And Now the News: One of these things is not like the others

Chuck and Lost premieres



Chuck gets going again on January 10. The final season of Lost kicks off February 2.

Burn Notice renewed

In related news, the sun will also come up tomorrow.

Gilmore Girls movie still possible



Not likely, necessarily, but it's still on everyone's wish list, including the series' creator and stars. I know this falls far outside the field of what this blog's about, but I can't help it. I loved that show.

And Now the News: The Wreckage of a Woman's Soul

Still catching up on some old news...

The Deep Blue Goodbye



20th Century Fox is adapting John D MacDonald's novel about houseboat-dwelling private eye Travis McGee and some lost treasure in the Florida Keys. Leonardo DiCaprio is attached to star.

Pirates 4 Updates



Turns out, it is an adaptation of Tim Powers' novel as suspected. Powers and screenwriter Terry Rossio shed some light on why that news was slow in coming, explaining that Disney pretty much had to buy the novel because they were planning to do a movie about pirates looking for the Fountain of Youth. It sounds like that's where the similarities end, but Powers speculates that Barbosa may be standing in for Blackbeard from the book. And indeed, Geoffrey Rush has been signed to reprise that role.

Meanwhile, there's some cause for concern that Johnny Depp's enthusiasm for doing the film has been lessened by the departure of the Disney chairman who originally brought Depp on board.

Tarzan the Spy



The Double-O Section has a great look at how '60s Bond-mania temporarily influenced everyone's favorite jungle hero. You need to click through just to see Tarzan firing a machine-gun Rambo-style.

The Conspirator



I'd like to pretend that I'm excited about The Contender because it's about Lincoln's assassination and I'm always interested in learning more about that. But really I'm more excited because Rory's going to be in it.

The Asylum's Sherlock Holmes



You may have heard that there's going to be a big deal Sherlock Holmes movie coming out pretty soon. Which of course means that there's going to be a cheapo Asylum knock-off to go with it. I should remind everyone at this point that even though the poster promises dinosaurs, dragons, and some sort of giant cephalopod, the chances of being satisfied by the actual presentation of Holmes' fighting these creatures is very slim.

Not that the Asylum can't make entertaining movies. They can. But those are rare and it's best to go into them with some skepticism.

Speaking of which...



I guess the Asylum's getting a good headstart on Andrew Stanton's John Carter of Mars movie. With Traci Lords as Dejah Thoris, no less.

Refuge



Sam Raimi's making a Yeti film. [Illustration by Doug Bell.]

Thor movie update



They've cast Sif and Odin. I don't know anything about Jaimie Alexander, but I'm thrilled to see Anthony Hopkins as Odin.

August Theatrical Releases: What Looks Good

Ooh! And I didn't wait until two weeks into August to post these this time!



Here's what I'm looking forward to (or at least mildly curious about) next month.

7 August

Julie and Julia: I love Amy Adams. And Meryl Streep looks like a hoot as Julia Childs. But mostly, I love Amy Adams.

Shorts: I liked the Spy Kids movies, so I'm hoping that I'll find something to enjoy in this too. The crocodile, if nothing else.

A Perfect Getaway: This could go a couple of different ways: cool, island thriller or lame, stalker horror flick. Either one's going to have Milla Jovovich doing a little butt kicking in the tropics though, so yeah, I'm interested.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: Come on. How bad could it be?

Okay, in all serious, I've got zero expectations that this will be any better than Transformers 2 or even Van Helsing, so there's a miniscule chance that it'll pleasantly surprise by achieving some level of not-that-badness. Really though, the only reasons I'm even curious about it are the undersea headquarters and the combat subs.

14 August

Ponyo: A combination of Hayao Miyazaki and undersea fantasy can't be anything other than wonderful.

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard: Stupid title, but I love Jeremy Piven when he's playing a butthole. And the trailer for this looks really funny.

It Might Get Loud: (limited release) I wish this was just about the Edge. Just saying. Update: Okay, I just watched the trailer and that first comment was a stupid thing to say. I'm initially interested in this solely because of the Edge, but it's really really cool seeing him interact with Jimmy Page and Jack White. I expect I'll come out of the movie with a greater appreciation for both of those guys.

21 August

Inglorious Basterds: It's Tarantino, Brad Pitt, and WWII. Pretty much can't go wrong.

Post Grad: What can I say? I miss Rory.

28 August

Halloween II: I only mildly enjoyed Rob Zombie's remake of the original, but I'm enough of a Halloween fan that I'll have to see this.

Warrior Women Wednesday!

Today's Warrior Woman is Big Barda -- or, more accurately, "Lil' Big Barda" -- from Darryl Young's blog, which is chock full of good stuff.

But speaking of Barda, I'm sorry that Big Barda & Scott Free Week at Scans Daily never really took off.

"I want to have the kind of run I had on Birds of Prey"

The Dallas Morning News has a small, fluffy interview with Gail Simone in which she says she hopes to remain on Wonder Woman for at least five years. She wants to "have the room and time to really tell a megastory, made up of satisfying smaller chunks." Sounds good to me.

Who it doesn't sound good to: people who don't really seem to care about Wonder Woman in the first place.

JLA movie on hold

From a Hollywood Reporter article on how the WGA strike is affecting movie production: "At Warner Bros., Justice League of America finds itself without a shooting script and has options expiring on potential actors who recently were screen tested. As a result, it might have to postpone production." Sucks for me, but I'm still with the writers.

"I would frigging love to be Wonder Woman!"

So, with no chance of seeing an actual, big screen Wonder Woman any time soon, let's go back to fantasizing about who we'd like to see. I'll second the Lorelai Gilmore nomination. Not because she's the first person I'd think of for the role, but because she rules in general.

^_^

I haven't been into DC Direct's anime-inspired statues so far, but I actually kinda like the Wonder Woman one. The face is goofy in it's cutesy grimaciness, but I really like the costume design.

Added to my Wish List

DC's Power Girl collection.

Feminist Icon vs. Sex Object: Where's the line?

Former (I think) DC editor Steve Bunche has an interesting review of the '70s grindhouse sexploitation flick 'Gator Bait. It's interesting because while Bunche isn't necessarily a feminist, he's clearly hip to feminist concerns when he writes stuff like, "Lemme tell ya, buddy, the makers of this film simply set out make a movie about a scantily clad hottie who kicks ass on the people who fucked with her and her family, but I strongly doubt that capital F feminism was intentionally involved in the creative process.

"Think about it: you have fine-ass Claudia Jennings, a woman for whom the wearing of clothing should have been a capital offense, traipsing about the fen in gear that shows off her priapism-inducing assets for all they’re worth, despite the fact that such gear is in no way conducive to the rigors of marshland hunting and trapping. Desiree is not so much a feminist role model as she is a fantasy wild woman/jungle girl updated and transplanted to a sweltering southern bayou, and as a lifelong fan of such characters I have no problem with that. But don’t hand me that feminist overanalysis horseshit; Desiree’s a forest spirit fantasy made flesh — hell, she even looks like an anthropomorphic fox — and to say otherwise is a tad disingenuous."

Which makes me wonder: is it possible for a character to be a feminist role model and an object of lust at the same time? Certainly there are scantily clad superheroines who have plenty of female fans, but who are also ogled by male fans. Does the fact that some fanboys drool over these characters diminish them as role models for the fangirls? Does it depend entirely on the number of gratuitous butt, boob, and crotch shots the artist indulges in? What decides if an image is gratuitous or not? I'm asking. Where's the line?

Batman homeless, Steve Canyon on DVD, and Stuff Nobody Cares About But Me

Some quick movie/TV news:

The CW is shutting down the KidsWB! Saturday morning programming block. That had me nervous at first about the fates of The Batman and Legion of Super Heroes, but the most recent update to the article says that those shows will continue as long as they're popular. Just maybe not on CW.

I didn't know there was a Steve Canyon TV show in the late '50s. Now the Milton Caniff estate is trying to drum up interest and funds for a complete restoration and DVD set by selling a sample DVD.

Chris from The Gilmore Girls will soon be smooching Addison on Private Practice. First Lauren Graham and now Kate Walsh? Lucky, lucky man.

Warren Ellis scores Jesse James movie

No, not that Warren Ellis. This one. And Nick Cave. The Assassination of Jesse James just got even better.

And in case you don't believe me about the quality -- since I haven't seen it yet and all -- howsabout the opinions of 80% of the Rotten Tomatoes critics? (Okay, only five people have reviewed it so far, but four of 'em liked it!)

Speaking of Jesse James, I'm thinking that the name Jezebel James from FOX's mid-season sitcom The Return of Jezebel James isn't just coincidentally similar. It refers to the childhood imaginary friend of one of the characters, who used to use Jezebel as a scapegoat for her mischief. ''It wasn't me, it was Jezebel James.''

Okay, that's a pretty tenuous connection to this post, but I'm using it because I'm really just excited that Jezebel James is the new show from Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. And that there will be more of "that trademark Gilmore banter."

Yes. I'm a girl.

Links: Black Canary/Zatanna hardcover, Justice League of Amazons, and Coked-Out Carrie

Man, it's been a long time since I've done one of these. Not gonna get caught up today, but I'll make a dent in it.

Mystery

• About halfway down this report on the Saló International del Cómic de Barcelona, The Beat posts the coolest convention costume I've ever seen: Blacksad. Or if you don't feel like going to look for it, click here.

Science Fiction

• I totally skipped over blogging about the Star Wars 30th Anniversary. I'm not even sure why. But my favorite celebration of it was Kevin Church's "Ten Reasons I Still Really Like Star Wars Despite The Fact I Keep Saying I've Walked Away And That It's Over, Really, So Don't Call Anymore, George." My favorite reason is also his: Coked-Out Carrie.
• I got a nice email from Richard Starkings concerning my review of his comic Elephantmen. It was short, but it was the highest praise I ever hope for from a review: "You got it."

Superheroes

• Illustration on Paul Dini's Black Canary/Zatanna hardcover graphic novel should begin later this year, hopefully out by next summer. Dini's not saying who's illustrating but promises, "It will be worth the wait."
• Ragnell reminded me of what could've been the coolest superteam of all time. And still could again, I suppose, if someone wanted to make another comic about them.

Writing is Hard

• Pub Rants offers some advice on marketing.
• Speaking of marketing, I usually skip over writer interviews because most of them end up sounding like ads for the writer's latest book. Not so with this one with Nancy Kress. Of course, it might have something to do with her latest book, Beginnings, Middles, & Ends, being a book about writing, but still, her interview is full of useful thoughts on craft.

Stuff Nobody Cares About But Me

• Doctor Doom loves the Gilmore Girls: "Doom does not understand much of your attraction with the medium of television, although Doom does confess a certain admiration of Gilmore Girls. Doom has no time or need for romance, but were he so inclined, Lorelai Gilmore, with her sharp tongue and quick wit, is indeed a paramour worthy of Doom."

Links du Jour: Land of the Lost movie, Lost Boys 2, and “Woo hoo, Black Canary! Whoopee!”

Horror

• The world so does not need a Lost Boys 2, with or without Corey Feldman. In fact, since I have no plans of ever seeing it, let's just pretend I never saw that announcement and that it doesn't exist.

Fantasy

• Today is Peter Pan creator J.M. Barrie's birthday. He would've been 147.

Science Fiction

• Whenever I occasionally revisit Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, it's never as good as I remembered it from childhood. But Nuno Plati reminds me that visually, Yondu is one of my all-time favorite comic book characters. It's the sail-head. Same reason this is my favorite dinosaur.
• I love Robert Rodriguez, but I'm concerned about his next couple of projects. The closest that Will Farrell should get to a Land of the Lost movie is his Marshal Willenholly character from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Yeah, Land of the Lost was kind of silly, but it wasn't meant to be and a fun, but straightforward treatment of it would be much better than a comedy. I just hope the live-action Jetsons movie is better than the Flintstones one.

Superheroes

• Wizard has a great round-table discussion on the topic of Green Arrow's upcoming proposal to Black Canary. They have comments by everyone from Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams to Andy Diggle and Tony Bedard. It's a pretty comprehensive look at a complicated subject and, as you'd expect, not everyone agrees. A couple of interesting things from Green Arrow's history that I didn't know: 1) though Chuck Dixon's always been vocal about not particularly liking Ollie, it was DC editorial and not Dixon who decided to kill Green Arrow back in the day, and 2) Judd Winick was always supposed to have followed Kevin Smith as Green Arrow writer, but DC thought they needed a "buffer" to keep fans from eating Winick alive after Smith, so they brought in Brad Meltzer.
• This report from a comics-movie roundtable is heavily skewed towards movies based on Marvel Comics, but that's to be expected when three of the four panelists are Thomas Hayden Church (from Marvel's Spider-Man 3), Zak Penn (who wrote the X-Men movies), and Marvel EiC Joe Quesada. But while it may not be balanced, at least it's got some interesting news about the villain from the new Hulk movie. Hint: he may not be a snowman, but he's certainly abominable.
• As a Christian, I find the idea of Spider-Man's lending a hand in treasured Bible stories to be absolutely hilarious. Especially the bit where the Hulk helps to part the Red Sea.
• Grant Morrison points out one of the wonderful possibilities to come out of 52: "We all wanted to do something new with the multiple Earths so what you've already seen in 52 is simply the tip of the iceberg - each parallel world now has its own huge new backstory and characters and each could basically form the foundation for a complete line of new books. If you like the ongoing soap opera dynamics of New Earth, you can watch Mary Marvel turning to the dark side as her skirt gets shorter and shorter, or you can buy the Earth 5 line of books featuring more iconic versions of the Marvel Family." I hope so, Grant. I hope so. 'Cause honestly, I'd read both. There's much, much more in the link. Easily the best of Newsarama's "exit interviews" of the 52 creative team.

Stuff Nobody Cares About But Me

• Speaking of exit interviews, there's a really nice one with Lauren Graham at TV Guide. She talks very candidly about Gilmore Girls and why it's ending, as well as her plans for the future.
• One of the reasons I don't talk much about TV shows here is that I TiVo them all and watch them at my convenience. That means that I'm not up on the latest spoilers and whatnot, but I'm also not at the mercy of TV programmers when it comes to my schedule. I'm perfectly happy with that trade off. And, apparently, so are a lot of other folks, which is totally screwing up the Neilsen ratings, because they aren't doing a great job of taking TiVo and other DVR systems (not to mention iTunes) into account. The article in the link paints a gloomy picture, as if TV is dying as a medium, but reality is that the measurement system is just going to have to take a few years to catch up to new trends, at which point everything will balance out. Interesting article.

Links du Jour: Alatriste the Movie, a new Betty Ross, and another Tarzan gone

Adventure

• Holy crap! They're making a Captain Alatriste movie and it stars Viggo Mortensen! And it's in Spanish! (And so is the website, but it's pretty easy to navigate and the trailer is worth the effort.)


• We just lost a Tarzan recently when Herman Brix died, and now we've lost another. Gordon Scott played Tarzan in six different movies in the late '50s. I didn't think I'd seen any of his until I dug around a little and found out that he was the Tarzan in one of my favorites: Tarzan's Greatest Adventure, which features a 29-year-old Sean Connery as one of the villains. Unfortunately, that and most of Scott's others aren't available on DVD right now. He was 80 years old and died of complications after a heart surgery. There's a very nice obituary in the link.


• Related to Gordon Scott's passing, I also got an email from artist David Burton about a fundraiser he's doing to help offset Scott's funeral expenses for his family. According to the email, "I had originally planned on this to help actor Gordon Scott with his living expenses. But unfortunately I wasn't able to get things up and running in time due to a flood that killed our phone service (and thus internet) for nearly two weeks ... To honor him I created a site at Cafe Press. I wanted to let everyone know that I've heard from Mr. Scott's niece, Jane Tyler and she would like my help. This is the official announcement that everything sold at my Cafe Press site will help his family with funeral expenses. Unfortunately time is of the utmost and we need anyone who's interested in helping to visit the site and make a purchase. All profits from this site will go towards helping his family. Or if you would like, donations are being accepted at this address, please make all checks and money orders out to Jane Tyler: Gordon Scott/P.O. Box 335/Germantown, MD 20874." I don't know Mr. Burton, so obviously I can't vouch for him, but my personal belief is that he's legitimate, which is why I'm posting this. So... not telling you to give, but if you're moved to, now you have the information.

Fantasy

• David Yates, who's directing the upcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, has just signed on to also direct the next Potter film: Half-Blood Prince.

Superheroes

• You know, even though I knew that the new Hulk movie was going to have all-new everything, it never occurred to me that that meant I was also going to have to give up Jennifer Connelly as Betty Ross. I'm not complaining that Liv Tyler is the replacement; just expressing my unjustifiable surprise. I like Liv, but I've had a crush on Connelly ever since someone pointed out to me how much she looks like Julie Adams.


• Geek Monthly has an interview with Greg Weisman, writer of next year's Amazing Spider-Man cartoon.

Stuff Nobody Cares About But Me

• Gilmore Girls is done. At least they saw it coming and made a season finale that'll also act as a series finale. And honestly? They were running out of ideas. Better to let it go now while it's still good and halfway believable.