Stop-Loss trailer

Wow, this Stop-Loss film looks pretty powerful.



Check out more on the film here, and comments from actual soldiers and their families on this film, and this policy at the Stop-Loss Sound Off page...

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Journeyman finale to air

A few days ago I made mention that the final episode of NBCs Journeyman seemed to be in some jeopardy of airing. Very sad news indeed.

But it looks like the tide may have turned. Ain't it Cool News has learned direct from series producer Kevin Falls that they have decided to air the 12 and final (so far) episode of Journeyman at 10pm on December 19th.

For more info on how to help, send your support over to SaveJourneyman.net. I definitely think this show deserves a full season order at the least. Don't you?

December 3rd has been declared an action day for Journeyman fans. Either go watch a full episode online at NBC.com, or purchase the latest episode "Blowback" off of iTunes and help make NBC take notice.

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Avatar alien

Woah, check out this very cool picture of what is reported to be art of the aliens in James Cameron's new film Avatar. click to enlarge.

As a side note BritFilms.tv has posted a few different probably all fake teaser posters for the film. see them here, here, and here. The movie is set for release May 22, 2009. So very, very far away...

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Joker cover

This Joker picture from The Dark Knight showed up online a few days ago. It's also featured alongside an in depth story on the film and character in this month's Empire magazine. Check it out.

Oh and for more viral goodies care of The Dark Knight check this site out which runsdown all the pertinent info :)

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Cloverfield revealed?

Ok, so I don't want to outright show this picture, because even though its 'apparently' only concept art it fully reveals what some are claiming is an early production sketch of the creature starring in Cloverfield. If you're interested CLICK HERE to check it out...

Personally I think that looks pretty damn cool. The thing probably doesn't really look like that, but hey, its a neat design regardless. Don't forget there is a fleeting glimpse of a part of the monster seen in the new trailer.

The Official Cloverfield Website has been updated a bit. Here's the newly listed synopsis:

"Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives."

As always I recommend Cloverfield Clues for all you Cloverfield News. And I'll leave you with this shot from last weeks Heroes where they had some genius cross-promotion and featured Kristen Bell sipping on a cool refreshing Slusho. mmmmmm good...

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Gladiators return next year!

Man oh man, did you guys catch this awesome commercial during Heroes last night? American Gladiators is coming!



If you missed this news before, you can read all about it here. The show has begun taping and will start airing January 6th, 2008! Very very exciting!

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Hands

Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

UPDATE - Daft Punk's new album, Alive which doesn't officially hit stores until Dec 4th, is streaming online. Check it out. freakin great stuff.

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Japanese AVP-R poster

Check out this really cool Japanese Aliens vs Predator: Requiem poster care of ComingSoon. I wish our posters we this cool, I would seriously have this in my home. Very nice.

The film hits theaters in N. America on Christmas Day.

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Persepolis trailer

Check out this fascinating trailer for Persepolis. Word on the street is that this film is the favorite for Best Animated Feature this year at the Oscars. I think it looks very good.

Persepolis

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Persepolis is set for a limited release Stateside on December 25th.

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Punisher: War Zone synopsis

The official synopsis for the new Punisher film called Punisher: War Zone has been released. I suppose you might technically call this a bit of a spoiler, but heck, its basically what you'd learn from a trailer. Care of SuperheroHype:

"Waging his one-man war on the world of organized crime, ruthless vigilante-hero Frank Castle sets his sights on overeager mob boss Billy Russoti. After Russoti is left horribly disfigured by Castle, he sets out for vengeance under his new alias: Jigsaw. With the "Punisher Task Force" hot on his trail and the FBI unable to take Jigsaw in, Frank must stand up to the formidable army that Jigsaw has recruited before more of his evil deeds go unpunished."

The film, starring Rome's Ray Stevenson as the Punisher, and Dominic West as Jigsaw is filming right now in Montreal and is slated to come out sometime, probably in the Fall, of '08.

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Solomon Kane poster

So to be honest I'd never heard of Solomon Kane before today; and then all of a sudden while surfing over at ComingSoon.net I came across this fantastic new poster for the film. Click to enlarge.

The titular character comes to us from Robert E Howard, famed creator of Conan the Barbarian, and the film is set to star James Purefoy, best known as Mark Anthony on Rome. According to ComingSoon "Solomon Kane is a 16th Century soldier who learns that his brutal and cruel actions have damned him. Determined to redeem himself, Kane swears to live a life of peace and goodness but is forced to fight once more when a dark power threatens the land." The film is supposed to start shooting this month in Eastern Europe, and is being written and directed by Michael J. Bassett a man who's made a couple of films I've never heard of, but probably should have.

Have to keep our eyes open on this one, it might just turn out to be something good. I know I for one am already intrigued...

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A big T4 rumor

Well, if this is true then... I just don't know. I think it's great. I think.... right?

AICN is reporting from a very trusted source that Christian Bale has been cast in the upcoming Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins as none other than John Connor! Now before you get overly excited, it's still possible that this may be inaccurate. Because over at CHUD, via Moviehole they're saying that there are conflicting reports floating around. They're saying they've heard that Bale has been cast, but as the new Terminator, and not as Connor. Which is right? which is wrong?

Only time will tell. Either way, I think I'm pretty stoked. Christian Bale should be great for this kind of film. And while I was imagining a younger Connor, even kind of hoping for Nick Stahl's return, I could see it working with Bale as well. I will put my faith in McG, despite his silly, silly name.

Bring on the Judgement Day.

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Sienna Miller is The Baroness

Tanks to Bernard for pointing me to this news while I was on vacation last week. Glad I didn't miss it.

The first piece of casting news on the much anticipated (by me at least) G.I. Joe film has landed on the interweb. According to reports Sienna Miller is going to play the devious Cobra villain The Baroness. Easily one of the most shaded characters in the entire Joe mythos the Baroness has a very fleshed out character, that isn't really bad or good, just totally self serving. She works for her, and often Destro's, own agenda and definitely does not play by even the Cobra rulebook.

Miller is great casting, she's a tantalizing seductress and I definitely think she will fill the role nicely. Despite being British and blonde ;)

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Journeyman to end unfinished?

Maybe...

According to this article over at AICN, and their source this Premium Hollywood interview with Kevin Falls, series producer, it looks like there may not be room on NBC's schedule for the 12th and probably final episode of Journeyman. While nothing is set in stone yet, the way they're shifting things around and whatnot it looks kinda dicey for my current favorite time traveling show. And as Falls explains, NBC wants to wrap things up and clear their slate for January. I just hope Journeyman isn't another casualty.

This damn writers strike sucks. I hope I don't have to wait for the dvds to find the answers I'm looking for... come on NBC, don't do this to the fans :(

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Films fall to the strike

While I want to believe that these can all get back on track eventually, and hopefully even easier than a fallen tv series; a few films have started to feel the pressure of the WGA strike and fold before they get stuck in the lurch.

Oliver Stone's Pinkville, and Ron Howard's Da Vinci Code sequel Angels & Demons have both been put on indefinite hold after not quite managing to put their pieces in place before the strike began a few weeks ago. Both high profile pictures Pinkville is based on the on the investigation into the very screwed up Mai Lai Massacre in Vietnam, and was set to star Bruce Willis. If the strike does end soon its possible that the film could continue, but according to Variety Willis is set to start filming Jonathan Mostow's The Surrogates in February, so we'll have to see what 's what when the time comes.... hmm, odd about that Surrogates film, isn't Mostow set to direct something else? hmmm. As for Angels & Demons, well that seems more likely to actually come together. Disney has simply pushed the release date for the film back from Christmas '08 to May 15th '09. Unless this strike really goes on for a long time (which it admittedly might), then that should cover their bases.

Variety also reports that production has been delayed on Shantaram, a film set to star Johnny Depp in a role... well only a role Depp could play. Check out the wacked out sounding story on the wiki; sounds great if weird. And finally Rob Marshall's proposed musical about a stressed out director called Nine set to star Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz has been put on the backburner until the second half of '08. Sigh.

The good news is strike talks are expected to resume on November 26th (which is tomorrow morning) so let's all keep our fingers crossed that this is the beginning of the end, and our films don't start to fall apart like our tv shows. This could well be the first cinematic casualties of many; but I certainly hope not.

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Burton in 3-D

Recently reported by Variety director Tim Burton has signed on to make two new 3-D films for Disney. The first is a new version of Alice in Wonderland, which I am honestly super excited about. I mean can't you just imagine how fantastically twisted he will make it? And I'm interested to see how he does it. Reportedly Alice will blend live action and animation in the same way as Beowulf. very cool news. And the second film set to be brought to life is a feature length remake of Burton's 30 minute short Frankenweenie. And this one will be closer to the animation style of Nightmare Before Christmas. I have yet to see the original but apparently it can be found on the special edition of Nightmare and sounds pretty darn great. Hopefully I can see that before this hits theaters.

In the meantime while we wait for these sure to be works of genius, why don't you check out Vincent a great little 5 minute short film made by Burton long long ago. It's super fun too :)

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Ross on WGA strike

Jason Ross of The Daily Show gives a rundown of the WGA strike right from the front lines. Funny stuff :)



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Dragonball Z gets a cast

I'll keep this short because for the most part I'm just not excited about the Draghonball Z film.

While I think there might be something to say for a Dragonball film, the "Z" series never really interested me. For me it's the journey that's really interesting; and with the DBZ series watching Goku spending literally full episodes charging up for a single Kamehameha (sp?) attack, is more than a little frustrating. If you have no idea what I'm saying then don't stress, you probably won't ever care. Just know that the hit anime Dragonball Z is coming to the big screen in a live action film. Beloved by fans I think this movie will either be absolutely fantastic or total crap. My vote for now leans more on the bad side. But hey, let's wait until we start really seeing what they are planning, you never know. It'll probably be fun, and at least I'm not overly invested in the story, or lack thereof ;)

Announced this week Justin Chatwin has scored the lead role of Goku, a young fighter trying to save the universe. Oh, that's the story by the way. Fighter trying to save the universe. It's not really any more complicated than that. If you've ever seen the anime you know, its basically ALL fighting and zero story. Also announced James Marsters (Spike of Buffy fame) has been cast as the big baddie Piccolo. Fanboys prepare yourselves.... Slated to start filming at the end of this month, the movie is scheduled to hit theaters on August 15th next year!That's SO soon I almost think that must be a mistake, but they could always push that date. Maybe they're planning a lot of wire-fu and not as many visual effects though. Who knows.

Anyhow, we'll have to see what becomes of this. Fingers crossed we'll at least get something fun and mindless with good fight scenes. Considering this is coming from director Stephen Chow of Kung Fu Hustle fame, who is producing this time, and director James Wong of the awesome and underrated The One, I'd say we could be in luck. Still, sometimes it helps to keep your expectations a bit low.

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New Cloverfield trailer!

Check it out everyone. Not great quality I know, and it might be gone by morning but check out this video of the new Cloverfield trailer. Very sweet.

This is the trailer that will be attached to Beowulf this weekend. so after watching this, doesn't it look like the movie really might be called Cloverfield? That's sure what it seems. Oh JJ you're such a tease. Here's some reaction to the new trailer.

In other news, if you've been following the Jamie and Teddy stuff, here is a link to the newly released video #4. Notice the shiny blue present still sitting on her nightstand. December 5th is the big day for that. And finally, the Bold Futura site is live... or at least it was. wtf?! one sec... hmm, I'm too tired to look this stuff up now, but go nuts over at the Unfiction Forums if you feel like it. Let me know if you learn anything in the comments.

Oh and someone commented today on an old Cloverfield post I'd done here with info on their new Cloverfield Forums at Slusho.ca. Check it out if you can, seems like some dedicated well meaning Canadian Cloverfield fans. Maybe I'll get a chance to post there sometime. Later


UPDATE - hey all, I've just re-embedded a better quality version of the trailer off of YouTube. But for the best quality, head over to Apple.com where they've got glorious high rez versions available. Also since I last posted the above a week ago the official Cloverfield poster has been revealed. Check it out :)

Check out a bigger better version of that over at ComingSoon.net. And for more... theres a lot. check out Cloverfeild Clues. later gators.

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Sarah Connor Chronicles posters

Care of EW.com, check out theis new poster for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which as of now at least is still scheduled to start this January on FOX despite the writers strike. Head over to Entertainment Weekly to check out their other three very cool new SCC posters.

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Marvel goes DiG!tA1ll1l...

Wow. Today surely is a watershed moment for comics. The days of Marvel's timid dot-comics are over as the house that Stan built moves boldly into the digital future with the launch today of Marvels Digital Comics Unlimited.

For a subscription rate of $9.99 a month or $59.88 for the year (only $4.99 per month at that rate) you can gain access to some 2500 back issues of comics. These are high quality PDFs of each comic page archived and stored lovingly by Marvel's techheads. The company additionally plans to release at least 20 new old issues a week. In order to insulate the print version of their books Marvel intends to wait at least 6 months between the hard copy release and the digital archive, but we can expect a mix of old and new titles to show up at a fairly rapid pace after that. Here's an article with a bit more explanation directly from Marvel on all this.

For now the collection includes some classic comic milestones that you might never have read before. Sure we've all checked out Amazing Fantasy 15 (the first appearance of Spider-Man), but have you seen the first showdown between the Thing and the Hulk, The Avengers and Power Pack, the first Black Panther, or introduction of the Silver Surfer, or what about some of the newer stuff, like the Civil War issues, or Annihilation, maybe you missed those minis tied into Universe X, or how about some of the Ultimate titles, or some of those great Spidey miniseries like Blue, or India. I know I missed the Captain America: Truth miniseries where they retconned the entire origin of the super-soldier program. Here's some officially selected highlights, and some other recommendations you might want to check out too.

I really recommend you go and at least have a look around the Digital Comics Unlimited site. They are offering 250 comics up for free viewing for a limited time so you can try out their service. I'm not exactly sure whats in that selection of free stuff right now as their site has been so slammed today its only working off and on, but I'm sure there is something you'll find of interest.

Now if only I had a good color version of the Sony Reader, I would be totally set. One day I'm sure that will exist though, hopefully sooner rather than later. Beacause this is a really great move on Marvel's part. Bold decisive action. And I think legitimately still in time for them to figure out how to save themselves with the current and severe drop in print media sales. This won't make them a ton of money just yet, but its a really good start. Thank you Marvel for going for the digital market finally. It may not work all that well at first but I applaud the effort.

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TF2 fake out

In a recent interview with Rotten Tomatoes director Michael Bay said that when news starts coming out for the much anticipated Transformers 2, it might just be more than meets the eye. Ok, technically he never made such a bad pun, that was me, but he did say that he intends to fake out the fanboys.

"We're going to leak a lot of false information all over the place." including fake script treatments and other information, Some of which, one script in particular, is apparently already out there.

I'm not sure exactly why Michael Bay is out to screw with us. Maybe just because he can, and it's fun. I guess I get that. Also, I can see him wanting it to stay as much a surprise as possible. So while I love the Transformers, and plan on talking about "news" that comes out regarding the sequel, we should probably treat the information coming out of that camp as rumor from now on. Frankly, I don't really mind this news, in fact a lot of false information could be kind of fun trying to sort through. I really just want to see more robot ass kicking action. Whatever he does, I have faith in Bay to make another great TF film. So please, bring it on.

Despite the writers strike, and a currently unfinished script, they have progressed enough for some location scouting and visual effects work to be done. Filming is currently scheduled to begin in June of '08.

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Ryder and Nichols in Trek

Well, I know I just said I was done with posts on the casting announcements for the upcoming Star Trek film, but when the news is this pretty I just had to mention it. From Variety this morning comes word that none other than Winona Ryder has been cast as Amanda Grayson, Spock mother. If you'll recall, Spock is actually a mudblood, with a Vulcan dad, and a human mother. As far as I know there has been no word on who will play the infamous Sarek. This is still pretty cool though, especially considering the part will probably be pretty small. And I have to wonder, is it a flashback maybe? I mean Ryder as Quinto's mom? Do those ages really work?

And the other piece of hot casting is for the character Janice Rand, who you might not remember, but let me assure you, is definitely a vital piece of the big picture. While at first glance the character may appear to be the standard redshirt (er red-skirt) but she was a staple of the early episodes of Trek. She was the token hot girl on many an away mission and while not remembered as well, technically had a bigger role in the series than most of the bridge crew for quite a while. The character was written out of the series halfway through the first season. And while this casting tidbit comes from AICN, by their own account it should still be considered a rumor. Word is that Alias super-spy Rachel Nichols will play the role. Nice.

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Strike breakdown video

Check out this video which explains in simple terms a part of the reasoning behind the Writers Strike. This comes from the WGA and Unitedhollywood.com.



For whatever its worth, if you're interested in supporting the writers you can sign this online petition. I know petitions never work, but it can't hurt either.

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My dissapointment

So imagine me yesterday podcasting as usual, without a care in the world, and afterwards I say to my good buddy Devon 'hey man, would you like to see a really hot youtube girl singing rhianna?" Of course he would. We've always got some time after we finish podcasting while the file uploads to the site, and of course Devon is always up for checking out hot new web-lebrities.

Off we go on our way to check out Marie Digby. You remember her? I posted a week or two ago about her. I've still got her acoustic cover of Rhianna's Umbrella stuck in my head, and like I said... she's really hot. If you haven't seen it, check out her appearance on Carson Daily here. She seems so innocent, very Winnie Cooper; doesn't she?

Well, my big disappointment of yesterday came when I found out that she is not as innocent as she appears. After finally getting around to reading her Wikipedia page I saw this controversy section. Marie Digby is not a grassroots folk singer, she is not a diamond in the rough and tumble webscape, while she is definitely still talented, and definitely still smoking hot, she is also a SIGNED artist. And not just signed, but signed with DISNEY. Signed under the same Hollywood Records label that manages the likes of Hilary Duff, The Plain White Ts and so many more...

This Wall Street Journal article lays it all out. It's not that Marie actually lied to anyone, she just conveniently failed to mention that she's been signed to a major record label since 2005. Or that this feigned amateur status 'might' all just be part of an elaborate online marketing campaign designed to build the framework of support for her first full album which drops into stores this coming February.

I don't deny that the girl is talented, or that shes beautiful, but I just am so pissed that I was duped by the Disney corporation. I've no doubt, six months from now, she'll be huge. Just pisses me off. Damn Disney.

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Del Toro and the Champions

Variety reports that Guillermo Del Toro is set to bring back an updated film version of a classic British tv show called The Champions. In usual fashion he will write, direct, and produce the sci fi / spy film about a team of secret agents who are given super powers by an "advanced civilization" and use them to fight crime.

Since I've never seen the original, I can't say for sure if its any good. But from what the wikipedia says on the show, it seems a little confusing. In the show, the trio of spies work for some vague UN backed international espionage agency based in Geneva called Nemesis. Their plane crashes on some mission and the group is saved from certain death by this "advanced civilization" which I take to mean aliens, who grant them all superpowers. Kinda like the Fantastic Four or something. Anyhow, they return to work as normal and proceed to hide their powers from everyone. Or from what I gather, try to find out why they've been given them. It all sounds fishy.

In the show they had to figure out which powers they had over time, but they included telepathy, precognition, enhanced senses and reasoning power and physical abilities enhanced to the known limit of human capability. Those are all funny powers. Like they're not really "superpowers". Aren't they all powers that conceivably we could develop naturally in time. You know, like how humans gaining the power of flight seems pretty outlandish, but telepathy doesn't.

Ok, so I really have no idea, but my prediction is that the "advanced civilization" is actually humans from the future, and they've really just accelerated evolution for these individuals that they save. Kinda like Millennium meets Timecop, meets The One.

Sounds like it could be interesting anyways.

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Greenwood is Pike

It looks like the final major piece has fallen into place for the Star Trek film, as Canadian actor and all around good guy Bruce Greenwood has been cast as Captain Christopher Pike. In case your running behind, Pike was the captain of the USS Enterprise before Kirk. He has show up twice onscreen in the the original pilot to Star Trek TOS, and again as an old man in the Hugo winning Trek two parter episode, The Menagerie. This is Pike more or less in the prime of his life. And Greenwood who I've really enjoyed since Nowhere Man, and Thirteen Days is a great choice.

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TV Show Death Grid

Care of the LA Times and their excellent WGA Strike Blog, they've very nicely put together a very readable grid of what's happening with your favorite shows. Like I mentioned yesterday, its really a different scenario for each show, and for each network. I would feel bad just copying it here, so I'll just say you should definitely check it out. It shed a lot of light on where the tv season stands.

here's the link to The LA Time TV Grid

Also some more shake ups as a fallout of the strike, FOX have announced their plans for the tv schedule in January. Check out a rundown of all the changes over at TV Guide. The biggest note, is the revelation that they will NOT be airing 24 until they have more of a full season to work with.

We can only hope that this logic will apply to ABC regarding Lost as well. The fans don't want to be short changed.

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Kring apologizes

Well this is not something I was ever expecting to hear. Tim Kring actually did an interview with Entertainment Weekly where he apologizes outright to the fans for the problems with Heroes this season. I can't remember really ever seeing a show creator be so frank about their series while its still in production. Extremely unusual but very appreciated. Check out the interview over at EW.com.

In the interview he addresses the issue of pacing, which I know I for one have mentioned here before, the lame introduction of new characters, Hiro's looooong ancient Japan story, and even the Smallville-esque love story with Claire and West. Very enlightening for us fans, and a extremely direct article. I appreciate his point too. He is publicly acknowledging the mistakes made so far this season, and while the protracted nature of this year due to the writers strike will abort attempts to right things immediately, Kring plans to "clean house" on his December 3rd episode and start fresh with season 3. Once again check out the article here.

Oh, and yesterday while posting about the strike I mentioned that it was reported that Tim Kring had not completed writing that final scene that would turn the December 3rd episode from a chapter finale into a season finale. Well, apparently that report was erroneous. AICN followed up the rumor with clarification direct from Kring's mouth on the picket line. "the audience won't be left in the lurch."

Finally if you're looking for some inside scoop on Heroes, check out this very mildly spoiler filled TV Guide interview with Kring on this season of Heroes and beyond.

I really feel better about all things Heroes after hearing this stuff. Also, despite the slow start, Monday night's episode was pretty damn cool. The reveal of Adam at the end was totally unexpected and my jaw just dropped. Good stuff. Too bad they won't get to continue the season immediately.

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Celebrity Big Brother?

Could it possibly be looming on the horizon? Variety reports that with the strike in full swing now, CBS has been quietly prepping the Big Brother house for some new additions. And the rumblings on the street are that this might be the long rumored Celebrity Edition of the show.

While so far the studio has been tight lipped on the possibility of the matter, it would make a lot of sense as the show is fairly popular, and maybe more importantly takes up a solid 3 hour chunk of programming time per week. Once we get into January / Feburary if the strike is still going on and all the new shows start to dry up people will probably be begging for anything new. Even if it is reality tv.

As a fan of the show I couldn't be happier. Of course I want the strike to end quickly, but wouldn't it be cool to get a celebrity edition BB, with possibly stars who are currently busy on other shows? Realistically I' m thinking that celebrity edition BB will only be marginally classier than the Surreal Life, but hey I can dream can't I?

Just for fun :) Here's my dream Big Brother house. My picks aren't necessarily for the big stars, but maybe for people who reasonably might have some time on their hands. For example, say the strike goes into Feburary, and even if it looks like it might wrap up in March, NBC along with Tim Kring decide that they'll have to fully scrap or push forward the next season of Heroes until the Fall. They know they won't go back into producvtion on the show until late summer. The big stars like Ali Larter, and Hayden Panitierre might wait for the strike to end and then go off and film a movie. But what about some of the smaller players. Celebirty Big Brother might honestly be a really good choice for someone like James Kyson Lee, who plays Ando on Heroes. Those are the people that in a dream world make it into my Big Brother house.

The reality is, it probably would never be this cool a cast.

My picks:
James Kyson Lee - currently plays Ando on Heroes
Tyler Labine - currently plays Bert on Reaper
Aaron Stanford - last played Will Traveler on Traveler
Justin Chambers - currently plays Alex on Grey's Anatomy
Seth Green - you'd better dam well know who he is
Will Forte - currently on SNL
Allison Mack - currently plays Chloe on Smallville
Rashida Jones - played Karen on The Office
Mindy Kaling - plays Kelly on The Office
Olivia Wilde - currently plays 'intern number 13' on House
Alexis Dziena - last played Kira on Invasion
Leighton Meester - plays Blair on Gossip Girl
Emmanuelle Chriqui - played Sloan on Entourage
and since I can't seem to think of anyone else, how about
Jessica Lee Rose - aka lonleygirl15


Maybe a totally unrealistic list, but still, that would be a very fun, and I think entertaining BB house. If this does happen, we'll come back and revisit this list and compare it to whatever really comes together.

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Iron Man international trailer

Check out the very cool, Gweneth filled, international trailer for Iron Man.



The movie opens May 2nd, '08.

And the list grows

More casualties of the Writers Guild strike.

Ain't It Cool News has something of a roundup of more shows, and especially showrunners who are picketing. Read their story with personal accounts here. Also check out this piece from EW and Comingsoon.net, as well as this great piece from Michael Ausiello at TV Guide.

Shows affected immediately should include The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Conan O'Brien, and all the other late night shows, as well as some game shows. I know the writers on Jeopardy were picketing yesterday. But Dancing With the Star this Week is relying on the improv skills of its hosts, so we'll see if that works out.

The Office has should have stopped production with many of its cast members of the WGA. Although NBC claims that work continues as usual. Rules of Engagement however has officially stopped filming. And Julia Louise Dreyfuss and Tina Fey are picketing their own shows, so those will have stopped as well. Writers alongside their respective showrunners are picketing Battlestar Gallactica, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Desperate Housewives, and Pushing Daisies. Also word on unrest from J.J. Abrams and the Lost producers. And Tim Kring of Heroes, who apparently wouldn't complete the last minute weekend rewrite for that final scene expected to round out the season in December. And even more with showrunners for Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, The Shield, The Oaks and The Unit all picketing.

Another casualty, possibly for good happened when ABC made the decision to remove their new show Cashmere Mafia from the schedule completely... is this the first of many?

These shows still may of course have a few episodes in the can. And some series will have scripts locked down so that they can shoot an additional episode or two, that is if the actors aren't picketing themselves. So its not exactly clear what the picketing will mean, it's being determined on a show by show basis for now. Eventually though even if the shows are filming one or two more episodes they will be forced to shut down. Most will be fine up through November sweeps, and probably last until at least mid December. After that though, who knows.

Variety has set up a strike blog. And so has TV Guide. Those alongside the LA Times strike news should keep us up to speed.

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Upcomming Marvel - 11/05

Once again provided by Marvel via Comingsoon.net. Check it out :)

Feature Film Projects Being Developed by Marvel - partial list
Iron Man, Marvel - Completed principal photography; May 2, 2008 release
The Incredible Hulk, Marvel - Commenced principal photography; June 13, 2008 release
Ant-Man, Marvel - Writer and director engaged
Captain America, Marvel - Writer engaged
Thor, Marvel - Writer engaged
The Avengers, Marvel - Writer engaged

Licensed Marvel Character Feature Film Line-Up
Punisher 2, Lionsgate - Commenced principal photography, slated for 2008 release
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fox - Director engaged, slated for May 1, 2009 release

Marvel Character Animated TV Projects
Fantastic Four, Moonscoop SAS (France) - 26, 30-minute episodes; Running Internationally.
Spider-Man, Sony - In development; US distribution agreement with Kids' WB for Spring 2008 release.
Wolverine and the X-Men, First Serve Toonz (India) - 26, 30-minute episodes in development; Fall 2008 release.
Iron Man, Method Films (France) - 26, 30-minute episodes in development; Fall 2008 release.
Hulk, TBD - In development.

Marvel Character Animated Direct-to-DVD Projects
Next Avengers, Lionsgate - Targeted July 2008 release
Hulk Smash, Lionsgate - Targeted October 2008 release
Thor, Lionsgate - Targeted April 2009 release
TBD, Lionsgate - Targeted September 2009 release

Marvel Character Live Stage Projects
Spider-Man the Musical, Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Martin McCallum, Marvel Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment
In development/opening date to be determined; Julie Taymor director; music & lyrics by U2's Bono and The Edge

Marvel Video Game Releases (Release dates controlled by Publishing partner)
Sega, Iron Man - Targeted 2008
Sega, The Incredible Hulk - Targeted 2008

All looks good there. so according the this list we're getting Iron Man, Hulk and Punisher next year, followed by Wolverine, maybe Thor (if they can get that budget down) and Captain America in '09. I haven't heard too much on Ant Man lately. I wonder how that's all coming along. Good news on the direct to dvd stuff. So far that's been of a very high quality. Looking forward especially to seeing what they do with Thor. The one thing I really miss from this list is the rambling of 'other' projects on their radar. For example I'd just like a little confirmation that Marvel are considering Silver Surfer, or that the proposed Sum Mariner movies haven't been lost along the way.

Just speculation here but from tidbits garnered in the past, Marvel has or should have on the radar: Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four 3, Spider-man 4 (writer has been hired), Daredevil 2, Iron Fist (Ray Park was attached), Sub Mariner (3 films), Doctor Strange, Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Magneto.

Still, its good to see that everything's on track for the Marvel juggernaut of entertainment to continue.

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more strike stuff

Pop Candy has a good post rounding up a few points and links to others regarding the Writers Strike. Apparently Tina Fey was picketing outside Rockefeller plaza this morning. Its good to see that everyone is united on this.

A few things to mention right off. The late night shows, at least The Daily Show and Colbert Report will be immediately affected by the strike. As will shows like The Office where a number of the writers are also actors. Will they cross picket lines.... I think probably not.

As the most recent TV Guide Talk podcast pointed out, the soap operas might just die a quick death. Can they sustain themselves with a potentially long break? I don't think so. Back in '88, the last time the writers went on strike the soaps hired scabs to continue their shows. Will they do that again?

It's hard to see where this will all go. Shows like Lost, and 24 are probably going to have to wait to even begin airing, because I'm sure they would hate to be forced to stop in the middle. Check out this interesting blog post by Brian K Vaughan of Lost. And while new shows like Sarah Connor Chronicles can probably stay in the can until later, will the studio want to keep paying to keep production offices open on a show that no ones seen?

And finally according to this story it looks like the final 6 episodes of the final season of Scrubs can be chalked up as yet another casualty of the strike.

This LA Times blog has good continuing updates on the entire affair.

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Splice ... um wtf?!

Well for starters I didn't think this was a big deal. I mean its cool and all, but at first I didn't realize what exactly this project was that's popped up on the horizon. The film is called Splice, and it's a new sci fi to be written and directed by Vincenzo Natali of Cube fame. Well that's pretty cool in itself right? Add to that the casting of Sarah Polley, and Adrien Brody as the leads, and it sounds like something we should definitely take notice of. Especially with Guillermo del Toro producing.

And then these photos come out... This series of pre-production, and what I assume are concept photos for the film, and wow, they are totally fucked up. Ain't It Cool News has about 10 of them to view, you'll have to go there to check the rest out. and definitely do check them out, because this is just a extremely tame sample picture. These pics are very... i don't even know. Oh and they're not really safe for work either.

According to The Hollywood Reporter "The story explores a dark vision of the world of genetic engineering in which two young scientists become superstars by splicing different animal DNA to create fantastical new creatures. They ignore the legal and ethical boundaries and introduce human DNA into their experiment." They are "the Bonnie and Clyde of genetics."

Filming begins in Toronto in January. Seriously, what the heck is this film....

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Blomkamp on District 9

Well, with the Halo movie, mostly sorta, not exactly dead right now it looks like there is time for Peter Jackson's good buddy, and proposed Halo director Neill Blomkamp to fit in another project, in fact his feature film directorial debut. Variety announced that Peter Jackson will produce the original sci fi screenplay called District 9, to be directed by Blomkamp. It's based on a script Blomkamp wrote with his partner Teri Tatchell. He will shoot in his native South Africa and the effects will of course be done by Weta.

While there isn't any specific indication as to what District 9 is actually about AICN is speculating that it might be an extension, or feature film adaptation of his previous short film Alive in Joburg. If this is the case, then truly this is awesome news. Alive in Joburg is fantastic. Its like everything I ever wanted to direct myself. I really REALLY think you should just go watch it right now.

Anyhow, let's hope that either this is the film getting made, or it's another equally as cool story.

Oh, and as for Halo, apparently it's really not dead. With the recent release of Halo 3, and the absurd amount of money it made, rumor has it that Microsoft are putting themselves together for another round of attempted financing. Only time will tell if their unheard of demands are the same as before, and can actually be met.

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Heroes ending early :(

Ok, first Heroes Origins cancelled and now this sad, sad news...and frankly its only going to get worse before it gets better.

Michael Aussiello the talented and wise sage over at TV Guide has spilled that Heroes production crew are prepping an early end to the season in light of the writers strike. Apparently an alternate ending for the December 3rd episode has been written, but not filmed yet. This ending will allow that episode originally intended to be the end of this story pod entitled "Generations", to serve as the final episode for the season.

If the writers strike were to end tomorrow, then yes they would probably go back into production for January shows, but that simply isn't going to happen. Chalk this up as another casualty.

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Wolverine morsels

Care of SHH, in a recent article the New Zealand website Stuff.co.nz has a small tidbit of semi spoilerish info on the Wolverine solo movie which is set to film there come January. Honestly its not a huge thing just cool. But if you don't want ANY spoilers, which really this is the kind of thing you'll see from the trailer probably, then just stop reading...

Ok, still there? good. The film will be set in the 1970s and show us the origins of what we know as the modern Wolverine. I wonder if that might mean a trip to the GreatWhite North. How cool would an Alpha Flight cameo be? or maybe they leave that for the sequel. :) Also, in one very cool sounding scene, a missile will narrowly miss our furry friend and explode a barn! That should be a cool effect. I'm trying to think of a barn exploding in a movie, and its escaping me, but hey, I'm sure it'll be sweet. Really most things exploding are pretty sweet, so I look forward to this. Oh, and one more thing I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but Liev Schreiber is apparently in final talks to play William Stryker, the role played to perfection by Brian Cox in X2.

Cool deal for Wolverine. I hope this movie rocks my socks . This weekend I watched director Gavin Hood's previous film Tsotsi, and was completely blown away. It is absolutely incredible, and I highly recommend it. :)

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The Rock is Black Adam

Well, now for some good news. We all know that your hero and mine Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has been rumored to be up for a couple of 'super' film roles in the planned Captain Marvel movie. Specifically both as the titular Captain Marvel (ironically a DC character) and the sometimes villainous Black Adam, who is a rival of Captain Marvel and will most likely serve as the film's bid baddie. Well it looks like the wait is over. The Rock recently announced that he will in fact be playing Black Adam in the film.

Personally I was never a huge fan of Marvel, I've just never seen him really written that well, so I think this is definitely the right choice. Also, even just checking out the Black Adam wiki page, he seems like a damn cool character. Very dark, but ambiguous, kind of a vigilante anti-hero. I won't say I'm familiar with him specifically as I've never been a reader of Captain Marvel, and haven't read Infinite Crisis or its aftermath where I hear he has become quite popular, BUT I do think the Rock is destined for great things as a film hero. So I'm more than happy to wish him the best on this project :)

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T-minus 2 hours until strike time

Well, it looks like it really happened. As expected the Writers Guild of America is going on strike officially at 12:01am Monday morning.

From Variety, Patric Verone WGA West President said "Rather than address our members' primary concern, the studios made it clear that they would rather shut down the town than reach a fair and reasonable deal, This is not an action that anyone takes lightly. But it slowly became apparent that the studios are not prepared to deal fairly with writers and the rest of talent community."

In response Nick Counter, President of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers said "The WGA's call for a strike is precipitous and irresponsible,"

So I kinda think this is going to be a problem. It honestly sucks, for everyone involved. The WGA is planning picket lines for Monday morning, and while apparently stressing that they are ready to go back and negotiate, they are sticking to their guns, especially when it comes to New Media and dvd residuals.

Of note, I guess the DGA is also negotiating with the AMPTP regarding dvd compensation. But the WGA have made it clear that they will not acquiesce to any deals they see as bad, even if it was already made by the Directors Guild.

Lets all hope this gets sorted out very soon. For everyone's sake.
For more info on the strike this wiki might help out.

UPDATED
Here's another more recent Variety article on the strike, and AICNs quick take with some practical points about what tv shows we can expect to fall first.... even for a potential springtime celebrity Big Brother, this is not worth it :(

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Heroes Origins CANCELLED!!

Man this sucks!

Heroes Origins, the planned spin-off series set to air next April has been scrapped by NBC. According to TV Guide, there has been no official comment as to why, but speculation favors the impending writers strike is behind the cancellation. Hopefully the writers strike won't happen and NBC will reverse this decision.

If not, then I declare Heroes Origins the first official casualty of the strike...

This is a sad, sad day :(

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Enter the Dollhouse

Was that title a little too obvious? hmm... probably ;)

Ok well, exciting news today. Joss Whedon is coming back to television, with a brand new show to be served up on FOX next season. The series, called Dollhouse, will star Buffy alum and all around hottie Eliza Dushku.

A sweeping Matrix inspired sci fi series, Dollhouse will follow "a top-secret world of people who can be programmed with different personalities, abilities and memories depending on their mission.

After each assignment - which can be physical, romantic, or even illegal - the characters have their memories wiped clean, and are sent back to a lab (dubbed the Dollhouse). The show centers on Dushku's character, Echo, as she slowly begins to develop some self-awareness, which impacts her missions.

The show will also revolve around the people who run the mysterious 'Dollhouse' and two other "dolls," a man and woman who are friendly with Echo. Then there's the federal agent who has heard an urban myth about the dolls, and is trying to investigate their existence."

Sounds very Dark Angel-esque to me, maybe mixed with some 3rd season Alias... anyhow, it sounds cool; that was my point. In this really interesting Variety article on the show Whedon and Dushku about their inspiration, and a bit more in-depth on how and why the show is coming together. And as Dushku's plan goes, it sounds like a pretty great way to un-pigeonhole herself.

We'll have to see where all this leads as we get closer to next Fall, where a 7 episode run has been ordered for FOX. Whedon and Dushku have already planned out the beats of all the episodes, so it should be pretty straightforward to put everything together, however that might be tricky if we end up with a writers strike. Only time will tell.

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