According to MTV's Splash Page, comic book magnate Todd McFarlane would like Leonardo DiCaprio to play the lead role in his planned reboot of the Spawn film franchise. In other news, I would like Salma Hayek and Grace Park to be EW.com's new interns.
Because this is how we'd rock summer Fridays:
Alas. Some things are just not meant to be.
But that still leaves half of a renegade band of veterans, wanted for crimes they did not commit, to cast: "Howling Mad" Murdock (originally played by Dwight Schultz) and B.A. Baracus (Mr. T's star-making role). Murdock is the showiest role in the Team — the brilliant but delusional pilot who spends most of his time in a mental institution — and, as such could go to anyone from Robert Downey Jr. to Sam Rockwell. But I'd like to see them take a chance on Jim Carrey. When given the chance, the man can act (see: The Truman Show); here's a role that'd require him to both play the loon, and the damaged man bubbling underneath.
And then we come to B.A. Baracus. I'm sure every black actor with an athletic build is being looked at — Ice Cube was, at one point, a rumored favorite — to play the driver, mechanic, and legbreaker. But Mr. T, coming off of playing the villain in Rocky III, wasn't the cuddly mohawked teddy bear he'd later morph into: He was downright frightening. These days, muscles don't, ironically, carry the same weight. Think of Don Cheadle in Devil in a Blue Dress or Jeffrey Wright in Shaft — they were terrifying because you believed that they were crazy enough to do whatever crossed their minds. So I'm gonna rally for Chewitel Ejiofor (pictured) — who's never been bad in anything, and elevates everything, from Inside Man to Serenity, Children of Men to Redbelt. Hell, I just wanna see that dude in more movies.
What about you? Who would you like to see flesh out these classic TV vigilantes?
According to the New York Post's Reed Tucker, producer Todd Black has said the film, definitely shooting in NYC, won't feature Morbius the vampire — despite the current wave of bloodsucker chic — but that the Big Bad will "be a big part of New York."
So who could the villain be? Spider-Man's rogues gallery is deep, but not as robust as, say, Batman's. And we've already seen the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, and Venom. It's a stone's throw before you get to pseudo-cheesy guys like Mysterio (who wears a goldfish bowl on his head) and the Rhino (yeah, pretty much what you think he is). Tucker posits either Kraven the Hunter (crazy Russian marksman who's got a thing for Most Dangerous Game-style hunts) or The Kingpin (sumo-huge criminal mastermind who pulls the mob strings in NYC).
Me, I can't really see Kraven being the sole villain, as he doesn't carry the thematic heft necessary to make Spidey 4 feel like more than a TV episode. The Kingpin is a better choice, even if the character's been somewhat sullied by his appearance in 2003's Daredevil (with Michael Clarke Duncan, pictured, in the role). Big, smart, mean-spirited — there's many a character actor who could pull it off with style, from James Gandolfini to Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Here's a different way to go: J. Jonah Jameson. The Daily Bugle honcho has long had a problem with the wall-crawler; all you need to do is devise a reason to push JJJ over the edge — say, perhaps, Jameson's astronaut son dies during a shuttle launch accident (that Peter Parker was assigned to cover, natch), with Spider-Man having failed to save him — and suddenly Spider-Man has a ruthless, well-connected, thoroughly committed nemesis. Plus, it would give the stellar J.K. Simmons something to do besides chew both cigars and scenery. (And maybe the villainous JJJ hires Kraven to kill Spidey — thereby securing the big punching-and-swinging action you'd need.)
But that's just me. Anyone else from the comics you'd rather see Spider-Man duke it out with?
Apparently, we are now one step closer to a city in the clouds run by Billy Dee Williams. Oh, and the Empire possessing the ultimate power in the Universe. (Wait, does that make us the Empire? Crap.)
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| We Have a Death Star! | ||||
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The cascade of black balloons? Nice touch, Colbert. Nice touch.
What other previously impossible sci-fi technology would you like to see come to a mall or defense subcontractor near you? I'm holding out for an ED-209. Because I like to cuddle.
Friedman is honest about a process that most of us had never had any insight into during the days before blogs. And not just honest about the mechanics of being unceremoniously removed from a TV show, but the emotional and physical toll it takes. To wit:
"Losing your show is more like a surprise divorce where you get servedpapers in the morning and your (ex)wife is f—ing Human Target bythree in the afternoon using the same time slot your child wasconceived in and also where she did that one thing that one time onyour birthday."
I've been reading Friedman's hilarious, self-deprecating blog, "I Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing," for years (anyone who uses a Vader quote as his blog name is a friend of mine). I even checked back on a daily basis, even though this recent post is his first since February 2008. The dude is just that good:
"Eventually the day came when I was evicted from the room I'd writtenthirty episodes of my very first television show. I packed a very largeSUV with a very large amount of computer equipment, scripts, DVDs,Sarah Connor memorabilia, something that may or may not have been manyhalf-empty tequila bottles, some office supplies I don't want to talkabout, and possibly some gum and trail mix. Despite the show NOT yetbeing cancelled, I was the last person to leave the empty building andwould've turned the lights out if I was paying for the electricity."
Anyone else love "I Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing"? Who else has a blog that seems to rise above the rest?
But the list — which also lauds Kara Thrace, Dana Scully, and Sarah Connor — loses most of its credibility by putting Buffy Summers in the No. 2 slot. Because, you know, Buffy the Vampire Slayer isn't science fiction. Buffy is fantasy, through and through. Vampires, werewolves, mummies, really hot witches who don't figure out they're hot until they turn all evil and then are even hotter…pure fantasy. (And don't tell me that just because there were robots on Buffy, it's sci-fi. Fail.)
I'm all for celebrating positive female role models in science fiction — the world's girls can always use characters to look up to — but let's get our terminology right.
What do you think? Am I being too harsh on this well-intentioned list? Or should the dudes behind totalscifionline.com know better than to play fast and loose with subjects of such high geek importance?
Hot on the heels of the Beatles: Rock Band trailer comes this dark, awesome nugget out of E3: A spot for the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic game. And this may actually be the best two minutes of Star Wars footage I'VE EVER SEEN.
It's amazing what you can do with this universe once you pry it from George Lucas' hands.
Where does this rank for you? Do you, like me, wish you could trade the Clone Wars stuff for a TV series that looks like this? Or am I overselling it a bit? (I'm not, but you're entitled to your opinion…so long as it agrees with mine. Welcome to the Dark Side.)
I don't care what you think about the Beatles, or what you think of Rock Band, or if you believe that videogames melt your brain in a deliciously Coldstone Creamery kind of way (which they totally do, and is actually very tasty) — this promo spot for The Beatles: Rock Band is simply one of the best animated short films I've seen in a long, long time. It oughta get nominated for something, it's so damned spiffy. Judge for yourself:
See? I wouldn't steer you wrong, would I? I wonder what Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin spots might look like….Does this entice you to pick up The Beatles: Rock Band when it drops this September?
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the rights holders of Buffy the Vampire Slayer — which began as the 1992 crapmound film starring Kristy Swanson and was later transformed by writer Joss Whedon into one of the touchstone TV series of the last 25 years — are planning a remake/relaunch. Now, fans of the Buffyverse have been clamoring for a feature extension ever since the show’s end in 2003; and they’ve made the Whedon-overseen comic books best sellers. Whedon has long been the hand on the wheel of the Buffy franchise, and his cultish fanbase are legion.
That raucous sound you hear is that fanbase currently consulting an engineer to figure out exactly how to support all of the hell they’re gonna raise. Because — get this — Whedon isn’t involved. AT ALL. (Update: Joss Whedon responds.)
According to the news item, the producers aren’t against the idea of Whedon’s involvement, but they haven’t "reached out to him." What’s more, this new "film" would have no connection with the TV series, nor would it feature any of the show’s robust supporting cast. In other words, they’d be jettisoning everything and everyone that made Buffy work. I swear, sometimes it’s as if Hollywood sets out with "failure" plugged right into the GPS.
The only reason that Buffy remains a viable franchise is because of the rabid, happy-to-purchase fanbase. And the only reason that fanbase exists is because of Joss Whedon. (There are actually t-shirts out there with "Joss Whedon is my master now" printed on them.) Why leave all that money on the table simply to make a shoddy Twilight-lite? Because there’s no way those fans would turn out if Whedon wasn’t involved — what’s more, they’d actively work to undermine it in every way possible.
Clearly, Joss has more Buffy stories to tell. Why not let him? Would you go see this film without Joss Whedon at the helm? Vote in our poll. Sound off in the comments section.
I don’t usually go in for fan-made trailers for films that’ll likely never get made, created using footage from their favorite totally-non-related movies…but this spot for a Green Lantern movie starring Nathan Fillion hits me in two sweet spots:
Sweet Spot #1: Nathan Fillion. My man-crush on Captain Tightpants is well-documented. I’ll watch anything the man is in. Mandi Bierly and I have weekly thumb-wrestling tourneys to decide who gets to wear the EW’s Biggest Filli-fan Ceremonial Hawaiian Shirt.
Sweet Spot #2: Michael Giacchino’s Star Trek score. Nothing I’ve heard in a good long while summons the same feeling of heroic grandeur/call of destiny.
I still stand by my "Brian Austin Green would be pretty rad as Hal Gordon" stance. But only if Nathan passes. Because I’m a loyal Browncoat, and that’s how we roll. Geek tirade over.
Any fan-created trailers float your boat? Anyone else you’d rather see as Hal Jordan? Anyone else you dig as much as I dig Nathan Fillion?
