Finally! 'Fringe' Merchandise Available from WB

It's way overdue but very welcomed! Finally there's some Fringe merchandise that you can buy at the Warner Brothers(WB) online store!

Use the following links and get yourself a mousepad, T-shirt, mug (yea!), and the Fringe graphic novels.

And you may want to thank the WB people for the arrival of this stuff. Maybe they'll make more, like the Fringe calendar I've been dreaming of?

Link to Fringe merchandise at Warner Brothers' Store: http://www.wbshop.com/Fringe/fr,default,sc.html?src=wfrfans (and look at the webaddress, doesn't it look like 'wbishop'?)

Fringe comic series, 2009, paperback, 144 pages: http://amzn.to/ecz6oV

Tales From The Fringe comic series, 2011, 144 pages: http://amzn.to/feAbfX

Official WB Fringe DVD Website

The CompleteThePattern.com website has restarted the countdown for the third time, with the new start time set for Monday, August 24th at Midnight (even though the contest officially starts at 12:01 am...?!?)

However, if you got a head start and went to the "Phase 2" section, you will see a link to the Official Fringe DVD Website from Warner Bros.

The WB Fringe site contains a Season 1 DVD trailer, and other videos clips, including a behind-the-scenes looks at the making of "The Arrival". Plus there's Fringe wallpapers, buddy icons, cast bios, an image galley, and this hidden image of The Observer.

Fringe FAIL: Kirk Acevedo Fired!

Kirk Acevedo announced on his facebook page today that he was "fired" from Fringe:

WELL BOYS AND GIRLS THEY DONE DID YER BOY WRONG! THEY FIRED ME OFF OF FRINGE, AND I'VE NEVER BEEN FIRED IN MY LIFE!!!!

While this is not "officially" official, I have confirmed this with an inside source. Details are scarce at this point, but Kirk is likely another victim of the WB's cost-cutting measures. The move to Canada has caused quite a shake up on the show, with numerous behind-the-scenes people leaving as well. More info to come...

* Thanks to TheODI for the screenshot

Fringe May Not Move To Canada After All

To quote NY Yankees legend Yogi Berra, "It ain't over till it's over."

There was a huge "Save NY Film & TV Tax Credits" rally in Albany, New York yesterday, and reports are coming in that it went "very well", and there is a good feeling that NY will end up with a tax credit of some sort.

A confidential source at Warner Bros. indicated that Fringe "is considering staying in New York if some kind of tax credit is passed."

It makes you wonder if the Canada move was just a bluff, because there will definitely be pressure on WB to keep Fringe in NY if the tax credits do in fact get renewed. I discussed this with my informant, who confided "if you wanted to scare New York into a tax credit, would you not take the biggest show shooting there and say you're moving it?" Bluff or not, hopefully this strategy works, because there is more at stake than just the few hundred Fringe jobs that would be lost.

Of course, this is all predicated on Fringe getting renewed for a second season, which almost everybody presumes at this point. However, I don't think it's a coincidence that Fox has not made any official announcements yet, instead waiting for the NY tax credit mess to sort out.

Fringe Moving to Canada For Season 2

It's official - Warner Bros will be moving the Season 2 production of Fringe to Vancouver, Canada. The preemptive move was prompted by the possible lack of tax credits in NY, where Fringe is currently filmed.

Employees of the show had hoped Warner Brothers would at least wait to see if the tax credits were renewed. “We’re all fighting for our livelihood and nobody understands the rational,” said Beth Kushnick, set decorator on the show. “Why is there collateral damage when they don’t even have the word about the tax credit?”

The film industry is still fighting to get the program re-funded in NY's upcoming budget, expected to be announced April 1. Unfortunately it will be too late for the impatient WB, even though filming for Fringe season 1 is not due to wrap up until the end of April.

Also, it is important to note that FOX has not yet picked up the series for Season 2, and it is unclear if the move will affect the decision.

There's been no comment from Warner Bros yet as to the fallout of this decision, but as mentioned previously, it could mean hundreds of lost jobs.

* Thanks to Josh-Jackson.net for the Joshua Jackson photo

Will WB Move Fringe Filiming To Canada?

Crain's New York Business is reporting that there may be trouble up ahead for Fringe. Due to the recent financial turmoil, the tax incentives offered for filming in NY have dried up. Legislators in Albany are uncertain whether they will renew the fund, leaving production companies already filming in NY in a bind.

“We are trying to make sure that Albany understands the severity of the situation,” said Alan Suna, president of Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Queens. “These jobs are going to be eviscerated from the New York economy with no replacements.”

While Fringe is shown on FOX in the US, and based in Boston, it is produced by Warner Bros in NY. The WB has stated that they will not stay in NY without the tax breaks. This could mean that the show will move back to Canada, where the pilot was filmed. In fact the producers of Fringe are already scouting stage space in Toronto and drawing up budgets to start shooting there.

According to my inside source, Toronto is where TV shows go to die, and by moving the show to Canada to save money, it will also allow the WB to fire 220 US crew members.

Film workers have started a petition to fund the incentive program. In just two days, more than 6,000 signatures have been collected. Please sign your name to show your support. You may also contact the NY officials directly:

NY Governor
David A. Patterson
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
Phone: (518) 474-8390
Click here to email the Governor

Speaker of the New York State Assembly
Sheldon Silver
250 Broadway
Suite 2307
New York, NY 10007
Phone: (212) 312-1420
Fax: (212) 312-1425
Click here to email Assembly member Silver.

New York State Senator Majority Leader
Malcolm A. Smith
250 Broadway, Suite 1930
New York, NY 10007
Phone: (212) 298-5585
Fax: (212) 298-5605
Email: masmith@senate.state.ny.us