Dreamworks, one of those studios that can’t leave well enough alone, has turned one of its most popular animated movies into a tv series. Since How to Train Your Dragon made nearly half a billion dollars at the box office alone, naturally they’re working on a sequel (although not fast enough if you ask me. HTTYD came out in 2010. We don’t get HTTYD2 until 2014. The entire original cast is back so that’s a good thing. ), but it’s also spawned an original television series for Cartoon Network. The premise is that even though the island of Berk and its Viking inhabitants thought they had solved their dragon problem, they’d only scratched the surface. There are way more dragons than they realized, so of course they all need to be trained.
I’d never heard of it until I saw Jay Baruchel on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson about a week ago. He was on promoting Goon, but since they both voiced characters in HTTYD, of course the subject was broached. You’ll be happy to know that both have been working on the sequel (since voices are generally recorded separately for animation, they could have scenes together and never be in the same room). Ferguson brought up the television series for which Baruchel again provides the voice of Hiccup. Since I can’t find any other information about the show, other than it’s slated for Fall 2012, I have no idea if any of the other original voices are involved. (I tend to think not.Craig Ferguson is not involved nor is Gerard Butler.)
In any case, Cartoon Network has quietly released two teaser clips, which you can watch below. They use the original music behind the clips but I have to wonder if John Powell is involved with the show. He wasn’t involved with the two shorts released last year, Book of Dragons and Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury. He is on board for the sequel so I’m happy.
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Now we're talking hump day kittens. Kiefer Sutherland is pictured here in London, England at the Millbank Media Theatre for the Sky 1 HD's new US drama TOUCH photo call.
DigitalSpy confirms the U.K. will get their premiere of this fabulous show on Tuesday, March 20 at 8pm. The second episode will air in the U.S. (and I believe Canada) on March 22.
In the meanwhile Mommy needs to get naked more comfortable while I soak these pictures in and book a flight to England.
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From the ridiculous to the sublime. Game of Thrones – season 1 comes out on dvd today as well Immortals, Footloose, The Skin I Live In and Adam Sandler’s steaming pile that has been called the worst movie of the decade (so far), Jack and Jill. I’ll let you decide which is which, but I’m starting with the obviously sublime.
By way of introduction to the the Game of Thrones boxed set, I have to show you this clip (thank you HeyUGuys) from The Simpsons. Matt Groening’s seminal series continues to have its finger on the pop culture pulse and it has used the show’s introduction to prove it for the last twenty two years. This one is a brilliant take on the brilliant opening credits for Game of Thrones, complete with theme music.
It still burns my biscuits that that music was passed over for an Emmy nod. Who makes these decisions? Oh well, it is obvious by now that what moves and stirs me is not always the same as what moves and stirs people with the power to decide these things. (No, I am still not over How to Train Your Dragon.)
Summers span decades. Winters can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plots, lusts and intrigues; to the vast and savage eastern lands; and all the way to the frozen north, where an 800-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords, and honest men, all will play the Game of Thrones.
You really need to see this so that you’re ready for season two, which starts April 1!
The Game of Thrones dvd and blu-ray includes the following special features:
-Making of
-15 Character profile clips
-Creating the Dothraki language
-Inside the Night's Watch
-From Book to Screen
-Creating the Show Open
-7 Audio Commentaries Guide to Westeros
Tarsem Singh’s Immortals is a movie we talked about a lot before it was released. It didn’t open to exceptional reviews, but it made a pile of money anyway. I suspect it will make an even bigger pile in the home market, although considering that visuals are not only Singh’s strongest suit, but they are everything when it comes to this movie, unless you’ve got a pretty impressive home theater system, it might lose something in the translation.
Immortals tells the story of Theseus (Henry Cavill), a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.
Special Features include:
-It's No Myth
-Deleted Scenes
-Theatrical Trailer
-Sneak Peek
The remake of Footloose seemed to come and go without much fanfare (or is it my selective memory?) The plot was basically the same as the 1984 version, but there was definitely less Bacon.
In any case, if you need a refresher, here’s the official synopsis (from the film’s website, something the producer’s of the original would probably have thought Orwellian):
Writer/Director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan) delivers a new take of the beloved 1984 classic Footloose. Ren MacCormack (played by newcomer Kenny Wormald) is transplanted from Boston to the smallsouthern town of Bomont where he experiences a heavy dose of culture shock. A few years prior, the community was rocked by a tragic accident that killed five teenagers after a night out and Bomont’s local councilmen and the beloved Reverend Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid) responded by implementing ordinances that prohibit loud music and dancing. Not one to bow to the status quo, Ren challenges the ban, revitalizing the town and falling in love with the minister’s troubled daughter, Ariel (Julianne Hough) in the process.
We didn’t really discuss The Skin I Live In when it was out theatrically. Acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar reunites with one of his favorite actors (Antonio Banderas) for his first foray into horror. Although the film was a festival favorite last season, it was difficult to find in a theater. It really only got released to New York and LA and a handful of art houses in a very few major cities. Well, now that it’s on dvd and blu-ray, you can see it too.
Dr. Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) is a driven plastic surgeon haunted by personal tragedies. After many years of trial and error, he finally perfects a new skin – a shield which could have prevented the death of his wife in an accident years earlier. His latest “guinea pig” is a mysterious captive whose true identity masks a shocking mystery. The Skin I Live In is a masterful tale of secrets, obsession and revenge from Oscar-winning (Best Writing, Original Screenplay, Talk to Her, 2002) writer/director Pedro Almodovar.
The Special Features are few:
-Q&A with Director Pedro Almodovar
-On the Red Carpet: New York Premiere
Do I actually have to talk about Jack and Jill? I’m pretty sure the dvd cover tells you all you need to know. Adam Sandler plays Jack as well as his own sister, Jill.
Jack Sadelstein (Adam Sandler) is a successful advertising executive in Los Angeles with a beautiful wife (Katie Holmes) and kids, who dreads one event each year: the Thanksgiving visit of his identical twin sister Jill (also Adam Sandler). Jill's neediness and passive-aggressiveness is maddening to Jack, turning his normally tranquil life upside down.
Why is Katie Holmes married to one of the ‘most powerful men in Hollywood’ if he can’t get her better parts than this?
Special Features include:
-Laughing is Contagious
-Here Comes Jill
-Look Who Stopped By
-Boys Will Be Girls
-Stomach Ache
-Don't Call It A Boat-Royal Caribbean
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Wow! I started watching this new trailer for HBO’s Game of Thrones and I thought, ‘it’s the same one we just saw. There can’t possibly be another one already, can there?’ Yes, boys and girls, yes there can! It does start out the same as the previous version released just last week, but then Florence and the Machine’s “Seven Devils” kicks in and you know you’re watching something different, something far more stirring, if that’s possible. It’s a little shorter, but it does feature footage we haven’t yet seen.
So help me sweet baby jeebus…I haven’t read the books but I am wishing a very nasty death on Joffrey and please let it be at the hands of Sansa. I’ve gone from just hoping she “pulls up her big girl panties” and sticks up for herself, to hoping she does it by castrating that little weasel. Some people are just born bad. Joffrey is the personification of the evils of incest.
Rant over. We also have two new posters to share. The first is a variation of the other “War is coming” poster, with what looks like Renly Baratheon’s antler crown gripped in someone’s fist, presumably after it was wrenched from his head. But by whom? Dun dun dun….
The second poster is an ode to House Stark, with a direwolf depicted on a field of fur in what looks to be blood, with the words “The North Remembers”.
I am so stoked for the return of this show. Four more weeks! April 1 Game of Thrones returns for a second season on HBO. Be there or be square.
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That’s right, after all of the rumors, it’s finally official. According to Deadline, The Killing star Joel Kinnaman has signed on the dotted line to star in a reboot of the Robocop franchise under the direct of Jose Padilha (Elite Squad). Kinnaman was last seen in fellow Swede Daniel Espinosa’s Safe House opposite Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. He had previously appeared in Espinosa’s breakout film, Snabba Cash (Easy Money).
This would be a good opportunity to tell you that AMC’s The Killing has just been nominated for four Saturn Awards including Best Presentation on Television, Mirelle Enos (Sarah Linden) for Best Actress on Television , Joel Kinnaman (Stephen Holder) for Best Supporting Actor on Television, and Michelle Forbes (Mitch Larsen) for Best Supporting Actress on Television. The Saturn Awards honor the best in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror in Film, Television and Home Entertainment.
The Killing returns on Sunday April 1. I can’t wait to find out who the hell killed Rosie Larsen. (I know, that’s the same night Game of Thrones returns. That’s what DVRs were made for!)
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It was way back in October that we first brought you word of a brand new made-for-cable show called Magic City, starring one of our favorites, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. We finally have some news. The stars of the Starz show have hit the beaches of Miami for some pre-premiere press lately and the producers have released a new, red-band trailer. It’s vaguely NSFW in that inimitable “because it’s pay cable and we can” kind of way.
Miami Beach 1959. Jeffrey Dean Morgan (PS I Love You, Watchmen, Texas Killing Fields) is Ike Evans, a luxury hotel owner who, in order to secure his dream, begrudgingly gets into bed with mob boss Ben “The Butcher” Diamond (Danny Huston, Children of Men, Robin Hood), while his former showgirl wife, Vera (Olga Kurylenko, Quantum of Solace, Centurion), remains happily clueless. This is "Magic City" coming to Starz in the spring of 2012 which chronicles the collision of mobsters, politicians and entertainers at the first preeminent Miamihotel just as Fidel Castro takes control of Cuba and shuts down Havana as a gambling haven.
(Just as an aside, I’ve been seeing Danny Huston and Olga Kurylenko together on red carpets all over the place during the awards season that just wrapped. I thought they looked good together. But I had forgotten that they had a new series to promote. I’m really hoping this isn’t a ‘showmance’.)
Sure, the comparisons with Mad Men are inevitable, just like they were for the canceled-too-soon The Playboy Club. In truth that show had more in common with Crime Story than Mad Men and I think Magic City will as well. This is by no means a bad thing. Crime Story was brilliant. Unfortunately no one watched. The only thing these three series have in common, in my opinion, is the era in which they are set. LOTS of things happened in the late 50's-early 60's. They didn't all involve Madison Avenue. With a supporting cast that includes Seymour Cassel, Kelly Lynch, Michael Rispoli, Steven Strait (10,000 BC) and Yul Vasquez (hard working character actor still probably best known for several appearances on Seinfeld), scripts by Mitch Glazer and a pilot directed by Carl Franklin (Devil in a Blue Dress, One True Thing, Rome, Falling Skies), I think that this has real potential. When I saw the first trailer for Magic City I was immediately hooked, but Starz was vague on when we’d get to see it. Now we know.
Magic City, premieres April 6th on Starz.
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I have a case of the sads. Davy Jones, lead singer of the best made-up for television band ever, The Monkees, has died. Only 66, Jones suffered a heart attack at his home in Florida. Jones is survived by his wife Jessica Pacheco (his 3rd wife) and 4 daughters from previous marriages.
The Monkees were formed by NBC in 1965 when Jones, along with Mickey Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork, successfully auditioned to play a band (Stephen Stills had auditioned and was turned down) around which the show would revolve in a kind of sanitized, tv serial version of The Beatles’ movies, Help! and A Hard Day’s Night. It ran from 1966-1968. (It moved to CBS for a final season in 1969). The antithesis of the most popular acts of the time like The Rolling Stones and The Doors, the band, with their squeaky clean image became the original “bubble-gum pop band” and their performances on the show were in fact a precursor to MTV. They were responsible for several enormously popular songs including three Billboard number 1 hits – "Daydream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville" and "I'm a Believer."
Girls of a certain age probably also remember Jones for his guest appearance, as himself, on The Brady Bunch where Marcia tried desperately to get Jones to play her prom. She was rewarded with a kiss on the cheek and a special song. Jones, Dolenz and Tork (Nesmith left the band after the show was cancelled) continued to tour (off and on) and played their last gig on February 19.
Here’s my favorite Monkees song. I dare you not to sing along:
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HBO in its infinite wisdom, quietly released a new trailer for the upcoming new season of Game of Thrones this weekend, when a lot of us were in the grip of Oscar madness and didn’t notice. Well, I’m noticing now! Holy Schnikey, this thing is… in a word…awesome. (That’s not a word I bandy about lightly, lest it have a colloquial connotation, and I sound like a verbally-challenged stoner, instead of its true meaning, which is appropriate here.)
D. B. Weiss and David Benioff have been allowed, over the course of the past few months, to slowly drop those crumbs, leading us on a meandering path toward our destination, the April 1 premiere of season 2. The crumbs are getting bigger as they fatten us up like lambs to the slaughter. We caught brief glimpses or were given still pics of the new characters like Stannis Baratheon. In this we hear his voice as he sets the stage for the battle with is brother Renly. The spaces are beginning to be filled in all around the edges as we see where allegiances will be tested and new alliances will form.
Don’t take my gushing, drooling words for it…take a look:
Wherever Weiss and Benioff lead, I will follow. Baaaaa
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