Newsflash:
Variety has just reported that Marvel Studios is finalizing a deal that will make Joss Whedon the director of the Avengers movie planned for May 4, 2012. The only big screen picture Whedon has directed before is Serenity, but he has a history with creating and writing comics, and he is awesome. Oops, did I suddenly stop being objective there? Well, Marvel is making a deal that is sure to have the geek world psyched.
Whedon will be doing rewrites on the script that Zak Penn (who worked on the X2, X3, and The Incredible Hulk screenplays) penned. The cast will include Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, and possibly Edward Norton returning as the Hulk. Iron Man 2 is due out this May 7, and Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America are due out May 6 and July 22, 2011, respectively.
Showing posts with label Iron Man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iron Man. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Friday, April 17, 2009
Daisies airs, Fringe goes viral, Star Trek coolness, and more
Well, the stories have been collecting since my last entertainment news post...
Robert Downey Jr. has confirmed that Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Garry Shandling, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Sam Rockwell, and Gwyneth Paltrow will all be in the Iron Man 2 cast (IMDb). Rourke has been cast as Whiplash, Johansson will play Black Widow, and Sam Rockwell will play Justin Hammer. Cheadle takes over the role of Rhodey from Terrence Howard. Paltrow will reprise her role as Pepper Potts, and Jackson will return as Nick Fury. I'm not sure at this point who Garry Shandling will play. I loved the first Iron Man movie, so I'm looking forward to this one.
Universal Pictures, which made a three-year production pact with Dark Horse Comics, is planning to make an "Umbrella Academy" movie (Variety). The story is about a dissolved band of superheroes who reunite following their adoptive father's death to carry out his plan to save the world. Mark Bomback, who wrote Disney's recent Race to Witch Mountain, has been chosen to write the adaptation. The Witch Mountain credit doesn't make me immediately confident, but we'll see how it goes.
Gore Verbinski has told Disney that he is done with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (Variety). He will not be directing the planned Pirates 4 film, instead choosing to move on to other projects, including a movie adaptation of the video game BioShock (which came up briefly in a post I wrote last July). Verbinski's Blind Wink Prods. is also working on a movie adaptation of Hasbro game Clue and a drama based on the Wall Street Journal article about how online fantasy roleplaying (particularly focusing on Second Life) can negatively affect people's real world lives.
Michael Sheen has been cast as a vampire in Twilight sequel New Moon (IMDb, Variety). He will play Aro, the head of Italian vampire clan the Volturi. New Moon director Chris Weitz says of the character, "Aro is, on the surface, a very gracious and friendly vampire, but beneath that he is a tremendous threat." I have never read any of the books, so I don't know the characters, but judging by Weitz's description, Sheen is probably a good fit for the role. He can transition easily from gracious and friendly to threatening and dangerous, and he is overall a very talented actor. However, the first role I ever saw Michael Sheen play was the werewolf Lucian in Underworld. I think having Sheen play a vampire violates some sort of... mythical creature law, and we all may be in very grave danger.
ABC has announced they will air the leftover episodes of some of their cancelled series on Saturday nights at 10:00 starting May 30 (Variety). This means that the final three episodes of my dear show Pushing Daisies will finally be aired from May 30-June 13. Eli Stone, which I also followed, will have its final unaired episodes shown from June 20-July 11. Though I'm still sad these shows were cancelled, I am glad that I'll get to see whatever the shows' creative teams managed to pull together to end the series. Before I go and buy the complete DVD set of Pushing Daisies.
Speaking of cancelled series, while FOX is still not ready to make an official announcement, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will not be returning for a third season (EW.com). Season 2 ended last week with some pretty exciting revelations and cliffhangers, but I think it was a satisfying end for the show. The question now is What will Summer Glau do next?
FOX is conducting some sort of viral campaign for Fringe (Variety). Michael Cerveris has appeared in character as the mysterious Observer at a number of live events broadcast on FOX, including American Idol, an NFL divisional playoff game, and a NASCAR race. FOX has not commented on the campaign, possibly to make the promotion a little more mysterious, but due to the character's hairless nature, insiders have apparently nicknamed the campaign the "Where's Baldo?" initiative. I am much amused. Unfortunately, I don't watch any of these live shows on FOX, but viewers have posted clips on YouTube, and FOX has not been complaining about it. See them here: Idol, NFL, NASCAR (I'm pretty sure the Lance Reddick voiceover in the latter two clips was added and not actually aired live).
Finally, I must admit I'm getting pretty psyched about the new Star Trek movie coming out on May 8. I am totally jealous of the people who got to see it at the surprise screening of the movie in Austin on April 6 (NYTimes blog). I'm really not any sort of Star Trek fanatic; I consider myself a casual fan of The Next Generation, but the only original Star Trek that I've seen is the whale movie. I am, however, a fan of J.J. Abrams, and I'm excited about what he's done with the franchise (i.e., reboot it with a cool movie that is accessible to people like me). I am also totally digging the cast. The only movie I've actually seen with Chris Pine (Kirk) is The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement (yes, I've seen it), but he's cute and, from what I can tell from the trailers, good for the part. Zachary Quinto (Spock), of course, is Sylar from Heroes. I'm still not sure about his voice (Leonard Nimoy has such a nice deep voice, which is not Quinto's natural tone), but I'm still rooting for him. Simon Pegg (Scotty) is hilarious and brilliant (I loved him in Hot Fuzz... still haven't seen Shaun of the Dead). Karl Urban (Bones) was Eomer. Zoe Saldana (Uhura) I noticed in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie because I already knew her from that ballet movie Center Stage (her big screen debut). John Cho (Sulu) is Harold of Harold & Kumar, which is awesome. And Anton Yelchin gets two super summer blockbusters within two weeks of each other, playing not only Chekov in Star Trek but Kyle Reese in Terminator: Salvation, which opens in theaters on May 21. Busy kid. I really hope the movie lives up to all the buzz. I can't wait.
Robert Downey Jr. has confirmed that Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Garry Shandling, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Sam Rockwell, and Gwyneth Paltrow will all be in the Iron Man 2 cast (IMDb). Rourke has been cast as Whiplash, Johansson will play Black Widow, and Sam Rockwell will play Justin Hammer. Cheadle takes over the role of Rhodey from Terrence Howard. Paltrow will reprise her role as Pepper Potts, and Jackson will return as Nick Fury. I'm not sure at this point who Garry Shandling will play. I loved the first Iron Man movie, so I'm looking forward to this one.
Universal Pictures, which made a three-year production pact with Dark Horse Comics, is planning to make an "Umbrella Academy" movie (Variety). The story is about a dissolved band of superheroes who reunite following their adoptive father's death to carry out his plan to save the world. Mark Bomback, who wrote Disney's recent Race to Witch Mountain, has been chosen to write the adaptation. The Witch Mountain credit doesn't make me immediately confident, but we'll see how it goes.
Gore Verbinski has told Disney that he is done with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (Variety). He will not be directing the planned Pirates 4 film, instead choosing to move on to other projects, including a movie adaptation of the video game BioShock (which came up briefly in a post I wrote last July). Verbinski's Blind Wink Prods. is also working on a movie adaptation of Hasbro game Clue and a drama based on the Wall Street Journal article about how online fantasy roleplaying (particularly focusing on Second Life) can negatively affect people's real world lives.
Michael Sheen has been cast as a vampire in Twilight sequel New Moon (IMDb, Variety). He will play Aro, the head of Italian vampire clan the Volturi. New Moon director Chris Weitz says of the character, "Aro is, on the surface, a very gracious and friendly vampire, but beneath that he is a tremendous threat." I have never read any of the books, so I don't know the characters, but judging by Weitz's description, Sheen is probably a good fit for the role. He can transition easily from gracious and friendly to threatening and dangerous, and he is overall a very talented actor. However, the first role I ever saw Michael Sheen play was the werewolf Lucian in Underworld. I think having Sheen play a vampire violates some sort of... mythical creature law, and we all may be in very grave danger.
ABC has announced they will air the leftover episodes of some of their cancelled series on Saturday nights at 10:00 starting May 30 (Variety). This means that the final three episodes of my dear show Pushing Daisies will finally be aired from May 30-June 13. Eli Stone, which I also followed, will have its final unaired episodes shown from June 20-July 11. Though I'm still sad these shows were cancelled, I am glad that I'll get to see whatever the shows' creative teams managed to pull together to end the series. Before I go and buy the complete DVD set of Pushing Daisies.
Speaking of cancelled series, while FOX is still not ready to make an official announcement, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will not be returning for a third season (EW.com). Season 2 ended last week with some pretty exciting revelations and cliffhangers, but I think it was a satisfying end for the show. The question now is What will Summer Glau do next?
FOX is conducting some sort of viral campaign for Fringe (Variety). Michael Cerveris has appeared in character as the mysterious Observer at a number of live events broadcast on FOX, including American Idol, an NFL divisional playoff game, and a NASCAR race. FOX has not commented on the campaign, possibly to make the promotion a little more mysterious, but due to the character's hairless nature, insiders have apparently nicknamed the campaign the "Where's Baldo?" initiative. I am much amused. Unfortunately, I don't watch any of these live shows on FOX, but viewers have posted clips on YouTube, and FOX has not been complaining about it. See them here: Idol, NFL, NASCAR (I'm pretty sure the Lance Reddick voiceover in the latter two clips was added and not actually aired live).
Finally, I must admit I'm getting pretty psyched about the new Star Trek movie coming out on May 8. I am totally jealous of the people who got to see it at the surprise screening of the movie in Austin on April 6 (NYTimes blog). I'm really not any sort of Star Trek fanatic; I consider myself a casual fan of The Next Generation, but the only original Star Trek that I've seen is the whale movie. I am, however, a fan of J.J. Abrams, and I'm excited about what he's done with the franchise (i.e., reboot it with a cool movie that is accessible to people like me). I am also totally digging the cast. The only movie I've actually seen with Chris Pine (Kirk) is The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement (yes, I've seen it), but he's cute and, from what I can tell from the trailers, good for the part. Zachary Quinto (Spock), of course, is Sylar from Heroes. I'm still not sure about his voice (Leonard Nimoy has such a nice deep voice, which is not Quinto's natural tone), but I'm still rooting for him. Simon Pegg (Scotty) is hilarious and brilliant (I loved him in Hot Fuzz... still haven't seen Shaun of the Dead). Karl Urban (Bones) was Eomer. Zoe Saldana (Uhura) I noticed in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie because I already knew her from that ballet movie Center Stage (her big screen debut). John Cho (Sulu) is Harold of Harold & Kumar, which is awesome. And Anton Yelchin gets two super summer blockbusters within two weeks of each other, playing not only Chekov in Star Trek but Kyle Reese in Terminator: Salvation, which opens in theaters on May 21. Busy kid. I really hope the movie lives up to all the buzz. I can't wait.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
IDOLS-13, new Star Wars and Star Trek TV shows, etc.
Getting back into the regular swing of things after my series of posts about my Hawaii visit, it's time to catch up with some recent entertainment news that has caught my eye...
Matt Damon is lined up to star in The Investment Bureau, which has been described as a contemporary romance with sci-fi overtones (Variety). The script was written by Bourne Ultimatum co-writer George Nolfi, who will also direct. Damon will play a congressman who meets a beautiful ballet dancer but finds "strange circumstances" keeping the two apart. I am intrigued. I'm a Matt Damon fan--he tends to choose interesting projects, and he delivers consistently good performances--and Nolfi's The Bourne Ultimatum was great, so this movie could be pretty cool.
Considering that in past years the call-in numbers to vote for American Idol contestants have been 1-866-IDOLS-01 through 1-866-IDOLS-12, it seemed logical that for this year, in which there were thirteen finalists, they would simply add the number 1-866-IDOLS-13 for the 13th contestant. The number for the thirteenth contestant, however, was 1-866-IDOLS-36. Why? Apparently, 1-866-IDOLS-13 is a phone-sex hotline (IMDb). I didn't watch the show, but I hope Ryan Seacrest made the tricky thirteenth phone number very clear, or else a lot of teens would find their call answered by a woman's voice saying "Hey there, sexy guy. Welcome to an exciting new way to go live, one-on-one, with hot horny girls waiting right now to talk to you." Picture the scarred children. So wrong. But hilarious.
Scarlett Johansson is confirmed to have signed on to play villain Black Widow in Iron Man 2 (IMDb). Emily Blunt had been forced to step down from the role last month due to scheduling conflicts. Let's hope Johansson can do the role justice; her previous comic book movie experience was in The Spirit. Also, Mickey Rourke has officially agreed to play Whiplash in the sequel. He has already begun his research, touring Butryka prison in Moscow to start to get into the head of his Russian supervillain (IMDb).
George Lucas is looking for actors to star in his upcoming live action Star Wars TV series (IMDb). If he's casting... it sounds like he's really going to make this show happen. There have been so many Star Wars disappointments in recent years. Please, oh please, George Lucas, don't mess it up any more.
The Sci Fi Channel is changing its name to SyFy (IMDb). Apparently, this will make it seem hipper to the 18 to 34-year-old demographic. I can't say it's working for me. I'm just confused. So... what does SyFy stand for?
Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller is hoping to use the (expected) success of the upcoming J.J. Abrams Star Trek prequel to start up a new Star Trek TV series (IMDb). The more recent Star Trek TV series were getting a bit tired, but Fuller envisions the new series more in the fun spirit of the original. He says it would take place in the same era as the J.J. Abrams movie but on a different ship with its own adventures. I've never been a true Star Trek fan, having watched TNG only sporadically when I was a kid, but I'm excited about the new movie and if Bryan Fuller is planning a new TV series (I absolutely adored Pushing Daisies--I'm still sore over its cancellation), my interest is definitely piqued.
Warner Bros. and a number of video game makers are backing a video-game-on-demand service called OnLive Game Service (Variety). OnLive, which is being shown off at this week's San Francisco Game Developers Conference and is expected to go live this winter, allows users with a broadband internet connection to play games instantly without downloading, giving the PC the convenience of a console system. This has the potential to seriously affect the gaming competition between consoles and PCs, and it should help the video game developers by reducing their reliance on the consoles. As a PC gamer, I'm excited at the prospect of PC gaming gaining influence, but I'll have to see what kind of games show up on the service before I get excited. I guess I'm a traditionalist; I like to do the full install once and take the game around with me, even if I'm not connected to the internet.
That's all for now!
Matt Damon is lined up to star in The Investment Bureau, which has been described as a contemporary romance with sci-fi overtones (Variety). The script was written by Bourne Ultimatum co-writer George Nolfi, who will also direct. Damon will play a congressman who meets a beautiful ballet dancer but finds "strange circumstances" keeping the two apart. I am intrigued. I'm a Matt Damon fan--he tends to choose interesting projects, and he delivers consistently good performances--and Nolfi's The Bourne Ultimatum was great, so this movie could be pretty cool.
Considering that in past years the call-in numbers to vote for American Idol contestants have been 1-866-IDOLS-01 through 1-866-IDOLS-12, it seemed logical that for this year, in which there were thirteen finalists, they would simply add the number 1-866-IDOLS-13 for the 13th contestant. The number for the thirteenth contestant, however, was 1-866-IDOLS-36. Why? Apparently, 1-866-IDOLS-13 is a phone-sex hotline (IMDb). I didn't watch the show, but I hope Ryan Seacrest made the tricky thirteenth phone number very clear, or else a lot of teens would find their call answered by a woman's voice saying "Hey there, sexy guy. Welcome to an exciting new way to go live, one-on-one, with hot horny girls waiting right now to talk to you." Picture the scarred children. So wrong. But hilarious.
Scarlett Johansson is confirmed to have signed on to play villain Black Widow in Iron Man 2 (IMDb). Emily Blunt had been forced to step down from the role last month due to scheduling conflicts. Let's hope Johansson can do the role justice; her previous comic book movie experience was in The Spirit. Also, Mickey Rourke has officially agreed to play Whiplash in the sequel. He has already begun his research, touring Butryka prison in Moscow to start to get into the head of his Russian supervillain (IMDb).
George Lucas is looking for actors to star in his upcoming live action Star Wars TV series (IMDb). If he's casting... it sounds like he's really going to make this show happen. There have been so many Star Wars disappointments in recent years. Please, oh please, George Lucas, don't mess it up any more.
The Sci Fi Channel is changing its name to SyFy (IMDb). Apparently, this will make it seem hipper to the 18 to 34-year-old demographic. I can't say it's working for me. I'm just confused. So... what does SyFy stand for?
Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller is hoping to use the (expected) success of the upcoming J.J. Abrams Star Trek prequel to start up a new Star Trek TV series (IMDb). The more recent Star Trek TV series were getting a bit tired, but Fuller envisions the new series more in the fun spirit of the original. He says it would take place in the same era as the J.J. Abrams movie but on a different ship with its own adventures. I've never been a true Star Trek fan, having watched TNG only sporadically when I was a kid, but I'm excited about the new movie and if Bryan Fuller is planning a new TV series (I absolutely adored Pushing Daisies--I'm still sore over its cancellation), my interest is definitely piqued.
Warner Bros. and a number of video game makers are backing a video-game-on-demand service called OnLive Game Service (Variety). OnLive, which is being shown off at this week's San Francisco Game Developers Conference and is expected to go live this winter, allows users with a broadband internet connection to play games instantly without downloading, giving the PC the convenience of a console system. This has the potential to seriously affect the gaming competition between consoles and PCs, and it should help the video game developers by reducing their reliance on the consoles. As a PC gamer, I'm excited at the prospect of PC gaming gaining influence, but I'll have to see what kind of games show up on the service before I get excited. I guess I'm a traditionalist; I like to do the full install once and take the game around with me, even if I'm not connected to the internet.
That's all for now!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
A surfeit of Nick Fury, Star Wars: A Musical Journey, and more
And now for the entertainment news that caught my interest in the past week...
We all saw Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man. We've heard that he will be reprising his role in future Marvel films. But who would have guessed just how many times we might see Jackson as Fury? Samuel L. Jackson has signed a contract with Marvel to play Nick Fury in as many as nine films (Variety, IMDb). The 9-picture deal includes roles in Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor, The Avengers and any sequels, and a possible S.H.I.E.L.D. movie. It is uncertain whether all nine movies will be made, but the fans who giggled with glee when Nick Fury introduced himself can count on seeing plenty more of him.
Comics movies are being greenlit left and right. Warner Bros. has Dan Lin (producer of the upcoming Downey-Law Sherlock Holmes) set to produce a movie version of Suicide Squad, a DC series about incarcerated supervillains recruited by the government to carry out missions that are too dangerous for superheroes (Variety). Meanwhile, Megan Fox has signed on to star in and produce an adaptation of Michael Turner's comicbook Fathom (Variety). She will play heroine Aspen Matthews, a champion swimmer and marine biologist who discovers that she has water-based powers and is a member of an underwater race. I'm all for female-centric comicbook movies, though this one sounds like it will be largely centered around having Megan Fox in a swimsuit. It advertises itself, I guess.
Seeing as I've been faithfully reporting on the upcoming Spider-Man musical, I feel I should share the following story. Star Wars: A Musical Journey will be opening in London this April, and the production will then make its way to the U.S. (rollingstone.com). This is a live Star Wars stage show, but the organizers insist it is not a regular, straight forward musical theater production. There will be a huge orchestra, big LED screens, and apparently no "R2-D2 rolling across the stage." Other than that, I can't quite figure out what it will be like. My interest is piqued, but I am also concerned. What's the deal here?
Leonardo DiCaprio has signed on to star in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi movie "Inception" (Variety). We still know little about the script, thought the studio has described it as a "contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind." Sounds cool.
Zack Snyder, director of the Watchmen movie, is adamant that he would never direct a sequel or prequel to Watchmen. Star Billy Crudup (Dr. Manhattan), though, has said that it's up to the studios--it seems at least he and the other stars are contractually obligated to take part in any prequels/sequels that studio bosses want to make (IMDb). Why in heaven's name are they even talking about a Watchmen follow-up story? There's nothing to do! It's a complete stand-alone story, a closed book so to speak. Snyder has the right of it, saying that any sequel would go against what Watchmen stands for. Even if the movie, which opens this Friday, is a masterpiece and becomes a huge hit and makes tons of money, I would not want to see a spin-off. And I bet most comics fans would not want to see a spin-off, either. Let's hope the studio heads agree.
We all saw Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man. We've heard that he will be reprising his role in future Marvel films. But who would have guessed just how many times we might see Jackson as Fury? Samuel L. Jackson has signed a contract with Marvel to play Nick Fury in as many as nine films (Variety, IMDb). The 9-picture deal includes roles in Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor, The Avengers and any sequels, and a possible S.H.I.E.L.D. movie. It is uncertain whether all nine movies will be made, but the fans who giggled with glee when Nick Fury introduced himself can count on seeing plenty more of him.
Comics movies are being greenlit left and right. Warner Bros. has Dan Lin (producer of the upcoming Downey-Law Sherlock Holmes) set to produce a movie version of Suicide Squad, a DC series about incarcerated supervillains recruited by the government to carry out missions that are too dangerous for superheroes (Variety). Meanwhile, Megan Fox has signed on to star in and produce an adaptation of Michael Turner's comicbook Fathom (Variety). She will play heroine Aspen Matthews, a champion swimmer and marine biologist who discovers that she has water-based powers and is a member of an underwater race. I'm all for female-centric comicbook movies, though this one sounds like it will be largely centered around having Megan Fox in a swimsuit. It advertises itself, I guess.
Seeing as I've been faithfully reporting on the upcoming Spider-Man musical, I feel I should share the following story. Star Wars: A Musical Journey will be opening in London this April, and the production will then make its way to the U.S. (rollingstone.com). This is a live Star Wars stage show, but the organizers insist it is not a regular, straight forward musical theater production. There will be a huge orchestra, big LED screens, and apparently no "R2-D2 rolling across the stage." Other than that, I can't quite figure out what it will be like. My interest is piqued, but I am also concerned. What's the deal here?
Leonardo DiCaprio has signed on to star in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi movie "Inception" (Variety). We still know little about the script, thought the studio has described it as a "contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind." Sounds cool.
Zack Snyder, director of the Watchmen movie, is adamant that he would never direct a sequel or prequel to Watchmen. Star Billy Crudup (Dr. Manhattan), though, has said that it's up to the studios--it seems at least he and the other stars are contractually obligated to take part in any prequels/sequels that studio bosses want to make (IMDb). Why in heaven's name are they even talking about a Watchmen follow-up story? There's nothing to do! It's a complete stand-alone story, a closed book so to speak. Snyder has the right of it, saying that any sequel would go against what Watchmen stands for. Even if the movie, which opens this Friday, is a masterpiece and becomes a huge hit and makes tons of money, I would not want to see a spin-off. And I bet most comics fans would not want to see a spin-off, either. Let's hope the studio heads agree.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
V, He-Man, Hyperion, Sea Kittens and more
Well, I've been saving up entertainment news stories that have interested me for a while now without making a post, so some of these aren't recent news anymore. But here are my thoughts on them anyway.
Emily Blunt is in talks to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2, with Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell also negotiating to play villains in the sequel (Variety). But Blunt is also committed to join Jason Segel and Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels (Variety), which may interfere with filming for the Black Widow role. Her representatives are trying to work out a way for her to be in both movies. I loved the first Iron Man movie (I just bought it on Amazon--boy am I a sucker for that "Spend $25 and get free super-saver shipping!" deal), so I am definitely interested to hear how the casting goes. All I've seen Emily Blunt in is Devil Wears Prada, but I think she's great, so I hope she can work out the scheduling conflicts.
>Update 2/16/09: Scarlett Johansson is reportedly in talks to take on the Black Widow role, as Blunt's commitment to Gulliver's Travels will cause her to miss out on the Iron Man 2 role (IMDb).
As of mid-January, there was still talk of a possible Pushing Daisies movie (IMDb). They're keeping my hope alive, at least. Lost and BSG are back on this season now, but I still miss my weekly fix of Pushing Daisies. I wonder if and when they're planning on showing the final un-aired episodes.
This isn't really entertainment news, but I did hear of it on a TV show. Thanks to Stephen Colbert, I now know about the delightful PETA campaign to get people to refer to fish as "sea kittens" in the hope that it will make people think twice before eating fish. Well, to paraphrase Colbert, I'll be happy to give up eating what PETA calls "sea kittens":
as long as I can start eating what I like to call "land fish":
Mmmmm. Now, the campaign did not work for me; for environmental purposes, I think it would be good to be a vegan, but I'm not at a place right now where I'm willing to give up meat, much less dairy. Still, I did go to PETA's sea kitten website, where I made myself a sea kitten:
Isn't she cute? (And do you get the reference?)
The Narnia movies are back on again. After Disney dropped the franchise due to the movies' big budgets and Prince Caspian's less impressive box office take, 20th Century Fox has agreed to develop Walden Media's next Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Variety, IMDb). I still haven't seen Caspian, but I liked the first movie, and it's always good to know that fantasy movies are still alive. I hope this one will be able to impress at the box office, encouraging more.
ABC has greenlit a pilot for a reworking of 1980s sci-fi series V (Variety). The series is written by Scott Peters, who did The 4400, and tells the story of a seemingly friendly alien race that comes to Earth but turns out to have nefarious plans. I've never seen the original series or The 4400, so I don't really have much to say about the project, but I'm always interested to hear of new sci-fi series coming to network TV. Some new adaptations of old sci-fi series have worked (Battlestar Galactica), and some have not (Bionic Woman). We'll see where this one falls.
By the power of Grayskull! V isn't the only series from the '80s getting a reimagining; a new He-Man movie is in the works. Warner Bros. is financing Masters of the Universe, which will be directed by Kung Fu Panda co-director John Stevenson (Variety). Mattel's toy line will likely be getting a nice reboot as well. My brothers and I loved watching He-Man as kids; we had a bunch of episodes recorded on VHS and we certainly had a lot of He-Man toys. Being a girl, though, I of course preferred She-Ra. Maybe if He-Man is successful, they'll make a She-Ra movie, too. I don't know, though; it's hard to imagine He-Man not being campy (I mean, just the name is pretty silly).
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, two sci-fi novels by Dan Simmons, are being adapted into one film, to be called "Hyperion Cantos", by Warner Bros. The screenplay is being written by Trevor Sands, who also adapted David Brin's Startide Rising into what may be an upcoming Paramount movie, and Scott Derrickson, director of the The Day the Earth Stood Still remake, is set to direct (Variety). I haven't read Dan Simmons, but as I've mentioned, I'm always interested to hear of sci-fi projects. That said, I hear the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still was awful, so I don't know if we should get our hopes up about this movie.
M. Night Shyamalan is making a movie called "The Last Airbender", which is apparently based on a Nickelodeon series (Variety). I don't know anything about such a series--I don't get Nickelodeon--but it sounds to me like Shyamalan is planning to make a kids movie. *Shiver.* Well, he has mostly disappointed of late, so maybe Airbender will be good for him. And Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) has just joined the cast. I saw him on a recent Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and I'm just a little bit in love with him. But, uh, he's 18. Legal, sure, but still too young for me not to be a little creepy. Anyway, uh, speaking of the Oscars...
Producers of the Academy Awards show have said that the Oscars are going to be full of surprises this year (IMDb, NY Times). Nominees were told they should "be prepared" (ooh, ominous) and that a lot of risks will be taken. One interesting twist is that they said there is actually going to be some kind of story line told in the awards show itself. The presenters of the awards are being kept secret, which is unusual, and audiences should expect host Hugh Jackman to sing a number directed by Baz Luhrmann. With ratings for the Oscars falling in recent years, and without a huge blockbuster presence in the big categories once again, the producers of the show are clearly trying to change things up to attract a larger audience. I'll be watching, at least. Time, and Nielsen, will tell how many other people tune in with me.
Emily Blunt is in talks to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2, with Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell also negotiating to play villains in the sequel (Variety). But Blunt is also committed to join Jason Segel and Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels (Variety), which may interfere with filming for the Black Widow role. Her representatives are trying to work out a way for her to be in both movies. I loved the first Iron Man movie (I just bought it on Amazon--boy am I a sucker for that "Spend $25 and get free super-saver shipping!" deal), so I am definitely interested to hear how the casting goes. All I've seen Emily Blunt in is Devil Wears Prada, but I think she's great, so I hope she can work out the scheduling conflicts.
>Update 2/16/09: Scarlett Johansson is reportedly in talks to take on the Black Widow role, as Blunt's commitment to Gulliver's Travels will cause her to miss out on the Iron Man 2 role (IMDb).
As of mid-January, there was still talk of a possible Pushing Daisies movie (IMDb). They're keeping my hope alive, at least. Lost and BSG are back on this season now, but I still miss my weekly fix of Pushing Daisies. I wonder if and when they're planning on showing the final un-aired episodes.
This isn't really entertainment news, but I did hear of it on a TV show. Thanks to Stephen Colbert, I now know about the delightful PETA campaign to get people to refer to fish as "sea kittens" in the hope that it will make people think twice before eating fish. Well, to paraphrase Colbert, I'll be happy to give up eating what PETA calls "sea kittens":
as long as I can start eating what I like to call "land fish":
Mmmmm. Now, the campaign did not work for me; for environmental purposes, I think it would be good to be a vegan, but I'm not at a place right now where I'm willing to give up meat, much less dairy. Still, I did go to PETA's sea kitten website, where I made myself a sea kitten:
Isn't she cute? (And do you get the reference?)
The Narnia movies are back on again. After Disney dropped the franchise due to the movies' big budgets and Prince Caspian's less impressive box office take, 20th Century Fox has agreed to develop Walden Media's next Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Variety, IMDb). I still haven't seen Caspian, but I liked the first movie, and it's always good to know that fantasy movies are still alive. I hope this one will be able to impress at the box office, encouraging more.
ABC has greenlit a pilot for a reworking of 1980s sci-fi series V (Variety). The series is written by Scott Peters, who did The 4400, and tells the story of a seemingly friendly alien race that comes to Earth but turns out to have nefarious plans. I've never seen the original series or The 4400, so I don't really have much to say about the project, but I'm always interested to hear of new sci-fi series coming to network TV. Some new adaptations of old sci-fi series have worked (Battlestar Galactica), and some have not (Bionic Woman). We'll see where this one falls.
By the power of Grayskull! V isn't the only series from the '80s getting a reimagining; a new He-Man movie is in the works. Warner Bros. is financing Masters of the Universe, which will be directed by Kung Fu Panda co-director John Stevenson (Variety). Mattel's toy line will likely be getting a nice reboot as well. My brothers and I loved watching He-Man as kids; we had a bunch of episodes recorded on VHS and we certainly had a lot of He-Man toys. Being a girl, though, I of course preferred She-Ra. Maybe if He-Man is successful, they'll make a She-Ra movie, too. I don't know, though; it's hard to imagine He-Man not being campy (I mean, just the name is pretty silly).
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, two sci-fi novels by Dan Simmons, are being adapted into one film, to be called "Hyperion Cantos", by Warner Bros. The screenplay is being written by Trevor Sands, who also adapted David Brin's Startide Rising into what may be an upcoming Paramount movie, and Scott Derrickson, director of the The Day the Earth Stood Still remake, is set to direct (Variety). I haven't read Dan Simmons, but as I've mentioned, I'm always interested to hear of sci-fi projects. That said, I hear the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still was awful, so I don't know if we should get our hopes up about this movie.
M. Night Shyamalan is making a movie called "The Last Airbender", which is apparently based on a Nickelodeon series (Variety). I don't know anything about such a series--I don't get Nickelodeon--but it sounds to me like Shyamalan is planning to make a kids movie. *Shiver.* Well, he has mostly disappointed of late, so maybe Airbender will be good for him. And Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) has just joined the cast. I saw him on a recent Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and I'm just a little bit in love with him. But, uh, he's 18. Legal, sure, but still too young for me not to be a little creepy. Anyway, uh, speaking of the Oscars...
Producers of the Academy Awards show have said that the Oscars are going to be full of surprises this year (IMDb, NY Times). Nominees were told they should "be prepared" (ooh, ominous) and that a lot of risks will be taken. One interesting twist is that they said there is actually going to be some kind of story line told in the awards show itself. The presenters of the awards are being kept secret, which is unusual, and audiences should expect host Hugh Jackman to sing a number directed by Baz Luhrmann. With ratings for the Oscars falling in recent years, and without a huge blockbuster presence in the big categories once again, the producers of the show are clearly trying to change things up to attract a larger audience. I'll be watching, at least. Time, and Nielsen, will tell how many other people tune in with me.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Batman, Iron Man, Narnia, a starry movie, porn, and more
Happy New Year!
I haven't been posting much lately because of holiday break (I spent Christmas with my family at my parents' house) and because I've been busy writing my Statements of Purpose for my grad school applications. I don't know what my purpose is (do I even have a purpose? Do any of us?), so that makes writing a ~1000 word essay stating my purpose rather difficult. Luckily I have a pretty good sense of the kinds of things admissions committees might like to hear, so I managed to find something to write.
Anyway, here's some interesting recent entertainment news. There's a lot, since it's been a while...
Reports suggest that some key roles in the third Christopher Nolan Batman movie have been filled. Rachel Weisz has reportedly been cast as Catwoman, Eddie Murphy is lined up for The Riddler, and Shia Labeouf is supposedly set for the role of Robin (IMDb). I recall reading at some point that Christian Bale said he would drop out of the series if they ever brought Robin in, but I suppose he could have had a change of heart. This coming movie has a lot to live up to--I imagine it will be nearly impossible for it to match the critical or commercial success of its predecessor The Dark Knight. If it is as good as Batman Begins, though, I will be satisfied. The sequel is slated for release in 2010.
The economic downturn has affected even blockbuster franchises. Disney has dropped the third installment of the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, from its slate, leaving co-producers Walden Media to find another studio to co-finance the film (IMDb). The first Narnia movie, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, made around $745 million worldwide, bolstered in large part by churchgoers interested in the story's strong Christian themes and parallels. The second, last year's Prince Caspian, made only $419 million. For most movies, this would be a success, but these films reportedly each cost around $200 million to produce. In the current economic climate, Disney apparently did not want to risk another $200 million if there is a chance they could earn even less than they did on Prince Caspian. I have never read Voyage of the Dawn Treader, so I have no particular reason to worry about this movie specifically, but as a fan of fantasy movies in general, I am concerned if what once seemed a hit franchise is being dropped by a major studio. What will happen to the smaller franchises? Some suggest even Harry Potter is not immune to the recession (The Independent). Hard to believe, but it's enough to make me nervous.
Evan Rachel Wood is trying to convince her Across the Universe co-star to star with her again in the stage musical version of Spider-Man as the Peter Parker to her Mary Jane (IMDb). While I do genuinely like both comic book heroes and Broadway musicals, I've sort of tracking this story mostly as a joke, because, I mean... it's Spider-Man singing and dancing on stage! But Wood insists that Spider-Man: The Musical is not a joke and has assured us that the character will never sing in tights--he will only sing as Peter Parker. Bono and The Edge wrote the songs. And director Julie Taymor of course did amazing things with the stage in The Lion King, so there is promise for some amazing web-slinging theatrics. My apologies; I will withhold my judgment.
As the summer blockbuster that was also a critical darling, The Dark Knight had some early awards buzz, but after many awards groups declined to give it a nomination for best picture, it seemed mostly out of the running for an Oscar nod. Until now. The Producers Guild of America has announced their nominees for best picture of the year, and The Dark Knight is in, along with Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Milk (IMDb). And this is a big deal because the PGA nominees and winner frequently predict the movies that will receive the same honors from the Academy. I'm definitely hoping for a little comic love from the Academy Awards. We'll see how the Oscar nominees turn out on the 22nd.
Head down to your local grocery store and pick up a pair of 3-D glasses to watch... a commercial. Dreamworks Animation is going all out and spending what is probably tens of millions of dollars on a huge promotional campaign for upcoming film Monsters vs. Aliens. A three-minute three-dimensional clip of the movie will be shown during the Super Bowl commercials. 150 million pairs of 3-D glasses will be distributed free of charge at 28,000 locations including grocery, drug, and electronics stores and big-box retailers (IMDb). Not as cool as beaming the movie to Alpha Centauri (see previous post), but a pretty cool (and likely more effective) promotional move nonetheless. I have a couple reasons I am interested in this movie and concerned about its success, one of which you might not think of--I may post on it at some point--so I'm interested to see how this promotional campaign turns out. The best thing about the glasses is that apparently the following night, you can use them to watch a 3-D episode of NBC's Chuck. Hopefully they will have some appropriate effects on that night's episode to warrant the 3-D treatment.
This is the first I've heard about it, but there is an independent 3-D animated film being made in conjunction with NASA called Quantum Quest (Variety). The main character is a photon who lives in the sun. Yes. The movie will fuse Digimax animation with actual space imagery from NASA. It's going to have a star-studded voice cast, with two Captain Kirks (William Shatner and Chris Pine) and two Darth Vaders (James Earl Jones and Hayden Christiansen) signed to lend their voices along with Mark Hamill, Samuel L. Jackson, Amanda Peet, Sandra Oh, Abigail Breslin, and astronaut Neil Armstrong. The film has apparently been in the works since 1996, but they have been waiting for footage from the Cassini/Huygens to arrive. Sweet.
Mickey Rourke is in talks to play the villain in the Iron Man sequel (Variety). I find this mildly interesting because the talk this year has been all about the unlikely comebacks of Mickey Rourke and Robert Downey Jr. (who, in case you are living under a rock, is the star of the new Iron Man movie franchise). I became a fan of the latter after seeing 2005's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and I was introduced to the former in 2005's Sin City, but those were either not big enough hits or big enough roles to count as real comebacks. Anyway, Iron Man 2 may be a face-off between the two comeback kings of 2008. Sam Rockwell is also in talks to play a villain in the movie, which is slated for release in summer 2010.
And lastly, my little gem of the day. Porn moguls Larry Flynt and Joe Francis are asking Congress for a $5 billion bailout for the troubled porn industry (IMDb). Adult DVD sales are apparently down 22 percent from 2007 sales, which Flynt attributes to American citizens being so worried about their finances that they don't have the time to think about sex. Quote: "It's time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America." Yeah, I don't know why Congress didn't get on that sooner. Flynt and Francis say that the porn industry is important to the American economy just as the auto industry is, though I think it may still be a tough sell to get Congress to spend taxpayers' dollars on reviving porn. But I guess the fact that there is a male majority may help. I don't really care what happens to the porn industry, but as a fan of Avenue Q, I can't help but think of a certain important moment in that musical. When it turns out that Trekkie Monster has $10 million to donate to Kate Monster's school for monsters, and everyone in shock asks him how he has so much money when all he seems to do is sit in his apartment and watch porn, he declares, "In volatile market, only stable investment is PORN!" So now I have become deeply concerned about our economy. If even porn needs a bailout, we must be doomed!
Ah, what a start to 2009.
I haven't been posting much lately because of holiday break (I spent Christmas with my family at my parents' house) and because I've been busy writing my Statements of Purpose for my grad school applications. I don't know what my purpose is (do I even have a purpose? Do any of us?), so that makes writing a ~1000 word essay stating my purpose rather difficult. Luckily I have a pretty good sense of the kinds of things admissions committees might like to hear, so I managed to find something to write.
Anyway, here's some interesting recent entertainment news. There's a lot, since it's been a while...
Reports suggest that some key roles in the third Christopher Nolan Batman movie have been filled. Rachel Weisz has reportedly been cast as Catwoman, Eddie Murphy is lined up for The Riddler, and Shia Labeouf is supposedly set for the role of Robin (IMDb). I recall reading at some point that Christian Bale said he would drop out of the series if they ever brought Robin in, but I suppose he could have had a change of heart. This coming movie has a lot to live up to--I imagine it will be nearly impossible for it to match the critical or commercial success of its predecessor The Dark Knight. If it is as good as Batman Begins, though, I will be satisfied. The sequel is slated for release in 2010.
The economic downturn has affected even blockbuster franchises. Disney has dropped the third installment of the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, from its slate, leaving co-producers Walden Media to find another studio to co-finance the film (IMDb). The first Narnia movie, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, made around $745 million worldwide, bolstered in large part by churchgoers interested in the story's strong Christian themes and parallels. The second, last year's Prince Caspian, made only $419 million. For most movies, this would be a success, but these films reportedly each cost around $200 million to produce. In the current economic climate, Disney apparently did not want to risk another $200 million if there is a chance they could earn even less than they did on Prince Caspian. I have never read Voyage of the Dawn Treader, so I have no particular reason to worry about this movie specifically, but as a fan of fantasy movies in general, I am concerned if what once seemed a hit franchise is being dropped by a major studio. What will happen to the smaller franchises? Some suggest even Harry Potter is not immune to the recession (The Independent). Hard to believe, but it's enough to make me nervous.
Evan Rachel Wood is trying to convince her Across the Universe co-star to star with her again in the stage musical version of Spider-Man as the Peter Parker to her Mary Jane (IMDb). While I do genuinely like both comic book heroes and Broadway musicals, I've sort of tracking this story mostly as a joke, because, I mean... it's Spider-Man singing and dancing on stage! But Wood insists that Spider-Man: The Musical is not a joke and has assured us that the character will never sing in tights--he will only sing as Peter Parker. Bono and The Edge wrote the songs. And director Julie Taymor of course did amazing things with the stage in The Lion King, so there is promise for some amazing web-slinging theatrics. My apologies; I will withhold my judgment.
As the summer blockbuster that was also a critical darling, The Dark Knight had some early awards buzz, but after many awards groups declined to give it a nomination for best picture, it seemed mostly out of the running for an Oscar nod. Until now. The Producers Guild of America has announced their nominees for best picture of the year, and The Dark Knight is in, along with Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Milk (IMDb). And this is a big deal because the PGA nominees and winner frequently predict the movies that will receive the same honors from the Academy. I'm definitely hoping for a little comic love from the Academy Awards. We'll see how the Oscar nominees turn out on the 22nd.
Head down to your local grocery store and pick up a pair of 3-D glasses to watch... a commercial. Dreamworks Animation is going all out and spending what is probably tens of millions of dollars on a huge promotional campaign for upcoming film Monsters vs. Aliens. A three-minute three-dimensional clip of the movie will be shown during the Super Bowl commercials. 150 million pairs of 3-D glasses will be distributed free of charge at 28,000 locations including grocery, drug, and electronics stores and big-box retailers (IMDb). Not as cool as beaming the movie to Alpha Centauri (see previous post), but a pretty cool (and likely more effective) promotional move nonetheless. I have a couple reasons I am interested in this movie and concerned about its success, one of which you might not think of--I may post on it at some point--so I'm interested to see how this promotional campaign turns out. The best thing about the glasses is that apparently the following night, you can use them to watch a 3-D episode of NBC's Chuck. Hopefully they will have some appropriate effects on that night's episode to warrant the 3-D treatment.
This is the first I've heard about it, but there is an independent 3-D animated film being made in conjunction with NASA called Quantum Quest (Variety). The main character is a photon who lives in the sun. Yes. The movie will fuse Digimax animation with actual space imagery from NASA. It's going to have a star-studded voice cast, with two Captain Kirks (William Shatner and Chris Pine) and two Darth Vaders (James Earl Jones and Hayden Christiansen) signed to lend their voices along with Mark Hamill, Samuel L. Jackson, Amanda Peet, Sandra Oh, Abigail Breslin, and astronaut Neil Armstrong. The film has apparently been in the works since 1996, but they have been waiting for footage from the Cassini/Huygens to arrive. Sweet.
Mickey Rourke is in talks to play the villain in the Iron Man sequel (Variety). I find this mildly interesting because the talk this year has been all about the unlikely comebacks of Mickey Rourke and Robert Downey Jr. (who, in case you are living under a rock, is the star of the new Iron Man movie franchise). I became a fan of the latter after seeing 2005's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and I was introduced to the former in 2005's Sin City, but those were either not big enough hits or big enough roles to count as real comebacks. Anyway, Iron Man 2 may be a face-off between the two comeback kings of 2008. Sam Rockwell is also in talks to play a villain in the movie, which is slated for release in summer 2010.
And lastly, my little gem of the day. Porn moguls Larry Flynt and Joe Francis are asking Congress for a $5 billion bailout for the troubled porn industry (IMDb). Adult DVD sales are apparently down 22 percent from 2007 sales, which Flynt attributes to American citizens being so worried about their finances that they don't have the time to think about sex. Quote: "It's time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America." Yeah, I don't know why Congress didn't get on that sooner. Flynt and Francis say that the porn industry is important to the American economy just as the auto industry is, though I think it may still be a tough sell to get Congress to spend taxpayers' dollars on reviving porn. But I guess the fact that there is a male majority may help. I don't really care what happens to the porn industry, but as a fan of Avenue Q, I can't help but think of a certain important moment in that musical. When it turns out that Trekkie Monster has $10 million to donate to Kate Monster's school for monsters, and everyone in shock asks him how he has so much money when all he seems to do is sit in his apartment and watch porn, he declares, "In volatile market, only stable investment is PORN!" So now I have become deeply concerned about our economy. If even porn needs a bailout, we must be doomed!
Ah, what a start to 2009.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
BSG, Wicked, Iron Man, and Vote Pushing Daisies!
Well, the weather is finally starting to act like fall where I am; I broke out the fleece jacket this morning. The wind and chill only heighten already high tensions, with the roller coaster stock market, impending election, and the World Series delayed by the rain! Really, I couldn't care less about the World Series, but it is in my interest to make sure the folks at FOX are happy rather than worried about how the delayed games could potentially disrupt their schedule, since stressed executives could make rash decisions they'll later regret to ax weak sci-fi performers off their Monday schedules... Anyway, here are my thoughts on a number of entertainment-related news items.
Big news first: We have a date.
10 pm on Friday, January 16, 2009
The second half of the final season of Battlestar Galactica will finally premiere, with the series finale likely falling on March 20 (Ausiello files). They sure know how to make a cliff hanger at BSG, more than basically any other show I know (The island moved? So what?), so I cannot wait for it to come back. Seriously, though, this show kind of stresses me out, so while I love it dearly and will be devastated when it comes to a close, I think in some ways it'll be a relief when the final episode is over. If you're not watching it, you should be (Catch up with the DVDs--you have two and a half months. Go!). It doesn't matter if you hate spaceships on principle (well, it does matter to me... I'm not sure we can be friends... What's wrong with space travel?), since I can personally confirm that there are people who are not sci-fi fans who still love this show. Battlestar Galactica is simply one of the most, if not the most, intense, harrowing, personal, and profound dramas on TV. Yeah, it's that good.
I'd like to give a shout out to Wicked, one of my absolute favorite musicals. Universal recently reported that Wicked's worldwide grosses have reached $1.2 billion, putting it in the ranks of top-grossing feature films, a practically unheard of feat for a stage show (Variety). I was lucky enough to see Wicked on Broadway when Tony winner Idina Menzel was still playing the (not really so) Wicked Witch of the West, though sadly Kristin Chenoweth had already left. (As a side note, Tom Cruise was in the audience with us, and as much as I'd like to think I'm a practical person who understands that famous people are still just humans, I was totally excited, particularly because this was before his summer of couch-jumping and anti-depressant-bashing bad publicity and subsequent popularity drop). Wicked is a great show, with humor, spectacular scenes and scenery, a wonderful score, quirky characters, and a touching story. It lost the best musical Tony, though, to Avenue Q, which really did deserve it just as much. I maintain that if Wicked had only come out the following year, it would have easily trumped Spamalot for the Tony (sorry Monty Python, but Wicked was just better). I wonder if they'll ever try to make a movie version of Wicked (making it perhaps the first movie based on a musical based on a book based on a movie based on a book). I'm not sure it would be a great idea; movie adaptations of stage musicals have had some great successes (Hairspray) but also some notable disappointments (The Producers). But if they are going to do it, they'd better get a move on it, or as Kristin Chenoweth said, she'll be playing Madame Morrible. I mean, original Broadway cast members returning 10 years later to movie roles that they are now really too old for? Idina Menzel's been there, done that (see: Rent). But anyway, Wicked's worldwide success makes me very happy.
The wildly popular Jonas Brothers have signed on to star in a 20th Century Fox feature entitled
"Walter the Farting Dog"
(Variety) Need I say more? Probably not, but I'll keep talking anyway. I don't really understand the appeal of the Jonas Brothers. Maybe if I were ten years younger I would, though it's unlikely, since I never was one to obsess over singers or bands. But still, I thought these guys were successful and wholesome. I would not have expected them to attach themselves to a movie about a farting dog. I wouldn't have expected there to be a movie about a farting dog at all (though the rumor that the Farrelly brothers may direct surprises me less). Maybe this movie will somehow turn out to be a clever, humorous, deep, and heart-warming story for the whole family, but... no, I don't think so. Talk about people being put off by the word "porno" in upcoming Zack and Miri Make a Porno--I am disgusted by the idea that "farting" would be important enough to a storyline to feature it in the title. But maybe I'm just becoming an old fart.
Some exciting new news: Robert Downey Jr. has signed on with Marvel to star in Iron Man 3 as well as Iron Man 2 (for which director Jon Favreau has been confirmed as well), and also in The Avengers (Variety). The Avengers is expected to be released in July 2011 and will feature Thor, Captain America, and the Hulk along with Iron Man. I loved the Iron Man movie, particularly Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Iron Man was overshadowed by the success of The Dark Knight, but it was very different--brighter, shinier, funnier, and Marveler--and holds its own in the world of superhero movies. I'm looking forward to future Iron Man features, as long as they are careful not to go the way of Spider-Man 3.
And lastly, I'd like to discuss an issue of actual, real-world importance. Very soon, citizens across America will have to make a choice between Obama and... Pushing Daisies! Three of the four major networks--CBS, NBC, and FOX--will be airing a half hour Obama special on Wednesday (10/29) night at 8. ABC, on the other hand, will be airing its regular new episode of Pushing Daisies (Variety). Hopefully this will give my favorite ratings-challenged show a boost as the only major network non-infomercial at that time. So don't watch Obama. You don't need to. Are any of the candidates really going to say anything new at this point? And who hasn't made up their minds already? Seriously. After all, the biggest danger facing our country right now is the very real possibility of Pushing Daisies getting canceled. It doesn't matter who wins the election if Pushing Daisies is gone (*wipes tear of fervor*). So on Wednesday,
Vote Daisies!
Big news first: We have a date.
10 pm on Friday, January 16, 2009
The second half of the final season of Battlestar Galactica will finally premiere, with the series finale likely falling on March 20 (Ausiello files). They sure know how to make a cliff hanger at BSG, more than basically any other show I know (The island moved? So what?), so I cannot wait for it to come back. Seriously, though, this show kind of stresses me out, so while I love it dearly and will be devastated when it comes to a close, I think in some ways it'll be a relief when the final episode is over. If you're not watching it, you should be (Catch up with the DVDs--you have two and a half months. Go!). It doesn't matter if you hate spaceships on principle (well, it does matter to me... I'm not sure we can be friends... What's wrong with space travel?), since I can personally confirm that there are people who are not sci-fi fans who still love this show. Battlestar Galactica is simply one of the most, if not the most, intense, harrowing, personal, and profound dramas on TV. Yeah, it's that good.
I'd like to give a shout out to Wicked, one of my absolute favorite musicals. Universal recently reported that Wicked's worldwide grosses have reached $1.2 billion, putting it in the ranks of top-grossing feature films, a practically unheard of feat for a stage show (Variety). I was lucky enough to see Wicked on Broadway when Tony winner Idina Menzel was still playing the (not really so) Wicked Witch of the West, though sadly Kristin Chenoweth had already left. (As a side note, Tom Cruise was in the audience with us, and as much as I'd like to think I'm a practical person who understands that famous people are still just humans, I was totally excited, particularly because this was before his summer of couch-jumping and anti-depressant-bashing bad publicity and subsequent popularity drop). Wicked is a great show, with humor, spectacular scenes and scenery, a wonderful score, quirky characters, and a touching story. It lost the best musical Tony, though, to Avenue Q, which really did deserve it just as much. I maintain that if Wicked had only come out the following year, it would have easily trumped Spamalot for the Tony (sorry Monty Python, but Wicked was just better). I wonder if they'll ever try to make a movie version of Wicked (making it perhaps the first movie based on a musical based on a book based on a movie based on a book). I'm not sure it would be a great idea; movie adaptations of stage musicals have had some great successes (Hairspray) but also some notable disappointments (The Producers). But if they are going to do it, they'd better get a move on it, or as Kristin Chenoweth said, she'll be playing Madame Morrible. I mean, original Broadway cast members returning 10 years later to movie roles that they are now really too old for? Idina Menzel's been there, done that (see: Rent). But anyway, Wicked's worldwide success makes me very happy.
The wildly popular Jonas Brothers have signed on to star in a 20th Century Fox feature entitled
"Walter the Farting Dog"
(Variety) Need I say more? Probably not, but I'll keep talking anyway. I don't really understand the appeal of the Jonas Brothers. Maybe if I were ten years younger I would, though it's unlikely, since I never was one to obsess over singers or bands. But still, I thought these guys were successful and wholesome. I would not have expected them to attach themselves to a movie about a farting dog. I wouldn't have expected there to be a movie about a farting dog at all (though the rumor that the Farrelly brothers may direct surprises me less). Maybe this movie will somehow turn out to be a clever, humorous, deep, and heart-warming story for the whole family, but... no, I don't think so. Talk about people being put off by the word "porno" in upcoming Zack and Miri Make a Porno--I am disgusted by the idea that "farting" would be important enough to a storyline to feature it in the title. But maybe I'm just becoming an old fart.
Some exciting new news: Robert Downey Jr. has signed on with Marvel to star in Iron Man 3 as well as Iron Man 2 (for which director Jon Favreau has been confirmed as well), and also in The Avengers (Variety). The Avengers is expected to be released in July 2011 and will feature Thor, Captain America, and the Hulk along with Iron Man. I loved the Iron Man movie, particularly Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Iron Man was overshadowed by the success of The Dark Knight, but it was very different--brighter, shinier, funnier, and Marveler--and holds its own in the world of superhero movies. I'm looking forward to future Iron Man features, as long as they are careful not to go the way of Spider-Man 3.
And lastly, I'd like to discuss an issue of actual, real-world importance. Very soon, citizens across America will have to make a choice between Obama and... Pushing Daisies! Three of the four major networks--CBS, NBC, and FOX--will be airing a half hour Obama special on Wednesday (10/29) night at 8. ABC, on the other hand, will be airing its regular new episode of Pushing Daisies (Variety). Hopefully this will give my favorite ratings-challenged show a boost as the only major network non-infomercial at that time. So don't watch Obama. You don't need to. Are any of the candidates really going to say anything new at this point? And who hasn't made up their minds already? Seriously. After all, the biggest danger facing our country right now is the very real possibility of Pushing Daisies getting canceled. It doesn't matter who wins the election if Pushing Daisies is gone (*wipes tear of fervor*). So on Wednesday,
Vote Daisies!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Iron Man 2, Bourne 4, and Homer in Space!
First I'd like to share a personal update. My job is essentially a dead-end job. It is great experience and a strong resume-builder, but the only way to move up in the field is to go to grad school. So the whole past year, when people have asked me what my long-term plans are, I've responded that I'm considering going to grad school next year, i.e. fall 2009. Just a couple weeks ago now, it finally dawned on me that, if I actually do want to apply to grad school for next year, now is the time to apply. Panic! This reality check has sent me into a flurry of stressful school- (as well as soul-) searching, trying to figure out what to study, where to study, and with whom to study next year. And then there's the GRE that I'm signed up to take at the end of the month which I'm trying my darnedest to motivate myself to study for (a difficult task, indeed). So I haven't been posting as frequently as I was before I realized I have to apply to grad school. So yeah, there's my excuse. And on another note, the well that supplies my building is still testing positive for coliforms, so now it's over two weeks without full use of the water. I have no words of poetry left for the situation.
Anyway, on to the entertainment news that has caught my eye this past week.
Don Cheadle is set to replace Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes in Iron Man 2 (Variety, IMDb). After saying "Next time, baby" to the extra suit in the first movie, it turns out Howard won't be around next time when the character gets to don the suit as War Machine. I can't really imagine what would make Howard want to back out of the sequel (IMDb blames it on a salary dispute, but the media always blames it on salary, so I always take such reports with a grain of salt). The first movie was thoroughly entertaining and, well, pretty awesome, and in a summer dominated by The Dark Knight, it managed to hold its own (it did, of course, come out before Dark Knight). Anyway, I'm expecting great things from the sequel, and I am slightly saddened that the entire cast will not remain intact. That said, Cheadle is great, if very different from Howard, and as long as it's Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr., the rest don't matter so much. So what's in store for Cheadle's Rhodes? Variety suggests "the sequel will see him become War Machine, Iron Man's nemesis." Hmm. I can see a plot where Stark would have to do battle with War Machine, but putting "Iron Man's nemesis" as an appositive for "War Machine" seems to suggest that War Machine is a permanent villain. I'm no Iron Man expert, but what I know of Iron Man tells me that's wrong. Hopefully it's just a misleading, uninformed turn of phrase. The sequel is scheduled to be out in 2010. Looking forward to it.
> Update 10/20/08: Terrence Howard claims that reports he turned down the Rhodes role in the Iron Man sequel over a salary dispute are totally fabricated (IMDb). He insists instead that he was snubbed mid-negotiations in spite of an existing contract. Ah, the intrigue! What will happen next?
> Update 10/31/08: Apparently, the story is that Howard, the highest paid actor on the first Iron Man film (!), was offered a dramatic pay cut for the sequel when the writers found he wasn't going to have a very large role. His agents were not pleased. It wasn't clear who walked away first, but Marvel quickly secured Cheadle for the role (EW).
> Update 2/6/09: The confusion continues. Though last year on NPR, Howard had called it the "surprise of a lifetime" when he found out that Cheadle had taken the role of Rhodes, and expressed his disappointment at the broken contract, he recently told Ebony magazine that he walked away from the role following the advice of Will Smith (IMDb). Will we ever know what really transpired?
Universal has found a writer, George Nolfi, for the fourth Bourne film (Variety). Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass are already signed up for the fourth installment. They'd originally only planned on the trilogy, but who can resist all that potential money? The Bourne trilogy was pretty rare in that none of the three movies were stinkers. In fact, they were all pretty great. Hopefully, they'll be able to keep it up with the fourth. After last year's Summer of the Threequel, let's see if we can get a Summer of the Fourquel in a couple years. Shrek and Spider-Man are already gearing up for their respective number fours, though the release dates are not likely to be close. They should work on that. Frankly, though, I'm much more excited about Bourne 4 than the other two.
Brad Pitt has signed on for Warner Bros. project "The Odyssey" (Variety). Pitt will probably star in it, and George Miller who is also attached to the project will probably direct (it's all the early stages here, so little is certain). If this sounds like a sequel to 2004's Troy (which would be a bad idea, and besides, Brad Pitt's Achilles--spoiler!--died at the end), think again. Variety reports that they plan on creating a futuristic version of Homer's epic, with the tale set in outer space. Yes. A literal space odyssey. I'm not sure how Odysseus will prove his identity by stringing a laser gun (or if he actually deserves his faithful wife Penelope after all he does on his journey, without ancient standards of morality). I've been surprised before, and heaven knows I like sci-fi, even sometimes when it's bad, but this just seems like a misguided concept. Homer... IN SPACE!
Anyway, on to the entertainment news that has caught my eye this past week.
Don Cheadle is set to replace Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes in Iron Man 2 (Variety, IMDb). After saying "Next time, baby" to the extra suit in the first movie, it turns out Howard won't be around next time when the character gets to don the suit as War Machine. I can't really imagine what would make Howard want to back out of the sequel (IMDb blames it on a salary dispute, but the media always blames it on salary, so I always take such reports with a grain of salt). The first movie was thoroughly entertaining and, well, pretty awesome, and in a summer dominated by The Dark Knight, it managed to hold its own (it did, of course, come out before Dark Knight). Anyway, I'm expecting great things from the sequel, and I am slightly saddened that the entire cast will not remain intact. That said, Cheadle is great, if very different from Howard, and as long as it's Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr., the rest don't matter so much. So what's in store for Cheadle's Rhodes? Variety suggests "the sequel will see him become War Machine, Iron Man's nemesis." Hmm. I can see a plot where Stark would have to do battle with War Machine, but putting "Iron Man's nemesis" as an appositive for "War Machine" seems to suggest that War Machine is a permanent villain. I'm no Iron Man expert, but what I know of Iron Man tells me that's wrong. Hopefully it's just a misleading, uninformed turn of phrase. The sequel is scheduled to be out in 2010. Looking forward to it.
> Update 10/20/08: Terrence Howard claims that reports he turned down the Rhodes role in the Iron Man sequel over a salary dispute are totally fabricated (IMDb). He insists instead that he was snubbed mid-negotiations in spite of an existing contract. Ah, the intrigue! What will happen next?
> Update 10/31/08: Apparently, the story is that Howard, the highest paid actor on the first Iron Man film (!), was offered a dramatic pay cut for the sequel when the writers found he wasn't going to have a very large role. His agents were not pleased. It wasn't clear who walked away first, but Marvel quickly secured Cheadle for the role (EW).
> Update 2/6/09: The confusion continues. Though last year on NPR, Howard had called it the "surprise of a lifetime" when he found out that Cheadle had taken the role of Rhodes, and expressed his disappointment at the broken contract, he recently told Ebony magazine that he walked away from the role following the advice of Will Smith (IMDb). Will we ever know what really transpired?
Universal has found a writer, George Nolfi, for the fourth Bourne film (Variety). Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass are already signed up for the fourth installment. They'd originally only planned on the trilogy, but who can resist all that potential money? The Bourne trilogy was pretty rare in that none of the three movies were stinkers. In fact, they were all pretty great. Hopefully, they'll be able to keep it up with the fourth. After last year's Summer of the Threequel, let's see if we can get a Summer of the Fourquel in a couple years. Shrek and Spider-Man are already gearing up for their respective number fours, though the release dates are not likely to be close. They should work on that. Frankly, though, I'm much more excited about Bourne 4 than the other two.
Brad Pitt has signed on for Warner Bros. project "The Odyssey" (Variety). Pitt will probably star in it, and George Miller who is also attached to the project will probably direct (it's all the early stages here, so little is certain). If this sounds like a sequel to 2004's Troy (which would be a bad idea, and besides, Brad Pitt's Achilles--spoiler!--died at the end), think again. Variety reports that they plan on creating a futuristic version of Homer's epic, with the tale set in outer space. Yes. A literal space odyssey. I'm not sure how Odysseus will prove his identity by stringing a laser gun (or if he actually deserves his faithful wife Penelope after all he does on his journey, without ancient standards of morality). I've been surprised before, and heaven knows I like sci-fi, even sometimes when it's bad, but this just seems like a misguided concept. Homer... IN SPACE!
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