Let’s cut to the chase. The FOX television series Terra Nova, which debuted last September with a 13 episode season, is expensive to produce. Each episode costs about $500,000 more a regular one hour drama, so the show really needed some good ratings to be brought back for a second season. Unfortunately, that didn’t quite happen, so the show is in jeopardy. Now star Jason O’Mara has an idea for fans to show their support for the prehistoric show. Find out what it is after the break.

The series, which counts Steven Spielberg as one of its executive producers, is about a family from the dystopian future of the year 2149 who join a colony of people who have gone back in time 85 million years to the Cretaceous Period. However, some people from 2149 aren’t looking to create a new civilization in this natural paradise, they just want to pilfer it for resources.

O’Mara plays Jim Shannon, father of the family and sheriff to the Colony. The actor took to Twitter to get fans to send in plastic toy dinosaurs to FOX Broadcasting if they want to see the show come back for a second season. He even tweeted out an Amazon link for those who can’t find any in their local stores. He posted where you can send the dinosaurs on his Facebook page.

If you want to address your package of little plastic dinosaurs to somebody at Fox, send them to president of the network. He’s a good guy so keep it friendly please.

Mr Kevin Reilly, Fox Broadcasting Co, PO BOX 900, Beverly Hills, CA 902130.

You can also support the cause by using the Twitter hashtag #saveterranova. I’ve seen a few “Save Terra Nova” Twitter accounts, but none have that much of a following. Instead, I suggest following the show itself on Twitter and Facebook. We’ve seen these kind of fan initiatives before with shows like Firefly, Jericho, and Flash Forward. Unfortunately, they rarely work, and even when they do, the show still doesn’t last very long.

While Terra Nova wasn’t perfect, I enjoyed it a lot. It was one of the few shows in the Fall that I actually kept up with. I hope to see a second season. What about you?

NBC’s Saturday Night Live had a new episode last night featuring Channing Tatum as host. There were plenty of TV and movie-related skits, so see them all after the break.

While I think the 1950s space movie theme worked well, SNL went a bit hard on Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich in the following sketch.

This NBC Football Promo sketch is kind of funny at first, but I think they missed an opportunity with the premise.

Secret Word, a recurring sketch that is a parody of Password. The sketch is always solid, if not starting to wear thin.

The Super Bowl is today, and Guy Fieri has some ideas for your party.

There are of course many more skits from the show, so go to NBC.com to see the rest.

Universal Studios Hollywood doesn’t have that many rides, but they are looking to change that with “Transformers: The Ride 3D”, set to open in May of this year. To help promote the new ride, Universal Studios has created a viral website and social media game. Get the details after the break.

Go to PrepareForBattle.com to enlist via your Facbook account. Once you have signed up, you get a welcome video message from General Morshower (played by actor Glenn Morshower just like in the film series). Watch it below.

The goal is to increase your military ranking with points. The grand prize is a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood to be one of the first to ride the attraction, and there are prizes for the top 100 people, so if you stick with the game, there’s a good chance you can win at least a Transformers toy or something. You get points for recruiting others to the game and other tasks, so get started!

Try out the Prepare for Battle game, and let us know what you think of it in the comments below! Thanks to Steve Kidd for the heads up.

On Tuesday, director Joss Whedon and the some of the cast of The Avengers, Marvel’s superhero blockbuster set to debut in theaters on May 4th, sat down for a Twitter chat with fans. Read the transcript of the chat after the break.

The Avengers (@Avengers)
The #Avengers Global Fan Chat is about to begin! Get your questions ready for Joss Whedon, @twhiddleston, @clarkgregg and @samuelljackson!

The Avengers
Don’t forget: Immediately following our #Avengers fan chat, we’ll show you a tease of our Super Bowl XLVI commercial. It’s almost time!

The Avengers
Use #Avengers to ask your questions and direct to one of the participants. Use “For JW” if you have a question for Joss!

The Avengers
Here we go, @SamuelLJackson, @twhiddleston, @clarkgregg! Here’s Joss! Send through your #Avengers questions!

Samuel L. Jackson
Here a mughuqqa is at da @Avengers twitter rest!

Question:
For @SamuelLJackson , do we get to see some cool interaction with you and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) a few times??

Answer:
all the time, but it’s sorta contentious.

Question:
To Mr. Whedon, how many #Avengers comics did you read as reference for this movie?

Answer:
“I had already read them all.”

Question:
@twhiddleston @SamuelLJackson What was your biggest challenge in playing Loki and Fury in the #Avengers?

Answer:
SamuelLJackson
losing the weight to fit my costume & keep it off.

@clarkgregg
CG with the Whedon Wizard at @avengers tweet chat

Clark Gregg
Very diff dynamic in IM, Thor and Avengers, diff heroes, more layers to Coulson’s world/powers revealed

Question:
For JW: Is the movie’s plot going to reference any classic Avengers stories or be a more “ulitmate-ized” story?

Answer:
“It’s a combo platter: classic, Ultimate, plus a little “Richie Rich” & “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

Question:
For JW, was there an Avenger you wanted to put in the movie but couldn’t make it work for whatever reason be it budget or time? #Avengers

Answer:
“I’m a fan of the Wasp. She’s goofy and sting-y.”

Question:
@twhiddleston Were the stunts more difficult this time around in The Avengers as opposed to Thor & how’d u prepare for them?

Answer:
More stunts. More training. Day in, day out. Running, jumping, flying, twisting. We worked like athletes. It was really fun.

Question:
@SamuelLJackson How much of your portrayal is based on comics Nick Fury and how much of Nick Fury is based on you?

Answer:
there’s a lot of Nick Fury in me already.

Question:
@twhiddleston @SamuelLJackson What was your biggest challenge in playing Loki and Fury in the #Avengers ?

Answer:
The biggest challenge was magnifying his menace without losing touch of his emotional truth. Keeping his chaos honest!

Question:
@SamuelLJackson Will we get to see any background on Fury?

Answer:
not yet.

Question:
For JW: what about the Spiderman cameo in #Avengers?

Answer:
“There is no Spider-Man cameo. But the Avengers do turn off the dark.”

“Coulson’s the fan dubbed chuck norris of @avengers” due respect, but Coulson crush walker tex ranger…w/ a bag of flour

Question:
@SamuelLJackson did the eyepatch throw off your depth perception?

Answer:
not at all, there was a new memory factor involved.

Question:
@twhiddleston You’ve said that in you listened to Prodigy for Loki. What did you listen to this time to get rdy for the #Avengers?

Answer:
“Archangel”, by a band called Burial. And not a little of Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack compositions.
In all honesty, yes. Sometimes you wake up feeling warm and sunny, but the scene requires hatefulness and spite.

Question:
@twhiddleston what kind of relationship do you have with other actors on the set of “The Avengers”?

Answer:
Nothing but love… It wasn’t called Group Hug for nothing!

You have to reach deeper. And stay aware of the fact that the emotions are true, but they’re not mine.

Question:
@SamuelLJackson are we going to see you kick some ass?! Maybe @twhiddleston ass?

Answer:
Fo Sho!

Question:
For JW: Most Difficult and Best things about filming (part) of The #Avengers in NYC?

Answer:
JW: “Who gets the last bagel.”

Question:
@clarkgregg @SamuelLJackson @twhiddleston funniest moment on Avengers set?:-)#Avengers

Answer:
Getting the giggles when the Hulk smashed. Joss got the giggles too. I was hopeless.

Question:
@twhiddleston Might we see a more mischievous (rather than mostly just evil) Loki in the #Avengers ?

Answer:
ENTIRELY. More mischievous. More evil. More hubristic. More delusional. More damaged. More badass.

Question:
For @SamuelLJackson Who’s your favorite Avenger?#Avengers

Answer:
Black Widow is my pick!

Question:
For JW: Everyone always asks what the hardest part of directing the movie was. What was the easiest? #Avengers

Answer:
JW: “Controlling the meat puppets…I mean, actors.”

Question:
@clarkgregg @twhiddleston @SamuelLJackson Care to share the best of the #Avengers bloopers with us?

Answer:
JW: “Not when @SamuelLJackson says them.”

Question:
@SamuelLJackson How much of your own stunts did you do? How did you prepare for all the physical work? #avengers

Answer:
As much as the insurance company allowed. I prepped by working out a bit?

Question:
My question is for Clark Gregg. What do you like most about playing Agent Phil Coulson #Avengers

Answer:
Every single part of it.

Question:
For JW what was ur first reaction to getting the chance to direct the #Avengers

Answer:
JW: “What moron would take a job that hard? Show me this moron, so that I may mock him.”

Question:
For JW Any big lessons learned from filming/one thing you wish you could do over? Also, Clark Gregg/Joss Whedon TV series? Please? #avengers

Answer:
Great idea. Asking him now. Joss????

Question:
#ForJW: will the female characters, esp. Black Widow, remind the boys how strong they are, and how?

Answer:
JW: “The females will spend their time whimpering and baking and being befuddled by math.” #sarcasm

Question:
Has the ante been upped on Easter Eggs? And if so, how attentive will movie goers have to be to stop them? #Avengers

Answer:
“There will be actual dyed eggs. Try to find them all!”

Question:
For @clarkgregg: Agent Coulson is one of my favorite characters! In the #Avengers do we get to see a lot more of him in action?

Answer:
Oh hell yes…

Question:
JW: can we expect some bromance Between captain america and iron man?

Answer:
“Not as long as there’s two of them and only one bagel. Heroes need carbs.”

Question:
@Avengers Clark Gregg: Love your Character… Are you going to see more action in the Avengers?

Answer:
Everybody sees more action in the avengers, hell, the audience even has to fight bad guys

Question:
JW- Can you enjoy #Avengers without seeing all the other films? @Avengers

Answer:
“You don’t need to see any @Marvel movies to enjoy #Avengers! But you need to see Steel Magnolias, like, six times.”

Question:
@SamuelLJackson, who was your first favorite superhero? #Avengers

Answer:
The Flash

Question:
@twhiddleston in Thor Loki was looking for Odin’s attention and approval, now is he looking for revenge? #avengers

Answer:
He doesn’t want revenge so much as identity. Belonging. Purpose. Self-esteem. Through delusional dreams.

Question:
@ SamuelLJackson Eye patch did not interfere during the filming? # Avengers

Answer:
Not a bit. Makes me feel cool!

Tom Hiddleston
The most badass tweets on twitter come from one place: @godofbadassery. Yes I am talking to myself.

Question:
For JW: How long did it take to shoot the movie?

Answer:
“I started when I was 12 and should be done by May 3rd at 11:59 pm.”

Question:
@clarkgregg Will we see you with flour bags again?

Answer:
Coulson never kills with the same cooking ingredient twice

The Avengers
JW: “Heading back to editing. You are all now my very best friends.”

Question:
@SamuelLJackson @clarkgregg @twhiddleston What do you consider your character’s theme song for The #Avengers?

Answer:
Born Free/ Hendrix.

Question:
Who was the jokester on the set? There is always one on every movie shoot. #Avengers

Answer:
JW: “I had the jokester put down on day 3.”

Question:
@twhiddleston Loki’s costume looks great, but so terribly intricate. How long did it usually take getting everything on? #Avengers

Answer:
About forty-five minutes to an hour, depending on how energetic I am feeling. Kudos to Bob Moore Jnr.

Question:
@twhiddleston Loki’s costume looks great, but so terribly intricate. How long did it usually take getting everything on? #Avengers

Answer:
@xoxogossipthor Bob Moore Jnr. from the costume department. Dressing was a two man job. But we had a great playlist & we laughed a lot.

Question:
For Clark Gregg. What do u like best about Coulson?

Answer:
the bulletproof dolce suits

Question:
@Avengers JW: I’m assuming #Avengers will be a masterpiece of wit and sarcasm. Which character got the most snark? @clarkgregg perhaps?

Answer:
That’s a toss up, an awful lot of Avenger-snark to go around…

Question:
For @SamuelLJackson Nick Fury or Mace Windu?

Answer:
Jedi or mortal? You be the judge!

Question:
@twhiddleston what did you do to get into character for #Avengers ?

Answer:
Learn lines. Run five miles a day. Get dressed and go through the works. Turn up on set. And play.

Here’s a photo of @twhiddleston tweeting away for the #Avengers fan chat!

Question:
@avengers @SamuelLJackson @twhiddleston @clarkgregg Feels like every question has already been asked…so how was catering on set?

Answer:
JW: “I stayed away from catering. But it smelled good from far away.”

Question:
@clarkgregg — does that mean that he’s moving on to vegetable oil and paprika?

Answer:
@ramdonomo I’m sorry. I cannot disclose SHIELD approved lethal ingredients.

Question:
@clarkgregg @Avengers Funniest experience with a fan?

Answer:
May have signed some large boobs at NYCC

Samuel L. Jackson @SamuelLJackson
Nick Fury OUT MAVENGERFUQQAS!

Question:
@Avengers @twhiddleston Scariest moment on set? Any injuries?

Answer:
twhiddleston
I smashed my elbow when facing down the great green incarnation of rage. I guess the Hulk really does smash.

The Avengers
Joss is back to editing #Avengers. @SamuelLJackson @clarkgregg & @twhiddleston are wrapping up. Super Bowl XLVI commercial tease coming!

Question:
@twhiddleston Who was the funnest #Avenger to fight?

Answer:
Brother-to-brother is intense. Hemsworth is a giant, but we trust each other implicitly as actors…

Question:
Shakespeare quote to describe Loki?

Answer:
“O beware my lord of jealousy, it is the green eyed monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on” (Othello)

Question:
@twhiddleston Who was the funnest #Avenger to fight?

Answer:
#Avengers which means we can really commit to the physicality of the choreography, and imbue it with emotion.

Question:
@ Clarkgregg, please tell me what happend Can With The wasp? thank you.

Answer:
Coulson and Wasp broke up. It was very painful.

Question:
@twhiddleston Five years ago, would you have believed that you would play the most badass villain in superhero movie history?

Answer:
Bless you. And no!

Question:
@twhiddleston Shakespeare quote to describe Loki?

Answer:
“Stand up for bastards!” (King Lear)

Question:
@clarkgregg Where does Coulson buy his suits? #Avengers

Answer:
@Reggicidal assembling late night in the ABQ

Question:
@clarkgregg Will you have an action figure released? If not, are you jealous. #Avengers

Answer:
No coulson action figure, very jealous

Clark Gregg
@clarkgregg Where does Coulson buy his suits?#Avengers – Dolce has a SHIELD outlet

@twhiddleston @samuelljackson @clarkgregg Have you ever wanted to wear Iron Man suit ?#avengers — wearing it now

Question:
@twhiddleston Will we see you pole dancing again in #Avengers? just like we did in Thor:)

Answer:
Ahem… (clears throat)… er… well… I don’t think so. Joss?

Clark Gregg
Meeting some skrull friends for lunch. Thanks for the all the support! Coulson out!

The Avengers
Thanks for assembling in the #Avengers Global Fan Chat! Here’s a sneak peek at our exclusive Super Bowl XLVI commercial

Tom Hiddleston
By the way… IN THE END, IT WILL BE EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF.

On Tuesday we gave you our DVD review of In Time, the sci-fi action thriller starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. Now you have a chance to win a Blu-Ray and DVD Combo Pack of the movie. All you have to do is tell us in the comments (after the jump) if you would live forever if you had the choice. We’ll randomly choose one winner, so make sure we have a way to contact you (your login may be enough). Contest ends February 6th at 11:59 PM PST, and is only open to residents of the US.

On Friday we updated you on the latest part of the Legends of Alcatraz viral campaign for FOX’s new mystery show Alcatraz. A select few actually got to go on a special tour of the prison island and collect some viral clues. Find out what happened after the jump.

Collider has the details of the scavenger hunt from the viral event, which included some pretty cool items. Read the fan-written description of the event over there, but if you couldn’t make it, then you are still in luck. The Legends of Alcatraz website has some puzzles you can play in order to get more entries into their Ford sweepstakes. There are five puzzles open now, with more added every week. We don’t want to spoil the fun, so we won’t give you the answers.

Let us know in the comments below if you like the fact this has turned into a sweepstakes, or would you have rather had more complex narrative viral campaign?

P.S. The FOX YouTube channel looks to be starting a series of videos that have Dr. Soto (Jorge Garcia) giving a tour of Alcatraz. Could this be part of the viral campaign, or simply a nice little online exclusive for fans? Watch Part 1 below.

For those too young to remember it in its heyday, Reading Rainbow was a PBS television show hosted by LeVar Burton. The show used kids from the target demographic to encourage reading among children and has become a nostalgic classic among us Eighties babies. The Twitter handle @ReadingRainbow had been taken by someone not using it, but no one stops Geordi La Forge from getting what he wants.

Just yesterday morning, Burton tweeted to the account in hopes of grabbing the handle to promote a new Reading Rainbow App he is developing. He made a call to arms tweet just after 7 PM PST, and less than 2 hours later had the account in his hands. Talk about impressive. If you want to keep up to date on the Reading Rainbow app, I suggest you follow the Twitter account.

Welcome to a new monthly feature here on MovieViral. A day or two ahead of time, we’ll list the various social media accounts (specifically Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for now) for all the major theatrical releases each month. We hope that this allows you to follow your favorite films more easily, as well as give you a guide as to what films are being released each month. Check out what’s coming up for February after the break.

February 3rd

Big Miracle | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Chronicle | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
The Woman in Black | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

February 10th

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Safe House | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
The Vow | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

February 14th

This Means War | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

February 17th

The Secret World of Arrietty | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

February 24th

Act of Valor | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Gone | Official Website | No Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Wanderlust | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Now knowing that the system is rigged, Salas goes to the wealthy part of town in order to clean their clocks (pun intended). He takes Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried), daughter of bank owner Philippe Weis, hostage when the cops find him. She falls for Salas and understands the corruption going on around her, so the two become sort of a Robin Hood/Bonnie and Clyde hybrid in their attempts to steal time and give it away.

The concept of this film is pretty interesting. The idea that you spend time as money has a lot of fascinating side effects on culture, and the film touches on those effects pretty well. Unfortunately, there are some bigger themes that the film tries to thrust down our throats once in a while without really developing them. The logistics of how time is transferred looks good on screen, but it’s hard to imagine something as simple as holding a man’s arm a certain way could kill them and give you all their years. There has a to be a safer way to do this.

There are other plot holes in the film, and all together there is not a very good flow. I didn’t feel any driving force keeping the story moving forward, so it felt a bit haphazard. The characters are pretty decent, though it’s hard to believe a factory worker like Salas could pull off some of the badass action movies that Timberlake did. Timberlake in general isn’t a great action star, and I feel like he is better suited for comedy than anything serious.

The setting of the film has a visual style that is hard to pinpoint. Aside from the technology used for timekeeping and a few other tidbits, this film could take place in almost any decade. The cars are mostly from the 70s, and not a single person has a cell phone. I’m sure there’s an interesting backstory as to why its like this, but it’s never touched upon.

Overall, the premise of In Time is greater than the film itself. The fact that the film skims the surface of some great social status and class structure issues makes it a bit more frustrating. Lines like “For a few to be immortal, many must die” hint at a parity to current issues with Wall Street scandals and such, but that’s about it. Unfortunately, the DVD itself has a similar problem in that it could have dove into these issues, but instead we only get some deleted scenes.

Rating:

On Monday we gave you an update on the viral campaign for the FOX television series Alcatraz. The clues led us to believe there would be an event today on the infamous island itself, and we were right! IT BEGINS after the break.

The Legends of Alcatraz website, which has been the hub for the campaign, has been updated with an invitation (shown below) for the first 302 volunteers that show up to Pier 33 in San Francisco, CA tonight at 6PM. The invitation gives these people exclusive night-time access to the island to look for clues to the solve the mysteries presented in the show. Jorge Garcia’s character Dr. Soto is mentioned, but it is unclear if he will be there himself. Either way, this is a really cool event that I would love to go to if I were in the area.

If you go to the event or are at least in the area, hit us up on Twitter or email me. We’d love any information you can get. It’s interesting (possibly ironic?) that this comes on the heels of news that fans of the show are breaking into closed areas of the prison on Alcatraz Island.