Dammit, I wanted that guy from The Hangover to play me!
Need to stay up to date with pop culture news but don't want to wade through 57 blog posts a day to do it? No worries. We do it for you: one post with only the most critical items so you can get it out of the way in one sitting. You're welcome.
"Greedily Alex Proyas' Paradise Lost engorged without restraint,/ And knew not eating death." That's right, the film has been killed due to budget issues. According to Variety, the technology to pull it off is still too expensive and the budget couldn't be brought down to earth enough for Legendary Pictures. So whatever fantasy you had about Bradley Cooper in a satanic red loincloth or something will just have to remain inside your own heads. And really, the only person who needs to touch this project is Peter Greenaway. I'm just saying.
But surely the film should be called Veggie Land! Think of the children!
It's a constant battle trying to keep up with pop culture news. We know. And if you're trying to maintain the semblance of a life, we can see where that could get complicated. So never fear: we try to compact all the stuff you absolutely need to know into one post that you can read in one sitting--and then get on with your day. You're welcome.
Candy Land the movie. Adam Sandler is at least on board to produce and co-scribe. Let me quote you what Hasbro prexy-CEO Brian Goldner had to say: "The creative talent onboard for this movie is amazing, and we are excited to bring alive the world of Candy Land for kids and families everywhere. Sony/Columbia has been a wonderful creative partner as we develop another of our games, Risk, for the bigscreen. We are looking forward to working with Sony/Columbia and Adam Sandler and his team at Happy Madison Prods. on this film." That's right, Brian. Be proud to bring the man behind Jack & Jill behind one of your supposed flagship titles. Source: Variety.
Pop culture can sometimes wait. However, a really great deal sometimes cannot. Thus, we interrupt this lack of interruption with the following headsup: the Amazon deal of the day is the complete series of Farscape. For today only--or until they run out--the Blu-Ray complete series is $68.99, 65% off the regular list price of $199.95. And the DVD complete series is $44.99, 70% off the regular list price of $149.95. And, of course, if you do take advantage of this using our links, we get kickbacks which helps pay for the site. So thanks for that.
In other news...
George Lucas claims to be retiring in the wake of continued outcry against his tampering with Star Wars and the reaction of studios to his upcoming Red Tails. He says in the article, "I'm saying: 'Fine. But my movie, with my name on it, that says I did it, needs to be the way I want it.'" Well, yes, George, but that doesn't mean people have to like it. And--here's why I think you're just smarting from Red Tails more than anything else (we're two days out from it opening and there's one review on Rotten Tomatoes?)--you're going to make money no matter what happens. People are going to go see Phantom Menace in 3D and even if they bitch the whole time they're still giving you money. George, you are bulletproof. You'll be back in the saddle before you know it. Episode VII. Mark my words. It's still happening.
Pop culture news. There's a lot of it and before you can say Jack Robinson and wonder who the hell Jack Robinson is...there's more of it. Here we try to give you a week's worth of updates in a single post so you can read it all at once and get it out of the way. This week we have a large amount of home video updates...so we've given them their own section at the bottom. Enjoy.
They're trying Bates Motel again? Yes, apparently so. I'm referring to the 1987 TV movie which had Bud Cort as the new owner of the Motel...but in this case, we're talking a TV series prequel to the original film. In this case we're also talking it showing up on A&E. This is in development, so a pilot hasn't been greenlighted yet. I have a suspicion it won't go any further. Pictured there is a bit from a TV Guide issue promoting the TV movie. Yes, that's Lori Petty. Yes, it also says "Guest Starring Jason Bateman." Yes. Article source. Image source.
All the pop culture news you really need to know in one post. This section of the site is designed for people who like to batch process things. Enjoy.
In excellent news for everyone involved, Benedict "Sherlock" Cumberbatch is the villain in Star Trek 2. The other person they mentioned auditioning for it was Edgar Ramirez. So this is the same role that Abrams wanted Benicio Del Toro for? That was rumored to be Khan...and then it looked like it had been confirmed...and now it looks like it's a rumor again. So who knows? Either way, this is very pleasing news. Source: Variety.
Bag of Bones is scheduled to hit DVD on March 13th. It's available for pre-order here.
Drive is hitting home video on January 31st. A lot of people liked it more than I did--and so be it--but Albert Brooks is a revelation, no matter what. Here are: DVD and Blu-Ray pre-order links.
Hope everyone had a safe entry into 2012, sneaking past the bouncer and the security guards without incident. My intention was to just take a breather until the year officially started (i.e., tomorrow, Monday the 2nd) but, as the old saying goes, Idle Hands was a movie with Seth Green and plus: this deal is too good not to warrant a bulletin.
I've talked before about how sweet the DVD boxed set of the complete original Twilight Zone series is. I may have also mentioned my intention to, at some point in the future, upgrade to the Blu-Ray sets since they have managed to up the sweetness factor to an excessive amount with a reportedly even better picture and scads more bonus bits on top of the already present scads the DVDs had.
Trying to get you pop culture news at least once a week, because doing it more often than that would be excessive and time consuming for everyone involved. One post catches you up to speed on the important bits and you can then breeze through the rest of your day enlightened. Huzzah.
I'm now willing to admit that Ender's Game is probably happening. As I may have mentioned before, the last time it was supposed to kick off, it was Haley Joel Osment as Ender. Now the previously might-be Harrison Ford is definitely on board to play Hyram Graff. Hailee Steinfeld is also locked to play Petra while Abigail Breslin is on tap to play Valentine. Source: Variety.
The Bugle, the hilarious satirical podcast hosted by John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman that I recently recommended, has gotten evicted by current host The Times Online (I notice the link on their HelloBuglers Twitter page has been redirected to the Times' front page as well). They report that it will have a new home somewhere in 2012, so that's good news out of the ashes and madness.
Okay, there's lots of things that happen on a pop culture basis. You don't have time to read a site that wants to pick them apart one by one. So we try to make the process as painless as possible so you can be up to speed. Thus, we will do a drive-by commentary, so to speak. That's the plan with catching up on trailers--we got a bit behind with the holidays attacking us like they did. So here we go. [[ More this way... ]]
After providing music for both Hanna and Black Swan, The Chemical Brothers are hitting the big screen themselves with their concert film Don't Think. It's beginning with sneak screenings in multiple cities on January 26th and then opening wider on February 3rd.
If you take a moment to peruse the trailer, it looks a bit like that upcoming insane party movie Project X but instead if the screenplay had been written by Neal Stephenson's id. Apparently the concert film was captured in July of this year in front of 50,000 fans that were, by all evidence from the video, freaking right the hell out. And I don't know that I could blame them. Trailer after the break: [[ Vid this way... ]]
The frustrating thing about pop culture websites is they try to slam you with update after update--and most of it you simply don't need to know. One post a week, catching you up with everything. That's what we do. Pour some espresso and get your dose.
The Lincoln biopic, helmed by Spielberg, is a month into production and Hollywood Reporter had the first glimpse of Daniel Day-Lewis in full makeup as Abe. And damn. That's pretty awesome. Cosette's response: "Did he build a log cabin this time?" Yes. And studied his lines off a shovel. Is it just me or does this just make you want to see Day-Lewis fight vampires? Also, note that Variety says Jared Harris (the upcoming Moriarty--who, holy shit, that's Richard Harris' son!) will play Ulysses S. Grant and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln.
Akira reworked plot points pointed out over at io9. Dindrane and fans of the original are warned to stay away, as you will have a severe allergic reaction. Here's a taste: "Kaneda (Garret Hedlund) is a bar owner in Neo-Manhattan who is stunned when his brother, Tetsuo, is abducted by government agents led by The Colonel (Ken Watanabe)." And on from there.
