Knight Rider Teaser

While there legitimately wasn't a ton of news in the entertainment world over the past week and a half that I was incommunicado there are a few things that deserve mentioning. And in case you missed it then, right here and now at the AIASL blog might just be the best place to see them. So in the interest of completeness... did you see the teaser trailer for NBCs new Knight Rider? It's short but pretty sweet. And despite all the press the new show has gotten, this is really the first time I get the feeling that this thing might actually work. Check it out.



What do you think?
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A Very Slusho Xmas

Well here it is everyone. I told you I'd do it and I finally have, just in time for the holidays, check out my official entry into the Slusho Happy Commercial Contest of Joy! Check it out here below, or go to the YouTube page and feel free to either rate or comment on the ad.



As you can probably tell the happy Christmas spirit (along with the delicious taste of Mikan-Banana flavored Slusho) inspired this contest entry. I hope you all like it. Although I don't think the Slusho company will be letting the judging open to the public, I do think they will post the entries online. To find the contest page from the Slusho site, just click on the "Contest" bubble (farthest right one).

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The entry period for the contest ends on the 4th, and the winners will be picked within 2 weeks of that. Cloverfield as we all know comes out on 1-18-08. The top five chosen entries will win Slusho skinned Alienware laptops. Pretty sweet, I know. Anyhow, I hope you like my entry, and wish me luck on the contest.

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Thanks to Erica, and Caryn for help with filming, and of course to Bernard for his technical support throughout.

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Slusho zoom!!!

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Gone baby gone

And for my next trick...

look for me to be gone for a quick week or so on bv vacation. I fly to Toronto tomorrow for the Christmas festivities.

I might be able to throw in an update or two, but probably not. So until next week everyone, have a wonderful holiday and stay safe.

I part leaving you with this final show from the fine folks who brought you Star Wars. This is a cartoon that aired during the infamous Holiday Special, and features the very first appearance by Boba Fett. Enjoy.


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Red, we have company...

The trailer for Hellboy II The Golden Army has dropped and I for one am very excited to see this film. I really enjoyed the first one and think the production design on this new one is just utterly fantastic now. Check out the trailer and decide for yourself though...



This film, sure to be a hit, is set to come out July 11th, '08.

If you'd like to see more Hellboy goodies you might come upon this production http://www.hellboymovie.com/production/. It is a very good production site with blog, exclusive photos and more. I think you should check it out.
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More Terminator 4 details

Chud has scored a solid scoop with some emerging details on the upcoming Terminator 4 film, which yes IS in fact set to feature Christian Bale as John Connor. The details could probably be considered mild spoilers, but by the time the film gets closer to release, and the marketing machine kicks into gear I can't imagine that you won't know these details anyhow. However if you're sensitive to this kind of thing, look away now.Yes that means you too Bernard. don't bitch to me about it after I warned you and everything...

So here we go. The film does feature the character John Connor, but reportedly will not "star" John Connor. Instead it will star a new character named Marcus. This role has yet to be cast, but he will play the main protagonist in all proposed 3 upcoming Terminator films. That said, John Connor will play a bigger role in the second and third films. We'll also get a cameo by the character Michael Biehn played in the original Terminator, Reese. And finally another new character, Blair a hard ass woman fighter pilot will be introduced. But back to Marcus. As the film opens we find its around the year 2015, and Marcus who I think may be some sort of convict is just stepping into this brave new world for the first time. He is a bad ass along the lines of Riddick. And he will find Connor well into gathering his resistance fighters and then get himself involved somehow.

There will be lots of big action scenes as I'm sure we all expected. And we'll even get a few fights between humans and the "rubber skinned" T-600s, the precursor to the Schwarzenegger model. But then there is the one other major plot element that I won't mention here; but you can go read for yourself over at CHUD if you like. It's the part they hid in invisotext. I will say that it is a very interesting prospect that has never been explored or really even hinted at in the films before...

So, really pretty big happenings in the works for our shiny metal friends. I think the future of The Terminator franchise seems to be shaping up nicely. Now let's just hope The Sarah Connor Chronicles can do as well with the material.
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I got an iTouch.

You know the best thing I like about Christmas? I mean aside from the goodwill, cheer and other crap that is so very important.... the presents. It's 16Gb, slick black, all shiney and beautiful. so very very nice. Check out this video of the system... pretty freakin sweet.



Thanks to my dad for this awesome gift :)
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Storm Shadow and Scarlett cast

Latino Review has the exclusive scoop on this breaking story about the ongoing casting for the highly anticipated, at least by me, G.I. Joe movie.

Reportedly, Korean mega star, and lets assume martial arts expert Byeong-Heon Lee has been cast as the wily ninja Storm Shadow. Evil swordbrother to Snake Eyes, he is basically the most badass cool ninja villain in the world. According to wikipedia "Storm Shadow's real name is Thomas S. Arashikage (Arashi = "Storm" and kage = "shadow" in Japanese). Best known as the Cobra Commander's ninja bodyguard and assassin at times, he is the only member of the team to change sides several times, conflicted in loyalties between Cobra, G.I. Joe and his long relationship with his swordbrother Snake-Eyes. He usually wears a white uniform and mask. When out of his uniform, he is shown to be Japanese, with black hair and dark eyes."

And who, might you ask has been cast in the other role? That of Scarlett O'Hara? but Rachel Nichols of Alias, season 4 (i think) fame, and also the upcoming Charlie Wilson's War. She is pretty damn hot, and kicks ass with the best of em. At least she did hold her own against Jennifer Garner on tv. And Rachel was also recently cast in Star Trek, as the role many speculate is Janice Rand.

According to wikipedia, Scarlett "was the first female action figure in the G.I. Joe toy line and is also the only member of the original team to see much action in both cartoon and comic incarnations. The official line on Scarlett is that her full name is Shana M. O'Hara. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Although she is as adept with standard weapons as any of her comrades, her weapon of choice is the crossbow which fires various bolts with specialized functions. Her rank is Master Sergeant, and she serves from time to time as team leader. Her primary specialty for the team is counter intelligence and is additionally skilled in martial arts and acrobatics. Of note, her secondary military specialty remains classified in all of her file cards."

Looking at that pic I've got to say that today is a good day for the fans :)
The movie will hit theaters August 7th, '09.

UPDATE - The Hollywood Reporter had not one but two additional names of new cast members. Granted the characters probably aren't as big as Storm Shadow and Scarlett butg its cool nonetheless. Said Taghmaouim, of The Kite Runner, will play Breaker, the communications officer; and the awesome Lost Tailie who got eaten by the smoke monster last season, Mr. Eko himself, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, will play Heavy Duty, the man with the biggest guns on the team.

The role of Breaker is something I can take or leave as you will. But personally I'm a bit unhappy that they decided to go with the character Heavy Duty for this role. Originally there were a number of big beefy meatheads on the Joe force: Leatherneck, Recondo, Stalker, Bazooka, and of course my favorite Roadblock. He holds a special place in my heart not just because he was the first G.I. Joe figure I bought, but that purchasing the Roadblock action figure was the very first thing I ever did with my very first allowance ever. Now with another huge black man, carrying the heavy ordinance I have some serious doubts as to whether we'll even see Roadblock in the film.

Still, despite all that, I am excited that this film is really coming together. The rumor floating around at the moment is still that Sam Worthington is being courted for the lead role of Duke, should production on Avatar wrap with enough time. Whatever happens I'm glad that casting continues.
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Return to the Shire

Well, it was in the works for a fair while, but with Peter Jackson's legal disputes with New Line over monies owed it looked like The Hobbit was something that fans, especially fans of Jackson's LOTR trilogy, would never get to see on the big screen. Until today.

In a sweeping press release MGM and New Line announced the development of not one but TWO Hobbit movies. The first is purported to likely follow the basic story of the novel while the second film, to be shot LOTR style consecutively back-to-back, will cull from the voluminous notes, background sketches, ancillary materials and other resources at the disposal of the Tolkien estate, to finally and effectively (for the movie going public) bridge the gap between The Hobbit story and the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring.

So far Peter Jackson will likely only produce the films rather than direct. And the turnaround time is slated to be rather quick relatively speaking. Pre-production is already underway to an extent, and actual shooting is tentatively scheduled to begin in '09 with the first film set to come out in 2010, and the second a year later. And according to AICN Howard Shore has already begun working on themes for The Hobbit although official word on that should definitely be a long ways off. I suspect Jackson will in fact step into the directing chair, he has such close ties to the material, and since he is already committing the next 3-4 years of his life to these films I don't see why he would want to pass up the opportunity, but only time will tell for sure.

I have to say I am rather relieved to hear this news. I think we ll knew it was coming soon enough; and I'm pretty happy to hear that it will have the hand of Peter Jackson at the helm. Simply put I think his Lord of the Rings films are true masterpieces. I look forward to seeing what he does with The Hobbit, a story I admittedly know much better than the LOTR trilogy. We'll keep posted closely on this one as developments progress.

UPDATE - Entertainment Weekly has gotten to the bottom of the PJ directing rumor, and it looks like he will probably not end up doing it According to EW and Jackson's manager Ken Kamins "Peter won't be directing because he felt the fans have waited long enough for The Hobbit. It will take the better part of every day of the next four years to write, direct and produce two Hobbit films. Given his current obligations to both The Lovely Bones and Tintin, waiting for Peter, Fran, and Phillippa to write, direct and produce The Hobbit would require the fans wait even longer."

Who will direct then? Well according to Comingsoon.net "Sam Raimi ("Spider-Man" films), Guillermo del Toro ("Hellboy" films) and Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) are names that have come up, but no decision has been made, says New Line's co-chair Robert Shaye. "There is obviously a small but significant number of directors who could handle two films of this magnitude, but we have no commitment to anybody. Now that Peter is an integral part of the decision-making process, we all have to see eye-to-eye on any candidate we try to enlist."
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new Wall-e trailer

Check out this fun new trailer for Wall-e. Its for the most part just an extension of the trailer that dropped a few months ago, but I have to say I can't help but love that little guy already.

I just know this film is going to be wonderful in every way a great Pixar film should be.



Wall-e comes out June 27th '08.
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Speed Racer poster

Check out this very nice poster for the new film Speed Racer. Now isn't that much more manageable than a crazy breakneck real-life-anime style trailer :) check out AICN for a big high rez version of this poster.

Speed Racer hits theaters May 9th, '08
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The end is near for Journeyman

Since I've been so busy lately I think I missed mentioning this Journeyman news last week, but NBC has allowed the options on the actors contracts to expire, freeing them to seek other work if desired. Not exactly an outright death sentence, but effectively the same thing. As far as I understand it for most shows the ongoing strike will eventually effect a force majeure contract clause which rather sneakily allows the AMPTP to duck out of liability for contract breach and avoid their potential debt due to halted production. Great loophole jackasses.

Anyhow, Journeyman has one more episode to air, and I say its a real shame. This show is totally just hitting its stride creatively. Each episode especially since the 2 parter a few weeks ago has been consistently better than the last. I'm getting involved in the fate of these characters and I'm pissed that it looks like it's not going to get another chance.

It feels like good genre shows always get screwed. Thank god for Heroes, and the few others like Lost which can buck the trend.

If you believe the hype you can still act to save Jouneyman by visiting Savejourneyman.net They're trying to organize a Rice-a-roni campaign in the same vein as the Jericho nuts saga of last year. Can internet lightning strike twice in consecutive seasons? I doubt it, even though I'd say Journeyman is more deserving that Jericho.

So with that I will say my personal fond farewells to yet another great genre show cut down far too soon. We'll miss you dearly Journeyman. It was really getting good too...
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Latenight to return

Well, the writers strike doesn't look like its going to be ending anytime soon, but we may be getting a new dose of late night tv regardless.

According to The USA Today Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are both planning a return to the airwaves as early as January 2nd. They will be joining Carson Daly who is already back on the air, as well as 'probably but not definitely' yet David Letterman, and Craig Ferguson, who are currently in the midst of their own direct negotiations with the writers guild.

The late night slate will obviously be missing the two most important pundits though, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert who rely on a much more scripted format for their shows.

While I'm interested to see what they do, the big dogs on the air for an hour a night without a net. Can they really just fly off the cuff like that? The word on the street is that back in the strike of '88 when Letterman hit the screen sans writers it was just about the worst thing on television. Now I have faith in Conan O'Brien, but really I have to be practical minded about this.

And what does this mean for the writers? I believe that these hosts have all gone on record in support of their writing teams? Does falling to this pressure to return to work hurt the cause of the writers; or will it just show the networks that without material even the best comedians will fall flat...
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Lost season 4 promo

I know I don't talk much about Lost, but it is absolutely one of my all time favorite shows. Next season is going to be crazy. And although I'm definitely not thrilled that ABC will be splitting up the season again, this time thanks t the writers strike, I am really very excited to see what happens.

For the record, my favorite characters are Sawyer and Sayid.



The show will`be coming back on Thursday nights starting Jan 31st.
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Hancock trailer

I guess I'm coming into this movie with slightly lower expectations than I maybe should have. To me Hancock just sounds kinda stupid. But after seeing this trailer I might not think it actually looks so terrible... maybe. Hmmm, now I don't know if its that the movie doesn't look that bad, or just that it doesn't look as bad as I imagined it would look. What do you think?



Hancock is set for theatrical release July 2nd, '08
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Let the Batmania begin

I've been really busy this past two weeks with a new job starting, and a few other holiday style distractions, but I had to mention this because frankly, its just damn cool not to...

Two more international movie posters for The Dark Knight recently appeared online. The first one, perfectly compliments the one I mentioned a few days ago, and the other... well it kind of scares me. I like it, but it scares me. Check em out.

And now my friends, prepare to have your little minds blown away, by the awesomeness of the new full length Dark Knight trailer. Here is the nice big official version... sweet. or just check it out below from our old friends at YouTube :)



Oh so very pretty. I really like how Ledger seems to be playing The Joker. I know fanboys get all crazy for Nicholson, but I'm intrigued by this new take on him. Just listen to that laugh, it so much more sickly psychotic than Jack ever was. And really, don't those action scenes and explosion looks cool.

Look for The Dark Knight to hit screens July 18th, '08
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5 Minutes of Cloverfield

Seriously, check this out! Cool new Cloverfield footage and a weird little widgit thingy. Oh and a contest to boot. Not that it's the kind of contest I could hope to win, but wow, Still very sweet. Check out the footage now :)
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Horton Hears a Who! trailer

Here it is kids. The trailer I know you've all been waiting for :) Horton Hears a Who! I say Whoray!!1! This movie looks totally fun. Jim Carrey and Steve Carell; that's a great pairing. I'm expecting some quality family fun. Check it out.



The film is set to come out March 14th, 2008.
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Dark Knight international poster

You see what they do here? They give the foreigners the cool posters. Well I'll say it just makes me sick. Here's for your presentation is the new international Dark Knight poster. I think it looks much better than the teaser one released here last week. What do you think? Click to enlarge, or go to ComingSoon.net for a much bigger version.

Once again, the movie is set to come out Stateside July 18th, 2008
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Clash of the Titans returns

Well this news does not exactly fill me with instant glee. According to Variety, director Stephen Norrington, is set to helm the remake of Clash of the Titans; another great classic of yesteryear.

Norrington if you'll recall was the man behind the fairly awful League of Extraordinary Gentlemen film. Since then he has not gone back to directing. That's the part of the news that worries me. But before we all start jumping on the poor guy; let's remember that once upon a time he also directed an awesome little comic book movie called Blade. And some more really good news, Lawrence Kasdan has done the rewrite on the Titans script. And he has a very solid track record.

Production is scheduled to begin sometime in '08. When exactly is anyone's guess, but as with Metropolis, I'm going to try to keep an open mind though this process. I mean honestly, you never really know what they'll put together for us. Bad or good, I know I am at least interested enough to see where it goes.
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new 10 000 BC trailer

Check out this excellent new full theatrical trailer for 10 000 BC. Although the film looks totally predictable, I still think it'll be fun. I mean wooly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers! how could that not be fun?



10 000 BC opens March 7th, 2008.
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