'Avatar' Sequels Will Be Jam-Packed with Frames

From iwatchstuff, Avatar 2 and 3 are going to have so many fucking frames, everyone!

Speaking as if the main issue with Avatar was Sam Worthington's herky-jerky movement, James Cameron announced that he "fully intends" to shoot that film's sequels at a higher frame rate--likely at twice the usual speed of film or video. And to prove that the process won't result in something as annoying-to-look-at as when I accidentally had "Motionflow" enabled on my TV, Cameron plans to present some of his ultra-smooth footage tonight, saying of it:

When you author and project a movie at 48 or 60, it becomes a different movie. The 3D shows you a window into reality; the higher frame rate takes the glass out of the window. In fact, it is just reality. It is really stunning.
There's a revolution brewing, and it's going to change the world of collecting crisp nip-slip screen captures.

The Hangover 2 trailer arrives!

Expendables 2 Coming Next August

From cinemablend, After The Expendables firebombed its way to almost three hundred million worldwide, we all knew a sequel was coming as soon as possible. Unfortunately, unlike Saw and other rotating cast films, you can’t just turn out another installment in a year. There’s too many schedules to organize and too much money at stake. Two years though, that’s not a wholly unrealistic goal. In fact, that’s exactly what Stallone and company are shooting for.

The Expendables 2 is set to drop on August 17th, 2012. Most of the original cast has already signed on to come back, and there’s almost a rumor a day of some other big name action star joining the picture. Whether we’ll end up seeing our first taste of Norris or more Willis is all speculation at this point, but with a clear end point in sight, we’ll start getting answers to these questions shortly.

An August release date for an action film isn’t exactly a stretch, but it does seem worth noting that this is just one week after G.I. Joe 2. I would imagine the thought process has something to do with The Expendables 2 being R and catering to an older audience, but it’s still likely these two pictures will cost each other a slight bit of business. I’ll be seeing Stallone break faces, but there’s no telling whether most will follow my lead.

Zack Snyder Says His Superman and the ‘Justice League’ Superman Are Different

From slashfilm [excerpt], A few years back when George Miller was developing a Justice League film he cast it with actors that had no ties to other DC comics movies. Granted, there were fewer DC movies then, but that Justice League wouldn’t have featured Brandon Routh as Superman or Christian Bale as Batman. If it had been made, Superman would have been played by D.J. Cotrona while Armie Hammer would have been Batman.

We’ve been hearing now that new WB president Jeff Robinov wants to have a Justice League film in theaters for 2013, and with the scarce information available we’ve assumed that the George Miller approach had been abandoned in favor of Marvel’s development path for The Avengers. In other words, we thought that Henry Cavill would be Superman, Ryan Reynolds would be Green Lantern, and so forth. But now Superman director Zack Snyder says that isn’t the case.

Read more here

Hump Day Halt

I'm opting to wait until next Wednesday since there was no response to the question. Also I'm drawing a total blank on topic this morning.

Holy fuck go see Sucker Punch right now

Oh my motherlovin' GOD. I just got back from what I thought was going to be a hodgepodge of ridiculous, mal-formed, boring crap (based solely on the two posts on this blog) and it turns out everyone who hates this movie is WRONG.

Well, maybe not, and here's why. At a certain point, just after the last of the four huge fantasy set-piece sequences ends (girls fighting robots), the whole thing goes bizarrely south like you wouldn't believe. The questionable story choices render the closing narration irredeemably cheesy, and also the opening narration sequence although you didn't know how cheesy when you first heard it, which in turn kinda badly torques your feelings about the main character and possibly, well, the entire movie. Or do they? I really can't say any more, but I see why people don't like it.

I'll have to write a fuller review later because I have to go to bed, but do yourself a favor and spend the money and see this on IMAX as soon as you can. There may be things you don't like about it but there ARE FUCKING MONSTER NINJAS AND STEAMPUNK WWI GERMAN ZOMBIES AND A FUCKING DRAGON CHASING A GODDAMN B-52 BOMBER WITH VANNESSA HUDGEN'S CLEAVAGE HANGING OUT THE BACK OF IT! WHAT ARE YOU FUCKING WAITING FOR???????

Seriously, the answer to "how can a movie have all that stuff and fail" is: It can NOT fail.

MTV’s ‘Teen Wolf’ Trailer – Now With More Shirtlessness

Teen Wolf - MTV Shows

via slashfilm

Hump Day Challenge! Who shall pass into the Hall of Legends?

But first, check out this cute picture of what was actually not a very cute scene at all. As I think I mentioned elsewhere, both Julie and I started new jobs last week, which was exactly the week a rather buff strain of streptococcus bacteria decided to camp out in Zack. Poor kid spent most of the last EIGHT FREAKING DAYS as you see him here, doped up on Motrin so his fever would stop hitting the 104 mark. By far the longest he's ever been sick.

Yeah, suck. On Friday we got him some antibiotics which we thought would turn things around, but after an awful weekend we got real stuff. The strep had just laughed at the first batch, then was thankfully nuked by a shot of penicillin plus.

That's not totally an excuse for spacing on results posting and I am sorry about that. But he's better and we got through it and woo hoo for us.

So, getting to it: I was very, very amused at the output last week. We're still not hitting the numbers like we used to (where is that sister of mine?) but the percentage of truly awesome work was at Olympian levels. Stan hit me early with this one:

Roll, roll, roll the rock
Almost...there...stay on target
Fuck me. Roll, roll, roll...

Which tickled me because I'd been thinking Sisyphus would be a great subject and also because he got a Star Wars reference in there. Nice. This rocked, too:

I'll take that fire, thanks
Humans, enjoy your warm S'mores
Don't really need guts

(When I captioned the Prometheus picture I went for that awesome line from The Critic, but I often think of Prometheus, a la the Wicked Witch from Oz, saying "How about some nice FIRE, humanity?" So this one hit the spot, too.)

AC had this beauty:

greek gods tho potent and famous
behaviorally were quite heinous
they did as they pleased
but i'll bet they were teased
cuz grandfather's name was "uranus"

Knowledgable and raunchy at the same time, and a limerick! While I will always encourage free form poetry, I must say I do fancy the limerick. A lot of you chose limericks this week, and yay for that.

The winner, however, is Catfreeek, for the amazing account of Paul Bunyan's enormous genitalia.

Paul Bunyan was a great big man
who wielded a great big axe
He hung around with and Ox named Babe
whose as blue as a sailor's sac
His legend tells of many things
the big man was a hero
but I have always been curious
why his love life was a zero
perhaps the man was somewhat shy
or has issues with cleanness
Maybe he just scared them off
with his enormous penis

Johnny nearly took it with the follow up:

The things I would do
If I wielded Bunyon’s schlong
I'd achieve world peace

That right there is the kind of lateral thinking that makes it a pleasure to know JSP.

But in the end I had to give it to Cat for numerous little victories. Being the first to highlight PB's junk for one thing, this gem about Medusa (another limerick!):

Medusa was once a great beauty
to Poseidon she gave up her cootie
but they picked the wrong place
Athena messed up her face
What a big price to pay for some booty

...and the real clincher was the following. I love it when Hump Day results in a blogger back-and-forth, and this one goes 1) Cat's Paul Bunyan poem 2) Johnny's hilarious world peace haiku (sporting, I must mention, the HI-larious smug Dennis the Menace avatar that's so recently fashionable, which leads to...)

Dennis tub bubbles
his Mother had it all wrong
released the Kraken

Holy crap does that make me laugh, and it's a Clash of the Titans reference to boot. No, it's THE Clash of the Titans reference.

So that's that! Congrats to all of you (including those I didn't mention specifically) on a great batch of work, and sorry once again for my ongoing tardiness.

It's yours now, Cat... another Thursday challenge? Perhaps this should be discussed in the comments.

Scared of heights? Don't watch this video

Stairway To Heaven Video - Interesting Videos

New 'Pirates' poster showcases the mermaids

'Wonder Woman’ Costume Gets a Slight Makeover After Unpopular Debut

From slashfilm, Don’t let this one go to your head, but think back a couple weeks to the debut of the costume for the new TV Wonder Woman from producer David E. Kelley. Then remember the widespread dismissal that ensued. Now take a look at the photos below. Seemingly in response to the utter disdain for the costume, changes have been made to the suit.

From the waist down it’s an all-new affair. More traditional red boots; the stars down the leg are more visible; and darker blue super-yoga pants instead of electric blue super-plastic ones. Definitely an improvement, but will it help the script, which also has been the target of derision?

I know, I know, I screwed up another Hump Day...

And honestly I'm not even sure who to give it to. There were at least three really good contenders.

I'll make the call and post something when I take lunch (1 pm my time) and give you guys another day-delayed opportunity. Yay, me.

Roger Ebert Predicted The Future Of Film In 1987

OMNI: How will the fierce competition between television and the movies work out in the future?

EBERT: "We will have high-definition, wide-screen television sets and a push-button dialing system to order the movie you want at the time you want it. You’ll not go to a video store but instead order a movie on demand and then pay for it. Videocassette tapes as we know them now will be obsolete both for showing prerecorded movies and for recording movies. People will record films on 8mm and will play them back using laser-disk/CD technology."

"I also am very, very excited by the fact that before long, alternative films will penetrate the entire country. Today seventy-five percent of the gross from a typical art film in America comes from as few as six –six– different theaters in six different cities. Ninety percent of the American motion-picture marketplace never shows art films. With this revolution in delivery and distribution, anyone, in any size town or hamlet, will see the movies he or she wants to see. It will be the same as it’s always been with books. You can be a hermit and still read any author you choose."

"By the year 2000 or so, a motion picture will cost as much money as it now costs to publish a book or make a phonograph album."

[excerpts from slashfilm]

17 Images That Will Ruin Your Childhood

#17."Luke! Be Careful! There Are Exposed Springs on That One!"
The Child Saw:


The "bottomless" chasm is as much a staple of the Star Wars universe as the lightsaber. It's a wonderful symbol for that world's vast, endless technology and how small it can make a person feel. Nobody who watched the above scene as a kid was thinking that consciously, but we felt it when Luke, crushed by the revelation from Vader, tumbled down into it, falling, forever ...

Ruined By:


... onto a bunch of used garage sale mattresses.

That behind-the-scenes pic is from the coffeetable book The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Usually it's cool to see the inventive wizardry that went on behind the scenes at Lucasfilm, but now I can't watch that scene without picturing the big pile of smelly mattresses just below Luke that appear to have been collected from various alleys around town.

See them all here

James Cameron to Take "Avatar 2" Cast to Meet Brazilian Tribes

From worstpreviews, A few days ago, James Cameron took Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Xingu River in Brazil, where he spoke against the construction of the hydroelectic dam, claiming that it would destroy the homes of some indigenous people.

Cameron said that if he visited the indigenous tribes before filming "Avatar," it would have been a better movie. This is a mistake he is planning to correct for "Avatar 2," by taking the entire cast to Brazil's Amazonian rain forest for them to be inspired by the place.

"'Avatar' is a film about the rain forest and its indigenous people. Before I start to shoot the two films I want to bring my actors here, so I can better tell this story," said the director. "Actors could learn about the natives and what real life in the jungle is like."

Disturbing: Breastfeeding doll toy

TR3N (TRON 3) Teaser 2 - The Dillingers' Chat (TRON: Leagcy Bu-Ray Easter Egg)

Boost Your Car Remote with Your Head

From brainz.org, If you forget where you parked and your key remote signal is not strong enough to help you find the car, there is a simple trick to amplify the signal and increase your chances of easily finding it. Simply place the remote under your chin, open your mouth and press the button. Your oral cavity will amplify the signal and with any luck, you'll locate your car immediately.

[JPX] This totally works

Seventy old school video game deaths In 2:30

From geekology

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Apollo 18 Movie Abandoned by Studio?

From moviesonline, I am really surprised by this move but it seems that Apollo 18 just got kicked to the curb in a big kind of way. The movie is ready to rock and was slated for an April 22nd release and out of the blue comes word via Deadline that The Weinsteins have buried the film and moved its release date to January 6th 2012. What would make a studio move a movie that is completed back such a long period? I have no clue.

I have read some pretty scathing remarks about the movie but I for one was still looking forward to checking out the film which is ‘based on a true story’ all be it about as true as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. [ The True Story of Apollo 18 ]

Synopsis: Officially, Apollo 17, launched December 17th, 1972 was the last manned mission to the moon. But a year later, in December of 1973, two American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon funded by the US Department of Defense. What you are about to see is the actual footage which the astronauts captured on that mission.

While NASA denies its authenticity, others say it’s the real reason we’ve never gone back to the moon.

Countries That Don't Use The Metric System

From geekology, Looks like we're in good company -- high-five, Liberia and Myanmar! We're miles ahead of all those other countries, amirite?! No? Kilometers behind? SONOFA. *takes 3/4" socket off penis and chucks over cubicle wall like a grenade* "OW!! WHO THREW THIS?!" Haha -- that was just on my pecker, bro!

Box Office

From ew, Armed with an arsenal of weapons and one gnarly imagination, the young women of Sucker Punch nonetheless met their match in the form of a seventh-grader named Greg Heffley. Fox’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was voted most popular by moviegoers this weekend, grossing $24.4 million, according to studio estimates. Based on Jeff Kinney’s bestselling “novels in cartoons,” the comedy sequel outperformed last year’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which debuted to $22.1 million. Rodrick Rules, about that best-left-forgotten period known as middle school, was produced for $18 million, and the fact that the PG-rated film surpassed its budget on opening weekend bodes well for the green-lighting of a third Wimpy Kid movie. Furthermore, Rodrick Rules received a strong “A-” grade from CinemaScore audiences. Granted, half of CinemaScore’s survey sample was under the age of 18.

Read the full article here

[JPX] I must confess that I watched Wimpy Kid over the weekend and thought it was really funny/cute in a Christmas Story kind of way. I think I was laughing more than the kids in the auidence. BTW, the kid on the right lives in my home town.

Why Everyone Hates Sucker Punch

From sexybeast, Critics, fanboys, and the moviegoing public rarely reach consensus, but on the action movie Sucker Punch, they all seem to agree that it's horrific. Chris Lee examines the vitriol.

In an increasingly fractured, 700-channel digi-verse, where attentions are divided between myriad media pursuits, strong opinions travel with lightning speed 140 characters at a time, and anything approaching critical consensus is nearly impossible to come by, a movie has arrived to provide a kind of cultural unity seldom seen outside of responses to natural disasters or terrorism.

The critical assessment nearly everyone with access to a computer keyboard seems to share? That director Zack Snyder's impressionistic action epic Sucker Punch is absolutely dreadful.

Read the full article here

[JPX] Anyone see it?

James Dean Molested By Minister, Elizabeth Taylor Revealed

From huffingtonpost, James Dean's short life is now known perhaps more in legend and lore than solid fact, but even he had a secret no one knew. Except for Elizabeth Taylor.

Kevin Sessums, writing for The Daily Beast, reveals that in a wide ranging interview with the just passed Taylor, the famed actress let him in on a secret about Dean that she had promised she'd keep forever. Sworn to secrecy until Taylor's death, Sessums revealed the hidden past of the Rebel Without a Cause.

"When Jimmy was 11 and his mother passed away, he began to be molested by his minister," Taylor said. "I think that haunted him the rest of his life. In fact, I know it did. We talked about it a lot. During 'Giant' we'd stay up nights and talk and talk, and that was one of the things he confessed to me."

Taylor and Dean co-starred in Giant, a 1956 film for which Dean was posthumously nominated for an Academy Award.

After Dean's mother died in 1940, he was sent back from California, where his family had relocated, to Indiana to live with his grandparents. He was sent back on the same train as his mother's body. Known for his young rebel roles, Dean was cast as -- and was in real life -- a confused, somewhat angry and abandoned young man.

Dean was known to have a chip on his shoulder against fathers, thanks in part to never reconciling with his own -- whether the minister story, if true, has anything to do with that, is perhaps unknowable.

While he never married, he had a short-lived public relationship with Italian actress Pier Angeli. Best friend, roommate and biographer William Bast claims to have had a sexually intimate relationship with Dean, as well.

Does 'Sucker Punch' suck?

From collider [excerpt], "The movie swims through the wet dreams of a teenage boy but pretends at higher aspirations of thoughtful escapism and transcendent determination. For a movie where dragons battle fighter jets and teenage girls in skimpy outfits take down samurai golems, Sucker Punch is a surprisingly dull and self-serious affair that can’t be bothered to develop its heroine, but wants a round of applause every time she defeats a CGI monstrosity. Despite all of the energy put into the stunning vistas and designs, nothing in Sucker Punch’s visuals comes close to the majesty of its delusions of grandeur."

Ouch. Read the full review here

Worst tattoo ever?

If movie posters were honest

See them all here

Good news, everyone!

From ew, Everybody’s favorite canceled animated Fox show (well, for Family Guy fans with long memories, second favorite) is getting a couple more years of life: Comedy Central’s Futurama has been renewed for two more years, say sources close to the production.

The network has picked up another two cycles of 13 episodes -- and neither include the upcoming batch that launches this June. So that keeps Futurama on the air through 2013. (Whether the order is called the seventh season, or the eighth and ninth season, is still being debated -- since seasons on Comedy Central are split over two years, do you call each year's batch a season or do you call the full 26 episode order a season?) At any rate, last season averaged 2.5 million viewers per week once DVR is added in.

15 Things You Should Know About Mickey Rourke And Megan Fox's Passion Play

From cinemablend,

1. Mickey Rourke is a trumpet player, which we know because he fondles a trumpet mouthpiece like a pacifier.

2. Megan Fox is a winged woman, which we know because she has giant wings sprouting out of her back.

3. At the beginning of the film Rourke is rescued by a fleet of ninjas who shoot his attacker and then run away, never to be explained.

4. It starts as a Western-- man with no name enters a desert town, causes some trouble, etc. etc.-- before Mitch Glazer apparently runs out of Western references and starts making a romantic comedy instead.

5. This is a movie in which someone pours a glass of bourbon and proceeds to smash the glass with a bare hand-- twice.

6. This is a movie in which Megan Fox and Bill Murray don't just share a frame, but hold hands.

7. This is a movie in which Megan Fox and Mickey Rourke don't just share a frame and hold hands, but have fairly graphic sex.

8. This is the point in the movie where many, many critics in the press screening walked out.

9. Fox seems to think this is her bid at being a Real Actress, but she's been cast to basically play a naive, walking Barbie doll. For plot purposes you could replace her with a particularly expensive painting or some other inanimate object and not change the movie all that much.

10. Rourke seems to think he's bringing the same emotional heft to this that he did to The Wrestler, but he also seemed to think that about his long monologue in The Expendables.

11. There is absolutely no telling what Murray is thinking.

12. The film takes place partially in Mexico, but there is snow everywhere.

13. Fox's character supposedly learned English by watching old movies and has never been to America, but talks, well, exactly like Megan Fox.

14. I may have this wrong, but I think Glazer uses a track from Jon Brion's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind score in one particularly unimportant scene, to no real effect

15. As you can no doubt tell by now, Passion Play is not a good movie, but it's also so weird and committed to its weirdness that I don't feel right dismissing it. Good luck getting a chance to judge for yourself, though-- Passion Play is seeking distribution at Toronto, and I have a hard time imagining who's going to be bold and crazy enough to make that dream come true.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is already being written

From slashfilm [excerpt],Marc Webb‘s 3D Spider-Man reboot The Amazing Spider-Man won’t hit theaters for almost a year and a half, yet Sony has already ordered development of a sequel. Columbia Pictures has hired screenwriter James Vanderbilt to pen a follow-up. THR reports that Vanderbilt “had a meeting with the Spider-Man filmmakers and studio execs yesterday outlining his take, getting a thumbs up, and will now begin writing.”

The Amazing Spider-Man stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Spider-Man, Rhys Ifans as the Lizard, Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben, presumably Sally Field as Aunt May, Denis Leary as the father of Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), Chris Zylka has been cast as Eugene Thompson, Campbell Scott (Roger Dodger, The Spanish Prisoner) and Julianne Nicholson (Kinsey, Little Black Book) as Parker’s parents, Richard and Mary Parker, and Annie Parisse (Rubicon, National Treasure) as Van Atter’s wife.

The Amazing Spider-Man will be released on July 3rd, 2012.

Hump Day Challenge! Myths, Legends and Fables!

In honor of my unexpectedly winning poem last week, I open the floor to the Big Stories, the ones who earned their staying power back when the best entertainment center was a big fire to sit around at and maybe, if you were lucky, a small portable harp.

"Oh no! Promoothius!"
All verse forms are welcome and encouraged, and my notions of myth are broad. I've depicted Greek myths here because of their invaluable invention the small portable harp, but any culture's stories are fair game for poemification, including ours. Slapping some fable-y framework on some modern ideas is a good way to go, as in the old standard The Honda and the Camaro.

The crowd watched in wonder as the Tortoies's magical ass froze the Hare in mid stride...
And don't forget Fables! Those snotty little stories about animals who might possibly wear clothes and hang out in combos never found in nature.

And the turtle said, "Hey guys, I know where to get food! Let's eat the rat."
As an added bonus subtopic, I just saw the new Clash of the Titans recently and either version of that movie is always good fodder for discussion. Whether it be the old classic:

"Plan A better work because I don't know what I'm doing with this sword right now."
Or the modern version from last year:

Feh, screw that movie. Here's the Tron chick instead.
Start typing, people! Maybe they'll be singing what you write around a fire someday! (Okay, probably not, unless it's in some post-apocalyptic wasteland, but that can be cool too!)

Official Captain America trailer debut!

Hump Day Challenge: Wait for it!

No, really, you're going to have to wait for it. I mean, I know you've been waiting for it already, but I'm just now getting to a computer for what seems like the first time in days. Been at the new job this week, and we only just got a computer in our shop today. It's not MY computer, because I don't get one, but it should improve my access in general.

The other ding on my time is the beast you see pictured above, a robot night club made out of Lego. A friend of mine is taking part in a HUGE cybercity diorama in a Bay Area convention this weekend, and while I can't go I made something to bulk up the bustling futuropolis. Of course I was still throwing pieces on this morning, so THAT's been eating my time.

But the kicker, the thing that leaves us without poetry today, is my poor kid getting sick yesterday and systematically tagging all the pillows and blankets we've got with puke. Julie had to be out last night so I was sharing time between roboclub and sick kiddo and had no brain space for you guys.

I'll make it up to you, but I want your input: do we do it tomorrow or next Wednesday?

Some great posts I have to catch up on tonight...

Elizabeth Taylor has died at age 79

10 films that seemed better when I was a kid

The Wizard (1989)

Is that Handsomestan?

From denofgeek, I was 12 by the time The Wizard appeared on VHS in the UK, so I probably should have known better than to be drawn in by it. Nevertheless, I found myself oddly entertained by this film about a group of kids (among them Fred Savage, then riding high on his Wonder Years fame) who head off to California to compete in a videogame contest.

I was completely seduced by the constant glimpses of dozens of great videogames and gadgets, such as Ninja Gaiden and Super Mario Bros. 3, and those Power Glove things that looked futuristic, but nobody bought. As a result, I completely failed to notice that the entire film was just a swiftly-made commercial for Nintendo. Nor did I notice that The Wizard actually has quite an impressive cast, with appearances from Beau Bridges, a young Christian Slater, and an even younger Tobey Maguire.

As an adult, The Wizard is now rather difficult to watch, with a dream-like absence of logic, flat script and blatant product placement. Nevertheless, as a glimpse into an era of bleepy 8-bit gaming, it’s like a 100 minute 80s time capsule, and a fitting epitaph for the ill-fated Nintendo Power Glove.

See full list here

Happy Birthday Captain Kirk!

Bill turns 80 today!

Zack Snyder on "Superman" Rumors and "Thor"

While promoting his upcoming "Sucker Punch" film, director Zack Snyder is being interrogated about his "Superman" reboot. Unfortunately, he is not able to reveal much, but was able to comment on some rumors.

About a month ago, it was reported by several credible sources that Viggo Mortensen (The Road) is at the top of the list to play General Zod. Snyder stated: "Viggo is not going to be in the movie, let's say that right now. I can clear that up."

There were also talks of Warner Bros not being able to mention the origins of Superman after a court battle with the heirs of "Superman" co-creator Jerome Siegel. Snyder stated: "We're not doing anything as far as the story goes that's influenced by any legal issue."

And it seem that Snyder's decision to bring Superman to the big screen was in part due to "Thor." He stated: "[Superman] is the freaking biggest superhero on the planet. He's the father of every superhero. Thor has a movie? Really? I mean, come on. And there's no Superman movie? This is like the world is out of balance. It's like we've lost our minds here people. Come on."

They're Making Another Narnia Movie Because Overseas People Will Watch Anything

From cinemablend [excerpt], There’s another Narnia movie coming. Walden Media is already talking to Fox about it, and the Christian Post says if they make it, the film will be based on The Magician’s Nephew. For those of you still paying attention to this franchise, that is not the chronological order followed by the books. The last movie was The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and that means The Silver Chair should be next. In fact Magician’s Nephew is really just a straight up prequel, with little connection to the stories we’ve already seen, which I guess sort of makes this the Narnian version of a reboot.

Iran: Now With Autonomous Flying Saucers

From geekology, Iran, in an attempt to toot its own horn, released a press release about the successful development of an autonomous reconnaissance 'flying saucer', with the above picture attached. That, uh...that looks pretty sketchy. HOW HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED YOUR LESSON?! Iran, you need to go ahead and fire your whole Photoshop department, because that dude suuuuuucks.

The ship is called Zohal -- Saturn in Persian -- and is designed for aerial imaging. Zohal has a data downlink and can fly in both indoor and outdoor spaces, according to the Fars News Service. The Daily Mail points out that Fars is a hard-line state-run news service.

From the news release: "The flying machine is equipped with an auto-pilot system, GPS (Global Positioning System) and two separate imaging systems with full HD 10 mega-pixel picture quality and is able to take and send images simultaneously."

I'm not gonna lie, if I was in charge I would have gone with a different picture. Something, what's the word I'm looking for -- yes -- less horribly shitty looking. That thing looks like it was scanned out of a 1940's sci-fi magazine. "Amir -- we need a picture of a flying saucer, STAT!". "Yes, sir!" *copy/pastes screencap from Flight of the Navigator*

Blinky

Blinky™ from Ruairi Robinson on Vimeo.

From slashfilm [excerpt] Blinky, starring Max Records (Where the Wild Things Are) [is about] a kid whose family has some problems. He gets the latest robot family helper, Blinky, for Chrismas, but that doesn’t solve all his issues. In fact, it doesn’t solve any of them.

The Cars release their first single in 24 years

The Hobbit begins shooting today

From Warner Brother/New Line Cinema, Martin Freeman takes the title role as Bilbo Baggins and Ian McKellen returns in the role of Gandalf the Grey. The Dwarves are played by Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Ken Stott (Balin), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), William Kircher (Bifur) James Nesbitt (Bofur), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Rob Kazinsky (Fili), Aidan Turner (Kili), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), John Callen (Oin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Mark Hadlow (Dori) and Adam Brown (Ori). Reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy are Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Andy Serkis as Gollum and Elijah Wood as Frodo. Jeffrey Thomas and Mike Mizrahi also join the cast as Dwarf Kings Thror and Thrain, respectively. Further casting announcements are expected.

Randy Quaid has become even whackier

'The Walking Dead': Stephen King in talks to write an episode of AMC's zombie series

From ew, AMC’s zombie sensation The Walking Dead might be getting a serious scare injection on its writing staff for next season. Iconic horror novelist (and former EW columnist) Stephen King has confirmed with EW that he’s currently in talks to write an episode of the post-apocalyptic series. Dead is executive-produced by Frank Darabont, who has directed three films based on King’s work — four, if you count his 1983 short film The Woman in the Room — and King tells EW exclusively that Darabont “has expressed enthusiastic interest for season 2 or possibly 3.” Although the author is still early in negotiations, the current plan would be for King to co-write an episode with his son, Joe Hill, the author of horror novels Heart-Shaped Box and Horns.

Denace the Menace goes "there"

What is the comic’s page coming to? First we learn that Jon only changes Garfield’s litter box once a week and now we find out that in addition to being a menace, Dennis likes to fart in the bathtub while his mother bathes him. His expression suggests that he's very proud of himself. It's kind of passive-aggressive don't you think so? I think it’s funny when a normally mill toast cartoon suggests that its characters have bodily functions. I’m waiting for the day that someone steps in Marmaduke’s dog shit or when Billy pees in his bed. Fear not blog readers, when that day comes (fingers crossed) I’ll be all over it.

New Pirates of the Carribean trailer emphasizes the action

Gordon-Levitt the Holiday Killer in The Dark Knight Rises?

From cinemablend [excerpt], Gordon-Levitt will be playing Alberto Falcone, a.k.a. The Holiday Killer, scion of a Gotham Mafia family.

If the name sounds familiar, you may remember an identical rumor cropping up in early February, in a post at Comic Book Movie that has since been removed. The fact that the original story has vanished, plus more confirmation in Variety, makes this a rumor with a very, very strong likelihood of being true. Here's what I wrote at the time about The Holiday KIller and how he'd fit into the story:

He's the son of the mob boss we saw played by Tom Wilkinson in Batman Begins, and would return to Gotham to take over the underworld that the Joker left in shambles and, presumably, cause a whole lot of trouble.

World's Largest Lego Great Ball Contraption

(DCD) Okay - this video is long - but it's pretty damn unbelievable. At first I was all, "Well, they keep putting the balls in there! Not fair!" But then I realized there are people surrounding this giant thing and they want to see the different parts doing there stuff, so yeah, they keep putting the balls in there. There is also a cool bit at the 11 minute mark where they have to fix something.

From Gizmodo:
Seven LEGO enthusiasts set out to create the world's largest Great Ball Contraption and broke a record while doing so. In all, they used 93 modules to build this impressive gadget. All my boyhood dreams realized in thirteen minutes.

GBC (Great Ball Contraption) layout consisting of a record breaking 93 modules at LEGO World, Copenhagen 2011. The record was set at 15:30, February 17.

Super Moon tonight!

From usatoday [excerpt], A "Super Moon" will rise in the east at sunset on Saturday evening. This unusually large full moon -- known as a super "perigee moon" -- will be the biggest in almost 20 years, according to NASA.

"The last full moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993," says Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. "I'd say it's worth a look."

Why the "Super Moon" label? "A 'Super Moon' is a situation when the moon is slightly closer to Earth in its orbit than on average, and this effect is most noticeable when it occurs at the same time as a full moon," says James Garvin, chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Hump Day results: Siblings

How could anyone choose a classical reference over juicy family disclosures and a diss of George Lucas? Doesn't seem possible, but I was just so tickled by Octopunk's Olympian limerick that I have to give it the win! Congratulations Octopunk, and thanks everyone else for playing!

Meet the new Wonder Woman

From ew, Red alert! Or should we say blue? EW has obtained an exclusive first look of Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman — aka Diana Prince — from NBC’s reboot of the classic 1970s series.

What’s different from what we’ve seen before? Well, how about those shiny blue pants? And blue boots instead of red ones? Compared to Lynda Carter’s get-up, this body-hugging extravaganza de-emphasizes the patriotism and seems to play up the comic’s Greek mythology. And a special shout-out to those bracelets!

Wonder Woman is being remade by Boston Legal writer David E. Kelley, who has incorporated the superhero’s signature lasso, cuffs, and plane in the pilot. NBC promises the project, if picked up to series, will offer a serious, non-campy take on the DC Comics character.

Along with Palicki, Elizabeth Hurley (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) and Cary Elwes (Saw, The Princess Bride) have joined the cast. Hurley’s character runs a pharmaceutical company that is creating a drug that makes people stronger while Elwes plays the CEO of Diana’s company, Themyscira Industries.

Octo's got a new game

Today's the last day of my temp job! On Monday I start working on the second season of Mary Shelly's Frankenhole, which is on Adult Swim. The studio where this is happening is brand spankin' new; I was in there last week building tables and shelves for the puppet room, which was almost completely empty aside from one couch and the following functioning arcade games: Pac-Man, Tempest and Centipede.

The gig's a couple of months long, but things in general seem to be picking up in the world of production. Here's hoping!