Jeanne Robinson, dancer, choreographer, teacher and Hugo and Nebula winning co-author of three science fiction novels known as The Stardance Trilogy
with her husband Spider Robinson, died Sunday of bilary tract cancer at the age of 62.

Robinson studied dance at the Boston Conservatory, and at the Martha
Graham, Alvin Ailey, and Erick
Hawkins schools. She performed with the Beverly Brown Dance
Ensemble in New York and served as the artistic director of Halifax’s
Nova Dance Theatre, where she choreographed more than thirty original
works. In the seventies she created the concept of zero-gravity dance in the
Hugo Award-winning novel Stardance. In 1980 NASA asked her to dance in space aboard the Space
Shuttle– an invitation withdrawn when the Challenger explosion ended the
Civilian In Space Program.

She is survived by her husband of 35 years, her daughter Terri, and her granddaughter Marisa. She was a wonderful woman and will be missed. Our hearts go out to her family.

Spider writes about her and her passing here.

In case you were sleeping off the three-day weekend and missed it, director Guillermo Del Toro withdrew from The Hobbit, announcing in a press release leaded to The One Ring that MGM’s inability to green light the production forced his move. Del Toro has an extensive deal with Universal Studios carrying him through 2017 and his window to direct the two films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novel was rapidly closing.

You sit there wondering why on Earth such a no-brainer of a decision isn’t just handed down. And there hangs a sad tale.

The Hobbit’s rights are controlled in part by MGM which currently is considering bids for a sale given its bleak financial outlook. The once mighty studio that proclaimed it had more stars than were in the heavens has floundered and day to day operations have been virtually halted with the exception of its television unit, which recently sold a 12-episode series to MTV.

By not having the funding to mount big budget films to replenish its coffers, not only has The Hobbit been stalled but work on the studio’s one perennial cash cow, James Bond, has been suspended. EON Productions’ Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced several weeks back that all work on the 23rd installment of the series had been halted, which means Daniel Craig’s tenure as the spy may prove short-lived. The hedge funder holders who now control the studio’s fate began soliciting bids back in the fall of 2009 and today the sole bid outstanding is $1.5 billion from TimeWarner. The debt holders, who bought the outstanding obligations of about $3.7 billion for sixty cents on the dollar, had anticipated reaping $2 billion for the studio and its assets.

Those assets not only include 007 but an extensive film library that hungry media outlets need to fuel the future demand for entertainment on mobile devices and beamed straight to televisions.

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We couldn’t begin to guess how ComicBookMovie.com got their hands on the official synopsis to June 17, 2011’s Green Lantern movie, but we’re delighted to share the contents with you.

“In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan.

“Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle, and along with his determination and willpower, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity. With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax…he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all.

“Martin Campbell directs Green Lantern from a screenplay by Greg Berlanti & Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim and Michael Goldenberg, story by Greg Berlanti & Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim, based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. (more…)