J.J. Abrams, the man behind Lost, Alias and Mission: Impossible III, is about to add another sci-fi classic to his résumé. Paramount recently handed the 40-year-old writer-producer-director the reins to one of its most revered projects: the next Star Trek film. Abrams will produce the movie with Lost cocreator (and fellow Trekker) Damon Lindelof. Abrams recently called from his Pacific Palisades, California, home, where he was hanging with kids (and budding sci-fi fans) Henry, Gracie and baby August, to chat about sci-fi, the th
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Question: You wrote recently about An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, but wasn’t it an episode of The Twilight Zone, not a movie?
Answer:
La Rivière du Hibou/An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge was entered into both the short-film competition at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the award for best live-action short subject, and to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, whose members gave it an Oscar in 1963. It was picked up for a one-time airing as Episode 142 of The Twilight Zone on Feb. 28, 1964, shortened by about 10 minutes and given English-language credits. In his introduction, host Rod Serling explained the episode's provenance and its unique place in the anthology show’s history. The Twilight Zone version of Occurrence is available on DVD on the disc Treasures of the Twilight Zone (Image Entertainment), al
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Tonight at 10 pm/ET, NBC's Medium enters a new dimension — the third one, to be exact — with the broadcast of a special episode introduced by a "resurrected" Rod Serling and featuring scenes that, when viewed through 3-D glasses (available in the current issue of TV Guide), will literally leap out at viewers. The premise facilitating the 3-D segments: Psychic Allison Dubois (played by Emmy winner Patricia Arquette) has eye-popping visions when she looks at the paintings of a troubled young artist.
Who planted the seed of this idea in series creator Glenn Gordon Caron's head? None other than the artist formerly known as Pee-wee Herman. "I was reminded of my enthusiasm for 3-D at a party Patricia had," he tells TVGuide.com. "Th
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Question: One of my favorite shows from around the late '60s to early '70s took place on a deserted island, where a bunch of college-age students were marooned after their airplane crash-landed. Since they were stranded, they decided they were going to build a new civilization and not make any of the same mistakes the "establishment" made back home. I think it was called The New People or something along those lines. I'd love to know more about the series and who starred in it. Thanks a lot!
Answer: It was indeed called The New People and, though the legendary Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery) was credited as the creator, it was an Aaron Spelling affair. It enjoyed a very brief run on ABC, from September 1969 to the following January.
In what was apparently supposed to be an e
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