Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Actor Bob Hoskins dies at 71, publicist says




(CNN) -- Oscar-nominated British actor Bob Hoskins, known in part for roles in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Mermaids," died Tuesday at age 71, his publicist Clair Dobbs said Wednesday.

His passing comes nearly two years after he retired from acting following his diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

He was perhaps best known for 1988's live-action and animation hybrid "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." In the comedy, he played toon-hating detective Eddie Valiant, who takes takes up the task of proving the innocence of the cartoon title character, accused of murder .

Hoskins first gained fame in the 1978 British TV miniseries "Pennies from Heaven," according to IMDb.com. His other notable films include 1986's "Mona Lisa," which brought him an Academy Award best actor nomination, as well as "The Long Good Friday," "Hook" and "Mrs. Henderson Presents."

He appeared in at least one production every year from 1972 until his retirement in 2012.

In one of his last roles, he played the elf Muir in 2012's "Snow White and the Huntsman." In the 2011 TV miniseries and Peter Pan prequel "Neverland," he played Smee -- a character he also portrayed in 1991's "Hook."

Daily Spider-Man! Remember kids! All you have to do to get people on your side is save them from horrible death!


Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Star Wars VII cast officially announced!


From slashfilm, Finally, it’s official. Here’s the release.
The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII.
Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga,Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, andKenny Baker in the new film.
Director J.J. Abrams says, “We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.”

It Was True After All!: Treasure Trove Of Atari E.T. Games Found Buried In New Mexico Landfill


From geekology, In 1983 Atari allegedly dumped millions of unsold E.T. game cartridges in a Alamogordo, New Mexico landfill after deeming them unsellable because the game sucked so hard. And now that rumor seems to be true, as excavators have just uncovered hundreds of the game while searching the landfill. When reached for comment, E.T. had this to say: "Phone home." And that's when I smacked him with a shovel and sold him to the government for a hundred grand. I asked for a million, but they low-balled the shit out of me.
Last year, Alamogordo officials finally approved an excavation of the infamous landfill, and plans kicked into motion two weeks ago, with Microsoft partnering up with a documentary team to dig into the dirt and film the results.

Today, it's official. They've found E.T.'s home--though it's unclear whether there are really millions or even thousands of copies down there. The AP reports they've found "hundreds" so far, and we'll keep you updated as they keep digging.
Are you thinking what I'm thinking? "Probably not." Let's go dig around in a landfill! There's no telling what kind of treasure we might find. Just make sure you're up to date on all your shots, ESPECIALLY cooties. It hurts, but it's important. "Cooties is not a real shot." Then what did the doctor stick in my ass last week? "His penis?" Oh boy.

Harrison Ford's "Star Wars" Role Beefed Up?


From darkhorizons, A big "Star Wars: Episode VII" announcement is closing fast and so word is beginning to leak out as to who might be involved as Deadline reports that a big table read is taking place today with members of the cast in London.
The site claims "Inside Llewyn Davis" star Oscar Isaac is in line for a major role, along with mentioning the previously rumored Adam Driver ("Girls"), John Boyega ("Attack the Block") and newcomer Maisie Richardson-Sellers.
The biggest reveal of the article? While it says all three of the original stars are back, apparently "Harrison Ford has a gigantic role in the first of the next three films" - suggesting he has more screen time than Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill.
That's not all though. Actor Zac Efron spoke with UK News 5 today promoting "Neighbors" and was asked if he was involved in the upcoming "Star Wars" film. He said:
"I don't know. I have no idea on that. I don't know. There are irons in the fire, so to speak. I don't like to talk about anything too early, because it takes awhile to get these things done right. Who knows?"

Zack Snyder To Direct "Justice League"


From slashfilm, t's official, Warner Bros. Pictures has greenlit a "Justice League" moviewith Zack Snyder signed onboard to direct.
Warner Bros. president of worldwide production Greg Silverman confirmed the news with The Wall Street Journal, adding the studio is moving forward quickly: "It will be a further expansion of this universe. Superman vs. Batman will lead into Justice League".
Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot are all expected to return. While no release date is set, Heat Vision adds that it could be as early as 2017 as their sources tell them that both films will be shot back-to-back.

Daily Spider-Man! Not pictured: HandsomeStan, yelling at the PAs standing just off-panel, trying to hold up the word balloons. "With FEELING!" he bellows.


Monday, April 28, 2014

LONG OVERDUE: StanJr greets the world, Stan works on Spidey2, 2013 was a year

Greetings, fellow Questarians! My perennial, shameful, groveling apologies for the lack of involvement here, trust me - all of you are never far from my (our) thoughts. MrsStan & I have had one hell of a calendar year - me on Spidey2 (and other things), the birth amidst that of one StanJr (tentatively named Logan Alexander Power, but we can revisit that if the blog so demands), along with the complete host of newborn maladies: infections, colds, coughs, sniffles, sneezes, hernias, eye operations (where I fainted dead away during the doc's description of the procedure - another story for another time), testicle descensions (yep, you read that right), and everything else (inter-dimensional alien captivity, I mean, EVERYTHING).


He was 7 weeks early, born March 28, 2013, smack in the middle of my duties as 2nd AD on Spidey. My apologies for the lack of a birth announcement here; as you can understand, there was some shit going on. For those of you considering a movie industry career and/or birth (or a return engagement to either), I would advise A) working on a tentpole summer blockbuster in some capacity, 2) having a baby, as the joy/trials/stress are a heady, life-affirming mix, and 3) NEVER EVER mixing these two things together. If roller coasters were sentient, they would look at the HandsomeYear and go, "No WAY am I riding on THAT thing."

So without further ado, here's a series of some non-chronological pics (which I didn't post immediately out of my fear of the NDA I signed and having shit online with The Suit In It, but late is better than never, and I especially wanted to post this before the premiere):



As you can see, he's one Handsome devil (pictured variously with chunks of banana on his chin). He obviously gets his looks from his mother, and I hope that trend continues throughout his life. Also of note is how totally cool MrsStan was with the sexy Leia outfit for Halloween, and how she remarked "I want to wear this dress all the time!" I guess we're doing something right here.

I submit this to all of you, as I have been seriously remiss in sharing the joys of this new chapter in our lives with all of you. I welcome any name suggestions, as "StanJr" has a good ring to it (along with HandsomeStan & MrsStan), but we've been through various nicknames, and would welcome your considerable intellect in weighing in (Hulk Logan is one that seems to be sticking).

The last photo is the most recent, which documents the first meeting of Uncle Sweatpants and Aunt Crystal outside the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park during their recent visit to NYC. Despite my urgings (and due to StanJr not wanting to feed or poop or sleep or anything prior to leaving the house, damn him) we missed going through the Math Museum with them, which I wanted to see SO badly. And it's Crystal's wisdom that will make his childhood a newly enriched place, as I had no idea a Math Museum even existed here in NYC (I was going to be content with the Science Museum & Planetarium in Jersey City - but now we're not doing that ghetto shit). But those burgers were pretty goddamn EXCELLENT. And JSP has a killer re-creation of the Dressed To Kill album cover photo, taken at the historically-accurate intersection only a few books away, with all of us. I'm sure it will make the rounds soon. Best Afternoon Ever.

And, for what it's worth, Crystal, you just opened up my eyes and his to a whole new experience.

ps. we will document, at another time, the Sex Museum that was a few blocks away, that we all walked into, and looked at penises and vaginas at. "RULE #1: don't touch the penises and vaginas. RULE #2: take newborn babies into the back. Sorry, it's just the policy."

pps. that was a Galaxy Quest reference there at the beginning. Why can't they make a sequel? WHY???

‘Star Wars Episode VII’ News Imminent; Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher Seen in London


From slashfilm Star Wars Day, May 4, is less than a week away, and Star Wars is already turning up everywhere. The official Twitter account has been promoting the “holiday” for weeks, various retailers have been pushing new merchandise, previews of Star Wars Rebelsare airing, and all evidence points to the fact Star Wars Episode VII news is coming this week.
The biggest clue is Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher have all been spotted in London. That’s where Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn visited writer/director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy last week to finalize the script. London, where the film will be shooting come May. Check out the evidence ofStar Wars 7 news below.
Here’s the biggest, most obvious tease of Star Wars 7 news coming:
Peter Serafinowicz has a long relationship with Star Warshaving voiced Darth Maul inStar Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. He wouldn’t have tweeted that unless he knew something.
So Hamill is there. What about Ford? Well Rex Features (via JediNews) has some images of Han Solo coming out of a London restaurant, and then there’s this tweet viaStar Wars 7 News:
That’s two. So what about Carrie Fisher? She took to Twitter to address rumors of her entering the country:
Now they’re just messing with us, right?
It’s not that we didn’t know with about 95% certainty these three were already in the movie. Hamill has been quietly slimming down for the past few months, Fisher has let her involvement slip multiple times, and Ford was outted on the Graham Norton showin the UK. They’re in the movie.
Yet, with May 4th rapidly approaching, how will Disney choose to reveal that information? And, more importantly, will that be the only information release? Some reports suggest the full cast will be announced this week with more info, like a title, held for San Diego Comic-Con. There’s also the chance only these three actors will be confirmed, with any new additions held for later. And even if new actors are revealed, will we find out what characters they are playing? Will there be any kind of plot description?
So many questions, but we do have one answer. This is the week we finally get Star Wars Episode VII news.

Dakily Spider-Man! "So all that crap with you coming over to my house in the middle of the night, and your wife all worried about your health, and you could've just called Tony Stark and ended it. You really suck, you know that?... Yeah, I said 'my house.' Because I'm goddamn Peter Parker, that's why. I don't care anymore."


So I needed to figure out what "several hours ago" means.  I'm assuming that all these recent shenanigans with falling construction workers and falling girders and falling Spider-Man can't have taken "several hours" to transpire, so Robbie called before that started.  I'm also assuming that Jameson's stint as Iron Jonah was on a different day.  So Robbie called earlier this same day, well before the jeopardized construction workers showed up on TV.  What's the most recent event that can be said to have taken place in that time frame?  What could've changed Robbie's mind???


Nice.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The first You Tube video was posted 9 years ago today

From Time:  Today in Internet history: YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim uploaded the first video “Me at the zoo” to the website on April 23, 2005, at 8:27 p.m, according to the description of the video, which now boasts more than 14 million views.

The 19-second clip shows Karim standing in front of elephants at the San Diego Zoo and saying that the “cool thing” about the animals is that “they have really, really, really long, um, trunks.” According to a 2010 editorial in The Toledo Blade, the clip was shot by a high school pal, Yakov Lapitsky, who is now a professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Toledo.

Daily Spider-Man! "So I basically saved your lives, unless that web net thing would have worked, which it might have, I guess, so we don't really know... You could say I was a crucial part of a doubly redundant live-saving system... can I start over?"


Monday, April 21, 2014

Daily Spider-Man! Where was the "Wall of Webbing" during all that chit chat?


I've been avoiding joking about the ludicrous length of time this death plummet has been taking because I went to that well a few times during other recent falls:  that girder and Spider-Man himself.  But jeez, guys!


My favorite panel was this moment from last week, which didn't bother with any deceptive movement lines or rocket trails and instead shows them hanging there in a state so close to motionless that other characters can take taxis to the impact point and arrive earlier.

Coloring Book Corruptions


From toplessrobot, Oo, ooOO oo oo ooh! I wanna draw you up!
(Get it? Color Me Badd? Nobody? Good for you.)
Coloring Book Corruptions is a site dedicated to people messing with coloring book drawings and making them disturbing - from Satanism to Disney Doggy Style - with just a few additions. They, uh, also take submissions, which I feel some reservations about telling everyone here...for I know what horrors may be unleashed, but the folks at Coloring Corruptions, as yet, do not.
As a matter of fact, this could be a fun game for those of you who draw. See what you can come up with in comments...and as always, please stop short of genitalia.
h/t SlyDante777

Box office report: 'Captain America' crosses $200 million in its third week


From ew, It’s a great day to be a Marvel superhero: Captain America: The Winter Soldier took the No. 1 spot for the third weekend in a row, earning $26.61 million this holiday weekend, allowing it to cross that magical $200 million finish line. For comparison’s sake, this sequel — directed by Anthony and Joe Russo — has already outearned 2011′s Captain America: The First Avenger, which ended its run with $176.65 million.

What’s the real takeaway from all this? That for all the idle chatter of audience superhero fatigue, no one is going to be putting away the spandex just yet. It will be interesting to see how The Amazing Spider-Man 2 — already healthily earning overseas — fares when it opens domestically on May 2.
Initially it seemed like this weekend would be a tight race between holdover sequels Captain America and Rio 2, but it turned out to be less so, with Fox’s animated avians coming in at $22.5 million this weekend, bringing its domestic totals to $75.36 million. How the lure of a blue macaw voiced by Bruno Mars didn’t succeed in nabbing the No. 1 spot is hard to say, but keep an eye on this one over the next few weeks to see what kind of staying power it may have.
Meanwhile the faith-based Heaven Is for Real continues to pleasantly surprise during its first weekend in wide release: TriStar’s film brought in $21.5 million this weekend, bringing its five-day total to $28.5 million. The demographics for the film broke down to 62 percent female and 38 percent male and, interestingly, 49 percent of the audience under the age of 35. The movie stars Greg Kinnear and Kelly Reilly as real-life couple Todd and Sonja Burpo, whose son claims to have seen Heaven while unconscious.
Much less happy news is the $11.15 million opening of Warner Bros.’ Transcendence. This cyber-thriller starring Johnny Depp opened to lackluster reviews (such as ours by Chris Nashawaty) and a meh Cinemascore of C+. Does this mean, finally, that we can stop with movies about sentient computers? Probably not. And don’t expect the stink of this flick to stick to Depp or his co-stars, Rebecca Hall, Morgan Freeman, and Kate Mara — we’re guessing they’ll be just fine. Hopefully this will not deter longtime Christopher Nolan cinematographer Wally Pfister from getting back in the director’s chair either.
Another new release this weekend, Haunted House 2, came in fifth place with $9.1 million. With a reported $4 million budget, this is good news for the Marlon Wayans-led comedy (tagline: “It’ll scare the #2 out of you”), which may not have delighted critics but received a B- Cinemascore.
Here’s the final breakdown on this weekend’s top five:
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier — $26.61 million
2. Rio 2 — $22.5 million
3. Heaven Is for Real — $21.5 million
4. Transcendence — $11.15 million
5. A Haunted House 2 – $9.1 million

Thursday, April 17, 2014

'X-Men' director Bryan Singer targeted in teen sex abuse lawsuit


Los Angeles (CNN) -- A lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses "X-Men" director Bryan Singer of sexually abusing a teenage boy 15 years ago.
Singer allegedly offered the aspiring teen actor a role in an "X-Men" film if he gave in to his sexual demands, while threatening to destroy his career if he didn't, according to the civil suit filed in U.S. District Court in Hawaii Wednesday.
Singer's representative said the accusations were "completely without merit."
"We are very confident that Bryan will be vindicated in this absurd and defamatory lawsuit," Singer's rep said. "It is obvious that this case was filed in an attempt to get publicity at the time when Bryan' s new movie is about to open in a few weeks."
Singer is one of Hollywood's most successful directors and producers, having directed two installments of the "X-Men" film franchise and a Superman movie in the past 15 years. His next film -- "X-Men: Days of Future Past" -- is set to hit theaters on May 23.
Attorney Jeff Herman chose Hawaii to file the suit because the legislature there opened a window for two years allowing old sex abuse cases to be filed. The provision expires next week, Herman said.
The alleged sex abuse incidents detailed in the lawsuit happened in 1998 and 1999 when the plaintiff was 17, the suit said.
Most of the alleged sex abuse took place at parties at a California, mansion, the suit said.
Other incidents allegedly happened during two trips to Hawaii.
Singer "manipulated his power, wealth, and position in the entertainment industry to sexually abuse and exploit the underage Plaintiff through the use of drugs, alcohol, threats and inducements which resulted in Plaintiff suffering catastrophic psychological and emotional injuries," the complaint alleged.
Singer "promised acting roles to Plaintiff in an X-Men movie, in commercials, and in other of his projects, and professed that he would arrange for Plaintiff to audition for roles and projects in others' productions," it alleged.

First Star Wars VII set photo reveals an AT-AT foot?




From screencrush, As you may have heard, ‘Star Wars: Episode 7‘ will be filming in Abu Dhabi for a few months this summer, as the UAE capital stands in for Tatooine, the home planet of Luke Skywalker. With production set to begin next month, work on the Tatooine set has already begun and today we have our first ever ‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ set photos, and look which classic ‘Star Wars’ vehicle is back!

While you might look at that photo above and go, “Uhh, OK, that’s some dude’s rolling a big concrete circle into a white tent,” we can tell you those dudes work for ‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ and that big wheel very much looks like the foot of an AT-AT, the large, four-legged walker introduced in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’.

There were previously only AT-AT appearances on Hoth and Endor, so it would be interesting to see what they’re doing on Tatooine. And, just to be sure, and because this is ‘Star Wars‘ and this is what fans do when there are mysterious ‘Star Wars’ set photos, someone posted a comparison online:



What will likely happen is that the feet/legs of the AT-ATs will be built practically on set while CGI is used to create the rest of the walker. (Or, perhaps this is being used for a close-up that takes place at ground level and a wide shot isn’t needed.)

While it might seem surprising to have set photos popping up when we still have no idea who’s going to star in the actual movie, remember that it was confirmed earlier this month that ‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ has actually started filming already. You would think that with all this movement going on surrounding the film that an official casting update is imminent.

Daily Spider-Man! That first panel comes right out of Jameson's dream journal


Monday, April 14, 2014

Game of Throooooooones!


I'm way into this show as of recently.  Julie binge-watched the first three seasons and then binge-watched them again so she could watch them with me and clear up some confusing points.  Mostly she sat next to me playing Candy Crush and answering my "What did he say?" queries.  We reached the end with a few weeks to spare before Season 4 began last week.

Any other GoTers on the blog?  Was last night's ep a sock-knocker-offer, or what?

(I don't know why Emma Watson posed on the Iron Throne.  But hey.)

Box office report: 'Captain America' fights off competition with $41.4 million weekend


From ew, Captain America: The Winter Soldier warded off newcomers this weekend and remains king of the hill with $41.4 million in its second weekend of release. The Marvel actioner dropped just 56 percent from its opening weekend and the film’s domestic total now stands at $159 million — close to 90 percent of the lifetime gross of the original, thank you very much — with global receipts already pushing $476.7 million.
Despite a Friday night win, that meant Rio 2 had to settle for second place with $39 million ($125.2 million overseas). The 3-D animated sequel tells the story of Blu, Jewel and their kids adjusting to life in the Amazon. Fox, who released the tropical Starburst-colored film in 3,948 locations, enjoyed a similar opening when Rio opened to $39.2 million back in 2011. Critics by and large gave the sequel a splat (51 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) but CinemaScore audiences granted the kid-pleaser a solid A. The film attracted a beautifully diverse audience — 25 percent Hispanic, 19 percent African-American, and 14 percent Asian.
Oculus came up with the bronze this weekend, with Relativity’s micro-budget ($5 million) sibling horror show scaring up $12 million at 2,650 theaters. Starring Doctor Who‘s Karen Gillian, the movie earned only a “C” CinemaScore rating, though its mediocre mark is consistent with recent genre peers like The Purge and Cabin in the Woods.
It feels a bit like a fumble for fellow newcomer Draft Day, led by sports flick demi-God Kevin Coster. Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment largely targeted its football drama at sports fans via their unique affiliation with the NFL, but during her own promotional rounds, Jennifer Garner tried to pitch the movie to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show as more of “romantic comedy.” She’s always a winning spokesperson — and who plays a beleaguered sports man as persuasively as Kevin Coster? — but the film underperformed with $9.8 million at 2,781 locations. CinemaScore audiences granted the Ivan Reitman-helmed film a solid B+ rating, but critics were less committal(63 percent on Rotten Tomatoes).
Rounding out the top 5 is Divergent, which narrowly bested Noah by a cool half million. The Shailene Woodley-led tale of young love in a fractured futuristic society raked in $50.3 million overseas, with a global box office now sitting pretty at $175.2 million.
In limited release, the new vampire romance Only Lovers Left Alive — directed by Jim Jarmusch and starring the impossibly cool Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston — opened with an estimated $97,000 in 4 locations. And hats off to The Grand Budapest Hotel, the Wes Anderson movie that continues to hang on in the top 10 in its sixth weekend of release. Now playing in 1,467 theaters, the movie grossed over $4 million.
And finally, a note about the ceaseless soundtrack to parents’ lives, the theme of every girl’s birthday party our young children attend. The sister-power Disney phenomenonFrozen has now earned $1.12 billion across the globe. The little people will never let it go.
2. Rio 2 – $39 million
3. Oculus – $12 million
4. Draft Day – $9.5 million
5. Divergent – $7.5 million 

Daily Spider-Man! Yes, get in his path, Spidey! The only other way you could catch him would be with some kind of strong, adhesive line of some sort...


Malevolent

 2018  ***1/2 It's 1986 for some reason, and a team of paranormal investigators are making a big name for themselves all over Scotland. ...