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Stuff You Need to Know: You Say Faora, I Say Ursa, Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off

Antje Traue
Could this woman use a manhole cover as a weapon? I think so.

Pop culture news is a constant bombardment of bloated informational pieces that sites use to draw traffic. That might work for them–but we know you have better things to do. Here’s all the news with all the irrelevant bits taken out. We kept it on a warmer, so don’t worry. You can subscribe to the Stuff feed solo or get this as a free email newsletter.

  • Amazon headsup for a killer deal: today and today only they have The Immaculate Collection of Dawn French’s The Vicar of Dibley for 60% off the list price of $98.98, putting it at $39.49. While stocks last. Thought you’d like to know. Snag yours here.
  • Superman: Man of Steel has a Zod (Michael Shannon–yes, the creepy agent from Boardwalk Empire–which is good casting, methinks) and now has a Faora. Which is apparently Ursa. Or…something. The female villain. Antje Traue (Pandorum), a name designed to screw me up when I inevitably try to Wayhomer any film she’s in, is been cast, according to Variety. Production starts this summer.
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  • Boardwalk Empire has added William Forsythe to its cast as Manny Horvitz, a gangster. Also Charlie Cox (Stardust) will be playing an Irish gangster. But when is it airing? Bring it! Source.
  • The Borgias, which is better than you might think it is, mostly due to Jeremy Irons, has been renewed for a ten-episode second season. Production starts in the summer and will premiere next year. Neil Jordan stays on board and will helm the first two episodes of the second season. Source.
  • So we’ve got a new Bourne…kind of. Apparently Bourne Legacy features an agent who “went through the same training as Jason Bourne.” So the actual title of the film could be “The Bourne Coincidence.” Or “The Bourne Deja Vu.” You get the point. Anyway, Jeremy Renner appears to be the new Bourne-ish person. Which is interesting since he’s apparently supposed to be the next Mission Impossible guy as well. And he’s in The Avengers (which just started production this week), of course. So he’ll be a bit busy. Source: Variety.
  • Dark Knight Rises gets both Joseph Gordon-Levitt (playing a cop) and Marion Cotillard (playing what could be the “love interest”). As Variety points out, they could be “cover” for the true nature of their characters. I still think Gordon-Levitt should be Ed Nigma. Call me crazy.
  • The good news is Game of Thrones got renewed for a second season. The bad news is they’re apparently trying to cram the entire first novel into the ten episodes they have for this season so that A Clash of Kings would comprise the second season. Why? Keep the title of the first book and then just adapt it naturally…I worry now that they’re going to compress things too much. If there was ever a series that needed to breathe…this was it. Source: Variety.
  • Gangster Squad is being discussed by Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin and is apparently about efforts by the LAPD in the 1940s to counter organized crime. I find this interesting because Public Enemies, the last major film of that genre to come along, wasn’t a huge success. At least not as big a success as you would imagine starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. So, I don’t know, maybe the popularity of Boardwalk Empire has them biting? Anyway, just interesting. Source.
  • Ernie Hudson
    He's waiting for your call, Ivan.

  • If Ghostbusters 3 is happening, could somebody get Ernie Hudson on board? Please? Because Reitman wants to direct it, Aykroyd likes the script, but…seriously, at least give the man a call. No reference intended. Source.
  • Focus Features asked some artists to do comic book-esque illustrations based on Hanna. They are quite diggable, especially the ones by Jock (The Losers). You can check them out here.
  • We’ve talked about a lot of reunion tours but this one is of merit. Simon Jones, who was the original Arthur Dent, said that the original cast of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy are going to go on tour. So he said on BBC Radio 3. That would be fantastic. I look forward to legally acquiring a copy of every show. Peter Jones, actor and Just a Minute regular, was the original voice of The Book and has passed away, as was his successor, William Franklyn. I would nominate Stephen Fry to reprise the role he had in the film, personally. Source.

  • Immortals. I told you it was coming. It is coming. It is Tarsem. This teaser trailer is comprised of pure yes.

    Direct link for the feedreaders.

  • Sam Waterston will be playing King Lear at the Public Theater in New York City from October 18th – November 20th. For info, the official site is here. I would watch the hell out of that, actually. Source.

  • There is a Ouija movie based on the “board game.” WTF, people.
  • Piranha 3D is getting a sequel: Piranha 3DD. Of course. Production has already started. And it hits cinemas November 23rd. So there. And Gary Busey is in it. So double there. Source.
  • Schwarzenegger is shopping around a Terminator project. Do you think it’ll go anywhere? Honestly? No idea. But just so it doesn’t sneak up on you. Justin Lin (Fast Five) is attached to direct. Source.

  • Oprah Winfrey stated while interviewing Chris Rock that she really wants to act on Broadway. I damn well wish she would. She is fantastic. Rewatch The Color Purple (the movie) if you need reminding of this. Source.
  • World War Z is still moving. Mireille Enos (The Killing) is in negotiations to play Brad Pitt‘s wife in the film. Pitt is apparently playing the guy who records the stories of the various other characters. It would still make a better TV series, but oh well. Source.
  • New X-Men First Class trailer. Yeah, still wary of this. You?

    Home Video Releases

    Click the type of media in the description or the title to pre-order/order your copy from Amazon.

  • Here’s a really nice trailer for the Blu-Ray release of A Clockwork Orange. That hits May 31st. You can pre-order it here.

  • Dindrane and Leigh will be rejoicing their heads off: Dinocroc vs. Supergator is hitting DVD and Blu-Ray on July 12th from Anchor Bay.
  • Fox has three titles making their Blu-Ray debut: The Hustler and The Comancheros (the latter with John Wayne) on May 17th and then Tigerland on May 24th. Click on the titles of the films to pre-order yours from Amazon.
  • Ghost in the Shell has three titles hitting Blu-Ray from Manga, Bandai and Anchor Bay, as Dindrane threatened previously. The three titles are Solid State Society, Laughing Man, and Individual Eleven. They hit June 21st. Click the titles to pre-order.

    Music Releases

  • The soundtrack/cast album of Book of Mormon is hitting. That’s digital on May 17th and according to Amazon, it hits in CD form on June 7th. This is reportedly…amazing. I can’t wait to see it/hear it. You can pre-order the CD here–no pre-order for the digital yet. But if we see it, we’ll let you know.
  • 2 comments

    • Fucking Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw? Not too skeptical. Also, I have to hand it to the X-Men film franchise: Never before have I been so thoroughly okay with the fact that this isn’t book-grade canon.

      Also-Also? Immortals equals very yes right now I need it FOREVER.