SyFy Picks up George RR Martin Pilot for 'NightFlyers'

George RR Martin (Publicity photo).

LOS ANGELES - SyFy has picked up the pilot for NIGHTFLYERS based on author George R.R. Martin’s (“Game of Thrones”) novella and the 1987 film of the same name. Jeff Buhler (“Jacob’s Ladder”) wrote the adaptation for television. In NIGHTFLYERS, in the hope of making contact with alien life, eight maverick scientists and a powerful telepath embark on an expedition to the edge of our solar system aboard The Nightflyer - a ship with a small tightknit crew and a reclusive captain. But when terrifying and violent events begin to take place they start to question each other -- and surviving the journey proves harder than anyone thought.

“We are looking forward to diving deeper into George R.R. Martin’s chilling world of NIGHTFLYERS,” said Bill McGoldrick, Executive Vice President Scripted Development for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, “The script that Jeff delivered encapsulates this classic sci-fi horror story and adapts it to a platform where we can truly explore the depths of madness.”

From Universal Cable Productions, NIGHTFLYERS will be executive produced by Gene Klein (SUITS), David Bartis (SUITS) and Doug Liman (“Live. Die. Repeat”) of Hypnotic; Buhler; Alison Rosenzweig (“Jacob’s Ladder,” “Windtalkers”) and Michael Gaeta (“Jacob’s Ladder”) of Gaeta Rosenzweig Films; and Lloyd Ivan Miller and Alice P. Neuhauser of Lloyd Ivan Miller Productions. Robert Jaffe (“Nightflyers,” - 1987) will produce.

NIGHTFLYERS was announced in development as part of SyFy's reboot, which includes previously announced series pick-ups for the highly-anticipated Superman prequel KRYPTON and graphic novel adaptation HAPPY!, starring Christopher Meloni.

SYFY today announced a pilot pick up for NIGHTFLYERS based on author George R.R. Martin’s (“Game of Thrones”) novella and the 1987 film of the same name. Jeff Buhler (“Jacob’s Ladder”) wrote the adaptation for television. In NIGHTFLYERS, in the hope of making contact with alien life, eight maverick scientists and a powerful telepath embark on an expedition to the edge of our solar system aboard The Nightflyer - a ship with a small tightknit crew and a reclusive captain. But when terrifying and violent events begin to take place they start to question each other -- and surviving the journey proves harder than anyone thought.

“We are looking forward to diving deeper into George R.R. Martin’s chilling world of NIGHTFLYERS,” said Bill McGoldrick, Executive Vice President Scripted Development for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, “The script that Jeff delivered encapsulates this classic sci-fi horror story and adapts it to a platform where we can truly explore the depths of madness.”

From Universal Cable Productions, NIGHTFLYERS will be executive produced by Gene Klein (SUITS), David Bartis (SUITS) and Doug Liman (“Live. Die. Repeat”) of Hypnotic; Buhler; Alison Rosenzweig (“Jacob’s Ladder,” “Windtalkers”) and Michael Gaeta (“Jacob’s Ladder”) of Gaeta Rosenzweig Films; and Lloyd Ivan Miller and Alice P. Neuhauser of Lloyd Ivan Miller Productions. Robert Jaffe (“Nightflyers,” - 1987) will produce.

NIGHTFLYERS was announced in development as part of SYFY’s reboot, which includes previously announced series pick-ups for the highly-anticipated Superman prequel KRYPTON and graphic novel adaptation HAPPY!, starring Christopher Meloni.

SYFY today announced a pilot pick up for NIGHTFLYERS based on author George R.R. Martin’s (“Game of Thrones”) novella and the 1987 film of the same name. Jeff Buhler (“Jacob’s Ladder”) wrote the adaptation for television. In NIGHTFLYERS, in the hope of making contact with alien life, eight maverick scientists and a powerful telepath embark on an expedition to the edge of our solar system aboard The Nightflyer - a ship with a small tightknit crew and a reclusive captain. But when terrifying and violent events begin to take place they start to question each other -- and surviving the journey proves harder than anyone thought.

“We are looking forward to diving deeper into George R.R. Martin’s chilling world of NIGHTFLYERS,” said Bill McGoldrick, Executive Vice President Scripted Development for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, “The script that Jeff delivered encapsulates this classic sci-fi horror story and adapts it to a platform where we can truly explore the depths of madness.”

From Universal Cable Productions, NIGHTFLYERS will be executive produced by Gene Klein (SUITS), David Bartis (SUITS) and Doug Liman (“Live. Die. Repeat”) of Hypnotic; Buhler; Alison Rosenzweig (“Jacob’s Ladder,” “Windtalkers”) and Michael Gaeta (“Jacob’s Ladder”) of Gaeta Rosenzweig Films; and Lloyd Ivan Miller and Alice P. Neuhauser of Lloyd Ivan Miller Productions. Robert Jaffe (“Nightflyers,” - 1987) will produce.

NIGHTFLYERS was announced in development as part of SYFY’s reboot, which includes previously announced series pick-ups for the highly-anticipated Superman prequel KRYPTON and graphic novel adaptation HAPPY!, starring Christopher Meloni.

Guitarist Rob Reischak Joins Vaud and the Villains

Brazilian guitarist Rob Reischak joins Vaud and the Villains (publcity photo).

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Acclaimed Brazilian guitarist Rob Reischak is joining noted jazz band Vaud and the Villains for its current summer tour.

“I am thrilled to join the band and be a part of its ongoing legacy,” Reischak said. “Vaud and the Villains have been one of the more influential jazz bands today, bringing a dynamic and melodic sound to today’s music scene.”

Reischak comes to the band after working on his solo tour which included a performance last month at the iconic Whisky a Go Go with actress/singer Glennellen Anderson who is known for her recurring role in the Netflix horror drama “Stranger Things.”

Vaud and the Villains is known for its eclectic performances that feature traditional jazz along with a full-blown cabaret show that features costumes, live singing and dancing that echo a bygone era.

The talented guitarist has been the focus of much attention in recent years, thanks to his unique melodic stylings that blend, pop, rock, jazz and rhythm and blues which have earned him legions of new fans along with accolades and acclaim.

Born in Porto Alegre, in Brazil’s Southern region, Rob took up the guitar at age 14 after he saw his friends take guitar lessons. But as he entered college to study a mechanical engineering while continuing to play local clubs, he realized his future in music lay in America and not in his native land. So he saved his money from performing and from his full time job and was soon off to Los Angeles where he enrolled in Hollywood’s acclaimed Musicians Institute.

“Since I started playing the guitar I had this dream of studying music in the US. The music and musicians that I used to listen to and to study from were all from here. I wanted to go to the place where that music was happening,” he said.

After graduating with honors from the Musicians Institute, Reischak found himself performing on other bands’ records and live shows, gaining a reputation for creative riffs and solos and solid musicianship as well as the ability to go from one genre to another with ease. His talents soon took him to Vaud and the Villains where he has flourished and helped give the jazz band a more modern sound.

Among the musicians he’s recorded with in the studio and performed with are the singer/songwriter Alexandria Corn, the keyboardist Henry Soleh Brewer (Earth, Wind & Fire), and the producer Albert Lim, to name a few. He’s also set to record the next Vaud and the Villains’ album this year. 

For more, visit www.RobReischak.com.

Megyn Kelly's Interview of Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones Sinks in Ratings

Megyn Kelly's interview of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones gained meager ratings for NBC on Sunday (NBC photo).

LOS ANGELES – After much ballyhoo and controversy, the interview of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones by Megyn Kelly ended up dead last in the Sunday’s ratings among the major networks. Even a rerun of a game show beat out the interview of the crackpot right winger.

Just 3.5 million viewers watched this week’s airing of “Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly” which came in dead last among the four major networks during the 7 p.m. time slot, Nielsen Media Research reported.

The show was not only lost out to a rerun of ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” which garnered 3.7 million viewers, but also by a rerun of “60 Minutes” on CBS which was seen by 5.3 million viewers, and by the U.S. Golf Open Championship coverage on Fox which was watched by 6.1 million viewers.

The interview with Jones was widely assailed by a variety of organizations and the media who feared Jones’ extremist views would get wide exposure to the public at large.

Jones, who leads the conspiracy website Infowars, has been disseminating outrageous, false stories such as those claiming the U.S. government was responsible for the  9/11 attacks as well as claiming that the parents of the 20 students gunned down at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 had faked the massacre. Among his followers is President Donald Trump, who during the presidential campaign last year appeared on Jones’ radio show.

The controversy over the Jones interview cost Kelly a gig hosting a fundraising event by an anti-gun-violence organization founded by parents of children killed at Sandy Hook.