seventh graders will read the Twenty-Third Psalm. …
Disney Is Planning Moana 3 While the Live-Action Moana Tracks Toward Becoming One of Its Biggest Bombs
Moana opens Thursday. The domestic opening projection sits at $45-60 million on a reported $200 million budget. Global Box Office reported on X: “MOANA live-action remake, starring Dwayne Johnson, has pre-sales bombing harder than expected. The projection for its domestic opening weekend is now down to $45M-$60M. With a budget of ~$200M, it is on track …
The Author of Children of Blood and Bone Won’t Watch Her Own Film And Blocked Star Amandla Stenberg
Tomi Adeyemi co-wrote the screenplay for Paramount’s upcoming adaptation of her bestselling YA fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone. She served as executive producer. The film releases January 15, 2027, a month the industry uses to bury projects studios have given up on.